interior photography

USA / New York / 4/24/08 / UN General Assembly

Zurich-based photographer Luca Zanier’s aptly titled series Corridors of Power captures a spatial representation of the places where minds meet and decisions are made. The spaces vary—some grandiose, some more covert—and all seem to comment on the reality that the worldly decisions that shape our collective identity eventually lie in the hands of a few. The empty rooms feel supreme, otherworldy, almost intimidating. They stand like futuristic monoliths, quietly waiting for the power players to convene.

Corridors of Power opens together with Richard Ross’ Juvenile in Justice at Anzenberger Gallery in Vienna on March 14 and will remain on view through April 30, 2013.

Frankreich / Paris / 3/27/08 / French Communist Party PCF

USA / New York / 2010 / UNO Economic and Social Council NYC

USA / New York / 4/24/08 / UN Security Council

USA / New York / 4/24/08 / UN Trusteeship Council NYC

Frankreich / Paris / 3/17/08 / CGT (Confederation generale du travail General Confederation of Labour) French communist trade union

I was looking for uniqueness; homes near a street light, near a lit stadium, or perched on a hill or beneath one—something that made it different. I illuminated some homes with a high power flashlight placed directly above the lens.—Robert Benson

Tent fumigation is the process of covering a house with a nylon tent to remove pests, typically termites. Once the house is tented and sealed, gas is pumped into the interior, eradicating the pests without spreading the gas to others. The oddity of these circus tent-like structures appealed to California-based photographer Robert Benson, who scoured the streets of San Diego at night to create his series Tented Homes.

Finding the homes by chance was a challenge, so Benson contacted pesticide companies throughout the city. After assuring them he wasn’t a thief, he received some help from two termite companies. He was given locations daily, taking a look at Google Street View before making the trek, and even accompanied workers a couple of times as they made tenting preparations. Benson photographed more than 35 homes and buildings throughout San Diego.

If you’re a photographer, you can now promote your new series, website, gallery show, recent assignment, etc. on Feature Shoot for an affordable price. Find out about becoming a Spotlight Photographer here.

Irié, fashion designer

A young performer stands beside books and records piled high, his clothes scorched for reasons unknown. A fashion designer gazes stoically at the photographer’s lens while a toothy reptile lurks near his feet. Holding his skateboard, a sociologist returns to the room he lived in as a child.

These are but a few of the captivating scenes Reims-based photographer Baudouin has been capturing for years of his life. A well-known and admired portrait photographer in the French media, Baudouin has long been interested in observing and photographing Parisians in their natural, everyday habitats. In this sense, perhaps, he is like an anthropologist with a very nice camera.

An exhibit featuring some of the photographer’s recent work, 75 Parisiennes, Baudouin will run through December 1st at Galerie Clémentine de la Féronnière in Paris.

Nicolas, performer

Jean Philippe, artist

Xavier and Gaspard, DJ

André, artist

Philéas, baby

Franck, actor

This post was contributed by Megan Ramirez.

Young Swiss photographer Cyril Porchet’s final year show included this awesome series of the most opulent Baroque church altars he could find in Spain, Austria and Germany. His intention was to explore the seductive power of display. What is extraordinary is how much you lose all sense of perspective and depth, such is the overabundance of detail. I like how the odd feature confuses all the more; like the red rope of the ornamental light in the image below for instance which neatly splices the image in half. I could pore over these for hours and hours.

This post was contributed by Sophie Chapman-Andrews, Head of Art Buying at McCann London

Berlin-based photographer Menno Aden takes typical rooms and interior settings and turns them into mind-altering viewing experiences which can conjure feelings of vertigo. He’s able to distort perception by installing cameras on the ceilings of interior spaces, such as classrooms, elevators, and corner shops, in the process transforming a simple room with a circular table into an abstract and graphic work of art.

via iGnant

These cinematic and surreal images of Munich’s underground subway stations were shot by non-professional photographer Nick Frank. Looking unused and sparkling clean, he made a habit of photographing these stations early on Sunday mornings in order to capture the settings without commuters. Frank is a a freelance art/creative director based in Munich.

Without the indication of a human presence, the environment becomes an empty vessel. These signifying forces lead you to uncover the hidden aspects that otherwise go unnoticed. My job being the investigator, reflects my personal narration on a series of personal expressions.

This project, Personal Detachment, also touches on the music scene in the Riverwest neighborhood of Milwaukee. Within the process of photographing these homes I came upon houses that were also used as DIY music spaces. The connection between these environments acting as a personal space, as well as a public space, gave a new dynamic to the project.—Brett Suemnicht

Brett Suemnicht is an artist living in Milwaukee. He currently attends the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design (MIAD) where he is studying printmaking and photography.

If you’re a photographer, you can now promote your new series, website, gallery show or favorite image on Feature Shoot for a very affordable price. Find out about becoming a Spotlight Photographer here.

I grew up in “the mountains” or as others called it “the country,” as if no other mountain or country existed. For a time and for a great number of people, this declaration had a certain truth. Known as Sullivan County and located about ninety miles northwest of New York City, from the 1920s through the 1970s these mountains were a retreat for millions of Americans, predominantly Jewish-Americans.

Often referred to by its colloquial name The Borscht Belt, the area was given its moniker from an Eastern European cuisine known as borscht, a cold beet soup. In its prime the region was internationally known for its food, recreation, entertainment and the birthplace of stand-up comedy, with influences extending into mainstream television and film. At its peak during the immediate post-WW II era, more than six hundred year-round resorts and hotels were in operation, offering the American Dream with a sense of style and glitz synonymous with the time.

In the decades following the 1970s Sullivan County encountered a decline from which it has never recovered. The reasons are many: changes in entertainment itself, the growth of the suburbs and a booming airline industry that offered new and exotic travel destinations. Additionally, the industry’s deterioration could be linked to alleged mismanagement and matters of finance. Or simply like most things, its time had passed. At present the region and its tourism industry is defunct.

When I began this photographic series I was principally drawn to the area’s history and what it had once been. What I uncovered is the presence of a transformed Borscht Belt, a relic and ruin all at once. Histories, memories and nostalgia still linger entangled in worn foundations, carpets-turned-to-grass and empty lounge chairs. Their abandonment and wreckage lies encircled by nature, which is reclaiming the space. Often I could not tell where one (the man-made) ended and the other (nature) began.

While the project originated with my interest in its regional history and engages personal notions of memory, it also reveals the growth, flowering and exhaustion of things, and then their subsequent regeneration. I am fascinated with what my hometown once was and now has become. Leftover Borscht is an investigation of what the region was and reflects upon the processes and transformations of time on the built environment.

Time is a persistent catalyst; an essential ingredient revealing the now entropic and ghost-like remains of the Borscht Belt. The alteration, mutation and reclamation taking place on these sites is an echo of the prevailing fates of many small towns and cities in our 21st century, a cautionary view into our future and a view of ourselves.—Marisa Scheinfeld

Marisa Scheinfeld is a fine art photographer based in New York.

If you’re a photographer, you can now promote your work, new series, website, gallery show, etc. on Feature Shoot for a very affordable price. Find out about becoming a Spotlight Photographer here.

Daniel Kukla is a photographer whose formal study included the biological and anthropological sciences. This gives his images a truly unique perspective on humans’ ever-changing relationship with the natural world. This body of work “Captive Landscapes” will be exhibited at the Pictura Gallery in Bloomington, Indiana in Sept. 2012.

What was the inspiration for this project or where did the idea originate from?
‘I’ve always be fascinated and frustrated by zoos. They are important research and educational institutions, but I find that there are a complex set of problems involved in maintaining animals in captivity that are not addressed.

‘In my first zoo project, Lamina, I was interested in investigating the barrier that separates viewer from inhabitant and the interactions that occur at this point, but with increasing frequency I started to notice that each cage or habitat would be seemingly empty. Usually the animals were off snoozing or curled up in one of the few spaces that offered them privacy. At this point I started to take note of the murals and fabricated natural environments that many zoos strive to make look as real as possible.’

How did you go about getting permission to take these photos? Were you tempted to take photos of the same environments with animals or was the idea from the beginning to take zoo landscapes without the animals?
‘Many of these photographs were taken simply as a visitor with some intense leaning over barriers, face and lens pressed on glass, and possibly a couple hopped fences.

‘There are a number of the images that are of habitat enclosures being installed. I planned out these shots by contacting some of the zoos to find out when the new occupants would be arriving and made sure to photograph the enclosure before the unveiling.’

Do you have any interesting stories or experiences that you had while exploring these spaces?
‘When I’m out photographing this project I constantly have curious children running up to me and asking “What is it?!” They see that I’m intensely interested in something in the cage, but can’t find the animal. So I always get into the same awkward conversation with them trying to describe that I’m making pictures of the animals homes and not of the actual tiger, hippo, or eagle. With all the distractions at a zoo, most of them don’t linger too long and keep the questions coming, but some do and it’s always refreshing hearing their thoughts on the matter.’

This post was contributed by photographer Laura Barisonzi.