Sunday Spotlight: 1/1/12
Sunday January 1st, 2012
Posts
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thursday November 24th, 2011
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! If you get a chance to sneak away from the turkey and pie for a moment, take a look through these turkey day inspired images. We’ll see you back in the office on Monday…slightly rounder.
- Maria Luci
Barbara O'Brien/Minneapolis
Jody Horton/Austin
Christopher Robbins/Washington DC
Lincoln Barbour/Portland
Grant Harder/Canada
John-Francis Bourke/New York
Jennifer May/New York
Dagmara/England
Rob Culpepper/Birmingham
Claudia Susana/Cincinatti
Ball & Albanese/New York
Stephanie Rau/Minneapolis
Wesley Law/St Louis
Blake Gordon/Austin
Web Ads: Feature Shoot
Thursday November 3rd, 2011
By Peter Clark
Throughout the month of October, the kind people over at Feature Shoot ran a slew of Wonderful Machine ads on their site. Feature Shoot is a photography centered website run by photographer, photo editor and curator, Alison Zavos. Here’s a quick synopsis of what the site is all about from Allison:
Feature Shoot showcases work from up-and-coming photographers alongside established photographers who have completed a project or whose work has taken on a new direction. The site covers commercial and fine art photography, and is a resource through which photo editors, art directors, art buyers, and people with an interest in photography can discover new talent. Established in 2008, Feature Shoot has an archive of 800+ local and international photographers.
We ran a variety of both rectangle and skyscraper ads across the site, showcasing some great work from our member photographers. I asked each photographer to fill me in on the back story behind each image:
Bragi Josefsson / Iceland
“This was shot on assignment for Globe and Mail, which is based in Canada, for a story on the financial crash in Iceland. The couple are Hugrun Arnadottir and Magni Thorsteinsson of Kronkron, shoe designers and store owners in Reykjavik, Iceland. The original idea was submitted to me by the director of photography at Globe and Mail, and is obviously a parody of the famous painting by Grant Wood, but in an Icelandic environment. The house behind the couple is an old turf house at the Reykjavik museum. The shot itself was quite straightforward, no extra lighting, but some careful post processing work for the color and tone.”
Michael Kohn / Canada
“This photograph was created for the Second Harvest organization in the Toronto area. The Second Harvest mission is to help feed hungry people by picking up and preparing excess fresh food and delivering it daily to social service agencies in Toronto. I was contacted to create an image for one of their major annual events. I had done this gig for several consecutive years prior to doing this image. The iconic theme was always about the glory and beauty of the harvest.”
Winnie Au / New York
“This was part of a shoot I did for fashion designer Charlotte Tarantola. My assignment was to create an image that showcased the brand and the fact that they make fashion for adults, kids, and now pets. My crew and I got the shots for that assignment (we created a “wealthy family portrait”) and then decided to shoot a separate fashion story with our same model and location as a personal project. This particular shot is part of that fashion story, which is about a bored young housewife living in an old brownstone—all dressed up with nowhere to go. It’s meant to be a subtle commentary about how having everything you want and not having to work doesn’t always lead to happiness.”
Patrick Kehoe / Seattle
“The “Man in the Party Hat” happened one chilly September morning a few years ago. I remember that I had shot an assignment the day before and had a bunch of lighting equipment to return to the rental house by 10 am. This was before I owned any lighting gear, so I recall wanting to be a resourceful young man and maximize on the opportunity by shooting early in the morning before the rentals were due.
“The “Man in the Party Hat” happened one chilly September morning a few years ago. I remember that I had shot an assignment the day before and had a bunch of lighting equipment to return to the rental house by 10 am. This was before I owned any lighting gear, so I recall wanting to be a resourceful young man and maximize on the opportunity by shooting early in the morning before the rentals were due.
I tend to use environments as inspiration, so I scout locations to help me formulate different ideas and story lines. I was drawn to this particular spot which was located just outside a train yard in South Seattle. The color palette was drab, gray and industrial, and I knew that I wanted a grumpy man in the shot. The idea of forced happiness has always appealed to me, so a party theme with confetti seemed to fit well with Ken Anderson’s (the actor’s) sour mood and to create a nice color contrast in the photograph.”
Lincoln Barbour / Portland
“I shot this image at BWI Airport. My camera at the time was a Nikon F3 and I shot it with a manual focus 20mm Nikkor lens. I was on my way to Las Vegas and it was the first time I was traveling with the intention of taking photos during my trip. While I was walking to my gate, I saw this gentleman sitting alone in the lobby area of the international wing. He was so colorful in this stark environment. My eye was drawn to him and I nervously whipped my camera out and fired off a few quick shots before I had to leave to catch my plane. It was a classic street photography moment. If I did this now, I’d probably get thrown into a security room.”
“I shot this image at BWI Airport. My camera at the time was a Nikon F3 and I shot it with a manual focus 20mm Nikkor lens. I was on my way to Las Vegas and it was the first time I was traveling with the intention of taking photos during my trip. While I was walking to my gate, I saw this gentleman sitting alone in the lobby area of the international wing. He was so colorful in this stark environment. My eye was drawn to him and I nervously whipped my camera out and fired off a few quick shots before I had to leave to catch my plane. It was a classic street photography moment. If I did this now, I’d probably get thrown into a security room.”
Chris Sembrot / Philadelphia
“This image of Shepard Fairey was something I shot for personal work. A follower on Twitter alerted me that he was to be in Philly for a few mural installations that day and that Fishtown was the first stop. My apartment is only four blocks from that mural outside of Rocket Cat Cafe. I simply approached him after he completed the mural and grabbed a few shots. He was pretty easy going and approachable. I also mentioned that we had a mutual friend, which helped to get his attention.”
“This image of Shepard Fairey was something I shot for personal work. A follower on Twitter alerted me that he was to be in Philly for a few mural installations that day and that Fishtown was the first stop. My apartment is only four blocks from that mural outside of Rocket Cat Cafe. I simply approached him after he completed the mural and grabbed a few shots. He was pretty easy going and approachable. I also mentioned that we had a mutual friend, which helped to get his attention.”
Roberto Westbrook / Richmond
“I made this photo in the Buenos Aires Botanical Garden when I was living in Argentina. The park had become a home for abandoned cats and it was common to stroll through and find cats lounging. I made many photos of the park and those cats, but on this one occasion in the fall, I was walking home with my wife and I found this perfect arrangement. I just loved how the cat was balled up and surrounded by ginkgo leaves. I got out my widest lens and lifted my hands as high as I could to create this feeling of the cat being surrounded by leaves.”
“I made this photo in the Buenos Aires Botanical Garden when I was living in Argentina. The park had become a home for abandoned cats and it was common to stroll through and find cats lounging. I made many photos of the park and those cats, but on this one occasion in the fall, I was walking home with my wife and I found this perfect arrangement. I just loved how the cat was balled up and surrounded by ginkgo leaves. I got out my widest lens and lifted my hands as high as I could to create this feeling of the cat being surrounded by leaves.”
