I am notorious for starting my blog posts like I would start a letter. So, I hope that is fine with you guys. I hope everyone is doing great this fine Wednesday! The second issue of our Photography News will cover some fresh photographers you may have not noticed before and I assure you, you will find their work interesting in the least. I will stay away from gear news, since you already come to Photography Life for that. But I will include some important topics impressively covered by photojournalist and photographers.
First up I want to introduce our readers to a photographer from New Zealand, Holly Spring, who is a great artographer, if I might say so. Holly recently won the 2014 NZIPP/Epson Iris Portrait Creative of the Year with her photos of her daughter. Holly’s daughter is her number one muse and she is a very special little girl. I love when our children move us to do some remarkable work of art and Holly is a proof that mother love has no limits. I am sure dads have some tricks up their sleeves, too. We will talk about that in a different post.
I’ve been working with Holly for some time to get a guest post ready for our readers, but we haven’t finalized it yet. While that is in the works, please enjoy her art.
Our next wonder of photography world for this week is Bella Kotak. What seems to have been an innocent 365 self portraiture project turned this little gem into a shining diamond among the creatives. Bella is based in London and has been creating her art in beautiful England. Let’s hope she goes very major pretty soon! What I love about Bella is that she is very open with her creative process. If you head over her Facebook page, you can see breakdown almost under each photo where she gives you tips and tricks behind her creations.
As the Moon Rose so Did She..
Raindrops glimmer upon roses as Camille and I wonder what today’s story will be. The light ebbs and flows with the passing clouds as the twilight settles upon us like the softest blanket cocooning us in its beautiful blue. Though cars pass us we are alone and i can’t quite believe how perfectly Cam fits into this scene a character i created… – Copyright Bella Kotak Photography
Enchanted Garden..
From that summer evening when we chanced upon a magical apple/rose tree. So it seems that I’ve fallen into this flower loving series. i’ve always been drawn to the fragile beauty of these soft petaled beings and their short but vibrant lives and have decided to call this series ‘in bloom’ – Copyright Bella Kotak Photography
Our next news, along with photos come to you from Huffington Post and a great photographer Nick Bowers. Although the photos are meant to be self explanatory, I want to give you a little background on Nick’s project. This project is meant to show us, the readers, the face of a global warming in the reflection of the scientists researching it. Bowers interviewed number of scientists about their research and asked them to think about the outcome of their findings. Hence, the “Scared Scientists” project was born.
Have you ever laid your eyes on a book called “Emotions Revealed” by Paul Ekman or have watched any of the TV drama series “Lie to Me” (which Ekman supervised)? If you have, you may relate to “Scared Scientists” in a different way and look into the science of global warming with an alarming seriousness. I strongly believe that emotions do not lie and capturing such raw imagery is a spectacular idea. Each and every photo on “Scared Scientist” comes with future predictions of every scientist pictured. If not for the science, You absolutely need to check out Nick Bowers’ work.
Tim Flannery
Mammalogist, Paleontologist University of New South Wales, Monash University, La Trobe University
FEAR: DISRUPTION OF GLOBAL CIVILISATION“Climate Science underestimated the pace of climate change, it was too conservative. We’re now having far more rapid change than originally projected. Change that if not slowed, will undoubtedly affect my children and my grandchildren…”
SHAUNA MURRAY
Biological Scientist
University of Technology Sydney, University of Tokyo, University of New South WalesFEAR: REACHING THE FOUR DEGREES OF WARMING
We’ve recorded all sorts of climate change shifts in multiple areas. However, the scientific process is consistent. Every single individual study that has been done, has gone through the same rigorous process, data collection, research analysis, and qualified peer review. At the moment, we’ve at least 10 000 different papers, completed over 20 years, each using different data sets, and they are all coming to the same climate change conclusions. We’ve a weight of evidence that the average person is simply not aware of – and this frightens me…
Our last news for my today’s series is dedicated to Motion Photography. We have all seen couple of GIF photos or presentations before. Frankly though, I have never paid much attention to them, until they were brought back to my attention by one of my wedding clients. They were really interested in making a little clip from their wedding and we discussed it over a cup of tea. Next day I started reading up on it and found a whole new art territory called Motion Photography. While we’ve seen a lot of still photos portraying object in motion, GIFs are a whole lot of different spectrum. Recently, Saatchi Gallery and Google+ conducted a first global open entry competition to mark the beginning the new era of this art form. Most of the photos were shot with smart phones and it just tells me that a lot of people have hidden talents, which come to live as the opportunity presents itself. Some of these photos will blow your mind. Here is a sample motion photo from Kostas Agiannitis:
Please consider sticking to presenting beautiful photographs and avoid promotion of political agendas. The “scientists” cited are primarily afraid of their research grants (personal income) disappearing if they are unsuccessful in generating enough fear that global warming is a real threat.
4 points.
Number 1: Lola Elise *did* present beautiful photographs.
Number 2: There is no political agenda here whatsoever.
Number 3: Even *if* Number 2 were not the case, global warming *is* a real threat.
Number 4: You and “Ray” would make perfect roommates for each other.
Your “Number 3” is really “Number 2.” See below:
Daily Mail: “Seven years after former US Vice-President Al Gore’s warning, Arctic ice cap has expanded for second year in row
An area twice the size of Alaska – America’s biggest state – was open water two years ago and is now covered in ice
These satellite images taken from University of Illinois’s Cryosphere project show ice has become more concentrated.”
Hi Peter
I suspect a tabloid such as the Daily Mail isn’t a very credible source. In any case, two years of data, even if correct, does not disprove the long term climate changes which are inevitably accompanied by fluctuations. A video further down on that Daily Mail page shows how greatly the ice has contracted since 1979. A thousand years ago, northern Iceland was encased in pack ice in winter. Now it gets nowhere near. Recently there have been several years where large ships have been able to traverse the North West Passage, something unthinkable in historical memory, something Sir John Franklin certainly did not encounter from 1845 to 1847.
Until recently it was thought that West Antarctica was an exception to global warming, with the ice shelf expanding around it. Just in the last year or so it was found that the underlying rocks have become warmer, creating a larger fluid layer between the ice shelf and the rock, resulting in the ice sheets slipping off into the ocean at an unexpectedly fast rate. As well as that, warmer seas have caused the circulating currents of the Antarctic convergence to move further south, below the boundary of pack ice, so that convergence winds are now blowing ice north. So the increased ice around West Antarctica is actually a consequence of global warming.
Given the scientific consensus on global warming, the potentially dire consequences if we do nothing and the likely short time horizon, we would be foolish not to take effective action. As photographers, at least some of us have a social and ecological responsibility to record what is left in the hope we may assist in some way in raising consciousness for conservation.
A well written piece.
The opening of the North West Passage is of course what the corporate global warming deniers want – it opens free access to yet more oil exploration in the Arctic.
“Those that they wish to destroy, the Gods first make mad”
Poor old Ray getting set upon again.
The world changes all the time, this century its global warming, next century who knows what, we will prevail, thats how it is, get over it.
By the way this is a great photography site lets keep it that way.
Agree and was only trying to help ensure the blog stays on topic by avoiding politics… constructive criticism twisted by the sociopathic ramblings of a liberal hate monger… How much is my rent Ray?-)
Interesting. Nice to see how misguided commentators are arrogant about “ensuring” this or that on a blog. When did you become a co-founder of PL? Last time I checked, Lola Elise is the co-founder of this blog, and if this is how she wants her blog to be presented, then that is her right – not yours or any one else’s. Suggestion: if you don’t like this blog, then simply go elsewhere, or why don’t you make your own blog? Oh, and if your’re new here, commentators who rant or complain about anything other than photography here, have nothing to share about photography in terms of their own work or experiences, carry no weight here. None. Just ask Nasim and Romanas. Just an FYI. :-)
Hi Rick
Your presumption that photography should be beautiful and avoid political associations are two unconnected statements which are both as erroneous as they are absurd.
The aspersions you make on the Australian Scientists are equally erroneous and absurd. Tim Flannery has a long and illustrious scientific career and was Australian of the Year in 2007. 100% of climate scientists and around 90% of all scientists believe that global warming is both real and man-made. Denial of global warming is for the most part not scientifically based and given the scientific consensus we ignore this issue at our peril. The same can be said for the broader issue of renewable development.
There are many examples of stunning photography that is not beautiful and would be entirely appropriate in context in a site such as this. War photography is seldom pretty but can be compelling and raise important moral issues. Similarly for many other kinds of journalistic images including depiction of the effects of natural disasters. Diane Arbus was an iconic photographer but your could never describe her work as beautiful. Max Ernst was a great photographer as well as a great artist but not necessarily a generator of beautiful images. Street photography is not necessarily to create beautiful images. The list is probably endless.
Political comment has always been one of the driving themes of photography and often associated with the best of it. Lewis Hine photographed exploited children working in industry and his arresting photographs created positive social change. Dorothea Lange created stark images of the plight of families rendered destitute by the depression. The photographers of concentration camps at the end of the Second World War helped to totally discredit Nazism. Ansel Adams, the most iconic of all photographers, was a political activist for the environment, a founding member of the Sierra Club and using his photography to help protect the wilderness. Peter Dombrovskis and before him Olegas Truchanis successfully used their wilderness photographs to prevent destruction of wild valleys and forests in Tasmania in the 1980s.
…
And thank you, Lola for an aesthetically stimulating and thoughtful article that further demonstrates why this site is so successful.
I like the 3rd photo of the little girl by Holly Spring. You can keep the remainder especially the pretentious ones by Bella Kotak.
I didn’t find Lola’s delivery distracting. She came across as a real person/working pro addressing the reader as if we’re there. I could imagine that she intends to write like how she talks in real life to connect more with the reader. Had this been a technically written, straight forward article, it would feel inaccessible, copy + pasted, and devoid of personality.
@Romanas
Eloquently put. There’s a feeling of calmness and clarity in your message even when the the red “launch missile” button is just an inch away and tempting. I would have failed miserably and pressed it had it been me.
Lola I thought the aritcle was well written. Much of the work featured was not what I really like, though the Tim Flannery and Shauna Murray photos were excellent, but instead of insulting the little girl and 365 project I’ll point out that this is art not science. We don’t have to agree, if we did it would be a very boring time on the World Wide Interweb! My only suggestion would be to type more slowly next time for those who do not comprehend that.
Lola, nice article. Captivating photography. Although I’m not sure Bela’s work would still be called photography I’m thinking that is the way it started out and by far she is much more art inspired then I. Really enjoyed this article and even got a good laugh out of Ray’s comment. There’s always one and even though I might not agree with Lola’s opinion on that particular subject I respect her for it. Keep them coming Lola….there will always be a Ray in the group.
absolutely gorgeous, the little girl is so pretty and the ladies are most attractive, looking forward to your next edition.
Hi Lola,
A blog that starts like a letter is more interesting to read.
It seems we, photographylife readers, will get to see a lot of incredible posts from a bunch of superb photogs around the world.
I will be particularly waiting for the post from New Zealand photographer Holly Spring.
By the way, we would love to see a detailed post on the techniques of “motion photography”.
Cheers,
Sandipan
I agree that it would be great to have some specific techniques for “motion photography.” I googled the term but only came up with techniques for capturing motion as in blurring moving objects. Please tell us more.
Lola,
I’m a fan of this website and part of it is beause of the articles you’ve written.
Nice work in drawing our attention to the wonderful works of artists out there, in this article! Please keep them coming.
Cheers, A
I just wanted to thank you for an extremely thought provoking piece.
It’s changed my day.
I liked this post and found it very interesting, and I appreciate the effort you invested to write it.