Linus Bill

"I try to keep my technique as easy as possible, so that it does not get in my way." Linus Bill's quick and unassuming snapshots of family and friends portray the true nature of each subject. His informal, raw approach to photography is clearly a contemporary trend, but crisp and refreshing all the same. Bill allows his viewers to be a part of each photograph and by extension, allows a temporary view into his life. 

Faceless subjects.
Images from www.soiree-shot.com, nofound.tumblr.com and www.villanoailles-hyeres.com.

Michael Schmelling

I've been browsing through the book SHOOT- Photography of the Moment recently, and came across an interesting antidote of the different connections between photographers (and all artist associations for that matter.. ). In an essay by Ken Miller called the moment, Miller states that Michael Schmelling engages with the mysterious intensity of 'wrong' photographs, while maintaining forerunner's Wolfgang Tillmans and Juergen Teller's formalist approach to consumer photography (who wouldn't want to associate themselves with them though??). By exhibiting the 'wrong' photos, Schmelling celebrates the photographs that a vast majority of photographers would have discarded. Miller argues that the trend away from choosing a photograph with the 'correct' aesthetics, is the photography of the moment. It's the photography of today. It's the photography of that particular moment captured in time and unaltered by technology. The photographs with blurred focus, shifting light, or subject issues are celebrated in Schmelling's work. 

Speaking of artist associations, the image below is of Montreal's band Wolf Parade. Pop cultural associations.. 

Images from michaelschmelling.com.

№5 by Sam Milbrath

I have found other artistic channels this summer other than blogging about photographers. It is too beautiful outdoors to spend too much time in. These images represent my summer so far; I hope you enjoy them during a cool, yet brief escape in the shade. 

Maria Luisa Morando

"Our lives are defined by moments. Our memories are a series of moments that capture our lives and frame the emotions that surround them. The emotions are fluid, but the moments are both singular and eternal.."

Morando's overexposed aqua and white series of children playing in the light surf reminds me of faded happy memories. It's interesting how often white bright light is associated with death or heaven.

Image from Saatchi Gallery online. Check out her works at photo-eye gallery or DNJ Gallery.

Ali Bosworth

The natural essence of the photograph is often lost in cities overwhelmed with stimuli. Smaller towns, such as Ali Bosworth's (and my own) hometown of Victoria BC, often provide more artistic inspiration as it forces us to really look at our surroundings. Bosworth uses Vancouver Island's natural beauty to its fullest potential both standing on its own, and as an artistic framework to portray various subjects, including his girlfriend in various wonderful vintage dresses. 

Ironically, much of Bosworth's work was captured in parts of the world where most photographers would be overwhelmed with the amount of new content. I appreciate his ability to remain consistent in unknown countries. I like the arid whiteness of his Cappadocia album and his consistency with photographing dry grass and crumbling rock. 

Check out his interview with zero1magazine here. 

Images from his website @ www.alibosworth.com and flickr.

Claire Milbrath

I love shop window reflections. There is a hint of nature throughout the image, and a fading profile of a shopper imprinted on the car door. Illusionary photography is the best. 

Between tennis and horse races, there is something extremely timeless embedded within both cultural activities. The shadow of a barbed fence reminds us that we are merely spectators or score keepers. 

I particularly like this last image because of its muted green tones, watery reflections, and sunny invitation with a swampy disposition. The photographer is my little sister, Claire Milbrath.
All images from montreal photographer, Claire Milbrath, were taken in Toronto. 


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Anna Bauer

Anna Bauer is recently known for her fashion photography works at various fashion weeks around the world. However, it is her polaroid portraits of celebrities and muted colour photographs of small town residents that draws me in to her work. I like how sexually playful this top photograph is...

View the rest of her collections at her website @ www.annabauer.com.

Grant Ernhart

Interestingly, Grant Ernhart stumbled upon photography while competing nationally as a biathlete (fantastic cross-country skiing and rifle shooting combination sport) and studying rolfing (soft tissue manipulation to improve movement and posture). Once he discovered his passion for photography, he moved to San Francisco to study and pursue his new-found life choice. I say life choice because I believe photography becomes all consuming. Your camera becomes your eyes and vice versa. 

I think that these particular images display oddities in nature. Of course, anything out of place in them is human-made. 

Check out the rest of his works @ www.granternhart.com.
Images from his site. 

Brice Bischoff

I love the colourful blurs of Brice Bischoff's Bronson Cave Collection. His play with reflecting and refracting light is very devout throughout his photography career. I appreciate his consistency. 

There is a palpable movement across his light and smoke photographs that bring them to life. 

Visit his website @ www.bricebischoff.com and check out his self-made artists project with multi-media artists here @ www.selfmadeartists.com....

Images from his site.

Darby Gibbs

Reminiscing over a magical trip to Salt Spring Island with my sisters.. the photographer is my sister.

View the rest of her works on her blog @ darbygibbs.blogspot.com

Seth Lower

I like Seth Lower's collection for its variety. I am aesthetically attracted to all of it. Like Wolfgang Tillman's White Jeans, Lower's white bathroom Untitled, has the same refreshing effect.

Visit his website @ sethlower.com.
Images from his site.

№4 by Sam Milbrath

Nan Goldin

American fine art photographer Nan Goldin is renowned for documenting the post-punk and gay subculture of New York in the 1970s onward. She revolutionized contemporary photography with her aesthetic snapshots that depict drugs, sex, violence between couples, and autobiographical moments. Once a secret subculture in lower east side New York, the transsexual and gay communities became public in the fine art sphere because of Goldin's documentary photography. In comparison to other photographers of her time, Goldin was committed to the transgressive subject matter of her work. She captured her life in her work; thus creating a somewhat 'confessional memoir', making the images inseparable from their creator. Arguably then, to critique her work is to critique her life choices. This bond between contemporary art photography and autobiography has paved the way for young photographers since. 

Images from Brooklyn Museum and Artnet. Goldin information from Penny Martin, Photography of the Moment by Ken Miller.

Debbie Tea

I found Indonesia-based photographer Debbie Tea while browsing Humble's online exhibitions. Her works are very endearing; I was excited to find them. Tea's collection is quite diverse... from her blotted christmas tree series to these overexposed portraits, they all play with absence collectively.

Visit Debbie's website @ www.debbietea.com. I may be kicking myself for not including her more well-known photographs, but I figured that if you know her work, you've already seen them.

Images from her website and flickr.com.

Alia Kahan

Maybe I just needed to post something by Alia Kahan. Contemporary photography is full of mimicking the 70s. I'm happy to see current messes again. That garbage can is New York. 

Alia Kahan is a young Brooklyn photographer, graduate of Parsons The New School For Design in NYC,  and of course, a member of Fjord. This may be a new trend for many of my posts to come... 

Check out her works @ www.aliakahan.com.

Alec Soth

I have been meaning to post something on Alec Soth because of his significant presence in the  contemporary photography scene. To be honest, nothing really jumped out as fantastic. They are all beginning to look the same. Faded 1970s interiors and neutral aesthetics in landscape and still life photography...  I like this one because of the american flag amongst all of the garbage. 

Browse the rest of his works @ www.alecsoth.com.
Images from his website. 

Mikaylah Bowman

Born in 1989, Mikaylah Bowman is a young member of the Fjord Photography community. Her work that I've chosen reminds me of browsing old family albums of trips to Yellowstone National Park. Maybe this is where some of them were taken? 

Bowman has a solo exhibition on that places her in a completely different light than here. Be sure to see how differently photographers can be viewed according to the curator. 

Images from flickr, hafny.org, and fjordphoto.org

Grant Willing

2009 Graduate from Parsons New School of Design in Photography, Grant Willing has since been exhibiting worldwide and has co-founded fjord.org, a project that showcases new, young photographers. In an interview with Jonathan Feistein, the curatorial director of humbleartsfoundation.org from NYarts mag, Willing says that anyone with a digital camera and flickr account can be a photographer these days. With fjordphoto.org, Willing and girlfriend Alana Celii created an online venue to exhibit young photographers that they respect and admire. This online community blew me away. Be sure to check it out. 

A lot of Willing's work is quite dark and almost cult-like. His black and white photographs remind me of Alfred Hitchcock frames. Maybe I am part of this cult following though, because I really like his collections. 

Images from Grant Willings website and artslant. 

Wolfgang Tillmans

After endless days of browsing hundreds of Wolfgang Tillmans' photographs, I narrowed his diverse collection of work down to four images. This post will likely be altered many times before I am satisfied. Tillmans' work is most powerful and affecting in exhibition and book form; therefore, out of context, his photographs seem to have a discontinuity as a whole collection. However, in installation form, Tillmans "has used not only the content but also the traditions of arranging vernacular photography to assert informal imagery as art (Penny Martin, Shoot- Photography of the Moment by Ken Miller)."

Wolfgang Tillman's installation archive is the perfect example of how different a photograph can look hung up against the white walls of a gallery. I love the white cleanliness of contemporary galleries. It's like fresh laundry.
Checkout Tillman's newest collections and website @ www.tillmans.co.uk.
Images from Christie's Art Auction, Artnet, Andrea Rosen Gallery, and Dateline Jewish Art Museum Online