Photography

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Art Photography

Inception-Style Photos Tilt Russian Cityscapes at Dramatic Angles

The grand plazas, towering monuments, and majestic architecture of Russian cities are seen from a new perspective in warped photographs by Lestnica. The Vladimir-based production studio, which was founded by Artem Prudentov, creates still and moving images for clients. For this project, which Prudentov explains is inspired by the movie Inception, Lestnica started out by planning out the final structure of the future photograph based on the principles of perspective. Each image is anchored by an architectural feature as the focal point, with sidewalks and streets fanning outward at a stomach-churning tilt.

Prudentov shares that the team used a software algorithm for their camera and set it in semi-automatic mode to capture each dramatically swooping landscape. Each image involved about a dozen hours of work, and the experimental process resulted in over a thousand test images as Lestnica honed their process. You can see more images from the series on the Lestnica website. If you enjoy these, also check out the work of Aydın Büyüktaş. (via Jeroen Apers)

Photography Science

140,000 Visuals of Outer Space are Free to the Public in NASA’s Image Library

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has created a library of 140,000 high definition files filled with photos, videos, and sound clips, all free and available for download. Visual and audio content of planets, moons, nebulas, and specific space missions, are searchable by file type. The library spans the last hundred years, and users can narrow searches to focus on any timeframe between 1920 and 2019. Each file also contains a thorough caption including the date and contextual information about the content. Explore the library on NASA’s dedicated website and see more updates from space on the Administration’s official Instagram. (via fubiz)

Art Photography

Rugged Greenery and Soaring Birds Unite Abstracted Landscapes of Iceland and Botswana

Photographer Zack Seckler (previously) continues to document the Earth’s surface from above. The New York-based artist travels to a wide range of landscapes, and flies above them in small airplanes to provide a zoomed-out perspective. His abstracted images simultaneously show the unique beauty of each location’s topography, while also highlighting the continuity of our shared planet. In places as different as Botswana and Iceland, the rippling surface and cool tones of waterways, the graceful paths of birds in flight, and the rich texture of forests and brush are united in their rugged beauty.

Seckler’s upcoming solo show, Above, at ClampArt in New York City opens on June 27 and runs through August 9, 2019. You can see more from the artist on Facebook and Instagram.

Photography Science

Thorny South African Seeds Get an Up Close Examination in Macro Photographs by Dillon Marsh

In order to spread as widely as possible, some varieties of seeds will grow sharp thorns and burs. These sharp points allow the seeds to attach themselves to unsuspecting animals or humans unnoticed, and has earned them the moniker of “hitchhiker plants.” Photographer Dillon Marsh (previously here and here) is accustomed to these seeds hitching a ride on his shoes or clothes during photo excursions through tall grasses of his home in South Africa. Curious about the details hidden beyond their sharp edges, Marsh began to take macro photographs of these natural objects which reveal the often unnoticed resemblance to faces or skulls.

To create such detailed photographs Marsh set up a tiny photo studio. “After carefully lighting the seeds, I then photographed them using a macro lens which allows me to zoom in but leaves me with a very narrow depth of field,” Marsh explains to Colossal. “To overcome this, I take several photos of each seed, incrementally focussing along its entire depth. I then stack the images together in Photoshop in order to create one fully detailed image.”

Marsh is currently adding works to his series Counting the Costs, in which the photographer digitally embeds spheres of melting glaciers amongst city life in India, and soon other parts of the world. You can view more of his projects on Instagram and Behance.

Art Design Photography

Everyday Objects Manually Transformed Into Functional Film Cameras

It’s not uncommon to see, in any situation from a museum to a public park to see both amateur and professional photographers capturing moments using technology ranging from sleek smartphones to cumbersome lenses. Less common is the sight of a photographer shooting with a loaf of bread, mannequin, or shed.

U.K.-based artist Brendan Barry painstakingly transforms these banal materials into film cameras, which result in surprisingly beautiful photographs. Barry explores a variety of camera styles including pinhole, 35mm, and ultra large format. In a statement on his website, the artist explains that he uses “the mechanics of photography as a tool for exploration and collaboration,” often traveling to work with different communities and particularly with young people. Barry is the founder and director of Positive Light Projects, a non-profit that works with diverse audiences and emerging photographers to help empower their practice. He also teaches at the Exeter School of Art.

You can see more of Barry’s work on his website, where he documents the process of building his cameras. The artist also shares many of the resulting photographs from his collaborative cameras on Instagram.

Photography

Surreal Blue Spheres of Ice Juxtaposed with Everyday Life Document the Unrelenting Pace of Melting Glaciers

Amidst everyday scenes of contemporary India, unusual blue spheres appear atop buildings, nestled next to marigold vendors, and resting on temple steps. Though the composite images, created by photographer Dillon Marsh (previously), are constructed, the chunks of lost glacier ice are a reality. Using data compiled from scientific reports, Marsh calculated and scaled the volumetric ice models for specific mountains that are losing their critically important glaciers. In a statement on the project, Counting the Costs, Marsh explained, “the aim is to draw attention to the dramatic climate changes that continue unabated while we go about our day-to-day lives.”

The South African photographer started this series in India because it is home to some of the world’s tallest mountains, and is planning to expand the series to other countries including the United States and Switzerland. Marsh, who often explores the relationship between the natural and built environment in his work, shares with Colossal that Counting the Costs draws from his previous series, For What It’s Worth. “There are a number of reason I’ve chosen to represent the volumes as spheres, but the primary reason is that it’s a recognizable shape and visually interesting, Marsh explains. “Aesthetically I want the images to be slightly surreal to counterbalance the serious themes I’m tackling.”

The photographer has exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions, with his most recent solo show at Hydra + Fotografia in Mexico City. Marsh shares new projects and updates from his travels on Instagram and Behance. (via This Isn’t Happiness)

Photography

Shuttered Windows and Placid Canals Show Venice’s Sleepier Side in Night Photographs by Thibaud Poirier

Scenes of contemporary Venice often inevitably include throngs of tourists amongst the centuries-old architecture. But French photographer Thibaud Poirier (previously) took his camera out during the city’s quieter hours. During a weekend trip this past winter, Poirier sought to capture the timelessness of Venice, a task easier done there than in other cities like Paris, Poirier tells Colossal, because of Venice’s lack of cars. Vehicles on city streets tend to simultaneously distract from, and date, photographs of buildings.

In his series Sleeping Venice, the still waters of the canals reflect illuminated docks and the warm-toned weathered facades of the city’s brick and stucco buildings. Poirier explains that he used Google Maps to locate bridge and canal intersections, and then explored the pinpointed areas on foot. Despite the aquatic elements in his image, the photographer shares that he actually took all the shots on land, from bridges, ledges, and dead-end streets. You can see more of Poirier’s work and travels on Instagram and Behance, and find information on purchasing fine art prints on his website.