Photography

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Design Photography

Look Inside the World’s Most Beautiful Libraries in a New 560-Page Photo Book by Massimo Listri

Portuguese photographer Massimo Listri has spent decades traversing the globe to document the spectacular architecture, sculptural elements, and furnishings of historic libraries. His new book, The World’s Most Beautiful Libraries, includes views inside such rarefied locations as the Palafoxiana Library in Pueblo, Mexico and the Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève in Paris, France. Listri also includes descriptions and histories of each library. The 560-page tome is published by TASCHEN and available on Amazon and the TASCHEN website.

Design Photography

Snails Occupy Miniature Sets Built by Aleia Murawski and Sam Copeland

Creative duo Aleia Murawski and Sam Copeland build elaborate miniature sets occupied by small, slimy actors. The environments are laced with suburban nostalgia, which feature perfectly manicured lawns, plastic-coated furniture, and messy teen bedrooms littered with snack wrappers and tiny video game consoles.

The pair’s collaborative worlds are used for still images and short films. Murawski’s favorite part of shooting with snails is seeing how they interact with their sets, while also learning how to specifically direct the slow moving creatures, she explains on her Instagram. One way she and Copeland inspire certain movements while filming is by positioning cucumbers behind the sets’ tiny objects, which encourages their subjects to inch towards the hidden vegetables. The duo used this technique in their recent music video project for Bully, in which they built out an entire neighborhood and house set to outline a day-in-the-life of an extra sluggish snail.

For more slime-centered work, including this video of a motorcycle-riding snail, visit Murawski’s Instagram. You can purchase posters of the collaborative photographs on Big Cartel. (via It’s Nice That)

Art Photography

Baroque Underwater Photography by Christy Lee Rogers

Photographer Christy Lee Rogers produces luminous scenes of swirling figures swathed in colorful fabrics. She creates a painterly quality in her large-scale images not by using wet pigments, but rather by completely submerging her subjects in illuminated water and photographing them at night.

The works shown here are part of Rogers’ most recent series, titled ‘Muses’, which were in response to a year of personal loss. She shared in an interview that “these final images represent a soft and peaceful place that I imagine exists, where you can be free to let go and experience the beauty surrounding you.”

Rogers grew up in Hawaii and continues to shoot there, though she now lives in Nashville. Her works are exhibited widely, alongside video installations, one of which can be viewed below.  The photographer recently had a solo show at Art Labor Gallery, who will also be representing her work at PHOTOFAIRS | Shangai, opening on September 21, 2018. You can see more from Rogers on Facebook and Vimeo. (via Booooooom)

Photography

New Synchronized Photographs of Swimmers by Mária Švarbová

New photographs from Slovakian artist Mária Švarbová (previously) continue her exploration of strangely melancholy poolside scenes. Coolly detached young swimmers in matching outfits are frozen in synchronized positions, a surprising diversion from the usual youthful exuberance of kids in pools. A statement on her website describes Švarbová’s unconventional work: “Maria’s postmodern vision boldly articulates a dialog that compels the viewer to respond to the mystery, loneliness, and isolation of the human experience.” The photographer has published a book of this series, titled Swimming Pool. You can see more of her work, including non-aquatic subjects, on Instagram.

Art Photography

Betta Fish Imitate Elegantly Posed Dancers in New Portraits by Visarute Angkatavanich

Thai photographer Visarute Angkatavanich (previously) creates richly hued portraits that appear more like staged dance images than animal photography. It is only when staring directly at the bug-eyed expressions of his subjects that one understands they are staring at a fish and not a costumed ballerina. Angkatavanich photographs domesticated betta fish against white and black backgrounds to isolate their natural shades and present the illusion that they are moving through space. Late last year he released a book of Siamese fighting fish portraits titled Betta Paradiso. You can view more of his recent fish photography on 500px.

Photography

Nigerian Hair Culture Documented in Rainbow-Hued Portraits by Medina Dugger

Lagos-based photographer Medina Dugger documents colorful hair culture in the coastal Nigerian city with her ongoing series Chroma. The collection of portraits pays homage to J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere, a renowned African photographer who documented women’s hairstyles in Nigeria for over 50 years, starting in the mid-20th century.

Prior to decolinization, Dugger explains, wigs and straightening had replaced much of the indigenous hair culture, and ‘Okhai Ojeikere’s documentations sought to celebrate traditional hairdos. She continues, “African hair braiding methods date back thousands of years and Nigerian hair culture is a rich and often extensive process which begins in childhood. The methods and variations have been influenced by social/cultural patterns, historical events and globalization. Hairdos range from being purely decorative to conveying deeper, more symbolic understandings, revealing social status, age and tribal/family traditions.”

While ‘Okhai Ojeikere’ images were in black and white, Dugger updates the documentary style with brightly colored backgrounds, a diverse array of vibrant contemporary fashion, and rainbow hues integrated into the hairstyles with thread, beads, and dyed extensions. You can see more of Dugger’s colorful editorial photography on her website and Instagram.

Photography

The Neon Archives: An Exploration of Hong Kong’s Fading Neon Landscape

Hong Kong has long been infused with the glowing haze produced by its omnipresent neon signs and advertisements. Recently this saturated element of the city has begun to disappear as maintenance and rent costs rise and government regulation steps in. Local photographer Dennis Isip intends to preserve this aspect of his city’s history through a series titled The Neon Archives.

Started in 2017, the ongoing photography series captures this retreating feature of the city’s culture with images that preserve Hong Kong’s vivid nightlife. “Neon lights define Hong Kong’s character and without it, the city’s identity is lost,” he tells Colossal. “The Neon Archives hope is to capture each neon sign in Hong Kong before they fade away.” (via Colossal Submissions)