Ren Hang - Natalie Kohlhepp

Ren Hang is a 26-year-old photographer based in Beijing, China. Part of the “new

generation of the Chinese cultural reawakening” Hang’s work is highly explicit and

demonstrates a side of Chinese youth culture that is not entirely accepted in

his very conservative homeland. His work has been banned from many galleries, though invited by Ai Weiwei to contribute to his exhibition “Fuck Off” that is to showcase 21^st century artists in China.

Hang uses really spunky Chinese teenagers and poses them in minimal spaces. Their body language tells the story that kind of bridges the gap between reality and a strange teenage wasteland/wonderland. There is certainly an emotional darkness in his work that I personally respond to. His work is smart, and captures the kind of apathy paired with high flash photography that is becoming popular in editorial and fashion photography now. 

Taylor Stevenson: Roy Salter

I really enjoy Roy Salters abandoned spaces and objects collection and his absence series. I enjoy these series the most because they are very delicate and come with a higher meaning. For example when his Great-Grandmother died he began to take pictures of what remained in her old house. He took pictures of her dolls, her "good-china", and everything else she had left in that matter. As he began to capture the interior and exterior of the space he began to realize the "photographed spaces are both fluid and static in duality in that they reflect not only the past, but reveal the present through their continually transforming states, the gradual removal of her identity, and authorship from within the home." He began to notice how ones memory could fade so rapidly after all of the morners have gone. So after looking into his work I began to realize what I could do in-order to fit into what I fear the most, which is losing someone who I love. 

Roy Salter likes to isolate objects in this photography. Mostly only focusing on 1 or two objects at a time. I believe this is because he wants to give a bigger meaning to the things that might go unnoticed. Especially in the series of his Great-Grandmothers home, he wants to show each and every object that was left, in a way it seems as if he was doing a case study of his Grandmothers home. His work defiantly explores a distinct location getting deep into the details. He also edits his photos with a vignette which gives his  images a timeless feel.

Alex Kreher: Richard Renaldi - Touching Strangers

A New York based photographer who pairs strangers that he finds on the street and takes their portrait. This project shows an interesting side of people. Most of his subjects agree to let him take a photo with a total stranger on their side and not just that, but in a very intimate pose. A great homage to humanity.

More of his work: http://www.renaldi.com/projects/#id=album-11&num=content-188

Gene Kim: Michael Wolf

Born in Munich, Germany, Michael Wolf grew up in Canada, US, and other parts of Europe.  As a photographer, Wolf's works focus on the layout and the people among the bustling urbanization.  After working as a contract photographer for Stern magazine for 8 years, Wolf started publishing independent works in 2001.  Placing emphasis on the connection between the location and its subjects that inhabit the space, Wolf starts the frame out by capturing the architecture well into focus first.

Utilizing low aperture with long exposure, Wolf captures the hectic, assembled lives of the factory workers in China that hand-make the toys that're then exported all over the world.  As the workers shift in and out of focus, the presence of the toy parts and the facility are marked even heavier by their stillness.  Lost in the movements of the line, the people themselves become parts.

http://photomichaelwolf.com/#

William Eggleston - Liesa Collins

William Eggleston is an American photographer widely associated with color photography as a legitimate artistic medium to be displayed in art galleries. He is very focused on simple subject landscapes and color. His use of color is astounding by the way he chooses a subject and the way he lights a situation in order to showcase that color. His work is characterized by his ordinary subject matter. He has been known to see the beauty and grace within a mundane society. Mainly shooting in Memphis and Mississippi, his work comes from suburban environments and has simple and sometimes boring subject content.
In my opinion, Eggleston photographs such mundane things because they are things that many people just overlook. Society these days is too busy and living/working at such a high speed that no one really takes the time to look around. There can be such beauty in the littlest things, and William Eggleston is a genius for photographing these scenes and making them into amazing and well-respected art that everyone wants in their museum.

Noah Kalina

Noah Kalina is a professional photographer based out of New York City. He does independent work as well as some freelance work for companies and magazines such as Levi's, GE, Wired, New York Magazine, and others. He's had shows all around the globe. He gained more universal recognition when he began his Everyday series in which he takes a photograph of himself everyday. He's been working on the series for 12 and a half years.  

Noah Kalina's subjects vary greatly. The ones I find the most fascinating so far are his photographs that could be classified as landscapes. I think he's found a way to change the dynamics of landscape photography. He creates unique compositions within his landscapes by framing elements that breakup the typical layout. Often times he'll have people within the frame performing an action such as running down bleachers or working or swimming. This adds motion to the photos and moves the viewer around the landscape to find context for the action. His work be viewed at his website 

http://noahkalina.com/ 

Lexi Wilson- Brian Ulrich

Brian Ulrich is an American photographer known for his exploration of consumer culture. He takes photographs mainly in big box retail establishments, thrift stores, and empty shopping centers or dead malls. In his pictures involving people, he wants them to act as a portrait evoking a sense of empathy. He'll find an interesting frame, and wait for someone to walk into it. His work is mostly done with available light, and he uses an 8x10 camera.

In Ulrich's work, he captures the narcotic hold of shopping over American consumers. His project, Copia, is divided into about 3 parts. The first part, Retail, focuses on shoppers engrossed in the abundance of goods. The second, Thrift, shows thrift stores and the mass amounts of unwanted goods. The third, Dark Stores, shows the impact of the financial crisis of 2008 as he explores abandoned malls or buildings. In his work, he invites the viewer to think about the relationship between what consumers want to buy and what they want to leave behind.

Enrique Metinides- Shannon Roulet

     

       As a child Metinides was interested in gangster and crime movies so his transition into being a "Nota Roja" photographer, or a sort of crime scene photographer in Mexico, was very smooth. He uses his photographs to show the more grisly and aggressive sides of his homeland. He uses a very straight forward approach to composition (probably because he was and is shooting mostly for newspaper/tabloids)  but the clean and unaltered simplicity of his photos is what makes them so strong.
        I think a lot of my interest in these has to do with the subject matter. I think that these could be hideously and obviously disturbing, but Metinides uses his eye for composition and creates eerily beautiful pieces that not only show the brutality of the scene, but the characters within the scene. I appreciate that though a lot of crime scene photos and photographers tend to unforgiving and cruel, but there is a feeling that the Metinides is in each one of these works, and has a conscience about what he is doing.

Abbey Reddington- Emeka Okereke

Nigerian photographer, Emeka Okereke, interests me for reasons far beyond him impeccable use of color and story telling ability. The man leads a life that uses art for its true intent; to touch people. He is the Founder and Artistic Director of “Invisible Borders Trans-African Photography Project” an annual photographic project which assembles up to ten artists from Africa towards a roadtrip across Africa. There has been three editions of the project since 2009. His art is not limited to photography, Okereke dabbles in poetry and video. Much of his work subtly comments on the socio-political issues of our time.

So I'm beginning to realize that what draws me into a specific photographer has a great bit to due with their use of color. Far from overly saturated, these soft images have subtle plays on color. The first ex. demonstrates this with the woman's purple scarf contrasting with the yellow bags. Second, pink and green, third red and green ect. Although all the photo's hold an identity, they do not scream portrait. It is just as much about the person's surroundings as the person themselves. This is what makes Okereke stand out in my mind, other than his super fun to say last name.

Sarah Retchin: Alec Soth

Alec Soth is an American photographer, most notable for featuring the Midwestern United States in his work. His photography has a cinematic feel with elements of folklore—each image has a distinct story. He is inspired by the work of Diane Arbus, as he tends to gravitate towards off-beat subjects, much like her own subjects. Soth has had gallery exhibitions all over the world, from New York, to Moscow, to Milan, and currently has collections residing in dozens of galleries.

Like Arbus, Soth’s work has a quirky, awkward feel, and for good reason. He has said that his own awkwardness comforts people. It’s part of the photographic exchange. He tries to find a "narrative arc and true storytelling" and pictures in which each picture will lead to the next one. This philosophy really caught my eye, as I tend to feel extremely awkward while photographing someone (especially if he or she is a stranger), but I suppose it can be part of the process since Soth's own discomfort produces such successful photos.

Kirsty Mitchell- Virginia

Kirsty Mitchell is a British photographer who started as a senior designer for a global fashion brand. She became ill, and decided to invest herself in photography. She works with elaborate sets, costumes, and situations. Her images are all crisp and illuminated; they all have the feeling of superimposition. She works very carefully with color theme- matching and contrasting colors that compliment each other. Kirsty is a technical master: each image is worked to perfection.
The delightful thing about Kiristy’s work is her ability to make obviously un-real things and situations come to life. Her images are fairytales brought alive- filled with movement and gesture. Her subjects wear a blank or soft expression, so that they become part of the scenery, or the set that Kristy has built. Her images are a wonderful crossover between fine art and the fashion world.

Shannon Castleman - Natalie Kohlhepp

            Castleman is currently an instructor in the Photo/Film Department here at VCU. She received her BFA in Photography from NYU and her MFA in Photography from San Francisco Art Institute in 1993. She began shooting fashion soon out of graduate school (1996-1999) when she realized that fashion photography was becoming more and more similar to her personal work. She photographed her friends and their lives in their thrift store outfits promoting the kind of grunge 90s style that is again swinging back into popularity. Larry Clark and Nan Goldin, two photographers that have also influenced my own work, heavily influence her older fashion work.

            Castleman’s use of color feels very nostalgic to me and she has mastered photographing people in simple backgrounds that still provide a corner of narrative. For me, the young women she chose to photograph feel like my own friends, only 30 years later.

Jeff Brouws - Hannah Nees

Born in San Francisco in 1955, Jeff Brouws is a self taught photographer that focuses mainly on landscapes and photos of buildings. At the age of 13, he began pursuing photography by taking photos of railroads and places where construction was taken place. Brouws' photographs are compared to the documentary work of the Farm Security Administration for his exploration of many everyday themes. In 1987, he started a carnival series of photographs that were displayed in the form of Lightjet prints. These prints displayed his use of bold colors and long exposures to create an eery, abandoned feeling. Brouws uses a Hasselblad, as well as a Mamiya, with Fuji Superia 100 film to get the beautiful details in his images. One concept consistent in his images is the horizon line, which is usually kept 1/3 of the way down the photo. 

Brouws has explored many different themes throughout his career as a photographer that always tell a story about the nation's character. One of the main things that he relies on is the idea that what he is photographing is already made for him. This means that all he has to do is find the perfect set up for his camera to create the image he wants. From his series, Inside the Live Reptile Tent, Brouws photographs  the vibrant energy that comes form carnivals using the lights available around him. Some of the other themes that he explores are abandoned manufacturing sites, poor housing, unused public spaces left behind by the effects of de-industrialization, white flight, disinvestment, failed urban policy and overall societal neglect.

http://www.jeffbrouws.com