Category Archives: street photographer

Feb 25

The story of the girl in Mary Ellen Mark’s iconic photo

mary-ellen-mark-001

Amanda and her Cousin Amy: Mary Ellen Mark photographed Amanda Marie Ellison, 9 (right), and Amy Minton Velasquez, 8, in Valdese, North Carolina, in 1990.

(Courtesy of Mary Ellen Mark Studio and Library)

A good photograph can speak volumes about its subjects, yet still leave you wanting to know more.

The acclaimed and prolific American photographer Mary Ellen Mark, who died May 25 at the age of 75, was known for her humanist portraits: homeless children in Seattle, prostitutes in India, a family living out of its car. In 1990, she took one of her most memorable shots, titled Amanda and her cousin Amy.

“This photograph raises a lot of questions and leaves me with a slightly uneasy feeling,” says Jeff Jacobson, a New York photographer and a friend of Mark’s. “That, I feel, over and over again is the hallmark of her best work.”

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Jul 23

The power of a single photograph: Auggie’s photo album

I so love this memorably wonderful scene from Smoke (1995) featuring Harvey Keitel and William Hurt… I hope you do too…

You know how it is…

Tomorrow tomorrow and tomorrow,

Time creeps on its petty pace.

In Auggie’s New York smoke shop, days pass, seemingly unchanging – until he teaches us to notice the little details of life…

May 13

Amazing flash street photography

Chicago Lights: Flash Street Photography by Satoki Nagata snow multiple exposures light Chicago black and white

Chicago-based photographer Satoki Nagata has produced a series of abstract, black and white street portraits of people caught in the winter elements.

Nagata says that he lights his subjects from behind with a flash using a slow shutter speed and doesn’t rely on double exposures or glass reflections as it may appear.

The results are some pretty striking photographs of people who look nearly transparent yet appear to be almost perfectly surrounded by a crisp halo of light.

Here are more examples of Satoki’s amazing flash street photography:

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Apr 20

Brandon Stanton’s compelling photoblog: Humans of New York

Photographer Brandon Stanton is the brainchild behind the wildly popular blog Humans of New York, otherwise known as HONY.

Stanton spends his days photographing on the streets of New York City, and what truly sets his images apart from those found on other photography blogs is his personal interaction with his subjects.

Now more then a year into his blogging project, Stanton has collected compelling quotes and stories from an estimated 10,000 New Yorkers who he has stopped to photograph along the way. In the meantime, HONY’s follower base has grown to about one million fans.

Be sure to visit Stanton’s Humans of New York blog and, if you haven’t already done so, check out the video clip above for an insightful commentary into his creative inspiration!

Related post: Finding comfort in portraits of Bostonians

Apr 20

Finding comfort in portraits of Bostonians

Brandon Stanton Boston 9

“He was training to be a surgeon when we got married. One night he came home from two days straight on the job, and I’d cooked him dinner. Right before he fell asleep in his plate of food, he asked me what movie I’d like to watch. I thought it was so sweet.”

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Mar 27

Inspiring black and white environmental portraits from Junku Nishimura

Film people & street photography inspiration by Junku Nishimura

Born in a small coal-mine village in 1967 in Yamaguchi prefecture, western Japan, Junku Nishimura lived there until he was 18.

After studying Latin American affairs at college in Kyoto, Junku worked as a club DJ, a construction worker and later got a job with a cement manufacturing company, working in tunnel construction sites across the country as a concrete expert.

With a Leica in his hand, he started photographing the places where he worked. After 18 years, Junku quit his job, travelling the world to make photographs. Today he is a freelance photographer based in Nagoya and Yamaguchi.

Of his intimate environmental portraits and street photography, Junku says:

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Mar 6

Be inspired by smartphone photographer Dilshad Corleone

Take three minutes to check out this inspirational, well-shot video featuring some great advice from smartphone photographer Dilshad Corleone about shooting, composing and telling a story with an image.

Of his practice, Dilshad says…

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