I had the pleasure to meet Doug recently and I saw his images of the series Open During Construction (the same ones that he took for the portfolio reviews). I can say that the prints of his work on China’s urban landscape are truly outstanding. I am not surprised that he got a very positive feedback at the reviews.

When I get a bit of time I will write more about different options that are available for portfolio reviews.

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©Madam Peripetie [pseudonym]Péripétie, from Geek ?????????? (peripeteia): means usually in the epic poem, a novel, a piece of theater, anything that changes the situation and takes in an action, the situation of the characters and the related interest, a kind of revolution.

… it means a turning point and shows how much photography changed my live and my perception of the world. – Madam Peripetie

Exploring possibilities is both a source and a consequence of creativity. With time that exploration evolves the vision of the artist into a path that defines his/her personal style. Those times, when anything is possible and there are no boundaries, are one of the most intriguing phases in the career of a young photographer. I had the pleasure to learn about the work of one young photographer exploring her path to be the artist that will be: Madame Peripetie , a photographer located in Germany.Madame Peripetie was kind to share a description of her background and photographic interest as well as the inspiration for some of projects she has worked on.

My pictures cover lots of different themes and styles. I am trying things out, exploring various fields of photography as it helps me to understand this medium and myself and how certain things could appear on the film or on the chip. Since I started taking pictures I was overwhelmed with surrealistic depiction of reality, where you are allowed to invent your own “outsiderisms” and “strangities”, without needing to explain them and you just play different roles just like in a theater. I studied applied linguistics before but I knew I was at the wrong place and something was missing all the time. I’ve always had these weirdest dreams and loved daydreaming a lot and I wished myself I could somehow depict these small dream worlds. – Madame Peripetie

©Madam Peripetie

Dark illumiation is a photo series I started by accident, walking home at night through the dark park. The only source of light was the sky that illuminated the trees and made them stand out of the darkness like individuals that got stranded and had nowhere to go. I noticed that every tree has its own posture, its own personality – some kind of a second life after dawn. I wanted to depict them as individualists, personalities with different lifestyles and characters. I was using a medium strong flash to expose the structure of the leaves/needles and branches on the one hand but hide the background on the other. Some of the trees are two characters blended together constructing something new.- Madame Peripetie

©Madam Peripetie

[from the Interiors series]

Interiors is a ‘place exploration’ with the camera that slides through the space, the corners the floor and explores it bit by bit. It’s similar to a scanning process of the blind person who tries to get a feeling of security by touching different objects or faces. It’s a kind of touching the place bit by bit with the camera and ‘explaining’ it to somebody who has never been there without showing the whole room or revealing everything straightaway.-Madame Peripetie

©Madam Peripetie

[from the anti-portraits series]

I like my white anti-portraits series quite a lot. It’s my tribute to dada and its anti-art statement. It’s not important who the depicted people are – what is crucial, is the process of disembodiment that takes place by covering the whole face with different objects. All of the sudden you cant see the face that expresses personality feelings and emotions- it becomes a new construction – a kind of sculpture or anti-faceless portrait – an anti-portrait. It’s an experiment with the form and structure, a kind of revulsion and rebellion against the modern society where everybody looks the same and become a part of a mass-culture. The series is developing and new pictures are coming soon. It became my desire to create my own disturbing worlds and spaces and wanted the viewers to react to my work with anxiety, tension and puzzlement. -Madame Peripetie

I don’t like repeating myself in any way although it happens that a certain idea is invading my mind over and over again and I feel a strong overwhelming desire to implement it as soon as possible. But the most significant thing is to tell a story to make it feel like something had already happened before the picture and would happen even after that. The pictures need to have certain suspense in them and always a slightly macabre tone. Crime scenes, surrealism, pop art and film noir strongly combined with myriad of pieces of clothing and accessories – it is that what makes them captivating and irresistible. -Madame Peripetie

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This is a very interesting site I discovered reading the blog of Daniel Shea.

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The Ones We Love is a project highlighting young and talented photographers from around the world. each artist contributed six photographs of the person who is most important to them, taken outdoors in a natural setting. The goal of the site is to portrait people who are loved, cherished, and inspirational to these artists, and also showcase the differences and similarities in the photographs each of them took within the same guidelines.

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Sometimes photographers take an “I could have done that” attitude when it comes to talent in this industry, but honestly, you can’t.- A Photo Editor

How many times have you told yourself “I could have done that” when seeing pictures from others photographers?

There is a difference between thinking and doing; the last is the ultimate proof that “you could have done that”. Never mind that when you saw the image it was done already … by someone else … but could you have created the image before seeing it?

There is something else to photography than being able to take the picture, it is about the creation of the image, the visualization. So next time it is better to say “I could have created that” … or perhaps you couldn’t.

How many photographers are required to change a light bulb?

50 photographers … one that actually changes the light bulb and 49 others that say they could have done that!

Next time go and change the bulb yourself.

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I thought some of you may be interested in knowing that iconic Magnum photographer, David Alan Harvey, is offering a grant/stipend of $5000 (US dollars) to an “exceptional” photographer to help support their personal work.

I announce now, to the readers of this forum [Road Trip], the offering of a $5,000. (u.s. dollars) stipend/grant for one exceptional photographer to help support their personal work…..this will be based on the photographs being sent to me now…. the deadline for sending work will now be extended to November 15, 2007….this will be based entirely on work produced between July 15, 2007 and the closing date…..the stipend will be awarded by December 15, 2007…Merry Christmas!! (David Alan Harvey).

David has become a very active blogger, running a number of blogs related with his work and photography (Road Trip, Workshops, Work in Progress, and Family/Friends). No only his blogs are a source of knowledge and inspiration, but they have created a community that is driving his interest in creating a non-profit fund to help young photographers execute their dream personal work. Good luck to you if you decide to submit your work!

as you know, i am in the process of creating a non-profit fund so that i can provide funding for some of you to go out and do the work you love….so, this symbolic stipend is coming backwards from the way i eventually want to work…this stipend is coming at the end for many of your projects, rather than at the beginning…but, i just wanted to do something now…it just feels right, that’s all… (read more at David’s blog).

If this is not enough, David is teaching a workshop in Bangkok with another legendary photographer, James Nachtwey, between November 24th to November 30th, 2007. Quite a unique opportunity to learn/work with two of the best documentary photographers of our time.

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© Edmund Leveckis

I am traveling so limited access to internet. Few minutes to squeeze in and refer to a photoblog with quite special work. Very unique style of photography, dark, creative, mysterious and always surprising. This is the photoblog journal, the work by Edmund Leveckis. When you look at his images, you can’t fail but to wonder about the subjects. That sense of enigma is magnetic.

Take a look to his three series, subway I and II and memory drift.

© Edmund Leveckis

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© Jörg M Colberg

Always a fascinating source of inspiring photography, interesting readings and smart comments. I have not figured out how it is possible for J.M. Colberg to keep his photoblog so active and so charming while working full time as a scientist and building his own excellent body of photographic work … but this is the skill of the great ones and Conscientious is the reference photoblog for all of us. Thanks indeed for referring Exposure Compensation in the list of favourite photoblogs.

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© Amy Stein

Amy Steim series are interesting and beautiful. This image is from the series “stranded“. Her work has been selected to be exhibited at PhotoEspaña2007, May 3rd-July 22nd (Madrid). She also publishes a very interesting blog with frequent updates of her own work.

Stranded is a meditation on the tension and desolation found on the shoulders of America’s highways and interstates. My photos challenge the viewer to slow down and witness scenes of futility playing out in an uneasy and alien space. Within these photos we see the faces of people stranded and evidence of lives broken down or lost on the side of the road. These moments occur in full view of hundreds of people speeding past, yet the images tell a solemn story of personal detachment and individual isolation from the broader society. The work functions as a statement on contemporary America and the tenuousness of faith we place in technology, community, and traditional institutions of support.

For this series I spend weeks at a time driving across America looking for and photographing stranded motorists.-Amy Stein

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I have been a regular of the photoblog published by Andrew Hefter, a very young photographer, only 17, and making really excellent work. You will see in his bio that just after two years taking pictures he has made large inroads winning many awards… including being nominated for the Photobloggies 2007 awards under the category “Best under 18 photoblog”. You can enjoy the excellent photography of Andrew at his blog, and the galleries at his deviantArt, Flickr, GFXartist, and Art Limited accounts.

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“Luna-Sea” by Tyler Nixon

Browsing the net I found the photography of Tyler Nixon, a communications designer and photographer that is creating an outstanding body of work as shown in his [exquisitely designed] photoblog “wink”. His images are charming and creative but what it caught my attention is the consistency of the style of his images. You can enjoy his excellent work at “wink”, VFXY and his Flickr gallery.

My interest in photography is rooted in applications both inherent and environmental. Inherently I’ve been drawn to the visual realm, at an early age I developed a passion for painting which led to more structured forms of expression in graphic design, art direction and eventually photography. I believe my environment (specifically my relationship with my partner, a professional photographer) has enabled me to evolve my technical abilities which has resulted in a competence and confidence in my picture-making.

I started my photo-journal as a forum to share and learn from others, but mostly as a means of motivation in the pursuit of creating art and executing my ideas. I’m inspired by the authentic and absurd, by interesting juxtapositions of subjects, the stillness in a moment and by the vast beauty all around us. Furthermore I am interested in capturing these moments and finding meaning in the small details. The titles I use expand on my initial intentions, drawing an emotional thread to the viewer.- Tyler Nixon

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