Alastair Magnaldo

Lumieres Eternelles

Alastair Magnaldo is a Contemporary photographer based in France. Magnaldo encountered photography at the age of ten when he was captivated by light-influenced black and white prints. Armed with a Voigtländer and a handheld light-meter, Magnaldo made his first steps on the long and winding road of Black and White photography. Since then, Magnaldo has kept a vision of photography filled with light and has been trying to express it in most of his compositions. Magnaldo has a luminous vision of photography remained in him that he tries to reproduce in most of his compositions. Colour only being used to reinforce an atmosphere.


Magnaldo collection is based around the theme of Dream and Creation. It takes Magnaldo 7 hours to produce one of his compositions. However, some pictures he creates can span over two years, waiting for the ideal scenery. An example of one of Magnaldo's pictures that took 2 years to create was Moonset.

Moonset

However, the seven hours of computer work is used for half an hour of scanning, six hours for all the computer work and half an hour to print. In an interview, Magnaldo was asked if he works exclusively for the print. His response was "Yes. It's harder, every detail shows on a 40 x 40 print, but it's more rewarding." When creating the pictures, they are all thought out before the computer assembling starts. Magnaldo always writes down the ideas, sketch the scenes, and makes lists of elements he needs. If it's related to the scenery, it often means waiting for the ideal situation.

The transparency in Magnaldo's photographs is what marks him as the author. When someone looks at them, they feel lightness, magic, mystic, dream. An unbelievably parallel world. Where there is sorcery, realisation of the wishes but there is also melancholy, loneliness and nostalgia for someone or something. On them, there are always open doors towards some other world, ropes that pull back the clouds or whose end goes to the infinity, towards something unknown. All of Magnaldo's photographs tell a story.

Le reparateur

A l`origine

"Photography chose me, not the other way round. I didn't really have any other choice!" - Alastair Magnaldo.

To see more of Alastair Magnaldo work, go to this website. http://www.almagnus.com/

Posted By Jess.

Robby Cavanaugh

Dissension of Pyre

Robby Cavanaugh is a well known self taught photographer who is based in Southern California. Cavanaugh strives to create work that transcend the reality we all see, to a reality we can all feel. Cavanaugh's vision for his photography lies on the edge of dreams, where the surreal meets material. Cavanaugh has said that "Photography is a beautiful expression of art and a gateway to the soul." 

Cavanaugh's journey began when he got a job at a local photography studio. Once he started, Cavanaugh found out his true potential and decided to buy his own digital camera. Cavanaugh has created amazing photographs and has made them into what one may perceive as imaginary, but Cavanaugh sees as realities in all of us. He said that "It is my goal to transcend the reality we all see, to the reality we all feel."

All of Cavanaugh's photographs have a purpose, a reason for being. They are extensions of who Cavanaugh is and how he interprets the world we all live in. Cavanaugh said "I tend to create work that resolves conflicts within myself, whether escaping to a world anew, breaking from the norm, or transcending the artificial limits I place upon myself. No matter how impossible a concept may seem, I never let it limit my ability to express the story I need to tell. "If you can think it, it can be done" I use that ideology as a basis for all of my work."
I believe that Cavanaugh has captured his concept in his work. As these images will show.

The Tangled Flight

Never Could Sleep

Spontaneous Combustion

However, Cavanaugh doesn't just create Fine Art photography. Cavanaugh is also a Wedding photographer. He said "I felt a deep desire to expand my knowledge and was intrigued by wedding photography. There is something very special about weddings. Not one is the same and each has it's very own unique feel. If I had any goals with wedding photography it is just one, to create beautiful images"  Which I believe Cavanaugh has achieved.

 








If you want to check out more of his work or even get in contact with Cavanaugh, here is his website. http://www.robbycavanaugh.com/







Posted By Jess

Erik Johansson

Erik Johansson is a well known photographer who has inspired many people. I've only just recently discovered Johansson's work and immediately fell in love and became inspired by his talent and unique style. Johansson creates surreal photographs and portrays them in a realistic way with a touch of humor. Johansson is self taught in both photography and retouching and has been working with clients such as Google, Adobe and Microsoft. I am inspired by how far Johansson has come from being a self taught photographer and he has inspired me to try new techniques with my photographs.

Set Them Free

A few examples of his work are; Cover up, Drifting Away, Expecting Winter and Set Them Free. Only to name a few. The first photograph I saw of his that caught my eye was Set Them Free. I never knew it was by Johansson. But once I found out who it was by, it inspired me to research him some more.

Here's a little more about him. Johansson is a full time photographer and retoucher from Sweden based in Berlin, Germany. Johansson has worked on both personal and commissioned projects and he sometimes creates street illusions. Johansson has stated " I don't capture moments, I capture ideas."  Johansson has always been a creative person. From an early age Johansson has liked to draw. He also became interest in computers which allowed him to escape into other worlds. At the age of 15, Johansson received his first digital camera which opened up a new world for him. Johansson has said "Being used to drawing, it felt quite strange to be done after capturing a photo, it wasn't the process of creating something in the same way. Having an interest in computers, it made it quite a natural step to start playing around with the photos and creating something that you couldn't capture with the camera. It was a great way of learning, learning by trying."

Johansson moved to Gothenburg in 2005 to study Computer Engineering at Chalmers University of Technology. During his time there, Johansson took up his interest of retouching. Johansson published some work online and started to get request about commissioned work. Johansson started out freelancing in parallel with his studies. Once completing his studies, Johansson graduated with a Master in Interaction Design. After that, Johansson wanted to try the photography path and move to the Eastern part of Sweden and worked full time as a freelance photographer. In 2012 Johansson moved to Berlin. Johansson has said that " Berlin is a very artistic city, with lots of inspiration."  Which is where he is based today.

Johansson has spoken at the TED conference and the Adobe MAX conference. And as mentioned before, Johansson has been working with clients such as Google, Adobe and Microsoft but his personal work and concepts will always be what's most important to him. Johansson has said that "Growing up on the Swedish countryside had a big impact on my visual style. A lot of the environments in my photos are captured near places I know, around my parents’ home with wide open landscapes and small red houses. Inspiration is everywhere and what you can imagine is what you can create. Inspire, be inspired" -Erik Johansson.

Here is some work Johansson created for Google and Adobe.

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If you would like to know more about Erik Johansson or would like to see some more of his work, check out this link. http://erikjohanssonphoto.com/

Posted By Jess.

Annie Leibovitz's Disney Portraits

Annie Leibovitz is a renowned photographer and has inspired many over the years. I began to appreciate Leibovitz’s work during art in senior school, when I came across her Disney series. Leibovitz creates and photographs beautiful and magical representations of Disney films, which are both contemporary and artistic, with hours of hard work, research and effort devoted to each shoot. I am inspired by the beautiful colours, quality of the images, and overall concept of the modern take of Disney films.

Image from Business Insider

A few examples of the Disney movies Leibovitz has photographed include Cinderella, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, Tangled and Brave. The children’s Cinderella Disney movie was released back in 1950; 50 years on, Leibovitz has been able to take a historical and well-known movie and create a fresh and contemporary interpretation of the modern Cinderella. The Cinderella photograph was the first image that captured my attention in the Disney series, and inspired me to search for more in the collection!

Those posing in the Disney scenes are famous people and actors, including Scarlett Johansson as Cinderella, Roger Federer as King Arthur, Whoopi Goldberg as Genie, Michael Phelps as Merman and Taylor Swift as Rapunzel. Using famous people and placing them into a fairy tale environment, helps viewers appreciate the well-known films with well-known people. Leibovitz’s trend or style evidenced in the Disney collection, is photographing famous people within the Disney environment, where she is able to craft a modern representation of the original Disney characters, with a special twist, to create enchanting and magical images.

Some famous people, such as Taylor Swift, can personally relate to the Disney images and scenes. In a behind the scenes movie clip, Taylor says that ‘when Disney came to me and said we want you to play Rapunzel, I think it was really like a childhood fantasy come to reality for me. It’s one of those things that seem like a once in a lifetime opportunity.’ She also goes on to say, ‘I have so many amazing memories that come from Disney because I started singing Disney songs.’ See the following link for some behind the scenes action! (http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/disney-dream-portraits/)

Image from Business Insider

When watching Disney’s behind the scenes movie clips, you appreciate the amount of time, effort and resources required for each shoot. There is a team that appears to be made up of stylists, makeup artists, costume designers and many assistants. The gear and equipment consists of cameras, tripods, triggers, studio lights, umbrellas, fans, tents, backdrops, reflectors, ladders, props, laptops and computer monitors with hoods. These movie clips also reveal that Leibovitz prefers and enjoys to shoot on-location and use movie stills from the Disney movies, as inspiration for creating and framing images. It is also evident in the final images that many hours of post-production are needed to complete the final beautiful and magical photographs.

The following link shows some more photographs from the Disney Collection:

(http://www.businessinsider.com.au/annie-leibovitz-disney-dream-ads-2014-2#beyonc-lyle-lovett-and-oliver-platt-ride-a-teacup-as-alice-the-march-hare-and-the-mad-hatter-from-alice-in-wonderland-1)

Posted by Chelsea