Tommy Ingberg

Tommy Ingberg

Tommy Ingberg was born in sweden in 1980 and is a self-taught photographer and visual artist. He works with photography and digital image editing, creating minimalistic and self-reflecting surreal photo montages which deal with human nature, feelings and thoughts.

Tommy leaves the interpretation of his work up to the viewers of his works but says in his artist for his series called "reality rearranged", "For me, surrealism is about trying to explain something abstract like a feeling or a thought, expressing the subconscious with a picture. The Reality Rearranged series is my first try at describing reality trough surrealism. During the two and a half years I have worked on the series I have used my own inner life, thoughts and feelings as seeds to my pictures. In that sense the work is very personal, almost like a visual diary. Despite this subjectiveness in the process I hope that the work can engage the viewer in her or his own terms. I want the viewers to produce their own questions and answers when looking at the pictures, my own interpretations are really irrelevant in this context. "

He has received international recognition and his work shown in numerous publications and receiving awards and honorable mentions from many different competitions including International Photography Awards.

Tommy has been creating since  he was a child. He's had  an early fascination with cameras. At some point he chose photography and ever since then he has been constantly photographing. However there was a point in Tommy's life where slowly and without really noticing it, he lost direction and began spiraling downwards until in his late twenties finally hit "some sort of bottom". 

 Deep down in his own personal "abyss" he found what art is for him. He started creating pictures. He stopped trying to make what others thought was “art” or “good photography” and made pictures just for himself.  By crossing that line he felt free to tell his stories, and by crossing the line from photography into photo montages he had the tools to do so.

In this he found something he loved doing and something he could be proud of. He found a purpose. It has not been an easy journey, life seldom is, but I’ve kept on climbing.He believes this is the awesome thing about life. Without the bad you can’t have the really good. He believes without living through the bad things, he would not have found his art.

This is his artist statement for his art series called; Solitaire

"Solitaire" is my second series of surreal pictures after "Reality Rearranged". In this series I keep exploring how to visualize abstract concepts like feelings or thoughts, how to express the subconscious with pictures. 

I think "Solitaire" is a suitable title for this kind of work. The stuff that goes on inside your mind, like your thoughts, feelings, hopes, dreams and decision-making are something that in its essence is yours alone. It is a game you play by yourself, like a game of solitaire. 

Despite this I do think the concepts and thoughts born in self reflection are universal for all of us, we all carry the same set of feelings inside us, and we all in our own way search for answers, trying to make sense of life, the world and being. 
I want my pictures to connect to the viewer on this basic level and invite to reflection and I hope you can find something in them that in some way connects to your own game of solitaire.

http://www.ingberg.com/default.aspx?Page=view_artwork&PID=52

Post by Jackie

Gregory Crewdson

Gregory Crewdson is an American photographer known for his contemporary style of photographic art, which is often referred to as narratives. Crewdson states ‘I think my pictures are really about a kind of tension between my need to make a perfect picture and the impossibility of doing so.’ (Susan Bright. ‘Art Photography Now’. Page 80-83.) The photographs are modern, futuristic and supernatural and Susan Bright describes his photos as having an ‘almost claustrophobic calmness’. (Susan Bright. ‘Art Photography Now’. Page 80-83.) I find Crewdson’s work contemporary, unique, and mystifying.

Untitled (Brief Encounter)
Image from Art Blart (http://artblart.com/tag/gregory-
crewdson-untitled-brief-encounter/)

An interview with Gregory Crewdson, posted on YouTube, showed the ‘making of’ one of his photographs called Untitled (Brief Encounter) and his thoughts on the image. Crewdson said that ‘the picture’s residing on this thing that almost doesn’t exist, like this moment in between moments.’ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RywAfP4KFcY) He also said that ‘it’s finding meaning through light. I’m always interested in intentions. A primary one is that collision between the familiar and the strange. I think that exists in all of my pictures and an unexpected sense of mystery or strangeness or beauty.’ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RywAfP4KFcY)

Untitled, Summer 2006
Image from Gagosian Gallery
(http://www.gagosian.com/artists/gregory-crewdson)

Untitled, Summer 2006 is another example of Crewdson’s work which portrays mystical and contemporary aspects. When viewing this photo, the eye is drawn to the boy standing in the misty light. The surrounding bush and dark tree trunks which naturally frame the photo, draw the viewer’s gaze upwards to the bridge and light source, which also appears to be the boy’s focus.

Crewdson goes to great lengths to design the perfect sets for his photos; he states that ‘my first impulse is to make the most beautiful picture I can.’ (Susan Bright. ‘Art Photography Now’. Page 80-83.) A design element used in Untitled (Brief Encounter) is lead in lines. An oblique line is located along the side of the street and the top of the building, which implies movement and direction. Another line in the foreground curves round a building and continues down the footpath, eventually merging with another line from the building’s roofline. The car’s tracks in the snow are curved lead in lines, which draws the viewer’s vision towards the receding car. All lead in lines appear to eventually join at a focal point below the movie theatre sign. The way I see this image, Crewdson’s intended point of focus is not actually the car but the wording written in the sign - Brief Encounter. Brief Encounters is actually the title of his movie that has been ‘filmed over a decade’. (http://www.gregorycrewdsonmovie.com/about/)

Untitled (Brief Encounter)
Image from Art Blart
(http://artblart.com/tag/gregory-crewdson-untitled-brief-encounter/)
Lines and words added by Chelsea

Interesting angles and lighting are two other design elements that are noticeable in this image. The angles are evident on the guttering, buildings and supporting arms of the traffic lights. Another point of interest to note, is that amongst the numerous straight lines there are two dominant curved lines – the car’s tracks in the snow. This helps to break the ‘strict’ straight lines and evokes a sense of quietness and direction. Crewdson also choreographs light and illuminates certain points of significance. There is noticeable light illuminating the tattoo shop, the walls of the distant building, traffic lights, street lights, car’s head lights and the two solitary figures. The positioning of light at the tattoo shop might indicate a brief encounter that marks one for life, and traffic lights, positioned on orange, might indicate how some people make cautious decisions in life. Highlighting the two figures could suggest a brief encounter at the restaurant which resulted in their parting.

Untitled (Brief Encounter) also incorporates the use of texture. Crewdson worked in cooperation with the town which resulted in the main street being closed to allow snow to accumulate. This has created a natural texture of fallen snow, and allowing the car tracks to remain, creating a brief encounter.

The ‘cool’ colours in the photo consist of mainly blues, greens and greys. These colours are receding and create a dull and eerie mood. Even though these cool colours are somewhat gloomy, they work well together as they are harmonious colours. It is also interesting to note the chosen colour of clothing for the lady seated in the restaurant. Her red shirt works well as it complements the blue-green surroundings and provides contrast within the image.

Untitled (Brief Encounter) is a unique image when compared to more typical photographs. This image still, however, uses different elements of design to portray the tranquillity, yet eeriness of the image. As Crewdson states: ‘the picture’s residing on this thing that almost doesn’t exist, like this moment in between moments.’ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RywAfP4KFcY) These combined elements create unity and balance within the photographed image.

These are a few more photographs by Gregory Crewdson:

Untitled, Winter 2006
Image from Gagosian Gallery
(http://www.gagosian.com/artists/gregory-crewdson)

Untitled, Summer 2006
Image from Gagosian Gallery
(http://www.gagosian.com/artists/gregory-crewdson)

Production Still Untitled (Trailer Park #5)
Image from Gagosian Gallery
(http://www.gagosian.com/artists/gregory-crewdson)

Posted by Chelsea

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.