Photographers


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"I was drawn to Red Hook with its edgy, worn landscapes, its ubiquitous rust, and the extraordinary quality of its light. Some years ago, while taking pictures there, I came upon an old barge moored in a small inlet in the harbor." And so begins William King's story of a Brooklyn man and his barge.

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"This photographic portfolio focuses on the maritime activities and maintenance performed by Captain David Sharps with the aid of friends and volunteers aboard the Lehigh Valley barge. The story highlights float repair, spinning the barge, and barge assessment regarding dry-dock mandated by the US Coast Guard."

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"The 101 year old Lehigh Valley barge is a historic landmark and working museum. Due to the efforts and dedication of Captain David Sharps, with his many friends and volunteers, the Lehigh Valley is the last remaining example of the Hudson River Railroad barges."

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Words and images © William King 


This barge museum also holds music and other events. Check out their schedule.
Also: don't miss William's "Brooklyn Trolleys"

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Carlos Alomar, guitar with David Bowie since the 1970s © Leland Bobbé

Veteran New York photographer Leland Bobbé is making a series of the unsung heroes of music - the back-up musicians. Portrayed in simple, frank, black and white portraits, it's a glimpse at the poor drummer who's never seen, and other hard-working jobbers you might vaguely recognize.

Let's give them some props!

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Liberty Devitto, drummer with Billy Joel for 30 years

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Lenny Kaye, guitar player with Patti Smith since the 1970s

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Ricky Byrd, guitar with Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee

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Gene Cornish, guitar and vocals from The Rascals, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee

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Carmine Appice, father of heavy metal drumming with Vanilla Fudge. Played with Rod Stewart and Jeff Beck. Co-wrote the Rod Stewart hits, "Do You Think I'm Sexy?" and "Young Turks."

All images © Leland Bobbé

Be sure to also check out "Half Drag," Leland's fabulous and well-loved series of half made-up drag queens. 

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Fabulously simple series with a strong impact! Jeff Alu's been waiting patiently for this blog post.... thank you Jeff! According to his bio, he once spent a number of years working at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, CA. As one does.

"The Lucerne Valley in drought-stricken California is a unique desert location containing not only many abandoned buildings, but also a housing project/golf course site that was halted mid-construction due to funding problems."

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"These shots were taken on a single visit, during a passing storm which allowed for varying lighting conditions."  Jeff Alu

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All images © Jeff Alu

According to Wikipedia, Lucerne Valley is a census-designated place located in the Mojave Desert of western San Bernardino County, California. It lies east of the Victor Valley, whose population nexus includes Victorville, Apple Valley, Adelanto and Hesperia. The population was 5,811 at the 2010 census.


Just 15 minutes, to remind you of what's important.

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Nanette Rae Freeman is an inspiration this week. She submitted this series of still life photographs of blown-out tires that she made, which helped deal with the death of her husband of 25 years in a road accident. Big respect to you, Nanette. 

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"My husband was killed on July 18, 2011, on a motorcycle speeding down the Dan Ryan Expressway on his way to work. In the wake of this unfathomable loss, I began to find fascination in the remains of blown out tires on the expressway. One day the violent energy of a blow out jolted me to the point that I felt compelled to stop and retrieve it. I finally had something tangible that evoked feelings of trauma, violence and even death. I found a surprising comfort in the physicality of the mangled tire. It connected me to my husband, Fred, whose body and mind I lost in this harrowing accident."

"For this body of work, I've been employing found blown-out tire shreds to document them as a photographic material. I photograph them in a way that exemplifies their physical features which helps me interpret and transform them. The rendering of rich textures aims to inspire memories of skin, hair and other humanizing elements - elements torn and obliterated from their former shape, which is very much like the relationship I now share with my husband."

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British photographer Mark Griffiths photographed eight children from Belarus taking a month-long recuperative trip to Pembrokeshire in Wales, U.K., thanks to Life Line children's charity in Chernobyl.  

The 1986 Chernobyl nuclear plant meltdown was the biggest nuclear catastrophe in world history. Now apparently "85 per cent of Belarusian children are deemed to be Chernobyl victims: they carry "genetic markers" that could affect their health at any time and can be passed on to the next generation. A vicious cycle that unfortunately could continue for hundreds if not thousands of years." 

Mark told me "Clean air and uncontaminated land can reduce radiation levels in their immune system by up to 68 per cent which helps fight illnesses and diseases and can add years to their lives."

Since they started in 1992, Life Line has brought 46,000 children over to stay with host families. 

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All images © Mark Griffiths

More from Life Line:
"Before this tragic event, Belarus was known as the breadbasket of Russia, with a stable economy. Now the people live with radiation all around them. They drink contaminated water and wash with it. There is very little to eat in Belarus and what there is, has a high chance of being contaminated. The compromised food chain means that they now have to import a high proportion of their foodstuffs. The most disadvantaged have no option but to eat crops grown in the contaminated earth - a vicious cycle.

The Chernobyl Children's Life Line looks after children who are ill, organising respite breaks to Great Britain to give them a chance to live in a "clean" environment and eat uncontaminated foods for a month. During their stay all of the children receive medical attention such as dental care and having their eyes tested."

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Norm Diamond was among my reviewees at the wonderful Photolucida portfolio event in April, 2015. His wistful, and sometimes puzzling, photographs from "What's Left Behind" are made at estate sales.

"Estate sales are commonplace in America. They frequently take place in homes once lived in by the elderly, who have since died or moved on to a nursing home. Their children hire companies to catalog and sell their parents' possessions," saith he. 

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"After getting past the massive arrays of dishes, furniture, and jewelry, one can find poignant mementos of strangers' lives. Reminders of life's finite cycle are present everywhere. They make me think of my parents and the possessions they left for my sister and me.

"I take pictures during the sales themselves. At first I was self-conscious about shooting, but after a while I realized no one seems to mind. Shoppers and sellers are much more interested in buying and selling. I also sometimes purchase items at the sales and photograph them in another setting with better lighting and background."

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All images © Norm Diamond

Norm plans to continue with this series, and I think people will be fascinated, and relate to the photographs. Perhaps they may make a person reconsider how much stuff they are holding on to, and how whomever is left behind will have to cope.

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British photographer John Paul Evans' bodies of work take a sideways look at traditional representations of marriage - "performative responses to the history of the wedding portrait in western art" - and feature himself and his husband, Peter. 

You can see some of Evans' photographs right now, as part of the Pride Photo Awards at Foam Museum of Photography in Amsterdam, July 31st to August 20th, 2015.

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This image is a finalist in this year's Hasselblad Masters of Photography Award in the 'wedding' category.

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All images © John Paul Evans

Evans is pretty prolific - check out lots more over on his website.

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Gabriela Herman's portrait series features sons and daughters of gay parents. The Kids get a chance to tell their stories as part of the project - some of them are pretty surprising, some are funny, all of them are interesting. Gabriela began the project before the US Supreme Court ruled on same-sex marriage, addressing this strange question about whether it is in kids' interest to be raised by two people of the same sex...

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Elizabeth

I asked 'Are you gay?' and he says 'Well, I haven't had any experiences to be sure.' And I think the next words out of my mouth were, 'Dad, I'm pretty sure you're gay.'

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Hope

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Kerry

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Moshe

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Danielle
All images ©  Gabriela Herman

Read and hear the rest of their stories here.  

Props to Gabriella and the "kids" for their collaboration, and my personal props to my dear friend Jenny Laden, one of the founders of a camp for children of gay parents some moons ago; I believe their chosen collective noun was "Queerspawn"! Read Jenny's story here.

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Another photographer scored at Photolucida portfolio reviews. Bangalore-based Archana Vikram asked women between the ages of 35 and 55 to bring her five objects that hold important memories for them. 

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Vikram says: "The series seeks to convey the deeper connection betweens the "things" we hold dear and who we are. The nuances depicted by each object in a frame and how and why it was one of the five things treasured by each subject were fascinating. The essence of each personality isn't the object or group of objects in each frame but its significance to the subject or the memory or experience it calls to their mind."

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What would you choose? 

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All images © Archana Vikram

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