Web Profiles

www.connorwalbergphoto.com
Connor Walberg is a 21-year-old photographer who lives in Vail, Colorado. I don’t know the guy but was overwhelmed by his ability to go for the shot as is well evidenced by the contents of the five galleries showcased on this low-key website. Visit his “Architectural Gallery” to view what most people think of as “Colorado” homes but are the kind that most people in Colorado don’t live in. His skill is demonstrated in the way he balances indoor lighting with the outdoor scene so you see what’s inside the house and a view that shows why it’s in Colorado. His ski shots are anything but traditional, starting with a dazzling shot of someone jumping a Stop sign—the snow almost reaches the top of the pole—at night! Even the skiing images executed in more conventional locations are exciting and shot with wide angle lenses that let you know he was in the middle of the action when he captured these exhilarating photographs.

© 2009, Connor Walberg, All Rights Reserved

It seems that everybody in Colorado has a bike. Heck, I’ve got two. Walberg gets on the trails to capture off-road cycling like I never have seen using a Nikon SB-800 flash mounted on a tree to create a natural sunlit look on the rider that also makes the rider pop out of the photograph. Walberg is so far into the action with his kayaking shots that he has to get soaking wet. Mixed in with lots of interesting kayaking photographs are a few that will blow your mind. He takes a breath from time to time to shoot scenic images and he tries to, sometimes successfully, integrate it with his kinetic style of image capture. All of these images are produced with the kind of technical mastery you’d never expect from a photographer this young. Walberg is clearly a future photographic superstar.

www.scottbeanphoto.com
Scott Bean’s cleanly designed website features information on how to order prints and an anthology of seven photo galleries, each of which contain several collections of images. I had to check out his “Infrared (IR) and Black & White” gallery that contains portfolios of “straight” monochrome photographs along with IR black and white and color photographs. The “Black and White” gallery, which also includes color effects, contains landscape images that vary from imaginative (“Native Rock Scenic Byway, Kansas”) to awe-inspiring (“Pillsbury Crossing, KS”) to prove that even the most amazing images can be produced from the simplest subjects if you apply the right amount of creativity. The monochrome IR gallery contains architectural and landscape images, while the color IR gallery has just a few, but notable images. (Author’s Note: Color digital IR is different from the effects produced by Kodak’s Ektachrome Professional Infrared EIR film and has a softer, more pastel look.)

© 2008, Scott Bean, All Rights Reserved

Bean’s panoramic images, including a wonderful digital IR photograph made in Riley County, Kansas, exude the peacefulness that seems to inhabit his best work, demonstrating that perhaps here, in America’s heartland, you can find Marcus Aurelius’ “quieter or more untroubled retreat.” That’s another reason you should view the three collections in the “Kansas” gallery. Start with images from the Flint Hills, where Bean lives. These images have a tranquility that to visitors to this site living in big, congested cities might seem as if they were made on another planet. But this is a planet you’ll want to visit and Bean is your tour guide using his subtle images that instead of shouting, “look at me,” whisper to just “look.”