Photographer Profiles

Known as a master of combining art in the traditional sense with photography, Chiarenza has been making pictures for five decades. He started out with tightly framed, documentary-style photographs that sparked a lifelong interest in abstract images and landscapes. But since 1979 he has been making collages out of scraps of paper, foil, can lids, and whatever else he finds or people send him. He then photographed the collages with Polaroid positive/negative film, always in black and white. Using light, shapes, forms, and surfaces, the results are very unique images that encourage the viewer to let his or her imagination do all the interpretation.

Some people think of Man Ray strictly as a photographer but those familiar with his broad body of work recognize him as a sculptor, artist and filmmaker as well. Born Emmanuel Radnitzky in Philadelphia in 1901, Ray’s eclectic background helped him reinvent photography as a significant force in the Dadaist and Surrealist movements.

Dan Root is a buddy of mine who is always doing something interesting photographically. His most recent project is a mind-bending series of black-and-white photos called Quadratis.

Everyone loves B&W photography and most shooters appreciate great sports and architectural imagery too. But how often have you seen images like these that combine the best of all three genres?

Were he alive today, 19^th-century pointillism pioneer Georges Seurat might resent the comparison, but here’s a weird “multipoint pinhole camera” made from thousands of drinking straws that creates images that really do resemble the pointillist paintings of yesteryear.

Without a camera in his hand, Josiah Launstein looks like any other 13-year-old. But while boys his age are watching video games, cruising around on skateboards, or trying to impress girls, this talented kid is out in the field shooting truly epic wildlife photos.

Amateur photographer Colin Lowe is serious about pinhole photography, and he’s also pretty keen about constructing his own cameras. For this project the Australian made a working, “edible” camera from a potato, a tomato paste can, two 35mm film canisters and a refrigerator magnet.