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Beautiful and dreamy, step into the world of jude mcconkey.
jude mcconkey bio: I’m a newspaper photographer by trade, but a fine art photographer by desire. I love using photoshop to enhance my work and prefer dreamy, intense, and yes, even creepy images full of emotion.
Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, I now live in the wilds of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where the winters are long and hard.
D.S. Brennan’s photographs are unlike other photographs of nature in that they seem to focus on the subject matter with a microscopic eye. Inspecting what is fascinating to the woman behind the camera. While the focus is on realistic images of nature the color adds a whimsical quality, giving the photographer her signature.
She fluctuates from muted hues…
…to bold bursts of color
Brennan creates a balance between subject and color. One doesn’t over power the other. Where the dragonflies are in tones of sepia we can pay more attention to the detail in their wings, noting how well they were preserved. But the contrast of colors in the dogwood photo shows the life behind the blossom. They burst from the jewel-like sky with deep pink life.
Diana has a great series of work from the Museum of Natural History and Planetarium of Roger Williams Park in Providence, Rhode Island. This may be one of my favorites from that series. Not only are we able to study some wonderfully preserved seaweed, we are able to see the hand of the woman who lovingly preserved her finds from a day at the beach. Who do you think this collection is for? Or is it just a private journal?
Brennan doesn’t limit herself to just depicting the details of nature. She focuses on the big picture too fluctuating from larger themes in nature, leading us into the nooks and crannies to find our own treasures.
While other times, she reminds us to have child-like fun, giving us a quick reminder of good times frolicking at the beach.
I love the range of subject matter we are given by D.S. Brennan’s photographs. We are reminded that sometimes we need to step back and take in the big picture while others we are shown the fine details you can take in if you take it slow.
But most of all, we are reminded that daily life can be celebrated. Beauty is found in the mundane.
For more samples of D.S. Brennan’s work take a look at her shop, flickr and website. Give yourself time to browse, there is a lot of beauty to take in.
Laura’s back :) She is a watercolor artist and blogger who is writing two columns each week. Here’s her first photography column (her first painting column was yesterday), and I know she’d appreciate any recommendations of your favorite photographers. Just leave them in the comments and welcome her to Try Handmade!
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Erika
If you are looking for beautiful inspiration, look no further. Charlane Griffith of Three Parts Whimsy will take you to a dreamy place. I was excited when she agreed to an interview about her work.
Do you prefer black and white or color?
This varies so much. I know people that are definitely in one camp or the other but with me, I started out as a strictly BW girl – Inspired by the photographers of the 40’s and 50’s – loving Ansel Adams, Henri Carter-Breeson, Dorothea Lange, Dianne Arbus and such. Who could argue with Adam’s landscapes, Bresson’s motion and the emotionality of Lange or Arbus? Their stuff can stop you in your tracks. But then…color, wow – there are just some amazing artists out there. So, like I said, on any given day I could tell you one or the other. But truthfully – I love them both.
What inspires you?
I’m all across the board with that question – light inspires me. The play of it across the trees, the landscape, someone’s face. Children because they are all out there with their emotions and they see the world in such a mixture of whimsy and then, literally too – what a beautiful combination. Colors – I take a lot photographs of flowers due to the colors. Textures – I’m a tactile person. I love the touch of different textures and I like the juxtaposition of contrasting textures. And then, odd things that are out of their normal environment.
How important is lighting/ composition in your work?
Lighting is everything. I’m constantly intrigued and enraptured by watching the light play on various things throughout my day. The right light can make the ugliest thing beautiful under the right circumstances.
I always play with composition – because I work during the week, and most daylight hours, I love to set up vignettes/still lifes. My room mate teases me about my ‘studio’ corner – he never knows what he’s going to find sitting about there. But…seriously, that window gets the best light.
What kind of camera is your favorite? What do you use?
I’m a Canon girl all the way – it’s funny how the photography world works. Most people tend to pick a brand and are completely loyal to it. It’s rare that photographers change once they’re using an SLR/DLSR due to the lens cost. I’ve seen it…but it’s rare. So, I’m shooting mostly with a Canon 40D – I got it on sale when the 50D was released. I have the old film rebel that I had in high school but never did much with. When I decided to “be serious” about photography, I upgraded to the XTi and then the 50D. I also have an old Kodak Brownie, a 50mm SigmaTech ‘toy camera’ and have just ordered a Fuji Instapix which I’m very excited about.
Please visit Char’s wonderful blog – Ramblins and Etsy shop. Thank you so much Char for sharing your inspiration with us.
I was first bitten by the photography bug at the age of 7, during a road trip through South Dakota with my parents. For the first time, I had my very own camera and was free to record my vision of the world however and whenever I wanted; it was nothing short of thrilling. I don’t know how many pictures I took on that trip, but I do remember making frequent stops at gift shops and gas stations to stock up on more film cartridges and flashcubes (remember flashcubes??). I remember wanting to snap photos of everything I saw and, at the same time, feeling the need to ration my precious frames. Years later, I was reminded of that feeling when a high-school Graphics Art teacher put a loaded Pentax K-1000 into my hands and set me loose with just a few simple instructions. I took to it like a duck to water and my first photo-essay officially marked the start of my life-long love of, or perhaps obsession with, photography (and vintage manual cameras).
From the ancient Camera Obscuras to modern digital equipment, people have long been fascinated by the ability to capture an image. It wasn’t until the early-1800s, however, that those images could be permanently fixed onto paper. From that point, advances in photography came at a rapid-fire pace. Just 70 years after that first permanent image, Kodak put the magic into the hands of the public with their film-roll box camera, the iconic Brownie. Chiara of Celeste Frittata has Gocco-printed an image of her own vintage Brownie camera onto the journal pictured above, which contains 70 hand-torn recycled pages that have been handbound with a textured, recycled kraft paper cover.
Cameras have obviously changed quite a bit in the 110 years since the release of the Brownie, and not just in their appearance. Although the basic principal is the same – exposing light to photo-sensitive film to capture an image – new technology has made it possible for nearly everyone to create near-professional results; with a little practice, of course. As it is human nature to have the latest and greatest, the cameras that we once thought were state-of-the-art are now considered clunky and outmoded. Unlike most modern pieces of equipment that are essentially disposable, the cameras of yesterday were built to last. (In my own collection, the 50 year-old cameras are in far better condition than the 5, or even 2 year old cameras!) Rather than allow them to collect dust or (gasp!) be discarded, Ashley of Ariel Telsa has salvaged non-functioning light meters from these beautiful vintage devices to create her clever necklaces (above); while the artisan and hobby-photographer behind Focal Length Designs {previously featured} has used the focusing rings from broken camera lenses to create his fabulous upcycled cuff bracelets, like the one pictured below.
I can’t imagine a world without photographs, nor can I even begin to imagine how many have been taken in the century-plus since the invention of roll-film. Now that digital photography is the norm, we no longer have to worry about those pesky negatives*, but what about the ones that are already out there? For years, I used old negatives as bookmarks, but that can’t really be considered “upcycling”, especially when you see what Hypho has done with hers. Inspired by a trip to the seaside, she took her extra negatives and transformed them into this stunning, one-of-a-kind mixed-media necklace (pictured below).
*Even if you do use “real” film, most photofinishers will scan your photos onto a disc for you, either for free or for a very nominal fee.
The awesome upcycled postcard at the top was made from a damaged/discarded book and is available in the Bamboo Village shop.
Matthew Parker is a photographer with a distinctive point of view, and an incredibly unusual technique for sharing that point of view. He makes photographic collages, but don’t let the word “collage” let you think of chopped up, scattered, and randomly pasted-together images. Matthew’s photographic collages take the same time, planning, and critical decision making that any master painting would take.
Each collage starts out as a sketch. As a trained architect, Matthew is drawn to objects in the built environment, and how structures interact with their space. After sketching out how he would like his subject to appear, the camera comes out. Instead of chopping up photographs to create the individual collage elements, each piece is actually a single, complete, unaltered photograph, which was deliberately framed and angled to follow the lines of Matthew’s original sketch.
In addition to viewing his subjects through multiple angles, Matthew’s collages also add an element of time. The collages are made up of multiple photographs – more than thirty, sometimes approaching one hundred separate images – but they also span multiple time periods. Sometimes the photographs are taken over the course of a single day, or a time span of several hours. Some of the collages include images from several different months or years – all taken from the same spot, and all of the same subject.
Adding the element of time allows Matthew to portray how moods and atmosphere change over the time of day, or seasons of the year. The variations in the images allow the viewer to experience the subject in a way that a single photograph (or even a real-life visit) never could. Matthew’s collages are a totally unique way to understand and experience a subject.
Because of his background in architecture, Matthew is very drawn to the abundance of beautiful buildings in Washington DC. But one of his favorite subjects is the cherry blossoms, because the look of the blossoms change so dramatically in different light. Additionally, images of crowds are another favorite subject. People are never static, and multiple images layered on top of each other really help the viewer to feel like they are actually part of the crowd.
Matthew’s customers also love images of the cherry blossoms, probably for the same reasons he does, but also because they are such an iconic symbol of Washington, DC. If you see one you like, you need to act fast, because all the prints are limited edition, and won’t be available forever. New collages are always being planned, but there is no set schedule on when new ones will be introduced. After all, it could take years to capture all the necessary images!
Matthew is currently working on a collage of the tidal basin that has already been three years in the making. It’s not hard to imagine the difficulty of capturing the cherry blossoms during their notoriously short lifespan, and finding and maintaining the exact spot in the tidal basin days, months or years apart!
There are plenty of amazing collages in his current collection, depicting beautiful scenes of Washington DC as well as other cities. He’s even open to suggestions for new collages. If you have an idea, drop him a line and let him know!
You can see all of Matthew’s work at his online gallery, as well as purchase prints in various sizes from his online store, or from the National Building Museum shop. Also, you can visit Matthew’s web site to find him at fine art and craft shows in the DC area.