Photographer #345: Zach Gold

Zach Gold, 1972, USA, is a fashion and commercial photographer and film director. He studied at the Parsons School of Design and graduated in 1995. In various of his shoots he freezes an intruiging moment of people in battle, falling or dodging flying powder. He collaborated with the dance company Gallim Dance and choreographer Andrea Miller. The video and photographs of semi naked dancers in a pool of milk is alienating yet breathtaking. The images hold a certain suspense, but due to the very sharp detail they have become quiet and elegant scenes. He has photographed numerous celebrities including David Bowie, 50 Cent and Willem Dafoe and worked for clients as Nike, Sony and K-Swiss. The following works come from Milk, his Motion and Fashion portfolio's.

Website: www.zachgold.com

Photographer #344: Martin Klimas

Martin Klimas, 1971, Germany, is a still-life photographer who captures motion. He studied Visual Communications and Photography at the Fachhochshule in Düsseldorf. In his personal work he does not use photoshop. He uses analog technology for his visually complex photographs capturing the moment between being whole and completely broken. In complete darkness he dropped porcelain figures, the sound of the objects hitting the floor triggers the lights to go off for a fraction of a second. For his work with flowers and vases he used the same technique, however it is the sound of a projectile, shot by Klimas, hitting the vase that sets off the flash. He is capable of capturing a moment we cannot see with the human eye. Even though catastrophy is happening in his large scale images, they are peaceful, silent and aesthetically beautiful. The following images come from the series Flowervases, Porcelain Figurines and Flying Birds.

Website: www.martin-klimas.de

Photographer #343: Greg Miller

Greg Miller, 1967, USA, is a portrait photographer who's images are a mix of documentary, conceptual and street photography. In 1990 he received a B.F.A. in photography at the School of Visual Arts in New York. He works on an 8x10" view camera. By using this technique it forces him to interact with his subjects. He wants his images to convey stories and concentrates on the relationships between people within a single frame. He directs the people in his large-scale scenes and perfected this technique over the years. When people misinterpret his directions he embraces it, as it creates a more believable moment. Greg's images are sharp, clear and contain a strong narrative. In 2008 he earned a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation. The following images come from the series Nashville, County Fair and Asilo.

Website: www.gregmiller.com

Photographer #342: Bryan Schutmaat

Bryan Schutmaat, 1983, USA, is a documentary photographer who received a BA in History at the University of Houston in 2009. In 2012 he anticipates to earn his MFA in Photography at the University of Hartford. He focuses mainly on portraying rural America, its identity and the inhabitants of the small towns in a poetic fashion. In his series Western Frieze, Bryan did so in the American West, looking at landscapes and interiors in sleepy towns and lonely environments. The US roadside culture plays a major role in the series in which no humans appear, yet we sence their presence. He states that his images are not meant to be a pure documentation, but rather a portrait of what American identity means to him. His latest series Grays the Mountain Sends is a combination of portraits and landscapes taken in small mountain towns and mining communities in the American West. He has exhibited his work extensively throughout the world. The following works come from the series Grays the Mountain Sends, Western Frieze and Heartland.

Website: www.bryanschutmaat.com

Photographer #341: Gerardo Montiel Klint

Gerardo Montiel Klint, 1968, Mexico, received a BFA in Product Design and studied photography at the Escuela Activa de Fotografia and Centro de la Imagen in Mexico City. His main focus is staged photography. In recent years his work has revolved around the dark side of the human mind where, according to Gerardo, our true personality and primal instincts are hidden. His work revolves around the themes of good and evil, violence and desires. For the evil he refers to disaster, tragedy, ilness and despair. For the good he refers to the spiritual lighting, the miracle and heroism amongst others. He tries to make his images "hyperreal", more real than reality itself, making the viewer a witness of a scene he or she is visually attending. Gerardo's work has been exhibited and published internationally and is in various public collections. The following images come from the series Volutas de Humo, Primeros apuntes para una teoría del infierno and Desierto.

Website: www.gerardomontielklint.com

Photographer #340: Xavier Delory

Xavier Delory, 1973, Belgium, is a conceptual photographer with a focus on architecture. He studied Interior Architecture, Computer Graphics / 3D and Photography. He is currently working on his series Formes Urbaines. He studies the recurrent characteristics of modern cities, with Brussels as his first field of research. The series consists of three chapters, Bare d'ilôt, Dom-ino and Façade Libre. In his series Fermé le Dimanche he questions whether commercial centres are the new temples of our society. He combined religious architectural forms with supermarkets and other stores. In Habitat he focused on the recognizable style of Belgian houses which he uses to explore the concept of protection. By eliminating windows, doors and any other openings in usual houses he pushes this to its extremes. Xavier has exhibited his work on numerous occasions throughout Belgium and France. The following images come from the series Formes Urbaines (Dom-ino), Fermé le Dimanche and Habitat.

Website: www.xavierdelory.be

Photographer #339: Anoek Steketee

Anoek Steketee, 1974, The Netherlands, is a documentary photographer with a unique approach. In her series Dream City she visited, together with journalist Eefje Blankevoort, various amusement parks. She went to Iraq, Lebanon, Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Rwanda, Colombia, Indonesia, China, Turkmenistan and the USA. The parks form a universal backdrop to the large differences in cultural, sociological and political contexts. She stages her subjects and her lighting is impecable. In 2011 Dream City was released as a monograph. For the series Frontstage she visited Iran on several occasions between 2003 and 2006. She wanted to explore to what extend the image of Iran had been created by the western media and the Iranian propaganda itself. She asked passersby to pose, again using flash lights and giving the people directions. By using this technique, the people in the images become individuals with a story, while the Islamic Republic and the revolutionary ideology faded into the background. The following images come from the series Dream City, Frontstage and Holy Sepulchre.

Website: www.anoeksteketee.com

Photographer #338: Espen Rasmussen

Espen Rasmussen, 1976, Norway, is a photojournalist and documentary photographer who also works as a picture editor at the biggest Norwegian newspaper. He has traveled extensively throughout the world for his stories, from Brazil to Nepal and from Darfur to Italy. Recently he released the book Transit. He concentrated for several years focusing on the lives of several men and women of the more than 43 million people in the world today that are on the run due to war, political persecution and repression or ethnic conflicts. It documents the people that have embarked on a journey to find a safer haven and a better life. It contains stories from Congo, Colombia, Chad, Bangladesh, Yemen, Serbia, Afghanistan, Syria, Georgia and Norway. Espen won many awards for his photographic work and has been published in many of the major magazines and newspapers. The following images come from the series The many faces of Ukraine, No Way Back, Yemen and Georgia: The Aftermath.

Website: www.espenrasmussen.com & www.transit-project.com

Photographer #337: Fernando Montiel Klint

Fernando Montiel Klint, 1978, Mexico, is an image maker who concentrates on staged photography often dealing with introspection. He studied photography at the Escuela Activa de Fotografia and Centro de la Imágen. In his series Acts of Faith (Actos de Fé) he has taken the meaning of the word faith in contemporary life without being bound by religion. In various scenes and actions he generates atmospheric and absurd realities. In Nirvana he created scenes within closed spaces, taking the subjects to a state of Nirvana, being the highest spiritual state that can possibly be achieved. The work has a hint of irony yet tries to evoke calmness and silence. Fernando works in a free way similar to a painter and often uses large format camera's. His work has been exhibited extensively and is part of numerous collections throughout the world. The following works come from the series Acts of Faith, Espacio Confinado and Nirvana.

Website: www.fernandomontielklint.com

Photographer #336: Nicola Lo Calzo

Nicola Lo Calzo, 1979, Italy, is a documentary and portrait photographer based is Paris. His photographic work focuses on minorities and human rights issues, often in African countries. In his series Inside Niger he portrayed the population that live and work on the borders of the Niger river. The river functions as the center of Nigeria's economy, but pollution and desertification have become obstacles to economic development. One of his latest series is Morgante, telling the story of several individuals. Dwarfism, a person of short stature resulting from a particular medical condition, is the common demoninator between the portrayed. Nicola's work has been published extensively and exhibited throughout Europe. The following images come from the series Morgante, Inside Niger and The Other Family.

Website: www.nicolalocalzo.com
(video in French)

Photographer #335: Mauro D'Agati

Mauro D'Agati, 1968, Italy, is a documentary photographer who has released various monographs with large publishers. One of the books is Alamar (2010), telling the story on the town close to Havana in Cuba. It was once a symbol of the utopian dream of the socialist community. Although build with passion during the 1970's, it has been constructed in an amateurish way and has become more of an example of chaos and mistakes. In his book Napule Shot (2010) he shows us various aspects and sections of Naples through various characters and locations. Other books Mauro has released are Palermo Unsung (2009) on performances at local music festivals in various districts of Palermo, Vucciria (2006) about an old market neighbourhood in Palermo and Less Vegas (2011) with stories in and around Las Vegas. The following images come from the series Alamar, Napule Shot and Vucciria.

Website: www.maurodagati.com
(Video in Italian)

Photographer #334: Evžen Sobek

Evžen Sobek, 1967, Czech Republic, is a documentary photographer. In 2011 he released his monograph Life in Blue. It contains images that explore the leisure-time activities at a created reservoir in the south-east of the Czech Republic. It raises question on why people from urban environments decide to spend weekends to entire years at this often uncozy campsite. Sobek currently continues his Life in Blue series covering other places in Europe. In 2010 the series got an honorable mention at the LensCulture Awards.  In an earlier series called Home Sweet Home he already focused on leisure-time activities of the Czech people and the grand changes in freedom after the fall of the communist regime. He has exhibited throughout Europe and the US. The following images come from the series Life in Blue, Hidden Landscapes and Home Sweet Home.

Website: www.evzensobek.com

Photographer #333: Augustin Rebetez

Augustin Rebetez, 1986, Switzerland, is a conceptual photographic artist who also uses film, drawing and painting as ways of expression. With his work he takes us into a dark and gritty world. He got recognized with his series Gueles de Bois (Hangover). It explores alcohol, one of the most cherished aspects of local folklore. For his series tout ce qui a le visage de la colère (...) he was asked by the Kunstmuseum of Bern to explore anger for a group exhibition on the seven deadly sins. The images created a pessimistic essay on rebellion and revolution. Augustin was selected as one of the photographers for the reGeneration2 project with a travelling exhibition and book as result. In 2010 he was the winner of the photo folio review at the prestigious festival Rencontres d'Arles resulting in a current solo exhibition at this years edition. The following images come from the series Afterdark, Crabe and tout ce qui a le visage de la colère (...).

Website: www.augustinrebetez.com

Photographer #332: Antony Crossfield

Antony Crossfield, 1972, UK, is a photographer who digitally manipulates his images. He tries to "question and undermine traditional conceptions of corporeality whilst exploring the relationship between the body and identity." Much like a painter he combines his subjects with each other or other objects, presenting the body as unstable and constantly in flux. In his series Foreign Body he constructed the final photographs from various elements shot at different times and angles. He carefully puts every aspect of the images together, also thinking about the decor and the objects in the room as narrative symbols. The process of making an image can take up to several months. The following images come from the series Foreign Body, Missing Mass and War Dance.

Website: www.antonycrossfield.com

Photographer #331: Mike Piscitelli

Mike Piscitelli, 1978, USA, is a editorial and commercial photographer and filmmaker who also focuses on his personal work. He spends his time between Los Angeles, New York and Sydney working on various assignments. Amongst his client list are DVS shoes, Columbia records and Vans. He made editorial work for magazines as Another Magazine, Dazed and Confused and i-D Magazine. His photography is full of life, youth and joy. He wants his images to convey a realness that leaves you feeling like they really happened. He has worked with a large number of celebrities, both as a photographer and as a music video director. In 2010, together with director Mike Fleiss, he released his first feature length documentary film called God Bless Ozzy Osbourne. The following images come from the portfolios Book I, Fashion and Accident Prone.

Website: www.mikepiscitelli.com

Photographer #330: Fernando Moleres

Fernando Moleres, 1963, Spain, is a socially engaged photojournalist based in Barcelona. He started his working career as a nurse. In the beginning of his photographic career he combined his nursing work with long periods travelling and doing photographic projects. He travels extensively to various countries in Africa, the Middle-East and Asia covering stories on gender inequality, various forms of religion, traditional bathing rituals and juveniles in prison. In 2000 he released Stolen Childhood showing the story of child labour in black and white photographs. In 2009 his monograph about monastic life called Lifes of Devotion came out. For his recent series Juveniles in Prison he was awarded the Daily Life Series award by World Press Photo in 2011. The following images come from the series Juveniles in Prison, Monastic Life and Turkish Baths-Hammam.

Website: www.fernandomoleres.com

Photographer #329: Ziyah Gafić

Ziyah Gafić, 1980, Bosnia and Herzegovina, is a documentary photographer. Since 1999 he has traveled extensively to more than forty countries for his work. Troubled Islam is a large body of work, covering the aftermath of a number of countries. Ziyah was 12 when the war in Bosnia started. The series of essays are made in Bosnia, Palestine/Israel, Kurdistan, Iraq, Ossetia, Rwanda, Chechnya, Lebanon and Afghanistan. He focuses on the aftermath of war and violence in the daily life of people, capturing the determination of people trying to carry on with their lives. All countries consist of a significant Muslim community. He states that; "for someone who went through war and personal loss empathy is essential. If readers do not emphasize with the subject in my photographs then I have failed." The following images come from Troubled Islam: Damaged People, Damaged Landscape (Afghanistan), The Land Without People for People Without Land (Palestine/Israel) and Tales from the Dark Valley (Bosnia).

Website: www.ziyahgafic.ba