Photographer #440: Claire Martin

Claire Martin, 1980, Australia, is a documentary photographer with a focus on marginalised communities. In 2007 and 2008 she concentrated on Vancouver's Downtown East Side. Even though Vancouver is a city that was twice voted "the worlds most liveable", the residents of this part live below the poverty line. The suburb has an estimated AIDS rate of 30% and the leading cause of death is overdose. In 2009 she visited Slab City where she focused on the permanent residents of this community in the Colorado desert. It "is a place for the broken and desperate and for the fierce defenders of freedom from tyranny." In 2010 and 2011 she went to Haiti to document the aftermath of the earthquake. "Every spare piece of land has turned into a tent city and whole suburbs and major infrastructure lay demolished, essentially turning and entire city into a slum." Claire has exhibited her work in solo shows in Australia and has been in various group exhibitions around the world. In 2010 she won the Magnum Foundation Inge Morath award for female photographers under the age of 30. She is a member of the prestigious Australian photo collective Oculi. The following images come from the series Petionville - Life in Haiti's Tent Cities, Slab City and Downtown East Side.

Website: www.clairemartinphotography.com

Photographer #439: Colin Delfosse

Colin Delfosse, 1981, Belgium, is a documentary photographer who studied Journalism. Together with three other photographers he founded the Out of Focus collective in 2005. As a collective (5 photographers) they focus on social issues. One of his latest projects focuses on Kazakhstan where he concentrates on the Soviet legacy in the country, still visually present. In 2010 he portrayed a large number of Congolese wrestlers and the culture around it. This series won the PDN photo annual award in 2011. Colin has traveled extensively for his strong and intimate projects. He has been to countries as China, Mali and Iraqi Kurdistan where he documented the movement of the Free Women of Kurdistan movement. Colin's work has been featured in The New York Times, Le Monde and The International Herald Tribune to name a few. The following images come from the series Polygon - Soviet Legacy in Kazakhstan, part I, Congolese Wrestlers and The PKK Amazons.

Website: www.outoffocus.be

Photographer #438: Chen Man

Chen Man, 1980, China, is a commercial photographer who focuses on fashion, beauty and style. In 2005 she received a B.A. in photography and media studio at the central Academy of Fine Arts. It was before she graduated that she had already begun to shoot the covers for the new magazine Vision. The covers she created between 2003 and 2007 were unique within the history of Chinese covers. Her manipulated photography is colorful, lucious, bright and fantastical. The images are often completed in post-production where she goes over the top, creating new dimensions and worlds. Her work has been exhibited throughout the world since 2004. Amongst her commercial clients are companies as Lancôme, Lee and Sisley and her images have appeared in Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and Elle. The following images come from the series New China, Environmental Protection and Red Beauty.

Website: www.chenmaner.com

Photographer #437: Pierre Crocquet de Rosemond

Pierre Crocquet, 1971, South Africa, started a career in the merchant-banking sector only to find out that his choice of career was flawed. Therefore he studied photography at the London College of Printing. He returned to South Africa and embarked on a photographic career. Since 2002 he released five books of which the latest is entitled Pinky Promise. It is an exploration into the terrain of child sexual abuse. During a period of three years Pierre combined seven stories of abuse, survival and healing in the monograph. The book breaks newground by including the stories of not only the victims, but also the perpetrators of child sexual abuse. In 2008 he released Enter Exit, a book showing the inhabitants of an isolated, small, multi-racial community. "The isolated community became a portal through which to explore facets of the human psyche." It is a very strong collection of black and white portraits. His work has been exhibited on numerous occasions throughout the world. The following images come from the series Pinky Promise, Enter Exit and Us.

Website: www.pierrec.com

Photographer #436: Corey Arnold

Corey Arnold, 1976, USA, is an Alaskan commercial fisherman as well as a documentary photographer. He received a BFA in photography at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. In 2011 he released the book Fish-Work: The Bering Sea which includes images that were made between 2003 and 2010 while he was working as a deckhand on the Bering Sea crabber f/v Rollo. The series Fish-Work doesn't stop there, it is a life long project and has also taken him to various European countries capturing the lifestyle of fishermen. One of his latest series is Wolf Tide which includes a mixture of experiences as a fisherman, rural encounters with unsuspecting wildlife and dramatic landscapes. Nowadays he captains a wild salmon gillnetting operation in Bristol Bay while working on photo assignments and gallery exhibitions in the off season. His work has appeared in numerous magazines as The New Yorker, Esquire and Juxtapoz. In 2009 he was named one of the PDN's top 30 emerging photographers. The following images come from the series Wolf Tide, Fish-Work Bering Sea and Graveyard Point.

Website: www.coreyfishes.com

Photographer #435: Bharat Sikka

Bharat Sikka, 1973, India, is a documentary photographer who also concentrates on editorial and advertising work. He moved to New York to study at the Parsons School of Design where he earned a BFA in photography. His personal work concentrates on contemporary visions of India. His recent series Matter blends studio, street, landscape and portrait photography. Combined they form a portrait of the "new" India. It is Bharat's vision of a fast changing country. His narrative editorial work often show females in film-like settings, photographed in a unique, documentary style. Amongst his numerous editorial clients are Vogue India, Another magazine, Time, ID and Wallpaper. His work has been exhibited throughout the world as the Rencontres d'Arles photography festival and the Helsinki Art Museum. He works and lives between India and Europe. The following images come from the series Matter, Salvador do Mundo and various Fiction portfolios.

Website: www.bharatsikka.com

Shut down your computer and go live!

This is not a written piece that is supposed to make you sad or feel pity; it is a calling to you and myself. It is not a manifesto or a preach. It is what it is.

Yesterday I entered the living room of my girlfriend’s parents. My girlfriend and I have been together for ten years. She had gone with her parents and her brother to the hospital to hear what could be done about the recently found tumor in her mothers (62) pancreas. The result was devastating. It cannot be operated and there is no other cure possible. She hopes to live to see their 40th anniversary of marriage, her next birthday and that of her husband in January. I entered the room where the family was sitting at the dining table. They were all defeated. With tears in their eyes they greeted me one by one by receiving and giving a big hug. I had heard the news earlier in the afternoon by phone, but entering this room became a reality check. The mother would like to fight but that is impossible. Even though the news has not sunk in, she has already decided to make each day count. She also looked back at her life and was happy with the way she has lived it.

The described happening got thoughts running through my head and often they were intertwined with photography, my own life and people in general. Not all of these thoughts were completely sane but did lead to answers further down the road. Thoughts about how we spend our time. Recently I had read a post by photographer Jeremy Cowart on how he wished he had invested less time into e-mailing and his words stuck with me. It’s not only e-mail, it’s also facebook, twitter, the internet in general, TV and other procrastinating activities. Being completely honest, I am sometimes too good at procrastination and it can sometimes lead to a void. Of course I thought about 500 Photographers within this context, and to be 100% honest the thought crossed my mind that it is an irrelevant piece of internet in which I have invested thousands of hours of my life, sitting on a chair, staring at a screen. Luckily I can say that this is not true. The “archive” I’m building has value to me. I started it for myself in order to learn. A side-effect of this project is you, a large amount of visitors that come here for inspiration; that is something of value too and gives this project something extra. I’m proud of that.

What I’m trying to get at is that I truly believe that you should not be spending too much time on this website. The same counts for twitter, facebook and all the other activities that might give us instant gratification, yet does not give you much in return in the long run. Go do that which will give you fulfillment. I know that 90% of the visitors of this website are active in the creative field. When you finish reading this message, turn of your computer and go produce, plan a shoot, pick up a pen and write down ideas. Whatever gets you moving forward into creating something. While you do this, promise me one thing: make it something of value to yourself. Forget about what your clients might like, what your parents, neighbors or anyone else would like to see you do. Do what you need to do and make it count.

I’m going to finish 500 Photographers and I will probably continue in some way once the list is complete. However, I’m going to do my utmost best to create a photographic oeuvre of which I’m proud. Let’s all make the short time we have on this planet count, first and foremost for ourselves. Go live and enjoy it, I know I will!  

Photographer #434: Peter Hapak

Peter Hapak, 1973, Hungary, is a versatile photographer based in the US. He works for commercial and editorial clients, but his main focus lies on portraiture and the human body. For Time Magazine he has created impressive series, of which the latest is called The Protester. Time had named the Protester as person of the year 2011 and commisioned Hapak to travel to seven different countries to portray the protesters. In countries as Egypt, Spain, Greece and Tunesia he set up a makeshift studio in hotel rooms, anarchist headquarters and even in a temple in India. Peter also asked the portrayed to bring mementos of protest. Amongst the objects brought were Iphones, rubber pellets and Maalox, a substance used to counter the effects of tear gas. Another story he focused on were the Chilean miners that were trapped in  2010 which resulted in a strong series of black and white portraits. Peter has photographed a vast amount of celebrities as Robin Williams, Bono and Colin Firth. The following images come from the series The Protester, The Art of War: Honoring the Fallen for a Lifetime and Finding the Chilean Miners.

Website: www.phapak.net & lightbox.time.com

Photographer #433: Magdalena Wosinska

Magdalena Wosinska, 1983, Poland, moved to the USA in 1991 and is currently based in Los Angeles. She works on lifestyle, editorial and commercial photography with a very personal signature. For the large part it is shot in the same style as her personal work. In her photography Magdalena invites you to enter her world of which she is not only an secret observer, but an active player herself. She often appears in her own images. It's a snapshot representation of the American way of life, full of parties, tattoo's, beards, rock bands, alcohol and nudity, often set within the American landscape and bright sunlight. Her images are intimate and contain a very loose quality. For Magdalena the moment is much more important than using the most sofisticated technology. In 2010 she released the book Bite It You Scum. The following images come from various portfolios.

Website: www.magdalenawosinska.com 

Photographer #432: Eric Bouvet

Eric Bouvet, 1961, France, started his career in 1981 after studying Art and Graphic Industries in Paris. During the 80's he worked as a staff photographer at Gamma agency. In 1990 he launched his freelance career and has since been an independant photojournalist. He has traveled extensively to many conflict zones as Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, former Yugoslavia and very recently Libya. He has covered the gruesome war in Chechnya for a long period and has visited Afghanistan a dozen of times since 1986, witnissing the various wars the country has suffered. His images have an intimate and up-close character. His work has been published in numerous magazines as Time, Life, Newsweek, Stern and the New York Times magazine. He has worked with a variety of NGO's and charities as Medecins Sans Frontieres and the International Red Cross. His work has received several awards amongst which are five World Press Awards. The following images come from the series The Beginning (Libya), Uzbin Valley (Afghanistan) and Russian Commandos - Chechnya.

Website: www.ericbouvet.com

Photographer #431: Darcy Padilla

Darcy Padilla, 1965, USA, is a photojournalist and documentary photographer. Her career as a freelance photographer started after completing 12 internships at daily newspapers as The New York Times and The Washington Post. Since then she covered stories in Cuba and Haiti, on Aids in Prison and the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, just to name a few. Her most acclaimed body of work is The Julie Project. This long-term project is the story of a woman called Julie Baird. Eighteen years Darcy followed and photographed the story of AIDS, drug abuse, abusive relationships, poverty and death. Julie died on September 27th, 2010 at the age of 36, after having lived a turbulant life in which she gave birth to six children of whom the first five were taken away from her. It is an impressive, heartbreaking project with a dramatic, yet expected ending. The series rightfully received the W. Eugene Smith Award for Humanistic Photography in 2010. Amongst other awards for her work is the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship for the work she did photographing residents of transient hotels in one of the poorest neighborhoods in San Francisco. All of the following images are from The Julie Project.

Website: www.darcypadilla.com

Photographer #430: Rinko Kawauchi

Rinko Kawauchi, 1972, Japan, is a fine art photographer based in Tokyo. She studied at the Seian University of Art and Design and graduated in 1993. She started as a photographer on a freelance basis from 1997. In 2001 she launched herself into the photographic world with the simultaneous release of 3 books, UTATANE, HANABI and HANAKO. Since then she has released a large number of monographs of which the latest addition is Illuminance. Her images seem simple, but they evoke primal emotions within the viewer. By paying attention to tiny gestures and incidental details within her environment she finds the extraordinary within the mundane. The editing within her books is crucial to her work and the stories she wishes to tell. The photographs show a large range of emotions and fundamentally adresses life itself, from the good all the way to the bad. Her work has been exhibited extensively in solo and group shows around the world and is in several public collections as the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Phtography and Huis Marseille in Amsterdam. The following images come from the books Illuminance, AILA and Cui Cui.

Website: www.rinkokawauchi.com

Photographer #429: Christoph Bangert

Christoph Bangert, 1978, Germany, is a photojournalist based in Switzerland who studied photography at the Fachhochschule in Dortmund and at the International Center of Photography in New York. He has traveled extensively to countries as Japan, Chad, Lebanon, Nigeria and Palestine for his photography. In Pakistan he covered the story of the cold winter after the earthquake hit in 2005. In 2007 he released two monographs. Travel Notes contains images from a 22,000 mile car trip he made from Argentina to New York in 2002. IRAQ: The Space Between shows the work he did in 2005 and 2006 in Iraq on assignment for the New York Times. In the same year he was also chosen for the Joop Swart Masterclass. His images have appeared in numerous publications as Stern, Time, Newsweek and GEO. Currently Christoph is working on a book that will show the images of a 14 month trip in 2007 and 2008 through 36 African countries with a Land Rover. He was exhausted from all the things he in the years before and needed a break to become "a human being again." The following images come from journeys to Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Website: www.christophbangert.com

Photographer #428: Eric T. White

Eric T. White, 1982, USA, is a photographer based in New York City. When he started art school he did not have a clear idea what he should study. When Eric's uncle died he inherited all of his cameras. This lead him to professionally persue a career in photography. He spent four years learning from photographer Christopher Griffith's technical expertise as his first assistant. His primary focus lies on portraiture and landscape photography. He describes his work as being "about capturing fleeting moments... specific moods and feelings." For his series National Defense, which consists of two chapters, he documented a fake arabic town in California and the border between the US and Mexico. Currently he is simultaneously working on a portrait series based on the Lower East Side, a black and white landscape series and his first book. The following images come from the series Least Likely To, Lake Harmony and National Defense.

Website: www.erictwhite.com 

Photographer #427: Nicol Vizioli

Nicol Vizioli, 1982, Italy, is a fine-art photographer based in London. She received a BA in Cinema at La Sapienze University in Rome and only recently an MA in Fashion Photography at London College of Fashion, University of the Arts. Her graduation project is called Shadows on Parade, a series of bizarre and mythical portraits. "They are declinations of my imagery, desires, waits, silent attempts of redemption. Sometimes they are dreams, more often they are prayers."..."The casting was very instinctive but precise: twins, elderly, albinos or bald people." She has been painting and drawing before she started photography and this strongly influences her work today. Her work has been exhibited in Italy and in the UK. The following images come from the series Shadows on Parade, AntiFashionManifesto and Hildegard Von Bingen.

Website: www.nicolvizioli.com

Photographer #426: Chen Wei

Chen Wei, 1980, is a Chinese fine-art and conceptual photographer based in Beijing. He builds large installations to photograph. His narrative images show bizarre spaces, scenes and objects that leave the viewer wondering. Chen uses his personal memories, childhood fantasies and combines this with realities found in modern China. He assembles all the required objects in his studio and starts building his scenes. "Chen Wei illustrates an intricate imagination fascinated with the eccentric and fanciful pursuits of early science, mathematics, alchemy, philosophers and madmen." (M97 Gallery) His work has been shown in several solo exhibitions and in a vast number of group exhibitions throughout the world. The following images come from the series Everyday, Scenery and Props, House of Recovery and The Augur's Game.

Website: www.chen-wei.org & www.m97gallery.com

Photographer #425: Bohnchang Koo

Bohnchang Koo, 1953, South-Korea, is a fine-art and conceptual photographer based in Seoul. He first studied Business Administration at Yonsei University before studying photography in Hamburg. His work is often about impermanence, the passing of time, the disappearance and heritage. For his series Vessel he photographed rare porcelain ceramics of the Korean Joseon dynasty. He traveled to museums around the world to find and document the white objects against a white backdrop in soft light. As an "old family album" he tries to bring the objects together and retrieve the lost Korean heritage. Koo has been called "one of Korea's most influential photographers." Not only due to his photographic art, but also as an educator and exhibition planner he helped shape and promote Korean photography to a wider audience. He released a large number of monographs and his work has been exhibited extensively throughout the world and is found in public collections as the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. The following images come from the series Interiors, Vessel and In the Beginning.

Website: www.bckoo.com

Photographer #424: RES

Raúl Eduardo Stolkiner, better known as RES, 1957, Argentina, is a conceptual and fine-art photographer based in Buenos Aires. He studied photography at the Spilimbergo Art School and at Casa del Lago, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. His series Conatus was produced in collaboration with Constanza Piaggio. The photographs are recreations of iconic paintings by artists as da Vinci and Picasso. The images are not exact copies, RES made alterations to the original works that reinterpret and recontextualize the subject through contemporary perspectives on philosophy, politics and spirituality. One of his first bodies of work, Donde están e imanes, was the result of his return to Argentina after he had been exiled in 1978 to Mexico. His work has been shown in numerous exhibitions worldwide and has been published in a vast amount of publications. In the past nine years he also released his work in four different monographs. The following images come from the series Conatus, Plantas Vestidas and Donde están e imanes.

Website: www.resh.com.ar