Cloud by Caitlind r.c. Brown

Created out of 6,000 light bulbs the interactive installation invites visitors to pull the cords and turn the lights on and off as spectators witness the cloud shimmer and flicker as bulbs flip between light and dark. Incredibly out of the 6,000 bulbs, 5,000 of them are actually old burnt out bulbs donated to the artists by the public. The idea being that instead of wasting bulbs by throwing them away they would be put to a better, and more creative use, by turning trash in to treasure, and waste in to art.

Modern Celebrity PhotosTransformed Into Vintage 1920′s Mugshots

Michael Jason Enriquez imagined modern day celebrities under the lights of early 19th century police bookings. 

"…Our current mugshots of the rich and famous are plastered with every article, and blog these days, but look uninspired and cheap.  That’s why I wanted to bring our celebrity mugshots back to a time when love and care was taken to compose a more artful mugshot – back to the 1920′s…

…We’re so used to seeing celebrity faces on our tv, on blogs, and we even know what their mugshots look like. The tacky looking mugshots we have today are in stark contrast to the mugshots taken in the 1920’s. Vintage mugshots have an eerie beauty to them that’s lost in current mugshot photography…"

The Yankees via the iPhone

   The whole thing with these pictures is that the photographer not only shot them with his Instagram app on his iPhone but inside the men's bathroom at Yankee's stadium. I just don't understand why the bathroom was the only place this guy had to photograph the team. The article doesn't do a good job of explaining anything. But it could really be any number of reasons why. Maybe he just showed up for a consultation and they told him that actually they needed him to do the shoot right then and there because they wouldn't be able to do it any other time. Whatever the case may be at least you don't actually see the bathroom in any of the shots.

   Now I know a lot of people poo-poo the thought of people shooting with their phone. Personally I think it doesn't matter what you shoot with as long as you know what you're doing. Apple has really stepped up their resolution for their cameras and some of the best concert shots I've ever taken were on my phone. Sure it may make some people lazy in their shooting but don't the people who shot with film 20 or 30 years ago think the same thing about us digital age photographers now? These photos are just as good as what he may have produced with an actual camera but I love the feel of these. The border is a little much but I personally hate hate hate borders on photos.

Constantly listening to Edit by Regina Spektor

Finally got to go home this weekend to spend some much needed time with my mom and my best friend. Went out to the park and shot some portraits of Emily. Using the 85 mm is probably my favorite thing ever now.

Black on Black

Gonna reshoot sometime in October to get a better composition.

Truly Poetic

Tomas Saraceno has underlined his name as an installation artist with his work Poetic Comsos of the Breath, which is an experimental solar dome. Once dawn arrives, crowds congregate and watch the inflatable colorful foil gradually inflate itself and eventually walk through it to witness its wash of colors created by sunlight striking the foil.

Junior (Senior?) Photo Seminar - Questionnaire

When do you plan on graduating? 
May 2013

Where have you, or will you be interning? 
Still working on the whole interning thing. At this point I'll intern for anyone.

What are your plans and goals for after graduation? Grad school? Starting a business? Getting a job? Being an artist/commercial shooter? Please be as specific as possible. How do you plan on making a living? 
I plan on moving to New York as soon as I can! That's where I want to end up so it doesn't make any sense to not to just ahead and go for it so that I don't get stuck doing something here in Dallas.

Establish a budget for yourself, post-graduation. What does it cost to live in a manner that you’d be comfortable? Again, be specific. Do you have school loans, credit card debt? Need insurance? A place to live? 
Living in New York is going to be extremely expensive. I haven't researched any places but I know my mom was actually wanting to go up there with me so that she could get out of Dallas too. So that'll make it easier to find a place cause we'll have two salaries coming in. Other than that all I would have to worry about is my school loans and the whole eating thing.

Do you require any special equipment to make your work or start your business (for example, a wood shop, studio, video equipment, cameras, computers, printers) that might be cost-prohibitive or difficult to access after you graduate? If so, what kind? 
Lenses, lenses, and more lenses. I just recently bought a Canon 7d but didn't get any lenses so basically everything I shoot with (50mm, 85mm, 16mm) I don't own. I need to. Once I graduate I should probably invest in some of my own lights as well but we'll just have to see what the money situation looks like.

Are you planning to go to graduate school? If yes: right away, or later? Have you started researching graduate schools? Why do you want to go to graduate school? Tell me what five schools you'd like to go to, and how you plan on doing it.
Still debating. What I want to do in the long run doesn't require it or anything. But there is always that possibility that things won't work out for me and I would like to have that option to teach or do something else that I like to do just in cases.

Name five people that will write letters of recommendation for you?
Chad Smith. My boss and teacher for the past 2 years.
Vaughn (right you would write one for me?)
Barry Snidow. Former teacher at North Lake Community College.
Katy and John Burton. Former clients.
Avery Souders. Former client.

What kind of job would you most like to find? 
I think everyone is tired of me talking about what I want to do. But I want to work for Vanity Fair, Vogue, GQ, etc etc. I want to work for every major magazine. I want to see my photo on the covers of the greatest publications.

What kind of job do you expect to find? 
At first I expect to find assisting or interning type of jobs. I know it's very rare to just be picked up and discovered and then have all of your dreams come true without even doing anything. But I expect to work everything that gets me closer to where I want to be.

Name either a dozen potential employers, clients, galleries or graduate schools, depending on your goals. 
Vanity Fair, Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire, Cosmo, Interview, W, Rolling Stone, Teen Vogue, GQ, Details, Glamour, Alure, Style

Do you plan to live off freelance work or commissions (perhaps in addition to a part-time job)? 
I plan on living off of freelance but I will not turn down a job for commission. I know I'm gonna need a part-time job as I start off.

What did you do this summer to move you toward your goals? What art have you seen this summer? How much work did you make? 
This summer was a strange one for me. I was going through a crisis with my own self worth and spent a lot of my time focusing on my emotional and physical health rather than my art and photography. I don't regret the amount of time I put into myself at all because it made me feel better. A lot better. But I do wish I had picked up my camera just a bit more than I did.

Do you have a portfolio of your work? Website? Blog? Can you tell me in 30 seconds what your work is about? Do it. 
My website is currently http://taylorannephotography.tumblr.com. And this is my blog! My work is about making the person I am shooting look just as beautiful as I see them. I'm a true believer of everyone is beautiful and I love to show that through my work. I don't use a lot of photoshop and like to make the viewer believe that everything you see is just as that person looks in real life because that's the way I see them.

What artists, musicians, photographers, writers, movies, books have influenced you/your work?
Photographers: Annie Leibovitz, Mary Ellen Mark, Ellen Von Unwerth, Mario Testino, Peter Ash Lee, Francesca Woodman
Artists: Molly Crabapple, Brigid Vaughn, Artemisia Gentileschi
Musicians: Incubus, Muse, Eisley, Arcade Fire, Foster The People, Regina Spektor, The Civil Wars, The Beatles, The Spill Canvas, Bob Dylan, Blake & Kate
Writers: JK Rowling, Shakespeare, Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sylvia Plath
Movies: Garden Sate, The Dark Knight, The Social Network, Black Swan, Across the Universe, Another Earth, The Ring
Books: Harry Potter. If you don't know this by now then you don't know me very well. 

Please share any important websites that you are referencing for art/photo competitions and/or information. Name at least five of them. 
I don't have 5 but I always go to Artists Wanted, 3rd Ward, and PDN for my contests & art news.

What do you feel is lacking in your education to prepare you for your future? What is lacking in your portfolio? Please be specific.
I think at this point I'm pretty on top of my education. I'm currently in Commercial with Greg Milano and I feel like he is preparing me so much for the real world. It makes me excited, anxious, nervous...all of the feelings. I think I could use some for high fashion and editorial work. I'm on top of all of my portrait work but I feel like if I really want to work for magazines then I need to work on my fashion photography.

Why does someone want to hire you? What makes you unique? 
I know I can bring something to the table that not a lot of photographers have. Not only do I believe I am incredibly kind and can work well with everyone but I feel that my ideas are rather innovative and impressing.

What do you expect from me?
The only thing I expect is always what you give. To make me pull my head out of my ass and get to work or else I'm going to graduate and wonder when the hell it happened!

What do you expect from this seminar?
Same thing as above. I expect it to make me take a good hard look at what I'm doing with my career and start thinking about the future.

What do you expect from this degree?
I've never really thought that having a photography degree was going to make or break me when it comes to what I want to do with my life. But the amount of stuff I have learned here can never be taken away from me and just having a degree as well can never be taken away. So basically long story shot I have no idea what I expect from the degree itself.  

Design your ideal Junior Seminar course. 
More pizza? I thought about this for a while and everything that usually happens in Seminar is exactly what I would keep and put in. Ugh I suck at this question and I apologize.

Oranges for everyone!

Cooper, the Cat Photographer

     Cooper, a normal house cat from Seattle, has recently become one of the world’s most talked-about photographers after his owners tied a timer-controlled camera around his neck, which takes snaps of his day-to-day adventures.

     His career began last year when his owners, Michael and Deirdre Cross, decided to attach the tiny camera in order to answer the question that plagues all cat owners – “where does my cat go all day?” It started out as a fun geography experiment, but when Cooper came home the first day and they saw the amazing photos they were completely blown away. Michael and Deirdre realized it wasn’t about where their pet went all day, but about how beautiful and lush their neighborhood looked from a cat’s perspective.

     The mini camera around Cooper’s neck takes photos every two minutes, revealing everything that he sees. Whether it catches other cats, one of his many hiding places, his owners, or the big blue sky, the camera revealed some pretty amazing shots and practically made Cooper a star. It also helped his owners understand more about their pet, for example; they noticed Cooper spent a lot of time looking at the back door and realized a lot of his time was spent looking for a way to get inside. So they got a cat flap and noticed he was much happier.

     Read more at http://www.odditycentral.com/news/feline-photographer-offers-a-cats-eye-view-on-life.html#wumtwzKrPkrd3LsR.99

This stunning image was captured by a lava-loving photographer, Miles Morgan, who risks life and limb getting up close and personal with the world’s most active volcano.

Melted shoes and tripod aside, he has so far avoided serious injury as he chases the molten flows of the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island.

At times, he gets to within a foot of the lava which had been in the bowels of the fiery mountain just moments before.

This beautifully atmospheric shot shows a lava flow meeting the sea off Big Island.

Life on Mars

With all the news surrounding the exploration of Mars, it was only a matter of time before a conceptual photographer depicted a photo series about Mars. But what no one expected was for NASA to commission it!

Legendary photography duo Kahnselesnick have been tasked with visualizing how life on Mars may look in the future.

Art Project of the Day

Look closely — 29-year-old Samuel Silva created this portrait not with a camera, but with standard Bic ballpoint pens. 

First round of shots from Chicago

I promise proper photos that weren't taken on my phone with a description of my awesome trip are on the way. It may just have to wait until I get back to my lovely Lightroom so that I can actually edit the files. Stupid CR2s.