PORTA-RETRATO

i'm all wrapped up in this stunning series of photos from new york street photographer daniel featherstone. 

it's all about eccentric characters that capture his attention, in a city that continues to capture everyone's attention.

from featherstone: "Such a mix of transient diversity from the plastic surgery nobility to paraplegics to overwhelmed, zombie-like tourists. Every person I shoot is never staged, they are completely candid, I wouldn't have it any other way. The naturalness is what gives us all this common thread of knowing."

via creative boom

SWIM SWIM SWIM

VERY into these pastel swimming scenes by slovakian photographer maria svarbova.

i am usually more drawn to work with more movement, but these surreal and kinda robotic scenes feel cinematic and beautiful. obsessed with the first one.

more here. and here.

via ignant

DANCE

i recently came across the beautiful work of russian photographer alexander yakovlev. his newest series, called the mirages, tries to emphasize the the movement of dancers using flour. 

this one is my favorite. quiet and chaotic.

more.

via design taxi

FLAT FASHION

you know i love a creative twist. these, my friends, are PHOTOS not vector art prints. they are shot by erik madigan heck for junta watanabe's fall 2015 collection, and designed to create a flat, graphic feel. super stunning.

more here.

via design milk

COLOR AND GLASS

this might be my favorite thing i have seen in a while. it's a series called "botanical" from swiss photographer and designer samuel zeller, and it's a new take on the classic botanical illustrations from the 18th and 19th centuries. i can't believe these are photos. 

from zeller: "reality is refracted by the greenhouse’s ground glass and reminds me of the paper used in watercolour paintings. the colours are subtle and sophisticated, they mirror the tones found in this kind of illustration... the greenhouse in which resides the subject of this photographic’s series is a controlled environment that aims to protect exotic plants by creating better climate conditions than the local weather; it’s also a beautiful creation of metal and glass, dedicated, refined, elegant (just like the plants inside). the structure itself becomes a frame in some images."

and i love this quote from him: "i almost always create images when going through strong emotional states. photography is a way i found to talk about myself, rather than with language were I always had difficulties."

more here.

via creative boom

KODAK MOMENT

more awesome work from french paper artists zim&zou. 

lucie thomas and thibault zimmerman are both based in paris, trained as graphic designers and just generally crazy talented. they create all of the elements of their installations completely by hand - from paper cutting to molding and sculpture. i love seeing someone work in paper in a more crafted way and relying on more delicate techniques than the digital tools most people are moving to.

they have a ton of beautiful work but this series is one of my favorites.

via creative boom

more here.

SOFT

i discovered the work of belgian photographer jef claes on the jealous curator the other day and loved his work, but also loved the two (very different) series that she highlighted together. such beautiful tones and lines. feels a little wes anderson-y but in a cool, clean way!

more here. 

via the jealous curator

THESE HUES THO

stumbled across the instagram feed of stella maria baer the other day and couldn't stop scrolling. take a look at some of her beautiful work below: photography, painting, so much beautiful stuff. and the consistency of her aesthetic is hypnotizing. take a look and go follow her instagram asap!

more here.

TAROT TO REALITY

i have a confession. when i was about 12 i started reading tarot cards. i was at barnes and noble with my mom on a sunday, saw the cards, and that was kind of it. little did i know i would get really into them, start reading cards for different family members (with what i am told was eerie insight) and make at least three grown ups cry. so, i quickly retired my cards and moved on to other creative endeavors. but! i was pretty excited to see this uber-cool and uber-creative recreation of tarot cards by haitian artist group atis rezistans and photographer alice smeets. they called this "the ghetto tarot" project. and it features recreations of famous cards using props and tools off the street in a beautifully unique and creative way.

from smeets: “our intention is not a glorification of the life in the ghetto, but to feature the haitian ghetto and poverty in general in another light. i have observed over and over again that those, who the world calls ‘the poor’, are full of strength, full of life, joy and creativity. i believe we need more people in this world to start looking at them that way and stop seeing them as victims of a deserted and hopeless situation”.

more here.

via creative boom

SO SAUL

feeling inspired by the beautiful, layered, shadow-y work of photographer saul leiter.

more here.

BIRDS OF A FEATHER

i wanted to share studio baer’s gorgeously designed book featuring thomas lohr’s abstract photographs of birds.

the photos are beautiful and the design of the book really takes them to another level. as i've said before, context is everything and layout can truly make or break how you engage with and feel about an image.

more here.

via it's nice that

iPHONE iLOVE

as the cameras on our phones get better and better, it seems amateur photographers get better and better too. perhaps more than any other company, apple has done a lot to promote beautiful photography "shot on an iphone." and the iphone photography awards do just that - celebrate this new breed of photographer. below are some of this year's winners, spanning everything from landscapes and portraits to street scenes.

michal koraleski, 1st place, photography of the year

yvonne yu, 3rd place, photography of the year

song han, 1st place, people

xu lin, 1st place, food

yvonne naughton, 1st place, nature

chris belcina, 1st place, landscape

ruairidh mcglynn, 1st place, trees

jose luis saez martinez, 1st place, places-other

via creative boom

FAMOUS FACES

i recently came across the amazing pinterest boards of victoria hannan. filled with gorgeous photos and famous faces, this is a pinterest collection to bookmark.

more here.

COLOR BLOCK BABY

loving the color-filled work of french photographer matthieu venot. he uses color and angle to turn images of buildings into beautiful abstractions. love these minimalist and architectural images.

more here.

via it's nice that

ITTY BITTY BUT A BIGGIE

meet my new minimalist hero, mr. andrew b. myers. take a look at these photos. yes, people. these are photographs. myers, a canadian photographer based in new york, carefully composes different objects and shoots them in perfectly designed, minimalistic patterns. he shoots these in flat light so that they appear illustrated. so cool.

more here.

via people of print

FLOWER POWER

i could look at these portraits for days. in this series danish photographer ken hermann beautifully captures the flower sellers of calcutta's flower market. every day thousands of sellers gather in colorful chaos at calcutta's malik ghat to sell flowers, leaves and herbs that form part of so many indian festivals, celebrations, and rituals. i've always been inspired by colorful, unique portraits (see here and here) and this series is one of my favorites. they are serious but festive, somber but so colorful. such a cool juxtaposition.

more from hermann here.

via honestlywtf

THE PABLO ELECTRIC

love these images of pablo picasso. these are part of a collaboration that took place between picasso and gjon mili in 1949. mili pioneered the use of stroboscopic light in photography. pretty amazing to see the master "draw with light."

more here.

via honestlywtf

PICTURE PERFECT

nine great tips for getting that picture perfect shot. this video is a great visualization of why we find certain photos so appealing.

via miss moss

PORTRAIT OF A PATTERN

i recently came across the work of photographer omar victor diop and was immediately blown away. i spent almost an hour going through his work trying to narrow it down to just a couple of favorites to share with you. born in (and inspired by) senegal, he mixes his photography with other forms of art and design - interiors, costume, graphics. he says he hopes to capture the diversity of modern african societies and lifestyles.

my favorites are his portraits. his use of color, pattern and texture is stunning.

more here.

PHOTO-IN-A-PHOTO

wanted to share this lovely project from tim mantoani, called "behind photographs: archiving photographic legends." mantoani showcases great photographers with their most famous image. a little bit of history, a little bit of photojournalism and a little bit of beauty.

this project also made me think about how these photographers must feel about their most famous images. from a personal and from a creative point of view. it must be hard to have your most famous work be from 20, 30, 40 years ago, no? or maybe not. lots to unpack in these beautiful images.

also, marilyn. can you imagine being behind the lens in that moment?

more here.