Oil painter Danny Heller is back and has created a new, breathtaking series titled “City Modernism”. I’ve been following Danny for almost seven years now and as he keeps tacking on the years of experience, one can see the subtle growth and maturity in his works. I cannot praise Danny’s work enough. I never really understood what people meant when they talked about finding art that hits your soul in a way that you must own it until I saw Danny’s work for the first time. His work is really something to see in person. Speaking of which…
Danny will be presenting his new works at the George Billis gallery here in Los Angeles this weekend. If you live in the Los Angeles area, drop by the opening reception and check his work out, meet Danny and I’ll be there as well on Saturday. Details for Danny’s “City Modernism” are listed below:
Opening Reception: Saturday October 19, 5-8 pm
October 19 – November 26
George Billis Gallery
2716 La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90034
Perhaps I’m a little late on the Sebastião Salgado bandwagon but I’m really glad I jumped on. Sebastião Salgado is a veteran documentary / photojournalism photographer from Brazil. I believe most of the shots above were shot with a Leica M7 with mostly Kodak’s T-Max 400 film. I’ve also read that Mr. Salgado has switched to digital format in recent years. Either way, his photographs floored me. I was at Samy’s Camera here in Los Angeles and they had his book Genesis on display. I could have sat and viewed that book for days. Each image had me staring at it for a good length of time. Salgado’s work is the kind of work that makes me want to quit photography entirely because it’s just too good.
I could go on and on about his work but go ahead and do your own research on Sebastião Salgado.
Last week I was wandering around Barnes & Nobles and in the section where they put painters and other artists of the likes, there was a book called Desert Air by George Steinmetz. The book had somehow had lost it’s way home from the Photography section a few aisles down. Stuck between Monet and Ruscha, the book was like “YO TIM. I KNOW YOU LOVE DESERTS AND STUFF SO PICK ME UP.”
George Steinmetz captures very intimate photos of landscapes. Most of these from this set are from his Desert Air collection. He achieves this intimacy via paramotoring which is a giant fan backpack with a throttle attached to a parachute. He’s able to fly both very high and low at slow speeds. All I know is that when I come back from my walk across America, I’m purchasing a paramotor, taking lessons and going straight to the Mojave.
View more of Mr. Steinmetz’s stunning, non filtered landscape photography: GEORGE STEINMETZ
One of my favorite people on this planet is Cameron Ballensky. I recently visited Cameron and… well… you know how some people hoard cats? Or hoard old papers? Cameron hoards Polaroids. Call it an obsession or whatever but his hoarding skills are starting to pay off. Recently he’s been learning to do double exposures with Polaroids which is a pretty cool and ingenious process. The last two are examples of his first attempts. I can only imagine that his skills at this process will only get better. Would love to have a wall dedicated to a bunch of his photos someday.
Cameron, perhaps you can share with us some of the equipment, film and processes you use in our comments?
I wanted to do a little shameless plug here for my new project/adventure I’m attempting. In March 2013, I’ll be heading to the east coast where I will dip my feet in the Atlantic and keep walking westward until my feet soak in the Pacific.
That’s right, I’m walking across America and I’m inviting people to follow my new blog as I journal, photograph and record my journey. And no, I’m not Forest Gump’ing.
I’ll also be doing exclusive posts here at ISO50 when I get the chance. One of my objectives is to interview local American artists and photograph them and their works. So if anyone who reads this blog knows an awesome artist of any discipline that’s along my route please contact me!
Last year I got to be a part of an amazing project with an immensely talented group of film makers, musicians and fellow photographer Kim Holtermand. The clip above is a sample from the film that Scenic Studios created along with DERU. I’d like to thank everyone that has supported the project. It’s so great to have projects such as this and many others come to life through Kickstarter.
You can see more of my photography from the project on my website:
Paintings such as Samantha Keely Smith’s make me want to throw my camera away and pick up a paint brush again. I miss the quiet, tranquil nights or afternoons where it felt like it was just me and my canvas and the world around me dissolved entirely. I love inspiration like Samantha’s paintings.
According to her website, she uses oil on canvas along with shellac, varnish and enamel. I’d imagine, given the size of these paintings, that they command every ounce of your attention. They are simply powerful. Her new work is jaw dropping and I can’t imagine what they look like and how they would make me feel viewing them in person. If any one feels like buying me the first one, I would forever be your friend.
I could sit here and explain how I feel about Samantha’s work but I would rather let her paintings speak to you. Take a look at her website to see the rest of her work and her artist statement. I would be first in line to purchase a print if she offered them.
One of America’s dying traditions, or so it seems to be dying, is visiting our backyards: National Parks. I’ll get into that subject later but for now I wanted to share these amazing art pieces created by an aritst who goes by the name of Ranger Doug.
The history behind these posters is quite a story. You can read about why the WPA created these posters in the first place here. Here’s a little excerpt from his website:
Between 1935 and 1943 the WPA’s Federal Art Project printed over two million posters in 35,000 different designs to stir the public’s imagination for education, theater, health, safety, and travel. Due to their fragile nature only two thousand posters have survived to this day; less than one tenth of one percent!
Ranger Doug’s Enterprises is the only source for faithful reproductions of WPA National Park serigraphed posters. Originally produced between 1938 and 1941, these sixteen stunning historical posters have been painstakingly restored, one screen at a time and are now offered as silkscreened prints.
I’ve managed to collect nearly all of these stunning prints in postcard form. As some of you know, I’m an avid National Park traveler. Not only for what each park’s beauty has to offer but each park has its own fascinating history behind it that I love learning about. One of my favorite parks has to be Glacier National Park in northern Montana. I’ve never felt so small and insignificant in this universe before when I was there. Absolutely breathtaking. What are some of your favorite National Parks or National Monuments here in America?
