Jack is currently an MA candidate at Eastern Michigan University’s Creative Writing program and owes the program’s broad interdisciplinary structure to his start in photography.

The program has a strong interdisciplinary focus, and candidates are required to complete coursework outside of Creative Writing courses. I originally took the Beginning Photo course offered at EMU on a lark, mainly because I’d always thought photography was an interesting subject. Then I took another course. Then another. Then another.

Jack’s passion to his work has taken on new levels of dedication as he grows and expands his photographic endeavors.

"Comedy and Tragedy Look Out the Window"

I’ve found a creative experience that excites me that I obsess over, and that brings me fulfillment on an orgasmic level.

When Jack speaks of his work there is no sense of an arduous trial. He completely embraces the complexities of his chosen medium and finds enormous pleasure in the challenges. Whether there is a concern of subject, placement, lighting, or any other number of issues that can crop up for the artist, Jack allows for the process to guide him through completion of a project, building on his range of techniques and experience.

I asked Jack to describe some of the challenges he has had in his work, and his modest response further articulated his love of photography.

In hindsight, I think that it would have been easy to look at any one of the hurdles as a barrier to creation.  Somehow, however, I looked at the whole process as a puzzle I was trying to work out, making adjustments and moving pieces around to see what would happen.  By embracing this mindset, the creative process never became about finding a final solution at any given moment but about playing around with ideas and experimenting until something clicked.

Jack’s work ranges from sophisticated to thought provokingly odd, with a focus on unusual perspectives and humor fused into many of his pieces.

"Love Note"

One particular piece that resonates with me is Love Note (8×10”, Silver Gelatin print). I’m drawn into the tactile sensation that the piece provokes and am overcome by the space it envelops.

The massive foreshortening of the crumpled paper becomes a terrestrial landscape to explore while deciphering the obscured writing for clues about the subject. The stark black and white explores the spectrum boundaries of saturation with an incredible range of high and low tonalities. The simplicity this piece assumes is shattered by the adapt intricacies that build from the ground up in a distinctly architectural way.

"Untitled 2"

A second piece, Untitled 2 (8×10, silver gelatin print with post-development manipulation) echoes many of the same qualities as Love Note.

I appreciate the intense interest in layered direction. Jack has created numerous lines from the cracked flooring to the reposed, male figure. Shadows intercede against musculature creating an arrangement of paths for the eye to follow as it sweeps up the elongated torso of the figure.

Similar to Love Note, there is a psychological aspect for viewers and the stark black and white tones moves the focus away from simple aesthetics towards the complexities of the psyche—an all together thoughtful piece.

"Imagination Adventure"

Humor is also an important inspiration for Jack. He notes his fascination with Elliott Erwitt’s “light humor” and allows for this kind of subtlety to be weaved into his work. The medium of Lori Nix’s constructed dioramas is also a source of motivation in his work, which perhaps impacts the artist decision to incorporate layering, whether of light or lines, or color, into many of his works. As part of a series of children’s toys, Jack’s wryness manifests. Jack goes beyond presenting questions about consumer culture and subliminal messages in advertising.

The series is about how, when a toy is bought, it’s not just the physical item that comes home to the child but all the potential play outcomes as well.

"Nature in High Definition"

Combining amusement and irony, works like Imagination Adventure (17×22” pigmented ink jet print) and Nature in High Definition (17×22” pigmented inkjet print) are indicative of this bold attempt at a frontal assault on the viewer. There is no apology for the unflinching likeness to marketing ads; in fact it is precisely this irony of ‘product as art’ the viewer should focus on. The humor invested in these pieces should not be overlooked either as the “children’s toys” present an ironic message themselves, an additional layer that creates depth beyond the subjects the artist chose for the series. This series was especially challenging for the artist, as he suggests there were many obstacles to overcome.

The challenge was in part because there were multiple aspects of the project that tested my abilities.  I was challenged conceptually to come up with an approach that didn’t look like every other toy photo already out there while still referencing the issues I wanted to explore.  Once I’d settled on the idea of toys in their boxes, I had to determine how they were situated in the image (ultimately leading to the gradient background in each image).  I also had to learn to photograph clear plastic packaging so that there wasn’t glare blocking out the image.

It is attention to these micro details that will further Jack’s work as he continues to produce polished and studied pieces.

Jack’s work has been exhibited in Photographer’s Forum magazine’s “Best of College Photography 2010″ book, the Museum of New Art in Pontiac, Livonia City Hall, Bombadill’s Café (formerly of Ypsilanti, MI), the Dreamland Theater of Ypsilanti, the Art Lounge at the University of Michigan Union, and in the Art Gallery at the Livonia Civic Center Library as well as appearing in the 2009 and 2010 editions of the Arts and Literary publication Cellar Roots and the April 2010 edition of 52/48 creative writing anthology. Pieces are also currently up for consideration at the Ann Arbor Public Library as well as the 2011 edition of Cellar Roots. For purchasing inquiries, contact the artist, Jack Visnaw, at jack.visnaw@gmail.com.

The exhibit will be showing October 19 – November 29, with the opening reception on November 1, at 7:00pm EST. The Ann Arbor District Library main branch is located at 343 S. Fifth Ave., in downtown Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Information quoted from press release.)

MWP will be attending this event. Please say “Hi”, if you see us there!

You’re likely to stand in front of at least one of the pieces, asking “What’s so funny?”, while your friends walk away laughing hysterically. It’s obvious that not everybody cracks up at the same thing. Humor is a wonderful thing to explore.

Gallery Project, one of the few actual galleries in Ann Arbor, has a beautiful downtown space. Gloria Pritschet, gallery co-founder, says that the gallery is operating in its first year without guaranteed funding, as their primary backer had only promised funding for the first five years. They’re now operating into their sixth year. The gallery hosts nine collaborative, themed exhibits a year, with themes and submission requests offered well in advance.

I attended the opening reception ceremony with Jason Wright, our researcher, and Carrie Ann Knauss, our soon to be guest blogger, was our guide. As the three of us approached the gallery, professional painters were just finishing repainting the trim on the outside of the building in a dark teal color. There were wet paint signs stuck everywhere on the windows, and several passers by remarked that it seemed like a marketing gimmick, referring to freshly painted canvases inside.

Many people attended the "What's So Funny?" exhibit at Gallery Project

We showed up right as the ceremony started, and had a chance to talk to the gallery co-founders and directors, photographer Gloria Pritschet, and painter Rocco DePietro. They were very friendly, answered our questions in abundant detail, were interested in our impressions of the exhibit, and were appreciative of our interest in the arts. As the artists arrived, Pritschet and DePietro were very helpful at introducing us while managing to also successfully greet each guest and hold many in-depth conversations.

As we wandered from front to back, the three of us couldn’t help but start a discussion about what we each found funny and not so funny. The show was obviously doing its job, and if you go, we recommend bringing your friends and discussing the pieces together. You’ll learn a lot about humor and what it means to yourself and others.

The only piece that we could all agree on was an oil painting by Nathan Boyer titled “The World As Will”. Actually, it wasn’t the painting itself, which was quite aesthetically beautiful while evoking a dark feeling of dread, but underneath the painting was a small 13″ cathode ray tube television playing a DVD. The video was of a very animated man, which we can only assume was the artist, dressed as the type of insect like alien you might see on a children’s show. His rambling was absurdly funny and he was greenscreened in front of a larger version of the painting.

"#sculpturefail" by Anthony Fontana

I’m quite a big computer geek, so I was drawn to a piece of installation art by Anthony Fontana titled “#sculpturefail”.

Using the word “fail” after a word has been a frequently used Internet meme evolved from the term “epic fail”, to indicate a situation where an attempt at something has resulted in utter failure. I can imagine the artist trying to come up with the most absurd piece of modern sculpture to fit the name, finally settling on just grabbing a bunch of unsharpened pencils into a bundle, letting go, and thinking, “Art, lolz.”

The piece of art makes a social statement, and a funny one, making light of both the art and Internet cultures.

While I was photographing the scuplturefail, Jason and Carrie Ann had disappeared. I found them in the back of the gallery, in the area where set designer Vince Mountain and audio engineer Frank Pahl, had put together an eclectic combination of kinetic art, light, and sound with performance by actor Malcolm Tulip.

Carrie Ann invited to read by actor Malcolm Tulip

Carrie Ann was engaged in a conversation with Tulip, or at least was being engaged by the amusingly talkative actor. Tulip was dressed in a tuxedo and wore glasses, a fez, and multiple fake handlebar mustaches. While holding a brandy glass, and in a drunken English accent that reminded me of Dudley Moore from “Arthur” but with the posh manners of Mr. Belvedere, Tulip talked the three of us up while showing us around his lovely “Automatic Bachelor Pad”.

Never breaking character, Tulip told us about the wonderful inventions in his bachelor pad, giving us a drunken Englishman’s interpretation of the devices and decorum. He demonstrated the “Self-Emptying Ash Tray” to us with quite a bit of amusement in his voice, which was quite catchy and we all found ourselves laughing at the show.

At one point, Tulip invited our lovely Carrie Ann to sit down and read one of his fine books, which she took him up on. I was able to snap a picture of the two of them, with Tulip reflected in the mirror.

The chap was quite chatty, which can happen when one lives alone, but we managed to evade his small talk and headed back out to the main floor of the gallery.

"Hare Pin" by Todd Frahm

Jason and I stared at the remarkably carved wood sculpture of a rabbit for quite some time, but the joke was over our heads. Unfortunately we didn’t notice the obvious shape of the piece of wood or consider one of the many names given to bunnies.

Just curious to see who had carved the beautiful piece, we looked at the program, at which time we saw the title. “Oh!” we exclaimed, as the punchline hit us. Jason and I found it to be quite a clever joke, and we quickly dragged Carrie Ann over to show her the sculpture, which had been carved by Todd Frahm. We told her about the piece and its title, and waited for the punchline to sink in. I think that Carrie Ann laughed more at our amusement than at the punchline. Another example of how we all find different things funny, and humor strikes us all in different ways.

In the basement was some fun art from Tim Péwé, like the piece titled “Gator Emporium”, and some rather creepy art by the same artist titled “Shasta”, which made me think of what a nightmare would be like if it was drawn by comic artist Mike Judge of “King of the Hill” and “Beavis and Butt-head” fame.

Before we left, we had a chance to talk to Paul Marquardt, a multi-disciplined artist with 35 years of experience, that had driven down from Kalamazoo for the opening ceremony.

"taut taunt" by Paul Marquardt

The mixed media piece is constructed from a digital print on taut canvas and an electric rocker motor, and it highlights a social observation that people will use one word when they should be using the other word. Paul had a few words to say about his motivation behind the piece.

People will often use the word taunt when they meant taut. Very common. Very common mistake, and I have to say in my younger years, I did it a few times too. So it has some resonance with me, and it has resonance when i hear other people do it.

I actually had no idea that these two words were mistakenly interchanged so commonly. I don’t have many conversations where either of these words is used. I do often see people misuse the word “defiantly” to mean “definitely”. The piece has a motion element to it when it’s plugged in, so our photo doesn’t do it justice. You should check out this very smart piece for yourself, at this very fine gallery that deserves your patronage. There are a ton more pieces of fine art at this show, that we didn’t have time to highlight.

Humor is a personal experience. It strikes us each in its own way, which we seem to have little control over. We might be sore about something one day, and be ready to laugh about it the next, and we might be laughing more than our friend who never shared the same experience. Even if we can’t all agree on what’s funny, it’s more fun to disagree with smiles on our faces.

Gallery Project is located at 215 S. Fourth Ave, in downtown Ann Arbor, Michigan. The “What’s So Funny” exhibit will be showing through November 28, but we recommend that you go out and see it as soon as possible because you don’t want to put it off and take a chance of missing it. The gallery is open every day except Monday. Please give the gallery a call at 734-997-7012 for more information, or visit their Web site.

MWP would like to thank the gallery’s directors for putting together such a wonderful and thought provoking exhibit, and for being so gracious. We’d also like to thank the artists for contributing their time and passion into this collaborative event. Please click on the “I HEART THIS” button to show your love for the great “What’s So Funny?” exhibit.

Bulgarian photographer Lilyana Karadjova has a feature spread in the October 2010 issue of the new online visual arts magazine “Musetouch”. Just this week, Lilyana was the featured artist here at Made With Passion.

In the magazine article, we learn more about Lilyana, as she talks about herself and her art in her 12 page spread.

Making a good portrait is like traveling in one’s soul.

In the magazine article, readers are treated to some more of Lilyana’s recent, creative portrait pieces.

Check out the magazine in its entirety at Musetouch’s Web site. Lilyana’s spread starts on page 18.

Read more about Lilyana in MWP’s feature article on Lilyana Karadjova, and click on the “I heart this” button to show Lilyana some love.

Many of us have done it. We’re in someone else’s bathroom, and as soon as the door’s shut, we peek in the medicine cabinet. It’s normal curiosity. However, when Dawn’s in your bathroom, stealing a glimpse into that intimate, personal part of your life, you’re not home. You don’t even live there anymore.

Dawn grew up in Sebastopol, California, a small but charming little town, about an hour north of San Francisco. When she was young, Dawn and her two older sisters were frequently whisked away from the quiet town to all parts of the world. Her parents made their living creating travel films, an artistic endeavor that, while having a lasting impression on Dawn, was lost to her in those days.

I spent my young years chasing the morning light from Fiji to Alaska and beyond. I can hear [my father's] harsh voice shushing me to this day as he tried to capture the sweet song of the morning birds. I didn’t know it then, but image making was in me from the start.

When Dawn became older, her parents were reluctant to take the girls away from school for the duration of a film. Instead, the girls stayed at home while their parents traveled. Dawn and her sisters had been taught to think for themselves, and they enjoyed copious amounts of freedom.

As teenagers, we would often spend our evenings occupying abandoned farmhouses and barns. We would steel a few bottles of wine from the back of one of our parent’s cellars or a bottle of peach schnapps from their liquor cabinets, assuming they wouldn’t miss it. A few blankets, a flashlight and someone with a car were all we needed. I had my first kiss on a blanket sprawled in the middle of a dirt road near a local abandoned barn. It seemed as normal of a place as any for such a moment.

Growing up, Dawn felt grounded by her country lifestyle, yet exposure to other cultures created a desire to find her place in the world. In 2003, Dawn studied Philosophy and Religion, with an emphasis in Peace and Justice, at San Fransisco State University.

My pursuit of such studies was born from a determination to grasp the hugeness of the world and the oneness of the cultures I had observed within it as a child. For I felt that if I could understand humanity, culture, religion and the anthropological and social constructs of such ideals, I could also better know myself.

Shortly after Dawn earned her Bachelor’s degree in 2007, she bought her first SLR, a Nikon D40. She left to travel the world again for two years, this time alone. She packed her camera with her.

Dawn first traveled to India, where she observed the Buddhist, Hindu, and Muslim religious cultures, all in a single country. After three months in India, she moved on to Europe, Mexico, and Africa. Photos of the Masai and other tribes in Africa, as well as candid shots taken during her long stay in India formed her first art show.

Photography is often thought of as a collaborative art form between the photographer and the world around them. To tell the story on the other side of the lens, you must first peer through it. The photographer, while reflecting the world, also reflects herself.

The lesson was immediate and invaluable, I realized that the creativity and self-expression that came from being behind the camera was a much quicker path to understanding the world and my place within it than philosophy was. The gift of those years was a form of self-expression through creativity, which lent itself not only to my own sense of freedom and expression, but also penetrated the lives of the people I photograph.

Upon her return, she enrolled in the Academy of Art, and since then, Dawn Heumann has been shooting semi-professionally. She enjoys shooting portraits and events, such as weddings.

In contrast, Dawn’s thesis is a series of fine art photographs, titled “abandoned:rural”, which portrays sill life subjects such as abandoned buildings and cars. Still life art depicts inanimate, commonplace objects, often in beautiful arrangements.

Inspired by the memories of the old buildings that she haunted as a child, Dawn sneaks into abandoned homes, barns, and other buildings with her camera.

Sometimes I see a building and I say to myself, “I will get into that building”, and I repeat it every time I pass it, until I try, sometimes once, twice, three times until I am successful.

Once inside, like her father’s documentary fieldwork, Dawn documents the lives that lived within. Once cherished places are now nearly forgotten. The stories are in the details. Dawn is captivated by the nuances, which also bring back fond moments from her past.

These sorts of locations are comforting to me. Many of them are full of intimate memories. The smells of mold and rust that come with such locations are not foreign to me.

One house that Dawn had visited as a teenager left especially vivid memories. She still remembers how the dishes had been laid on the dining room table, as if the owners were in the middle of preparing for dinner, and then suddenly were called away, never to return. She also experienced exhilarating moments there with her friends when neighborhood teenage boys pulled pranks by hiding and scaring the girls.

That house sticks in my mind so vividly to this day I cannot even express it to you. Since the beginning of my series on abandoned buildings I have tried three times now to get into that house. Each time, a neighbor or a policeman catches me; I haven’t made it down that long driveway since that foggy night in high school…. I am still determined to photograph it before my thesis is finished.

Much like the clandestine peeks into the medicine cabinet, it’s the uninvited guest that gets the most compelling stories. We’re careful to blame it on curiosity, but in truth, we all seek the same thing — honest and intimate relationships with those around us. We want the stories behind the facade. It’s the pimple cream in the cabinet that shows us that they’re just like us — flawed, embarrassed, and human.

Dawn Huemann’s uninvited perspective into abandoned buildings and rural areas leaves us with a deeper connection to those around us. The photos tell stories through the things that we once cherished, and are now left abandoned. It’s a look into our future as much as the past.

The couches were once soft and new, windows clean and shiny. Now, what is left is peeling wallpaper, falling boards, displaced bricks and a book or a kettle here and there. Within the decaying walls and broken windows there lies a graveyard of forgotten importance.

Ultimately, Dawn Heumann’s photography thoroughly expresses her very own sentiment.

When I look at the world through a lens, I see only beauty.

Dawn continues to build up her thesis work and already has a few more locations scouted out, including an abandoned church in an actual ghost town. She’s excited and promises additional photos soon.

When asked who inspires her, Dawn cited Joyce Tenneson and Annie Leibovitz as professional influences, especially Leibovitz’s ability to let her subjects’ personalities come through. Both Tenneson and Leibovitz are renowned for their portraits and their ability to connect with their subjects. However, Dawn says that one of her largest creative influences has been her father.

He has been nothing but encouraging of my creativity since before I could speak. He has persistently managed to create a career and a life around the work that he loves the most.

"Ramon's Thinking Spot"

Dawn says that her biggest accomplishment has been learning the art of real film photography.

Learning how to work with film, and understanding its beauty transformed me as a photographer. Making my first fiber print in a dark room was perhaps the most prized moment I have had as a photographer. I felt in touch with the ancestors of this art form and proud of myself for taking the leap.

Dawn expects to graduate with her Master of Fine Arts in the spring of 2011. I have a feeling that her passion and spirit will propel Dawn and her career in whatever direction she decides to take it.

You can see more of Dawn Heumann’s portrait, event, and fine art photography at her portfolio Web site. Also, check out her professional Web site, where you’ll be able to hire Dawn Heumann’s professional services for your portraits, weddings, or other events.

Let me know which of Dawn’s photos is your favorite. Click the “I heart this” button to show Dawn some love, then go follow your passion, wherever it takes you.

For those interested in taking snapshots similar to Dawn’s abandoned series, she offers a few words of advice.

I have been in all kinds of situations; from falling through the second floor of an old home to setting off motion detectors in huge warehouses, to being faced with police. Often the buildings are not safe and are not meant to be walked in. I try to use my best judgment and be safe with how far I will take my shoot in an unsafe environment.

If you get nabbed, don’t call us, but do send us your photos.

As part of the country’s long transition from Communist control to a democratic market economy, Bulgaria legally established freedom of the press from government censorship only ten years ago. This drastic change resulted in a media explosion in Bulgaria that is only now tapering off due to a struggling economy. The 2008 KAS Democracy Report by German political reform organization Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, reports that Bulgarians are exposed to one of the largest number of daily newspapers per capita and watch more television than any other European people.

"The Accident"

What you see on earth is that the dominant civilizations are “hit”, obsessed, victims of television.

Growing up as the daughter of a painter, Lilyana Karadjova always loved the visual arts. However, it wasn’t until three years ago, having suffered a series of unfortunate times in her life, that Karadjova discovered her passion for reflection through photography. Having struggled to save the money for her first digital SLR camera, a serious upgrade from a point and shoot camera, Karadjova invited a friend to pose for her.

"Touch me tender"

One of my friends — a very sensitive and beautiful woman, was my first model and we made some great pictures in our first photo session.

One of her first successes, pictured right, made Karadjova very enthusiastic and she hasn’t stopped taking pictures since.

Karadjova is proud to admit that although she knows a lot about the history of art and photography because of her schooling and profession, that she’s completely self taught as a photographer.

Many people say that every beginning is hard. I would say that the beginning is much easier, because you are not restricted by any type and genre of art you will start doing later.

Karadjova majored in philosophy in school, which she had hoped would give her a broad perspective that would be easily applied to her professional and personal life. However, she found that studying philosophy can actually be dangerous to your personal growth if you’re not careful. You may become very limited in theory and close your heart and mind to new and passionate thoughts and experiences.

"J., and the Wind"

After graduating school, Karadjova worked as a reporter at Nova Televsion, one of the three major television stations in Bulgaria. After that, she worked for two years as an editor for the art themed news publication “Wine and Power” before moving up to the cultural journalist position at Novinar, where she currently enjoys interviewing and writing about fellow artists.

In July, Karadjova had an opportunity to feature her work at the Academy Gallery at the National Art Academy of Bulgaria in Sofia. The celebrated exhibit was called “Postidentity” and began with a series of intimate portraits, which then progressed through a series of images representing media’s penetration into the lives of postmodern man. It concluded with piercing images representing deconstruction, some of which were taken with a broken lens.

"As time goes by"

Now I’m 25 years old, and I’m trying to keep my soul and perception as open as a child’s, so not only I learn much easier, but also find new places in my imagination.

"Protection"

Lilyana Karadjova is a wonderfully creative experimental art photographer that uses rich tones and icy cold vignettes that remind me of the work of Italian born fashion photographer Paolo Roversi. The muted but warm colors show a passion for life while the troubled poses and the surrounding ocean of blues and greens act to drown the subjects in silent desperation. With the utmost sensitivity, Karadjova seems to highlight the beauty and pain with a contrast that gives us a very personal heart felt look into the subjects and the artist herself.

Karadjova has an excellent eye for both color and black and white photography, and we look forward to seeing more of her experimentation with things such as broken lenses. We can imagine her easily applying her artistic talent to fashion or celebrity portrait photography.

Karadjova says that as a portrait photographer, she is inspired by uncommon and strange people. Her passion is to stop time, capture her inspiration, and allow others to see it through her eyes. I asked her how she composes these scenes.

Sometimes I have an idea and I realize it the way it was intended to be and other times in the working process I become really inspired and then I just have a lot of new ideas. So, this means that the first idea is a starting point, and it is just a push to start working. Much more ideas come in the working process. It is like music improvisation. One should be playing with one’s imagination. This is what I call creativity.

"Sides of Seduction" - Self portrait

My studio is an empty room, which constantly changes the color of its walls. For this purpose I use different textures and paper. I have huge pieces of organza and silk, which are usable in the decoration of interior, making it a dream-like one. The floor is old — I don’t do anything to strengthen the effect. There is a big window, which is the prevalent source of light. I also use a reflector now and then.

You can find many more of Lilyana Karadjova’s beautiful and thought-provoking photos on her official Web site. Lilyana would like to invite everyone to visit her site and write her an e-mail if they want to share their impressions.

MWP would like to thank Lilyana for sharing her story and the diverse collection of her photos with us. We look forward to following along as she strives to express herself through journalism and photography.

Please let me know which of Lilyana’s pieces is your favorite, and I’m sure that Lilyana would appreciate it if you would click on the “I heart this” button to show your love.

Carlile had been interested in photo montage from a young age and has been doing photography, including developing and printing since he was 14 years old. Carlile says that he owes his early beginnings in photography to two enthusiastic social workers that taught photography to children as a means of artistic escape from the harsh Glaswegian life of the 1960s and 1970s.

Read any book by Paddy Doyle and you get a feel for the poverty and desperation of a city and community becoming post industrial and what that means for the human heart.

Today, Carlile supports his beautiful wife and children by working as a private English language teacher in Hungary. Due in large part to his business savvy, talent, and well honed photography techniques, Carlile also operates a profitable corporate and event photography business on the side.

I live in Budapest, an incredible bawdy old whore. Beautiful and sensual, decaying and flatulent… visually a photographers wet dream.

"Snarl"

Carlile’s more personal art comes from photo sessions that he does at no charge, where a model with a lot of character can get some exceptional portraits in exchange for his or her time and permission to be featured in Carlile’s growing portfolio.

"Ferdinand Magellan"

My studio is located in my spare room but the actual size that I need is very small. The space I need to do a portrait shoot is pretty tight, particularly if I’m using a 50mm lens.

Carlile has mastered the lighting technique known as Rembrandt lighting, named after the famous Dutch painter who featured this type of lighting in his portraits. The heavy contrast in light and dark, done by directly lighting only one side of the face, brings out the fine detail of the face.

It’s no accident that Carlile’s “Faces of the Past” series of portraits have a remarkable resemblance to the Dutch master’s.

Edward Carlile is an amazingly talented photographer whose use of chiaroscuro lighting paints a wonderful portrait full of texture, while masterfully capturing the entire life and future of the subject in the deepest and most respectful way.

"Ammianus Marcellinus (380 AD)"

Carlile’s ability to capture his subjects’ struggles, despair, innocence, and sometimes a glimmer of hope or fire for life, reminds me a lot of the works of famous American photojournalist Steve McCurry. Additionally, Carlile’s use of light to achieve a vibrant shine and wonderfully textured form really captures the essence of a person’s face and character, a skill that I have to compare to that of famous Armenian and Canadian portrait photographer, Yousuf Karsh.

I always like to have portraits looking timeless. When I have a model before me I like to dress them with fabrics, hats and scarves. Cover up modern hairstyles and remove anything that places the model in this time.

In November of 2009, Carlile arranged to take portraits of the general public in his native Glasgow at Borders Books & Music, a store which has its origins in my own hometown of Ann Arbor, Michigan here in the U.S. At the book store, Carlile set up his simple studio and convinced 75 locals to participate in his series titled “Faces of Glasgow”, an enlightening examination of the hard working people of Glasgow.

Through his wonderful portraits and interview questions, Carlile has put together an insightful piece into his fellow man that captures the heart of Glasgow. He is currently trying to get the body of work exhibited in his home country to show the pride he has of his fellow countrymen.

I love trying to pull something from a short time that I have with a person that gives the viewer a strong impression of emotion and character and that the end result for the subject is a completely different view of themselves than they may have seen before.

Carlile says that he prefers to shoot through a single umbrella for the key light, which he uses close enough to the subject to also spill light onto the opposite side of the face. Carlile then uses a second light to pull the subject out of the black background and give the head some definition. He says that he’s purchased a full set of studio lights from the good people at Elemental Photography, but is still getting good results with his two Nikon SB 600s, Nikon SB 800, and “bad ass” Nikon SB 900 Speedlights. Although Carlile does plan on breaking out some of his studio constant lights for an upcoming 1400 person corporate shoot, which we’re sure will keep him busy for awhile.

Some of my favorite works of Edward Carlile were not in this review, so I highly recommend visiting his official Web site to see more of his fabulous works, including his “Faces of Glasgow” series. To get the full story about the people in the photos, you should pick up the series in book form under the title Glasgow Faces, available from online retailer Blurb. To get a glimpse into the life of this hard working photographer and see photos of his beautiful family and studio, you should visit his photoblog. Carlile is proud that his piece titled “The Painter’s Apprentice” was featured at 1x.com, a web site that he likes to frequent. “The Painter’s Apprentice” is one of my favorite pieces by Carlile, and you can buy prints of it and many others from online photo retailer Zenfolio.

MWP would like to thank Edd for contributing his story and photography and allowing us to interview him, and we wish Edd all the best at getting an exhibit for “Faces of Glasgow” that we know would make his countrymen equally proud of him.

Please let me know which of Edd’s pieces is your favorite, and be sure to click on the “I heart this” button to show your love!

Josefine is a budding fashion and fine art photographer that was featured on MWP earlier this week. Check out Josephine Jönsson’s six-page spread, titled “Careless Wonder” (page 89).

Click over to Josefine’s Web site to view her portfolio or get in touch with her.

Jönsson grew up in Malmö, a metropolitan area in southern Sweden, where she had been primarily a self taught photographer. She began expressing herself through the lens in 2006, when she attempted to capture the beauty of a field of golden flowers.

I asked my friend Harriet if she could model for me amongst the flowers. Ever since that photo shoot I have had a love for photography.

Now, Jönsson lives much of the year in Gamleby, a small picturesque town along the eastern edge of Sweden, where she is studying commercial and editorial photography, economics, and business at Fotoskolan Gamleby. The Gamleby photography school has a tough application process and only accepts the most talented ten percent of those that apply, yet an amazing ninety percent of the school’s graduates go on to become commercial photographers.

I think it is quite hard to become a professional photographer, mostly because it feels that you have to fit a special genre, usually commercial, to be at the top.

"Falling"

We asked Jönsson what she liked about doing portrait work, what inspired her about human subjects, and if she thought it might be a segue into doing a specific type of commercial work. “I like to capture [people's] emotions on film,” she said. “I also like how their appearance can change from time to time and how honest they can be in front of a lens.” She hopes to transition into doing fashion photography, while holding onto her own unique style.

"Secrets"

I don’t think that Josefine will have a problem finding her niche in fashion photography. Josefine Jönsson is a brilliant experimental portrait photographer whose artistic use of light, color, and soft focus reminds me a lot of famous American portrait photographer Annie Leibovitz, of Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair fame. The powerful but graceful poses and dreamy subject material are reminiscent of the classic American photographer Anne Brigman, and the more contemporary underwater photos of Howard Schatz. Her intense dream-like images and wonderfully imagined scenes invoke many emotions, from wonder and serenity, to pain, loneliness, and humility.

Jönsson says that her art isn’t inspired by a specific artist, but by many artists, both famous and not, as well as nature, her dreams, her thoughts, and her feelings.

I was amazed at how Jönsson managed such dramatic but gorgeous lighting, so I had to ask if it was purely natural.

I have always had a love for natural light, mostly because it’s very soft and that it fits my dreams and stories the best. I like to experiment in a studio as well, but mostly the natural light works best for my photography.

If you’ve never tried to take self portraits, you may not know how difficult it is to frame the picture, and to get a proper focus  and exposure without being behind the camera. Yet, some of Jönsson’s self portraits are some of her best pieces, because she’s able to be the most creative.

I use a Canon 5D camera and my favourite lens is my 50 mm 1.4. However, there aren’t much difference between my self-portraits and portraits I take of models. My self-portraits are very spontaneous though, so whenever I feel I need to photograph something, it’s nice to just bring my camera and go outdoors to take photos without thinking I have to find a model, make up artist or days that will fit their schedule as well as mine.

"Cyanide"

We asked Jönsson if it was a struggle to get ideas from her mind into the lens.

"Ghost"

Sometimes I can wake up in the morning and have an idea I want to capture immediately, but other times it can go weeks before I come up with a new idea. It’s really what mood I am in, if I am inspired or if I am very busy. My days are always filled with photos, as I love being inspired by other photographers.

Of her work so far, Jönsson is the most proud of her piece titled “Ida”. She enjoyed collaborating with a great team which included a beautiful model and hair and makeup artist. The new piece shows where she’s going with her commercial work and how her style is progressing, yet still holding onto that unique, dark and graceful eye that she has developed on her own. That wonderful photographer’s point of view that she has into everyone’s soul.

"Ida"

You can check out more of the wonderful photography of Josefine Jönsson on her official Web site, at her page on deviantART, or on her photoblog.

MWP would to thank Josefine for sharing her inspiring story and passionate photography with us, and we wish her all the best at becoming a commercial success and continuing to develop her edgy and thought provoking style.

Please let me know which of Josefine’s pieces is your favorite, and I’m sure that Josefine would appreciate it if you would click on the “I heart this” button to show your love.