Merry Christmas to Everyone

More than a religion is it's message....

" Peace on Earth...

 Good Will to All Men "

" From Their View "....James Clancy...Elizabeth James

 

Elizabeth James:



‘Colour in Motion’ captures
the characteristics of Water under different circumstances. My approach to this subject is varied and often experimental. I have spent many years 
experimenting and observing closely its many varied forms it adopts in different circumstances.

Capturing my findings has allowed me to study and record Colour in Motion, its transforming shapes & colours as it freely takes on its own direction and tones. The colours themselves carrying little or no commitment to the ebb & flow of the water as it takes on the body of life; taking us out of our sphere influence and bringing others in to it

 

More of her work..www.elizabethjamesart.com

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James Clancy:

 I drew on inspiration from classic cinema styles especially that of Film Noir and journey through the mystery and suspense within the shadows of the late night urban scenes to re-think privacy and to explore solitude and isolation through this examples of night photography pictures.

More of his work: www.jamesclancy.org

"From Their View"...Nancy Bechtol...Sean Costello

 

Nancy Bechtol  is a photographer, independent producer/director, artist and educator. She shares with us some of her views of Chicago.

‘Top o Willis Tower” Chicago.  Shot from the ‘Ledge’ on the Sky deck. (shot about 5 years ago then reprocessed several times, in PS using painting, and numerous layers)

‘Street view-track” Chicago. 2013. Corner of Lake and Wabash. Casual shot with my Samsung Cell. On the way to work, where I teach at Illinois Institute of Art. Downtown Chicago)

http://socialdocumentary.net/photographer/nancybechtol




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Sean Costello   shoots commercial portraits, architecture and fashion. His art shows a strong graphic sense in his work " Sanctuary "


To highlight the design of each church, I make high-contrast black andwhite photographs against a dark sky.

The  low angles serve to emphasize a sense of awe in the viewer at the monumental elements ofthe structure.




My goal is not to coerce people into a newfound faith,
but to celebrate the genius of combining a near perfect set of
physical and aesthetic architectural elements, to create a beautiful structure that reflects individual beliefs and ideals.

more of his work: www.seancostellophoto.com

" From Their View"...Sigthor Markusson

From Iceland, Sigthor Markusson explores the other side of his commercial work and shows us the beauty of form and landscapes in  

" Bare Landscapes."   

" Bare Landscapes is a photographic expedition across the topography of Iceland.   The journey is mesmerizing as a visual exploration of natural bodies, that of the land and the female form. They  are exposed raw, unadorned and blooming. Whether resolved against volcanic rock, sequestered in craters of ice or simmering in hot springs, these images have been chiseled out of time, beautiful and natural. The Bare Landscapes project has spanned more than a decade, and will continue on as more images are created."

" After living in the US for so long and traveling back to Iceland each year I began to experience the country as a visitor might, taking in its raw beauty, and seeing the land like never before. It was upon one of those visits that the Bare Landscapes project began, when he started photographing, and appreciating what he had taken for granted for so long."

More of his other work can be seen at:
http://markussonphoto.com/

" From Their View "...Tanya Smith

These recent images are presented for the first time in public by Tanya Smith. She welcomes fellow Fine Art Photographers to comment with their opinions.



"This first image, entitled 'Thorns For The Crown' was captured using a Canon EOS 30D with a Sigma 35-75 lens at F8 1/125 with an ISO 800 setting.  Part of a self-assigned photo shoot I recently did called Finding Faith.  An arrangement on the walls of an historical Episcopal church I attend occasionally, I relate it to the crown of thorns Jesus wore on the cross.  The image is post-processed in Adobe CS5  for toning and effects, and will be printed on a Fine-Art Matte paper or Arches Watercolor paper (which is one of my favorites for images like this)."









My second image is entitled 'Strength of Character'.  Canon EOS 30D - Sigma 35-75, ISO 160, F16 @ 1/125 with 18mm focal length. This old barn is surrounded by chain link fencing, prohibiting me from closer contact and forcing me to shoot from an upward perspective to avoid the distraction of the fencing.  I love the character of old buildings and saw great strength in this barn.  The image is post-processed in CS5 to achieve an infrared effect and will be printed on a Fine-Art matte photo paper.


Tanya Jacobson-Smith
For more of my work check out my FAA page http://tanya-jacobsonsmith.artistwebsites.com/

" From Their View "...Marcus Brunström / Jonathan Brooks

From Marcus Brunström:
 
This is a series I shot for the Norristown Farm park in Norristown/East Norriton, PA, USA.
It’s shot with a Shen Hao 4x5 with TMAX 320 over the past few months.

The purpose of this series is to show the decay of mankind and how natures reclaims their property as soon as we leave it.

Photographer bio:
Marcus Brunström
Stehag, Sweden
For more of his work :   www.marcusbrunstrom.se
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From Jonathan Brooks:

These are two of my Femme Fatale Characters from my Skull Series.

One is from my first short film 5 SKULLS, which I finished in October and the other continues the series of characters.

For more of his work:

http://jonathanbmiami.tumblr.com/

" From Their View "...Nikolay Semyonov

From South Russia, Nikolay Semyonov emerges on the art scene after a career as a teacher. His love of art lead him into photography. With a knowledge in Photoshop, he leans more towards Corel in his current work.

 

1) rr snow: RAILROAD SNOW. shot a few years ago when the first snow of the year started falling. the idea was to snow the mood of the moment;

2)1040477: SCHOOL HOLIDAYS. corel painter brushes (pallet knives, sargent brush, layering etc) on a photo of the local school on an early winter morning. gradation from warm to cold colors and the play of light were the two most luring things here;

3) 1060500: TIMUR. My  elder grandson
looking for how to get behind the door of a building in the neighboring public park. He has a syndrome and, when shooting him, I often stop to think if he'll ever be able to find a way for him in life. Processed in corel painter (surface texture adjustment, noise etc).


In fact, I use a lot of tools and a few processing techniques, depending on the image. I started with photoshop way back to the late 90s' but very soon corel painter became my Nomer Odin (#1 in Russian) software.

I've been a member of a few domestic and international sites, e.g. Redbubble (about 1,000 works), where you can find my portfolio at :

http://www.redbubble.com/people/snik?ref=account-nav-dropdown

"From Their View"...Bernard Kessler...

The two photographs, Silent Space #3 
and #5 are in my book published by Blurb, SILENT SPACES, devoted to the exploration on the extraordinary in the ordinary.


 Simple photographs of things in otherwise empty space.  They are stark. without visible flamboyance, but filled with a sense of transcendental meaning that takes us beyond the visual surface.


 It is my experience that each and every thing we can see can be communicated with beyond the surface.  It is as though we are at the edge of a pond.  When we move from the edge’s surface into the depths our understanding of the pond increases.  The pond becomes more complete, more interesting, communicating its essence.

My experience over the 75 years I have been photographing is that the essence of the subject is not merely what I am seeing, but instead communicates from a different dimension,
a welcome, mysterious comfort.

A columnist reviewing SILENT SPACES suggested the content as an example of the art philosopher, Arthur Dante of Columbia University book, THE TRANSFIGURATION OF THE COMMONPLACE.  Not an easy read as I searched for an explanation. It is a scholarly document exploring, analyzing, diagnosing the process but no "how tos." 
I have  been introduced to many possible explanations.  It has been an interesting exploration ranging from the spiritual beliefs of Native American Indians to Quantum Mechanics, via Werner Heisenbergs’s  UNCERTAINTY PRINCIPLE.

Evidence of what happens is clearer than how.
So be it.
more of Bernard's work ...http://www.flickr.com/photos/zennature ... 

" From Their View ".. .Renata Ratajczyk

  views of women from our group at Fine Art Photographers: 

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Renata Ratajczyk: finds her inspiration from Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen"

 excerpt from her blog

"...Think about how beautiful the world often looks in winter.  The fresh white snow makes it also looking more peaceful, ethereal and encourages people to rest and reflect.  This time of the year can also be very good time to create new things and to dream about the future.  Winter is also sometimes playful and creates conditions favorable for many activities not possible to do during warmer months when the snow is absent.  That’s why particularity many children and sports enthusiast love it.  Because of winter’s playful nature, I have chosen to depict my Winter Queen as more joyful personality. "

more of her work

From Their View : Corrado D'Angelo...

This week, Corrado D'Angelo shares his work and his own words.

" Two images from a larger portfolio (8 images) dedicated to a particular shop in my town, Turin, north of Italy. Its name was "Inferno" (Hell) and they sold strange garments for "strange" people (punk, dark, and so on). Really far from my gendre, but one rainy day I was strolling under the arcades of the town center with my camera and saw the girl arranging the shop's window with the heart.

I lifted my camera and shot: a short smile between us and I left. Few days ago I returned with the print of the photo and gave it to her. Well, so I started to work on the shop, on the girl and their clients, so different from me. I came back 5 or 6 times and found that "different" does not necessarily means even "dangerous".
My aim in photography is to tell stories and emotions, through images that are both pleasant for the eyes and moving for the hearth.
All images are hand printed by me, with a light final selenium tone: shot by Nikon F70, TMax 400 roll. "

More on me (and the whole portfolio) at: www.corradodangelo.com.

"From Their View"...Paul King

From his profile Paul King states, he is a student of Fine Art Grimsby Institute whose studio practice work is Photography. " Such is the power of education, doors open and close until you find the path to what really interests you. In my case it was returning to something I have been involved in for many years."

 " These images are part of a wider body of work for use as part of my Fine Art Practice degree coursework.  I would like my audience to consider more deeply the environment in which they find themselves, recognizing the beauty of small (relative to the overall size) details.  I am drawn to structure and form, repeating patterns and interplays between juxtaposed elements.


  All my images are digital and are shot using RAW format files.  I used to use Photoshop for post-production editing, but now virtually all images are processed exclusively in Lightroom 5.  From this peer review process I would like to get a cross-section of comments in which people, in their opinion, can tell me what works, what does not work, and why.  I am less interested in reviewers using other photographers work, as a comparison tool, because then they do not describe their own feelings towards my work."

Welcoming comments....