Lyndon Wade

Lyndon Wades artwork has a very fantasy like feel. Each composition uses very vibrant colors and the subjects are seemingly animated. I really like the creativity and almost comical feel of each piece. Her work is a very good example of the project that we are working on now with masking. The images are very fantasy, however, since the entire piece has the same feel throughout, they are believable.  I also really like the colors and the composition in each piece. Although they seem real, she has enhanced the colors in such a way that it appears dream like. All of the subjects are in some sort of circus outfit or dress of a different time period. Nothing makes sense and each piece is up for interpretation. I think that the photos are very interesting and that it is a very good source for inspiration for our masking project. 

Richard Avedon

Richard Avedon is a portrait photographer from the US who began as a fashion photographer and moved toward fine art and portrait photography. Avedon worked for Harpers Bazaar and Vogue Magazine. After many years of fashion, he began photographing hospital patients, war veterins, and eventually everyday people. 

Avedon's work is very glamours and formal. All of his photos are black and white with a very nice contrast. Each piece pays very close attention to the light. In his fashion photos, balance and rhythm are very important in creating the flow of his pieces. He exemplifies the model and gives a strong sense of confidence. 

His later work deals more with everyday people; people with no significant reason as to why they would be photographed. These images are much more rugged and the people seem very real. Each image usually only has one person, and it is a portrait of that person in their everyday attire. In the images he shot of mental hospital patients, he captures their expressions and emotions so carefully that it is difficult to look away. 

I really like Avedons simplicity of the background and the intense images of the people in which he seems to bring to life. 

Giedrius Varnas

Giedrius Varnas has a simplicity to her work that is very captivating. All of her prints are very spacious and serene. She uses digital and prefers black and white. She does use photoshop on her prints however, she tries to keep it within the traditional controls such as dodge, burn, contrast, and retouching. Her photos are very clean and evoke a sense of peacefulness. Each photo highlights a specific object and the rest seems to float away in space. The calming simplicity works very well in her images; I could not see them being in color. The black and white tends to be more mysterious with the contrast. Though black and white seem to appear in each image, there are no sharp distinctions which creates flow and balance. I really enjoy her use of white/blank space. I tend to not make my images very busy because I like the way that it looks and feels open and clean. 

Simoendli

Simoendli is a digital photographer that I found on deviantart.com. I was not able to find much information on her, however, she does have quite a few pictures on the website. Her work is very sensual and delicate. She does a very good job of zooming in on objects and blurring out the background so that ones eye is focused on one exact spot. I really like the way she uses water droplets and makes them the focal point. They are very crisp and clean images with a mystical feel to them. She also has a very strong use of color and space throughout her compositions. Her use of photoshop to enhance her images is also very strong in that it is not obvious, and could pass for an actual photo with no work done to it. I really want to try and shoot like this for another project. I researched an artist last week with a similar style and I really like the soft, and minute detail that is depicted from looking at these works of art. 

Romano Ferlan

Romano Ferlan lives and works in Fogliano, Italy. His work is very unique. The project that I wanted to focus on was his "Interno Freddo." He photographed the rooms of a house built at the turn of the century. The house was abandoned, so while Ferlan was in there photographing, he wanted to depict the house in a way that viewers would think it was his. His images have an eerie feeling to them. Each one is monochromatic with black adding depth. He is very good at using light to create the composition. In each image light defines the shapes and forms to help the viewer understand what they are looking at, however, it is done in such a way that it only gives a tiny hint at the subject matter. By viewing and studying his work, it really helps me to understand how I can use light to define my space. It is so important in all of his pictures from the bright lights to the dark shadows that without the stark contrast the images would not give the viewer the same intense dramatic feel. 

Denise Swanson

Denise Swanson has a very distinct and interesting style to her work. She grew up with two parents who were very into art and design which helped shape her creative genes. 

Swanson's work is very centered around nature and the natural or primitive world. She spends the majority of her time outdoors and combines her love of the outdoors with her love of photography. It is very important that her viewers can feel the way she felt while taking the picture rather than just seeing an image. 

I really like her style of photography. She is able to capture the intrigue and beauty of everyday objects. Her compositions are also very strong in that she pays very close attention to the design aspects of photography as well as the actual subject matter. She is not concerned with the viewer being able to clearly see what is in front of them; she wants it to be mysterious and evoke the imagination. Her extreme close up images and the somewhat out of focus parts create a very peaceful flow throughout the work of art. I'm really glad that I came across her and by viewing her work it helps me to develop new ideas for different ways of cropping and manipulating images. 

Steve Baker Photography

Steve Baker is a professional photographer who has recently been experimenting with photoshop. His images are very dramatic. Almost all of his photos are of people. He uses light and color to create a dramatic effect rather than the actual subject. His interesting use of color comes from photoshop where he places it specifically in one area. They are not overdone in photoshop; they still look like real pictures, however, he adds the little detail that makes them stand out. His photos tell a lot about the subjects due to his style of depicting the emotions through color and light. Most of his images are very interesting and captivating, however, there are some that I find to be boring, like he couldn't quite get what he was trying to say.