The Best of LensCulture, Volume 1

The Best of LensCulture, Volume 1 (Schilt Publishing, 2017)

 © Justine Tjallinks

© Gareth Bragdon

© Matic Zorman

"The language of photography continues to get more interesting and more complex as it becomes the most universal medium of communication worldwide.” – Jim Casper, founder of LensCulture

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LensCulture's first book, The Best of LensCulture, Volume 1 (Schilt Publishing, 2017) features contemporary photographers from all over the world, discovered during four of LensCulture’s annual competitions. Not only are these photographers geographically diverse, but their work encompasses many different genres.

For those of you who don't know, LensCulture is a global network and online magazine. For new, emerging and established photographers– it means exposure. THE place to be seen. "For almost 10 years, LensCulture has become one of the most authoritative resources for contemporary photography – currently reaching a monthly audience of over 2 million people around the world. They have been committed to discovering and promoting the best of the global photography community. They look for exciting work from every continent, and from diverse points of view: documentary, fine art, nature, photojournalism, activism, street photography, sports, fashion, poetic, personal, abstract and human. LensCulture International Exposure Awards, now in their 5th year, are granted yearly to discover, reward, and promote new, emerging, and established photographers from around the world."

"The range of work in this book is wide and diverse—from portraits to street photography, photojournalism, personal stories, documentary, fine art, fictional narratives, poetic beauty and abstraction. Their images will take you on a tour of the world and introduce you to people, cultures, historic events and the wonders of nature. Their imagery will also help you appreciate the richness of photography itself as a powerful creative language in all its variety. Who are the people practicing this profound universal language with “fluency” in our image  saturated world today? This book attempts to answer that question. The editors of this volume believe it takes the critical eyes of curators and experts in the field to discover and celebrate true excellence, finding those images that stand out from the crowd and deserve our considered attention."

"The photographers were discovered through four international photography competitions sponsored by LensCulture in the past year. These awards attract entries from photographers all over the world—individuals who have chosen the medium of photography as the best way to communicate and share their experiences, personal visions and points of view. This book is designed as a resource for inspiration, a reference guide, and a point of departure that will allow you to discover amazing photographs and stories." 

The Best of LensCulture, Volume 1

Design: Heijdens Karwei, Amsterdam.
ISBN 978 90 5330 862 2

Schilt Publishing 

www.lensculture.com

  © Martin Venezky, Barbara Levine

© Frank Herfort

Many thanks to Schilt Publishing for much of the text and images. And to LensCulture's Jim Casper for his enormous efforts in discovering and showcasing the world’s best new, emerging and established contemporary photographers and multi-media creators, and bringing them into our lives.

BEN ARNON: Documents Life at PhotoNola

A classic hat lays next to the pew beside the foot of a 102-year old gentleman at Berean Baptist Church in Philadelphia. Photograph (c) Ben Arnon

"Police Your Racism" - Protestors demonstrate against police brutality at Union Square in New York City in July 2016, days after the back-to-back killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castille. Photograph (c) Ben Arnon

Several teams of girls await their Irish dance performances backstage in the 8-hand Mid-Atlantic Regional Competition in Philadelphia. Photograph (c) Ben Arnon

A bucking bronco throws tosses a rider and his hat to the ground at the Friday Night Rodeo in Dubois, Wyoming. Photograph (c) Ben Arnon

 

I met Ben Arnon, a New York City-based visual journalist, at PhotoNola 2016 Portfolio Reviews. His work focus's documentary reportage, street portraiture, and the impact of human existence on urban landscapes. He documents the unflinching honesty of people’s lives and is particularly interested in examining themes of socio-economic, racial and class dynamics amongst and within communities of people.

Photographs from Ben’s most recent work, entitled "RIO," are on view throughout New York’s Chelsea Market to December 31, 2016. Photographs from Ben’s “Black Lives Matter” series were exhibited at Davis Orton Gallery from October 8 to November 13, 2016, and were exhibited during the 2016 DNC Convention in Philadelphia at an exhibition called Truth To Power.  

Ben writes frequently for the Huffington Post, offering social commentary on a wide array of topics including visual arts, culture, society, digital media, and politics.    

benarnonphoto.com

huffingtonpost.com/ben-arnon

CHRIS KILLIP: In Flagrante Two at Yossi Milo

Youth on Wall, Jarrow, Tyneside, 1976

From the series In Flagrante Two
Gelatin Silver Print © Chris Killip

Courtesy Yossi Milo Gallery, New York
 

‘Bever’, Skinningrove,  N. Yorkshire, 1980

From the series In Flagrante Two
Gelatin Silver Print © Chris Killip,

Courtesy Yossi Milo Gallery, New York

Families, Whitley Bay, Tyneside, 1976

From the series In Flagrante Two
Gelatin Silver Print © Chris Killip

Courtesy Yossi Milo Gallery, New York 

 

In Flagrante Two (Steidl, 2016)

 New version of the origin 1988 book

An exhibition of Manx photographer Chris Killip’s classic body of work, In Flagrante, is currently at Yossi Milo Gallery in Chelsea. This is the first time since 1988 that the series - fifty gelatin silver prints hand-printed by Killip  -  has been exhibited in the United States. The show will be on view through Saturday, February 27.

Killip, born in Douglas, Isle of Man, is a Professor of Visual Studies at Harvard University. In Flagrante was photographed by Killip between 1973 and 1985 mainly in Northeast England. Shot with large format cameras in black and white documentary style, these 20” x 24” gelatin silver prints bring to light the lives and landscapes during the time of Britain’s deindustrialization, from before and after the “Thatcher Years”. Often compared with Robert Frank’s The Americans, In Flagrante is considered to be a key artistic document of the era. This work is an enduring witness to the history and perseverance of working-class people and their communities struggling to survive social and economic upheaval. (Text courtesy of Yossi Milo Gallery)

In Flagrante Two coincides with Steidl Verlag’s new version of the origin out-of- print book published in 1988. 

CHRIS KILLIP

In Flagrante Two

through February 27, 2016 at

Yossi Milo Gallery
245 Tenth Avenue, NY, NY

RADCLIFFE 'RUDDY' ROYE: Instagram Activist

 

January 10, 2014 Gabriel -- self proclaimed son of David.

Photograph © Ruddy Roye Instagram.com/ruddyroye

December 31, 2013 The Designer (Unfinished and Unedited) I believe by design I am a designer. Shiny as a petal that was stained from last mornings early rain: Polluted water, skipping on second hand smoke to fill the banks of the raging rivers, rising again like streaming steam, steeped in soilings, to fall again like a Congolese Sapeur on flavoured flowers. I am by design, a designer. Grounded as any root pushing pass dirt and the contaminated loot we pretend to be fodder We call it organic, stringing, and slinging, profane pharmaceuticals into the earth to fertilize our minds I am by design, a designer. Made by man reaching to be higher, but being developed by our local sponsors Acting like we are better than the four legged creatures we carry in our DNA like that man Adam or was it Noah? Watching the world from our hand as we click away blindly with our index finger, Our gaze firmly pointed at the other. Instagram.com/ruddyroye

November 19, 2013 Extract from The Four Seasons (Unfinished, Unedited) Fall And he carried a broken black bag, with his needs and things. A bag that carried no food or clothes, But was filled with his dreams and pills. It is his whole-- Filled with all his earthly possession. Clutching tight it's twisted secrets He uses it to deflect life's cruel weapons. It's is a traveled bag, A carried bag Through centuries and Cross terrains It has been a beaten bag A mistreated bag left to hang in the harsh sun and the pouring rain. I watched him, face blackened, hidden by frustration, he is Everyman invisible and worn. Slowly, I watch him run from the sun and straight into the shadow and pleats of his broken black bag. Instagram.com/ruddyroye

January 29, 2014 "Another Year" -- Happy Birthday, Mom. Every year time sifts each atom that magically shapes her cheeks. It bunches up her brows And tries to redraw the smile etched across her two molded peaks used to pull the universe in. It pulls her eyes forward and forces her to weep Changed in a blink, stopped with a click. She was someone's moon, The waning pregnant shape now wrinkled and barren Was what I first howled at. I wore my first crown sliding down her future while she laid on her back. These days I bemoan time spent chasing a liquid dream hugging this brittle basket of American pies and picket fences watching my dough slip through unraveling seams. I am missing all her seasons. She sits for my camera singing, about a day to come when she will again see her beginning. So I steal a page, and her cheeks flick forward to mimic the click of another year. Straining itself through the magical sift of atoms I see her age peeling away with the tears That drip in this basket called distance and absence drying up to flake away like her life captured in a stare. Instagram.com/ruddyroye

December 27, 2013 Cyclops -- Walking with my eight year old today and talking pictures. He was trying to convince me that he knew what ingredients should be in a good picture. It was a fantastic couple of miles worth of conversation. Instagram.com/ruddyroye

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Radcliffe 'Ruddy' Roye is a Brooklyn based documentary photographer specializing in editorial and environmental portraits and photo-journalism photography. "Radcliffe is inspired by the raw and gritty lives of grassroots people, especially those of his homeland of Jamaica. He strives to tell the stories of their victories and ills by bringing their voices to matte fiber paper." With over 64,000 Instagram followers, Roye has redefined the art of communicating through images and words.

RUDDY ROYE.com

The photographs on this website are a Must-See!

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 Radcliffe Roye, Tuesday March 11 7pm

SVA, 136 West 21st Street, room 418F, NYC

i3: Images, Ideas, Inspiration Lecture Series

presented by MPS Digital Photography 

Photograph © Ruddy Roye

As seen in "The Street Types of New York"exhibition

co-curated by Paul Moakley and Anthony LaSala
Alice Austen House Museum, 2013

Photograph © Ruddy Roye

As seen in "The Street Types of New York"exhibition

co-curated by Paul Moakley and Anthony LaSala
Alice Austen House Museum, 2013 

I first saw Roye's portraits in an exhibition last summer curated by Time Magazine Deputy Photo Editor Paul Moakley and Photo Editor Anthony LaSala. I was blown away by his work and very honored he recently accepted my invitation to talk to my School of Visual Arts BFA Photography program students.
 

Ruddy Roye gave my students an inspirational, moving and informative talk and presentation of his work. He generously shared his own life experiences and career path. Thank you so much, Ruddy Roye.

CENTER: 2014 International Call For Entries

REVIEW SANTA FE: JUNE 26-29, 2014: Review Santa Fe is designed to facilitate relationships between photographers and leading industry professionals looking for new work. PROJECT LAUNCH GRANT: 2014: Project Launch is presented to an outstanding photographer working in fine art series or documentary project. ENTER NOW!

FRANKIE TORRES: Hurricane Sandy Aftermath

Photograph © Frankie Torres

 

Photograph © Frankie Torres

Photograph © Frankie Torres

 Photograph © Frankie Torres

Photograph © Frankie Torres

Photograph © Frankie Torres

Frankie Torres, born in Puerto Rico, is a US Marine Veteran who served from '03 to '07. He was stationed in California, Japan, and deployed to Iraq for 7 months. Photography became his passion in '09 photographing a wide range of subjects and he is now pursuing a career in commercial photography.

Torres photographed on foot after Superstorm Sandy through downtown Manhattan and shared a few of his images with us. 

Frankie Torres Fotografía 

RUBEN E. REYES: The Raramuri

Ester and Her Siblings. Samachique, Mexico
Photograph © Ruben E. Reyes

Raramuri religious dancers during the ceremonies for the Virgin of Guadalupe, San Ignacio, Mexico. Photograph © Ruben E. Reyes

Ebaristo and his son Santiago from Basigochito, Mexico
Photograph © Ruben E. Reyes

Raramuri parishioners wait outside the village church for the ceremony in honor of the Virgin of Guadalupe to begin, Cusarare, Mexico. Photograph © Ruben E. Reyes

"Raramuri’s are a group of indigenous people that live in the Copper Canyon area of northern Mexico. They are reclusive people that have resisted westernization for almost four hundred years, however in the past twenty years there has been a shift in their culture, due to a prolonged drought, pressure from the Mexican government, and an increase in tourism in the area. As they become modern they begin to loose their cultural essence, their traditional clothing, their language." –Ruben E. Reyes

Documentary photographer, Ruben E. Reyes (México D.F.), was one of 100 photographers chosen to participate in Review Santa Fe 2011.

Ruben E. Reyes Website
La Lettre de la Photographie:
Review Santa Fe Part I / Part II

NORMAN MAUSKOPF: Descendants

Photograph (c) Norman Mauskopf /All Rights Reserved

Photograph (c) Norman Mauskopf /All Rights Reserved

Photograph (c) Norman Mauskopf /All Rights Reserved

Photograph (c) Norman Mauskopf /All Rights Reserved

"newborns scream their arrivals, and fathers with wrist chains and tattoos cling to their little loves in parks, and the circle widens and expands and ripples toward every closed gate, with tribal drums beating, gourds blowing and rattles rattling we are here, we are here, we are here" – New Mexican poet, Jimmy Santiago Baca

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Northern New Mexico is a complex weave of pride and history. In this region of ancient traditions and striking environmental and ethnic diversity, documentary photographer Norman Mauskopf has spent the last decade photographing the Hispanic people and their culture. The photographs that emerged depict the intersection of religion, injustice, community, and transcendence. – Twin Palms Publishers

Descendants: Photographs by Norman Mauskopf

NESTOR BALTODANO: Colectivo Nómada

Malecón, La Habana, Cuba, 2006
Photograph © Néstor Baltodano/ All rights reserved

Ortega de Santa Cruz, Guanacaste, Costa Rica, 2009
Photograph © Néstor Baltodano/ All rights reserved

Festejos Populares, Zapote, San José, Costa Rica, 2008
Photograph © Néstor Baltodano/ All rights reserved

Acuario Nacional, La Habana, Cuba, 2007
Photograph © Néstor Baltodano/ All rights reserved

Néstor Baltodano Documentary Portfolio

Colectivo Nómada is the first independent documentary photography collective in Central America, formed by a group of young photographers with many different interests and talents. Take a tour of their website, view their photographic work, send your comments and participate in their blog.

BRAD BUNYEA: Wildfire Fighters

Photographs (c) Brad Bunyea /All Rights Reserved

BRAD BUNYEA | WILDFIRE FIGHTERS
The Ace Hotel
20 W 29th St NYC

thru Sept 20

The Oregon Fire Lines: Hiking, Burning, And Digging
In The Woods of Medford, Oregon
With the Firefighters of Grayback Forestry

Levi's has partnered with Vice Magazine to present "Americana: The Oregon Fire Lines" a documentary film that tells the story of the firefighters of the Grayback Forestry Company. DOCUMENTARY on VBS.TV

Photographs: Brad Bunyea
Film: Colton Kilgor
Presented By: LEVI'S, FILSON & VBS.TV
Opening Night Photos

DANNY LYON: The Civil Rights Movement

Danny Lyon's Memories of the Southern Civil Rights Movement, with a foreword by Julian Bond, an early leader in the American Civil Rights Movement. (Twin Palms Publishers)

Demonstrators block traffic to protest segregation and unfair hiring practices in downtown Atlanta. (early 1960's) Photograph © Danny Lyon/ Twin Palms Publishers

Arrested for demonstrating, teenage girls are kept in a stockade in the countryside. They had no beds and no sanitary facilities. Lyon photographed them through the broken glass of the barred windows. (early 1960's) Photograph © Danny Lyon/ Twin Palms Publishers

"An important historical record of the Southern Civil Rights Movement"

Pictures, eyewitness reports, and text take the reader inside the Civil Rights Movement creating an authentic work of history

If you don't know the story of the real-life murders of these three young civil rights workers in 1964, rent Mississippi Burning (Gene Hackman, Willem Dafoe, Frances McDormand) based on the FBI investigation.

Memories of the Southern Civil Rights Movement
Danny Lyon

"In the summer of 1962, Danny Lyon packed a Nikon Reflex and an old Leica in an army bag and hitchhiked south. Within a week he was in jail in Albany, Georgia, looking through the bars at another prisoner, Martin Luther King, Jr. Lyon soon became the first staff photographer for the Atlanta-based Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), which already had a reputation as one of the most committed and confrontational groups fighting for civil rights.

In Memories of the Southern Civil Rights Movement, Danny Lyon tells the compelling story of how a handful of dedicated young people, both black and white, forged one of the most successful grassroots organizations in American history. The book depicts some of the most violent and dramatic moments of Civil Rights Movement, including Black Monday in Danville, Virginia; the aftermath of the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham; the March on Washington in 1964; and the Mississippi Freedom Summer of 1962. Lyon’s photos were taken when he was the first staff photographer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

The book also includes a selection of historic SNCC documents such as press releases, telephone logs, letters, and minutes of meetings. Pictures, eyewitness reports, and text take the reader inside the Civil Rights Movement, creating both a work of art and an authentic work of history." (text from Twin Palms Publishers)

Danny Lyon gained broad recognition as a photographer, filmmaker, and writer. Working in the style called New Journalism, which involved immersing himself and becoming a participant in a given subject, Lyon photographed motorcyclists in the Midwest and documented life within the Texas prison system. Lyon’s talent was recognized by the Guggenheim Foundation, which awarded him a fellowship in photography in 1969 and another, in film, a decade later. Lyons has had one-person exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Art Institute of Chicago; and the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona.

Twin Palms Publishers

Other Notable Photographers of the American Civil Rights Movement

CARLAN TAPP: Question Of Power

"Four Corners Power Plant, Shiprock, New Mexico. Over 15 million tons of chemical toxins are released into the air each year in the Four Corners Area. Living in the shadow of the nation’s dirtiest power plants the Dine´ People suffer from respiratory disease and cancer from the pollution laden air, soil, and water. A new proposed coal burning power plant, Desert Rock, will seriously add to local and global problems." Photograph © Carlan Tapp/ All rights reserved

"Alice Gilmore stops to rest at her young sister’s grave site. She has been told by the Dine´ Power Authority that her father long ago signed over all their grazing permits to the strip mine. The DPA refuses to show her written records. Her family burial areas, home, and grazing lands will all be destroyed by the new strip mine." Photograph © Carlan Tapp/ All rights reserved

"Many Navajos must drive, on average, 50 miles round trip three to four times a week for their personal water and for their livestock supply since much of existing livestock water has been contaminated by mining activities." Photograph © Carlan Tapp/ All rights reserved

"Bonnie Gilmore listens intently as her mother Alice shares family history and information regarding family ceremonial and burial sites being destroyed by BHP Mining." Photograph © Carlan Tapp/ All rights reserved

"Alice and Bonnie Gilmore approach contractors hired by BHP Mining who were discovered sifting through family burial sites." Photograph © Carlan Tapp/ All rights reserved

"Children intently watch Lucille Willie skillfully hand-shear a sheep, a craft passed down to each generation." Photograph © Carlan Tapp/ All rights reserved

"Asthma in children is doubling every ten years."

Photograph © Carlan Tapp/ All rights reserved

Question of Power
Coal: The social cost of Electricity in America

Carlan Tapp began his photo essay Question of Power in 2005. His project uses traditional photographic documentary techniques of reportage, portraiture, and landscapes, with the addition of recorded audio interviews. Question of Power are stories and voices of individuals, families, and communities affected by the mining, processing, burning, and storage of waste materials created by coal for this generation of electricity in America. Carlan Tapp: Portrait U.S.A.

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Spicy Gumbo Photo Workshop MAY 20-24th

All 2010 Workshops