Please take a second to vote for me if you like my latest book in the Photography Book Now competition run by Blurb.

Vote by clicking the link!

Artists Wanted

Artists Wanted I would love it if you would take the time to have a look and vote if you like what you see!

AD

So it has altogether been too long since I posted on here. My accuracy at 36aweek isn't working out too well at the moment but please forgive me and we'll soldier through.

The post I want to talk about today is Architectural Digest. I saw an advert on the side of a bus and it sparked some inspiration.

Following that up I looked into it and found a lot of things that were inspirational. So in 36aweek style, thought I would share it with you.

I would eat breakfast on the tiny deck on the other side of the house. The solitude of nature and the stillness in the lake would instill in me a calmness that I would carry on through my day. I would live my days in the way I wanted them to be, instead of how I would like them to be. I would be a complete person, no longer sacrificing what is dear to me, but embracing it every day and being truly grateful for it. Do you get that from this? Or is it just me...

Some places are meant to cleanse your soul and repair your heart. This feels like one of those places. What better place than in the sky, away from the chaos playing out in the land below and closer to the clarity and divinity located in the sky.

This is just a beautiful piece of work. It's actually a hotel which is a bit of a shame, I really wanted it to be a extension of an elaborate house, probably a library which you would go to sit in when the sun was setting, with a book that totally captured your imagination. And looking out around you the water would reflect the sky and for a moment of a day you might feel like you were suspended and at peace. That's how I would like to live out my days. If that isn't inspiration...

All in the pages of Architectural Digest.. who knew!

Chalk Man on sidewalks

I 'stumbled' across this and thought it was fantastic! Thought I would share it with you.

Link to the site here.

Emily Rotter's blog

The way this blog written is what interests me, it comes from a personal, diary-like state which makes for an insightful read. You feel like you learn more about the person from what they don't say and the things you figure out just in the way they write things. I found some time of a day to wonder through it and explore the realms of someone else's (more interesting) life!

And hey! everyone wants to slip into someone else shoes once in a while. Indulge in living in the skin of another. Blogs can be great for doing this, especially photographic ones. Showing you the true reality of someones exsistence. This is one is riddled with honesty and snapshots.

Welcome to Emily Rotter.

Stumbleupon.com

Have 'stumbled' across something very interesting! It's called Stumbleupon.com and in my opinion a revolutionary way to use the Internet.

It works by ticking the categories that you are interested in and then Stumbleupon generates pages related to what you chose. So you can wonder through [ages and pages of things - as mostly happens on the Internet - but everything is related to you and your interests!

You can use it for fun, you can use it for work, it really can be utilised to almost anything!

If you like to browse through the web and are interested in different things that are happening in certain fields you have interests in then this is a must.

Link to Stumbleupon.com here

I have a wonderful friend who sends me the most inspirational things. I felt to share this one with you in the hope that it may resonate with you as it did with me. My thanks to you.

Dan Brown's 'The Lost Symbol'

Dan Brown's 'The Lost Symbol' is a fantastic read. Apart from the obvious fact that his books are hugely engaging and entertaining

- this one is no different - there is another theme of this book that interests me.

He deals upon the subject of Noetic Science and this has just captured my attention so completely. There are a lot of theories that

I believe to be true and have always done so - more in faith than in factual evidence. This book goes a long way to proving some of

those faiths to be truths. He passes over the idea of Entanglement theory. That we are all connected together in this whole unit

and that our combined presence has the ability to change realities. That the one most powerful gift we have as a human race is

that which we already hold. Our minds can create matter, our thoughts can change our worlds if only we were awake to be able to do

it. We have a wealth of knowledge hidden in plain sight and access to wisdom if we would only choose to see it. I have a lot of

belief in ideas like this and this element of the book has only helped to propel my interest and make this an even more exceptional

read!

Link to buy the book on Amazon here.

50 people, 1 question - Youtube

This is just beautiful. The way it is edited and the energy and thought behind it. It is purely beautiful. I would urge everyone to watch this.

Link here: 50 people, 1 question

Flak Photo

Flak Photo sends out a photo to their mailing list everyday with a photo that they have selected for the day. I find it's like a little bit of inspiration to your email inbox everyday...

http://flakphoto.com/

Sally Mann - What Remains

Sally Mann's 'What Remains' is a very inspirational DVD about her life and her work. She speaks about her work gone by, her children and new work. It is a very personal insight, with views of the relationship between her and her husband and the effect of his illness in their lives. It is an interesting watch for anyone, even with no interest in photography, but phenomenally fascinating if you do happen to have an interest. Her life is inspiration to me. The idea that you can have the life you want - live in the country with a massive house and have your family so close while still pursing and achieving a respectable career is massively inspiring. The place of my life that I find myself in, I feel that the combination of these things is always a sacrifice that has to be considered so I am very welcoming to the idea that they can be combined harmoniously.

I would recommend watching it, it really opened new doors for me. It can be bought of Amazon.com (link here) but word to the wise, it is a Region 2 DVD so will be American and will need a multi-regional DVD player if your playing it in any other wonderful part of the world.

J. K Rowling Graduation Speech Harvard 2008

I have just come across this very moving speech by J.K Rowling at a Harvard graduation ceremony 2008. Her views on entering the world from the safe place of education and the impact that you can have on the world is inspiring and devout. Being a recent graduate myself, it reaffirms the need I have to succeed and questions what my version of success and merit is. I do believe that her speech comes from the heart and will impact for all that listen to it, whether they were there or not, intended for or not.

To listen to her speech click here.

Intended Consequences: Rwandan Children Born of Rape Photographs by Jonathan Torgovnik

Intended Consequences: Rwandan Children Born of Rape

Photographs by Jonathan Torgovnik

(Presented in conjunction with Heather McClintock:The Innocents: Casualties of the Civil War in Northern Uganda)

This is an Aperture Foundation exhibition that I came across. Having come across this series of work once before in a competition, I am very excited to see that it is now in an exhibition! I am sure it will be a fascinating experience and would be going myself if I had the chance!

All the following information is from Aperture and can be found at this address.

Opening reception: Friday, January 22, 2010, 5:00 pm–7:00 pm Exhibition on view: Saturday, January 23, 2010 –Saturday, March 13, 2010 FREE Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art 161 Calhoun Street Charleston, South Carolina (843) 953-5680 Related Programming: Artist Lecture with Jonathan Torgovnik Friday, January 22, 2010 4:00 pm–5:00 pm Panel Discussion The Politics of Presentation: Finding a venue for challenging documentary projects Saturday, January 23, 10:00 am–12:00 pm

Each panelist will give a brief overview concerning their organization's engagement with challenging work, and share a few stories about how the organization has been able to persevere in this rarefied area. Panelists: Jonathan Torgovnik, photographer; Heather McClintock, artist/photographer; Heather Dwyer, Blue Earth Alliance; Melissa Harris, editor-in-chief, Aperture magazine; Tom Rankin, Center for Documentary Studies, Duke University; Mark Sloan, moderator and director and senior curator, Halsey Institute. This important exhibition and book Intended Consequences: Rwandan Children Born of Rape (Aperture, May 2009) brings together photographer Jonathan Torgovnik's powerful documentation of the accounts of thirty women who were subjected to massive sexual violence by members of the notorious Hutu militia groups during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Due to the stigma of rape and "having a child of the militia," the communities and few surviving relatives of these women have largely shunned them. The portraits and testimonies featured in Intended Consequences offer intensely personal descriptions of these survivors' experiences and the challenges they face today, as well as their conflicted feelings about raising a child who is a living reminder of horrors endured. The exhibition includes a multimedia installation produced by MediaStorm, which gives visitors the chance to hear heart-wrenching stories from the survivors themselves. This project is a collaboration with the Open Society Institute, Amnesty International, Foundation Rwanda, and MediaStorm. Intended Consequences is made possible, in part, by generous support from Henry Buhl; SanDisk; Artis—Contemporary Israeli Art Fund; and the Consulate General of Israel, Office of Cultural Affairs, in New York. Additional support is provided by Amnesty International and Kodak.

Michael Itkoff

Michael Itkoff is one of the founding editor's of Daylight Magazine. I came across his personal work which doesn't appear in the magazine. Instead preferring to keep the two seperate, I had a look at the work he makes for himself.

I particularly liked the series 'Between two lakes' and could relate to the idea of resonating with a place and returning to photograph it time and time again. The photos hold true of this idea and you can tell the photograph has connections to this place other than fleeting second photographs. I suspect that infact if I were to visit this place it would not hold for me the depth and connection that it has for Michael Itkoff.

Thw website holds some great photography and I would recommend anyone to give it a look.

Link to Michael Itkoff's website here.

Federico Grandicelli

I have met a fascinating photographer called Federico, who as you can imagine is Italian. He is new to NY and has started to document the city with a real eye for composition and flare. His photos have an atmosphere created by the panoramic format that he uses. His website is under construction but still has very worthy things to look at even in it's unfinished structure.

For a link to his site click here.

Jennette Williams - The Bathers

This is the 2nd time I have looked at Jennette Williams, The Bathers and I have enjoyed it this time as much as the last. It is a beautiful depiction of the female form and becomes almost painterly in its delicacies. For me I think its the fragility to which these women appear, vulnerable but yet comfortable - it feels like a safe place. The relationship in knowing that the photographer is a woman also goes along way in my opinion to understanding the connotations intentions of this work . It is a beautiful set of photographs.

Nicole Kenney

This is website of photographer (and used to be amazing illustrator) Nicole Kenney.

Her website Diary 29 is a record of everyday for the last year of her 20's. It is such an interesting insight and has filled many minutes of my days catching up. It is very addictive so be warned -it will be something you'll grow not to live without.

Link to Diary 29 here.

Another project that Nicole is working on with fellow photographer Ks Rives is Before I Die I Want To, which is another completely intriguing compilation of work. It is based around Polaroids of people from all over the world, from places like hospices to friends and family, who have their Polaroid taken while

discussing the things they want to do before they die, and then writing it on the Polaroid afterwards.

There is something so tangible about the method and the personality that resonates from each person revealing their deepest desires. It is a reminder to the everyday that life is short but it is to be positively embraced.

I'd say if you get a minute, give this a good look- (and while your there check out some of Nicole's older illustrations...very good!)

Link to all Nicole's work here

Daylight Magazine Issue 8

Daylight Magazine is releasing the long awaited 8th issue based on Afghanistan. After having a sneek preview of the magazine, I have to say, it is outstanding. As much as I have enjoyed the previous issues, this one has a connection in all the imagery and the text that is moving while also remaining informative. I look forward to having a copy of my own! I recommend going out and getting a copy of your own - I believe it hits the shelves in early February so watch this space!

Click here for a link to the Daylight website.

Richard Misrach Gallery Opening at Pace Wildenstein 14th Jan 10

I went down to the Richard Misrach opening at the Pace Wildenstein Gallery a few Thursday's ago and was very impressed with the show. The work is all displayed at a mass scale which only helps the feeling of being enveloped into these mammoth landscapes. The inversion of all the pieces never allows for presumptions of landscapes you may have seen before - these photos will make you look at familiar and unfamilar scenes in a new sense of detail and presicion. I found myself having to stare at some pieces for a few moments before being certain that I knew what I was looking at. Overall I came away feeling like I had just been a part of some ethereal destination. I would recommend people to go and take a look, and have a little bit of time to be able to fully take in the life size portals.

For more information on the exhibition click here.

Palm Springs Photo Festival 2010 March 28th - April 2nd

I'm very excited about the looks of the Palm Springs Photo festival 2010. It looks like its bound to be a worthwhile event to go to with one of the highlight being a 4 day workshop given by Joel Meyerowitz.

THE JOEL MEYEROWITZ MASTER CLASS: The Search For Identity. The Joel Meyerowitz workshop will be divided into the two ways of seeing that are at the heart of most photographic activity; walking the streets anywhere in the world and being out in nature. You will spend four days shooting with Joel on the local streets and out in nearby wilderness. You will have an opportunity to better understand how instinct, on the street, plays a role in defining who you are, as a person and as an artist; the same is true of the way we experience ourselves in nature and why we feel compelled to make photographs about its mystery and magnitude. This is a FULL FOUR-DAY WORKSHOP. Click Here for Full Details.

Monday, March 29 – Thursday, April 1. 9:00am – 4:00pm
Price: $1000

For more information about the festival click here.

Picture Black Friday

The winners for the Inaugural Picture Black Friday competition have been announced and there are some very worthy winners. Congratulations to Sandy Carson who took Best of Show and Alex Boerner who was runner up.

The competition was judged by professionals such as Amy Stein, Jake Stangel, Steven Frailey, Brian Ulrich, Jon Feinstein, Joerg Colberg and John Saponara.

To see the winners images and the finalists click here.

To see Sandy Carson's website click here.

For Alex Boerner's website click here.

Welcome to 36aweek! This blog aims to cover all the goings on in the art world for your reading pleasure! I hope you enjoy!