Tag Archives: portrait

Artist Feature

Studies in Motion – Jean-Christophe Denis

One of my favorite features of the pinhole camera is its blurring of time. In other photographic pursuits it is not unusual to see motion blur used creatively. However in pinhole, it’s nearly a constant aspect of the resulting image, which results in us having to always consider the passage of time as an unspoken subject of the images.

Jean-Christophe Denis is a French artist from Strasbourg who wields his pinhole camera to bring us some unique representations of motion and time. He describes himself as “keen on alternative photographic techniques. [His] world carries us off into dreamlike images, or staggered delicate portraits. By constantly pushing [his] practice of photography into a corner, [he] reveals [his] vision of the visible.”

The following images are a sampling of a couple avenues of approach that Jean-Christophe (or JC) has explored. First are some of the “staggered delicate portraits” which show the beauty of human movement in stutter-step detail. The second are from a stunningly energetic series of self-portraits while riding his bike.

He provides the following intro to the “Ride My Bike” self-portraits:

“For someone hidden behind a camera it is not easy to find yourself on the other side, the first self-portrait of a photographer is full of meaning, Hippolyte Bayard, the pioneer of photography represents suicide in his first staged photograph.

While integrating egocentric codes of contemporary society, like the  selfie and Gopro phenomenon, I nevertheless take the opposite view of technology with the aim of building an image to fit into my time, my way.”

I hope you enjoy the following selection from JC as much as I have! To discover more of JC Denis’s excellent work, head over to Flickr or check out his personal website – he has more great pinholes and other photographic works.

Haré Pola
[singlepic id=263 w=600]Haré Pola, ©Jean-Christophe Denis[/singlepic]

 

Untitled
[singlepic id=270 w=600]Untitled, ©Jean-Christophe Denis[/singlepic]

 

Untitled
[singlepic id=271 w=600]Untitled, ©Jean-Christophe Denis[/singlepic]

 

Ride My Bike
[singlepic id=269 w=600]Ride My Bike, ©Jean-Christophe Denis[/singlepic]

 

Ride My Bike Front Back
[singlepic id=268 w=600]Ride My Bike Front Back, ©Jean-Christophe Denis[/singlepic]

Ride My Bike 3
[singlepic id=264 w=600]Ride My Bike 3, ©Jean-Christophe Denis[/singlepic]

 

Ride My Bike 4
[singlepic id=265 w=600]Ride My Bike 4, ©Jean-Christophe Denis[/singlepic]

 

Ride My Bike 5
[singlepic id=266 w=600]Ride My Bike 5, ©Jean-Christophe Denis[/singlepic]

 

3 Beers Later
[singlepic id=262 w=600]3 Beers Later, ©Jean-Christophe Denis[/singlepic]

 

Ride My Bike Color
[singlepic id=267 w=600]Ride My Bike Color, ©Jean-Christophe Denis[/singlepic]

 

Inspiration

Get Inspired – Week of June 29

We’re going to bring the shade of mood to the bright sunshine of June for this final featured photo post of the month. Have a look at the best we found in the last week.

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[singlepic id=243 w=600]/, ©Alex Fedotov 2015[/singlepic]
Alex Fedotov is based in St. Petersburg, and has a Flickr photostream chock full of interesting work. He works a lot in diptychs and in capturing quiet but powerful scenes with people.

 

The Fox
[singlepic id=244 w=600]The Fox, ©Gordon Szeto 2015[/singlepic]
Gordon Szeto made this photo with his Zero Image 69. He typically shoots landscapes, but for this photo he had a go at working with a model. This image is part of his series, A Girl and Her Mask. You can find more of Gordon’s work on Flickr and his personal website.

 

MUSE
[singlepic id=245 w=600]MUSE, ©Michele Welponer 2015[/singlepic]
Michele Welponer made this striking image of MUSE, the Trento, Italy Museum of Science using his homemade 4×5 pinhole camera. We love this image for the way the perspective and vignetting shows off the geometry of the building. More of Michele’s work can be found on Flickr.

 

 

Inspiration

Get Inspired – Pinhole 06

Today our featured pinhole photo explores our interactions.

Pinhole 06
[singlepic id=187 w=500]Pinhole 06, ©Silvino González 2015[/singlepic]

Silvino González is a Colombian photographer that has gained some notoriety for his unique way of depicting life around Bogota. He brings forth a fantastic vision through the use of many different alternative processes. His Flickr account is well worth the perusal.

You can find more of Silvino’s work on Flickr, 500px, and his blog.

 

Inspiration

Get Inspired – Archaeologists at the Rhynie Woman Dig

Gather around for today’s featured pinhole photo.

Archaeologists at the Rhynie Woman Dig
[singlepic id=164 w=600]Archaeologists at the Rhynie Woman Dig, ©Chris Bird 2015[/singlepic]

Chris Bird made this image during the week long Archaeological dig organised by the Rhynie Woman artists collective In the village of Rhynie in Aberdeenshire. He asked the archaeologists to gather around a pinhole camera made from an empty sweet tin containing a paper negative that was place on the floor. The group managed to stay still for the five minute exposure – must be something about the patience required to be an archaeologist.

More of Chris’s work can be found on Flickr, Facebook, or his personal site. Or you can find him on Twitter.