Photographer #173: Susana Raab

Susana Raab, 1968, Peru/USA, is a Washington, DC based editorial and documentary photographer. Her series Cholita examines modern coastal Peruvian culture with an emphasis on the Peruvian social constructs, which are a legacy of colonial times. The word Cholo derives its origin from colonial times and signifies a dog of disreputable origin, and was used by the colonial Spaniards as an insult. Today the word is commonly used with both positive and negative connotations depending upon the context and reflects a central paradox of Latin American culture. The following images come from her series Cholita, Consumed (Fast Food in the US) and Migrants in Immokalee.

Website: www.susanaraab.com

Photographer #172: George Georgiou

George Georgiou, 1961, Great-Britain, has an impressive body of work. In his latest book Fault Lines/Turkey/East/West he focused on the normal everyday life of Turkish people in a drastically changing country. Turkey is constantly modernizing and urbanizing due to mass migration from villages to cities. To persue his photography George has been to various countries as Serbia, Kosovo, Georgia and Ukraine. The following images come from the series Fault Lines: Turkey East West, Transit Ukraine: After the Revolution, Turks2 and Between the Lines Part 2.

Website: www.georgegeorgiou.net

Photographer #171: Asger Carlsen

Asger Carlsen, 1973, Denmark, released a monograph with the title Wrong. The images inside the book seem to be images that anyone could take. They are shot with the built-in flash of a simple camera resembling photographs that one can find in everyone's home. However, the images of Asger are "wrong", they contain elements that are impossible and it's is hard to see how the photographer has achieved this. Carlsen' photography is disturbing, humorous and well composed. The following images come from the book Wrong and the series Hester.

Website: www.asgercarlsen.com

Photographer #170: Jehad Nga

Jehad Nga, 1976, USA, is a photojournalist that travels to some of the most dangerous places on this planet. He is one of the few that have covered Somalia extensively. He has been there many times in the last 5 years. Jehad covered stories in Iraq, Darfur and Kenya. In the village Turkana, he photographed the people inside a hut thus removing the harsh environment. He wanted to document the faces of the people that are at risk of dying due to water shortage and starvation. The following images come from the series Turkana, Iraq 2003-2008 - The Wait and In Memoria Del Futuro: Mogadishu 2010.

Website: www.jehadnga.com

Photographer #169: Josef Schulz

Josef Schulz, 1966, Poland, lives and works in Germany. In his series Sign Out he photographed billboards from below and in postprocessing he deleted any text or logos. Schulz often manipulates his images to add meaning to them. In the series Übergang (Transition) he photographed the border posts that are no longer in use. He blurs the background to get them out of context. Josef has exhibited extensively around the globe. The following images come from the series Sign Out, Übergang and Sachliches.

Website: www.josefschulz.de

Photographer #168: Lieko Shiga

Lieko Shiga, 1980, Japan, graduated in 2004 at the Chelsea University of Art and Design in London. Since then she has released two books, Lilly in 2007 and CANARY in 2009. Her photographs are mysterious, intimate and emotional. For her series Lilly she photographed the people living in her block in East London. She covered an outside wall completely with a black cloth and photographed the people in front of it. The entire project consists of 80 images. The following images come from her series CANARY, Lilly and Damien Court.

Website: www.liekoshiga.com

Photographer #167: Youssef Nabil

Egyptian photographer Youssef Nabil, 1972, works and lives in New York. His images are hand colored gelatin silver prints. Next to his portraits of singers, writers and actors, often from the Arab world, he makes self-portraits that "reflect his dislocated life away from Egypt." Youssef's images remind us of film-stills from earlier Egyptian and Arab movies. He has been in numerous solo and group exhibitions and released two books; Sleep in my Arms, 2007 and I won't let you die, 2008. The following images come from his portfolio's Works I, Works II and Works III.

Website: www.youssefnabil.com

Photographer #166: Shai Kremer

Shai Kremer, 1974, Israel, lives and works in New York. In his project Infected Landscape, with which he has had several solo exhibitions in the last few years, he focused on the effect of the military on the Iraeli landscape. Since 2002 he has been working on a series in New York. Instead of concentrating on the elements that make New York great, he takes us on a journey past the "less-explored". The following images come from the projects New York, Fallen Empires and Desert.

Website: www.shaikremer.com

Photographer #165: Ghada Khunji

Ghada Khunji, 1967, Kingdom of Bahrain, lives and works in Brooklyn, but travels the world for her projects to places such as Honduras, India, The Dominican Republic and Cuba. In 2006 she was named the Lucie discovery of the year and has won various other awards. Ghada concentrates on documentarary photography that consist of portrait and landscape imagery and does this with great respect for her subjects. The following images come from her projects Hallelujah Momma, The Dominican Republic and America (Color).

Website: www.ghadakhunji.com

Photographer #164: Marco Bolognesi

Marco Bolognesi, 1974, Italy, works and lives in London. He can be described as a multimedia artist, because next to his photography he also draws, paints, uses video, makes installations and uses collage techniques. His photography consists of portraits of women with props added. The women become sculptures, with plants added to their heads or parts from a computer. In his series C.O.D.E.X Blue, he painted his model completely blue. Marco released several books with his work. The following images come from the series C.O.D.E.X Blue, Babylon Federation and BlackinBlack.

Website: www.marcobolognesi.co.uk

Photographer #163: Andreas Laszlo Konrath

Andreas Laszlo Konrath, 1981, UK, currently lives in Brooklyn and is a portrait photographer. His main focus lies on identity and youth. He studied Fine Art at the London Guilghall University. Andreas has released several books with Pau Wau Publications. The latest one So Alone I Keep the Wolves at Bay contains images from the series Come Friendly Bombs about the band Gallows. The following images come from My Generation, Come Friendly Bombs and The Faces You Know (Part I).

Website: www.andreaslaszlokonrath.com

Photographer #162: Alejandra Laviada

Alejandra Laviada, 1980, Mexico, studied painting at the Rhode Island School of Design and received a masters degree in photography from the School of Visual Arts. She goes into abandoned buildings for long-term periods to photograph the objects, often transformed to sculptures that she finds in these spaces. Alejandra therefore not only records these disappearing spaces, but also suggests stories about the people that have once inhabited these buildings. The following images come from the series Photo Sculptures, Juarez 56 and Typologies.

Website: www.alejandralaviada.com

peace on earth, goodwill toward men

Hello friends!  It's GIVEAWAY time!

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I find myself counting my blessings.  

I also find myself wanting to repeat last year's giveaway experience! 

So, what are the details?

Please nominate a family who you think is deserving of this gift. There aren't really any guidelines, but for example, it could be someone who has fallen on hard times or someone who you just really admire.

The winning family must be able to meet me within 20 miles of Huntington Beach for their session, and the session must be completed by April 30, 2011.

All of the nominations will be carefully considered and the winner will be determined by a special, 

and impartial panel of judges. (not ME!)

The winning family will receive a 1-2 hour photo session with me along with a Top 10 CD and their choice of two 8x10s or one 11x14. (total value: approx. $470)

Please send a paragraph (or more) explaining WHO you are nominating and WHY to: 

sharihansonphotography@gmail.com 

Please include your nominee's contact information (email or phone #) with your entry. 

All entries must be received by midnight on Tuesday, Nov. 30th.

The winner will be announced and contacted on Wednesday, December 1st.

**Special Note** If you'd like to remain anonymous to your nominee, 

make sure you specify that in your email to me, and I will make sure to keep it a secret!!!

PLUS...as a BONUS this year, the person who nominates the winner will receive 50% off their next session!

I had so much fun with the family who won last year, the Holbrook family:

Here's what they had to say about their experience:

"Wow, we were so surprised to win Shari Hanson’s Holiday Photo Giveaway!  The timing couldn’t have been better.  Our oldest daughter was heading off to college and we were in desperate need of a family photo.  Combining the beautiful backdrop of the ocean with Shari’s photography expertise, the resulting family photos are more than we could have hoped for.  She captured this moment in time for us to cherish for years to come.  We will forever be grateful. Thank you for your wonderful spirit of giving Shari!  We Love You!"   - Holbrook Family

I am really looking forward to meeting and working with whoever wins this year's giveaway!!

Photographer #161: Olaf Martens

Olaf Martens, 1963, Germany, has an impressive body of work. He is a fashion and nudes photographer that has found a way to merge various styles of photography into one. His staged photographs have a documentary feel to them. Olaf's images are playful, classy and contain humour. He has been in an amazing amount of solo and group exhibitions worldwide  The following images come from his portfolio's Surface, InterReal and Home Sweet Home.

Website: www.olaf-martens.de

Photographer #160: Alejandro Cartagena

Alejandro Cartagena, 1977, Dominican Republic, works and lives in monterrey, Mexico. His photographic works focuses on the urban, social and environmental issues of Latin America. In his series Between Borders he has photographed the people living between two borders, the one that devides USA and Mexico, the other of drug trafficking cartels in nearby ranchos. The three series below deal with the issue of urbanization and the effects on the environment, landscapes and it's inhabitants. The following images come from the series People of Suburbia, Fragmented Cities and Lost Rivers.

Website: www.alejandrocartagena.com
Video on Lost Rivers: www.podcast.tv

Photographer #159: Paul M. Smith

Paul M. Smith, 1969, Great-Britain often focuses on the theme of masculinity. In series as Artist Rifles and Make My Night he is the only person in the photograph. They are several images put into one using himself in various roles. In the series Mr Smith, he has manipulated the selfportraits to resemble those of famous male figures. In his series This is not Pornography he plays with the gender and sexuality. The following images come from the series Mr Smith, Artist Rifles and Make My Night.

Website: www.paulmsmith.co.uk

Photographer #158: Pierre Winther

Pierre Winther, 1964, Denmark, makes dramatic, cinematic and storytelling images. The photographs by Winther are often larger than life and, due to the saturated colors and his perspectives, remind us of great movies. Pierre is next to being a photographer also a music video and commercial director. He has worked for clients as Diesel, Levi's and Hugo Boss and made video's for Beastie Boys, INXS and Björk. The following images come from the series Holiday on Earth, Eye of the Beholder and Mr. Ward.

Website: www.pierrewinther.com