Photographer #380: Marcel van der Vlugt

Marcel van der Vlugt, 1957, The Netherlands, is a fine-art, fashion and commercial photographer based in Amsterdam. Once he was finished with his studies at the School for Photography in The Hague he went to Düsseldorf, Germany to assist an advertising photographer. Although his school was largely focused on the technical aspects of photography, Marcel managed to create bodies of work that, although technically perfectly executed, are multi-layered in context. He works on a large-format camera, shooting polaroids to keep control on his final image and to engage the models in the process. The images, autonomous or commercial, are often sensual, poetic and carefully composed. Between 2007 and 2010 he released four monographs. The book A New Day, released in 2008, simulates an imaginary cosmetic clinic where instead of liposuction and nosejobs, the patients get implants of flowers. The blossom is a metaphor for youth, new life and fertility. His work has been exhibited mostly in the Netherlands, but also in other European cities and in the USA. The following images come from the series A New Day, I Like... and Der Kommisar.

Website: www.marcelvandervlugt.com

Photographer #379: Zhang Xiao

Zhang Xiao, 1981, China, studied Architecture at Yantai University. Between 2005 and 2009 he worked for the Chongqing Morning Post and has since been active as a freelance photographer. His project Coastline focuses, as the title describes, on the Chinese coastline which is 18000 kilometres long. For Xiao the sea is a place of strong emotions and rich imagery. He states that "the sea is the beginning of lives and dreams." The project also clearly shows how China is changing and has been changing in the last 30 years since it began opening up. This change is also visible in his project They. The project documents the Chinese culture while undergoing a societal change. It shows culture and tradition, but also the youth and their newly acquired culture. Amongst his other projects we find a series called Three Gorges. The Three Gorges Dam was completed in 2006 and presents many economic benifits, however, as the images of Zhang show us, it has also led to a vast amount of deconstruction and demolition. Zhang has exhibited his work in China, Japan, Germany, England and France. The following images come from the series Coastline, They and Three Gorges.

Website: www.zhangxiaophoto.com

Photographer #378: Marcus Bleasdale

Marcus Bleasdale, 1968, UK, is an engaged photojournalist and documentary photographer who uses his work to influence decision makers and policy makers around the world. He has concentrated on the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo for many years, highlighting the reasons behind and the devastating effects of the conflict. The first book covering Congo entitled One Hundred Years of Darkness was released in 2002. In 2009 he released his second book about the conflict called The Rape of a Nation. Other projects have taken him to countries as Somalia, Sudan, Djibouti, Darfur and China. Marcus has exhibited his work extensively and at important spaces as the US senate, The US House of Representatives and The United Nations amongst others. He has been awarded numerous awards for his photography which has also been featured in numerous magazines as Stern, The New Yorker and Time. Marcus is a full member of the VII Photo Agency. The following images come from the series Congo - The Rape of a Nation, China - Internet Revolution? and Darfur - Never Ending War.

Website: www.marcusbleasdale.com

Braithwaite Family | OC Family, Child Photographer

Meet the Braithwaite family...the winners of my first drawing, back when I made it to 25 blog followers! Super cute family, outfits, personalities, ETC! Their kiddos were cracking me up the whole time...BIG personalities and not shy ONE BIT! I loved photographing you guys! Here's some of my favorites from our session...

Thanks so much for a fun time!

Photographer #377: Hein-Kuhn Oh

Hein-Kuhn Oh, 1963, South-Korea, received a B.A. from Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara and an M.F.A. at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. His career started as a documentary photographer capturing the social landscapes on the streets. However in the last decade he concentrated on documenting specific groups of people that present a certain type of convention created by the Korean society. His series Ajumma contains a large selection of portraits that show middle-aged Korean women. In 2001 he started the Girl's Act series which consists of images of high school girls photographed between 2001 and 2004 and a series called Cosmetic Girls that he worked on between 2005 and 2009. For Cosmetic Girls he portrayed girls wearing make-up that he met on the streets, intrigued by the duality in the Korean society of the 'subject and object of desire'. The project deals with the common notions and stereotypes that are influenced by the entertainment media in Korean society. Hein-Kuhn has released four monographs and exhibited his work at a large number of venues around the globe. The following images come from the series Cosmetic Girls, Girl's Act: Highschool Girls and Ajumma.

Website: www.heinkuhnoh.com

Photographer #376: Jodi Bieber

Jodi Bieber, 1967, is a documentary photographer from South Africa. She studied photography at the Market Theatre photographic workshop and attended the World Press Masterclass in 1996. Between 1994 and 2004 she worked on a project that focused on youth living on the fringes of South African society. These images were assembled in the book entitled Dogs and Wolves - Growing up with South Africa. In 2010 she released her second monograph; Soweto. When thinking of Soweto one often refers to crime, poverty and problems with aids. The color photographs of Jodi are however a celebration and portrait of life in Soweto today. She represents the place how the inhabitants experience it, where they have their homes, do their shopping and live their lifes. Jodi is this years winner of the World Press Photo Award with the portrait of Aisha, an Afghan girl who's face was mutilated as retribution for fleeing her husband's house. She received several other World Press Awards in preceding years. Her work has been exhibited extensively throughout the world. The following images come from the series Soweto, Las Canas and A Weapon of War.

Website: www.jodibieber.com

Photographer #375: Gerco de Ruijter

Gerco de Ruijter, 1961, The Netherlands, is a landscape photographer with a unique perspective. His aerial photographs are taken on a analogue camera hanging from a kite or sometimes on a long fishing rod. He studied painting and the first images were supposed to be used as studies for his artwork. He soon found the photographic images much more intriguing. One of his latest series is Baumschule and focuses on tree nurseries. The images are composed geomatrically. The distance from the subject helps to create the impression of an abstract painting. Gerco considers his best images to be those where recognizable reality meets abstraction. He has a lot of control on what will be on his photographs by making clear choices. The small part he doesn't control is fixed by framing in a way to achieve the best result. He has traveled to Iceland, Dubai, USA and various places in Holland for his photography. The following images come from the series Baumschule, 2008-2011 and Transfer.

Website: www.gercoderuijter.com