Los Angeles-based photographer Richard Renaldi is leading the life so many amateur photographers would like to live. He travels widely, he photographs the things and people he finds interesting, and the resulting prints (which sell for thousands of dollars) are hung in museums and art … Keep readingRichard Renaldi
Luis González Palma is best known for his strange, quiet portraits of the Mayan and mestizo women in his native Guatemala. There is a contradictory quality to many of these portraits. The subjects are women who belong to cultures that have been marginalized, yet the … Keep readingLuis González Palma
The name of Jock Sturges will always be interlinked with accusations of child pornography. It’s impossible to discuss his photographic career without making mention of the 1990 FBI raid on his studio and the resulting criminal charge of child pornography, or without the 1998 child … Keep readingJock Sturges
Fazal Ilahi Sheikh came by his interest in displaced people naturally. You could say it was the family business. He was born in New York City in 1965. His father, though, was born in Nairobi, Kenya and his grandfather was born in a part of … Keep readingFazal Sheikh
Yousuf Karsh is generally described as one of the greatest portrait photographers of the 20th century. The description is accurate. He created classically styled portraits of the rich and powerful and famous. His portraits were deliberately dramatic, rich in light and shadow, respectful of the … Keep readingYousuf Karsh
As he wandered around the San Lázaro Psychiatric Hospital in Quito, Ecuador, Japanese photographer Hiroshi Watanabe was followed by a woman patient. She nattered on about a toothache and he apparently didn’t pay much attention to her. As he was leaving, she asked him a … Keep readingHiroshi Watanabe
The first time I heard the name Judith Joy Ross it was in connection to portraits of members of the United States Congress. It’s hard to imagine a less interesting photo series (at least that was my perspective), so I pretty much ignored her. Until … Keep readingJudith Joy Ross
There is a romantic tradition in American popular culture of the itinerant adventurer. A man alone, traveling around the country, meeting people, becoming involved in their lives for a short time, then wandering off again. It’s a common television/movie trope; we’ve seen protagonists travel by … Keep readingAlec Soth
At some point around 1910 portrait photographer August Sander began to undertake an incredibly bold project—a project of almost unimaginable scale. He’d decided to create a portrait series that would document the entire scope of contemporary German society. The portraits weren’t to be portraits of … Keep readingAugust Sander
The photograph below was my introduction to portrait photographer Katy Grannan. I found it…baffling. It was (and still is) compelling in ways that didn’t make sense to me. Who is this pale, somewhat awkward, young woman? Why is she barefooted? What’s going on with that … Keep readingKaty Grannan