With the death of analogue photography being shouted from the hills for years no, the internet has become a home to countless photographers of all kind showing off their work. The digital camera has become the great equalizer and the great doorway to a massive tank of crappy photos.
This dearth of imagery requires a keen eye to sort through, that’s why I’ve been attached to the work of Kris Krug and Ashes57 as of late.
Designer, writer, and most excellent Vancouver dude, Kris’s photography struck me the first time I saw it. Dude can shoot anything, from music to portraits to political demonstrations. In a sea of associated press imagery that came out over the course of the Olympics, some of the most compelling documents of what happened in both the stadiums and on the streets came from him.
The cool thing about this cat is that he is also an educator. So many photographers are like DJs, they wont give away the techniques for fear of being overtaken by someone else. Not this cat, open source knowledge and brilliant photography.
I first got introduced to Ashes57‘s work when I was in London a few years back. Having kicked off her career in Montreal, Delphine Ettinger’s urban photography is very much a London thing. Seemingly photographer in residence for the London bass music mafia now that Georgina “Drumz of the South” Cooke has moved to France, her documentation of the growing waves of sound system action are astonishing.
Personally, it’s all about the black and white work. The time and effort it takes to capture grace in simple shadow and light is astonishing so when you see it done as well as it is here. You cannot help but marvel at these snapshots of chaos melted down into one simple black and white image. Her colour’s nothing to laugh at either.
Good photographers are a dime a dozen but the truly exceptional capture you in an instant. These are but two.