“With my body shaking uncontrollably, the doctors and nurses handed me the slipperiest, most precious thing I’d ever had,” the photographer Emily Rose Larsen remembers of the moment she gave birth. “Audibly, I told whoever may be listening that I was the last person equipped to hold him. After all I had done in the last 42 months and five hours, couldn’t someone else keep him safe for a minute until I get control of my hands again? 

“I was helpless and unable to utter a word from exhaustion so I just grabbed my hospital shirt with each hand and hoped he didn’t slip out of my embrace. It was apparent to me, in that moment, I was now considered a mother, and my needs were very low on the list for everyone in that room, while I shook from shock, a resident learned how to sew a very raw location, and my newborn made his first poo down my arm.” 

Before giving birth to her child, Larsen was left alone with her mother and husband for five hours, with the nurses not believing her when she said she was experiencing large contractions. “The doctor was busy, and they told me not to push and started prepping the room while a resident watched the action below,” she recalls. “I told him repeatedly that he had my permission to deliver the baby, at which he chuckled. The doctor showed up as my body decided to do what needed to be done.”

The experience marked a turning point for the artist, prompting her to reflect on modern birthing practices and humanity’s increasingly broken relationship with our animal instincts and the rest of the animal kingdom. During her pregnancy, she’d researched this history of midwifery, learning about how the medical field had historically excluded the voices of women with wisdom and experience. 

“I was perturbed by what little actually understood information exists,” she says. “Then there are the sexist practices that have come and gone out of fashion like the ‘husband stitch,’ which is horrible for women), twilight birth, automatic episiotomies, and so on.” In those stories, she saw parallels between the ways in which mother’s bodies had been ignored and the harm that’s been done to the natural world. 

On one level, mothers are revered, as is nature. But just as the modern birthing process can feel impersonal, our interactions with wildlife remain mediated and sanitized. Larsen loves visiting the Museum of Natural History, but the taxidermied animals also spark unease within her. What spoke to me was the fetishized way we treat the natural world in museums,” she tells me. “The glass box, the taxidermied expressions, and painted environments. Cinematic lighting to set the mood. But what mood? There are real memento mori vibes in a natural history museum.” 

In response to these questions, Larsen captured a series of photographs of the animals at the museum before incorporating those pictures into rich and evocative still lives–themselves a kind of memento mori for the natural world. “I ruminate on an idea for a long time, and then once I have a solid start and the basic set pieces acquire, I dive into shooting headfirst,” she says now. “I shot this project in a week, not including the original museum visit. I shoot most of my projects very quickly because they’ve been dancing around in my head for a long time. It’s a cathartic dumping of passion.

“A lot of the props and flowers are things I’ve collected throughout the year–on walks, in my backyard, randomly while shopping. I have them peppered around my house. While I’m constructing, I start by walking around the house and thinking of what I need and what symbolically makes sense to me. 

“Then I fill in the gaps with what’s still needed–usually, the flowers. Most flowers for me are inherently symbolic and I go more for shape and color than prescribed symbolism. I almost always include flowers or fruit because I appreciate the homage to traditional painted still life.” She included real flora and artificial plants; sometimes, it’s impossible to tell the difference. 

The result is Beastly, a series of pictures reflecting on our fetishized yet removed understanding of our animal instincts and larger place in the world. Inspired by her experiences becoming a mother, perhaps it also contains traces of memories from her own childhood–a time when she could explore the natural world without looking through glass. 

“I grew up on an island, accessible only by ferry, in a house set back in the woods,” she remembers now. “The forest and beach were my playgrounds in all seasons. My sister and I would play most of the day in an imaginary world set in our woods and grass and ponds. I listened to chirps and peeps as I fell asleep and patiently waited for birds to eat seed from my hand.” 

All photos © Emily Rose Larsen

The post These Haunting Still Lives Pay Homage to the Natural World appeared first on Feature Shoot.

“Only a small percentage of Satanists live their lives openly because they do, in fact, face bigotry, misunderstanding, and backlash from people,” the photojournalist Anthony Karen tells me. “I was told they often lose their jobs and face isolation from others. ‘Even own families have turned on us,’ one person said to me. ‘So, most of us keep it quiet, and you would never know unless we told you.’”

Despite the risks that come with identifying openly as a Satanist, a small group of practitioners recently allowed Karen access to their world. One Satanic priest, who lives in an undisclosed location in South Carolina, permitted him to enter and photograph a dedicated room in his house known as the Black Parlor, where rituals are conducted. That initial meeting marks the beginning of an ongoing project exploring the religion, its nuances and its followers. 

We asked Karen about his experiences thus far. 

What first drew you to this subject? 

“I am mostly interested in edgy subject matter; for example, embedding with marginalized groups that are considered unsettling and present a challenge to gain access to. I also find myself gravitating towards projects that have an ideological nuance or certain degree of risk to them.”

Why do you think this priest allowed you into his chamber? How did you meet him?

“I was photographing another project at the time. I noticed a glimpse of what I thought to be a pentagram under one of the attendee’s shirtsleeves, so I asked the individual if his tattoo was of Baphomet, accepted as a universal symbol for Satan. He wound up pulling me to the side and showed me the full tattoo. The person he was with was quiet, and I made an effort to strike up a conversation with him as well. After expressing a past interest in photographing a ritual and the priest seeing that everyone knew me, I was given an open invitation.”

What are some of the core values and principles that define Satanism?

“It would be inaccurate if I was to claim that all Satanists are under a universal umbrella as far as ideology and practices, so let me provide you with a list of Anton Szandor LaVey’s Eleven Satanic Rules of the Earth, which was written in 1967. This would be a good place to start. 

‘1. Do not give opinions or advice unless you are asked.

‘2. Do not tell your troubles to others unless you are sure they want to hear them.

‘3. When in another’s lair, show him respect or else do not go there.

‘4. If a guest in your lair annoys you, treat him cruelly and without mercy.

‘5. Do not make sexual advances unless you are given the mating signal.

‘6. Do not take that which does not belong to you unless it is a burden to the other person and he cries out to be relieved.

‘7. Acknowledge the power of magic if you have employed it successfully to obtain your desires. If you deny the power of magic after having called upon it with success, you will lose all you have obtained.

‘8. Do not complain about anything to which you need not subject yourself.

‘9. Do not harm little children.

‘10.  Do not kill non-human animals unless you are attacked or for your food.

‘11. When walking in open territory, bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask him to stop. If he does not stop, destroy him.’”

What are some misconceptions people have about Satanism, and what is the truth behind some of these misconceptions?

“I learned of many misconceptions. One, in particular, is that Satanists condone human sacrifice. To be more specific, the accusation is that Satanists partake in the killing of babies and virgins. From my experience, apart from one or two rituals that are child-friendly, minors are not permitted to attend rituals. 

“Another generalization is that all satanic organizations host rampant orgies. The truth is that while some Satanists may have actually have intercourse during a particular ritual, the intention is not for pleasure, rather a sort of Sex magick, if you will. There are exceptions with some rituals, but in general, it was said to be ‘difficult to engage in comfortably.’”

What happens during a black mass? 

“I can only speak about the group I am documenting, as far as the black mass, this is their oldest ritual, and it has many forms. They have three variants, ranging from a solitary PG-13 version to an R-rated group ritual and even an X-rated version designated for only the highest members of their clergy to perform. However, the universal element in this ritual is the Blasphemy of the Christian God and desecration of the Holy Eucharist. The purpose of this ritual is for the Celebrant to ratify and renew their personal vows to Satan. This is ritual is limited to once or twice a year, and it takes place on specific holidays.” 

Was there anything you chose not to photograph while working on this project?

“Aside from two members of the household who didn’t want to be photographed in fear of losing their jobs, I was allowed to photograph whatever I wanted. Being that this was my first time at this person’s house and the fact they were having a ritual that they consider sacred, I felt it was more important for us to get to know one another and kept shooting to a minimum.”

Why was it important for you to protect the privacy of the people in your photos?

“Because of the subject matter I choose to document, respecting an individual’s privacy is crucial to my continued access, in addition to it being the right thing to do. Whenever I’m shooting a project, my camera stays in my vehicle until I make my rounds and introduce myself to everyone. At this time, I’ll find out who is okay with their picture being taken and identify those who are not. 

“By respecting a person’s right to privacy, as well as letting them get to know me a bit, things become more relaxed, and I can avoid identifying features by being creative if need be. I want to be seen as Anthony, not ‘that photographer guy.’”

What was the most challenging aspect of working on this project?

“I’d say the most challenging was finding a Satanist who would allow me to photograph a mass–actually, allowing me to take pictures of anything, for that matter. Equally challenging was dealing with the ambient light or the lack thereof. The walls of this particular parlor were black with long, drawn red velvet curtains. There were a few scattered candles and a dimly lit overhead light. I’m not an advocate of using a flash in these types of situations (I see it as disrespectful and it disrupts the intimate nature of the mood), so trying to snap a photo at a defining moment with the least amount of movement in shitty light can be extremely frustrating.”

You have a picture of an o9a alter. The Order of Nine Angles is a neo-Nazi group. Can you tell us about that? 

“There is a dark side, and that’s important for context. Satanism is generally nothing more than a free-spirited/Left-hand path religion (Aton Lavey), but then there are practitioners who take it to another level. It’s important that I make that distinction clear. Groups like o9a are considered fringe, and most traditional Satanists generally do not have dealings with them or their more violent Nexions. That being said, every religion has its fringe elements that the majority would be happier without.”

How have people responded to the project thus far? 

“Most people who hear that I am documenting Satanism either freak out or they get preachy and robotically rattle off quotes from the Bible. I am comfortable with my beliefs and with the realization that if my God can’t protect me from evil, I must be praying to the wrong God. After all, how can Satan exist unless God allows him to? 

“That said, I do empathize with those who are uncomfortable with certain religious beliefs. I have friends who were ready to have a priest come to expel the darkness from their home in fear of any residual bad juju I was carrying. It’s not up to me to judge someone’s beliefs, so I figured the empathic thing to do was to put their minds at ease best I could. I cleansed myself with burning sage, I had a priest bless me, and I received Holy Communion.”

All images and captions © Anthony Karen

The post Venturing Inside the Black Parlor of a Satanic Priest appeared first on Feature Shoot.

“There have a been a few situations with lightning and tornadoes that were close enough that my ears popped from the change in air pressure,” the photographer and storm chaser Rob Darby tells me. “On my first storm chasing trip, a hailstone the size of a quarter hit my forehead and sent a shock through my skull.” Looking back now, he says that hailstone was relatively small, as strong supercells can result in hail the size of tennis balls. 

Darby started photographing clouds when he was just eight or nine years old. “I used a Brownie camera that my father bought me,” he remembers. “One of my more vivid memories of that time was seeing a type of cloud that is somewhat unusual and rare…a lenticular cloud.” Looking back, he thinks he devoted two to three rolls of film to that single cloud. He grew up in the US Pacific Northwest, looking up at “dull grey skies, with an occasional break in the clouds.” Still, he longed for storms; in college, he pursued his passion for weather by majoring in Meteorology. 

As an artist, Darby has turned time and again to the US Midwest, including the landscapes of Kansas. “Kansas is known for cornfields, farming, and, fortunately for me and other people who enjoy storms and storm chasing, large and sometimes violent thunderstorms call ‘supercells,’” he explains. “Kansas is uniquely positioned in a location where the ingredients needed to form supercells and tornados are found.  

“Warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico streams northward and meets dry air from the desert southwest, along with cool air that drops into the area from the Pacific Ocean.  These ingredients, when combined with rotation in the atmosphere, create the conditions required for the most violent storms.” He’s most likely to encounter a severe thunderstorm from April through June, but they can happen year-round.

While Darby admits that storm-chasing can be dangerous, he also makes safety his top priority. “Imagine driving down a country road, barely wide enough for one car, at 60 miles per hour, attempting to keep up with a storm that is moving as fast as you are,” he says. “Storm chasers and those of us who like to photograph the storms carry equipment that allows us to know the direction and speed of a storm, the possible conditions that are underneath it, and good navigation equipment so that we always have a way to get away from the storm should it become necessary.”

Darby describes his earlier work as “portraits of storms,” but his approach has shifted over time.  “Unconsciously, perhaps, I found myself evolving to incorporate elements of the human landscapes into the images,” he tells us.  “So, while my early work focused mostly on storm structure, now I find that I instinctively include elements of humanity in them: a decaying grain silo, a homestead, a small town, or even the juxtaposition of modern technology (a wind farm, for example) to provide more context to the scene.”

As he’s learned, the Midwest has countless hidden, human stories waiting to be discovered. “There are small towns that have been decimated by automation and globalization and may be in some stage of decay or death,” the artist explains. “Small family farms are often no longer able to compete with the larger companies, and so there are countless small towns that are relics now. They are not exactly ghost towns since residents may have stayed, but it is common to see decaying homesteads next to what appears to be a vibrant one.”

Darby also understands that these manmade structures, homes, and solos aren’t the only details that could change beyond recognition. We know that the climate crisis is affecting storms, but the artist reminds us that there’s still so much we don’t know about what those changes might look like. “Some theories suggest that supercells may become less common in Kansas, for example, due to the changes in the balance between moisture and wind speed and direction,” he says. “If the jet stream pushes farther north in response to a warming planet, the next generation may find that Canada becomes the new Kansas. 

“Others argue that warmer sea surface temperatures will increase the available energy for storm formation. We are seeing this with hurricanes, for example, although the processes for these two types of weather are very different.” The photographs Darby makes today could be impossible to recreate in another half-century. “Extreme drought and flooding rains have already started to impact farmers and their ability to maintain their crops under the changing conditions,” he admits. “So perhaps a photographer 40 years from now will be photographing storms over warm-weather crops in Kansas (pineapples?) rather than over cornfields.”

Darby doesn’t have all the answers, but in the meantime, he’s content to look up at the sky and show us what he sees. He still thinks sometimes about that lenticular cloud he photographed at age eight or nine, using the Brownie camera his dad gave him. He doesn’t know where those two to three rolls of film wound up, but he wishes he did. Maybe someday he’ll find them again. 

All images © Rob Darby

The post The Adventures of a Storm Chaser appeared first on Feature Shoot.

“I think that every dog is special,” the photographer Daniel Gebhart de Koekkoek tells me. For his latest annual calendar, Doggystyle, he enlisted the help of all manner of dogs–big dogs, small dogs, fluffy dogs, and velvety dogs–to create tableaux vivants of canines doing human things: painting, playing pool, lifting weights, reading Tarot cards, and taking an important phone call at the office. 

The artist’s own dog, Limo, is Mr. October, pictured working out on his rowing machine. “We work together a lot, and I really enjoy the creative exchange between us,” De Koekkoek says of their ongoing collaboration. Those familiar with De Koekkoek’s now-legendary calendars, which have featured cats and alpacas, will recognize his sense of humor and passion for animals. 

“I really love animals and it’s always both a joy and a struggle working with them,” he admits. “It’s a challenge and so much fun. I love this non-verbal communication where every gesture counts. I’m shooting mostly people throughout the year on commercial assignments. But when it comes to my calendar and personal work, I really like to have a pause from people.”

The dogs also enjoyed the sessions. While Limo, the artist’s longtime muse, was used to sitting for the camera, others found themselves posing for the first time. Charlie, Mr. February, probably had the most fun of them all. “He did enjoy the flute a bit too much,” De Koekkoek admits. That is, he preferred to chew rather than play the instrument. Understandable, given that Charlie was the youngest of the cast at just seven months old. Sam, Mr. January, is the most senior, at thirteen years. 

On the human side, the creative team also included stylists Neslihan De?erli and Enlil Isik, who helped bring the canine characters to life, set designer ??Marcus Vinicius de Queiroz, and producer Valentin Haring. Tim Rudle did the graphic design; Francis Salvator wrote the copy, and Julian Sellmeister, aka Yung Hurn, contributed a poem. “For this project, I asked my assistant Valentin Haaring to be our hand model,” the photographer explains. “He has super long arms and really nice hands. Also, he was super lovely to the dogs and could gain their trust within seconds. Thank you, Valentin!” 

After a particularly surreal two years, Doggystyle promises a 2022 filled with more joy, tail wags, laughs, and hope—albeit with a hint of the bizarre and fanciful. For those of us who relied on our dogs more than ever during the pandemic, it’s one more reminder of how animals can help us celebrate the good times and lift our spirits during the hard ones. “We didn’t choose any special breed or fancy dog,” de Koekkoek tells us. “They are mostly mixed street dogs and just normal dogs–but with a very big and warm heart.” 

All images from Doggystyle by Daniel Gebhart de Koekkoek

The post If Dogs Were People, This Is What They’d Do appeared first on Feature Shoot.

“Native women are incredibly strong and resilient,” the Chemehuevi photographer Cara Romero tells us. “We come from a long line of women that have fought to hold the very fabric of our Native communities together for hundreds of years through genocide and colonization.” Romero’s First American Girl series works to honor that long line of women, beginning with those closest to her. 

The portrait project requires the construction of life-sized doll boxes, filled with the cultural accessories of modern Native American women, made in collaboration with the women themselves. The portrait of mother-and-daughter duo Julia and Jocelyn Romero, for example, includes elements like Percy Romero’s homegrown Cochiti blue corn and Julia’s great grandfather’s Cochiti drum. The doll box features Cochiti wild spinach designs, created by Daniel McCoy. 

Julia & Jocelyn is one of fifteen artworks featured in a photo gallery by Meta Open Arts, released in November as part of Native American Heritage Month. In all, the gallery includes five photographers: Adam Sings in The Timber, Coyote Park, Brian Adams, Eugene Tapahe, and Cara Romero. The work spans genres, from the fine art portraiture of Romero to the photojournalism of Adam Sings in The Timber. 

Coyote Park collaborates with their 2Spirit and trans family, while Eugene Tapahe shares pictures from Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project, inspired by the healing power of the Ojibwe jingle dress. Brian Adams takes us to Alaska, documenting life in Kaktovik, Shishmaref, and his father’s home village of Kivalina. 

“I think [this gallery] means that we are helping to tell a story that we hope collectively begins to change the narrative for Native Peoples,” Romero says. “It is important that we tell our own stories, because those stories come across as so much more truthful. That truthfulness lends itself to trust from within my community.” As she reminds us, we still have a long way to go: “Native artists need help with scholarships, placement, sponsorship, and opportunities.” 

While the artists in the Facebook gallery aren’t limited by genre or location, one thing they all share is an affinity for magical light–from Tapahe’s pictures on Cannon Beach, Oregon, the Native land of the Chinook, Clatsop, and Nehalem people, to Adams’s picture of kids in Kaktovik, still illuminated by sunlight at 10:00 PM.

Romero still remembers when, as a child, her grandpa would wake her up to watch the sunrise. “He would say, ‘get up! get up! the sun is coming!’” she tells me. “We would go outside together and lay on the lawn chairs and watch the sunrise.” The artist’s family, from her grandfather to Julia and Jocelyn, continues to serve as one of her greatest inspirations. 

“The Native women in my photographs are my friends and my family,” she says. “The women in my photographs come from diverse Tribes and regions. They are mothers, students, sisters, and artists. They carry sophisticated Indigenous knowledge bundles that exist against all odds. 

“Throughout my life, there was a paucity of Native representation in dominant society and education. I have always wanted to show the world how beautiful and amazing Native women are today. I hope the women that participate in the photographs feel loved when they see the final images of our collaborations. And, I hope they see themselves represented in a way that is from within our cultures. My favorite responses to my photographs are when Native moms and aunties and grandmas want me to work with their daughters or families. It is truly the highest honor.” 

You can see the Native American Heritage Month photography gallery by Meta Open Arts here.

The post Facebook App Celebrates Native American Heritage With Stunning Photographs appeared first on Feature Shoot.

As part of Feature Shoot’s new and improved Reader Submission Spotlight, we invited photographers from around the globe to submit their best bodies of work, with all genres welcome. After reviewing a collection of outstanding entries, Feature Shoot’s Founder, Alison Zavos, has selected three winners as part of our first edition: Anthony Karen, Diane Meyer, and Emily Rose Larsen.

As the winners of our December Spotlight, Karen, Meyer, and Larsen will have their work showcased as part of our regular reader submission newsletter plus our new Special Edition newsletter, which goes out to an additional 40,000 photography professionals–including gallerists, editors, agents, publishers, and more. Between the two newsletters, their images will reach an estimated 80,000 inboxes, and they’ll also be featured on our Instagram page, @featureshoot, where we have more than 229,000 followers. They each win a Feature Shoot portfolio review with the reviewer of their choice.

As the theme for the Spotlight is open, the winners span a range of subjects and practices. Karen, a photojournalist, explores the occult by documenting the rites and rituals of a Satanic priesthood in South Carolina. Larson challenges the artificial boundaries we create between the human world and the animal kingdom through beastly still lives. Meanwhile, Meyer combines photography and cross-stitch embroidery to create a poignant reflection on the history of the Berlin Wall and the invisible marks it left behind.

The January edition of our Feature Shoot Reader Submission Spotlight is now open. Submissions close on January 3st, and the three winners will be announced through all our channels shortly thereafter. Browse the December winners below, and submit your work here for just $15 for up to five images.

Diane Meyer

“I recently completed a series of 43 hand-sewn photographs taken along the entire roughly 100-mile path of the former Berlin Wall,” the artist Diane Meyer says. In these images, portions of the scene have been overlayed with cross-stitch embroidery, the patterns evocative of digital pixels. “In many images, the embroidered sections represent the exact scale and location of the former Wall offering a pixelated view of what lies behind,” Meyer continues.

“In this way, the embroidery appears as a translucent trace in the landscape of something that no longer exists but is a weight on history and memory. By using the embroidery in a way that is reminiscent of pixels, a connection is being made between forgetting and file corruption. The sewing, which is soft and domestic provides a literal contrast to the concrete of the wall and a metaphorical contrast to its symbolism.”

Emily Rose Larsen

Emily Rose Larsen was inspired to create the series Beastly, a reflection on our disconnect with the natural world, after giving birth for the first time. As she delved into the history of birthing, she learned how modern birthing practices had replaced and overlooked generations of knowledge shared by midwives.

These modern practices, governed largely by men rather than women, felt traumatic, intense, and unnatural to the artist, motivating her to reflect on our broken relationship with the rest of the animal kingdom. The series combines artificial flora and fauna, living plants, and photographs of taxidermied animals from the Museum of Natural History to represent humankind’s disjointed understanding of nature and our place within it.

Anthony Karen

The photojournalist Anthony Karen spent October 31st, 2020 inside a Satanic Chamber at an undisclosed location in South Carolina. It was Halloween and the night of the rare Blue Moon, and he was permitted to document a Black Mass. “In Celtic traditions, Halloween was the day the dead wandered around in the moonlight,” Karen explains. “Occultists believe that a full moon doubles the power of spells and ritual work.” His series The Black Parlor takes us inside the ritual chamber in the home of a Satanic priest and brings us before a Satanic altar, where new priests are ordained. 

The post Announcing the Winners of the Feature Shoot Reader Spotlight (December) appeared first on Feature Shoot.

After returning from a ski trip in the French Alps, Catrin’s coach crashed. The driver died after warning the passengers of the crash, saving their lives. Catrin was left with third-degree burns over 96% of her body. She was given a one in one thousand chance of survival.

“Following three months in coma, 200 surgical procedures, and four years of rehab, Catrin defied destiny,” the photographer Sujata Setia says. “She lives… and she lives with elan.” Setia’s portrait of Catrin, the result of their collaboration, has been selected as the winner of the Indian Photo Festival Portrait Prize 2021, a competition for portrait photographers from the Indian subcontinent.

The 20 finalists from the prestigious award are now on view at the Indian Photo Festival (IPF) in Hyderabad. The awards were judged by Vineet Vohra, the prominent photographer, Leica Ambassador, and Founder of The APF Magazine. Second Prize went to Kushal Gangopadhyay for his street portrait of watch repairers in Kolkata, while Ritagnik Bhattacharya took home the Third Prize award for a group portrait with a surreal twist, created using car windows and reflections.

The finalists of IPF Portrait Prize 2021 speak to this unprecedented moment in global history, touching on the aftermath of the pandemic, and the realities of climate change. Mili Paul documents life on Delhi’s sacred Yamuna river, one of India’s holiest rivers and also one of the most polluted. There are personal stories too, often with far-reaching implications. In West Bengal, Shibasish Saha met a family forced out of their homes by flooding. “The father had nothing left except a beloved daughter and son and a kid goat, which he considered as a family member too,” the artist says. “In this image, they were to cross a river to start a new beginning.”

Spanning continents and themes, perhaps the thread uniting all the finalists from the Indian Photo Festival Portrait Prize 2021 is a sense of fearlessness and courage. When Catrin, the crash survivor, shared the portrait she made with Sujata Setia on Instagram, she wrote, “The scariest photos to share when you have scars are usually the most powerful.” See the unforgettable exhibition in person at the Indian Photo Festival through December 19th, and learn more about IPF over on their website. See all the winners and finalists here.

The post Portrait of a Survivor Wins the Indian Photography Festival Portrait Prize appeared first on Feature Shoot.

Luigi the miniature donkey was born with a congenital defect; his left front leg was shorter than the right, making it difficult for him to run. When Ronnie Graves heard about Luigi’s situation, he offered to adopt him. He also promised to make the young donkey a prosthetic leg so he could play and live a full life. 

The photographer Sage Sohier met Graves and Luigi in 2015, nearly a decade after his adoption, while working on what would later become Peaceable Kingdom, a book about animals and the people who care for them. Luigi isn’t the only animal Graves, who lost his leg decades ago in an accident, has helped. As the owner of Veterinary Inclusive Prosthetics And Orthotics in Florida, he’s made life-saving prostheses and orthotics for hundreds of horses, pigs, sheep, and other animals with injuries, illnesses, and birth defects. He’s even made braces for an orphaned baby elephant in South Africa. 

Sohier’s journey took her around the country to photograph the human-animal bond, often in rescues, sanctuaries, and rehabilitation centers for animals in need. She visited the Pig Preserve in Tennessee, a 103-acre sanctuary for pigs who have been abandoned, abused, and neglected, including those who have escaped from factory farms. It was there that she learned that pigs form complex social bonds, choosing to graze, forage, swim, or play with friends; they choose sleeping partners, and they grieve when their friends die. 

Also in Tennessee, Sohier met Wobbles, a disabled rabbit rescued by Kaycee after his previous owner failed to provide him with veterinary care. At the time of his rescue, Wobbles was underfed and had an infection; Kaycee warmed him up on the way home, and he slept with her in the bed that first night. He almost didn’t make it, but he did. Today, he’s not in any pain.

In Maine, the photographer spent time with the volunteers and rescued horses of Empowered Equines, where the founder, Jessica Gonzalez, has created a program for survivors of domestic violence. Gonzalez was inspired to rescue horses after working for a carriage company in Boston and ultimately quitting due to the exploitation and mistreatment she witnessed. After three years of trying, she was able to buy the horse she once drove, Revel, and bring him home. 

At the time of his rescue, Revel was sick, 300 pounds underweight, and “angry at the world.” By the time Sohier met him, he had recovered and learned to trust again. “Now he acts like a baby,” Gonzalez told the photographer. “He’s forgotten that he’s old. He loves life so much he ignores the arthritis and just runs through it.” Animals’ capacity to forgive, even after abuse and neglect, runs throughout Peaceable Kingdom, connecting caregivers across the country, each with unforgettable stories. 

Of course, Sohier has stories of her own. The artist’s mother, Wendy Morgan, helped nurture her love for animals in childhood; once, she rescued and raised a blue jay on their screen porch. Sohier grew up with dogs, and she dedicates the book to her “pack” at home: Willie, Bodie, Gracie, and Farley. Now, the stories of the people and animals in Peaceable Kingdom have become hers too. As for Luigi, the donkey rescued by Ronnie Graves, he spends all day grazing with his pasture mates. When the time comes for his prosthetic to be taken on or off, he likes having his ears gently rubbed. 

Peaceable Kingdom by Sage Sohier is published by Kehrer Verlag, with a foreword by Sy Montgomery. Get your copy here. 

All photos © Sage Sohier from the book Peaceable Kingdom

The post The Once-in-a-Lifetime Bond Between Animals and Their Rescuers appeared first on Feature Shoot.

“The sounds at Merri Creek are the beautiful sounds of the bush in Victoria: Wattlebirds singing, Pobblebonk frogs calling in spring, the wind in the gum leaves,” the photographer Daisy Noyes tells me. “But the smells at the Merri Creek are definitely urban: Sewage overflow, oil run-off, the smell of stormwater drains, and detergents and chemical waste from factories upstream all contribute to the poor water quality. It’s the most polluted creek in Melbourne, and you can smell this.” 

Then there’s the rubbish. When it rains, trash and litter flow from the storm drains and into the creek. “It collects on all the reeds, branches, and trees,” Noyes explains. “After a flood, it’s incredible how much of it is swirling around the creek, especially now that the pandemic has meant canceled cleanups and more single-use plastic. Sometimes, the bushes and reeds on the bank of the creek look like they’ve been decorated with rubbish by the river.”

Noyes has been collecting and repurposing some of that rubbish for her ongoing series, Merri Creek Dresses. For the project, she’s made wearable dresses from plastic bags, aluminum cans, HDPE bottles, and more. Some she created using invasive weeds. She returns to Merri Creek to photograph herself, adorned in the frocks, at the site where the litter was found.

So far, one of her friends has also modeled gowns made of rubbish. So have her children, who will someday inherit the ecological crises we leave behind. In her pictures, Merri Creek becomes a 21st-century Garden of Eden, a paradise contaminated. We asked her more about this long-term body of work.

Can you tell me a bit about your relationship with Merri Creek? What makes this place special to you?

“The Merri Creek is the only real bushland in the northern suburbs of Melbourne that I can get to on foot. It’s a long sliver of wild land on either side of the creek that snakes through so many different environments, from rural farmland to urban factories to suburbia. In Brunswick East and Coburg, where I live, the bike trails on each side of the creek offer a beautiful way to be in nature while getting a walk in or riding bikes with my kids. 

“During lockdown, it became a daily pilgrimage, with my kids riding bikes and building jumps and me photographing. Every day is different at the creek. It rises and floods with rain; different plants are flowering at different times. It’s a place where the seasons and the constant changes of nature are so visible, even though we are right in the middle of Melbourne. 

“My earliest memories of the Merri Creek are from when I first moved to Melbourne and became a mother, and I walked along the creek with my toddler. I grew up in a rural area of New York State, and I always assumed I would raise my own kids on a farm too. So when we ended up having children in a city, it was always so soothing and meaningful to me to walk down to the creek, noodle around in the grass, throw sticks in the water, and be amongst the native bushland. Being in the bush is so different from a park or playground: play is open-ended and creative, the environment is always changing, and there’s a sense of wildness.”

Might you tell us a bit about the history of this land?

“From my research, the traditional custodians of the Merri Creek and surrounding land were the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. The creek was a major source of food and resources, and the spot where the Merri meets the Yarra River was an important meeting place. The name Merri Creek comes from the Woiwurrung word ‘Merri Merri,’ which means very rocky. 

“After European invasion and settlement, the creek became an easy way to divert waste from the tanneries, quarries, abattoirs, and later, factories that were built on its banks. But in recent decades, groups like CERES, the Merri Creek Management Committee, and Friends of the Merri Creek have overseen enormous improvements with native plantings, regeneration of habitats, and cleaning up rubbish.”

How did the idea for this series first begin to take shape?

“I was taking a bag down with me most days and collecting rubbish and then throwing it in a bin on the way home, and the idea popped into my head to make something with this resource and photograph it. I wanted to express my dismay at the sheer amount of junk that accumulates in the creek and talk about how we are leaving this and other environmental catastrophes for the next generation to deal with. I realized that if I made a dress from the rubbish and wore it at the creek, and photographed it, that this could be a kind of visual representation or essay about this issue.”

Do you make the dresses yourself? What does that process look like?

“The first dress I made was really haphazard and full of holes, as I hadn’t yet figured out how to work with the plastic. I just taped it all together on an old mannequin my son had found. The next dresses were made with reeds, and one with prickly pear cactus, both of which are invasive weeds that degrade the creek environment, and these were made by sewing the reeds and cactus pieces onto an old dress. 

“They were quite fun to do, but I think the final effect wasn’t delivering the message as strongly as the plastic rubbish does, so I went back to that, and made three more with plastic waste, cans, and bottles. For these most recent ones, I gathered the rubbish, let it dry in the sun in my garden, sprayed the worst-looking pieces with disinfectant, and then sewed the plastic together to make a multi-layered fabric in a simple dress shape on a mannequin. The dresses smell awful and are still covered in mud and snails, but I think it’s important to be able to see that this rubbish is really from the creek, so I didn’t clean it up too much.”

You and your children and friends are in these photos. Why was it important to you to work with those closest to you on this project?

“Partly, because I was photographing in lockdown, I just had to use whoever was available, which was me, my family, and a close friend, who is also a photographer. But I already have a practice of shooting myself and those close to me. I love to work with my family and friends; it makes the work more of a journal or diary of my life, and personal feelings and concerns, rather than an unrelated or more conceptual idea. Involving the kids in this project has been a way to merge my role as a mother and my role as a photographer. 

“My kids are very interested in the environment, and what they can do to help and wanted to be included. It’s hard for kids to feel like they can make a difference with massive overwhelming problems like climate change, so I think it feels empowering to them to be working on something small and local. 

“I was also nervous to ask models to wear a stinky dress made of contaminated rubbish. I thought nobody would say yes. But since the project has gotten a little more publicity, I’ve had people contacting me asking to be featured in a dress and even offering to donate more creek rubbish. So I hope to include a wider range of people in the future, and now that I am allowed to photograph again, I’d like to do dresses for other creeks in Melbourne, or maybe even further afield.”

Would you describe this project as collaborative? Do your kids help with the dresses and the ideas behind the photos? 

“The kids definitely call the project ‘mum’s rubbish dresses,’ but they do like to help me with most of the process. Marlow’s favorite job is spraying disinfectant on the plastic rubbish, and they both seem to really enjoy the occasion of getting into the dresses on location and trying different positions. I usually only get about one minute of shooting in when they are the subjects, before they want to run off, so I usually shoot about ten to fifteen frames, and that’s it. It’s a long preparation for a very short shoot.”

Were you ever nervous about wearing these dresses and handling this rubbish? If so, what motivated you to continue in spite of that anxiety? 

“Yes, I was grossed out sometimes. There are dog poop bags and nappies and disposable gloves in the dresses. But I dried it thoroughly and disinfected the gross bits, and nobody got any weird skin problems, luckily. The motivation to keep doing this kind of wacky thing is definitely the feeling that we do have to get a little dirty to deal with these issues. I do have to confront my desire to look away or at least not get so up close and personal with this rubbish, that issue, this environmental catastrophe. 

“I also feel like I wanted to highlight that we are already in this stuff up to our necks. Plastic and pollutants are in our water and our food, in our oceans and air. It’s quite anxiety-inducing to walk by this degradation of a local ecosystem every day and to just hope once again that someone does something about it. I want to make something that furthers or incites the conversation about the ecology of waterways, about humans and the environment, and local action.”

Speaking of local action, is anything being done to protect or clean up the creek? 

“Yes, there’s a lot being done. The Merri Creek Management Committee and Friends of Merri Creek both run regular rubbish pickup events, and their websites are full of information and ways to help. I’ve seen photos of the Merri near Brunswick East from 1985 or thereabouts, and it was just an urban drain in a wasteland. Now it’s got native bushland all along it again, and wildlife has been returning to the creek, including the azure kingfisher and even a platypus. The water quality has improved from Very Poor to Poor, which is a step in the right direction, but it’s still not good enough to support the fish and other invertebrates that a platypus would need to make a permanent home.”

What is your most powerful memory from your time working on this series? Anything you’ll never forget?

“I’ll never forget putting on and shooting the prickly pear dress on the eve of the second lockdown. We were at an enormous prickly pear forest along the Merri Creek in Fawkner, and it was sundown. At 8:00 PM that night, we were going to be plunged into a stage 4 lockdown that included the five-kilometer limit and a new curfew, so there was a sense of foreboding and urgency in the air. 

“The dress turned out to weigh about 40 kilos because it was made of large overlapping cactus pieces, and it was full of spines, even though I had tried to remove them. Both the kids had disappeared into the labyrinthine prickly pear forest, and I was lumbering about in the heavy dress, shooting away and hoping that they would find their way back. My partner was helping me with shots and then going off to search for the kids. 

“The light was dwindling, and I remember a group of young people walked by and shouted some friendly encouragement to me. It was a relief to find everyone in the end, to get home before the curfew and throw that dress on the compost heap. It didn’t end up producing a very successful photo, but it was certainly memorable.”

All images © Daisy Noyes

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When Deana Lawson was growing up, her dad was the family photographer. Once, when she and her twin Dana were nine years old, they helped their mother, Gladys, take pictures for a calendar–a gift for their dad. As a child, she was surrounded by pictures of her mom and aunts at cookouts and celebrations. Family photos, like those she loved as a kid, would later help form the foundation for Deana Lawson’s life in photography. 

Deana Lawson, edited by Peter Eleey and Eva Respini and published by Mack Books, spans fifteen years of the artist’s career, coinciding with the first comprehensive museum survey exhibition of her work, running through February 27th, 2022 at ICA/Boston before traveling to MoMA PS1 in New York the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. The first scholarly publication devoted to Lawson’s work, the book includes her staged portraits; her collaged installations, known as “assemblages”); essays by Eva Respini and Peter Eleey, Kimberly Juanita Brown, Greg Tate, Tina Campt, and Alexander Nemerov; and a conversation between Lawson and the artist, author, and curator Deborah Willis. It also includes personal photographs from Lawson’s family, the portrait of her mother among them. 

The idea of the family album runs throughout Lawson’s work. Her pictures are staged; often, her collaborators are indeed related, but not always. It’s impossible to differentiate the “real life” couples and families from the “fictional ones” without being told, and in the end, it doesn’t matter. The intimacy and familiarity feel tangibly real regardless. In his essay, Greg Tate writes, “Real Black Life is what we’re looking at in Lawson’s pictures.” Framed family photographs have become a leitmotif in the artist’s work, as have drawn curtains, creating a sense of security and protection. When we look at a Lawson photograph, we’re entering a space as private and sacred as the family home.  

Often, these homes contain layers of historical and art historical significance, stories of love, and traces of trauma. In the case of Nation, one of Lawson’s most famous pictures, she’s photographed two men, one wearing a gold dental device that forces his mouth open. In the upper-righthand corner, you’ll find another picture: a Google image of George Washington’s dentures, made of hippopotamus ivory, brass, and human teeth, the latter taken from enslaved people. In Lawson’s own words, the photograph “conjures the ghosts of America’s past.” It captures not only the scars of the past but the wounds of the present, still gaping and raw. 

Lawson regularly comes across her models by chance. As we learn in the book, she met one woman and her daughter at church in Rochester; another family she encountered on Malcolm X Boulevard in Brooklyn. Once, she convinced a taxi driver to pose for her; another time, she saw two girls and their mom emerge from the subway stairs and knew she had to photograph them. 

When working on the book, Lawson rediscovered some of her father’s old family albums. “It was really interesting to look at his pictures of the family and see how much I am channeling certain photographs without knowing it, not realizing how much the foundation of my family has played a key role in who I’m drawn to as subjects,” she tells Deborah Willis. “Growing up in Rochester, a large and inter-connected family was central to my life. My mother, her sisters and cousins were all very complicated, gorgeous, and heartbreaking women.” 

In Coulson Family, an image created in 2008, we find a mother and her two children at the Christmas tree. On top of the television are family pictures, framed and displayed. Behind them, the walls are as blue as the sky, the curtains pulled closed to create their own private sanctuary. 

Deana Lawson, the first scholarly publication and extensive survey on the artist, is available now through Mack Books. Get your copy here. The coinciding exhibition will be on view at ICA/ Boston through February of next year. Feature Shoot, in collaboration with Mack Books, will be giving away three copies of the book to select subscribers to our premium newsletter. If you’d like to be eligible for this and upcoming book giveaways by Feature Shoot, subscribe here.

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“My father believed in survival,” the photographer Christian K. Lee tells me. “He was born in Chicago project housing, and he made a better life for us. He taught us to fish so we could never go hungry.” The first time he ever saw a gun, it was in the experienced hands of his dad, an Army veteran and police officer. “My earliest memory of a firearm was my father’s service pistol,” he remembers. 

As he grew up, the photographer learned more about the history of guns, the Second Amendment, and the complex ways in which it had been used to protect–and take away–fundamental rights in our country. “The Second Amendment is very complicated in regards to its relationship with African Americans,” Lee explains. “From its very creation, it was used to arm militias for the purpose of destroying slave revolts. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were killed–by guns–for exercising their freedom of speech. 

“At the same time, the reality in the United States is when people don’t like what you have to say, they will harm you. In order to truly have freedom of speech, it must be protected. Today, given the socio-political environment, Black People are arming themselves because they refuse to be a victim, in their own communities or from other threats.”

In 1967, the Mulford Act was passed in California following a protest by the Black Panthers on the steps of the statehouse. The bill, which prohibited the open carry of loaded firearms and the presence of loaded firearms at the state Capitol, was one of several gun laws at the time that targeted African Americans. “Throughout history, we see Black people test the theory if we have full access to certain rights,” Lee tells me. “The Black Panthers tested that theory, and history shows us that many of them were killed or assassinated–or legislation, such as the Mulford Act, was passed to silence them.

“Today, we see this theory being tested again with the case of Breonna Taylor (and countless others), where she was killed in her own home in the middle of the night by law enforcement, as they served a no-knock warrant–a practice in which law enforcement enters a home without prior notification to the tenants occupying the living space. A legal firearm was in the house and was used legally, but Breonna died. These events beg the question: do African Americans have the same right to self defense as other Americans?” 

Growing up in Chicago, Lee saw plenty of positive portrayals of people with guns, but none of them featured Black people. The photos he saw of Black people with guns were different; in those pictures, the subjects were presented as dangerous. Armed Doesn’t Mean Dangerous, a series of portraits of Black gun-owners and their loved ones, is his answer to what he saw–and what he didn’t see–as a child. 

It was through this project that he met Damillah Lane, who uses her gun to protect her family when her husband is away; Brandon Antone, who’s created a community for African Americans to safely discuss guns; Jamyce and Keon Brown, both Chicago natives; William Wilson, a retired police officer with more than 45 years of experience with guns; Christopher Barnes, an instructor at a gun range who hopes to become a cop; and many more. 

“When I interviewed and photographed Marvin West outside his home, holding his dog with his firearm positioned on his hip, he stated, ‘People often judge me based on my appearance,’” Lee remembers. “He mentions that those people would be surprised to know that he’s a business owner who holds a Masters degree. 

“I realized at that moment that many Black people, all over the world, have to earn access to their humanity by gaining education and other notable achievements: Otherwise, people view us all the same–negatively. It was at that moment I realized how important image-making is for me. It is my job to show our humanity through photography. 

“I have received emails from people all over the world thanking me for showing these images. People have thanked me for allowing them to realize that they actually do view Black People negatively and it’s something that they are working on. I appreciate that honesty because admitting is the first step to moving forward. The people from my images continue to thank me today for positively depicting them because they never saw these types of images.”

In the end, Lee decided to dedicate the work to his dad. “My Father is my hero,” the artist tells me.  “He never allowed us to feel like a victim in our own house, and I never felt like a victim at home because I knew he had the ability to protect us.” The series ends with a Polaroid picture of the senior Mr. Lee, made in 1998. “My goal is to correct an unbalanced archive,” his son says now. “For many people, I have achieved that goal.” 

All images © Christian K. Lee

The post A Look at Black Gun Ownership in the 21st Century appeared first on Feature Shoot.

“I had the dream American home in the suburbs with the cars and the garden and three children,” Pagan told the photographer JEB. I thought I was doing what I was supposed to be doing, but I felt like a miserable failure anyway. And then I started reading all that feminist literature.” JEB (aka Joan E. Biren) photographed Pagan and her partner Kady in Monticello, New York, in 1978. Their portrait appears on the cover of JEB’s history-making book, Eye to Eye: Portraits of Lesbians, first published in 1979 and reissued by Anthology Editions this year. 

Eye to Eye, widely regarded as the first book published in the US by a Lesbian photographer, featuring photographs of Lesbians, was made during a complex time in American History, as the Women’s Liberation, Civil Rights, and Black Feminist Movements paved the way for future generations. It was a time of power and strength but also of invisibility; the womyn* Eye to Eye took a serious risk when they agreed to be featured, and some had second thoughts due to the threat of losing their jobs, homes, or custody of their children. 

JEB made her “first lesbian photograph,” a self-portrait with her lover, Sharon, in 1970.  Over the next eight years, she traveled throughout the United States to meet the womyn in the book. JEB developed and enlarged her own film; to the obscenity laws in place at the time, sending it out to a commercial lab could have resulted in the confiscation of these extraordinary pictures. She self-published Eye to Eye with the support of her community, who raised the funds to bring the pictures to print. 

She struggled to find a printer; some were afraid of lawsuits brought by the women in the book, not understanding why they’d want to be publicly identified as Lesbians, in spite of the risks. But once it was out in the world, the book was a revelation. Everyone wanted a copy: after she gifted a copy to the Mt. Holyoke library, it was stolen so many times that they had to lock it up with the rare books from the Middle Ages. In the decades since the first run, readers have told the photographer time and again that they still have their original books from 1979. 

This new edition from Anthology Editions is identical to the first, with some additions. As in the 1979 publication, the pictures are accompanied by words from Audre Lorde, Joan Nestle, and Adrienne Rich. The title Eye to Eye comes from Rich’s poem Transcendental Etude: “… two  women, eye to eye / measuring each other’s spirit…” This time around, they’re joined by new essays from the photographer Lola Flash, the soccer player Lori Lindsey, and the artist and writer Tee Corinne. 

For the women JEB photographed in the 1970s, the chance to be seen, authentically and on their own terms, was worth more than any risk they might have faced. Speaking with The Guardian early this year, the photographer remembers arriving at Pagan and Kady’s house, a cabin in upstate New York: “They greeted me by saying, ‘What took you so long? We’ve been waiting for someone to photograph us!’” 

JEB always spent time with the people she photographed, getting to know them before introducing her camera. She explained her intentions for the pictures: the publication of a book that would show people what was possible. “When we moved into this house together, Pagan had been cooking for her family for twenty-five years and so she wouldn’t cook at all,” Kady told JEB more than 40 years ago now. “I cooked the first dinner and the frozen vegetables were still icy when we bit into them. ‘Tastes fine to me,’ she said.” 

Get your copy of Eye to Eye: Portraits of Lesbians by JEB (Joan. E. Biren), published by Anthology Editions, here. 

*“The forms of the words womon/woman, womyn/wimmin/women, Lesbian/ lesbian, and herstory/history vary in this book,” JEB writes. “This is not accidental. It is part of re-creating our own language.” We alternate between these forms as well. 

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The Print Swap, Feature Shoot’s worldwide photo-sharing initiative, is open for entries, with our next exhibition scheduled for New York City in early 2022. This will be the second Print Swap street exhibition, and it’ll be curated by Feature Shoot Founder Alison Zavos. All photographers who participate between now and January 30th will be eligible for consideration, and 30 final photographs will be chosen for the exhibition, printed as posters, and displayed in the bustling city streets.

Photographers can submit to The Print Swap by tagging #theprintswap. If their images are selected by our curatorial team, photographers can opt to participate in this round of The Print Swap by uploading their photos and paying the $50/image fee, which covers printing and worldwide shipping in full. We take care of the rest.

Every Print Swap photographer gives a print and receives a print of their choice, delivered straight to their doorstep, regardless of whether or not they’re ultimately chosen to be part of one of our exhibitions. We currently have some stunning prints available to swap, spanning the bustling streets of Ghana, the sunlit beaches of Greece, the skyscrapers of Manhattan, and the open landscapes of Namibia, where wild horses roam free.

Early next year, Alison Zavos will select the 30 photographs for the New York City exhibition, with the show hitting the streets soon after. Learn more about The Print Swap, our past exhibitions, and current opportunities by visiting our website, and follow along at @theprintswap on Instagram for updates and daily inspiration.

The post Call for Submissions: The Print Swap + Our Exhibition in NYC appeared first on Feature Shoot.

The Indian Photo Festival in Hyderabad, South Asia’s leading Photography Festival, is back for its 7th edition, with an all-star lineup of speakers, workshops, screenings, events, and exhibitions from some of the most inspiring voices in photography, from legendary photojournalists like Prashant Panjiar to emerging talents covering hidden and untold stories.

With artist talks from Roger Ballen, Sharbendu De, Martin Parr, Arati Rao, Rut Blees Luxemburg, Ruhani Kaur, and more, plus portfolio reviews with National Geographic, this year’s IPF celebrates the power of photography to influence change, even during unprecedented times. The festival runs from Friday, November 19th through December 19th, 2021, in hybrid format, including physical and digital exhibitions.

Together, the exhibitions at IPF cover some of the most important issues of a generation, from conflict to COVID-19. At the same time, we might also discover reminders of hope, such as tender moments shared by the LGBTQ+ community in Bangladesh or the work of an engineer battling the devastating effects of climate change. Some photographers delve into personal stories with universal significance, tracing the ties of love and family through the generations.

Here are just twelve exhibitions you can’t miss at this year’s Indian Photography Festival. Of course, we’ve only scratched the surface, so be sure to check out the IPF website for the full schedule of events and shows.

That Which Is Unseen by Prashant Panjiar

Prashant Panjiar has worked in photojournalism for more than 30 years, covering urgent stories relating to health, education, conflict, and beyond. This exhibition takes us through his life and career in photography, guided by his own words and images. The show coincides with a book of the same name, published by Navajivan Trust.

A curse in disguise: Pokhran Nuclear Test by Chinky Shukla

In this exhibition, the documentary photographer Chinky Shukla tells the story of the people living in the villages of Khetolai, Loharki, and Chacha in India. In 1998, residents were evacuated from their homes as part of a nuclear test. Soon after, they felt the earth shake and watched a massive cloud of dust rise over the Pokhran firing range.

Once the nuclear test was over, they returned home to find burst water tanks and contaminated farmland. Even now, cases of cancer, miscarriage, cerebral palsy, and more health problems are being reported.

“Nearly 20 years after the Smiling Buddha mission, the villages near Pokhran have joined a tragic global circle of residents of nuclear test sites that grapple every day with the aftermath of radiation,” Shukla writes. “The test got India the world’s ear, but the residents of these villages are still waiting to be heard.”

Remember Me by Divya Cowasji

Merging objects left behind and stories passed on between the generations, Divya Cowasji traces her family history in her series Remember Me. The project focuses on the women in her family, including her mother, grandmother, great aunt, and great-grandmother. “Though specific to my Parsi-Irani-Indian heritage, this is also a universal tale of family and inter-generational connection, the desire to be remembered, and the ultimate faltering and failing of human memory,” the artist writes.

The Strongest Bond by Sergei Stroitelev

This exhibition by Sergei Stroitelev is devoted to Chechen and Dagestan mothers whose daughters have gone missing or been imprisoned in former Islamic State territories. This story began in 2015, when young men from Chechnya and Dagestan, given promises from recruiters, started moving to Mosul and Raqqa. Their families followed.

“2017 was marked by campaigns to clear the above territories from illegal gangs,” Stroitelev explains. Men were killed, and their wives and children were sent to widow’s houses. Some received sentences of fifteen years; others were sentenced to life imprisonment. Some have gone missing entirely.

Meanwhile, mothers back in Chechnya and Dagestan continue to search for their daughters and grandchildren. In those portraits, Stroitelev projects pictures of the missing daughters onto the faces of their mothers and grandmothers, showing that the bond remains, despite distance and uncertainty.

The Forbidden Love by Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

In this body of work, the photographer Mohammad Rakibul Hasan celebrates the lives and loves of LGBTQ+ people in Bangladesh, who continue to face homophobic and transphobic abuse. “‘The Forbidden Love’ is a collaborative photo project with the LGBTQR+ community in Bangladesh, using interviews with the LGBTQR+ community in Bangladesh as source material to recreate their memories into photographic montages,” he writes.

Open Wounds by Younes Mohammad

Open Wounds is Younes Mohammad‘s long-term body of work tracing the stories of Kurdish Peshmerga who fought to stop ISIS. The project took him through Iraqi Kurdistan, where he met and spoke hundreds of Peshmerga and their families, learning about the trauma they endured and the scars that lingered after they returned home.

“Through the work, I found stories of immense suffering,” he says. “Fighters who took up arms, not because they were required to do so, but because it was right and it was what had to be done. These men, often fighting side by side with brothers, uncles, cousins, fathers, and sons, knew that the freedom and survival of their people were at stake.”

Timeless Memories: Chamba through the Lens of Sham Sunder Das

This exhibition, curated by Prof. Deepak J Mathew and Ankana Sen from the Department of Design at IIT Hyderabad, takes us into the extraordinary collection of Sham Sunder Das (1884-1977), a photographer who documented the people of Chamba State in Punjab province, where he lived. “Although most of these photos were taken to consume by local families and domestic audiences, Das’ archival collection is precious for tracing the photographic and social history of Chamba state,” the curators write.

Before I Forget by Naman Shrivastava

When Naman Shrivastava was in tenth grade, he noticed that his grandfather, who was 88, was acting differently and, at times, finding it hard to recognize and remember the names of family members. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and had experienced a stroke. “Someone must always be present in the house to look after him,” Shrivastava, now grown, explains.

“My grandfather’s health is failing, and the family’s condition is becoming increasingly precarious. The 21 years I spent with him was special in every aspect, and I will never forget them. Before I Forget is a memoir of my relationship with my grandfather and family. I’m attempting to remember him by photographing him like a grandchild rather than a photographer.”

The Deadly Second Wave by Anindito Mukherjee

This digital exhibition follows the work of Anindito Mukherjee, an independent photojournalist and documentary photographer, as he navigates the frontlines of India’s Covid crisis. “A new wave of the pandemic has totally overwhelmed the country’s healthcare services and has caused crematoriums to operate day and night as the number of victims continues to spiral out of control,” he writes. “Health Ministry data neared 20 million. The real figure could be up to ten times higher, many health experts say, due to a lack of widespread testing or reporting, and only patients who succumbed in hospitals being counted.”

Learn in The Air by Agoes Rudianto

In Learn in the Air, the photographer Agoes Rudianto gives voice to some of the almost 70 million children affected by school closures in Indonesia due to the pandemic. “In Solo, Central Java, elementary school students are using walkie-talkies to conduct distance learning in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic,” he explains. “That’s because not all students have laptops.” For some parents, internet data is unaffordable due to loss of income from the pandemic. With help from donors, the school was able to provide walkie-talkies to help the kids learn remotely. This is their pandemic story.

When The Ice Melts by Jyothy Karat

IPF will host a screening of this documentary by Jyothy Karat on November 20th. The film follows the residents of Kulum, a village in Ladakh, whose source of water has been lost due to climate change, and the work of one engineer on a mission to store the water from fast-melting glaciers. Documentary filmmaker, photographer, and researcher Jyothy Karat takes us behind the scenes and issues a dire warning about our changing climate.

The Print Swap

Feature Shoot is proud to present both a digital and printed exhibition with selections from our project The Print Swap as part of IPF. Featuring photographers from countries around the globe, the show takes us on a journey from the bustling streets of Cairo to the architectural wonders of Mumbai, from the open landscapes of regional Victoria to the majestic rock formations of the Canadian landscape. We hope you’ll stop by and see the exhibition in person if you’re in Hyderabad this month!

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Note: No hamsters were harmed in the making of these images, and these scenarios were designed with natural hamster behavior in mind. 

“When we brought Nibbles home, we realized that hamsters are a lot more work than people think,” the photographer Traer Scott tells me. “She hid for like a week straight, and we were thinking, ‘Wow, there is not much reward in this.’ But then we started working with her, and she warmed up to us immensely. My daughter would take her out when she got home from school, and we would make her safe spaces to run around in. That’s where the dollhouse came in.” 

Hamsters often need space when they first come home, so Scott and her family took it slow. These animals also require mental stimulation and daily exercise; Nibbles stood on her hind feet each night when she was ready to come out to play. And as they soon discovered, she liked exploring the daughter’s dollhouse, trying out the beds and adventuring from room to room.

Hamsters don’t live for a long time, and Nibbles has since passed away, but her memory has helped inspire Scott’s latest photo book, Goodbye Salad Days, featuring hamsters in meticulously crafted handmade dioramas. The book tells the story of Kevin, a fictional hamster in the throes of a quarter-life crisis. The character of Kevin was played by multiple hamsters, starting with Nibbles. “There has been a legacy of Kevins,” the photographer says. “Hamsters are all different. But all hamsters are adorable and have remarkable and very charming abilities, like stuffing carrots into their cheek pouches.”

Although she insists that Kevin isn’t based on anyone in particular, Scott drew inspiration from her own memories when imagining Kevin’s home, work, and social life. “I did take a lot of the ideas for the scenes from my 20s and early 30s,” she says. “I also live in a college town which has a very young general population, so I see wave after wave of kids struggle as they stumble towards adulthood. I wanted Kevin to be a boy because, frankly, it allowed me to make him to be a bit more clueless and bumbling than a woman would generally be portrayed.” 

Scott collaborated with her husband and daughter to build the dioramas, and she created many of the props herself, learning as she went by following YouTube tutorials. She also included references to Harry Potter and The Beatles, both family favorites. “Building the dioramas took so much longer than I expected–like many months longer,” she explains. “I kept having to ask for extensions. The process was me generally curating and collecting little elements over time for each scenario and then bringing them all together when I had to. 

“Some elements were handmade by me, some bought in various cities I traveled to, many ordered online. Also, all of the artwork that you see, like posters, paintings, and wall décor, were all done by me. That was super fun.” 

The comfort of the animals was always the top priority. Once placed in the dioramas, the hamsters could roam as they wished, and they got plenty of treats, including carrots and grapes. Scott designed many of the scenarios with natural hamster instincts and behaviors in mind. “What I always tell people is you can’t make a hamster do anything,” she says. “They usually explored and then tried to eat various elements of the scene, or stuff them in their cheek pouches, so we learned pretty quickly that everything had to be glued down. 

“Shooting took a very, very long time and we often had to do multiple sessions of something because the hamster would get stressed, and we knew we had to end it. The fact is that if the animal is unhappy, you will get terrible photos, so caring about your pet’s comfort and happiness is beneficial all the way around.”

Though often misunderstood or labeled as a “starter pet,” hamsters are complex, sentient creatures, so it’s important to do your research if you ever plan to bring one home. Adoption is always the best option, although you might have to be patient or find the right rescue because there aren’t as many hamsters available as there are rabbits or guinea pigs. With that being said, there are some dedicated rescues offering hamsters for adoption. Many shelters will also have a small animals room, so ask around.

As all of the hamsters in Goodbye Salad Days were beloved family pets, Scott emphasizes the importance of providing attention and care. “When people decide to get a hamster, they need to be willing to commit to a ‘real’ pet,” the photographer explains. “They are not disposable. They need daily exercise and care. I worry that too many pet hamsters are not getting their basic needs met. Hamsters are clever, curious little animals, and they need mental and physical stimulation. They also poop constantly, so you have to be ready to clean the cage a lot!” 

With proper care and plenty of stimulation, hamsters make wonderful friends and companions. In Scott’s case, they also became unlikely muses. The individuals who played Kevin have all sadly passed away, but the family welcomed a new hamster into their home shortly after the book was completed. His name is Neville, and they love him dearly. 

Of course, Scott and her family will always remember Nibbles, the hamster who started it all when her daughter discovered she liked playing in her dollhouse. “My daughter loves the book,” the artist tells me. “She took it to school to show to her class, and I wasn’t sure that it would resonate with the kids, but they loved it. Really loved it even though they didn’t understand all or even most of the jokes. I think it works on multiple levels.” 

Goodbye Salad Days: Kevin Faces Adulthood is published by Chronicle Books. Get your copy here. If you’re in the New York area, you can see the work on exhibition at Photoville at Brooklyn Bridge Park now through December 1st, 2021. 

The post Kevin, the Millennial Hamster, Will Steal Your Heart appeared first on Feature Shoot.

The moment Loes Heerink arrived in Hanoi, leaving her van to take in the sounds of traffic and honking, her eyes fell on a street vendor with a bike full of vibrant silk flowers. She grew up thousands of miles away in the Netherlands, but the sight immediately took her back home. When she was a teenager, her mother would ask her to pick up the groceries and carry them back on her bike. Though she once complained that they were too heavy, she learned in Hanoi that people can carry almost anything by bike. 

That moment of inspiration eventually gave birth to Merchants in Motion, published as a book in 2018. As she discovered, merchants in the bustling streets of Hanoi carry all sorts of colorful goods: flowers, fruit, veggies, and more–all balanced in baskets. Heerink photographed them from nearby bridges, waiting for hours for the right vendor to pass. On one occasion, she waited five hours only to return home with no photos that day. 

From the beginning, she longed to photograph one of the flower vendors. “While waiting for a flower vendor (which took weeks, if not months), I passed the time photographing other vendors,” she remembers. “I really started to enjoy my time up the bridges. Just passing the time looking at everything that happened downstairs. Sometimes, a vendor on foot would cross the bridge and she would sit down with me while I ate some of her goods.”

Most of the vendors she met in Hanoi were women, and many were migrant workers. “The women I talked to start very early in the morning and work until late at night,” Heerink says. “They buy their goods in the night market and work until late at night. “A lot of the vendors walk kilometers a day. Some tens of kilometers. Just walking around the town. It’s often the same cycle so customers know they are coming.” 

It’s hard work, and many of the vendors don’t get to return home often, though that usually depends on the ages of their children. “To save money, they live with other vendors and they bring rice from home,” the photographer explains. “It’s cheaper over there.” 

After making the pictures, Heerink tried to find the women again to show them the final prints. She found some of them. “One vendor, Hoa, even bought fruits with pink nets around them because she thought it would look pretty for the photo,” she remembers. “So sweet!”

The photographer lived in Hanoi from 2012 to 2015, and she still misses it. “It’s a city with a soul,” she tells me. “People are kind, and the streets are busy; the city is green, and there is always something to see or do. What I miss the most about Hanoi is the social aspect. Going out for dinner, or, when you don’t have anything to do, just sitting on the porch in front of the house with the neighbors. 

“Even though my Vietnamese isn’t that good, it was always cozy sitting with the neighbors on the street, sipping iced tea. I get homesick for Hanoi just thinking about the food. Some of my friends still live there. And my landlord and landlady–I would like to see them again too!” 

Of course, she misses the vendors too. Heerink still remembers the day she got that first flower picture. “I did a little dance after I took the shot,” she says. “I saw her coming towards my spot, and I was so afraid she would turn into the Old Quarter, but she didn’t. She crossed underneath the bridge!” As it happens, it was International Women’s Day. “I hope street vendors will always have a place in Hanoi,” the artist admits. “They really brighten up the city.”

All images © Loes Heerink

The post Hanoi’s Colorful Fruit Vendors Are a Joy to See appeared first on Feature Shoot.

“I have explored rivers on foot, canoe, raft, paddleboard, and car,” the photographer Ansley West Rivers tells me. “I have camped along their banks and swam in their waters.” She’s rafted the Grand Canyon sections of the Colorado River. On one occasion, she backpacked for three days through the John Muir Wilderness to reach the Tuolumne River. 

“In these situations, I feel connected to so many of the early American landscape photographers, like Carleton Watkins and Eadweard Muybridge,” she admits. “But I have also shot sections that they would not recognize or know how to navigate.” Humankind has changed the landscape since those early days; today, some river sections are only accessible by car. According to a study released earlier this year, just 5% of U.S. river mileage is still considered blue, with color changes due, in part, to man-made climate change. 

For West Rivers and her family, daily life has become inextricably linked to land and water. They own an organic farm, Canewater Farm, in the foothills of the Snake River Range, where they oversee four acres of mixed vegetables and flowers. In 2013, when she embarked on the Seven Rivers project, she set out to photograph the Colorado, Missouri, Mississippi, Columbia, Rio Grande, Tuolumne, Altamaha, and the Hudson Rivers during a time of profound change. 

Like Watkins and Muybridge before her, West Rivers carries heavy gear through unpredictable terrain, relying on large-format film to immortalize her impressions of the land and moving water. She shares the pictures with her children; when possible, they’ve accompanied her on her journeys. “Their experiences are not abstract: they have tasted soil, climbed trees, slept under the stars, and swam in fresh water,” she tells me. 

“Water has shaped their childhood in the hopes that it lays the foundation for their adulthood. We conversate passionately about the joy and refuge we find in wild places. They have witnessed the degradation and the beauty. They will hopefully give voice to the challenges of the future through their experiences, just as I am trying to do in the present.” We asked her more about her relationship with water, the joys and terrors of the natural world, and her hopes and fears for the future. 

What are some of your earliest memories of water and rivers?

“One of my earliest memories of water is going to my uncle’s house on Lake Burton north of the city of Atlanta, Georgia, where I grew up. I remember my older cousins telling harrowing stories about the town of Burton that was drowned out due to the damming of the lake by Georgia Power. The state of Georgia has no natural lakes. Georgia Power created all the lakes in Georgia for the purpose of power, so many small, poor communities were forced to evacuate.  

“It was said that once the dam was closed, the water rose so fast that the infrastructure of whole towns was left behind and for years in Lake Burton you could see the church steeple underneath the water. I heard tales of people refusing to leave their beloved homes regardless of the increasing water levels. 

“I was haunted by the ghost stories of the people who remained. I would lay in bed, hearing the water outside and imagining the faces underneath. This was a very heartbreaking and powerful image to me as I rode around the lake in my uncle’s pontoon boat, imagining log cabins and human relics that remained underneath. The idea of the human desire to control rivers regardless of consequences took root inside me through these haunting tales, even though I now realize many were told to simply frighten a young, shy girl.”

Why these seven rivers? How did you choose them?

“I began planning this project in Graduate School. At first, I wanted to follow all the rivers in the United States but as the idea took on more shape, I realized I needed to narrow it down. I decided to focus on rivers that defined regions, major metropolitan areas and rivers that had played an integral role in shaping modern-day America.  

“The pandemic has shifted my focus to rivers that I consider my home watersheds, the Snake and Teton Rivers which flow into the Columbia River. I am grateful for the time I’ve spent shooting my own watersheds. I feel it has inspired new ways of looking at what is familiar. I look forward to finishing the seven rivers of my project and seeing how this time at home will translate into shooting the unfamiliar again.”

Were you ever afraid of the natural forces you encountered on these journeys? 

“I have had many harrowing encounters in the natural world while shooting Seven Rivers.  Here are a few that stand out the most: 

“I was caught in a lightning storm on top of the Centennial Mountains in Montana trying to find the upmost source of the Missouri River.  I was with a friend who knew the way and luckily had brought a box of matches. We started the trek in the morning and were supposed to return by dinner, but when the storm struck, we had to take refuge under a canopy of trees and start a fire to stay warm. 

“This was an extremely strong summer storm that was not forecasted that morning.  Lightning was striking all around us. I could feel the electricity in my body, though I was miraculously never struck. We had to hike out that evening when things finally settled down and didn’t return home until midnight. 

“My second harrowing encounter happened while camping in the John Muir Wilderness. A close friend, Wenxin, joined me for this backpacking adventure, though she had never done any backcountry camping or hiking. She kindly trusted me to organize the trip. We picked up our permit and bear canisters at the wilderness office in Yosemite Park then set out on our trek. 

“On our second night camping, I had just gotten our campfire lit and was starting to cook spaghetti when I heard a low growl. Wenxin was sitting around the campfire taking her contact lenses out so was completely blind for the moment. I turned in the direction of the growl to see a black bear ready to charge us. I had only a moment to react knowing I was the only one that could get us out of this situation. 

“My reaction still surprises me to this day, but I decided to charge the bear with only my pot in hand before he could charge us. Fortunately, a woman screaming and running towards him with a pot scared him off. Maybe it was a good thing that my friend was blind during the encounter because she was unafraid to continue with our adventure.

“My third daunting experience occurred during a canoe trip down the Mississippi River from Clarksdale to Rosedale. I was six months pregnant with my first child, Emmalou. After rafting many Western rivers, I thought the Mississippi River would be easy. My husband and I naively drove to Clarksdale, Mississippi in February to begin our journey. We had a difficult time researching our trip, which should have been a clue for what lay ahead.  

“The Mississippi River is rarely undertaken in small hand-powered watercrafts. But miraculously we stumbled upon an outfitter in Clarksdale once we arrived, who had lots of experience on the river but had never undertaken the journey in the cold month of February. He helped look over maps with us and set us up with a shuttle driver after failing to dissuade us from our mission.  

“We began the trip in a snowstorm and dry suits over down jackets with fat lighter and matches strapped to our legs. The fire kit was a safety precaution in case we flipped our canoe and made it to land in order to start a fire to survive the chilly water temperatures. I do not feel anyone can understand the breadth of the Mississippi River until you have been on the Mississippi River. In most places, the river is over a mile wide.  

“We put in on a small back channel, but within minutes, we entered the mighty Mississippi and realized we had probably made a huge mistake. The river is enormous; the riverboat traffic is frightening, and the army corps of engineers has built punishing wing dams to force traffic into the middle of the river making it impossible to hug the bank. We had no way of turning back; we had to continue this five-day canoe trip.  

“On the second day, we almost lost our lives. We decided to cross the river, which was always the scariest part of this canoe trip because of the riverboats. You had to be completely sure that there was absolutely no riverboat in sight because to cross the river took about an hour and our canoe might have well been a bird to these captains! A riverboat can’t just slam on the breaks if they realize they are about to hit you. Anyways, we misjudged a riverboat that we thought was parked, and, halfway across the river, we realized our mistake.  

“My husband was the captain of our canoe, so he was steering, and I was paddling my heart out listening to his directions. As we realized our mistake, we also realized our life was in danger. And, of course, at that moment, my husband’s paddle shaft broke off and floated downstream. We were in a complete panic. He grabbed our extra paddle, which was held together by duct tape. We made it to shore within minutes of being mowed down by a riverboat. We both cried and promised each other that we would never canoe the Lower Mississippi river again if we survived the rest of the trip.

“Lastly, this project was inspired by a twenty-five-day rafting trip down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. I have a deep respect for water after running a river that scared me daily. I was frightened most nights, hearing the rapids that I knew I would be running in the morning. I feel that we should all have deep respect for the natural world, and maybe that is only gained by being a little frightened of it as well.”

What is your most powerful memory from your time working on this series?

“The most powerful memories for me are the ones I have shared with my children. When I was pregnant with my son, my daughter and husband accompanied me to Big Bend National Park to shoot the Rio Grande River. At the time, the news was centered around Trump’s Wall.  As I was photographing, my daughter was playing in the river, unconcerned about what side of the river she was playing on. The idea that she was swimming back and forth from Mexico to the United States was of no concern to her. I know this was a privilege because she was three years old and a white American citizen. 

“But watching her put things into perspective for me the ridiculousness of arbitrary human lines that we have drawn all over the landscape. How can you build a wall in the middle of the river?  The river will exist far beyond the reach of politics. It is unconcerned with this outlandish act, just as my daughter was as she covered herself in Rio Grande mud. She brought me peace and perspective during my shoot. I joined her in being joyful over a beautiful river in a beautiful place and tried to leave my political baggage behind for a few days. I think her playful spirit deeply inspired my work while in Big Bend National Park.”

What signs of degradation, if any, did you observe while visiting these rivers? 

“Sadly, I do not even know where to begin with this question. There is so much degradation everywhere, even in the places that seem most pristine. I will say some places still offer hope, while others feel hopeless. I must make sure to spend a bit more time in the places that feel hopeful because if I were to spend too much time in the places that feel hopeless, I am not sure I could continue with this project.”

You began this project in 2013. How has your relationship with it changed in the intervening years?

“I have moved from San Francisco to Georgia to Idaho during this time. I have had two children.  I have discovered many grey hairs and experienced three American presidents during this project. Over the last eight years, my relationship with the landscape has changed deeply. In my twenties, the landscape was something I theorized and spoke out about politically. I had a personal relationship, but it probably existed in a youthful abstraction.  

“Now that I am married to an organic farmer, raising our children in a drought-stricken western landscape, my relationship with rivers and the breathtaking greater Yellowstone ecosystem that I call home has become fiercer. It’s no longer something that I theorize about in social circles or in my studio practice. My relationship with the landscape is daily. 

“I feel it more in my heart more than in my head now that I have children who I want to grow up in wild places without the constant threat of wildfires, now that I have a home on a farm growing healthy food for our community that I worry about not being able to irrigate, and now that I can put in perspective the statistics of greenhouse gases as I can more clearly see our future. I try never to take for granted every time I swim in a clear river or high mountain lake, picnic by a stream, or witness the sight of a glacier.  Eight years ago, maybe I was beginning to understand this, but time has made this more poignant.”

The post The Magnificence of America’s Rivers, in Photos appeared first on Feature Shoot.

30 photographs from The Print Swap by Feature Shoot are heading to Brooklyn as part of a street exhibition running from the week of November 29th through December 6th. Our jury–which included Feature Shoot’s Alison Zavos; Google’s Anna G. Dickson; Aquin Matthews, Founder of the Indian Photography Festival; and Maarten Schilt of Schilt Publishing–have selected exhibiting photographers from across the globe, including artists based in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, India, Japan, Italy, Hungary, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Greece, Israel, Bavaria, and Australia.

The show has an open theme, spanning genres as diverse as landscapes, fine art, street, and documentary. At the same time, the collection flows together through a series of lingering motifs. Water appears time and again in photographs by Valeria Cammareri, Russell Goodwin, Takeshi Suga, Daniel Tulloch, Kristin Anderson, Deb Menconi Clark, Emmanuel Monzon, Umberto De Ros, and Yvan Bedard. A few of the selected photographers explore notions of identity through portraiture and self-portraiture, among them Mona Singh, Foteini Zaglara, Stevie Raelynn, and Anna Heimkreiter.

Birds, symbols of flight, appear in pictures by Meg Birnbaum and Skye Snyder. “In many cultural traditions, birds have been regarded as spiritual messengers,” Snyder writes. “They deliver omens and guide us on our journeys. Days before leaving to Mexico, I discovered three dead blue jays. The first on my living room floor. Upon waking in Baja and opening the door, there laid the body of a hooded oriole.” In that vein, ephemeral moments of spiritual significance can be found woven throughout the exhibition.

Location information for the exhibition is forthcoming, so stay tuned. If you’re in New York at the end of the month, we hope you’ll visit the work in person. This show is set to run concurrently with The Print Swap Exhibition at the Indian Photo Festival in Hyderabad, opening on November 19th.

The post Announcing The Print Swap Street Exhibition in Brooklyn appeared first on Feature Shoot.

Feature Shoot is thrilled to announce our upcoming exhibitions at the world-renowned Indian Photo Festival in Hyderabad, India. All photographers who participated in The Print Swap during our open call to be included in our digital exhibition, with 25 select pictures also featuring in a printed show, as selected by our jury. Those 25 images come from artists working around the globe, with home bases in India, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, The Netherlands, Greece, Germany, and Russia.

While there is no fixed theme for the show, two motifs recur throughout the collection: the refuge offered by nature and the hustle and bustle of city life. While these two themes might seem paradoxical, they harmonize in mysterious ways. In the Mumbai airport, Suhitha Shetty photographs a lone figure in a vast and empty architectural expanse. Yvan Bedard does something similar when capturing tiny people against the majestic Montmorency Falls almost 12,000 miles away.

Meanwhile, in New York, Vin Sharma celebrates summertime memories with a dip in the fountain, while George Koutsouvelis does the same with a visit to the beach in Greece. From the lilypad-laden waters of Australia (Ernesto Sumarkho) to the busy streets of Cairo (Jonathan Jasberg), we hope these photographs capture what makes each of our homes unique–and what ties us all together.

Special thanks to our jurors, Feature Shoot’s Alison Zavos, Aquin Matthews from the Indian Photo Festival, Maarten Schilt of Schilt Publishing, and Anna G. Dickson from Google, for curating this printed exhibition. You can see this work and others from The Print Swap on view at the Indian Photography Festival in Hyderabad from November 19th to December 19th, 2021.

The post The Print Swap at the Indian Photography Festival, Hyderabad appeared first on Feature Shoot.

Marina Abramovic used to have a recurring dream of arriving at a party in a house in the forest. The last time she had it, everyone at the party had gotten very old and had gray hair. In almost every dream Shirin Neshat has, her mother makes an appearance. FKA twigs dreams a lot about murders. Tracey Emin once had a nightmare that a woman was trying to steal her necklace; when she woke up, her neck physically hurt. Carrie Mae Weems used to have one about trying to get home so she could work in the fields with her family. She doesn’t have it anymore. 

These are just a handful of the revelations you’ll find in Portrait of an Artist: Conversations with Trailblazing Creative Women by Hugo Huerta Marin, a collection of candid portraits and interviews with some of the most influential artists of our time. Their conversations range from the anecdotal to the philosophical, the political to the personal. While the questions vary depending on the artist, Huerta Marin tossed in an array of revealing questions you’re unlikely to find asked anywhere else–including my favorite about recurring dreams. Following these discussions, he photographed the artists. 

Huerta Marin began work as the art director at Abramovi?’s studio in 2014, and the idea for the book was born on a summer’s night in upstate New York. Over the next seven years, he’d meet with female artists who left an indelible impression on the history of photography, film, painting, fashion, music, performance art, and more. He spoke with 25 such icons, capturing Polaroid portraits in the process. 

The interviews and photoshoots took place on the artists’ home turf, inside their studios, homes, theaters, galleries, or anywhere else they felt comfortable. The instant portraits are candid and spontaneous; in one, Abramovi? knits. In another, Cate Blanchett peers out at us from a mass of tousled hair. Weems stares right at the camera, mid-gesture. Miuccia Prada has a cup of coffee, and Anjelica Huston picks up a fluffy dog. Shirin Neshat sorts a bouquet of carnations. 

Each artist, as we learn, has a different understanding of beauty. Diane von Fürstenberg finds beauty in nature, and Agnès Varda finds it in everyday life. Abramovi? says beauty can be ugly, and FKA twigs says beauty can be found in the awkwardness of a transition, change, or evolution. When asked about her concept of beauty, Weems says simply, “Well …You” before continuing, “I find the world amazing, so it is not confined to anything. It’s simply a condition. Beauty is a condition of living.”

Portrait of an Artist: Conversations with Trailblazing Creative Women is published by Prestel. Get your copy here. 

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