Nick Stern: Photographing Banksy

Street artist Banksy has gained immense popularity for his graffiti art work which combines humor and political commentary. His stencils blend in perfectly with their surroundings, sometimes incorporating their surrounding environment. Banky's interesting subjects has inspired many artists to recreate his works in real life, with Nick Stern photographing Banky's recreations almost perfectly in his series, "You Are Not Banksy".

Michael Benson: Planetfall and the Edge of Space

Images of spacemen floating in the middle of nowhere can be quite awe-inspiring, but even barren outer landscapes can illicit the same response. Outer space offers hundred of thousands of great photo possibilities, but it's actually finding great images that's the tricky part. Fortunately, Michael Benson has saved everyone else plenty of time and trouble by going through the best photographs currently available on the edge of space, and collecting them in his book, Planetfall.

Alex Prager: Cinematic Photography

Photography and video share almost the same early history, yet the two disciplines rarely go together in one package. Professional photographers stick to their camp, while filmmakers do the same. Even with the advent of video-capable DSLRs, it's hard to find artists who utilize both mediums and produce good results. Alex Prager is an exception with her images which can be accurately described as "Cinematic Photography".

Alexander Gronsky: The Edge Of The World

The changing seasons have long provided inspiration for artists since man began creating art. Winter, while being one of the more somber seasons, provides plenty of material for storytellers. The themes of death, rebirth, beginning and end all play into this season, and its easy to see why. Photographer and artist Alexander Gronsky captures what the edge of the world looks like in his project, "The Edge".

Gabriele Croppi: Urban Landscapes in Black and White

Creating something fresh in the world of landscape photography can be a challenge for even the most seasoned photographer as much of the photograph's success depends on the scene itself. If the weather is the same, or the vegetation hasn't changed, then a photographer might end up with the same image over and over again. It's the same difficulty with urban landscapes, only there's the added challenge of capturing the dynamic city life in a static scene. Gabriele Croppi goes the other way around in his black and white images of the Metaphysics of the Urban Landscapes.

Daniel Kukla: Mirror Landscapes

Sometimes, it's the most simple things that make a photo essay great. A single strobe light, a different colored backdrop, or a different wardrobe on a subject can make a viewer take a second look at a porttait. For landscapes, this can be a trickier, but Daniel Kukla has found a way to make an old format into something new by creating two landscapes in one. In his series The Edge Effect, the photographer combines contrasting scenes and colors to create mirror landscapes.

Andy Warhol: The Celebrity Polaroid Portraits

Today's most famous photographers and artists use the latest technology available in order to create the best quality work possible. Whether it's the latest full frame DSLR or medium-format camera, along with dozens of high-powered strobe lights set against immense backdrops, commercial photographers will always try to top their previous shoot. But sometimes when you're famous enough, the simplest camera can still produce images of note. That's the story with Andy Warhol and his celebrity polaroid portraits.

Man Ray: Photography As Art

There's no doubt that photography grounds itself in being able to take factual scenes with objectivity. Most people might argue that editorial photography really began with the advent of Photoshop and its related programs, but almost 100 years ago, one pioneering artist was blurring the lines between photography and art, even advocating for photography as art. This is the ground breaking work of Man Ray. (WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS NUDITY).

Bettina Rheims: Gender Studies

JJ Levine's "Switch" was an interesting look at how men and women can easily change gender roles with a few well-executed wardrobe changes. While modern society imposes rules about what is masculine and feminine, some individuals confound these social norms and choose to be something in between. This is how artist Bettina Rheims sees the third sex with her "Gender Studies". (WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS NUDITY).

JJ Levine: Gender Switch

In the history of photographic portraiture, some of the best portraits are those that reveal a small truth about the subject that is rarely seen in most cases. Whether they're shot in a studio, or taken in the subject's natural environment, a good portrait shows who the person really is deep down inside, or who really wants to be. Artist JJ Levine turns that concept on its head with "Switch", a doubly double portraiture series on gender.

Lisa Elmaleh: The Florida Everglades in Black and White

Google's Street View photographs have transformed the way people are able to travel the world. It has also transformed how artists are able to create new artworks. The influx of digital technology has enabled the creation of new types photographic art, but this doesn't mean the old ways are now useless; even a 100-year old camera can still create beautiful new images. Lisa Elmaleh proves that with her old school large format images of the Florida Everglades in black-and-white.

Matuschka: The Beauty of Damage

Photography has always had the power to affect the viewer, for better or worst. Whether it's an ad image designed to increase a company's sales or a blurry image exposing torture and abuse, a powerful photograph cannot be ignored. Artist Matuschka made the same impact over a decade ago, raising breast cancer awareness in a way that couldn't be ignored with her self-portrait entitled "Beauty of Damage".

JeongMee Yoon: Boys versus Girls, The Pink & Blue Project

"Blue is for boys and pink is for girls". That statement has been so subconsciously ingrained into the minds of practically everyone in the first world that it seems silly to challenge it. Indeed, the differences in gender with boys versus girls and blue versus pink has become an accepted fact that manufacturers nowadays will automatically assign blue products to guys and pink products to gals. Artist JeongMee Yoon wanted to document this phenomenon in children and, along the way, uncovered some surprising historical facts in her Pink & Blue Project.

Jonathan Hobin: In The Playroom

Almost a decade after the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse story first came to public attention, the photographs are still a topic of much controversy. One photographer however has flipped the controversy on its head and made them the inspiration for his portraiture series featuring children, and then some. Jonathan Hobin entered the spotlight a few years ago when his images were deemed just as controversial as the original images from which he based his "In The Playroom" series.

Li Wei: Unphotoshopped Photoshops of Flying Men

In this age of awesome Photoshop manipulations, it can be easy to look at unrealistic photo images and chalk them up to simple photo editing. The majority of photographers have no qualms using photo editing software to enhance their photographs, but a few others do it the old way and resort to more back-breaking methods to achieve their vision. Artist and photographer Li Wei has become famous for his seemingly unphotoshopped Photoshops showing men flying and cars floating through the air.

Up in the Air: Awesome Examples of Aerial Photography

This week's intended series of posts have been condensed into this one mega-post, but that doesn't take away any of the awesomeness of the subject. It's all up in the air for today, literally speaking as all of these photographs here were taken from a higher than usual altitude. Featured here are the works of Yann Arthus-Bertrand, Vincent Laforet, Bryan Solarski and Alex Maclean. All of these talented photographers and artists  are at the top when it comes to examples of awesome aerial photography.

Herman Leonard: The Art of Jazz

A whiff of cigarette smoke, a touch of spotlight, a tenor saxophone taking the lead, it's as if you're in the very presence of the late great Louis Armstrong or Miles Davis or Ella Fitzgerald or Duke Ellington. It's an unlikely scenario now, but for Herman Leonard, photographing the art of Jazz was an everyday song.

Don Hong-Oai: Painting Chinese Photographs

The boundaries between photography and art have oftentimes blurred to produce a sum greater than its parts, and this blog has featured many such intersections, from Karl Blossfeldt's plant portraits that come to life, to Liu Bolin's self-portraits in cityscapes, to Pablo Picasso's paintings of light. In keeping with the eastern theme of this week, today's post features an intersection that's even blurrier than before; some say these are paintings, others photographs, and some say that Don Hong-Oai has done the impossible by painting Chinese photographs and producing a true marriage between the two mediums.

Rune Guneriussen: In the Land of Midnight Light

The new year is already a few days old, but many are still living in the land of Christmas vacation. For one photographer, everyday is like living in the land of unbound imagination. It's easy to understand why when you see the creations of Rune Guneriussen in the Land of Midnight Light.

Karl Blossfeldt: Majestic Plant Portraits

In line with Nick Brandt's majestic animal portraits, it's only fair that this blog should also feature plant portraits of the same quality. As with animals, plants have also been featured on the blog, from Fong Qi Wei's exploded flowers to Carl Werner's amazing foodscapes to Michel Tcherevkoff's flowery shoes and bags. As with Nick Brandt, these previous flowery creations are no match for the simple yet majestic plant portraits created by artist and photographer Karl Blossfeldt.