The Face Of Mars

On July 25, 1976, Viking Orbiter 1 captured an image that would spark the imagination of millions around the world and reignite the debate of life on Mars and in other worlds outside of earth. The image, dubbed F035A72, showed the Cydonia region of Mars, but it would be infamously known as the image of the face on Mars.

The Soul Of The City by Jasper James

This week began with a silhouette of one of the most iconic landmarks in the world, so it's only fitting that the week should end on a related note. This time, people play a more prominently role, or at least their reflections do, giving character and soul to the city that surrounds them. These are the photographs of Jasper James.

Liu Bolin: Hiding In Plain Sight

Traveling can be a great way to get some culture, bring home some souvenirs and generally get lost in a new place. For some people, traveling is literally a way to get lost in the crowd of buildings, monuments and posters. Artist Liu Bolin, a.k.a. the invisible man, has mastered the art of hiding in plain sight in order to produce his peculiar artworks.

Isa Leshko: Old But Still Adorable Animals

This week has seen a humongous bull calmly posing with his human handler and a tiny Dr. Dolittle girl in the embrace of elephants. These are pictures you wouldn't normally see on the Internet because of the rarity of the subject or occurrence, but there are even more images that most people wouldn't bother to take, even if they were right in front of them. Old animals don't get the attention that cute and adorable puppies and kittens get, so it's nice to so have photographer Isa Leshko devote her time to documenting these elderly creatures.

Robin Schwartz: Amelia's World Of Wonderful Animals

The variety of breeds shown in the previous post might make you wonder just how far reaching man's relationship is with animals. Only a handful of species have been successfully domesticated by humans, leading to the generalization that these animals possess certain characteristics that allow for them being tamed and utilized by people. On the other hand, it takes a certain quality of a person to be able to have the empathy necessary to communicate with these animals. Photographer Robin Schwartz explores that idea by documenting her daughter Amelia in the company of weird and wonderful animals.

Yann Arthus-Bertrand: Fine and Furry Farm Animal Portraits

 
It's been awhile since the Reel Foto blog featured any animals, so this week will be devoted to just that. While the last posts on the subject were focused on strange creatures underwater and close encounters of the wild kind, it's time to come back to those animals that are closer to man's heart. Man's best friend has already graced the Reel Foto blog twice, but nothing has been said of man's other best friends. Photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand seeks to amend that by presenting fine and furry farm animals in all their glory.

Annie Leibovitz: The Master Of The Portrait

Both Yousuf Karsh and Arnold Newman have rightfully earned their place among the legends of photographic portraiture for their ground-breaking work. Their images continue to be a source of inspiration for this generation's professional photographers. On the other hand, new generations of portrait photographers have to look for a fresh source of inspiration for today's digital age. Fortunately, they don't have to look far in order to see the works of commercial photographer and portraitist Annie Leibovitz.

Arnold Newman: The Environment Is The Portrait

Right around the same time that photographer Yousuf Karsh was working on his incredibly evocative and minimalist portrait style, another portraitist was taking a different approach. While Karsh relied solely on the subject to bring out the portrait within, fellow portrait photographer Arnold Newman believed that the opposite was true. For Newman, placing equal emphasis on the subject's environment was just as important to producing a great portrait.

Yousuf Karsh: The Art of Immortality

In the world of photographic portraiture, only a handful of names immediately stand out. Pioneers in the field such as Edward Steichen and Richard Avedon reacted to the times they lived in and were celebrated for coming up with unique yet modern approaches to portrait photography. Today's photographers such as Annie Leibovitz and Platon continue that fine tradition. One name however has been immortalized as the unparalleled inspiration for all photographers, past or present. That name is Yousuf Karsh.

Eugenio Recuenco: The Old Ways Are New

Photography imitating art as in the previous post shows modern viewers how the techniques of the old masters are truly deserving of their accolade. While the photographer recreating these masterpieces is to be commended for his effort, most of the time it's the original artist that gets the praise. This is the case when photography directly recreates art instead of being inspired by it. Photographer Eugenio Recuenco takes the latter approach by borrowing the elements of the old ways to create something completely new.

Raúl Eduardo Stolkiner: Conatus, Past and Present, Art and Photography

Last week's feature on Carl Warner's Foodscapes and Klaus Enrique Gerdes' recreations of Arcimboldo's portraits both show just how much photography is inspired by art. With the theme of art and photography being so popular, it's only natural that the Reel Foto blog should continue to feature photographers and artists with the same passion. Artist Raúl Eduardo Stolkiner, popularly known as RES, fits the bill perfectly.

Arcimboldo's Portraits of Food by Klaus Enrique Gerdes

Carl Warner's Foodscapes from the previous post has been rightly lauded over the past years, but his was not the first artworks to feature food in such a breathtaking manner. Photographer Klaus Enrique Gerdes takes his cue from the artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo in creating his fanciful portraits using fruits, twigs and flowers.

David LaChapelle: Forget Glamour, It's All About Sex!

There's no glamour, it's all about sex! Well, at the very least, sex plays a big part in fashion and portrait photographer David LaChapelle extensive commercial work. Some 50 years after the legendary George Hurrell defined the setting for glamour and style, LaChapelle turns it all upside to produce some of the most provocative, ridiculous and beautiful portraits in the industry.

George Hurrell: Lights, Camera, Glamour!

Ever since the advent of the motion picture over a hundred years ago, film studios have advertised their movies through billboards, posters and post cards. In order to attract an audience, the faces of the leading lads and ladies of the screen were used for publicity. The more successful films would use images of their stars that were more adventurous, sometimes provocative but almost always glamorous. And in 1930s Hollywood, nobody did glamour better than portrait photographer George Hurrell.

Tim Macpherson: Kids At Home And At Play

Jan von Holleben's pictures of little tykes having fun outside with their homemade costumes and props look impressive and inspiring, but Tim Macpherson takes the cake when it comes to kids having fun indoors. It only took a few household items to create the scenes that he did, but they're all done so well that you can't help but be awesomed by all of them.

Jan Von Holleben: Adventure Is Out There!

As cute and cuddly babies become rambunctious little kids, their little minds look out on the world and scream. "Adventure is out there!" Even without the luxuries of video games, kids can find adventure out there, even if it's just out there in your neighbor's backyard or on the streets. It might be a little hard for adults to picture the fantasies that their children play out, but photographer Jan von Holleben makes it easy with his creative captures.

Anne Geddes: Babies, Babies Everywhere!

There has been a lot of bad and depressing news as of late, so instead of sharing more dispiriting images on the Internet, it's best to lighten the mood with some heartening pictures of humanity at their best or in this case, their newest. Nothing in this world can encourage a smile like a baby, and no one else can capture these newborns quite like photographer and artist Anne Geddes.

The Sartorialist: A Visual Life

Some of you may remember my post on Scott Schuman's The Sartorialist blog a few weeks back. Well, Annette from Social Radius has asked me to share this short documentary video on the subject.

Edward S. Curtis: The First Americans

Today, the 4th of July, marks the Independence Day of the United States, which makes it the perfect excuse for festivities, fireworks, fanfare, and fun of all forms for people across the country. Today is also good day to remind Americans about the first settlers of the continent, the American Indians. Many records were made of these people and their culture before great changes came into their way of life, but none equal the beauty and scope of the works of photographer Edward S. Curtis.

Herb Ritts: The Beauty of Man

The beauty of women has been the subject of art and photography ever since anyone can care to remember, but the beauty of man hasn't been as prominently advertised. Even when photography became more accessible to media, women almost always took the role of the subject. It wasn't until the 1980s when photographer Herb Ritts began his groundbreaking work that the male model would earn a regular role in the fashion and advertising industry.