Bush fire worst non-war disaster in Aussie history

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The number of people killed by the devastating Black Saturday bush fires that swept through SE Australia last week has claimed over 180 lives. Public anger over the worst bush fires in Australia's history remains high. Mr Sokaluk (the arsonist responsible for helping it along) was moved from Morwell, where he was questioned by police, to a cell in Melbourne for his own safety. As the van carrying him pulled out of the town, enraged locals pounded on the doors and yelled abuse.

The Australian government has announced there will be a national day of mourning on Sunday to honour the victims of the Victorian bush fires.

The death toll from the blazes stands at 189, but is expected to pass 300.

This isn't the sort of thing I usually post on my blog, but on good thing (?) that came out of it was some spectacular photography.

There has been a bushfire victim's tribute site set up if you feel like giving your sympathys or donations to those affected by this tragic situation:

http://au.respectance.com/Bushfire_Victims/memorial/?gclid=CLOS8KeW4pgCFQ0vQgodRHvadA

Ha! Those crazy fuckn Danish!

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I came across some of Simon's portraiture work a few years ago, but his latest project is by far the most ambitious. He has a favored style concept of taking his photos over a period of time from the same place. His current project is no exception to this concept.

Simon's spent the last 17 months creating a truly remarkable piece of photographic history.... His photograph entitled We're all Gonna Die – 100 Metres of Existence uses an extraordinary dimension of image (100m x 78 cm) to highlight how incredibly ordinary we (well, at least some Germans) are.

All in all, there are 178 people in the photograph that were shot over the course of 20 days from the same spot on a railroad bridge in Berlin, most of whom oblivious of the fact that they would be part of such an historical image. There are a few obvious questions that come to mind for me... where the hell do you hang a photograph that is 100m long? Can you still classify and composite image made from multiple photographs a single photo? Regardless of either of these facts or if in fact this is the longest photo ever, I can't help but respect the effort and concept.

To witness the spectacular online fruition/representation of this project (and the images I've put here from the site really don't do his work justice), I urge you to go to:

http://www.simonhoegsberg.com/we_are_all_gonna_die/slider.html

Rosie Hardy - Fantas(y/tic) photographer

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Through the fantastic vehicle of flickr over the weekend, I was forwarded on to a young photographer called Rosie Hardy. Originally from England, but soon off to USA to be with her partner (also a photographer, who she met through flickr), this 18 year old just blew my mind with her outstanding photography and concepts. A little bit dark, a lot quirky, this youngster has a prolific output (on top of a hectic school schedule), but still manages to get a pic out every day for her 365 (self portrait) project. In fact most of her work is self portraiture with a twist, and her comping and retouching skills are well above average too. Makes the rest of us look positively lethargic.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rosie_hardy/

(Thanks Rosie, and good luck with your psychology exam)

... are you 'avin a bubble?

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Couldn't help but start this article with the words of my friend Jonathan echoing in my ears - "are you 'avin' a bubble" - a comment he uses at least several times a night (Cockney rhyming slang for "bubble bath" = "laugh".

Creative Review commissioned photographer Jason Tozer to shoot these pictures on behalf of Sony using its new Alpha digital camera.

They are, in fact, all common-or-garden soap bubbles, shot in-camera. They’ll be revealing more on how Tozer obtained these stunning images later on. The full series is shown on CR’s photostream, or the link I've added below, and to see them at a larger size simply click on each image. I think they're awesome, and anyone whose ever tried to shoot this kind of shit in the studio has gotta be impressed with 1/ the shot quality, and 2/ the beauty of the subject.

www.creativereview.co.uk/crblog/planet-tozer/

More photography - Bjorn Giesbrecht

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While I'm still on the photography tip, here's another one worth checking out. Bjorn Giesbrecht is based in Dusseldorf, and unless you agency/client has an utter shit-load of dosh you won't get the opportunity of art directing him on your dream job shoot. He's just put up a bunch of new work, and has a new (and very beautiful) website as well.

www.bjoerngiesbrecht.de

Eric Traore - Professional photographer

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Ok, so I've been neglecting the street art thing of late, but work gets in the way of fun so... but on the plus side, while creating mood boards for some clients lately, I've come across some pretty fantastic photographers. Eric Traore is a photographer who deals mainly in the fashion & beauty fields, and works between NY and Europe. He has worked for some of the best clients and agencies in the world, and you can see why.

Check out his work on: www.eric-traore.com

Tough job but somebody has to do it...

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Photographer Elias Tahan hets to take photos of some of the most ridiculously attractive women in the world... What a trooper.

These photos just a snippet from his bulging portfolio. It's not hard to make models look good in photos, but his B&W pictures are really stunning.

See his work at www.eliastahan.com.