25 Honest Wedding Photos By Ian Weldon That Are As Funny As They Are Chaotic (New Pics)

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25 Honest Wedding Photos By Ian Weldon That Are As Funny As They Are Chaotic (New Pics)

Ian Weldon is not your typical wedding photographer. Instead of staged and posed shots, the artist captures the raw, unfiltered moments that make each wedding unique. He describes himself as just another guest who blends in by using small cameras. He doesn’t want to attract too much attention, so funnily people often think he’s a friend or family member of the couple.

“I don’t really see myself as a ‘wedding photographer’, more a photographer that photographs weddings. I’m interested in photography as an expressive medium, as a way to make sense of the world around me, and as a way to show others how I perceive my surroundings,” the photographer told us in a previous interview.

Continue scrolling to see Weldon’s unscripted photographs! Don’t forget to upvote your favorite ones and let us know your thoughts in the comments. For more of his work, check out our previous articles here, here and here. 

More info: Instagram | ianweldon.com | twitter.com

The Joy of ICM Landscape Photography

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The Joy of ICM Landscape Photography

ICM, which stands for “intentional camera movement,” is a technique in which the photographer moves the camera during the exposure in a precise way, resulting in creatively blurry images that often have a painterly appearance. It is a great way to explore your creativity and expand your landscape photography techniques. This neat video takes you behind the scenes as a landscape photographer tries it out to show you what is possible and some common mistakes. 

Coming to you from Jason Friend Photography, this awesome video will show you some of what is possible with intentional camera movement in landscape photography. One important thing to remember if you try it out is that less is more. You probably need a lot less camera movement than you think in order to create the effect, as it is a thin line between creative rendition and a total mess. And if you do not get the result you want, try again. Each shot, even if of the same subject, will be unique, as all your little movements will have slight variations. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Friend. 

If you enjoy intentional camera movement photos, check out the work of our October 2021 Photographer of the Month, Alan Brown. 

The Funniest Pets In Photos, Finalists For Comedy Pet Photography Awards

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The Funniest Pets In Photos, Finalists For Comedy Pet Photography Awards

A cat performing its best victory pose, a smiling ferret and a flower-eating turtle are among the 25 comical images that made it to the shortlist for the Comedy Pet Photo Awards.

The funny pet photo is a global photo and video competition intended to “promote positive awareness of animal welfare issues and celebrate the incredible and hugely valuable contribution that pets can and do have on our lives,” the organizers explain.

Created by professional photographers Paul Joynson-Hicks and Tom Sullam, the contest also seeks to encourage public engagement around animal welfare and “through the wonders of photography and film, we want to share the hilarious expressions, antics and naughty capers that your joyous pets get up to and share the love and laughter with the world.”

“Pets keep us fit, sane and grounded. They listen to us when no one else does; they know how to cheer us up and will do anything for us (unless we’re talking about cats, but they have special superpowers of their own that we dare not talk about).”

On the Gallery page, you can see all 25 finalists and if you fancy voting for your favorite click to the People’s Choice Award. The last date to vote is August 6.

The 2023 Comedy Pet Winners will be announced on August 11.

In the ‘Dogs-Who-Look-Like-Their-Owners Department’, there are Karin and her two Afghan Windhounds in Landstuhl, Germany.

“Alex and Max are two rescued kittens. Alex is the shy one; Max is the playful one,” Zoghzoghi said. “Together, they’re a lethally cute duo. I had more fun taking photos of these two than during my most adventurous wildlife photography trips.”

Two sisters from different litters — self-confident Crystal and cute baby Daisy — look to the future.

Big Boss is certainly the boss around the port, says Morinaga, nothing that he’s also gentle and kind.

Shadow was digging holes as normal at the beach, when all of a sudden he decided to show off his new technique.

This small, happy ferret named Boudicca enjoys her first outdoor walk at 2 1/2 months, in Amherst, Massachussetts.

His name is Oscar and he’s an Afghan greyhound clearly pleased with himself.

Beautiful Edgar’s favorite food is the leaf and flower of the dandelion. Here, she savors the flavor in Wymondham, England.

Happiness is achieved in the midst of hemp plants in Zurich, Switzerland. These plants, however, are for industrial use, not marijuana.

It looks like a perfect land 10.0 landing.

Misty the spaniel desperately wanted to play with Nala, the dignified older lady of the menagerie,” said Horstmanschof. “She wasn’t that keen and fortunately Misty was pretty bad at hide and seek.”

Sisterhood and Maternal Bonds Surface in Sonia Alins’ Ethereal Illustrations of Tranquil Swimmers

By in Art World News

Sisterhood and Maternal Bonds Surface in Sonia Alins’ Ethereal Illustrations of Tranquil Swimmers

“Amor maternal.” All images © Sophie Alins, shared with permission

In Greek mythology, the Oceanid nymphs are the daughters of Oceanus, the great world-encompassing river, and a sea goddess named Tethys. Innumerable and present in every aquatic environment, the poet Hesiod described how they “serve the earth and the deep waters,” personifying springs and the sources of marine expanses. For illustrator Sonia Alins, the stories of the Oceanids provide a well of inspiration. “I’m exploring, in a poetic and allegoric way, concepts such as motherhood and sisterhood,” she tells Colossal. Her dreamy depictions of women and children floating serenely in water (previously) evoke maternal care and emotional connection.

Alins’ ongoing series Dones d’Aigua, which translates to “women of water,” focuses on glowing, full-figured figures who float, bob, and dive unselfconsciously in seemingly infinite expanses of blue rendered in ink, acrylic, and watercolor. Despite the apparent isolation from surrounding land or activity, the figures express deep bonds and a sense of togetherness, security, and tranquility. “I’ve continued creating artworks with clear references to (the Oceanids): motherhood, femininity, feminism, and love,” she says. “Those were the main roles of these Greek goddesses, and I feel linked to them, too.”

Find more of Alins’ work on her website, where you can purchase hand-finished editions and limited-edition prints. She often works with her husband Juanjo Barco, a fellow illustrator, to complete her pieces. You can follow her on Instagram for more updates.

 

An illustration of a group of people swimming.

“Celebration”

An illustration of two women swimming.

“Amitié”

An illustration of a woman with tattoos, swimming.

“Written in the skin”

An illustration of a mother in the water with her three children.

“Família”

An illustration of a mother in the water with her baby.

“Motherhood”

An illustration of a mother in the water with her baby.

“Mother with baby”

An illustration of a mother in the water with her baby.

“Maternidad”

An illustration of a group of swimmers in suits and caps.

“Las nadadoras del arrecife”

An illustration of a group of women swimmers.

“Oceanids I”

An illustration of a woman in the water.

“Plaisir”

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Sisterhood and Maternal Bonds Surface in Sonia Alins’ Ethereal Illustrations of Tranquil Swimmers appeared first on Colossal.

Spotlight: Art and Farming are Feasts for the Senses at the Longmont Museum’s “agriCULTURE: Art Inspired by the Land” exhibit

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Spotlight: Art and Farming are Feasts for the Senses at the Longmont Museum’s “agriCULTURE: Art Inspired by the Land” exhibit

Unlike conventional exhibits, “agriCULTURE: Art Inspired by the Land” engages visitors through art to imagine the tastes, smells, sounds, and textures of the land across five different locations.

18 local and national artists were paired with Boulder County farmers to create paintings, sculptures, fiber art, photo weavings and more. Their works are on display at the Longmont Museum, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Ollin Farms, Milk and Honey Farm, and the Agricultural Heritage Center.

Visitors are encouraged to go from site to site to experience the various site-specific work. “There is so much about farming that is approached like an art form in order for it to be successful,” said Joan Harrold, marketing and communications specialist at the Longmont Museum. “There are natural connections between the two concepts, and both are a rich part of the culture of Boulder County.”

Inspired by agriculture and nature

“We asked farmers and artists to work together to create art that is inspired by the land. It’s interesting to see all the diverse directions the artists have taken that prompt,” said Harrold. “We gave them the flexibility and freedom to create what they saw and use the mediums they wanted.”

One artist created a very large curtain of corn stalks meant to represent the amount of corn required to produce two gallons of milk. Harrold said, “His intention is to take the curtain back to the land at the end of the exhibit and return it to the field where it can decompose naturally and provide nutrients for the next crop.”

Artist Margarita Cabrera intertwined food accessibility, soil regeneration, and pollination, all of which are central to partner farm Ollin Farm’s mission, by working with 60 community members to create ceramic spoons. Harrold said, “Margarita engaged our community last summer to create the spoons featured in our exhibit. So many people were involved in what is not a typical art show.”

At Milk and Honey Farm, artists created a series of five sculptures placed on mobile stages. At the Agricultural Heritage Center, artist Amanda McCavour created an experiential piece of ethereal embroidered flower curtains that are hanging in an old historic barn. It has the look and feel of flowers blowing in the breeze.

screenshot-2023-07-12-125239-pm
Margarita Cabrera at her clay workshop

In the Longmont Museum’s gallery, the exhibit also features hands-on exploration activities for families, including digital microscopes, a farm tractor sandbox, and an interactive magnet mural.

The Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art’s gallery features eight artists using various media. “The works celebrate Boulder County’s rich farming heritage while also sparking dialogue about environmental challenges such as climate change and water rights.”

The “agriCULTURE: Art Inspired by the Land” exhibit runs through January 7, 2024

Offering something for everyone

The Longmont Museum hosts many events throughout the year from concerts, to theater, to talks and films in their intimate 250-seat Stewart Auditorium.

This summer, enjoy a free outdoor concert in the Museum’s courtyard with diverse music from blues and jazz to country and R&B.

Sundays on the Farm is an opportunity for families to enjoy an afternoon of making art, petting goats, food, music, and a lot of fun at each of the three farms featured in the “agriculture” exhibit.

The Summer Kids Film Series features a range of films from Disney classics to recent blockbusters on Tuesday mornings.

For more information on the “agriCULTURE: Art Inspired by the Land” exhibit and other performances and events visit them online here or here. 

25 hilarious pictures of animal antics from this year’s Comedy Pet Photography Awards

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25 hilarious pictures of animal antics from this year’s Comedy Pet Photography Awards
  • The Comedy Pet Photography Awards highlight hilarious photos of pets.
  • The contest shared its 2023 photo finalists, and winners will be announced August 11.
  • Notable finalists include rambunctious dogs, sassy cats, and adventurous ferrets.

The annual Comedy Pet Photography Awards highlight amusing pictures of pets and their hilarious antics.

The winning photos will be decided by a panel of judges and announced on August 11, and fans can vote online for their favorite snapshot to win the People’s Choice Award.

Here are the 25 finalists in this year’s contest. Photo captions have been condensed and edited for clarity.

Cutting-Edge Image-Makers, in “New Photography 2023”

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Cutting-Edge Image-Makers, in “New Photography 2023”
Art

Cutting-Edge Image-Makers, in “New Photography 2023”

The Museum of Modern Art’s program returns, after a hiatus of five years, to celebrate seven photographers connected to Lagos, Nigeria.

July 14, 2023

CuttingEdge ImageMakers in “New Photography 2023”
Photograph by Karl Ohiri / Courtesy the artist
From the issue of July 24, 2023

The Museum of Modern Art’s “New Photography 2023” (through Sept. 16) marks the return, after a five-year hiatus, of a program that’s been introducing cutting-edge image-makers since 1985. This iteration celebrates seven photographers connected to Lagos, Nigeria—including Karl Ohiri, who prints images (as above, from the ongoing series “The Archive of Becoming,” which he began in 2015) from decomposing negatives he reclaims from the city’s portrait studios, questioning the durability of memory, history, and self.

Contemporary African Photography

By in Photography

Contemporary African Photography

Bringing together more than 100 works, this exhibition at Tate Modern (6 July–14 January 2024) reveals how contemporary African photographers are both reflecting on the continent’s rich heritage and imagining a shared future. Images of traditional rulers in full regalia by George Osodi are presented alongside vivid interpretations of masks and masquerades by Zina Saro-Wiwa, Edgar Chagas and others; the legacy of the tradition of studio portraiture on the continent is felt in works by Santu Mofokeng and Hassan Hajjaj, while reflections on the threat posed disproportionately to Africa by climate change are the focus on the final stages of the show. Find out more on the Tate’s website.

Preview below | View Apollo’s Art Diary

Kwana Germiston Bosiu I (2013), Lebohang Kganye. Courtesy Lebohang Kganye

Adut and Bigoa from The Studio Series (2015), Atong Atem. Courtesy MARS Gallery and the artist; © Atong Atem

Star Shine Moon Glow, Water Life (detail; 2018), Aïda Muluneh. Image: © Aïda Muluneh

Star Shine Moon Glow, Water Life (2018), Aïda Muluneh. Image: © Aïda Muluneh

Putting the Rich World of Philadelphia’s Public Art Online

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Putting the Rich World of Philadelphia’s Public Art Online

More Than Likes is a series about social media personalities who are trying to do positive things for their communities.

Conrad Benner’s phone camera was fixed on Nile Livingston, an artist who stood in front of a blank wall. Mx. Livingston would soon paint a massive mural, and the “canvas” would be the side of an apartment building overlooking a parking lot in the Gayborhood area of Philadelphia. But Mx. Livingston was having a hard time finding the right words for a promotional TikTok.

“We can do a thousand takes,” Mr. Benner said, warmth in his voice. He had chosen both the location and the artist.

Mr. Benner, 38, runs Streets Dept, a photo blog and social media presence dedicated to spotlighting street artists. In addition to interviewing artists on video and photographing their work, Mr. Benner selects artists for Mural Arts Philadelphia, which says it is the nation’s largest public art program. In a city known for the richness of both its cultural institutions and its public art scene, Mr. Benner wants to “serve the artists in all ways.”

A bearded man in a black baseball cap and a half-black, half-white jumpsuit places objects on a flat surface. To his right, a person in a green baseball cap is crouched down, also working on the surface. Behind, two people look on. On the opposite side of the surface, two people are manipulating a large drawing.
Alexei Mansour and his team worked on installing a small mural as part of a street festival.HoJun Yu for The New York Times

“He’s a bridge in the public art community,” Mx. Livingston said. “He stops and slows down and observes the things around him, and he really cares about the city of Philadelphia.”

Before meeting up with Mx. Livingston, Mr. Benner’s camera was locked on another artist, Alexei Mansour, whom Mr. Brenner had selected to paint a mural in real time as part of a street festival. It was almost 90 degrees, and huge speakers drowned out Mr. Mansour, a self-described “mumbler” not keen on public speaking. There were people everywhere and Mr. Mansour, too, struggled, his face turning bright red. (“I blacked out,” Mr. Mansour said later of the moment.)

Mr. Benner took control: He instructed Mr. Mansour to wave his hands in front of his face to cool himself down. He switched locations, first trying to record Mr. Mansour in an adjacent building (also too loud) before settling on a corner away from the commotion.

“One, two, three,” Mr. Benner said patiently, and Mr. Mansour began to describe his work.

Symone Salib, another artist selected by Mr. Benner, applied one of her pieces, titled “There Is No Point In Our Lives Where We Ever Need to Stop Growing.”HoJun Yu for The New York Times

Mr. Mansour, whose work focuses on queer identity, and his team worked on a mural of the Greek god Dionysus, whom some consider an early nonbinary figure.

Mr. Benner, who grew up in the Fishtown neighborhood and typically wears a flat-brimmed cap and a mustache, eschews attention when documenting art, directing people’s eyes toward the artists he supports.

“My interest was always at pointing the camera outwards,” Mr. Benner said. “I find deep joy and interest in learning about the world around me through public art and the artists who make it.”

@streetsdept New mural by @Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D and @SeanMartorana ♬ original sound – Conrad Benner

Mr. Benner first published Streets Dept in 2011. A novice to the street art world — Mr. Benner is not a trained artist, and he had long planned to go into architecture — his early posts took on what he called a “fanboy blog” tone.

Shaun Durbin, an artist, worked on a mural on South Street. “Almost every neighborhood in Philly has an abandoned building that’s a former warehouse, or abandoned homes,” Mr. Benner said.HoJun Yu for The New York Times

The blog went mainstream in June 2011 when Time magazine reprinted a post about an artist who had “yarn-bombed” a city train, wrapping seats in multicolored knit fibers. The attention landed Mr. Benner a full-time marketing job, which he quit in 2015 after he surpassed 100,000 Instagram followers (he now has more than 150,000 followers and another 34,600 on TikTok) and devoted all of his focus to Streets Dept. He later started a subscription service through Patreon, a membership platform for content creators.

In 2020, Mr. Benner began selecting artists and locations for Mural Arts, which he said now provides the bulk of Street Dept’s funding, after nearly a decade of independent curatorial work, which he still does on the side.

At the heart of all that work is a love for a city that he believes is particularly suited to a thriving street arts community.

“Most of the street artists who work right now are putting up on either abandoned buildings or construction materials,” Mr. Benner said. “Almost every neighborhood in Philly has an abandoned building that’s a former warehouse, or abandoned homes.”

Nile Livingston, left, and Mr. Benner discussed plans for a mural by Mx. Livingston that would eventually appear on the wall behind them.HoJun Yu for The New York Times

“There was this idea that, OK, industry and maybe some people left this city, so now it’s our playground,” he said of street artists (the city’s population declined from about two million in the 1960s to about 1.5 million in 2021). “If you leave a building abandoned, it’s going to get filled with art.”

@streetsdept #greenscreen #greenscreenvideo Article by Streets Dept Contributor, @ericthepuzzler ♬ original sound – Conrad Benner

Hours after filming with Mx. Livingston and Mr. Mansour, Mr. Benner popped by a free wall space for artists on a busy street corner, where a man was painting a woman’s face. Mr. Benner had seen the artist’s work for months but had never met him. He was Shaun Durbin, an up-and-coming local artist who had tried to get Mr. Benner’s attention earlier at the live painting. He agreed to let Mr. Benner feature his work.

Mr. Benner pulled out his camera. “This is so kismet,” he said. His favorite part of his work is meeting new artists and sharing their work with the masses. “Why else are we in this world if not to just look around and be excited by what’s around us?”

“Architectural photography is dominated by empty, glossy, new buildings” says Jim Stephenson

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“Architectural photography is dominated by empty, glossy, new buildings” says Jim Stephenson

Architectural photographer Jim Stephenson explains how The Architect Has Left The Building exhibition at RIBA aims to draw attention to how people use buildings, in this interview.

Despite taking place at the Architecture Gallery at the Royal Institute of British Architects’ central London HQ, Stephenson told Dezeen that the exhibition is not focused on buildings.

“The installation is about people watching,” he said. “Although it’s at the RIBA and in the architecture gallery, it’s not really about the buildings – they’re just the backdrop, they’re the stage set really.”

“We wanted to create a meditative, large scale film piece that was all about how people use (and misuse) space once the architect’s work is done,” he continued.

The Architect Has Left The Building exhibition at RIBAThe Architect Has Left The Building exhibition at RIBA
The Architect Has Left The Building is an exhibition at RIBA

As the exhibition’s title suggests, the exhibition focuses on how buildings are used after the architect’s work is finished.

It aims to show buildings in use, in contrast to the majority of architectural photography that often portrays buildings empty, at their point of completion.

“When I used to work in architecture practices, we used to design everything around people and context,” explained Stephenson. “It felt like everything was dictated by those two things and then when we would get projects photographed we’d ask the photographer to omit those two things.”

“The buildings were empty objects – sculptures,” he continued. “It always jarred with me, so in our work we focus on people using space as much as possible.”

Jim Stephenson's RIBA exhibitionJim Stephenson's RIBA exhibition
The exhibition features the work of Jim Stephenson.

The exhibition include numerous photos taken by Stephenson, along with an enclosed screening room, where a film created for the exhibition was played on a dual screen.

“This film is all about the small interactions that occur in and around buildings – between individuals, groups of people and even between people and the buildings,” said Stephenson. “It’s all about the people!”

The film, which was created with artist Sofia Smith and has a soundtrack created by Simon James, contains numerous contemporary buildings from the past 15 years.

Among the buildings featured are Tintagel Castle Bridge by William Matthews Architects, Tate St Ives extension by Jamie Fobert, Sands End Arts and Community Centre by Mae Architects and London Bridge Station by Grimshaw, which were all shortlisted for the Stirling Prize.

Dual screen showing film at RIBADual screen showing film at RIBA
The exhibition features a film screened on a dual screen

The film makes aims to makes people think about the connections between buildings and how people are connected to them.

“Watching Sofia make visual links between buildings that I hadn’t previously considered to have much in common was fascinating,” explained Stephenson.

“There’s a point in the film where we transition from Sands End Community Centre to Tintagel footbridge and it’s seamless – from a community centre in West London to a bridge over the sea in Cornwall!”

“And at London Bridge train station, Simon recorded not just the ambient sound that everyone can hear, but he also recorded the inner guts of the building with contact mics, as well as the sound in the electromagnetic spectrum,” he continued. “All those sounds get layered up in the show and I can’t go through that station now without thinking about them.”

Photo exhibition of Jim Stephenson's workPhoto exhibition of Jim Stephenson's work
It also features photos taken by Jim Stephenson

Stephenson hopes that the film will demonstrate how people improve architectural spaces and how they are recorded.

“The history of architectural photography is dominated by empty, glossy, new buildings, photographed before people have come in,” said Stephenson.

“I think there was a fear amongst architects that people ‘mess up their building’ and photographing them empty somehow showed the architecture in a more pure and distilled way,” he continued.

“I think that’s mad. If the people you designed the building for are ‘messing it up’ then maybe there’s something wrong with the building? I’m half joking, but I’ve never documented a space that wasn’t improved by people, or at the very least a sign of life.”

One of the UK’s best-known architectural photographers, Stephenson co-founded film production studio Stephenson& with Smith. Recent projects photographed by Stephenson include a wood-lined community space in east London, a rammed-earth yoga studio to the gardens of Somerset hotel and a rolling bridge in London.

Recent buildings captured on film by Stephenson& include a visitor centre at the UK’s largest sawmill and a school theatre by Jonathan Tuckey Design in London.

The photography is by Agnese Sanvito, unless stated. The film is by Jim Stephenson and Sofia Smith with soundtrack by Simon James.

The Architect Has Left The Building is at RIBA in London until 12 August 2023. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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