BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Capturing the essence of the people and the places around us. It’s been a life-long passion for photographer Yves-Richard Blanc.
“I first picked up a camera when I was 14, it was love at first opportunity,” Blanc tells 7 News Anchor Jeff Russo. “My love for photography is really all about elevating and making people feel special”
It’s that approach that has helped Yves-Richard build his successful marketing and branding photography firm Blanc Photographie.
Blanc, a native of Haiti, who moved to Buffalo 20 years ago, now works with clients ranging from major corporations to large non-profits, to small businesses.
“If someone just got married and they want to do a celebration of their marriage, and they come to me to do an incredible portrait, I want the quality of that portrait to match the portrait that I did of that CEO,” said Blanc.
Now Blanc is using his talents to photograph some of Buffalo’s most distinguished African American leaders in a new exhibit at the Buffalo History Museum titled “Say Their Names: Honor Their Legacies.”
“Their backgrounds are so diverse,” says Blanc. “From musicians to politicians to being the first judge in this region.”
Blanc teamed up with the Uncrowned Queens Institute on the exhibit, which aims to preserve the stories and history of our community elders using high-end portraits and video interviews.
“They talk about their lives, where they were born, what was the process, how difficult it was to become who they are,” said Blanc. “It’s a beautiful opportunity.”
The portraits were taken over a series of months in Blanc’s Tri-Main studio and while he’s produced thousands of photographs during his career he says that working on the “Say Their Names: Honor Their Legacies” exhibit holds a special place in his heart.
“Those people deserve their flowers while they are still alive, and me being able to be a small part of that, really is very very exciting,” says Blanc.
There is an event scheduled at the Buffalo History Museum for Sunday, February 25th to welcome and honor the community builders included in this year’s exhibit. The exhibit will run through April 14th, 2024.
SCOTTSDALE, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) — Scottsdale photographer Mark Koster is getting international recognition for his Arizona wildlife photography. Koster is known for his vibrant and detailed oriented photos of animals ranging from ducks to osprey and even bald eagles. “I like to shoot fairly tight and try to get the characteristics and the looks in on the birds, coyotes and bobcat’s faces,” Koster said.
Most of Koster’s photos are taken right in his backyard at Chaparral Park in Scottsdale. “I get to see the beauty of nature all a mile or two away from home,” Koster said. Every day, he heads to the park and spends hours just watching and waiting. “My eyes are always moving. So, if I’m not seeing one type of bird or an animal, I’m looking for something else,” Koster said.
Koster spent most of his career working as a television news director in Iowa, and he’s always loved photography. But his passion for wildlife started a few years ago. “I’ve dabbled in photography most my life. I had a little polaroid. But then I got into it very intensely in 2016 when I had two bald eagles land outside our condo door,” Koster said.
So far, Koster’s photos have been featured by Arizona Game and Fish, Smithsonian Magazine, the Daily Mail and much more. But he says it’s more than just getting the photo. He gets to study and connect with these amazing creatures. ” You get to know them. It’s like part of family,” Koster said.
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Columbia has received a $110,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts with $30,000 going to the Museum of Contemporary Photography, and $80,000 awarded to the Dance Center for various projects.
Asha Iman Veal, the museum’s associate curator, will be working in close collaboration with Chicago-based artist Regina Agu on “Shore|Lines,” a panoramic installation and exhibition that will delve into the memories of communities residing in Black Midwestern lakeside areas.
“Our team for “Shore|Lines” is so grateful to the NEA for the support,” Veal said. “We’re also not surprised by the wonderful reception to Regina’s artistic practice, as well as her vision for this upcoming project.”
Agu has been working with the museum for a year and is now photographing the lakeside communities based on community memory.
“It’s a really special opportunity for [Agu] and for MoCP to get to know different Chicago histories and to speak with folks about their own histories with the Black waterways or the Black Great Lakes history,” Veal said. “In ways that I think are often not centered in stories about nature and natural life climate, but also just what it is in the Midwest.”
The NEA offers a variety of project-based grant opportunities to organizations. These grants are tailored for specific disciplines such as the Grants for Arts Projects.
“Shore|Lines” is set to run from Jan. 23 through May 18, 2025.
Dance professor Susan Imus is a researcher for a study that is funded by the NEA and pursued by the dance program. The study examines how the physical and mental well-being of the participating adults, over the age of 50, are impacted by the “interventions” of the study.
According to Imus, the study will have three levels of intervention: receptive participation, where adults will be brought to three of the performances by Columbia’s Dance Program; the second intervention, pluralistic dance education, involving the dance faculty teaching classes for participants; the third intervention being the co-creation of choreography, where participants will spend 10 weeks creating a performance to be showcased at Student Performance Night in December 2025.
Imus said the project will have “state-of-the-art” research.
“Whether it was successful or not, it’s still important because we’ll be learning from going through this process,” she said. “It’s a really wonderful opportunity for our students to learn research as well as how they can apply their skill sets with older adults.”
Jinal Patel, senior medicine student at RUSH University and student researcher, was motivated to participate in the study by the opportunity to use her love for dance and see it help others in the community.
“I’ve been dancing since I was four,” she said. “Dance is an outlet to relieve stress, and it helps me improve my mental and emotional well-being, so I hope that the participants of this study will have that same experience, as well as other positive impacts in their physical and emotional well-being.”
The NEA’s financial assistance will substantially strengthen the Dance Center and MoCP, expanding their influence on students and contributions to the community.
Over a thousand grants have been awarded to organizations across the country and Puerto Rico, totalling more than $32 million individual grants.
That’s one reason why this fantastic video by photographer Pete Coco is worth watching as he shares five great tips that will really elevate your portraits.
[embedded content]One of Pete’s best tips is to encourage your subject to look away from the camera – something that may seem an odd choice when we’re constantly reminded that eye contact is ‘everything’ in portraiture.
But, as Pete explains, doing this allows you as the photographer to explore different emotions than would be possible with just a traditional eye-to-eye shot – while also giving a totally different feel to the final results.
His tips for looking for unguarded moments with low drive-mode are also excellent, and may just be the secret to nabbing that one-off moment you would have missed otherwise.
You can see more of Pete’s videos on his YouTube channel. Big thanks to Pete for letting us share this video.
About the author: Pete Coco is a portrait photographer and musician based in New York. When not performing as a jazz bassist, Pete can be found in his studio working with a wide range of clients, although is passion is creating unique portraits of other musicians and artists.
A photograph showing a freediver examining the aftermath of whaling has led to Alex Dawson from Sweden being crowned as Underwater Photographer of the Year 2024.
Dawson’s photograph Whale Bones triumphed over 6,500 pictures entered from around the world.
“Whale Bones was photographed in the toughest conditions as a breath-hold diver descends below the Greenland ice sheet to bear witness to the carcasses,” Alex Mustard, the chairman of the judging panel, said.
“The composition invites us to consider our impact on the great creatures of this planet. Since the rise of humans, wild animals have declined by 85 per cent. Our way needs to change to find a balance with nature.”
Whales dominated the winning pictures this year with Rafael Fernandez Caballero, a Spanish
