Danielle Tunstall's Horror-Themed Portrait Photography
Photos by Danielle Tunstall.
Earlier this month, Gizmodo's sister site SPLOID shared some photos from UK photographer/graphic designer Danielle Tunstall. However, despite being spotlit at the beginning of December, Tunstall's photos are better suited for Halloween. The portraits, some of which you can see below, are rooted in shock horror with their focus on the grotesque. What some might find disturbing, others might find beautiful, and the beauty within Tunstall's details are what make Tunstall's photos so engrossing (no pun intended). Tunstall's photos is also enhanced by entrancing makeup work and post-processing that further highlights the details.
You can check out some of Tunstall's photos below, and be sure to visit her website for more from her portfolio.
[via SPLOID]
Did Kim Kardashian Actually #BreakTheInternet? (NSFW)
Kim Kardashian's claim to fame was the infamous 2007 leak of her sex tape with ex-boyfriend Ray J. There's no escaping the fact. The fall of 2007 found Kardashian and her family make their reality TV debut on E!'s Keeping Up with the Kardashians. The rest, they say, is history. In the seven years that have followed, Kardashian has faced criticism over being "famous for being famous," a long line of fashion endorsements, an ill-received marriage (and whirlwind divorce) to NBA player Kris Humphries, a few forgettable film roles, and marriage to your favorite rapper's favorite rapper, Kanye West. As is the norm in pop culture these days, celebrities are shoved down our throats in grocery store tabloids, gossip sites, and social media.
By now, everybody is aware of Paper's tantalizing photo spread and fluff piece on the most famous Kardashian. I have no real criticism with writer Amanda Fortini's expose on Kim beyond its "written just to be written" subject matter. However, in the 24-hour timetable from Kardashian's mooning of the internet to the full article and photo spread release, was the internet actually broken?
If there's anything that will get people talking, it's sex. And for that, well done Paper. Instead of creating some interesting, creative, and compelling content, you paired up with one of pop culture's most powerful female figures (for better or worse), paired her with an unbelievably talented photographer in Jean-Paul Goude, and worked to the lowest common denominator to boost site traffic, increase sales for a physical magazine in the wake of print's dying culture, and get people talking.
But what's more important? Becoming a trending topic or actually breaking the internet with something worthwhile of being considered "groundbreaking"? I understand the importance of embracing pop culture and entertainment when running a media outlet - obviously - and I understand how celebrity can make or break an outlet's popularity and sheer survival in a wide-open internet where we're all competing for hits, Twitter mentions, and Facebook likes. But with articles like Paper's "No Filter: An Afternoon with Kim Kardashian," where's the substance? As Kim joked herself on Twitter, "Because we know you came just [to] read the article..." she understands and acknowledges just how empty the article really was.
So here we are now, with pro-Kim crowds embracing how her Mom boobs really did #BreakTheInternet and anti-Kim crowds calling for people to #FixTheInternet. For a pop culture entity who has tried (and succeeded... at times) to legitimize herself since the sex tape, what do these photos ultimately say about Kim Kardashian, the person and the brand? Is she fully realizing who she is and accepting that which propelled her to stardom in the first place? Or is all of this an attempt to stay relevant before her relevancy runs the risk of fading?
It's too early to tell. And ultimately, what does it matter in the end? You're all here just to "read the article" anyways, right?
Malice of Alice Photo Series Unites Adoptive Mother with Daughter Through Cosplay
Photos by Kelly Lewis.
Cosplay is a wondrous thing. It allows fans to embrace and express their interests in creative ways. Cosplay (or fandom in general) allows people to make new friends at conventions, on online forums, message boards, etc. And, of course, there's the inherent fun in seeing people dressed up in public; for example, take a look at my cosplay photos from Chicago Comics and Electronic Expo 2014 and New York Comic Con 2014. There are multiple ways in which cosplay brings people together, and one photo series is further proof of this.
Through her Malice of Alice photo series, photographer Kelly Lewis has detailed the shared interest she has in cosplay with her adopted daughter, Alice. By combining Lewis' talents as a photographer and Alice's dream of being a model, the two have become quite the creative pair. Furthermore, their time together has allowed one another to form a stronger mother-daughter bond.
As for the photos themselves, I've selected some of my favorite from the series, including photos of Alice as The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo's Lisbeth Salander, Carrie's Carrie, Coraline's Coraline, The Royal Tenenbaums's Margot Tenenbaum, and Edward Scissorhands' Edward Scissorhands. Check out my selections below. You can find more Malice of Alice photos here. You can also find more of Lewis' photos on her personal website here.
[via PetaPixel]
Myanmar Photo Series by Michael Kunde
Travel photography is so amazing because it allows viewers to see a part of the world they may never get the chance to visit themselves. Depending on the photographer, each photo also represents not only a memory of the setting, but also the memory of the moment itself. Photographer Michael Kunde's photos from his visit to Myanmar were featured on The Phoblographer recently, and he was able to give a little insight behind his photo set, saying:
“I love playing with tones and color and I’m not afraid to experiment. [...] A really interesting and unique color treatment can really change the emotion the viewer is having while looking at the photograph.”
Indeed, a large number of his Myanmar photos evoke different types of emotions from an ethereal longing to sorrowful empathy. While I've only selected five photographs below, you can find more of Kunde's photos on his Behance page and website.
[via The Phoblographer]
The Death of Conversation Photos Highlight Our Smartphone Dependency
Photos by Babycakes Romero.
Before I got my first iPhone (January 2011), I would never be on my phone. Sure, I'd get the occasional text message and call, and I would get subscribed tweets to my phone every once in awhile, but I never truly considered it to be a vital part of my daily life. When I upgraded to the iPhone 3GS, my life changed. All of a sudden, I had the internet at my disposal, and instead of simply waiting until I got home from work to fall into the dreaded Wikipedia black hole, I'd just do so on my commute to work, during downtime, and on the commute back. The near-four years since haven't changed much, with work emails constantly coming in, social media needing to be attended to, and meeting reminders. In saying that, I've made a conscious effort to pull away from my phone when I'm around certain company, and with my iPhone 4S on its last legs, I try not to be on it as much as possible while I'm out and about.
Babycakes Romero, a street photographer based in London, has turned to the rise of smartphone dependency (and the fall of personal communication) with his latest photo series, The Death of Conversation. In his photos, he captures groups of people not interacting directly with one another, but instead face down to their phones. As Romero puts it himself:
I started to photograph people in company on their phones as there was a certain symmetry to them and it appealed on a visual level, but as I continued I noticed an inherent sadness to the proceedings.
Indeed, the inherent sadness captured in the photos are buoyed by Romero's decision to filter the photos to black and white, creating a grim tone throughout the photos. As smartphones grow smarter, our reliance on them as a tool to make it through the day and not direct, personal social interaction really could mean the death of conversation as we once knew it. Check out some of my favorite photos from the set below, and find more on his Bored Panda post.
[via Bored Panda]
Adventures in Babysitting Photo Series Shows Perils of Babysitting
Babysitting may seem like the easiest gig ever. Who wouldn't want to sit around watching TV and making sure a baby eats every little bit and sleeps comfortably? However, babies are scary things, being way too delicate and fragile for all of the fun things life offers. When a Swedish couple, Erica and Hannes, was deemed with babysitting a friend's six-month-old for a day, they were given a laundry list of things to do/not do that might come up with their time with the little guy. Still, I'm pretty confident their friend's list didn't include animal attacks and alien abductions.
In their photo series Adventures in Babysitting, Erica and Hannes photoshopped precarious dangers that faced the trio during their day together. The couple even gave hourly reports to their friend, letting them know that everything was A-OK, all things considered. The last time I babysat my nephew, he fell asleep an hour into it. Little did he know the adventure was just beginning... but that's another story for another time. Enjoy Erica and Hannes' Adventures in Babysitting photos below!
[via PetaPixel]
Sarah Rosado's Cereal Portraits of Musicians
Creativity knows no bounds for artists, and one artist has captured this idea by expressing herself through something as "simple" as using a breakfast staple. Inspiration strikes at the weirdest times, and for Sarah Rosado, this was no exception. "The inspiration for the series came one morning when one day while eating cereal and listening to oldies and R&B music," she says, adding that creating portraits of celebrities' faces with corn flakes came from the random thought that music has never tasted so good. The choice of corn flakes was a deliberate one, both because they're Rosado's favorite type, but also because the portraits are, as she says, "Easier to manage when creating images requiring finer lines."
Check out some of Rosado's cereal portraits she's created below, including such artists as Bob Marley, Aaliyah, Lauryn Hill, Pharrell, and more! Be sure to check out Rosado's website and Instagram for more from the artist herself.
Seth Casteel's Underwater Puppies Photos Are Adorable
Photographer Seth Casteel recently released a photo book entitled Underwater Puppies featuring, you guessed it, photos of puppies underwater. While it might seem a bit inhumane to just throw puppies into a pool for the sake of a photo, Casteel sheds light on how he was able to capture the photos of these cute canines:
To create this series, I taught swimming lessons to over 1500 puppies, building their confidence in the water and helping them develop safety and survival skills... Most of the puppies only swam for a few minutes and were not ready for pictures, but some decided to start jumping in on their own and chase after toys!
The book is a follow-up to Casteel's previous Underwater Dogs. Check out some select photos below. You can find more from Casteel's "Underwater Puppies" series on his website.
[via Demilked]
