August 2011 Archives

Cam Wrigley is a freelance photographer based in Nanaimo, British Columbia in Canada. This is his first attempt at a multimedia documentary project. Here is what he says about this presentation:

I travelled to Japan in May of 2011 to witness the aftermath of the tsunami that devestated the Tohoku region on March 11th, and to hear the personal stories of those who were affected by it.

By the time I left for Japan, more than two months had passed since the earthquake. In Canada, news of the Japanese disaster was limited to infrequent reports on the progress (or lack thereof) being made at the Fukushima nuclear plant. It bothered me that the plight of the thousands of displaced people in other areas was largely being ignored in the mainstream media.

This was my first documentary project. It was the most challenging thing I've done in my life, but I was inspired by the resilience, dignity, and kindness I witnessed in the shelters and by the people involved in the recovery effort.

Wrigley's brief presentation is simple, direct, and to-the-point. Sometimes when still photographs are presented as a multimedia slideshow — with sound, text and narration — the results can be quite compelling and memorable.

So, this year, Lens Culture has added a new category — Multimedia — for our International Exposure Awards competition. The Awards are open to all genres: documentary, fine art, nature, photojournalism, activism, street photography, sports, fashion, poetic, personal, abstract and human.

We encourage everyone to enter your best work. Deadline for submissions is September 17, 2011.

Check the website for complete details: lensculture.com/awards

Photographer David Maisel collaborated with major art museums to create a series of stunning photos of x-rays of antique statues, sculptures and fragile vessels. The title of the series is History's Shadow, and the results are immediately compelling as they draw you in through multiple milky layers of translucent materials that could never be seen with the naked eye.

Thanks to the miracle of x-rays, we're able to see all of the surface features (front, back and sides, all at once), as well as the inner areas that display some pentimento-like traces of the artists' hands plus the pins, nails, staples and struts that support these beautiful old works of art.

Maisel's photos are beautifully eerie, ghost-like, and almost alive. It is as if we can visually see someone's thought process, suspended and preserved, from hundreds of years ago.

Be sure to view the work in our high-resolution slide show, and read David's insightful text about this project.