Leila Jeffreys Is No Flaming Galah…

Tags

Australia, Bird, Birds, Budgie, Christmas, Cockatoo, Galah, Gift, Jonathan Adler, Leila Jeffreys, Photographer, Photography, Shopping, Sydney, Tim Olsen Gallery

‘Queenie’, the Galah Cockatoo by Leila Jeffreys
(Image © Leila Jeffreys)

galah

n
1. an Australian cockatoo, Kakatoe roseicapilla, having grey wings, back, and crest and a pink body
2. Austral slang a fool or simpleton

When you first arrive in Sydney (and possibly all of Australia, for that matter) one of the first things you notice are the birds. Both colourful and noisy, Australian birds are hard to ignore. Their cries start as the sun rises and seem to go all day…

Perhaps one of the most noticeable types of bird are the cockatoos. Until I came to Australia, I had only ever seen a cockatoo in the zoo. Here in Sydney, they are everywhere and they have bold and loud personalities.

Sulphur Crested Cockatoo by Leila Jeffreys
(Image © Leila Jeffreys)

Leila Jeffreys is developing quite the following for her bird photography, and when you see her work, it is easy to see why.

Leila’s love of birds has led her all around Australia and the world. She has photographed and helped scientists study endangered birds on Christmas Island; she has been welcomed into the world of pedigree budgerigar ‘best in show’ bird competitions; and she has photographed migrating birds across Europe.

She recently exhibited her Biloela – Wild Cockatoos body of work at the Tim Olsen Gallery which threw a bright spotlight on Australia’s incredibly beautiful cockatoo.

She says, “Now that I’m an adult, I can’t think of anything else I’d rather be doing than spending a day with some birds, getting to know them, them getting to know me and finding a way to cut through our differences until we’re left with one animal photographing another”

If I had a talent for photography and a passion for birds like yours, Leila, I think I’d feel exactly the same way…

‘Seisa’, Palm Cockatoo by Leila Jeffreys
(Image © Leila Jeffreys) 

‘Neville’, Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo by Leila Jeffreys
(Image © Leila Jeffreys)

If you’d like to learn more about Leila Jeffreys and her cockatoo series, or perhaps check out her budgie series (which was good enough for Jonathan Adler), you’ll get access her site here.

Tim Olsen Gallery still has available works of Leila’s for sale, too. What a Christmas present…

Thomas Jackson Photographs ‘Emergent Behaviour’

Tags

Art, Brooklyn, Emergence, Garry Winogrand, Photographer, Photography, Thomas Jackson

 

Cheese Balls by Thomas Jackson
(Image © Thomas Jackson Photography)

How cool are Thomas Jackson’s photographs from his series titled ‘Emergent Behaviour‘?

According to Jackson, the hovering sculptures featured in this ongoing series of photographs are inspired by self-organising, ’emergent’ systems in nature such as termite mounds, swarming locusts, schooling fish and flocking birds. The images attempt to tap into the fear and fascination that these phenomena can evoke, while creating an interplay between the natural and the manufactured, the real and the imaginary.

At the same time, each image is an experiment in juxtaposition. (I just love that word!) By constructing the pieces from unexpected materials and placing them in environments where they seem least to belong, Jackson aims to tweak the margins of our “visual vocabulary”, and to invite fresh interpretations of everyday things.

What do you think…?

Plates by Thomas Jackson
(Image © Thomas Jackson Photography)

Broken Pallet by Thomas Jackson
(Image © Thomas Jackson Photography)

Leaves #1 by Thomas Jackson
(Image © Thomas Jackson Photography)

Cups by Thomas Jackson
(Image © Thomas Jackson Photography)

Thomas Jackson – clever man that he is – apparently grew up in Providence, Rhode Island. After earning a B.A. in History at The College of Wooster, he spent much of his career in New York as an editor and book reviewer for magazines. It was his particular interest in photography books that led him to pick up a camera eight years ago, first shooting Garry Winogrand-style street scenes, then landscapes, and finally the staged work he does today. He lives in Brooklyn.

If you’d like to see more of the Emergent Behaviour series, check out Thomas Jackson’s website here.

 

Monkey Business with Jill Greenberg

Tags

animals, Books, Greenberg, Jill Greenberg, Monkey, Monkeys, Photographer, Photographs, Photography, Shopping, Tumblr, William Congreve

Wilding by Jill Greenberg
(Image sourced from Kopeiking Gallery)

I am captivated by Jill Greenberg’s Monkey Portraits.

I confess freely to you, I could never look long upon a monkey, without very mortifying reflections. (William Congreve)

You look into the monkey’s expressions, their faces – and somehow see yourself.  It is scary and disorienting and exhilarating and totally awesome. I’m not above unconsciously anthropomorphising my dog (sad but true), but with Greenberg’s monkeys, it is almost as if you can’t help but identify with their gaze, and be reminded of people you know and expressions that you have seen before. Wow. Just WOW.

Yikes by Jill Greenberg
(Image sourced from Kopeiking Gallery)

Worried by Jill Greenberg
(Image sourced from Kopeiking Gallery)

Uh-oh by Jill Greenberg
(Image sourced from Kopeiking Gallery)

Undecided by Jill Greenberg
(Image sourced from Kopeiking Gallery)

Joker by Jill Greenberg
(Image sourced from Kopeiking Gallery)

Rocky Portrait by Jill Greenberg
(Image sourced from Kopeiking Gallery)

Kenuzy Insane by Jill Greenberg
(Image sourced from Kopeiking Gallery)

Jill Greenberg was born in July of 1967 in Montreal, Canada. Over the years, she has made memorable images of many of the world’s most recognisable celebrities.  She is recognised as being an early adopter of digital effects, and (according to her bio), “has developed a world that is more intense, more razor-sharp, let’s say supra-real, than the one in which we actually reside. Jill Greenberg creates portraits that seize our attention, that create an altered universe staring back at us.”

Certainly, her other work is amazing, but I just keep coming back to the monkeys…

If  you’d like to see more of Jill Greenberg’s work, you can get to her Tumblr site here. A more comprehensive portfolio of the Monkey Portraits series can be seen here. And, if you’re keen to pick up a book of the Monkey Portraits, Amazon sell it here.

(I am off taking a wee sojourn to sunny Queensland over the next few days which means my response times to your comments may be a little slower than usual. I do love hearing from you, so please don’t stop! – It may just take me a little longer to get back to you. Cheers!)

Brock Davis Shows How To Draw An Elephant and More…

Tags

Art, Art director, Brock Davis, Conceptual Art, Creative Director, Design, food, Humour, Minneapolis, Multidisciplinary Artist, Photographer, Photography, Shopping

‘How to Draw an Elephant’ by Brock Davis
(Image © Brock Davis)

Here in TSL world, we are often caught saying, “where did they come up with that idea?” Well, today is no exception…  I have no idea what Brock David is drinking over there in Minneapolis, but I seriously want some of whatever it is. Describing himself as an Art Director, Creative Director, Artist, Designer, Illustrator, Photographer and Creative Thinker (clearly a man who doesn’t want to be pigeon holed), this guy is a multidisciplinary genius with a seriously conceptual mind coupled with a great sense of humour.

If you haven’t yet come across him, for the past 17 years Brock has worked in the advertising industry, clearly as a ‘creative’. He’s currently group creative director at Carmichael Lynch, but he has a few other strings to his bow as well.

In 2009 he challenged himself to make something cool every day. The need to create something no matter what meant that, inevitably, some days were better than others. But they all went up on the web. Have a look at some of his creations:

‘Rules’ by Brock Davis
(Image © Brock Davis)

‘Shattered Banana Peel’ by Brock Davis
(Image © Brock Davis)

‘Decowpitation’ by Brock Davis
Even the name is clever!
(Image © Brock Davis)

‘Okey-Dokey’ by Brock Davis
(Image © Brock Davis)

‘Fatal Paper Airplane Crash’ by Brock Davis
(Image © Brock Davis)

‘FYI’ by Brock Davis
(Image © Brock Davis)

‘Cup Lid Faces’ by Brock Davis
(Image © Brock Davis)

‘Shark’ by Brock Davis
(Image © Brock Davis)

More recently, here are a few other projects he has come up with:

‘Exhibitionist Coffee Cup’ by Brock Davis
Apparently, this was a random/goofy idea Brock had while he should have been working on a client brief. He says, “This was quite easy to make. Cut the coffee sleeve in half and tape it to back of cup. Cut a section from the back of the cup to make the hands. Tape it all together and draw a creepy face. Place it on a table in your local coffee shop and see how people react.”
(Image © Brock Davis)

‘Gummy Bearskin Rug’ by Brock Davis
(Image © Brock Davis)

‘Rudy’ by Brock Davis
(Image © Brock Davis)

‘Broccoli House’ by Brock Davis
Who needs Ed Sheeran’s ‘Lego House’ when you have your very own Broccoli House? Brock wasn’t able to build his son a real treehouse, so he built him this broccoli house instead. Made with balsa wood.
(Image © Brock Davis)

If you’d like to check out more of Brock Davis’ amazing, wild and wacky work, he is active on almost every social media site you can think of. You can access it all through here.

He also sells t-shirts and prints. Told you he was versatile!

Hana Pesut Does the Old ‘Switcheroo’…

Tags

Art, culture, Hana Pesut, iPhone, Photograph, Photographer, Photography, Portrait, Social Commentary, Switcheroo, Tallulah Bankhead, Vancouver

Sandra & Simon by Hana Pesut, ‘Switcheroo’ Series
(Images © Hana Pesut 2012)

They used to photograph Shirley Temple through gauze. They should photograph me through linoleum. (Tallulah Bankhead)

I come from a family of indifferent photographers. I remember a time as a teenager – back in the olden days, when you had to wait until your film was developed before seeing what your pictures looked like – when my father got some film developed and there was a span of almost ten years between the first and last image. True story.

My photographic skills are no better. I’m a snapper, really. Point-and-shoot cameras were designed with people like me in mind. All the images taken by me on this blog are done on my iPhone. Getting the picture…?

Actually, it’s really only since I started blogging that I have become interested in photography as an art form. The web is a great medium from which to share images. As a result, I’m sure followers of TSL will not be surprised to learn that I am completely captivated by the kooky images of Hana Pesut and her ‘Switcheroo’ series.

According to her bio, Hana is a self-taught photographer currently living in Vancouver. Her main focus in photography is getting the ‘little moments’ that people sometimes miss and later wish they had captured. She hopes to inspire others to take more photos in their day to day life. I reckon’ if I prove to be a better photographer than crochet-er, she’s converted one more person to her cause!

See what you think…

Amy & Joe by Hana Pesut, ‘Switcheroo’ Series
(Images © Hana Pesut 2012)

Sarah & Carl by Hana Pesut, ‘Switcheroo’ Series
(Images © Hana Pesut 2012)

Nick & Margaret by Hana Pesut, ‘Switcheroo’ Series
(Images © Hana Pesut 2012)

Mallory & Norman by Hana Pesut, ‘Switcheroo’ Series
(Images © Hana Pesut 2012)

Another simple yet inspired idea! There are loads more examples of the old ‘Switcheroo’ on Hana Pesut’s website here. I think her images are just fab’.

Irina Werning Goes Back to the Future…

Tags

Back to the Future, Buenos Aires, culture, Humour, Irina Werning, Nostalgia, Old Images, Performance, Photographer, Photographs

Diego – 1970 & 2011, Buenos Aires
(Image ©Irina Werning)

There are some seriously creative people in the world. Often, their ideas are so simple and yet, at the same time, so incredibly clever. Here’s an example of yet another clever creative…

Irina Werning loves old photos. She admits to being a nosey photographer. “As soon as I step into someone else’s house, I start sniffing for them. Most of us are fascinated by their retro look but to me, it’s imagining how people would feel and look like if they were to re-enact them today…” So, she decided to actually do this. She started to invite people back to their future…

I think the results are amazing:

Johanes – 1994 & 2011 Hamburg
(Image ©Irina Werning)

Carol – 1960 & 2011 New York
(Image ©Irina Werning)

Evan – 1957 & 2011 New York
(Image ©Irina Werning)

Negra – 1980 & 2010 Buenos Aires
(Image ©Irina Werning)

Fer F – 1981 & 2011 Buenos Aires
(Image ©Irina Werning)

Male Sil Flor – 1983 & 2010 Buenos Aires
(Image ©Irina Werning)

It made me start to think about what old image I would pick if Irina were to take me back to the future. I think it would have to be one with my little sister…

How do you feel about a trip to Sydney, Irina?

J & B – circa 1973 Auckland
(That’s me on the left!)

Irina has many more images in her ‘Back to the Future’ project on her website. She’s also done a great series with Chini, the Chinese Crested pooch which is hilarious! You can access it all here.