Rapi Kaur

With two renowned collections of poetry, Milk & Honey and The Sun and Her  Flowers take you along someone elses journey through the sections of each book separated by anew stage of growth or change in the  authors life. Extremely raw and eye-opening, the darkest parts of Kaur’s life are revealed.  Many of these events make you realize you are not the only one feeling this way, and  what you are feeling is okay. The evolution she explores is synonym in some ways to that of many of the readers,  it’s like reading an enormously eloquent and vivid recollection of your own thoughts. Beautiful illustrations dance on each page and make the words create that much clearer of a painting in your mind. Tear evoking (happy and sad), my life was changed by this poet and these books. What else would you expect from a New York Times bestselling author?

Orion Carloto

Poet,  author,  master of the wonderful word. She wrote internationally popular  poetry book Flux. Hard hitting words depict reality in the harshest, yet wondrous way. Sharing experiences of pain we all feel, it is almost comforting to know you’re not alone. Her words have touched and changed the lives many and it  is evident through her online profiles that her work is not only loved and respected necessary.

 

Ashley Armitage

Dreams.  When you see Ashley’s work all you can see  is dreams, you feel dreams. Recognized by  many big names such as New  York Times, Viceland, i-D, Nordstrom, Dazed, Refinery29, Huffington Posy, Indie  Mag, and Buzzfeed to name a few, they have seen the dreams in here and could not resist her work. Self love, body positivity,  female empowerment, human empowerment,  freedom of  expression:  just a few words that sum up her work as a film photographer and director. She has stunning influential work that I hope more people can see, love,  and learn from.

Tyler Shields

Unbelievably versatile and endlessly fascinating, Tyler went from “bad boy of photography” to “Hollywood’s favorite photographer”  through his unconventional antics and rebellious state of mind. Did he destroy a $100,000 Birkin Bag and a blood stained series with Lindsay Lohan? Of course he did, and there’s no way he would have become such an iconic rule breaker if he hadn’t. But he doesn’t aim to  do celebrity photography, he aims to make images  and make art. As he calls himself a contemporary artist and film maker, he experiments with many mediums in order to explore dark romance and exposure of the human self. He knows his worth  and his power, and uses his standing in order to make something  provocative and to make something long-lasting. I could not possibly say enough about my love for his work and his attitude towards art.

Vanessa Hollander & Wilson Philippe

The  duo advertises themselves as a pair, a package deal. So, I thought only fair to show them  this  way. They  are based in NYC & Miami and together create wonderfully nostalgic film and photography. They have  worked with names like The Strokes, Adidas, Stella McCartney, Fendi, Hermes, Phoenix, Columbia records,  Vogue Italia, Sony, Nylon I & II,  Vice, Allure, Cult Records, i-D, Rolling Stone, Dazed and Confused I & II, MILK, Elle, Urban Outfitters this is just the beginning. The two artists experiment with multimedia in their work which is extremely intriguing to me. Provocative, alluring, and a dreamlike state occurs while watching their film work. Even their ad work brings you to another world, which often isn’t the case  with product videos.

Dani Reynolds

Dani seems like she  does it all in the creative field. Still life photographer, art direction, product styling, you name it. Currently she is the Art Director at Kastor & Pollux, a Toronto  based creative  studio. The work she has done there aims to help creative outlets elevate their brand through Kastor & Pollux’s services. What I truly admire about her work is the boldness. She takes products and some shapes and colors and makes art that is pleasing to the eye, the company, and the consumer. She doesn’t let a single title define her  or her work. This creative I admire immensely and would love to channel into myself and my work in the future.

Sasha Israel

If anyone likes bold colors, contrast, and popping images, it’s Sasha Israel. As a New York based  photographer  when she began she had access to the worlds melting pot of human beings. Now she is  based part time in Cambridge, Massachusetts she works freelance under her own name. Her series In The Company of Women is now published in a book and looks inside the lives and workspace of 100 incredible women. This series is inspiring for women. Being a young woman in a  predominantly male run  industry, she is challenging  herself and the ideals of what it means to be a woman in the workplace, in photography, and in life.

Brett Warren

Nashville, New York,  etc. Brett Warren considers himself based in many locations but he resides in Nashville at  the moment. He is unique in that he   explores utilitarian as well as fantastical worlds  of photography along with  set creation and story telling. His most  well known client to date is Vogue but he has worked with Pamela Love, Billy  Reid, and so many more. His style ranges from dark and deep to light and airy; his specialty is in his ability to be a chameleon for his clients. I admire his will to travel, explore different clients, and capture the world in a manor that is intriguing not settling.

Colby Tarsitano

He was drawn to photography primarily from his dad when he was gifted a   camera at age 11. Through visual media like magazines, tumbkr,  and facebook profiles he gained a technical knowledge of how to create an image that isn’t obvious at first. Colby shifted into documentary photography quite seamlessly he says as for him at  just clicked in moments  when he was shooting and the technical or ideological aspects he has previously learned pop into his mind. The  series Querida Cuba in  style is reminiscent of summers past. Not your typical summer  per se, but  greenery, kids  at play, beachy sunsets, and warm sun glares give us this wave of a past us. Blurry captured action enforces a dreamlike or reminiscent state because you cant exactly pin what or when it  is you are seeing  or remembering.The project in its initial intention w as meant to be a travel diary. He has a notion of what he expected and what  he saw in reality, and it turned the project on it’s head  in a beautiful way. The series morphed into telling the stories  and the cultures of the people and the region. As it stands currently  he  says the   series is  resting comfortably until he returns as it is far from done. Constantly in search of the quiet moments, he continues to find them.

Pixy Liao

Another series that fascinates yets confuses me is done by Pixy Liao who uses her boyfriend essentially as a prop. She does this in order to depict their unconventional and Experimental Relationship. She went to school for something entirely different than photography and  came to the  US from China  in order to pursue her  dream inspired by  a film she had seen. stemming from an assignment that called for her to relate to death in her image, she used her boyfriend  as a dead body. From then on, he became a prop in her artwork. Her images vibrant and exposing are meant to show the evolution of a relationship between her and her boyfriend who is five years her junior. She depicts him as not so masculine and safe  as she says, and though these images have changed over time she says he remains to stay true to himself.