A Sun-Painted Picture

i've moved

2010-09-07T00:58:00.000-04:00

i decided to switch to tumblr for its simplicity.
if you wanna keep up with me, catch me over there. <3

Sun-Painted Picture on tumblr

mpd

2010-09-04T08:40:00.001-04:00

i've lived so many lives.
and it feels like every week or so i find myself in some new circumstance or among a group of people i never expected. i suppose that's the magic of living in an urban area through your 20's. virginia could have never given me such a wide range of opportunities.

i think there are a million versions of ourselves in each of us. all that is needed is the right circumstances to open us up.

sunday, wake-up, give me a cigarette..

2010-08-09T23:40:00.000-04:00

Here is the video I shot with Izzy Hilton:

shoot with izzy

2010-08-07T20:18:00.000-04:00

on rooftops above LA, we took pictures and made a video. video is in next post.

thanks izzy. :)

Above LA

2010-06-09T07:27:00.003-04:00

Finally finished editing the photos from the recent rooftop shoot I did in downtown LA. Here are a few of the pics:

Robyn - None Of Dem

2010-04-21T18:02:00.000-04:00

every year starts out with such a lull in good music. i have been so bored with my ipod lately and no new worthwhile album releases makes driving and photo editing that much more of a task.

but! robyn and uffie both have new albums coming out and i am so excited!

check this out:

transformation

2010-04-19T22:46:00.002-04:00

teaser.

baby ella only likes fake fur

2010-04-19T08:23:00.002-04:00

today i photographed my friend dawn and her husband issac's baby girl, ella. many photos turned out quite nicely including the image below. in this picture, ella is resting on a fake fur throw from west elm that mark gave me as a chistmas present last year. i have some borrowed furs for my roommate thien - he wanted them for the personal style party we threw last week. we tried to wrap ella in the real fur but she would have none of it. however, as you can see below, she does not mind the fake fur at all. this is the kinda story dawn may tell her later if she decides to become a vegan.

playing with makeup

2010-04-18T07:23:00.002-04:00

i will have a video put together soon of the process of eddie putting on his make-up. this is a still.

going to vegas again sooner than i anticipated but i'm very excited. lots to do!

tomorrow's to-do's include a baby shoot with my friend dawn, a lot of photo editing, and redesigning my business card. on that note, i'd better get to sleep so i can wake up!

everyday i'm hustlin

2010-04-15T08:18:00.002-04:00

today is a big day

which is why i should go to sleep -_-

we are attending a red carpet event at the el rey theater in LA. pictures to follow.

i've been working hard on the party photos - 340 photos takes awhile to turn into a decent facebook album with color correcting and black and white modifying, etc. so if anyone is looking for them i have about 50 left to do and i think they'll be done by friday. :) less than a week after the party.

is it bad that i put ground coffee in my press and have water ready to boil at night in preparation for the morning? can't wait to be in a hurry for the day...

show me your wings

2010-04-14T06:36:00.003-04:00

how i love to double expose.

in other news...upcoming album cover shoot as well as more projects with edward vigiletti (above) and a few separate personal projects. this is quite an exciting month!

new shoot with eddie v

2010-04-13T09:37:00.002-04:00

things are on a roll and we are having a lot of fun creating images. here are a few shots from the shoot today.

busy busy

2010-04-09T08:26:00.003-04:00

a lot has been happening lately and it's taking me some time to wrap my head around it all.

apart from all the distracting things in my life, i have been having a wonderful time with my shoots lately. the more i do, the more i realize i love things being bigger and more complex. the more lights, the more hair and make-up, the more styling, the better the location the more fun and exciting the whole thing is.

i have a lot to post, i realize but instead of backtracking i think i'll move forward from where i'm at.

more posts after this weekend! i have a big party to plan. :)

neon nights

2010-01-18T05:15:00.002-05:00

To kick off the new year, we all gathered at joe's (far right avove) house to dance and drink and wear bright colors with glitter and spandex. we took a lot of pictures and i edited them to look like pumped up cross-processed holga photos. to see the full size photos plus the rest of the photos taken that night, visit ryan burke photography and click on "NEON PARTY 2010."

Rooftops, bracelets and engagements

2010-01-14T22:22:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I was in LA doing a quick rooftops shoot with Kasiz Szarek (above). We had never shot together and always meant to but she had gone to Smile Bright earlier and the day and was in too much pain to do much of a shoot. The pictures that we got were great but I look forward to working on something more conceptual with her in the future.

Today I photographed product for Michael David (Mishka Piaf); he designs fashion accessories - necklaces, bracelets, headbands, etc. It was a lot of fun and now I have a lot of editing work to do from both shoots to keep me busy until Saturday when I do another shoot for Micheal and Sunday when I have an engagement shoot followed by a fashion shoot up in LA.

Such a busy week! This year is off to a very productive start. :)

busy busy (finally)

2010-01-12T03:25:00.002-05:00

mark - from the standard in downtown LA

Tomorrow i'm in LA again. Wednesday as well - first shoot of the new year with Kasia Szarek! Thursday I have a product photography shoot with Michael David. Friday is a Neon party, Saturday, more pictures with Michael David and Sunday is reserved for a developing shoot with Jared Allred and some other friends. It's finally become a busy start to the new year and I'm looking forward to all the upcoming projects.

Welcome Baby Ryan...

2010-01-10T17:47:00.003-05:00

I had the most fun last night photographing another Persian party. This time it was a baby shower for Jana and Heydar's incoming baby Ryan. I'm listening to the new Album Leaf and reviewing the pictures so I thought I'd share some. The girl to the right was especially pretty.

standing here on this frozen lake...

2009-12-27T20:57:00.002-05:00

it's christmas in california...

but it's especially christmas in virginia where there is not only snow but a beautiful frozen lake for me to slide around on. :)

...or i guess sit on, as the case may be. it was great to visit my grandparents' house where said lake is located up in madison, virginia because i have not been there in years. california livin has kept me far away from these places i used to visit so often.

i had a very merry christmas, especially since i was able to come home. being on this side of the country, however, has not only given me a new burst of inspiration for the new year but also supplanted my west-coast-is-for-me feeling with a maybe-i-should-move-back-to-the-side-of-the-country-where-i-belong feeling. who knows, in a year i might be in new york or dc. or maybe i'll move north from california and reside in seattle or san fran. wherever i end up, i'm becoming more and more sure that southern california isn't the place for me to stay much longer.

on that note, if any of you out there needs a roommate in a lovely cool metropolitan city in the next half year on then you should speak to me right away. ;)

in the meantime, i am still furthering my education and getting a detailed background in professional photography from a school in orange county.

i hope you all have the happiest of holidays. 2010 is sure to be a wonderful year.

[(Kevin Ma + Sunglasses) x Lady Gaga]/Ryan Burke Photography =

2009-11-27T06:16:00.006-05:00

Photoshoot: Kevin Ma Sunglasses - Lady Gaga Fame Monster Inspired

Location: Orange County, CA (my apartment)

Date: Tuesday, Novermber 24, 2009

Kevin came to my apartment late Tuesday night for a project for a contest he is entering with his sunglasses. He had the idea to use Lady Gaga's new song titles as an inspiration and we drew sketches and went from there. These are some of the test shots/other shots from the shoot as well as the 5 photos that came out of it at the end.

final product:

Young in LA

2009-11-24T19:14:00.004-05:00

Photoshoot: Jared's Apartment

Date: November 21, 2009

Location: Downtown LA near the Fashion District

Last Saturday, Celia, David and I drove up to LA for a shoot with Jared Allred and his friend's in his loft on Olive. Jared is a student at FIDM and an intern for Posso (spats). He and his friends are involved in the emerging young fashion scene in LA and in order to capture that, I set him up in a shot with his friends partying behind him. Some of these are set-up shots as well as shots of my friend Celia while we waited for Jared etc. to get dressed and ready.

halloween outfits

2009-11-03T22:22:00.010-05:00

these are just a few of the halloween portraits from this year's many halloween outings. to see a gallery of halloween photos, visit Ryan Burke Photography and click on Halloween 2009

Lighting Test Shoot With Jessica

2009-10-29T06:36:00.004-04:00

Today I set up the living room into a mini-studio and played around with lighting in anticipation for a bigger shoot on Thursday.

While the shoot was rather informal, we got a few nice shots out of it:

Jackie and Nick outshine LA

2009-07-23T08:04:00.005-04:00

June 19, 2009
from the Getty to Santa Monica Beach

My friend Jackie asked that we do portraits of her with Nick before he moved to Mexico City for his job. We spent a lovely afternoon traipsing about LA taking photos and having delicious food.

like digging up the past

2009-07-17T16:20:00.003-04:00

I love the Holga and I love medium format film. There is something incredibly special and antique about the look of these photos and the fact that you can still capture things that way today in a world of clean slick polished digital photography is really wonderful. I love the freedom of being able to do anything with a camera - hold the shutter open, double expose, triple expose, color flash!

It's about time i get back into this. These two pictures are probably two years old and I only just got them developed yesterday. I also bought new film which I have already started to use. I'm out of practice but I am still excited to see what comes out.

dresses, ties, and tea

2009-07-16T19:01:00.004-04:00

A couple days ago my friend Kerou had a 50's style tea party at her house in Irvine. All the guests arrived wearing whatever they could find in their wardrobes that resembled 50's attire. It was a cute party that basically culminated in an intense, difficult game of scrabble between myself, Celia and David. As it turns out, we all needed help and each of us were assisted by friends. We had a difficult time playing mostly due to the lack of larger establishing words.

Anyway it was a lot of fun and for someone who has been spending far too much time going out and looking for big excitement, this was surprisingly the best way to spend the afternoon and left me feeling socially tapped out - possibly more so than I might have at some LA club filled with LA people. I also find it to be the most fun when everyone has a reason to get dressed up and take pictures that doesn't necessarily involve drinking.

In other news, I am doing some couple pictures this weekend up in LA. I'll be sure to post a few of those. I am also heading down to San Diego to do some club photography at the House of Blues. Should be interteresting as I've never been there. I'll have updates about both of these happenings.

Two Years in California!

2009-07-14T20:36:00.005-04:00

Well, it's been two long-short years in California where I can't imagine more happening at such lightening speed. I hate how life speeds up as we get older. It's hard to take it all in sometimes.

To celebrate, I am posting a video from a year ago of me exploring areas of LA (mostly the Getty and Santa Monica Pier on this particular day) as well as my favorite song of this year which I share with all my California friends.

Basement Jaxx - Raindrops

Here's to the next two years or more of California living. I miss my East Coast friends terribly but to me no place has felt more like home. <3

Blue and White is the new Black and White

2009-07-14T18:15:00.003-04:00

Just for fun a night ago, Celia and I did some quick pictures and posted them on my website. To get to them, just go to the Menu/Projects/Celia in Blue. The occasion was that she had her hair and make-up done for the Linear/Carlton Hair party at South Coast Plaza. I met a great make-up artist there who I will hopefully get to work with soon.

Also, today I went in for an interview for an internship with Mark Leibowitz. I am excited to start working with him and his studio after he returns from Europe. Check out his website, he is great with backstage pictures at fashion shows.

I hope everyone is having a fantastic week so far! I am pumped for the new Harry Potter movie tonight. We got advanced tickets to see the 12:17 showing at the Spectrum.

That's all I got for now. :)

websites!

2009-03-08T09:21:00.002-04:00

well...i am finally getting things put together. i have been quite busy lately trying to organize my life and here i am up at 6:22 am about to go to sleep (i swear).

i am going to have a completely new website up soon for my photos as well as an additional website up for club and event photos. this is a new avenue for me as i haven't typically done club photos but it seems like an exciting new way to get involved in the LA scene. my regular website will replace the one at www.ryanburkephotography.com and my new website for club photos is at www.lastnightscene.com.

bigger and better!

New Faces

2007-06-03T17:32:00.000-04:00

all photos by ryan burke

Photoshoot: New Faces, New Expressions
Date: June 2, 2007
Location: Amanda's apt in Port Warwick, Newport News

I have not posted new photos for a long time now. I also have not had any photoshoots in a long while. Yesterday a spur of the moment photo session happened and I finally feel back into the swing of creative portraits. For whatever reason, deviant art is not letting me post new photos right now so that will have to wait. All new portraits will still be posted on facebook, however. I hope you enjoy these alternate photos in the meantime and I promise for a much shorter delay between blog posts from now on.

no more delays

2007-03-28T18:44:00.000-04:00

so now here's an update:
-Two new projects are in the works. I will not be posting about them as they develop like usual but I will post about them when they are done. Suffice to say, I am extremely excited and they are going to take all of my time. I might post a little though...but nothing that gives the project away too much.

-I am going to start posting again about other photographers as I find information, hopefully I'll have a new post up by the end of this week. Once I've posted more about other photography then I'll post again about my own.

-I graduate this year! I don't know where this will take me at this point but I'm hoping to go north or far west. New places, new faces.

-I don't really keep up with totalrandom blog at all so I might from time to time start posting stand alone pictures that do not require contextual explanation.

that's all I suppose!

Miss Datz

2007-02-16T03:44:00.000-05:00

all photos by ryan burke

Photoshoot: Ally Datz
Date: December 21, 2006
Location: My house in Fairfield

Ally and I had been wanting to do a real photoshoot for like years so last Christmas, we finally got together and set-up to take some pictures. Since I was at home, we had to just put a sheet up on the wall in the library and use only one lamp which I had brought with me (I usually like to have at least two). We didn't really have any sort of ideas going into the shoot so the outcome was a little bit random.

pearls, paisley, and fake fur

2007-02-01T19:13:00.000-05:00

all photos by ryan burke

Photoshoot: Mandy Faber
Date: December 6, 2006

Mandy's photoshoot was the first of two long shoots in the same day. The second shoot was an engagement portrait job with my friend Chanelle and her fiance Ryan. Mandy wanted a variety of styles in her portraits and showed up with almost her whole wardrobe. With the help of Mark and Laura we were able to get a few different looks for her portfolio. As always, to see some of the resulting photos, look to the top of this page which links to my deviant.art site.

Meghan in Mayhem

2007-01-17T22:46:00.000-05:00

all photos by ryan burke

Photoshoot: Falling Newspapers
Date: November 20, 2006

I am sorry for my absence over the last month. Christmas break was sort of busy and I was not able to post properly for awhile. I'm back now and I have a few new photoshoots to post. This one is from back in November and it is of Meghan Pruitt. The final photo (which can be viewed in my deviant.art site linked to at the top of this page) was supposed to be part of a series of photos featuring girls looking nonchalant while objects fall to one side of them. Unfortunately, I have far too many projects going on right now to be able to finish this series anytime soon but I hope to come back to it in the future. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy these photos and I will post more photoshoots very soon.

photoshoot: andrea's two faces

2006-11-28T05:21:00.000-05:00

all photos by ryan burke

November 5th, 2006

The final portraits for my "Young Americans" portrait series involved andrea strackbein done up in two different yet similar styles. One style was supposed to be dark and the other light. For the dark we used heavy make-up, feathers, dark clothing, and a viney background. For the light we used powder and white sheets to create a very innocent, brighter feeling. What resulted was a mixture of both but the basic concept is still there. These are behind the scenes photos of the shoot. As always, the final photos are viewable on my deviant art page linked at the top.

a many-sided moment

2006-11-21T17:12:00.000-05:00

Exposure #30: NYC, 249 West 34th Street, 11.20.02, 2:27 pm

Exposure #18: N.Y.C., 498 7th Ave, 02.26.03, 13:29 p.m., 2003

There are many ways to do a photographic series. Barbara Probst creates sets of photos out of a single moment. She magnifies the definition of a photograph being a captured moment by showing several sides of that same point in time. Her work also demonstrates the many different ways of framing the same image.

Exposure #6A, N.Y.C., Central Park, 06.04.01, 2:44 p.m., 2001

Probst uses radio control to coordinate the shutters of her cameras as she sets up her shot(s). She then takes her captured moment multiplied and blows the photos up to a huge size so that they take up a whole wall. The photos, when put together, absorb you in their immensity and also their subject matter. You feel like you are part of that moment more than ever because of the multiple angles you can see.

Barbara Probst, German Photographer 2001 - Photographed by Oskar C. Neubauer

Exposure #20: N.Y.C., 122 Duane Street, 05.12.03, 4:37 p.m., 2003

Exposure #31: NYC, 249 West 34th Street, 01.02.05, 4:41 pm

The art of not pushing the button

2006-11-14T04:37:00.000-05:00

1974, Paris, "Shoe and the Eiffel Tower

I haven't posted on other photographers in awhile so here we go:

Frank Horvat, Italian fashion photographer and photojournalist, believed in control. It is important for a "real" photographer to not just snap away and hope that a good photo will come out of the massive heap of average or poor ones. Horvat believed in waiting for the right shot; taking the time and focus to make a perfect frame. Some of this theory probably came from his meeting Henri Cartier-Bresson who preached his coined-term "the decisive moment." Frank Horvat was a contemporary of Cartier-Bresson's who seemed to live for that moment. To me, his perfect pictures have the beautiful quality of fine paintings. The lighting, pose, color, contrast, and overall composition show wonderful control similar to the effect of a well-planned painting.

Here are a few of his photos from three different publications: British Vogue, L'Officiel, and some of his beautiful Vraies semblances portrait series:

British Vogue

In the 50's there was only one fashion magazine with editions in different countries, Vogue. British Vogue was the first to give Horvat the freedom to use his own style in taking photos. The only drawback to working in Britain, says Horvat, was the weather. He therefore decided to bring the models inside the studio instead of out on the streets. Horvat requested many strange props such as babies and horses in order to add something new against the plain grey background. The picture to the right was taken in 1959 in London and shows model Judy Dent with a baby. Dent is wearing a british high fashion evening dress.

1959, London, British ready-to-wear with horses / 1961, London, model Simone D'aillencourt in british high fashion, with designer Hardy Amies

L'Officiel

L'Officiel is an old French monthly with "a small budget and modest ambitions," as Horvat said. This magazine has been the last fashion magazine he has worked for.

The picture to the right was taken in Paris, 1988. The model, Carol, is in a French high fashion cocktail dress.

1989, Paris, French high fashion evening dress / 1986, Paris, African fashion

Vraies semblances

The meaning of the title is "both true semblances and verisimilitudes." The main theme here is women and the emotions they convey. Each photo took weeks of preparation and hours of shooting. These portraits are all important women in the life of Horvat. A second theme to this set is history which can be seen in the style of the photos and the dress and posture of the subjects. He often used famous paintings as a reference for this series of photos. The third theme is that of portrait photography in and of itself - the intimacy involved in capturing a person's spirit forever in a single frame.

The photo to the right is simply titled "Anne."

Isolda / Sarah

For more information on Horvat as well as an online portfolio please look to my links section on the right side of this page.

Queen of the Twenty-Fifth Hour

2006-11-12T01:45:00.000-05:00

all photos by ryan burke

Photoshoot: The Many Personas of Laura
Date: November 4th, 2006

This was a 4-hour photoshoot where we tried out a variety of new things on Laura Errington. The original idea was just a picture of her in her houndstooth jacket but it moved on to more creative shots in a few different outfits.

I decided not to post many of the pictures on here this time because I didn't want to give away the shots i will be posting in deviant art later. Suffice to say, this has been one of my best photoshoots so far. check out the pictures from the shoot on my deviant art site linked at the top of this page.

A Question of Equality (photoshoot)

2006-11-06T14:49:00.000-05:00

all photos by ryan burke

Photoshoot: "The Bold Statement"
Date: Novemeber 4th, 2006

The sixth character in the "Young Americans" photoshoot, Daniel Burke represents the bold statement of our generation and any other generation when it was young over the past 60 years. For this shoot, Daniel painted a sheet with various religious symbols and then made an equal sign out of an oversized art pad. We used a spotlight in order to emphasize the feeling of the resulting photo (which can be accessed through my deviant art linked at the top of this page).

Daniel is a very bold character. He likes to stand out and he likes being an individual. He is also very devoted to supporting the equality of all people. This picture is meant to represent those things and also raise questions about why equality has always been so difficult. I feel like it also expresses a hope for a more optimistic future.

Party People (Scenes)

2006-11-03T22:32:00.000-05:00

all photos by ryan burke

Our school recently had the wonderful opportunity to host the works of Barry Moser, engraver. Moser now teaches in Massachusetts and is a successful artist. His work is on display at many galleries including the Metropolitan Museam of Art, the National Gallery, and other national galleries in Europe and Australia.

Mr. Barry Moser

Moser gave an interesting workshop/lecture before the reception where he explained the process of engraving. I've never really been a fan of this particular medium but his lecture was quite inspiring. Moser is truly a master of the medium and his works are beyond amazing. I have a hard time even drawing negative forms so to meet someone who could conceptualize and engrave a piece only made up of negative forms is awe-inspiring. His pieces (both reliefs and watercolors) now range in price from $100-$7,500. I asked him about pricing and this is what he told me: "I was comissioned by a dentist once to paint a golf hole. When I told him the price, he had to take a minute to adjust to the idea of it. He thought it was too expensive. Well, I'd like to know how he thinks he can charge more for a root canal which he can do in one day whereas my work could take a month."

Following the workshop were two receptions. The first reception was the president's reception and (mostly) the point of this post. I have picked out a few of the pictures i took of the reception to upload. The reason I am showing these is because I feel that they contrast from most of my other work and they are interesting to look at because they are voyeuristic scenes from a semi-formal party. As such, there is a lot of life involved in them despite the shmoozing and fake friendliness.

I love pictures like this one where there is more than one thing happening. There is a conversation on the right and a woman standing alone on the left. The woman on the left was warming herself at the fireplace. She was my favorite at the party. At one point she approached me with one of the hors d'oeuvres and asked "I'm sure you have a well-refined palette, can you tell me if there is chipotle in this?" I am pretty sure she was at least a little bit tipsy off the free wine.

The pictures above and below show one of my other favorite types of shots: five people in a line, all looking in different directions. I love it because your eyes can just move back and forth all over the picture through all the leading lines.

photoshoot! fall colors and so much reading

2006-10-12T05:14:00.000-04:00

*all photos by ryan burke

Photoshoot: Wrapped Up in Books
Date: October 10th, 2006

this is just a quick photoshoot done of mark in california at uci.

Pink Hair and Purple Fabric Photoshoot

2006-09-23T02:07:00.000-04:00

all photos by ryan burke

Photoshoot: "Justine (The Gender Bender)"
Date: September 12, 2006

In the middle of class the other day, I noticed Justine's amazing new hair color. I said across the room "hey, what are you doing tonight, wanna do pictures?" Right after class we went to wal-mart to pick up some supplies (props) for the shoot and then we had some fun for a couple hours. These photos are the result of this spontaneous photoshoot. I will probably end up using Justine as one of the characters in my Young Americans portrait project. As a temporary title, I am calling her the Gender Bender.

Hope you like this montage of the photoshoot. The "official" pictures are/will be posted in my deviant art gallery which you can find linked to at the top of this page.

Photoshoot: The Free Spirit

2006-09-13T00:15:00.000-04:00

all photos by ryan burke.

Photoshoot: "Shannon in a Bed of Petals (The Free Spirit)"
Date: September 6th, 2006

My latest photoshoot was of Shannon Nester, a music major and a very nice friend of mine. Ever since I've known her, she has been happy and positive to be around. She's also very chill and fun; therefore, her character in my senior project was the "Free Spirit."

For this shoot, we decided to use the fields of Yorktown near the beach we used for Laura's photoshoot in my previous post. Laura came along on this shoot to help out. The photo I was aiming for has been posted in my deviant art and depicts Shannon playing the flute in an open field with flower petals floating in the air. I hope you enjoy all of the other photos here which were taken in the process of getting the main shot.

Photoshoot: Laura as the Optimist

2006-09-02T22:24:00.000-04:00

all photos by ryan burke

Photoshoot: "The Optimist"
Date: September 2nd, 2006

Laura Errington is a good friend of mine and one of the most positive people I know. As such, for her portrait (another part of my senior sem portrait series) I wanted to capture her bright positive attitude. We decided that a beach would be the best place to go and wearing all white would contrast well against the water and sky. As a prop, we used Chinese yo-yos which she threw around as she danced on the beach. With all the color and movement, as well as Laura's wonderful smile, I think I was able to get a good photographic interpretation of her optimistic demeanor.

So...I hope you enjoy them!

Another thing we tried to do as a spur of the moment side project was to wrap Laura up in aluminum foil and have her as a statue on the beach. Peter Adams, my roommate helped come up with this idea and also helped put it together. The end result was a little ridiculous but pretty awesome as well.

Ouka Lele and Creative Portraiture

2006-08-20T11:51:00.000-04:00

"The Hairdresser's" Serious. From top right: "Electric Shavers," "Lemons," "Squid," and "Turtles" (1979)

Ouka Lele is quite inspiring as a portrait photographer because her art is so unique and creative. She found her niche by combining her two favorite mediums, photography and painting. Lele would take these outrageous photos and then paint them to look vibrant and surreal.

Lele was born in Madrid, Spain in 1957. She has become one of the best known spanish artists in photography and printmaking; however, i have had trouble finding much more information about her so this post will primarily be just a showcase of her work.

"Escuela De Romanos" (1980), "The Kiss" (1980)

"Nude With Newspapers" (1981)

"The Sound of Someone You Love Who is Going Away and it Doesn't Matter" (1990), "Untitled (Maria with Shoes)" (1992)

2006-07-26T14:13:00.000-04:00

all photos by ryan burke

Photoshoot: "The New Bohemian"
Date: July 24th, 2006

Probably the most exciting portrait photoshoot to date, this one with Mark Pangilinan involved a chaiselounge, a cello, an umbrella, and multiple marks in the same picture. I set up a tri-pod in an empty house next to my parents' house. They had bought the run-down house so that they could tear it down because it is such an eyesore. The one blue room in the house made for an awesome photo session. Mark had the idea of putting the chaselounge so we would have one piece of furniture. He used a laptop, book, and cello as his props and also changed clothes several times.

We moved outside to the field for the next part of the photoshoot. We had the idea that it'd be cool to put the chaiselounge in the middle of a field. We did the multiple Marks again but also played with making the scene look as strange/surreal as possible. We added an umbrella which matched his sandals and shirt.

To see some of the finished photos from this shoot please visit my deviant art gallery linked at the top of this page. Hope you like em!

Lauren Kosteski Photoshoot

2006-07-08T13:42:00.002-04:00

-photos by ryan burke

Photoshoot: The Infamous Kosteski
Date: July 1st, 2006

Lauren was a friend of a friend (Amber, who I recently did a photoshoot with and posted photos from on May 25th) and she has now moved to New York. This photoshoot was a bit spur of the moment as I was down in Newport News for only one day to take care of some things. Lauren had been wanting a photoshoot since Amber's and I had been wanting to do photos of her for awhile because I thought she was so dynamic. The quickly scrapped together photoshoot was one of my best so far. Lauren was such a perfect person to photograph because she was so lively, and crazy, and drama-major-y. It's too bad we couldn't get more time than we did. It's also too bad that I didn't have enough room on my camera to hold all of Lauren's crazy self. But...I got what I got and I love the photos that came out of this. Hope you enjoy them.

Lauren Kosteski is the second in a serious of portraits I'm working on. Amber was the first. There will be a post about each shoot as they progress. I'm working on two new ones right now and then should be done and up in a week or so (i hope!).

Please visit the deviant.art gallery (link's at the top of this page with some sample photos from it) to see more of Lauren as well as everyone else I've had the pleasure of photographing.

Symmetry

2006-07-03T20:25:00.000-04:00

-photos by ryan burke.

These are some more recent photos.
I like them because of their symmetrical balance and because of the life in them - especially the first one.

I just did a new photoshoot! Bigger post coming soon.

Nan Goldin and the Uncensored Life

2006-06-17T23:39:00.000-04:00

Toon, So, and Yo go onstage, Bangkok, 1992

"My desire is to preserve the sense of people's lives, to endow them with the strength and beauty I see in them. I want the people in my pictures to stare back." -Nan Goldin

Nan Goldin is a true original and an inspiration for a whole new kind of photorgraphy. Her view on the world has had an impact on film, design, fashion, and other art. An obvious example is teh "heroin chic" look which Goldin did not intentionally invent or inspire. Goldin actually thinks of using that particular look to sell clothes as "reprehensible and evil." The photos she takes of people aren't intended to show them in a different light or be purposefully grunge style but instead she wanted to show the world real people acting in ways real people do. She often focuses on over-looked or less accepted people and activities.

It is hard to talk about Goldin without mentioning her sister. Goldin's sister killed herself at age 18 in 1965. Goldin's work is a sort of result of the attitudes caused by this loss. Goldin shows evertyhing and does not hold back in her photos. People are exposed and life is matter of fact. She captures the wonderful and also the uncomfortable moments. When one glances through her amazing volume of work it is as if one is glancing into the privacy of a thousand other lives. People being people. Humanity exposed. Asthetics are thrown out and replaced by feeling and depth. There is so much in each photo.

Self portrait in blue bathroom, Berlin, 1991

Käthe in the tub, Berlin, Germany, 1984
Käthe is a musician Goldin met while in Germany. Many of Goldin's photos have mirrors and women reflected in them; it was one of her most common themes.

James backstage at Karl Lagerfeld Show, Paris, 1995

Honda brothers in cherry blossom storm, Tokyo, Japan, 1994
Goldin's work is well-known throughout Japan due to her extensive visits in the 90's. This particular photo has a terrific sense of movement due to the cherry blossom petals blowing through the air.

Man Ray: The Dadaist Photographer

2006-06-03T20:13:00.000-04:00

Man Ray was born Emmanuel Radnitzky in 1890 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He began to work in 1911 as a painter and sculptor. He was very associated with many european artists at the time, especially those in France. In 1915 he turned to photography as a way of expressing himself. Two years later he became the co-founder of the New York Dada group with his friend Marcel Duchamp. He tried to bring the dada movement to full life but found little success in New York so he moved to Montparnasse in Paris, France. He fell in love with french singer Kiki who became one of his main models for many of his photographs.

During the next 20 years, he refined his art and revolutionized the art of photography in general. James Joyce and Jean Cocteau are some of the most notable people to pose before his camera.

The photo above is called "Le Violon d'Ingres" and was taken in 1924. The photo depicts the back of a woman with cello f-holes painted on.

"Tears" - 1924

In 1925, Man Ray was one of the first to be included in the Surrealist exhibit at the Gallerie Pierre in Paris. He was included with works by Picasso, Jean Arp, Max Ernst, Joan Miro, and Andre Masson.

Man Ray returned to the states in Los Angeles, California but settled back in Paris for the end of his life. He died in 1976.

"Noir et blanch" - 1936
"Woman with Long Hair" - 1929, "Tears" (full) - 1924

Character Shots

2006-05-25T19:43:00.000-04:00

Photoshoot: Amber: In Character
Date: around May 24th

Last night, Amber and I decided to try to do different character shots. The original idea was for the above shot of Amber dressed up as Catherine from the french movie Jules et Jim. When finished with the shoot, we ended up with 6 different characters: The Catherine, The Mademoiselle, The Aristocrat, The Beatnik, The Criminal, and the Fashion Snob. A shot of each was submitted to deviant.art (links at top of the page). Here you will find alternates for all the shots. Hope you enjoy them!

The "Indecisive Moment," Erwitt, New York, and the 1950's

2006-05-24T03:30:00.000-04:00

Elliott Erwitt was born in France in 1928. He is known for his absurd black and white candid shots. If Henri Cartier-Bresson was the master of the "decisive moment" then perhaps Erwitt was the master of the "indecisive moment." His shots are very random and often a little strange. The photo to the right was taken in 1956 in New York City and is one of his most famous. It depicts a chihuahua in a sweater compared in size to a woman's feet; a scene which is a bit out of the ordinary. Erwitt has a deep passion for dogs and children and both are featured frequently in his photos.

Erwitt moved to America when he was 10. He initially lived in New York and then his family moved to Los Angeles. Erwitt eventually moved back to New York and settled there. As a freelance photojournalist and he took photos for many different publications including Collier's, Look, Life and Holiday. He was asked to join Magnum photos in 1953 (a photo agency Bresson is also a member of). Joining Magnum allowed Erwitt to take photos all over the world. Other credits to his name include the production of 17 comedy/satire televison programs for HBO and being the author of 18 photography books. To this day he is still involved in projects for various publications.

Elliott Erwitt's absurd look at life and his eye for catching moments even many photojournalists might miss has made him a very important character in the development of photography as a "fine art." Erwitt has also been a key photographer in the development of the more creative style of photojournalism today and daily life photography.

A Room Full of Streamers

2006-05-22T05:52:00.000-04:00

Photoshoot: A Room Full of Streamers
Date: around May 10th

These are pictures from my most recent photoshoot. In the future, I hope to update everytime I do a photoshoot with special pictures and information about the shoot.

This shoot in particular took place in my dorm room where I attached streamers to the ceiling. The streamers made the room seems sort of surreal and created a lot of interesting pictures. I had mark model for me and ended up taking about 150 photos. There are 3 new ones uploaded in deviant.art (links at the top of this page) and a few more featured in this post.

As you can see, the set-up was sort of interesting here. the only problem was that there was so much going on in the background that many of the photos look cluttered. It would be interesting to try this again in a more plain/empty room.

Bresson and France, 1932

2006-05-22T01:37:00.000-04:00

Photograph: a picture painted by the sun without instruction in art. ~Ambrose Bierce

My name is Ryan, I'm a photography student who is interested in both studio photography and photojournalism. This blog is both a means to expose my work as well as a place to learn about other photographers. I will be posting photos from a variety of sources with (hopefully) interesting information.

The photo to the left is a Henri Cartier-Bresson. It was taken from a series he did in France in 1932. What is most important about Bresson is his style as well as his eye for caputuring people in a particular way which has been defined as the "decisive moment." In 1952, 126 of his photos were compiled in a book with a Matisse-drawn cover entitled "The Decisive Moment." Bresson wrote in the preface of this book:

"There is nothing in this world that does not have a decisive moment...To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organization of forms that give that event its proper expression"

The decisive moment is such an important aspect of photojournalism and Bresson's use and definition of this concept birthed the style of photojournalism. His love of photographing people and "street photography" is what inspires me as a photographer and photojournalist. The thrill of capturing such a special moment is what seems to drive most photojournalists. These are the moments in life which, when made permanent, are special and cherished forever. Photography provides a way for people to not only reflect upon themselves but also preserve the world and their history in one of the most honest and vivid mediums. This is why I love photography and this is why I am starting this blog. I hope you enjoy it.

And here are a few more Cartier-Bresson's for your enjoyment. These also come from the series he did in France in 1932:

*the information used on this blog is, unless otherwise stated, taken from wikipedia and my own personal knowledge.