Photography

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Photography

Dense Fog Shrouds San Francisco's Streets in a Spectral Haze in Joshua Singh's Photos

All images © Joshua Singh, shared with permission

Photographer Joshua Singh wields the unrelenting fog that hangs over San Francisco to veil his shots with a dreamy, eerie quality. The Bay Area city is notorious for the dense weather condition that thwarts visibility and leaves pockets of reprieve among its hilly landscape—it’s so iconic that some residents have even named the weather event. Often working after sunset, Singh captures everyday activities like soccer practice and commutes that turn mysterious when illuminated by street lights or glowing store signage that peeks through the atmospheric haze.

Head to Instagram to see more of his street photography and to his portfolio to shop prints. (via Peta Pixel)

Photography Science

A Deep-Sea Montage Unveils the Fantastic, Bizarre Creatures Swimming in Monterey Bay

A compilation recently released from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (previously) invokes the old adage that reality is stranger than fiction. Featuring dozens of otherworldly sea creatures, the footage highlights some of the most bizarre animals spotted during the organization’s ROV dives, which range from the water’s surface to its 4,900-foot-deep floor. The montage includes a diverse array of species from aptly named strawberry squid and the elusive psychedelic jellyfish to the pacific viperfish. The institute’s partner organization, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, is also hosting an exhibition dedicated to the mysterious creatures living in the region, which opens this April. (via Moss and Fog)

Peacock squid

Swimming sea cucumber

Feather star

Vampire squid

Strawberry squid

Barreleye

Photography

Sinister Storms and Twisters Disturb Rural Landscapes in Dramatic Black-and-White Photos by Mitch Dobrowner

“Lightning Cotton Field.” All images © Mitch Dobrowner, courtesy of photo-eye Gallery, shared with permission

Shooting solely in black-and-white, Mitch Dobrowner (previously) documents storm cells, tornadoes, and other menacing weather events at peak destruction. Funnel clouds plunge to the ground in spindly tunnels and churning clouds frame bright bolts of lightning. Photographed in the plains and rural regions, the images highlight a range of ominous occurrences on the horizon, a chaotic contrast to the tight rows of cotton and calm, agricultural landscapes in the foreground. To see more of Dobrowner’s storm-chasing excursions, visit photo-eye Gallery and Instagram and watch this interview for insight into his adventures.

“Vortex No. Duae”

“Funnel Cornfield”

“Tornado over Plains”

“Trees Clouds”

“Saucer Over Grasslands”

“White Tornado”

“Storm Over Sierra Nevada”

Art Photography

A Daily Project by Tatsuya Tanaka Turns Everyday Goods into Quirky Miniatures

All images © Tatsuya Tanaka

A scroll through Tatsuya Tanaka’s Instagram chronicles the everyday happenings of a cleverly designed world in miniature. The Japanese artist (previously) has spent the last decade reimaging life-sized objects like pencil sharpeners, sponges, and slippers as tiny sets for his cast of characters: a “P” key rests on a painter’s easel, bobsledders barrel through a bowl on a hot pepper, and ice skaters race across a white surgical mask.

Released daily as part of his ongoing Miniature Calendar project, the works often correspond with current events and cultural moments, including Tanaka’s recent scenarios referencing the Winter Olympic Games. “The theme of my work is ‘mitate’… to replace something around us with something similar or that looks like it. It is important to use something that everyone knows as a motif for my work,” he writes.

For a look behind-the-scenes, click through each day on Tanaka’s site, where he shares multiple perspectives of every work.

Photography

A Photo Series Captures a Magnificent Rock Formation Set Against the Tateyama Mountains

All images © Yasuto Inagaki, shared with permisison

With the imposing Tateyama Mountain Range in the backdrop, a photo series by Yasuto Inagaki centers on a smaller, recurring focal point: a few trees that have sprung from the top of cragged rocks. Inagaki, who lives in Japan’s Toyama Prefecture, visits the Amaharashi coast in Takaoka City often to capture the unusual formation among different weather, times of day, and seasons. Some shots show the sun just atop the mountains as it reflects in the water below, while others document bright daylight illuminating the snowy backdrop and an airplane flying in the distance. “The first time I encountered a miraculous scene like this one,” he tells Colossal,” the city was covered in fog, and the moon was shining brightly on the Tateyama Mountain Range…I have visited the shooting several times.”

For more of Inagaki’s photos, which include striking vistas and cityscapes around Japan, visit his Instagram.

Art Photography

In 'Eyes as Big as Plates,' Sculptural Garments Camouflage Subjects in Natural Environments

Eyes as Big as Plates # Andrea (Outer Hebrides 2019)

Hailing from fifteen countries, the individuals participating in Eyes as Big as Plates have backgrounds as varied as their surroundings: there are zoologists, academics, and librarians; fishermen, wild boar hunters, and Sami reindeer herders; and opera singers, kantele players, and artists. They’re tethered by the ongoing project, which dresses each figure in sculptural wearables made of organic materials that allow them to blend in with the surrounding landscape.

Launched in 2011 by Norwegian-Finnish artist duo Karoline Hjorth and Riitta Ikonen (previously), Eyes as Big as Plates hinges on the idea that it’s essential to explore how humans exist within nature. The portraits center on lone figures partially camouflaged with their backdrops or outfitted with imaginative garments constructed with objects found nearby. Boubou (shown below), for example, is a Senegalese fisherman who wears a mesh shawl of sea creatures, while North Tolsta-based photographer Andrea (above) is almost entirely masked by spindly branches and peat near her home. Every portrait comes after a conversation with the subject and a collaborative effort to find the proper location and attire.

The duo has now compiled dozens of photos in a forthcoming book that marks the 10th anniversary of the project. A follow-up to their sold-out first volume, Eyes as Big as Plates 2 is comprised of 52 new portraits, conversations with those featured, and field notes from their travels. “While transcribing the interviews for each of the collaborators here, we got to experience what many of them often say is the most exciting part: ‘ … just being there, looking at a familiar landscape like you’ve never looked at it before. Letting the surroundings wash over you,'” they write.

Eyes as Big as Plates 2 is currently available for pre-order on the project’s site. Some of the series is on view through June at the landmarked entry at 200 5th Avenue in New York and will be up this May at London’s Barbican and at the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto in September.

Eyes as Big as Plates # Boubou (Tasmania 2019)

Eyes as Big as Plates # Liv (Norway 2017)

Eyes as Big as Plates # Momodou Toucouleur (Senegal 2019)

Eyes as Big as Plates # Mr Oh (South Korea 2017)

Eyes as Big as Plates # Niels (Faroe Islands 2015)

Eyes as Big as Plates # Scotty (Tasmania 2019)

Eyes as Big as Plates # Sinikka (Norway 2019)