Category Archives: Photography

Telling the Story: Photos by Stephanie Gross

Stephanie Gross photography
 

  Stephanie Gross was intrigued early by pictures and their stories. “I spent a lot of time as a kid looking at pictures,” she says. ”My mom was a docent at the National Gallery and she used to walk me through the West Wing. We’d look at paintings and she’d talk about their composition, how your eye moves around the frame, and about the stories they were telling. For me, it was like this giant picture book that we could walk through. I think a lot of that has stuck with me.” While first fascinated … Continue reading Telling the Story: Photos by Stephanie Gross

Looking for the Light: Fax Ayres’ Photographs

Camera on top of books by Ansel Adams
 

    My mother gave me her old Nikkormat camera when I was 13 years old. She’d spotted my interest in books of photographs by Ansel Adams and Edward Weston and set me on an evolving path. I used the Nikkormat as a photographer and Editor-in-Chief of our weekly paper at the Taft School and again at Northwestern University’s newspaper. My Nikkormat was in hand during six years in Alaska, including three years in Gustavus at the mouth of Glacier Bay National Park where I basked in views of icy straits and was lucky enough to have a … Continue reading Looking for the Light: Fax Ayres’ Photographs

Winning and Losing: Andrew Shurtleff Photographs


 

                                 For photographer Andrew Shurtleff, the goal in covering sports and political events is “to report the story — whether winning or losing — through photographs. I look for moments that reveal what’s really going on.” Shurtleff, as director of photography for the Charlottesville Daily Progress, has photographed the competitors — UVA sports teams as well as visiting titans of politics — from President Barack Obama, to Justice Anthony Scalia, Republican contenders Paul Ryan, Ted Cruz, and front runner Donald … Continue reading Winning and Losing: Andrew Shurtleff Photographs

Up Close in Color and Black & White: Katherine Minott


 

  Western photographer Katherine Minott moves in close in color and black and white. Her closeups — abstracts as well as things recognizable — explore “the beauty hidden in every day objects, the sacred hidden in the mundane.” Her subjects from broken eggs and weathered wood to purple kayaks and hot pink splattered paint, highlight intense contrasts and intimate observation.     Minott equally enjoys shooting in color and black and white. “Often black and white lends itself     to capturing the ‘soul’ of something, like a tree with sunlight streaming through leaves,” she … Continue reading Up Close in Color and Black & White: Katherine Minott

Roman Sirotin: Abandoned Beauty…


 

  Roman Sirotin, a native of Saint Petersburg, Russia is a multi-media artist drawn to beauty in many realms. A dancer, painter and photographer now living in Columbus, Ohio, Roman moved to America over a decade ago. In 2010, he began a creative collaboration with Columbus artist and dancer Jennifer Gordon. Together, they dance, paint and photograph dramatic images, many of abandoned buildings and stark spaces in the U.S. and abroad. “Abandoned places appeal to me due to the beauty of its decay and the atmosphere it gives off. They allow for moments of transcendence … Continue reading Roman Sirotin: Abandoned Beauty…

All Aboard!


 

Recently scanning for a train schedule, I was surprised to discover an advertisement for “The much-anticipated Amtrak Writer’s Residency.” Amtrak as literary inspiration? Well their menu does include “Fresh Sandwich du Jour,” “Salmon with Chablis Sauce” and “Chicken Apple-Maple Sausage.” And, it seems that 24 writers can taste such treats while riding the literary rails and writing about it. Amtrak will pick up the tab for a long distance, round-trip ticket and provide the lucky writer with a private sleeper car complete with its own desk, bed and window to document America’s passing scene. Winning … Continue reading All Aboard!

On the Move: Art by Stacey Evans

Skyline, New York, Fall 2011
 

  Growing up in Waynesboro, Virginia, a small town which photographer Stacey Evans describes as a mix of rural, urban, industrial and suburban landscapes, she remembers watching trains speed by and wondering, “’Where are they going?’ I wanted to go there too. Even now whenever I hear the train, there’s the mystery and romance of going somewhere.” In her late 20s, Evans started riding trains South and North to visit family and friends, and en route, noticed with increasing interest, the variation in the land. “I was really mesmerized by the changing landscape — the … Continue reading On the Move: Art by Stacey Evans

Listening to the Land…


 

  Charlottesville filmmaker Jamie Ross and photographer Tom Cogill have recently collaborated on Listening to the Land: Stories from the Cacapon and Lost River Valley. Ross and Cogill document the rich stories and images of West Virginia landowners whose passion has protected and conserved this lush, historic Valley in the Appalachian Mountains, its rivers feeding into the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Commissioned by the Cacapon and Lost River Land Trust, Listening to the Land… is described as “a conversation between the people of this Valley and their land, chronicling this community’s dedication to preserving its farms, … Continue reading Listening to the Land…

Pretty cute for a 19th century assassin


 

I recently read a critique in New York magazine by Jerry Saltz about a current MoMA exhibit, “Photography and The American Civil War.” The piece mentioned Alexander Gardner, a Scottish-born war photographer famous for his Civil War coverage and portraits of Lincoln. When I read about a particular photo of his, Home of a Rebel Sharpshooter, I went a-Googling. Scrolling through Gardner’s images, one particular portrait stopped me –– but for all the wrong reasons. It was a young gentleman, clean-shaven, out of uniform, staring starkly at the camera. Let’s put it this way: I could imagine … Continue reading Pretty cute for a 19th century assassin

Art Imports from Abroad


 

Streetlight Magazine is going global. We are now pleased to be receiving readers and art submissions from abroad. Among them, are artists Fabio Sassi of Bologna, Italy and Eleanor Leonne Bennett of Manchester, England. Sassi has been a self-taught, visual artist since 1990. ”I’ve been influenced by Andy Warhol and the Pop Art movement, the Arte Povera (literally Poor Art) movement mixed with a bit of Wabi Sabi,” he says. Besides photography, Sassi also works in acrylics, stenciling on canvas, board or vinyl records. “I use the stencil technique and have cut more than 100 patterns. Recently, I am tending to use real … Continue reading Art Imports from Abroad