“The Harvest of Death, v2, Plate I.”  All Images © Karl Burke.

Roger Fenton is the first known photographer to capture battlefield scenes. He made wetplate collodion photographs during the Crimean War in 1855. But it was Timothy H. O’Sullivan’s 1863 photograph of the Union dead on the field at Gettysburg, “A Harvest of Death,” that inspired Karl Burke’s project, “The Harvest of Death” (created between December 2011 and January 2012) which puts a contemporary spin on these historic war photographs. Burke played video war games, eventually taking screen grabs and then re-photographing them with 19th century lenses and techniques. “I realized I could use the wetplate collodion technique combined with computer-generated first-person perspective war-type imagery to simultaneously talk about the history of war photography and the present and future of our use of remote imagery/images of virtual realities for both entertainment and warfare purposes.”

Burke, along with 500 artists from all over the world will compete for the Grand Prix during the 2013 FotoFestiwal in Łódź, Poland, June 6-16.

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“Richard Serra, Film Portrait,” (1977-2009). © Babette Mangolte, courtesy of the artist and Broadway 1602, New York

Babette Mangolte, originally from France, is an experimental filmmaker and photographer in New York City who has been in the art, film, dance, theater, performance scene since the 1970s. The above image of sculptor Richard Serra was shot on film (digital transfer from 16mm shot in 1977, edited in 2007). A year earlier, Mangolte, using her early experimental narrative formats, made the short film “Richard Serra Film Portrait” (1976).

Mangolte’s work is represented by Broadway 1602, one of several galleries representing contemporary art (not just photography) that will be exhibiting at the Frieze Art Fair starting Friday, May 10, through Monday, May 13 from 11am-7pm on Randall’s Island in New York City. Check out Frieze New York for more information.

“Maiike.”  All Images © Malcolm Brown.

Malcolm Brown‘s first exhibition of “The Hundred Dollar Portrait” (an excellent use of Tumblr, in my opinion) opened Friday, May 3 at Poor John’s in Toronto, Canada, and runs through May 31. What is the “Hundred Dollar Portrait?” It is a personal project Brown began working on in 2012, and is continuing. Bring three changes of clothes (something you wear a lot, something that stands out, and something with sex appeal), and let Brown work his camera magic to produce a variety of images of YOU. Contact Brown if you would like one of your own. Results may vary.

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Martin Parr, USA, New York City, 2001. © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos

The Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival runs through May 31st in Toronto, Canada. The festival includes exhibitions and public installations from Sebastião Salgado, Erik Kessels, Martin Parr, Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin, and Arnold Magg. In addition to these shows, galleries, museums, and other venues will participate in the festival by hosting exhibitions registered and promoted as part of the festival.

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“Style and Finesse,” Harlem, NY 2010.  All Images © Jamel Shabazz

Although it’s too late to see Jamel Shabazz‘s “REPRESENT” at the Brooklyn Central Library, you will be able to bring them home in his new book, “REPRESENT: Photographs from 2005-2012 (Jamel Shabazz Productions). The images in this book feature veterans, gang members, mothers, fathers, protesters, fraternities, sororities, and everyday people from diverse cultural and racial backgrounds. “I realized that my life’s mission over these past three decades has been to contribute to the preservation of world history and culture for future generations to see and learn from. “REPRESENT” is just one of many chapters of this endeavor, and I hope that this work will have its place in the chronicles of history alongside other books of similar subject matter.”

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Shabazz has been documenting “urban life” for over 30 years. He gives a lot back to his community by mentoring youth, both in the field of photography and career planning. Represent.

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