View of the event from a nearby building.  All Images © Tomasz Lazar

On assignment from the event organizers, Tomasz Lazar photographed a professional pole vault competition in September 2012. Many pole vaulters from around the world were invited to take part in the competition including Björn Otto, winner of the silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The entire square of the city of Szczecin, Poland was closed because of the event which provided an unusual backdrop for his images.

Read the rest of this entry »

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.

Read the rest of this entry »

© Erik Madigan Heck for Stockland Martel

This image was shot for Mary Katrantzou, a Greek fashion designer who currently lives and works in London. It is the fourth collaboration between young designer Mary Katrantzou and photographer Erik Madigan Heck takes the form of a black & white photo series and a short film inspired by Katrantzou’s autumn/winter 2013 collection. The title: “Cathedrals.”  Erik Madigan Heck is the 29th Annual Infinity Awards 2013 recipient of the Applied/Fashion/Advertising category. The Infinity Awards ceremony takes place this evening, May 1st, at Pier Sixty, Chelsea Piers. Other winners include David Goldblatt for the Cornell Capa Lifetime Achievement, Kitra Cahana for Young Photographer and David Guttenfelder for Photojournalism.

“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.

Read the rest of this entry »

All Images © Mitch Epstein, from “New York Arbor” (Steidl)

Mitch Epstein‘s new book, “New York Arbor” includes photographs of the idiosyncratic trees that inhabit New York City; these pictures underscore the importance of trees to urban life and their complex relationship to their human counterparts. Rooted in New York’s parks, gardens, sidewalks, and cemeteries, some trees grow wild, some are contortionists adapting to their constricted surroundings, and others are pruned into prize specimens.  Join Mitch Epstein at Cooper Union tonight, Monday, April 29 at 7:00 pm for a discussion about “New York Arbor.” A book signing at Dashwood Books is Tuesday, May 7th.