© Sean Litchfield

Boston-based editorial and fine-art photographer Sean Litchfield captures the eerie quietness and solemnity of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, for his series “Off-Season.” Native to the vacation hot spot, Litchfield highlights the city during its off season. Instead of capturing the tourist-filled beaches and shops, Litchfield travels off the beaten path photographing the landscapes and communities left behind when the summer season ends. “I took the back roads when I could and discovered all sorts of beautiful places I might have otherwise overlooked,” Litchfield says. “I just drove, keeping as close to the coast as possible. Not having anywhere to be, allowed me to experience the landscape how it really is. I could stop just about anywhere on the Cape and experience a totally different landscape from another.” Litchfield is part of the 2012 Review Santa Fe 100.

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“100 Prime Mountain Acres, Whitetop, Virginia, 2011.” © Justin James Reed

Portland, Oregon-native Justin James Reed set out to study the relationship between the allure of the natural world and the constant urge a person faces to alter his or her surroundings. Focusing on parcels of land advertised by real estate agents and developers, Reed captures the natural landscapes before they are demolished by builders. Named after the term Lewis and Clark used in their personal journals as they left to explore the new western United States territory, “The Real Unknown” looks at how the American landscape has gone from uncharted wilderness to a divided and carefully thought out development in only a few generations. “For some, these spaces represent pure commodity, another opportunity to profit from the unceasing development of America,” Reed says. “However, spending time in these places has given me a different perspective. I see a world with sublime and contemplative qualities. One that holds mystery, still offers the potential for discovery, and challenges our understanding of exactly what it is and should become.” Reed is part of the 2012 Review Santa Fe 100.

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 © Martin Adolfsson

Photographer Martin Adolfsson‘s latest project “Suburbia Gone Wild” explores the rise of the upper middle class within the twenty-first century developing world. Traveling across all continents and various suburbs in cities like Shanghai, Moscow, Johannesburg, Bangalore, Cairo, Sao Paulo and Mexico City, and using his handheld SLR camera, Adolfsson captured multiple communities of model homes on the verge of transition. “Within the past two decades we’ve seen a huge shift in the balance of economic power,” Adolfsson says. “Countries that didn’t have a middle class 20 years ago have seen a rapid transformation from an agricultural economy to an industrial-based economy, so much so that a sizable percentage of the population now belongs to the middle class.” Adolfsson is part of the Review Santa Fe 100.

Above: St. Andrews Manor, Shanghai. (more…)

© Alex Arzt

Photographer Alex Arzt‘s work “Human-Animal” explores the complex relationship between man and animal. Traveling across America, Arzt photographed people, animals, objects and the places that belong to them to show how both environments collide. Her pictures illustrate how these animals occupy the home as permanent fixtures, much like a framed picture or personal trinket. “To me, the indefinable difference between humans and animals is the mystery of animal perception that humans are only able to access through imagination and theory. When we see another living creature, we can never truly know how they perceive us or their environment,” Arzt says.

Work from the “Human-Animal” series is currently on display at the Caroline Collective’s “Gift of Gift of” exhibition in Houston and the Candela Books + Gallery in Richmond, Virginia. Artz  is part of the 2012 Review Santa Fe 100.

© Alex Arzt

© Alex Arzt

© Alex Arzt

© Alex Arzt

© Alex Arzt

© Alex Arzt

© Alex Arzt

© Alex Arzt

© Alex Arzt

© Thilde Jensen. Above: Mom in morning, Tennessee 2011.

Photographer Thilde Jensen‘s series “Naked Spring“ features images she made while recovering from environmental illness, a debilitating disease in which everyday chemicals bring on a range of symptoms, including headaches, fatigue, fever and muscle aches. After being diagnosed, Jensen left the urban world for seven years, moving from her apartment in New York City to tents and trailers throughout rural areas of the Northeast and Southwest United States to avoid the various triggers that bring on the symptoms of her disease. Once she was able to get her illness under control, Jensen photographed the changing environment from winter to spring to illustrate, not only the new world brought about by the warmer weather, but the new life journey she would embark being disease-free. Throughout the series, each image creates unrest and uncertainties, by using ominous lighting and dull colors, leaving the viewer wondering what’s next.

Thilde Jensen is part of the 2012 Review Santa Fe 100. In addition, Jensen’s project Canaries received Honorable Mention in Center’s Project Competition.

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