Flesh Love. 80 Vacuum-Sealed Couples Photographed by Haruhiko Kawaguchi.

Haruhiko Kawaguchi, who goes by the name Photographer Hal, is a Tokyo photographer and artist whose project FLESH LOVE literally vacuum packs couples of all types in 100x150x74 cm plastic bags. The idea is to keep love fresh forever. Once the air is sucked out of the bag by a vacuum cleaner, Kawaguchi only has about 10-20 seconds to take his pictures. Any longer and he would risk causing harm to his subjects.



Thus far 80 couples, many of whom Kawaguchi met at nightclubs in Tokyo, have participated in the project.

"When you embrace your lover, sometimes you wish to melt right into them.
To realize this wish, I've been photographing couples in small, or even cramped spaces like motels and bathtubs.
As my work has become more and more intense, I've noticed that communication is indispensable.
This time, I reached the point of photographing couples in vacuum-sealed packs, on a set that I've constructed in my own kitchen. The lights are in the ceiling, so I just flip one switch and have everything ready.
I have a few different colored paper backgrounds, which I can leave rolled up in the corner until there's none left. This gives me 10 seconds to take the shot.
In this extremely limited time I can't release the shutter more than twice." -- (Excerpts from the author's postscript)

Kawaguchi says that his female subjects have reacted much better to the bizarre vacuum-packing process than his male subjects. Women have remained calm while the men have been prone to struggle for air and feel claustrophobic. In one case, a male even wet himself. The women's most common concern is they they look good. Vanity and incontinence aside, here's a look at 42 of the photos from FLESH LOVE:























"FLESH LOVE" is one of the most unique photograph projects in the world and received the 1st place award in The Art of Photography Show 2011 held in San Diego, USA. France's Photo and art magazine "AZART" featured it inside and on the cover of their March 2011 issue.

FLESH LOVE PRINTS :
You can purchase individual prints from this series here

FLRSH LOVE GALLERY BOOK:
Or a softcover photobook of the show with 72 images here

FLESH LOVE ITUNES APP
An application for iPad of "FLESH LOVE" is available on itunes as well.

Haruhiko Kawaguchi aka Photographer Hal

A special thanks to Jaci Lerner for bringing this to my attention!

Photographer Alejandro Cartagena Captures Car Poolers In Mexico.

The Car Poolers in Mexico is a project by photographer Alejandro Cartagena that takes a peek into the world of flatbed trucks that carry Mexican workers to their jobs. Shown last week at Kopeikin Gallery's booth at Miami Project (and earlier this summer at the Kopeikin Gallery), the photographs reveal intimate glimpses of laborers in the beds of the trucks, heading to or from the massive, low-quality housing complexes being built close to the country's border with the U.S.


above: The winner of the 2012 International Street Photography Award, Cartagena stands in front of his Car Poolers series the show's exhibit in London. (photo by Maciej Dakowicz)


The images, most of which were taken in Monterrey, have been honored in respected photography competitions for documenting some of the more obscure details in the life of a day laborer.

Below are 14 images from the project:








Prints on photorag cotton, paper edition of 10+4AP.
images courtesy of the photographer.


See all 30 photos from the project at  Kopeikin Gallery.

The photographer's own site.

The “Highness” Project By Photographer Delphine Diaw Diallo.

The “Highness” project, in the words of its photographer Delphine Diaw Diallo, "starts a new vision in the 21th century which includes mediums of sculpture, design, photography, collages, and music. It is a vision of a new era which gives birth to an evolved future where the audience experiences the gift that is woman. In this, we create a capsule of work that becomes timeless and unbound, a vision for future observers to witness. Indefinite and inevitable, this future will exist…"












Hair/Wig Design by Tresse Agoche , Metalwork/ Jewelry by Soull Ogun and Clothing by Dynasty Presh

See more of Delphine Diaw Diallo's work here.

You may recognize some of these amazing hairpieces from a shoot by photographer Michael Scott Slosar for an editorial in Vogue Italia called Redressing The Crown

Photo District News' 30 New and Emerging Photographers To Watch In 2012.

above photo by Lauren Hermele, one of PDN's 30 New and Emerging Photographers to Watch

Each year, the respected photography publication, Photo District News, chooses 30 up and coming photographers to showcase.

We chose to profile these 30 “photographers to watch” based largely on the photographs they submitted to us way back in October 2011. As we learn each year, though, the striking, intriguing and delightful images these women and men produce are the end product of a ton of effort.

It may seem vulgar to some to talk about business while celebrating creative work, but it’s useful to consider that each of these photographers is also an entrepreneur. And as entrepreneurs do, they produce their work by taking substantial risks—personal, financial, creative and otherwise. Chloe Dewe Mathews hitchhiked from China to England in search of ideas. Markel Redondo traveled with migrant workers from Honduras to the U.S. Peter DiCampo worked by flashlight for three years in Ghana and elsewhere. Ryan Pfluger and AnaStasia Rudenko challenged themselves to photograph difficult family relationships. Peter Ash Lee published a magazine. Mark Fisher regularly hangs out of a helicopter.

In addition to taking risks, these photographer-entrepreneurs find the funding they need to act on ideas. They are disciplined in their approaches. They create markets for their work through persistence, rather than letting the market dictate what they do. They seek out advice, take criticism on-board, and learn all they can from teachers, mentors and peers, with whom they collaborate openly. They value their relationships with their clients, and they are a delight to work with.

While you look at, take in and enjoy the photography in the following pages and read about these intrepid entrepreneurs, keep in mind what it takes to open a successful small business in today’s economy. As Mustafah Abdulaziz notes: “Talent only gets you so far.” —Conor Risch

Below are their picks for The 30 New and Emerging Photographers to Watch in 2012 (shown alphabetically by first name) and one example of each of their work:

AnaStasia Rudenko:

Andrea Gjestvang:

Chloe Dewe Mathews:

Christopher Testani:

Daniel Shea:

Dominic Bracco II:

Eliot Dudik:

Ilvy Njiokiktjien:

Ingalls Photography:

Jake Stange:

Jenn Ackerman:

Juco:

Kyle Alexander:

LaToya Ruby Frazie:

Lauren Hermele:

Mark Fisher:

Mark Hartman:

Mark Mahaney:

Markel Redondo:

Meiko Takechi Arquillos:

Michele Borzoni:

Misha Friedman:

Mustafah Abdulaziz:

Peter Ash Lee:

Peter DiCampo:

Ryan Pfluger:

Sam Kaplan:

Sarah Elliott:

Sebastian Liste:

Yasu + Junko:



PDN thanks Sony, Adobe and Canson for their support of the PDN's 30 issue and educational programs. American Society of Media Photographers has given a one-year merit membership to each of this year’s 30. The editors would also like to thank all the people who nominated photographers for the 2012 PDN's 30.

To see complete bios and contact information for the 30 photographers shown here, check out the gallery here.