Evil Clutching Cuteness Gives Dictators A Soft Side.

Chunlong Sun, a photographer and digital retoucher from Beijing, China had some fun with this little personal project. A series of images featuring world-renowned dictators clutching plushies gives them a tender side we all wish they truly had. The juxtaposition between the face of evil and a cuddly stuffed animal makes these serious portraits instantly humorous.

Meet Zoey and Jasper, An Adorable Pet Project by Photographer Grace Chon.

Art director turned commercial photographer Grace Chon specializes in animals, lifestyle and celebrities with their pets. Grace, who confesses to having dressed her dogs in ridiculous clothes for years, turned into a baby-hat fanatic once she gave birth to her son Jasper. It wasn't long before she realized that, not only do the hats look cute on her adorable child, but they looked pretty darn sweet on her shy rescue dog Zoey as well.

The Silence Of Dogs In Cars Photographed by Martin Usborne

Most people balk at leaving a dog alone in a parked car for many a good reason; dangers of overheating or freezing, dog-napping, and yes, loneliness. London-based fine art photographer and animal lover /activist Martin Usborne, captures the forlorn and melancholy beauty of these poignant animals in his 96 page hardcover photo book The Silence of Dogs in Cars




"I was once left in a car at a young age. I don’t know when or where or for how long, possibly at the age of four, perhaps outside a supermarket, probably for fifteen minutes only. The details don’t matter. The point is that I wondered if anyone would come back. The fear I felt was strong: in a child’s mind it is possible to be alone forever."- Martin Usborne



Martin Usborne's photo series consists of over forty-five images of dogs gazing silently through car windows, often in the dead of night. The images, which are staged and highly cinematic, evoke a mood of loneliness and longing. They are not so much portraits of dogs as studies in separation: on one level referring to the separation between humans and (other) animals but on another the separation within ourselves, between our everyday selves and the rawer (more animal) parts that we keep locked away. The photographs draw on the work of Edward Hopper and Gregory Crewdson.



"Around the same age I began to feel a deep affinity with animals – in particular their plight at the hands of humans. I saw a TV documentary that included footage of a dog being put in a plastic bag and being kicked. What appalled me most was that the dog could not speak back. I should say that I was a well-loved child and never abandoned and yet it is clear that both these experiences arose from the same place deep inside me: a fear of being alone and unheard." - Martin Usborne

More images from the book below:
















Purchase the book The Silence of Dogs in Cars



Martin Usborne

images courtesy of Martin Usborne's Facebook page, with a few additional images from National Traveller 

Dick Pics - Groin Gazing By Photographer Claire Milbrath.

An equal opportunity exploiter, it's only fair I share some sexy male pics with my readers after having had posted the 2014 SI Swimsuit Models wearing nothing but body paint.

Edible Instagrams! Your Pics On A Marshmallow Are A Sweet Idea from Boomf.

Thanks to my friend Scott, I now know that London company Boomf has come up with the idea of printing your Instagram photos on sweet, squishy completely edible marshmallows!

A Moody Miley Stars In Marc Jacobs New 2014 Ad Campaign Shot By David Sims

Wearing the latest fashions and accessories, and pretty much the same pouty expression in all the photos, Miley Cyrus is the star of Marc Jocob's latest ad campaign for his SS14 Ready Ready to Wear Collection.

Kate Moss (and That Wacky Little VooDoo Doll) For Alexander McQueen by Steven Klein.

With bright yellow hair, lots of cuffs and clutching a doll in her likeness, Kate Moss is the star of the 2014 Spring Summer ad campaign for Alexander McQueen - her first time appearing in ads for the brand. Shot by the fabulous Steven Klein, the images are accompanied by a short film (shown further down in the post), also directed by the photographer.



In the majority of the dark and moody photos, Kate is clutching a 3D printed doll in her own likeness, who is wearing her own miniature versions of the Alexander McQueen fashions and in some of the shots, is stuck with pins.

I have opted to brighten up the following cropped details a lot so you can see them:





The print ads, as running (brightness not altered), in the campaign:








and a close up of those amazing shoes:

and now, brightened up by me so you can actually see them:


The four and a half minute film, directed and shot by Steven Klein, was inspired by the 1960 British thriller Peeping Tom, stars the 40 year old Moss and was shot in East London:


all images courtesy of Alexander McQueen

Kate Upton In A Bathing Suit In Zero Gravity For 2014 Sports Illustrated - 15 Pics and Video.

As part of the enormous 50th Anniversary Edition of Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue, the buxom and beautiful Kate Upton was photographed at Cape Canaveral in their zero gravity chamber by James Macari.

A $2500 Terrific Tome From Taschen of Annie Leibovitz' Awesome Photography.

UPDATE: My sincerest apologies to my readers, but the PR rep from TASCHEN contacted me this morning and asked me to remove the images that appear inside the book, telling me are copyrighted images owned by Annie Leibovitz and are not permitted to be used on this blog without explicit permission.

I figured since it was free advertising for their publication and that many of these images are all over the web, I was not violating any copyright laws. I was mistaken and therefore can only show you the cover images.

Whoopi Goldberg, Berkeley, California, 1984:


If I had money to spend willy-nilly (yes, I just used the term "willy-nilly"), one of my first purchases would be this soon-to-be-released terrific tome from Taschen: A Collector's Edition of 40 years of the work of photographer Annie Leibovitz. The SUMO-sized book  is available as either a signed and numbered Collector's Edition or as an Art Edition, complete with a signed and numbered fine art print. Both are presented on a stand designed by Marc Newson.

Keith Haring, New York City, 1986


The huge 476 page, 57 lb. hardcover book (it measures just under 20" x 30") has over 250 photographs, comes with four different dust jackets, has 6 fold-outs, a supplement book and a book stand, designed by Marc Newson. Contributing authors are Steve Martin, Graydon Carter, Hans Ulrich Obrist and Paul Roth.

David Byrne, Los Angeles, 1986


The Collector’s Edition is available in four different dust jackets -Whoopi, Haring, Byrne and Smith - (The Collector's Art Edition includes all four):

Patti Smith, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1978


Both versions come with an adjustable lucite and steel stand designed by Marc Newson:





Vanity Fair Magazine has included a first person excerpt from the book here

Info from Taschen:
When Benedikt Taschen asked the most important portrait photographer working today to collect her pictures in a SUMO-sized book, she was intrigued and challenged. The project took several years to develop and proved to be revelatory. Leibovitz drew from over 40 years of work, starting with the viscerally intimate reportage she created for Rolling Stone magazine in the 1970s and extending through the more stylized portraiture of her work for Vanity Fair and Vogue. Celebrated images such as John and Yoko entwined in a last embrace are printed alongside portraits that have rarely, and sometimes never before, been seen. Leibovitz was able to present some of her famous group portraits in a format that proves that she is the master of the genre. Her pictures are at once intimate and iconic, wide-ranging stylistically and also uniquely hers. Leibovitz is often imitated, particularly by younger photographers, but her work is somehow immediately recognizable.

The bookends of the Leibovitz collection are the black-and-white photograph of Richard Nixon’s helicopter lifting off from the White House lawn after he resigned as president in 1974 and the formal color portrait of Queen Elizabeth II taken in a drawing room of Buckingham Palace in 2007. In between are portraits that make up a family album of our time: actors, dancers, comedians, musicians, artists, writers, performance artists, journalists, athletes, businesspeople. Performance and power are recurring themes. A supplementary book contains essays by Annie Leibovitz, Graydon Carter, Paul Roth, and Hans Ulrich Obrist and short texts describing the subjects of each of the over 250 photographs.

The Collector’s Edition is available in four different dustjackets:
Whoopi Goldberg, Berkeley, California, 1984
Keith Haring, New York City, 1986
David Byrne, Los Angeles, 1986
Patti Smith, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1978



Limited to a total of 10,000 signed and numbered copies, this book is available as Collector’s Edition (No. 1,001–10,000) and also as Art Edition (No. 1–1,000 with a signed and numbered fine art print by Annie Leibovitz. The Art Edition is presented with the full set of all four dust jackets. For information about publication date and price, please contact us). Both editions will be presented with a book stand designed by Marc Newson.

The photographer:
Annie Leibovitz has been a working photographer for 40 years. She was the chief photographer for Rolling Stone and then the first contributing photographer for the revived Vanity Fair. In addition to her editorial work at Vanity Fair, and later at Vogue, she has created several award-winning advertising campaigns. She has been designated a Living Legend by the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

The authors:
• Steve Martin is a celebrated comedian, actor, writer, and musician. In 2010, he published the novel An Object of Beauty.
• Graydon Carter has been the editor of Vanity Fair since 1992.
• Hans Ulrich Obrist is the co-director of exhibitions and programmes and director of international projects at the Serpentine Gallery in London.
• Paul Roth is the director of the Ryerson Image Centre in Toronto.

Other SUMO sized books from Taschen:
Taschen has produced two other SUMO sized books, one featuring the works of Sebastião Salgado on a wooden stand by architect Tadao Ando and the other (one I have always coveted) of Helmut Newton's work on a stand designed by Philippe Starck.