The 30 Photographers To Watch In 2010

above photo by Eman Mohammed

Photo District News has just published their picks for 2010 Choice of New and Emerging Photographers to Watch and there's certainly a lot of wonderful talent out there. Take a look.


above background photo by yang yi
 
Below is the article by Conor Risch for PDN, followed by images from each of the 30 photographers and links to their personal sites.

Look at the photographers in this year’s PDN’s 30 class and you’ll find a solid refutation of the idea that “everyone is a photographer now.” Did “everyone” move to Beijing to freelance for the AP with no financial guarantee like Danfung Dennis? Or live out of a mini-van so they could create a major project like Scott Conarroe? Or defy social norms to become one of the only female photojournalists from Gaza like Eman Mohammed? Is “everyone” willing to be as patient as Alex Prager, who put on her own shows when gallerists ignored her? Does “everyone” have 2,250 followers on Flickr like Ben Roberts?

Perseverance and determination are common to all these photographers but equally notable is the individuality of their interests and styles. These photographers have produced long-term projects on music scenes (Lauren Dukoff), orthodox Hasidic communities (Clémence De Limburg), and a mother’s paranoid schizophrenia (Sohrab Hura). They have used the visual language of gritty reportage to shoot cookbooks (Gabriel Stabile) and created photojournalism based on “a sense of feeling” (Andy Spyra). They have used modern image-making techniques to lament the destruction of a centuries-old city (Yang Yi). They tell stories that matter to them in ways that make them matter to viewers.

Yes, it’s true: a lot more people are taking pictures now than when PDN was founded 30 years ago. But only a very small percentage of those people are photographers. We salute these 30 individuals, who are helping to define what being a photographer means today. —Conor Risch

Click on each artist's name below (shown in alphabetical order) to visit their website or portfolio.

levi brown:

alejandro cartagena:

scott conarroe:

sumit dayal:

clemence de limburg:

gratiane de moustier:

danfung dennis:

lauren dukoff:

matt eich:

matthieu gafsou:

marcelo gomes:

deborah hamon:

estelle hanania:

ben hoffmann:

sohrab hura:

wayne lawrence:

brent lewin:

eman mohammed:

adrian mueller:

nick onken:

alex prager:

thomas prior:

ben roberts:

anna skladmann:

andy sprya:

gabriele stabile:

peter van agtmael:

elizabeth weinberg:

yang yi:

reed young:


You can view more pieces from each of these 30 photographers at PDN's online gallery here.

The team behind PDN's 30:

above, left to right: Amber Terranova, Conor Risch, Jacqueline Tobin, Holly Stuat Hughes and Darren Ching.



PDN thanks the sponsors of PDN's 30, Kodak and Sony, for their support of this issue and of the PDN's 30 educational programs. Special thanks to the American Society of Media Photographers, who are giving on-year merit membership to each of this year's 30.

Funky Find Of The Week: YURI Sunglasses From Mykita X Romain Kremer

High-end German eyewear company Mykita teamed up once again with irreverent men's fashion designer Romain Kremer for a very unusual (one might even say 'ugly') pair of sunglasses named The YURI in their latest 2010-2011 collection.


above photo only, courtesy of highsnobiety

The helmet-like sunglasses' appearance makes sense when you realize they are named after Cosmonaut Yuri A. Gagarin, the first man in space. Designed to protect your eyes as well as your brain.





Close up photos by Sonny Vandevelde
Runway photos by Shoji Fujii for Romain Kremer

all info and images courtesy of the Mykita blog

A Sweet Treat For Control Freaks. Chocri Custom Organic Exotic Chocolate Bars.

No, I'm not talking about just adding your own label or uploading a picture to the wrapper. I'm talking about truly creating your own chocolate bars from scratch.


above: three examples of possible options for your own created chocolate bars

chocri is a German startup, founded in September 2008, but launched in the US in January 2010. What they do is we allow you to customize your own chocolate bar right on their website.

You start with an organic Belgian chocolate base of milk, white or dark chocolate and then choose from a selection of over 100 of gourmet, organic and exotic ingredients (fruit, grains, nuts, spices, confections and decor).



If you don't know anything about ingredients, they also offer many recommended combinations and options to make the selection simple.

Once you've chosen or built your bar, you can name it (they print the name and the ingredients on the package), and then they hand-make the bars in Germany and ship them off to you.




From bacon to blueberries, pretzels to pecans, you can be as adventurous or as safe as you'd like. I made three to test them out (shown below).


One was dark chocolate with real orange bits and orange chocolate drops, another was milk chocolate, pecans and toffee and the third was milk chocolate with organic salted pretzels and caramel chocolate drops. And yes, they are, er.... were, delicious.

So, how do you do it?
You start with your choice of milk, white or dark chocolate as the base:



Then you are walked through the process to choose as many or as few additives as you wish from the following options (click on each image below to enlarge):

Choose your fruit:

Your spices:

Your nuts:

Your confections:

Your decor:

Your grains:




There's no minimum. You can choose to make one bar or one hundred bars. Once you've selected your ingredients for your chocolate bar(s), they print the name you choose and the ingredients on the individual package, then ship them right to your door.



They use only the best ingredients, such as organic, fair trade chocolate from Belgium. Making them even more delicious is the fact that they also donate a percentage of otheir revenues to DIV Kinder, an organization that supports children at the Ivory Coast, and you are free to add your own donation at checkout.


above: the Chocri team

What are you waiting for? With Easter and Mother's Day right around the corner, these would make awesome gifts.
Get started here.




If you like chocolate, you'll love this:

The Art of Chocolate. Oops, Reverse That.

Supermodels Strip Down For Alas & Piggott & LOVE Magazine

Conde Nast UK's LOVE magazine is a bi-annually fashion forward publication that launched in February 2009. Filled with edgy and artful photography by such well-known photographers as Terry Richardson, Mario Testino, Josh Olins, David Sims, Sølve Sundsbø, Juergen Teller, Angelo Pannetta and of course, Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, the magazine is light on editorial and heavy on nude models.

New Social Site, Cougars & Co., Capitalizes On Growing Trend

Yes, it's for real.
My first reaction was "eeeeuuuuwww", then "hmmmmm", followed by "naaaah." But others may claw their way to this new social networking site that capitalizes on the growing trend of older women dating (seducing?) younger men.



The brains behind the concept, Shelli Netko, the founder and president of Cougars & Co. says:

"My main goal in starting Cougars & Co. was to create an environment where women could learn to love the life they live and live the life the love. After all, age is just a number. Recent surveys show 34% of women in their 40s date men who are younger and 17% of women in their 50s do the same. This isn't just a trend, it's a new social norm that both women and men are obviously embracing. Women are gravitating to younger men because they seem to have more of an energetic spirit that matches theirs. Women are taking better care of themselves, as a result, 40 is the new 30; 50 is the new 40. So the age difference becomes a non-issue. You don't have to be a Hollywood star to go out with someone 10 or 15 years your junior, but God Bless Demi Moore for bringing it into the spot light!"


above: the world's most well-known Cougar and Cub; stunning actress Demi Moore and her hottie husband, Ashton Kutcher.


The press release:
The dating jungle just became that much wilder with the recently launched social networking company Cougars & Co. The brainchild of Arizona entrepreneur Shelli Netko, Cougars & Co. is a members-only online community where older women and younger men have the opportunity to meet, mix and mingle, shop and travel all in the name of fun. Cougars & Co. getaways are for the cougar or cub in you who needs a little “me” time – think R&R with a little bit of “BAM!”



“The cougar and cub culture is a growing trend that is less concerned with age and focused on reinventing yourself at any age,” Netko said. “While we plan to go nationwide with our charity bachelor auctions, we thought Scottsdale was the perfect place to introduce the Cougars & Co. concept and begin our social network.”

The site, which is now live, is offering an introductory $1 membership to those that join during the first month. After April 30, the monthly membership fee is $9.95.

Members can join the hunt by creating a profile, joining groups, creating their own groups and initiating online connections. For members looking to get out, monthly happy hour events will be held and year-round getaway vacations for cougars and cubs will be organized.

The Charity Bachelor Auction


As part of the company kick-off, Cougars & Co. is holding a charity bachelor auction on Thursday, April 1st in Scottsdale, AZ. Valley cougars will be pleased to see there's much more on the men-u than chips and dip when as many as 10 cubs (including a past contender for The Bachelorette) strut their stuff all in the name of charity. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Women's Wellness Center at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Care.


above: Greg Bilbro, (previously on "The Bachelorette") will be a bachelor in the Cougars & Co. charity auction in Scottsdale

Cougars & Co. also offers clothing you can purchase from their site, such as the two examples below. And they will be adding more merchandise soon!



Interested? Curious? Perversely Fascinated?

Buy some merchandise, learn more or Sign up here.

note: This is an updated version of the original post.
all images and information courtesy of Cougars & Co.