fake photo essay wins french newspaper contest

this is crazy - two french photo students submitted their photo essay to a french newspaper contest and won. when they went to collect the prize, they announced that the whole thing was staged, and they had completely fooled the judges. the photographers said, "they had wanted to make a 'powerful artistic gesture' attacking the 'voyeurism' and gullibility of parts of the press."

check it out.

the images are beautiful - the texture and emotion combined make a great photo, but as my good friend and fellow photog marisa just pointed out to me, "the only way you know any image is not staged is if the artist tells you so the only point they're making is artists lie... people make staged essays that convey emotions too."

if the purpose was to fool the audience, they should've just taken the prize. what do you think?

Tennis pro portraits

I really enjoyed these portraits of tennis pros in Life's online magazine. Technically speaking, they aren't the best - I'm not a fan of the lighting and it comes off as slightly student-ish rather than pro photos I would expect to see in Life. However, I do like the energy and goofy behaviour of the subjects. Courtside, we see them as very focused and strong and professional and it's fun to see a lighter side of them off-court. It also goes to show how important the relationship is between the photographer and subject - in these images, the viewer can see the sense of comradery and collaboration - and trust - through the playful demeanor of the subject.