Photographs | CJMS Communications

Catstacam – Yes, it’s a thing!

'Catstacam' lets you discover & follow the secret life of your cat on Instagram

Catstacam: From our ‘WTF, is this really happening?’ file, comes the newest thing in feline chic – ‘Catstacam’. ‘Catstacam’ is a new kind of wearable camera for cats, which can automatically upload photographs from the secret life of your cat to a dedicated Instagram account. This interesting gadget designed by Whiskas in Australia will take pictures and happily post them on Instagram as soon as it is within range of your wi-fi network. Whiskas explained the ‘Catstacam’ on their Facebook page “Have you ever wondered what your cat was trying to tell you with some of their actions? WHISKAS® CATSTACAM™ is our brand new program designed to help cat lovers better understand cats by giving a glimpse into their world. The custom WHISKAS CATSTACAM devices let selected cats take photos and post them directly to their own Instagram accounts. At the moment we only have a limited number of devices available (that’s why they’re not available for purchase) so to share our cat insights we have chosen key cat lovers that will help us spread the word – and show-off their furry friends’ intriguing behaviour. To follow them, and see what adventures they get up to, simply search ‪#‎Catstacam‬ on Instagram. But we don’t just want to show you what cats get up to, we want to provide a deeper understanding of common cat behaviour. So if you see anything you’re curious about, or the behaviour shown is similar to your cat’s, just ask a question and hashtag ‪#‎AskWhiskas‬ and our cat behavioural expert will respond, telling you what it means. WHISKAS CATSTACAM is the social way to help you better understand cats.” Hmmm look, while we’re not really cat people, more power to those who really want to know what their cat does when left to their own devices and we applaud Whiskas for coming up with such a unique marketing idea. Clearly, it’s catching on or we wouldn’t be talking about it. Enjoy feline lovers…meow!

Alex de Mora – ‘Leisurewear’

Alex de Mora imagines what our generation will look like when we are older

Alex de Mora: So you think that “old people” dress like old people? But have you ever thought about what our generation will look like when we get older? ‘Leisurewear’ is a series of fashion photographs created for Vice Magazine by photographer Alex de Mora, who likes to imagine the elderly of a not too distant future. Alex de Mora notes ‘I was inspired by the character I saw when taking personal photos of my Grandmother, and I thought why not transform this into an fashion editorial, so I pitched the idea to Vice Magazine. I had been wanting to shoot a “leisurewear” series for a while, and wanted to give a hip hop angle to the idea. I thought of Snoop Dogg going shopping in his velour tracksuit. The shoot itself took place in my studio in London and we decided to colour match the background, clothes and set for each shot, to give it a surreal, stylised tone. My amazing team of Kylie Griffiths (stylist), Penny Mills (set design), Sami Knight (hair) and Lydia Warhurst (make up) helped me to make this idea the reality.’ Alex de Mora is a highly regarded photographer based in London, UK who specialises in fashion, commercial and portrait photography. Over the years, De Mora has created some amazing images and his editorial clients have included VICE, i-D, Oyster, Dazed & Confused, and Crack while his commercial work has been for brands such as Nike, Red Bull, Atlantic Records, Liberty, ATP Records, Converse, and Johnnie Walker. This fantastic shoot took place in Alex de Mora’s London studio, and features streetwear icons ranging from Champion and adidas Originals to Le Coq Sportif and Moschino, all worn by old-aged pensioners. To see more of Alex de Mora’s amazing work, be sure to visit his website.

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Katja Kemnitz – Too Much Love

Katja Kemnitz documents the lives of plush toys by photographing them before & after

Katja Kemnitz: In this fantastic series ‘Too Much Love’, German photographer Katja Kemnitz, who was inspired by her daughter, decided to document the lives of children’s plush toys by photographing them before and after dozens of hours of hugs, kisses, wear and tear. Katja Kemnitz is a 29 years old photographer from Bonn, Germany. She has always been interested in art, mostly poems and paintings, but has never even used a pen or a paint brush. Katja Kemnitz first discovered photography about 7 years ago when she stood in front of the camera and decided to model for the first time. Her love for the medium grew as she continued to meet some great, very creative photographers and learn more about photography and it was at this time, Kemnitz started to become interested in the more technical aspects. She notes ‘I bought an analog film camera and tried to photograph pigeons and seagulls on the Rhine. These pictures were not presentable, but the camera fascinated me. I looked at many photos on the Internet and dabbled in taking self-portraits, which became better over time.’ Katja Kemnitz believes her inspiration comes from her children – not only for her ‘kid’ photos, but also for her more conceptual images. ‘They show me again and again how important the little things are. And that each thing contains a secret story that you just have to discover. I think that to see the world through children’s eyes helps to be a very good photographer. Kemnitz is also inspired by nature ‘I draw much inspiration from the forest. The silence, the colors – I just feel safe when I’m in the woods. That’s why I’m often alone in the forest to take self-portraits.’ and fairytales ‘I love the kitschy fairy tales with their stereotypes, such as the dark, inscrutable stories.’ About her series ‘Too Much Love’, Kemnitz says ‘I show old, much-loved teddies and dolls compared with new doppelgangers. I think the broken stuffed animals have a lot of soul. The project was inspired by my older daughter, who carried her plush dog with her everywhere when she was little. One day I found that dog in store, without any damages. However, my daughter did not like him. The old one was better and could not be replaced.’ The series is still ongoing and more of Katja Kemnitz’s work can be viewed here.

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Craig Boudreaux – After Katrina

Craig Boudreaux's haunting images after Hurricane Katrina

Craig Boudreaux: ‘All that was left were crushed dreams and moldy memories.’ It is with these chilling words that photographer Craig Boudreaux tells of the moment when he returned to New Orleans, a year after the devastating passage of Hurricane Katrina. Born and raised in the region, Craig Boudreaux has captured a series of moving and very haunting images – the homes of his grandmother, his family and his friends, immortalising the messages that people have left, drawn with spray paint directly on the walls of the ruined and abandoned houses. It took over ten years for Craig Boudreaux to find the courage required to thoroughly sort, edit and publish these unique images. Hurricane Katrina was the fifth hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season and was the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. The storm is currently ranked as the third most intense United States landfalling tropical cyclone, behind only the 1935 Labor Day hurricane and Hurricane Camille in 1969. Overall, at least 1,833 people died in the hurricane and subsequent floods, making it the deadliest United States hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane. Total property damage was estimated at $108 billion (2005 USD). Reflecting on his photographs, Craig Boudreaux writes ‘These are photographs taken in the months after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the New Orleans area. It’s taken me ten years to complete these edits. These are primarily from Arabi and the Gentilly area of New Orleans. Some are very personal to me – my Grandmother’s home, homes of friends, and the house in which I grew up. Most of these structures were completely submerged. When these were taken, the flood waters were long gone. All that was left were crushed dreams and moldy memories … and painted messages to anyone who cared.’ There are many amazing images in this series so to view them all (which we strongly recommend), please visit Craig Boudreaux’s website.

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‘Cosmopolitan’ Magazine Brings Sexy Back

Cosmopolitan recreates the covers of cheesy romance novels with real people

Cosmopolitan: Of course, everyone knows of the cheesy romance novel – the novelettish and sentimental literature made to tickle the senses, covers emblazoned with virile young men and young ladies in search of fierce love that are clearly marketed to woman with ‘healthy and active’ imaginations. Well, world renown and bestselling women’s magazine, Cosmopolitan, has recreated these covers using real, everyday people in an clever and amusing series that will definitely make you see their funny side. The ‘romance novel’ or ‘romantic novel’ is a literary genre. Novels of this type of genre fiction place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending. Some scholars see precursors to the romance novel in literary fiction of the 18th and 19th centuries, including Samuel Richardson’s sentimental novel Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded (1740) and the novels of Jane Austen. British company Mills and Boon began releasing escapist fiction for women in the 1930s. Their books were sold in North America by Harlequin Enterprises Ltd, which began direct marketing to readers and allowing mass-market merchandisers to carry the books. In North America, romance novels are the most popular literary genre, comprising almost 55% of all paperback books sold in 2004. The genre is also popular in Europe and Australia, and romance novels appear in 90 languages. Most of the books, however, are written by authors from English-speaking countries, leading to what is deemed an Anglo-Saxon perspective in the fiction. Despite the popularity and widespread sales of romance novels, the genre has attracted significant derision, skepticism and criticism. Erotica is a term used to describe scenes in the novel that are risqué but not pornographic and ‘Romance erotica’ seems to be on the rise as more women explore this new sub-genre – You only have to look at the popularity of Fifty Shades of Grey...enough said. Enjoy!

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Cheuk Lun Lo & his Shampooed Heads of Hair Photos

Cheuk Lun Lo transforms hair & shampooed heads into abstract photographs

The unique creations of photographer Cheuk Lun Lo, who transforms hair and shampooed heads into abstract photographs in a series imagined for Chinese beauty and fashion publication NUMERO, are somewhat gross yet engaging all at the same time. Lo is a professional photographer who established his STUFF STUDIO in 2009. STUFF is a fast growing photographic studio working primarily with world leading luxury brands, magazines and advertising agencies. Under his art direction, the studio continues to create mesmerising shots of fashion related products which are used for numerous key visual and magazine features. They believe every creative opportunity is unique and enjoy collaborating with like-minded partners to create interesting and thought-provoking shots that capture the soul of each product – giving each image a sense of personality and a memorable story. It is almost impossible, at first glance, to know the source of the swirling spherical masses pictured in the following series – are they photographs of liquid, bizarre floating orbs, or something else unidentifiable? Perspective and light offer a strange and surreal take on an ordinary human characteristic – hair. Cheuk Lun Lo shoots the heads from above, allowing for an alternative view of an otherwise standard, hair-washing routine which suddenly begins to transform into something more fascinating. Shampoo saturates the locks in a foamy white lather, letting it be easily moulded and manipulated into a varied array of shapes, sizes and compositions. Photographed on a pitch black background, the series – realised as a beauty editorial for Numero magazine in China – sees Cheuk Lun Lo’s “hair-scapes” seemingly hover in mid-air, providing an abstract yet beautiful look at the human body and all its artistic possibilities.

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Superheroes & their Secret Lives

Toy Superheroes come to life thanks to Edy Hardjo

Superheroes exposed: Hrjoe Photography’s playful and expertly-executed photos prove that superhero action figures are not just for kids. Filled with hilarious set-ups of action figures, including many iconic Marvel and DC superheroes, these images capture the world’s most adored superheroes in both humorous and often human-like scenarios. Edy Hardjo, the photographer behind the project, uses detailed, high-quality action figures to put some of our favourite superheroes into hilarious and sometimes compromising positions. After putting the Superheroes into their picture-perfect poses, he removes the stands he uses to prop them and some of the more obvious joints with Photoshop to make them seem more life-like. Hardjo was was born in Medan, Indonesia in 1973 and graduated college with a Chemical Engineering degree. He was married in 2004 and has two sons and a daughter. He currently lives with his family in Jakarta, Indonesia. All of which is a long way from the world of superheroes but that hasn’t stopped Hardjo from capturing his out-of-this-world images. For someone who picked up photography as a hobby, he certainly does an exceptional job! In an interview, Hardjo explained ‘Photography is a hobby for me. It all started when I wanted to take better pictures for items that I sell in my online store. I bought an entry-level camera and started to shoot with confidence, but the results were no better than the images shot with my mobile phone’s camera. This made me curious and feeling challenged so later I bought a better camera and took a course in the Canon School of Photography. After that I also took several photo tours—for practice—and learned from the expert in the group. Today, I have a small personal photo studio at home and I sometimes take commission photo shoots as a side job…I use my daily experience as source of ideas… All I do is replace the ‘usual’ thing with the ‘unusual’.’

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Danil Golovkin – Addicted To Glamour

Fashion photography as seen by Danil Golovkin

Danil Golovkin: The amazing Addicted To Glamour series created by photographer Danil Golovkin for the magazine Fashion Gone Rogue, offers us a twisted and yet unique look at fashion photography. Danil Golovkin shows a different side of glamour for FGR’s most recent exclusive featuring Anastasiya Kolbasko. Rather than wearing the jewellery designs, the blonde model “eats” the adornments of gold styled by Liliya Simonyan. Daniel Golovkin’s images certainly bring a whole new meaning to the term “golden touch”. Hair and makeup artist Elena Zubareva worked on the beauty for the shoot.

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Mike Brodie’s ‘A Period of Juvenile Prosperity’

Photographer, Mike Brodie, documents the lives of vagabonds

Mike Brodie, a young, 21 year old photographer at the time, decided to pack up and leave everything behind to document the lives of American vagabonds in an amazing, thought-provoking and touching series of photographs taken between 2006 and 2009. These compelling images by Mike Brodie have now been published in his book A Period of Juvenile Prosperity. A Period of Juvenile Prosperity leads us into the precarious daily life of these young people, jumping from train to train, sleeping and living rough all while traveling throughout the United States. Born in Arizona in 1985, Mike Brodie first began photographing in 2004 when he was given a Polaroid camera. Working under the moniker, ‘The Polaroid Kidd’, Mike Brodie spent the next four years circumambulating the U.S. amassing an archive of photographs that would go on to make up one of the few, true collections of American travel photography. Having never undergone any formal training, he chose to remained untethered to the pressures and expectations of the art market. Mike Brodie compulsively documented his explorations and as suddenly as he began making photographs, he left the medium behind. In 2008, Mike Brodie received the Baum Award for American Emerging Artists. A Period of Juvenile Prosperity published by Twin Palms was released in early 2013 and has been followed by numerous gallery shows. Mike Brodie recently graduated from the Nashville Auto Diesel College (NADC) and is now working as a mobile diesel mechanic in his silver ’93 Dodge Ram. Although he has stopped creating photographs, the body of work he developed in four short intense years has left an enduring impact on the photo world.

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