Catharine Maloney's photographs are not technically beautiful. They're not pictures (most) people would immediately think to hang over their couch, nor are they the types of images camera-vest wearing Facebook forum commenters might use as flexing examples of their immaculate Photoshop wizardry. Most of those folks would probably take issue with the spontaneous sloppiness her work. Maloney's photographs are a refreshing exercise - a playful, collaborative process that's stripped of academic theory and pretensions in exchange for the simple joys of having fun while making art. Sure there's an unspoken dialog on photographic process, collecting moments and analyzing interpersonal interactions, and her work touches on gender and gaze, but at the crux of it all is the desire to experiment and have fun. Just in time for the release of her new book, Teleplay Pt 1, published by Skinnerboox Books, we caught up with Ms. Maloney to hear more about the process and ideas behind the work.

PostedMay 14, 2015

AuthorJon Feinstein

TagsCatharine Maloney, Photographic Process, Photoshop, Teen Men, Jon Feinstein, Foam Talent Issue, Skinnerboox Books, Yale Photographers

In his recent series, Projections, Steve Veilleux creates darkly humorous photographs that expose the artifice behind promotional suburban real estate billboards. Shot entirely at night in Quebec, Canada, his pictures depict details of an absurd suburban landscape, littered with various representations of comically unrealistic class comforts. A young, studio-lit couple smiles while holding their new baby against a bright spring sky; sun rays emanate from a newly (pre) fabricated home; and various other clichés communicate a staged sense of promise and happiness. Upon close examination, it becomes clear that something is off. The images are missing an integral piece to effectively communicating their ultimate sales pitch: text.

PostedMay 7, 2015

AuthorJon Feinstein

At some point, Katrin Koenning’s ongoing series Glow will come to a natural end. She’ll stop making her black and white photographs of ghostly light peering through faces, bodies and everyday ephemera, and will fold them into a natural conclusion. But for now, this work, which has been evolving for several years, will continue to meander in non-linear bliss, wrapped in various metaphors about impermanence.

PostedApril 29, 2015

AuthorJon Feinstein

Tagsglow, katrin koenning, melbourne photographers, Australian Photographers, magical photography, Jon Feinstein, black and white photography

Photo Courtesy of Shutterstock

Click-bait continues to be one of the emptiest forms of online pseudo-journalism. Easy headlines full of hollow adjectives goad readers to spend their attention on an endless cycle of content. While these words often lead to thoughtful material, they can pull us down a rabbit hole of a story that has little to do with its syrupy headline. This "and you'll never guess what happened next" form of new literature extends to art and photography journalism, and its motives are pretty transparent, but somehow we keep clicking, and here at Humble, are often guilty of using them ourselves. So we asked some of our favorite photography writers, curators, editors, historians and educators to dish out their most beloved click-bait pet peeves, which we illustrated with some of our favorite stock images of cats.

PostedApril 23, 2015

AuthorJon Feinstein

Tagsbuzzwords, cat photography, Matthew Leifheit, Emily Shornick, Shane Lavalette, Alison Zavos, Amy Wolff, Pete Brook, David Rosenberg, John Edwin Mason, Lindsay Comstock, Gabriel H. Sanchez, Aline Smithson, Blake Andrews

29°59'57.01"N, 90°23'45.77"W (Norco) © AnnieLaurie Erickson

Afterimages commonly appear when the human eye comes in contact with something it’s not supposed to, like bright light, a pinprick, or another repelling force. In her series Slow Light, photographer AnnieLaurie Erickson uses long exposures of oil refineries in Louisiana captured with handmade cameras to address this phenomenon as a parallel to unapproachable obstacles in contemporary society and industry.

PostedApril 15, 2015

AuthorJon Feinstein

TagsAnnieLaurie Erickson, Annie Laurie Erickson, after images, retina, radical color, new color photography, experimental photography, handmade cameras, handmade lenses, Jon Feinstein

Catharine Maloney Discusses Men, Star Trek, and Art for Fun's Sake

Steve Veilleux's Photographs Dismantle a Pre-Fab Lie

Katrin Koenning Makes The World Glow

12 Magical Buzzwords Photography Blog Writers Need to Stop Using

Eerie Oil Refinery Afterimages by AnnieLaurie Erickson