Had a field day, literally, photographing magnolias with a newly acquired Lensbaby Sol45 in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. I have several well-loved lenses, and this is quickly taking its place among my faves..
BLM March
Beautiful fashion at the Black Lives Matter march in Washington Square Park in NYC.. #Lensbaby #Sweet50 #Nikon
This moment in SoHo made me feel like I was seeing an Edward Hopper image with a Taxi Driver vibe..
SoHo, NYC - iPhone
American Splendour
Honored to announce my photo 'When We Were King: Ode to Flint' will be on view in 'American Splendour: New Photography' at Ilon Gallery in Harlem, New York. Exhibit runs June 1, 2018-August 12, 2018. Special thanks to jurors Jon Feinstein, David Rosenberg, Hannah Frieser, Loni Efron and curator Ruben Natal-San Miguel for allowing me this honor.
When We We King: Ode to Flint ©2017 Wendy Whitesell
Puddle Stomping
Brooklyn, NYC -iPhone
What the World Needs Now: Good Times
I'm pleased my photo 'Good Times' was selected to be exhibited in 'What the World Needs Now', as part of 2017 Atlanta Celebrates Photography festival. The show is curated by Anita Arliss and Ruben Natal-San Miguel, and on view at The B Complex gallery in Atlanta, Georgia September 5 through September 11. My photo will be shown along side compelling works by Anita Arliss, Sally Davies, Amy Elkins, Nona Faustine, Jon Feinstein, Todd Hido, Ruben Natal-San Miguel, Aline Smithson, Lisa Tuttle, Chris Verene, Tarrah von Lintel, Jennifer Yoffy Schwartz.
Hot Pink Umbrella Parade
Rainy days on Mondays always get me down.. Unless I happen upon a hot pink umbrella parade!
Learn, Create, Inspire: 12 Great Photo Sites
Sharing a smattering of favorite photo industry sites... Mostly how-to's, tips, critiques, and inspiration; with a couple industry, fine art, business, and contest sites thrown in. This list could go on forever, but here are a few I like (in no particular order):
Lenscratch
a beautiful fine art photgraphy blog with a great call for entries listing and other up-to-the-minute resources
Sleeklens
a comprehensive destination for current trends, business guides, lush actions & pre-sets, tips, templates, and much more
PhotoFocus
tips, photo critiques & podcasts from the one and only Scott Bourne
Magnum Photo
fine art photo agency started by the granddaddy himself: Henri Cartier-Bresson
Phototuts+
tutorials, tips, interesting history & more
Creative Live
started as a photo-focused online school, and now has so much more.. all-around fantastic educational site
SLR Lounge
a loaded site of how to's, interviews, inspiration & (much) more
Photojojo
great photography newsletter & store
SLR Lounge
a loaded site of how to's, interviews, inspiration & (much) more
Photopreneur
the biz side, as the name suggests
Digital Photography School
photography tutorials, how-to, tips & reviews.
DYI Photography
for the dyi-ers & homemade gadget geeks
Current Photo Contests
not a pretty resource, but informative; get your hat in the ring!
Karin
Recent work from a casual portrait and street shoot with rising star Karin Agstam. Karin's a very successful model and emerging actress with several accolades under her belt. She's also a dream to work with! ©wendy whitesell, Williamsburg, BK
MiWi La Lupa
Great session with singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist MiWi La Lupa last week on Ludlow Street on the Lower East Side.. We had less than 15 minutes to work with before his ride to the airport showed up... To be continued!
Tell Me a Story
I'm excited and honored to have a portrait chosen for TELL ME A STORY, an exhibition included in the 'Atlanta Celebrates Photography Festival 2016', at The B Complex Gallery. My friend and co-worker Ben Marra (pictured) is an exceptional story teller himself-- As a prolific comic book artist, illustrator, and graphic novelist; his visual narratives are so wildly imaginative and intricately drawn, that even his static visage screams 'story' to me as he faces off with the eye of the camera. His textured style -that always plays with a blend of throwback and current assets on the edge of embodying character- inspired me to explore a 'digital tin type' moment (particularly that STETSON!) This shot was very spontaneous, done in one frame, as I saw the fleeting moment as rich, arrested image. Ben was on his way to lunch, and obliged with short notice to the click of the iPhone. The show is curated by Anita Arliss & D Dominick Lombardi; opening Saturday, October 8th from 7 to 10pm. The exhibit ends October 18th. B Complex Gallery is located at 1272 Murphy Avenue SW, Atlanta, GA 30310.
Read more about the exhibit in this Huffington Post article by curator D. Dominick Lombardi.
Ben, 2016 18" x 24" (C print, Digital Tin Type) Shot in NYC ©wendywhitesell
WE:AMEricans
So honored to be selected for WE:AMEricans, curated by Ruben Natal-San Miguel and co-juried with Leah Oates, director of Station Independent Projects! The exhibit opens on July 7th from 6 pm to 9 pm and on view to August 7th, 2016. What is to be an American and who is an American? Who has the rights and true values to be considered an American? Does one's skin color, social strata, wealth, power, religious or political views make one more American or not?
I'm thrilled to be showing with this group:
Amy Arbus, John Arsenault -Swaider, Nina Berman, Michael Buhler-Rose, Amy Elkins, Jon Feinstein, Thomas Holton, Dave Jordano, Dina Kantor, Gillian Laub, Miles Ladin, Shane Lavalette, Ruben Natal-San Miguel , Catherine Opie , Mark Peterson , Justine Reyes, Alec Soth, Zoe Strauss and Betty Tompkins, Lewis Ableidinger, Luis Alves Collage, Susan Anthony, Anita Arliss, Zsolt Bátori, Chris Bentley, BIBIANA, Christopher Borrok, Joan Lobis Brown, Travis Brown, Ruthie Brownfield, Daphne Chan, Michelle Cheikin, Tomato Davis, Devin Delano, Robert DeRosa, Leah DeVun, Virgil DiBiase, Nina Weinberg Doran, Melissa Eder, Shāna Einhorn, Lola Flash, Laura Glabman, Orestes Gonzalez, Lauren Grabelle, Anna Grevenitis, Lori Grinker, Stephan Jahanshahi, Susan Rosenberg Jones, Mark Kalan, Danielle Kelly, Rita Koehler, Honey Lazar, Beth Maier, Sean Mankiw, Marc McAndrews, Maggie Meiners, Ned&ShivaProductions, Nancy Oliveri, Lissa Rivera, Valery Rizzo, Russ Rowland, Adriana C. Sánchez, Luis Sanchez, John Sanderson, Matthew Schenning, Nancy Seisel, Ken Shung, Savannah Spirit, Allison Stewart, David Sweet, Marilyn Szabo, Susan May Tell, Larry Torno, Ian Trask, Cindy Trinh, Sandra Chen Weinstein, Lauren Welles, Wendy Whitesell and Charlyn Zlotnik.
©Ruben Natal-San Miguel
My image 'Th American Dream?' is on the top row, fifth from the left, is a part of an Occupy Wall Street portrait series I did. I'm very happy to be part of this powerful group of images.
'Dreams' at Center for Fine Art Photography
Just got a notice thatimage Unrooted has been selected for the Center for Fine Art Photography's upcoming exhibit 'Dreams'. Looks like a great show, and I'm honored to have a portrait in this collection!
Jennifer DeCarlo| Juror’s Statement
Dreams connect the space between real and surreal. They derive from fragments of our stream of consciousness. Our life’s memories, our desires, and our fears reshuffle and play-back in visions that may appear obscured by double-vision, or be crystalized by a hyper-real clarity. Often, they exist with the support of an uncanny logic or disjointed symbolism. Whether hopeful or menacing, dreams pull on the strings of our most raw and primal emotions.
- Jennifer DeCarlo
Exhibition Dates | November 4th-26th, 2016
The Center for Fine Art Photography, Inc. | 400 North College Avenue | Fort Collins, CO 80524
Unrooted, 2015 14"x14" (C print / digital double exposure)
Moonlight on the Hudson
Shanghai Mermaid's Moonlight and Music on the Hudson was a pretty wonderful night in Manhattan; time traveling to the early 20th Century last week.... On a sailboat, on the Hudson.
Crains New York
Had the honor of being interviewed and photographed for a Crains New York Business piece this past December. The article was largely about the miles of scaffolding in New York City; with a small feature on ArtBridge and their efforts to transform scaffolds at construction sites into public art space. Our exhibit 'Another New York' was installed at the Barclays Center two years ago, and is still going strong. I'm most grateful to this group for their vision and work, and very glad to be a part of it.
photo by Buck Ennis, 2015 for Crains
On Friday, February 12th 2016, Ida Blue brings her signature style, Bodega Blues, to another legendary New York City music venue, The Bitter End. This Greenwich Village gem holds no ignorance to NYC music history, and through the years, has furnished a home to music icons like Etta James, Bob Dylan and Donny Hathaway. Now, in present day, Ida Blue keeps the trend alive. As she categorically conjoins the Blues with her own starlit swagger, she also continues to mystify audiences in a way that elicits uncontrollable outbursts of laughter, love, and respect from every audience she faces. It is no mistake why we all rally so hard for this Brooklyn babe as she embarks on a storied career that, on this night, we're privileged to witness unfold.
For her first show of 2016, Ida teams-up with friend and blues artist, Binky Griptite. Binky is a founding member, guitar player and emcee for the world renown Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings, who in 2014 received their first Grammy nomination for the album "Give the People What They Want". As an integral part of Daptone Records, Binky played guitar on Amy Winehouse's record breaking album "Back To Black", and performed on other award-winning albums with Janet Jackson and more. Bringing his own blend to the Bitter End stage, Binky will surely impress...slickly riffing blues guitar proves the perfect shade to support his lead vocal, a voice that brings out the bellowing spirit of Muddy Waters.
Binky and Ida are gonna throwdown and crush at The Bitter End. It's all about the Blues, baby...
THE TENT OF CASUALLY OBSERVED PHENOLOGIES
This weekend I photographed Brooklyn artist, James Leonard, as he invited visitors to experience the ancient tradition of divination while simultaneously facing their own hopes and fears for the future of a changing planet. The beautiful project is 'The Tent of Casually Observed Phenologies', his latest installation, exploring the issues of climate change. Location: Jersey City Reservoir.
Pow!
Sneak peek of my shoot with Brooklyn rapper 'Gauge'.. Working visuals for his new album.
Time for your closeup!
Fun head shot session with the lovely Jenny Boissiere, a modern dancer, here in NYC.
Miss Ida Blue / Billie Holiday Centennial at Joe's Pub, NYC. ©2015 Wendy Whitesell
What A Little Moonlight Can Do...
Tackling an entire show of Billie Holiday material is a tall order-- quite a few have done it, and while they may be fine vocalists with heartfelt intentions, they often go for the cliche: the gardenias; heartbreak; heroine haze, and sadness of Billie's later career. They don't quite hit the mark, and, as is often the case with attempts to cover iconic work, their delivery creates an itch they can't quite scratch, only making us long for real thing; running to the turntable (or spotify) for a fix.
In great contrast to the norm, Friday night I went to see my friend and longtime lens subject 'Miss Ida Blue' serve up a Billie Holiday Centennial tribute like no other. She brought the house down in her debut at Joe’s Pub with two standing ovations, lots of laughs, joyful tears, and awe at her incredible vocal abilities and down-to-earth showmanship. Toss in support from her world-class band (Conal Fowkes/piano, Dan Block/tenor sax, Jon-Erik Kellso/trumpet, Jon Gill/guitar, Jay Rattman/clarinet, Brian Nalepka/bass, and Kevin Dorn/drums) and Lady Day had the exquisite tribute she truly deserves, while we in the crowd were treated to a rare and fabulous musical experience.
The main ingredient making this show a standout -other than Miss Ida's dynamic personality and raw talent- was that the material was chosen exclusively from Billie's early work in the 1930’s (arranged for the tribute by Conal Fowkes); a part of her catalog which features music full of joy, romance, and youthful sass. Along with Teddy Wilson and Lester Young, Billie created material during that era ranging from swinging, uptempo, love songs and flirty daydreams, to sublime atmospheres of hopeful longing; all a perfect vibe for Miss Ida to channel. (If you don’t know this first phase of Billie Holiday, give a listen to A Sailboat in the Moonlight, Your Mother’s Son-in-Law, What a Little Moonlight can Do, I Cover the Waterfront, etc, to hear her in a new light.)
Friday night was a true celebration of a great singer who deserves to be remembered for more than her struggles and trials of darkness, but for a time when she was a young singer full of hope- hangin' with the boys; aptly embracing the sounds of their instruments, and echoing in her own unique way. Miss Ida did it her way too. She honored the Billie material perfectly; while transcending the beaten path, and belting it out to a new dimension, and an audience of multiple generations. (Twenty-something hipsters, jazz historians, renown musicians, and casual music lovers young and old were in attendance.) And, while I'm no music critic, I'm willing to bet nobody has done it quite like this before. We all got lifted to another place and time while looking forward to future Miss Ida gigs and seeing where this girl's gonna go! I’d be remiss if I did not also congratulate Billy Jackson (Miss Ida's manager) for his relentless visionary work in putting this night together. What a night. Thanks for keeping great music alive, guys! -WW
©WendyWhitesell, 2015