PHOTOS AND PEOPLE
We provide a blank canvas where photographers express themselves freely. Photography portfolios, including pieces of writing and interviews, introduce fascinating artists and their inspiring work.
MAIK GRÄF
'I try not to think in clearly defined genres, even though certain subjects like portraits are often reoccurring. My work revolves around themes of identity, emotionality, and sensibility. What I am looking at are soft and vulnerable aspects, no matter if it is a stone, a leaf of a plant, or a naked body.'
STIG DE BLOCK
'I can vividly remember the first lowrider event I attended in Los Angeles. I had driven out on a Sunday in October 2018 to attend an event called Sunday Funday.'
MAIK GRÄF
'I try not to think in clearly defined genres, even though certain subjects like portraits are often reoccurring. My work revolves around themes of identity, emotionality, and sensibility. What I am looking at are soft and vulnerable aspects, no matter if it is a stone, a leaf of a plant, or a naked body.'
JESS T. DUGAN
'My creative practice centers around an exploration of identity — particularly gender and sexuality — through photographic portraiture.'
VIC LENTAIGNE
British Vogue, Louis Vuitton, Dazed, NET-A-PORTER – these are just a few of the clients that photographer Vic Lentaigne has already worked with. Based in London, she specialises in portrait photography and is keen on capturing intimate pictures of her selected group of subjects, exploring themes of queerness, gender fluidity, and identity. Our creative director Martin had a chat with Vic, and they talked about how she got into photography, her fascination with portraiture and analogue techniques, and the role of music.
STEFANO PEREGO
Stefano Perego is an architecture photographer and author of the book Soviet Asia. The Italian photographer is particularly fascinated by abandoned buildings, and he travels around the world to document their unique atmosphere, aesthetic, and the stories that they tell. In a Q&A with Martin, Stefano talks about how he got into photography, travelling, and how to get a good shot.
SPYROS RENNT
The following features a selection of pictures from Spyros Rennt's new book Lust Surrender. To introduce you to this fascinating photographer, Martin chatted with him about studying computer engineering, Spyros's hometown Berlin, and, of course, photography.
ASIA WERBEL
Asia has been working backstage at fashion weeks in Milan, Paris and London for the best part of 10 years on her project ‘Dystfunctional Wonderland’. During this time she has also been commissioned by several magazines and fashion houses as official backstage photographer. As a photographer Asia specialises in documentary photography, portraiture and fashion editorial, more recently getting into moving image. With her project 'Mothership', she did something completely different, something personal.
ANNIE YAN
Annie has been fascinated by documenting her surroundings on camera from an early age. Her father used to take a camera with him wherever he went, and he taught his daughter how to shoot pictures – using a Leica M6. After graduating from film school in Boston, USA, Annie now works as a filmmaker and photographer.
STEWART BYWATER
When Stewart moved to Paris, his father gave him a special parting gift: a digital camera. Today, he's a portrait and fine art photographer based in London. During lockdown, like many of us, Stewart has had to rely on Zoom for work. However, in a slightly different way than most: He used the programme to take pictures. This resulted in the following photo series, which features a number of amazing high-profile actors.
JANICK GILPIN
Janick Gilpin is a published freelance travel and documentary photographer who specialises in environmental portraits. Born in the Cayman Islands and raised in Jamaica, he currently resides in New York. Janick considers himself a global citizen and has travelled extensively documenting people in their natural environment.
With this picture series, he documents Black Lives Matter protests in Harlem to create awareness and give back to the communities of colour.
JULIA RIESS
Julia Riess is one half of Design Studio Riess and has been part of The Wasted Hour since day one.
The experiences in nature, deep conversations, good music, and many glasses of Prosecco during her quarantine in Ystad, Sweden inspired this picture series.
CATHERINE COSTANZO
Her grandfather gave Catherine a Polaroid camera when he was cleaning out his house. It sat on her shelf, collecting dust, until, one summer, she finally bought some film and tried it out. Thank god she did because Catherine’s Polaroids are an endless source of inspiration.
These pictures by the vintage polaroid film photographer capture shadow and light in a mesmerising way and tell unique stories.
TAG CHRISTOF
For years I always wanted to shoot pictures but never got to the point of buying a camera and starting to do so. That changed a few years ago when I discovered photographs on Instagram that looked exactly like the ideal that I had always wanted to capture – the photos were shot by documentary photographer Tag Christof. His transported mood, the colours and the compositions triggered something in me: the urge to create something.
So, for me it’s a bit like a dream come true to showcase some selected photographs by Tag. This picture series makes you dream of an imaginary past.
MAXIME MANO
After moving from Bordeaux to Paris, Maxime picked up a camera to document people and places in the vibrant capital city of France.
He brought his camera to house parties, bars and night trains in Paris, immortalising these moments of high energy. With subjects ranging from junk food to a dead rat, Maxime certainly has an eye for capturing ironic and out of the ordinary shots. His body of work, curated for the first time as an exhibition, is characterised by a unique and vibrant touch of weirdness, leaving you to imagine the stories behind his photographs.
RICH ARMITAGE
Certain Instagram accounts convey the impression that can you get to know a person. Not because they keep pointing the camera on their face in their stories, but because their pictures share their perspective.
Rich’s photos create an intimate feeling of his surroundings, and with this series he takes us on 2 journeys. The first is to Japan, a country he first visited 2 years ago. With the second series, he takes us to the University of Westminster, where he studied photography and digital imaging technologies. To get to know Rich a bit more, read our short Q&A.
SAM JOHNSON
'For a long time I have been a firm believer in making photographs within the familiarity of your own world, seeking beauty within your common surroundings and not longing for something more: an idea which is creatively liberating yet generally grappled with by the majority.'
ALYSSA BOEHLE
'We are always watching what others consume and what people have an appetite for. Whether it's sex, food, entertainment etc, knowing what other people value gives us an "in". It opens a window into that other person, and it lets us answer their appetites – usually to get something in return. What I find most interesting is what we choose to be transparent about versus what we hide, what we feel comfortable selling versus what we do not, both as the consumer and observer.'
ANDRÉ FRANCISCO
See and read about André’s trip to Porto Covo, where he found himself again, without being touched by the hurry of day-to-day life.
ELENA CREMONA
When she was 18, Elena left home and wanted to see the world. Her photos are beautiful, fragile and deep, and they are shot only on film.
BEN KRUEGER
'I think that everyone is somewhat melancholic from time to time. For me, I would lean closer to the nostalgic, because the art is a way to document something that will never be again, so there’s a positive nature to the photograph – in other words the moment was saved.'
FRANCESCO SANTORO
Looking at Francesco's pictures, you can tell that he has an incredible eye for composition and colours. So, it's no secret that photography is his passion.
ALLY JADE
Ally has always been drawn to create in some way or another, and taking pictures has been an interest of hers for quite some time.
AMY BROWN
Amy is a 23-year-old filmmaker and photographer, based in Scotland. Her work focuses on women, lgbtq, transgender and non-binary people.
FRANCESCA CLEMENTI
Francesca's work consists in triptychs. When she's out there taking pictures she puts on some music that fits her mood of the day. The day she shot this series she listened to 'That's Entertainment' by The Jam.
MAYA MILLER
Since it’s inception, The Pack A. D. has played 967 shows, and they will crack the 1000 mark this fall.
KAO SAEPHAN
Kao, the boy who cried wolf, got his name due to his sarcastic personality. He’s from California, where he studies photo journalism and conceptual photography. Perhaps its because he’s a cold weather person, that he shoots a lot at night.
When we talked about a possible theme for a series, we found out that we both love the Smashing Pumpkins. Therefore, we decided to name his series after their song 'We Only Come out at Night' from the 2nd half of the Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness album (which is called 'Twilight to Starlight').
ZHAMAK FULLAD
One night, I landed on Zhamak's Tumblr and couldn't stop scrolling. Her portraits fascinate me, and when she's capturing a party, I feel like I'm there.
UGO SALERNO
Ugo is from Rome, Italy. When I stumbled across his pictures on Instagram, I was immediately caught by the colours, the portraits, and the homoerotic aura. The ones he shot for The Wasted Hour are no exception.
From our first contact back in February until now we've exchanged a lot of emails and texts, getting to know each other. Right now, Ugo's thinking about leaving Rome.
