#FridayFeature: Thomas Krueger...

IT’S FRIDAY! So that can mean only two things.
1. The weekend is about to start.
2. I have another great #FridayFeature photographer to share with everyone.

What is the #FridayFeature?
Let me explain. Every Friday I showcase one of the many talented photographers that I have stalk found on the microblogging site – Twitter. Professionals & amateurs, everyone’s welcome. Landscapes, Portraits, animals, it’s all good on here. There are no set rules, the only thing all the #FridayFeature photographers have in common is they can all be found on Twitter.

This weeks #FridayFeature is quite literally a photography genius, not only behind the camera but also in the darkroom. Thomas is one of my favourite photographers that I’ve found so far on Twitter, and I’m very pleased he agreed to be this weeks #FridayFeature.

So please, give a round of applause, hit that ‘Like’ Button & leave nice comments below.

Twitter: @tekphoto
Website: kruegerphotos.com

*Artist Statement*

Photography opened up a new world to me when I was in grade school. I always had a difficult time communicating in words what I was thinking or feeling. With photography, I was able to give people a visual insight to my world. Once I began this journey of learning, a whole new magical world opened up to me. I began acquiring a love for the full creative process. It gave me a feeling of accomplishment in a world I felt I could have never measured up to. The hunt for subject matter that is not the standard stimulates my creativity. I prefer to stay clear of producing cliched imagery by not allowing the latest trends to influence my style of photography. I use my eye to transcend the perception of human consciousness by challenging my imagination to accept the surreal, in essence allowing myself to create
unexpected and thought provoking work. My photography is a way to visually reveal what truly lies within the refuse of the world. I’m attempting to expose the hidden beauty of the forgotten; as well as communicating a yearning for order within this chaotic and corruptible world.

*Artwork Description*

These images were processed using the lith printing technique. In comparison to the 1 to 3 minute development time of standard B&W printing, during lith printing, processing can take anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes in the developer tray alone. Temperature is also a factor in the integrity and tonal
intensity of the developer. When the developer cools down, it becomes less potent. This process requires persistence and patience when printing, and does not necessarily guarantee a perfect print each time due to its unpredictability. Not only that, the developer chemicals exhaust after just a few prints, requiring a fresh batch of replenished developer, resulting in a tedious but rewarding process. This is a temperamental darkroom process, making it impossible to create exact duplicates, resulting in unique and individual prints. Sometimes only a handful of prints are created in a 10 hour span of darkroom time. All these variations can create a challenge to even the most seasoned photographer.

#FridayFeature: Catherine Parkinson...

To my fellow Random Army.  I must first apologise for the lack of blog posts in the last month or two, It’s been a rather busy time with work, cycling holidays in Europe and playing tour guide for American travellers that have graced my city in the past few weeks. Anyway let’s get back to the programme.

After taking a break from the #FridayFeature for the past few months, it’s back with even more Twitter photographers. Like Pokemon trading cards, I’ve been hunting down and collecting the colourful and unique photographer of Twitter, ready to release them into the wild on my blog. So here we go…

I came across the photos of the truly elegant Catherine Parkinson on one of the webs most fascinating websites, Flickr. Hailing from the other side of the pond, this girl not only knows her photography, fashion and Japanese culture, she is also a phenomenal artist as well.
So please, stop by her most excellent blog, add her on Flickr and follow her on Twitter. You won’t be disappointed.

Catherine’s Blurb.
Currently I’m a university student from Texas majoring drawing and painting, and minoring in Japanese. In high school, I was formally trained in film photography and development, though I still consider myself an amateur in many regards. My subjects usually focus on femininity and sexuality, but I am beginning to branch out to include food, travel, and event photography.

Twitter
@scapulae

Blog
seecreatures.com

Flickr
lesretrouvailles

The Revolution will not be Motorized...

I’ve fallen in love, I’ve fallen in love with the bike culture in London.

A couple of years ago my weight wasn’t the only thing shooting up in London. Thanks to TFL for hiking the price up to ridiculous level for public transport, it was becoming a costly commute to work. I’ve never really enjoyed the gym and I really needed to crawl myself out of debt once and for all. So I decided to take the plunge and take up riding a bike. And it’s one of the bests things that could of happen to me.

These days, riding a bike feels a big part of my life, as much as travelling and photography. I get an incredible buzz zooming around my city, darting in and out of the traffic, passing frustrated drivers stuck in queues and jams with angry looks upon their faces. I can get from A to B via Z faster than using any public transport, and at the fraction of the cost. Now, my favourite part of my working life is the ride to and from work. I’m not sure why I didn’t do this before, I could of save myself a small fortune.

Critical Mass
Critical Mass happens on the last Friday of the month in over 300 cities around the world. A mass bike ride which lasts for a few hours, with the aim to take the streets back from all the motorised vehicles and celebrate the bicycle. People come to the mass for different reason, green issues, showing off their fixies or just simply have fun and ride with friends in a safe traffic free environment.

I have been on the past 6 rides and I’m hooked, If you have a bike come a join in, it’s one of the best things you can do in London for free. I promise you’ll have a great time. Links to info at the bottom of this post

This months Critical Mass I was without my partner in crime, Stu. So instead I thought I’d dust down the camcorder and make a little film of the ride. Enjoy.

Critical Mass – London June 2010 from Sam Smith on Vimeo.

Click for large

Links to information about the Critical Mass.
criticalmasslondon.org.uk/
wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_Mass

Memories of The Berlin Love Parade 2006...

World Cup fever has hit the planet today, as most of you are aware I’m not the biggest football fan in the world and unlike the rest of the world I really don’t get into the whole spirit of the competition. I dunno why I hate it so much, maybe it’s because at school I was always put in goal and then was shouted at, when I let the bloody goals in. Or maybe it’s because I’m not very competitive & get bored of all the football talk that seems to pollute everything I read and watch for the next month.

Never the less, today did trigger off great memories of the German World Cup back in 2006. A week after the final, I along with my friend Stu headed to Germany for the final Berlin Love Parade. A day of dressing up and dancing around like  flipping idiots for the weekend. Berlin was still basking in all it’s glory from putting on a world class event so the atmosphere was tipping over the edge even before the parade had started.

Without trying to sound to much like an old man, but it does seem dance music has finally given up all hope and dug itself an early grave. The good old days of clubbing have gone, all we are left with are some awesome memories and some great times. I’m sure dance music  will come back one day fighting hard, But by then, Stu and I will be sitting in our old peoples home, dribbling & shitting ourselves, trying our best to wave glow sticks around, and raising our arms trying to reach for the lasers for one last time.

Photos taken on a borrowed Lomo A (Thanks Hannah) And then crossed processed.