Photographer Profiles

About four years ago, Alvanas, a photographer, filmmaker, educator, digital artist, and postproduction retoucher, was attending a week-long advanced printing workshop at John Paul Caponigro’s studio. “The first day of portfolio review featured lots of prints of grand vistas from big film cameras—4x5s and 8x10s,” Alvanas says. “I showed on the second day, but I digitally projected my images.”

Max Vadukul has come a long way since growing up in Africa. Known for his creative black-and-white portraits and innovative fashion photography, he was born in Nairobi, Kenya, to Indian parents in 1961. “The Sixties were the golden years for the National Geographic,” Vadukul recalls. “They were spending a lot of money to educate the public and the photographers were the best of the lot.”

What defines fine art rests as much in the eye of the artist—be that a painter, sculptor, or photographer—as in the eye of the beholder who finds beauty and meaning in that work. The work can be something the artist discovers and captures or creates from scratch. In the case of photographer Hugh Kretschmer’s imagery, it is a tapestry interwoven with elements from disparate sources: a collage, if you will, forming a coherent whole and thereby conveying a message.

Michael Turco is a nature and natural history photographer who has done work for some of the biggest names in the business including the National Geographic Society and National Wildlife Federation.

James Zwadlo is a London-based photographer/graphic designer/director who combines his unique vision to create an unexpected point of view with his infrared photography

The landscapes surrounding San Francisco Bay are so beautiful that it’s sometimes difficult to make a really bad photograph there. But the work of local resident Nick Steinberg is truly captivating—especially his images of fog rolling over the region like giant waves.

Last year, I decided to take on a challenge focusing on the unique natural beauty associated with wildfires in a Florida scrub ecosystem, one of the most rare ecosystems in the state. Florida is no stranger to wildfires. Nationwide, Florida has the second highest number of wildfires annually. In 2011, it was estimated that 300,000 acres of land was burned due to over 4800 wildfires. My project was centered at Indrio Savannahs Preserve, where a 120-acre wildfire was ignited by lightning in March of 2013.