Photographer Profiles

I recently received a copy of the University of New Hampshire Magazine and was immediately struck by the cover image of a rock climber dangling from a cliff over water. I not only noticed the storytelling aspects of the image but, as a photographer, that this guy hanging from his fingertips was somehow lit from some unseen light source. My first reaction: how did he do that?

If there’s one thing to be learned from a 27-year career shooting for the New York Daily News, covering everything from breaking news to sports, food to fashion, it’s to keep your eyes open. David Handschuh calls this photo “the ultimate walking around with your eyes open picture.”

Designer toys got their start in Japan and China but their uniqueness (and the fact that they are so freaky/cute) soon propelled them to red-hot global collectable status. Produced as limited editions, some of these vinyl creations can be worth thousands of dollars to dedicated collectors.

Nashville-based photographer Ryan Roberts began by creating whimsical images of vintage toys but he soon discovered the odd (and a bit warped) world of designer vinyl toys by artists such as Frank Kozik (Mongers Menthols series), Doma (Acid Sweeties series) and Pete Fowler (Monsterism series). It was then he knew he had the perfect photo subject for the fantastic scenes he saw in his head.

British filmmaker John Downer has been capturing amazing footage of wildlife for years, but now he and his team at John Downer Productions have upped their game with the use of realistic robotic animals fitted with built-in spy cameras. As you can see from the video below it's all pretty amazing.

Shutterbug reader Erick Castellón has a particular attraction to lone trees because of the patterns and textures they create against the sky. This stunning image of an oak tree was captured by Castellón in Calero Park in San Jose, California, in February 2015. “On the day I took this shot, I had been watching the clouds early in the day and was hoping for something interesting,” Castellón says.

Unlike landscape, portrait, wildlife, or even sports photographers, the first shots taken these days by advertising photographers on the job are almost always instantly seen and judged—by the client, the client’s representative, an agency rep, or an art director. Pressure, anyone?