Alexander Alekseenko

Today we stop at Ukraine to enjoy a bunch of pictures of this talented young photographer. His work has already been shown in several online magazines and photoblogs around the world, which is not surprising at all when every single image of his speaks by itself. Alexander is a genius capturing snapshots, where playful movement takes over and finds a place in your mind. What to say about the sensual, dreamy and mysteriuos atmoshpere he manages to create, an absolutely stunning parallel world.

We: Where are you from and what do you do?

Alexander: I've spent my 22 years in a post-soviet center of the universe, small city in the south of Ukraine. I'm not very positive about living here. Basically all my time is spent at work and filled with thoughts of how to move as far as it possible from here. Carrying camera everywhere with me gives an opportunity to snap everything that catches my attention and what I think is beautiful and worth being shot. I find it a best way to express myself.


W: What does art mean to you?

A: It doesn't have to mean something. Art is a part of humans life, it's something that lives inside and surrounds one always and everywhere. Not everyone is able to feel and see it. It's all about the attitude and self-commitment.


W: Where do you find inspiration?

A: Actually I've lost one few days ago and still can't find it. But usually it comes to me spontaneously. Often in my dreams. Surfing through the photographs in the internet gives a lot of inspiration as well, so many outstanding photographers out there.


W: Which are your favourite artists?

A: There are no actual favorites, I like them all. Every day I see more and more talented people who continue expand the boundaries of conformist life. Also I am really obsessed with all kind of artists who ended up committing suicide or of drug overdose.


W: Future plans?

A: The ultimate goal is to move somewhere out of this county, any help is highly appreciated!

You can find out more about Alekseenko at his website, enjoy!

Guy Bourdin

It's been a while since borned Guy Louis Banarès leaved us, but as those who have captured people's attention in such a wonderful way his pictures still remain within us. French Vogue understood they had one of 20th century photographic icon ready to produce some of the best fashion pictures ever.

Sexy, irreverent, modern, with intense colours and wonderful lightning, a reference for actual photography but "only" many years before. As always, better see a selection of some of his pictures as our words are not enough., enjoy!

Nick Lepard

Be ready for this Vancouver young artist. Just a quick glance at Lepard's work will be enough to captivate the audience's attention and lead it to a parallel world, one where harmony rules. Virtuosity lies on every single stroke, revealling a vivid, confident and raw but polished style. Who would not love to have a Lepard's at home?

We: What does art mean to you?

Nick: Good art can allow you to socialize outside of time and space. You can interact with minds from drastically different worlds or drastically different eras. It is remarkable to be able to sympathize with the protagonist of a book that was written by an author who could never have conceived of the Internet or transatlantic flight. It feels as if you and the author are engaged in some universal or eternal dialogue about life. The experience can become almost spiritual.

W: Being a photograph the fisrt step of a new canvas, how do you consider photography and create the right clima?

N: After working from photographs for a while you begin to be able to tell the difference between a good photograph and a good painting that is at the moment still a photograph.

W: Where do you find inspiration?

N: I find inspiration in a lot of tings, often things that are completely opposite. I might finish reading a book that is barely punctuated and full of gusto. I’ll get really fired up to go paint and do all sorts of wild things with it. However, I might see a painting that is very quiet and subtle and it will make me want to slow down and take a much more methodical approach to the canvas. My goal is too find a harmony and make something that is mature but not dry. Something wild but not foolish.

W: We loved your words "Painting is like trying to solve a mystery". Is the serie of paintings under the title "Isabella" trying to reproduce that mystery, from the audience's point of view though?

N: I hope that the viewer, while looking at some of my work, will have the experience of painting. I want the image to be moving, for it not to simply be an image—I want it to be an object, an object that contains life, action, and a person physically creating something. I want that act of creation to be a shared experience. In Isabella, I wanted that simulated or shared experience to be the most salient part of the work. I wanted the identities of the subjects to almost disappear or be inconsequential to the paint.

W: Future plans, exhibitions?

N: I'm taking my studio to California for the winter.

If you want to read more about him and his work, visit his website.

James Whitmore

Sensitive, sensual and intimate, that's how we see James Whitmore's work, a photographer based in Stockholm. He creates amazing scenes, where the light and pale tones become substantial to the composition. He is a master of soft grain and his polaroids are just superbe. His images talk by themselves, sometimes mischievous, sometimes tough and private, where the eye of the camera sneaks into the girl's space and follows her movements carefully.

We: Where are you from and what do you do?

James: I was born and raised in Stockholm. Took a BA in graphic design and advertising for a while, but came on after graduation that I not wanted to work with it. There were three hard years at a fantastic good school and perhaps my most enjoyable years of my life. I miss that life a bit. But I want to work with photography in any way in the future so I will see where I end up. Right now freelancing a bit and work with little else besides.

W: What does art mean to you?

J: Many things, but what is really art, something that any exhibit at a gallery? It is hard that stuff and I've never felt that an artist of some kind but I do what I love. I feel harmony when I did something I am comfortable with and that is the most important thing for me.

W: Where do you find inspiration?

J: Everywhere, from life's stories, you can find a lot to dig in from there. Is also a dreamer, and from there I find a lot.

W: Which are your favourite artists?

J: They vary all the time but I like Nan Goldins everyday documentary feel.

W: Future plans?

J: To be working with something that I am passionate about and where the money is not important. Life is too short to sit and be bored and not working on something that you feel comfortable with. I am open to most things in photography.

You can find more about his work on his website and flickr.

Valeria Cherchi

Lately we've been moving around italian artists and we found a special gifted sardinian girl called Valeria. Just by taking a look to her stream we can see something special, pictures where we believe have been imagined first and tested later. The result? Well, soft lightning, smooth colours, black & white's full of grain and lovely projects all mixed in a personal view of our world and all those things we find around us.

We: Where are you from and what do you do?

Valeria: I am from a small Sardinian village where I am temporarily based after have lived for 4 years in Rome.
There I received my degree in Industrial Design. At the moment I am half student and half freelance photographer.

W: What does art mean to you?

V: Although I have studied art history for some time, and really love it in its most educational sense. I still can't fully define it. I don't feel as an artist and I don't appreciate people who use the term inappropriately, only when they do not know "what" they really are.

W: Where do you find inspiration?

V: Tons of things, natural lights, movies, music, the American world, paintings, fashion, dreams...
but lately, the thing that most inspires me is my childhood.

W: Which are your favourite artists?

V: David Lynch is my favourite of all time, but they ofen vary...lately I really love the paintings of the British painter Leonard Campbell Taylor and the works of a young fashion designer Mariel Manuel, she has such an incredible talent (and an amazing fantasy)!

W: Future plans?
V: I am planning to move to London in a few months to study Fashion Photography.

You'll find more about Valeria and her work at her flickr and website.