1 2 3 4 5 6 7

There is a raw, metaphysical power in snapshots that cannot be denied.

Throughout my career I have been hired or commissioned to create very specific technical photos. There are lights and crews and mechanics involved – and while it’s incredibly creative – it’s also complicated. There is a purity and undeniable power in a snapshot. I recently came across these stunning snapshots (via Flavorwire), spanning 50 years, shot by the likes of Lady Gaga and Andy Warhol. The subjects are their equally famous friends. Click through some of the image tabs above to see some great examples of snapshots of the famous – by the famous.

We are approaching critical mass of cameras in our culture. They are nearly ubiquitous. Point and shoot cameras, web cameras, surveillance cameras, DSLR cameras, and particularly mobile phones. Celebrating that we can now be whimsically, instantly, in-the-moment free to be more creative than ever before, is something that I have enjoyed playing with. Some of my recent work (Dasein:Invitation to Hang) has come to rest not in the artistic exploration of what creativity these devices afford, but specifically the content of the snapshot images that spring from them. Like it or not, the snapshot has become the most meaningful visual storyboard we have of our ‘being’ in the world because it is pure, direct, unmediated visual expression. It refreshingly lacks academic influence or vogue and invites accessibility and participation. The intention to capture a moment is fundamentally present but not over thought. There is an innocence in snapshots, a marked lack of sophistication, that resonates in today’s media landscape off well-orchestrated “messaging.” Snapshots of the famous by the famous…who better to demonstrate the raw power of a snapshot?

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

For more of these snapshots and some great commentary on the celebrity side of this story head over to Flavorwire, where I discovered these snapshots.