Cleveland based photographer Angelo Merendino shares with us a project that is near and dear to his heart. After Angelo’s parents had passed, he inherited a chair they purchased after getting married in 1951.
The chair currently resides in Angelo’s studio, where he often sits and stresses over life. One day a lightbulb went off in Angelo’s head, and it occurred to him that when his father was his age, 43-years-old, he already had 10 of his 11 children. Angelo started pondering what similarities or differences he and his father could have had at 43 while sitting in the chair. This sparked Angelo’s project, titled My Father’s Chair.
Angelo began inviting his family and closest friends over to the studio so he could take their pictures in the chair. It was supposed to be a portrait series, but it developed into something much deeper!
Unlike most projects, Angelo went with his gut on this one and just photographed in the moment, giving him the opportunity to catch up with his friends and family in-person rather than over social media. As the project progressed, Angelo started to explore his feelings more in depth and began to accept the things he cannot change, like the loss of his parents. Angelo tells us he recognizes a lot of his dad in himself which has helped him finally find the peace he’s been searching for.
On June 8th, the series for My Father’s Chair was exhibited in Cleveland Heights, at Foothill Galleries.
See more of Angelo’s work on his website.
About a month ago, Rochester-based photographer Mike Bradley was featured in the New York Times to expand awareness about the rare aquatic species known as the Lake Sturgeon, a prehistoric fish that was known to swim among dinosaurs.
The goal is to help rejuvenate the population of Lake Sturgeon throughout the Great Lakes.
After a one-day long shoot in the St. Lawrence River region of New York, Mike was able to document the extraction of eggs from the female fish to be fertilized before being sent to hatching facilities, where the eggs are nurtured until the fish become large enough to be released into the wild.
With a list of questions tucked in his pocket, ready to play dual roles of photographer and journalist, Mike observed the team of biologists and conservationists behind his camera as they caught the fish and proceeded to massage the females’ bellies as a coaxing method until the eggs were ready to be hatched.
It’s no surprise that Mike’s reactions have been along the lines of, “this is crazy!” As a huge conservation and environment enthusiast, Mike is thrilled to be able to blow peoples’ minds with the knowledge of endangered species in his hometown of Rochester.
See more of Mike’s work on his website.
Toronto International Film Festival, for Contour by Getty, hired Jennifer Roberts to shoot portraits of the amazingly talented cast of Manchester by the Sea.
Getty Image Photo Editors Allison Neckman and Matt Cowan were in charge of the coordination and planning of the shoot. As one may assume, the time frame Jennifer had with each actor and filmmaker was extremely limited, as they all were being pulled in many directions for other photo-ops and interviews, but it was important that Jennifer captured a beautiful, cohesive set of portraits.
The movie, itself, was a huge influence on the tone of the photos. Jennifer and the Getty photo editors made sure to take cues from the characters in the film to create photos with a similar theme.
Jennifer loved being able to give the cast minimum direction so each of their personalities could shine through. She goes on to explain the importance of allowing talent, in general, to have room to be themselves during quick shoots like this one.
See more of Jennifer‘s work on her website.
Further Reading
Read more articles about Angelo Merendino.
Read more articles about Mike Bradley.
Read more articles about Jennifer Roberts.
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