Best of 2014

Pittsburgh, PA www.briankaldorf.com Brian Kaldorf carefully crafts his complex photo illustrations from components that he photographs separately while sculpting highlights and shadows with lighting. Each concept is sketched out in advance and meticulously assembled into a composite to match his initial vision for the piece. © Brian Kaldorf “I get a vision in my head and do my best to translate it into the photographic medium,” he explains. “I tend to find humor in the...

Los Angeles www.annaboyiazis.com Anna Boyiazis let herself be guided through a child’s world in Uganda as a way to picture what it feels like to be a kid in the epicenter of the AIDS pandemic. Additionally, her plan to give underwear to every girl in Uganda, in partnership with the Jane Goodall Institute, now enables girls to attend school during their menstrual cycles — changing the trajectory of lives through education. © Anna Boyiazis “Going...

Portland, OR NashCOphoto.com Leah Nash and Christopher Onstott coined the term Crafted Reality for their new joint venture, NashCO, a niche of personalized office lifestyle imagery. They bring the workplace to life by highlighting interaction, brainstorming and small moments that make a business unique. © NashCO “Our clients really seem to connect with the authenticity and storytelling in our images,” says Nash. “It’s a delicate balance between directing and letting things happen naturally. We like...

New York www.elkstudios.com Whether they’re shooting on location or in their daylight-filled Chelsea studio, elk — the moniker for New York-based photographers Erin Kornfeld and Erica Leone — have a style that is highly collaborative and full of fun. © elk “We have an affinity for food and beautiful objects,” Kornfeld says. “It was just such a natural fit to see where those things could collide with our portraiture in a playful and seductive way.”...

Portland, OR www.tonigreaves.com Toni Greaves has always been interested in storytelling. “Visual narrative is part of my DNA,” she says. Her documentary assignment work and her long-term personal projects often explore themes of ritual, spirituality, community and healing. Greaves has a deep curiosity for how connection and identity are found and formed within these havens. © Toni Greaves “I’m interested in stories that touch a very personal level, which I hope can build bridges of...

Buffalo, NY www.scottgable.com Scott Gable visited six Asian countries over a continuous, four-month odyssey to document rice production and the culture surrounding it. His self-produced project Rice is the first segment of his three-part series on the world’s staple foods of rice, corn and wheat. © Scott Gable “Food production is fascinating,” Gable says. “Modern industrialized agriculture meshes with so many different parts of our lives that I want to explore the main staples in...

New York www.nancyborowick.com Nancy Borowick tackled the full range of her parents’ experience as they both faced cancer, from the pain and challenges of treatment to their bravery in the face of mortality to their shifting dynamic as patient and caregiver in the months leading to her father’s passing in December 2013. © Nancy Borowick “I decided to start photographing my parents because I wanted to have a record, or a memory, of this time...

Atlanta, GA www.maxeremine.com Max Eremine views his work as a search for underlying order and beauty in the seeming chaos of life. Double exposures, DIY filters, pre-exposed or found film and mixed media are just some of the tools he employs during totally improvised, jam-session photo shoots. He allows elements to fall where they may while balancing them with careful control over lighting, camera movement and post-processing, in a jazz-like fusion of order and chaos...

Washington, DC www.maryfcalvert.com Mary F. Calvert offers an unflinching look at sexual violence in the American military, which has recently been occurring in record numbers. In 2013, an estimated 26,000 rapes and sexual assaults took place in the U.S. armed forces. Only one in seven victims reported her attacks and just one in ten of those cases went to trial. © Mary F. Calvert “I always try to stay objective when working with my subjects,...

Baltimore www.jhansonphoto.com Jonathan Hanson takes viewers behind the scenes of Baltimore’s hip-hop culture in his coverage of studio sessions, live shows and battles between local rappers. © Jonathan Hanson “I started hanging out with a group of guys recording music in their basement. Soon enough, I was going to their shows and realized it was a great story,” Hanson says of the project. “I’ve shot in most of Baltimore’s music venues, including a few that...