Alessandro Calabrese / A Failed Entertainment

Alessandro Calabrese‘s A Failed Entertainment series was created with the help of Google’s Image Reverse Search, with the goal of questioning the role of photographer as author. It investigates photography as a medium rather than communicating a story or feelings. The process is really fascinating.

Using a custom plugin built by a friend, I obtained a random selection of these related, anonymous images, and printed each one on separate acetate sheets [a type of transparent sheet] at the actual download size. The next step was overlaying the original photographs – my photographs – with those Google had returned as similar. Finally, I backlit and scanned each group of photographs into a single image.

Tom Blachford / Midnight Modern

If you’ve ever visited Palm Springs, California you’ve probably fallen a little bit in love with the desert town. Tom Blachford did. So much so that the Melbourne, Australia photographer has made the pilgrimage seven times to capture the mid-century architecture it’s known for by moonlight. Check out the entirety of his ongoing Midnight Modern series.

Stephan Zirwes / Pools

Between the amount of Olympic swimming coverage I’ve been watching and the heatwave that’s happening outside, Stephan Zirwes‘ latest – Pools – seems like the perfect thing. Zirwes is a master of aerial photography, one of my favorite things, and took to the air in southern Germany to capture these manmade bodies of water. Only the pool tiles were manipulated to create a canvas and minimize distraction.

Michelle Fader

I’m over here today crushing on the photography of Michelle Fader, some of which is based on exaggerated memories from her own life or stories that have been told to her. The hazy edges and realness of every shot makes them so familiar you might start to wonder if they’re moments from your own life instead.

Benoit Paillé / Surreal Mexico

I’ve yet to travel to Mexico, but Benoit Paillé‘s Surreal Mexico series captures what it looks like in my mind’s eye. Hot, sultry, and a little dirty around the edges. These photographs aren’t set up, rather they’re spontaneous and use a flash and color gels to get the effects seen. Surreal pictures without extensive retouching and digital manipulation is a real treat these days!