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Posted: 08 Oct 2015 08:00 AM PDT
   As the global farming industry expands, mankind, suggests New Zealand-based photographer Cally Whitham, has in many ways failed to recognize the inherent dignity and grace that lies within the breasts of farm animals. With Epitaph, she pictures barnyard inhabitants—from pigs to sheep, cows to turkeys—in tender and fanciful portraits, resurrecting the oft-forgotten pathos that ties us to our fellow creatures. New Zealand, says Whitham, has entrusted its future to domesticated animals since its colonization in the 19th century, when these creatures were the constant helpmates of the people. Although agriculture in New Zealand still flourishes, the photographer registers a shift; where once each being was cherished and remembered, today they have been mass-produced to the point where they are seen as little more than merchandise lost within a crowd of other goods. Epitaph, as its title suggests, is about what has been lost: the thread that binds us to those who are not human but who capable of joy, fear, and despair all the same. Whitham met her subjects in nearby farms spread across the terrain of rural New Zealand; almost every one of them has since passed away. She has been photographing since childhood, and here, she imbues each animal with an innocence and tenderness that so often eludes us in adulthood. Under wistful gaze, they emerge as if through the haze of a moment’s memory, like forgotten deities, left behind but some cruel twist of fate, but haloed, nonetheless, by light.         All images © Cally Whitham The post Compassionate Portraits Capture the Dignity and Grace of Farm Animals appeared first onFeature Shoot.  |
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Posted: 08 Oct 2015 06:38 AM PDT
 From the Squarespace website of Tytia Habing Over the past few years, we have talked to literally dozens of photographers about how Squarespace has helped them to build an online presence, connect with clients, and make a name for themselves in what can be a very competitive industry. We’ve interviewed National Geographic photographers, fine artists, hard-hitting photojournalists, celebrity portraitists, and even a teenage daredevil urban explorer. We’ve also chatted with pioneers in the photo industry, from publishers and curators like those behind Humble Arts Foundation to non-profit pioneers like Jennifer Schwartz, creator of Crusade for Art. Throughout all these conversations, we’ve realized a pattern. Not only do photographers love Squarespace, but the same words keep appearing in conjunction with Squarespace websites: easy, intuitive, beautiful, reliable, hassle-free. Squarespace’s outstanding customer service—which one photographer described as “mind-blowing”— came up time and again, and many received a flood of compliments on both the navigability and refined aesthetic of their websites. But don’t take our word for it: below, we’ve put together eleven excellent pieces of insight from some amazing photographers and industry professionals about what it’s like to have a Squarespace website of their own. Tytia Habing: “My old site took me weeks to get it the way I wanted it and it had more glitches than I can count. Squarespace took me maybe two full days of work, which I broke up into about a week here and there. It was really easy, and has so many more pluses than my old site: commerce, great SEO, visitor stats, amazing customers support, a blog built in, drag and drop and so, so many more. I couldn’t be more pleased with how easily and quickly this site came together. Less work for me is always a good thing.”  From the Squarespace website of Collin Hughes Collin Hughes: “I’ve been using Squarespace for two years and my favorite thing about working with them is the Squarespace team’s passion for what they do and their efforts to make a great product. It is infectious—they’ve made a beautiful product and backed it up with the right team to make it work. I get a few emails a week asking about how I made my site.”  Print Store from the Squarespace website of Dark Cyanide Dark Cyanide: “I chose Squarespace because its easy to use, reliable. I love the minimalistic feel to it, and it’s easy for my audience to use. I’ve used many other website builders, but Squarespace is my favorite of all. I have a store on my site where I sell prints, and setting it up was very quick and easy.”  From the Squarespace website of Teri Fullerton Teri Fullerton: “I looked at several options for building my new website, and I ended up choosingSquarespace because it’s a powerful hybrid of functionality, cost-effectiveness and ease-of-use. It’s very simple to update, add images, videos and reorder your work. The navigation is also very intuitive. You can customize your site to help it not feel like a generic template. It is really great for both the person that has little experience building website and for more advanced users.”  From the Squarespace website of Rodrigo Llauro Rodrigo Llauro: Squarespace’s user friendly interface will allow me to forget about coding, designing and updating my site so I can concentrate more on my projects. The intuitive and hassle-free interface really helps. Photo projects take a long time to complete, edit, and polish. Publishing them on the web shouldn’t delay the process even more. Squarespace seems to allow me to forget most of the hassles of that last step in the process”  Print Store from the Squarespace website of Ben Lowy Ben Lowy: “I saw the need for a virtual store via online social media interest and quite simply, Squarespace can make that happen. Since print sales are now integrated online, the studio can continue fulfilling orders without having to wait for me to get back from my travels. Having the venue to make all this work in a streamlined and organized manner from orders to invoices lays the groundwork for responsible business practices.”  From the Squarespace website of Deborah Anderson Deborah Anderson: “Squarespace is such a simple tool to use in order to get your work seen by the masses. I love how easy it is to add new content and move galleries around as I am not a genius when it comes to the language of computer programming. For me it was always about accessibility and simplicity, both of which Squarespace has nailed.”  From the Squarespace website of Alex Treadway Alex Treadway: “It’s great to be in control of the site myself. More than that, I like the fact that the technology is constantly being improved and updated by Squarespace, meaning that my site isn’t about to fall over because it stops working on a browser upgrade or something. The team at Squarespace are always working to make sure it meets current standards.”  From the Squarespace website of Phil Miller Phil Miller: Squarespace is so easy to use and customize that even with my limited knowledge, I’ve been able to achieve everything I set out to. With Squarespace, I have complete control over the design and arrangement of images. I can add and move around content whenever I like. The feedback I’ve had so far about my new site has been hugely positive so far, that’s the biggest advantage for me.  From the Squarespace website of Crusade for Art, Photo © Dorothy O’Connor Jennifer Schwartz, Crusade for Art: “I have built a few sites and have experience with several other platforms. Squarespace is hands-down the most user-friendly without sacrificing any functionality. And the customer service is mind-blowing. Truly. Any question, any time of day or night, and Squarespace responds within the hour. The customer service is a dream.”  From the Squarespace website of Brian Powers Brian Powers: “I am proud to showcase my work and that wasn’t the case before. Squarespace makes the backend really easy to use which is a huge benefit going forward, making the addition of new work really simple.” Squarespace is a Feature Shoot sponsor. The post 11 Photographers On Why Squarespace Was the Perfect Way to Build an Online Presence appeared first on Feature Shoot. |
