© Arthur Bondar

Photographer Arthur Bondar has been making portraits of Ukrainian World War II veterans. He explains, “I’ve made this project during the last two years. I shoot with a classic instant camera–a Polaroid 600 Close Up–and old Polaroid 600 film. The main impetus for this story was when my grandmother, a veteran of World War II, died. Then I realized how many things I wanted to ask her. But I had a second chance because my other grandmother and her sister are veterans also. I decided to use Polaroid film because all these people will disappear like Polaroid film will fade, and all that we’ll have after they are gone are their signatures and letters. I found these people throughout Ukraine, during celebrations of Victory Day (9th of May) and other holidays, in the street, at bus and train stations, everywhere. Some subjects were unable to venture out, so I visited them at their houses in small villages and talked with them. They were so happy because nobody is interested in their life nowadays.”  Bondar’s project was included in the 2010 Magnum Expression Awards short-list and selected as the First Prize for Pikto’s Top Pick Competition in Canada.

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© Chris Buck.  Above: David Cross.

Chris Buck made news this summer with his Michele Bachmann Newsweek cover but he’s been kicking around celebrities and other dogs for over twenty years. We’re excited that he’ll be speaking at PDN’s Photo Plus Expo on Friday October 28th at 1:30 PM, BUCK NAKED: The Secrets Behind Master Photographer Chris Buck.

Mr. Buck begin his photography career 23 years ago, but you probably didn’t notice him until fairly recently, which, he believes, is one of the central keys to his success. In this entertaining session he’ll take us back to those crucial early years, where his unorthodox decisions led him to the success and creative freedom he enjoys today. Buck keeps no professional secrets as he takes you through his colorful career.

And, even though he swears that he rarely bad-mouths clients on his new blog, he is proud of it nevertheless.

© Douglas Kirkland

Renowned for his work in photojournalism, celebrity portraiture and film photography, Douglas Kirkland’s retrospective is a compelling look into a career in photography spanning over five decades. With just under 200 images, this exhibition features portraits of celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor, Judy Garland, ‘Coco’ Chanel, Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jackson and other icons, alongside iconic stills taken on the sets of acclaimed films such as The Sound of Music (1965), Out of Africa (1985), Titanic (1997) and Australia (2008).

“I had imagined my life and then I had lived it. My images tell the story of a dreamer with a camera in his hands. I have always seized the day. For me, photography has always meant to imagine and interpret persons, sites and events. I understand the world better with a camera.” —Douglas Kirkland
[Interview by Moria De Zen, Bassano Fotografia, 2011]. Kirkland’s retrospective at the Southeast Museum of Photography will run from October 21, 2011 – February 19, 2012. On Thursday, Oct 27 Douglas Kirkland will present a special keynote seminar at PDN’s Photo Plus Expo.

© Firooz Zahedi/courtesy Leila Heller Gallery, New York

“Firooz Zahedi: Elizabeth Taylor in Iran”, on view through October 29, 2011, at Leila Heller Gallery in New York, presents an insider‘s look at Zahedi’s experience of traveling with the screen legend to his home country Iran in 1976. The series includes sumptuous photographs of Elizabeth Taylor posing in odalisque costumes and fashionable chadors. The series was recently on view at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and has been loaned by LACMA to Leila Heller Gallery for this exhibition. Before her death last March, Elizabeth Taylor said to her close friend Firooz, “Seeing these photographs brings back fond memories of my visit to Iran, a country blessed with a rich and colorful culture that dates back many centuries.” Zahedi, who now lives in Los Angeles, started his career in New York during the mid-1970s working with Andy Warhol and Interview. He is known for his portrait work for publications including Vanity Fair, Town & Country, Esquire, InStyle, and Time.

Above: Elizabeth Taylor Wearing a Chador at the Shah Cheragh Shrine, Shiraz , 1976

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All photos © Gary Briechle/Courtesy Catherine Edelman Gallery, Chicago.

The wrinkle of an aging hand; the piercing eyes of a young girl at the edge of puberty; the solitude of a young man resting his head along the water’s edge — these are some of the quiet moments captured by Gary Briechle, who makes Collodion wet-plate enlargements of his family, friends and strangers in the small towns and rugged terrain that hug the Maine coast. With great patience and care, Briechle photographs the details that make us unique, celebrating the beauty and imperfections of the human form. These are luscious photographs made with a 19th century process which forces an intimacy between the photographer and subject, to which the viewer is a privileged witness. An exhibition of Briechle’s work will be on view at the Catherine Edelman Gallery from Nov. 4 until Dec,. 31, 2011.

Gary also has a forthcoming book published by Twin Palms. You can see the book and description here.

-Courtesy Catherine Edelman Gallery, Chicago.

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