BEAUTY: Photography--Paul Octavious

Not only did photographer and designer Paul Octavious photograph these whimsical flying cameras, he built them himself! He says, "I built Camera Birds from cameras handed down to me from my Grandpa and others that I've collected over the years. Sometimes I wish I could get really, really high off the ground to shoot a scene below. I know these guys will get the perfect shot."

Prints are available at his shop. Visit his site linked below.

http://pauloctavious.com/

BEAUTY: Photography--Matt Molloy

These colorful time-lapse clouds at sunset were created by Matt Molloy, who overlaps hundreds and hundreds of photos of a sunset to achieve this bewitching effect.

http://500px.com/MattMolloy

BEAUTY: Photography--Amy Arbus

Famed fine art photographer and celebrity portraitist Amy Arbus has published a new book, AFTER IMAGES, featuring photographic recreations of paintings by Picasso, Cezanne, Modigliani, Schiele, Ingres, David, and more. She used models and actors in make-up and costume along with specific lighting techniques to capture the texture of the original master works.

Above: Nina/ After Jeanne; Jeanne Hebuterne With Hat and Necklace by Modigliani

Above: David/ After Blind Man; Breakfast Of A Blind Man by Picasso

Above: David/ After Cezanne; Self Portrait by Cezanne

Above: David/ After Pierrot; Pierrot by Picasso

Above: Manuel/ After Patroclus; Patroclus by David

Above: Nina/ After Melancholy; Melancholy Woman by Picasso

Above: Owen/ After Peasant; Peasant by Cezanne

http://www.amyarbus.com/

This series by Arbus reminds me so much of past posts of artists inspired by classical painting and doing similar work, like Alexa Meade, Tim Walker, Tom Hunter, and Eugenio Recuenco.

BEAUTY: Photography--Peter Zéglis

These gorgeous, ethereal color field studies are by Greek photographer Peter Zéglis. I live in northern California by the ocean, so these monochromatic scenes of sky and sea are very familiar to me. I'd love to print one of these photos in a 6' x 6' format (or even larger) and put it in the living room of one of my interior design clients. Meditative, restful, even spiritual... set against a very dark wall, navy blue perhaps. Beautiful.

http://peterzeglis.com/

BEAUTY: Photography--Riitta Ikonen and Karoline Hjorth

Interdisciplinary artists Riitta Ikonen and Karoline Hjorth collaborated on the series "Eyes As Big As Plates," originally exploring imagery and characters in Norwegian folklore. It has since morphed into a broader exploration of the psyches of not only the people and culture of Norway but Finland as well. The pair convinced mature adults to don branches, rush, rhubarb, lichen, and seaweed in an effort to embody and blend in with the Norse and Finnish landscape. The results are actually sweet and charming, speaking to a tradition of and a closeness to the land that one comes from, a sort of "bio-genetic memory" if you will.

http://riittaikonen.com/
http://karolinehjorth.wordpress.com/

BEAUTY: Photography--Molly Strohl

Photographer Molly Strohl may be only 19 years old, but she exhibits a talent beyond her years. Her marvelous sense of narrative creates some compelling situations for her unwitting subjects.

http://www.mollystrohlphotography.com/

BEAUTY: Photography--Julien Mauve

Parisian photographer Julien Mauve's series "After Lights Out" imagines an eerie world of perpetual darkness. I have often had the daydream of "what if we lived on a planet that was always night, what would that look like?" but the answer I am sure would be that we would have adapted to the dark and would not need light at all. Mauve's dark world sees a lone light source as a beacon of comfort and hope...something longed for but elusive. The images are haunting... especially the one with a light burning inside a crypt (sixth image down).

http://www.julienmauve.com/