Shutter Mike Photography

Red Headed Woman. 2008 © All rights reserved Daniel Gordon 2009

Should you happen to be in or near New York City the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) opened its annual contemporary photography exhibit New Photography on September 30th.  It runs through January 11, 2010.  The exhibit features the work of six young artists whose styles range from abstract to representational.  The exhibit attempts to answer the question “what it means to make a photograph in the twenty-first century.”  The six artists displaying their work in this installation are, Walead Beshty, Daniel Gordon, Leslie Hewitt, Carter Mull, Sterling Ruby, Sara VanDerBeek.

For those of us in Phoenix the Phoenix Museum of Art has a portrait photography exhibit in place until January 10, 2010.  Face to Face: 150 Years of Photographic Portraiture examines the photographic portrait.  According to the museum’s site it explores “the stories portraits can tell, the ways photographers convey the essence of their subjects and the impact of the relationship between photographer and subject.“

When I first started this blog I did a post featuring some photography I did of the mid-century modern architecture that is scattered around the Phoenix area.  I love this architectural style and period and think Phoenix has a good representation of it.  The city was “coming of age” in the 1950’s and 60’s when modern architecture was very popular and architects were exploring beyond the traditional.  This style is ideal for photography, especially if you are an architecture buff as I am.  The lines, shapes and overall form of the structures allow for some great compositions and plenty of room for creativity.

If you are interested in what Phoenix has to offer in terms of mid-century modern photo ops I have created a Google map pin pointing some of the buildings that I feel are most representative of the style and photogenic.

View Mid Centruy Modern Phoenix Buildings in a larger map