© Kamil Śleszyński

These are some of a series of photographs that Kamil Śleszyński made, both in prisons and in centres that support ex-prisoners, in the north-east of Poland. Kamil told Prison Photography that he was curious about how prisoners thought about freedom and "why many prisoners couldn't live outside [of prison] and would come back again." 

Admirably using a 4x5 camera to produce these great images, Kamil explored the culture inside these institutions. I recommend reading his interview with Pete Brook, over at Prison Photography - your only destination for prison-related media and calls for reform.

All images © Kamil Śleszyński

© Anindya Chakraborty

Anindya Chakraborty took a trip to Purulia, in West Bengal, to make some photographs of people living in what he describes as one of the less-developed districts of the area. "People suffer from extremities of life everyday. But that's not what I photographed there. I was inspired by how the people in Purulia blended in the harsh landscape... I roamed in night, day, in extreme heat and ended up loving the place more than I have imagined."

See Anindya's previous post, about his photos of "Dhokra," an ancient metal casting process, also in West Bengal.

© Steven Hirsch 

#splat is a new project from New Yorker Steven Hirsch. I'm almost tempted to withhold what they are photographs of, but that would probably be fun only for me, so... they're photographs of the insides and outsides of dumpsters. That's big street bins to my Brit pals. I've never noticed anything like it, but I am definitely on the look-out as of now. 

I and a bunch of my esteemed colleagues are in the process of judging a competition. It's the umpteenth competition with umpteen entries that are "looking for the beauty in the every-day" or somesuch. Mostly, they're just mundane photographs. This is an example of the idea really working. 

This series is a follow-up to Hirsch's "Gowanus."

Ha-ha! Zeren Badar is back with a fresh round of sweet and sticky, slightly silly collages. Not much to add. They're just duChampion!

 

"The British Abroad" is a document by photographer Peter Dench. All around Europe's coasts you'll find the British equivalent to America's Spring Break only year-round and probably involving more sausage, bacon and eggs. Bars make obscene offers to partiers, who cause shame to their home country as a result! To give you a glimpse of the mind behind the project, here's a quote from Mr. Dench "The first time I went abroad was in 1986; the destination was the party town of Magaluf, Majorca. Aged 14, already a seasoned beer drinker, my parents decided it was OK for me to have an alcoholic spirit in my drink; the alcoholic spirit I chose was the white rum, Bacardi. Bacardi was cheaper than coke (my mixer of choice) and the measures reflected that. The bars delivered a buy one, get two free offer and my mum, dad and older sister (by three years) Jennifer, clattered 12 glasses onto our uneven metal table outside the Benny Hill party pub, not far from the Green Parrot Bollocks bar. We slowly sucked back the potent sugary blend through bendy straws and watched the mayhem gather." (Magaluf itself recently announced it has passed laws to curb drinking on its streets.)

Peter has launched a fundraiser, asking only for £6000 and as of writing he's almost there. His previous books are "A & E: Alcohol & England," and "England Uncensored," so you get his drift. It's only £20 to get a signed copy for your donation - less than most similar campaigns. Should be horrifying and fun! Get funding.

 

© Patrick Fraser

Long Biên Bridge is a cantilever bridge across the Red River that connects two districts of Hanoi, Vietnam. Now-regular contributor Patrick Fraser found time in his busy busy schedule to visit. The bridge was heavily bombed during the Vietnam War, and about half retains its original shape. Poor families live in boats under the bridge. (wikipedia)

Check out Patrick's previous posts, Salad Days and Parada.

It's been a while since I promoted a crowd-fund, but it's a new year and this is a project I can really get behind. John Irvine, born in Northern Ireland but living now in Scotland, wants to record the many miles of "peace walls" that were built during The Troubles with a view to separate Catholic from Protestant neighbour. I'd never even heard of this but I'm not surprised; they still exist and some Northern Irish think they should remain. 

John started shooting last year but is looking for a few quid from sponsors so he can go back and make this project into a proper record. You can help here via Indiegogo.

© Coco Martin

Once upon a time I fell in love with a series of photographs by Doris Mitsch of the poisonous and glorious datura flower. I was perturbed and fascinated when I learned that the images were made using only the light from her scanner. Fast forward a decade and find Coco Martin using his scanner to fully expose his models, holding it close to them, painting them with the light from it, and recomposing the images in post, to marvelous effect in a series of unusual portraits. Martin shares his time between Lima, Peru, and New York, and has been widely exhibited. 

British photographer Nat Wilkins is working towards a BA in the UK and has a few interesting projects under his belt. I'm afraid I erm, chickened out of his original submission: "The images are a small edit from the essay of the Torajan tribe, these rites involve ritual animal slaughter, illegal cock fighting, gambling, elaborate processions and huge feasts." I couldn't stomach it. But I love this series about the making of beedies, Indian rollies I sometimes smoked when I was a teenager. They make your lips tingle. Nat gives us a glimpse into how they are made.

© Daniel Mirer

Multi-talented photographer Daniel Mirer is based in the USA and the Netherlands. His commercial work is in the tricky field of architecture and his personal work drills down into areas of interest such as masculinity, and Americana. 

Historically, a "thing" was "the governing assembly of a Germanic society, made up of the free people of the community presided over by lawspeakers."

Daniel tells me 'Thingstätten' is "a term used to define open-air Nazi cult theaters built between 1933-1945 for the specific intention to entertain local communities."

About the locations in Daniel's series: "The productions performed were to project propaganda of an idealistic Germanic history and used as a recruitment tool for the National Socialist Party. Architecture and impressive scenic places were chosen as thingsteads: locations where based on Germanic idyllic surroundings in wooded areas, near bodies of waters, nestled in hills or by natural rock formation as well traces of archaeological ruins of local Germanic tribal history."

Daniel has received funding from the German government to help make this project happen, which helps me encourage other photographers to explore all possible options.