Koko flashes its spotlight on this highly talented New Yorker’s photography.

Can you give us a bit of background info about yourself? Whereabouts in the world you’re located,? How did you get into photography?

I’ve been born and raised in New York City as a first-generation Israeli.  I started playing around with my mom’s archaic Olympus point-and-shoot when I was around 11 or 12 and by the time I was 14 or so, I had started playing (though a little more carefully) with my dad’s collection of Nikon f-series’ (f2, f4). Being in a city that has given me almost too much to photograph, I feel that it all sort of happened at random. For whatever reason, photography is just one of those things that makes sense to me, like not much else does, so it has stuck.

What does photography mean to you?

Photography is the one thing that consistently makes me happy. In the darkroom, hands soaked in chemicals, no matter what happened to me that day, and no matter what I can project will happen to me the next day, photography is my happy medium.

Are you more spontaneous or prepared when deciding to take a shot?

It all depends on what I’m shooting and what I’m shooting with. If I’m buying film by the sheet and renting a huge large format camera, you can bet that I won’t be spontaneously pushing down on the cable release. Photography for me is less about the spontaneity or the preparedness, and more about the end result. When I know what I want, I do what I need to get it, and whether that is to wait for it to happen or to make it happen….well that all depends.

Can you tell us about your photo essay “how we judge based on a person’s hair”?  How did the idea arise and how did you pick each person?

Well, I noticed that as human beings, we judge immediately based on what is readily at our eye level. Regardless of our height, people’s faces and heads and therefore their hair, become our focus. We make assumptions on what a person is like based on their hair, no matter how unbiased or non-judgmental we claim to be. In terms of the shoot, I chose classmates, co-workers and friends that I felt had hair styles that epitomized each of them respectively. Whether it was because they wore their hair like that everyday, or had a beard of biblical proportions, their hair defined and continues to define their “look.” Take it for what you will, but this is in no way a fashion shot, or an editorial-esque assignment. My direction was simply to just capture, as photography tends to do, the essence of their hair and therefore, them.

What do you enjoy most about travel photography?  What has been your favourite place to take this kind of photography, and why?

I enjoy the novelty of being in a different environment than my own. When I travel, whether on a road trip or by plane to a different country, I find that I am most interested in what I personally don’t have back home. Street peddlers bargaining exotic fruits and horse-drawn buggies dressed in traditional garb, these are things I don’t have in New York City. The colors are different (even when shooting in black and white) and the atmosphere is strange and fresh. So far, I haven’t done nearly as much globe-trotting as I want to in my lifetime, so my travel photography has been limited to Israel, Jordan, Canada and some southern States (yes I consider that traveling!). Israel and Jordan have been my favorite places to take travel photography because of their culture and the strong connection I have with the region.

A lot of your pictures are black and white.  Why is this?

There isn’t one simple answer as to why I prefer black and white over color. I feel that when your eye isn’t distracted by saturated colors and vivid shades, that you can really focus on the subject. My photography is about the subject, whether it is an actual person or an object or a landscape, not about the color.

What’s the most important thing to communicate to the viewer through your photography?

The one thing I want to communicate through my photography is the sense of immediacy and expression. When people look at my work, I want them to hear the words that finish the subject’s sentence. The object of my photography is to get the viewer to feel like the viewed. When I have achieved that, is when I feel personally accomplished and thus perfectly communicated.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/saarshemesh/

With her striking photographic imagery, you’re almost certified to recognise a Lucia O’Conner-McCarthy when you you see it.

Given that her first endeavour into photography happened almost a decade ago, her work appears refined and perfected. “I always had creative influences growing-up – my father trained as an artist and continually inspired me to express myself visually. I never thought I was particularly good at art – as school led me to believe painting and drawing was all it comprised of.”

However, this all changed when Lucia bought her first camera, aged ten. “Since then my passion for recording my experiences in life has only grown.”

Currently studying philosophy in Dublin, the talented London photographer talked to Koko Magazine about her work.

Read below to find what she had to say.

How would you describe you photographic style?

I’m not entirely sure – I’m experimenting with a lot of different styles at the moment – particularly with blending layers of texture into my photographs – so perhaps that is something which is very prominent in my images.

You use different textures for a lot of your photographs. Why is this?

Its true – I love blending layers into my photos. I’m so grateful to all the Flickr users who share their wonderful textures. I like to use them to enhance the mood of the photograph, tending to use textures that I feel reflect something in the image. I think this can really add an element of depth and often an extra dimension. I mean, for example, in my photo ‘Eleanor’ ( right) I blended in a photograph of a veil over the woman’s face and I think that really allows for further interpretation.

Do you imagine the final version as texturised when you take the photo or do you play around with different ones until you find the one that’s right?

No I wouldn’t say I do. I don’t always use textures – I’ll look at each individual photo when I’m editing, choose one and then decide if I can add anything more to it – Sometimes the textures are quite sutble and used only in the background for a wall-paper effect (such as in ‘There Are Rules In This House’ and ‘Far Away From Yesterday’) Or other times I’ll see a texture and I’ll think ‘I wonder how this would look if I blended it in with that (photograph).’

You also have several wildlife pictures on your collection. What attracts you to this type of photography in particular?

After I finished school last year I took the opportunity to take a year out to travel. I was fortunate enough to visit South Africa. During the trip I stayed in ‘The Bush’ and I went out on very early excursions during which I found myself metres away from some very impressive animals. The experience was incredible, nature really is very beautiful and I think the impulse to capture every movement, is definitely one that every photographer would feel.

Can you tell us more about your photo ‘C A M E L’ (pictured left)?

I was in Dubai this time last year with my family and we decided to go on a camel riding excursion. It was very funny – its actually quite an embarassing experience getting on an off a camel! Anyway, by the time my poor camel had unloaded me into the sand, it was absolutely exhausted and just slumped down onto its knees. The way a camel sits actually looks pretty odd and I decided to capture the moment – deciding to opt for a more unusual angle, taking the picture from behind.

How do you train your photographer’s eye?

I’m not sure – I mean obviously with practice and experimentation with different elements in photography you can start to produce great images. There are lots of things to look out for when you take photographs, such as interesting composition, colour, lighting, emotion, textures etc I can go on and on.

Ultimately though, for me, i think it is something which is just really always there. I feel that (at the risk of sounding cheesy) everything I look at is a potential photograph but it’s the way you capture it that is important.

Your photographs are very atmospheric. Is this something you strive to portray in them, or does it just happen to be that way?

That’s an interesting question. I don’t think it is something I really consciously try and portray, I think its just those moments and images when I’m editing, that have a real sense of something about them, that appeal to me personally as an artist. Consequently I think that its just developed into part of my photographic style.

What other areas of photography are you interested in, and why?

Well I’ve got to say, at the moment I sort of love everything. I’m experimenting with various styles (which will soon be up on my flickr photostream) and I’m actually experimenting with different mediums too – I’m currently making prints using a technique to transfer the ink from an original photographic print onto another page using paint thinners.

This has proved to be very interesting as the order of colour within the ink is reversed and takes the original photograph through yet another transformation, altering the effects and moods once again. I’ve really enjoyed making these prints as each final image has this wonderful rich, grainy effect and the prints are all original as the final process is done by hand.

I love not knowing how an image will turn out – photography is truly my passion and that feeling of excitement it gives me is one that will never fade.

www.flickr.com/people/luciaoconnermccarthy/

Read on about photography student Chris’ ‘Reflections’ themed shoot.

Why the theme of reflections?

My college set me this theme as a project on my National Diploma course.

How did the concept of using the mirror come around?

I had the idea that using a mirror to create a different viewpoint in the middle of a location would make for an interesting set of images.

When reflections or mirroring images are portrayed in music, art and literature there is usually the suggestion that it’s to do with water (e.g. lake, river, pond). What led you to shoot in a field?

I wanted my images to stand out from the other set of projects, both in college and out of my personal work. I’d settled on using the mirror as the main focal point to the project, so I just needed the right location. I felt that using the mirror in a field would add to the surreal quality that I was looking for.

The pictures have an almost eerie feel to them. Why do you think this is?

I think it’s to do with the surrealness of using the mirror in a field; also the blue tone that I’ve added is a tone that’s not diss-similar from the filters used in many horror films.

Are you working on other projects currently, or are there any upcoming plans for one?

I’m currently finishing my course, the theme I’ve chose for my final project is titled “Moving For The Sake Of Motion” which will include many different examples of motion using long exposures to capture this effect. Once my course is finished I’m going to continue with projects that have that surreal, eerie approach.

www.flickr.com/people/cjelise

For Cristina Inchaustgui Massieu, photography is more than the mere clicking of a button. It’s a way of communication says the sometimes misunderstood nineteen year old. ‘Photography is my tool to see within people, and my offer to get them to see through me.’

Whilst life doesn’t always provide the opportunity for everyone to ‘stop and smell the flowers on the way’, it is Massieu’s mission to convey the essence of life in her pictures. ‘It is my way to say the world is more beautiful than we notice.’

Read the interview below to find out just what makes Cristina tick and click.

What do you look out for when taking photos?

This is a hard one. I look for something spontaneous, dreamy, something quite hard to explain. I look for emotions and music in my photographs.

How do you know when you’re happy with a shot?

I am hard with myself sometimes. I am only happy with my photographs when I feel I didn’t only capture a moment, but a whole story that’s up to you to create.

What do you enjoy most about photography?

Oh my God, I dunno. I certainly enjoy photographing female bodies the most, although my post processing is always fun!

What has been your favourite photograph taken so far and why?

I’ve been afraid of this question since I can remember! I don’t think I have a favorite one, I love them all together.

How do you decide when something is worth capturing?

It is this glitch in my head that tells me, “This is what you’re looking for right now”. My needs as a photographer are sometimes hard to please, but when something seems part of a story worth telling, this is my chance to capture it.

Is there a particular branch of photography you would like to explore?

I’m particularly interested in fashion and portraiture photography, although I want to explore as many fields as possible.

www.flickr.com/people/cimassieu/

www.spiderspirit.deviantart.com/

Mariela Feliz Fernandez’s seventeen years of age belies her immense photographic talent. The New York-based Dominican specializes in fashion and portraiture shots. Her captivating images show her off to be a dynamic storyteller, narrating through the lens and offering the viewer a glimpse of the world as she captures it. Whilst interpretation of each shot may differ, the question of the photographer’s giftedness is certainly a matter of no dispute. Read below to find out more about Fernandez’s inspirations, her thoughts on conceptual photography and what it’s like to be a photographer in the Big Apple.

What inspired you to begin photography?

I’ve always been interested in art but I started photography at the age of 14 and a half. When I found out about deviantART.com and I was shocked and amazed by all the amazing photographs that were on there it inspired me to want to do the same and it keeps me motivated.

Has the location of New York provided any interesting photographic experiences, and if so, could you give any examples of them?

Well yeah, because the streets and the different cultures here in New York inspire to create Art – that’s how I see it. It’s incredible when for example you go to the Central Park , everything that you can see there is just beautiful, every single side of it is very pretty. I love shooting outdoors, and here in New York, yeah, you can say there’s a big variety of places where you can find the right spot that you are looking for your shoots.

What do you try to convey through your photos?

Themed shoots, original, creative, raw, impossible, fine art, innovative fashion, glamour, bizarre, strange, timeless, delicate, dark, nude, dreamy, fetish, fantasy, erotic, disturbing, twisted, body paint, surreal & improvisation – any or all of the above though I am not interested in shooting typical portfolio work on a collaborative basis.

What has been your favorite photograph taken so far and why?

Wow, there is a lot hahaha, but my favorite favorite one is the one called “Temptation”(shown right).

Why fashion photography and portraiture?

Because I love the creativity that you can bring to it, is so indescribable the feeling of making someone feel good in front of the camera and I love spending hours and hours editing, retouching and selecting the best photos from the set.

Is there any other branch of photography you would like to explore, and if so, why?

All of them… Actually conceptual photography in general, is pretty interesting. It’s like leaving people with thoughts in their head trying to figure out what’s up with that photo.

What are you up to currently?

Well, I’m a High School Senior, graduating in June 2009. I’m doing several projects with a couple of models and friends, and yeah, you guys will see soon.

www.flickr.com/photos/mffphotography/

http://unspokenskull.deviantart.com/

http://notebookmemories.blogspot.com/

http://www.myspace.com/ihateubutiloveu