Bizarre Photography of Jan Kriwol

Jan Kriwol has a very unique eye when it comes to photography. Okay most of these images have had some image manipulation done to them, but he has such interesting ideas.

Client: Polish Birds Foundation

Client: Polish Birds Foundation

Rogue Taxidermist in the Netherlands

These are some intricate figures Esther Verschoor creates, utilizing animal skulls. Check out her gallery for even more in depth images of these pieces of art.

She creates mainly so-called skull dolls, human-like figures with an animal skull.
Sometimes these figures have an open skirt with a scenery inside, sometimes they have a dynamic pose.
Even though the figures have an animal skull, a lot of people can identify themselves with the human emotions they express.
Esther's work can be classified as Dark Art.






The skulls used are bought from a legal taxidermist who guarentees that these skulls are from animals who died of age, illness, or traffic accidents and not from animals killed for their fur, meat, bones, or lab experiments.

Via

Striking Photos of Smoke

I found this contest on Gizmodo, and loved some of the pieces submitted.

I've done plenty of smoke shots with single incense sticks but tried four at once this time, and tried getting the sticks themselves in frame as well. Generally the smoke got too busy. I got the best results when blowing the smoke out of the way for a few seconds and capturing the recovering streams of smoke.
-Ben Torode

My setup was an empty Bulleit bourbon bottle heavily duct taped to my kitchen counter at an angle, a shot glass suspended upside down from a string and microphone stand, black poster paper taped to my cabinets as the backdrop, individual strobes on the left and right using paper snoots, and an incense stick lined up behind the bottle.
-Nick Sprankle

Once I was finished, I made a print, and since the printer prints out the photo upside-down, I saw the demon head looking at me. I'm kind of weird in the sense that I thought this was one of the coolest things ever...and still do. I still use the peaceful orientation of the photo initially just so people can experience the effect I first had when seeing the photo upside-down.
-Nick Page

I used a softbox to achieve this shot. I chose pink because it's breast cancer awareness month.
-Kyle Ford

I was inspired by the feminine qualities of the smoke, which led to the idea of portraying the smoke as "temptresses." The opposite of lust and temptation, a figurine of Buddha provided a warm contrast to the icy apparitions. He remains calm and introspective, paying no heed to the transient specters.
-Kristina Jacinth

We set up a door in the creek to create a reflection, using a broken broom stick to prop it up. Behind the door is an external light triggered wirelessly via Pocket Wizard transmitter. There is another light on the right side of the door to light up the front face of the door from the side. Also behind the door we set off two smoke bombs.

The concept behind the image is the idea of a supernatural unknown. The smoke gives a eerie vibe while the light represents "going into the light". The door represents the unknown as no one knows what is on the other side just as no one knows what happens when we die.
-Josh Trolio

Everything was sitting on my dining room table, and I had the dining room light on, otherwise I had no hope of getting the focus right. But at those settings the cloth easily stayed black. The colors are straight out of camera. After getting a couple shots with white smoke on black background, I realized it really needed something else, and added the two gels to give the image another dimension. The one I'm submitting is the very last shot I took, and I think it's the strongest.
-Joe Simons

This is my first time submitting to the shooting challenge, and while fiddling around with some smoke images, my girlfriend coaxed me into making this rose because the mirrored smoke resembled one. So, here goes nothing... the only touch-up work here is the tinting, mirroring, and I blended one leaf onto the stem. Thanks for having this challenge.
-Greg Auerbach

I didn't have enough light so had to use pretty much opposite settings to the ones recommended. I set up in my garage as I didn't want any wind and used an incense stick as the smoke source. I put my macro lens light directly under the chilli and another table lamp off to the right which was aimed at the smoke.
-Gary Gray

This image was originally titled "Splash". I loved the way it the smoke "dripped" through my fingers, but the sideways images was most striking to me. After a day of reflecting (and obsessing) about this image, by roleplaying background decided to rear its head and I changed the title to "Mana" for the magic used in most systems.
-Amber Psautti

I was ask to go take pictures at a friends birthday party. Shot at night a outside a fire lamp, with my Rebel XTI on program with an old canon flash.
-Alvin Vera

Sam Spratt - Illustrator & Painter

Just came across Sam Spratt, who is an artist for Gizmodo. The man has some talent!

Stephanie

Neil Patrick Harris
aka Barney Stinson. Digital Painting of the funniest man on Television.

Barney Stinson Hand
Digital Painting of the funniest man on Television. Close up on hand for painterly digital brushwork.

Clint Eastwood
A portrait of the legendary film maker and actor meant to highlight the grizzled, decaying, and potentially crumbling nature of his skin.

Clint Eastwood
Close up of face to highlight the grizzled, decaying, and potentially crumbling nature of his skin.

Doctor House
A Digital painting on top of a pencil sketch of mine left intentionally unfinished to show process and also capture a blend of painted realism and old medical illustrations.

Les Stroud - Survivorman
The man, the legend, the guy who can survive anything.

Great Uncle Laurence
An oil portrait I did of my great uncle may he rest in peace. This is one of my most personal pieces as it was used at the head of his casket at his funeral.

Fictional Inventors

Parody of the famous painting of Dogs playing Poker.

Remember Reach Light
Image of Noble Six and the symbolic portrayal of his literal sacrifice for the Planet Reach. Featured on Kotaku and Bungie.net

Happy 15th Birthday IE

The newer better internet browsers wish IE a happy birthday.

Into The Wild
A conceptual redux of the masterpiece of a movie.

ink gallery
A poster illustration for a tattoo gallery I did.

Moving Static Images

From Gizmodo: The materials for YouTube Illusionist BrussPup's latest feat are simple: an iPad loaded with some images and a transparent sheet striped with black bars. But when the two are combined, those images come to life like you'd never expect. [YouTube]

Someone Flipped the Cafe!

Books are all turned around at this Manhattan coffeeshop.

A reading theme is perfect for cafes filled with bookish patrons cradling cups of cappuccino. At the new location of Manhattan coffeeshop D'Espresso, a prevalence of books also nods to its unique location: It's located just a block from the New York Public Library. But that wasn't enough for designer Anurag Nema and his team at nemaworkshop.

They took the idea of a library and flipped it, quite literally, on its side -- sure, it's a design gimmick, but also one that makes good business sense and just might become a recognizable branding signature.

The "books" are actually tiles printed with sepia-toned photos of bookshelves at a local travel bookstore that ring the room, including the floor, walls and ceiling. In addition to painting unusual surfaces with intriguing patterns -- whoa, you're standing on books! -- it gives an Alice in Wonderland-esque sense that the room has been suddenly upended.

But take a closer look at what's going on here. The "floor" is the left-hand wall with a dark hardwood herringbone pattern. The banquette almost looks like a couch that could be resting on that floor.

And, if you look to the left, you'll see the globe lighting is actually affixed horizontally, looking as if gravity is having its way with the room. The glowing glass panels they're protruding from look more like ceiling panels.

If you find it all disorienting, that's the idea. Nema's inspiration was the famous space-station stewardess scene from 2001. It's just like the trippy feeling one gets after one too many espressos on an empty stomach.

But it's also a clever way to gain word-of-mouth buzz and an easy-to-Google location ("sideways library coffee shop," anyone?) . According to a story in the New York Times, the owner plans to carry on the gimmick as a marketing tool, saying that "the next one will be [completely] upside down." Like Starbucks, turned on its ear -- perfect for creating an identifiable brand in an age where coffee shops are often interchangeable.

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Highland Park 50yo Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Mmmm, this must have been soo smoooth!! And such a sweet looking bottle too!


From NotCot: While in London last week, popped by the Highland Park 50 year old launch event at Harrods ~ and the bottle is stunning! There’s just something so unmistakeably beautiful about the way the sterling silver “squeezes” the glass, making it bulge ever so slightly. Apparently it is also holding the oldest ever island single malt ~ and hand-crafted ornate bottle is designed by Scottish Jewelry designer, Maeve Gillies, who was inspired by the elemental forces of Orkney ~ from the seas, island life, wild elements, and natural light. Perhaps the loveliest little secret hidden within this bottle ~ “In recognition of the famous St Magnus Cathedral and its medieval beauty, the front of each bottle features a single piece of circular Orkney sandstone into which is hand-carved the Highland Park amulette. Inside the bottle, behind this sandstone, lies a Sterling silver replica of the St Magnus rose window which is revealed over time as the whisky is enjoyed.” It really was such a tease at the event, when they would show you the bottle, and hint at the replica of the rose window you can’t quite see behind… And as lovely as the bottle, is the hand carved Scottish oak box as well ~ love the porthole you can peer through to see the bottle… Take a peek at closeups on the next page ~ the 275 bottles are a Harrods exclusive till the end of Oct.