Photography

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Toronto

<h2>Lessons from the Street</h2>
<p>Ask anyone born and raised in Toronto what colours they bleed, and they'll tell you they bleed blue and white for the Toronto Maple Leafs.</p>
<p>I also bleed those colours, and for most of my life, a Leafs game was the only reason to venture downtown. The beauty of the city, the heart and soul, were things I never saw.</p>
<p>Picking up street photography changed that and eliminated a lot of excuses. For instance, rainy days became a mood to capture, no longer framed as dreary and aversive. Further, art became both an adventure and an escape. Days were spent either with friends or alone in search of moments, locations or pockets of light I'd never seen before.</p>

<h1>Patience</h1>
<p>The two most significant things street photography taught me were how to be patient and more present.</p>
<p>For the first time in my life, I could sit still for hours at a time - often in one location, waiting for a decisive moment.</p>
<p>This type of patience is required for "fishing a scene." As described above, in street photography, "fishing a scene" requires one to sit in one spot for some time to capture a decisive moment. </p>
<p>Above is an example of fishing a scene. My knees still ache when I think about the 45 minutes spent knelt by that puddle, waiting for the chef to finish his smoke break and head back to work.</p>
<p>Here's another example of "fishing a scene," a gentleman returning to the office with his venti coffee in front of the Commerce Court.</p>

<h1>Presence</h1>
<p>Furthermore, street photography also taught me how to be present by forcing me to learn how to "hunt." When you are "hunting" for a shot, you take in everything - the light, the expressions of those around you, the energy of the city, the sounds of cars passing by. To some, this may sound overwhelming, but for me, it became more similar to a flow state.</p>
<p>For example, I wouldn't have captured the image above without having my head on a swivel, taking everything in. I remember seeing this gentleman in his tailored suit and slick-backed hair and thinking he'd make a great subject, but when I noticed he had not one, but TWO phones - I had to get the shot. To this day, it is still one of my favourites.</p>
<p>Street Photography has taught me so much and allowed me to experience the beauty of my hometown. Although Toronto is my home, I can still find an escape within the city when I have my camera by my side. </p>

Here are some lessons I’ve learned from street photography. For more of my street work, please visit @mattochrome on Instagram.  — @matthewneubauer's mag on Magma

Amsterdam

@911_hermes brought his car out to Amsterdam 📸 — @Rosanne's mag on Magma

<h1>We grow the most durning discomfort</h1>
<p>Lake Ontario, Toronto. </p>
<p>In January &amp; February, I was feeling pretty low. The lockdown, the darkness, the isolation was definitely taking a toll. ⁣</p>
<p>As someone who doesn’t have a typical work day, it was hard to find any flow. When you have no place to “be” the urge to just stay in bed is strong. ⁣</p>
<p>So I started getting-up early and headed down to the Lake at Humber Bay Park to catch the ⁣pre-sunrise light. My favourite light. ⁣</p>
<p>I took my cameras, more as an excuse to do something. Most of the photos weren’t that good. It didn’t really matter. It was nice to be there. ⁣</p>
<p>The bitter lake winds slap you in the face and wake you up better than coffee, which I had plenty of too. ⁣</p>
<p>On one of these days, I met a group of swimmers who let me take some photos. They told me that since the lockdown, they’ve noticed more &amp; more people jumping into the lake. Some of them drive down from an hour or more away. ⁣</p>

The Cold Water Club
a photo essay by Dhani Oks — @dhani's mag on Magma

Calgary

@xytheguy's mag on Magma

Travel

Egypt

<h1>EGYPT</h1>
<p>Egypt, a country linking northeast Africa with the Middle East, dates to the time of the pharaohs. Millennia-old monuments sit along the fertile Nile River Valley, including Giza's colossal Pyramids and Great Sphinx as well as Luxor's hieroglyph-lined Karnak Temple and Valley of the Kings tombs. The capital, Cairo, is home to Ottoman landmarks like Muhammad Ali Mosque and the Egyptian Museum, a trove of antiquities. ―Google</p>

Discover the Secrets of Ancient Egypt | Engineering an Empire | Full Episode | History

Featuring Content Creators and Photographers | Egypt — @Travelpix's mag on Magma

Netherlands

<h1>80x80cm Acrylic on Canvas.</h1>
<p>My dear friend and talented artist Sonsoles Masia in her studio in Delft. </p>

<p>On March 30th I drove past Sonso’s atelier and saw her popping red van “Bombera” sunbathing in the parking lot. Took a quick turn of the highway and here I was spontaneously standing in my favorite atelier. Sonso was standing there Spanish as she was bare feet in a tanktop and some flowy pants. “Aaahh Corazón, welcome!”</p>
<p>Both Sonso and I have been keeping busy with everything except creating so you can say we were both a little drained. Coming together gave us the motivation, inspiration and love again for what talents had been gifted to us. I witnessed Sonso connect to her ancestors and create a outstanding canvas. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Enjoy.</p>

A tribute to Luna Menguante  — @Rosanne's mag on Magma

Karekare Beach

<h1><em>'Pterodactyl' </em></h1>
<p><em>This piece was filmed at a really special place, on the west coast of New Zealand called Karekare Beach in the Waitakere ranges. It's one of those magical places with an immensely powerful energy that channels down the windswept valley from the hills to the sea through sandunes and rocky outcrops to meet a churning ocean that has pounded these shores since time immemorial. </em></p>
<p><em>The landscape is rugged and raw and you feel like you've stepped back into prehistoric times where Pterodactyls once roamed the skies.As a young man Karekare was my escape from the city and the pressures of becoming an adult. We surfed there, we spent nights amongst the sand dunes discovering ourselves. The salt and sea air would always send me back to the world refreshed and empowered, reconnected with a vital perspective of my place on this strange rock we call home.</em></p>

<p>
  <h1><em>Location</em></h1>
<em>Karekare is also well known for the opening scene to an incredible film called The Piano by Jane Campion which won a young Anna Paquin an Oscar at 11 years old. Set mid 19tt century the film sees the girl and her mother dumped on the beach from a ship with nothing more than their trunk of belongings and a huge Piano to begin their life in the 'new world'. That opening scene and many elements of that film truly capture that raw nature of the New Zealand west coast and native bush.</em>
</p>

THE PIANO - Official 25th Anniversary Trailer - Directed by Jane Campion

<p>I lived in Edinburgh, Scotland for about 6 years from 1999 and after moving back to New Zealand I often missed living amongst the history of old streets and the stories that came with them (there's some great stories if your into ghosts like me!). </p>
<p>But I then realized that history in New Zealand is also in the land itself… the 'New World' is in fact the 'Untouched World' and the stories are written in the landscape. With some imagination and research you can read between the lines and the ghosts of the past can be seen!</p>

<h1><em>Capture &amp; Edits</em></h1>
<p><em>‘Pterodactyl’ was originally shot a few years ago during a photowalk I hosted for a whole bunch of Auckland photographers. I used to co-ordinate and host official Instagram 'World Wide Insta Meets' (WWIM) after the Instagram team featured my cinemagraphs and interviewed me for their blog back in 2016. </em></p>
<p><em>The original shot for 'Pterodactyl' actually shows a bunch of photographers sitting on top of the hill but coming into the NFT space has liberated me to bring both edits and conceptual elements into my work that I hadn't done before and want to further pursue.</em></p>

<p>Inspired by the prehistoric raw energy of Karekare I edited in a subtle figure of a Pterodactyl perched on the hill along with an old stripped down tree (taken from one of my still photos - which ironically in real life actually sits half way up an Auckland volcano called One Tree Hill). For me the tree suited the scene for a few reasons but mainly because I love the solitary presence of a tree that remains on a rocky outcrop… a survivor against the elements.</p>

An artwork dialogue by motion artist @mrjonkane on ‘Pterodactyl’. — @mrjonkane's mag on Magma

Dubai

<h1><strong>Dubai </strong></h1>
<h2><strong>City in the United Arab Emirate</strong></h2>
<h2>Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates known for luxury shopping, ultramodern architecture and a lively nightlife scene. Burj Khalifa, an 830m-tall tower, dominates the skyscraper-filled skyline. At its foot lies Dubai Fountain, with jets and lights choreographed to music. On artificial islands just offshore is Atlantis, The Palm, a resort with water and marine-animal parks. </h2>

Featuring Content Creators and Photographers | Dubai — @Travelpix's mag on Magma

Personal

New Zealand

<h1>Background</h1>
<p>I was always drawn to capturing life, even as a kid of the 80’s playing with my grandfathers Polaroid and cutting videos to VHS. It has remained a lifelong passion and I’m still that child at heart! </p>
<p>I grew up surrounded by art. My mother was an incredible artist and around age 7 I would go to the art school with her… that is until I admitted to stealing $2 from a tip jar in the art school cafeteria and she made me go back to apologize, I don’t think I ever returned after that! I spent countless hours looking through her ArtNews magazines and peeking at the charcoal nudes she hid under the bed. We spent time at galleries and amongst her artist friends, from painters to potters and I would absorb myself in the stunning old black and white photos from my parents youth. It’s the photography that stuck with me.</p>
<p>I eventually went to art school but maybe it was the trauma of my early art school experience and I only lasted a few years. So began my travel and life adventures that lead me to where I am now some 25 years later. Art requires life experience and they can’t teach that. My career moved through web design, photographic restoration, to film and television and into business and brand management but it’s the photography that stuck.</p>

<h1>My Work</h1>
<p>I merge the timeless and collectible beauty of stills photography with the magic of motion pictures. Captured as pure lens based light and data, in high resolution 12bit cinemaDNG raw. I don’t animate still photos. I craft works of magical realism for digital art displays in a collectors home or commercial space or proudly held in an online wallet. </p>
<p>Now minted as single or limited edition NFTs on the Blockchain, my work is growing in value not only for their timeless nature but as a future proof format. Motion art photography has an intrinsically collectible value and is being viewed by collectors as a diversified contrast to the 3D and graphical arts that are dominating the digital art market.</p>
<p>At the end of the day I’m obsessed with what I do, it is the culmination of everything I am and I believe intensely in the power of photography to connect us as humans on this strange rock we call home. </p>
<p><em>-</em></p>
<p><em>View my Magma profile for more links to my work and follow me on Twitter &amp; Instagram. I’m all about building community and supporting other artists.</em></p>

BIO of Motion Artist @mrjonkane - crafting timeless works of magical realism via lens, light and raw data. — @mrjonkane's mag on Magma

Motorcycles

Mountains

Culture

Malibu

<h1>The Year is 1970...</h1>
<p>Malibu is quiet, tranquil and raw. The air is 75°, the surf is 3-4ft and the sun is making it’s last impact on a textbook California Day. Perched in the hills above the famous Malibu Pier, I admire the ocean below and the lack of intruding noise that the Santa Monica Mountains provide. </p>
<p>In the distance a rumble appears. Two motorcycles come into frame, getting louder and faster by the second, carving a trail that’s barely visible. It’s brothers <a href="https://instagram.com/reidharper16?igshid=1fd70ykx8tgcu">Reid</a> &amp; <a href="https://instagram.com/lifeof_riley?igshid=6joh43khyhis">Riley</a> Harper making the best of a Thursday afternoon on their Triumph Bonnevilles. They are bar to bar, weaving through drought stricken dirt causing a trailing cloud that can’t seem to catch them. They make it the to top of an overlook, shut their engines off and breathe. The scene is once again quiet with the occasional wind and cricket interference. They look at each other and with a nod and not a word spoken they kick their engines over and ride off again with nothing to do but twist their throttles.</p>
<p>Ok. Maybe the year is 2021, but the vibe and details are dead on. By far one of the most fun shoots I’ve done in a while. </p>

On Any Thursday. A motorcycle moment from then experienced now.

Riders: Reid Harper & Riley Harper

Motorcycles: Triumph Vintage  — @Jake's mag on Magma

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