Portraits of Elderly Animals ~ by Photographer Isa Leshko

Artist statement by Isa Leshko
I am traveling to sanctuaries across the country to photograph animals that are elderly or at the end stage of their lives. I began this series after I spent a year caring for my mother who has Alzheimer’s disease. I am taking these pictures to gain a deeper understanding about what it means to be mortal and to exorcise my fears of aging. I have come to realize that these images are self-portraits, or at the very least, they are manifestations of my fears and hopes about what I will be like when I am old.

Phyllis, Southdown Sheep, Age 13

Capuchin Monkey, Age 30+




"Looking at mortality and aging, that's not easy subject material. Some of the subjects do seem sad and tired, some of them are downright defiant and stare down the camera. I think these images are testaments to survival and endurance, and finding meaning and joy in life in the face of physical limitations and challenges." ~ Leshko

Violet, Potbellied Pig, Age 12

 Handsome One, Thoroughbred Horse, Age 33

 Blue, Australian Kelpie, Age 19

 Pumpkin, Morgan Arabian Horse, Age 28

Kelly, Irish Wolfhound, Age 11

Photographer Profile ~ Michael Kenna

Michael Kenna (born 1953) is an English photographer best known for his black & white landscapes.

Kenna attended Upholland College in Lancashire, the Banbury School of Art in Oxfordshire, and the London College of Printing. In 1977, he moved to San Francisco, where he met Ruth Bernhard and became her assistant and photographic printmaker for eight years. Michael is equally dedicated to the darkroom and makes his own prints ensuring a subdued, intimate atmosphere in every image.

Kenna's photography focuses on unusual landscapes with ethereal light achieved by photographing at dawn or at night with exposures of up to 10 hours. Since about 1986 he has mainly used Hasselblad medium format and Holga cameras and this accounts for the square format of most of his photographs.

His work has been shown in galleries and museum exhibitions in Asia, Australia, Europe and the United States. He also has photographs included in the collections of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Patrimoine photographique in Paris, the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. His photography of the ruins of concentration camps was featured in the opening credits of the Holocaust film Esther's Diary (2010).

[via wiki and here]

'I gravitate towards 

places where humans have been 

and are no more, to the edge of man’s

influence, where the elements are 

taking over or covering 

man’s traces' ~  Michael Kenna

' I often think of my work as visual haiku. 

It is an attempt to evoke and 

suggest through  

as few elements

as possible 

rather than to describe

with tremendous detail. ' 

~ Michael Kenna

Mario Testino Photographs Charlize Theron For Vogue

Photographer Mario Testino Shoots Jessica Biel for Vogue

Behind The Scenes with Award Winning Landscape Photographer ~ Michael Levin

MICHAEL LEVIN is the 2009 FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR.


The Canadian earned this distinction at the PX3 Awards in Paris becoming the first professional photographer to be twice-awarded this honor. Using long exposures, Michael Levin pulls his world taut, so that what remains in the landscape feels essential and revealed.

The Hasselblad 'Moon Camera'

Launched by Hasselblad in 1957, the new 500C had lenses with a central leaf shutter. It was a true 'system' camera and became the bedrock of a line which became celebrated as the now-famous 'moon camera' used by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to record the first images of man on the moon, and perhaps more importantly, of earth from the moon.

The astronauts actually used a motor-driven Hasselblad 500EL/70 (70mm film back) Data Camera fitted with a Reseau plate and a Zeiss Biogon 5.6/60 mm lens with a polarization filter mounted on the lens. Conventional lubricants were replaced by a special low friction alternative and metal plating was used instead of the standard black leatherette covering. The thirteen cameras taken are still somewhere on the moon. To save weight, only the detachable film backs were brought back to earth. 

Soon to be Moon Man Testing out the Hasselblad

This is the new Hasselblad H4D-200

Hasselblad Releases New H4D-200MS ~ A 200 Million-Pixel Multi-Shot Camera

For interactive resolution examples click here



Hasselblad has announced a camera capable of producing 200MP images based on shifting its 50MP sensor. The H4D-200MS uses an extension of the company's sensor-shift, multi-shot (MS) technology to create a 200 megapixel file from six images taken at slight offsets. It can also use the four-shot mode used by the H4D-50MS that shifts the sensor by one pixel in each direction to capture all colors at each position. The latest approach adds 1/2pixel offsets to increase the captured resolution to 200MP.

Designed for studio photographers whose work requires the ultimate in resolution, extremely fine details and exact color information, the H4D-200MS is ideal for capturing images of stationary items such as cars, jewelry, artwork and other high end products where there is no room for compromise in image quality. In addition to its extended multi-shot capabilities, the H4D-200MS offers standard multi-shot and single-shot modes as well.

(Via Hasselblad)

Build Your Own Working Cardboard Hasselblad Pinhole Camera

Instructional video for pinhole Hasselblad from Kelly Angood on Vimeo.

"Hasselblad Masters Book" Documentary

Go Behind the Scenes ~ Bebe Safari Photo Shoot

Go Behind the Scenes ~ Photographer Mario Testino's Photoshoot with The Stunning Natalie Portman.

Hasselblad Introduces The H4D-40 ~ A 40 Megapixel Medium Format Sensor Camera with The New True Focus Technology