Web Profiles

www.goinggallery.com
Creating manipulated Polaroid images is a lost art and Michael Going's site is a stunning showcase, setting the bar for what's possible with the now discontinued Time-Zero film he used to create these analog masterpieces. His sprawling website includes both "Fine Art" and "Commercial" portfolios, covering a period of work from 1978 to 2006 with topics such as Paris, Hawaii, and Los Angeles as well as subjects like ballet and pools. Yes, pools. The "Figure Studies" (nudity advisory) features tasteful, elegant images and, like the rest of the site, provides medium-sized thumbnails that can be clicked to show larger photographs. All the images show what a darn good photographer Going is--no matter what media he chooses to work in.

© 2008, Michael Going, All Rights Reserved

If you click on the "Alter Ego" link you can see his other work, including personal and unbelievable images such as (no kidding) "F-16 Canopy." His "Ballet" collection calls up associations with Degas with an image simply titled "Tutus 1983," capturing both the essence of dance and the spirit of manipulated Polaroid images. Going's "Editorial & Commercial" portfolio includes Sports Illustrated shots combining art with photojournalism in ways conventional media might never attain. Naturally, I explored the "Cars" and "Road & Track" collections with his images of Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Porsche, Shelby, and Ferrari automobiles that capture the life force of speed and style these classic marques represent. Take your time, poke around and be sure to look at the Cibachrome prints made from his original images that are available for purchase.

www.uliweber.com
Uli Weber studied at the Istituto Europeo di Design in Rome and worked as an assistant in London before becoming a full-time pro in 1990. Weber's website contains six galleries, featuring fashion, celebrity (don't miss his photograph of Daniel Radcliffe from the London play EQUUS), and travel, all of which are imbued with a sense of style that can be charmingly retro one moment and colorfully contemporary the next. This is especially true of his mostly on-location "Female Fashion" images, while his "Male Fashion" images are, for the most part, made in studio using lighting techniques that demonstrate his mastery of lighting, textures, and people.

© 2008, Uli Weber, All Rights Reserved

Weber's "Advertising" work varies from the surreal (Brintons) to the mundane (M&S), but he never loses his sense of fun and spontaneity in any of these "for hire" images. While his "Celebrity" gallery includes many subjects who may not be familiar to American audiences, I enjoyed his soft, sensual portrait of Academy Award-winner Rachel Weisz and his charming monochrome photograph of Hugh Grant. His "Music" gallery features imaginative portraits of artists as diverse as Cecilia Bartoli and a delightfully demonic portrait of Boy George. His "Travel" images include a mix of color commercial images made for the hospitality industry along with more personal and dramatic monochrome images obviously made for himself. What is most striking is that the same care and attention to detail seen in his corporate photography are also on display in his personal work. I guess that's what makes Weber such a consummate professional.