Victor Ramos presents "In the Future"

This instant, that you are reading these words, has been In the Future since the beginning of time. Now the moment has past, and will be in history for the rest of eternity. Our consciousness passes through much too quickly.

This series is nominally humorous speculations about what may happen In the Future, but is really about how humanities ideas, beliefs and philosophies affect individual and collective behavior. I find it so interesting that ideas, something that has no physical existence, indeed barely exists at all, drives all of humanities endeavors, for good or ill. Will humanity construct a utopia? A dystopia? How could it tell?

As Yogi Berra said: “It’s hard to make predictions, especially about the future”

More from Victor Ramos https://www.facebook.com/VIctorMRamosPhotography/

Shari Yantra Marcacci presents

"The Journey"

Infertility is not something people talk about. It is mostly kept secret to protect oneself from getting hurt. I certainly didn't talk about it, until now.

After a period of trying and failure, I felt the need to express my sorrow and pain through photographs. I needed to give voice to our struggle in order to survive the emotions of loss and wanting. I needed this experience to be seen, to be heard and to be understood.

In the process of interpreting our journey, I came to the powerful realization: our child was giving us the time to find ourselves. This path made us realize who we really are and what we want for the future. It made us conquer our fears and old traumas. It made us grow beyond the idea that a child would complete us.

Some say that children choose their parents and if that is true, we have been given the gift of time and self-knowledge. After over three years of silence I have decided to reveal the secret with my very personal series The Journey. My hope is to bring infertility out of the shadows and begin a conversation.

To see more of Shari Yantra's photography, http://www.shariyantra.com/

Tom Szabadi presents "A Different View"

As an 8 year old in New York City, I would travel on the subways to visit my parents' small store. I would rarely talk to anyone, just kept my eyes open and saw all that came before me. I never realized it then, but I was taking photographs without a camera. I found beauty in abandoned items.

As an adult and a street photographer, I am drawn to fleeting moments in time. Sometimes those moments involve interest in beauty where you least expect it; of stories told in abandoned and discarded items where the symmetry of geometry and reality ring true.

The series, "A Different View", attempts to celebrate those mundane cityscapes we pass by every day. What do they say about us, about our city, about the people who were there before they became elusive?

For more photography from Tom, please go to https://www.facebook.com/TomSzabadiImages/

Deidre Fennie presents “Snowbird”

My project, Snowbird, was created at my husband's favorite nudist colony. The fact that he was a nudist wasn't exactly a secret; he just didn't tell anyone. It was a reprieve from the daily stresses of life, and was a favorite place of his to visit for over 30 years. I would often accompany him and began a series of photographs capturing the community who had all come to their natural states for a wide variety of reasons.

My husband passed away a year ago after a long struggle with Parkinson's disease. In his absence, I went back and revisited our trailer, and the life we once had. Overcome by a range of emotion, I struggled to feel part of the community my husband so identified with. In continuing this series, I feel a new connection to a way of life that brought him so much happiness. 

Dedicated to Jack "Pete" Fennie With all my love

More of Deidre Fennie’s work can be found at http://www.deidrephotos.com/

Paula Riff presents,

“What’s love got to do with it?”

I believe in love but it comes and goes. Like the falling of leaves, love often falls gently to the ground; at least that’s my experience. Marbling paper is also like love; you never really know what the pattern will look like, nor what the outcome will be.

There is a serendipitous moment as inks float on water to make a design that changes with the touch of a strand of hair or a gentle blowing. There is also something visceral about coating paper and making photograms in the sun. It is a Zen-like experience where breathing and timing is everything.

There is no going back and no changing the outcome. This project explores the range of emotions and ups and downs of relationships. Both processes of marbling and making photograms have elements of surprise and chance, very much like falling in and out of love. So love has everything to do with it.

For more work from Paula please go to http://paulariffphotography.virb.com/

Amy Kanka Valadarsky Presents “Between Here and Now”

Between Here and Then poses questions about our identity as human beings and the interplay of genetics, circumstances and free will in making us what we are. When I started Between Here and Then I wanted to preserve and honor the memory of the people and the way of life I was born into. Beyond the emotional impact of the old photographs, I discovered a desire to use the historical framework to question what makes me the person I am today.

Appropriating old family photographs, the choice of the Holga lens and the black and white palette of the landscapes and self-portraits, are a respectful nod to the past. The puzzle metaphor provided a visual way of making absences present, hinting at internal cracks and conveying the message that any single picture, as complete as it may seem, tells only a fraction of the story.

Like memory, each one of these images is a place where different times coexist. A collage of old and new, exploring the notion of “self”. A puzzle of nature, nurture, and free will, where we are both the pieces and the puzzle solver.

To see more of Amy's work please go here http://www.amykankaphotography.com/