Agnieszka Sosnowska is a Polish-born USA-raised artist who has been living on a farm outside of Egilsstaðir, Iceland for over 10 years. Using a 4x5 view camera Agnieszka takes us on an evocative journey into the world that she inhabits, as a woman, farmer, artist and ultimately fragile human figure in an immensely ancient enduring landscape. The work forms part of an ongoing series that she has been working on for over 25 years, focussed on self-portraits. Through the work we see her developing, interacting and transforming in the sublime raw nature that she inhabits, alongside the attempt to integrate and come to terms with the almost supernatural power of the environment around her. The work becomes a metaphor for strength, endurance, connectivity and ultimately the impossibility to assimilate with the wilderness of Iceland’s geography, harsh weather and long winters. Being an artist, and isolated in the land, is a place both psychological and physical that is simultaneously alluring and treacherous, which has led to a stunning series that I’m sure will only continue to intensify in the years to come.

There is a disquieting stillness to this photograph. At first glance it is difficult to register the number of people in the frame, but as you look closer you can see that there are 15 people — men, women, and children — under the cloud of billowing smoke. By eliminating visual cues that would signal a specific location or context, the photograph resonates as a metaphor for the trapped and uncertain existence of countless refugees.

A snippet of dialogue currently appears on Bebe Blanco Agterberg’s web page:

User: Do you believe in the truth?
BB: Depends how it is structured
User: So, what do you do?
BB: Testing these structures that we believe are the essence of truth

This is an apt prompt for the enigmatic images in her series Actors Rule the World. The work is both theatrical and inscrutable. Whether starkly lit or smokily sketched, each image seems to function as a clue — but to what? A mysterious number four is found in a besmudged, mirrored cabinet; an arm dangles from the window of a car; a Soviet-era television set keeps company with a vase of daisies. There is some conspiracy afoot, and Agterberg pushes the inherently nostalgic and evidentiary qualities of black-and-white photography to the maximum, drawing us into a beguilingly implied narrative of spy craft and noir drama.

Chaddy Dean Smith offers a phenomenological approach to photography: There is not one “correct” or “true” view of the world, but rather an infinite number. By taking different perspectives and combining these into a panoramic triptych, the photographer challenges our perception. Look closely! I was impressed by this work – a soberly analytical, and at the same time elegant and graceful, representation of the landscape with the specific means of photography.

A man bounds up a derelict staircase in a starkly lit hallway and everything is slightly askew. He’s using all of his bare limbs in the effort — hands, dirty feet, elbows. The walls are beat too, unpainted, scarred, pitted, punctuated by loops of wire that come out of one hole and disappear into another, seemingly at random. A camera with a flash has caught the action mid-stride, casting dramatic dark shadows into the mix.

We come to believe that this kind of nocturnal scurrying is part of the usual activities of the eccentric characters who live in Palacio Salvo — an active urban mixed-use building in Montevideo Uruguay that was once the tallest building in Latin America. With each photograph, we meet a new character or characters — a lady with lots of make-up and a fur coat, a couple embracing in a shower, a scruffy dog on a chain, someone clutching a pet bird, a stylish gentleman who looks like he just stepped out of the 1920s when the building was originally opened.

Ignacio Iturrioz has set the stage for us, and hints at some crazy stories to be told. He’s using a familiar high-contrast black-and-white style with flair, luring us into a dreamlike world where it seems that time has stopped and life goes on, free of the typical restraints of 21st century life.

This image is unusual in conveying a moment of personal transport without access to the subject’s eyes, which are so often the vehicle for communicating emotion in a portrait. The dynamic composition takes advantage of simple and time-honored formal devices — light, depth of field, and asymmetry — to create a sense of momentary intensity. At the same time, the traditional nature of the image removes it from a specific time and place.

The precise position of the black raven over the luminescent sculpted skin of a stallion, could not possibly have been planned. Such serendipitous moments set photography apart from other visual art forms. Photography embraces accidents like no other, and some of the greatest photographs are ones where the photographer has captured such fleeting moments, preserving the magic of a fluid composition. The range of greys from the nuanced highlights to the silhouette of the outstretched wings dance across the complete tonal spectrum that black and white photography excels and rejoices in. A print of this image would be so wonderful to touch.

This photo is just the perfect example of what an effective photo should be. When you look at it you can imagine a lot of different stories, it does not need any explanation. Even the little smile on the boy’s face can have many explanations. Is he happy because he dominates the machine? Because he is part of the machine? Because he is resting and the rice harvest is finished? Bravo to Yann and his very good sense of observation!