Kevin Fleming

In the spirit of the past project and this one I research a photographer. He is close to heart and my family's hearts because his photos have been very much a part of our lives. His photos are scattered through many of the magazines that I grew up with. His work although has taken him all around the world has been focused on Delmarva. Kevin Fleming was born in Delaware and attended Wesley college although not a photography major he kept this as his hobby and then made a career off of it.

After college he became a newspaper photographer then a National Geographic photographer and was one for a decade there after, This job lead him to more then 26 countries. He has photographed subjects reaching from nature and wild life to New Zealand sheep ranchers and the death of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. (he had some of the few images of the incident). His work has spread world wide and his not so famous work is localized on Delmarva. Many of the art galleries at the beaches of Rehoboth, Lewes and Ocean City have many Kevin Fleming photos in their collections. His photos are also in many magazines such as: Wild Delaware, Newsweek, GEO and Beaches Delaware. The photos I am used to seeing are his more Delmarva focused works. He has taken thousands of photos of the landscape and wildlife of this unique penninsula. He has captures numerous moments in time that only a few people will very get to witness. He shows the world animals that are rarely seen to human eyes and moments in those animals' lives that not even scientists see.

His focus now is more on creating books (one of which I own). Ever since September 11th he has gotten back in gear and started traveling across the country finishing his book "The Heart of America". He has traveled across the nation to capture the "heart and soul of America". He traveled in helicopters, on horse back, in kayaks and even in hot air balloons all to get the shots that show America's beauty. In this book Fleming shows us the funny open hearted side of this country, he shows the back roads and the places often unseen. His other books include "Wild Delaware" published in 2008 which was sold out and was the number one best selling book on the peninsula. More recently he published "Wild Delmarva"

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Jack Pierson

Jack Pierson's Self-Portrait #3 and Self-Portrait #28 were displayed in the National Portrait Gallery's Hide and Seek exhibit. Jack Pierson is a photographer and artist. He studied at Massachusetts college of art and has been successful ever since. His works include photos along with collages, word sculptures, installations, drawings, word art and artists books. His works are in many major museums world wide and he has had many solo exhibitions world wide since 1990 such as Tokyo, Paris, Berlin, Dublin and London.

His work is an exploration of the emotions of everyday life and his collages create abstract shapes and create a narrative meaning. His series include the "Self Portrait series along with a show called "The Name of This Show is Not :Gay Art Now". He has also photographed many famous celebrities including Brad Pitt.

The photos I specifically saw and chose were Self- Portrait #3 and Self Portrait #28. They both are portraits of young males half naked. Although named Self-Portrait none of the portraits are of himself. I believe the portraits are named self-portraits because with every portrait he is revealing a different side of himself. Or maybe not of himself but rather of what he wishes to be. Maybe he wishes to be that stereotypical jock, famous, handsome male and the other half may be the shy, secluded and vulnerable young male. Each photo in this series shows a young male with an expression and the body language showing vulnerability yet confidence. Although the subjects are half naked, and are of an age that this state makes them look vulnerable and timid. Yet other portraits show that these males are comfortable in their skin or atleast they want to seem that way. They have a sexual confidence about them and this is shown in todays contemporary youth.

Specifically, #3 is a portrait of a typical television male, handsome, masculine and confident. With this series the statement of how sexuality is in everyday life. How the media perceives people as being the perfect people. They only show the most handsome and best. Within every photo Pierson takes there is an invisible person, himself. The photographer himself is within every photo.

These photos are very well taken and composed. There was great though that went into these from the placement of the subjects, to the background that conveys additional meaning. Also, the clothes and facial expressions and the lighting add to the story being conveyed by these portraits.