Unreality reigns this week, with some throwbacks thrown in for good measure.
"Infared Photos Transform NYC Into Technicolor Dreamland" —Wired
"Italian photographer Paolo Pettigiani transforms beloved Central Park into a trippy scene like something out of Alice in Wonderland. Pettigiani moved to Harlem in upper Manhattan, and one morning walked the park for six hours before the usual crowds arrive. Pettigiani’s photos offer us a different lens of a postcard scene we’ve all seen time and time again." —Jared Harrell, photo editor, BuzzFeed News
Paolo Pettigiani
"Tryouts" —Dazed
"Skin and bones are not exactly what we associate athletes with. And that’s precisely why Ryan James Caruthers’ photo project, Tryouts, is so confronting. This series of self-portraits hits hard in its commentary on the societal pressure to fit in and join the club (in his case, quite literally a sports club), and the struggles faced by those who simply aren’t built for it." —Anna Mendoza, photo editor, BuzzFeed Australia
Ryan James Caruthers
"Two Champions: Muhammad Ali and Gordon Parks" —The New York Times
“With the passing of American legend Muhammad Ali at age 74, the New York Times has shared a moving tribute to the fighter through the lens of another American great, photographer and filmmaker Gordon Parks. These pictures not only capture the unique prowess and charisma of a larger-than-life champion, but also a young man navigating his newfound responsibility as a role model for a generation.” —Gabriel H. Sanchez, photo essay editor, BuzzFeed
Gordon Parks, Courtesy of The Gordon Parks Foundation
"The Photographer Creating Painterly Images Entirely From Memory" — AnOther
"Dean West re-creates moments from his own memories, or from stories once told by his friends, into photographs sometimes mistaken for film stills from a Holllywood blockbuster. West’s process for creating his painterly photographs can be a long and exhausting process, sometimes taking up to 12 months to produce a single photograph. His photographs are dreamy, nostalgic, and very, very real." —JH
Dean West