Category: Face Of The Day

Photographer Marcus DeSieno captures microscopic parasites:

It is fair to assume that while most of us know that our world, our living spaces, and even our bodies are covered with microscopic organisms, we do like to not be reminded of it. Photography student Marcus DeSieno’s recent photoseries begs to differ, offering a beautiful yet disturbingly close look at our microscopic natural surroundings. Parasites is an ongoing project “investigating a history of scientific exploration through images of parasitic animals.” Taken with a Scanning Electron Microscope and then exposed onto dry plate gelatin ferrotype plates, a process which combines classical and cutting-edge photographic techniques. The final images are archival pigment prints from the scanned ferrotype plates and printed larger for these abject animals to confront the viewer at a one-on-one scale.

See more of DeSieno’s work here.

A Javanese Muslim woman takes a bath on the beach as she prepares for Ramadan with padusan ritual at Parangtritis beach in Yogyakarta, Indonesia on June 27, 2014. Padusan ritual has the purpose of purifying people welcoming the holy month of Ramadan. Ramadan, observed by Muslims worldwide, is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and is a holy month of fasting, prayer and recitation of the Quran. By Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images.

Juan Aguirre watches USA play Germany in a World Cup soccer match on one of two large screens placed for fans in Chicago’s Grant Park on June 26, 2014. Organizers expected as many as 20,000 people to watch the game in the park. By Scott Olson/Getty Images. Team USA ended up losing 1 -0 but they still advance to the round of 16.

A boy has his face painted in preparation for the Grebeg ritual in Tegallalang Village, Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia on June 25, 2014. During the biannual ritual, young members of the community parade through the village with painted faces and bodies to ward off evil spirits. By Putu Sayoga/Getty Images.

Former government Director of Communications and News of The World editor Andy Coulson leaves the Old Bailey on June 24, 2014. Coulson has been found guilty of conspiracy to hack phones after an eight month trial at the Old Bailey. Rebekah Brooks, former editor and News International Chief Executive, has been found not guilty of all charges against her. The charges of phone hacking were brought by numerous celebrities and members of the public against the media company and forced the closure of the News of the World newspaper. By Alex Huckle/Getty Images.

A zookeeper handles a week-old newborn baby Langur at Bali Zoo in Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia. Javan Langurs are found in Java, Bali and Lombok in Indonesia and are listed as a threatened species due to hunting, agricultural expansion and habitat loss. By Putu Sayoga/Getty Images.

Rankin’s photographs are inspired by All Souls Day and the Day of the Dead:

Like the sugar skulls, or calavera, used to celebrate the holiday, these elegant masks put a vital and lively spin on death. Decked out in intricate beading and filigree, their models look luxurious and festive.

Calavera, normally colored in vibrant greens, reds, yellows, and blues are often eaten after the holiday; adorned in glittering stars and blooming daisies, these living skulls look like sweet confections. The female faces, painted in black, become a youthful template for imaginative explorations of an afterlife that awaits us after old age. As if from another world, their gray-green eyes stand starkly against coal-toned flesh. Rankin and Gallimore infuse the editorial with a hefty dose of high-fashion edge, introducing elements like metal spikes and and chains. These harder elements blend seamlessly with the iconography of the Day of the Dead; in one mask, a red clown nose made of punk-rock studs puts a contemporary spin on the timeless tradition.

See more of his work here and here.

(Photo © Rankin)

Luisa Whitton photographs the future:

London-based photographer Luisa Whitton devoted several months to documenting the efforts of scientists who are striving to create robots that are nearly indistinguishable from humans. The results are as fascinating as they are unsettling.

Whitton says that the goal of her project, titled What About the Heart?, is to “subvert the traditional formula of portraiture and allure the audience into a debate on the boundaries that determine the dichotomy of the human/not human. The photographs become documents of objects that sit between scientific tool and horrid simulacrum”

See more of Whitton’s work here.

The mug-shot of Jeremy Meeks, arrested in an illegal gun sweep this week, which has gone super-viral. He picked the wrong line of work, didn’t he?