Aurora photographer Matt Eich was recently recognized in this year’s Magenta Foundation Flash Forward 2009 census of emerging photographers from Canada, the UK and US. The Magenta Foundation is the first charitable arts publishing house in Canada with it’s Flash Forward contest showcasing emerging talent in the photographic field.

Eich won the competition’s grand prize, Bright Spark Award. His work will be viewable in the 2009 Flash Forward book that will be published later in the year and in the traveling exhibitions of the winning images.  Also receiving Honorable Mention was Aurora Photographer Andrew Querner.  To learn more about the awards, visit http://magentafoundation.org/books/flash-forward-2009.

 A cutout of Jesus looms in the falling light in Shade, OH.  Photo by Matt Eich/Aurora Photos.

To view more work by Matt Eich, visit Aurora Photos or Aurora Select.

To view work by Andrew Querner, visit Aurora Photos.

Aurora photographer Vincent Skoglund’s image is featured on the cover of the Premiere Issue (Spring 2009) of Canada’s Adventura Magazine.  Skoglund describes the image, shot on assignment in South Africa as “interesting because we were shooting in so many different areas and temperatures. Sweating and freezing! Projects like this one are great because I can play around with a lot of different things. The production company will help out with everything, they really did an amazing job. For this shot I was high up on a scaffolding to be able to get into the right angle.”

To view more work by Vincent Skoglund, visit Aurora Photos.

Six Aurora photographers have been honored by having their images included in the Photo District News Photo Annual 2009.  Cole Barash (featured in the Advertising category), Lisa Wiltse (Photojournalism/Sports/Documentary), David Nevala (Corporate Design/Photo Products), Tim Kemple (Corporate Design/Photo Products), Matt Eich (Student Work) and Afton Almaraz (Student Work).

Congratulations to all!  To view the entire Photo Annual 2009 online, visit http://www.pdngallery.com/contests/photoannual/2009/.

Photo by Cole Barash. The 2009 Nike snowboarding lifestyle ad campaign. Each ad features the athlete in their home town, during the down season.  The goal was to create mystery and contrast, telling a story about the featured athlete while promoting the Nike product casually. Read the rest of this entry »

Aurora photographer Rafal Gerszak was honored with three awards by the 2008 Photo of the Year Competition by the News Photographers Association of Canada.  He received First Place for in the Picture Story category for his story “Afghanistan” (See more of Rafal’s “Afghanistan” in Rafal Gerszak’s Picture Story “Platoon” in Saturday Times Magazine), Second Place in the Portrait/Personality category and Third Place in the General News category.  View a complete list of the winners and a slideshow presentation of the honored photographs.

First Place – Picture Story (above)- “Afghanistan”: American soldiers from 101st Airborne Division, 506th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion, Delta Company, 4th Platoon patrol an area in a Taliban stronghold in Qalandar district, Khost province, Afghanistan, Monday, July 21, 2008. This where insurgents are known to have setup training camps and staging areas. Read the rest of this entry »

Aurora Vice President and photographer Corey Rich was interviewed by PDN this month for an article addressing the increasing prevalence of including video with still image photo shoots.  Discussing the addition of HD video to his offered services, Corey says “It allows a single individual to create video content with a high-end production value and look yet doesn’t require a crew and equipment as was the case just six months ago.”  Using his Nikon D90, Corey shot a “test piece” in conjunction with Aurora Novus featuring his Studio Director, Blaine Deutsch to help clients to get a feel for what the camera can offer.

“I was meeting with a client and trying to explain to him about what this camera can do and I could tell there was a disconnect. So I pulled out my laptop and showed him this little movie and it was like a lightbulb went off in his head and he instantly got it.” Corey got the job, and is looking forward to creating more video in conjunction with his photo shoots. “Now I’m not just getting paid to be a still photographer, I’m also getting paid to be a visual storyteller,” he says. “Best of all, I’ve got a smile on my face because this is all super fun and exciting.”

To read the entire article, visit http://www.pdnonline.com.  To view video visit http://auroranovus.com/videoshow-crich2009.html.

View more work by Aurora Novus and Corey Rich.

Images of Aurora photographers Corey Rich and Peter McBride shooting with Nikon camera equipment were taken by fellow Aurora photographers Jose Azel, Peter McBride, Todd Offenbacher and Trevor Clark and will appear in Nikon stores throughout Europe.  Aurora Photos worked closely with Nikon headquarters early this year to organize this extensive campaign that will demonstrate some of the best in the industry using their gear in the field.

To view more work by Jose Azel, Peter McBride, Todd Offenbacher, Trevor Clark, and Corey Rich, visit Aurora Photos.

Aurora Select photographer Katja Heinemann acted as HBO’s unit stills photographer for “The Alzheimer’s Project” which investigated the impact the disease has on Americans and how scientists around the nation are working on break-through new approaches to find a cure.

The multi-platform series consists of a four-part documentary series, 15 short supplemental films, a Web site and a companion book.  Katja traveled with the crew around the country documenting a wide range of people who are affected by this disease and those who are working on curing it. A few of the subjects covered include a Harvard scientist testing nasal spray vaccines on mice, a San Francisco pharmaceutical industry research lab, newly diagnosed patients at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, two women in St. Louis, Missouri, dealing with taking care of their mothers in advanced stages of the disease, spokespeople at the NIH and FDA in Bethesda, Maryland, a couple in Racine, Wisconsin, “celebrating” their 50th wedding anniversary with the husband unable to recognize his wife and family and a widower in Orange County, California, volunteering in the local nursing home together with his new wife.

To learn more about “The Alzheimer’s Project” visit HBO’s Web site and to view more work by Katja please view her portfolio on the Aurora Select Web site.

For the May 4, 2009 Sports Illustrated Players Championship Issue, Aurora photographer Todd Bigelow was sent to Mayakoba, Mexico to spend some time with veteran PGA Tour player Brian Gay.  “The story dealt with how Brian, with the support of his family has toiled on the Tour for years is beginning to enjoy the fruits of his labor. With a win the previous year at the tournament in Mayakoba, Brian and his family returned in 2009 to enjoy the resort. I set out to show how Brian and his family were leading the good life along the Caribbean,” says Todd.

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For the cover of their 10th Anniversary Issue, published in May 2009, National Geographic Adventure Magazine chose an image of Mount Everest by Aurora photographer Jimmy Chin.  The shot is of the North Face of Everest, with a peak of neighboring Chang Tse in the background as they emerged from the clouds after a 3-day storm.

Jimmy describes the shoot.  “I shot the photo from advanced basecamp during a two-month expedition with (mountain guide) Stephen Koch where we attempted to climb the North Face of Everest in alpine-style, without fixed lines or camps. We were also attempting to ski and snowboard the 9000 ft. face. It was one of the more intimidating expeditions I have been on and we had several close calls. During our attempt, we made it part way up the face before unstable snow conditions turned us back. After making it back down safely to our camp, we woke up the next day to find that the entire North Face had avalanched and taken out our tracks from the day before. Needless to say, I was happy to make it home safely and with a few good pictures.”

To view more work by Jimmy Chin, visit Aurora Photos.

On February 15, 2009, the Polish edition of Newsweek ran a story featuring Aurora photographer Rafal Gersazak ‘s images taken while he was embedded with a US military group in Afghanistan late 2008.  For more coverage of this story, also see Rafal Gerszak’s Picture Story “Platoon” in Saturday Times Magazine.

To view more work by Rafal Gerszak, visit Aurora Photos.