I’m thoroughly impressed with this meticulous series by French photographer Fred Lebain. Lebain first photographed each location, made a poster-sized print, then returned and lined the print up perfectly so as to disappear within the landscape. An interesting exploration of landmarks, time and space. Check out more work here; his portfolio is a little difficult to navigate; click on ‘news’ to get a popup window with more work.

Abbey Drucker has a really great portfolio, but I especially love the fact that she posts contact sheet collages under “works in progress”. Going over contact sheets is something I really miss about photography, as I haven’t shot on film since my freshman year at Parsons as a photo major. I loved the anticipation of not knowing how your shoot went until you got the contacts and were able to pore over the small photographic gems, trying to find the right shots to print. Somehow, looking at these collages makes the photos seem much more precious, moody and ephemeral. Check out more of Abbey’s work on her website.

I have a big photo-crush on Bruno Dayan. Fashion photography can tend to look a little formulaic, but his work is innovative in its use of texture and color. Check out his portfolio for more sexy shots.

Inspiring photo manipulation from Swedish photgrapher Eric Johansson. I wonder if Dalí would make images like this if he worked in Photoshop… Johansson’s website is down, but he has a bunch up on his DeviantArt profile.

Mehmet Ozgur’s smoke photographs are pretty unbelievable, and demonstrate enviable patience and dedication. He composites these images from tens of thousands of photos of smoke, taking up to a year to create a single image. Very ethereal and inspiring. His portfolio is located here, but the gallery section has consistently crashed my Firefox so proceed with caution. Here’s an alternative site where you can view some of his photos.

Loving the bold, colorful style of Spanish photographer Ibai Acevedo. Lots of saturated, surreal images that convey an insatiable lust for life. He has a ton of work; check out his flickr and his portfolio.

“I am especially fascinated with the city in its rare moments of tranquility as it sinks into slumber, as it rouses itself to face a new day. At such times the city is all abstraction, looming shapes, diffused light, spectral shadows. In these moments of transient repose, when its elements are briefly cloaked in softness, a kind of beauty envelops even the most mundane street scenes… and my work aims to capture that ineluctable quality.

This process of superimposing the old on the new serves as a metaphor for my wider conceptual interests, because my newest works, which are hushed and introspective, and which can be touched with melancholy are, ultimately, reflections of the past, of my past, and of the passage of time.”

View his portfolio here.