Order vs Chaos, and meeting in the middle
- PhotoED Magazine
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
“Chaos was the law of nature; Order was the dream of man."
— Henry Adams
Photographers work through countless iterations and variations when crafting an image.
In darkrooms, contrast filters can dramatically change the impact of an image, while digital explorations offer endless editing possibilities. Even with small, simple edits, converting a photo to black and white, playing with tonal levels, or cropping, it’s helpful to observe the changes with a side-by-side view to confirm a final creative decision. The same comparison and adjustment process can also apply to ideas.
This year’s photoED Magazine trilogy of publications will explore ideas about contrasts. We begin here with Order vs. Chaos, perhaps as a subconscious reflection of a collective global zeitgeist.
This edition features artists who turn to mindfulness and minimalism to create works that calm the soul, alongside artists who embrace visual maximalism created in a state of creative meditative flow to make sense of the crazy world around us.
Comparing and contrasting perspectives doesn’t necessarily result in us landing on a specific “side,” or changing our minds, but the process provides us a way of thinking outside the box to view all sides. I think that’s what we need more of right now.
As you'll see in the print edition, we have taken the opportunity to flip the script on how readers experience our magazine. From the cover, the publication opens as per usual, but somehow concludes in the middle. Flip the print edition on its back to find another beginning, a different entry point, through a second cover, again concluding in the middle.
Some artists featured in this edition work towards creating images that inspire calm, through mindful minimalist compositions, and in contrast we’re also presenting artists whose work is intentionally packed with content, details, questions, and busyness, energizing, puzzling, and dazzling viewers. The search for order can sometimes seem in opposition to chaotic complex ideas, but I think these ideas can also be celebrated simultaneously to present viewers with fresh perspectives through the contrast.
Hopefully, somewhere we all meet in the middle and enjoy the journey together.
Love + Order: Resilience, a photo book by Alan Bulley
Crafted compositions with Milad Safabakhsh by Sherry Chunqing Liu
Geomatic MeditatioN by DW Alexander
Digital Manifestations: The Meditative Practice of Anthony Gebrehiwot, by Craig D’Arville
Wes Bell: Lost for words, by Sherry Chunqing Liu
Quincey Spagnoletti in conversation with Pelle Cass
One Thing After Another, An exquisite photography retrospective at the AGO, by Corinna vanGerwen
Laura Kay Keeling: Untitled Portals by Rita Godlevskis
Daniel Everett: Systems of (Dis) Organization, by Alan Bulley
PORTFOLIO featured artists
From our International Call for submissions:
Rebecca Tunks (AUS)
Julia Zyrina (NL)
Paulo de Tarso Souza (BR)
Violetta Lorentzou (UK)
Fausta Facciponte (CAN)
Ava Margueritte (CAN)
Henry VanderSpek (CAN)
Franciszek Chilinski (POL)
Tash Damjanovic (CAN)
Shira Gold (CAN)
and Jung Ui Lee (KR).
This edition also features...
Photo book recommendations by Brian St Denis
Change Made: Building the next chapter in mentorship by Sid Naidu
Jane Hinton: Contained chaos by Cassandra Spires
Mindful photography in a Chaotic World by Anna Wilson
MORE!
Cover art for issue #76 features; Pelle Cass,“Red Ball Shadows in Driveway — It was a silly fight,” and Fausta Facciponte, “Story Fragment No. 11,” from the Little Tragedies and New Beginnings, series.
Follow us on Instagram, Patreon, and Blue Sky, and sign up for our e-newsletter to keep up with all of our adventures!
Order this edition online for delivery, while quantities last. Free shipping within Canada.
Or find the publication through these retailers, across Canada and,
internationally via Newsstand and Boutique Mags.
photoED magazine is also available as digital replicas for readers worldwide on Press Reader and Flipster platforms.
This issue could not have been made possible without the support of:
Tamron, Nikon, The Photo Historical Society of Canada, Beau Photo, Harcourt House, Think Tank Photo, and Total Image Works.
+
A very generous anonymous private donor passionate about supporting Canadian women in photography, our Patreon Patrons, Downtown Camera, B3K Digital, Front Row Insurance, Professional Photographers of Canada.
