Curated by You: Top Stories of 2023

To wrap up the year, we share the articles most loved by you, our readers.

Photography Humans

Words By

Urth HQ

In 2023, the Urth community discovered remarkable artists and innovators creating positive change through their work. Countless conversations were had with the intention of elevating creatively or technically. Reading and retelling these stories is, in its own way, a form of forward progression, acting as nodes that can branch new directions, inspiration, or work.

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Embracing Shadows in Photography Using an ND Filter

“Shadows don't stifle an image, they elevate it.”

Discover all the ways shadows can serve to make a more powerful image and techniques for utilising them properly here.

The ND Selects Filter Kit Plus+

Add to Cart— $99 USD

Variable ND2-400 (1-8.65 Stop) Filter

Add to Cart— $55 USD

ND1000 (10 Stop) Filter Plus+

Add to Cart— $185 USD

The Magnetic ND Selects Filter Kit Plus+

Add to Cart— $115 USD

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The Fusion of Photography and Forest Bathing

“Taking my camera to the woods has allowed me to document the process of engaging in a conversation with nature. It’s a complement to forest bathing, in my view."

Mandy Sham divulges her practice of pairing forest bathing with photography and how she uses the latter as a kind of “sixth sense.” Read more about it here.

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In Focus: Chris Grundy Talks Planning and Patience

“Look outside Instagram, success is not a numbers game.”

Chris Grundy’s process works the polarity between forward planning and patience in photography. Read how he plans for a shoot, the reasons why he likens photography to fishing and 27 pieces of his best advice from his years as a full time working creative.

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The Artist Making Ceramics Without a Kiln

“My method of making ceramics not only uses the minimum energy required but also the main ingredient is ceramic waste that otherwise would end up in landfills”

“Over 70% of the emissions from the ceramic manufacturing industry are created in the firing process,” shares Nicole Chrysikou, the innovative artist and ceramicist who discovered a solution using industrial biotechnology to fire ceramics. Read how she does it here.

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Fernando Laposse: Redefining Design for a Regenerative Future

“I think it's precisely these communities that live on the fringes of capitalism, where radical innovation can be made.”

Read how London-based Mexican designer Fernando Laposse uses high-end design to revive traditional farming and regenerate agave forests.

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Rachel Garrard Creates Abstract Installations By the Shore

“Nature, time, and chance are my collaborators.”

Another artist who intentionally collaborates with nature is painter and land artist Rachel Garrard. Working with nature, time and chance, read how she has developed her own unique artistic language that blends scientific research with esoteric practice.

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With These Hands: in Conversation with Ceramic Artist Monique Robinson

“I am continuously overwhelmed by the ability of our natural world. Each tree trunk, its idiosyncratic bark and patterns, the reddish colour of a fallen leaf”

Monique Robinson discusses the power of making art without an outcome in mind — immersing oneself entirely in the process, which in her case, starts with foraging for clay to make her otherworldly objects. Read more about her unique process and philosophy on creativity here.

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Andre Wagner On Why He Photographs

“I think it is very easy to photograph the surface, but I don’t want to photograph the surface even though that is what photography inherently does.”

Denisse Ariana Pérez explores Andre Wagner's photographic practice, from his early obsession with analog, to the way physicality plays a key role in his approach to street portraiture. Dive into his artistic evolution and to find out why he takes photos here.

Photography Humans

19 Dec 2023