New York, United States

“The decisive moment,” what Henri Cartier-Bresson called that nano second when the event captured on film expresses the perfect alignment of form, image and significance—that’s what Jesse Untracht-Oakner strives for with his photographs. “I wait for the picture to appear, rather than force it to happen.”

Jesse pays close attention to light—both natural and augmented—in his photos. It is the interaction between light and color that creates the decisive moments.

Shooting editorial, portraits and fashion, his images are multi-layered snapshots for the visually intelligent. Jesse’s photographs demand the observers to bring something of themselves to the voyeurism of their viewing.

Untracht-Oakner’s portraits of people both ordinary and extraordinary look back at the viewer. Who’s looking at whom? An observer of humanity—he is both a participant and a spectator waiting for an accident to happen. He is the Heisenberg of photography. Something happened before and will happen after the shutter is snapped. The narrative continues.

http://www.juophoto.com/

Toronto, Canada

“I guess I really like painting, but I’m not too great at it, and painting isn’t really great at suspending people’s disbelief either.  And I don’t think I can tell a story too well, so I don’t write.

 I just have these gestural ideas, that belong somewhere to me.  They all surround interests and ideas that I have, but I don’t think that says anything about their literal concept. They’re all scattered points that I’m just sussing out, and I feel like they’re saturated with some sincere emotion or interests of mine.  

I think that I like to create these little snippets of fantasy, and ideally they would all fall into place into a larger concepts or stories.  I think I’m trying to create some sort of visual harmony with what I like.”

http://www.matthewtammaro.com/