I just read on Ground Glass that Helen Levitt died a couple of days back. A real loss. A great photographer and, from all accounts, a very forceful opinionated presence in the photo world.

Levitt combined a sympathetic view of the world with a mischievous eye – see her ‘Spidergirl’ photo below for proof. Although a contemporary of  the Winogrand, Frank, Arbus, Friendlander school of street photographers her work was always closer to that of Elliot Erwitt, a wry and unique eye on the world. She’ll be missed.

Helen Levitt – New York, 1980

Helen Levitt – New York, 1940

I was recently browsing some work by Alex Hamrick, an artist I’ve been aware of for some time – he definitely deserves to be featured. He works primarily with collage, but his photographs are well worth looking at. Using a snapshot style, slightly reminiscent of Wolfgang Tillmans or Ryan McGinley yet with a less focused eye he photographs his life in an interesting and thoughtful way.

Alex Hamrick – Untitled

Alex Hamrick – Untitled

Alex Hamrick – Untitled

I’ve only seen these works recently and they had a lot of impact. His collage work is also very strong but I feel that’s a feature in its own right.
You can read his photo blog here.

Dan Holdsworth – Untitled (A Machine For Living)

Dan Holdsworth is one of my very favourite artists. His work has a eerie, mysterious quality to it, showing empty spaces and unused areas. He also has some of the best names for his work – A Machine For Living, The World In Itself and No Echo to name just three. sadly his one and only monograph goes for £150 on Amazon Marketplace – it’d be great to see Steidl/Photoworks reprint it.