Markus Jokela

Finnish | 1952 – present | Photography

Documents everyday life and the mundane aspects of middle-class existence with quiet humor and attention to the almost invisible moments that define ordinary living.

Best known for “Table Rock” (1992-2018), a 30-year photographic study of a small Nebraska town. Also documented major world events (Berlin Wall, Iraq War, Haiti earthquake) during 40-year career at Helsingin Sanomat newspaper. Two World Press Photo awards (1993, 2002). Photojournalist of the Year Finland (2003, 2015, 2016).

markusjokela.com | Instagram

Markus Jokela - documentary photography of everyday life
Markus Jokela - Table Rock Nebraska long-term project
Markus Jokela - Finnish documentary work capturing mundane moments

Feng Li

Chinese, based in Chengdu, photography

Feng Li roams the streets of Chengdu with a flash-mounted camera, freezing strangers mid-gesture in scenes that feel staged even though they never are. His ongoing series “White Night” reads like a flip book of the absurd, one surreal fragment of daily life after another.

Website: https://www.fengli-photo.com/

2017-14 by Feng Li contemporary artwork
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Matt Black – American Geography

In the photobook American Geography, Matt Black has documented his travels through the US in pictures.

The books in divided into four parts: South and West, South and East, North and East, North and West. Matt Black’s photographs in gritty black and white shows us the people and the urban and rural landscapes that he encountered during his travels. Rough pictures of rough lives.

The photographs are interspersed with images of things he noticed during his trips: utensils, squashed cigarette packages, a playing card, a lottery ticket and many signs of tramps asking for help and money.

“ANYTHING HELPS”

Every part of the book is preceded with a selection of notes from the diary he kept during his trip. These form mini stories themselves, poems almost. Even the atmosphere of the notes is somewhat grim. Combined with the short stories and the pictures of the begging signs, the books leaves an impression of a country that neglects his bottom of society.

One of the most beautiful photobooks I have seen this year.