Dave Ma

Dave Ma is probably my favourite photographer because of the style of photography he takes and the subjects he focuses on. Ma is an american photographer that bases most of his work on real life scenes across urban US, but then photographs them in a very artistic nature so that they all look real. A mix of set up and street photography Dave Ma is mainly known for some of his video work for bands like Foals and another video called Claire De Lune. I think his cinematographer work reflects also on the framing and style of his photos, for example a lot of his photos are in the cinescope ratio.

Two of my favourite photos (shown below) are taken by Dave Ma. These are landscape photos of the abandoned town near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. This nuclear reactor had a meltdown resulting in an explosion positioning a lot of the surrounding area with high levels of radiation making it completely inhabitable. Within this area is a town called Pripyat, which was evacuated within hours of the incident making it a ghost town. Whole buildings and houses were left with all the inhabitants possessions inside because of the radiation poisoning making it an urban explorers and photographers dream. After years eventually the radiation levels have depleted low enough for people to make short visits and Ma captured two photos which perfectly sum up the surrounding area. 

The first is of the town gymnasium and swimming pool completely empty and overgrown. The second is a rooftop view from the hotel overlooking the edge of the red forest and other council flats surrounding the area. The images connote an idea of peaceful destruction and these are the main reasons which lead me to urban exploring.  

Ma also has a clever photos from scenic shots of city everyday experiences like the park and markets. Each one of these photos share a story and experience with the viewer making them but visually and theoriticallly attractive.

http://www.davema.tv