Latest news with #EricKogan
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘The moon came into view and I searched for the perfect place to stand': Eric Kogan's best phone photo
New York-based photographer Eric Kogan took this picture on a family day of furniture and thrift-store hunting in Shelton, Connecticut, about a 90-minute drive from their Brooklyn home. En route, they stopped off in New Haven for a pizza. 'The city is famous for its top-notch pizza restaurants,' Kogan says. 'And the one we chose, Frank Pepe's, is rumoured to have invented the first-ever pizza box!' After lunch they continued on to Shelton, pulling into the large parking lot of a furniture sample store a little before 4pm. 'It was so tucked away that we kept questioning if we were heading in the right direction,' Kogan says. 'The moon came into view as we made our way to the entrance. The sun had just set and it was semi-daylight out. I searched for the perfect place to stand. I also had to underexpose the frame a bit, turning it down until the moon felt right: luminous and detailed against its subdued surroundings.' Kogan decided to leave the security cameras in the image untouched. 'It might have been cleaner without them, but, besides cropping and adjusting values, it's not in my practice to remove things from photos.' Kogan's wife, Melissa Breyer, is also a photographer; her image of a deli worker washing a window featured in a Smart shot column in 2022. Kogan insists that, partly because their styles are so different, there is no competition between the pair. 'Works by both of us travel to so many places that they've almost taken on a life of their own. We met through photography and our photos have found themselves to Smart shot independently. It doesn't get better than that!'
The Guardian
05-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Now you see it: Eric Kogan's everyday urban illusions
New York-based photographer Eric Kogan uses shadows, reflections and fortuitous timing in order to create optical illusions in his work. 'It's more of a life's journey than a project,' he says, 'but if I had to describe it, it's all about spotting unusual moments in everyday places.' In his daily walks around the city, he keeps an eye out for interesting juxtapositions or humorous framings: a pigeon balancing on a ghostly tree; a cloud caught in a net; statues miraculously coming to life. 'At the root it's about seeing, but maintaining the right state of mind is also everything. I'm hoping the photos will connect with others, and, with each individual, take on personal narratives.' See more at
