Andy Spyra

Of the 30 new and emerging photographers that PDN have highlighted as the ones to watch in 2010 the stand out photographer for me is Andy Spyra . He takes himself off to parts of the world that most would shy away from and comes away with some staggering photos of very difficult subjects. The fact he’s younger than me pisses me off no end as well. Here’s some of his work:

© Copyright Andy Spyra

© Copyright Andy Spyra

What stands out for me is that photographers have been showing us these scenarios for decades. Families and communities torn apart by conflict, personal grief up close, huge crowds protesting at some injustice, unnecessary suffering and cruelty, personal moments of solace amid chaos, people carried away bloodied by stray bullets. Yet Andy’s work seems unique. He captures the anguish perfectly and I get a real sense of being there in the moment with him, almost like I’m stood right next to him. The proximity he gets to the action is what makes his work so refreshing whilst also highlighting the danger inherent in what he does.

http://www.andyspyra.com/

I’d also like to say congratulations to Ben Roberts, who has been a contact on Flickr for a while and has been getting quite a lot of well deserved attention of late. Congratulations Ben.

http://benrobertsphotography.com/