More Women Who Rock: The Nymphoto Collective

Nymphoto is a collective of women photographers formed in 1999, representing an interesting and varied group of commercial and fine art contemporary approaches. Though the group does not preach for a particular aesthetic, and encompasses talents in many genres (documentary, fashion, editorial, etc), many of the photographers appear to favor color, square (and squarish) compositions, and a contemporary, unsettling sensibility....even the rare black and white documentary work that's displayed (like Nancy Pastor's images of Maryland tobacco farmers) has a dark, quirky, and theatrical feel.

From Nymphoto's statement: "In an effort to overcome the many odds stacked against the emerging female photographer, Nymphoto collaborates to initiate dialogues amongst our own members and the art world at large; thus creating a more accessible pathway for the female photographer." In another press release, the collective describes themselves thusly: "We are our own school; we are our own
representation; we are our own gallery."

Just about every artist in the collective has a strong pedigree and portfolio, which makes the entire site worth browsing. The photographers that happened to catch my eye were the following:

April Gertler combines anonymous rural and urban landscapes in conjunction with staged scenes to comment on travel and globalization. An effective sampling of her work can be seen at the nymphoto site, and more details and images can be seen on her personal site under "Projects- Fliegen", which presents her work as a series of interesting diptychs and triptychs.

"Brooklyn and Elise" April Gertler diptych

Candace Gottschalk has several curiously compelling photographs of women and sharp objects in her portfolio, with a strong sense of understated color and an interesting range of scenarios.

Candace Gottschalk image

Margot Knight is one of the more "in-your-face" image-makers in the nymphoto collective, with her highly surrealistic, jagged edge explorations of sexuality and bodily deformation. A lot of her work pushes the envelope, with results that are sure to polarize, but at its best (in particular, her portfolio "Taking Care", which can be seen in full on her web site), her work seems strongly heartfelt and even poetic, rather than didactic and gratuitously unnerving.

"Aftermath 01" from "Taking Care" by Margot Knight

Tema Staufer is a Minnesota-based photographer with a beautiful portfolio of saturated, almost mystically colored night landscapes from the Midwest.

Tema Staufer image

And Amy Yang has one of the more peculiarly diverse series of images in her portfolio -- luminous photograms of underwear juxtaposed with more reflective (and gorgeous) portraits of various family members. Her own web site shows off her work in larger sizes (no pun intended).