Laurent Chehere

The animated feature film Up may have introduced the masses to the image of a house being whisked away into the sky, but France-based photographer Laurent Chehere expands on the visual with a variety of residential structures surreally captured in mid-air.

The aptly titled series Flying Houses takes suburban homes and urban apartment buildings out of their defining neighborhood backdrops and places them floating amidst the clouds.

The collection of photo manipulations really showcases the visual effectiveness of building design sans a disruptive environment. The levitating edifices each represent a different lifestyle dreamily gliding high above the surface. The series is said to be a metaphor for travel. While some journey into another land in the lap of luxury, others have to deal with the confines of flying coach. Sometimes being in such close quarters with a crying baby and a person with uncontrollable fits of coughing can feel like you’re trapped in a burning building.

http://www.laurentchehere.com

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Storm Thorgerson

Storm Thorgerson was born in Potters Bar, which was in Middlesex at the time and is now in Hertfordshire. He was a key member of the British graphic art group Hipgnosis, and designed many of their most famous single and album covers. Of late, he runs a design studio called StormStudios - a loose group of freelancers. The current line up includes - Rupert Truman (Photographer), Peter Curzon (Designer), Finlay Cowan (Designer and Illustrator), Daniel Abbott (Designer and Artist), Lee Baker (Designer, Retoucher and Artist), Jerry Sweet (Designer) along with Storm's Personal Assistant, Laura Truman (Prints) and Charlie Barnes. Perhaps Thorgerson's most famous designs are those for Pink Floyd.[1] His design for The Dark Side of the Moon has been called one of the greatest album covers of all time. (Designed by Thorgerson, the cover itself was drawn by Hipgnosis designer George Hardie.)[2] Many of his designs are notable for their surreal elements. He often places objects out of their traditional contexts, especially with vast spaces around them, to give them an awkward appearance while highlighting their beauty. To quote Thorgerson, "I like photography because it is a reality medium, unlike drawing which is unreal. I like to mess with reality...to bend reality. Some of my works beg the question of is it real or not?"[3] Several books have been devoted to surveying Thorgerson's work which spans more than four decades.

 http://www.stormthorgerson.com/

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