Massachusetts | BARBOUR DESIGN

When you (literally and figuratively) hold a magnifying glass up to some of nature’s more diminutive wonders, some breathtaking sights are revealed. We’ve seen artists examine mushrooms, sand and even the human eye. Naturalist photographer Samuel Jaffe’s thing is caterpillars. Having grown up in Eastern Massachusetts with a distinct curiosity about the world around him and a penchant for photography, Jaffe’s development of a project to raise and photograph native caterpillars seems natural. Jaffe’s documentation of a variety of caterpillars on black backgrounds not only highlight the beautiful patterns and textures from a scientific and investigatory standpoint, they also make exquisite photographs all on their own. You might even catch a hint of personality from these other-worldly creatures in Jaffe’s amazing shots.

Via samueljaffe.com

Spring is in the air (sorta), and with summer just around the corner, we thought a beach-related post was in order. A favorite pastime of many is spending warm sunny days building sand castles on the beach. They take many forms, from bucket molds, to deep moat formations, to the ubiquitous drip castle. A Massachusetts artist simply known as SandCastleMatt creates incredible sand structures that stand out from the rest. What’s unique about Matt’s work is that his designs almost look organic, like they naturally emerge from the beach. Using found objects, like sticks, vines, wood and other repurposed junk, Matt builds a framework to support his structures. Then he employs the classic drip method, which conceals the bones of his impressive ephemeral work. a few years back, a viral photo mistakingly identified one of his structures as the result of a lightening strike in the sand, which was later debunked by Scientific American (here).

Via Flickr and Vimeo