Exceptional Photographers: Two Profiles

Last year, photographers around the globe captured 1.2 trillion digital photos, according to estimates from market research firm Key Point Intelligence. It’s a statistic that suggests we’ve been exposed to more images in the past year than at any other point in history.

- Terry Sullivan

Last year, photographers around the globe captured 1.2 trillion digital photos, according to estimates from market research firm Key Point Intelligence. It’s a statistic that suggests we’ve been exposed to more images in the past year than at any other point in history.

Now, imagine you take photos for a living. How do you create images that have a chance of being noticed? It’s a challenge, to say the least. And yet there are numerous professional shooters who continue to distinguish themselves, creating provocative, compelling, powerful photographs that makes us laugh, wince, weep, and feel our connection to humanity.

Two such pro photographers are Sarah Blesener and Jessica Pettway. In very different ways, each produces exceptional photos that stand out in our image-saturated world. We talked to them about why they shoot what they shoot and the way they capture their vision of the world.

Sarah Blesener

Blesener is a photojournalist and documentary photographer from New York City whose work has appeared in National Geographic magazine and The New York Times, among other publications. Her latest work revolves around youth movements and culture in Russia, Eastern Europe, and the United States.

PCMag: What important characteristics do you look for when you’re photographing people?