LEWIS KOSTINER [lewiskostiner.com] was born in Montreal, Canada, and was raised there and in Westbury, New York. He received his A.B. in liberal arts from Brown University in 1972 and his M.Sc. in photography from the Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago in 1974. He taught at Columbia College in Chicago from 1973-81 as an Adjunct Professor of Photography. He was a faculty member at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 2007-2012. For this project he used a Leica M8 with a 35mm Summicron lens. His images appear on pages iv and vi.
ALEX ZHANG was born in Jilin Province, China, in 1986 and was raised in Jilin City. He began his M.F.A. in photography at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2010. For this project he used a Mamiya RZ with a Phase One digital back. His images appear on pages 4 and 6–8.
AMARIS GRANADO [amarisgranado.com] was born in Rock Island, Illinois, in 1980 and was raised in Albany, New York, and Florida. She began her M.F.A. in photography at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2010. For this project she used various 4x5 cameras, a Phase One digital back, and a Canon 5D Mark II. Her images appear on pages 10, 13, and 80.
AUSTIN FULLER [austinfuller.net] was born in Centralia, Illinois, in 1988 and was raised in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. He began his B.F.A. studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2009 with a concentration in photography. For this project he used a Mamiya RZ 6x7 and a Mamiya 35mm camera. His photographs appear on pages 14, 16–18, 20, 21, and 88.
BEN PEGRAM [bencpegram.com] was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1984 and was raised in Decatur, Illinois. He began his B.F.A. studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2009 with a concentration in photography. For this project he used a Fatif 4x5 monorail view camera with a Schneider 90mm/F6.8 Super Angulon wide lens. His images appear on pages 22, 24, 25, and 84.
BRITTANY HAYWARD [brittanysphotos.com] was born in Lapeer, Michigan, in 1989 and was raised there. She began her B.F.A. studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2010 with concentrations in ceramics and photography. For this project she used a Canon Rebel XSi and a Canon 5D Mark II. Her images appear on pages 26 and 28–30.
ANNA WOLAK, editor of What We Do Here Is Magic, was born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1985 and was raised in Wilkinson, Indiana. She attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 2009–2011 and received her M.A. in new arts journalism. For this project she used a Nikon D80 with various lenses. Her images appear on pages 32 and 34–38.
CHRISTIAN NAM [christiannam.com] was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1991 and was raised in Buffalo Grove, Illinois. He began his B.F.A. studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2009 with a concentration in photography. For this project he used a Mamiya RZ67 Pro II. His images appear on pages 40, 42, and 43.
ELAINE LI [lielaine.com] was born in Hong Kong in 1990 and was raised there. She began her B.F.A. studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2009 with a concentration in graphic design. For this project she used a Canon 5D Mark II and a “ghetto-studio made with white foam board, cloth, and lighting from around the apartment.” Her images appear on pages 44 and 46–49
HYOUNSANG YOO [hyounsangyoo.com] was born in Seoul, South Korea, in 1986 and was raised there. He attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 2009–2011 and received his B.F.A. with a concentration in photography. For this project he used a Sinar 4x5 large-format camera. His images appear on pages 50, 52, and 53.
JULIA LACHMAN [julialachman.com] was born in Park Ridge, Illinois, in 1984 and was raised in Illinois. She received her B.F.A. with a concentration in photography and painting from Cornell University in 2006 and audited courses at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 2010–2011. For this project she used a Pentax K20D dslr. Her images appear on pages 54 and 57.
JULIA REIS [juliareisphotography.com] was born in Carmel, Indiana, in 1989 and was raised there. She attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 2007–2011 and received her B.F.A. with a concentration in photography. For this project she used a Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III. Her images appear on pages 58, 60, and 61.
KELLY MORRISON [kellymorrisonphotography.com] was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin, in 1984 and was raised there. She attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 2008–2011 and received her B.F.A. with a concentration in photography. For this project she used a Canon EOS 630 film camera with a 50mm fixed focal length lens. Her images appear on pages ii, 62, 64, and 65.
LEARNING ROSS was born in Seattle, Washington, in 1986 and was raised there. He began his B.F.A. studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2010 with a concentration in photography. For this project he used a Cambo Legend 4x5 view camera. “All images in the series were shot on 4x5 T-Max 100 film and processed in HC-110 for six and a half minutes. They were contact printed using a color diffusion-type enlarger head, exposed for nineteen seconds at f/16 with magenta at 200 and processed in Dektol for one and a half minutes.” His images appear on pages 2, 66, and 68–70.
YOUNGHAK KIM [younghakkim.com] was born in Busan, Korea, in 1980 and was raised there. He attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 2008–2011 and received his B.F.A. with a concentration in photography. For this project he used a Nikon D3. His images appear on pages 72 and 75–78.
