As summer comes to an end and people return to their daily routines, swapping beachside relaxation for office desks and commutes, photography enthusiasts can still hold onto the season's magic through a collection of captivating visual stories. August 2025 delivered an extraordinary range of photographic works that transported viewers from London's underground rave scene to intimate family moments and obsessive fashion collections in Tokyo.
The month's photography highlights showcased diverse perspectives and communities across the globe. Photographer Yushy captured the raw energy and illegal activities of London's basement rave culture, while across the Atlantic, Nadia Krawiecka documented the vibrant community hub of Rio de Janeiro's street-side barbershops. These works represent just a fraction of the eight beloved photo stories that defined August 2025.
Feng Li's "White Nights in Wonderland" stands out as a surreal exploration of everyday life, transforming ordinary street photography into magical, uncanny scenes. Shot over two decades across Paris, Tokyo, Shanghai, and his hometown Chengdu, Li's work captures what he describes as "surrealism within reality" – moments where the real and unreal converge in bizarre and theatrical ways within shared spaces.
Yushy's "Section 63: Underground – Unmasked" offers an intimate look into London's underground rave scene, documenting communities and the intense energy of DIY dance spaces from 2022 to 2025. Drawn by pounding bass and chance encounters outside squat parties, Yushy found himself deep within secretive venues, capturing both chaos and intimacy of a culture that has survived decades of government crackdowns. "Documenting it kept me sane in many ways, and made me more empathetic toward the people I met in that world," he explains. His images reflect dedication to spaces that "keep society moving at the toughest of times," showing how these venues foster both individuality and community connection.
Vincent Wechselberger's "Sisters" presents a tender documentation of evolving bonds between him and his siblings, captured across quiet home corners, open grassy fields, and amber-lit city streets. Drawing on memories from his rural Austrian childhood and life in Berlin, the series highlights the tenderness of both chosen and biological families. "We're all queer, and I think queerness shows up not just in who we are, but in how we relate to each other, with softness, complexity, fluidity," Wechselberger explains. The series reflects intense familial bonds that can make others uncomfortable but represents authentic relationships.
Sergei Pavlov's "Mountain" creates a tender portrait of love in wilderness through close-ups, beach landscapes, and shifting light. This intimate photographic series explores his partner through fragmented, monochromatic images while reflecting Pavlov's philosophy on the delicate balance between art and life. "When I think about what makes a beautiful life, it's always something more connected to nature, simplicity, and space," he notes, with these guiding principles shaping the entire collection.
Adrienne Salinger's "Teenagers in Their Bedrooms" revisits the private worlds of American teens from the late 1980s and early 1990s. Originally published as "In My Room" in 1995, the series challenged stereotypes of rebellious or directionless youth. Now, thirty years later, an expanded edition includes additional photographs and new texts. "When we look at a photograph, we immediately categorize who the person is – he's a skater, she's a burnout, he's obviously doped up. I wanted to challenge those snap judgments and let the viewer into the worlds these teenagers were building," Salinger explains.
Kyoichi Tsuzuki's 2008 photo book "Happy Victims" captures Tokyo bedrooms flooded with Yoji Yamamoto and Maison Margiela items, revealing ordinary, working-class people behind excessive, collectible wardrobes. "There is still a myth that high-end brands are for the upper class who live a high-end life with a high-end husband or wife, a high-end house with gardens, cars, and dogs or horses. But the reality is that many middle-class or working-class people try hard to experience a taste of high-end life by buying a high-end fashion item," Tsuzuki comments on Japan's culture of consumption and luxury.
Nadia Krawiecka's "Maquininha du Corte" captures the rhythms of Rocinha, Rio de Janeiro's largest favela, through an intimate photographic series documenting Peterson Oliveira de Santos's barbershop. Over several months, Krawiecka immersed herself in his world, gradually building trust and revealing a place where beauty, care, and human connection come together as people from across the neighborhood seek his distinctive carioca cuts.
Finally, Daido Moriyama's "Quartet" brings together four of the legendary photographer's early titles in a single volume structured like a musical composition. Famous for blurry, off-kilter images capturing anarchic, theatrical, and transient moments of post-war Tokyo, Moriyama's work traces the city's streets, underground theaters, and everyday life. Editor Mark Holborn notes, "For all the graphic force of Moriyama's language, for all the dynamics of contrast, for all his unsparing subject matter, he is an intensely lyrical artist. He is as poetic as a songwriter." The collection spans theatrical street scenes and darkroom experiments, taking readers through the intensity of the world as Moriyama experienced it.
