The Beauty of Existence
Transient time and space float by unyielding beauty in a moment of stillness.
The Quiet Earth is a series devised by
Paul Vanzella and Jo O’Brien
Styling: Jo O’Brien
Model: Jo O’Brien
Art Direction: Jo O’Brien & Paul Vanzella
Photography: Paul Vanzella
Greeting Cards, Framed Prints and Posters

Adrian Jeffs
Thanks Paul…..Love your deeply emotive pics…..cant wait for the next installment
Jenny Haskey
Fab work – well done Paul & Jo!!
Benjamin Scheurer
beyond being powerful….shocking…dark…sensational
tonilouise
Very confronting, amazing stuff Paul and Jo..Jo even in death you’re gorgeous
Benjamin Scheurer
it looks so real in a way that I found myself thinking….no Jo….I want you to live!...
Catalin Soare
Fantastic work again Paul
Juilee Pryor
Such good work from you two! Wonderful stuff! I’m already looking forward to the next installment. Well done both of you. :)
Paul Gibbons
Fantastic shot, great work Paul and Jo.
Hans Kawitzki
Fantastic image,always enjoy your images.
Damian
Cool work, love the image!
Starr1949
Very dramatic! Teriffic work!
illicit
have to say WOW again this is fabulous. very cool. magic.
michelleduerden
Very emotive!
Suzanne German
wow paul! this is like something out of CSI Miami to the power of ten!!
Mel Brackstone
You’ve really upped the ante here Paul, fabulous work!
John Hurle
Stunning work again, Paul and Jo. Congratulations to you both
Sharon Hammond
Great theatrical concept. So much mood. Luv it
sandra56
Just stunning and I love her pose with the one leg bent up that must be difficult
Kitsmumma
Great collaboration!
Dan Coates
Excellent, I can’t wait for more, that position must be pretty uncomfortable though.
Deri Dority
Wow, I love this series. This is a masterpiece.
Jeff Burns
Its fantastic. You two make a great pair for great images. STUNNING
hillsrain
Another moody interesting shot! Excellent work. Perhaps it should be called “Halcyon Earth” :)
Bill Proctor
Nearly delving into the surreal here…. greatpic. Look forward to seeing more…
Paul Louis Vil...
This is going to be an incredible series, this combination of model and photographer is producing spectacular results! :D
mayuphoto
Brilliant Paul – I don’t know what to say anymore. Really unique composition and I love the color!!
Byron Tik
Great shot, this resonates with a painting I am working on at the moment. great work Paul, thanks for sharing and inspiring :)
TonyLegg
Strong stuff paul ,, Excellent !!!
Mugsy
Stunning!
Jacqueline Hab...
amazing – well done.
Deborah Parkin
fantastic! As usual stands out alone – totally original – great work
velveteagle
Your art keeps on giving. Wonderful
Arthur Chambers
JUST STUNNING- LOVE IT-
——shawhouse
wow…outstanding work.
Loredana Crupi
Terrific in the true sense of the word!
Michael Alesich
Great shot Paul, really liking the effect,
This is one series I’m hanging out for.
Jessica Tremp
i’m really loving this direction in which you’re heading Paul. A further layer is being peeled away and we get a glimpse of something earthier, true and rawer than what we are used to….
Cathie Tranent
Amazing.
Lisa Roberts
Disturbing yet beautiful
Lisa x
StacyLee
A very thought-provoking image. The image is beautiful and yet there is some kind of harsh reality that is there. Great work!
Carlo Cesar Ro...
Very beautiful shot!
Leigh Ann Pobiak
this is gorgeous. love the slight grungy feel to it!
theurbannexus
I like the sense of transience expressed in the almost floating form, which appears in space with the aid of the shadowing. I like the ongoing sense of time-space continuum through the repeating LCD-like, sorta translucent time/location stamps.
Lots of effort going in to create a very rich work that could be looked at for ages and interpreted on many levels and in multiple ways.
Brett Foster
Part 2 is just as stunning. Great creativity guys!
BonitoPhotography
Very dramatic! Great shot!
mickey22
great shot, I love the creativity in it :)
Rany Lutz
Great work, on all accounts!!!!!!!!!
Rich Gale
great work fantastic image, a bit disturbing.
Rich.
SylviaHardy
This is very thought provoking, well executed image!
rippedangelwings
I like it very much! One suggestion though. I’d put the label (the one that is over her hand) under her hand.
Great concept and well visualized!
transmute
Existing just got that little more beautiful.
alexa70
Amazing work Paul and Jo, This image is Haunting yet Beautiful.
Sarah Mackie
Yeah there’s a strange beauty to it despite the disturbing nature of the setup. Great collaboration guys
Craig Goldsmith
Great to see the next installment, for me the awkward, unnatural pose really drives home the image, the rawer lighting seems to suit this scene, like some of the mystery has been lifted from the earlier image in the series, but you still get a sense that we are only scraping the surive of the theme. Well done Paul and Jo and I look forward to the next in the series when it’s released.
mgadise
Another masterpiece from the “master of the lenses”
Jarko
A BRILLIANT MASTERPIECE
Louise Cooke
Positively disturbing – great impact and thought-proviking work!
Damian Drohan
fantastic image
Paul Vanzella
Thanks for the impressive comments – Wanted to float time and space over the body image through the typography depicting longitude and latitude – and tell the story of the power of femininity at any given time can show through….and how wonderful it is to exist in this world and see beauty right in front of you. (hope that makes sense…) Anyway, thanks so much for liking this image.
Denzil
Raw, tough, tender, striking, ... what can I say? Can’t wait for the next one.
rodriguez
well im just not sure she looks dead and im missing the beauty, im not sure what you mean.
Michael Lane
Amazing shot Paul, fantastic tones and great composition! Really nice work
Sabine Spiesser
A very moving shot- so well done . The scene and pose is so powerfully disturbing.
Alexander Gitlits
Fantastic work!
Valli aka Fra...
This is stunning! Congrats!
Vicki Snowden
When I sited this it made chills run up and down my spine.
Andy Harris
great pose, make-up and clarity! Nice one!
lawrencew
beautiful work..
xanthonyvanzella
wow i dont know who i’m looking at… cindy sherman or bill henson… your photoes amaze me and inspire me thankyou
Pippa Russell
This is a highly striking and surreal image.
Amazing work and thanks.
JayVee
Your work with expressing people is amazing.
Miss Misery
looks like roadkill without the blood well done
Lance Leopold
Very powerful image,it grabs your attention,like a taser shot in the goolies,terrific,Paul!!!
Neil Boucher
This is incredible work,by both of you! Inspirational!
Adela Hriscu
Ah, such a dramatic piece of art! Perfectly done, bravo!
aaria
oh wowie! love the styling, composition and darkness, but the transparent floating indications of time and position really make it for me, just takes it all on another level. Superb!
Halcyon007
Fantastic shot Paul – Well done to all involved
Paula Birch
stunning, evocative work paul and jo.
Lindsay Blamey
I smell Double Bubble!... These pieces leave me typeless.
5* INDUSTRIA
haha…. Double Bubble.. I Iike it Blamey!. Congrats Paul and Jo. This series is really on another level. What I like most about these images is what is happening outside of the image… So many questions to ask… why, how, what… Brilliant work, absolutley brilliant.
Siafu
Great job, like it a lot. Cheers
Lisa Defazio
Ohh – like this for so many reasons, beautiful image.
Heather Meadows
wow…amazing piece, leaves you to wonder
Joyce van Dijk
I REALLY REALLY LIKE this artstyle of yours!
Jelena Mrkich
Awkward elegance, very moving!
WitheringMoon
Such a beautiful, thought provoking image!!!
Horia Zaraza
amazing work…
disturbing as well…
strong and dark…
I love it…
trickyruby
brilliant image, carefully composed, deep and sinister, amazing work.
Charles McKean
Fab
tassj
all your images are amazing! :)
Per E. Gunnarsen
Amazing art work
Antoine Dagobert
Superb Artwork Paul!Bravo
ChrissyB
You have awesome work!!!!!
lisaraejohnston
This is amazing. She is so beautiful & seems so vunerable. Great, great shot.
lollipopdropper
I love this.
lucymay
ohh gosh, this is amazingly scary! i love the colour, mysterious!
Holly Werner
Wonderful shot. Perfect lighting. I love this series.
nancz
This whole series is amazing. The distortion of her body just flows with the clouds and latitude and longitude and it’s in fact life and well done! This is really a favorite…..... You both work well together.
BRavelich
Great Work!!!! so dramatic and deep, love it!!!
Andy73
Disturbing, dark, confronting, and very emotive. Love it, awesome work!
Steve
Beautiful composition. I hope the girl is alright!
Gerard Rotse
Excellent Paul
jjweston
Great shot and it seems everybody else thinks so to.
shadowzone
wow!
SIGRUN
Love the colours, the styling and the layering effect.
It is a beautiful image….
Ross Krambergar
Well done, a very compelling image
peterpan
Yeah,I really dig it.
Lots of layers to it to discover…well done!
Mohsen Bayramn...
Very creatively done…
Lidiya Filipova
faboulous image of the mother earth, disgraced… should it be different?
Chris Kuck
really really well done..sky and floor fool the eye big time
Von McKnelly
Loads of settle details to view in this work. I had fun finding them all.
John Arkleton
That is truly awful. Well done.
Lloyd Harvey
That looks uncomfortable…
Tony Ryan
Fantastic shot Paul. You have captured the moment beautifully imo.
Scott Moore
this is fantastice!
MrLovelace
Dead sexy
Paul Vanzella
replied
...so glad you get it… You have such amazing work Simon…
Peter Hall
This dramatic shot reminded me of a film clip I saw on rage, where a young man can see timers floating above the heads of of people. When their time was about up you could see the time running out at an accelerated pace, and he save a woman from certain demise, and her counter resets and starts running at normal pace.
This image reminds me that everthing has to happen somewhere at a certain time.
Being a seafarer, and relying on lat longs, and the 24hr clock, I find this image rams home the concept of space and time.
Well done Jo. You are quite some talent.
I’ve reviewed your work this evening, and I find your work inspiring. What ever you do, don’t stop making pictures!!!!
And Paul, your work is stunning also.
What a team the pair of you are!!!!!
Paul Vanzella
replied
wow – peter, thanks so much for your kind summation and words… yes, Jo is a talent… and will go to any lengths to nail a shot… so love everything you wrote here. Thank you so much!
Elysia Ranking
I love it!!! Everything about it
juliettevenus
this time I clicked “add a comment” as I remember someone once told me to do – so much quicker. Anyway, I adore this one too. Looks like she has fallen from a balcony. Fab collab!
Paul Vanzella
replied
thanks juliette – this image is all about the extreme power of beauty a woman can have… whether she is lying on a bed in a perfect dress exactly in this same pose… or whether she is lying on the road in a torn dress with grease all over her…. do you see it….
juliettevenus
Yep. Absolutely.
Earhart Chappe...
love the accents in this the 3 d effect with the signage..and the fabric being so pulled in place.and how at first glance her position looks as if it is one of post mort . then you look again..its a wonderful piece! the sheen in her hair and the black on her skin. wonderful!
Paul Vanzella
replied
thanks you so much – one of my true favorites and first ever shoots with Jo… how amazing is she to give up so much of herself in a single image… thank you again!
visualmetaphor
That is INTENSE. And DISTURBING… Yet utterly beautiful =)
geirkristiansen
‘The beauty of excellence’ ;)
jacqleen
Paul…..this is AMAZING…........WOW!!! xx
Paul Vanzella
replied
thanks so much jacqleen – i was so happy with the concept behind this and to show the power a woman has with her beauty to shine through in any environment or circumstance!
jacqleen
Now YOU’re thinking LIKE ME :)))) I knew we had alot in common :))) xx
Jasmine Moston
Beautiful work.
Simply Amazing!
Matthew Dawkins
Ohhhh….fabulous work.