December 2007 Archives

David Maisel

David Maisel - Danger Zones by Megan Gambino

From the website: David Maisel doesn't consider himself an environmental activist. Yet his large-scale aerial photographs of strip mines, a bone-dry lake bed and man-made evaporation ponds can be viewed as indictments of our indifference to the planet that sustains us. Once you figure them out, that is. The photographs call to mind everything from blood vessels to stained-glass windows. "They might be mirrors into who we are as a society and who we are in our psyches," Maisel says.

More Maisel

Robert Adams

Photographer Robert Adams Rages Against Ecological Ravage by Farah Nayeri

From the website: Yes, that is a fundamental problem. What I would like to do is do what art has traditionally done: Find a way to an affirmation.

More Robert Adams

Digital Foci Picture Porter Elite

Digital Storage Solutions On The Road; Options Galore For The Traveling Photographer by Jack Neubart

From the website: How can you make the most use out of that limited quantity of memory cards when on the road, especially on a long trip? The answer: a portable drive. When connected to a host computer via USB 2.0, all these devices are recognized as an external drive—but not immediately in some cases: it may require activation of a USB function on the device. Adding to the utility of many of these portable devices is a built-in card reader/writer that is immediately recognized as such by the computer as well. These drives seem to work equally well under the latest versions of Windows XP and Mac OS 10.4 (but confirm compatibility with older operating systems before buying the unit).

Texture By Michael Smith

Textures II by Howard Grill

From the website: In my last post, I presented some of Cate's images that I found mysterious and ethereal and which motivated me to contact her in order to find out about her post-processing. I mentioned that I don’t usually write about Photoshop techniques in this blog, but, every so often, I do find something that is directly Photoshop related that I would like to share. Needless to say, this is one of those times.

Paul Butzi

Print Pricing by Paul Butzi

From the website: Just recently I had an inquiry from someone who had seen my prints in the most recent show. The background here is that when I show stuff locally (that is, within the Snoqualmie Valley for the Sno Valley photos) I tend to cut prices. Maybe it's silly but I think of it as a way to give back a bit to the communities in which I've been photographing. (I also let people know that if it's their property that's pictured, I'll give them a print free. Crazy, I know.)

Print Pricing Redux

From the website: Thanks to all for the interesting comments on my Print Pricing post. There’s a lot of food for thought there.

Worsom

"Afternoons with Worsom" by Will Okun

From the website: Everyone on the Westside of Chicago knows Worsom. As the sole photographer for the Chicago Defender, one of the oldest African-American newspapers in the country, his camera is omnipresent at any community, political or sporting event of importance. He is a talented and respected portrait photographer, and his pictures hang proudly in a dizzying number of Chicago homes. Worsom truly is a modern day "Picture Man."

Worsom

purpose 6

purpose 6

From the website: It is understood that photography maintains a close relationship with memory. So much has been written on the idea of the trace, the imprint, the index... Quite rightly, the documentary power of the photographic image has been emphasized. We have perhaps insisted less on the fact that memory continues to work, long after the production of images and their diffusion. Far from being frozen, it participates in the movement of history, whether personal or collective, that we carry like a banner and a burden, and which is a fundamental part of our identity.

Peter van Agtmael

Peter van Agtmael - War Photographer Revealed by Joerg Colberg

From the website: In our ongoing series recognizing today's top professional photographers, Joerg Colberg speaks with Peter van Agtmael, a 26-year-old graduate of Yale University who has spent the majority of his young career in hotspots like Iraq and Afghanistan. Van Agtmael was named one of "25 under 25 - Up and Coming American Photographers" by the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University in 2006 and won a World Press Photo award in 2007 for General News Stories.

Jasin Boland

Behind the Lens with Jasin Boland by Zach Honig

From the website: This month we focus on Jasin Boland, an Australian-based motion picture stills photographer who's worked on such films as The Matrix, Ghost Rider, and The Bourne Supremacy. Boland recently returned home to Australia's Gold Coast to meet his new baby son, Hunter, following the completion of filming for The Mummy 3 in China. His work has been published in newspapers, magazines, billboards, and movie posters all around the world. Boland was able to take some time out of his schedule to share details of his life as a motion picture stills photographer.

Jan von Holleben

Jan von Holleben - Dreams of Flying

Andy Ilachinski

Andy Ilachinski - Micro Worlds Portfolio

From the website: "Far away in the heavenly abode of the great god Indra, there is a wonderful net which has been hung by some cunning artificer in such a manner that it stretches out infinitely in all directions. In accordance with the extravagant tastes of deities, the artificer has hung a single glittering jewel in each "eye" of the net, and since the net itself is infinite in dimension, the jewels are infinite in number."

Jack Hollingsworth

Are You Talking To Me? You Already Know The Best Advice You’re Going To Get by Jack Hollingsworth

From the website: Call it instinct or intuition, but something is telling you what pictures you should be taking. I call it the quiet little voice, and when it talks, I try to listen. The problem is, as we move on in our careers, or our hobbies, other voices take over, and we often stop listening, or listening enough, to the guiding voice that comes from within.

ReflectionMaker.com

A List of Fun Photo Sites by Brian Nizinsky

From the website: It's always nice when a talented group of programmers decides out of the goodness of their hearts (or maybe the rush of caffeine) to create wonderful free sites that provide hours of photo fun. It's amazing to think that some of the things these sites do for free in seconds, people used to pay for and wait whole minutes to get (you remember "software" right?).

inkAID

inkAID

From the website: inkAID is a remarkable collection of water based ink jet receptive coatings which allows artists and photographers to utilize a nearly limitless variety of substrates for their work. With these coatings, images can now be printed onto virtually any substrate which can run through your ink jet printer. Comprising Clear Gloss, Clear Semi-Gloss, White Matte, and Iridescent Metallic coatings, with inkAID the only limit is your imagination!

a shimmer of possibility by Paul Graham

5B4 Best Books of 2007 by Mr. Whiskets

From the website: OK...the end of 2007 is nigh and although there are still two healthy weeks left I have decided to put out my "Best Of" list now instead of spending my New Year's Eve huddled over a keyboard since I'd rather be drink in hand trying to make that Terry Richardson clown puzzle sign Ole' Lang Syne. (Maybe that's an image best put out of your mind ASAP.)

The Genius of Photography by Gerry Badger

The Sunday Times best books of 2007: photography by Martin Parr

From the website: This Magnum photographer singles out the volumes that most inspired him in 2007

Denis Reggie

Interview: Denis Reggie by Howard Wallach

From the website: One of the things I often suggest in my lectures is that photographers should diversify their intake of information.  Rather than concentrate on the purely technical, people should gather right brain knowledge about artistry and sensitivity to moment and the ethereal qualities that make much art so interesting.  I think we are what we eat and that means we need to make time for galleries and museums and observing fine art.

Jonathan Harris

Jonathan Harris - The Whale Hunt

From the website: I documented the entire experience with a plodding sequence of 3,214 photographs, beginning with the taxi ride to Newark airport, and ending with the butchering of the second whale, seven days later. The photographs were taken at five-minute intervals, even while sleeping (using a chronometer), establishing a constant "photographic heartbeat." In moments of high adrenaline, this photographic heartbeat would quicken (to a maximum rate of 37 pictures in five minutes while the first whale was being cut up), mimicking the changing pace of my own heartbeat.

Ted Kawalerski

Ted Kawalerski- Top to Bottom, the Hudson River

Diane Varner

Diane Varner of Daily Walks Photo Blog - Interview by Jennifer Apple

From the website: Diane Varner posts photos to her blog Daily Walks about once a week and I always look forward to seeing her latest work. Her hyper-real photography is stunning and makes me meditate on each image longer than most photography does. It is this mesmerizing nature of her work that I find so deeply appealing. There is such a satisfying moment of balance and beauty that the details, colors and textures of her art reveal and celebrate.

Mark A. McGuinness

Control and Creativity: A Match Made in Heaven by Mark A. McGuinness

From the website: Some people think of creativity and organization as opposites. But Mark McGuiness believes that concentration is a must for the best creative work. If you don't consciously make time for being focused, you're vulnerable to interruptions that can stop your creative flow mid-stream.

Bush Chokes on a Pretzel by Alison Jackson

Alison Jackson - Confidential

NSFW

From the website: Alison Jackson creates films, photographic images and sculptures about our fixation with fame and celebrity culture. These Mimeses use look-a-likes of celebrities and public figures to create a photographic or filmic image, which challenges the observers' perception of reality by creating a false reality. Only on second or third glance does the viewer question the truth of what they are seeing. Jackson describes her work as an exploration of what we see and what we imagine, the interplay of our voyeuristic needs and our urge to believe, challenging the photographs' claim to tell the truth. Jackson is an astute observer of the contemporary cult of celebrity. Her reinterpretations of familiar media images have shocked, provoked, amused, and most importantly caused an entire generation to re-assess its perceptions and expectations of modern-day Icons.

Carolyn Monastra

Threshold at the Camera Club of New York

From the website: The Camera Club of New York (CCNY) opens the doors to its new space at 336 West 37th Street with an exhibition, Threshold, highlighting the work of seven photographers. The opening reception is scheduled for Saturday, December 15, from 6 to 8 p.m. The show runs through Saturday, January 26, 2008.

El Lissitzky

El Lissitzky - Fold-out Photomontage

More Lissitzky

Didier Massard

Didier Massard - Fairy Tales by Nicole Pasulkaqwerty

From the website: Didier Massard's photographs look like they could have been on the cover of your favorite book as a child, or come straight out of that weird dream you had last night. Massard's "tabletop" photography captures locations that he's imagined, built as models, lit, and then brought to life.

Philip Jones Griffiths by Graham Harrison

Photo Histories - Tales from Photography

From the website: Before digital technology has transformed photography into something new and very different from what we understand it to be today there are accounts to be told by some of the great practitioners of the medium and by the many talented individuals who have found photography capable of challenging notions, revealing truths, and enriching people’s lives with insight, knowledge and at times great humour.

Joel Meyerowitz

Joel Meyerowitz Interview (Part 1) by Michael David Murphy

From the website: That's exactly, precisely what it was for me. In that particular period of the 70s, when John Szarkowski was at MOMA, some of the underlying themes of his philosophy dealt with description. Description was what photography did - first and foremost. You press the button and the camera describes what it's pointing at. That's all it really does. It's what you point it at, and how consistent you are, and how interesting you find subject matter that gives your work a dimension, and a shape, and a reason for being. But in the beginning, all the camera does is describe what's in front of you. You can't make it more than it is; it just is what it is.

Joel Meyerowitz Interview (Part 2)

Robert Glenn Ketchum by Cynthia J. Woolley

Robert Glenn Ketchum - Master Of Transitions by Wesley Pitts

From the website: After 40 years of developing a signature style and body of work, Robert Glenn Ketchum found himself confronted by dramatic and simultaneous changes in his personal and professional life, which precipitated a departure and reinvention of his photographic expression. What followed was an entirely new direction for both himself and his image-making technique and vision.

Robert Glenn Ketchum

Pinar Yolacan

Pinar Yolacan - Maria

From the website: The icon of 'Maria' Jesus' mother is ever present in Bahia. Women wear necklaces with her face on them and have posters and cards with her image plastered on the walls of their homes and stores. Obviously none of my models look like these traditional depictions of 'Maria', so I am referring to this religious icon when I call the women 'Maria'. The title is also a commentary on the colonial process of renaming (or creating an identity for) people.

Marc Yankus

New Path Taken—An Interview with Marc Yankus by Robert A. Schaefer, Jr.

From the website: I wanted to create my own content and the freedom to explore a deeper layer of myself through imagery and find what was unique about me as a human being. I feel that the fine art of photography has allowed me to do that.

Brian Rose

Brian Rose - The Lost Border, Photographs of the Iron Curtain

From the website: In 1985 I began a photo-documentation of the Iron Curtain, traveling across Europe along the former dividing line between East and West. The pictures were made in color with a 4x5 view camera, and describe the topography of the border with its fences, watchtowers, and no man's land. To my knowledge, this is the only comprehensive project of its kind dealing with the now-vanished Iron Curtain landscape.

Jim Krantz

If the Copy Is an Artwork, Then What’s the Original? by Randy Kennedy

From the website: Since the late 1970s, when Richard Prince became known as a pioneer of appropriation art — photographing other photographs, usually from magazine ads, then enlarging and exhibiting them in galleries — the question has always hovered just outside the frames: What do the photographers who took the original pictures think of these pictures of their pictures, apotheosized into art but without their names anywhere in sight?

Richard Prince: Spiritual America

Jaromir Funke

Modernity Takes the Stage, Captured by Czech Cameras by Roberta Smith

From the website: "Czech Vision" at the Howard Greenberg Gallery pursues one of the many leads tossed out by "Foto: Modernity in Central Europe, 1918-1945," the revelatory overview of interwar photography on view at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. The photographers working in Czechoslovakia are especially tantalizing at the museum. At Greenberg, with 63 early prints by 21 of them, they seem to form a nearly complete microcosm of modernity.

Guggenheim Museum

Howard Greenberg Gallery

Taryn Simon

Taryn Simon - Hidden and Unfamiliar by Rosecrans Baldwin

From the website: Its genesis was a photograph I took five years ago at The Palace of the Revolution in Cuba. It was something that I responded to aesthetically; it was more abstract and ambiguous than past work I have produced. It floated in a disorienting space until it crashed to earth through its caption. Its success was bound to its content. It was a space that is inaccessible to the public and largely un-photographed. After September 11th, when the American government and media was so deeply invested in finding secret sites (the inaccessible) beyond its borders, I decided to look inward—to find the hidden and unfamiliar, the out-of-view and off-the-radar within American borders.

Candy Darling on Her Death Bed by Peter Hujar

Peter Hujar - The outsiders by Antony Hegarty

From the website: When I arrived in New York as a student in 1990, the streets and bars of Manhattan's East and West Villages were populated by as many ghosts as there were denizens. It was like a night sky missing half its brightest stars. Between 1982 and 1994, Ridiculous Theatrical Company director Charles Ludlam, new wave singer Klaus Nomi, drag performer and playwright Ethyl Eichelberger, underground film-maker Jack Smith, Cockettes founder Hibiscus, painter David Wojnarowicz, gay activist Vito Russo, cabaret singer John Sex, cult actress Cookie Mueller and Hujar himself all died of Aids-related illnesses, along with thousands of others. Shortly after performance artist Leigh Bowery died at the end of 1994 in London, the first effective anti-viral medications became available and that seemingly unstoppable wave of death subsided - but many of New York's most important artists and thinkers of two generations were already gone.

Institute of Contemporary Arts

More Hujar

Cindy Sherman

Is Photography Dead? by Peter Plagens

From the website: Yet wandering the galleries of these two shows, you can't help but wonder if the entire medium hasn't fractured itself beyond all recognition. Sculpture did the same thing a while back, so that now "sculpture" can indicate a hole in the ground as readily as a bronze statue. Digitalization has made much of art photography's vast variety possible. But it's also a major reason that, 25 years after the technology exploded what photography could do and be, the medium seems to have lost its soul. Film photography's artistic cachet was always that no matter how much darkroom fiddling someone added to a photograph, the picture was, at its core, a record of something real that occurred in front of the camera. A digital photograph, on the other hand, can be a Photoshop fairy tale, containing only a tiny trace of a small fragment of reality. By now, we've witnessed all the magical morphing and seen all the clever tricks that have turned so many photographers—formerly bearers of truth—into conjurers of fiction. It's hard to say "gee whiz" anymore.

Barbara by Lynn Blodgett

Lynn Blodgett - Portraits from the Edge by Jack Crager

From the website: One of the poems I liked was about a homeless person, so I went to a shelter and photographed some people. And one of the first people I photographed said, "I'm a poet." And he recited his poem about the Iraq War that was just stunning. And I thought, "There's more to these people than meets the eye." That's what really got me going. And then Andrew, as the portraits got better, he said, "I think you should forget the poetry book -- but these are strong enough that if you keep working at it, these might affect people and they might make a wonderful book." So Andrew gave me the courage to approach a publisher.

Takahiro Kaneyama

Takahiro Kaneyama - Family Secrets by Russell Hart

From the website: The project and its process have given Kaneyama a greater consciousness of age-related change. "The grayer hair and the wrinkles and lines in their faces and necks made me realize how many years have passed since I left Japan," he says. He also feels that the experience of photographing his remaining family has created "tighter bonds" with them. Yet his pictures have a persistent sadness. "When you're little, it's as if your parents are a fixed, unchanging thing," he observes. "It never enters your mind that they and their generation will get old and slowly pass away."

Blueprints on Fabric

Blueprints on Fabric

From the website: The cyanotype was the first simple and successfully realized practical non-silver iron process. Discovered by Sir John Herschel (1792-1871) in 1842, a mere three years after the "official" announcement of the discovery of photography, the cyanotype provided permanent images in an elegant assortment of blue values.

More about cyanotypes

Scott Kelby

My Photo Editing "Code of Ethics" by Scott Kelby

From the website: Basically, since none of the four of us are photo journalists, I guess we each keep an internal list of what we will or won't do to a photo, and still be able to sleep at night. Now, as a "Photoshop Guy" you’d probably think that since I know how to do a lot of things in Photoshop, that I'd want to. But if you’ve been reading this blog for any time now, you know that my goal is to do as much "right" in the camera as possible, and use my time in Adobe Photoshop for finishing my photos, and not "fixing" them. That being said, here's a short list of my internal guidelines; my own personal "Photo Editing Code of Ethics" for what I will or won't do to one of my photos.

Photojournalists must abide by a different set of rules and guidelines.

The use of Photoshop by David Schlesinger, at Reuters

From the website: Photoshop is a highly sophisticated image manipulation programme. We use only a tiny part of its potential capability to format our pictures, crop and size them and balance the tone and colour.

Pieter Hugo

Pieter Hugoby - The Hyena & Other Men by Mr. Whiskets

From the website: Yet, that is basically the photographer's dilemma. One can find a subject, but how do you make it more interesting than what was photographed. I just wish Hugo had made risk part of his equation.

From the website: There are more ways than one to make a picture.

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