May 2008 Archives

Bernd and Hilla Becher

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Jim

Bernd and Hilla Becher - Basic Forms

For nearly 50 years, Bernd and Hilla Becher photographed the industrial architecture of western Europe.

Using a large-format camera loaded with five-by-seven-inch sheet film, they created an archive of the basic forms that inform our understanding of the industrial era.

Rendered with absolute precision in the palette of cool grays characteristic of medium-contrast gelatin silver prints, each structure is centered against a cloudless sky, filling the picture frame.

Their choice to limit decisions, effectively employing a "nonstyle"—which, ironically, became an immediately recognizable style—demonstrates the role the Bechers' work has played in bridging the gap between photography as document and photography as art in the second half of the 20th century.

Getty Center

Les Krims

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Also go to Les Krims.

Jim

Les Krims - Pictures in the Age of the Culture Wars

NSFW

Jan Banning

Also go to Jan Banning.

Jim

Nine Tips for Photography Collectors by Kris Wilton

"Look at the hair on the back of your hand," advises Hunt.

"Listen to your heart."

"Commit."

Kris Wilton

Rosamond Purcell

Also go to State of Decay and Rosamond Purcell.

Jim

Metamorphosis - Rosamond Purcell's natural history by John Crowley

The pages looked like a stack of thin sandwiches after children had dug into the soft parts—eaten the butter, the meat and most of the bread—but left untouched, as despised, the delicate crusts.

Printed in French in eighteenth-century type, the lumps of uneaten matter stood high like islands on a relief map.

Piles of sandy-orange termite leavings were packed into the crevices throughout.

Rosamond Purcell

Camerapedia

Camerapedia

The Camerapedia is a free-content encyclopedia of camera information.

Its intention is to be a repository for information and links to information about all still camera brands and models.

If you possess information about some camera equipment, please share that knowledge with everyone and contribute.

Camerapedia

Roberto D'Addona

Roberto D'Addona - Photography: Mission to Burma by Andi Teran

Twenty four hours after leaving New York City, in January 2007, photographer Roberto D'Addona made an illegal crossing into the Union of Myanmar, armed only with a toothbrush and a camera.

Accompanied by a United Nations peacekeeper, and finding shelter in a military camp occupied by Burmese rebels, he spent three days attempting to communicate through an unwelcome lens.

Vanity Fair

PRESSlite VerteX™

PRESSlite VerteX™

The PRESSlite VerteX™ is an innovative new light modifier that gives you an unprecedented level of control over the light flow from your swivel-head flash.

PRESSlite VerteX™

Lightscoop

Also go to LumiQuest Soft Screen.

Jim

Lightscoop

Professor Kobré's Lightscoop slips over your Nikon, Sigma, Pentax, Fuji FinePix, or Canon camera's pop-up flash and allows you to bounce the flash like professionals bounce an expensive external flash.

The Lightscoop is the inexpensive answer to natural looking bounce flash and digital photography lighting.

Lightscoop

Ken Rockwell

Also go to Behind the Glass by Dan Richards.

Jim

Lens Sharpness by Ken Rockwell

Sharpness.

Just get over it.

Ken Rockwell

Jacob Riis

Also go to Jacob Riis.

Jim

Jacob Riis - The Other Half by Matthew Power

But regardless of his philosophy, Riis's photographs remain indelible.

Making use of newly invented magnesium flash powder, he brought the brilliant light of a new medium to bear on a netherworld that had never been photographically recorded.

He shot the down-and-out occupants of darkened Bowery basements and Chinatown opium dens, his subjects caught unawares.

The dingy and cluttered rooms, lighted bright as day for a split-second exposure, are immediate and revelatory, and remain extraordinarily persuasive as evidence of the squalor Riis sought to combat.

Matthew Power

Peter Schjeldahl

Peter Schjeldahl - Let's See

Critic Peter Schjeldahl's passion for art runs like an erotic charge through Let's See.

Picasso, for example, leaves him "shaky with pleasure and not so much sent on my way as seduced and abandoned."

Compared to Picasso, Matisse is a less formidable formal innovator, but "at a party, it often happens that the person you find most glamorous is not the one you think of when it's time to go home."

Ann Doran

William Klein

Also go to William Klein.

Jim

The Delirious Fictions of William Klein

William Klein's explosive, challenging New York street photography made him one of the most heralded artists of the fifties.

An American expatriate in Paris, Klein has also been making challenging cinema for over forty years, yet, with the exception of his acclaimed 1969 documentary Muhammad Ali, the Greatest, his film work is barely known in the United States.

In his three fiction features—Who Are You, Polly Maggoo?, Mr. Freedom, and The Model Couple—he skewers the fashion industry, American imperialism, and middle-class complacency with hilarious, cutting aplomb.

Today, Klein's politically galvanizing and insanely entertaining social critiques seem even more ahead of their time than works of the more famous New Wavers that overshadowed them: colorful, surreal antidotes to all forms of social oppression.

Criterion

Graham Siebe

PhotoGrahambo.com - In and around Alaska with Graham Siebe

My name is Graham Siebe.

I live in Anchorage, Alaska and work part of the year in Juneau, Alaska.

Most of my pictures are from these two places and the surrounding areas.

Graham Siebe

Amy Arbus

Amy Arbus - The Fourth Wallby Heather Rasley

In The Fourth Wall, Amy Arbus brings some of Broadway's most recognizable actors from the stage to the streets, fully costumed and in character.

The power of their performance spills over onto alleyways and fire escapes, transforming the modern landscape into an unlikely set and highlighting the disconnect between performance and reality.

Heather Rasley

Risaku Suzuki

Heavy Light: Recent Photography and Video from Japan

Heavy Light: Recent Photography and Video from Japan will present the exciting and highly individualistic work of a new generation of Japanese artists who have come of age following the Asian economic crash of 1990.

ICP

Stephen Gill

Among the archives: Hands on with pictures by Liz Jobey

One of the obvious drawbacks of online archives is that you can't handle the material.

Seeing an image on the screen is one thing, but putting on a pair of white gloves and being allowed to pore over an original print, or turn through the pages of a rare book, is fundamental to understanding what makes them outstanding objects in themselves.

Liz Jobey

Eddie Adams

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Also see Eddie Adams.

Jim

Eddie Adams - Armed with a Camera

The exhibition of more than 65 photographs spans the entire range of Adams' legendary career, and includes rare vintage work prints from the personal studio collection of Eddie Adams.

This year marks with the 40th anniversary of Adam's iconic "Street Execution of a Vietcong prisoner", taken in 1968 in Saigon during the height of the Vietnam War.

The shocking photograph, of the Chief of Police shooting a member of the Vietcong in the head, instantly appeared in newspapers and magazines world-wide and has been widely credited with turning American popular sentiment against the Vietnam War.

The exhibition also coincides with the publication in September of "Eddie Adams: Vietnam" by Umbrage Editions, with never-before seen photographs, field diaries, and memoirs with an essay by Hal Buell, Associated Press Bureau Chief, and other notable contributors.

Monroe Gallery

Larry Towell

Via (Notes on) Politics, Theory & Photography.

Jim

Eye of the Storm by Daniel Baird

"Take the third gravel road to the right," went the directions to Larry Towell's home in Lambton County, in rural Ontario.

"Watch for lots of roadkill."

Daniel Baird

Kurt Buyse

Comprehensive!

Jim

How to find images on the internet by Kurt Buyse

Images can be found just about everywhere on the mighty internet.

Below you'll find some interesting gateways to larger image collections.

Some are for free, some ask for hard bucks.

Some are copyrighted, others are not or even others have a Creative Commons license.

If you have located an image somewhere in the digital chaos of the world wide web, always check the conditions of use.

Don't say I didn't warn you...

Kurt Buyse

Thomas Hawk

Also go to Ansel Adams.

Jim

10 Interesting Things I Learned About Ansel Adams y Thomas hawk

During the course of our two days together, Michael took us to many of the historic places where Ansel Adams made some of his most compelling, dramatic enduring and iconic images of nature in Yosemite Valley.

During these two days I was able to ask Michael tons of questions about his father and the business that he still runs today selling prints for the Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite.

Thomas Hawk

Bruce Davidson

For more, go to Bruce Davidson.

Jim

Bruce Davidson - Civil rights photographer: 'You could feel the fear' by Jim Auchmutey

The eminent documentary photographer came South for the Freedom Rides in 1961 and stayed through the Selma voting rights march in 1965.

Rarely shooting on a journalistic assignment, he often hung around the edges of the movement, photographing the lives and conditions that led to the protests.

Jim Auchmutey

Site point

Free Download - The Photoshop Anthology: 101 Web Design Tips, Tricks & Techniques

That's right!

No catches, no samples.

For a LIMITED TIME only, a COMPLETE COPY of Corrie Haffly's Brilliant Photoshop Web primer is free to download.

Site Point

Tim Hetherington

Via APAD.

Also go to Tim Hetherington.

Jim

By Any Means Necessary by Tim Hetherington

Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin begin their critique of contemporary photojournalism by referring to a quote by Bertolt Brecht in which he claims, without providing any basis, that photojournalism contributes almost nothing to our understanding of the world.

In fact, he goes further, claiming that photographs are actually a 'weapon against truth'.

Tim Hetherington

World Press Photo

Via APAD.

Jim

World Press Photo - The Award Interviews

Each image awarded by World Press Photo tells its own story.

But there is much more to tell. About what it was like to work in a war zone, or what restrictions were placed on a photographer at a major sports event.

Or about what happened before and after a winning image was made.

In our interviews with prize-winners you can hear the full story, first-hand.

World Press Photo

Jamel Shabazz

Also go to Jamel Shabazz's exhibit at the Bronx Museum of the Arts.

Jim

Jamel Shabazz - On View, a Chronicle of Four Decades of Urban Life by Sewell Chan

In 1969, a 9-year-old boy living in the Red Hook Houses in Brooklyn picked up an autographed copy of Leonard Freed's "Black in White America," a book of black-and-white photographs, which his parents had placed on the coffee room table.

"I remember looking at this book, like, constantly, to the point where I tore it apart because I was looking at it every day," the photographer Jamel Shabazz recalled. "I was just compelled by these images."

Sewell Chan

thinkgeek.com

1.3 Megapixel Spy Camera Sunglasses

These camera sunglasses certainly aren't x-ray specs, but they do capture 1.3 megapixel still images (at a resolution of 1280x1024).

The included RF remote-control is ideal for easy, stealth-style photo shooting.These camera sunglasses certainly aren't x-ray specs, but they do capture 1.3 megapixel still images (at a resolution of 1280x1024).

The included RF remote-control is ideal for easy, stealth-style photo shooting.

thinkgeek.com/p>

Thomas Holton

Eminent Domain: Contemporary Photography and the City

The exhibition Eminent Domain: Contemporary Photography and the City features the work of five contemporary New York based photographers drawn primarily from new acquisitions in the Photography Collection.

NYPL

Harry Nowell

Catching Superman by Harry Nowell

In my pursuit of motion I have attached cameras to skateboards, skis, bikes, cars and even my head.

My camera rigs became more complex as I experimented with the exhileration of motion.

Capturing the speeding subject can be quite simple and can lead to very, very fun photos!

Harry Nowell

dark orange

Also go to Film is not dead it just smells funny.

Jim

DIY film by dark orange

Can't buy the film you want any more?

Just make the stuff!

In this set you will find random photos and information on a project a friend has undertaken - a machine to make his own camera film.

Plastic and goop go in one end, and camera film comes out the other end.

This is not a trivial undertaking.

dark orange

Joni Sternbach

For more, go to Wet-plate Collodian.

Via gmtPlus9 (-15)

Jim

Joni Sternbach - Surfers

...working with a large-format camera and historic process (wet-plate collodion), I have concentrated on locations that are close to or directly on the water.

At this juncture between land and sea, I explore subject matter in a constant state of transition.

Joni Sternbach

Josef Astor

Also go to What's wrong with this picture? by Kate Betts.

Jim

Pixel Perfect, Pascal Dangin's virtual reality by Lauren Collins

In the March issue of Vogue Dangin tweaked a hundred and forty-four images: a hundred and seven advertisements (Estée Lauder, Gucci, Dior, etc.), thirty-six fashion pictures, and the cover, featuring Drew Barrymore.

To keep track of his clients, he assigns three-letter rubrics, like airport codes.

Click on the current-jobs menu on his computer: AFR (Air France), AMX (American Express), BAL (Balenciaga), DSN (Disney), LUV (Louis Vuitton), TFY (Tiffany & Co.), VIC (Victoria's Secret).

Lauren Collins

Sir Isaac Newton

For more, go to Color Relationships & the Color Wheel.

Jim

History of the Color Wheel by evad

The first color wheel has been attributed to Sir Isaac Newton, who in 1706 arranged red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet into a natural progression on a rotating disk.

As the disk spins, the colors blur together so rapidly that the human eye sees white. From there the organization of color has taken many forms, from tables and charts, to triangles and and wheels the history.

evad

Sarah Vaughan, Pearl Bailey, and Ella Fitzgerald by Milt Hinton

For more, go to Milt Hinton and Playing the Changes: Milt Hinton's Life in Stories and Photographs.

Jim

Playing the Changes: Milt Hinton's Life in Stories and Photographs

'Playing the Changes' Chronicles Jazz Great Hinton Host Liane Hansen talks to author David Berger about the photography of the late jazz bassist Milt Hinton.

Berger has co-authored the book Playing the Changes: Milt Hinton's Life in Stories and Photographs.

NPR

Adam Pash

Turn Your Point-and-Shoot into a Super-Camera by

If you're using a consumer grade point-and-shoot Canon digital camera, you've got hardware in hand that can support advanced features way beyond what shipped in the box.

With the help of a free, open source project called CHDK, you can get features like RAW shooting mode, live RGB histograms, motion-detection, time-lapse, and even games on your existing camera.

Let's transform your point-and-shoot into a super camera just by adding a little special sauce to its firmware.

Adam Pash

Richard Steward by Eric Etheridge

Also visit Eric Etheridge.

Via (Notes on) Politics, Theory & Photography

Jim

Breach of Peace: Portraits of the 1961 Freedom Riders by Eric Etheridge

In the spring and summer of 1961, several hundred Americans—blacks and whites, men and women—converged on Jackson, Mississippi, to challenge state segregation laws.

The Freedom Riders, as they came to be known, were determined to open up the South to civil rights: it was illegal for bus and train stations to discriminate, but most did and were not interested in change.

Over 300 people were arrested and convicted of the charge "breach of the peace."

Atlas & Co.

Carl Donohue

Also go to Carl Donohue.

Jim

Storytellers by Carl Donohue

My parents, all the way from sunny Australia, visited me here in Alaska recently and together we took a trip to Denali National Park for a few cold, snowy days last fall.

We sought refuge from what my dad referred to as "the brutal and harsh sub-arctic weather" in the form of lattes and hot sandwiches at the visitor's center, where my mother, the consummate shopper, immediately discovered the souvenir store.

While mum browsed the shirts and hat racks, my dad and I wiled away the hours looking at some of the stirring photos on display.

A postcard image of a wolf that was a captive animal pre-empted a discussion of photography, art, and integrity.

That discussion, minus the one thousand interruptions from my mother inquiring about shirt sizes, colors, and styles, led to this column.

Carl Donohue

Gregory Crewdson

For more, go to Gregory Crewdson.

Via APAD

Jim

Gregory Crewdson Interview

Robert Burley

Go to Robert Burley and Contact, the photography festival in Toronto.

Jim

The photo is dead. Long live the photo by Kate Taylor

Toronto artist Robert Burley is currently documenting the fate of chemical photography, recording the abandonment and demolition of various Kodak plants.

The films, papers and processing chemicals these factories produced will soon be obsolete, although Burley himself is still physically printing images from negatives, albeit ones he edits digitally.

The most notable of Burley's large, highly detailed colour photographs shows the implosion of buildings 65 and 69 at Kodak Park in Rochester, N.Y., where a crowd that includes people who worked in the plant busily snap pictures of its demise on their digital cameras.

Whatever sacrifices it may demand, technology is irresistible.

Kate Taylor

Mitch Alland

For more, go to Mitch Alland and Street Photography.

Jim

An Approach to Street Photography by Mitch Alland

It is only three years ago that I started to do street photography: before that I photographed landscapes, buildings, objects, and sometimes made portraits of people I knew; and the exhibition that I had in Bangkok in December 2003 was of Thai temples, without people in any of the pictures.

Indeed, like many other people, I felt uncomfortable photographing strangers in the street and saw no purpose in doing so.

In 1993 when I participated in his workshop on colour photography in Tuscany, Sam Abell told me at the end of ten days, "You're certainly not a street photographer."

He was right.

I wasn't.

Mitch Alland

Panamatic

Panamatic

This Level has been designed to mount between a tripod and a camera.

The Level will fit any standard tripod and hold the camera in an absolute horizontal position.

It will index into twelve positions. It rotates a full 360°.

It assists the photographer in taking panoramic pictures as well as todays Virtual Reality sceneries.

These V.R. clips have become very popular and are found more and more on the Internet.

Panamatic

Chad Neuman

Selectively Adjust Color in Photoshop by Chad Neuman

There are many ways to partially color a photo in Photoshop, but some don't preserve the original image.

For example, when you use the paintbrush, even at partial opacity, it brushes over some of the photo's detail.

A better way to change color without losing an object's details it to adjust its hues.

Chad Neuman

National Geographic Wildlife Camera

Photojojo Mother's Day Gift Guide 2008

Add this to your calendar: Sunday May 11th is Mother's Day.

Tewfic El-Sawy

Photog's Togs by Tewfic El-Sawy

I've been asked by a few readers to share my preferred type of clothes when traveling on my photo expeditions or on assignments.

It's an important issue because weight, durability, ease of washing/drying, etc all come into play.

So here are the items that usually make it into my dufflebag...there must be womens' equivalents at the same stores.

(Since I don't mean this to be adverts for the companies that stock these items, I won't link to them...sorry).

Tewfic El-Sawy