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We support our own here at PDNedu, so when PDN Senior Editor Anthony LaSala teamed up with photographer and former PDN's 30 Seth Kushner on a new book, we had to blog about it.
The Brooklynites is a collection of images, interviews and essays on famous Brooklyn-borough residents like Spike Lee and Steve Buscemi, as well as only-famous-in-our-office Brooklynites like our very own PDN Contest Manager John Gimenez and his girlfriend Amy.
Published by powerHouse books, The Brooklynites is available through booksellers like Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.
Also check out an upcoming FREE slideshow and book signing with the authors:
Date: November 14, 2007
Time: 7:00pm
Venue: Barnes & Noble
106 Court St.
Brooklyn, NY 11201
From top left: A portrait of Spike Lee from The Brooklynites; John and Amy in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Photographs by Seth Kushner.
If you've got a gear experience you want to share, check out PDN's new baby, PDNGearGuide.com and post a user review. We've just recently launched the site and want to hear from photo enthusiasts like you about what you do (or don't) love about your DSLRs, point-and-shoots, tripods, strobes, and more. Log-in (it's FREE!) to share your point of view and possibly help other gear-heads from making a really bad purchase.
 The Cheap Shooter blog—launched this July—promises pros and serious amateurs a steady supply of cost-saving tricks. We know homemade light boxes have been covered before, but this site’s tutorial looks pretty good. Based on the instructions, you’d need to put aside $30 or so, make a trip to a hardware store, and spend a few hours wrestling with PVC piping, but the alleged results (like the untouched photo on the right) are spectacular.
What are your tips for stretching that dollar?
(P.S. While we’re on the subject of lighting, you should check out Strobist, an uncommonly useful guide to getting the most out of Speedlight flashes.)
Sup baby, guess who's back? Your dear ole pal Mark Rubenstein! I
started writing for this blog when it first came out back in the day. I
have been on sabbatical but now I make my triumphant return. I will be
posting some helpful info for you kids, so let's get started. I think a great idea for getting to know the photography
market is seeing what's happening from day to day. The best way to do
this is by checking photo blogs. There are a bunch of great ones out
there; here are a few.
1. Not If But When - My buddy Brian Ulrich has had this up for a while, and I lovvvvvvvvve itttttt! He makes great posts on a lot of photographers and has coined such genius terms like Chicagraphy.
2. Gallery Hopper - This is another great site. If you are interested in showing your work in a gallery, you should research what the market is. This site gives you a great peek inside.
3. Alec Soth's Blog - This boy knows a lot! Some people consider him the Yoda of bloggers.
4. Personism - Ms. Jen Bekman isssssss on fire right now. She has a great gallery here in NYC. You all should submit to the juried competitions she has. You could get your own show!
5. Marketing Photos with Mary Virginia Swanson - MVS is awesome; check out her site if you want to see what juried shows are going on. Also, she posts really great photo events that are going on in your area.
Check these sites out and start researching!
Want to get an A in photography this semester? Nominate your favorite teacher for the 2007 Patron Saint of Photography Award.
Center is excited to announce the 2007 Call For Entries to the Patron Saint Award, formerly the Excellence In Photographic Teaching Award, honoring high school, college and postgraduate teachers' dedication. The award's new name expresses an immense respect for teachers who give freely of their time, knowledge and infectious enthusiasm, so that students may discover a new world through photography.
Criteria for nominations and the selection of the Patron Saint of the Year include:
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An ability to excite students to learn
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A concern for students as individuals
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An enduring artistic curiosity
Prizes for being named Patron Saint Of The Year:
$2,500 award and Adobe Creative Suite
Honorable Mention (2):
Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom
DEADLINES:
Nomination by student or colleague deadline: April 13, 2007
Encourage a teacher to apply by nominating him/her and thus showing you value their efforts. Students or colleagues can nominate a teacher by submitting a one-page statement describing why the teacher should receive this award. Teachers will be notified of their nomination and invited to apply.
Independent submission deadline: April 27, 2007
Teachers in all areas of photography may apply without nomination. Teachers submitting
independently have as equal a chance to win as those nominated.
Find out more about the award by visiting Center's Web site.
© John Weiss, 2006 Patron Saint Award Winner
With New York Fashion Week Fall 07 two weeks behind us, memories still glitter in my mind. As a blogumnist for PDNedu, I was given the opportunity of registering for a press pass for the week. This allowed me to have access to the lobby, the waiting area in the front of the tents. I was also on the official press list, which allowed designers to invite me to the shows. I was able to request invitations from the PR reps of each designer.
It’s no big surprise that photographers become integral members of fashion week.
The pit photographers, probably the most important people in the room next to the fashion editors, are the runway photographers. The pit, where photographers and videographers document the shows, is the small area at the end of the runway where photographers sit and stand monopod in tow to get every shot of every design. The environment is aggressive, each photographer trying to maintain inches of personal space, and the job is high-stress and fast-paced, as the shows only last for 10 to 15 minutes. In seconds, pit photographers must capture the 30 to 50 designs walking down the runway. And like every other style of photography, there are trends on the runway, like the change from flash to a more natural look using available light, and capturing the pose—not the movement, popular in the 90s.
Capturing images in this environment is simply difficult. I was using a 10 mp point-and-shoot camera with a 4x zoom shooting at 800 ASA, low shutter speeds and fully open aperture. The movement and the lighting are not made for easy shooting, and depending on the mood that the designer is trying to set, you may get no light at all. At the Zac Posen show, the room was completely dark except for the spotlights moving with the models, making it especially difficult to get any good shots. The fact of the matter is there will most certainly be blur if you shoot in manual without flash, and with flash the images will be washed out. I suggest manual with automatic focus and hope for the best. You’ll find so many fantastic images come out just by chance. If you are not carrying a digital SLR with image stabilization and standing at the end of the runway where there is the most light, then expect this.
With bloggers becoming an increasingly important part of journalism, there are many photographers sent to the tents to photograph the crowds. Sites like the sartorialist.com are interested in the best dressed at the shows from average person to socialites; New York fashionistas with funky outfits and anyone who appears to be someone.
The last type of photographer is paparazzi capturing every celebrity’s movement from front row to backstage to the after party.
For a photographer, that’s fashion week in a thumbnail!
Happy 2007! It’s that time of year again when we rethink our goals and revive our ambitions, which also makes it a good time to start a new project. Because photography requires practice and creativity, I challenge you to take one picture a day, every day for the next 365 days. Use this opportunity to document your life and enhance your photographic skills.
To maintain your images, keep a diary of your daily life with a blog site like photoblog.com or
fotolog.com. These sites are free and allow unlimited uploading of pictures. Upload the images at least every week so you won’t get too far behind and want to stop. This is a great opportunity to reinvent your style every day and play with photography outside the confines of an assignment for a class or a job. Play around with composition, style and themes.
Remember that this is for you and that should be enough motivation to help you continue. Think of what a wonderful archive of images you will have when this year is over!
Have Fun!
© 2006 Photoblog
© 2002-2006 Fotolog, Inc. Fotolog is a registered trademark of Fotolog, Inc.
SHOTS Magazine, a quarterly, independent photography journal, is calling for entries for its next issue. The theme is Books/Words, and photographers of all levels are encouraged to submit work for consideration. The theme is open to your interpretation, but according to SHOTS, "Essentially, any photograph that includes one or more books in it and/or has one or more words in it, or otherwise combines words with photography (words written on the photograph, etc.) will be eligible for consideration."
All submissions must be received by February 2, 2007. Additional submission information can be found here.
Students have the opportunity to get involved at the Society for Photographic Education (SPE) conference March 15-18, 2007 in Miami, Florida. Meet other students and photo professionals from across the country by volunteering.
Volunteers will able to attend the conference for a reduced fee of $25. Each is required to work eight hours (spread over the conference) and must attend one of the training sessions, either March 14 from 3 to 5 p.m., March 14 from 9 to 11 p.m. or March 15 from 8 to 10 a.m. Most volunteers will help with lectures, while others will help with the auctions, portfolio sessions and registration. All volunteers must pre-register for the conference and be current members of SPE. The postmark deadline for volunteer registration is February 14, 2007.
The volunteer registration form can be found here, or on the SPE Web site (find the blue link in the middle of the page)
If you are like me, the price of admission to many museums is discouraging. Even exhibits that I have been waiting to see I can't always go to because it's over my student budget. Thankfully, I found AAM —the American Association of Museums. AAM offers a student membership for $35 per year that allows you to enter the nation's accredited museums for free or at a discounted rate. If you're living on a shoestring, but still want some culture in your life, check it out.
 Photo student Rene Edde is spending her summer in Kathmandu, Nepal, making photographs. She is working on an internship at a magazine, but is spending her free time making images and blogging about the experience. Her website is www.reddephotography.com.
A piece from her blog helps introduce some of the ideas she's dealing with:
"Sometimes just walking down the street here can be hard. You are constantly asked for food, milk, and money, and seeing many people sleeping in the middle of the day on the side of a busy, loud, and polluted street is very common. It is hard to face that and realize just how lucky I am to come from such a wealthy country. What is even harder though is when I know that I am going to be struggling myself to make it through this trip financially, and then realizing just how much better my lifestyle is here compared to the majority of Nepalis. Though even today while talking with Rewat he reminded me that giving to the people on the street just makes the problem more prevelant and that the best help is to give to a trust worthy and valuable organization where the money will go farther. I just hope that by taking these photographs that some sort of awareness can be brought to Nepal and Kathmandu Valley. I really do think that this is an amazing place, filled with generous and hospitable people, and set among the most amazing views that I have ever seen. I am glad that they have welcomed me to share their lives and experience a little piece of their world with them."
Take a few minutes to take a look at Rene's blog and see some of the remarkable images that she's producing. She's certainly gotten out of her own skin and is exploring some really interesting ideas.
www.reddephotography.com
 Jerome Liebling describes himself as a "Teacher, Filmmaker and Photographer" and he's been at it for a long time, with a career that spans nearly fifty years. In the 1940s, he studied photography under Walter Rosenblum and Paul Strand, and joined New York's famed Photo League. In the same period, he became involved with motion-picture production, and worked as a documentary filmmaker.
If you're not familiar with his work, his personal website www.jeromeliebling.com can provide a bit of an introduction.
I just found a really nice little documentary film about Liebling on the Minnesota Stories video weblog. In it, he shares some of his views about photography and what photographs "do" and asks when you last saw an exhibition of art that you went to "in fear"... that changed your life.
Check out Looking at Liebling.
Mindy McAdams, the Knight Chair in Journalism at the University of Florida, just posted a summary of the NPPA (National Press Photographers Association) National Summit on her blog.
Here is an upsetting or exciting little tidbit (depending on your perspective) that she garnered from Richard Koci Hernandez, a photojournalist at the San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News. "With high-definition video, you can literally take the feed and go frame-by-frame and pick whatever still you want. Don't gasp -- I know that's horrible for still photographers! And you feel dirty doing it. You always get the ball in the right spot. You always get the person walking through the light at the right moment. It does feel dirty."
Read more about the trick-or-treats of the trade on McAdams' blog.
 In 1999, famed Photogragrapher Joel Meyerowitz produced a film about his father called "Pop". You can find out more information about the film on Meyerowitz' website.
What prompts this blog post is that Meyerowitz, his film and its story were recently the subject of one of my favorite podcasts, "Morning Stories", which is produced out of the studios of WGBH in Boston, MA. You can hear the Morning Story about Meyerowitz and his father here.
Morning Stories typically deals with issues that are usually near and dear to photographers; small snippets of life that aren't really that big a deal until someone makes a big deal out of them. They are great short stories that usually have a really interesting "visual" quality to them, despite being audio-only. This is especially true with this story as related by photographer Meyerowitz; his sensitive eye obviously comes from a sensitive soul and the 13-minute podcast is well worth a listen.
What photography related podcasts do you listen to? Leave a comment below.
Here are two great links that I found listed in the May issue of Rangefinder magazine.
Grants for Individuals
Scholarships
Good luck! Get your work out there!
The staff of PDNedu is now busy cooking up a great line-up for the Fall issue, but we want to hear YOUR ideas. We're introducing a new legal column, so e-mail your questions on copyrights, model releases or anything else you'd like answered to mwakem@pdnonline.com Are you a student with a great idea for a story? E-mail me your thoughts on articles for students, by students and you just might see your name in print! Looking forward to hearing from you...
I was reading about Canon's new lens -- 85mm F1.2L II -- and the word that kept coming up was bokeh.
Defintion: Blur of the background as in "that image has fantastic bokeh"; also spelled (or misspelled) bokey.
For those of you who want a less blurry definition, visit this link written by Paul van Walree.
So anyway, for approximately $2100 you can have ultimate bokeh with Canon's 85mm F1.2L II or you can have pretty, pretty good bokeh for $1750 less with Canon's 85mm F1.8.
Call me crazy but can I really get anything in focus at F2.8? Not with my shaky hands. (Good thing I'm not a brain surgeon.) I have much better odds at F4. And no, I don't want to use a tripod! And no, I don't drink a lot of coffee!
Now the point of this rant isn't to sell lenses or to come out to you about my shaky hands or to make you really think about shallow depth-of-field ... but to ask you ...
Are there other yummy words like bokeh? I just got to know! Share some of your COOL!
Thought you would be excited to hear about what your peers are doing -- they've created a new extreme sport called the "Camera Toss."
Here's how you play... Set your shutter to a long exposure and toss your camera in the air at night in front of different light sources. Make sure the camera spins.
Stephen Haas, former photo editor for the Daily Eastern News at Eastern Illinois University, was interviewed about the sport by Nathaniel West of the Herald & Review in Illinois.
"I like the thrill of not knowing what you're going to get," said Haas. "It's also a pseudo-adrenaline rush, throwing thousands of dollars of gear around."
Interested in seeing some images? Go to this website. Want to read the beginner's guide? How about the Mini-HOW TO?
Want to send a donation? Maybe like for hospital expenses or because you have too many cameras that you would love to "toss" away?
Is this happening on the East or West coasts too or only where people practice "Cow Tipping?"
Photo © Stephen Haas.
For a lot of photographers, students and professionals, to
shoot for National Geographic magazine is the absolute ultimate. You know who you are and you want answers.
Here is a link to some questions you might have or might not admit to having.
Here is a link to the biographies of the people behind the camera.
Here is a link to their lab ... open to the public.
Here is a link to photo internship information at NG Adventure magazine and another one at NG Traveler magazine.
And here is a link to Michael "Nick" Nichols website. He is an extraordinary wildlife photographer for NG. He has a section of frequently asked questions, which includes information on camera traps, photography ethics, and how much money does a NG photographer make (only about 100k with side assignments plus the marketing of his archive of images). Or you could learn about photographing tigers, elephants, and apes.
"Self-Portrait" © Nick Nichols
 Jim Bumgardner has got some really interesting photographic things going on at his blog: KrazyDad.com.
First, there's the Squared Circle Poster (seen at right, but click this link for the larger, interactive version). Jim's taken 1099 photographs of circles-in-a-square that he found on the photo sharing website Flickr and created a mosaic. But it's not just any mosaic, because this one is interactive; click on one of the "Squared Circles" and you're taken to the Flickr page that houses the original image.
But, wait... there's more! Jim's also created a really interesting and fun-to-play with "Color Pickr" where, when you click on a color on the wheel, Flickr-based pictures that are comprised of that color are loaded up around the wheel. Harder to descrbe than to use, the Color Pickr has several variations that use different types of images (flowers, graffiti, etc.)
Try it out!
 Did you know that kite-assisted photography is reemerging?
"Kite photography flourished in the late 18th and early 19th century, but died out when the airplane created a more convenient way to take pictures... Early kite photographers had to affix a slow-burning fuse to their camera shutter, and then fly the camera long enough to get a single shot," writes Denis Cuff for Knight Ridder Newspapers.
Charles C. Benton, a professor at Berkeley, is photographing San Francisco Bay marshes and shorelines
as part of a Hidden Ecologies project sponsored by the San Franciso Exploratorium. The project also received support from the National Endowment of the Arts.
"Kites are cheaper and more convenient than balloons, Benton said. Kites also don't cause the air turbulence generated by a helicopter that can obliterate details of water and soil surfaces and plant cover. Airplanes don't hover, and they're not a grassroots tool anyone can use, he added."
Interested in how Benton does it? He's published an online guide on the equipment he uses from the kite, to camera suspension, to digital recommendations. But nonetheless, when the wind starts howling, Benton will reel his kite in before his camera comes crashing down.
As if it isn't expensive enough to invest in digital equipment, can you imagine what it would cost if you weren't good at flying kites!
Photo © Charles C. Benton
Passionate about photographing cricket? Not the yucky bugs I find in my garage every morning. Nor Jiminy, the cricket who is Pinocchio's conscience. I am talking about
the sport that rages in the UK.
Here is your opportunity to receive £7,500 to photograph the Marylebone Cricket Club both in England and abroad. Plus you will be mentored by Graham Morris - one of the world's top cricket photographers.
What does it take?
You are between the ages of 18 and 25 and should have an interest in cricket (obviously), with skills for action photography, plus the desire to be a professional sports photographer.
Applicants should submit examples of their work, a cover letter and completed application
to MCC Communications Department, Lord's Cricket Ground, St John's Wood, London NW8 8QN by February 6, 2006. For more info...
The winning applicant will start shooting in early April when Marylebone Cricket Club will play the Champion County (Nottinghamshire) at Lord's.
Good luck!
Photo © Cricketpix
Well, maybe not exactly the press, but Artkrush 19, the latest installment of Flavorpill's international art & design e-mail magazine is now available online.
The issue features the giant expo Paris Photo, reviews the work of German photogrpaher Ingar Krauss, and includes an interview with Rosa Olivares on Spain's new photography. (Olivares is the curator of the galleries, special exhibitions, and programs for Spain, the guest of honor country at this year's Paris Photo.)
Personally, I found it difficult to read the articles in full on-screen--I still prefer the look and feel of print mags. But for all you cyber-savvy folks, some interesting content nontheless.
 OK, so you're not likely to do this with your new Canon D5, but there are some folks out there setting their cameras' timers, then tossing their cameras into the air and seeing what results as the camera falls back to earth. (this image by Waidiren).
For some of the best samples of the photographic order that can result from chaos, see Camera Toss (The Blog) which bills itself as "a showcase photo-blog for the 'best of' camera tossing and general musings on this form of abstract photography."
The Blog is an offshoot of a camera toss group on Flickr where you can find even more examples.
As the Flickr group members put it, their technique is "about enabling the photography that happens naturally when you let go of the process, give up control, and add a hell of alot more variables. It is about physics, gravity, angular momentum, acceleration, direction, chaos, and timing... most of which you have tenuous control of at best!"
So, take that old, dusty 2Megapixel relic off the shelf and toss it!
For more than 20 years Lynette Huffman Johnson has been running a traditional photography business of portraits and weddings when she found a way to truly make a difference with her camera. For the past decade Lynette has offered to photograph families facing the loss of a child free-of-charge.
As a result, there has been a lot of press championing Johnson's work, which has enabled the creation of the non-profit organization Soulumination. You can help through donations or volunteering -- or maybe this can inspire you to make a difference with your camera too.
Photo © Lynette Huffman Johnson
A new online arts publication based in Minneapolis/St. Paul is interested in your vision!
The quarterly journal is founded and edited by photographer Laura Hoyt and multi-media artist Abinadi Meza. Viewing their work, you will recognize that they are very interested in experimental works in a variety of media.
Submissions by CD-ROM can be sent to Mysterious Object, c/o Laura Hoyt, 3232 Colfax Ave South #1, Minneapolis, MN 55408. Slides are not accepted. Mailed submissions will not be returned. Don't send website URL's.
But ... they will heartily accept e-mail submissions.
Ahh ... the luxury of an open deadline.
Ahh ... the luxury of being an artist-in-residence.
Almost. Open deadlines are terrible for procrastinators, BUT there is nothing more delicious than going to a haven devoted to and focused on making art.
Light Work in Syracuse, New York is inviting 12-15 artists for a one-month residency program in 2006. This includes a $2,000 stipend, an apartment, a private darkroom, and 24-hour access to the Light Work facility, which includes a Hope 32" color processor and Macintosh G5 workstations.
For consideration, send a current resume, artist statement, letter of intent, slides/proof prints of your most recent work, and any other support materials. Also include postage for the return of your materials.
Light Works is "primarily interested in artists who are seriously involved with the medium of photography, and who clearly understand their intentions as an artist."
So, what is the catch? You must make art!
"Participants in the residency program are expected to use their month to pursue their own projects: photographing in the area, printing for a specific project or book, etc."
For more information -- check this link or this link -- or call 315 443 1300
Send application materials to: Light Work, Artist-in-Residence Program, 316 Waverly Avenue, Syracuse, NY 13244
Richard Zakia, Professor Emeritus at Rochester Institute of Technology, and Glenn Rand are publishing a book, "Teaching Photography," with Focal Press. They would love to include student work, interviews with teachers and assignment ideas.
The deadline is September 30th.
If you are interested, contact GlennRand@aol.com with a subject line of "Submissions for book."
Light 'em Up is a blog that bills itself as "ramblings and observations about the NYC paparazzi." and is a totally satisfying outlet for those who both work in, and are fascinated by, this crazy brand of celebrity photographer. It also lists call times and addresses for NY-based film premieres and often hilarious reports on recent shoots.
In the tradition of the Round Table at the Algonquin Hotel in NYC, where literary legends used to lunch after World War I and where VII photo-journalists were more recently photographed with their Canon cameras, the new hot spot is the Frontline in London.
The Frontline restaurant is open to the public and was awarded a "Remy" as one of Londoner's ten favorite restaurants. BUT membership to the Frontline Club is exclusively for journalists, cameramen and photographers throughout the world who risk their lives in the course of their work. Membership costs depend on the proximity of your home or office to the club and requires nomination from two club members.
I went to a photo show last night and was really impressed with how the show was hung. When I asked the photographer about the presentation she told me about her favorite secret source for frames and mattes--IKEA! While art stores charge upwards of 60 bucks for frames, she got hers at Ikea for less than 20 dollars a pop. They looked great too--sleek, uniform, and showed off her work in the best way possible.
Webster's Dictionary defines "dog days" as
1. the period between early July and early September when the hot sultry weather of summer usually occurs in the northern hemisphere
2. a period of stagnation or inactivity
So here's some summer reading to keep you cool and productive while adding another dimension to your photo-skills with books
by Larry Allan, Nick Ridley and Debrah H. Muska.
Join the roster of contemporary "dog photographers" such as William Wegman and Keith Carter.
And learn from Ruth Silverman, former Associate Curator of the International Center of Photography, how the dog has been documented from the earliest daguerreotypes and cartes de
visites in her book "The Dog: 100 Years of Classic Photography."
Are you interested in making photographs in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and/or Sweden?
The American-Scandinavian Foundation offers fellowships (up to $20,000) and grants (normally $4,000) to individuals to pursue the creative arts in one or more Scandinavian country for up to one year. You can download the application.pdf
... deadline is November 1, 2005 (so you have no excuse!)
Last year $3,000 was awarded to Tone Stockenstrom from Columbia College and Nina Young from the School of Visual Arts to make photographs in Sweden.
Good luck!
After publishing their first books, photographers Phil Borges and Natalie Fobes formed the Blue Earth Alliance, a non-profit corporation to create a "fertile place for photographers to grow their projects about our fragile earth and the many unique cultures that inhabit it."
So here is how it works...
You submit your project idea. Content should deal with endangered cultures, threatened environments and social concerns.
There are two deadlines for consideration: January 21st and June 1st.
If your project is chosen, you are assigned a team to help you develop funding for the project, which includes a two hour consultation with a grant writer, a list of potential foundations, and a 50 page book that helps with the organization, funding, shooting and publishing of your photographic project.
The philosophy is that Blue Earth Alliance "supplies the tools to build the house but the photographer is the one who must use them."
Click here to view some recent work they've supported.
This sounds so damn good that I'm going to try it myself. I'll let you know how it goes!
Jim Gehrz, a photojournalist for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, is featured in the June issue of News Photographer magazine. Not the typical feature about a photographer, rather it is a daily assignment journal written by Gehrz himself. It definitely reveals how he stays motivated through the ups and downs of the business.
One of the things he shares happened 21 years ago when the director of photography at the newspaper he was shooting for said, "You do not have an eye for photographs. No matter how hard you work you will never have an eye. So you might as well quit the photojournalism business and start painting houses."
Brutal ... but it didn't stop him!
Since then Gehrz has been awarded Minnesota News Photographer of the Year four times and Wisconsin News Photographer of the Year six times, not to mention this year's NPPA Best of Photojournalism Newspaper Photographer of the Year (for the entire USA).
You can view his amazing essay "Against All Odds" about Sgt. Jessica Clements' recovery from a roadside bomb outside Baghdad.
Photo © JIM GEHRZ/Minneapolis Star Tribune/ZUMA Press
Relive the golden days of American commercial architecture with these gorgeous vintage photos of suburban malls...
 Have you heard about Nueva Luz? It is a tri-annual journal devoted to photography by Americans of African, Asian, Latino and Native American heritage. Each issue features three portfolios by three different photographers. They mostly publish b/w photography but they do consider color.
So ... what to submit? (Check this link on Explorer) A portfolio of 20 images with resolved and cohesive content. You can send RC or ink jet prints, slides, or digital files on a Mac formatted CD. Include a bio/resume noting your heritage, an artist statement and information about the work submitted. Send it with a SASE if you want it back.
Where? Nueva Luz, En Foco, Inc., 32 East Kingsbridge Road, Bronx, NY 10468.
Hey ... good luck!
 wordparts defines chimping as the act of constantly using the display on the back of a digital camera to review the photos one is taking. Named for the sounds made by its practitioners, for example, "Oh ohoh ooh ooh ooh look at this one!"
Bert Hanashiro of SportsShooter made a video of his colleagues at work - chimping.
And you can fashionably denounce it at cafepress.com
When I worked at Vanity Fair, Harry Benson used to call and check in everyday. Unfortunately at the time, I didn't recognize the magnitude of this photographer's accomplishments and was more worried about screening the mass quantity of calls the photo department received rather than engaging in what could have been worthwhile conversation. Bummer. Live and learn for sure. (I pissed off Douglas Kirkland too - but that is a whole other blog).
In this month's American Photo, the book "Harry Benson's America" is promoted with a nice spread of photos, an interview, and most interestingly his six simple rules for photographing people.
1. Be Original
2. Be Spontaneous
3. Be Bold
4. Be Calculating
5. Don't Be Cynical
6. It's Okay to Be a Paparazzo
In the "Master Class" article, Benson gives descriptions of shoots like Donny and Marie in 1977 (rule #5) to Anna Wintour in 1994 (rule #1) with more descriptive information as to how these rules should apply.
Photo © 2005 Harry Benson
 The May/June issue of Picture Magazine featured an interview with photographer Alexei Hay. Here is what he had to say about photography:
It should be something that works on your nervous system first before it appeals to your faculties.
Photo by Alexei Hay
 The Los Angeles Times printed an entertaining and insightful article in today's Calendar section about the relationship of photographers to the public's obsession with celebrity, which highlighted the recent book, "Paparazzi," by Peter Howe.
During an interview with writer Gina Piccalo, Howe asks, "What is the difference between
Cartier-Bresson and a paparazzo who does exactly the same thing except
with a specific group of people?"
Hmmm.
Surprising question especially considering Howe was the former picture editor for the New York Times Magazine and former director of photography for Life Magazine AND is the author of Shooting Under Fire: The World of the War Photographer as well as the executive editor of The Digital Journalist.
And then Peter Grossman, the news photo editor at US Weekly, offers this morsel ... "They're doing our version of investigative journalism."
Arggh ... really?!!! I have got to get the book!!!
Photo by Ken Hively/The Los Angeles Times
This is a heartfelt essay written by Nancy L. Ford to remind us why we make photographs. A great photo happens when a photographer sees a situation unfolding in front of them that evokes an emotion that the photographer feels deep down, in the middle of their chest. And in a split second, they then make a conscience choice of exposure, lens, depth of field, lighting, body language, composition, etc., and releases the shutter. The film is then processed, scanned, laid out on a page, printed on a press, driven across town to the newspaper carrier who throws it on some guy's porch, who then opens the newspaper and looks down at that photo ... And if that guy gets the same feeling deep down in the middle of his chest that the photographer did when they viewed the situation in the first place, the photographer has made a great photo.
Photo by Heather Martin, "Lovers"
Copyright 1997 The Observer-Dispatch
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"I bet you never thought you'd be cleaning up after a toddler destroys his sand castle!"
"THIS? Nah, this is nothing. I've done everything from hiding underneath a supermodel's dress, to using my body as a human shield to keep flying cow poop from getting on the camera."
...and last Monday was no exception to my adventures as a photo assistant.
I'll admit it, I was a bit intimidated. She was kind enough to offer me some ash to taste, but I simply didn't know what to do. So I played it safe and said that I'd try some after the shoot. All day I had been shooting with a photographer, a mystical priestess, and some of her sacred ash. The pictures that had come out were quite beautiful, but I could sense that she wasn't totally satisfied. She had brought in various holy men to pour the ash with their hands, while she photographed them. We had been working on the images for quite some time, trying different lighting, having her guests pour the ash from different places on set and we even changed the music to please the spirits. Alas, nothing worked.
Finally, it was decided. In order to get the picture right, Goddess would have to shoot it. Of course preparing to channel the power of Goddess, takes time. Before the last picture, she and her assistants would meditate and then chant their incantations. They prepared for several minutes, only to shoot one frame.
So what does happen when you meditate and let a higher power take the picture for you? Well... I don't know who Goddess is, but she takes a snappy picture!
This might sound a little dull, but like any assignment, it’s what you put into it. Here's the assignment: Take a point-and-shoot  digital camera, go out to a magazine store that displays various magazines or journals on some sort of rack—Barnes & Noble comes to mind—and photograph the same spot each week. Or every other week. Or daily. And try and do it in the same lighting or time of day.
My idea comes from a photograph by Berenice Abbott that was taken during her series Changing New York. The image is titled, "Newsstand: Southwest Corner of 32nd Street and Third Avenue, November 19, 1935" and what amazes me about the photo is it's not just about the newspaper covers. It's the whole environment as well. I thought this assignment might allow you to not only document the covers of the magazines that many of you might be shooting for, but that you might also capture the disjointed narrative taking place each week as seen through the kaleidoscopic lens of the mass media. Kind of like Picasso & Braque with a digital camera instead of scissors and paste.
This weekend I spoke at a workshop here in Big Sur that was run by Eddie Soloway. Eddie is the author of “1000 Moons” and has been leading workshops around the world for over 10 years. He also sells his work at art shows through out the US during the summer months. With all the beauty that surrounded us, this group of 15 people wanted to discuss cameras and gear. I find this very disturbing, as what I feel we should be concentrating on is the content of the image, not how we got there. The weather was perfect, maybe a little windy for beach work, but wow, the pool at the Big Sur Lodge looked really inviting, why would these people want to stay in a hot stuff little cabin as ask these questions.
Eddie had stopped by my house to pick up equipment and we had had this brief discussion before the workshop started, now here we were having it for real. From our discussion, here’s a list of some questions that we came up with, I think these are some of the most important questions we can ask ourselves in this changing photo world, I’ve included my own thoughts after the questions.
1. “Are these digital pictures?” What does it matter, do you like the content?
2. “Why are there so many bad digital prints?” What’s your definition of the word bad? Content, quality?”
3. “Was Ansel Adams the master manipulator? “Ansel did what he needed to do to create the image he saw in his minds eye with talent, vision and just plain hard work.”
4. Cartier Bresson’s image of the child leaping across the puddle, would that have been ok if it were a composite image done in PhotoShop? “I think if that was the case, we would see the world very differently, what if Cartier pulled that leaping child from a web site?”
These questions and discussion just went on and on, there are now answers to them because we have the reality of what history and photography has us. The biggest question I have is “Are we becoming way to involved with the technology and forgetting the content and ethics of our images that we make.
As the education coordinator for Calumet Photographic, I get to see a little into the future, schools are still teaching wet based photography, looks like it will be with us for a very long time. Let’s take a look at the traits of those photographers that came before us, content, creativity, talent and hard work.
Sync magazine, a tech gear-oriented magazine that is fond of pairing hot products with scantily clad women, has decided to give back to its readers. (Perhaps scantily clad women weren’t enough?!)
As indicated in the April/May 2005 edition of the publication, all the mag asks in return is that you spot the prize that would “look the best for showing off to your friends." Then, write in to letters@syncmagazine.com with "Advisory Board" in the subject line and include your address and daytime phone number. Prizes, which include an X2 MegaView 566 Media Player, a Dell Inspiron 600m notebook, Solio iPod Charger, a Numark CD2CD Burner among others, will be pulled at random. So, let’s give three cheers for testosterone and juvenile behavior!
Sync Magazine
New York Times columnist David Pogue challenges you to a quiz. Check out these ten images, and guess which are real, and which are computer generated.
 According to The New York Times, art-school fave Cindy Sherman recently put her SoHo loft up for sale (it could be yours for the bargain price of $4,750,000).
Curious? Take a peek inside.
For more on how the other half (of photographers) live, check out Richard Avedon's place, featured posthumously in New York magazine.
 Make a pinhole picture of your mom!
Download the instructions for the Dirkon Pinhole Camera and make some pictures!
If you don’t already have plans for this summer, you might want to think about signing up for one of the workshops or lectures at the Center for Photography at Woodstock. The list of photographers teaching and speaking is pretty exciting, ranging from Magnum photographers Bruce Davidson, Eli Reed, and Alex Webb to society sharpshooter Larry Fink, and master of the southern gothic environmental portrait, Shelby Lee Adams. It's a fun area. Rent a room in a B&B and make a weekend of it...
(image by Shelby Lee Adams)
I turn to Vice magazine as always of what to do and what not to do, and it seems they have made their own list of do's and don't's of art school photography.
Hmm...
ONE WORD AES+F=AMAZING!
Chicago seems to be the new hot bed for young artists, especially photographers, two boys you need to check out from that scene are Brian Ulrich whose recent work "Copia" seems to be taking off the charts. Definitely check him out. And then there's Jonathan Gitelson whose work I really love, and I think it's preety funny too!
Both are featured in the ongoing Nova Young Art Fair.
p.s. they are really nice too!
 Check out the APA Image Maker lecture series at the Apple store in SoHo. The next lecture is on Monday May 9th from 6:00-8:00. Craig Orsini will be there talking about his work. It's free.
Looking for a quick way to polish your digital skills? The American Society of Media Photographers' New York chapter is offering this upcoming seminar... ASMP's Digital Makeover tour is a three-day intensive, hands-on course that
will allow you to master digital imaging using some of the most advanced digital cameras, monitors, printers and calibration systems available, while learning the latest Photoshop CS2 and asset management programs. The cost of the seminar is only $295.00 for ASMP members, or $495.00 for non-members. (Not a member? Join ASMP when you register for the seminar and apply the price difference to your membership dues -- and get all the other ASMP member benefits, too.)
If you’re interested, make sure you sign up now. It runs from April 29-May 1.
And don’t forget -- only one week until the upcoming Assistants Hexathalon, also sponsored by ASMP... They're still l ooking for teams of assistants, so register now at ApaNY.com or ASMPNY.org.
 Moviemakers l-o-v-e to put photographers into movies: Think Julia Roberts in Closer, Julia Roberts in Stepmom, Ally Sheedy as a Nan Goldin type in High Art, Dennis Hopper as a spaced out war photographer in Apocalypse Now, that chubby English guy in Secrets and Lies. The list is endless. If you see a photographer on screen in a movie, it usually means the character is A) a creative free spirit, B) a crusading photojournalist with a burning passion for the truth, or C) a creepy voyeur. Or he's Austin Powers.
But forget what they're saying about the psychology and emotional stability of photographers. Don't you just hate it when they get the technical details wrong?
We were reminded of this recently while watching the opening scene of the new movie The Interpreter. At the start of the movie (don't worry, this isn't giving the plot away) a photojournalist is in an unnamed African country at a spot where atrocities have taken place. Suddenly some bad guys show up, and the photographer has to hide in some tall grass in the blazing sunlight to avoid being seen. Still, he manages to get off a couple pictures. He aims, he shoots, and ... His shutter goes ssssshhh-CLUNK, ssssshhh-CLUNK.
Either he had the noisiest, slowest 35mm camera in the world, or this was a bad case of overdubbing in the sound studio. "Insert generic camera noise here." Anyone familiar with 21st century photojournalism would wonder why he wasn't shooting digital -- which is much easier to escape detection.
Can you name more examples of Bad Photography On Film stories? We know there must be loads of them...
--Holly Stuart Hughes
Seesaw magazine shows off some interesting work.
http://seesawmagazine.com
 What is it about Holgas that keeps people so fascinated? Is it the camera’s flexibility, the trademark vignetting or the $15 price tag? Whatever it is, few cameras have generated as much creativity and experimentation as the Holga.
Philadelphia photographer Kevin Black has dreamed up a brand new modification for his Holga. Using an intricate system of rubber bands, Black connected his PhaseOne H20 digital back to his cheap plastic Holga, and he’s posting the results of this Frankenstein creation on his new photoblog for the entire world to see.
Black says he liked the results he was getting from his Holga and film, and he liked his Phase back, so combing the two just made sense. To physically merge the two distinct units, he used a rotary Dremel tool to trim away the plastic. "Then I had to modify the lens' aperture since the H20 |
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