Monthly Archive for June, 2008

damon winter

Damon Winter of the New York Times saw this at the American Girl movie premier in Gotham the other day.

The times I see pictures made with something other than the traditional newspaper kit my first question is does this work? In this case, I find it classic and dramatic. The square helps this frame. Damon Winter has got eyes, as Kerouac would say. Of late he has been on the campaign trail for the Times.

I found this image of him on the Mean Rachel blog. It looks like a 50 f1.2 to me.

I have admired his work since he worked at the Dallas Morning News. From there he went to the LA Times and now the NY Times.

His portrait work is very arresting. Like this one he did for the NY Times of the writer Richard Prince. Simple, yet dramatic.

smith, peress

Arnold Newman made this image of W. Eugene Smith. Getty Images has it now.

If you have the chops apply for the grant.

I was a big fan of Smith’s when I was in high school. His ability to throw away a career, remake it, get hooked on drugs and such were a total inspiration for me.  Hunter S. Thompson was also a big influence. Needless to say, when I finally saw a copy of the famous Pittsburgh book, I was impressed and disappointed at the same time. Cropping, or not cropping out of respect of the frame, is very important to me. Smith was someone who saw the frame as a flexible place. Yet another idol fell off of the pedestal.

Here is an interesting interview about the project.

I always loved his prints. When I first saw one in a museum I reached out to touch hoping some mojo would end up in me. I touched it and shivered.

Of all of the grant winners. I have to say Gilles Peress has had the biggest influence on me.

There is  a great interview with him from a few years ago.

make the work


Thank you John Harrington. Through the videos you have made the the ones over at pdnpulse I feel like I have gotten a real good glimpse of what the Festival of the Photograph is all about.Nick Nichols has great advice: make the work, fight for images, be passionate. Make the work. I need to stop looking at videos and make some work….

caring = commercial


Joel-Peter Witkin. My friend Joe Pat Davis who was at his lecture at the Festival of the Photograph said it was amazing.

abell on on prince


Sam Abell, a former National Geographic photographer, talks about a photograph of his that was stolen, no I think the word they taught me art school is appropriated, by Richard Prince.
I am a fan of Sam Abell’s and during my early college years I was strongly influenced by him. I agree with the spirit of what he says about Prince. I am guessing the art world could care less actually.

This is one of my favorite images of his along with this one.
.
I doubt that Richard Prince could have photographed these. I doubt he has the skill to capture from real life. He’s got bank though. Here is an early 1990s Richard Prince.

my new favorite website and blog

Cary Conover recently, well a while ago, launched his personal website, which is very nice. (Sometimes I feel like I sound like Conscientious.)

Going over his work again I was struck but that similar feeling I get when I look at many black and white pictures: Why digital? Do film. Stick with one lens. Wait no, I do that. Cary does too. I really dig the color work. Show more of that. Don’t forget about visualdiaries.com. Who is Cary Conover? Dear reader, have you been living under a rock? Meet him here.

ziv koren

Ziv Koren puts a small video camera on top of his camera to shoot video and stills at the same time. This piece for Newsweek is interesting. Wired also did a stoy on him.

pulitzer winner interviewed

Andrees Latif, winner of this year’s Pulitzer Prize for Spot New Photography is interviewed by the Houston Chronicle, his hometown newspaper.

pink shoes

Rich-Joseph Facun made an amazing image the other day.

Not perfect, but very telling. Rich-Joseph works at the Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Va.

I heard that it ran 6 columns on page 1 too.

too many thoughts too little action

I keep thinking to myself, I should blog about this. Then the same thing pops up in google reader 4 more times and I think, no I should not. I should go take a picture or something that would make me feel better.

Liz Kuball recently posted this:

“It is so easy, when your Google Reader is always full of excellent photographs, to feel as though the rest of the world is producing constantly, consistently, at a level you’re simply incapable of. It’s almost as if all the photographers whose blogs I read have become one photographer in my mind, and that one photographer never stops, never has to work, never gets sick or lacks inspiration. I know this isn’t true, of course—know that they all have their own struggles, that they all work hard to produce the work they do. But when all you see are the beautiful photographs, it’s hard to keep that in mind.”

Every time I look at something now I wonder to myself, is this the same person or is it different. Why is that I like it, but my appetite for info burns and I digest it and move on. Very little of the imagery I have seen lately sticks with me. I am also in trying to catch up with my photo history/theory/will this work in my thesis readings this summer. When I am not as busy as I can be, my head starts to churn.

There is also the new facebook addiction my friend Joe turned me on to. Though I do not have it as bad as Brandon Thornby does:

So I’ve tried to keep up with Facebook, too. But it’s all starting to be too much. I feel like maintaining my online lives is becoming a second job. It’s getting to the point that whenever I log on to a computer, I have a small anxiety attack.” from his recent Quick column.

Maybe next week will be better.