Stellazine

PhotoNOLA 2011 Wrap Up

2011-12-14T11:35:00.014-05:00

Now that I’ve settled back in at home I want to write about PhotoNOLA, one of the best photo festivals out there. It’s only a 3 hour flight from New York, so consider attending next year. You won’t be sorry.

I was there for the first time in 2008, and this year was so much better for me. I felt much more engaged, and by now, many of the other reviewers, and some of the photographers are friends, so I had a wonderfully social time.

I arrived Thursday for the fundraising gala, a party with fantastic food, music and great bargains on prints during the auction. It was my chance to hang out and meet new people while wishing I could own a lot of what was being sold.

On Friday I was able to go to the Insectarium, something I wasn’t able to do last time. I love insects, so it was a blast—I even got to eat some, which is something I wanted to do. The rest of the day was spent hanging out and eating, exactly what you expect to do in New Orleans.

Saturday and Sunday were all-day portfolio reviews. I saw some fascinating work and had a chance to meet other professionals I hadn’t met before. I know there is a lot of debate as to the value of portfolio reviews. I think they can be wonderful: a chance for photographers to get fresh eyes on their work, a chance to get face-to-face sit downs with high quality professionals, and a chance to meet and talk with other photographers. Yes, it will cost money. But aren’t you and your career worth it?

There are those who feel that reviews are a “pay for play” type situation, and you shouldn’t have to pay people to show them your work. I think it’s important to understand where that money goes. It goes to the organization that puts on the event (and putting together PhotoNOLA isn’t easy, and it isn’t cheap), and it goes to bringing the professionals to New Orleans. The reviewers are not paid, but their airfare and hotel are comped. I think that’s a pretty good deal all the way around.

Now if a photographer isn’t ready to be reviewed (their work is not far enough along), or they are not prepared with good work that is well presented, and don’t have both the ability to talk about their work and to hear what the reviewer says to then, then yes, maybe the reviews are not a good idea. But since most photographers work alone, in a sort of creative vacuum (especially if they are not in big cities), there is so much to be gained that I can’t support the review process enough.

Some of the work I saw that really stood out:

Patty Carroll’s study on domesticity:"Anonymous Women."

Christopher Chadbourne’s "State Fair"

Stephen Chalmers’s landscapes of serial killer murder sites

Alex Leme’s small town America project
Robert Llewellyn’s gorgeous "Seeing Flowers"
Calli McCaw’s boys jumping off the Coney Island pier

Sunday evening I was honored to be asked to moderate a panel called: “Picturing War,” which focused on the work of Sebastiano Tomada Piccolomini, Ashley Gilbertson and Jungeun Lee—three photographers showing alternate ways of depicting conflict. It was quite an emotional and engaging panel for all of us—panelists and audience. For my part, it was an unexpected and intensely emotional experience.

Ashley showed his work and featured the “Bedrooms of the Fallen,” a deep and moving portrait of the rooms of soldiers in the US and Europe who were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. By projecting the work on a large screen you couldn’t help but feel as if you were in the rooms, and that made it all the more poignant. And Ashley’s fierce passion for his work and to the soldiers who struggle with returning to civilian life with PTSD, or who commit suicide brought us all to tears. You had to ask yourself: What am I doing to help these people?

Jungeun Lee’s "Silenced Suffering" about the Korean women who were kidnapped and forced to be sex slaves to the Japanese soldiers during WWII was extraordinary in its detail and execution. Jungeun had grown up in Korea never hearing about this—only when 200 of the estimated 200,000 women who suffered began to testify in public did she learn about it. Her anger was so intense, it took her a year to begin to figure out how to express it visually. Jungeun’s attention to detail, and talk about what she chose to focus on and how she came to it was incredible. I am in awe of her creative process and wish I could have seen the complete installation (I saw a portion of it on display in a gallery in town).

For the closing dinner we were invited to the studio of Josephine Sacabo, a gifted fine art photographer who specializes in the photogravure process. It was such a treat to see an artist studio while in town and it was the perfect end to the festival. I found myself sitting at a table across from Jessica Lange—not what I had expected.

So I have to thank everyone who put this wonderful festival together: especially the great Jennifer Shaw, whose book, "Hurricane Story" is one of my favorites. I had such a great time meeting and talking with, among others, David Bram, Brian Clamp, Jennifer Schwartz, Andy Adams, Bill Schwab, Holly Hughes, Bevin Bering Dubrowski, Kyohei Abe, Roy Flukinger, Charles Guice, Neil Harris, Maggie Kennedy, Alexandra Le Faou, Claire O’Neill, Gordon Watkinson, Ann Pallesen, Mary Virginia Swanson, Sasha Wolf and Gordon Stettinius. I wish I could have spent time with everyone.

So mark this on your calendar for next year, and I hope to see you there!

all photographs copyrighted by the individual photographers

"This Wild Idea"

2011-12-01T12:03:00.004-05:00

Day 123: 9475 miles driven; 7930 photos taken; 30 cups of coffee; 25 places camped; 70 folks met.

That’s the most current tally for “This Wild Idea,” photographer Theron Humphrey’s one year road trip around America to find, photograph and record the stories of the people he meets.

“The idea is simple, the goal is straightforward, but I need your help! I’m going meet 1 new person a day, everyday, for 365 days. The goal is to makes images that age well and increase in value over time; images that will become part of your family story, which we can pass on to the next generation.”

It’s long been my belief that Americans feel no one listens to them (just check out the Occupy movement for more proof of that) and they want to feel connected to others. That is exactly what “This Wild Idea” is about. It’s a fantastic example of what you can do by just stepping right outside your door.

As Theron says,

“One day I woke up and realized how amazing it would be to hear my moms voice before she had me, or to hear my great-grandparents voices. To see them living their everyday. And I’ve always admired folks who’ve traveled the country and photographed the world, a lot have done it. And done it better than me. But something that was missing for me were folks’ names, I wanted to know that the photographers loved their subjects, that they shook peoples hands and told ‘em that they matter. So This Wild Idea is me getting out there and doing it, living my dream.”

And you can become a part of This Wild Idea is you like.

“The cool part of the project that it’s alive now,” says Theron. ”It’s free to access and look at and remember. Anyone across America can “Change my Route” and become part of the project. That’s pretty powerful. Instead of folks just being voyeurs to a photo project after the fact, we wanted to use social media to connect folks now.”

All photos Theron Humphrey

Pepper Spray Meme Going Too Far?

2011-11-23T13:04:00.006-05:00

I’d like to think there is nothing more to add to the “Pepper Spray Cop” meme that’s floating all over the web. It was funny at first, as people rushed to show off their Photoshop skills by inserting Officer Pike into everything from a painting by Seraut to groups of Muppets. But then things turned serious, as he started appearing in iconic 20th century photographs.

When does something become unfunny? Is it when every aspect has been exhausted, or when it starts to interfere with our feelings about historical events and their importance?

Is putting him into the infamous Kent State photo, or Nick Ut’s photo of a screaming girl running from a napalm attack, or Robert Capa’s falling soldier going too far? Does it remove the meaning of these images and the events they portray in order to belabor a joke?

Pete Brook of Prison Photography tweeted:

“What does the pepper spray cop meme actually mean? Well, some of the mash-ups can be funny ... but some of them are distasteful. And by distasteful I mean they use a commonly recognised image to grab attention but then belittle the horror of the original event.”

Some think that this is a way to reach a younger audience who might be interested in then figuring out what the context of the photo is. I’m not so sure. I think there’s a point where you have to realize not everything is fodder for comedy. It belittles the people in the photos and the people who took the photos at great risk when they are so indiscriminately used for something that has already passed its sell date.

And even the website creator says:

“Lastly, I don’t want to post the one of the naked girl in Vietnam screaming in the road or the guy getting shot in the head so stop sending them. I literally have FIVE THOUSAND submissions of those two pictures. Arbitrary? Sure. Tough luck! Don’t like it? OCCUPY MY ASS. Figuratively.”

Enough already. I am waiting for the basket of kittens, though.

(top to bottom original photos: Bill Hudson, John Filo, Robert Capa)

FAMBUL TOK, A Film About the Power of Forgiveness

2011-11-07T11:06:00.004-05:00

I have been thinking a lot lately about forgiveness: of oneself, of those who have wronged us, and of all the little things we cannot let go of. Then yesterday I saw “Fambul Tok,” Sara Terry’s documentary about reconciliation and forgiveness in Sierra Leone, and I was humbled.

If you don’t remember, Sierra Leone was at war from 1991-2002. Rebel groups trying to overthrow the government committed atrocities including hacking the limbs of people, kidnapping children and forcing them to kill, mass rape, and other things too horrible to mention here. You may remember that "blood diamonds" were used to fund the war. The world captured and is prosecuting Charles Taylor for his role, but the government of Sierra Leone gave blanket amnesty to all but a handful of men who led the carnage.

“Fambul Tok,” or “family talk” involves bringing accuser and accused face to face before the community in order to heal. One admits their crime and asks forgiveness of the person wronged. If the person forgives, the community becomes whole again. For a war that broke communities apart, it is an incredible example of grace.

Sara Terry has been shining a light on what happens AFTER war for many years now with her work from Bosnia and her Aftermath Project. This is her first film. Along with cinematographer Henry Jacobson, they visited Sierra Leone at least a half dozen times in the company of John Caulker, the founder of "Fambul Tok," to let these African people tell their own story. It is at once overwhelming and beautiful.

None of us will ever experience anything even close to what the people of Sierra Leone have suffered. But the amazing ability of these incredible people to forgive brought me to tears over and over again. They have a strength I can only hope for.

I can’t let go of this film, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

The final showing is tomorrow, Tuesday Nov. 8 at 11:30, at the IFC Center in the West Village. Don’t miss this documentary. It’s extraordinary.

You can purchase a DVD and a book of the story here. To find out more, go here I recommend you do both, and then invite your friends to watch with you. This is what grace looks like.

Crusade for Collecting

2011-11-03T18:57:00.004-04:00

Jennifer Schwartz, Atlanta gallery owner and all around wonderful photo person, is trying to raise money to bring art directly to people around the country.

"I decided to take this show on the road. I am going to go on a ten-week, ten-city tour in a little over a year where I do pop-up shows featuring the work of incredible emerging photographers from across the country that are part of The Ten," she says.

The Ten is her highly curated monthly online exhibit of 10 exclusive photographic images promoting collecting. It's a unique idea and one that Jennifer believes in passionately.

So take a look at her clever video and consider contributing to make this happen. Be a crusader for collecting photography. Contribute here

Another Week Full of Events

2011-11-01T13:33:00.014-04:00

There's lots to see and do this week, so let's get right to it!

Tonight, Tuesday November 1:

Joni Sternbach will be talking about Surfland
Center for Alternative Photography
36 E. 30th St.
7:00-8:30pm
To register for this free lecture email info@capworkshops.org or call 917-288-0343

EN FOCO presents an evening of Art + Cocktails
The home of Sidney Baumgarten & Terry Paladini Baumgarten
Battery Park City
6:00-10:00pm
Food is courtesy of John's of 12th Street.
Tickets start at $75
You can find out more, and buy tickets here

Wednesday November 2:

Manjari Sharma introduces the newest works of Darshan
SVA Lecture Series
136 W. 21st Rm. 418F
7:00pm
Free and open to the public

Caren Alpert's "terra cibus" Magnified food photos (top: fortune cookie; bottom: sprinkles)
James Beard Foundation
167 W. 12th St.
6:30-8:30pm
RSVP:caren@carenalpertfineart.com

Gilles Larainne: IDOLS & House of Louda
Steven Kasher
521 W. 23rd
6:00-8:00pm

Thursday November 3:

Lori Waselchuk's amazing "Grace Before Dying" traveling exhibit will be showing at
Umbrage Gallery
111Front St. #208
Dumbo
6:00pm

Terri Gold "Into the Mists of Time in Guizhou, China"
Keyes Art Consulting
551 W. 21st 4th fl.
6:00=8:00pm

Karen Knorr: "India Song"

Danziger Gallery
527 W. 23rd
6:00-8:00pm

Mark Yankus "Call It Sleep"
Clamp Art
531 W. 25th ground floor
6:00-8:00pm

Max De Esteban "Proposition One"
Klompching
111Front St. #206
DUMBO
6:00pm

Simen Johan "Until the Kingdom Comes"
Yossi Milo
525 W. 25th St.
6:00-8:00pm

This Week In Photoland

2011-10-26T22:53:00.009-04:00

So we've come to the crazy week; the photo week extravaganza. I thought I'd run down some of the cool events planned.

We all know PhotoPlus Expo has begun, so let me take this time to tell you I'll be moderating a panel on Friday, October 28 from 1:30-3:30pm:
The New World of Online Magazines + Curator Websites.
Joining me will be Julie Grahame of acurator.com, Michael Itkoff of Daylight Magazine, and photographers Manjari Sharma and Sophia Wallace. It's going to be full of great information, so don't miss it!

Here are some other wonderful events this week, so get up and get out!

Thursday October 27:

Sony Worldwide Photography Awards
Chelsea Museum
556 W. 22nd
6:30-7:30
PARTY TO FOLLOW!
RSVP: VIP.RSVP4photo@bonniercorp.com

Laura Pressley & CENTER of Santa Fe are holding a get together at
The New Yorker Hotel
481 8th Avenue & 34th Street
6-8pm

Friday October 28:

Photographer Taj Forer has a book launch and signing for "Stone By Stone"
Bubble Lounge
228 W. Broadway #1
6-8pm

and then stay for the launch of Daylight Magazine #9, "Cosmos" also at Bubble Lounge from 8-10pm.

The Unseen Eye
A Life in Photographs and Other Digressions....a performance by W. M. Hunt
Aperture
547 W. 27th 4th fl.
Doors open at 6:30pm
Performance begins at 7pm
RSVP: RSVP@aperture.org

It's All Happening This Weekend

2011-10-20T16:24:00.011-04:00

There’s so much going on this weekend and next week that I’m sure I’ll miss something. Before we head into PhotoPlus Expo week I wanted to give a rundown of what’s in store this weekend in New York. So get out and circulate!

Tonight: Thursday, October 20

Brian Ulrich's book party is at Aperture 547 W. 27th, 4th floor 7pm-9pm

Bryan Denton's show of his Libya photographs (quite timely) opens at
721 Broadway at Waverly Pl. (the Gulf + Western gallery)
main floor, rear of lobby 6pm-8pm

Friday, October 21:
Book launch and signing of STONE BY STONE, photographs of Taj Forer
The Bubble Lounge
228 W. Broadway #1
6pm-8pm

Saturday, October 22:

Visions:Tim Hetherington
Bronx Documentary Center
614 Courtlandt Avenue
Bronx, New York
6pm-10pm

Misha de Ridder book launch and artist talk at
Printed Matter
195 10th Ave.
6pm
RSVP

Michael Kirchoff: "An Enduring Grace"

2011-10-17T10:54:00.000-04:00

“I remember watching black and white television in my room and seeing news reporters broadcasting from the center of Red Square in Moscow. That image of St. Basil’s Cathedral behind the reporter reminded me more of Disneyland rather than the evil empire of which he spoke. It was difficult to understand the contradiction between the harsh ideas Americans had of Russia and the whimsical nature of what I was seeing on television.”

So begins Michael Kirchoff’s statement about “An Enduring Grace” his show at Baange & Burne in Chelsea. (547 W. 27th St. #319)

The work is dark and beautiful. Through the use of Polaroid Type 665 Kirchoff allows the process to add a surreal and almost fractured sense to the images. Kirchoff shoots almost from a child’s-eye level that allows him to explore the dichotomy between the reality of Russia, and the politically created reality from his childhood. His photographs are silky and lush, seeming to hover between dream and substance.

We see Russia in a fresh way through Kirchoff’s photographs; as empty landscapes and steadfast architecture that defies time. The boldness and strength of these buildings, churches and monuments allows them to exist in the landscape devoid of people. They are spread out through the country, and do not need people to give them life. Unlike monuments and famous structures in the U.S., these buildings exist whether people visit them or not.

I was amazed to see the “Black Tulip” monument to those who died in the Russian debacle in Afghanistan in the 1980s. How unusual for that country to mark the deaths of their soldiers in that long war. But this monument is in the middle of nowhere, commemorating only those in the region who died. As moving as it is, “their Vietnam,” there are no people leaving mementos or tracing the names of the dead. For Russia has always had a reputation as a place of untold melancholy and fatalism. While Americans fetishize grief and remembrance, Russians seem to take it in and move on.

Unfortunately this show will only be up until tomorrow, Tuesday, Oct. 18. I urge you to go and see these photographs. Baange & Burne is a floating gallery, getting its initial funding through Kickstarter. Very cool.

Dear Photographer: Your Marketing Isn't Working for Me

2011-10-06T18:00:00.004-04:00

When I received the third promo card from a photographer in what seemed like three weeks, I decided to write about it. I find so many things wrong in this approach I just have to break it down. I don't want to name the photographer or show the work because I don't fell the need to subject this photographer to derision. Besides, I think what I have to say is valid for all. So here goes:

Dear Photographer,

Why are you sending these promos to me? I do not hire photographers, so why waste money and material on me? If you want me to look at your work, why not email me and let me know why you want to show me what you’re up to? At least then you are giving me the option to look or not to look. I like having that choice.

The next problem I have with your promo is that it’s sent in an envelope. So instead of saving money with a postcard, you spend more for the stamp and then leave the waste with me. I don’t think I’m alone in wanting to deal with less waste. In fact, I try my best to not get additional packaging if I can help it. By using the envelope you’re telling me you don’t care about the environment. That doesn’t go over well with me.

And the card itself doesn’t make sense. The images are printed on what seems to be photographic paper. There is no note or personalization at all. So why are you sending it? Has something changed since you sent me the last one (about a week ago)? There’s no way for me to know. And since you can't be bothered to write something specific to me (even just "hello"), your marketing is terribly impersonal. When you are trying to make a personal impact that is not the way to go.

In addition, you have your name, phone number, and URL on the front of the card, but not your email address. If I wanted to drop you a line I would have to search it out on your website. Why make it that difficult for me? In this day and age I want less steps, less clicks, not more.

Now let’s talk about the images themselves. There is always more than one image on the card, and yet it is hard to distinguish them. At first I thought it was a multiple exposure image. It was only after looking at the next one that I realized you were using more than one image. Well, the format doesn’t work. The images don’t jump out at me. In fact they don’t make me give the card a second look at all. If your aim is to capture my attention, it’s not working.

Now I don’t know how you came to this marketing plan, whether it was your idea or someone else told you this was the way to go, but I don’t think it’s either the best use of your resources, or the most productive. Your marketing should have a goal behind it. Exactly who do you want to reach, and why? Have you culled a smart, focused mailing list, or just emailed everyone you’ve ever met?

Your first impression when you do a marketing push is the most important, so you need to think very hard about how many cards you send, when you send them, and how you can make them most effective. Are you using the right paper? Is all the important information there? Am I spending my money most efficiently? And finally, are these great images I want to show which will separate me from the masses?

If you don’t ask yourself these important questions, you are just throwing yourself out into the world without focus. That will not get you closer to what you want. The more research you do, the more you question your own motives, the better chance you will have of reaching the people and places you really want to reach. Anything less than that is a waste of your own time.

Why Am I Using Facebook?

2011-09-29T13:03:00.001-04:00

The new changes to FB (and the ones to come) have once again made me wonder whether I want to or need to have a presence there. I put up a page in order to promote my business and connect with other photographers. At first I friended nearly everyone. But as time has passed I find myself unwilling to friend people I do not know—even if they are supposed “friends of friends.”

I also tried to keep my postings and my attention to my Friends postings to be solely about photography. I am not interested in sharing everything in my life, and my closest friends are not even on FB. But as time wore on I couldn’t resist posting about and commenting on politics—something I feel very strongly about.

Then came the cute photos of animals—always hard to resist. Then the personal news from people I really like—how could I not “Like” them? And now I find myself wondering what the point to all of it is.

When I posted to the Flak Photo Network: “Is anyone else thinking of leaving FB? I'm wondering what the point is with all the things I dislike and the feeling I'm getting further away from people instead of closer. What's the alternative? Thoughts?” I was interested in and appreciated the responses and reasoning from people I knew. That is one of the few things I really like about FB—talking with people not in New York in real time.

But I am so tired of the changes with no options, and the fact that I worry about the privacy issue (yes, I am old fashioned). I don’t want to be told I have no choice over how I participate, and how my information is used. And now that FB has formed a PAC to fight privacy rulings, I am even more concerned.

Now I’m not saying my privacy hasn’t already been curtailed in this day and age. But I like choosing where I participate online, whether it’s what I’ll buy or do or visit. I don’t want this one company making the decisions for me. And now to hear that they track me even AFTER I’ve left the site is just chilling. I know each person needs to make the best decision according to their own needs. And I know I need to do that myself. But I am overwhelmed by it all, and confess I don’t understand both how to use it in the best way, and how to make the changes I want to make. I need a tutorial on FB and everything else (Twitter, blog, etc.)

I would love to know what you think. I can use all the practical information I can get. What do I need to do (or not do) to navigate FB to my best advantage, and in a way that doesn’t drive me crazy?

How do you feel about being a part of something that you created (well the 750 million who joined), but have no say in shaping? How do you feel about the FB PAC committee and its political lobbying? Does anyone else look back nostalgically at a time when you actually had to meet up with and talk to people to find out who they were and what they were doing?

Let me know.

My September 11, 2001

2011-09-07T09:49:00.007-04:00

It took me five years before I could go a day without thinking of the Towers and crying. And as the tenth anniversary of the attacks approach I find myself right back there. And I’m crying again. How can it be this many years?

For a long time I didn’t want to think of anything else—I didn’t want to move on, because I thought if I did, if everyone did, we would all forget. And since the attacks were so personal to me as a native New Yorker, I thought moving on was sacrilegious.

I used to always tell people that I hated New Yorkers, but if anything was to happen, I didn’t want to be with any other people. September 11th and the days and weeks after proved me oh so right. My city was splendid. And it might have been the only time (the only time ever) I wasn’t hated for being a New Yorker by the rest of America.

People came from all over to find ways to help. They were drawn by a sense of patriotism I had never seen before. I volunteered, serving meals to first responders and met people from all over the country. They elevated me because I had been here when “IT” happened. I didn’t have to throw up my protective armor as a New Yorker. I could love the city I had grown up wanting to escape. I could be proud of New York and of being a New Yorker. That was an unusual feeling.

I was on my way to work at The New York Times that morning, and couldn’t believe the scar torn through the first building, flames blazing. By the time I arrived at the newsroom, the second building had been hit. There was a sense of disbelief. I just couldn’t wrap my head around what was happening. Then came the news of the strike at the Pentagon, and the plane crashing in Pennsylvania.

Everyone remembers how blue the sky was.

The newsroom was like an emergency room—a lot happening in a fast-paced place, yet an air of calm determination and professionalism. That was until the Towers came down. We watched it on television, and I felt dead inside. It was an audible sound inside of me. People were streaming into the Times with photos they had taken: tourists, people working or living in the area, and the New York Times photographers. They came in slowly, covered with the dirt and dust of the fallen buildings--almost unrecognizable. I was one of the photos editors who began editing film as it came in, grabbing it from the lab and looking through hundreds and then thousands of images.

Moments stick out: Photographers Jim Estrin and Ruth Fremson coming in coughing and covered in debris; working so hard, almost without looking up, as the company brought in catered food for everyone. They did that for days.

I remember how quiet the newsroom was. The air felt heavy. I think I left to go home around midnight, walking out into a deserted Times Square. The only cab I saw picked me up, but had to drop me at 23rd Street-not where I lived, below that. The city had been closed down, so I walked in the dark, in the silence, with the smell of death thick in the air.

I stayed up for hours, sobbing as I watched cable news play the story over and over. I thought of the people in those buildings. I recalled my memories of the Towers: the Fourth of July in the 1970’s, before Battery Park City was built, when the city let us sit by the edge of the water and watch fireworks over the Hudson, while lasers bounced off the façade of the Twin Towers.

I remembered when I lived a block and a half behind the Towers and spent so many nights walking the deserted concourses, seeing how far up in the building I could get. My bank was in there. I worked in Tribeca then, and could almost walk to work underground through those concourses. I thought of how much I loved standing on the top and looking out on the world with the wind howling and me screaming. I knew it so well. How could the buildings be gone?

The next workweek was a blur as each day led into the next. I worked long hours, looked at thousands of photographs, ate catered food, went home late, and stayed up for hours crying. I was part of the living dead: exhausted, overwhelmed and overwrought. I felt like I would fall apart at any moment. It was the daily phone call from my best friend in California that kept me together. I closed my windows to block the stench of death that hung over lower Manhattan. And I looked out the window at my southern city view, and couldn’t remember if I used to be able to see the Towers. That drove me crazy. I just couldn’t remember.

I do, however, remember the missing posters that sprang up around the city, and the people coming to the Times with those posters, asking if we could help. I remember taking a Xeroxed photo of Tonyell McDay from her parents when they came to the newsroom. And living across from Beth Israel hospital I saw so many of the posters. It was a haunted city where eyes stared back at you everywhere you went.

I am one of a small group of people who carry dozens and dozens of names in my memory. For nearly five months I gathered the photos for the “Portraits of Grief,” published in the New York Times. I spent my days cropping faces out from the wonderful moments in their lives to represent the horror of their deaths.

At first getting photographs for each profile was just a matter of professional pride, mixed with numbness and exhaustion from the attacks. But it quickly became critical to me to see that there was a photograph to run with each profile. I wanted "Portraits of Grief" to become personal for the readers. I wanted them to be able to look into the eyes of each person who died so that they were not reduced to an incomprehensible statistic--a number too great to be felt in the heart.

I worked on the "Portraits of Grief" every day until I honestly couldn't do it anymore. It broke my heart.

In the years since, politicians and opportunists have made their money and gained their power. War and torture and ‘extraordinary rendition’ and profiteering and no more privacy have twisted their roots deep into this country. As people jump in front of the camera, talk too much in the press, repeat images over and over, and tell us “what this mean,” I will think back to the actual day, September 11, 2001, and poke the scar so I can feel it again.

Tonyell McDay, Maria Abad, Eldelmiro Abad, Tariq Amanullah, Samantha and Lisa Egan, Dave Fontana, Susan Getzendanner, Jonathan Ielpi, Manny Del Valle, Ward Haynes, Terry Hatton, Rudy Bacchus, Moira Smith, Sean Booker, Beth Quigley, John & Joseph Vigiano, Godwin Ajala, Ricknauth Jaggernauth, Timothy Stackpole, Pat Brown, Christian Regenhard…....just a few of the 2, 749 people murdered in New York.

And most of those who died have never been identified.

Photographs by Jason Florio. Taken then, and at the same time this week.

Muhammar Loves Condi

2011-08-25T16:36:00.003-04:00

My favorite photo story of the week is about Muhammar Gaddafi (or Muammar el-Qaddafi) and Condoleeza Rice. It seems Gaddafi has what can only be termed a heavy crush on Condi, as shown by a photo album found by rebels when they overtook his compound in Tripoli.

Rebels leafed through the album Wednesday after finding it as they rummaged through Gadhafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound.

And while the State Department termed it, “deeply bizarre” and “deeply creepy, ” I think it’s deeply funny. Why Gaddafi fell in love with the neo-conservative Rice is for psychiatrists to determine. There has been no comment from Rice, but you have to wonder if she feels just a little bit flattered.

As Gadaffi himself said in 2007, "I support my darling black African woman," he said. "I admire and am very proud of the way she leans back and gives orders to the Arab leaders. ... Leezza, Leezza, Leezza. ... I love her very much. I admire her, and I'm proud of her, because she's a black woman of African origin."

For me it becomes not necessarily the photos of the uprising in Libya that is most memorable, but a simple photo album kept by someone with an attack of grade school puppy-love.

Check out photos taken of the rebels leafing through the album here

IN THE LOUPE Information

2011-08-11T10:41:00.002-04:00

I find it hard to get things done in the summer—too hot, people out of reach, no motivation. But I’ve found it is imperative to push forward anyway.

We have decided to set the premiere of IN THE LOUPE to after Labor Day. It’s almost like waiting for the new school year to start. People will be back in town--more focused and ready to work.

We are hoping to have work submitted to us here. If we like it, if we think it would be of interest to others, we’ll run it. But don’t just send us an email that says—“look at this.” If you’re want your work featured on IN THE LOUPE you have to take an active part in presenting it to us.

We’re looking for short films, Kickstarter and Emphas.is pitches, book projects, work that deserves a wider audience, and any good ideas you may have.

So even though it’s summer—start thinking about what you can do to get others to see your work. Become an advocate of your own photography, not just a bystander waiting to be noticed. It’s up to you! We’re just offering you the platform.

And check out the IN THE LOUPE blog

More About IN THE LOUPE

2011-07-14T09:51:00.003-04:00

One thing we are hoping to do with IN THE LOUPE is feature other people's work. And to that end we are hoping that photographers take an active role in promoting their work to us and sending us work we might include in an upcoming episode. So if you are doing interesting video (2-3 min) send it to us for consideration.

We're talking an active role in not only talking about photography, but reaching out into the photo world--here in New York and anywhere around the world where there is new interesting photography worth noting. We're calling on photographers to take an active role and let us know what you've got that you think the world should know about. And that includes motion work.

Send emails to us at intheloupetv@gmail.com.

And if you're looking to get involved with IN THE LOUPE--as a cameraperson, contributor, correspondent, or anything else, now is the time to jump in!

Announcing IN THE LOUPE!

2011-07-07T10:47:00.009-04:00

Stella Kramer, Julie Grahame, and Allegra Wilde are excited to announce IN THE LOUPE, a WebTV show that will premiere at the end of July. It’s TV with the three of us, talking about everything photography.

IN THE LOUPE has information, attitude, interviews, reviews and real photo news. We’re not shy about telling you what we think, and we’ll have special guests talking about their work. Nothing is off-limits. Agree or disagree, but you won’t be bored.

If you’ve got a project or a book coming out you’d like to promote, a show about to open, a Kickstarter or Emphas.is project you need to raise money for, or just have an idea or suggestions to make—let us know! If we think it’s interesting, we’ll put you on the air.

And of course, if you’ve seen some amazing work you think we should know about... tell us!

Should you want to sponsor or advertise with us, drop us a line.

We've got a Tumblr blog here and you can get a taste of what's to come by watching the trailer. IN THE LOUPE plans on being THE place for photography talk. Join us!

In The Loupe TV Preview from Julie Grahame on Vimeo.

Sheri Lynn Behr-NoSafeDistance

2011-06-23T12:40:00.014-04:00

Sheri Lynn Behr's work is eclectic, a career that has evolved over the years. Her most recent project, NoSafeDistance challenges our ideas of private and public existence. There are important questions being asked here, and the work forces us into realizing that we are all on show no matter where we are.

As Sheri says, "Today we live in a post-privacy world, an image-obsessed society where cameras are everywhere. With or without our knowledge, we are being photographed several times a day."

This invasion of our privacy has taken place without our implicit permission, and yet I know I still cling to a desire to stay private, even when I'm outside. By facing this dichotomy straight on, Behr's photos force us to acknowledge that we have no control of how we are viewed anymore.

"By cropping and enlarging the faces, which are often distorted by the window's reflections, and by removing the context, there is a certain ambiguity created. The images can reference mug shots, identity cards, missing persons, even paparazzi celebrity captures. More closely they resemble surveillance photos, which is what they really are. They are meant to challenge our expectations of anonymity and privacy."

Tell me about No Safe Distance. How did it come about? How do people react to you?
NoSafeDistance started in Chinatown. When I’d photograph into a store window, some people would turn away and hide, and others would smile and pose. And of course, the issues of immigration, terrorism, surveillance and privacy have really become important. What are the expectations of privacy when you are in a space with a large glass window to the street, and everyone seems to have a camera? How do you react when a stranger’s camera is pointed at you?

I’ve been shooting this project in big cities like NY and LA, and in small towns in New Jersey. I’d like to shoot more in other places, hopefully soon, both single images, and series of photos that track the subject’s reaction to the camera.

And no, no one has come out after me.

You seems to have a fascination with Chinatown communities—your book Lucky Cats speaks to that. How did that come about?
In 2004 I started a day job in a school in Chinatown that was supposed to last 2 months. I’m still picking up the occasional part time job there, in part because I’m still shooting there. As I said earlier, I have a need to take pictures when I’m somewhere new, and I photograph a place until I come to terms with it. I’ve created a number of Chinatown portfolios, but I’m still not finished there. It continues to surprise me.

The Lucky Cats project started in Chinatown, but it has moved beyond it to other places and taken on a life of its own. Part of the fascination for me in the beginning was that despite being in shop windows all over Chinatown, Lucky Cats are actually Japanese. In a way, they became a metaphor for the kind of photography I do.

Tell us how you came to photography
I come from a family that took a lot of snapshots and home movies. My mom had a lot of photo albums. I think the earliest pictures I took myself are from when I went off to camp at 14. They were the start of my need to take pictures when I was somewhere other than home. Later on, when I started taking photography classes after college, I realized how much I just wanted to be taking pictures, looking at pictures. All the time. So I do.

Who influenced you? Whose work do you admire?
The list is endless. It probably starts with Edward Weston’s peppers. How such a mundane object can look so beautiful. I just saw one at AIPAD that I had never seen before and found I could still be amazed by them.

These days, I’m really very eclectic in my tastes, and I appreciate so much of what I see, old and new. Eggleston, who I didn’t like much at the beginning, but whose work I’ve grown to love. Lucas Samaras’ manipulated Polaroids. Lately, I’ve been really loving the work of Michael Wolf, Jeff Brouws and Phil Toledano.

You spent many years photographing music. How did that come about? When I was taking classes I wanted to keep photographing for myself and not just for class. I didn’t want to do street photography, so I started shooting concerts. It was much, much easier back then.

One day I tried to get into a sold-out concert in Central Park with my camera around my neck, and ended up meeting the record company’s publicist. He let us in, but also asked if I had a portfolio, which I had been putting together. He gave me my first official photo pass to see the Jefferson Starship in Central Park. Shooting backstage, on stage and at the party afterward was just amazing. I definitely wanted to do more.

What made you leave that?
The music business was changing, and some of my favorite places to shoot were closing down. And bands like the Police (who I had photographed a few years earlier at the Hotel Diplomat in Times Square with maybe 50 people in the audience) were suddenly asking for the right to approve all photographs. That’s unfortunately pretty common now, with artists like Lady Gaga trying to own the photographer’s copyright. But it was pretty rare at that time.

Also, I had just started working with a Polaroid SX-70. I liked what I was getting from that camera, and I was really tired of using my tiny bathroom as a darkroom. It was really time to do something new. I love getting new cameras, new technology, it always has an impact on my work.

What are you working on these days?

As usual, I’m juggling several projects. I’ve been scanning and printing the rock and roll, trying to get it out in the world again (a photo of Deborah Harry of Blondie was auctioned off for Housing Works at their yearly benefit in May), I’m writing a blog so I can get the stories written, and eventually, I’d like to do a book and have another exhibition of the work.

The Lucky Cats is at a new gallery space in LA now, and I’ve been showing NoSafeDistance at portfolio reviews and online. And one day, I will get the Chinatown project edited and finished, whatever that means. My motto is not enough hours in the day, not enough days in the week.

In terms of business, I’ve always made sure to always have some kind of day job, because I never wanted to have to depend on photography to support me. When it came close to that, and I had the opportunity to do rock and roll photography full time, I realized I didn’t want to lose the passion in the need for a paycheck.

What is the best/worst thing you’ve seen (heard, thought, etc) recently? Don’t get me started on crowd sourcing.

What else do you want to tell us? Photography can be a journey, not just a job. Explore, experiment and see where it takes you. And enjoy the ride.

If you're in LA, be sure to go to the Artist Reception/Book Signing for "Lucky Cats-To Bring In The Money" on Saturday,June 25 at No Roses Gallery, 13624 Ventura Boulevard, Sherman Oaks from 6pm - 9pm.

Check out more of Sheri's work here:
Rock:
Blog
Lucky Cats
NoSafeDistance and the Chinatown projects

Tonight In Photoland

2011-06-16T10:55:00.009-04:00

There's lots happening tonight, Thursday, so let me run down some standout events. Time to get your photo strut on!

Jill Greenberg has two bodies of work, "Glass Ceiling" & "Horses" opening at Clampart 521 – 531 West 25th Street, Ground Floor NYC from 6pm - 8pm.

Consider purchasing a ticket here to support NYC Salt, and help raise money to continue this program of helping high school students through photography. There will be fantastic food, music, wine and a chance to buy the student's work. At NEO Studios, 628 Broadway at W. Houston 4th floor from 7pm - 11pm. Tickets are $50 at the door, and tax-deductible.

Exhibition opening and Japan Benefit Print Auction at Calumet 22 W. 22nd Street 5pm - 8pm. Here's a chance to see some wonderful work and contribute money towards Japan's earthquake relief.

The SVA MFA Thesis show opens tonight at their Visual Arts Gallery 601 W. 26th St. 15th fl.

This is a Time for Creativity

2011-06-09T10:05:00.003-04:00

I’m back home after the Flash Forward festival in Boston, and I thought I’d talk about inspiration and innovation rather than write an account of the final panel on “The Future of Photobooks.” The photobooks panel is on Flak Photo's Vimeo so if you missed it last week you can watch it there. I don't need go in to detail about it.

But I do want to talk about the whole concept of the photo book. It seems that people cannot get over the old paradigm that “book” and “gallery” somehow make you more important, or will validate you as a professional. Can’t you see that isn’t true anymore? What might have been two of the stepping-stones towards professional accolades and esteem is no longer a sure thing.

Photo books were never moneymaking ventures for publishers as few people buy them. But for the creative person, it did elevate you to a level of importance, because why else would a publisher put out your work (if it wasn’t valuable)? But just like the fact that people are expected to work for free, and making a living as an editorial photographer is harder than ever, things have changed. And isn’t that obvious?

We live in an amazing time of opportunity, where a person can take much more control over the direction of their life and their career. So instead of thinking that change is bad, try thinking that change is the best thing that could ever happen to you.

More and more photographers are publishing their own books, reaching out and growing an audience for their work and ideas. Instead of waiting for someone else to do everything, photographers all over the world are making a direct impact. And that’s what real creativity is like. It burns so hot that you have to find an outlet for it. So you do it yourself.

I find myself drawn to those who keep moving forward, blazing new paths for themselves and for the rest of us. Photographers are shaping the world of photography right now. Not magazines, or newspapers or any other old media. Through crowd funding projects, self-publishing, creating new methods of collaboration between corporations and photographers, or NGOs and photographers, the way is being lit for all of us. But you have to want to be a part of that.

Many photographers are floundering, unable to let go of what they once thought to embrace what is. The result is frustration, panic and simply depression. I can understand that. When the earth beneath you shifts, and all you expected and planned for falls away, or changes, it is hard to regroup. But I have found that moving forward is the only answer.

It is no longer necessary to exist in a bubble of your own making. Collaboration seems more possible than ever, and the smartest solution to the situation today. If I don’t know how to do something, I can find someone who does know, and will maybe join with me. If I have an idea I need to flesh out, there are people out there I can talk to. Here’s how you can use social media: put your questions and concerns out before the international world on the Internet, and see what happens.

I have always had to steer my own ship, whether by choice or necessity. But the older I get, the more I realize that choosing my direction and not just doing what’s expected is part of my DNA. And so, rather than bemoaning the way things turned out for myself, I have seized the opportunity to be even more creative in my life.

As a photographer, you choose to work in a creative field. But I wonder if there are some who don’t realize that it is just that creativity that should set them free. You don’t have to go to school, get a job, and settle into your life. You can do and try anything these days, because the boundaries have fallen.

We are all experimenting right now. Or we all should be. The steps that might have led to a comfortable career are fading, and if you’re waiting for the dust to settle, and someone else to determine what’s next, I’m afraid you’ll find it too late for you. I want to be shaping whatever is to come next. That to me is the real creativity.

The Currency Is Ideas and Imagination

2011-06-03T14:13:00.004-04:00

Stephen Mayes of VII Photo Agency considers himself a dreamer, and an optimist (or as he said, an optimist is really a pessimist who just doesn't have all the facts). I think he is a forward thinker who has a point of view I fully agree with.

Today is changing our relationship with information due in part to the Internet. But photography itself is changing. Because of the technical shift from film to pixel we have shifted from the "fixed" to the fluidity of the image. Pixels are malleable and fundamentally fluid. There is no reality there, it's just your choices. Digital lives online, so the context changes all the time--at no point is it static. And so we have to redefine ourselves and out practices.

"This is a moment of invention rather than dismay," says Mayes. "We have to rethink what we do and how we do it. There is still value in the image, we just haven't figured out how to monetize it."

Mayes spoke about how we are part of a streaming culture now which is different from what what he calls the "unit concept" (essentially the unit is an image printed). But hanging on to old constructs like getting a magazine assignment, or getting into advertising is holding photographers back. Now is not the time to guard your property (your images), but to share.

Now that might seem like heresy to many photographers, but Mayes talks about how VII has partnered with Doctors Without Borders and LG to shoot and promote the idea of malnutrition. By partnering and sharing strengths, the possibilities of what their photographers could do was enhanced. By building on the idea of integrity, which VII photographers and the agency can claim as their brand, there was value for both of those others to partner and create something new.

Mayes spoke about something I believe fervently, that large organizations or companies (in this case examples like Time magazine, The New York Times, etc.) are actually obstacles in that they shape the work done for them, and thus the photographer has to conform. He believes it is better to be small than big because you are more fluid than big media is. You can easily create new ways of promoting your work and ideas and can be more mobile than they can.

Because there is an infinity of distribution opportunities, the currency is ideas and imagination.

The old thinking of how to drive viewers to your website is slow and expensive. By being a publisher (which is what VII is, and what individual photographers are) rather than a supplier (working in the old model of photography) you can attract partners in a much different way. Trying to replace one monolith--advertising based photography--with another monolith won't happen. He advises photographers to think expansively and take risks. "The bigger risk is standing still, locking yourself into the old system," Mayes said.

I couldn't agree more.

Flash Forward Day One

2011-06-02T22:04:00.009-04:00

Last night's reception was a chance for people to meet before heading to the Group Show exhibition opening. We were welcomed by MaryAnn Camilleri, the festival director. There was great finger food and a chance to meet my fellow panelist Chris Churchill. Also talked to Paula Tognarelli of the Griffin Museum (which I hope to visit on Saturday), and Andy Adams.

Then it was upstairs to see the Eye Buy Art exhibit, where I listened to photographers Georgie Friedman, Robert Watermeyer, and Marc Dimov talk about their work. Most of the prints were selling for $50, which prompted a discussion among Chris, Kristina Feliciano and I about how were photographers going to make a living selling prints if prints were being priced so low all over. Definitely a subject I intend to talk about more.

EYEBUYART.com is the sister organization to Flash Forward, selling limited-edition photos created by past and current Flash Forward winners. Saw a print of Gabriela Herman's work--a lovely photo and an unexpected surprise.

Marc Dimov has been photographing fish in silhouette, looking to bring attention to overfishing. He spent several years as the in-house photographer for Wild Edibles, and sees his work as,"making a simple photograph in order to suggest a bigger idea." His formal fish portraits have a classic sense to them, and I like his intent to create images about the effects of our eating habits on the environment.

Robert Watermeyer, a South African photographer talked about two photographs from his series, "This Land," photographing the American West. He spoke of the "sublime splendor" he found, and said the project, "allows me to contribute something to the dialog of the American West."

Georgie Friedman showed her grid-based "Flight Series," which deals with the concept of time, in the flight progression of high-altitude balloons.

Then it was off to the group show in a large open space. It was well hung and featured interesting work by emerging photographers from the US, Canada and the UK--the raison d'etre of Flash Forward.

The work of Shanghoon Jeong of Canada, Indre Serpytyte and David Plummer of the UK really stood out for me.

Indre Serpytyte's work shows small black & white houses, like doll houses to represent "Former NKVD-MVD-MGB-KGB Buildings" and makes her comment on the political history of the Cold War. In 2007, the British Journal of Photography wrote about Serpytyte's work:

"Rather than representing the buildings themselves, or showing the inhabitants or victims directly, Serpytyte uses commissioned, hand-carved wooden models, based on archival research and site visits to comment on both the physical and humanitarian scale of the conflict and to enunciate the echo of the memory of the events as they have faded over time. The houses seem like cold corpses, sculptures symbolic of the empty spaces where their real selves once thrived, and where memories are slowly dying. They are sealed, containing their stories, and their entity becomes placeless."

The images are stark, small on a large, bland landscape and bloodless, even as they depict places where terribly bloody things occurred.

I loved the still life of a burning flower from Shanghoon Jeong. Turning something as beautiful as a flower into something dangerous and bordering on ugly intrigues me. Instead of the natural death, he incites it's death through fire.

David Plummer's work was a series of portraits of a man suffering from an incurable neurological disease. By photographing the man straight on, we see the slow and sometimes imperceptible paralyzing end. The subject's courage to be photographed is honored in the unsparing and unfussy way Plummer presents him to us.

There is a lot of good work there, and if you're in the area I encourage you to come by and see the work for yourself. I'm looking forward to the rest of the festival, and the panel I'm on tomorrow.

I'm going to keep blogging through Sunday, so come back and read more.

Flash Forward comes to Boston

2011-06-02T08:21:00.004-04:00

If you're in Boston or somewhere nearby, come to the Flash Forward festival today through Sunday. I'm on my way there today, traveling by train with Kristina Feliciano, the blogger of Stockland Martel's fabulous photo blog

We're on a Friday afternoon panel, Cut through the Noise: Smart Marketing Strategies for Photographers moderated by Alison Zavos of Feature Shoot.

I plan to be blogging from there, so stay tuned.

More On Photographic Plagiarism

2011-05-23T11:11:00.014-04:00

(l) Jason Florio for AARP (r) Matthew Mahon for Fast Company

If one writer steals another’s words it’s called plagiarism. If it happens at a magazine, a newspaper, during a speech, or anywhere it’s public, the plagiarizer is called out and usually loses his or her job. The company moves quickly to regain credibility.

Why is it wrong to steal someone's words, but not equally wrong to steal a photographer’s signature visual aesthetic? I can’t claim Hemingway’s words as my own, why should one photographer claim another’s work as their own, or be willing to copy it? For me the problem is both with photographers cannibalizing each other, and lazy (or worse) creatives (photo editors and art directors) who seem to have a strange view of right and wrong.

I bring this up again because there is more to tell about this issue--that Fast Company had hired photographer Matthew Mahon to shoot in the exact signature style of Jason Florio.

After my first post there was some back and forth with photographers on FB and in comments to the post. Some didn't think it was a big deal since it happens "all the time." One photographer said, "I thought it was irresponsible to point a finger at him without getting feedback from Fast Company. As it is now, everywhere that that Mahon guy goes, there's now a black cloud over him. That's all that anyone remembers. No matter the truth, "the Mahon guy ripped off someone else"; that's all that anyone remembers."

I don’t know if that’s true, but I had emailed the photographer, hoping to hear his side of the story—he never responded. I also emailed the agency he works for (Redux), and the photo editor of Fast Company (Leslie Dela-Vega). Marcel Saba of Redux asked me to speak with the magazine.

Leslie Dela-Vega emailed me back and said, "Just so you have all the facts, Matthew was directed to shoot with this background and this was in no way his idea. Thanks for your concern." (abbreviated for relevance)

I spoke with Florian Bachleda, the Creative Director of Fast Company after he spoke with Jason Florio (at Jason’s request). What Bachleda said was this: “We screwed up and got careless and sloppy. There was no intent to harm Jason intentionally. He’s good with us and we’re good with him. Hopefully we’ll be working on a project with him.”

I spoke in detail with Jason Florio and he wrote this:

"As photographers we want to be known for our voice, our vision..that is what makes us unique as artists and makes us not just mere widget makers.

So when I was told by a fellow photographer that a style and particular visual technique I am known for, (published globally, acquired by a museum, won awards for...)had been been directly copied for a magazine story, I felt gutted.

But hey, as artists we are influenced by and inspired by predecessors and peers. But, I also thought, what the hell is the point of creating a personal style when an art director/photo director can just tell another photographer to "copy this"?

Legally as photographers we don't have much to go on as far a recompense. In this instance, although the damage is done, I was able to get some insight and closure by talking directly with the photo and art team at Fast Company. They admitted that they had seen my work in Resource Magazine and directed the photographer to copy it.

One part of me was flattered and the other irate, but they put their hands up to appropriating the style and admitted for them it had been a quick visual solution for their story. They said they were unfamiliar with my work until this point. Now they are interested in working with me.....

So although I can't get Alan Dershowitz to represent me and sue for millions, there may be a silver lining in all of this by acquiring a new client."

I guess one of the dirty little secrets in the industry is that photographers are asked to copy other photographers, they agree to copy other photographers, and photo editors/art directors see nothing wrong with doing this.

Photographers fear being branded as troublemakers. Other bloggers have raised this issue when it applied to commercial or fine art photography, but this was the first time I was made aware of plagiarism as it relates to editorial photography.

There is a difference between “influenced by” and “copying of” and we all know it. We are all a sum total of everything that we experience, see and consume. But the whole point of being a creative person is to digest it all and come up with your own individual expression.

Picasso was influenced by Matisse. But you would never confuse the two.

As a former photo editor I am angered by that same lazy thinking. It’s not as if Fast Company asked Jason Florio to do the shoot, and because he was busy they had to go to someone else. And for the photographer to not propose an alternative that fit more squarely with his own style is sad. If you’re just going to regurgitate what you’ve seen, or copy what others do, what is the point?

For the photo industry to survive and thrive it is important not to cannibalize each other’s work. If getting a job is more important than putting your unique point of view out there I feel sorry for you. Why are you a photographer? If you’re in a creative industry be creative. Your integrity should not be for sale.

What’s the Value of News Photos?

2011-05-12T09:43:00.000-04:00

Someone recently posted a link on my Facebook page pointing to a humorous Slate piece called “Cats of War.” I figure it came from the articles written about the SEAL team that killed Osama bin Laden, and how they brought a dog with them. But I didn’t have the the same reaction as others.

I did not find it funny at all. In fact, I wondered how Getty could sell news photos to Slate when they were going to be Photoshopping cats into the photos. Now Slate labeled the photos as “photo illustrations,” bit I was curious why Getty would allow that to happen.

In the days when I was a photo editor there was a sense that news photos were objects not to be played around with. In fact, before you used a news photo from an agency like Getty you asked where it had or had not appeared before. Doesn’t it devalue the photos now that people have seen them with cats added into the action?

One of the images is by Darren McCollester, and shot with night vision in either Iraq or Afghanistan (I believe). How do the Getty photographers feel about risking their lives for photographs that will be sold in order to be Photoshopped for a joke? That’s a photo that cannot ever be used again for a news story.

If it was a Chris Hondros photo would that be alright? Is it that the photos don’t matter to Getty, or the photographers, so they don’t care if cats are added to the photograph?

I emailed Pancho Bernasconi at Getty about this but have yet to hear back. I know that Getty has a lot to deal with, and is reeling from the death of Chris Hondros in Libya. But I do think someone needs to speak out about this, and someone else needs to answer. If I ever get a response I will report it here.

What do you think?

Appropriating Another Photographer's Style

2011-05-05T16:01:00.014-04:00

(l Jason Florio, r Matthew Mahon)

The question comes down to this: How can you justify ripping-off another photographer’s style? It has come to my attention that Redux photographer Matthew Mahon took Jason Florio’s well-known way of shooting portraits and copied it for a Fast Company shoot.

It seems to me to be a direct rip-off of Florio's way of shooting. All the more surprising since Jason Florio is a multi-award winning photographer, whose portraits and style is well known. His Gambia work has appeared on the cover of PDN, been awarded a Lucie and more. In fact, he was asked to use that specific style for the AARP shoot. Why does one photographer think they can just appropriate another photographer's visual style for their own?

I have posed the question to photographer Matthew Mahon and the Photo Editor of Fast Company as well as Marcel Saba of Redux (since the shoot is featured on their website and Mahon is one of their photographers), and will report any and all responses.

The full look at Jason's AARP

And Matthew's Fast Company

I’d be interested in knowing what you think.

Some Thoughts on Recent Events

2011-05-05T10:56:00.003-04:00

I had planned on writing more about Photolucida (and I will at a later date), but the deaths of Tim Hetherington & Chris Hondros in Libya threw me for a loop. Words are inadequate to express my feelings. There is no perspective to be had in their deaths. It is final and it is brutal. If you didn’t know them, know their work.

And now the death of Osama Bin Laden takes our attention in another direction. Should the president release a death photo or not? For me it doesn’t matter. I am not a fan of death porn. As a photo editor for many years I saw a lot of terrible images and I do not need to see more.

It seems to me that those who call for the photos to be released are people who won’t believe things even when faced with the truth. How else can you explain the Birthers? When Obama finally released his birth certificate they claimed it had been Photoshopped. What’s the say that wouldn’t be the case with the death photo of Bin Laden?

I am not someone who simply believes everything the government tells me, far from it. But I am willing to accept this. I don’t need more. And to be honest, in this day and age I’m not convinced the photo won’t show up somewhere at some time in the future. The fact that the mission to get Bin Laden stayed completely unknown until announced is amazing. Nothing seems to stay hidden for long anymore.

Since the deaths of Tim & Chris I have been thinking a lot about those who go to conflict zones to make their careers. I will be writing about that soon, as I worry that the danger and lack of protection is worse than ever, and I question the wisdom of it. But that will wait for a later date as well. So many things have pushed me away from my initial intent on writing here at Stellazine that I am re-evaluating what I write about and how frequently I do it.

For Tim and Chris

2011-04-21T20:42:00.004-04:00

Photolucida 2011

2011-04-19T13:07:00.012-04:00

After 5 days and over 50 portfolios looked at, I leave Portland and Photolucida with laryngitis from all that talking. I had a wonderful time, saw some spectacular work and hung out with great people. I want to write a more in-depth review for next week, but I thought I'd just go over some of the highlights.

It was a real treat getting to see actual prints from Jamey Stillings of his Hoover Dam project. I've been in love with this project since I first saw it online. Add to that the amazing B&W soldier portraits Louie Palu showed me and that was enough to make me happy to be there.

I also got to meet several photographers in person--people I've hired in the past, or had spoken to before, including Jeffrey Sauger, who showed me a great B&W project about Black farmers.

I was very moved by Nancy LeVine's project about senior dogs as a way to explore America and it's aging population. "It's my version of The Americans," said Nancy. This is such a fully realized project, beautifully shot in both color and B&W. All I could say was wow.

David Pace brought his project documenting the end of the week dance parties in Burkina Faso--shot only with a strobe. I loved this! It's a slice-of-life that we rarely get to see from Africa., and it's joyous, colorful, fun, and of Burkina Faso, a country we hear nothing about in our media.

The teenager portraits by Rania Matar show us girls in their bedrooms, and allow us to see into these young women in such a fully developed way it's almost like a sociological study. The young women allow us to know them through their poses and by showing us the environments they have created. Mixing western and eastern portraits, we see the true nature of globalization through the similarities in objects and imagery these young women choose as their own.

Gordon Stettinius' hilarious project, "Mangini Studio Series" where he photographs himself as different characters (including perfect hair and wardrobe styling) is wonderfully inventive. He embodies everyone from a cookie-cutter politician to a psycho killer. Such a cool project, and a sense of humor I almost never see in photography: smart, sophisticated, and making a point.

I plan on writing more about Photolucida next week talking more about the experience in greater detail, and some of my impressions, so stay tuned.

Dirk Anschutz: Upstream

2011-04-04T15:25:00.000-04:00

Dirk Anschutz shoots a lot of things, but what strikes me the most are the faces of the people he photographs. From The Sultans to this project, you see people being uncompromising in allowing us to know them when we look into their faces. There is no self-consciousness.

Dirk's obvious compassion and interest in his subjects really shines through. When I saw this project I was curious to know how Dirk approached his subjects and how the project came about. The strong collaboration between photographer and subject is evident and made me want to know more, so I asked Dirk how it was for both him and his subjects.

Tell us a little bit about your background as a photographer

Well, I’ve worked for magazines and ad agencies, and produced stock. I shoot sports, landscapes and conceptual images, but what got me into photography and what I still love the most in this field are good portraits. They just never get old for me.

What about this upcoming exhibition?

The show is called “Upstream” and is a portrait series of young people with a range of developmental and cognitive disabilities.

How did you get interested in photographing these people?

Sometime late in 2009 my girlfriend’s sister, Julie Guidry, called me up and asked me if I was interested in applying for a grant to shoot an image library for her non-profit, Upstream Arts.
Upstream Arts is a Minneapolis based non-profit whose mission is “to enhance the lives of adults and youth with disabilities by fostering creative communication and social independence through the power of arts education”. The classes are taught by working artists, including painters, sculptors, actors, and dancers, who help their young clients explore different ways of expressing themselves. A pretty big deal for the participants, as it turns out.

Well, we didn’t get the grant, but filing the application started a thought process about how to portray people with disabilities. Most of the images we found out there were of sporty triumphs or happy-happy family moments, but almost nothing showed the complex human beings behind the disabilities. There was definitely a need for straight-on portraiture. The more we talked about the project, the more interested I became, and eventually we decided to go ahead with the shoot, grant money be damned.
In the summer of 2010 the misses and I packed up the car with a bunch of gear and made a little road trip to the twin cities.

Was it difficult to get what you wanted from the
portraits? Were they willing to do what you asked?

Over all, the shoot was intense but fairly easy. Most of the models were really into being photographed, except for the first person we shot, Caleb, who happens to be the stepson of Julie Guidry. His shoot was a bit difficult. He was not in a great mood and we had to be very patient with him. But we showed him the whole camera set-up, how the lights worked, how the pics showed up on the computer screen and so on, and whenever we did that he gave us about 45 seconds in front of the camera. Of course he is now on the postcard for the exhibition and on the cover of the Magcloud Magazine we made from this project.

The entire shoot happened in one afternoon at the Jewish Community Center in St. Paul. We photographed 17 people and there was a pretty constant hustle-bustle. A lot of the communication was non-verbal and many creative decisions were based on gut feelings and intuition. Most of the participants were very excited but managed only about ten minutes in front of the camera before they were exhausted.
I didn’t really give many directions but tried to create room for the models to show themselves.

There is such a lack of self-consciousness with these portraits, tell us about that

Yeah, I thought that was very interesting. When you photograph small children you sometimes get that lack of self-consciousness, but children are usually kind of boring (sorry parents) because they haven’t lived yet, they haven’t had many experiences. Once people have lived a little they become much more guarded.

What I like about these images is that you can see an incredible openness but these folks are not children, they’re young adults and they had (and have) to overcome many obstacles in their daily lives. They had to figure out many things on their own for their unique circumstances and had to face many challenges that I can’t even imagine. They’ve lived and experienced a lot already and I think it shows in their faces.

What have you learned (if anything) from this project?

Well, it not easy to put into words, but I have to admit that the first contact with a person with a disability is kind of uncomfortable. When Caleb first walked on the set I definitely felt a bit insecure and not quite sure what was expected of me. What helped though was that when we planned the shoot we decided to treat it like any other production. And so I treated Caleb like I would any other person in front of my camera. I talked to him, I explained what I was doing and why and I gave him room to collaborate with me while letting him know where he had to be and what he had to do for the picture to work. Surprisingly within a minute my nervousness was gone and stayed gone for all the other models, too.

Sometimes, when other people look at the Upstream photos, I recognize that same nervousness and discomfort that I originally experienced. But once we talk about the shoot, people seem to become more comfortable with the images.

On a larger scale, I think it would be good for our society to create more interactions between people with and without disabilities and to encourage a dialogue. Hopefully this project is a small building block in this process.

How do the people you photographed feel about their portraits?

From what I heard so far, pretty good. But I have not been in direct contact with them since the shoot, so it’ll be interesting to see most of them at the show and find out first hand what they think about the images.

Anything else you want to say about this?

There is a tremendous amount of work being done by non profits, schools, volunteers, and by parents, relatives, and caretakers, who all collaborate to provide these young men and women with safe AND interesting lives. It’s a great cause to volunteer in and/or donate money to.

When is the exhibition and where?
The show is at
Intermedia Arts
2822 Lyndale Ave. South
Minneapolis, MN 55408
612.871.4444

April 5th through April 18th, 2011
Monday-Friday 10AM to 6PM and Saturdays 12PM to 5PM
There will be a closing reception and Upstream Arts Benefit on Monday, April 18th, 6:30-8:30 PM

Why Does Lynsey Addario Have to Justify Her Work?

2011-03-31T11:38:00.004-04:00

When Lynsey Addario and three others (Tyler Hicks, Anthony Shadid and Stephen Farrell) were released by the Libyan government, we all breathed a sigh of relief. An accomplished photographer who was honored with a MacArthur Genius Grant, Lynsey Addario is among the premier photojournalists working today. Yet after The New York Times ran an account of the release, several people commented by asking what a woman was doing in a war zone to begin with. I went back to look at the comments from their account, but most of the negative comments have been removed--why is that?.

There was this comment, however: "After the Lara Logan assault in Egypt, I consider it an act of utmost stupidity for any woman journalist to go into any war, combat zone. fighting strips people of much humanity and you should know that. And in an already sexually abusive towards woman region what was Lynsey doing there?? why didn't the 3 male reporters object for her own safety!
And why did NYT allow her to go on this mission!
The men, I dont care about ... thats what they do. The woman, in this region, with this much abuse potential.. someone should be sued !!!"

Coupled with esteemed photograher Harry Benson's recent screed about Lara Logan (who was molested by a crowd during her coverage of the uprising in Egypt): "The last place for a young, attractive woman to be is in the middle of an extremely dangerous situation surrounded by an angry mob. Not only does it put her in harm’s way, but it compromises her co-workers as well, since they have to try to protect her as best they can – sometimes an impossible task."

He continues, "I am all for women doing whatever job that men do. Honestly, many times I find the women I work with to be smarter than the men. But shame on the editors at CBS who assigned a beautiful woman to cover a very dangerous situation. Their lack of judgment should have been tempered with a little common sense. Their decision about whom to send to cover the uprising and political unrest should not have been made for fear of being politically incorrect."

Suddenly I feel like I'm back in the 1950's. Why the constant mention of "beautiful," and what the fuck is he talking about?

As Lynsey herself said: "To me, that’s grossly offensive. This is my life, and I make my own decisions. If a woman wants to be a war photographer, she should. It’s important. Women offer a different perspective. We have access to women on a different level than men have, just as male photographers have a different relationship with the men they’re covering.In the Muslim world, most of my male colleagues can’t enter private homes. They can’t hang out with very conservative Muslim families. I have always been able to. It’s not easy to get the right to photograph in a house, but at least I have one foot in the door. I’ve always found it a great advantage, being a woman."

It is insulting to Lynsey and all the other amazing photojournalists (including Caroline Cole, Carol Guzy, Stephanie Sinclair, Susan Meiselas, Nina Berman, Sara Terry, Mary F. Calvert and many others) who risk their lives, who make great sacrifices and who face danger to say they should not do what they believe in because they are women.

I do not need to recount the amazing bravery and accomplishments of women throughout history--or do I?. This is 2011: take your patriarchal, condescending, asshole ideas and throw them away. Women make choices and they live with them--same as men. We should thank those who are braver than ourselves for the incredible risks they sometimes have to take to show the world to us. Where would we be without them?

AIPAD Came and I Went

2011-03-24T10:05:00.025-04:00

I went through AIPAD this year with Walter Mason of the Haggerty Museum, and he gave me a real lesson in prints and prices. It was fascinating since that is not my forte. And since we felt the same way about a lot of the work, I had a great time at AIPAD this year.

Let me just say that I was much more interested in the vintage prints than most of the contemporary work I saw. The luscious silver gelatin and platinum prints were so glossy and delicious I would have loved to buy them all. There were small gems everywhere you looked. I loved the cinematic quality of Yutaka Takanashi work from the mid-60's, and the multitude of anonymous historic images.

There were a number of Civil Rights-era photos capturing historic moments seen by Charles Moore, Steve Schaprio, Bill Eppridge, Grey Villet and others. I was really moved by them and felt reconnected with American history in a way that seems almost lost these days.
Charles Moore: Demonstrators Blasted Against a Doorway, Seventeenth Street, May 3, 1963.
As James Chaney's family awaited the drive to his burial, 12-year-old Ben gazed outward by Bill Eppridge (Monroe Gallery of Photography)
Grey Villet: The Little Rock Nine (Monroe Gallery of Photography)

There was a wonderful print of Eddie Adams' famed Pulitzer Prize-winning photo of the point-blank execution of a Vietcong suspect, complete with red grease pencil crop line.

There was a decent amount of contemporary photography this year, and so much of it were large prints, frequently for no apparent reason that I can see except it has greater impact. I saw Alec Soth's new work, Broken Manual and wasn't especially impressed. I feel the same way about Alex Prager (below Film Still #1-Yancey Richardson Gallery). I can see the reasoning behind the work, but it just seems that it's an idea made for maximum sales. That's the same way I feel about Cindy Sherman's work. I can see why people would buy it, I just don't see the deeper meaning.

I saw some work that leaves me scratching my head and worried about the future of the medium. Lynn Bianchi's Dinner Conversation (below top), and Meghan Boody (bottom) are photographers whose work I really don't understand. It has no resonance with me, and seeing it at AIPAD makes me wonder who decides what is valuable. I know that art is subjective, but in a place filled with truly important and wonderful work, how did these pieces find galleries?

I did like the following work: Mark Seliger's nude from the Steven Kasher Gallery. I was sorry I missed this show, as I know Mark to be a photographer with real depth that you might not be aware of if you judge him simply from his Rolling Stone or Vanity Fair work.

How could you not love Robert Mapplethorpe's portrait of Patti Smith?

And Richard Renaldi's Smashed Water Tower (Robert Morat Galerie) is a delight, looking like a deflated balloon in the landscape.

Martine Fougeron was there with her wonderful work of teenagers in all their glory, a class contrast with Chris Killip's early 80's portraits of British kids. And then there were these wonderful photograph--Frida Kahlo in New York, and an amazing Norman Parkinson. So fresh and exciting; why I don't see more exciting work like this?

I see so much derivative work around. I guess that's to be expected in general, but to see things at AIPAD that are photographs of subjects others have done more successfully is a shame. Christian Patterson was an assistant to William Eggleston, and you can just tell by looking at the work. Couldn't he have chosen different subject matter to base his career on? Or is he represented by a gallery because he was Eggleston's assistant?

Michael Wolf's Google Street View series was represented by a giant print, and it still makes me furious. Talk about doing nothing to create something. Taking a photo of a screen does not make a body of work. And the weird thing was I really liked another body of his work, showing faces seen through the windows of Japanese commuter trains. I believe the series is called Tokyo Compression. Those were wonderful, giving me a glimpse into the people caught staring blankly out of train windows. I loved the way faces were smushed into the glass, with condensation covering the windows.

I also loved the vintage prints of Herbert Ponting, taken during Robert Falcon Scott's Terra Nova Expedition to the Ross Sea and South Pole . The portraits were so beautiful, the men so attractive, it was almost like a Ralph Lauren ad. You would think they were fashion models if not for the frost-bitten lips and skin. (Courtesy Steven Kasher Gallery)

I have seen so many animal portraits--dogs seem to be of special mention. Charlotte Dumas' (top) portraits didn't impress me as much as Ponting's portrait of the heroic Sled Dog. (bottom)

Steven Kasher Gallery

But perhaps the most confounding work I saw was Ayano Sudo's "They are not me, but me" series of portraits. Done with candy colors, and glitter! (yes, you heard me right), they sprang from the world of Japanese child-like culture, full of surface youth and beauty, with nothing deep to ground them in reality. I can see why people would buy them and think they were very cool for owning something like this, but to be honest, these images depress me. They are like candy cotton (and even reflect those colors), and it's as if you could eat them without having realized it. All style with no substance.

I thought art was meant to challenge or illuminate the world for us. At best they express emotions that pull us into their world and upset our way of looking at things. Or at least that is what I'd like to think. Too much of what I saw at AIPAD was mediocre. The work didn't stay with me, didn't make me think about it days after the show. If I wasn't writing this it would already be gone from my mind. I understand that galleries need to make money too, but is that a substitute for showing unexceptional work, often at sizes that you cannot ignore? Size alone doesn't add to my understanding of the work.

That really struck me. If you're a photographer without a gallery behind you, what do you do? Do you print giant photographs for attention, do you find a sellable idea and exploit it? What if you just want to make great photographs? Or follow an idea as far as it will go? Will you ever get your work before a larger audience?

I wonder what photographers felt after attending AIPAD. Was it just a chance to see some wonderful work? Did you leave feeing energized or demoralized? I'd really like to know.

Life-Support Japan Raises $20,000 (so far)

2011-03-17T12:49:00.000-04:00

It seems, these days, that we are being reminded all the time how small and insignificant we are when facing powers bigger and stronger than us, whether they are politicians or elemental forces of the Earth. It can be hard to find something positive to hold on to, and I think we all search for a way to connect to each other when things seem grim.

The earthquake and tsunami in Japan was stunning in its devastation and is still unfolding in ways that approach apocalyptic. The images coming from this disaster have been stunning and almost otherworldly. Yet at some point I think the desire to help overcomes any other emotion and galvanizes us to action.

In that vein, the Life-Support Japan print sale is amazing for the speed it was set up and the incredible outpouring of both sales and contributions. To date more than $20,000 has been raised, and there is a backlog of hundreds of photographs to be offered. Aline Smithson and Christa Dix have done an extraordinary job of mobilizing and organizing this relief effort, and I am so glad to be a part of a community that takes action like this.

I urge all of you to find it in your heart to buy a print (or several). The money raised will go to Habitat for Humanity and Direct Relief International, for help with medical supplies.

Japan Earthquake/Tsunami Call for Photos

2011-03-11T13:33:00.000-05:00

I happened to be up when the earthquake hit Japan this morning, and watched the first of the tsunami waves hit the shoreline. I've been riveted since, as I'm sure most of you have. We all offer our solidarity with the people of Japan and hope for the best possible outcome.

I'm writing this because as per usual, the news outlets are asking for free photos and videos from witnesses, a practice that has unfortunately become commonplace. DON"T GIVE YOUR WORK FOR FREE! I don't know how many times I can say this. You will lose all rights to your work if you give it over to the newspapers or cable TV outlets. Remember, they have money, make them pay you and retain your rights.

If they no longer have bureaus and staff to cover these events, don't be so willing to be their unpaid staff. You can put your work out in ways for yourself, or you can approach the news outlets and ask for payment with retention of rights to your images.

It's important that these multi-million dollar news companies start to be told NO. Their staff is paid, make them pay you.

It's RETV Party Time!

2011-03-08T18:33:00.000-05:00

The big RETV launch party is happening on Thursday from 6-11pm, and it should be a blast! So get yourselves to The Invisible Dog Art Center at 51 Bergen St in Brooklyn and join the celebration.

Billing itself as "The Greatest Party in The World: RETV Launch Party!" I'm expecting an exciting time. RETV is calling itself, "the new standard in photo industry news, RETV features content from every major photography market around the world to bring an international industry to a single place of exchange for photographers, videographers, suppliers and manufacturers."

You need to RSVP, and there's only a day to do that, so go here

And if you haven't yet checked them out, make sure you listen to the interview with the late great LIFE photographer Philippe Halsman's daughter and grandson. Halsman was responsible for 101 LIFE Magazine covers and shared one of the most unique creative partnerships with Salvador Dali that anyone has ever seen. Perhaps best known for his "jump" photos, Halsman was a master photographer, and I bet there are images you know that you didn't realize were his.

RETV wants to be a one-stop destination for photography information and education, so this is a great opportunity to get a close-up look at just what RETV is all about. The party if being sponsored by SONY, ARC and Resource Magazine. I hope you'll join me there.

FPS FEST 2011 is the Place to Be This Weekend

2011-03-03T15:44:00.000-05:00

FPSFest is back bigger and better then before, with a 2-day festival of shorts, panels, refreshments and fun for the family. Don’t miss it! I’ll be there looking to see work by Danny Clinch, Erwin Olaf, Ryan Hughes and many others. There will even be popcorn and music for all.

Running at Root Studio (131 No. 14th) in Williamsburg on Friday, March 4 from 6 – 10pm and Saturday, March 5 from 11am – 10pm. Friday will feature films while on Saturday there will be two panels as well as films, and the night will end with live music.

This is a very ambitious undertaking by RETV Resource, Vimeo and Root (Capture), admission is required for each day. Friday is $7 and Saturday $10. Quite the bargain, so sign up here and skip the lines.

Check out this piece on Vimeo

Photopolooza in New York

2011-02-28T17:42:00.000-05:00

Photopalooza that is taking place in New York this week will surely be a test of stamina for all of us. I’m going to list all the art fairs, openings, conferences, etc. that I can, with details, and then you can choose what to go to. If I leave anything out, let me know and I’ll update.

I hope we all survive in good humor.

WEDNESDAY MARCH 2:

The Art Show
Park Avenue Armory
Park Avenue at 67th Street
$20 admission
noon - 8pm

Scope New York
320 West St (West Side Hwy) Across from Pier 40 on the Hudson River
$20
noon - 8pm

The Photographic Universe
A 2-day, free conference to discuss the state of photography, featuring panels with important figures in the business
Theresa Lang Center
The New School
55 W 13th Street
9am - 5pm

THURSDAY MARCH 3

Terri Gold--"Still Points in a Turning World"
Keyes Art
551 W. 21st 4th fl
6pm - 8pm

The Armory Show
Piers 92 & 94
Twelfth Avenue at 55th Street
$30 admission
Noon - 8pm

Nutropolitan Museum of Art
PB&J art exhibit celebrating National Peanut Month
Openhouse Gallery
201 Mulberry (Bet. Spring & Kenmare)
6:30pm - 9:30pm
Come get a free jar of peanut butter, and donate one to those in need.

Pulse Contemporary Art Fair
The Metroploitan Pavilion
125 W. 18th St.
noon - 5pm
$20

Sandi Haber Fifield "Between Planting & Picking"
Rick Wester Fine Art
511 W. 25th Suite 205
6pm - 8pm

Verge Art Fair
in Brooklyn
all events are free

Suzanne Opton--"Vermont" and Geoff Winningham--"Texas, 1970"
Robert Anderson Gallery
24 West 57th Street, Suite 503
6pm - 8pm

Red Dot Art Fair
82 Mercer (bet. Spring & Broome)
11am - 6pm
$10

The Volta Show
7W
7 West 34th Street (bet 5th & 6th Ave.) 11th floor
2pm - 7pm
$15

Independent
548 W. 22nd
4pm - 9pm
free

FRIDAY MARCH 4
FPS Fest
This 2-day showing of photographer films has expanded this year and will include panels as well.
Root Brooklyn
131 No. 14th
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
$7 Friday
$10 Saturday

Fountain Art Fair
Pier 66
26th Street & 12th Avenue in Hudson River Park
noon - 7pm
$10

Daylight Books Launch
25CPW
25 Central Park West @ 62nd St.
9pm - 11pm

F.L.O.A.T Gallery--"Art of Attraction" group show
300 W 22nd St (@ 8th Ave)
6pm - 8pm

POOL Art Fair
Gershwin Hotel
7 E 27th Street
3pm - 10pm
$10 suggested donation

The Collector’s Guide to New Art Photography Vol. 2
100 images by all 100 artists included in the book
Chelsea Art Museum
556 West 22nd St.
8pm

SATURDAY MARCH 5
Armory Lunch
Aperture Foundation
547 W. 27th
10am - 1pm

Dual—party for the artists @Pool Art Fair
The Gershwin Hotel
7 E 27th St
Rooms 639 and 640- take the elevator up to the sweet sounds of people enjoying themselves....
8pm - 11pm

Build A Better Online Portfolio

2011-02-24T13:12:00.000-05:00

If you weren't able to attend, or want to listen again, here's the webinar I did with PhotoShelter.

It was tons of fun. Let me know what you think.

Webinar Success And More

2011-02-03T21:24:00.000-05:00

My first webinar, "Building a Better Online Portfolio" ended on a really high note today---at least 700 people tuned in, and I expect many more will listen to the posted version when it goes up on PhotoShelter. Let me thank everyone who tuned in, and especially Allen Murabayashi, Chris Owyoung, Michelle Seekamp and Andrew Fingerman of PhotoShelter for the opportunity and the wonderful support. I hope we do more of these in the future.

I'd love to hear from some of you and find out what other topics you might want to learn about. Drop me a line and let me know.

It's a great thing to try (and of course succeed) at something new. I really had no idea what a 'webinar' was, but I was eager to find out by doing one. It's true: trying new things is a great way to grow.

Another wonderful thing this week is that the virtual gallery show I curated for the Griffin Museum of Photography went live. It features Sophia Wallace's "Modern Dandies" work, and I couldn't be happier to see it online. It's a beautiful, thought-provoking body of work that should not be missed. See it here and in the image above.

Let's Get Our Films to Verge

2011-01-28T13:42:00.001-05:00

I want to pass along this email I just got from Robert Hooman, and ask everyone to pass it along.

"Hello friends! I've been asked by the Verge International Art Fair to curate a video screening/motion gallery for the art fair this year in NYC. It'll be held in DUMBO March 3-6.

I'm looking at video submissions for the next couple weeks and I would very much like to see your work, or if you've seen and know an artist/filmmaker who may have material for me, please direct them to me. This will be quite an undertaking and I'll be needing all the help I can get to pull together a stellar show!!

Here are my submission criteria:

-I'm seeking work that'll challenge the viewer's visual language and understanding, present a unique narrative and have interesting style and/or technique.
-FINAL SUBMISSION DATE: FEB 21, 2011
-All work must be produced in the last three years
-No restrictions on language or country
-I'll be looking at original pieces from all formats. including but not limited to: Live action, animation, documentary, mixed media, video installations, video art (even slide shows that blow me away).
-Maximum length should be between 4-5 minutes and not a frame longer than that.
-NO trailers, excerpts, cut-downs, multi-segements or REELS will be considered. All work must be self contained and hold up as an individual piece of artwork/story/video (or whatever you want to call it). If you need to re-edit to fit your piece in the 5min limit, that is okay.
-If the screening requires special equipment or additional gear, artist will have to provide the equipment. We will provide security for your equipment (whether its inside or outside)
-Please be ready to submit a final high-res version digital format, if the piece is accepted. So even if I review the work on YouTube, I will need a full resolution and full size version.
-I'm still working out terms and conditions with the organizers
-We are still looking at delivery/screening methods.

Please send a LINK (AND ONLY A LINK) to VIDEO@RobertHooman.com. If you cannot upload or link your work, please contact me directly and we'll figure something out. PLEASE DO NOT ATTACH VIDEO FILES TO THE EMAILS. All emails with attachments will be deleted without consideration.

I'm looking forward to your submission."

Back from the Sunshine

2011-01-20T14:22:00.000-05:00

So I'm back from sunny, warm Florida, and I have to say it's a little jolting. I was getting into the t-shirt weather and the great folks I went down with. I want to thank Julie Grahame of aCurator, photographer extraordinaire Jason Florio, Daylight Magazines's Michael Itkoff, Alison Zavos, Feature Shoot's publisher and the exceptional photo producer and blogger Helen Jones-Florio for being on my panel and delivering such terrific information. I hope we can take this on the road sometime soon. You were all really wonderful.

There are a lot of things brewing for me now that I'm back, and I'm getting excited about breaking new ground for myself in this photo world we live in. Next Thursday, January 27th from 4pm - 5pm I will be conducting a webinar, "Build A Better Online Portfolio" at the invitation of Photoshelter. There will be some Q&A, and I'll be offering suggestions to photographers who have submitted their portfolios for review. Don't miss this! You can sign up here

And on February 1, the online gallery I curated for the Griffin Museum of Photography, featuring the work of Sophia Wallace will go live. Her "Modern Dandies" project is really worth a look, so stay tuned for that. You'll be able to see it here.

I'm hoping to create more panels this year, and curate more shows both in New York and around the country. If you have any ideas, please send them to me. I will also expand my consulting, so those of you who have been procrastinating about refreshing and refocusing your business drop me a line. I can offer you straight-forward suggestions and ideas to make your portfolio, website and marketing clearer and more targeted towards success.

We're just starting 2011, and there are some wonderful new things to come. I'll keep you all posted.

If it's Florida it's FOTOFusion

2011-01-13T17:59:00.000-05:00

I came down to West Palm Beach just ahead of the newest New York snowstorm to attend FOTOFusion, a photo festival targeted mostly to amateur and semi-professional photographers in the area.

Yesterday I sat on the Alison Zavos panel: "Cut Through the Noise: Smart Marketing Strategies for Photographers," with Julie Grahame, and while the audience was kind of small, it was enthusiastic. I had a really good time talking about what I see as included in the idea of social media: portfolio reviews and promo cards. After all, one-on-one contact with art buyers, photo editors, gallerists and the like is social, no?

It's important that photographers think clearly about what they're looking to achieve when they consider attending a review. Who do they want to meet? Is their work ready to be presented? Does it have a cohesive focus or subject? Is it a real body of work? Can the photographer talk about their work in a clear and concise way?

I know there are those who see portfolio reviews as a rip-off industry. I don't see it that way. So many photographers work in a vacuum, and having trained, outside eyes view their work is vitally important. Additionally, if you chose the right review, you can get person-to-person contact with people who you would not normally have a chance to talk with. It can be the thing that really moves you forward and allows you to pitch yourself to potential clients.

Promo cards were another thing I talked about. Having spent many years as a photo editor sitting in ugly offices or at cubbyholes I loved getting great promo cards to pin up on my walls. These were the photographers I hoped to work with, and their cards were always staring me in the eyes while I worked. I often cannot understand the choices people make when printing promo cards. And I never understand why more thought isn't given to what they expect to come from the card, rather than the graphic design of the card. By that I mean do the image or images you've chosen really represent who you are as a photographer? And if I'm looking right at your card, doesn't it make sense to have all your important info (URL, cell number, email address) right in front of my eyes also?

I came down here with Alison, Julie, Jason Florio and Helen Jones-Florio to do my own panel (with Michael Itkoff as well), and that one is tomorrow. But today we had the most exciting event of the festival so far.

In the middle of Jason and Helen's talk:"A 930km African Photography Odyssey" their presentation of their incredible walk across the country of Gambia, an alarm went off and a disembodied voice announced we had to leave the building immediately due to an unspecified emergency.

We spent about fifteen minutes milling outside with more people than I've seen at this festival, until we were let back in to hear Jason and Helen finish their talk. It was like a grade school fire drill.

Tomorrow is my panel, and I plan on blogging more about what I've seen and done. I like seeing people I know, hanging out and eating meals with my friends, and everyone is really friendly. Add to the fact that Florida is the only state with NO SNOW, and I'm happy as a kitten with catnip.

More to come from here, so stay tuned....

It's a New Year, It's a New Week

2011-01-06T12:07:00.000-05:00

Now that we've turned the page on 2010, it's time to get back into the swing of photo openings. Tonight brings some wonderful shows, so get up and get out. See you there!

"I get a sickening feeling every time I think of it" TEN FROM TWENTY TEN where W.M. Hunt selects then images from the recent archive of VII Photo to reflect his view of the past year.
From 6:00pm - 8:30pm
28 Jay St.
Brooklyn

Also in Dumbo tonight is the opening of SPLASH II at Klompching Gallery, a group exhibition of contemporary fine art photographs, by artists represented by the gallery.

Featuring the work of Cara Barer(seen above), Cornelia Hediger, Phillip Toledano, Helen Sear, Sarah Lynch, Doug Keyes, and Odette England.

In the back room of the gallery, they are featuring Lisa M. Robinson, with photographs from her highly acclaimed Snowbound series.
6:00pm - 8:00pm
111 Front St. Suite 206
Brooklyn

Back in Manhattan we have Todd Hido's Fragmented Narratives opening tonight. Renowned as a master of sequencing in book format, Hido juxtaposes images from his influential monographs House Hunting, A Road Divided, Outskirts and Between the Two with portraits and new images never before exhibited.
Bruce Silverstein Gallery
535 West 24th Street
6:00pm - 8:00pm

And Yossi Milo presents photos by Ezra Stoller. Based on his background in architecture and industrial design, Stoller used a large-format camera to photograph monumental 20th century buildings, including the Guggenheim Museum, the TWA terminal at Idlewild Airport (now John F. Kennedy International Airport), the Seagram Building, the Salk Institute, Yale Art and Architecture Building and Fallingwater.
6:00pm - 8:00pm
525 West 25th Street

Leaving 2010 Looking Towards 2011

2010-12-16T16:02:00.000-05:00

Since we’re just about at the end of the year I thought I would take this time to look back at 2010. This is something I usually hate to do, because it seems as if I’ve never accomplished enough, and time is shooting by. But looking back this year is different. And that’s pretty exciting for me.

This has been a year full of activity and new experiences for me, as I navigated this new photo world landscape. As I’ve said to others, it is no less uncertain and confusing for me as it is for any photographer. What I have tried to do is make my own opportunities and say “Yes” more than “No” this year.

As a result, I was invited to “Atlanta Celebrates Photography” as a portfolio reviewer, visiting the city for the first time. Besides meeting some fantastic people, I got to make a personal pilgrimage to a place that had deep meaning for me. And for all of that I am grateful.

I was also invited to “FOTOfusion” in West Palm Beach, Florida, where I sat on a couple of panels and got to reconnect with some really wonderful and accomplished photo people. And you can’t beat Florida in January! I’ll be going again in 2011—January 11-16. Check it out, it’s worth the trip.

MY APA panel, "Multi Platform Editing-Presenting Your Work to the New Media Landscape" was a great success, and introduced me to Roberto DeLuna, Alison Zavos, Chris Owyoung, Erin Rabasca, as well as Alex Wright and Joe Pritchard.

Through this blog I was able to feature the works of Les Stone, Judith Fox, Michael Itkoff, Peter Turnley, Robert Herman, David Arky, Julie Grahame, Helen Jones-Florio and Jason Florio, Manjari Sharma, Nick Gleis, Bryce Lankard, Jennifer Shaw, Kyle Bravo, David Halliday, Stephen Mallon, Sara Keith, Vicki Hunt, Jimmy Williams, John May, Susan Barnett, Paul Hagedorn, Joseph Guay, Tim Hetherington and Peter Sekaer.

I had a wonderful opportunity to speak at the Apple Store in SF, and met a photographer I worked with for years, but had never met in person before. That was a great added bonus for a fun event.

With my fantastic gang of four (Jason Florio, Andrea Fischman, Helen Jones-Florio and Sari Goodfriend) we blogged PhotoPlus Expo and really enjoyed most of the exhausting experience (except for the naked girls at the PDN party). Along with blogging the NYPhoto Festival in Dumbo, I’m having a good time examining the photo scene here in New York.

I’ve also done several other portfolio reviews and contest judging (thanks En Foco, APA and ASMP), seen some fantastic work and met some wonderful new photographer friends. I’ve gone to openings, been quoted on other blogs, written artistic statements, worked with some exciting clients, and moved into curating in a grander way.

For that I want to thank David Bram of Fraction magazine, who has included me as a curator for Fraction J, the every other month photojournalism section of the magazine. It was great discovering and showing the work of Benjamin Lowy, Matt Slaby, Stacy Krantiz and Colleen Mullins here.

There are more new great things to come in 2011, which I will write about as they come together, including the opportunity of curating for the Griffin Museum of Photography, and holding more workshops and seminars. I’m learning more, meeting more people, and looking for more opportunities and chances to create.

So look for Stellazine to grow as I do, and preview some changes in the New Year. Stay positive, stay warm, and dream new creative dreams. I know I will.

Editing Your Own Work with Stella Kramer + Allegra Wilde

2010-12-02T15:06:00.001-05:00

As we approach the end of the year it's a time for reflection, clearing out and getting ready to face the New Year. And that's why Allegra Wilde and I are holding a hands-on editing seminar on December 14 at Calumet in NYC. After listening to many photographers talk about unedited work piling up, we felt this would be a great opportunity, and a chance to get help from two photo professionals.

And oh yeah, it will be fun!

We set an affordable price so it would be possible for you to take advantage of this, and we'll give you tips that will help you to edit your own work in the future. Space is limited, so don't wait. We're here to help you and make editing more of a fun experience. You can bring a project or work of any kind.

Read the details here

Email me or Allegra to sign up, or send either of us a a FB message.

Roberto De Luna's "Lost Weekend"

2010-11-15T13:13:00.000-05:00

I met Roberto De Luna when he agreed to be on an APA panel I was organizing. A gifted photo editor, Roberto has always been a photographer first and foremost. In this, his first show at the Michael Mazzeo Gallery, he presents "Lost Weekend," a show of his 100 Polaroids that delves into the idea of memory.

"Typically accepted as an accurate and truthful photographic record, the Polaroid print functions here as mnemonic device, a vernacular tool with which lost memories are re-experienced, reshuffled, and reconstituted into new mythologies."

There will be an opening reception on Thursday, November 18 from 6pm - 8pm.
Michael Mazzeo Gallery
526 W. 26 St.

The Reviewers Review the Free ASMP Portfolio Review

2010-11-11T16:10:00.000-05:00

Monday night was the free, ASMP commercial portfolio review and there was quite a turnout of both reviewers and photographers. I enjoy doing reviews as it gives me a chance to see new work, and also, hopefully, offer some perspective. I usually see people I know and the entire evening is very enjoyable. That said, it was stranger for me this year than last. I saw fewer photographers (but then I’m not as valuable a commodity as an art buyer or magazine editor), and the noise level really affected me this year. As freelance photo editor Lindsay Blatt said, “It was really loud in that studio space, and I had a hard time hearing.”

I asked reviewers for their opinions in order to gauge their feelings, and thought I’d also bring you some of their suggestions on how to make it even better next year.

Joe Pritchard, a freelance photo rep said he like the structure and the fact that it was free for members. “What I would like to see is a larger space, as it tends to get very loud and difficult at times to hear people and to focus on what they are talking about and showing you.”

Julie Grahame, editor-in-chief, aCurator magazine wondered if “we could include a couple of successful photographers as reviewers next year.”

For Patrick Cunningham of Photolibrary, “It was fun, enjoyable, and social. Thanks for the candy. I really liked helping both the newbie’s and seasoned professionals. Everybody needs a fresh perspective sometime.”

Photography consultant Louisa Curtis said, “I think it was perhaps too close to PPE as there were more portfolio review events at PPE this year. The signs above each chair only said the person's name and not their company – that made it hard to identify people. There were too many reviewers and not enough photographers”

“I know that my colleagues in the corner tables did not get to see as much work as I did,” said Jessica Moon, senior visual content editor, online specialist, Scholastic, Inc.

And Anna G. Dickson, photo editor, Clear Channel Radio - Digital said, “I thought the event went well, although I did not feel there were enough timers for the reviewers. It was hard to hear the timer and after the very first review, I was on my own with time and I'm SURE that I went over 15 minutes several times.”

Monica Suder, creative coach, consultant and curator, “found the noise level very hard and was hoarse by 9PM.”

Wini Alcorn, business affairs manager, Coca-Cola-MCCANN ERICKSON,| thought “it would have been helpful to have someone using a BELL for the whole space to time the meetings, instead of individual timers per table. Those were annoying as they went off throughout the event. I think it would also streamline the event to have people all move at the same time to a new table, instead of waiting in lines.”

When asked about the quality of the work they had seen, and if anything was really special, Anna G. Dickson said, “The overall quality of the work was very good, and most, although not all people seemed open to constructive criticism

Patrick Cunningham: “I was most impressed by Ian Spanier’s portraits and lifestyle, as well as Bruce Katz’ food images.
Whitney Tressel of Hearst “loved Carl Wooley, Chad Hunt, and Peter Riesett's work the best.”

Jessica Moon had this to say about what she had seen: “Ashok Sinha – STUNNING! James Leynse – Curious, intriguing, wonderful! Stephen Mallon – lovely.”

Wini Alcorn: “Of the people I met, most of them were very talented. That is a huge step up from other events like these where usually the overall work is mediocre. Loved Mimi Ko, Erin Patrice O’Brien and Chad Springer.

Joe Pritchard felt that “many of the photographers need the support of creative consultants and branding help. I am finding that the photographers are so worried about making money and trying to jump into this so fast that they are not presenting themselves and their work properly. Also as we know photographers are some of the worst when editing there own work.” I would have to agree with that general assertion.

Mike Hartley of Big Flannel was pretty candid in his assessment, saying, “The quality of the work was on average higher than I expected. I am rarely wowed and was not on this evening. I am falsely of the belief my work sells itself, and so were many of the photographers. We should both being trying harder I think.”

Most of the responding reviewers said socializing with other reviewers was an important aspect of participating. Wini Alcorn thought, “perhaps a cocktail hour/mixer BEFORE the event starts (in a separate room) for people to say hi and chat before getting down to business would b better. “I also think name tags would be helpful for both photogs and reviewers.”

Jessica Moon found this year’s music “very cerebral and the party following the review missed an opportunity for revelry. Everybody was starving by then end,” she added.

And Wini Alcorn suggested having, “a 10 minute break to get up and stretch for the reviewers—a bathroom break.”

I would say that I saw most of the work on iPads that evening, and while it’s a fun toy at this point, I found the reflective screen very distracting. I know there are specific iPad apps for showing your work as a porfolio, and I think if that’s what you want to do, you should invest in the best technology. Always consider the chance for a portfolio review (or even casually showing your work) to be a professional situation, and to that end, be professional in how you present your work.

RepAudrie Lawrenceof Levine and Leavitt though that “50% of what I looked at was on iPad. I like seeing work on an iPad in equal measure to a well printed book. Since there is a serious drive toward photographers also doing double duty as directors I feel like having an iPad is an asset. I also think that photography can look really great on an iPad. That said, I do still really love the overall experience of looking at a well-printed book and would prefer that photographers have a regular printed portfolio along with an iPad to show additional work and video.”

Monica Suder added that, “iPads are good for some things. I came across a wonderful book and exhibition project on the Spirit of Tea in China and the images worked great on the iPad (by photographer Matthew London).

Jessica Moon is “happy to see work by any means necessary. iPad, whatever, it doesn’t matter. Next year I hope to see more iPads....”

Lindsay Blatt said, “I still like books, it shows some commitment to what you are doing. People using digital devices seemed flippant in their image selections.”

And Witney Tressel prefers “portfolio books or loose prints. I work for a print magazine so I want to see prints. I had a couple iPads but I don't prefer it, it's deceiving how good the quality is.”

Mike Hartley: “I looked at two portfolios on iPads. I generally prefer any process that engages me with technology. It feels contemporary and of the future. I do this realizing there may be a compromise involved (lack of size and resolution when looking at a screen relative to a print for example). I felt with the iPad, the compromise is still too large for it to be used as a primary portfolio. It worked for me when it was used in support of a primary portfolio, to show a 'hot off the press' project, or an archived project. However, it's an expensive object to achieve this and I think at best it is a useful (and unnecessary) toy in its current state.

“Don't get me wrong,” he continued. “Tthe possibility of touching and sharing a screen is a wonderful one, but the practical experience is so far lacking and the debate about its use seems to focus more on Apple's divisive marketing practice, and whether we can afford to not look like we embrace everything they sell us, rather than any fitness for purpose.”

“I was asked what I prefer and said print but ended up looking at both,” said Julie Grahame. “For me, the iPad is OK, for example, to show a single body of work that you haven't printed or edited yet. Like a kind of oh, by the way, I'm working on this--Robert Hooman's Eddie Adams project was the perfect example.”

“It has a tendency to make one feel stupid,” she continued. “I don't know how to navigate whatever it is you're showing me your images on, it's awkward, and as Ilene (Bellovin) said to me today, we've been trained to not touch the screen!”

Photos:
top: Joe Mondello
bottom: Frank Rocco

A Final Word on PhotoPlus Expo

2010-11-04T13:51:00.000-04:00

Last week was the photo circus that is PhotoPlus Expo here in New York with high points (the Sony party) and low points (the naked women at the PDN party) and lots in between. I went to the Lucie Awards for the first time to support my friend Jason Florio who was chosen People Photographer of the Year and up for the International Photographer of the Year award. He wuz robbed.

Maybe it's a California thing that I can't relate to, but for me it was a ridiculous exercise in fluff, and not a part of the photo community here at all.

Then it was three days straight at the Javits Center and I'm sure everyone has read our blog posts from there. I want to thank Andrea Fischman, Sari Goodfriend, Helen Jones and Jason Florio for all their work. But honestly people, PhotoPlus Expo has really become an event for the amateur photographer--the Prosumer photographer. There were definitely some great seminars, and things to learn, but those seminars offering ways to be successful seemed to fall far from the mark. The panelists were without energy and offered no information except that old standby of working for free. I think we're all tired of that by now.

Just because someone is an expert doesn't mean they're a good speaker. There was a real lack of excitement and energy wherever I went. And why weren't there more up and coming stars talking and holding seminars? There is a real need for fresh, new blood--not the same old same old.

It was really telling to me that I didn't see very many people I know at the Javits. I'm sure it's because of money, and that's another reason I would suggest big changes to this annual event. It needs to be rethought and revamped for the way things are NOW. Or else, there will be something for the prosumer, and nothing for the professional photographer.

Will I blog again next year? I don't know. I came away a bit disheartened, glad to get back into what's going on here--going to openings, being on a panel, etc. I'm interested in contributing to the photography community and I'm always interested in finding ways that I can help. It's time again to get back to the problems of making a living. Last week didn't really help anyone with that.

Notes from the underground - moments in seminar history

2010-11-02T13:48:00.000-04:00

Below ground, in the underbelly of the cavernous hull that is the Javits Center I found respite from the air-sucking crowds glued to the free seminars on 'how to pose your subjects' and the clambering consumers all racking the focus rings on every camera on display. The subterranean paid seminars are an intensive trip into some enlightening territory.

I was enthralled at the CGI manufactured world of advertising photographer Glenn Wexler who was on a panel to discuss "How to get work from ad agencies". The money just seemed to ooze from every pore of the discussion, with the very heart of it being how many hundreds of thousands YOU could make by creating images that would manipulate people to consume through visions of a plastic fantastic hyper-real existence.

The panel was made up of ad-agency art buyers--or as they are called these days 'art producers'--and top photo agents, moderated by ex-photo-agent maven Deborah Weiss, who enjoyed reminiscing about the glory days of the later part of the 20th century when ad agents were sipping gin martinis for breakfast, and lustfully seemed to be wishing that the characters of 'Mad Men' were still roaming the hallowed halls of NYC ad agencies--not hipsters in low-slung Silas jeans.

But good practical advice abounded for those snappers hoping to hit the Coca-Cola gravy train to a Skittles-colored world.

Across the hall, but on a different photo planet from the technicolored world of advertising photography, I sat in on two seminars hosted by the chaps from VII Photo agency: Ron Haviv, Ed Kashi, Karim Ben Khalifa, Jenn Ackerman and Tim Gruber, who had good, practical advice on working in multi-media . Ed Kashi said he saw himself as, "a coal miner, not a diamond polisher." He said photographers should reach out to those with great audio and editing to skills, if one does not have them, and seek collaboration from those experienced in sound and editing to create a final piece of professional quality.

Researching your story was the bedrock off what nearly everyone on the panel was saying. Think about what you want to say and who your audience is. Kashi said to not just think about getting the story into a magazine, but to use your journalism as advocacy, and create material others can use for positive change, whether they be NGO's , foundations, seats of learning etc. "Produce something bigger than yourself" was the ringing message that I left with.

In the diminished world of editorial assignments many of us have looked for ways to fund projects, and the panel's Karim Ben Khalifa has taken the KickStarter model of fund-raising and fused it into a place where people can support photographers to produce stories -Emphas.is

Back across the hallway, Aurora Photo's Mr. Adventure, Corey Rich, was also on the multi-media platform. He gave an eloquent and practical account of his merger into multi-media over the last 10 + years. Corey has combines his love of the outdoors 100% into his work and is now pushing deeper into video productions using the Nikon DSLR cameras to shoot commercials (much to the chagrin of some camera operators he was shooting along side whose $50,000 Red Cams could not compete in the failing light of day). Corey keeps shooting while they retire to the bar.

Bouncing back to the second seminar run by VII Photo, I found myself at a seminar called "International Tool Kit" - I was in pig heaven. Ron Haviv went through a 28-point check list that every photojournalist should tick through before hitting the Hindu Kush. The top tips included:
1) Double up on everything.
2) Cash is king.
3) Always carry as much of your kit on the plane as possible so you can start work as soon as you touch down, even if your checked bag is delayed, and enlightened me to a camera bag system call Newswear.

English sports photographer Simon Bruty was also on the panel and uses the 6 P's rule before leaving for an international assignment - PROPER PREPARATION PREVENTS PISS POOR PERFORMANCE.

All good stuff.

Jason Florio

Photoplus Expo 2010 has come to an end..

2010-11-01T17:00:00.001-04:00

Photo Expo has once again come to a close. A crazy three day whirlwind of seminars, cameras, networking, BMX bikes and fun at the cavernous Javits Center, NYC!

Some fun things:

1. HDDSLR with Vincent Laforet seminar Thursday morning.
2. Free Black Rapid Strap giveaway if you recite something they tell you to say from their Twitter
3. The coffee in the press lounge
4. Seeing old friends and making new friends
5. The BMX ramp!!!!
6. Learning, learning, learning at the seminars and by talking to folks. Everyone was very generous with their time
7. The parties!

Some not as fun things:

1. The Javits Center
2. The fact that there was less space in the area they used in the Javits center, thus making
it almost impossible to walk down the showroom aisles. Check out my video to find out first hand accounts of the Expo.
3. The coffee in the press lounge!
4. It was sub degree temperatures in the seminar rooms
5. Some of the seminars were really not as good as other seminars. But I guess that's all subjective.

As I reflect on my first expo that I attended in 2002. I had just graduated from college and didn't really know anyone in the NYC photo industry. I feel as though I have made some large strides since then. DSLR camera's have also made some large strides. Now we have as many megapixels as we can dream off and we can shoot HD video with our DSLR cameras and we can actually afford these cameras!! They are not for the elite top photographers, they are for you and me and your parents too. I'm hopeful that next year I will be as impressed with the developments in HDDSLR cameras and that the prices tags will also make me equally happy.

Until next year!

-Andrea Fischman

An Observation from guest Alex Wright of Dripbook

2010-11-01T13:49:00.000-04:00

Two keynote speakers, each looking the other way.

The two PhotoPlus Expo keynote speaker presentations by Chase Jarvis on Thursday and Albert Watson on Friday clearly presented the crossroads facing the photography industry today. The two talks couldn’t have been more different. Both are great photographers. Neither was wrong. But there was such a palpable difference between the two, and that difference is metaphoric of what we’re all experiencing around us in this industry today. The statue of the Roman god Janus looking both forward and backward comes to mind.

Albert Watson showed stunning images (that he endlessly apologized for the terrible presentation of via the projectors) and told equally stunning stories of his career. He talked of photographing a magazine cover in Paris, flying the Concorde to New York for a second shoot hours later, and ending the day at a third shoot in Los Angeles. He talked of 8x10 cameras. He talked of printing one of his books with an eight color offset press with two additional plates on two page signatures that kept the presses going nonstop for a month to complete the edition. The crowd in the room hung on every word, held its breath, and never wanted to admit the truly unpleasant truth that Albert Watson’s world is no more.

The same room the day before saw an entirely different keynote with Chase Jarvis dressed and pacing along the stage in an almost comedic interpretation of Tom Cruise’s motivational speaker character in the film Magnolia. Chase showed a slide depicting a diverging pathway with one direction labeled “Old shit?” and the other “New shit?” and proceeded to declare this the most exciting time to be a photographer in the history of history. Why? Because we can now control – or can take advantage of – the distribution channels. We can create and distribute images like never before. It’s not just about taking images, but about new distribution channels and new ways of sharing what we have rather than protecting it. Book project from an iPhone app. Tens of gazillions of people sharing information and images at light speed. Do and share and go forward and be creative and the rest will fall into order. At least for Chase it does.

But really, agree with Chase or not, the journey that Albert Watson experienced just isn’t an option anymore (as unpleasant for all of us as that is). And Chase’s seems like one of the only positive and possible paths forward presented right now. It seems that it is time to let that breath out and get moving.

Some views from Photo Plus Expo 2010

2010-11-01T11:17:00.001-04:00

How Twitter Can Help Photographers – Scott Bourne

2010-10-31T12:40:00.000-04:00

PDN Photo Plus Expo

Scott Bourne, founder of Scott Bourne Media Group, has been using Twitter https://twitter.com/since its inception and for the last year he has been successfully using it to sell his wildlife photography prints http://scottbourne.com/
http://photodiary.photodiary.com/

He had a plethora of information to impart on how to navigate and use Twitter to its full potential in relation to marketing and selling photography.

He began with a couple of statistics:
200million users on Twitter putting up 50 million tweets put per day!

The “traction point” is around 9 months– this is when you should begin to reap the rewards of your tweeting (if you follow the basic guidelines and use Twitter efficiently)

He then went on to say that in order to promote your business well as a photographer on Twitter, there are a few basic guidelines such as:

Have a goal and know your objectives.

Know who your audience is.

Be concise with content – avoid “fluff” If its business then stick to business related tweets – i.e. don’t mix it with personal stuff (you can always start another Twitter account for personal/chatty tweets).

Make sure your design reflects your style – i.e. put up your images in the background design and change frequently.

Brand yourself effectively by using a profile image of yourself as opposed to one of your images. “People respond more to faces”. Ensure that you have all the relevant professional information in your profile set up – business name, email, website,, blog.

Interact with the photography community you want to part of – have a voice – follow all the people/businesses that you have a commonality with such as connect with photographers, photo editors, curators, art buyers, photography magazine’s etc.. Connect to the photography lists. This will help to increase your profile on Twitter.

Interlink your Twitter account with Face Book, LinkedIn, Flickr, your website, blog and other social media groups you are connected to, to ensure a wider audience.

If its your first foray into Twitter land, then ease your way in gradually by “listening and learning the language” of the communities your want to be involved in. “Get the feel of how it works” Don’t go blasting in there, pushing your ware’s as soon as you sign up. Build up a relationship by offering advice, tips or share contacts with others in the community and hopefully they will begin to reciprocate. “put others ahead of yourself” Scott Bourne

Establish credibility within your community first by re-tweeting others tweets if you find them valuable. Have a conversation with other photographers you link with, about work, the business etc. Ask questions.

Every day you use Twitter, you should see your followers growing in numbers. If you don’t then you need to re-evaluate how you are using your account to help increase your followers.

According to Scott Bourne, the most effective times each day to reach your chosen audience in the US are:

6am Pacific Time – 9am Eastern Standard Time
4pm Pacific Time – 7pm Eastern Standard Time
(Adjust accordingly to the countries that are relevant to you)

This is “real time environment” so its important that you are on there at the most effective times in order to interact with your community. Whatever you are promoting in the morning, then repeat the tweet(s) later in the day. This should ensure that you are reaching your desired audience at all times.

To find out how to effectively sell your work on Twitter, Scott recommended that you check out certain sites to see how well they do it:

www.jetblue.com
www.opgear.com
www.pictureline.com/

He then went on to tell us how he sold out of 100 limited edition prints in just 8 months (at $400 per print – you do the math!) and he said himself “I take photo’s of birds….who really needs photo’s of birds?!” The reason he sold the prints was because he “told a story” about how he took the photograph in question and how it had actually taken him 13 years of going to a place in New Mexico (sic), to capture. He linked the tweets to his blog. And, that was the story that captured everyone’s attention (and their wallets!). So, think of a story that will capture’s the community’s imagination and see how it works out. I know that I will try this for Jason Florio’s fine art prints gallery!! http://www.floriophoto.com/#/fine%20art%20print%20sales/black%20+%20white%20collection/1

Scott finished with a re-cap on the seminar and to say:

Be patient – don’t expect success to happen overnight (remember the ‘9 month traction time’).
Listen and build your community slowly – “everyone wants to be a rock star but remember you have to learn the chords too”
Don’t just try to attract a large audience with people who are not relevant to your business and goals.
Ask questions and answer them. Be a voice in your community.
Always respond to messages – its only 140 characters maximum!

Ok, I’m off to get my tweet on!!

Helen Jones
Follow Helen Jones & Jason Florio and their journey around The Gambia in 2009 - a 930km walk with 3 Gambians, two donkeys and a cart! Award-winning photography and road stories:
http://930kmafricanodyssey.tumblr.com/
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http://twitter.com/#!/hellyjonesphoto
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PDN 30: Strategies for the Young Working Photographers

2010-10-30T15:02:00.000-04:00

This seminar always seems to attract a lot of photographers.
As a photographer, I know it's a huge accolade to be listed in PDN's pages when they do the annual PDN 30.
This panel was run by Holly Hughes who is the editor of Photo District News.
The folks on this panel were photographers, Nick Onken, Elizabeth Weinberg, Wayne Lawrence, and Matthew Jordon Smith. Also Sr. Art Producer from McCann Erickson, Agatha Maciejewski.

Wayne Lawrence started off the panel by showing his work and giving a moving story about this image below. He discussed how important this image was at it reminded him of his relationship with his brother who had passed away eight years ago and would be in his thirties now. He had some funny stories about meeting a photographer who became his mentor by just seeing him on the side of the road in Venice Beach and recognizing him from Communication Arts and asking him if he could work for him. He went on to discussed his ah-ha moment when he decided he wanted to turn around his life and do something he loved. Wayne's access into his subjects seems very intimate, and he describes his work as being "a celebration of life (that would) affect positive change."

Elizabeth Weinberg lives in Brooklyn, New York. She was selected as one of PDN's 30 Emerging Photographers to Watch in 2010, and has been published in American Photography 26. Born and raised in Massachusetts, she graduated with a degree in Photojournalism from Boston University in 2004. She discussed her background as a student at BU and working for different music management companies while still in school. How she used that to get a foot in the door and make some connections with bands and managers. She describes wanting to be "the next Annie Leibowitz" when she was coming out of school. Which I can relate to. Her work all has a certain free, fun feeling that shows her ease with her subjects. She believes in being proactive and believing in yourself and creating opportunities for yourself. Case in point is some of her personal projects on her website that have landed her commercial work.

Unfortunately I had to run off in the middle of this seminar to catch one other as the Expo is nearing the end! But stay tuned for more updates!

-Andrea Fischman

Presenting Work To Fine Art Community – Mary Virginia Swanson

2010-10-30T10:27:00.000-04:00

MVS knows her stuff! We listened to her talk yesterday about how to get your work out there, particularly to the fine art community. She talks with such eloquence, ease and a whole heap of knowledge along with years of experience.

Because we are running (writing) on the hoof at PDN’s Photo Expo, I’m going to list a bunch of mainly bullet points from the seminar:

Get your work out there – as often and as much as possible – whether it’s a finished body of work or not. Create a dialogue about your work. This will help to grow your work.

Portfolio reviews – these are really important in not only getting exposure for your work but getting it seen by the right people in the industry. Their expertise and critique can be paramount in helping you to move forward – and to evolve as an artist. You get the opportunity to have your work reviewed by top editors, publisher’s, corporate art buyers, gallery curators etc. MVS mentioned a whole list of the best portfolio reviews which you can find on her website
http://www.mvswanson.com/events/index.php Including:

Review Santa Fe, Center, Santa Fe, NM http://www.visitcenter.org/ – a tough one to get invited to and/or accepted (only 1 in 7 photographers who apply are accepted) but its one of the top portfolio reviews around. Once the review is over, the Santa Fe100 is listed on their website until the next review. Your name and website are linked from this list for a year. You also get to meet some amazingly inspiring photographers.

Fotofest, Houston, Texas http://www.fotofest.org/ – the ‘grandaddy of portfolio reviews’ (MSV)

Lens Culture, Photo Nola, Photoweek DC…..and more on MVS’s website.

When attending a portfolio review, make sure that they remember you after you have gone. ‘Leave behind’s’ – make up a postcard with an image of your work or a mini book These don’t have to be expensive to put together and can leave a lasting impression, Be as creative as possible to make sure you are remembered. After the review, send a thank you postcard or email embedded with an image to the reviewers. And don’t forget to add your website and contact details!

Your graphic identity: ensure that all your postcards, emails, booklets, website are consistent. This is your branding.

Competitions and grant applications: don’t wait until the last minute to apply. Get a dialogue going with the organizers as soon as possible. Plan ahead – i.e. keep a diary of comps/grants and the deadline dates.

Don’t just enter comps or apply for grants willy nilly! Do your research before you enter/apply – find out who the juror’s are, what work they like, who won the previous competition/grant etc. Is your work applicable?

Prestigious art fare’s such as AIPAD, http://www.aipad.com/ in NYC, are key for research purposes alone. There is so much to learn from just walking around and listening to business deals being made between curators and agents or artists. You won’t hear this kind of talk in a gallery (at least not out on the floor!). So, take advantage and listen to the language and, above all, learn. Check out what dealers are looking for. Study price points, size, edition numbers, the paper choices photographs are printed on, installation styles etc.

Your website: this is ‘your voice’ so keep it consistent. As mentioned, this is your branding; this is the face of who you are. Make it clear on your home page what it is you specialize in. A succinct, concise sentence or two can say it all. Make it easy for any photo editors, curators, collectors, corporate buyers etc who may visit your site to see immediately who you are and what you are about. These people don’t have time to search your site for the relevant information that should be right up there in the first place.

If you have a book – don’t forget to promote it on your website!

Prepare for viewing your website on ANY device – how does your site look on an iPad, iPhone, other computer screens (the view can often be compromised on smaller screens)?

Sending out your work to curator’s, fine art buyers, agents, etc: don’t just cold-send work. Call them first to find out what their policy is on accepting work. They may only accept work once a month or once a year even. MSV is a great advocate of picking up the phone! Again, research everyone that you want to approach – know their market. Will your work be relevant to them? Also, find out the name of person (i.e. don’t address an email to anonymous info@photographers.com) you wish to make contact with at, i.e., a gallery – personalize any communication as often as you possibly can.

Social networking: is Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc relevant to your market? If so, do it well, update regularly and keep it consistent.

MVS tip: Art buyers and curators are looking at the following sites for new work. Contact them to see if your work can get featured on these two great sites:
Flakphoto http://www.flakphoto.com/
Fraction Magazine http://www.fractionmagazine.com/

MSV Soundbites: Know your market. Who do you want to target? Plan your career well. Don’t sell for less than you are worth. Research is key. Be consistent. Plan. Communicate what you want. Be present wherever you are. Your branding has to be clear at all times. Be patient. Own your decisions!

MVS’s website is a treasure trove of information for any photographer – however established or not your may be . And, if you ever see her listed on a panel for a portfolio review, then get your 15 minute slot booked with her asap!! It will most definitely be worth it!

Helen Jones
http://930kmafricanodyssey.tumblr.com/

Photoplus Expo 2010- A quick video peek from Friday 10/29

2010-10-29T22:24:00.000-04:00

Check out a little video clip we made from day 2 of the Photoplus Expo 2010!

A quick video peek from Friday 10/29 PHOTOPLUS EXPO 2010!!!

Some interesting products so far at Photoplus Expo

2010-10-29T20:58:00.000-04:00

A couple of cool little things at the expo this year!

1. Black Rapid camera strap.

2. New Gary Fong Flash Diffuser to fit the New Nikon SB900 and other new flashes that the old Gary Fong diffuser didn't fit.

3. New somewhat cheaper but super high end looking business cards from MOO (Great name!)

4. Tamrac Zipshot Tripod
Although I made fun of this earlier, it is actually cool. It's a a super light tripod that fits into your backpack.

more tomorrow..

-Andrea Fischman

PhotoPlus Expo Day 2-Making Money In Stock Now

2010-10-29T11:58:00.000-04:00

It seems that there is still money to be made in stock photography, but like everything else, the world has changed. Where in the past there was royalty-free and right-managed stock only, there is now micro stock and direct sales as well. And questions about quality versus quantity remain. Is it better to edit and submit many images hoping to make more sales, or is it better to submit fewer, but better images?

According to the panel (Sarah Fix of Blend Images, Ellen Boughn and Jonathan Ross), you want repeat sales, so your business strategy needs to be based on how you can make that happen. Agencies and clients want to see that your sell-thru rate is high, and keeping your selects down will give the images you do submit a better chance of a higher sell-thru rate. So when they search your images or want to know more about you as a stock photographer they can see that you make money.

Sarah Fix made some great points about knowing your competition. Echoed by Jonathan Ross, they both spoke about looking at agencies and other shooters and identifying holes in the coverage. You have to be smart and strategic in approaching your career. But isn't that true for anything?

Jonathan also made another point worth considering: think about the way you shoot and how well your image works as a thumbnail. If you open the front page of any agency there will be a grid of thumbnails. The ones that speak most clearly at that size are the ones people will open. So shoot cleanly and with clarity--crafted quality. Make your work stand out.

If you shoot travel and are wondering how to do more, and wondering what to do when there's no money to travel to exotic locations, remember this: You can shoot in your own backyard. Someone is interested in where you live, so take what you know and put it to use to build a great, intimate library of images that no one else would have of the place where you are. You know it best.

Turning one wedding into five with Gene Ho

2010-10-29T11:13:00.000-04:00

Gene Ho is a photographer from down south yall!
He's a good guy and from the looks of it has turned his wedding business into a money making machine by word of mouth marketing. Through some what seems like pretty simple word of mouth tips you too can do the same....and here's how!

1. Be Santa-Give to Vendors
2. Network with the Lowest
3. Work on your memory
4. Talk about people
5. Have a loss leader
6. Be the Ice Cream Man
7. Secret Seven-Krispy Kreme

His whole thing is to have other people talk about you to essentially avoid the
age old adage of, "tell all your friends about me, please!"
Here's an example he gave.. You do a photo shoot of model and instead of mentioning to the model that she should refer him. Ask her where she got her hair done and then when she mentioned that Suzi down the street at The Edge Salon did her hair, come back and say I love Suzi's work. Then a couple weeks later when your client, the model goes to see Suzi to get her hair done again, an instant conversation about you begins. It could work, right? I agree that this Suzi example could work, but in a market like New York City, you do have to go above and beyond because of the wedding photographer saturation level here.

Another overall point he made. You need to create a buzz for yourself by being as far away as possible from your potential client, so you are not the one referring yourself.

#5 Have a Loss Leader refers to doing something that's not your bread and butter and can provide you with a source of income that can also lead you to referrals. Your loss leader is basically your rock bottom prices and it helps you create a buzz. He does headshots as his loss leader.

#6 Be the Ice Cream Man. What does that mean? Let your client know when you are coming around so they can expect you to be around. For example, offer promotions at the same time every year. Then you and your customers know what to expect.

#7 Secret Krispy Kreme. This is a fun one, although again not sure how it applies to the New York City market. Drop off Krispy Kreme donut and then when the folks you dropped the donuts off at eat them, they talk about you..Hmm.. Does this really work? And always have an excuse for why you dropped off the donuts so it doesn't seem like a blatant marketing move.

You can check out Gene Ho's website here.

More lata!

-Andrea Fischman

End of Day 1 PhotoPlus Expo

2010-10-28T21:59:00.000-04:00

This is today's last post. We'll be picking it up first thing tomorrow, and promise all kinds of surprises, including video. It's been a long but good day that ended on a perfect note, with a Sony AmericanPHOTO party that was exactly what we needed. There was great food and drink, all in a wonderful space with amazing work projected across huge walls. I want to thank Brain Smith for the invite.

One of the highlights of the day was the Darius Himes/Mary Virginia Swanson "How To Publish Your Photobook" seminar (a book with the same title will be out Winter 2011). They are both wonderfully engaging speakers, and so giving with their information.

Some of the important points they made were:

1. Own the domain name of your book. Know how to use social media to build a strong audience for your work.

2. Is your book a S, M, L or XL project?

3. Know how to talk about your book. Does your idea have a clearly defined subject? What is it?

4. Figure out who your audience is and be able to spell it out. Do you know how to reach them?

They suggested you really do research--looking at a lot of books to understand what different publishers look for, what kind of books they publish, what kind of paper they use, etc. Spend time on the publishers' website to understand who they are and what they can offer. Know that it is very rare for publishers to take blind submissions. Try to build a relationship with a publisher--portfolio reviews can help you in this.

Darius talked about his company, Radius, and what kind of books they publish. It is not in the publishing a photo book where the money can be made, unless there is a way to spin off things like calendars, cards, etc. Money can be made back through limited-editions done in addition to the trade publication. But if you're looking to become rich through publishing you will be disappointed.

Both touched on self-publishing and made the most important point: If you are not able to be the one and only--to be able to handle all aspects of getting your book out there, then it isn't for you. There are so many facets to putting a book out into the world that it is important to remember that your book needs to have a life of its own--it is a book, it is not your photographs. And that is an important and vital distinction to remember.

The Documentary Hybrid in Photography + Filmmaking with Lauren Greenfield

2010-10-28T21:22:00.000-04:00

My last seminar of the day was with the very talented and inspiring, Lauren Greenfield called, "The Documentary Hybrid in Photography + Filmmaking." I had the opportunity to be the still photographer on a commercial she was doing for a pharmaceutical company last fall. She was the director on this commercial. Her intensity, precision and professionalism on the shoot was really amazing to be around. She has such a clear focus on what she needs to get shot-wise and emotionally from the subjects or actors.

In this seminar she showed various projects she has been working on: Delta, U.S. Army, and other Drug Companies. She also showed us clips from her documentary, documenting girls with eating disorders called "Thin" which aired on HBO. Some still images from Thin are here from that project. Some of the clips she showed us were at times difficult to watch, however with that said, it's amazing how close she is to the subjects and that's what differentiates her work. She assimilates with all of her subjects and gives them such a sense of respect and comfort and earns a great amount of trust. She also has been working with some of these girls and woman for a number of years throughout her career with her work in her published book, "Girl Culture" and "Fast Forward." Both books documenting a subculture on young girls and women in our society.

She wrapped up by showing us a film piece that the NY Times Magazine commissioned her to do based on her still images in her book "Fast Forward." The piece documented the lives of the rich youth in LA. Pretty cool to get commissioned to do a film piece based on still images!

Lauren Greenfield is always very riveting to hear from and a great ending to Day 1 of photo expo. Check back tomorrow for more updates!

-Andrea Fischman

Developing your wedding brand with Jasmine Star

2010-10-28T16:33:00.000-04:00

So Jasmine Star is a trip! She's the daughter of a preacher.
Before we got started in the seminar she said that everyone had to "leave their ego at the door." It was cool though.. Then she said we should stop tweeting and meet each person to the left and right of us. Novel idea right!

Anyway, she's cool.. definitely an inspirational speaker!
She started out in law school and then got married and through the process of finding her wedding photographer realized she wanted to be a wedding photographer herself!

So..fast forward 4 years and it sounds like she's booking 50+ weddings a year.
Some key-points:

1. Create your own game and your own rules and be the star pitcher
2. Use your assets to their full advantage (she happened to not be a photographer to start) She's a writer so her focus is her blog and her writing and of course her photography.
3. Write down your top 3 liabilities and your assets now!
4. Write down 5 words that describe you now!
5. Action not though, branding is about doing, not thinking
6. Don't let other photographers define your style

Be yourself, keep it real, keep it simple!

Check out her blog and her website.

-Andrea Fischman

Grant Writing

2010-10-28T15:59:00.000-04:00

Grant Writing – sponsored by PDN
Moderator: David Walker
Panelists: Brenda Anne Kenneally, Ellen Liberatori, Justine Reyes, & Yokiko Yamagata

The do’s and don’ts of grant writing

All of the panelists were well-versed in the art of applying for grants. Having applied for a couple of grants in the past year or so, with Jason Florio, the information today was invaluable; particularly as we are planning our next expedition (see blog link below for award-winning images from our first expedition – A Short Walk in the Gambian Bush – a 930km African odyssey).

There are so many grants to choose from and it seems the obvious thing to state, but be sure that you only apply to the organizations that are relevant to the body of work you are applying to for a grant for. As Yokiko Yamagata said, you would be surprised how many people apply for grants that have absolutely no relevance to the grantee’s particular project – thus wasting both the organizations time and the applicant’s time.

Network and find out what’s going on: sign up for newsletters with i.e. Jerome Foundation, The Gates Foundation.
Attend information and networking sessions i.e. ‘brownbag and Leadership Lunch seminars’, join relevant forums and tune into relevant webinars

Do your research. Whichever organization you turn to, to apply for a grant, read their mission statement on their website thoroughly.
70% of all grant applications are thrown (and/or disqualified) out due to bad research, shoddy presentation etc.

Read the guidelines thoroughly before filling out the application. Don’t email or call the organizations of foundations with questions that are already in the package guide.

Apply for grants early – as in don’t leave it until a day before the deadline!! Applying early means you have a chance to build a relationship with a Program Officer from the grant organization.
Their advice will be invaluable in helping you to strengthen your proposal and get it right.

Be concise in your opening proposal pitch – get in all the key points without using ‘flowery’ language. Make a list of sound bites and then work out how you can embed them into your opening pitch.

Grant givers often have read 100’s of proposals each week, so make think about how your pitch might catch their attention.

If you are unsuccessful, try again. Louie Palu applied for the Alexia Foundation grant at least a dozen times before he got one! However, if you do apply again with the same body of work, show how your work has evolved since the last time – i.e. add new images, ideas etc. This shows commitment.

www.delicous.com/dwalker has a very comprehensive list of grant organizations and foundations

Helen Jones
http://www.930kmafricanodyssey

Notes from : 'How to get work from ad agencies'

2010-10-28T13:47:00.000-04:00

Three criteria for whether to take an assignment from mega advertising photographer Glen Wexler

1. Does the project have a portfolio value?

2. Will the relationship you create with the creative team potentially lead to other work?

3. The Money ?

Glen says he would take two out of the three for him to take on a job.

I would personally think # 3. could stand by itself .

--Jason Florio

An Intro to HDSLR Cinema with Vincent Laforet

2010-10-28T12:30:00.000-04:00

Just saw my first seminar this morning at the Photoplus Expo here in warm and sunny (i think although I am in the ominous Javitts Center) NYC!!

"An Intro to HDSLR Cinema" with Vincent Laforet.
First of all, he's not only a talented visual person but first and foremost an educator. Take a peek at his blog when you have a chance. So, this seminar covered basically all you need to know to shoot your HD DSLR films, shorts, commercials, music videos, you name it.

We started out watching his short called "Reverie" which is his first short with the Canon 5D Mark 2 and also his first short video that he made himself. Or at least that's the impression that I got, as he never went to film school. At the time that he shot Reverie, the 5D had only auto-exposure for video and a lot of the kinks of the camera had not been worked out.

Key Points about Reverie
1. Was shot with a very small crew
2. Used a number of lens, 45 mm, 50 mm, 85 mm, 200 mm, 400 mm, Fisheye and the Canon Mark 2
3. He used Profoto 7B's to light the film (what!!)
4. A lot of the more "Hollywood effects" were done in very simple lo-fi ways. For example, there is a scene where a guy has a flickering Tv light look to him and that was done by plugging in his laptop to the Tv screen and changing the hue/saturation level up and down in photoshop. Go to the behind the scenes look on Reverie on his site and you can see how it was done in more details. There is a great scene where the driver is filmed by suctioning a manfrotto suction cup mount to the side of the car.
5. The budget was $5000. Most of which was spent on the helicopter rental
6. That film led him within 72 hours of being released online to a very high paying job from SmugMug shooting surfers in Hawaii! Much better use of $5K than sending out a promotional mailer campaign right!

Vincent touched upon the explosion of HDDSLR onto the scene for the photo industry and how there hasn't been a revolution like this since the time when Auto-focus was introduced. I can attest to this at the Expo just by walking around the showroom for 15 minutes. There are so many vendors here geared towards HDDSLR and handheld lighting rigues etc.

From there, we discussed the nuts and bolts of work-flow with HDDSLR. Here's some highlights.

1. Shoot on Mark 2 (or whatever HDDSLR camera you have)
2. Copy into folders on external harddrive
3. Load into Final Cut (or Premier or Avid)
4. Convert footage using ProRes 422HQ or LT or Proxy. You don't need to use the super high res 4.44. Not worth it unless it's going to the silver screen :) This makes the footage much easier to work with in Final Cut.
5. Use application Pluraleyes to sync audio (i have used this and it's incredible, no more slate boards- especially helpful if you are only one person shooting)
6. Start editing!

But still most important according to Vincent is the following below. You can have all the gear in the world but no one will want to watch your film because you don't have a clear message. He really has some cool shorts he has made testing cameras for Canon.
Here's the skinny to a great short or film:
1. Concept
2. Story
3. Emotion
4. Sound
5. Motion
6. Editing

Lastly...glad I stayed till the end because he brought out his rique which is impressive but not over the top. Which is his thing, to K.I.S.S. (Keep it simple stupid)

Also some take-home knowledge that I found valuable below to do before you start shooting with the 5D:

1. Set the Canon 5D at ASA 100 at 1/50 sec
2. Turn off all Sharpening and Contrast and keep your color tone to Neutral
3. Get a couple of pieces of equipment (i.e. tripod with fluid head or some sort of steadying device to make your work move up to a pro level)
4. Pick up a decent Microphone and shoot with a Dual System. You can buy an inexpensive Zoom recorder even for $500.
5. Pick up an ND filter

More to come from me! Stay tuned.

-Andrea Fischman

Live From PhotoPlus Expo Part 1

2010-10-28T10:28:00.000-04:00

Good morning from the cavernous Javits Center where I hope to not have to rely on coffee to keep me going. Just left the "How To Get Work In Advertising" workshop, where David and Claudia Monaco, (Monaco Reps), Michelle Chant (Wieden & Kennedy), Glen Wexler (photographer) and Debra Weiss (moderator) filled the panel and talked about the general sense of the business. What started with no mics later ran into the typical sidetracking and soft talking so that I wasn't able to get my fuzzy brain focused. They did make some clear and important points that I hope Jason Florio will elaborate on later today.

1: Your website is a tool, nothing more. So don't spend so much time and money that the imagery becomes surperfluous to its purpose--to promote your work. Clear and simple seemed to be the preference of all. So don't over design, add music, text, etc. As Claudia Monaco said: Your soul is in your imagery."

2: What makes the website and iPad great, according to Glen Wexler, is that it gives you the flexibility to show several bodies of work. That's something your portfolio cannot do.

3:Don't send large posters as promo work. people have small offices and no where to hang them up. Postcards, small books to keep probably work better for the majority of art buyers.

4: If you don't have a personal style you won't be hired. And show you can produce something and work with clients.

5: The still aesthetic translates into motion, not vice versa, so if you have a feeling for video, do it! If not, put a team together.

So keep you eyes peeled here all day and through Saturday for more and more opinions, news, attitude and surprises from PhotoPlus Expo!

PhotoPlus Expo starts Thursday!

2010-10-26T21:50:00.000-04:00

I just want to remind everyone (remember to tell all your friends) that I will be blogging the 3-day event (and after-parties) with my cohorts Andrea Fischman, Sari Goodfriend, Jason Florio and last but certainly not least, Helen Jones. Keep watch and read as we cover everything from seminars to equipment reviews to interview, etc.

You can also read additional posts at the ASMPNY blog, Sharpen .

You won't get better coverage anywhere else!

Oh yeah, if you see us, stop and say hello.

More Celebrating Photography in Atlanta

2010-10-18T14:16:00.000-04:00

The first night I arrived to town, after all the galleries and the High Museum, we were invited to dinner at the house of two Atlanta collectors. We drove out of the city into a landscape of woods and gigantic mansions of dubious design, until we came across a modernist house and knew we had arrived at the right place. Their house was full of Tina Barney, Andreas Serrano, Annie Leibovitz, Larry Sultan, Jenny Holzer and many others. What a treat! And what a fantastic finish to our day.
We looked at their collection and ate and had a splendid time. Then it was back to the hotel to prepare for a full day of portfolio reviews.

In all I reviewed thirteen photographers the next day. It was great to see regional work and get a sense of what people are doing outside of New York. Besides, everyone was so gracious and personable that I couldn't have had a better time. Even though it is a lot of work.

There were several personal projects of a very emotional nature that were striking, like Sara Keith (above) who uses a pinhole camera in an attempt to document the small, familiar features that make her grandfather( who suffers from Alzheimer's) come alive and remember who he was talking to.

Vicki Hunt moved back to her family farm in a poor, rural district in Alabama and befriended her neighbors who she photographed on their porches. Even more impressive, Vicki began talking with people about their daily lives and discovered so much need in terms of food, books, blankets and the like, that she is now working to bring these and other necessary things to the people of her community.

Jimmy Williams has been photographing Southern musicians over the years for his Music Makers Series. These strong, expressive portraits capture years of deep felt emotions and reflect Williams' love for the people and the music.

For John May, it's all about small town wrestling bouts, and the people who frequent them. He has a great eye for emotions and the strange juxtapositions of a scene that sometimes teeters on the edge of chaos.

Susan Barnett says, "By photographing from the back these pictures try to challenge the time-honored tradition of a portrait being of the face and tests whether body type, dress and demeanor can tell us just as much as a facial expression might."

My trip to Atlanta ended with an exquisite dinner with my fellow reviewers and Amy Miller and Michael David Murphy of ACP. I think all of us will agree we had a wonderful time and hope to do it again next year.

Arriving in Atlanta and Celebrating Photography

2010-10-15T23:12:00.000-04:00

I've never been to Atlanta before so I've really looked forward to this. I arrived and began gallery hoping shortly after. The first thing I saw that I love is Paul Hagedorn's "Peachtree Battle."

In these images below you can get a feel for the meticulous and extraordinary work that went into each large scale photo created over 353 days. Hagedorn used a magnifying glass attachment over a wide angle lens, without strobes, using kiddie fireworks and smoke bombs to simulate warfare. His work forces the viewer to think not only about reality and fantasy clashing, but how often we approach war as a game. TV is full of video games with tons of death and exploding action.

I found myself thinking about how fascinating it would be to show this work opposite the work of photojournalists, blurring the lines between the fun of looking at toys exploding and the true horror that millions of people face everyday around the world. There is something so insanely fun about this work, yet I can't help but think of the real images I have scene that are somewhat similar. The irony is that no photographer could get this close without being killed.

Then it was onto Jackson Fine Art and the thought-provoking work of Joseph Guay, whose "Memory Portraits" featured large black and white portraits of people he had met on over the past three years in Atlanta, New York, and Cuba. He asked each to carry a small camera and capture, at eye level, moments within their lives. The result is a projection of each participant's memory; the videos capture in real time the images and experiences that inform a person's psychic life.

The black squares on their chests are where the videos run, and the two portraits above made the most fascinating films: Bubba D Licious (top) because the film was so intimate--family and friends at home (my guess), and Vashaun Jones (bottom) who is blind, and obviously cannot see the film he made. It had me thinking a lot about the use of still and moving image, something photographers in New York are talking about (and experimenting with) all the time these days. It was as if we were given a small window into the intimacies of some other life.

And yet we were not finished. Next was a private tour of the Peter Sekaer exhibit at the High Museum of Art.

Sekaer was a contemporary of Walker Evans, and work in the mid-1930s for the US Housing Authority, Rural Electrification Administration, Office of Indian Affairs and the Office of War Information. In 1936 Sekaer accompanied Evans, who was hired by the Resettlement Administration (RA, later to become the FSA) on a photographic journey throughout the South, often shooting the same subject. But where Evans images were more impersonal, Sekaer went to the root of the humanity of the people he found, in particular in sums around the country. As an outsider (he was born in Denmark) he was most interested in seeing people as they were, and was able to put people at ease enough to be invited into their homes.

For the image above, titled "Family Shelling Pecans, Austin, Texas", Sekaer attached a label to the back of the print providing information about the subject: "Leonidas Hernandes—He is 78, his wife 39. They have six children. The entire family works at pecan shelling—piecework—3 cents a pound. Daily output for the family is 10–12 lbs (30–35 cents a day)."

I suppose it was hard not to be overshadowed by the like of Evans, Minor White, Dorothea Lange, etc. in those days, but the High Museum has amassed the largest collection of his work, and it is a wonderful body of work full of poignant and illuminating images of American life in the South during the depression. While generations have passed, I find myself thinking of our current economic mess, and the photographs don't look so far in the past.

Atlanta Celebrates Photography

2010-10-14T13:56:00.000-04:00

I'm heading off to Atlanta tomorrow (my first time there) to review portfolios for Atlanta Celebrates Photography. Each October, Atlanta is transformed by over 150 photo-related exhibitions and events, including a core of ACP programs hosted by a diverse network of venues across the Atlanta metro area. I'm really excited to have been asked to participate, joining my illustrious colleagues David Bram of Fraction, Danielle Avram-Curatorial Assistant, Photography & Modern and Contemporary Art at the High Museum of Art, Taj Forer - Editor, Daylight Magazine, Sylvie Fortin - Editor, Art Papers Magazine, Stuart Horodner - Artistic Director, Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Michael Kochman - Creative Director, Turner Image Management, Lisa Kurzner - Independent Curator, Writer, Art Consultant, Yan Li and Li Shufeng - Curators, Beijing, China
Evan Mirapaul - collector, art critic, independent curator, Laura Moya - Director, Photolucida, Christopher Rauschenberg - Co-Founder, Co-Curator and Board Chairman, Blue Sky Gallery, Anna Walker Skillman - Owner, Jackson Fine Art, Susan Todd-Raque - Private dealer, independent curator, Paula Tongarelli - Executive Director, Griffin Museum of Photography, Caroline Wall - Director, Robert Mann Gallery.

I'm looking forward to seeing a lot of work and getting a feel for the photography scene in Atlanta. I will try to blog about what I do and what I see, so check in over the weekend.

And if you're in the area, come on by and take in the sights!

PhotoPlus Expo Is Coming to Town

2010-10-07T13:10:00.001-04:00

Now that fall is here it's time to make your preparations for PhotoPlus Expo to be held at the Javits Center from October 28 - 30th in New York. Here's your chance to hear keynote speakers Chase Jarvis, Albert Watson, Laurie Kratochvil and Christina Mittermeier, plus attend seminars that cater to nearly every topic available.

This year the Palm Springs Photo Festival is sponsoring a portfolio review with a great cast of reviewers. So there's something for everyone, and that doesn't even include the big bash to be held this year on The Intrepid! Should be a wild time for all.

Remember, the earlier you sign up the better.

I will be blogging the entire event with photographers Andrea Fischman, Sari Goodfriend, Jason Florio and producer Helen Jones so that we can cover everything from seminars to exhibitors. We will be filming interviews and equipment reviews, giving you a front row seat on many of the seminars and some surprises still to be announced. So if you can't make it, you can learn about everything here at Stellazine and also at the ASMP blog, Sharpen.

You will also be able to follow us on Facebook and Twitter (more details to come).

If there are things you want us to cover, feel free to email me and let me know now, and during the event. And if you see any of us floating around at the Javits Center, come up and talk with us. Maybe we'll put you on camera.

Tonight in New York

2010-09-30T15:53:00.000-04:00

Group show TASCHEN is an exhibition of 18 photographers. Curated by Jon Feinstein and amani olu, “this exhibition follows Humble’s vision of fusing and collapsing photographic genres. Documentary becomes conceptual, portraits are "conceptual" or “process oriented;” and the notion of photojournalistic truth is neither entirely refuted, nor taken for granted.
Among these artists, Brian Shumway and Sophia Wallace’s images similarly converge traditional elements of fashion photography with explorations of race, gender sexuality...”

RSVP is required for the opening this Thursday, September 30th at 6pm. RSVP to rsvp@hafny.org
TASCHEN Store New York
107 Greene Street

Delugians-The Aftermath of Katrina in Images

2010-09-17T12:03:00.000-04:00

I went to the "Delugians" opening to see the work and catch up with Bryce Lankard, one of the photographers and the show's curator. Along with Jennifer Shaw, David Halliday and printmaker Kyle Bravo, Bryce has put together a show at Solomon Ats Gallery of work influenced by the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The collection of art in "Delugians" focuses on a different aspect of the aftermath, how the emotional, social, and psychological effects of this catastrophe manifest themselves in the work of 4 lens-based artists.

Bryce Lankard's work (like the one above), "Blink of an Eye" is about memory, loss and emptiness. There are almost no people in his photographs, just the remnants of another time. The work is infused with emotion and a sense of what was and is no more.

David Halliday is a formalist, and his portraits of Common Ground volunteers transmits a sadness and exhaustion that radiates straight at you. His subjects stare at you not in defiance, but with resignation and weariness, with sagging shoulders. The prints are beautiful sepia-toned silver gelatin, and it felt as if I could talk with each person directly.

Kyle Bravo is a printmaker, but in this show he used photographs as the basis of his fascinating work. "Obituary Conglomerations" over prints faces of people who died in the floods in black on white paper. The layering of faces seems to mirror the confusion over real body counts.

In "House Conglomerations" Bravo takes images of destroyed houses and twists them on top of themselves, like a Mobius strip of destruction. Can they ever be unraveled?

Jennifer Shaw's "Hurricane Story" is told with with a toys and a toy camera, her first-person narrative of her Katrina experience. The images are indistinct and dreamy, as if unreal, yet they are making sense of a real nightmare that included giving birth to her son in the middle of the night after leaving their home to escape the hurricane.
"At 3:47 a boy was born."

"Send in the Guard."

I urge everyone to do see this exhibit which will be there for a month. The space is beautiful, and the work deep and contemplative. It's a treat to see how artists deal with catastrophe, working through their own emotions and making something lasting out of a nightmare. That's something that should resonate with all New Yorkers. And it's definitely worth your time and attention.
Solomon Arts Gallery
83 Leonard St. 4th floor

Opening Thursday September 16

2010-09-13T10:24:00.000-04:00

A lot is happening, so get up, and get on out!

New Orleans photographers Jennifer Shaw, Bryce Lankard, David Halliday and printmaker Kyle Bravo bring work influenced by the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to Salomon Arts Gallery. The collection of art in "Delugians" focuses on a different aspect of the aftermath, how the emotional, social, and psychological effects of this catastrophe manifest themselves in the work of 4 lens-based artists.

Jennifer Shaw
Hurricane Story is a graphic novel told in photographs. A first person narrative illustrated with toys, Hurricane Story depicts the strange true tale of Shaw's evacuation adventures, including the dramatic birth of a son on the day Katrina made landfall. Shaw's toy camera, black and white images have always had a dreamlike quality, but these vibrant color images are a notable departure from the idealized world of her earlier work.

David Halliday
Whether it is landscapes, still lifes or portraits, David Halliday is well known for a luscious, meticulous approach for revealing the beauty in the mundane. New Orleanians have long been the subject of his portraits. In pre-Katrina days those subjects often reflected the whimsy and eccentricity of the city, while his portraits post-Katrina, of volunteers at Common Ground, a lower 9th ward organization, show an altogether new side of life in New Orleans, and reveal a somberness that reflects the burden of their struggle.

Bryce Lankard
Having experienced the trauma of 9/11 as a New Yorker, Bryce Lankard found in the Katrina disaster that unfolded in his beloved city of New Orleans, another event that tore at the fabric of his world. Witnessing first-hand the physical and psychological toll that both events exacted, and yet saturated by images of destruction, Bryce set out to create images that capture the idea of loss in another way. "Blink of an Eye" is a series of images and faux panoramas that use the iconography of childhood and summertime, both fleeting, temporal periods, quickly gone, to suggest how quickly things, taken for granted, can disappear.

Kyle Bravo
Primarily a printmaker, Kyle Bravo, has used photography liberally in two series of "conglomerations". In "Obituary Conglomerations" Kyle has sampled from the Obituary section of the Times-Picayune to create collective portraits of the dead of New Orleans. His own photographs of architectural elements of wrecked homes of the lower 9th ward are collaged into graphic icons in "House Conglomerations." The subjects of both series, when removed from their context, serve as signposts of the post-traumatic stress, depression, destruction and spiritual and emotional brokenness that plague many in New Orleans.

Salomon Arts Gallery
83 Leonard Street, 4th floor (Tribeca)
6-9pm

JONATHAN SMITH "UNTOLD STORIES"

Rick Wester Fine Art
511 West 25th Street Suite 205
between 10th & 11th Avenues

"Jon Smith is making risky, provocative images out of ordinary moments, fixing himself as a bright star of his generation... He is street savvy with a sensitive eye, showing the mystery hidden in everyday intimate moments. This work bears a sensibility and a poetic impulse reminiscent not only of Edward Hopper's New York, but the dark pleasures of Blue Velvet as well."
— Joel Meyerowitz

"Pathos" Tetsugo Hyakutake

"I attempt to connect historical, economic, and social issues of post-war Japan with personal experiences and the voices of my generation. Despite the loss of human lives, destruction of its major cities, and its lack of raw materials, Japan became the second largest economy in the world in less than 30 years. Industrialization and economic development are often considered to be synonymous with the advancement of society. This is one 'unspoken truth' that I attempt to question by expressing the ironic duality of both the beauty and dehumanization inherent in industrialization."--Tetsugo Hyakutake

Alan Klotz Gallery
511 West 25th Street, Suite 701
6pm - 8pm

Paul Strand in Mexico

A historic exhibition comprised of over a hundred photographic works by Strand, including vintage prints, previously unseen documents, and ephemera, that presents a unique and important photographic portrait of Mexico at a critical point in its history by one of the great modern masters.

Also at Aperture

Mexico + Afuera: Contemporary Mexican and Mexican-American Voices curated by Miriam Romais of En Foco
Aperture Gallery
547 W. 27th 4th floor
6pm - 8pm

"Next Stop Atlantic"

2010-09-09T10:45:00.000-04:00

There is something about Stephen Mallon's industrial photography that appeals to the child in me, the part of me that loves to learn about things I never come in contact with. I am fascinated by the world that exists beyond my own. With "Next Stop Atlantic" we see what happens to old subway cars after the MTA has retired them. The cars are dropped into the Atlantic from New Jersey to Georgia and become artificial reefs--home to barracuda, grouper and other marine life.

Stephen's photographs are not just fascinating as subject, but beautifully composed and compelling. His show at Front Room Gallery in Brooklyn opens tomorrow, Friday September 10, and is worth checking out.