January 2011
9 posts
November 2010
11 posts
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“Working with Carmen reminded me that the greatest photography is vernacular....”
– Alec Soth: The genius behind Alec Soth’s Brighton biennial success
“More interesting for Soth was Carmen’s lack of photographic...”
– Alec Soth: The genius behind Alec Soth’s Brighton biennial success
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“I liked photographing dogs best of all,” says Carmen. “I preferred...”
– Carmen Soth: The genius behind Alec Soth’s Brighton biennial success
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August 2010
1 post
“If you can’t draw as well as someone, or use the software as well, or if you do...”
– Frank Chimero
July 2010
27 posts
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American Suburb X: "Interview with Martin Parr -... →
[P]hotography is a commercial activity. Even high art photography wants to be commercial, because everyone wants to sell prints. I mean, the wealthiest photographer in the world is probably no longer fashion photographer Steven Meisel, but Andreas Gursky, who is at the top end of the art market. So it is interesting that the art market, financially often regarded as the poor cousin of commerce,...
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American Suburb X: "A Conversation with Alec Soth"... →
This is the never ending struggle, I think storytelling is the most powerful art, for me. I just think there’s nothing more satisfying than the narrative thrust: beginning, middle, and end, what’s gonna happen. The thing I’m always bumping up against is that photography doesn’t function that way. Because it’s not a time-based medium, it’s frozen in time, they...
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Two Way Lens: Hiroshi Watanabe →
I am not sure if I am successful professional photographer. If “successful professional” means I can live a good, somewhat luxurious, life by the profession, then I am certainly not. I am represented by well-established galleries in New York, Chicago, Santa Fe, Los Angeles, and others, and I sell decent number of work every month. But fine art photography requires a lot of money to produce. I...
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The Thrill of Flying the SR-71 Blackbird →
To my amazement, I saw a bright light outside my window. As my eyes adjusted to the view, I realized that the brilliance was the broad expanse of the Milky Way, now a gleaming stripe across the sky. Where dark spaces in the sky had usually existed, there were now dense clusters of sparkling stars. Shooting stars flashed across the canvas every few seconds. It was like a fireworks display with no...
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“You can find pictures anywhere. It’s simply a matter of noticing things and...”
– Elliott Erwitt
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“Of course, there will always be those who look only at technique, who ask ‘how’,...”
– Man Ray
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New Magnum Photos nominees →
Young photojournalists Dominic Nahr and Moises Saman have joined Magnum Photos as nominees, adding to the agency’s roster of documentary photographers.
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“Looking back, I always think that simply being around the office, absorbing the...”
– Jonas Bendiksen on his one-year internship at Magnum office in London, 1996-97
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Jason Santa Maria on having a sketchbook →
Sketchbooks are not about being a good artist, they’re about being a good thinker.
Obviously, some people bring the practice of sketching to a higher art form, but to me it’s always been about visual brainstorming and record-keeping in a format with a ridiculously low barrier to entry. My drawings look like shit, but fidelity doesn’t matter as long as I can convey my ideas to others or to my...
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“One photo out of focus is a mistake, ten photo out of focus are an...”
– Author Unknown
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Taka-Chan and I →
“One day Eikoh Hosoe, the photographer of this book, was walking on a lonely beach in Japan, now and then taking pictures of the ocean, the beach, and of a small girl sitting on some rocks. He was startled by a Weimaraner dog which appeared unexpectedly from right out of the ground. Mr. Hosoe couldn’t believe what he saw, but before Runcible’s departure from Japan they had a long talk. Runcible...
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Reconsidering Winogrand →
Winogrand’s omnivorousness for the image is what drove his greatest successes, like the couple with the chimps. Which is not to say that anyone with eagerness and the right equipment will become a great photographer. But I think Winogrand’s spirit lies less with the academics, and more with the kid who just got his older brother’s hand-me-down Canon Rebel and is about to stumble across a copy of...
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“It’s important to take bad pictures. It’s the bad ones that have to do with what...”
– Diane Arbus
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“I only know how to approach a place by walking. For what does a street...”
– Alex Webb (via)
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Derek Powazek: The Wisdom of Community →
“It’s counter-intuitive, but the wisest crowds are the ones made up of individuals who are thinking about their own needs, not the needs of the group. […] Group-think is when the members of a group put the group’s needs above their own. As soon as this happens, the group is in danger.”
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Joerg Colberg: Defining One's Work →
First of all, as an artist you will never be able to perfectly define (or predict or predetermine) how people will react to what you produce. Somebody will always find something that you have never thought about, and that’s basically what makes art art. Art is about freedom, and as an artist you want to give your audience that freedom, that possibility to explore and to experience. The more you...
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Seth Godin: Nostalgia is a basic human emotion →
Kodak created a billion dollar industry by giving people a tool to feed their nostalgia. We don’t take pictures because we want to know what we’re seeing now… we already know that. We take pictures because it makes us feel good to know that years later, when nostalgia for that moment comes around, we’ll be ready.
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Jeffrey Zeldman: Write when inspired; rest when... →
“Work is work, and we must do what we must do. But when quality matters most, the old saw about “good or fast—choose one,” holds true. Pushing through to the finish line when you have nothing left inside you is great for marathon runners, but not so hot for creative professionals.”
“…but the public has such a low expectation of aesthetics in web design that you might get away with it. Only you...
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Rodney Smith: May I Feel, Said He →
You see, to be a photographer requires an openness and an ability to look deep into someone’s eyes, to regard them with care and affection, and to ultimately fall madly in love with them.
[…] There is a connection, an openness, an ability to reveal both of ourselves completely, with all our strengths and vulnerabilities. This is a very difficult thing to do, both for me, and for her. It...
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Web Designer as The Artist, Scientist And... →
Those who design and build websites tend to receive the most credit in our industry. The philosopher knows that if he does his job well, he is invisible. His work should integrate seamlessly with the work of his colleagues. He is the person who performs UX and usability tests, audits websites and advocates for the end user.
The skills of such a person might seem questionable, but their...
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Mark Hohmann: Framing Space in Japanese... →
Something specific that comes to mind here is the intentional, pragmatic and architectural use of space in Japanese photography and Japanese film since the 1920′s. Their use of negative space – mostly composed, controlled and open – is not as intimidating and less filled with expression than their Western counterparts. Emotions such as anger, for example, are mostly expressed through contrast,...
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Japan Exposures on Shinya Arimoto →
What shines through all his images is the gentle approach to his subjects, respectful and yet with a powerful, and at times uncomfortable, quiet undercurrent. Street photography is no longer a niche pursuit, however finding interesting angles of approach is a challenge. I believe that in this genre the photographer’s own personality makes a visible difference in the resulting photographs. I...
“I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire...”
– E. B. White
January 2010
5 posts
