A Second Chance

I missed the Elliott Erwitt booksigning at ICP, and I've been kicking myself since. Luckily, there will be another, this time at Strand Books on Wednesday, December 12.

What Would Elliott Erwitt Do? Well, he would attend.

Photo History in the News

Are there any stories in the news about folks using nondestructive reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to study the earliest color photographs? You bet, but first there's a story about a possible previously-unknown photograph of Abraham Lincoln.

Purported Photos of Lincoln at Gettysburg Discovered

"The photos show a man in a black suit and Lincoln's trademark "stovepipe" hat, looking away from the camera. Some experts say they believe the man is indeed President Lincoln, although not all are convinced."

Other experts believe it is actually a piece of blue fluff on the lens.

Was the Inventor of the First Color Photograph a Genius, or a Fraud?

"... the Rev. Levi Hill of Westkill, N.Y., claimed for the first time to have invented a way to produce naturally colored daguerreotypes, or Hillotypes, as they became known. When Hill refused to release the details of his process until a patent was filed, the profession denounced him as a fraud. In 156 years, no definitive evidence has been presented to suggest that Hill was or was not an imposter, until now."

Cast Photo

Last Friday, I shot a little video aimed at YouTube.com. That's the cast, above.

The strange thing is, shooting that sort of piece is really all documentary production technique. I used a Canon GL1 with a little BeachTek adapter underneath it. A wireless body microphone and a clip on lavalier microphone were cabled into the BeachTek, one to the left channel and one to the right. Half was shot on a tripod, the rest following the actors around.

The thing is, fiction film is really documenting acting that happens in front of the camera, isn't it?

Trailer Theory

I did a little unit with my video class on editing movie trailers. We looked at about 20 old horror film trailers, then some trailer mashups -- for example, one that makes "The Shining" look like a Romantic Comedy and one that makes "West Side Story" look like a zombie movie -- and finally a few contemporary trailers.

One of the big points: the old techniques of Persuasion still apply, not any that different from how Aristotle thought of them.

You appeal to the emotions, trying your best to show a viewer that they can identify with the characters in the film and that it will make them feel a certain way. You appeal to the viewer also based on the reputation of the filmmakers and the actors in the film and the reviews the film has received. And you make a case that the film is about something the viewer should care about and want to see.

Beyond this: the marketing folks insist: there must be five "movie moments" -- five images one would want to see, selling the experience of seeing the film.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday

Just finished the next Frugal Traveler episode. It will run Sunday, so take a look at The New York Times then.

Genius of Photography

I've been watching The Genius of Photography on Ovation TV. It's a great series. Some of the camera work for the show seems strange to me -- perhaps a bit forced -- but the content is fantastic and well handled. And they got interviews from a wonderful group of people.

The only strange choice: the photographs are presented on a beige background.

The Short List

15 Docs Move Ahead in 2007 Oscar® Race

Beverly Hills, CA — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 15 films in the Documentary Feature category will advance in the voting process for the 80th Academy Awards®. Seventy pictures had originally qualified in the category.

The 15 films are listed below in alphabetical order:

“Autism: The Musical”
“Body of War”
“For the Bible Tells Me So”
“Lake of Fire”
“Nanking”
“No End in Sight”
“Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience”
“Please Vote for Me”
“The Price of Sugar”
“A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman”
“The Rape of Europa”
“Sicko”
“Taxi to the Dark Side”
“War/Dance”
“White Light/Black Rain”

Documentary Branch members will now select the five nominees from among the 15 titles on the shortlist.

Photography in the News

Any photography-related stories in today's news?

Well, there's this:

Kidman tells court she feared death during car chase with photographer

"Nicole Kidman was so scared by a photographer who chased her car across Sydney almost three years ago that she crouched down on the back seat and burst into tears, afraid of an accident like the one that killed Diana, Princess of Wales, the film star told an Australian court yesterday."

And this:

US seeks charges against AP photographer in Iraq

"The U.S. military will recommend criminal charges in Iraqi courts against an award-winning Associated Press photographer it accused of working with insurgents, the Pentagon said on Monday."

And, from the Maldives, there's this:

DRP Whitewash Fathin Finger To Photographer

"Aneesa said several colleagues had told her a "distorted" photograph of the Government MP, who is also a deputy minister, had appeared in the press. She said the photograph had been tampered with, complaining, "it has become common practice to malign Government officials and DRP members."

But the photographer, who does not wish to be named, has responded fiercely to the allegation that he doctored the photo. "It’s a 100% untrue. Look at the photos taken before and after, the scene outside the Majlis building is identical. Its not been faked at all.""

Meanwhile, in California

Profluence member Linda G. will be screening her film "Double the Pleasure, Eight Times the Therapy" at the Vines Short Film Festival in Santa Monica.

The festival dates are October 28 through November 11; specific screening dates and times TBA.

Save the Date for NY Short Docs

I mentioned that our film 12th and 3rd in Brooklyn will be part of the NY Short Docs program. Here are the screening details:

"NY SHORT DOCS (Presented by DCTV & Rooftop Films)
Friday, November 30th, 2007 @ 7:30PM
$5/Advance Tickets; $7/At the Door

New York is home to some of the most innovative and inspired documentary filmmakers in the world. And on November 30th, DCTV & Rooftop Films are proud to showcase an evening of short documentaries about NYC made by NYC Filmmakers from the Rooftop & DCTV Communities."

People Paparazzi

Well, now that we have the news from the Maldives squared away, the question remains: who are these photographers who spend their days taking the pictures of people who don't want their pictures taken?

Apparently, now the answer is: everyone, all the time.

Everyone Wants to Be Taking Pictures

"In the two years since prosecutors in Los Angeles threatened to file felony conspiracy charges against photographers engaging in dangerous tactics, and started monitoring them more closely, complaints of egregious illegal conduct, like assault, trespassing and reckless driving, by paparazzi have decreased, said William Hodgman, the head deputy of Los Angeles County district attorney’s target crime division. But now, Mr. Hodgman said, celebrities are followed by more celebrity news media and what some photographers call “people paparazzi,” which has reignited the pursuit. “The celebrities don’t feel any safer,” he said."

Photography in the News

Well, is there any photography-related news from the Maldives?

I'm glad you asked:

President's Niece Gives Photographer The Finger

Where Hearts Were Entertaining June

Profluence member Dana B. is in the news for her upcoming documentary trip to Brazil:

Sambadendê will trek to its source

"The road trip sounds like a party. Seven band members on a bus playing their way through cities large and small, picking up local players along the way. Band members have enlisted the talents of New York-based documentary filmmaker Dana Bartle, who will accompany them and record interviews and performances by local artists, musicians, and cultural groups as they travel."

Screening at NY Short Docs

Remember that little film on stickball we made last fall? It's going back out into the world. Details soonish.

NY Short Docs

Just got an email from Maya: our short film "12th and 3rd in Brooklyn" will be screening at NY Short Docs on Friday, November 30th.

The night's program looks very good. I've seen "A Son's Sacrifice" and really liked it, and I may or may not appear in "Bubblebattle" since I was there at the event....

Also, congratulations to Chris Schuessler -- "DiFara's" will be screening too.

Photography in the News

It's been a tough day, partly caused by a problem with the plumbing in our building. So, I just thought I'd check the news quickly to see if there are any items on photography....

Well, there's this again. Actually, apparently it's the third time.

Spears runs over another photographer's foot

"This is the third time Spears has been involved in such an accident. Last month, she ran over the foot of another snapper, while doing the same to a Los Angeles County Sheriff deputy, who got his foot caught under the star's Mercedes. This is the latest in a string of traffic incidents for the 25-year-old, on Monday Spears was accused of leaving a paparazzo seriously injured after knocking him off his motorcycle."

I'm telling you: do not take pictures of Britney Spears.

The Monochromatic Angels of Parma, Ohio

Appearing as an anonymous video expert, I have now officially spoken out -- for all of two seconds -- that blue fluff is more common than blue ectoplasm, and that cameras don't actually record ghosts.

The Inside Edition story is here.

This Just In

Well, I've done my part.

While a stunningly large percentage of my fellow citizens continue to believe that cameras capture photographs of ghosts, I have now appeared on television -- for perhaps two seconds -- noting that blue fluff on the lens is a more likely theory than ectoplasmic blue mist or monochromatic angels.

Not that I'll change anyone's mind.

Inside Edition story here.

I Mist It

I did not get to see the 6 p.m. showing of Inside Edition so I'm not sure if I'm on it or not. But note the otherworldly rectangle at the bottom of this snapshot: it baffles even the most confirmed skeptic.

Another snapshot over at New York Portraits.

At Inside Edition

Look. There. At the back of the photograph. Is that a blue mist?

Three Seconds of Immortality

I just went across town to be interviewed at Inside Edition. I believe I will be on tonight, for a very, very brief time. More soon.

Breakingish

I will probably be on "Inside Edition" tonight. Probably for less than three seconds, I expect. Details soon.

Yet More Photography in the News

This is from a few days ago, but worth noting. It brings up an interesting hypothetical: you're walking along, you see an arrest, you take a picture. Now, if a police officer tells you to stop, you stop. But what if, instead, they insist you give them the camera?

Man jailed in photo incident awarded $8,000

"An amateur photographer who was taken into custody last year after shooting pictures of two Seattle police officers making an arrest on a public street received an $8,000 settlement this week, the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington announced Thursday."

Photography in the News

Any photography-related items in today's news?

Well, it's just straight-up dangerous to photograph Britney Spears.

"A paparazzi chasing troubled pop star Britney Spears was injured when his motorcycle was struck by a car driven by another photographer, police said Tuesday."

My advice: don't do it.

Taking "The Shot"

Well, sure, the idea of a "reality" television show about photographers might have jokingly crossed your mind once or twice in the past.

But did you think it would be as bad as The Shot is?

I mentioned the show to some photographer friends, and they watched it, and I feel sort of bad for that. Still, I'll probably suffer my way to the end. A challenge to photograph a model and a monkey? Even if it's bad, it's good.

Eisensteinian Diminution

So, in my video editing class today I gave a lesson I've taught before: we take the famous "Odessa Steps" sequence from Sergei Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin -- 7 minutes and 19 seconds long -- and work to cut 30 seconds out of it without ruining it.

It's a great process, and for those of you who enjoy editing I suggest you give it a shot. (You can grab the Eisenstein film over at archive.org.)

In any case, every student has their own ideas of what shots are crucial to the edit, and which can go away. Sometimes people are very conservative -- just making shots shorter, but keeping them -- and sometimes they go right for elements you or I might say are critical to the story ... and cut them right out.

It never fails, however: at least one student misunderstands: "Here it is," they proudly say, "I cut it down to 30 seconds."

Pop Photo Flash

The video on the NYIP photo contest has received a link from Popular Photography -- so it will be interesting to see if that leads to a good number of viewers for the piece. There are no parachuting squirrels in the video, just folks talking about photographs and photography, so I'll be very pleased if it does well on YouTube....

Photography in the News

Are there any photography-related items in the news?

Well, in Berlin 250 Leni Riefenstahl photographs were stolen. More importantly, at least for this blog:

"...300 works by American photographer Elliott Erwitt disappeared from a basement storage unit at the offices of Photo Estate GmbH, a subsidiary of Berlin gallery Camera Work AG, police said."

Here's the article.

What Would Elliott Erwitt Definitely, Definitely Not Do?

Elliott Erwitt would not put a booksigning he wanted to go to on his calendar, then forget to go.

Especially if he was someone else, and the booksigning was by Elliott Erwitt.

It's been a rough week all month.

Project No Way

Don't tell anyone, but I watched The Shot.

"Whether it's shooting on the deck of a schooner in the midst of a storm, or trying to get a supermodel to cuddle up to a Siberian tiger, our cast will face daunting tasks and obstacles that will test their talent, desire and drive to be the next great fashion photographer."

And then the Prequels Will Follow

Taped a new episode of "Photo Chick" today.

Episode One and Two continue on, with about 12,000 views between them on YouTube. That's not a huge number but -- if you've ever screened one of your films for thirty people, as I have -- it's a significant audience.

A Photography Contest

New video I made on the process of judging a photography contest. More details on the production over on Actualities.

New NYIP Video

Here's a new video I made for the New York Institute of Photography.

The logistics were:

shot with Canon GL1, using natural light until the day faded away (then a little tungsten bounce light was added to brighten the room a bit)

each contest judge was recorded with a lapel lavalier microphone, then the general judging was done with the built-in camera microphone

the piece was edited, minor goofs were fixed and especially sound clean up done (since it was in a room where it would have been terrible to turn off the air conditioner)

and a pristine H264 format MPEG 4 file was exported (with some experimenting, a very very clean output was produced with a file about 42MB in filesize)

this was then uploaded to YouTube.com -- where they have special elves that make it look very poorly compressed -- and totally low-resolution whenever there's a cross dissolve or a fade-out-fade-in dissolve

More on fixing those "minor goofs" later.

Yorange

I'm not sure why my photographs lately have had so much yellow and orange, but at least this one's honest about it.

New Frugal Traveler Video

Over at Actualities I have a few notes on editing the latest "Frugal Traveler" video. I've been very quiet on that blog, which is strange since so much of my time lately has been taken up with video projects and teaching video....

New York City Marathon, Part Five

Above: Surprise Attack, November 4, 2007.

Moving on Up

Upper East Siders are some of the nicest people on the planet. Their Kryptonite: inconvenience.

During the marathon, we saw the expected: folks getting massages while positioned so they could see out the shop window to watch the runners, the matching-pink-purse-and-dog-sweater set navigating First Avenue to get to their normal appointments, and the UES equivalent of tailgate parties. As well, we saw a surprising number of folks who spent the day supporting the runners along the sidelines, shouting names and clapping for hours.

The UES air, however, holds the idea that you should be able to get what you want, when you want. Why did the Upper East Sider cross the road? To get to the other side, in time for a play date.

New York City Marathon, Part Three

The city's pigeons were clearly troubled by the huge human migration up First Avenue. They circled in flocks, but eventually saw food on the ground and decided to brave the crowds of runners. They flew in and out of the race, often directly at runners.

New York Marathon, Part Two

The first half of the day the crowds are upbeat. Some come out to cheer their friends, usually holding signs.

Later, as the run goes on, there's a very specific moment when the euphoric swell changes -- it becomes clear there's only a thin pained line of stragglers, fighting out each step. That's almost hard to watch as we sit there, eating pizza.

New York Marathon

The marathon travels up First Avenue, and so passes 1/2 block from my apartment, more or less. I overheard someone say we're near mile 15.

Above: Close Call, November 4, 2007.

Frugal Traveler: Chicago

There's a new Frugal Traveler video posted: Frugal Chicago.

Here's the strange thing about editing Frugal Traveler episodes: at the end of each one, after a process of watching a lot of footage over and over, I feel like I've been somewhere that I haven't actually been.

I find myself wanting to tell people about a place I haven't been, as if it were my own memory. It's a strange feeling.

Like Woodstock, but for Port-o-Sans

Sunday morning the New York Marathon will begin in Staten Island. In the hours before the start, thousands and thousands of runners will gather in a field, waiting anxiously.

They'll need portable toilets. Thousands and thousands of portable toilets.

Above: a snapshot from Saturday's visit to Staten Island.

There Should Be Some Sort of Ceremony

Well, today I am a true New Yorker. I've made it to my final borough: Staten Island.

Sort of, anyway. Got there via taxi. Stood in a field for a while. Took a bus to the Ferry. Left on the Ferry. That counts, though.

Above: a woman sketching on the subway, seen on the way back.

Shadow of a Doubt

Errol Morris finishes his search for knowledge in two Roger Fenton photographs.

The Rocks Have Names

Well, Errol Morris is at the end of his three-part pursuit of Photographic Truth in two old photos.

Do not attempt to read this if you are in a hurry...

Newer New Rules

Finally, there's some news on those proposed new rules on photography and videography here in New York.

"The proposal would allow photographers and filmmakers who are not using vehicles or equipment like dolly tracks, lights and cables to proceed without permits on public property as long as they stay out of traffic and their activities do not prevent public use. The rules would also allow photographers and filmmakers to commandeer a portion of a public walkway without a permit, as long as they leave open at least half of its width, or eight feet, whichever is greater."

Update on the "New Rules"

An update on the status of new regulations on photography and videography in New York.

"The rules, to be released on Tuesday for public comment, would generally allow people using hand-held equipment, including tripods, to shoot for any length of time on sidewalks and in parks as long as they leave sufficient room for pedestrians."

More details Tuesday....

Midtown Cinderella

That tiny black speck on the roof, one-third from the top of the photograph? That's a woman's shoe.

There are some cigarette butts near it. Probably a grand story also, but I'm afraid I don't know it. Or I'd share it with you.

PhotoPlus Friday

I went to PhotoPlus Expo this afternoon. Strobes, softboxes, stands; backgrounds, bare bulbs, batteries; cases, cards and cameras.

Touched some Nikons, some Canons, the new Sony Alpha.

The Sony booth had one or two models posing at all times, and when two worked together, a crowd formed of a dozen men, surging forward. The cameras had huge zooms mounted on them, thick and long. (You need two hands to handle them properly, really.) The men would sometimes look at each other, comparing, then point them at the models and blast away.

I walked around the corner and tried out a Sony 28mm F2.8. When I asked to see it, the salesman put a big zoom lens on the camera instead and smiled. "No, the 28mm prime," I said. "Oh," he said. "No one has asked to see that before." It's a very unsexy lens. Not fast, not expensive. Snubnose and light. Invisible.

Photography in the News

Any news items on photography today? Well, there's this:

Britney Spears appears to run over foot of celebrity photographer

"Spears drives off. Second later, video shows what appears to be a tire mark on the unidentified paparazzo's sock. The man, wearing sandals with white socks, doesn't respond to questions from the cameraman but instead walks off without any apparent problems."

She probably shouldn't have done that, but isn't the real crime here wearing sandals with white socks?

Who Ya Gonna Call?

I looked. If Pete was around, it wasn't obvious. It was the middle of the day, though, and I'm guessing Pete is not around until after dark. Way after dark.

I'm left with many questions. Does Pete really deserve the exclamation point? Is Pete related to the Fruit Guy on the Corner?

Will all the food groups be represented?

Nun Bun? Canon AE1? Or Photoshop Fun?

In a post today New York Portraits' pal Photo Chick expressed her doubts about a flaming ex-pope.

Apparently you can see her on Inside Edition tonight or in repeat tomorrow discussing whether a photograph -- claimed to show Pope John Paul II mystically manifesting in a bonfire in Poland -- has been digitally manipulated....

More on the original photography "news story" here.

The theft of the original "Nun Bun" is here. Heck, here's an entire photo gallery of Nun Buns for you from the BBC. Enjoy.

Preview at Inkaland.

CFoA (Certified Friends of Actualities) Chris and Profluence member Maya have posted a trailer for their documentary-in-progress over at Inkaland.

Not that they ever link back or anything like that. But go and watch it anyway.

Photography in the Auction Houses

I managed to catch the Monday and Tuesday photography auctions at Sotheby's live on the Web. I've been to one in person, and it's an amazing thing to see: ripples go through the audience of live bidders, both of anticipation and -- sometimes -- of shock.

It's still great to watch online -- you sit at home with the catalog in hand, then see video of the auctioneer. But you don't hear the murmurs of the crowd, and you don't get to see the back and forth of the paddle-raisers.

Some highlights:

A complete set of Camera Work -- 50 volumes of the Quarterly published between 1903-1917 -- went for $229,000 (with Buyer's Premium).

An Edward Weston Nautilus went for $1,105,000 (with Buyer's Premium). And a Weston Nude on Sand, Oceano was $193,000.

A Herb Ritts made a surprising showing: with a catalog estimate at $20,000 - $30,000, it sold for $109,000.

Yorkville in the Morning

Ah, Yorkville. In the morning, half of the people you see on the street are going to work, half are not. Instead they're running some local errand or taking the kids to school. A lot of folks on the street, but not the kind of pressing crowds you get in other neighborhoods.

No shortage of dogs.

Some Thoughts on Editing a Chase

Here are some ideas I went over with my editing class last week. The notion was that if we can understand the editing systems used in a well-made chase scene, it will help us understand editing in general.

1. IDENTIFICATION
How do we know which character is which? Does one wear a white cowboy hat and the other a black one? Does one have a red car and the other blue? Is the pickup basketball game shirts versus skins?

2. LANDMARKS
If we see the leader pass the big red building, then ten seconds later the chaser, we know how far apart the characters are. Often, a camera will stay at a landmark position, and pan from one character to another.

3. ADVANTAGE
If a car is chasing a moped, the car has a clear advantage. But when the moped goes into the subway and the car driver follows on foot, now the moped has the advantage.

4. STATUS AND STRENGTH
Is a character gaining or falling behind? A shot where the camera is pulling away, or where the character is catching up to the camera may tell us. A shot with both characters in it might reveal the relative status as well.

5. EMOTIONAL STATE AND ATTENTION
We want to know what the character is thinking, feeling and doing -- so a cut to a shot through the windshield might reveal the character's expression. Or a cut to the foot on the brake might tell us what's happening. Or a closeup on the gear shift. Make careful note of where the character looks -- the next shot might be their "point of view."

6. CAMERA POSITION
A camera can be low in the front of a car, can look out the rear window, can sit in the passenger seat, can look down at the brake pedal -- and all of these shots are useful. It can run alongside the moped as it plunges down the stairs. It can turn to watch the car streak by. It can shake, float, or fly.

7. SCREEN DIRECTION
If a car goes from screen left to screen right, we expect it to keep doing that unless we some change -- a shot where it turns, or where we "move" into the car before coming back out. And we expect the car chasing to also maintain consistent screen direction -- unless we see a change happen.

8. SOUND
If we cut from the big black car to the little red sports car -- should the sound change right on that cut? Or should it change in other ways? Do we want to hear the sound of the car coming toward us, then going away?

9. TAKE A PACING BREATHER
Even in a short chase, all go-go-go action wears thin. It's usually more exciting to have a lot of action, then a tiny pacing "deep breath" before the big finish.

10. CUT TO THE CONSEQUENCES
That tank chasing the laser-guided skateboard just knocked over every fruit stand in aisle 19. Maybe we could cut back to see what happened, and the angry manager shaking her fist at us? Or maybe our wheel can't take much more and is starting to wobble -- maybe a closeup to reveal that?

Will It Look Good Over the Couch?

One of the issues that comes up in a day of wandering through photo galleries is scale.

Presentation sizes for gallery / museum photographs have increased dramatically, obviously. At one point 8" by 10" photographs were common in gallery presentation, and now few contemporary photographers are selling works smaller than 30 inches wide. 60 inch prints are very common.

There are, of course, photographs that "work" at 15" wide but not at 10" wide. So, go bigger, sure.

But have no doubt that part of the, ahem, overcompensation that is happening is based on sale prices. I don't really have a problem with that -- if you can sell your 5-foot-wide photograph for a lot of money, and a collector's loft has just the perfect spot for a 5-foot photo with a lot of red in it, great. Someone spending 5 grand on a photo wants it to hold the wall.

Still, the market-driven need for size makes for some boring work. The emphasis shifts to an ultra-detailed study of a thing, or a person in solitary. That's fine -- that's something photography does very well.

There's a de-emphasis, however, on the other, more important process that photography is suited to: showing one thing in relation to another thing. If a five-foot-wide picture of the side of a barn is fascinating, great. I'm really more interested in how this person looks at that person. Or the way this person reacts to that person. Or how these two stand together. It seems more like what I want to know about the world. A visual relationship, observed.

And I don't care what size it's printed.

American, Surfaces

One of our gallery tour stops was the Alex Klotz Gallery for a show of Andreas Feininger photographs. We realized we weren't on the mailing list, and therefore signed the gallery's address book.

Stephen Shore had signed in just before. We looked around, but have no idea what he looks like now. Might have been standing right next to us.

You know, the author of The Nature of Photographs -- also featured in a recent ICP exhibition.... That Stephen Shore.

Chelsea, Lately

I forgot to mention that while touring the galleries with my wife and our friend Marc I kept trying to sort out an idea that's been buzzing around for a while: that while this is Chelsea's moment, it may not last forever.

Long-time New Yorkers point to the transformation of Soho, once the hot art gallery neighborhood. They ask: when the rents go up, or the art market dips, will only the blue-chip galleries remain? Will the scene move on, or perhaps fragment?

(From my California days I remember very well how the Santa Monica gallery scene changed quickly -- from a cruise along Colorado Boulevard's industrial spaces into a day parked in the gated-community of Bergamot Station.)

I'm not sure it can be known, yet. What's there seems very solid to me -- and I have a hard time imagining it won't stay oriented to an art scene. But I'm never surprised by change, and glad to see things as they are. All scenes are temporary, in a sense, aren't they?

On Broadway, More or Less

If you're the main featured costumed character -- let's say you're wearing a giraffe costume outside of a toy store -- then crowds form and everyone wants to see you. Life is easy.

But what if you're a somewhat less-recognizable character? What if no one gets what you're doing there, and they don't seem sure what your appearance on the street signifies? And it's maybe too bright out in the sun, anyway, and there's some good shade right around this corner?

Then you just go with it. Maybe a hand gesture or two. Ignore the giraffe.

Go easy. Who needs crowds, anyway?

This Weekend in the Galleries

Spent the day in the photo galleries. Started off at the 57th Street galleries, went on to the Leica Gallery, and then -- of course -- veered back into Chelsea. The highlights:

A roomful of Garry Winogrand photographs at Deborah Bell Photographs features work from his books The Animals and Women Are Beautiful. Also, there's a snap of Winogrand at work that I had not seen before. (That's at 511 West 25th Street, Room 703 -- and they are only open Saturdays. And next Saturday is the last day of the show....)

A laugh-out-loud show of Richard Kalvar photographs at Leica Gallery. (That's at 670 Broadway, Suite 500.) The Web site doesn't show his work -- but there's a fantastic slideshow of 50 of his pictures at Magnum.

I also thought the "25 Years" show at Howard Greenberg was really a rich experience -- each image includes a very personal story of why Greenberg has collected that specific photograph and what it means to him. That's a lot of reading, but it's rewarding -- there are a number of great stories I doubt could be found anywhere else.

Above: my wife and I brought our friend Marc along on the tour.

Photography in the News

Any news items on photography today?

Well, there's a little piece about some Andres Serrano Photographs Vandalized in Sweden.

"Around 3:30, half an hour before closing, four vandals wearing black masks stormed into a space known as the Kulturen Gallery while shouting in Swedish, “We don’t support this,” plus an expletive. They pushed visitors aside, entered a darkened room where some of the photographs were displayed and began smashing the glass protecting the photographs and then hacking away at the prints.

The bumpy video, evidently shot with a hand-held camera by someone who ran into the gallery with the attackers, intersperses images of the Serrano photographs with lettered commentary in Swedish like “This is art?” before showing the vandals at work."

The video was apparently posted on YouTube.

Also, Stay Off His Lawn

Peter Greenaway has announced the Death of Cinema.

"Cinema's death date was 31 September 1983, when the remote-control zapper was introduced to the living room, because now cinema has to be interactive, multi-media art," he told a director's masterclass. ... There were gasps among film students when he took aim at some of the biggest names. "Here's a real provocation: [US video artist] Bill Viola is worth 10 Martin Scorseses. Scorsese is old-fashioned and is making the same films that [the pioneering director] DW Griffiths was making early last century," he said.

Of course, since Thirty Days Hath September, and Cinema has muddled on since that fateful (and technically nonexistent) day, one might be inclined to nominate him for a Francis Fukuyama award.

But Greenaway is a very smart guy, and a very talented guy too. So my take is this: whenever somebody that good and that studied on a subject starts ringing the alarms, there's a problem. He'll probably be wrong in what he predicts is next, or in what he thinks is the root cause. It's tough to figure that sort of thing out. But if he says there's a problem, it's worth considering.

By the way, Greenaway started out as an editor....

A Mirror More Than a Window

I looked. There was no Fruit Guy on the corner. And, actually, the corner was close enough that if you'd come looking for the Fruit Guy, you could see him from there anyway.

Or is it the world's worst advertising campaign? "Fruit Guy On The Corner." It needs something.

Maybe this was for the Fruit Guy, and not about him? "Psst. Fruit Guy? On the corner!" Was there some sort of Fruit Emergency?

You Could Google Ana Mendieta

Yes, today is the day when Spencer Tunick will pose a lot of people without clothes at the Sagamore Art Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. I don't mind that, though I find the photographs less interesting than they should be.

What I do mind is his pretense that he's an "installation artist" or a "land artist" or anything but what he is. As always, the breathless press release spins out of control:

"Creating his seminal temporary site-specific landscapes involve the recruitment of many nude figures arranged in specific public sites and follow on the tradition of the popular art of the early 70's known as land art. ... The poetic whole culminating from this sea of individual figures which are arranged in a sculptural way, further challenges traditionally held stigmas associated with nudity, privacy and social and political issues surrounding art in the public sphere."

There are only a few things wrong with this -- he's not seminal, he doesn't actually follow in the tradition of land art, and there's no culminating involved. Also no challenging.

As a documentary-film person, I've watched all of the documentaries on Tunick. They reveal him to be what he is: a guy with a big schtick.

Lewiston, Maine Once Again in the Photography News

Why should you read this blog on a daily basis? Because you may have to serve as prosecutor in a case where a photographer apprehends the perp, that's why....

This week, Sun Journal photographer Russ Dillingham managed to both photograph and restrain an alleged car thief, as was noted here Thursday. Unfortunately, the prosecutor in the case has not been keeping up with this blog.

"[The suspect] was freed Friday after a prosecutor said he was not familiar with all the facts in the case, and a Superior Court judge declined to set bail. By late Friday, [the alleged perpetrator] was out of jail, and his whereabouts were unknown. ... Lewiston's deputy police chief criticized the prosecutor, saying, 'You have to be living in a cave to not know the facts of this case.'"

Exactly. Full story here: Fugitive Nabbed By Newspaper Photographer Released

Gerda Taro and Robert Capa at ICP

Yesterday I spent the day working from home -- editing video -- but in the evening we went to International Center of Photography for four shows:

Gerda Taro

This is War! Robert Capa at Work

Other Weapons: Photography and Print Culture During the Spanish Civil War

Dark is the Room Where We Sleep: A Project By Francesc Torres

I thought the Torres project was excellent, and was glad to see the history / story of Taro being brought into light.

The Capa show, however, left me with mixed feelings: it's the best and most detailed collection of his war work I've seen, but I much preferred the exhibition that toured (from the Philadelphia Museum of Art) around 1996-1997, as captured in this book: Robert Capa: Photographs. It just seems better to me to include all sides of his work -- both war and peace -- if we're really to understand the stakes of war.

Above: 43rd Street walking back from ICP.

Morris on Fenton, Part Two

Errol Morris continues his search for the documentary truth. More or less.

IDA's 25 "Best"

The International Documentary Association announced the results of its Top 25 Documentaries member poll.

No real surprises -- all popular, excellent documentaries -- but one thing did strike me: how many of these films have more than one editor. Of the 25 films, 13 have multiple editors. More than half.

Meaning that now I have to teach my editing students that they'll have to learn an additional skill: shared vision.

(I'm an IDA member, and I did vote. One thing to note: it wasn't a process where you just voted for one favorite "best" film -- but checked off a number of films. I expect that produces a different result than a simple "vote for one" process. In this case, I think it may have made for a better, if mainstream, list.)

Focused Butterfly, Blurry Background

Recently I mentioned the usual MFA hating that photographers love to take part in, especially in photography forums. While this is typically at the level of "Those darn MFA kids will never match my great closeup shots of a butterfly -- now get off my lawn!", a more intriguing note just went up at The Online Photographer. Mike Johnston, who runs the popular site and uploads a lot of images and good comments in photography forums as well, noted his difficulties getting jobs teaching photography without the MFA.

Which was a great post. Unfortunately, it was followed by a lot of MFA-bashing posts. So I posted a comment, which I'll share here, for what it's worth.

Excellent post, Mike.

I'd like to address the comments here, however. They are very similar to others posted on many photography forums -- they reflect the idea that somehow the MFA degree is only a piece of paper, and that the process of getting that degree is somehow based in fake academic pursuits rather than "real" photographic pursuits.

It's just not true. A good MFA program means two or three years of really intense, valuable work. It means creating multiple exhibitions -- not just a slapdash portfolio of images -- and going through a lot of intense critique with very informed professors with decades of experience (both professional and academic). It means understanding the history of the medium, the best current and cutting-edge practices, and the work of your fellow students.

It means a really deep commitment to photography that the usual suggestion -- "go work as an assistant" -- just can't match. One can leave five years as an assistant without any gain but a lot of skill in one vary narrow part of the field, but a good MFA program can open up a photographer's full potential, if they are willing to do the work.

There are many great photographers without the MFA. But I'm puzzled why many of the commenters don't get that those same photographers could advance if they had two years to focus on their work, and a lot of people surrounding them with the goal of giving them a bit of help....

Photography in the News

Newspaper photographer grabs images, then grabs fugitive

"A newspaper photographer who captured dramatic images of a fugitive jumping from a third-floor balcony before capturing the suspected car thief drew applause from co-workers when he arrived for work the following day."

Then There's Google Search

The Bechers versus The Bechers.

Surprisingly, there are some similarities.

What is an MFA?

A Master of Fine Arts (MFA) is the degree everyone lacking one says you don't need.

The world of photography is a strange one. It's filled with people who have succeeded and failed in many different ways. It's filled with every possible opinion. It's filled with distrust for the opinions of others -- because obviously yours are correct, and it's likely some of theirs will be directly opposed. And therefore obstinately wrongheaded.

It's always been a field with distrust of intellectual ideas -- after all, I already know how to make a good exposure and a good picture, why would I possibly want to read some dense book referencing French philosophers? -- and a lot of self-taught successes.

Since I did go and get my M.F.A., but also teach a lot of beginning and intermediate and hobbyist and trying-to-break-into-the-profession photographers, I feel I have a foot in both camps. I realize you don't answer a question about exposure with a quote from Barthes, and that you don't evaluate a sports photo without a knowledge of the nuts-and-bolts realities of the sports page. But I also realize that among hobbyists -- and even "working pros" -- the opinions are often very strong and very uninformed: The Bechers? I could take a better picture than that, and -- heck! -- I could do it in color!

So sometimes I find myself, when I meet people in the photography world, feeling like a spy: trying to figure out what they know and don't know, and what they think they know. I find myself trying to deal with them on their own terms. I listen when they say, sometimes subtly, that you don't need much education to deal with images. Or that you only need practical education, or a good long-weekend workshop, or to work as an assistant.

And then I see what photographs they like, and what photographs they make, and what they think is most important. That's a very educational moment.

Photography Quote of the Day

From Interviews with Master Photographers, published in 1977:

James Danziger: Do you see the camera as being generous or cruel?

Elliott Erwitt: Depends on what you do with it.

James Danziger: I mean innately.

Elliott Erwitt: Innately it's nothing. The camera doesn't do it. It's the person behind it. You make certain decisions. I was never very fond of Mr. Nixon and I once went to the wedding of one of his daughters with the specific intention of taking unpleasant pictures of certain people I didn't like. The event was so spectacular, so well done, so beautiful, that I totally failed in my mission.

James Danziger: Do you believe in the power of photography to effect social change?

Elliott Erwitt: Yes. Absolutely.

James Danziger: Does that affect a lot of your work?

Elliott Erwitt: Not all. I'm sorry. I just don't. I don't like to get into this heavy attitude towards everything. I really don't have that.

My Photography Class Starts Soon

It's time once again for my Seriously Fun Photography class. Follow the link for more information and to register. It starts Thursday, October 11, so tell your friends.

Above: two of my students during a portraiture exercise, as photographed with my Zorki 6.

Tiny, White Wisps

The photo of Friday's rainstorm was taken at 6:34 p.m.

The photograph above was made about 45 minutes earlier.

Sudden Rain, Hell's Kitchen

On the way to Kashkaval and Russian Samovar a storm broke out.

We took a bus up from midtown. The thing that always surprises me is that one minute you're in Times Square, surrounded by tourists, and then you're suddenly in the middle of a neighborhood, very specific and well-defined and with its own character.

We huddled in front of a fast food restaurant, and waited for the rain to lighten.

By the way, Russian Samovar has a blog.

For Comparison's Sake

Since I shot this on film previously, as I was walking in to work today I pulled out my pocket camera and made the shot above.

Errol Morris on Crimean War Photos

This blog's favorite documentarian, Errol Morris, takes a look at what we know and what we think we know on some Fenton photographs from 1855.

Morris: The Case of the Fenton Photographs

Here's Errol Morris doing his detective work on a little documentary photography history.

Seeing Unseen

Something to look forward to: on Friday, November 9 I will be lining up at International Center of Photography for the Elliott Erwitt booksigning for his new book, Unseen.

"All book signing receptions take place at the ICP Museum Store on Friday evenings from 6:00 to 7:30 pm and feature a DJ and complimentary wine. Admission to the Museum from 5:00 to 8:00 pm is by donations."

They had me at "complimentary wine."

Another From The Zorki Test

Testing my Russian Rangefinder.

On 89th Street

After the talk on Lisette Model, I felt Larry Fink and the other speakers had sent me out into the world with a single idea: carrying a camera is about seeing the world and experiencing it.

On 89th I found a toilet discarded onto the curb, pulled my pocket camera out and took a few photographs. A woman walking past asked "Are you a photographer for Time Out New York?"

I said no. But there's a toilet, I told her. And I have a camera. You can't go wrong.

A Test Shot from the Zorki

Here's a shot from Coney Island, made on my Zorki 6.

Wednesday Night's Photography Event

Confounding Expectations:
Photography in Context: Lisette Model and Her Successors:
September 26, 2007 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

"Model’s edgy, indelible point of view gave rise to a portrait of the United States at all social levels, from Coney Island to Fifth Avenue. Larry Fink, Gary Schneider, Ann Thomas, and Rosalind Solomon will participate in the panel discussion, which will be moderated by William Hunt of Hasted Hunt Gallery. The New School, Tishman Auditorium, 66 West 12th Street. Free."

Great Picture Exhibition Closes

If you are in the Los Angeles area, don't forget to visit The Great Picture before the exhibition closes. Saturday is the last day.

An exhibition of the largest photograph ever made. At three stories high and 11stories wide, "The Great Picture" is a gelatin silver print made using a shuttered F-18 aircraft hangar blacked out to form a giant camera obscura.

Photography in the News

Well, let's check and see what's making news in the world of photography...

Here's a story about a Nan Goldin photo.

"A Northumbria Police spokeswoman confirmed that an image of a child was removed from the exhibit and said it was being looked over by prosecutors ''to assess whether or not an offense had been committed.'' She spoke anonymously in line with force policy and declined to disclose the nature of the offense police were investigating."

Dissolve to: September

I've been quiet on this blog this week, but there's actually a lot going on.

Midtown: Outside Looking In

Monday proved to be an interesting day, with stops in the Upper East Side, The Bronx, and Midtown. Cameras are omnipresent in New York, of course, but it's in Midtown that you see people walk to a corner, put a pocket camera in front of their face, and lean back to take in all of a famous building. Foot traffic flows around them, they carefully compose the shot, wait, wait, and finally take the shot.

At one of my gigs I'm near the Chrysler building, so you see this throughout the day. Go another block over and you see it around the front of Grand Central Terminal. And a few blocks further and it's the main sport in Times Square.

Not Exactly The Steerage

As a follow up to this, here's a snapshot from last night's subway ride.

One solution to the traditional tourist problem of shoes that hurt is to stuff a napkin into the heel of your shoe. Then just go with it. No one will notice.

Unseen: The New Elliott Erwitt Book

Here's that new Elliott Erwitt book: Unseen.

It looks like it will be shipping in December.

What Would Elliott Erwitt Win?

This year's Lucie Awards will give a lifetime achievement award to this Blog's main inspiration, Elliott Erwitt. That is as it should be. I learned two things I wasn't aware of, however, in the blurb about Erwitt:

"In the ’80s Erwitt produced seventeen comedy and satire television programs for HOME BOX OFFICE. From the ’90s to the present he continues to lead a remarkably varied professional life encompassing many disparate aspects of photography. While actively working for magazine, industrial and advertising clients Erwitt devotes all his spare time toward creating books and exhibitions of his work destined for galleries and museums. To date he is the author of over 20 photography books and is preparing a new one titled “UNSEEN” for fall of 2007."

So, now I have to go and track down all those HBO shows, and patiently await his new book....

Why Photography?

So here's the thing: if I were a painter, it might occur to me to have two white shoes, two black shoes, a play between the idea of legs and chair legs, a confusion of space and directionality and depth and flatness, and so on.

But that fifth shoe stepping into a little pool of light -- that's photography. That's why using some kind of device to observe the real world is interesting.

(This was yesterday, at a get-together for art historians. The black shoes? Studying photo history. The white shoes? Interested in early photographic processes.)

Looking at Looking

I mentioned Kohei Yoshiyuki's "The Park" photographs last week. Today the New York Times has a serious look at them titled Sex in the Park, and Its Sneaky Spectator.

The exhibition, and the article, do a nice job of bringing up the issues of voyeurism and observational recording that seem inherent in photography.

Karen Irvine, curator of the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, said Mr. Yoshiyuki’s work is important because “it addresses photography’s unique capacity for observation and implication.” She locates his work in the tradition of artists who modified their cameras with decoy lenses and right-angle viewfinders to gain access to private moments. Weegee, for example, rigged his camera to capture couples kissing in darkened New York movie theaters. Walker Evans covertly photographed fellow passengers on New York subways.

A long while back I wrote about my own experience at a photo workshop photographing photographers as they took photographs.

I Wonder What They Edited Out

Over on my other blog, I've posted on watching a documentary about Annie Leibovitz. Go and read it. I wanted to note here, however, a more specific and pithy criticism of the assumption that Leibovitz is our greatest living portraitist.

In the midst of endless praise for Leibovitz' work, for balance Vicki Goldberg is allowed to take a shot. While various other fawn over the Rolling Stone Magazine "concept" pictures -- Whoopi Goldberg in a milk bath, the Blues Brothers with their faces painted blue -- Goldberg says:

"These are supposed to be 'story pictures' -- but the story is one sentence long."

That's my favorite one-line critique ever.

Life Through a Lens

As I hope to make a documentary on photographers in the near future (details soon), I've started watching all the photography-related docs I can. Last night's was Annie Leibovitz: Life Through a Lens from the American Masters series. It was very good, and I enjoyed it, but I was left with two questions.

It's directed by Barbara Leibovitz. While the idea of a documentary Director with a connection to the film's subject is not uncommon at all -- think of Nathaniel Kahn in My Architect or Lucia Small in My Father, the Genius -- generally these are cases where the Director is "out" and obvious and often referenced in the film, amounting to a character in the drama.

Barbara is Annie's sister. While the documentary doesn't reference this, the PBS site about the film does:

Given unrestricted access, director Barbara Leibovitz spent a year documenting Annie Leibovitz at home and at work. "As her sister, I feel a serious responsibility not only to tell her story - but to tell it honestly," says Barbara Leibovitz, a writer, director and producer of award-winning documentaries. "It was a challenge, but I learned more about my sister than I ever imagined."

I'm not certain, though, that the audience did.

The implication that Leibovitz is our greatest living photographer goes unchallenged, with only Vicki Goldberg standing in to represent the art world, and tossing out two zingers in the midst of much fawning praise. I would love to have heard Leibovitz on the subject of where she thinks her work stands within the field.

While there are "honest" references to Leibovitz participating in the drug scene while following a Rolling Stones concert tour and eventually entering a rehab program, the tone of that section of the film is mild and vague. Do people enter rehab without major issues and problems? Does one imagine the specifics are known and could be told? Are we left dining at the children's table, unable to overhear the adults talking?

Is unrestricted access important if there are large questions left unaddressed in a film that purports to represent a person's life?

Inside, Looking Out, Part Three

So, as the fall season starts, I'm left to ask: where is photography at this very moment? The answer: it's very fragmented.

The classics roll on ... though it will be very interesting to see if the "blue chip" photographers continue selling in the auctions for record prices or not. The galleries roll on ... but there's no sense of any particular new movement, style or group arising. The museums roll on ... about the same as always.

Yet you can't help but notice, out of the corner of your eye, that more people are shooting more photographs than ever, and that cameras have become omnipresent. There must be change in the works ... but where is it?

Chris Marker Photographs

Over on my New York Portraits blog I've posted a link about seeing the Chris Marker: Staring Back exhibition in Chelsea. I'm hoping to write a bit about these images soon since -- as always -- I'm very interested in where documentary film and documentary photography intersect and overlap.

Photo Chick Update

Episode One of Photo Chick has climbed past 7,000 views and Episode Two is nearing 2,000 views. So the plan is to tape Episode Three on Friday. There's also material for a more documentary-style episode recorded, so you may be seeing that soon as well....

Inside, Looking Out, Part Two

Lisette Model and Her Successors at Aperture Gallery (547 West 27th Street in Chelsea) was a good show. More exciting to me, however, was getting a look around the rest of the building.

Aperture is on the 4th floor, and it's a very beautiful space. Take the elevator to the 5th and 6th floors, however, and go see the "Alcove" -- a tiny hallway transformed into an installation space -- and the various studios and galleries throughout the building. On a quiet day, it's a very good experience. The floor creaks under your feet, but around each corner is a new and unexpected space.