Monthly Archive for May, 2007

we just got this exhibit hung yesterday….honestly,  this was not really so difficult to hang because we literally tacked  the  44" x 32" pigment inkjet prints to the wall…no frames…raw like the subject…loose….experts hung five of my pictures, 8 feet x 6 feet prints, by wires from the ceiling…

as each print went up, i remembered back at the 2 years of  sweat that went into this one…hip hop….the culture…..unknown territory for me before National Geographic funded most of this project…this was surely one of the most challenging  stories to shoot i have ever faced…i will write about this for you under "work in progress" soonest…

now my friends, if you can prove  you are one of my readers, you are invited over to my place for the "AFTER PARTY" following the reception…and because of this difficult and unique collaboration by so many people , i promise you there will be one!! 

let’s see, we will need a good "code word" to substantiate your authenticity….hmmm, ok got it…how about "eyesight"…well, that is it for now anyway…i might change it, which means you will have to keep up with things…to avoid folks who will skip the show and just come to the "after party", you must whisper this word in my ear at the opening itself!!

seriously, it would really be cool if a bunch of you actually showed up…now that would turn computer time into "real time"….this whole project was in very real time….

energy….wow…wow…so much energy…..anyone who meets ann will feel this blast of energy in a split second…and you had  better hang on, because this woman is moving at the speed of light….and, in my opinion, for the purest reasons of better communication…..

for those of you in europe, south america, asia and africa you may not know ann….she is an american icon and an NBC News anchor for the Today Show…sometimes those of us in the print media really do not know if the "faces" on television are really reporters or just "reading the news"….i just met ann last night at a  Memorial Day gathering over at rob clark’s studio (read about rob "family/friends")….if you talk to ann, you will quickly realize she is the "real thing"….a true journalist and reporter….

"i like to do stories about people who have nothing…no political power, no voice….i want to give them a chance to speak" says ann, who was with her husband and two children at rob’s  and lei ling’s  "first day of summer" holiday barbecue….sure, ann is obligated to report whatever is happening each day, but she digs and pushes her crew and goes to battlefields like lebanon recently  and has no fear….she reaches a lot of people on television and she is totally a "real person" off camera…

and guess what else??  she loves photographers!! ann seems to know about everyone and everything in our print business …amazing really…when she speaks about photography she knows what she is talking about…she is seen above yesterday with her friend david turnley (and under "work in progress" with her two children)…she also shoots digi stills when she is on assignment…..

meeting ann was a nice way to start off the summer….positive energy turns into more positive energy…

last night i sat in the audience and listened to a master….a man i have respected my entire photographic life….humbling…..the man does not stop……and for  most of his work he never really left home….

bruce davidson’s lecture was concurrent  with his  exhibition "Time of Change"  at the Aperture Foundation  …bruce gave an "old fashioned" slide show with a carousel projector…ka klunk, ka klunk…each slide had to be focused….remember that??  but once the pictures were focused, all became "clear"….bruce is from chicago and started taking pictures when he was 10, but most of his work revolves around new york city where he and his wife emily and their two daughters have made their home for 50 years….

"East 100th Street" , "New York Gang" , "Subway", and "Central Park" are classics to be reckoned with.. and all photographed within 20 minutes of his home….his  current exhibition and  book "Time of Change" is  retrospective work from  the  50’s  to  the 70’s  and took bruce "out of town" to document  a changing time in the U.S. mostly involving the civil rights movement….but, last night he showed everything….his whole "portfolio"…his show flowed by in about 45 minutes….perfect…left us wanting more, left us realizing what a talent he is….i will publish some of this work in "family/friends" soonest…

bruce says he is going "retro"….he spends 6 hours in his darkroom everyday making black & white prints….the man is a machine……marathon man…..driven……a quiet renegade……yet a man who truly loves his wife of 40 years  ….when bruce stood up to speak, the first words out of his mouth were,  "does emily have a seat??"

when i first moved here 3 years ago , bruce and emily brought over food and wine to welcome me to the city….and i cherish the print on my wall (below)  he gave me from "East 100th Street"…i am proud to have bruce and emily as a friends…

oh yes, i almost forgot to tell you….i went extra early to Aperture,  hauling along my copy of "Subway" for him to sign…i have had that book for 20 years and have known bruce most of that time….what in the world took me so long??

flying can be kind of a pain sometimes, but i get in a "zen" kind of mood when i travel and so the whole process is relatively painless for me…besides, i look at the upside…i try to do things when i travel that i cannot possibly do any other time….like expense accounting…..like making my "to do" lists….like taking stock of my life….but mostly, like reading….that is all i do when i fly besides sleep….read and read….the movie is never good..

the next book i must read is al gore’s new book "The Assault on Reason"….there was a cover story on al in the current issue of "Time" which i read on the flight back from boston this morning….The Last Temptation of Al Gore"….a story all about whether al should run for president again, written by eric pooley who i had shot some pictures with many years ago when i was doing some freelancing for "Time", my first professional magazine work….al gore’s new book is evidently about awareness and action and a democracy that needs an overhaul…i will say no more because i have not  read the book….

al gore is not a close personal friend, but his wife tipper is…..or rather i should say, she is a really close personal friend of jodi cobb and i am often in social scenarios with jodi….tipper is a photographer…she was in my class as a student  at rich clarkson’s workshop program in jackson hole, wyoming just last fall…tipper worked with jodi at the newspaper in nashville way back when…i will do a story on tipper under "family friends" soonest…

anyway, we all remember al gore’s famous gaff about being the "inventor of the internet"….i do not remember the details of that statement , but he did take a lot of good natured "heat" for the comment….however, al gore may not have invented the internet, but he is one of the internet’s strongest supporters…..he feels we have lost touch with each other…that democracy is being hurt because we no longer talk to each other…

both print and television fail us in interpersonal communication…"letters to the editor" is as close as it comes….gore  sees the net as a community builder….interchange…chat…conversation…..no doubt, one to one chat in the living room #1…..internet exchange of ideas #2….the other media fall way way behind in this regard…..it is just not their nature….not interactive…

traditional media offer  "presentations and packages" by editors and producers who are trying to figure out what their audience wants…with the net, the "speaker", writer or photographer goes  straight to his or her audience and builds the  audience with "personalized" content….the author’s content…a story…a stream of conscience tale ….if nobody likes this  content they go somewhere else…but if you do have an audience, you have an audience… period     .. built with your content….print magazines at their peak had "voices"….henry luce….melville bell grosvenor

i do not know whether al gore will run for U.S. president or not….he is in such a respected position right now as a sincere alarmist for our fragile environment and as a champion for the net …he claims we may have to fight sooner rather than later for freedom on the net as  we had to fight for a free press….and the man has been a major environmentalist since he was in college..gore  has spent his whole adult life with global warming as his major concern….al gore might just be better off  staying right where he is….

but i think he is right about the community building power of the net….those of you who are still reading now know exactly what i mean…look at us right here…pretty cool right???  how else could we be doing this??  nice for me because it helps me keep my thoughts "organized" and is becoming the same kind of "diary" of life i did as a 14 yr. old photographer….and hopefully, this is nice for you because i try to put myself "in here" only to the extent that it will be useful information for you…mostly to let you know that i have the same problems as you or have had the same problems as you  or certainly will in the future  have the same problems as you ….the only thing i really have to "offer"  is  my current experience in the publishing world… both  magazines and books…. and  my long term friendships with so so  many people in this biz….and mostly  with the shared experiences i live  every time  i teach a workshop….i believe my students will tell you…

if i can keep this audience, we can do some really amazing things….here i am dreaming again, but sometimes my dreams happen…actually, they usually happen!!! once i focus, i am on the case!!

i am not a "plan oriented" person…i act spontaneously , recklessly, passionately…instinctively….for this i pay a price……i scramble with finances always…total disaster…..i must have some kind of organization wired into my hard-drive or i could not possibly have been a professional photographer all this time…but, you would never know it by looking….i mean really really i am a nightmare on this front….

i pay this price…but, i also receive this reward…..freedom….real freedom…feels good….so why not take this special time in my life and move it forward in a meaningful way??….what i want to do is create some production money for you…..so that a selected few of you would be able to go work on a project of your choice….i would have to go find money….from corporations , from generous funders…this is not anything i have ever done…..but imagine if these donors ended up endorsing some truly creative photography  that would be printed in an annual super quality magazine format where the photographers had all the control..with just a little help from me maybe!!!   and an exhibit of course…..

the sponsors would get terrific press, prestige and a positive long lasting image with a young audience of serious photographers which is exactly who you guys are….there would be no direct product advertising in this annual…but, sophisticated logos front or back or whatever but with a "museum quality" look to it…

we use the net to "community build" and then take that to reality…to print…

another piece of this corporate funding i would want to go for free photo workshops in  developing  countries where the emerging photographers cannot  possibly afford one of the current workshops ….another major piece of good press for our donors…even patch it in with some worthwhile ngo projects and build a workshop around an issue….have part of this mythical magazine use these pictures too…

now anybody can have an idea like this….there must be better ones around…i only have one thing going….a voice, a personal voice…..you are the ones who have told me that …that is not my claim….those are the claims from the letters i receive from you…i do not edit those letters and i am still waiting for some "hate" mail of some kind….but honestly , the best part of this blog is "inside"….the comments….i can’t believe it sometimes when i read your letters…heartwarming, clarifying, philosophical and often poignant……it is only because of your comments that i even had the, perhaps unrealistic, perhaps doable, ideas laid out above….i sense my audience here….i think you sense it back…

this is definitely a "we" thing…an interesting experiment and  a new kind of collaboration….i certainly cannot do this without you….it would be fun if we even just could pull off one issue….so, let me know what you think…straight up….let’s face it, this seems like an exciting  thing to think about and if nothing comes of it, what have we lost???

all you have to do is be here….all i have to do is make it worthwhile…

no, no…the above "home alone" is not the title of my upcoming piece on work and relationships….sounds like it could be though doesn’t it?? ….no, i am not ready to write that piece just yet…another day….some good comments are still coming in…some truly poetic thoughts…..i will wait…or is that called stalling???

no, my home alone has nothing to do with anything other than i am truly enjoying being home alone…i had  an early evening meeting with mark lubell, magnum’s new york director, and my friend marie with a "job with no title" card hanging around  her neck….marie sort of does everything for me (thanks marie!!), but has this last year evolved into running my personal workshop programs…mark, marie and i are planning magnum’s  new educational program for emerging photographers…like you!!…somehow i got roped into leading this by my colleagues at a meeting where i was not present!!

anyway, meeting over….marie is finalizing a bad cold and went home to sleep early…mark had another appointment…no "take out" tonight…my neighbor, aussie photog david coventry, came by to have a beer, saw the meeting going on and said he would come back later….he never came back..home alone

now this is the "apple",  so there can be no doubt that if i made about two phones calls i could find out about some photo function or group gathering or gallery opening or some kind of new york "action" scene or whatever in about 10 seconds or less….it is even likely that i am actually supposed to be somewhere…somebody might be thinking i will walk through the door at any moment….i forget stuff all the time….but i did not pick up the phone to find out….silence..

i turn on my neon "bar" lite….tweak leonard cohen just a little louder,  but not too loud to wake little eva, 8, who lives next door…open a cold corona….i flip through a couple of new photo books…i wonder if i can afford peter beard’s new masterpiece….i start to think about what i am supposed to be thinking about….so much is going on around me now that i have to think like a race car driver or something…

total concentration….eyes straight ahead…..but i am not a race car driver….i am not in a race car…..i am driving  a jeep cj ,top off,  driving down the beach with the waves breaking green  and  the seagulls  scrambling out of my way  and  all i can see straight ahead is  just more pristine  beach and high  dunes…nobody  else…..all alone….

so my weird way of dealing with stress is to totally pretend there isn’t any….i do get classically  stressed for short periods of time, but quickly apologize to everyone  around me…my overall demeanor,  under the worst of conditions (like now), is pretty casual and even overly playful i think…but, you had better get a responsible second opinion from marie!!!

home alone seems pretty sweet in any case  ….i wrote an e-mail to my girl…wanted to  chat , but she is 6 hours ahead and sleeping (or at an all night club!!)….thought about looking at "living proof" dummy, but did not have the psychological  energy to think about  if the pictures were in the right place or not…so, i drifted over here to my cluttered desk, with absolutely nothing on my mind at all, and my fingers and my subconscious  did the walking….very strange….

but that’s all folks…done…over….i am heading up to the rooftop…there is the  most delicious weather in history happening  right now..the reason i live here is because of the rooftop view…i surely hope that i do not meet anybody up there……

nobody has a worse sounding alarm clock than me…..i use my cell phone (brand not to be mentioned) and this thing sounds like a chicken being choked or something like that…but, at 5am tomorrow morning  i will wonder once again why in the world i don’t find something better to wake me up in the morning…just like i wonder why i have never learned how to pack a suitcase or bring the right clothing or actually any of the things you might imagine i would have totally wired by now….

in any case, i am off to london for a few days before heading home to new york….yes, i am just like everyone else who travels…it is always nice to come home no matter how much adventure i have had….after about five minutes at home however, it will suddenly dawn on me that a month on the road has meant  that there will so so many "loose ends" and dead plants and unpaid bills and everyone mad at me, because i have neglected almost all of my friends and family  who mean the most to me…this will all lead soonest to an article about such things….mostly about relationships and how they survive or do not survive the world of someone who leads an often nomadic life…..

the four weeks upcoming will be nothing like the four weeks past…..i have been some kind of "guide" for almost 60 students in these last weeks in italy and spain…not an excuse, but they are the reason i have "stacked" everyone else!!….i did have all student names remembered  during  each respective week, but i will soon forget many of them…many , of course, i will never forget because they will not let me forget… some  consider themselves my students for life!!  so, how could i ever let them down??

but, now i have to get really really selfish….get into my own work…bigtime….make sure things are going well for my upcoming book , "living proof" (powerhouse)…..make sure the show gets printed correctly and make arrangements for the opening on june 14 at the powerhouse arena…that sounds like tomorrow to me…because i know something will go wrong or has already gone wrong and i must try to stay calm and fix it….but, i do want this show to be "right"….for june is a big month for magnum…our 60th anniversary….magnum photog exhibits all over town, mine being one of them….nice reception coming  at MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) where we were founded 60 years ago….so i have to get "on the case" and i am already late….

now , originally i was supposed to back to new york today….but my mother tells me that i have never come back on the day i said i would….hmmmm, well, i will not argue with my mother!! and i always have a truly good reason…always…..this time i have to make a stop  to see my girlfriend …long overdue….remember , i said an article was upcoming on relationships??  but, am i really the right person to write it???  we all know what my girlfriend would say!!!