well, i promised to get back to you during my morning coffee…looks pretty relaxed … but, but and but….this picture was taken by my old friend from grad photo school days, medford taylor, who i met down here for a short "buddy trip" after my workshop in San Miguel…this was picture was shot this morning on a beach somewhere near Zihuatenejo….
BUT,at this moment nothing was going right…i am leaving for Thailand in 45 minutes, BUT i almost was not leaving at all…and my girlfriend and nachtwey are waiting for me to show up in Thailand…since i have been traveling in Brazil and Mexico and using my credit card everywhere and trying to buy an expensive ticket to Bangkok, all financial systems shut down…the airlines denied my card…too many countries in too short a period of time…fraud alert or whatever….BUT, i was on a buddy trip and my buddy just saved the trip…medford had not used his cards at all…..he bought my air ticket….thank you medford…
ok, rushing….posting again from Bangkok in however long that will take…i hope nachtwey has some money, because i am sure my card will not work there either….am i counting too much on friendships?? or am i blessed with great friends?? would you ask a friend to do the same and would you be that kind of friend yourself???
trip to southeast asia from mexico…an adventure….having friends who care…priceless….
Never a dull moment, David?
I would do that for a good friend whom I knew was able to repay me, even if it took some time.
I would only ask it of someone I knew very very well, and who could spare the money.
Suggest you contact your card people as soon as you hit Bangkok.
David,
I tend not to ask my friends for help too often (I’m reserved that way) but not for fear of being asked the same… I’d help in a heartbeat… In a situation like yours — having the friends you have — I’d do the same you did. That’s what family and friends are all about.
BTW, speaking of friends, I saw one of your close friends speak last Sunday, at the VII seminar in Pasadena: Eugene Richards. The man is an inspiration, both as a human being and as a photographer.
Cheers and safe travels again.
Giancarlo
PS: Great picture, on the beach!
I do believe in karma or a least what goes around comes around and although I don’t know you David I imagine nice things happen to you all the time.
Most of my friends are skint but I do impose on their time and most of my good pictures are due to friends letting me hang out with them and photograph what they are doing. For the first time in a long time I’ have a little money in the bank and If I had a mate in a jam I’d lend them some money.
What happens when you get home David are all your plants dead and does your cat belong to someone else?
Harry
“would you ask a friend to do the same and would you be that kind of friend yourself???”
I think friendships develope with certain people over time, slowly but surely, through the all the good and bad, and we ultimately come to understand that we are happy to be there for each other…no matter what. Something not to be taken for granted.
So…yes and yes.
“…i hope nachtwey has some money..”
buddy, you’re making me crack up. don’t photographers live ‘in the red’?? my credit card just turned a little deeper red today after buying a printer.. gotta have prints! actually, kelly’s turned a deeper red b/c it went on her card! now there’s a buddy of the sweetest kind.. (and not b/c of her credit card)
DAH, hit all the ATM’s when you hit BKK ASAP.
ATB
MAS
david:
can i be medford’s buddy too?? ;))))
hugs
b
david…I would loose all my hair if I had the stress you are having today…:)
Natchwey seems to be much more organised than you…at least that’s the idea I have about him…the guy sees always to keep his cool, I am sure he thinks about all little details…
arie
.. and by the way, if this thing turns into a book… medford’s picture could be the cover.. it says it all!
david:
“am i counting too much on friendships??”
NO!
“or am i blessed with great friends??”
FUCK YEA BROTHER!
“would you ask a friend to do the same”
no…just kidding: yes!
“and would you be that kind of friend yourself???”
i hope i am and always be (minus the big credit card balance ;))) )…
WE ARE NOTHING, JACK SQUAT, WITHOUT EACH OTHER :)))))…
and our AE.ME.VISAs ;))))….
b
that’s MC, not “ME”…see, my credit card credit is so small, i cant even spell MasterCard right ;)))
i need medford! :)))))))))))))….
dont forget hugs to Vink too (he’s got a good CreditCard balance too, i hear, in case you get stuck before returning ;)) )…
hugs
b
“too many countries in too short a period of time”
You are a too-cool, globe-trotting, photo-dude!
I have and would again definitely help out a friend in a similar situation without hesitation and I know my true, old buddies would do the same for me.
Hi David,
If you ever need my credit card details!!…just email me…I’ll definitely help a brother out.
BTW, would you still be in Bongkok in January??…love to meet up with you!!
safe trip
ozzy al
Hi Everyone,
I received some images today that had no Name on them whatsoever. I need everyone to try and stick to the guidelines.
JPGs Only
With the longest side being a maximum of 2000 Pixels (nothing smaller than 1024 please)
Please include any description of the story or work in the images metadata. Individual image descriptions can be put in each images headline field.
Each file should have the following naming
convention: Lastname_Firstname_001.jpg
Remember if you did not submit anything before September 18th you can only submit 20 images.
The work also has to be created between July 15, 2007 and Nov 15, 2007.
If you did not follow these guidelines please contact me at blogquestions@gmail.com as I have some images without any names and do not want to leave anyone out.
Thanks,
Michael
Uncle Dave,
Is that Medford ” Mad Dog ” Taylor? He of the dog fence ?
Sublime shooter http://www.medfordtaylor.com/
I got hung up once in Dehli with no money to pay my excess baggage bill which came to a whopping $1200 of which I had about $50, So there being no ATM in the terminal I was ushered outside to an ATM sized hole in the wall on the Terminal’s front wall – No Money – No Flight – No Go Home – Then a saviour in the form of an Aussie journo by the name of Mark Baker ( I think he’s in Bankok ) – promptly paid my bill in cash and got me on the plane- I had never met the guy before in my life!
Not only did I get his money paid back as soon as I got back I have been paying back ever since , You just never know when you are going to need a hand!
Hi, David
I thin you are highly solvable, I’d send you the money myself if it had to be of the greatest help. It’ s not about Karma (karma doesn’t work unless deed is 100% selfless), it’s about trust and like Bob says, or rather means: fuck the machine (I don’t mean the ATM).
But a little scolding for you, what happened to good old TCs? If only a couple grands in case… It is still my favored means of money abroad. Well, not in Cambodia, greenback rules over there.
I see John Vink name keeps popping back. I hope I can give him a call and meet once in Cambo, next winter. How about you David, stopping over in BKK before you go to India?
Welcome to Bangkok, David. And i think your GF is a very smart woman! :-)
Herve
I was three weeks home in London from my honeymoon when I had to head off again to New York to attend ICP. It was all arranged that I would take over the lease on a friends apartment but at the last minute it went all wrong.
I was on the street and near broke. I borrowed heavily to attend ICP and before I was selected as a candidate I was mugged and lost an entire pro kit that wasn’t adequately insured. All bad. I had an old Nikon F801, a 28mm and a 50mm lens left.
I called an old friend and asked to crash on her sofa for the night. She let me linger for 3 months at her place in Yonkers until I managed to sort out an apartment in Queens.
I’ve not been able to thank her properly since as we have lost contact. I really need to do something about that. I’m good at tracking people down, or at least I was and so I should be able to find her.
That was a tough year. Later my grandmother in law died and so the money I borrowed was written off on her instructions. So, those are two people that saved my ass in no small way.
If I had the money I would indeed do the same for a friend.
I pulled a 19 year old woman out of a freezing cold river in 1991. She had apparently attempted suicide. I resuscitated her, did CPR, got her to safety and suffered bad hypothermia. The Irish government gave me a medal and that was cool. Surely lady luck owes me another dance cause I need a new Mac laptop. I wonder sometimes if that young woman is loaded now. I was once told she was doing rather well for herself.
Hmm!
David,
Sawatdii krap, khon phom!
I second Lance’s suggestion to use Medford’s photo of you for the cover of the ‘Road Trip’ book. Perfect!
Was in a similar situation twice travelling in days long before I had any credit cards (strictly cash and TC’s), oddly enough once in Mexico where someone I had barely met fronted me cash to get home on after my pocket was picked, which I repaid later of course, and once when I was stuck in Singapore, nearly broke, and the airline wouldn’t honor my ‘open’ ticket. A Chinese travel agent I had become acquainted with, even though there was no money in it for him, made a bunch of phone calls, pulled some strings, and I finally got back to Japan with about $5 left the day before I had to go back to work. I sent on some business to him later. And I’ve covered other people too, without hesitation, at the times when I was the one with the money resources.
But the thing that resonates with me most at the moment is that you’re headed for a spell in Bangkok. Just yesterday I was called on to advise and coach a female college student who is applying for a year-long travel/study grant she wants to use in Southeast Asia (where she’s never been). She’s not a photographer but an artist, her main project theme seems to be food, and she feels drawn to the countries along the Mekong River. She’s young and rather inexperienced but I liked her attitude and the things she told me about herself. So I spent several hours with her, trying to bring her project more into focus, trying to help her understand a little what she’d be dealing with on the ground, making some suggestions, but mostly just prodding her to come up with her own ideas- not unlike what goes on in David’s workshops and here on the blog. It’s amazing how many things have been written about here in the last few months that had a direct bearing on her project, even though it’s not photography. And I advised her, even though she wants to focus on the Mekong, to go first to Bangkok, get acclimatized and become familiar with it as the main hub for mainland Southeast Asia, study a little Thai for a month or six weeks, gather information and make contacts, before setting off into the hinterlands. Now, I haven’t been in Bangkok for twenty years, I know it has changed enormously, maybe I wouldn’t recognize the place. But it still makes sense to me as a strategy for beginning a year-long project in Southeast Asia.
Which is one, but only one, of the reasons, David, that I would love to see you pull together a book on Bangkok. Given the time you’ve spent there over the last three decades, you are in a position to understand and communicate how the city has changed in that time, what remains constant, what is completely new. Seriously, think about mining your archive for a ‘Bangkok Through the Decades’ book, which I will be the first to acquire!
Oh, and have lots of fun while you’re there! Can’t remember what it’s called, maybe just simply ‘Thom Plaa Muuk’ but it’s a seafood-broth soup filled with tiny squids that are stuffed with minced pork, garlic, ginger, and bamboo shoots… you get the picture!
Prawt plaeng mahk mahk!
Sidney
man,if that ain’t a picture of life in the 21st century…on a beautiful, remote beach in mexico, wired to the world, and stressing out because some “wizard” has locked up all of your virtual money due to a series of electronic transactions that triggered an alarm…which means, were it not for a friend whose spending pattern appears more predictable-and thus trustworthy–to the wizard, you would not be able to jump on a plane and fly halfway around the world, and be there tomorrow…
I guess the moral of the story is, yes, when it all goes to hell, it helps to have friends with unused credit cards. And maybe a few more changes of clothes:)
Travel safe, David. I’m getting jet lag just reading…
Remember if you did not submit anything before September 18th you can only submit 20 images
———————
Hold on. I thought old time readers had a 40 image limit and we could submit it all at the end near the deadline. I never saw this qualification in anything David wrote but maybe I missed it. Can you clarify? David? What exactly is the limit here, I was working under the assumption that I could submit 40 images. I just want to be sure of what is going on.
Thanks.
Michael, as I always understood, Rafal Pruszynski is right about who is able to submit 40 images….
In any case, is it possible to have a list of the submitions you already have? so if anyone sees that his name is missing, they can try to do it again… I uploaded my work but have no confirmation that it arrived in good conditions as it was my first time using the ftp programm….
Thanks again for all your effort on this. A big smile! :-)
“Would you ask a friend to do the same and would you be that kind of friend yourself???”
Complicated question… i have strong influence of polish mentality… i try not ask for help, i have never borrowed from anybody more than 2 dolars… but sometimes it can be stupid… and i think if i were you i will ask for help… that situation was “extreme”… :-)
Sidney: You might ask your colleague to check out my site on Thai (and SE Asian food), RealThai: http://realthai.blogspot.com/ Tom plaa muek sounds about right!
I’d also like to see more of David’s work from Bangkok. In a few minutes I’m off to the 9 Days.. launch exhibition, which includes some of his pics. Should be interesting.
Austin
Nice save by Medford!
I hope he feels pretty good! Its good to help and expect nothing in return.
A few times in a scrape there has been an “Angel” with the right key to get us out. Somehow with money there is more stress involved and it’d be hard for me to accept money from a stranger. Thats what good friends are for ;-)
I think I sent my work on the 21st. If you get a sec, Michael. can you check? I’ve shot a lot of good stuff since the old deadline. Much appreciate all your hard work.
Austin,
My man! Thanks so much for the lead. I took a brief look at your ‘Real Thai’ blog and I am now swooning with gastronomic desire. You are doing a great thing! I will certainly pass on the link to the young lady I mentioned- who happens to be from Portland (where I also lived in 1969-72). And I will be trying out your recipes and checking out the other sites linked on your blog. Kawp khun mahk krap! (Forgive my non-standard romanization of Thai- like I say, it’s been twenty years).
Sidney
This comes out of the post from sept 18 “Bold Steps” You can go back and read it for yourself as well
i have already been flooded with material….good material….but, i have decided to totally max out the influence of our new found collaboration…for my “original bloggers” (and i know who you are) who have already sent in their 20 picture limit, you will be allowed another 20 and this extra time ….but, the limit on essays or singles from any “newcomers” to our forum will still be 20 photographs presented as an essay ( or combo of essays) or 20 single images…
I will not be publishing a book we have asked that anyone who has submitted to contact me once they have done so at blogquestions@gmail.com
I do know who the people are who submitted early so please keep it to 20 unless you submitted before the 18th.
Thanks,
Michael
David..a boring but practical note – perhaps you already know but didn’t have time to arrange..
You can/should call your creditors in advance of any of out the country travel, and tell them approximately where/when you will be. This way, you avoid what happened to you. Also, they will give you a toll free phone number for calling from out of the country in case you do have any other problems..
but thank goodness for friends and credit both..
On the self-assigment:
If I may, relating to the number of pix (which borders now on the number of essays!)The more concentrated, the better the impact, the idea ultimately is for David to want to see more of a photographer, and feel that person is the one with the potential to do just that (take off as an author) in the coming months.
slimming and trimming, not adding, is paramount, IMO. Stacking up the images can be counter-productive, and induce bloatedness, just as it would in a text, no matter the quality of each sentence.
Herve,
I completely agree as we have all talked about the importance of editing work and only showing what should be see. Putting to many images in that are weak can in turn weaken the stronger ones when viewing a project on a whole.
Michael
If I put that much on my credit cards I would melt under the psychic pressure. I am reasonably certain that the banks and credit card companies know this and therefore raise my credit limit over and over again, which makes them feel good about their generosity. They do this, of course, because they know I will never use any of that money. I ought to go buy a Leica just to spite them.
David,
What little time I’ve been around Medford, I’ve always enjoyed his company. Now you need to feature him in the family/friends section, unless you already have and I missed it.
Another funny thing…Chris Bickford dropped in my studio last week to talk about his workshop experience in NYC… small world!
best wishes as always!
Mike
Hmm, the money question… Well, David, it all revolves around trust, doesn’t it. Nothing like money to turn things sour — unless, of course, Nachtwey (and whoever else you might on occasion feel the need to tap up!!) knows with absolute trust and certainty that the money will be repaid pronto and the courtesy, kindness and so forth RECIPROCATED. That is the key thing, really. Friends will do anything for each other…but let that trust erode or that reciprocity fail to be respected and things turn sour and ugly…
best, alun
My Morning Coffee
http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/3796172#219046582-M-LB
this picture was taken by my old friend and buddy “Bogen”…this picture was also shot this morning in a kitchen somewhere near San Francisco….
Unfortunately my buddy “Bogen” doesn’t have any money and he is kind of a stiff… but he is a steady friend and always there for me when I need him.
Joking aside, its great that David can share his morning coffee with us.
Cheers to Good coffee, good photos, and good buddys.
If you can’t count on friends and family, who can you count on? Besides, what we give will always come back to us in some way. Travel safely, David.
hola David
greetings from cuba. most beatiful place on earth!
i will write when i come back.
much work i have here!
peace
Martin
David, sounds like your bud Medford subscribes to the pay it forward concept, which of course means you’re on the hook now to pay back not only him but the next unfortunate soul you come across as well.
What’s up Milke–next time I come down I’ll bring photos.
As for lending money, if it’s a real friend, and the money is there, I’m happy to lend, at least once. I have a friend from high school who over a period of time borrowed about two hundred bucks from me (which was a lot back then), and I stopped lending him money when I realized it would just add to the debt. Now that I’m more solvent, I’ll just give the money if it’s needed. If they pay me back, fine. Just feels good to help someone get to where they need to be.
As for borrowing, I’ve never asked, but have occasionally taken an offer from a friend to help. Seems to me that if the lender makes the offer first, there’s more implicit trust and a genuine willingness to help.
Let’s not allow Sidney all the fun!
http://www.michaelkircher.com/dahlookalike.htm
Oops! That should read “Let’s not allow JASON all the fun!” Sorry dude.
Hmm…someone is missing…Oh, David, did you get there?
When will you be in NY?
Michael
Herve!! “But a little scolding for you, what happened to good old TCs? If only a couple grands in case.”
I kind of hope where ever you live a grand means something different than here in the US…just the thought of carrying – or having- a couple of ‘extra’ thousands of dollars makes me smile.
Michael,
I Love how the newspaper mimics the laptop!
Great show!
.
It is quite fun making morning coffee photos, which has just now inspired some creative photo essays for my future. Some serious and not so serious I hope.
.
Special thanks goes to my other reliable buddy Mr. Coffee who wakes up at 6am each morning to do his job for me. I would lend him money if needed, he’s that special.
sfjason
Thanks Jason…
I wanted to keep close to the original theme, but truth is I usually have the paper not the computer.
Right now I’m ‘Mr Coffee,’ for my wife and myself. Though, I need to look into hiring the original!
Well, yes, Erica, 2000 ain’t much, but it’s better than nothing (and a lot in thai life!) and can help someone get to plan B or C without too much panic or having to go home.
Think if Melford had been in the same quandary. Hopefully, the one way ticket to BKK was less than 2000$, though my comment was general, not specific to David’s situation.
The morning cafe shots; Here is rhyming I can understand! :-)
David,
I read an interview with photojournalist Tom Stoddart recently. He recalled that he was told at the beginning of his career that he would have “A champagne lifestyle on beer wages” and it has proved to be the case. Good fortune in Bangkok.
Mike.
David, Austin, anybody else in Bangkok…
The ‘Nine Days in the Kingdom’ website claims the exhibiton opening at the ZEN Gallery “features 700 images displayed over 2,500 sq meters…” True? Must be an amazing spread! How about a description and critique from you of this photo-orgy spectacle??
Sidney
Hum David, stuck on a beach is not that bad right ? And it is actually cool to have friends who can lend you some money, that’s cool and not very common these days… Waiting for further adventures…
GLENN….
do you know medford from dog fence days??? hmmm, this is getting scary!!!
HERVE….
i have not used travelers checks for many years…prefer hard cash…most places where i go just do not take travelers checks..too many cases of forgery i think….as a matter of fact i think most companies who used to issue them, are not in the tc biz anymore…
BOB….
yes, you can be medford’s friend …i am sure we will all be hanging out somewhere together soon…
ERICA…
you are absolutely right …and i know this…but i forgot when i went on this trip..i always forget something…once down in brazil/mexico i only had a u.s. 800 number to call for my bank…out of luck…why is everything so complicated???
ALL..
by the way, thai airways (or somebody) lost my favorite rolling duffel with all my clothes…perhaps by odd premonition, i pulled out my brimmed hat of 15 years right at the checkin counter in mexico and stuffed it in my camera bag…strange…
no problem…i learned how to wash my clothes in the hotel shower long ago…and being in bkk, clothes are easy to buy…
i did lose some nice prints i had in that bag, and i was sentimentally somewhat attached to the bag itself, but most valuable stuff always goes with me on the plane..
does anybody still want to travel after reading my last four posts??? actually now things seem ok… the weather here in bkk is beautiful and my credit card is working and i paid medford back….
oh, yes…i forget to mention, i have no place to stay tonight….bumped out of the dusit thani hotel…hey, if koudelka can sleep on the floor, so can i…
updates soonest…
cheers, david
Hi David!
How can I contact you privately? I’m currently enrolled under the Asian Center for Journalism and World Press Photo program’s Photojournalism course. I’m doing a research on photographers who have worked or are based in Asia.
I will be in Bangkok by the 17th.
I hope to hear from you soon!
thanks and all the best,
veejay
david, i’m with you on the “valuable stuff always goes with me on the plane..”
this year alone i’ve had bags delayed 3 times, and that’s just in europe. when i went to sicily, my bag got delayed both going there and going back home!