any minute now, William Albert Allard will walk through my door….i have not asked him, but i will put him on the spot with any of you who happen to be "on" right now….he will probably be here for a couple of hours or so…since his name comes up quite a bit here, most recently on the previous post, i thought you might enjoy having a word with him…so ask the boy a question or two…i will try to keep him here as long as possible…..
BEATRIX….
i am now in Sao Paulo and will stay here until thursday…where are you??
PAUL…
i will do this from now on as the situation permits…
NELSON….
Steve McCurry and i both came to Lisbon a few years ago for a double exhibition…i also did a workshop in Lisbon at about the same time….i felt that a good community was growing…i do hope to come back to Portugal soon…
cheers, david
If you need help walking by sao paulo call me …
ANDERSON…
I will be at a conference at Fotografer on the 2nd from 2-3:45pm….i am going to be too busy overall to hang out much or shoot…perhaps i will see you at the conference??
cheers, david
Yep!
I will be there
DAH wrote:
“conceptually, i have things in my head about my new “mission”, but anything could happen….i really like to let my subjects dictate where things will go…let THEM speak…i will put in my WAY or my LOOK, but it is voice of my subjects that will be most important….”
This sounds a lot like how this blog is working. eh?
FABULOUS videos indeed! :))…thanks for posting…
cheers
b
——————-
Wow, Bob…. Impressive! ;-)
PS: :-))))))))
Herve: :))
i’m trying to turn a new life, simple posts nothing bombastic, staying simple and on key.
cheers
running
bob
p.s. portugal is my home away from home…
I’m with you Bob.
Too much gets made out of comments here.
KISS (keep it simple stupid…my new mantra) or at the very least non-controversial.
Carlos,
Thanks for the link. Wonderful information.
All,
I went right to the Nachtwey editing video. Found it interesting that Christopher Morris spoke about images needing to have emotion…I have an emotional response to his “My America” images but are the images themselves emotional? They strike me as almost devoid of emotion…everyone is zombie-like…which I believe is his point. So is lack of emotion emotional???
CAthy,
Thath’s very interesting that you just mentioned the name of James Nachtwey. I just saw few minutes ago his pictures in the Time magazine about the Dalai Lama. I didn’t like his set of pictures at all (I am usually a big fan of him). To me it shows that no one photographer can deal with each and every subjects.
Arie
SF Jason…where the hell have you been? Have I just missed your comments or are you playing the lurker these days? What’s up?
ARIE,
I so agree with you…
I’m in the dentist right now.
I just got the latest “TIME” magazine,
with the Dalai Lama cover from
James Nachtwey…
I can’t believe he shot that story…
probably the most mediocre work I’ve seen ….
ever…. It looks so canon zoom, so not prime work,
so average so dissapointing…
Everybody loves James ,
but… this time,
I’m sorry… James, you didn’t work any magic…
good luck next time..
Ps: I think I’m very tough with my work lately..
I almost thought I had a disconnected index finger…
but after I checked on the latest JN’s work…
my work doesn’t look so bad after all..
mr. James Nachtwey you are lucky, I’m not the one editing your
work…
Dalai Lama deserves a better coverage than a canon LSD
with a 10-1000 mm plastic zoom..
cmon James, don’t get lazy and comfortable…
work it
It’s not online yet…I’ll have to check it out.
Panos, I would like to add that I am very impressed by the essays that Peter Turnley did for Harper. I found that the editing was much more refined. Did you have teh chance to look at his essays?
Arie
ALL:
you can see Jim’s entire essay at VII: under new stories
http://www.viiphoto.com/
you can also see at least 1 of the pics online at time: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1724385,00.html
it is a very interesting comparison: comparing the pic in TIME with the same pic on the VII…i prefer the tonality, shadow and nuance of the VII site pic, BY FAR…
this may have more to do with the pictorial represtantion of Jim’s pics in the TIME…
seeing our work in print (or even on a website) is often very disconcerting ;)))…believe me, and I aint no Nachtwey ;))))…(when i first saw my own pics here under the emerging photog, my heart broke ;)) )…
have a look at VII’s site…
hugs all
b
sorry Arie,
but my dentist doesn’t have the Harper..
I will check it though,
because I need some inspiration today,
need to see some good work…
I’ve seen a lot of “disconnected Index”
work lately…
sad but true..
oh well, I guess even James is a human too..
but I can’t help to observe that is really harder
to photograph “PEACE”, than “WAR”…
but then again… I might be wrong…
ps; I LOVE NACHTWEY’S PHOTOGRAPH WITH THE DALI LAMA STANDING, IN PRAYER, IN FRONT OF THE PEOPLE WITH THE GHOST-LIGHT REFRACTION ON THE RIGHT :)))…serendipity, indeed! :))
;))
b
very interesting discussion on influences coming from sources other than photography. I’ve been an illustrator and a painter for more than 15 years now and I can only confirm that we all learn and find inspiration from so many sources, a song, a photograph, a film, a novel, an essay or whatever. So if photographers look at painters it’s also true the other way around, at least for me. On the other hand I know photographers who only talk about and get interested in photography, illustrators who only look at the illustration world and barely could quote a photographer’s name, musicians who only care about music.
As William Allard quoted a painter, Edward Hopper, I’d like to tell how I came across this “blog” (dont like the word either..), through another painter. Sometime ago I was reading an old NG’s article about the Wyeths (a family of american artists for three generations), with beautiful (b&w!) photographs by David Alan Harvey.
I wanted to learn more about the photographer… and found your blog, David. I’ve been a silent reader for a while….until now.
Anyway, I think Andrew Wyeth is not a lesser artist compared to Hopper and I’m sure his depiction of the American landscape influenced at least one or two photographers.
So David, I’d very much like to hear how you remember that experience, expecially about your relationship with Andy Wyeth, I guess great artists can be a little peculiar sometimes. I love his opening portrait behind the mosquito net. Was it a portrait or you were just lucky and found him there?
I’ve enjoyed your discussions very much. keep it up!
greetings from italy
guido
Here’s the entire Nachtwey gallery online at Time:
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1723964,00.html
I originally thought you were talking about a new issue that’s not online yet.
pics at VII are much richer, subtle with more melancholic tonality: a cool example in the how important light and what light alters/conveys means, emotionally and iconographically in an image…almost like 2 different photogs ;))
ok, off for the night…
b
for moderator of DAH blog. (Michael?)
This dividing of comments for parts is not a good idea.
I have to click four times to see new comment. Why?
This is my opinion. Please don’t change something what working good…
GUIDO…
the black & white essay i did on Andrew Wyeth and his family was one of the most memorable of my career…and i will bet that you are the only one here who remembers it or knows about it!!!
Andrew Wyeth is totally underrated….i found him to be one of the most interesting people i ever met…well, is whole family is just , well, mysterious and magnificent…Andy’s wife Betsy is the “businessperson” in the family and this allows Andy to be Andy….a little boy all grown up…a child who never left home…never had to….his paintings are mostly of things that he can walk to , including his work from Maine where he spends his summers…
Andrew is a “game player”, a “prankster”, as is the whole family…i do not have enough time here to tell you all the pranks he played on me…once he realized i was a “game player” too, i was IN….because of my willingness to play, i think i have the only picture ever of Andy with his mysterious Helga…and then only one frame!!!
in my whole 6 or 8 weeks trying to photograph Andy, i only shot about 20 rolls of film…..he made me work for each and every picture…the one in the window, the lead shot in the magazine, he “gave” me….i did not pose the picture, but i am sure he did….he loves drama….he knew what he was doing and he knew i would jump on that “pose”..again, only 2 or 3 shots and he was gone!!!
this was the only black & white story i ever shot for Natgeo….i want to do more….
cheers, david
Hey David!!!
Im currently in Guatemala but heading to Europe in a couple of days…
Hope that you enjoy Brasil… send some pics…
muito obrigado :)
Beatrix
MARCIN….
nobody changed anything…i do not know why it is like this…driving me crazy too!!!
we will fix it…believe me, it is not US…it is THEM!!!!!
david
MARCIN….AND ALL
we just found out that Typepad, my blog service, suddenly decided to not allow more than 50 comments per page…this kills us!!! this is a new thing they just came up with today…and i can see no advantage….they also are offering some new custom designs, so we are going to look into all of our options to see what can be done….progress??? hmmmm, not for me!!!
cheers, david
david,
thanks a lot for taking time to write and remember. I wouldn’t suggest it but I had some feelings that assignment became a special experience for you. Yes, Andrew Wyeth is certainly underrated by the “art world” but despite these people he certainly has his place in art history.
Have you had further contacts with Wyeth since? he must be 90 or more…
I forgot to tell you that, after I arrived to your website and Magnum’s, I found out most of your photos were not new to me.
My parents were subscribers to NG for most of the 80′s and i had probably memorized a lot of beautiful pictures…
enjoy brasil!
guido
PS I agree with marcin. Only one page and, if possible, the most recent comments first.
GUIDO….
we tried the most recent comments first…as it turned out everybody hated it….everybody got confused and wanted to go back to the “old way”…
my comments above to Marcin should explain the situation we are in now…we will try to fix it if possible…i would rather scroll than click and scroll some more..bad idea…i think most people would agree….
cheers, david
the only “problem” I see is that this community is growing more and more…we’ll have to click six or seven times to the last messages.
The only solution is that you, david, write something new every day or so… :))
DAVID! :))))
THE FIRST BOOK I WAS EVER GIVEN ABOUT AN ARTIST WAS A BOOK OF WYETH’S PAINTINGS….AND WHEN I WAS A CHILD, MY parents took me to the Brandywine museum every month…..and i met him as well…and, when i was in university, and was asked, which painters mean the most to you, i told my painting instructor: schiele, van gogh, vermeer, matisse, rothko, diebenkorn and wyeth…my fellow student nearly laughed me out of the studio (that was in ’84)….i couldnt agree more: I FUCKING LOVE HIS WORK….and i love his thinking…and his son Jaime aint 1/2 bad eithe r;)))))…
were can i see your portraits/pics of him??
b
PS. IF YOU EVER WANT TO HEAR ABOUT THE DEPTH OF LOVE AND DEPTH OF COMMITMENT, LISTEN TO WYETH TALK ABOUT HIS FRIEND CHRISTINA (WHO HAD POLIO AND ABOUT WHOM HIS PAINTING CHRISTINA’S WORLD IS ABOUT):
they would sit on the porch of his maine house and just sit there and listen to the sky and drink upon the spent sea…without the need to talk, endlessly…
right now im looking for the doc i saw on him in which he spoke about her…
heartbreaking, funny and ripe…
b
BOB….
my portraits of Wyeth were in an issue of Natgeo in 1991…they are not in my Magnum archive, but should be…my neglect…i do not know how you can see them, unless you get a copy of that issue…some of the Natgeo “best of” anthologies feature the lead portrait of Andy..
i also spent lots of time with his son Jamie, and his now deceased sisters, Carolyn and Henriette…all talented painters..my best images were actually of the tormented Carolyn and the thoughtful Henriette…
see if you can find that issue…i think you would very much enjoy….
cheers, david
Andrew Wyeth is one of my all-time favorites. I saw a beautiful retrospective in Kansas City once, and one summer while driving around the NE, made the pilgrimage to the Olson House. It was almost spooky to walk through the house and surrounding land — so familiar, while I’d never been remotely close before.
Thanks for sharing the backstory on the shoot with the family.
Joan
david: :)))
im looking for them now…found 2 at magnum:
http://www.magnumphotos.com/Archive/C.aspx?VP=Mod_ViewBoxInsertion.ViewBoxInsertion_VPage&R=2S5RYD14WL01&RP=Mod_ViewBox.ViewBoxThumb_VPage&CT=Story&SP=Story
will look for the others…
typepad now thinks im a spammer, so i keep getting blocked ;))
b
all…
i guess the vast majority of people reading/writing in this forum doesn’t know Nelson d’Aires (he was here, a couple hours before). he was the winner of the 2007 Visão photojournalism awards – category news stories, and you can see the work that earned him that prize at http://premiofotojornalismo.visao.pt/2007-premiados/02reportagem/ or go check is webpage to find more about him.
for an update on the Visão awards i must mention the prize money for this year edition – first prize for photo of the year € 15.000; hard news (stories and singles), daily life, news, portrait, sports, entertainment, nature (stories and singles) € 2.500 for each one of eight categories.
and don’t forget to see the best photos from previous years and watch the videos with members of the jury at http://premiofotojornalismo.visao.pt
Michael Kircher (“Jesus…what an education that was!”), bobblack (“FABULOUS videos indeed! :))..”) and cathy scholl (“Wonderful information.”) have already done that.
funny thing, (i think) people at Visão don’t even know that i’m doing this…
david…
i’m working now to make this happen… it’s my turn to give back to you and this wonderful community… let’s bring the Emerging Photographers Fund to Portugal… maybe a “franchising”… and a longer workshop… now it’s time to talk (everybody will be together this week)… what do you need to come back?
um forte abraço para todos,
Carlos Filipe
Carlos :))
great thing you are doing :)))…
I know Nelson from Lightstalkers :))…he’s a fabulous photorapher….big ups for his award…
cheers
b
test comment, to see if this gets blocked…
fav. images
http://lunamareterra.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/andrew-wyeth-day-dream.jpg
http://www.tfaoi.com/cm/2cm/2cm47.jpg
http://pavans.net/Musee/Wyeth_wind_from_the_sea.jpg
http://mylois.net/zboard/data/grims/Pentecost.jpg
http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/6588/wyethsbarracoonee7.jpg
Carlos,
Beautiful pictures and very valuable videos and recommendations!!
Thanks for sharing with all of us,
Obrigado,
Beatrix
before going to bed, another update to Visão awards, with a new video – “Conheça o júri de 2008” (introducing 2008 jury) at http://premiofotojornalismo.visao.pt/ano/video/.
skip the first three minutes (a formal introduction in portuguese), cause you all know them – Jean-François Leroy, Yuri Kozyrev, Noël Quidu, Susan Smith and Philip Blenkinsop – and listen to what they have to say concerning the subject “what makes a good photojournalist?”
um forte abraço para todos,
Carlos Filipe
david,
i missed william… looks like there were some good conversations on this though.
jumping on your highlight conversation here… i do find that with digital it seems to be more of a problem. i am not by any means more tech savvy than anyone else on here but i find i miss shooting slide film because highlights were not such a problem before as they are now.
i mean i do try to compensate by exposing for the highlights itself but working in limited lighting situations can effect the overall outcome when you are only exposed for the brightest spot… and loose all the detail in the image.
well i am sure in the next 15 min another camera will be released where highlights will no longer exist.
I really enjoyed below Philip B’s definition of what is a GREAT
PHOTOJOURNALIST…
( listen to his ideas about a digital camera and a couple
business cards..)… and all the retards out there acting like Big-shots…
He does keep it real… Thanks again BOBB for
introducing Philip to me..)
http://premiofotojornalismo.visao.pt/2008/03/31/conheca-o-juri-do-premio-fotojornalismo/
Michael K wrote: “SF Jason…where the hell have you been? Have I just missed your comments or are you playing the lurker these days? What’s up?”
.
Yep, Ive been lurking, instead of goofing off. The lurking started when I failed to submit a photo essay.
Still doing the DAH shuffle though. :-)
[small camera+ beverage+ dancing shoes= bliss]
-jason
by the way ,
thanks again CARLOS FILIPE
for all the above knowledge…
peace
drinking wine … local winery wine.. “STRANGE FRUIT”…
check it, below…
http://pop.youtube.com/watch?v=h4ZyuULy9zs&feature=related
http://pop.youtube.com/watch?v=IUtPODn7cCc&feature=related
I think we all came to the realization that the youtube video on Blinkensop was not the best introduction to the guy, and had me erring a bit too far, though it was worth seeing for the moment of humanity from the nepalese sergent.
Nachtwey’s Dalai lama is defintely nothing new as coverage of him (the Dalai L) goes. Funnily, he comes out very much mandarin-looking, filling official functions, plus a bit of private practice. Maybe there was a reason to portray him exactly as one would a chinese leader. Serious, invested, statemanlike, since Beijing won’t respect nothing short of that. Just an idea….
gee, I wouldn’t hold it against Nachtwey, though. Like it’s better or worse. Given the type of photographer he is, there was certainly a part assignment to it, which he was glad all the same to be trusted with(as far as his own sensibilities, all along his alley), while not exactly being able to give it the same amount of time and depth as other projects.
my question still remains Herve…!
IS IT EASIER TO PHOTOGRAPH “PEACE” or “WAR”…?
http://pop.youtube.com/watch?v=bWtUzdI5hlE&feature=related
this is shot in SAO PAOLO…
from my friend NICK CAVE…
http://pop.youtube.com/watch?v=lOiUPl5GjTE&feature=related
peace
SAO PAULO , BRAZIL… sorry
http://pop.youtube.com/watch?v=KvlS4BwTUQw&feature=related
Panos;
You just reminded me of a quote from Don McCullin:
“I agree. In fact I feel as if the last twenty years of my life had been a total waste. People will not change. But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t fight to create a better climate, possibly by making statements about other subjects than death and misery. I didn’t want to be a war photographer in the first place, I wanted to show landscapes and peace, which is what I am doing now – and which I find much harder than photographing war. It doesn’t take much eyesight to photograph someone dying in front of you”.
I think he’s being very hard on himself. He is a photographer with a huge social conscience & surely must have found it difficult to be in some of the situations he put himself in. His autobiography “Unreasonable Behaviour” is pretty chilling…