I have been thinking about why I want to do this apartment shoot. It is about the reaction to strangers and also the ability and quickness(hopefully) at which a stranger will let down their guard. I dont want people to pose for me, although I am sure I will take those shots to get to the real ones I want. I suspect that if allowed into their space that I will spend a long time with the subject.
No I dont want the slamming doors shots…

I am thinking that a shot of the apartment building, either from the outside or a space within…to give the rest context…

Also, I have little problem approaching strangers and for the most part I dont get an abundance of rejections, so the apartment scenerio takes it to the next level..

In the end,,,I want shots of strangers behaving comfortable in their homes revealing something about them.
Nancy

this is Dimitri, I was in your workshop last October, hope you still remember me! I am lame for not being also a regular on this blog, but as you know I masochistically am a full-time graduate student (for the time being!), so unfortunately photography usually has to take second place in my schedule, even though it’s first in my heart!

Anyway, even though I will just be echoing about 500 other people, I also wanted to say that your generosity with this blog and your mentorship is OUT OF THIS WORLD!

I just logged in after many days so I just now found out about your great idea with the monthly assignments. I can only hope that eventually you may give me an assignment too. As it happens, I completed a self-imposed project just a couple of weeks ago, on Easter religious processions in Greece. I would love to get your feedback on it if possible, so you can see whether there has been any development in my work since October.

BUT: is there any way that you can look at portfolios if someone does not yet have a website??? I will be eagerly waiting for your reply!!

Thanks so much,

Dimitri

Cathy, thanks for the good words. Hey, what about skate culture in New Mexico?

Thanks for the thumbs-up David, I know we had talked about this earlier and you had some reservations, that it needed a little bit more of an angle. But as always your input got me thinking and now the concept is getting more focused.

I was out for a long cycle this afternoon and the light was beautiful (should have been shooting) and I passed some of the old souvenir shops and motels on the beach road, their garish red and green colors positively glowing against a cloudy horizon…and I had this idea of shooting some of the area’s local surf celebs in Kodachrome, standing in front of these old buildings, wearing 80′s short shorts and standing next to vintage boards. Some of those guys have the classic “bushy-bushy blonde hairdo” so it could look pretty authentically “retro”…

Then, another era, some of the more buzz-cut guys (not so many of them around here these days, but maybe I can convince one or two of them to buzz their locks for “art”) standing out in front of a classic Nag’s head weathered cedar cottage. That, probably in black-and-white…

I’ve started to get a few people on board, a local videographer friend of mine who is really tight with a lot of the pro crew here is “amped” to get me in with them and get me “in the water”…I know most of the guys, at least enough for a “what’s up”, but it will be good to have someone who knows them well to get me in a little tighter.

Anyway, I’m gonna get started on it and pretty much spend the summer doing it. It’s just as well because I have no money this year to travel…

hey dude, just as you have no picture of me sleeping in the corner, i have no picture of you coming in the door to retrieve your cameras left behind from the night before!!! let’s call it even!!

well, you know i must like the patina and mood you have described for the “Surf Life”….nostalgic, romantic…yesterday and today….ok, do this….if you don’t, i will!!!

do not worry about what you can do in one month…just give us a taste…two or three pictures would be fine…really give us the mood and the sense of it all…you are in the heart of it, you are part of it…make this work….lucky you!!

CARLOS MARTINEZ….

i have never been to Venezuela and am not so familiar with the cult of Maria Lionza, but i think that is the project Cristina Garcia Rodero has been doing…and assume this cult is something similar to Candomble and Santeria…do you know Cristina’s Venezuala work?? of course, that does not mean you should not do it as well….the other ideas are not really ideas but things you enjoy shooting…there is a difference…please tell me more about the Maria Lionza cult and is it something you could shoot now??? i was thinking the primary rituals were sporadic or maybe even only once per year in their most dramatic manifestation….but you tell me…

cheers, david

thank you for your comments and your report from Paris….you are certainly welcomed to visit me when you are in New York…please call me 202 413-1137…..i look forward to meeting you….

cheers, david

Chris, I was hoping to be the first photographer ever (HAHA) to shoot surf culture “street” style… It’s something I started last year but since I won’t be back at the (West) coast till mid-October it will be great to see what you come up with and learn from your experiences.

Let me know if you want anyone to look at your images, help edit.

I originally set out to be a surf photographer…several guys I knew from high school (in Florida) are the top surf magazine shooters. Went right to the North Shore after high school…still a surfer girl at heart…

Here’s a thought…and interesting coincidence to post this just after the post from Preston who is shooting Indian culture outside of India…When I first read the comment from Chris I thought “too bad I can’t shoot surf culture…I’m in New Mexico” but then I decided it could be very interesting to shoot surf culture AWAY from the ocean…Native Americans at a pow wow wearing North Shore t-shirts…that type of thing…

I’m going to keep my eyes open and have this as a ‘back burner” project but it could take a long time to come up with material. I don’t imagine it will be easy to find…

BOB,

Thanks for volunteering me! :)) Yes, I’m wanting to be ready but unless I commit to the “construction of my house” project which I am completely consumed with for the next month any assignment I do will have to be later in the summer.

ALL..

Here’s a shot that got away….(no camera…yes, I’m an IDIOT) Use your imagination on this..

1-right side of image:.Guy INSIDE house laying a floor on his hands and knees facing left
2-vertical:wall of house
3-left side of image: guy on his hands and knees OUTSIDE house laying brick…facing right…the two guys are nose to nose with the wall between them.

MARCIN,
Yes, courage is what it takes! Thank you for reminding me. Glad to see you did not forget this.

Here are 21 pictures:

http://archive.prestonmerchant.com/my/glbs.aspx?msid=0&lid=16441795&e=0&p=0

For your assignment, I would continue photographing in and around New York as part of IndiaWorld. Will that work for you, or do we need to make it more specific?

Thanks,

Preston

well, im happy and relieved…but, exhausted…sent like 10 emails to folks all over LA doing calls for me…

im happy u r ok….sad it happened like this,

by the way, the “BOB” you talked to last night wasnt me, but one of your venice people, let’s make that clear…

ok, tired, tired…

happy u r ok ….and i think u owe david, anna, erica some fine photographs, or your friends do…

running
b

i don’t know if you had the opportunity to see my previous post… ?

can you tell me some feed back?

abrazos,

as it is more recent work, I feel closer to it and would be more excited to have it seen, and I have some audio too i recorded.. but of course your call..

http://www.ericamcdonaldphoto.com
then New York, then 40 Days

thanks for looking..I’d be happy to swap out the older 8-10 for the new.

i have no problem seeing work mixed b&w with color…like everything else, it depends on how you do it…i would like to see modern Istanbul women in something other than a club…i think this is all you have so far….or am i wrong??

please tell me of something you could do either this month or next that would be an addition to your current work…we can eventually put it all together….

ERICA…

the Look3 presentation is to show the work of the group of photographers we have here….there are even a few so called “lurkers” who have presented me with work…i just want to identify the forum….i think we have many pictures to show of yours, but let me see it all if you want…the nature of a group slide show usually means it looks best with no more than 8- 10 pictures per photog…

cheers, david

I plan to get back to Africa in the Fall (Oct/Nov/Dec), which is when I propose doing this “assignment.” In the meantime, I plan to continue seeking funding. However, if you’re absolutely encouraging us to perform before summer’s end, I will beg, borrow and steal in order to get over there sooner.

The pictures I’ve made thus far were made in just a few days in two locations: 1) in a boarding school dorm; and 2) with a “family” of kids living in the original epicenter of the AIDS pandemic. I would love to spend more time in both locations, as I wasn’t there long enough to do either justice. What I’ve experienced so far is simply the tip of the iceberg. I would like to go into different dorm rooms, different ages, guys, girls… I would also like to shadow the rural family of kids for a bit, thereby contrasting those who receive assistance with those who don’t.

Another thing I’m considering — though I’m not yet certain how I would connect them — is to incorporate the link between chimps and AIDS. In the coming days, I plan to contact an HIV/AIDS researcher who is engaged in environmental work to demonstrate the relationship between these two issues. (perhaps this is better left to writing?? not sure.)

I am thankful for your consideration + look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Anna

seems as if the slideshow at LOOK is broadening a bit..do you think it would make sense to include some of my newer work (if there is space/or instead of some of he other) from 40 days, the lent piece against the black background? just a thought..

welcome back!!! to have a good “from the bus” story in black & white would be very nice…can you do this within the next few weeks??? i would even like to have in sooner for my presentation for Emerging Photogs at the Look3 photo festival…pls. let me know when you can begin….

cheers, david

my apologies, yes, i did miss your comment!!! when i was shooting down in Mississippi, i got behind in the comments…i thought i caught up, but i must have missed a whole page….anyway, all is good because you do not want to shoot until july …perfect…i will have you down on the next assignment list…so so pleased this will work out for you…pls. stay in touch…

LISA….

yes, i do see what you mean…hmmmm, both stories have potential problems…needles vs. masks…..well, honestly you do not sound particularly enthusiastic about either…i mean “you cannot like it a lot, you gotta love it!!” lots of folks looking at what you will do here….like a workshop on steroids…i mean thousands….better be sure before you step out..know what i mean???