the slide show for At Home workshop 2008 should be up now (under Movies
..my home page) and loads in about 15 secs on my computer..we had it
down for awhile trying to get out the flicker, but it is such a big
file , i am not sure we can do better..but still trying..
anyway, i do hope you enjoy the show…these students did the impossible to get this work done in just a few days…
most of you know, but not everyone, that this is all ORIGINAL WORK shot last week..could the final show be better?? of course… but this show is being produced right up until a half hour before show time…so, it is RAW, but reflects the sensitivity, timing, aesthetic and dedication of these emerging photographers..
some may not understand the workshop "ritual", so i will give you a little "brief"..
the whole point of this workshop is to allow emerging photographers a chance to totally develop artistically and realistically….i push each student in her/his personal direction based on THEM , not me…..or maybe "stretch" is better than "push"..in any case, i study
the portfolios even before they are accepted into the class….class
limit 12…as soon as possible, i spend an hour with each student
one on one to get "into their head" and figure out what they really
want to "say"….as you will see most are quite conceptual while still bearing witness…
my daily critiques of the previous day’s shooting often leave
blood and tears on the floor…while this is definitely a philosophy
class perhaps more than a photography class, we do have REAL PRODUCTION in
mind…we knew at the beginning of last week we would be following the
shows of Gene Richards and Bruce Gilden and with a live audience of New York photo world…
do you think there is any pressure??
but, i find that by throwing people in water over their heads, they swim like hell….
do the photographers have to be strong.. affirmative.. do they have to be tough??
absolutely… do they have to be more sensitive and open up their
hearts more than they have ever done in their lives?? necessarily…
i put just as much effort into the teaching of these workshops and into the final production as anything i do …period….my class knows i am asking them to work no harder than i am working myself….
nobody actually shoots for all of the 6 shooting days
allowed…theoretically they can, but they stumble..re-think…start
over…mucho time is spent researching, re-working ideas, tapping the
subconscious, and reaching out into new visual territory by just
"letting go" of all that "binds" ..i show my work, sometimes contact sheets, to help the photographers think about approach etc etc..
besides the obvious gratitude to Gene and Bruce who headlined the final show, i had "hands on" guests throughout the week…i want to thank Alex and Rebecca Webb for jamming with us
one morning and showing us their new book on Cuba…many many thanks to Melissa
Harris who gave us a personal tour through the Koudelka show, Invasion Prague 68, currently at
Aperture Gallery, Melissa gathered the students around her on the floor of the gallery and told us of weeks of work to hang this
show….Melissa is the editor of Aperture Magazine and has been the editor of so many books…Song from Magnum advertising department told us about
the realities of shooting for ad agencies and selling stock..many
thanks Song…suffering a serious thug induced brain injury while a photographer for
the Sacramento Bee, and now a NY freelancer, John Trotter came by and
showed us his amazing new book on a treatment center for major head
trauma..he did it while being inside as a patient…silent room…gracias amigo..
my biggest thank you goes to Michael Courvoisier who
really ran this workshop and will run the upcoming one in Mexico…. Oaxaca:Day of the Dead (see story under "student work/workshops")…Mike stays calm in a storm…handles both students and me with equal aplomb…we lost Marie temporarily right before this workshop nor did we have an intern, so
Mike and i had to do everything ourselves…from inner working organizing to making coffee and
getting the morning bagels to mopping the floor…i love to mop…
intense week?? more than intense…. day and night and night and day we were shooting, editing, listening to
music , discussing directions to move and just flat out busting it… and when we weren’t doing that, we were seeing a
presentation from one of the above or showing my works.
party??? not until the last night my friends, not until the last
night..and by that time, all of the suffering over, and the room quiet
and the lights down and a buzz in the crowd from the Gilden/Richards
show comes, yes, my student show….so proud ..and can’t believe we
actually did it again "against all odds" from where we were even the
night before..
show over….credit slides…applause long and sweet….i introduce
each photographer to the crowd telling about their story..more
applause…warm tears this time…this time blood pumping warm and
flushing the faces…hugs, kisses, and ok one more hug….
now, finally, finally..time to PARTY DOWN……(and we did!!)
Hello David!
What you wrote about your loft workshop reminded me vividly my TPW workshop. That desperate feeling of what to do, what to shoot, what to show the next morning .. It worked !
Just to let you know, I am continuing my letter that I started there. It will be an exhebition and a book. I will be in Arles next year and try to get it out to the world. When I get it started I will post a link here somewhere. It is something different .. I definately got out of my box of just surviving as a pro-photographer to living as a photographer (maybe not so rich life financially, but so much better! A lot like your students’ work “or die trying” .. !)
Take care.
(btw, Lassal is visiting me next month and working on her book here in Finland!)
DB
That’s cool—you probably like Sound Tribe too—check this out from Rothbury—good indication of how CRAZY it was there:
All…
Gotta make one more plug for the world’s greatest living blues rock guitarist…Joe Bonamassa…who I saw last night in a tiny club here, 4th row…coming soon to a town near you. He’s just starting a world tour. See him and love him! He’s also a great singer. This is an intro video…much more available online if you like him.
I meant to add this as well…
http://www.jbonamassa.com/index.html
GINA. we had a great time in mexico and everywhere else we’ve met up…and look forward to seeing you in new york..as people are discovering you and talented and fun and tenacious.
CATHY: i won a free workshop in SF because they used one of my photos for catalog…so i chose David whom i did not know..i thought it would be interesting to be uncomfortable … and it was..i was three days late because i had pneumonia but for some reason i really wanted to go anyway..when i met him, he said. “what the f…are you doing here..we all started three days ago” I was determined to do a project in one day…it wasn’t good, but i’ve never felt so good about not being good. and so it goes. His challenge brought forth my fighting spirit and determination to show myself, not him…well, him too. In Mexico, i wanted to leave to go to D.C. to a friend’s show, and David told me i was leaving because i was scared ..of myself.
and he was right…i stayed, found an amazing flamenco dancer i photographed and that was the catalyst for my book.
david mc..
yes yes…
cinematic orchestra and their soundtrack for ‘the man with the movie camera’..
get past the long intro.. when the drums roll.. then b r e a k
phatphatphat..
loud, please..
anne..
no link :o/
GINA:
Thanks you so much for taking the time to look and give me feedback….I do get what you’re saying…and am going to work on…being there, instead of a picture of being there….I have so so much to learn..and to practice…
I added one image and took a couple out based on feedback so far…click my name if you want to see.
David B:
thank you as well for looking and the critique, suggestions, and examples – great idea on the off-camera flash….although….I’m curious how I hold my camera in one hand, my flash in another, and still have a hand for the beer… ;)
DMc
Sorry for the mixup on David’s with the credit for the morning sound track…
All:
Seems some folks are wondering (as I did) what David’s favorite student’s work looks like…all I will say is: Google is your friend (I would suggest searching for, for instance…Anne Henning photographer ;)
Some wonderful images, Anne….would love to see the gallery…perhaps next time I’m in the area will look for it!
good light to all
Andrew
andrew – you missed out.. wait belt with film pouch.. pop the bottle / can / glass in there.. adjustable velcro partitions..
or…
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Lowepro-S-F-Water-Bottle-Bag-BRAND-NEW-UK-STOCK_W0QQitemZ230284260665QQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116
DAVID BOWEN
http://www.dancingintheafternoon.com
OK, DB, I missed the “pop the beer into a waist belt holder. problem solved.
:)
ANNE HENNING- yeah! i will see you at the Fiesta next friday!!! looking forward to giving you a big hug!
andrew b
oh yeah :o)
stalking..
ahh – thanks anne..
stalked my way to your other site first..
“Tenacious Gina”…
Loves It…
;-)
“ahh – thanks anne..
stalked my way to your other site first..”
Ahh, DB…always research all the available info…Dancing in the Afternoon showed up as the *second* link for me ;)
Gina..agree…
“have you found your Venice Beach?”
Andrew S…workshop title: “Find your Venice beach”
subtitled “survive and grow” ;)
DAH
you are most welcome..it’s a tribute to you that I can see this without having actually taken a workshop
ATTENTION
“VENICE BEACH” workshops
( located in the alley , right behind
Julia Dean’s Empire )…
Fees: FREE
Accomodations : sleep 10 feet from the pacific..
Learn…
How to: drink a beer ( any brand)
in less than 22 seconds..
How to: roll a jo in less than 15 seconds
Using ONE hand only..( no flash, no tripod),
How to shoot without looking at the subject..
How to find your camera in the morning,
In a complete strangers room…
Also learn how to track your stolen camera
or watch..
Learn how to recognize a real friend
from a Phony..
And most important:
Create, find and make your own
INSIDERS from scratch..;-)
What Julia Dean???
Now Panos Workshops.. For free..
Special Guest Stars…
David Bowie
David Bowen
Lisa H.
Anna B.
Bob
Andrew B & S..
Marcin
Cathy S…( here you can put any bloggers name..)
And many many many other stars..
Please call 1-800-ASSHOLE
for more info ..
oh I also forgot to mention that
the 1-800 number is also FREE,
but feel also FREE to call me COLLECT
In case you have any problems with law..
Our motto is:
“we will bail you out, if we have too..”
40 years of experience.. Serving
California since 1968…
MARCIN…
this could be a Cohen Brothers movie…
you, Herve, and me in Thailand….
hmmmmmm, my imagination can’t take it!!!
peace, david
so i’m sitting in my favorite creaky coffee shop here in austin, afternoon caffeine buzzing through my veins.. (makes me want the real thing) .. editing two weddings that are way over-due and difficult as hell… lively discussion over here about politics and foreign travel and grammar and tattoos .. all strangers and at once friends.. marvin gaye blessing us from above.. it reminds of the chatter and strangers and instant friends here ‘online’ love.. but this.. all across the globe.. and so so close.. ANDREW how was your Brazil trip? i agree, this post has reminded me of my workshop experience and STILL finding nuggets in my memory to draw from that i didn’t know were there.. BOB, the LS bullshit made me mad.. yes these workshops are expensive.. each has his/her own experience so how to put a price tag on that? for me i was in a real stand still at the time and it was the perfect boost i just wasn’t finding it from within.. so let the critics roll in that shit for a while and fuck ‘em.
peace and photography,
lance
ANNE…
How wonderful that the book has been “born.”
I remember you showing some of the images in Don Arturo’s workshop when the book was just a dream.
Congratulations!
ANNE…
i am a roses kind of guy….although they are a pain to work in the garden..yes, i had a rose garden once…next to the koi pond…
anyway,many many thanks for your gesture and your friendship….
i look forward to seeing you thursday..that will be a really cool jam with you…one of my students with her own new book…as good as it gets….
hugs, david
LANCE :)))
couldn’t agree more…sometimes i think though (good or bad) is to speak out…and since at first seemed like me against the nay-sayers…(someone told me that someone had sent them a pm saying that i was trying to “kiss ass” of gary…people are so idiotic and silly)…whatever ;))))…like i wrote at LS: aint no way to put a pricetag on the meaning of moments in someone’s life…but, i guess people are just cynical and thing others are too…that’s there loss, right amigo :))
hugs
b
DAVID BOWEN……ALL
i am not sure i understand that concept…but i am not a biz man either…i do know this, workshops cost a fortune to produce..looks simple but there is a lot behind it…imagine just the cost of flying five Magnum photographers to any location..renting the space…staff costs…etc etc.at Magnum we cannot afford to lose money to do a free workshop….but, we are working on it , particularly for developing countries where there are talented photographers who cannot possibly afford the current workshops…
and remember i do my personal bit…i saw two photographers in my loft today (Davin Ellicson and James Chance)..spent an hour or so with each really looking at their portfolio (big edit with James) and giving as good a career advice as i possibly can…this is pro bono work and 90% of my teaching is pro bono..knock on my door and you get a free workshop…everybody knows that!!!
cheers, david
CHARLEY..
what am i supposed to be looking at, Mex City or Immigrants..make my day…pls. put the link right here right now that you want me to review..sorry about that, but it would really help
cheers, david
ALL
I just wanted to quickly relay some details from a phone conversation I just had with David regarding the “process”.
I had called David to bounce an idea off him for a story that is somewhat a continuation from the work I did in his class. I had sent him my idea through email and after a couple of days of deliberation he confessed that he thought there might be something there but that he just couldn’t see how I would show it photographically.
He asked the following question:
“Which 5 photos are you going to take that are going to illustrate your idea?”
As I had given this some thought, I rattled off my 5 shots and referenced another photographer, one who we had viewed and discussed during our workshop.
After a pause…”yes, i can see that now”
Using a point of reference and thinking about elements that have strong visual potential is what brought it all together as an idea.
It was this part of the process that DAH and I thought were worth sharing.
DAH
this was from CHARLIE earlier..
DAVID
I think this posting was just before the page flipped to a new one, so you may have missed this. I’m posting it again here below.
If you are up for it and have the time, I have an edit up on digital railroad that I’m looking for feedback on.
I have placed 64 images up on this archive and I need to make some kind of sensible edit. The problem is that I’m really struggling. I’m tying to do diptychs, but I’m not convinced it works. I’d like to make a salvageable edit. Also, do you ever decide to go B&W, if you feel like you don’t have enough solid color images. I’ve always been color oriented, but with the exception of some images that have color, I think the story could potentially work in B&W. Any thoughts on this would be well appreciated. Oh, the story is on adolescent urban tribes in Mexico City: breakdancers, goths, punks and emos.
On DRR, I’ve found that the best way to communicate the images you like is by using the image number, not the order number. The image number can be found by placing the cursor over the image. The last 4 digits should suffice.
Oh and finally, don’t hold back based on some of prior mis-communication. Give me the Non-McCain Straight Talk Express please.
http://archive.charliemahoney.net/Production/PhotoGroupView.aspx?pbid=4&msa=
HMMMM
try this link instead
http://archive.charliemahoney.net/Production/PhotoGroupView.aspx?pbid=4&msa=1&pgid=19063044&ipp=128&sort=0
PANOS… i fly to CA often (San Francisco) – but after that description of a weekend with Panos – i may have to take a trip to Southern Ca!!!
Hi everyone;
I’d love to be able to watch the videos but I can’t get broadband where I live, only reeeeealy slow dial-up! One of the joys of living in the country…
Well I got out with the camera yesterday; I only had a few hours to spare, but the first proper outing for about the last couple of months. I decided after the Allard critique that I’d go out and clear the old mind, do my best, but not have any preconceived ideas. Just go out and have fun.
David, the block is now unblocked!! I think I was putting too much pressure on myself instead of lightening up a bit.
I visited the local cattle/sheep auctions (I’m a bit broke too travel too much further at the moment… next week should be ok though!!). Well I ended up with 3 portraits of one of the stockmen, a real character with a wonderfully expressive face.
It’s quite ironic; I was just thinking that about 2 years ago I wrote an article for Australian Photography magazine about how to stay motivated when you’re going through a “down” patch, (1000 words that basically said “Pick up your camera and go for a walk with it & it’ll flow!!) It’s amazing how hard it can be to listen to your own advice….
Did I do any great art yesterday? Not really. Would I have got those nice portraits if I’d been sitting at home beating myself up? No. Did I kick start my motivation? Hell yes!
I can’t wait to get back to Timor to push myself harder than ever, but I’ve also reignited the enthusiasm for an older project and “discovered” a new one (not the stock sales)….. I’ll let you know what they are once I’ve got some work to show. Don’t want to tempt fate now…
Cheers
CATHY…
we do have one very important influence in common…
Anne Henning…
cheers, david
panos
it would be unprofessional of me to tell the story i just told (and deleted B4 posting)..
lost cameras..
lost weekends..
gone bamboo on beans and potions.
i’ve a feeling the light refreshments on the LA course would cost more than a magnum workshop.
D A H
i’ve no idea how it would work and see where you are coming from now.
a program which was realistic for the majority world would be a difficult one..
a free course at one of the offices might just work out, although again – no idea how the majority world would make it there.. it’s a tough one..
the ‘magnum workshops 2009, supported by *******’.. (insert – the UN, nikon, canon)..?
if anyone can, magnum can.. although i acknowledge my naivety.
MARC…
It was definitely worth sharing. Thanks a lot.
If you or any of the others in your workshop would like to tell more about how you came to your workshop essays I’m sure many would be interested in that as well.
CHARLIE…..
ok, there is good news and there is bad news…
let’s get the bad out of the way…
you are doing a lot of “out of control” shooting in not so good light or flat out bad light..you can be loose and still in control, but you are just out of control without really having a handle on exactly how you want us to see these subjects..not much of a point of view really…you seem to not know quite what you want…be bold young man….just get to it…let us meet these kids for real….we see them of course…but you need to “get in” more…i can see the moment here sometimes , but it looks like you just missed it..just a split second off….timing, timing and instinct instinct…ANTICIPATION…..
a few comments on some but not all..you will get the idea…
i wanted to like the portraits because i love the cast of characters..but, you are just not quite there..not bad light, but not that one little extra edge of special light either….you should either go really casual or really formal and you are neither…again, these are not terrible portraits, but you should go the extra mile…
i think i took this whole shoot down to about 5 pictures….oh yes, the good news is that you do have a couple of very nice pictures….
i did not discuss all, but here are a few i chose to discuss…you will get the idea and can probably apply my critique to the others as well..
breakdancer..no rules on background, but this does not work..just looks “uncomfortable”, cluttered for no reason..
0511..kid ladder…almost..but no…. if you had the reaching right hand in the picture, it would work well….
9753…almost works..i like the composition, but shirtless guy looks like he is having his picture taken…
good weed smoking pictures..bring any back???
0572..kicking ball…again , very close..i like the shadow…but, this light is tough to shoot…i usually am having a cup of coffee or taking a siesta in this light…wait..things still happen later when the light is nice and warm or dusky and dark..
0290…ok portrait…great subject, but is really coulda shoulda woulda in the end…
0329 no , no , no…
0925 one of the best of these portraits…cold look good in a layout with other best…
0698, 0775 your backgrounds NOT working for you..pay attention…your brain should be zeroed in on everything at once..light, moment, background, juxtapositions….these are examples of me seeing you not in control..
9482 one of your best shots…nice….layered, good light, nice little moment and emotionally textured…
1197 nice picture….good moment…feels right..
you are not as “far off” as this review might have you thinking….yes, you have very few pictures…but, with just a little thinking about the light and being more decisive about where you really really want to put your most intense efforts, you can move forward quickly…the subject is good…you seem to have access and can hang….but you are tentative….not confident…not making sure that we know what you are trying to tell us..you need to say “THIS IS THE PICTURE…you have no choice but to love it..” then make us love it…
work harder Charlie, but surely have fun doing it…the secret to photography is that the closer you are to what you really want to do anyway, the better you will be…ironic but true…choose subjects that have meaning to you….make a statement either editorially or esoterically….write a treatise or write a poem…either will work…
i look forward to seeing your immigration story again some day as well…
cheers, david
DAVID:
uploading bones to you now….check your email please in 10 minutes…i am sending it via FTP
hugs
b
DAVID:
just in case there is any confusion about what lance and i are talking about…and what is my idea about the whole workshop thing, my take on the Cost of Workshops (i am 100% in support of you and workshops like this, even if your cost was 4x what it is)…i am in total support of you, gary and these workshops, run by magnum, non-magnum, arbus, ackerman, NM…or by Family black…
here is what i wrote about all that..
http://www.lightstalkers.org/philip-blenkinsop-and-gary-knight-workshops-asia
b
DAVID BOWEN, thanks :)) … no just Cyclades for two weeks, then back to the states and the miserable gray of the Northwest. I will have to leave there within the next few years … can’t stand the weather, bloody depressing, ask Sydney … it just sucks the life right out of you and everyone is so … mournful … or something. The contrast is just unbelievable as i sit here.
CATHY, thanks for that. Haven’t seen that movie but british classic movie “Shirley Valentine” was cute and filmed in the Cyclades.
yassus, tom
Who cant love u mr. tom Hyde…??????
Thank you… Yes.. Absorb the light ..
Greece.. Forget about us (US) here in
in this Forum..
Forget about rain and Seattle and this and
that and Northwest…
YOU ARE WHAT YOU THINK…
Take the sunshine with you and run!!!
LAST POST FOR THE NIGHT ….
BONES OF TIME:
DAVID:
I have now sent you Bones of Time (the pictures)….i havent’ slept in 2 days and i’ve been editing and putting in the copyright material/description for last 5 1/2 hrs…please check it to make sure you have it…76 photos….please have a nice nice long tug of your cornpipe before you look or drink…it needs the late night and exhaustion ….
Also, as I promised yesterday, if you want to do a critique on it on the blog, you have my permission. I know it will be hard for others to get any merit from a critique since they cannot see the pics yet, you can maybe give general impressions…generally i fucking hate it at this point, and only like 1 photograph…i almost edited the entire thing down to 5 pictures tonight and then though, it’s no good, no fucking good….so, a critique could be about both the pics and the overall narration…but, i left it wide, cause i dont see how the hell to make this a book with only 2 months of work…i just dont see anyone would be interested at all in 90% of those pics…im tired…and gotta go out for a walk…wife and son sleeping…i need a joint, wine, i have nothing but my own exhaustion…
dream upon them late, if you desire…
ALL:
BONES….
ok, i have sent david 76 photographs. i wanted to briefly share with your the editing process up to do, which i’ve done totally alone, but for questions from marina. she helped me alot tonight, although she thought i should send only 30 photos (see, she’s alot smarter and wiser than i am)…
76 photos.+ 1 essay (dont want to know how many words)
This whole thing began as an assignment for David (self-assigned, volunteered): to photograph my son with Bones, born of my visit to my father (who i hadn’t seen in 5 years) and the memories of my childhood, my close relationship with my father and my son…so, i agreed to shoot it, wanted to shoot it for dima, dad and david…i put a self-imposed restriction: would only shoot for 4 weeks + the 1 day of film from April in NC and the 1 roll from October that inspired the idea (pics of my wife and son after they returned from being in Russia for 4 months)…
Now…
When i developed the negatives, i had all totaled about 400 (more or less, a bit more) frames of b/w trix film…….from the 400 frames i edited down to 150….then i edited down to 120…and then to 105…and then yesterday and tonight i edited down to 76….I stopped at 76 because at that point, i thought it was all total shit…only 1 good photo…marina thought i should send david 30 (the best 30, forget the rest), which i would have done, but than the story would have been lost, it would have been only about pictures…i wanted to forget the whole thing…marina reminded me of my buddhist mantra “it’s only pictures”…forget them…
how do i feel…i have no fucking clue…i think i can cut this easily in 1/2 or more…i think there are maybe only 10 decent photos, but then the stupid story is gone….it’s about my son david, and my father and my memories as a child when my mom was hospitalized when she had a breakdown and my brothers and i lost her for 2 years and i became like the father or mother to my brothers, protector of them, protector of my dad as he raced constantly to nyc to save her, talk to therapist, tell the shrinks that now way would they institutionalize her (which they’d wanted to do after shock therapy was unsuccessful) and they almost committed her for life (my father saved her life), and how i spent so much time in the natural history museum remaining calm as a kid….thinking, one day i will be a paleontologist….all this came back when i was with my dad and when my son was attacked while i was in NC…and, well, the fucking rest of the story…who are we, where do we come from…can my son, who was not born of my bones, be more closer…he is my child and he made me the person i am….
and the one pic of the japanese girl looks like my mom….shit ..i dont know, whatever…
well, i produced an assignment and i feel heart-sick…i hate the photographs, i dont know if they’re worth fucking shit…i am tired…how can i make a real story in 2 months…well, i tried….
i feel i failed…but i wanted to give you something…
let it all be good…
i accept and swallow the failure…
im not crying y’all im just tellin’ you how i feel….no way that my pics can carry the story i wanted them to convey….pretentious me…
ok…well, they’re out of my hands…
done…
and to show these to people in ny, good god…
ok, and that’s it….
havent even had a drop to drink…at least i accomplished that, to cut away cut away….can do alot more…this wasn’t an essay, but a stupid attempt to make a story…
failure…
running
b
Thanks David! New York was in classic form today and meeting you outside Magnum in midtown and jumping in a cab in good light and sitting there in your apartment with that spectacular view was wonderful. You are a wonderful guy. Many, many thanks. I will come next week to the fiesta!
Best wishes,
Davin
you, Herve, and me in Thailand….
hmmmmmm, my imagination can’t take it!!!
——————-
TOTAL NONSENSE!!!!!!!!!! :-))))))
Sounds like DANGER, at the very least, for sure! Had no idea David, you may be there. I will take Thailand a thousand times to meet you, over Paris. Anyone of you actually…
I need to buy that ticket, raking in the monies towards the trip now, only blogging in the evening. I had no idea of this new thread (kept using my browzer to go to page 15 of “war photographer”).
Marcin (your last e-mail to me), Krabi vs Pattaya? Photography? Herve says:
FUCK Krabi! :-)))
OK, checking MOVIES now.
DAH,
will you be in BKK ?
Bob,
thanks for the introduction…meeting Sascha this weekend…
BROTHER BOB
Now I know why I couldn’t sleep. It was so I’d be up to read your post.
Bones of Time is not a collection of your very best photos; it is the story of you, your son and your father. I’m actually surprised that you got it down to 76 images. I’d expected more. Sounds to me like you were very selective.
I know I’m not objective about this project but nonetheless I have to say that I have LOVED every Bones teaser you’ve posted here. I know in MY bones that this is an exceptionally significant body of work. How could it be otherwise? Look at the depths of soul from which it came.
I am counting the moments before I’ll see and read it for myself. And now I’m going to dreamland. Hope to meet you there…
love & hugs
Patricia
BOB
I emailed you just before I read this, I said in the email- ‘I think this (body of work) is the book I have waited for how many years for?’
It must be at least three and a bit years now…
I just know this will be beautiful work, let David do his magic but don’t you dare lose faith or I will come over and beat the hell outta you!
Take your example from Anne Henning, I have wanted a book of your images, words, musings whatever you want to call them and I know shit loads of others that would as well, heaps bro, just heaps and it wouldn’t matter what you put in it, we all know your stuff takes us to another world, to a place that resonates in every human heart someway…
Fuck Bob, don’t you realise what a gift you are to us?
Now I wasn’t going to chime in here for a while for any reason, there are enough voices here to carry any conversation without mine, but jesus, I reckon you are closer to me than my actual brothers and I know how much you mean to a whole bunch of people here, so don’t you get down hearted, just go push it some more OK?
I will come and collect my signed copy of your book in person and thats a promise OK! So if you guys wanna see me back in the States then well its publication time for Bob Black, agreed?
NOW PANOS
I am worried about you (‘cos thats what I do best) and I for one would come and do a very expensive workshop with you, but you would have to agree that my story would be ‘PANOSCOPIA-Its Life DAH But Not As We Know It!’
Both you guys take care OK, I reckon you are just the finest fullas around, so be happy and there is always room to camp down here!
failure…
—————
No man who loves like you do is a failure, Bob….
And besides, What happened to non-thought?!?!? ;-)
Bob, you are a person whom I admire the work a lot, you cannot be objective on your own images, it is normal, we always doubt and it is what what we advanced… he(it) delays me seeing your images, and I am sure that I shall not be disappointed…
Erica, I am always impatient also to see your portraits, I hope that I did not miss your link…
The best to you all,
audrey
Ps: too, I made some “shit”, but I believe that the exhibitions seen in Paris and the work which I saw recently here did good to me…
SISTER PATRICIA :)))
thank you for the kind and wonderful love song of support. your note last night was the last thing i saw before i took a walk around my neighborhood to breathe (2:00 am?)…thanks so much for the love and support and belief you’ve shown in this, it has meant a great deal to me and as promised once i get back on my feet, will hold my promise to you. :))…I do not know what i was thinking…my stupid ideas tend to always outsize the reality of what is possible…but, since i’ve known all along that Bones was really about my childhood (mom’s illness, dad’s reaction) and my now relationship with my son, and how identity is made without the need for dna, i knew that i would need more time to grow the work…as it stands, i think there are (i’ve slept, and i’ve forgiven myself the photographs, and have let them go after a short meditation this morning) some gorgeous and some challenging images…i have no idea what david or anyone else will think…it sill feels like a failure to me, but as my tibetan hero wrote long ago, ..take and accept failure for yourself, give others victory and success :)))…to love all things and fill the world with whatever you have :)))
KATHERINE: :)))
great, let me know how that goes…im helping kloie at the moment :)))
SISTER LISA: :)))))
I received your beautiful email yesterday and YES I WILL LOOK AND HELP…i just needed recovery, since it’s been an intense 2 weeks (well, probalby 6) with Bones and espcially the last 2 days…i just couldnt see others work (although yesterday i spent 2 hrs with Mike Berube looking and discussing and talking about his book of photos…god, so much easier to talk about someone elses work ;)))…i will write you today…and i believe, deeply in Beautiful Music….but now, im just exhausted and bereft of words :))))
HERVE: :))
funny, i’ve been thinking about u last 2 days, because i’ve been reading Nick Tosches “Last Opium Den”…3 times i read it in last 2 days (to help me with this edit)…i first read the story in Vanity Fair before i met Marina, and i knew i would need to read it again this week…anyway, the writing as you might know is brilliant as is the story (although too short, at only 75 pages)…this morning, after meditation, i’m with you: “no thought” about the photos…they just are :)))…now, go get that little book :))
AUDREY :))
merci beaucoup for your kindness and richness….i hope i dont disappoint either anyone…and lots of the work will be maybe difficult to like…
but like a parent who loves their child unconditionally, i love Bones because, while i pretty much feel that i failed in trying to do what i had set out, these photographs remind me of who I am, and who I am is that I am a father to a child I love profoundly and a son to parents who i admire and love profoundly, especially for the difficulty in their lives that they transcended…shit, what else can we do ? ;)))…
they are only photographs…
hugs all
now, i’ve taken up enough of the blogs time…
running (that would be a running-slow meditation)
hugs
b
ALL:
an one last thought/explanation:
my feelings last night (2:00 am.) and my feelings today about failure are real, but that’s not to pre-empty David’s critique or to diminish his thoughts or reaction…i can take all said and hope that the work is a credit to the inspiration i’ve felt from himm and all of you…
but what i meant was that i feel i failed as a photographer, or rather, that in the pain of living with this work, it just breaks down…it failed because i had expected too much from it..and that means i failed, the pictures are just what they are…
but i believe in them because well, what else can i do…they are me…
thanks hugs and metta all around
b
BOB
Take courage brother :-) you can’t say you worked for nothing. Bones is a very personnal project, you worked hard for it, IT’S NOT A FAILURE.
AUDREY
I hope the festival was good for you.
ALL
I added a few pictures of tightrope walkers on my website, if you have time…
PATRICIA
i saw David’s last edit of your work, and liked it very much. I understand when people there say that David enhance one’s vision. It seems to me that David’s choice tells your life better than your first editing; just a personnal thought.
Did you see it???
http://jnss.x10hosting.com/dah.html
then go to “Dancers #2″ ???
Peace to all ;-)
Jean,
si tu veux, on peut se voir la semaine prochaine sur Narbonne?