in my last post, i implied that perhaps not all was right with the world….yesterday afternoon at this exact time i was filled with apprehension as we drove across the mountain range that separates Oaxaca city from Puerto Escondido on the Pacific coast of Mexico…twists and turns in the steep mountain road presented at least three near death misses, probably the "normal" stats for a 6 hour drive on this particular road….
my fear however was not the winding Mexican road nor the seemingly out of control cars narrowly missing our van head on nor the fast failing brake system on our Chevy van ….but i was scared to death that Barack Obama would not win…of course i knew he was ahead in all of the polls, but i could not let myself get too excited nor project victory in my own mind…i was prepared for disappointment….i had cast my vote before leaving New York, but i was so so afraid that some who were enthusiastic about Obama would just not go to the polls….
our Oaxaca workshop crew, taking vacation to the beach, and having survived the trip; Anton Kusters, Marie Arago, Mike Courvoisier, Maya Joseph-Goteiner, and Michael Young , could not believe the text messages coming to us within an hour of our arrival in Puerto Escondido….Obama was THE MAN!!! next President of the United States…we rushed around trying to find a television and saw Obama's acceptance speech and immediately ordered a round of celebratory tequilas…
Barack Obama cannot "save the world", and if any President must face a "twisting mountain road" it is Obama….but, at least some amount of pride must be shared by most Americans and hopefully by our international friends who have been so disappointed by many American foreign policy decisions in recent years…i have not felt proud of my country's leadership for some time now , and we have a lot to do to restore at least some confidence in America, but i feel so so proud today that my countryman have chosen Barack Obama….
what does any of this have to do with our photography??? maybe nothing, maybe someting…strong leadership inspires people to go to work…to fix things….sacrifice perhaps…possibly put a "brick in the wall" ….some of you will use your work to promote "understanding" , to show wrongdoing or injustice, or to send any kind of message of hope…we cannot "save the world" any more than can Barack Obama…
but, aren't things at least a little better than they were yesterday at this same time????
erica–
how much time did you have to shoot this piece?
did you work with the writer at all?
which photos were included in the magazine?
did you have a say in this?
i feel perhaps that there is too much repetition in your edit.
(4 in bedroom, 4 w/phone, 4 w/car, etc.)
my favorite is the one where she’s kissing the cat with the baby on the floor in his chair. that’s a classic and could tell a strong story all on its own.
eric–
i’m so so sorry to hear your news.
k.
ALL
it’s an interesting topic (to me anyway..)- the difference between shooting a photo essay (long form, something you are invested in over time), and shooting a piece to illustrate an article / ie something you get hired and go in to cover in a day.
The interesting part/question for me is what effect being visually savvy and having familiarity with the long term project way of working has on reception of the short assignment that needs to be told in story form..
sorry..reception meaning the way the visually savvy viewer takes in the piece
Katia,
I met with the writer that day and she was with me during the shoot, which was one day..I gave the magazine a wide edit, and they chose what to run..I could have made a smaller edit than I did, but at the time I was content to give them a range of choices.
LEE/ ALL the gallery is public now..that’s the difference
ERIC.
What a shame…tragic.
Gang violence (which I assume this was) needs to become a thing of the past.
I have high HOPES that the new role model of President Barack Obama can make a difference for the future of these kids.
Eric,
The unplanned directions our work often takes never ceases to amaze me.
Yours is very sad indeed.
What is next for you?
Doug
VENICE BEACH ,
ONCE AGAIN
ONCE AGAIN
ONCE AGAIN
the NEW link, here :
http://web.me.com/innerspacecowpanos/%22VENICE_BEACH%22/ONCE_AGAIN,__VENICE_chaos….html
peace…
ERIC.. i am also heartbroken at the tragic loss of young James.. a piece of his life has touched me/us through your fine images.. i have some small understanding, some small concept with a larger sense of who he was because of your photography. i did not know James of course but his story and his spirit have entered my realm in large part because of Eric the photographer. an image that was used to commemorate James’ life amongst his closest loved ones has reached my reality and made an impression… i am again heightened here by the reach and importance of photography, and in this case especially saddened by the message.
again,
BUT HIGHER REZ
HIGHER REZ
HIGHER REZ
http://gallery.me.com/innerspacecowpanos#100425&view=mosaic&sel=0
peace
ALL – sorry i have been MIA for a little while. life has been crazy for me. i was in CA visiting my parents, then jury duty, and LOOK3 is keeping me quite busy already.
ERIC – I am sorry to hear about james – a wonderful tribute though.
Those in the DC area – DC Foto Week this weekend… should be interesting….
Eric
I don’t know what to say. Its good you’re making the pictures you’re making. Keep going.
ERIC
Ever since I read your news about James, he has been on my mind. Him, his father and mother, any sisters and brothers he might have, his friends and neighbors, fellow boxers and coaches, and you. There are no words. How can I bring words to such a tragedy? No, there are no words. Just sadness for a life cut way way too short, for a vibrant, beautiful, strong young man who was determined to beat the odds, to make it out of a neighborhood where just surviving was something.
I put myself in your place and I feel incredible pain and regret. I know you wanted to be there when he was mourned and buried. But I know you WERE there. You were carried by James’ friends when they carried a poster of the photo you took of him and his beloved boxing buddies. Before James was killed he knew he was valued and respected, not just by his family, friends and boxing community, but by this white man who had spent time with him in his home away from home, the gym, and had taken photos of him doing what he loved best, boxing. You gave his life meaning it wouldn’t have had without you. And he will live on because of your photos. I thank you for that.
with love & gratitude for what you gave to James,
Patricia
KELLY, ERICA, CATHY, DOUG, LANCE, GINA, NEIL, PATRICIA…
Thanks to all of you for your words and for having been touched by James’ tragic loss… Yesterday was very moving for me and I have kept thinking about James all day today… As usual, your words Patricia sum it all better than my own words…I was very touched by all your responses…
Eric
Eric, that is a very sad story. I’m very sorry to hear about James. It shows how you are a good photographer and a good human when affected in this way by someone who you were photographing.
Doug, thank you for watching my multimedia project and commenting, I appreciate it.
ERIC
Just want to join to other comments about James, and the fact that your work has now another meaning i think. Good luck and congratulations for all you’ve already done, this event shows how good you are.
KATIA
I love your work!!!!
love
David and All
Big hello from thailand and cambodia border. Amazing country. One of the best I’ve seen. And like always I have not enough films!!! I could make ten films per day here!
big hugs
ERIC….
i was just catching up on comments here and i am just overwhelmed with your news about young James…there is just no way to reconcile this kind of tragedy…in the ‘hood somebody says the wrong thing to the wrong person, somebody gets jealous, or who knows what…and the easy purchase of guns does not help…this kind of senseless “assassination” goes on everyday and we read about it everyday, but it becomes all too real when we start “exploring” with our work….
i trust you will do something in your book in memory of James…your book will be something the family can hang on to..i promise you it will mean a lot….James was a man i never met except in your photographs and now i cannot get his picture out of my head…please express to James’ family all of our deep heartfelt sadness and that a whole bunch of us out here only “knew” James through you and that we will remember James’ short life forever…
please e-mail me a picture of James, some details, and a quote from you ….i will post it with a short story, so the family will know that we care….it is the least we can do….
hugs, david
Pattaya, Tuesday 11th:
The whole country is preparing for one of the most celebrated festivals of the year, Loy Kratong.
Just arrived in Pattaya yesterday, I have a little condo there, and first “thai” reality check, I found out I have a 700$ water bill, due to some leak. So I have been a little worked up about it, but yes, Ok, it’s only money (meaning it’s money, too much money!!!), just the news today, and also Marcin should be here Sunday, after visiting Angkor in Cambodia.
I haven’t had the time to check all that’s been written here, will try at some point this week, just you’re family so i keep in touch with my little Asian journal.
OK, I followed DAH’s steps into the Bangkok night (see his January 2007 entry I think, I bet that was Soi Cowboy you shot yours too, David)), just a stroll really, and that’s my pix today:
http://www.pbase.com/image/105765107
ERIC,
Very sorry to hear about James. Stuff like that just make me loose hope on the world at times. For the last couple of days I’ve been reading Gomorrah by Roberto Saviano and I only have a couple of pages left. I heard about James while reading the book and it’s just the same story, but different parts of the world. It’s a book I can recommend to anyone. Good people get drawn in bad things because they’re not strong enough or have to pay simply because they are good and on the right side of the justice..
Cheers
DAVID,
Thanks for your words of sympathy for James and his family that I will share back with all at the gym. Thanks also for the offer to post a short story… I am sure it will mean a lot to the family and the friends of James… I will send you a photograph and some details when I get home tonight. Regarding the book, doing it in memory of James has become an evidence. If I ever needed to get my act together, complete the work and create something that I can pass on to his family, after what happened, doing this book is sadly taking a new meaning…
Eric
PATRICIA…
i have to finish up this month work on Mike Young’s “Blues , Booze and BBQ” book to be published by Powerhouse…by January i would like to start with the layout and presentation to publishers with your book…if we start soonest, we should be able to have a book ready for spring of 2010..this means you would have to have all of your photography done by this coming summer 2009… there should never be a “rush to publish”, but i think by then, with a little push and incentive, you can do it…what do you think???
cheers, david
DAVID
Of course my photography for “Falling Into Place” can be completed by summer 2009. I’m assuming the text would need to be ready then as well. No problem. In fact that means I’ll have photos from all four seasons which is what I’d hoped.
When you have time could you look at my most recent new photos? There are now 28 of them. The URL is
http://www.pbase.com/windchimewalker/for_review13
PASSWORD patricia
I really appreciate your continued commitment to this project, David. I’ve never lost interest in it myself. Mary Ellen Mark is also supporting this work, in fact she gave my name and email address to an organizer of the Hearst 8×10 Biennial Photography Competition and I’ve been invited to submit my work.
My life has become more and more of an adventure with each passing day!
hugs
Patricia
DAVID
welcome home. i just sent you an email so when you have a moment…
PATRICIA…
sorry, i forgot to mention that i had seen your newest images the other day…superlative work, but i do think you still need a better workout photograph…i do not know why, but for some reason all of those workout pictures you have so far just do not have the poetry of your best work from other situations..i know this is such an important part of your life, and a source of great pride and no small task either, but we just do not have it yet in a picture that comes up to the level of your best…i do not think it is about you or your “seeing”, it is just the “coldness” of the gym…all of your best work is symbolic or sublime…the gym just has a different atmosphere…almost too “clinical”…in your life, the gym keeps you going….you just have to figure out some way to make it work…or not?? sometimes an important “story point” just does not a picture make…i am not saying the gym is necessarily such a situation, but it surely is a tough one…but, do not worry….you have 6 months to figure it out!!!
abrazos, david
ALL – I’ve just finished a new Multi Media piece on the aftermath of the second world war in Darwin.
Here
http://www.theage.com.au/interactive/2008/national/battle-for-australia/index.html
MARC….
i wrote you back…
cheers, david
DAVID,
For some reasons, I cannot find anymore your e-mail to send you the photo… If you have a moment, please send it to me at eespinosa@cinci.rr.com or on the blog whichever is the easiest…
Cheers,
Eric
DAVID
gracias…right back at ya…
DAVID
Well, I may have to give up the gym as a subject but I’ll keep my eyes open and maybe a new angle will appear.
David, can you possibly give me your new choices by image # so I can add them to my edit? It helps if I can see what I have so I’ll know where to go from here.
Thanks for ALL your time & attention.
Patricia
DAVID
Sorry. Forgot to include the URL for my new work:
http://www.pbase.com/windchimewalker/for_review13
PASSWORD patricia
Hi All~~
Better late than never…
~*~*~ HALLOWEEN EROTIC BALL, Portland Oregon 2008~*~*~
***Mildly X~Rated***
http://www.hillaryatiyeh.com/portfolio.cfm?nK=6615&nS=37&nL=1
~Hillary
PATRICIA….
actually i liked ALL your new work (you are becoming quite the good editor) EXCEPT the gym photo and the picture of you taking a picture of the woman and her art work….there could be a place at the back of the book for several pictures of you working, but this one also seems a bit out of context with your main essay….
HILLARY….
i thought you told me that you and your husband lived a quiet life in the country…????….hmmmmm, i never get invited to Halloween parties like that!!!!
cheers, david
David,
I have been busy recentl and back in a shooting groove esecially on HSH which is now back as my main focus again. The seris had ballooned up to nearl 80 phoso so in the past couple of days I took a hatchet and a scalpel to it and edited down back into the 50s. I told you before that my goal is to end up with no more than a 40-50 shot edit for this year of shooting and I think thats going to be possible. I may go down below 40 with another decisive edit but I would love it if you took a look at where it stands now. I have started to integrate some of the still life shots I had in another set into HSH. The newest edit has a lot of the new photos I shot over the past couple of months.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jinju/sets/72157603911888316/
Hi Again~
~*~*~TRICK OR TREAT~*~*~
***Totally G Rated***
http://www.hillaryatiyeh.com/portfolio.cfm?nK=6616&nS=37&i=72815
~Hillary
Ed Kashi on the effect of oil on the population and environment of the Niger Delta
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/11/10/what.matters.niger/index.html
RAFAL…
Home Sweet Home remains strong and is one of the essays i would most value for our online magazine and for a book on its own….if i were you, i would not even be too worried about editing down much more at this point…you have it tight enough to start doing a layout and a layout changes the way you may look at the pictures..juxtaposition will become very important in this essay…
why don’t you start playing with a layout?? or , maybe you already have….if you were to do a Blurb book or something similar, we would have something to show publishers…i think the time is right….i cannot remember if you have the text or not…i think you do..if not, please do this as well…
the only thing i am wondering about is the title…i am not sure HSH is it…this is your call of course, but just think about it…something a bit more provocative or mysterious could elevate your whole essay…remember, the title does not have to “explain”….anyway, try playing with this just to see what you come up with…
again Rafal, you have flown a million miles from when i first saw your work…you have taken your work seriously, studied the context of your essay, and “lived it”…
the next part of the process to realize your book etc. will not be as much “fun” as the first part….or at least , it will be a different kind of pleasure….you will have to divorce yourself from any emotional attachment to the work in exactly the opposite way that it took to get the photographs in the first place…for one thing, you will have “moved on” with your contemporary photography…just see this process as exactly that..process…do not be tempted to “jump” to something new right when your attention should be on HSH…
my hat is off to you amigo…great work!!!
cheers, david
Eric,
So sorry to learn of James’ brutal death. I’m sure you know your photos will have great meaning to his family.
Joan
ALL:
I’ve been offline for a few weeks trying to get some things in order. The Digital Railroad closing didn’t help, but at last I finally found some time between some assignments to get back out there on the street.
If you’d like to see some recent work, I’d love your feedback on some pure street photography. I just started it, but I think I’ll keep it as another long term project.
Go to my link, then click on “SPAIN: Barcelona Corridors”.
http://www.charliemahoney.net
best,
Charlie
jean–
i’m very happy to hear that you like my work!
thank you for saying so.. :)
katia
charlie–
#11 – LOVE it!
k.
ALL
am a bit swamped for time right now editing editing editing, but i just wanted to say thank you to all those that looked at my images from david’s workshop in oaxaca and commented… i am grateful that you have taken the time to do so… it has been a tough 9 days, but it was worth it, and i learned so so much…
hope to be producing more and more and better and better images soon… and sharing them here as well…
ERIC
i posted in the other thread… but i’m burning a candle for james now…
thanks all
and peace all
anton
DAVID & ALL
I’ve now added my favorite new images to the latest edit of my “Falling Into Place” self portrait series. Although nothing is set in stone I now have 48 images in total (out of the 1000+ that I’ve taken!).
Today is the five month anniversary of my taking my first photo for this project. In some ways it feels like I’ve been working on it my entire life–which, in a manner of speaking, I have–and in other ways it feels like I just began.
But I know one thing for sure–I would never have been where I am today had it not been for David’s ongoing commitment to the project and the suggestions, support and critiques of each one of you. Thanks to ALL!
Your feedback is ALWAYS welcome…
http://www.pbase.com/windchimewalker/daily_life
love
Patricia
David,
Ive been kicking around a few ideas for new titles recently, Im still not decided at all but I have some feeling. Id be happy to field some suggstions though from others. I want to find a title which has a meaning, perhaps a double meaning. Im partial to “Rooted” since through this project I have been able to find roots for my photography, as well as the mosr obvious meaning of putting down family roots of my own after being on my own in a strange land.
David,
Its winter now and I want to shoot through winter and then maybe in spring do a Blurb book and do as you suggested. Like Patricia, I would like to shoot through all 4 seasons plus the winter will have the look and feel I want to give this, which is a more harsh look especially with some outdoors photographs. Ofcourse whenever you want to publish it in your magazine Id be ready for a photo essay. I have a bit of a layout in mind, more some juxtapositions but I think it will need time to really think it out.
RAFAL
Your latest edit is superb! I especially like your inclusion of outside shots as well as the more intimate inside ones. Your new additions are wonderful. Sorry that I can’t offer you a critique. The fact is I just love this project. Can’t wait to have it in my hands as a book.
Regarding the title, I’m not sure that “Rooted” makes it for me. To be honest, I prefer “Home Sweet Home.” But it’s your book, so that will be your decision.
Bravo to you, your wife and son!
Patricia
Patricia,
Home Sweet Home is sort of the first idea I had, a gut feeling and it also sort of shaped the way I shot the project. I do like it but Im open to changing it. Rooted is simply one idea I have come up with so far.
RAFAL….
keep thinking…Patricia is right…”Rooted” is not it…”Roots” was the great title using the same Latin root (no pun intended)…
HSH is just too too too, well you know..
so, i would imagine your best title is soon to come….it will just hit you….
cheers, david
ALL
hi … I just wanted to say that I really miss all of you. Been on the road most of the time and … I like to keep offline. Just as I like to “forget” to take my mobile whenever I leave.
I am very curious to sit down to have a look at what is happening here. Last time I left for less time – there was a major turnover here. So I wonder where we stand now.
But I am rushing. Still on the move. For real now, too, as I am moving out of this app and into another – both have to be renovated (old & new app). I will spare you the details. But days are long and without internet.
Looking forward to catch up here, listen to everyone’s new adventures and see all the new wonderful photos! Please take care and until sooooon!
DAVID
have you gotten some of my postcards yet? I think 4 so far. Hope I got your right address.
The project is getting a separate website
http://www.astrangerswish.com
My christmas present for myself. :)
Cheers and hugs,
Lassal
RAFAL,
I also told you this before but very much enjoy your work. I smiled when reading David asking you about a title…He has asked me back in Perpignan the same question for my work and it was a struggle for a while….but eventually, something comes up :):):):).
Now, I am not an english native and by all means, this may be a horrible suggestion of a title but the one I have been thinking about when seeing your work was “AWAKENING”… Reason it makes sense to me is that I can see in your photographs the awakening of love between you, your wife, your little son who is literally also awakening to the world around him…Final point, there may also be awakening for yourself and your photography… David talks about you having really discovered yourself as a photographer with this project….so anyway, just a thought!!!! Feel free to crap all over it if you or others do not like it :):):).
Cheers,
Eric
Eric,
thanks for the suggestion and the comment.
I was thinking of something like “Little Pieces of Us” since the photos are mostly small, random moments from my family life.
rafal–
when i see your lovely work on your family
i think one of these two titles might work…
gut songs
or
sanctuary
i think they need no elaboration. :)
kiss yr wife and bambino for me..
katia