i am not a fisherman….if you want to catch a fish, do not go fishing with me… i bring almost as much bad luck to fishing as i do to computers…i did catch a pretty good sized bass once with my grandfather, but that is about it….but, never mind, i do love the thought of fishing….and i live in a place where if the talk is not about surfing, it is about fishing…and i end up staying pretty silent on both…down here on the Outer Banks, my trade is just not in the conversational mix…in New York of course, photographers have some clout, but here, well, if i wanted to talk photography, i would have to take a picture of the locals with a big fish, or riding a big wave…
i do however gravitate towards the 7 fishing piers here, and most often the Avalon Pier….if this pier did not exist, then it would have to be invented…a classic structure from the 50′s which has survived many a storm and not survived many a storm…but, this old pier just keeps getting re-built and is a cultural haven if fishing, pool playing, fuzbol competition and people watching are your game…the latter is my sport of choice…someday i suspect this primo waterfront property will end up covered with time-share condos or whatever, but in the meantime i can go have a beer and watch the waves roll in between rounds of 8-ball…
the beauty of Avalon for me is that it is a total diversion for whatever i am supposed to be seriously doing…i suspect all of you have your Avalon…an escape from the must do activities of your day….a place where nobody really knows what you do, nor cares, and you are only judged by whether they like you or not…well, in the case of Avalon, if you have a big jacked-up pickup truck, that helps, but i just have to go on eye contact and a decent game of pool….
now, i basically have not worn shoes for weeks….but the summer of my content is almost over…..and the timing of the sun working its way towards the south each day pretty much matches my mood to get back to New York…funny, but when i tell the guys down here that i spend lots of time in New York, they really give me a look of sympathy…..and having spent weeks here this summer i am starting to see what they mean…
it is a good thing i had so much leisure time this summer…because now i go full bore into a very busy fall….i receive so many private emails from readers here asking for my schedule, so here is the official dah program…
first order of business will be your Burn gallery shows in New York and Washington (contact for you: Michael Courvoisier)…simultaneously i have my fall workshop schedule starting in San Francisco where i do a short weekend shooting seminar – starting September 25th – with the Momenta folks organizing(see Workshops)……
then comes my annual loft seminar “At Home” in the now historic “kibbutz” where about half the readers here have been at one time or another, and the other half are on their way…we will also do your Burn gallery show right around that time … incidentally, i have our first Burn intern, Vivek Manik, who has come all the way from Calcutta, to give us a hand with the show….Vivek will be a work/study student in the loft class….from now on i will always choose someone from the readership here on Burn to be an intern either in New York or with me on assignment…
after the New York Burn show, i roll back down here to the Outer Banks for my first gathering of photographers at my beach home who want to publish books or work on an essay …we will do hand-made books and discuss and prepare layouts for mainstream books as well….others may just want to shoot instead of make a book…their choice…my darkroom will be set-up…the pigment printer at the ready etc….my Outer Banks beach cottage will become for sure my #1 workshop location, but for very small selective classes…
at the end of October, i roll down to Oaxaca, Mexico for the colorful Day of the Dead class (see work from students last year on workshop link) …. and finally, capping off my month of mentoring, i will join my friends Ira Block and Kris LeBoutillier, both NatGeo photogs, in Bangkok and Phnom Penh in early November…
so anyone wanting to join me with my obviously eclectic lifestyle has a few choices……afterwords i plan to disappear into a magazine assignment….shhhh, secret…. and work only on my book project which is a bit behind…well, i am always a bit behind on book projects……anyway, lots going on…
all this world travel and setting up of exhibit space for your work is hard work , but fun work…but, without Mike, Michelle, and Marie, i just could not make it…Mike Courvoisier makes my collectors prints, will manage the Burn shows, and runs the New York loft workshop … Michelle Smith and Marie Arago run the OBX beach and Mexico workshops respectively …Michelle has produced ad shoots for me which is the test of all production tests…Marie worked for me every day in NYC before she moved to the warmer climes of Miami…. now, all of this has to do with balance….my main mantra…balance…making hard work fun and making fun hard work….or, actually , just getting the most out of life…
ok, enough said…. it is about time to head for Avalon…the wind now is starting to clock around from the northeast…that means good fishing, poor surfing, and winter is coming…
do all of you have your Avalon??? i do recommend creating an Avalon if you do not have one…to catch a fish?? maybe…but, that is not the point…the act of fishing is more important than catching fish…or, at least that is what i tell myself when i am fishing with my camera and it just is not happening…
-david alan harvey
one of my old camera bags goes to the first person who can name the movie that featured this house….
David B; congratulations, one year has certainly flown past! It only seems like yesterday that you were celebrating your little fella’s birth!
DavidB
Thanks for the source. I’d never have guessed it was Walker Evans. But then the words you quoted originally in the end are quite different from his aren’t they. :-)
I like quotes but I never remember them.
nae – lassel – our bananas go brown all too quickly :o)
tor – thor.. he doesn’t care..
i got him a 1961 exhibition catalog from a german exhibition of capa’s.. he doesn’t even care about that.
he did get a car and a wooden hammer from friends though.. he cares about them.
(QUOTE) “I view photography quotes as a water-logged road map. They’re not going to show you how to get where you want to go, but if you look hard enough, they might point you in the right direction.” (ENDQUOTE)
(brian frank – burn mag, October 6, 2009 at 5:01 pm)
The problem with quotes is finding the exact wording of them. They usually get misquoted so often. I’ve been trying to find the exact wording for a Francis of Assisi quote; I love it because it’s all about letting your actions speak louder than words.
It goes something like this: “Spread the gospel. If necessary use words” or “Spread the gospel. Use words if necessary”
But as hard as I try I can’t find a reliable source; very frustrating…. Maybe Civi will know? The “brains trust” of Burn :-)
Tor’s hammer… That is quite fitting.
I got a little silver pendant for a chain … Trouble is, it looks like an upside down cross with devilish stuff added to it. I constantly get into trouble when I wear it. Guess that is why I like it so very much :-)
Quotes?
Try http://www.photoquotes.com/
I do not know about the sources … But I sometimes enjoy walking around that site like in a garden.
Bye for now … for real … :-)
ERICA…
we will start about 9….we are so worried about crowd control…
ROSSY,
You got me…
it’s my little ego …it follows me every minute…:):(
“Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.”
St. Francis of Assisi (Founder of the Franciscan order, 1181-1226)
LASSAL…for real …I got to go too before the Universe will punish me for good :)))
LOVE
blimey..
http://images.google.com.au/images?hl=en&num=100&newwindow=1&q=warrick+cappa&lr=lang_en|lang_lv&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=Pb3LSoaQIYvo6gO0k82JAw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1
Happy b’day to Tor Capa!!!!!! Do you think his eyes are blue enough and big enough????? What a doll!
hugs
Patricia
http://www.njwoodturners.com/Gallery/Daina%20Krumins/Daina%20Krumins.htm
thanks pat – photos better late than never, an all that..
sleeep.
d
PATRICIA
GREAT! I re-read my comments and was doubly embarrassed because they all sound like Flickr feedback but taken altogether they do reflect the photos that compelled me. The one that keeps coming to my mind, probably the one that stuck to me the most was the little Af. American kid that i told you was like two different portraits. That one wasn´t flashy but instead possessed the the most subtle complexity..in the way that the human face inspires me most…for its ambiguity, its unpredictability. What´s he thinking exactly? He is a wonderful example that children should not be underestimated because they possess depth, original thoughts, unique reactions and talents. Now obviously i am reading all this into a photo of a kid who might just be thinking, ¨If i do this for her will she let me go back to my video game?¨ But that you somehow captured this kid while the light and his own spirit played little hide and seek games with each other in the mirror, well that was YOUR magic.
Good luck to you, Pat..and once again, i say, work your obviously charismatic personality with your subjects. They all look willing to give you the shirt off their back. One question though..something i am thinking about..do you ever wonder what it would be like to get some other kind of reaction? hmm..something less measured, less posed..like at the moment your lens catches sight of them in the mirror you ask something REALLY provocative that makes them react spontaneously..maybe too dangerous for you..just saying..like what would happen if you, off the cuff, asked them a question guaranteed to provoke confusion, sadness, frustration, laughter, annoyance, worry…some sort of emotion other than just their bland acquiescence while accomodating you in your project. Okkkkkk…well, that´s just something i was wondering..no need to answer here because it´s pretty personal stuff..just something i was ´speculating about.
CIVILIAN
Tea from the mountains of Greece sounds pretty incredible because i can picture drinking it while wrapped in a nubby afghan, hunched over your kitchen table, the steam rising to my face and melting the cold into kingdom come. Sounds great, really..yes, that and Patricia´s killer-cold-recipe. I scanned too late last night and woke up with my right eye puffed up like a bee sting..whoaaa..now i know where the cold is located..in my right eye socket. But i´m not too bad off..just a little like Reimar, with funky face syndrome.
ok..scramming back to work..And Patricia, you can blame Civilian for all the text i addressed to you..he said i am never guilty of piffle. heh!
Best to you both
Kathleen
ALL…
i will have Martin Parr go “live” with this audience i think sometime tomorrow….he will stay “on” with you for a couple of hours…please do NOT start asking questions until i post the appropriate story….just an advance warning…stay tuned
cheers, david
DAH
Martin Parr?????????
ohmygodohmygodohmygod
i feel like the Beatles are coming to Shea Stadium.
*screams and faints*
kathleen
Holy freakin’ crap! Can’t wait to hear what he says.
Bobby socks and screaming girls. That ought to scare him off! ;)
JIM…
funny…
BRIAN…
Martin wants to shoot an essay for Burn…no joke….anyway, he will answer your questions for a couple of hours tomorrow….i will post a short story on him and then he will go “live”
Jim
bobby socks? saddle shoes too, i suppose? eech…
DAH
Martin wants to shoot an essay for Burn?
too cool for school
………k/
KATHLEEN…
my plan is to rock your bobby socks…
…..any chance of a approximate time so we on different time zones can be around. Not that I really have a decent question
DAH
you did that a long time ago, David Alan Harvey..but with Martin Parr on board, you might just rock my world ;);)
k/
Imants
Indecent questions might appeal to his sense of humor which we know to be pretty sophisticated, not unlike yerself.
k/
Imants
sophisticated, i mean..i wouldn’t know about your sense of humor..
gosh, i better go do something productive..
bye all
looking forward to tomorrow., VERY!
I could always ask him why a 11 year olds I was teaching digital that saw his work reckon it is crap and he doesn’t know how to take a proper pitcha. But then that’s not an indecent question
Then again I could ask whether he is considering becoming a pseudonym like Laura Lee Hope and syndicte himself
“syndicate” and the previous ” a bunch”
CALL FOR ENTRIES
Slideluck Potshow XIV will be held at the Aperture Gallery in NYC on Friday, November 13. It will be co-curated by Aperture book publisher Lesley Martin and Casey Kelbaugh, founder of slideluck potshows. The theme is INSIDE OUT and the submission deadline is Monday, October 26. Guidelines can be found at
http://network.slideluckpotshow.com/group/slpsnyc
Let’s have Burnians well represented!
You must buy $10 tickets to attend the potluck at 7pm and the slideshow at 9pm. You can do so by going to this URL
https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_flow&SESSION=qVfpmBssSJF6hw7-YSMZtdcdm7WSs-A_YQW_gGtehjRGdkGWcqFh7GBKLY4&dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1fca8cb0621aa94a5f79f0a43673e1ec7bc7ccc4f7f65b31ba
Patricia
KATHLEEN
What an interesting idea re: my Blue Mirror Project. I’m not sure I could pull it off but it certainly gives me something to think about. Thanks!
Patricia
IMANTS…
i just do not know…i am guessing sometime in the mid-afternoon GMT
Kathleen/Patricia
“bland acquiescence”
Anything but bland Kat.
Patricia, I love the expressions of your subjects in your blue mirror project. They are genuine. I can see the comfort and easy complience in your subjects faces. Sometimes I see people lost in their own thoughts. I see the pleasure of people connecting with strangers, knowing smiles, acknowledgment of common humanity, shared pleasure in a moment and an experience. Such richness. Your compositonal skills and wonderful eye enhance the moments.
Patricia, one of the gifts of your age, your gender, and your condition, is that it makes you completely non-threatening to your subjects. A thirty-something athletic looking male would get a completely different reaction. I love what you are doing.
Kat. I can understand where you are coming from. Avedon for instance could be very manipulative and asked his subjects questions like “what would you do if you knew you only had a few days to live”. His famous photo of the Duke and Dutchess of Windsor featuring the Nazi-loving ex-king, shows the couple looking very distressed. Avedon pointed out in a documentary that the Duke loved his dogs more than he loved Jews, and, to elicit the expression, told them a false story about running over a dog on his way to the session.
I think one of the beautiful things about the blue mirror project is that is an honest record of a lot of different peoples reaction to a strange request by an older woman in a wheelchair. The scenario you suggest would certainly be interesting, even fascinating, but certainly a whole different ball of wax.
Unless it is a candid shot, any portrait is a picture of a person reacting to a photographer.
GORDON; “They are genuine. I can see the comfort and easy complience in your subjects faces”
You’re right; you can see the trust and acceptance in all of Patricia’s blue mirror images. One thing I’ve discovered shooting young people is how quickly they realise and appreciate that you are interested in their lives. I’m sure people can spot a photographer who is “acting” a mile away…
I originally thought that being a boring, balding middle-aged male might have been a hindrance when photographing “kids”. However it’s the opposite; they’re genuinely interested in the fact that I’m genuinely interested in their lives!! :-)
Every image shows that Patricia isn’t acting, she is genuinely interested in each and every one of her subjects.
CIVI: Thanks for the correct quote..
Gordon, Patricia
Patricia, this response is directed at Gordon’s comment so forgive me if i talk about you in 3rd person..but you ARE included..i just had to talk to you or about you..sorry!
Yes, i understand. Bland was the wrong word absolutely..more like comfortable. And that is because Patricia is wonderful with them. And they love her! Maybe i’m just jealous, hahaha ;)) You’re right, Gordon that if she began manipulating the moments the look would change completely. But is a range of emotions a bad thing? It depends on where Patricia wants to take the project and how far she wants to take it. It’s something to think about and then discard if she wants to.
I wouldn’t say that Patricia is non-threatening because she’s a certain age, gender, etc. I think it’s got more to do with her open and magnanimous personality and that’s reinforced by the fact that she’s clearly not a sexual predator or a stalker. However, a young 30 year old guy would have an easier time engaging certain kinds of strangers. I know this from shooting the street. It’s not a given that people will be so agreeable with an older female. Sometimes people react to an older woman trying to take a picture of them like she’s batty. There ARE preconceptions directed at both sexes and every age. So, to get people to relax and trust a photographer there has to be more and that’s where Patricia’s personality comes into play.
Personally, if i was doing the project and felt that i was completely neutral to people, i would have a problem with that. It would challenge me to upset that apple cart somehow. But that’s because i’m contrary…and batty ;)
I love Patricia’s project too, which is why i have such an interest in it. it’s extremely interesting to see her engage all these different types of people with the same blue mirror..the same light, the same clean look. Her subjects are as different as night and day, from one to the other. But there’s a sameness in their expressions that i am wondering about. I found myself asking for a little disturbance, something to crease those expressions looking out at me through the oval of that mirror. Which is where the photo of the little boy comes in..he had two looks, somehow..a trick of the angle of the mirror..but it was a very compelling photograph to me for that reason, and that got me thinking and that got me writing and here we are :))
Ok, Patricia, back to Burn’s regularly scheduled programming..just don’t pay any attention to my ramblings..and Gordon, thanks for your alternative viewpoint..it’s only made me even MORE interested in Pat’s project.
Ok..back to work here..
best to both
Kathleen
Ross,
i was writing as you posted. Your observation that some of your subjects are relaxed with you BECAUSE you are male supports my experience as well. Quite often i wish i was a guy conforming to people’s ideas of what a serious photographer looks like..other times i’m thrilled i;m not a guy..mostly i wish i was the invisible man!
But again, i am not sure how great it is that Patricia relaxes everyone to the point that they look like they’d all jump off a cliff if she asked them to. I don’t know!! This is a thought-provoking conversation for sure! On te one hand i want to see people without their masks, but are Patricia’s people wearing masks? No, i think they’re wearing their reaction to Patricia. But is that ALWAYS good? I’m not so sure. mmmm..food for thought..
kathleen
Imants
“I could always ask him why a 11 year olds I was teaching digital that saw his work reckon it is crap and he doesn’t know how to take a proper pitcha. But then that’s not an indecent question”
Ok, now i know that you have a sense of humor. Pitcha this..i think it’s a great question..i’d love to hear how he’d answer it. It made ME laugh!
k/
*clicks scan, taps her fingers on the desk, knocks self upside the head, taps some more, yawns, wishes Civi was around to share his Irish wine or whatever it he’s he’s drinking right now..checks out her scan..thinks not bad, should shoot more of these old supermarkets..yawns again..hums ‘you got to change your evil ways, baaaaaaby’, mumbles something about decent photos and indecent questions or decent questions and indecent photos..hits send, turns off the scanner..the ‘puter, the ipod, remembers when Gracie used to come around this time of night, misses her poetry A LOT..sighs, whispers goodnight to sleeping Burnians..falls out of chair onto the floor and goes to sleep right there*
Katie;
I think it probably works both ways; there are some situations where a woman would fit in better and vice versa. But overall I think it comes down to your sincerity and whether people can see it.
Actually the camera often gives me a reason to go into situations where I wouldn’t have usually gone (because of shyness etc). It’s a passport to new experiences.
“a guy conforming to people’s ideas of what a serious photographer looks like”
That’s not me I’m afraid! What has helped me break the ice with people was (ironically) the job I couldn’t wait to leave! When I was in the supermarket I became accustomed to talking “small talk” to customers, most of whom I didn’t know. It has made it easier to go up to complete strangers and start talking to them.
You also can’t beat the icebreaking quality of a smile!!
……..ah a good smack in the head from the photographed does wonders for a pesky person with a camera, a bullet not so rewarding
“ah a good smack in the head from the photographed does wonders for a pesky person with a camera”
I don’t doubt that at all! :-))
“ah a good smack in the head from the photographed does wonders for a pesky person with a camera”
I don’t doubt that at all! :-))
Avedon has a lot to teach portrait photographers. The link to photoquotes that Lassal posted is worth checking out. But you have to study his photographs to know what it all means.
the portraits i have done have not been on a self initiated project, like pat, but as bread n butter jobs to supliment my other work.
in this case, manipulating people in portraits could be with words, (“smile for grandma” .. “grandma is dead” .. blah..) or physical direction.. lower yer chin.. shake yer head.. shout..
i’ve mostly photographed musicians who have been heavily photographed already, so it’s easier to get to the point of playing about.. saying “grandmas dead” to the public might not work out so well.
what i found is that when a portrait shoot lasts longer than 20 mins, (an hour is ideal), a certain amount of play inevitably comes into the scene.. the more photographed the subject, the more extreme the provocation or direction can be to get something unique – if that’s what you’re after.
you bang out 20 or 30 snaps to relax the subject.. see whats possible if it’s an environmental portrait, cover the clients brief.. cover any concepts or ideas you had before the shoot (knowing the subject).. and then play.
the more shoots you do, the more a formula develops and the more snaps you take in any given situation the more possible opportunities come about.
my favorite portraits are the result of spontaneous moments arising during a planned, or pre-visualized, situation.
for example – before taking this snap of danny rampling we’d spent the evening before drinking and eating.. going to his gig..
he was one of the less effected subjects i’d met.. so i wanted to photograph him around ‘normal’ people.. not idolized.
the commission was in italy, next to a tourist beach, and so we walked around the beech for 30 mins after breakfast..
i wanted to get him with others and nailed that pretty quick, without really being thrilled.. we mucked about, but that wasn’t really working either.
with 2 frames of the last film left as we made our way back up to the hotel i heard 2 kids running up behind us..
thinking they would run past i ran ahead and turned just in time to squeeze off the last two frames, one of which worked out..
http://www.bophoto.co.uk/portrait/portrait/gallery/portrait/lg/003.jpg
not the photo i had pre-visualized or planned in any way, yet it did just what i hoped the photo would do.
the client dismissed the photo and used one a different one..
who cares?
not me
:o)
anybody around to see if this new skype video thingy is working on my system??
i think my skype name is ‘johngladdy’
gotta run now – will be later john.. adding you now..
Hey yall,
I am not sure I can make it to Martin Parr’s interview, but I can help with the homework.
The thing that always strikes me, when I read/hear an interview, is how basic and repetitive the questions are. I understand completely that you do not want to make it too complicated for a general readership, but that does not apply to BURN.
Of course this is now on very short notice, but I tried to assemble some interviews (Google & Youtube), so we can – hopefully – go beyond the standard question of “what advice would you give to ans aspiring/emerging/young photographer.
Of course everybody can google for themselves, I just wanted to simplify things for those who might be on the road. I think it is important not to waste this opportunity and his time with questions he has answered before. Maybe we could built on it.
There sure are more interviews with Martin Parr, but I thougth these might give a good overview and thus a good preparation for those who might not be so familiar with his work.
I did put it on my site – because there are too many links in it for here.
Please let me know if you want additional links to be included.
Cheers
http://dark.lassal.de/2009/10/07/links-martin-parr/
Strange, the link did not show.
LASSAL…
many thanks and an intelligent idea….