my imaginary title for this two picture essay is “Closing Time”….taken in Austin, Texas last week…both without me getting out of my seat….some of you probably imagine me running all over the place, but when i am shooting i usually do not move much…i do a lot of photography while sitting down…used the car window frame for a tripod on the car/train shot and i only got up to get the waitress’ name, Amanda, so i could send her a picture….and i invented a story in my head to connect the two pictures….i started thinking American Graffitti, Paris Texas, Last Picture Show, Five Easy Pieces..well, sometimes i get carried away…
point is i am always playing….particularly when i am supposed to be working…those who know me will tell you i do a pretty good job of combining work and play..oftentimes confusing the two….sometimes to my detriment, but often at the heart of it…and no doubt one of the reasons i have enjoyed every minute of being a photographer…i think i have taken pictures almost every day of my life since i was 12 or so…with gusto…one of these days i had better get that archive really organized…hmmm
however, the real photographers last week were my students…i do not show much student work here on Burn for fear of being accused of playing favorites with those i mentor…but, when i saw the last student show at the Austin Museum of Art after we had worked so hard on it, i realized that getting in on an essay from the ground up so to speak, definitely has its advantages…not to direct the photographer, but merely to stimulate the photographer…so i plan now to get in earlier with many young photographers and work with them the way most print magazines do with their work and in the same fashion as i do with my students……involvement early on….not as a necessary prerequisite…some essays come in done done…but, for those who would most benefit from an early “have you ever thought about it this way?” nudge……
while i will continue and encourage essays that are totally finished, i will now encourage also relevant ideas….literal or conceptual….ideas that can be developed…i will set up soonest a mechanism for idea submission along with our standard submission guidelines….one of the advantages of this is that out of this i think will develop a strong cadre of photographers who have chosen to publish original work on Burn…at the same time , i will be looking for sponsors to finance this work…
as most of you know we broke ground by getting the Nachtwey TB essay on Burn sponsored by BD..Jim was paid well and Burn was paid for production…i am now doing a new budget with BD to see if we can also get funding for some of you…so study what BD does…send me some ideas with a link to your work…and i think all of you know in general that if Burn in any way receives sponsorship, the first thing that will happen with the funds is to pay for your photography published…all photographers whose work will appear in the upcoming print edition of Burn will receive royalties based on sales…this will be an on demand collector edition of Burn…
with the IPad coming we should position ourselves to be ready…yes, we need to go to an HTML platform and yes this is all new territory, but fate has put us in an interesting position….i am sure you can see it…sponsors might too….in addition, as president of Magnet, the new Magnum company designed to help reinvent content presentation on the net, i am working closely with Gilles Peress our online guru visionary, and Alex Webb, president of Magnum…while Burn is my baby, Magnum is my patron..and the two are not mutually exclusive..keep an eye on us….
in the meantime, i am going to sit down….reflect a bit….enjoy the evening…watch prints come off the printer …..it is not closing time around here just yet…
-dah-
Final comment on Ahimsa, cos I’m starving:
I was just wanting to look up a longer meaning of Ahimsa and so googled it and immediately up came an explanation from my former teacher (or those that followed in his footsteps). Very, very hard to practise this, especially for someone like me. Here’s the explanation:
http://www.dlshq.org/teachings/ahimsa.htm
Maybe try a little ‘karma Cola’.
should be a must read for anyone looking to ‘find themselves”.
PEACE
John
curious about two things…first, why are you guys over here under “closing time” dialogue, when our new dialogue post for discussion is ” of trees and dreams”? i guess it doesn’t really matter since the discussion is about Thailand etc anyway, but some Thai discussion now is under one dialogue post and some of it is under another…second, both Herve and Jenny are on location in Thailand and i have seen no pictures from either…maybe there is nothing to shoot except fire, injuries, riots , police, etc…this is probably the case…but since feelings are so strong on the issues, i would imagine there might be some way to explore…
DAH: Sorry about that – the discussion seemed to be on both dialogue pages. Herve is not here in Thailand and has not been in Bangkok during the Red Shirt protest but is currently putting together a story on the Northeast of Thailand for you/Burn he told me. I’m currently putting together a sequence focused on the people – the protestors – and the protest itself which began just up the street from where I’m staying and, was so captivating that I put my new project on the backburner. That project is centered on a park that is a little like the UN in as much as there are people from just about every country around the world there (or there were before the news of the problems in Bangkok spread) who are/were sharing everything from fire dancing to hulahula to capoeira to acrobatics.
Jenny, Newsweek, this is 2010, not 2001 (or2 or 3, or even 2006).
You seem to take all this personally, using arguments (Tibet and Dalai Lama) so irrelevant to thai politics just to make the same point.
We got it (your point), you know? :-))))
David, I was back in SF before it erupted again, and in any case, I wouldn’t be interested in risking my life just to shoot a set of tires burning. There were dozens of Pjs there, no need for another Joe Schmuk and his “pro-sumer” Canon DSLR…. :-)
I like what John Vink once stated, on the MAGNUM site I think. Can’t recall precisely, but it was about getting “there”, after the other photographers got home.
About Thai politics, I can’t care less. Neither on one side or the other, like most thais truly. I just love to talk about Thailand when the subject comes about…
yeap, MR.HARVEY…I don’t usually show fingers…BUT
MR.VINK is responsible for opening the closing time…hmmm…
yeap, MR.VINK it’s all your fault…hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
I am out of here…
But we have to give credit…when credit is due…
PEACE
“When the former policeman turned telecom mogul ..”
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(no comment)
“The American-trained executive..”
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(no comment)
“Thaksin was the first prime minister to lead a government through a full four-year term since the country ended military rule in 1976—every other leader was either overthrown by coup, forced to resign, ..”
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(not impressed…Saddam Hussein lasted wayyy longer)
“Admittedly, Thaksin was no saint, and much of what his opponents said was true. His drug war in 2003 (in which he rashly vowed to eradicate drug trafficking within three months) killed thousands; ”
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(no shit! like we didnt know…that scamback killed more than 2000 people without a trial!)
“Ordinary people thought he cared about them,”
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(no comment)
http://www.newsweek.com/id/238161/page/1
This article simply confirms what we already know…and yes we have seen the severe violence , the DEAD,the killings…the burning of Bangkok etc..There are few very fearless PJs out there (Nick Nostitz, James N, and few more)but what we havent seen covered yet is the aftermath stories …why?
Is it too early? am i missing something? can anyone link me with what is going on now? the day after, that is? why do i have the feeling that i still cant get the whole picture? i guess the only way is to get there myself god damn it and i cant afford the tickets…
(Can govt/business owners/insurance companies etc seek damages from Thaksin? Mayb this was why R. Amsterdam was hired..
about 16 hours ago via TweetDeck
RT @kraipob: The difference was Taksin had self before country. PM Abhisit always has country before self.
http://twitter.com/tulsathit )
once again go figure…Thailand today…one billion different perspectives,one billion different opinions..
where does the “Truth” stands? What side? The ex mogul, serial killer? The todays ruthless yellow government? That perverted King that owns and operates brothels (with under aged kids) on the side?
AHHH the land of the Smiles..yeah right..Smiles my ass…Poor Thailand sounds more like the land of schizophrenia…
why do i have the feeling that i still cant get the whole picture?
Because you can’t. But I think perhaps this image provides several important clues.
DAH: Would you be interested to see some images of this – of my work of the past 2 months? You told me you’re not doing hard news on Burn but these images are not in that category. I simply began recording what was happening in my local neighbourhood – up the street – and took it from there. The focus is on the people themselves – who these protestors are – and the daily goings on within the protest areas which were fascinating for many reasons. I also feel that people following events overseas may not have gleaned any real understanding of who protestors are and the variety of among the Red Shirts. I have come to opinions based on what I have witnessed but those opinions do not center on favouring any particular party over another. I just see people.
Herve: It is great to have your input on these discussions since you take such an interest in what is going on in Thailand. Thanks a lot! I think you would probably feel more strongly about what has happened here if you had actually witnessed it. You told me to take a break on Facebook but I would rather share what I have photographed over the past 2-plus months but if you would like to take a break yourself, feel free!
Panos: I am intrigued why you have investigated one person – one leader – in your research. And I’m wondering whether if/when you arrive to do a story in Bangkok you will be biased or do you intend to do more research first into the opposition and the history of politics here – if pre-assignment research is your approach?
ALL: I introduced the concept of Ahimsa on here after Gandhi was mentioned. When I think Gandhi, I think Ahimsa. And when I think Ahimsa, I think Gandhi and HH Dalai Lama. When I think Dalai Lama, I think what a travesty of injustice it is what has happened in Tibet. Hope that is okay. Just thinking out loud. : )
ahimsa = what not to love? = peace
Panos: I am intrigued why you have investigated one person
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well, because it was obvious that the yellow guy was a bad guy…that was a given from day 1…we see it every day in the news…but, i was just hoping that the other (ex-red) guy was a better guy…i was so naive…but Thaksin is even more corrupted ..my hope was obviously unfounded..Let me repeat myself once again ..i hate to be emotionally manipulated..when we watch the news as a third eye (we) immediately side with the reds because they fight with slings and the government got snipers and bullets..So i needed to see who is behind the brave Reds..who is holding the strings…And to my surprise i discovered a scamback…it was shocking you know…
hoping to find someone like Gandhi or HHDL or Lord Byron or even CHE even ..
and all we find is a corrupted ex cia agent that only works and benefits mainly HIMSELF !!!???From a policeman to a mogul? what happened? since when thailand became the land of opportunity?ohh please!
ahhhhh…Jenny, now that sucks…, right?…And yes im so intrigued to go in Thailand..now more than ever before..and the “smiles” is not the reason why…neither the 10 year old prostitutes that Amnesty does nothing about it…but thats another thing :child prostitution and why NOBODY (including foreigners that live there too) does NOTHING about it?
Ahhh..it sounds more like:
“Land of the PAID Smiles”
to me…
the reason i want to go to thailand is to find out why idealists are so easy to be manipulated by religious leaders and telecom moguls ! Is it them they follow? or do they fight for themselves? was Thaksin just taking advantage of the public outrage sentiment, or was he behind it?and if he was what was the percentage? did the Reds evolve? or did they just manage to lose their leaders so they have to stick longer with the London based mogul? was it a power game that been played on the peoples back ? or was it a genuine public outrage?
these are the questions..about human nature..that nobody seems to be caring to answer…or even examine…unfortunately what i get from foreigners living, working , shooting there so far ,
is a SOCCER game description..
Yellows vs Reds…the game minute by minute…
Yellows vs Reds!! who’s side are you on???? major bullshit!!!! oh i wish i could afford the tickets to go there..im so disappointed from whats coming out ..from the sources…u can learn more from Wikipedia than the journalists that actually live there and cover the events…unfortunately…:(