it is getting cold here in Rio…fall has arrived…everyone complaining of the rain…temperature has dropped to a chilling 68F….i am wearing a long sleeved shirt, pants and shoes…beach days are over (pictured above from non-NG shooting)..New Yorkers may scoff, but i am freezing….besides, my time is up on this National Geographic shoot…..i am coming home next week…
i have written before that i do some of my best work in the first few days of an assignment and some of the best in the last few days…the first ones from raw energy and beginners luck and the last ones from “damn, i had better get something”…i have pretty much been on the case here in Rio since New Year’s Eve, with a short but busy one week break in january…mentally on it the whole time…and, of course, i shall return…perhaps on assignment , perhaps not…for i am not finished..
i was actually secretly hoping i would not fall in love with Rio….i assumed a romantic relationship, but figured it would be over when it was over….i have several other projects to complete and have no time to get involved with any long term body of work, but alas she has me…real love is of course often painful…despite the beach scenes you may imagine as pictured, there is another whole world here…full of intrigue, passion, hate, sex, death, light, darkness, despair, cruelty and kindness…the gamut of human nature all played out on a stage like no other …
i have been sick , scared, injured, and upset…long days turned into long nights often with no result…many moving parts and often with the gears grinding….it is very hard for me to look at the work…but, i must soon….i am not one of those photographers who come home at night and rush to the computer to see what i have done…quite the contrary…i hate to look….deep deep down inside i am assuming some good work….but any long term results seem now far far away….on top of it all, i must justify all of this to the editors who commissioned me to be here….i need an Advil…
yet now my home front porch beckons….but, will my cat remember me? has my electricity been shut off ? battery run down on my truck? yes, my “real life” has been on hold…even patient family and friends are fed up with me…no responses to emails….missed events…forgotten birthdays…major responsibilities undone…of course no woman can put up with me…i will spend the next week apologizing to everyone about everything…and so it goes…
is this any way to live? or, is this the only way to live? i know my answer…what is yours?
Howdee Yaw’ll, Howdee!!!!
I’ve drifted into the zone of a long range beacon, so I’m takin the opportunity to touch base.
Captain Harvey, Sir,
Obsessive Compolsive… that’s how you photographers are, just like ma cowboy partners down there on the Great Plains, waking up next to the ember glow in
the cold grey of the first light, smell of a new day, smell of the herd, smell of the dust and grass, smell of last nights empty bottles… Yaw’ll love it, heck that’s what life is all about.
and Harvey, the boys at Huston relayed your little Zen bag skit… laughed myself half way to Jupiter. Been thinking about it, about a series, next episode… Harvey’s Hats, I can see the pitch, ‘it’s Seinfeld meets Bridges of Madison County’ HBO gonna love it. LOVE IT. Probably want to add a few characters,
you know how them folks love to meddle…. maybe Panos and Erica… for contrast. Four characters is the
proven formula.
Now as for bag weight an aw’ll,
ma NASA boys are experts (as you well know) on the art of minimalism, heck they’d shave the legs of an ant for better weight efficiency. So I’ve been in (secret) communication with em and you’ll be darn pleased to know they’ve come up with an excellent solution. Tickled pink, I’d say. But it takes a brave man, one with guts, the calibre of a National Geographic photographer or a NASA pilot I’d say.
Captain Harvey, Sir, you need light weight backage, you don’t want folk looking at ya gear neither… well all them clothes, heavy jackets, heavy pants…
you need to shoot nude dude! Yes, I know, I know, heck the answer is so simple, it’s genius, it’s been right there all the time.
You’ll save several kilo’s and discover the agility of a preema ballerina , jack be nimble they’ll all say as you float by, you’ll discover new angles and a stealth only known to the rare elite. and heck! who’s gonna look atcha Leica while your tackles free and easy?
I remember how they aw’ll scoffed at the shiny silver foil them there boys at NASA came up with back some years now, but heck, who’s laughing now.
Radical ? yeap! but heck Harvey, as one obsessive compulsive to another,
It’s the only way to shoot ; )
I once new a girl from Rio… but that’s for another time…
now go eat some cake and tropical fruit for breakfast , you do eat breakfast Harvey? us cowboys just scrape out last nights pan, but heck! your in Rio dude.
Now, the rest yaw’ll…
CIVI… where are you CIVI???, hope you ain’t got lost it them there mountains? You know I Love ya, but heck, I’ve got work to do, just lik Harvey, I’m on a mission and the darn boys at Huston won’t allow me no Tweets… they say it messes with internal navigation equipment…
Bobby Boy… you got ya ears on??? too many deadlines, heck we need livelines not dead ones, and make mine the P one’s, I wanna get funked up,
HELL YEAH!!!!
OKEY DOKEY,
çççç ∑∑ πππ ˙∫√∫√∫√∫∫∫∫√√√√√√∆∆∆∆∆∆ƒƒƒ˚˚˚∆∆∆∆˙´
œœåååß߬߬ß߬ç≈≈≈≈≈≈’’’’’’’’∆∆∆∆∆∆∆√√©√©çççççç
LOVE PEACE & PHOTOGRAPHY
Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Haaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(I’m waving my hat above ma head, when I do that – thought you aw’ll might like to know that).
PANOS
Con grat tu fucking la tions!!!!
You deserve it!!
Amazing how your life has changed since leaving LA…
all good….
ERICA
you are BuRNING it up!!!
Congrats again!!!!!
***
Go
Burnians
GO!!!!!
CATHY ….. the two month rule is for immigrants with a visitor visa ….
if you really really want to b here again i suggest try getting a work visa …
in my knowledge …… there aint the 2 month rule on that one ….
Just finished watching a really interesting doco about conflict photography called “Images of Conflict.
There was short segment where the late Phillip Jones Griffiths’ daughter showed an photo of a group of Magnum photographers wearing T-shirts with something along the lines of “Digital manipulation ruined photography”. I’m not 100% sure but our very own Mr Harvey looked like he was amongst the group?
However; my eyes probably aren’t what they used to be, but it made me chuckle! :-)
http://www.indusfilms.com/Programs/Conflict.asp
http://www.bbcactive.com/BroadcastLearning/MediaSupportFiles/Images%20of%20Conflict.pdf
FROSTFROG
So, in your non-Burn life you are known as Bill Hess? Your comment on Lens meant/means so much to me. I’m so happy to know who wrote it! Yes, let’s mmake that chat happen sooner rather than later. Burnians have a way of meeting face-to-face when we least expect it.
PANOS
What a story!!! Wow. Who’d athunk where your journey would take you once you’d returned home to Greece? Makes me think of a line from TS Eliot’s Four Quartets:
“We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.”
ALL
It sure helps to be part of a community that helps me know I’m not alone when the demons come calling. As so many have mentioned here before, now that I’m home and looking through the photos from my recent shoot, I’m having such a crisis of confidence. But because of others’ sharings, I realize this ambivalence comes with the territory of being a photographer who cares deeply about what they are doing. And that this too shall pass…
Patricia
Here is a terrific example of a multi-media piece from the New York Times featuring photos by Todd Hessler, on of the NYT staff photographers, about a Haitian troubadour named Beken trying to rediscover his music and recreate his life in the wake of the earthquake:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/03/05/world/americas/20100305-haitimusic-audioss/index.html
Patricia; “I’m home and looking through the photos from my recent shoot, I’m having such a crisis of confidence”
I think sometimes you’ve just got to let the dust settle a bit and you then tend to see the images from a more pragmatic viewpoint..
The problem with photographing people is that such a personal experience. When you are so close to the photos; and in your case know the people very well; it’s difficult to stop your personal attachment to the experience getting in the way of a critical eye for the image.
Last night I shot some kids playing cricket with a tennis ball on the street outside the folks place. When I looked at the pics last night I liked a few. I had another look at them later last night and hated the lot. This morning? Well the jury was still out. This afternoon? Yea there’s a couple I like, but I think I’ll let them sit for a day or two! :-)
CT
“Does every picture need a purpose? hmmm….”
No, I don’t think so.. but.. you’re talking ‘long term project’, so maybe ask yourself: why? Or, the other way around, since you’re taking plenty of pictures: what is that it is missing, that you miss? What do you want to achieve in the end?
Yes, Patricia, Bill Hess and Frostfrog are the same. I did not really intend to not be Bill Hess here, but, when I registered it asked me for my real name, and it asked me for a nickname. So I gave it both and showed up as Frostfrog.
I will be on the Nantuck the last week of this month and New York right afteward, but that’s a long way from you.
But come and visit me on my blog.
ROSS
strange – that doco was on tv here in norway last night..
very good interviews all round.
PANOS
great news.. enjoy.
ERICA
the BJP peole are amoungst the very best – well done.. with the mag changing format from a weekly to a monthly and all – even better than it used to be :ø)
space cowboy within range.. good news all round..
good start..
here´s to evolution..
d
Glenn…you r right..that is a mugshot…
Frank..:)))
Space Cowboy???? you appeared again? out of the blue…amazing.”..I once new a girl from Rio… but that’s for another time…”..No Cowboy..thats the time,…
Wendy..:))yes..Life is a non stop travel..every single day ..every single minute of it…
David B..thank u..:)))))
Patricia..i dont really feel i “returned” to greece…I feel i started moving, travelling…dont forget though that all the above happened actually in Turkey which is the arch rival enemy of greece..laughing…but one thing is more sure…the Balkans and Southern europe is an interesting region…Lots of political games…20% unemployment in Spain…Italy has big problems coming up…greece close to bankruptcy …Its a global economy now..think of America…deficit..foreclosures…loans from China etc…its a domino effect…Are we going down? Or is it just another “joke”? A “fake” crisis? A “fake” crash/depression?.. All those apr increases …all those credit unions? The Stanley Morgans and Rockefellers and Wall Streets love putting the whole world in debt…I think its unfair to blame it to the citizens of the countries while their governments take the big loans and share the profits with the bankers and then..folks like GW (ex president) blame the crisis..not on the wars he created but on the little guy..the average consumer that spends too much gasoline or to the greek little guy that borrows too much..
bullshit..its a game…dont buy it…
man..i got carried away…
Pat, i loved the TSEliot quote…but i dont think i really reached my destination…. I feel that im hovering over my first hometown right now counting the losses and the dead…I need to know what to fix and how to continue…that endless trip called life…But there is one thing i need to finish here before i disembark once again…I will soon tell you all about it…
anyway…5th day on this couch somewhere in the athens city center…
time to pack my shit and move up north west…at my fathers house…i missed rain…but i what i enjoy the most is that i still have no home ..even in a place that is so called home…go figure…
ok ..gone.. a 6 hour trip awaits..
big hug
Panos?? our nice president (Italy here) keeps telling us again and again and again, on a daily, almost hourly basis, that we don’t have any problems, crisis is over and all that, you think he might be WRONG??? Yikes!
Crazy with how much BS he’s getting away.. will email you later, need some info, thanks, and safe travel!
Eva,
same happened back home in the States… GWBush used to tell us the same thing…for quite a long long time…
“Consume” he was saying..support the market…Support the WAR…
in the meantime people couldnt ( and still cant afford to go to a doctor )..and families are losing their homes one after the other..Falling..like dominos…but..but..but..coincidentally the Rockefellers get richer and richer..and not only…
Yes.. scary thing is that there’s people out who will believe it, whatever happens.. massmedia control is pretty heavy here.. most stupid thing I’ve seen lately in TV is a spot, done by the government, about lottery gaming, they invite people to play.. with moderation of course.. all that matters is to keep up the hope and vision of a fake dreamworld that relies on money.. argh, I better stop!
…and questions still remain…
“who put America in debt? why the Clinton surplus became the Bush deficit?”
“who is behind the Southern European Crisis coming up?”..
I dont mean to be cynical eye…but one of the main reasons i started travelling is to find a real answer for my own self…I used to live comfortably numb for quite a long time in california…
And then Arnold the Governator showed up…and then california almost went bankrupt..the The Bush family showed up..and then boom..9/11..wars..misery ..foreclosures..whatever happened to american dream?
And then i woke up… I knew the answer is not that simple… when i came to visit/examine Europe few months ago i found desperation at its fullest..now that America slowly slowly starts recovering..now Europe is fastly falling apart..Am i cynic enough to say that now europe will be a “paradise” for PJ’s..and photographers…
Huge economic problems..huge Immigration problems….its a war over here…its a “Nachtwey” world…
Big war…victims are falling wounded…without even one shot gets fired…Poor getting poorer..
viva globalization..Viva European Union…The War just started….We (us) need to record all that…
Personally im curious to also examine & record the consequences in Asia after im done with this old corrupted european joke..(world) i meant to say..
Eva..yes ..email me whenever u like… i’ll be visiting my father tonight…(Organic tomatoes from the garden, family olive oil and a homegrown chicken awaits…enough with the extra fattening hormones..i need to get rid of that victoria secret bra..laughing…
eva…
even worst here in grecolandia..the government wishes people to smoke more so to tax them a little extra to find some extra euros…pathetic..sad…
Panos..
http://www.slowemotion.it/fedora/04.jpg
who photographed my chicken???????
where was I?????
oh i know..i was having lunch at KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken)…next to Michael Jackson…
:(
Panos, the most important step is to become aware, from there you can change.. not the world, but your very own world at least.. babysteps :)
Vivek, Cathy…
Immigration is as tough in India as it is in America? I wonder why? in this global economy there are still borders?…
I think poor people should be allowed to be poor in any country they choose..imo
Look at Germany for example… Its been a while now that a poor ex Eastern German can also be poor in West Germany…
thats real democracy..;) The rest of europe did the same…or is it the opposite? that a rich westerner can expand his richness in the East?
grinning
ROSS…
do not know the photo to which you refer, but doubt i was in that photograph….or, if i was , certainly not wearing one of those t-shirts…i never took the extreme view on digi manipulation…
ERICA…
very nice piece on you in British Journal of Photography….congrats and hugs
PANOS
so, you have an agency!! fantastic…now, you must do a lot of work to get your photographs into the archives and make the agency and your photographs work for you…that means good ideas carried through…i do not know that specific market , but i assume they also have various sub agents and distribution in other markets…we were getting ready to publish your Greek essay here soonest anyway, so you are rolling….
CT..
do not worry about whether or not something has been “done before”…only think about finding your passion or more importantly playing it out when it strikes……if you find that light, then whatever you do will be original regardless of subject matter..and as Anthony RZ says, you cannot force it…
VIVEK..
you already know i am “just plain weird”, so why would cold coffee surprise you?
cheers, david
Panos,
Well done on the great news.
Who would have thought that a visit to the homeland would have turned into such an adventure! But perhaps you did know all this crazy stuff would happen?
Are you planning to stay in Europe for a while? Perhaps we’ll have an opportunity to meet?
Don’t go abusing that press pass now… :)
Cheers,
Justin
DAH…if it wasnt for BURN….well u know what i mean….
Justin…
i will abuse that “press pass” to the fullest…:)
i hope we meet…before i leave home to go back home
…at some point…soon
but it worths exploring this old continent…old mama europe that i missed so much..
MIMI…
i guess i should have known, but i did not know , you had spent so much time in Rio…so you do know what i mean…and yes i can see the comparison with your beloved Sicily…yes, let’s meet and compare notes, experiences etc…..
SKIWAVES..MIKE HALMINSKI…
nice to get a report from home…yes, i too do not mind the cold rainy winds from the north…i get work done on those days and the solitude is refreshing…every day a summer day would get old…i like the seasons…my favorite upcoming…so , the fireplace repair done..thanks for this…there are still some good fireplace days left, so please you and Denise join me a week from now…
KURT…
thanks for the offer to drive me down obx…however, i am flying back to D.C (the 10th)…i cannot remember exactly why my trip started and ending in D.C…i just remember barely getting out in a blizzard….anyway, a friend is driving me home…you are certainly welcome to join me over the weekend obx for a glass of wine, cold beer, whatever…give me a call and we will see what works…let’s get mike (above), you , maybe Bickford around..anyway, come on down…
LEE..
yes, of course, i know about auto withdraw and most of my bills paid that way…just never set it up for my electric for some reason…i have had the house for over a year now and still doing stuff i shoulda done the first month…and i am sure you know, that despite all the travails, i have no lament at all..life is a scramble, but life is good…
cheers, david
but here in europe..im also excited to the possibility to meet in person some Burn folks…
Justin, Lassal, Katharina,Eva, Thomas, Reimar, David B, Ian,JohnG, CarlosF, Abele, Diego…Eric…
and get Anton drunk with Sapporo or Asahi…
who do i forget??????? Damn i shouldnt have mentioned any names…:(
laughing…i was about to leave from athens..but i just heard is a 24 hour general strike in athens today..
stranded? nahhh…. more opportunity …:)
europe really isn´t the place you must have left any years ago panos.. you´re not in the same place inside.
hang around and i think you´ll find it all the more interesting.. LA is okay.. sunny and all that… but in the time it would take to drive to new york you can be in barcelona.. france.. russia.. the alps or the med..
so much going on here.
PANOS…
you forgot Marcin…where is Marcin? Thodoris is near you now…no meet? John Gladdy would be one with whom to hang, although the thought of you two together scares me just a bit….
Ahh David B..i guess you are right…deep inside im desperately looking for a good reason to stay..stay more i mean…you are totally right about that drive though…
MARCIN………
damn i knew i shouldnt mention any names…i knew it…
(laughing…never been arrested in europe before-just detained..big difference- but im afraid its gonna happen when i meet John…:)))
havent skype with Thodoris for a while..u r right..he is in Cyprus…but we skype a lot with Marcin lately…of course i skype almost every night with Thomas B…great thinker…
PANOS…
stick around Europe for just a bit longer and i will be there…Madrid in April..exhibition…Italy in July….and surely some now unplanned trip…i just cannot seem to get invited to Greece….are you blocking my entry?
if you behave…if u eat all of your food and do your prayer every night then,,,and only then i might grant u a visa…one thing for sure..if u fell WITH Rio..you will definitely fall in all IN (not necessarily with ) greece…;) how about that?
and dont forget..we got civilian’s house to stay..:) deal?
… if u fell WITH Rio..you will definitely fall in all IN (not necessarily with ) greece…;)
————————-
..if you fell in love WITH Rio…u will definitely fall in love IN greece , i meant
sleep next to a medieval castle from the 12th century… on top of the ancient city of Amvrakia. Sounds cool?
hehehe, panso, you’re stuck in athenes.. look here, there were around 50!! of them, stuck in the ice!!
http://www.lastampa.it/multimedia/multimedia.asp?p=1&pm=4&IDmsezione=17&IDalbum=24687&tipo=FOTOGALLERY#mpos
Eva? me? PANSON????
how did u know my nickname?
i envy a friend in berlin for the places he can drive to in a matter of hours..
we´re the wrong side of the baltic sea up here..
as the blizzard outside right now testifies.
http://bophoto.co.uk/wpbigpicture/?p=225
damn.. i also forgot Audrey, Joni K and who knows who else!
DavidB.. beautiful.. man Bergen looks like Big Bear Lake in Cali… my refuge for almost two endless winters…any bears there?
darned keyboard, it’s all ITS fault!! ;)
Greece reminded me of southern Italy, central even, but more free than here and LOUDER, cool place, I bet, DAH would love it.. while David B’s looks freezing cold, reminds me of my teenage years.. beautiful to look at.. from inside though ;)
it´s all about the elk from what i hear.. still looking forward to a hunting trip with beates brother in law..
tis amazing – snow easing off now and bright sunshine streaming through.. warm sitting on the balcony with me laptop.. fell out the front door into a knee deep snow drift taking tor capa to nursery this morning..
yesyes..
Panos,
would love to meet up anytime you are in UK.
Also I might be spending a fair amount of time in Portugal in the next few months working on a self funded project… also looking for potential sponsors/editorial commissions to cove rthe cost of this.
cheers
Ian
DavidB… i envy your endless Xmas..the Santa country…sunshine in the city of moustaches…Strike..everyone is drinking coffee and beer…very productive….
Ian..right now i cant even afford the metro from Heathrow to downtown London…but i do have a feeling that we will meet in a pub over there..:)
PANOS…
will do whatever it takes…deal…
All, currently it is difficult catching up .. you have a life .. and I’m back to my … work.
Panos, I may have an opportunity to come to Athens End of March… keeping my fingers crossed. So .. Europe is still nice, isn’t it? …
About the way of living .. yeah .. for me it is a dream .. and I try and try .. someday I’ll break free.
im just trying to make Civi’s dream come true…
A pan-Burnian meeting in the country of moustaches…
Thomas..start growing yours..by the end of march you’ll be ready…laughing
in grecolandia..the government wishes people to smoke more so to tax them…
Be thankful they don’t follow the American model. Criminalize it and collect fines to fund the police budget. Then when that’s not enough, and it never wil be, confiscate “criminals’” property to feed it more always more. Then get really “tough” and throw them in jail and pay ridiculous amounts of money to keep them there. Then criminalize something else to pay for all that incarceration. Trust me Europeans et. al., you don’t want any part of that vicious circle.