Comments on: andrew sullivan – samba da bahia

By: Kenji Arimura

Kenji Arimura — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 04:11:45 +0000

Oi Andrew! Parabéns!

This is a beautiful set of images of the brazilian culture! As a brazilian myself i haven’t been to that part of the country yet but you’ve done a great job. looking forward to seen more of that when you come back!!

well done!!

By: brunnopessoa

brunnopessoa — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 16:34:46 +0000

Colorful, genuine capture of Salvador’s soul. I am impressed with your work. Keep on going!

By: Carrie Roseman

Carrie Roseman — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 02:35:17 +0000

Love. Love! Majestic, colorful, alive. Found myself (or rather heard myself) going “HMMMMMMMMM” many times while viewing this. Yes, that’s a happy noise of approval. #7 might be my favorite, followed closely by 6 and 5. Hard to pick from so much brilliance. Bravo!!

By: jboal

jboal — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 12:26:37 +0000

Really wonderful stuff. Brazil’s always been a place I wanted to visit, but couldn’t get to. Your images looked exactly as I hoped it would…

By: Kyunghee Lee

Kyunghee Lee — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 07:35:41 +0000

Andrew,

I enjoy your works very much…. feel music and beautiful color.
Hope to see more of this…
Congratulations!

By: frank Michael

frank Michael — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 01:58:47 +0000

Andrew,

Beautifully photographed. I really enjoyed it and hope to see more like this posted on Burn. Others have said it and I was thinking the same thing as I watched the sideshow, very DAHesque. Very well done and congratulations.

Frank

By: Brian Frank

Brian Frank — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:46:34 +0000

5,7,8,10 are masterful. Love it.

By: Jeremy Wade Shockley

Jeremy Wade Shockley — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:58:24 +0000

Andrew,

Great essay, wonderful colors, shadows…I am particularly fond of five and seven! Well done, certainly hope to see more of this in the future!

Cheers, Jeremy

By: andrew sullivan

andrew sullivan — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:08:58 +0000

Thanks everybody for the feedback so far. I guess I have to buy a plane ticket and try to finish this story!

Cathy and John Gladdy- Last October or November I put an edit of this work up on my site and asked the Road Trips crew for feedback. Maybe that’s where you saw the images. This edit was my EPF entry minus one picture that I should have cut from the original entry.

And John, here’s a few thoughts about the last shot. After 10 years photographing in suburban Connecticut, I started a major transformation not only in my life, but also in my work, from the preconceived notions of what a “good” picture is to something more interpretive and looser (cheers to Panos!). Even though I’d often get into the “why do we have to be literal?” argument at the newspaper, I didn’t realize how far I still needed to push to take pictures that didn’t necessarily answer every question. And maybe it’s better to strive for more mystery in our pictures anyway.

The image in question was one of the final pictures from my time in Salvador. During the five days there, I was finding my way with the subject matter and sketching out what I hoped to say about it. The photo of the man walking through the smoke in his backyard was a turning point. It made me think of the mysticism that flows through samba culture and how that informs and colors daily life there. Gods and spirits walk the streets there, and I often heard talk of orishas, the Candomble deities. I wanted to capture some of that spirituality, and not all of it is pure benevolence. Google Exu to learn more. It’s fascinating.

Also, the history of samba is fraught with pain, suffering and exploitation. It was born out of rebellion and was once enjoyed only in enclaves. I think the story would be less interesting and less accurate without the darker vibe.

And if I get the chance to continue with this material, these ideas will hopefully be more well formed. Thanks for asking the question.

By: emcd

emcd — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:56:55 +0000

I love seeing everything that comes from you Andrew..even though I am familiar with a lot of your work I never tire of seeing it. I see this work as part of a book or something wider, and I celebrate, and learn from, how you are in it for the long haul. Shoot on, brother!

(You are getting out of here unscathed..that in itself is an art form!)

By: john gladdy

john gladdy — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 07:47:28 +0000

Nice stuff andrew.
Colour works really well on these. And you use it well. Nice look. I get the feeling that ive seen some of the shots before, but not in any hackneyed way. odd how the last shot changes the vibe a bit darker though. reason??

John

By: Steve M

Steve M — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 07:41:06 +0000

Your sense of graphic colour is really appealing – I really like the intimacy of 10 and the vibrancy of 8. And I’m really with Wendy – mixing these images with a sound track would be incredible… Well done!

By: Patricia Lay-Dorsey

Patricia Lay-Dorsey — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 01:43:03 +0000

Full of life, energy and, of course, color. Andrew, I sure am glad you listened to DAHH and left the newspaper world. You bring the eye and heart of an improvisational musician to your work and you need to be free to go wherever it takes you. And I love going along with you. This essay sings its own song. Looking forward to more…

Patricia

By: andrew b.

andrew b. — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:35:39 +0000

Wonderful! Andrew, as always I love your color…and the mood in these is just right. Can’t wait to see when you have more for this one!

By: pomara

pomara — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 20:13:39 +0000

Hi Andrew, looks like you’re having fun with your work. You’re really finding your groove. Keep exploring and listening to the beat. By any chance have you seen work by Bill Allard? (winknod)

By: david_bacher

david_bacher — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:36:56 +0000

Nice! You can feel a soul in these photos. It’s not easy to master composition, color, and catching the moment. It’s definitely obvious that Andrew has a good sense of space and movement. I like 2 because of the arched tree cutting the frame and the very dark silhouette at right contrasted against the neon green swim trunks at left. I like 3 because of the blue/touquise, but there’s something that just doesn’t quite work….? 5 is great, again the way the frame is cut into 4ths, with the two girls glancing in opposite directions. I like 6….Spanish colonial architecture in background, sugar cane, exhausted worker…tells a bit about history in one photo..The colors in 11 are wonderful.

great stuff…

By: eva

eva — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:33:14 +0000

cool stuff, photography with mood :)

By: Akaky

Akaky — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:26:27 +0000

Looking at these, you can almost hear the music.

By: michael kircher

michael kircher — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 15:58:26 +0000

There’re some groovy photographs in here Andrew. Nice! 6 and 8 are my faves.

By: cathy scholl

cathy scholl — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 15:51:37 +0000

Andrew you are off to a wonderful start here. Only five days of shooting and some really nice work.
#5 is killer. We have seen this image already…where? Must have been on burn? Unforgettable.

Get back down there asap and show us more. Great job!