Ana Galan

Viv(r)e La Vie!

Viv(r)e la vie! is a photography series in process, consisting of photographs of couples in profile with a landscape of a countryside in the background, snapshots which evoke the Diptych of the Duchess and Duke of Urbino by Piero Della Francesca.

The concept depicts the two contrary principles, masculine and feminine, which are found in an embrace as a symbol of the partnership, the unit and belonging, the union of two planets which find themselves in the same line of gravitation. In this movement, we discover the meaning of life. As well in its coniferous landscapes, the series recreates the representation of the power of vital force, of immortality.

Viv(r)e la vie! consists of 15 photographs, of 15 couples which meet in order to dance every Sunday in a community center. This series pays homage to those people who continue to live in the moment.

I began the series Viv(r)e la Vie! in Guadalajara, Spain, with the idea of putting together a set of series of 15 couples in different cities around the world, between 1 and 5 series in each continent and subcontinent. Couples of a certain age, people barely seen socially, but who have not stopped living life fully and whose close relation is photographed in the Sunday outing dances of the community centers of their area.

The photographs give visibility to people which, for a certain time, have lacked such visibility. This series, at the same time, documents the cultural diversity that exists between different cities and countries. All of this is seen through the behaviors and gestures of the dancing couples, in the relationships between man and woman and in the roles assumed by each of them, they also narrate each selected territory.

The second series of Viv(r)e la Vie! was developed in the American city of Philadelphia from June 7 to 27, 2011 thanks to an artist residency I have been granted by the Philadelphia Arts Hotel.



Bio

Ana Galán was born in Madrid in 1969. After receiving her degree in Economics, she completed an International MBA, which entailed studying in three different cities: Oxford, Madrid and Paris. In the last two courses, she wrote a thesis addressing “Speculation in Plastic Art”.

Since 1993 she has combined her passion for photography with her profession, attending various courses and workshops in Paris and Madrid, such as EFTI’s Master of Fine Arts in Photography, and since then has participated in several collective exhibits and photography projects.

She works as the marketing director for a magazine in Madrid, and lives between Guadalajara and Paris.

 

Related links

Ana Galan

 

161 thoughts on “Ana Galan – Viv(r)e La Vie!”

  1. Michal Daniel

    “…which evoke the Diptych of the Duchess and Duke of Urbino by Piero Della Francesca.” Man, that really sounds arrogant to me. To me, the images evoke on camera flash, as well as rather uninteresting family album type snaps.

    “This series, at the same time, documents the cultural diversity that exists between different cities and countries.” No it does not, as far as I can tell. To me, it documents similarity between the couples, potato mashed by flash.

  2. MICHAL

    noteworthy that you have not liked the two set up more theatrical efforts here, since that is what you do…that is, photograph the “set” so to speak…maybe that is why you are tough on the set up…fair enough, it is your world…in any case, i do look forward to soonest publishing your work..it will be interesting to see the reaction…i pretty much agreed with you on the set of war recreations…a phenomena i do not quite understand, but it is a genre..but this series just blows me away with a deep poignancy …and honestly i do not think Ana was being arrogant…she was not really comparing herself to Della Francesca i don’t think, but was merely using as reference that one face to face portrait….again, perhaps lost just a bit in translation…and she says, as do you, right along with this comparison that her work is “snapshots”….uninteresting? hmm, not for me….a straight photojournalistic approach to this same subject of couples who dance would more likely have been a big yawn….here i see the power of their connections…having their picture taken..how they want to show themselves…makes me somehow care about them…what were they like when they were young? .. a tenderness here …..flash? so? recreating the “look” of Della Franscesca pretty damned close was her intent.. how else you light these? reflector? ok sure ..yet leading to same look mas o menos….loving this more every time i look….

    cheers, david

  3. Michal Daniel

    “noteworthy that you have not liked the two set up more theatrical efforts here, since that is what you do”
    That is not at all what I do. Everything I do is absolutely not set up. What I do is photograph what already exists, sans flash, sans any interaction with my subjects.

    “i do look forward to soonest publishing your work..it will be interesting to see the reaction…”
    Looking forward to that as well. And thanks again for offering!

    “…and honestly i do not think Ana was being arrogant…she was not really comparing herself to Della Francesca i don’t think, but was merely using as reference that one face to face portrait….”
    Well, she said the photos evoke the painting. They do not, though she may think so. Which struck me as arrogant.

    “.a straight photojournalistic approach to this same subject of couples who dance would more likely have been a big yawn….”
    Disagree. Many, including your Magnum colleagues have approached the subject exactly in that manner and I found them to be fascinating.

    “…..flash? so? recreating the “look” of Della Franscesca pretty damned close was her intent..
    That may have been her intent. Doesn’t work for me. We differ. Life goes on.

    “how else you light these?”
    I don’t light, so I’d wait for the light to approximate the painting. Piero Della Francesca didn’t light his subjects either.

    “loving this more every time i look….”
    Looked again, for the third time. Have not changed my mind.

    Best!

  4. Michal Daniel

    P.S. Not sure if you saw it, but I replied to your private message on Facebook, and sent you a link to the possible selection of my theatre work for to edit down. Thanks again, and best!

  5. MICHAL

    i am on to your work etc, but i am traveling to Italy today, and honestly Michal i will not be able to talk to you until around Aug 1

    well, you do photograph stage sets..that is what i meant…photography that is a representation of a reality…a set up photograph…you may be shooting without lights, but the director of the theatrical production has done all the lighting for you..yes? or, am i missing something here?

    in any case, some people shoot w flash , some do not, some use b&w , some use color…these are are tools…personally i do not give a damn what people use…picture is there or it isn’t…

    i still just do not think Ana was being arrogant…i refer all the time to painters influencing my work, Goya, Caravaggio, etc yet have no pretense of anything other than influence…i think this is what she MEANT albeit if we translate literally then i can see what you mean as well…in general, photographers should never write about their own work beyond very brief intent….

    looked again at this work for the tenth time..have not changed my mind either…this IS the beauty of our craft…so many different ways to think…a very very good thing….

    back to you soonest amigo…

    cheers, david

  6. Micaël Martel

    I love this work, it is simple but so poignant and deep, you can almost feel the relationship in each couple. I think that it was the best way to represent the link that those couple share, its a very interesting point of view and a refreshing look.

  7. PAUL…

    hey i am rushing to airport..and i hope to hell you know i am just teasing …you have every right to like and not like what you want…

    by the way, i always loved the French Impressionists too, just for celebrating the everyday life, the non-event…..and light and moment etc etc..surely they influenced street photography the most right off the top…

    ok, running…take care…

    cheers, david

  8. I didn’t read the text beyond the first paragraph, so I am not going to comment on comparisons etc. There are elements here that I really do like. I like the genuine affection between the people (especially in 1 & 2). I like the simplicity where you can focus on the connections.

    The use of flash itself doesn’t bother me, but the harsh use of flash detracts from the tender moments taking place right there, in front of the camera. It doesn’t ruin the set for me, but it is a bit bothersome.

  9. I just like the sort of little different approach to take photos of couples which stand out a bit to what one gets moreoften to watch and also like to see the difference in each of them, but all this theoretical background I am afraid I fail to value.

  10. I like the intimacy and the subtext in some of the expressions. That is what makes it for me. I also don’t like the use of flash like it has been mentioned already but the more I look at them the more it fades and all I see is the undertone on the faces.
    I am wondering how long it took for them to settle in their skin sort of speaking….getting comfortable so Ana can capture those expressions?
    I really like #2….he looks like he is about to pounce on her….and she likes that. That’s what I see :)

  11. scary and awesome…this is crazy as shit…
    i like it! this “shot” is everywhere..in any home..always posed…the dream..the blue skies..the white clouds..the angels…
    the hope..the utopia..love..(the possibility ..of not being alone when old)…fear, real smiles/forced souls…i can stare at this, at the idea i mean forever and that makes it a great essay regardless if the photos could have been made by a holga a lomo, a polaroid or a D3X…or a rebel..
    If only human beings knew whats in the afterlife , then everyone would be more relaxed and stop faking it too much…love i mean by “it”!
    but again, wait until i reach that age and i might change my mind!
    Either way ,
    loves it!!!
    P

  12. I find it deeply offensive that the letter r in viv(r)e is being set apart from the rest of the word by brackets. It is just this form of blatant linguistic isolation from its social equals that creates feelings of isolation and anomie in young letters and so often leads to the creation of polysyllabic gangs and other forms of social and personal dysfunction. I believe that all such artificial barriers, and especially brackets, which are little more than a form of sociolinguistic control designed to maintain a corrupt system of domination over the socio-orthographically deprived, should be removed so that every young letter can live up to their fullest potential. The notion that the letters in the latter half of the Latin alphabet are not as important as the letters in the first half has been debunked more than once over the past fifty years, and yet here we are in 2011 still seeing manifestations of the same stupid prejudice. One wonders when this idea that some letters are more important than others will go the way of other silly 19th century European ideas as phrenology, Marxism, and the Welsh orgins of the American Indians.

  13. Akaky i fully disagree because:
    I DO NOT believe that all such artificial barriers, and especially brackets, which are little more than a form of sociolinguistic control designed to maintain a corrupt system of domination over the socio-orthographically deprived, should be removed so that every young letter can live up to their fullest potential. I think every young letter should be responsible as an individual of its own fate.

  14. One wonders when this idea that some letters are more important than others…
    ——————————————————————————
    A, as Akaky name starts is not as important as G.
    Akaky sounds much better than Gakaky (one the many reasons i despite Lady GaGa btw;)

  15. Michal Daniel

    @DAH

    “i am on to your work etc, but i am traveling to Italy today, and honestly Michal i will not be able to talk to you until around Aug 1”
    I’ve been doing theatre work for three decades, so no rush. :-)
    “well, you do photograph stage sets..that is what i meant…photography that is a representation of a reality…a set up photograph…you may be shooting without lights, but the director of the theatrical production has done all the lighting for you..yes? or, am i missing something here?”
    Yes, you are missing the whole point. Theatre work is like any other low light work. Lighting designers and directors (god forbid they get involved with lighting!) – like architects and interior designers – THINK they have the light figured out, but not for the camera, by an EXTREMELY long shot. I have to hunt and peck, just like anyone else in “real” low light situations. I’m mostly working at ISO 3200, and my cameras have probably never seen 500/sec. Most of the time I hover around 30/sec to 125/sec, wide open at f/2.8. What crap light they give me, I have to take. They run the show, and I around like a maniac to find an angles and compositions that work, in order to sum up the core meanings of the play of opera at hand. It’s basically plain old photojournalism, in an enclosed space.
    “in any case, some people shoot w flash , some do not, some use b&w , some use color…these are are tools…personally i do not give a damn what people use…picture is there or it isn’t…”
    I have no quarrel with that. Any part of the craft done right, so it becomes art, I’m all over it like a rash! This work does not give me shivers of pleasure or challenge.
    “i still just do not think Ana was being arrogant…i refer all the time to painters influencing my work, Goya, Caravaggio, etc yet have no pretense of anything other than influence…i think this is what she MEANT albeit if we translate literally then i can see what you mean as well…in general, photographers should never write about their own work beyond very brief intent….”
    Perhaps arrogant is the wrong word. But so is saying that this work evokes the Diptych of the Duchess and Duke of Urbino by Piero Della Francesca. I spent the day thinking about this, while attending a number of photo shows in Marseille. Here is what bothers me about the comparison with the Diptych of the Duchess and Duke of Urbino by Piero Della Francesca. One, there is a reason it is a diptych: Francesca’s pair seem to dislike each other. No contact, no emotion, nothing. He seems to be critical of this pair being together. He indicates this in every way. Yes, they are a couple. No, they are not in love. No, they do not really connect, in any way. On the other hand Ana’s work is about love, connection, true life together. Not a chance in HELL does her work evoke Francesca’s diptych in me. Not in a million years! So yes, photographers should just shut the fuck up, show their work, and let someone else blabla about it. Perhaps if I had nor read her blabla, I’d have not reacted so negatively.
    “looked again at this work for the tenth time..have not changed my mind either…this IS the beauty of our craft…so many different ways to think…a very very good thing….”
    Exactly! Room for everyone to carry something away, no matter what it is. Me? I spent the day thinking about this work. That counts for something.
    Best, love ya!

  16. I didn’t read the intro. Are these green screen shots, rear projection? Abuse of fill flash? These wouldn’t even place in a camera club competition. Geeze.

  17. Warts and all! Wonderful!

    Damn, Michal Daniel – the only arrogance I see is in your words (and Jim’s, of course – par for his course). I will look forward to David’s posting of your work, but don’t let the love of your own technique blind you to what others are doing.

  18. I love the way the couples look at each other. So intimate, so close.
    Usually, when you see people who obviously live longer together, in a restaurant, they do not look at each other, they have seen each other enough. But here, there is emotion, there is fire .. it is not only a dancing position. There is more.

    I like this essay much.

  19. Michal Daniel

    @Frostfrog

    I already said I may have chosen the wrong word, when I said arrogant. Keep up with the comments. And, I respect all techniques. I just dislike whey they are used in a manner that does not suit the situation. All my never humble opinion, of course.

    Best!

  20. It’s taken me all day to appreciate this, but of course thats what Burn is all about for me…
    Learning :)

  21. Michal Daniel:

    You said “So yes, photographers should just shut the fuck up, show their work, and let someone else blabla about it. Perhaps if I had nor read her blabla, I’d have not reacted so negatively.”

    Nobody forces you to read her “blabla”, you should be perfectly capable of looking at photographs without reading the accompanying text. If you think photographers should just “shut the fuck up”, why do you bother reading their words in the first place? Makes no sense.

  22. e·voke (-vk)
    tr.v. e·voked, e·vok·ing, e·vokes
    1. To summon or call forth: actions that evoked our mistrust.
    2. To call to mind by naming, citing, or suggesting: songs that evoke old memories.
    3. To create anew, especially by means of the imagination: a novel that evokes the Depression in accurate detail.

    Congratulations Ana for this beautiful essay. It evoked some glorious and optimistic feelings about the future in me. You know, there’s sometimes these worrying feelings about how life is going to turn out far away in the future. Will you get tired of the person you’ve already spent 40-50 years of your life with? Or will it just get better and better? Or will you just get tired of being tired of it and embrace your life and do something good about it? Like these couples are? Here it isn’t so much about the dancing in itself, it’s about them, looking at each other. How do they look at each other now compared to in the beginning? That’s the main question triggering my curiousity when viewing these.

    To keep the discussion going: Why should some honest views – which are subjective – be regarded as more arrogant or less correct than other honest views – which are also subjective? Facts can be ‘correct’, but views on art can’t. We all see differently.

    One of my subjective views is that these conceptual pieces didn’t evoke family album snaps at all. Not even close. Some more spontaneous overview shots of these old people dancing would actually fit better inside family albums. But that’s just related to my culture. Maybe conceptual stuff like this is appearing in family albums all the time in another part of the world. I have no clue.

  23. Michal – The fact remains, your words strike me as arrogant.

    It appears to me that the simple, elegant, beauty of this piece just passes over you.

    That’s what it is: simple, elegant and beautiful. This essay has been sitting out there since cameras were invented, just waiting for someone with the vision to find it. Ana did. In all that time, I doubt that anyone else ever has – only Ana.

    Sorry you missed it.

  24. Michal Daniel

    @Carsten

    “Nobody forces you to read her “blabla”, you should be perfectly capable of looking at photographs without reading the accompanying text. If you think photographers should just “shut the fuck up”, why do you bother reading their words in the first place? Makes no sense.”

    First, I looked at the photos. Said to self: family snaps. Then read the blabla and reacted to the blabla, because it was there. Makes sense now? If not, oh well, no skin off my back.

    @Frostfrog

    “The fact remains, your words strike me as arrogant.”
    Fine. The word I was struggling to find and didn’t until about an hour ago was presumptuous. I find it presumptuous for Ana to think her work evokes he Diptych of the Duchess and Duke of Urbino by Piero Della Francesca.

    “It appears to me that the simple, elegant, beauty of this piece just passes over you.”
    Look, I spent the whole day thinking about it. The work does not pass me over, but I do not feel the way you do about it. Am I allowed to feel the way I do about it, or must I feel about it the way you do?

    “That’s what it is: simple, elegant and beautiful. This essay has been sitting out there since cameras were invented, just waiting for someone with the vision to find it. Ana did. In all that time, I doubt that anyone else ever has – only Ana.”
    Not to me it isn’t. Again, do we all have to have the same reaction to other’s work? Is this like some kind of a thought police place, or what? You adore it, I don’t. Happens all the time. I simply voiced my never humble opinion, and you voiced yours. That’s what makes BURN catch fire. If we all agreed and loved everything posted here, it would likely be a smoldering heap or crap.

    “Sorry you missed it.”
    I didn’t. I just don’t see it the way you do.

    Best!

  25. No Michal, still doesn’t make sense. Unless of course you don’t really mean what you say, i.e. your categorical statement that photographers should “shut the fuck up”.

  26. “Not to me it isn’t. Again, do we all have to have the same reaction to other’s work? Is this like some kind of a thought police place, or what?”

    Not once did I say you have to think as me. I did not try to police your thoughts. I simply challenged them.

    Not everyone appreciates a Bach fugue, but it is a beautiful and elegant thing. Some people may not hear it as do others and might miss it entirely, but still it remains beautiful and elegant. Some hear it but miss it, you saw this but missed it.

  27. Not everyone appreciates a Bach fugue, “but it is a beautiful and elegant thing”……..that is your supposition not a fact as you have presented it to be.

  28. you saw this but missed it…… another presumption on your behalf and you are stating that there is something to be missed, maybe there isn’t anything that is missed

  29. in 1968, during vietnam war an american airplane with black servicemen could not land in Brisbane Australia because there were black people on the plane!

    (just 4 the history)

  30. In the summer of 2012, an airplane carrying Michal Daniel will not be able to land in Wasilla, Alaska because he is on the plane.

    (4 future history)

    I like the essay ok, especially the ones where the long simmering hate between the couple is palpable. The text though, does seem to be referring to a different essay. Cultural diversity? They all seem to be middle class white people who shop at the same retail outlet. Unseen people? Maybe for those who don’t have parents. And I’m sorry, but the second paragraph is one of the most pretentious I’ve read associated with one of these things, which is saying a lot. These photos hold the key to the meaning of life and immortality? Perhaps for thee… And yes, I am aware that one doesn’t have to read the statement, but the photographs and the words are presented as a whole so it would be wrong not to… imho

  31. In the summer of 2012, an airplane carrying Panos will be able to land in Wasilla, Alaska because he is on the plane.

    (4 future history)

  32. I LOVE this piece….

    now, i also LOVE Della Francesca…actually the great great dipytich of Duke and Duchess of Urbino was one of my fave paintings as a young guy and i too was obsessed with it for a long time..particularly the Duke and that magnificent nose….and i’ve always love was Della Francesca did with background…his foreshortening…his perspective flattened…and in truth, this kind of visual relationship between subject and background (just as in Chinese painting) was what i loved so much…obsessed really with pre-renaissance use of perspective and background….maybe it is because i was a painter before photography but the way Della Francesca played with geometry and foreshortening as such a cool and quite fun sense of space….and that extraordinary portrait…the noses, the eyes…their ‘huge’ relationship to the almost silly background….anyone see this painting in real life?: it’s magnificent….

    anyway…what i love here is not only the allusion to the work but the same sense of humor. Using flash and a constructed/photoshoped background is exactly what Della Francesca achieved, only here, in picture taking, it lends not only extraordinary humor (the lifeblood of any sustained relationship) but makes it that much more tender: we see THEM and their outersized life/love because of this perspective…because of the obvious construction…this is not an environmental portrait, it is a constructed portrait as an ode to love…and maintaining the same funny/motif background draws our attention even more to their faces, their tenderness…and this is all about construction, or rather, ‘real’ against the ‘fake’….

    the use of the crazy flash that heightens it…..like those great funny flicks that first use green/blue back to make movies…like watching Carey Grant and Grace Kelly drive their red beauty along the highway of ‘Monaco’…though it was all in a studio….the tenderness becomes even more because we know it’s in a studio, and yet, there is that chemistry…..

    wish to write more, but no time…

    maybe i’m just a sentimental old f&$ck, but what still gets me is the playfulness in photography….just great….and surely this isn’t comparing the work to Della Francesca, but is a modern, humourist variant on a wonderful tradition….

    man, i just don’t get the negativity at all….

    big smiles, and big congratulations Viv(re) L’Amour! :))))

    cheers
    bob

  33. Couples of a certain age, people barely seen socially……..maybe they are not living under the rock that you presently live under along with your pet ostrich

  34. Imantz:

    a Bach fugue, “but it is a beautiful and elegant thing”……..that is your supposition not a fact as you have presented it to be.

    : )

  35. Any plane landing Wasilla, Alaska, carrying anyone from these forums will be greeted by an open-armed Frostfrog who will also extend an invitation to dinner, an overnight stay and a discussion about the airplane that brought them here…

  36. Both Ana Galan and Mikel Bastida are using reconstructions to tell their stories. Mark Power has an interesting primer on this technique, here:

    http://markpowerblog.com/

    I first came across this concept in Jeff Wall’s “The Complete Edition”. Power attributes the first photographic reconstructions to Sally Mann; David and Rembrandt also made use of this approach in their historical paintings of both contemporary and past events. Religious paintings can also be viewed as reconstructions. The list is long to be sure, but it is a relatively unused technique in photography.

    Like Wall, Galan is using a particular painting as a take-off point. It is best not to look too critically at how this essay departs from the Duke and Duchess; yes, Francesca most likely didn’t use flash (!), but I don’t think Galen’s medium format film could have captured the dynamic range in the painting otherwise. And, while we are at it…most likely Francesca’s eyes couldn’t see at f22-64 the way Ana’s camera does, even though you wouldn’t know it from viewing the painting.

    Reconstructions can be made from a painting, as above, from history (Bastida), or from life (again, Wall…Crewson as well). It seems to offer an enhancement of a moment (Mann), and can be wondrously utilized in photography. Jeff Wall never shoots “street”, but will capture a moment from there in his imagination, and then recreate it later under his rigidly controlled direction.

    To me, reconstructions tend toward the academic, intellectualized, and introspective aspects of photography. There is a stripping of the non-essential, leading the viewer to come up with their own story, interpretation, and associations. Galan does this here, I think, and holds back in her written introduction on her reasons. Perhaps it has something to do with the way Piero Della Francesca – in positioning the Duke and Duchess level and eye-to-eye – predates the equality Galan shows us today with her dancers.

  37. In retrospect, I should have made one comment only, and it should have stated:

    “Simple, elegant and beautiful.

    “This essay has been sitting out there in plain sight since cameras were invented, just waiting for someone with the vision to find it. Ana did. In all that time, I doubt that anyone else ever has – only Ana.

    “Congratulations, Ana!”

    I apologize for engaging in silly little fisticuffs that accomplish nothing.

  38. I apologize for engaging in silly little fisticuffs that accomplish nothing…….not to all it gave me an insight into your ability to know how others think……..if you think something is beautiful then we all must also see it as beautiful otherwise we are missing something

  39. Oh oh! This essay sat in my head as I tried to sleep last night. In fact, I got up and had another look.

    I appreciate Bjarte Edvardsen’s reaction – “It evoked some glorious and optimistic feelings about the future in me.” I get that. I really do.

    Paul.

  40. WARNING! THIS IS JUST MY OPINION. I DO NOT CLAIM IT AS A UNIVERSAL TRUTH.

    DULL DULL DULL DULL DULL DULL DULL DULL DULL!

    Cannot think of a valid reason to ever look at these again. Not out of hate or spite…but just out of complete disinterest.

  41. The first 20 times I saw this essay I had the same reaction as most of the negative comments, for the life of me I just could not appreciate it, let alone enjoy it. In the end I just sat back, took it as it is… A very simple idea which depends totally on the look of love between each couple…
    The flash look is awful, even if it has been created on purpose…the back drop is always the same, gets soooooo boring and maybe that’s the point… I won’t ever buy a book on it but it has grown on me… But that has nothing to do with the photographer at all, only because of the love between these couples.

  42. I looked at these pictures several times, did n’ t really do anything for me I am affraid. I will keep looking and maybe they will grow on me..

  43. Strange how these repeated viewings affect our opinion. At first I didn’t like it much because I thought it was cruel, but as time went by I began to appreciate the naked cynicism of the piece. Getting these people, most of whom clearly hate each other, to embrace and look into each others’ eyes and then taking it to an altogether different level by claiming that to dishonestly pose for the camera is the meaning of life and immortality — well, that’s just brilliant. Just goes to show how easy it is to miss the point, eh Bill…

  44. Just want to jump in here for a quick comment….

    MICHAL

    “Lighting designers and directors (god forbid they get involved with lighting!) – like architects and interior designers – THINK they have the light figured out, but not for the camera, by an EXTREMELY long shot. I have to hunt and peck, just like anyone else in “real” low light situations.”

    Not to minimize what you do, I also shot theater for about 5 years as the house photographer for a regional theater… The lighting designers DO have the light figured out, for the audience. They are not lighting for television or stills. They are lighting for the human eye. They can give two shits what your camera sees.

    And while shooting in these low light conditions can be challenging, as long as a photographer does their homework by going to rehearsals before the final shoot, they have the luxury of knowing that the actors will do the same thing over and over and over….. Makes it a bit like shooting fish in a barrel.

  45. MW…
    Not arguing at all with your view on the essay, I’m really curious where you see the cynicism and how these couples clearly hate each other! I can’t look at the essay right now, as I’m out with my mobile but I must admit I can’t wait to get back home and look at with ”new eyes” and see if I can feel your point of view. However I must admit I did not get that feeling once yesterday :)!! Must admit I did find the women clearly much more reserved with their look and embrace than the men, who like all men are born hot and with sex on the mind and never change until passing away.

  46. MW – What I am most impressed by is that you have taken the time to give this essay all these repeated viewings – and then to think about it, and to come up with a cynical yet plausible and fun theory. Up until now, I had viewed the essay just once. After reading your latest comment, I decided that I had better view it again. And, actually, looking at those pictures a little closer, in some of them, I do see faces that seem to hate, despise, or perhaps wearily tolerate the other. But I also saw some that struck me as love. Real, genuine love.

    I am amazed that Ana was able to take all these people, put them in a field and then pose them in such a way as to bring out an expression of love, whether genuine or faked. I couldn’t do it. I don’t think many could.

    And yes, as Paul stated, the women tend to appear more reserved than do the men, perhaps, as he observes, because the women are tired of decades spent fending off the advances of the poor men who only want to do what God made them to do and then the church folk came along and said “you better not do that, because you’ll offend God if you do,” and after the babies fought their way out of their wombs, the women said, “Enough! Enough! Enough already! Let’s dance, and pose in a field, and get our picture taken with a flash and see what people have to say about it.”

    Anyway, even if cynical, your interpretation is a fun one.

    This does it for me on this one. In truth, I am in the middle of deadline and for some reason am finding it harder than usual to face up to it. What I have really been doing here these past two days is finding ways to avoid facing that deadline. One of those ways has been to come here and rant, to attack poor Michal in an unjustly vicious way and to give Imantz a chance to dig up the old, irrational, baseless, grudge that he insists upon carrying and to vent a bit himself.

    That’s what I’m doing right now – avoiding that deadline. But, damn, I have made commitments. I’ve got to put food on the table. I’ve got to face that deadline, and the three that follow rapidly behind it. It is so bad that I have put my blog on hold – I just put up my final post until September 15. I am thinking about putting all my internet distractions on hold, especially that sometimes fun but always huge time-waster, Facebook – but even Burn – or at least Burn comments. I will keep reading and viewing every Burn essay, but if I can resist, I will put commenting on hold for as long as my blog is on hold.

    So… see you in September… when the summer’s through… unless I lose you… to a summer love…

  47. Oldest trick in the book view something repeatedly one starts reading things that are not there like the advertisements “Where do you get it.” ……….. Where do you get it. Where do you get it. Where do you get it. Where do you get it. Where do you get it. Do you get it do you get it Where do you get it. Where do you get it. do you get it……………….eventually you get something but by then it is just a distortion

  48. It is really a pre-shoot for a advertisement of a retirement village. The people are deliberately made to look plastic hence younger without the photoshop tricks or plastic surgery thus emphasising health and a long life. This plastic look is easily obtained by setting a canon camera on the factory default setting, further enhancing the mass production I want to be different just like you look. That good old homely contented happy cow next to the red barn look. While the images pay tribute to the work of Chuck Close and his white American monied middle class images and 3d forms the underlying meaning is the shallowness of society………………. Don’t be fooled as the real message is “Don’t squander your money on your childrens’ future give it to us……………. etc and so on do you get it do you get it do you get it do you get it do you get itdo you get it we do

  49. Now that phot of the cute little polar bear next to the dead kangaroo may seem to be about global warming but is really about the bear stock market …….. A bear market should not be confused with a correction, which is a short-term trend that has a duration of less than two months. While corrections are often a great place for a value investor to find an entry point, bear markets rarely provide great entry points, as timing the bottom is very difficult to do. Fighting back can be extremely dangerous because it is quite difficult for an investor to make stellar gains during a bear market unless he or she is a short seller.

  50. Imants,

    You say “the underlying meaning is the shallowness of society”

    well, to quote your own words, “that is your supposition not a fact as you have presented it to be.”

  51. This plastic look is easily obtained by setting a canon camera on the factory default setting, further enhancing the mass production I want to be different just like you look..
    —————
    Lol…..
    Imamts I do envy your “precision” sometimes.. The above statement is something coming out of my “dictionary”… but as per usual your edge is sharper..
    U made me smile… Yeah hard to get out of the established/ “classic” plastic canon look it seems , especially for newcomers in this “game”:)

  52. Although Imants I think i can guess the artist’s “defending argument” too..
    Oh it was intentional.. I was striving to get the plastic Rebel look .. I wanted to look cheesy and strobe overexposed.. Blah blah..,
    Hmmm ok… If that’s the case then cool! If not then it’s also cool.. And that’s exactly
    The “problem” in this essay..imho

  53. marcin luczkowski

    I think in ours times there are two kind of photos. Those that look good in web and those that look best on wall (and some look best in book but it’s another pair of shoes)
    The pictures that look best in web must be strong, must be fast in impression, attractive. Because we judge them in five seconds. There is no time to think. They must be visual attractive and strong with message content.

    This series of photos is for wall for sure. I see them in white space of gallery. Big or huge prints. With this color- it will be great. And with this repeatability it could be puzzling.

    White walls, my friend. Walls, light, air, ground under feet. It’s all that is missing in this story.

  54. Imants…

    LOL!! I wish it was just specific to Canon rebels!
    But rest assured the 1Ds III a friend of mine owns and my trusty 1DS II pretty much have the same look!!

  55. Been away the last days, no decent internet to speak of, all I could do was reading RSS feeds.. so I read all the comments prior to look at the essay.. was interesting.

    Given Irina Werning’s essay was an EPF finalist (and then winner) it doesn’t surprise me to see this work here, and to see it works for DAH. To me it follows that same nostalgia path, even more so having, as said, read first the comments.. also no surprise that Ana got fundings from an US Institute. To me, when finished all the different series, then it will be interesting to see and compare the various couples/cultures decipted, very much a work in progress for now..

    Never would I have made the connection to Piero della Francesca, given the place I live in I see his paintings in form of postcards daily, and the look is just not it, imo.

  56. Marcin:

    David has stated more than once that he receives an average of 500 essay submissions a month for publication. I doubt he suffers from lack of choice for what to put up here! When finally he does make his choice, it is always an interesting excercise for us to come to some sort of conclusion as to why. Sometimes, I get it; sometimes, I need the help of Burnians for illumination; sometimes, it just simply fails for me.

    However, I will always give the images much more than a five second glance, and would be saddened if in fact the average viewer here would do otherwise…

  57. marcin luczkowski

    Jeff

    I am not sure what pattern David use when he choose essays for publications.

    I still belive, this essay could looks good on white walls.

    the repetition could give it new dimention.

    Well… I have to agree, this is not masteriece like Martin Schoeller’s did.

  58. Isnt the opening photo kinda scary? Female HEAD twice the size of the male….Lust on male’s face, Smirk on females face.. somehow (i cant prove it) i feel sorry for the guy..he seems ready to be devoured by a “black widow”..
    i would call this photo : “black widow”
    no6 also looks ultra scary,no 9 (also i feel sorry for the helpless old guy)..
    although the number 11 made me smile, -non so threatening photo- still, still the female cabeza is disproportional to that male one…
    (do male heads shrink? or simply no brain left inside?)

    Anyway, bottomline, i still like this essay for two extra reasons:
    1) it brought tears in my eyes (from laughter)
    2) it WARNED ME and scared the shit out of me, just by simply projecting myself..imagine myself in that old age , pretending im so happy next to my torturer, that Enormous Headed “Black Widow” that roasted me half of my life the torturer that some folks call Husband or Wife (same shit, different genitalia)…
    I hate science…The GOOD DIE YOUNG AND leave EARLY…the “rest” never give up..they hang on to this life with their nails and claws deep in the back of time…like professional Rodeo Riders hanging one more sec on that raging bull called life…
    like they deserve it or something…
    i hate science and all those researchers that trying so hard to find the elixir and discover new drugs to prolong life…the life of the “useless” and the “selfish” …im tired looking at moving corpses, 100 year old rich tourists in the greek islands..while at the same time the younger generations that need to be there, simply cant afford it!We slowly becoming an old tired , badly aged world!..Japan has a big problem for example..the young couples dont have more than one or two kids so in 40 years from now japan wont have enough people to work and sustain the OLD and their social security/medicare/drugs etc.. etc…
    Although the OLD ARE THE BEST CUSTOMERS FOR LEGAL DRUG DEALERS (glaxo and smith etc)..And the OLD criticize the young for DRUG ABUSE and thy fail to see the magnitude of their HYPOCRISY…
    there are MORE MAJOR DRUG ADDICTS/JUNKIES among-st the old than the young ..
    and what do u show a young kid on drugs: handcuffs, jail cells and poverty
    and what do u show an old faRT on drugs: RESPECT, LOVE and compassion!
    are you effing serious?
    dont u see the paradox? lies, lies, lies…
    “Respect the old”, (he he, mainly out of fear coz our time will come too)…
    SENIORITY MEANS…:”its ok if im not as good as you, as long as i was here first,im older than you and thats enough,therefore its mine”
    (yes i do have some major respect issues…my mother use to tell me: “if u r in the bus and u see an older person then u have to stand and offer your seat”…
    hmmmm really? why so judgmental mom? What if this old guy is a child molester or a rapist? why should i offer my seat? why not driving his car? just poor that gave all his money to raise his kids and send them to the college? or simply spent every penny in Las Vegas whores and casinos???????

    Sometimes, ugly photos can be more food for thought than great photography! Paradox? u figure it out! not my job!
    big hug

  59. Bob, “totally” is too strong a word. There is definitely a complexity to these people that is in most cases veers significantly in the other direction from starry eyed romantic infatuation that lasts for all eternity. There is a rich history of betrayals and disappointments written on those faces as well as some happy times. If this essay has significant merit, I think you’ll find that it gets it from that type of complexity.

    And Panos, give up your fucking seat for the elderly (and pregnant, hobbled, ladies, any old excuse). Odds are far, far greater that they are decent people like yourself suffering from pains which are no doubt exacerbated by the lurching of the bus or train. Seriously.

  60. I don’t think this work needs any art historical contextualizing. It’s transcendent all on its own. Congratulations.

  61. MW, Carlo…
    Monk Yes….pregnant girl Yes (even if she is 15)….!
    Ahhh its so easy (and expected) to be a cynic when young but it Should be a crime if elder..

  62. MW :)

    totally ;))…yea, i know. i meant that, for me, your comment was partly tongue-in-cheek, playing off the really, ummm, overly worked statement about love…and while yes, there is betrayal in the eyes of all long-bent-together couples, and there is cool/funny dark absurdity to the pictures (what i dig about them), i thought it was interesting to read the comments after your post…so i didn’t mean you were totally (f*$#&) with the artist or the commentators with cynicism…but with irony…and there is always truth in irony too ;))

    incidentally, i didn’t want to link originally but has anyone seen/bought Mikhailov’s Hasselblad Award book?….we bought it 7 years ago (or whatever) when he won…all about dancing couples…similar in spirit, but not set up…but the concept and irony is similar…

    http://www.photoeye.com/bookstore/citation.cfm?catalog=PK664&i=390824742X&i2=&CFID=19152799&CFTOKEN=31028844

    enjoy
    bb

  63. I don’t think there us any cynisism in this essay at all…
    We looking at a Spanish men and women who have a latin med mentality…
    Spanish women are natural born poker players… They hide their sexual emotions deep inside, it’s not seen as proper to show in public or to admit they love a man…
    The youngest generation is changing but still way off other countries…

  64. Paul…

    That is what will make it interesting to me, comparing the different sets coming from different countires/cultures/backgrounds..

  65. Bob..

    I do not do not do not need another book.. just ordered it though, it’s affordable.. do have his ‘A Retrospective’ one already…

  66. interesting as usual…the William Daniels essay , which got almost all positive reviews, 23 comments…this essay which has gotten mostly negative reviews , 95 comments..does this mean that people only write when they do not like something? or is controversy just more attractive than something “good”?

  67. William Daniels got the positives from those elite western types who seem to love seeing the ex eastern block countries typecast into a shallow, sad, downtrodden depressing places……………… William didn’t give a rat’s arse about the people and that is evident in the images.

  68. I didn’t like William Daniels essay, I found him removed at a distance from the people and more preocupied by cool images than telling the story about those portrayed in the photos.

  69. EVA :)))

    we must have been separated at birth….i say/do the same thing always :)))…it’s not crazy ‘Mikhailov’ (like Yesterday’s Sandwhich or Case History or Unfinished Disseration) but it’s a gorgeous book :)))….enjoy

  70. DAH, im afraid that IMANTS nailed it…
    Except from couple folks and the occasional NatGeo traditionalists/fanatics ., everyone IGNORED completely that “tulips” essay.. I hope Imants is wrong, I hope I’m plain wrong , I hope 90% of burn audience here is wrong but 23 comments are not “positive”.. It’s as negative as it gets.. Being ignored is more painful than being disliked..
    Imants is right.. Enough with that westterners approach of the 3rd, 4th and 5th world!

  71. David , audience also rights a lot positive comments too..
    THINK VISSARIA essay (maybe not best example coz she is a child) but
    people are also posting positive stuff..
    Now controversy is something u have to EARN and be a maestro creating it!
    So yes I VOTE for controversy ( this essay is not that much really- but but is as hilarious as that older essay posted here.. remember? About a fake Meeting/marriage/pregnancy/divorce etc , allure magazine style- PHOTO ROMANCE- essay).. I can’t( nor I should post it) remember the name of the photog .. sorry!

    So yeah the TULIP essay was like a classic visit to the dentist’s waiting room, not food for thought therefore not so much for the need to sit down and write anything positive or negative..
    ALSO REMEMBER that most commenters here prefer to NOT COMMENT AT ALL, on a boring essay out of kindness and out of FEAR that they will be accused as mean spirited or nor “advanced” enough and crappy fears like that ..
    But this current essay here .. It’s real fun.. Shot a little on the “lazy side”… Viva canon program “child” or “portrait” mode… a little pretentious/hilarious artists statement and there u have it.. Another Howard Stern show episode!
    At least not boring .. Hard to resist to not participate in this one ( either tongue on cheek or not )… We need more essay like this.. We need more laughter .. Kinda like the EPF winner ( ALTHOUGH
    THE EPF WINNER ESSAY had nothing to do with LAZINESS)
    the EPF winner had lOts and lots and lots of hard work invOlved- plus tech knowledge!
    So I see a very “successful” BURN essay here .. It kept most of us awake and not yawning , unlike the tulip cliche

  72. DAH… yes, negativity and controversy keeps forums like these alive. If I recall correctly, it was Jim Powers who once said you should not do the forums thing. This place would die a not so slow death if you were to pull the forum. (I know, of course you wouldn’t!)

    Arguing and debating and discussing the merits of this essay or that is an inherently negative and/or controversial thing. And that’s true of every internet forum in the world. The posts that blow up to 100, 200, 300 comments or more in a short time frame only happen when it’s controversial and usually negative. What would this place be if we didn’t have our regular Debbie Downers popping in every other day or so to lay down some negativity? ;^}

    People like to argue.

  73. . The posts that blow up to 100, 200, 300 comments or more in a short time frame only happen when it’s controversial and usually negative
    ——————————————
    remember christopher brown essay?….about Libya? He got 2nd in EPF race btw…he had a trillion comments…i didnt see anything negative nor positive…just plain “food for thought” comments..some in target some completely missed etc…Its a learning process commenting on essays..maybe Eva will drop a link, maybe patricio will post a movie, maybe this maybe that…but almost ALWAYS after i finished comments on a new essay..i had a more knowledge on matters that i ignored or was un aware of…
    Think outside black or white, good or bad, positive or negative…love it, hate it, enjoy it, mock it, u cant please anyone nor u should..
    but bottom line, (at least me personally) i always discover something “new”..not necessarily from the photos of any current essay but from the info from commenters..
    For Example i would never had the pleasure to be introduced on ARAKI’S japanese books if it wasnt for BOB BLACK commenting on someone’s essay ( i cant remember if the comment was under K.Lee’s essay , nor that it really matters )

  74. I hate to admit it but i personally LEARN MORE from the comm enters than most essays ..
    Paradox? i find comments more interesting than most Artist’s “statements” out there in the sphere of internet vanity!

  75. Essays looks like oranges but the folks here peel the orange , not most essayists , with some few BRIGHT exceptions of course ( no, no im not dropping any names ;)

  76. I look forward to seeing a new essay on burn…and probably with the same intensity as reading the comments right after everyone has taken a look. It’s fascinating reading different opinions and different takes on them…and yes all the great links to interviews and videos posted. It’s true for me that I have learned lots from comments alone…specially from David’s insight and anecdotes.

  77. Carlo , thats my point yes…Essays here are a stimulant, like an insect bite , or like a morning coffee …and then knowledge, humor, tongue on cheek and rarely mean spirited jealousy (but rare i think, although it exists – we are humans after all)….Essays are a great “excuse” for the audience to get involved, think and evolve (or not)..but mainly all those links, photos, movies, exhibitions, political crappy analysis (mostly mine;) , contests blah blah..all that information is priceless and would not have been available if there were no comments!

    Michael…exactly…i dont mind for that 10% of “negativity”, if the rest 90% of valuable INFORMATION benefit our thirsty souls!
    i ALSO OWE YOU too Michael K.coz If it wasnt for YOUR info ABOUT MAGNUM’S (POSTCARDS OF AMERICA), I would probably hear about it a little too late!
    Thank you (and i cant even recall under which essay you posted that info…nor that i care…Your Info Stayed , the Essay Gone!

  78. with all the iPhone/app crap.
    —————————-
    true , true.. but it also made me think of accepting / using, mixing more media etc,…still “tasty food for thought”!

  79. Here’s a problem that I personally face when it comes to making comments. When someone has put a piece of their heart and soul into a work, yielded it to the process and then put it on display for all to see, then I find it very difficult if not impossible to say anything that seems to me to be an attack at that person’s heart and soul. So I almost never say anything very negative about an essay. It’s also true, though, that when it comes to liking photography, my standards are much lower than those of many of the commenters here. I like almost all photography that I see – even the work of people who are so amateur they do not even call themselves amateur. And I have NEVER seen an essay on Burn that I have not liked. Not one. Some strike me more strongly than others, but I have liked them all.

    As to the opening statements – yes, there is often hyperbolic nonsense in those, but that is true of the photographic world in general when it comes to making statements about a work, whether those statements be made by the photographer or someone writing about the photographer.

    It’s a little easier for me to go on the attack when I see someone write words that strike me as being an unnecessarily mean attack upon a person’s heart and soul. That is what happened here. When I read Michal’s words, they struck me not only as arrogant, but mean. Then maybe I got a little mean toward Michal and so attacked his heart and soul.

    When I first found this forum, Jim Powers words almost always struck me as gratuitously mean and arrogant. They don’t anymore. They just strike me as… Jim Powers. And for all its outer callous, I believe there is a sensitive soul in Jim Powers.

  80. i hear you P!

    Glad that Magnum Bus trip worked out for you! I am hoping to maybe tag along or at least get to see part of the east coast trip… is that still happening?

  81. As far as some “confirmed rumors” go the Next Trip is gonna be “bigger and better” ..i think some nice folks are donating/pouring some money into the next trip after the success of the first one!..so stay tuned! i do too!;)

  82. Here’s a problem that I personally face when it comes to making comments. When someone has put a piece of their heart and soul into a work, yielded it to the process and then put it on display for all to see, then I find it very difficult if not impossible to say anything that seems to me to be an attack at that person’s heart and soul.
    ——————————–
    Bill, i think thats usually the case in low comment (indifferent) essays (of course its not the rule..just happens often)

  83. but with couple of “unfortunate” exceptions-viva Jim P. ( see comment: “psychotic photographer shooting their psychotic world), other than that i dont see many personal attacks…Yes M.C.Brown would/should catch some flak for the iphone app..but i dont think it was demeaning to his character or work…sorry boring u, keep repeating myself..but i saw all criticisms mainly constructive under Libya essay!

  84. Food is food..and we all need it!
    Same with food for thought…i can even learn something “new” just by opening a paparazzi tabloid too..there is always something to “feed the brain” even if it comes from a “negative” source like a celebrity or even Sports newspapers!…

  85. Essays, dialogue, comments on essays…Burn is so full of information! Whenever I look back to what kind of photography I was doing when I started reading Roadtrips I’m amazed how far I’ve gone and of course the amount of knowledge I’ve found here on Burn is breathtaking… There is no ”how to photo” book which can even begin to rival the information here.

  86. for example i do enjoy watching Le Tour De France not only for the sake of the race itself but the cameramen are doing some amazing shots and pulling some amazing footage , shooting from the back seat of motorcycles..a feast for the eye imho

  87. There is no ”how to photo” book which can even begin to rival the information here.
    ———————————————————-
    you are right in my mind Paul..couldnt have said/write it better…

    Burn/Road trips is the ULTIMATE “how to photo/think” book and it should be the size of the mighty “YELLOW PAGES” IF EVER PRINTED…its coming close to encyclopedia Britannica i think;)

  88. And I learn from everybody round here…
    The ”Holiday lights” Dialogue is loaded with information…
    The ”Detroit” essay last December had some extremely interesting comments and so did the ”Destino” essay…

  89. there is always a “book i need to buy” after i read a bob black comment…
    Here i discovered the Sally Mann movie, here i discovered “Situations , Room in Cambodia” by my fav D’Agata, here i discovered the movie “War Photographer” by S.Frei (Nachtwey, Amanpour etc)

    “War Photographer
    (2001) UR
    In this engrossing, Academy Award-nominated documentary, director Christian Frei follows photojournalist James Nachtwey into the world’s combat zones as he fights to capture the struggles of those who face harrowing violence in places such as Kosovo, Indonesia and the West Bank. Nachtwey skirts through murky politics to tell the stories of the suffering in hopes that he can bring attention to their plight, one picture at a time.”

  90. Oh and we must never underestimate DAH’s Twitter posts! The man really knows how to write short, direct and magically inspiring notes! Hope he never gives up on those! Remember being stuck in hospital last year and those little tweets really raised my spirits everyday!
    I think I’ll go back through all of them sometime and do a comment listing the top 25 DAH Twitter Posts!!!

  91. over here i heard about “Debtocracy”, “Inside Job”, “lose change 9/11″…
    it was David Bowen that posted that link about american helicopter killing civilians and photographer and my oh my..didnt they really enjoyed it!

    Collateral Murder – Wikileaks – Iraq
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rXPrfnU3G0

    Also again from Michael K. i heard soon enough about REVOK (THE graffiti artist) that got jailed and then i did my research, got in contact with TOOMER BEAR, graffiti artists united under mr. BRAINWASH and so much money gathered within 20 minutes…YES YES JUST in 20 MINUTES…they gathered $40000..for the bail…
    yes yes , all started over here …
    THANK YOU ALL FOR THE INPUT!!!!!!!!!!!

  92. Panos…
    The Nachtwey documentary is exceptionally special. I’ve shown it to friends who have nothing to do with photography who have come away ”changed” by it. My wife can’t watch the film she breaks into tears after the first five minutes… I’ve the same problem with his book ”Inferno” never been able to get through 2 chapters in the same reading… Feels also like a lack of respect for the poor souls he photographed not something to flick through through like Vanity Fair…

  93. And Burn is most certainly the only photography website who doesn’t care two shits about whst camera you’re using….
    Because we only care about your eyes, your heart and your need to scream out or whisper…
    Your truth.

  94. or even going back to my essays (venice beach or greece or whatever)…
    many many “negative” comments, about my vignettes/use of iphone/inconsistencies etc..i did not see the “neg” comments as “negative” at all…actually it was a point that Gordon L. asked me to send him the Raw file(of course i forgot), the photo with the two women Georgian immigrants , just to “play” around so to find a better exposure etc..

    https://www.burnmagazine.org/?s=greece (second photo in greek essay)

    Gordon made me think, so did MW and so did Imants while i was studying his Etrouko World!
    I hate hate hate to admit it but sometimes the comments/reference links end up being way more important than the actual essays themselves…Essays sometimes are the greatest EXCUSE for amazing conversations …

  95. Your truth.
    ————-
    Paul absolutely true..thats why i unsubscribed from Leica Forums for example..or other forums of this nature…pure elitist bullshit..”my jpeg is better than yours” although both of our photos suck!(yes they always forget to admit the latter)..
    yes i bought the best camera! i did my job! now time to chill on the couch with my martini reading the owners manual over and over again…

  96. There is something else that the Sonnar and some other Zeiss lenses have, and that is a very pleasant 3D feeling to the pictures. It´s not as clinical as pictures with some of the ASPH-Leica lenses sometimes can get. It just feels very pleasant, for lack of a better word.

    I would go so far as to claim that the combination Leica M9 and Sonnar 50mm sometimes is capable of producing results that can rival my Hasselblad film cameras with 60 by 60 mm film.

  97. “…I realized I was about to give up a lens that often produces great results and every now and then is unique and totally outstanding…The nice thing is that you almost get two lenses in one if you buy the Sonnar, a very pleasant dreamy look wide open and a very sharp one at f 5.6. I would get an even sharper lens for the same money if I got a Zeiss Planar 50, or an used Leica Summicron, but in most cases the Sonnar is sharp enough.

    And sometimes it can produce images that neither the Planar or the Sumicron can come close to.”

  98. A new ZEISS, f/1.5 normal for $750 felt like a bargain compared to a used Summilux 50, and definitely compared to a new Summilux.
    ——————————–
    so yes…when info comes from serious resources , its PRICELESS (Plus it can save u tons of $$)

  99. my lens is bigger than yours?

    I second what Paul said about burn being the “only photography website who doesn’t care two shits about whst camera you’re using”

    it’s great not reading about tech stuff. I’m not going to lie here but I do like to look at lenses/cameras and what not but to read pages upon pages of boring technicalities is lame…really lame. I could not imagine reading that sort of thing here.

  100. Burn/DAH/Anton kill in one foul swoop the myth that there is some magical trick, potion or secret code to becoming a good, great, outstanding photographer…
    It’s all just work and work, believing in yourself and listening to what means something to you.

  101. And this site is something special…
    Where else in the world can you ask a Magnum photographer for advice, who makes time to help all those who ask…

  102. slummingangel

    Sniping criticisms always say more about the critics than about the art. In a culture modeled by Washington, people have come to think it’s their responsibility to take somebody down; and so criticism is now reaching for the lowest hanging fruit. I was surprised when I posted comments a while ago to be criticized by a post that complained about my screen name being arrogant: if I had become the target. (The person who “critiqued” my screen name obviously missed the allusion and the homage to someone else.) Much more useful than the critics are the commentators like Bob Black’s post, in which he reflects on what Ana Galan’s work contributes to the photographic conversation, what she is trying to achieve and achieving, why she would enter into a “dialogue” with Piero Della Francesca, and what her work suggests about where she may be going. I don’t think DAH has it right when he speculates that the more comments/criticisms posted, the more impact an essay has. I think people here work themselves into a mob frenzy and feed on each others’ heat. My guess is that in a culture of free floating anger, the most potent works of art shock viewers into silence, the very opposite reaction from wanton blather. Silence is where we go when something is so fresh it reorders our world.

  103. I think people here work themselves into a mob frenzy and feed on each others’ heat.
    —————————————————–
    “here” in this earth? well, welcome to real world my friend! (time to abandon the church utopia)

  104. In a culture modeled by Washington, people have come to think it’s their responsibility to take somebody down
    ———————————————————————————-
    lol…exactly just like u did with the above comment

    (its weird how some folks look at their mirror and see “someone” else..someone they dont like)

  105. Bringing/beating BURN down, speculating that Washington is behind it…is at least (cant find appropriate word)!

    hmmm and all that under a troll name…cmon mrs/mr Important! Dont fire bullets hiding in your cozy anonymity,
    por favor

  106. about my screen name being arrogant:
    —————————————
    arrogance is cool if u can back it up with your work , hiding in anonymity isn’t….think before you attack,
    brother/sister, whatever your drivers license says you really are!

  107. Isnt it weird how many “Anonymous” love to bring BURN down ? they hate it, but they are still here…
    there is an App for that (sorry there is a word for that)…hmm what is it?
    its a common feeling i see In this world of ours (Washington is behind of course..lol) called BITTERNESS!!!

  108. “Where else in the world can you ask a Magnum photographer for advice, who makes time to help all those who ask…”
    ———-
    Not only that, you get the impression to be part of a wider community, or better: family. It is a place to center. You meet with friends, brothers and sisters. It is just great. I’m not writing very often, but I try to read all of it. I love this place.
    And hey, you can even joke – be it bags, or glass doors…

  109. and Thomas do not forget the most important: “we are controlled and guided by Washington, FBI, CIA , etc”, according to recent anonymous super reliable but unconfirmed sources…

  110. “We are controlled and guided by Washington, FBI, CIA , etc”, according to recent anonymous super reliable but unconfirmed sources…”

    Panos, my Uncle Steve does not count as a super reliable source. His sources of information are his drinking buddies at McNally’s Bar & Grill, none of whom, as far as I can tell, have gotten off their barstools since Eisenhower was President and whose understanding of current events is somewhat limited, given that none of them have managed to get past the sports pages in the Daily News since the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles.

  111. I think his liver goes to the meetings every once in a while, but that’s only because the Mets won the World Series in 1986 and he promised my aunt that he’d go if they won. Uncle Steve doesn’t really want to go, so sending the liver is the next best thing. The liver needs the help more than Uncle Steve does, anyway.

  112. lol…couple months ago, mr RZ accused us as an Israeli propaganda magazine, now we belong to Washington, whats next? Goldman Sachs? Is Burn responsible for the financial crisis in greece…
    Damn i loved that Imants’ Tasmanian Devil youtube clip..
    where can i find it? Burn comm-enters are Tasmanian Devils!

  113. “slummingangel”…

    it’s funny how you say “In a culture modeled by Washington…” etc. What a simplistic, US-centric view. Go broaden your horizons, then try again.

  114. slummingangel
    (July 22, 2011 at 3:17 pm)SAID/generalized to ALLL of you:
    “…I think people here …
    mob frenzy and feed on each others’ heat…
    a culture of free floating anger…
    In a culture modeled by Washington…”

    My answer in your own words:
    “Sniping criticisms always say more about the critics”

Comments are closed.