It’s not too often that great photographers are also great teachers, but this is the case with Cig. I took her Exploring the Personal Narrative workshop at the Santa Fe Photography Workshops during the summer of 2007. And it was the most transformative, photographic experience of my life. If you are interested, she’s teaching this summer at The Workshops.

Cheers-

Krissy

Regarding Cig Harvey. If anyone ever looked around their suburban home and whined that there’s nothing there to shoot, has she ever proved them wrong. At first i was not too excited. Very stylized, i thought. But i made myself stay and study..what a color palette, what light, what a humble presence she has within the frame. She is not the point of the photograph. She uses her body to make her point. This is what i like. Her portfolios at first glance look like they’d be advertising linens. And they could do that. But they have carefully constrained claustrophobic middle-class madness going on. Yum. There’s no madness like middle-class madness because absolutely no one knows or cares beyond your own front door. Sell those linens, sweep those floors but don’t anybody drink the cool-aid.

thanks, David..more fuel for thought, you devil ;)

kat~

Patricia

you are right on…after all, this is a discussion…a discussion on a topic that arouses passion just as it should…i love the fact that we are able to fly free form in all of our varied opinions…and i for one love to play “devils advocate” right from the get go…does anybody think that i put everything up on BURN because i think it would look great on my wall at home??? is it not obvious that i publish some things just to excite the kind of conversations that we have??? wouldn’t it be boring if only one kind of photography was represented here??

i will be rolling into the northwest in April…i hope this will be our chance to meet…

always good to have you here Sidney…and if Jim does not come back, then “tag”, you are it!!

cheers, david

Cig http://www.cigharvey.com/

for Jim:

well, my contentious comments were never meant to suggest that you are ‘disruptive’ nor would i have ever written if the intention was to see you vanish just as sure the intent for you to write was never to share in agreement. Loss of anyone who brings themselves to the dance floor (or rodeo ring) is a loss, and one no one wishes, no matter how wide or thin the Pecos….

-bb

C’mon hombre, stick around! Some of us find your bluntness refreshing. You are no more ‘disuptive’ than several other frequent commenters I can think of… including me! In fact, I have enjoyed a bit the fact that you are taking much of the flak from the defensive guns while I have lately been slipping under the radar… not that I agree with a lot of what you say, but I do agree with some of it… and I like the balance it provides (and I like watching the sparks fly).
Now, if on the other hand you find following this site an energy drain and waste of time because none of the photographs or points of view excite your interest, or because interacting with the callow, artsy, and occasionally self-righteous bloviators here is unpleasant and unproductive… then so be it, and I FOR ONE CAN DIG IT! But there’s an online community here that’s rare, and often the discussion rises to substantial heights… where else can you talk photography with this much élan? So maybe you should hang out… no need to jump on every new post if you don’t feel like it, but when the spirit moves…

Cheers,

now wait a minute!!! you can’t just up and leave now…nobody said you are a “disruptive force”..i only said your comments led to interesting discussion….i did challenge you to make sure you had all the “facts” straight, but that is fair enough i think and all part of the discussions you have fostered…we have all written so much based on your often blunt but provocative comments…i sure as hell have no problem with that, and if you do “push buttons”, so what???

come on back…we are ready and waiting….

cheers, david

Okkkk, now i found her..will check her out later..thanks for clearing that up! oh, btw…i thought all night about self-portraits..couldn´t get it out of my head..when you´re ready, i´m on!

best
kat-

no Sig Harvey??? hmmmmm, let me see where we can find her…i am flat out surprised she is not on Google…give me a little time, i will track that woman down!!!

(one minute later) MY BAD…..it is Cig Harvey with a “C”….sorry…check her out…..

cheers, david

good question….some photographs move us, others do not…all very subjective and hence the discussion here….the intent of the photographer does not matter in terms of whether or not the picture “moves you”…however, there are some schools of photography that suggest that “emotion” is a negative and other schools that suggest just the opposite….studying the various “schools” and understanding clearly the history of photography (a short one indeed) and its relationship to painting and it’s role in communication will help…in the end, it is just your personal taste….but, this taste can change with time as it does in all of the arts….the more you see the various kinds of work done by the various masters in each “school” the more you will be able to discern “good” from “bad”…or at least be able to know where a photograph “stands” in relationship to what has gone on before it in that particular discipline…

cheers, david

well you damned well should..i don´t say that kinda stuff everyday!

kat-

My world has been one in which I seem to be the only person who “lives” photography. It is total love. Here at Burn I’ve found that I’m not alone.

I’m 58, Jim and I presume we are of a similar age? Remember Jim, many of the people posting here are young; they want to fly. The photograph we see may be the first time that they have been published. What they need is not faint praise but genuine comment and advice, Telling them that their photograph “wouldn’t even make page 9 in the Crawford Gazette is not helpful: at least not unless you tell them WHY NOT.

You’ve been around for a good-few years Jim and I’m sure that you can do better. Even photographs that you don’t personally like must remind you of similar work by a more established photographer – even if you don’t like that work either. Putting a link to the established work is helpful. The new photographer follows the link and says to him / herself “Wow, how did he / she do that”? They have grown. It’s all thanks to you. Positive vibes Jim, positive vibes!

I asked you on the last post (i think) do you like the work of Pep Bonet of Noor photo agency? I’d like to know what you think Jim. What’s your favorite photo book Jim? O.k. too tough a question; name 4 books that you admire?

Anyway, how did you manage to get a gratis invite to a DAH workshop AND a beer at the beach house?

Stick around,

Best wishes,

Mike.

Just one more comment about the technique. I thought I was clear enough, but I guess not. I may be young (25 years old), but I work very hard to ensure that my darkroom (or whatever darkroom I am using at that particular time) functions properly. There was no light-leak in either the developing tank or the tray. I think the confusion about the image stems from a scan that I guess looks funny on some people’s monitors (everyone’s is different), people not being familiar with what can be done with a traditional print, and the lack of context.

To provide a little more context, I exhibited this group of images (in varied form) twice while I was in Korea (here is a link to one of the galleries: http://www.gallery-now.com/html/ex_list.html?nList=57). Since I have been back in the States, I have been lackadaisically trying to exhibit them here.

It really is interesting for me to follow these discussions (not so much the more personal ones, but definitely the photographic ones). Keep them up.

-Noah