Monthly Archive for May, 2008

ok, please, no more phone calls or e-mails to Karen Mullarkey!!!  the woman is overwhelmed…Karen  says her e-mail is on total overload…her computer is smoking!!! she cannot handle any  more portfolios or inquiries from us  at this point…

from now on , if we get a request like this, i think i will have to select a few of you to submit…an "open call" will just create chaos…. this should now lead to a discussion on how to approach an editor, how many pictures to show, etc etc….actually, i know Karen’s frustration….most of you have websites with just way way too much to view…maybe this is terrific for your friends etc., but busy editors trying to see what a photographer can do, just is not going to "edit" for you…

there should be a big difference between your web presentation and your archive…two totally different animals….many fail to see the difference…..

rather than really seeing the good pictures you do have, many editors will just exit in frustration over just too too much miscellaneous material…they do not want to go on a treasure hunt…they want to see the really best work …fast, concise, clear…period…

this will lead me now to interview two or three professional editors for you, so you can hear it directly from them…

this is a topic that comes up from time to time…or maybe even all the time…EDITING, PRESENTATION….
do most of you feel that editing/presenting is your most formidable task???

i have gone over everyone’s suggestions for a month long project ….some ideas are fairly complete and some are in "development"….it would be nice to have all photographs  "in" by around june 15 for our first "go around" of completed assignments…..

ok, here is how i see it right now…..i chose these photographers based on their ideas and my opinion of their ability to "make it work"….

James Chance ……………"Living in a Cemetery"

Jean Sébastien Bréault….."Mixed Heritage"

Cristina Faramo …………."Women’s Recovery House"   

Panos Skoulidas………….."Venice Beach"   

David McGowan ………….."Garage Sale" 

Jonathan Hanson…………."Crime Scene"

Marcin Luczkjowski ………"Hometown"

Bob Black …………………"Bones of Time"

photographers with projects in development, but not yet totally "realized" include  Erica McDonald , Eric Espinosa, Audrey Bardou, and Kyung Hee Lee….discussions with these photographers and others will go on this week and assignments could be made at any time…but, i do not want to have more than 10 photographers on assignment this month….even that is probably too many, but let’s see how it goes.

there are no requirements or expectations on "quantity" of work …there will, of course,  be high expectations from all of us regarding the "quality"…i will publish here the best pictures from each set of assignments  along with a short story written by the photographer or a writer of the photographer’s choice…i will discuss and work with each photographer on the picture selection process…this will be a collaborative effort between thee and me…..

some of you may enjoy posting "as you go" for group critique….others may want to wait until the end before showing your final selection….

if you feel that i somehow missed the point of your proposal or if you want to re-submit your idea , please feel free to do so….this is totally a "work in progress" and i am running this in the same way that i would run a workshop assigning process and the way many "real world" assignments are given…

i also plan  to have my colleagues in the "real world" help to edit your work….iconic photographers and editors alike…so, now is your chance to show what you can do ……

if you feel your story cannot be done or is not going well, please say so….we can give an assignment to someone else and wait for you to re-think or re-structure….you definitely want to use this time and this space to your best advantage….

like most freelance photographers, i end up trying to do too many things at
once…we sort of have to, because juggling our schedules and our time
is definitely an art in and of itself..we must try to make sure the balls do not all hit the
ground at the same time…

now i am trying to get to California for two reasons….work on my family project and see a gallerist…there is a possibility that i could do a weekend seminar with the Julia Dean Workshops on the weekend of  May 30… this  would finance my trip to the wild wild west since i am self funded on my family essay…

so, this would be a last minute weekend jam..Julia needs 15 students to sign up to make it possible…she cannot market this class this fast….so, i thought i would mention it here to see if there are enough Californians here that could make this happen…if you think so, call Julia Dean…if a few of you were to show up for this class, which is smack in the middle of Venice Beach, yes Venice Beach,  then you might just imagine the weekend we would have…hmmmmm..

if this works , cool…if not, i have plenty to keep me busy…i just thought the timing of this was fortuitous.

for those of you who freelance, are you often pre-occupied with juggling your schedule, as i am possibly doing here, or do you stick to an original plan???

http://www.juliadean.com/contact.html

ok, i might have a good idea….but, i will leave it up to you to decide right here and now…

it is based on the premise that all of us on this forum are struggling with how best to showcase your work…yes, we do a lot of talking and there is some brilliant writing here always, but why not really "show our photographic hand" in the most provocative way…

this idea also does not conflict at all with my own photographic work which will flow right along with yours…that has always been the potential danger of this forum, that either i would "lose" myself to you by sacrificing my work to on-line time,  or you would get lost in the same way by not shooting because you were spending too much time here…..i think this idea solves both potential problems…it should also ramp up creative vibes for all..

so, here is my idea:

i give out short assignments or projects….on an individual basis …..maybe i choose two or three photographers per week or per month or whatever…at the end of the week or month (we can decide) each photographer presents this work right here for us all to see and critique…

for example, i ask Erica if she has time to shoot 5 portraits of people  next week that somehow reflect the election process in the U.S.; i suggest to Glenn that he give us whatever he can on a "ringer" bar life; find out if Katia can follow just one of her "lost" teenagers for a few days to see a parent; have Rafal do something very special with his wife and new son; see if Marcin can photograph his wife with her work; make Panos stay in one place for a week, like Venice Beach, and do self-portraits either literally or figuratively….

these are just examples, perhaps not viable ones, but i think you get the idea…and the photographer would either agree or modify or choose not to do it or whatever…but each assigned photographer would go out for several days, personal time permitting,  and do something as per announced to this group in advance..sure, the pressure would really be "on" because we would all be waiting and, more pressure still, we would all know the intent of the photographer in advance…….anybody up for this??

we would all be doing  this  just as an excercise…no dinero for any of us…an all volunteer army….my fund for emerging photographers is growing, but i want to figure out the best way to distribute these funds among the photographers who are members of this forum…this seems like a great way for you to get to know each other better and for me to see you produce in a relatively short period of time..but quantity of pictures would never be the yardstick…one truly fine photograph is always enough..

in the coming weeks i will be selecting members of my jury of peers to help me select future photographers to be funded here by EPF….this will be a way for all of us to get to know you  better and in a realistic way…this is not a contest…there will be no "winner"… ..all of you will see all of the work just as it is presented by the photographer…the only burden will be on the photographer personally….

any photographer who thinks i do not know their work can send me a web link….since i would only assign perhaps two or three photographers  at a time, i would have plenty of time to see incoming new links, as would all of you as well…

i can feel it in my bones already that some of you may suggest the old tried and true notion of giving everyone the same assignment…this is always a nice little "game" but does not really tell a curator or an editor what you can really do with a subject that really "fits" you individually… my inclination is not to go for the "group assignment" concept…

when the time comes for me to be  able to give funded projects here and also continue an annual Emerging Photographer grant , all of us  will have a very good idea of the "pool of resources" from which jurors chose…various details will need to be worked out later…now i just want to get your opinions on the basic concept…

i think this sounds like fun….i would want it to be fun for you…otherwise there is no point to do it at all….i cannot see any downside to it, but maybe you do…i will only go forward with a full fledged mandate from you….

please let me know….good idea??