ok, time to lighten up a bit after probably going too far down the dark road of betrayal…although actually mostly positve energy came back with the comments from the "fake" post…as a matter of fact, all of it was positive…thank you all…

but, now saddle up for  a little quiz…and prize (yes yes , one of my old camera bags and since it is the holiday season also a signed copy of "Living Proof")….and surely there will be an interesting discussion following…

i am going to list eight well known photographers…who happen to be friends and so i know their habits….four of these photographers only carry a camera with them when they are on assignment or working…i have never seen these four ever shoot a picture….the other four always have a camera with them and often shoot their daily life or us hanging at the bar…

to win the prizes, you must pick which four "do", which four  "don’t",  carry a camera always…the first person to get all eight identified camera-wise correctly is our grand prize winner…

it should be obvious that whether or not  these photographers "do" or "don’t" has nothing at all to do with the power of their respective works….

so, which four have camera??    which four , no camera:

 

elliott erwitt

philip blenkensop

james nachtwey

bruce davidson

lauren greenfield

joseph koudelka

steve mccurry

cristina garcia rodero

138 thoughts on “camera……no camera”

  1. David,
    Finally I’m seeing a post as it goes up. Hmm, I feel like I’m only guessing on two; so here goes:

    Elliott…..Camera

    Phillip…..Camera

    James…….No Camera

    Bruce…….Camera

    Lauren……No Camera

    Joseph……Camera

    Steve…….No Camera (at least when I met him)

    Cristina…..No Camera

    Now, I wonder, are you camera or no camera?
    Personally, I’m no camera. Good on ya, David.

    ~Dylan

  2. Hello David,

    I just discovered your blog and have had a great time reading it over the past two nights. I thought I’d give your trivia game a stab as my first post.

    I believe the photographers who always carry a camera are:

    elliott erwitt

    bruce davidson

    joseph koudelka

    cristina garcia rodero

    I believe the others, Philip Blenkensop, James Nachtwey, Lauren Greenfield and Steve McCurry do not.

    Thanks for the quiz and I look forward to reading your future posts.

    Take care,

    Sean

  3. Rossen Apostolov

    Hi David…

    Here is my answer:

    elliott erwitt – does

    philip blenkensop – does not

    james nachtwey – does

    bruce davidson – does

    lauren greenfield – does not

    joseph koudelka – does

    steve mccurry – does not

    cristina garcia rodero – does not

  4. I think my guessing won’t get any better with time, so here it is:

    do:
    elliott erwitt
    bruce davidson
    joseph koudelka
    lauren greenfield

    dont:
    james nachtwey
    steve mccurry
    philip blenkensop
    cristina garcia rodero

    Wonder who it really is.

  5. Since I’m the very lucky winner of the bag in your last conetst, I’m not even going to answer. But I will let you know that every time I take that bag along on a shoot I think of your generosity. Good luck to the next winner — it’s cool to carry a Harvey Bag.

    Cheers,

    don

  6. OK, to stir the pot a little more:

    camera:
    elliott erwitt
    joseph koudekla
    bruce davidson
    cristina garcia rodero

    no camera:
    james nachtwey
    lauren greenfield
    steve mccurry
    philip blenkensop

    …and you? ?

  7. Hey David I think you should also ask the reasons that people do and don’t carry a camera with them, like would it be that say Phillip wouldn’t carry a camera unless on assignment because, well, his hands are full of Mojitas at the bar?

    And should the terms be refined, do snap happies count?

    BTW Thanks again to you and James- you’ve helped me unleash my inner Edward Hopper!

  8. My $.02:

    Elliot Erwin: Does
    Philil Blenkinsop: Doesn’t
    James Nachtwey: Doesn’t
    bruce davidson: Does
    lauren greenfield: Doesn’t
    joseph koudelka: Does
    steve mccurry: Does
    cristina garcia rodero: Doesn’t

  9. OK…merely guesses:

    elliott erwitt—–no
    philip blenkensop–no
    james nachtwey—–no
    bruce davidson—–yes
    lauren greenfield–yes
    joseph koudelka—-no
    steve mccurry——yes
    cristina garcia rodero–yes

    Happy Chanukah, by the way, to those who celebrate!

    Shalom.

  10. My guess:

    Nachtwey – no camera
    Davidson – no camera
    McCurry – no camera
    Greenfield – no camera

    I have no clue. :-) good fun though. Thanks David.

  11. Hi David..(and Michael).

    the following individuals have been caught carrying camera gear when not in assignment.
    elliott erwitt
    bruce davidson
    joseph koudelka
    lauren greenfield

    These ones have not….
    james nachtwey
    steve mccurry
    philip blenkensop
    cristina garcia rodero

  12. elliott erwitt: camera
    philip blenkensop: no camera
    james nachtwey: no camera
    bruce davidson: camera
    lauren greenfield: no camera
    joseph koudelka: camera
    steve mccurry: no camera
    cristina garcia rodero: camera

    unsolicited bonus answers:
    DAH: camera
    Trent Parke: camera
    Alex Webb: no camera

  13. :))

    Don’t:
    james nachtwey
    steve mccurry
    joseph koudelka
    philip blenkensop

    Do:
    elliott erwitt
    bruce davidson
    lauren greenfield
    cristina garcia rodero

  14. Hey David, sorry not to be on track with the blog conversation but I think this is the only place where I can give you my email etc..
    So the Party is on Friday 14th dec after 9 pm, I hope you can make it… email me for the direction..
    Take care
    M

  15. Hey David,

    So great to find your forum and start catching up on your goings-on. Having seen several of your friends both with and without camera, my best attempt on the rest would be:

    Always With Camera:
    Me
    elliott erwitt
    bruce davidson
    philip blenkensop
    joseph koudelka

    No Camera- Only On Assignment:
    lauren greenfield
    james nachtwey
    steve mccurry
    cristina garcia rodero

    Cheers! Looking forward to a “cold one” and maybe some Don Julio Reposado sometime.

    Warm regards,
    Tom

  16. cameras with

    erwitt
    davidson
    koudelka
    mccury

    cameras without:

    blenkensop
    nachtwey
    greenfield
    garcia rodero

    damn, im late, but oh well…

    hugs
    bob

    p.s.

    alan harvey: with camera always

    black: without camera, unless

  17. Guessing for some of them:

    do have camera:
    elliott erwitt
    bruce davidson
    joseph koudelka
    james nachtwey

    don’t have camera:
    steve mccurry
    philip blenkensop
    cristina garcia rodero
    lauren greenfield

    And you David ? Are you always with a camera?

  18. elliott erwitt, does

    philip blenkensop, no

    james nachtwey, does

    bruce davidson, does

    lauren greenfield, no

    joseph koudelka, no

    steve mccurry, no

    cristina garcia rodero, does

    Is this a trick question?

  19. since i have simply no clue whatsoever, it is good fun to make a wild guess :)

    philip blenkensop – camera

    joseph koudelka – camera

    steve mccurry – camera

    cristina garcia rodero – camera

    elliott erwitt – no camera

    james nachtwey – no camera

    bruce davidson – no camera

    lauren greenfield – no camera

  20. No Camera:

    Steve McCurry
    James Nachtwey
    Lauren Greenfield
    Bruce Davidson

    Camera:

    Elliott Erwitt
    Philip Blenkensop
    Joseph Koudelka
    Cristina Garcia Rodero

  21. :))

    do:
    Elliot Erwitt
    Bruce Davidson
    Steve McCurry
    Lauren Greenfield

    don’t:
    James Nachtwey
    Philip Blenkensop
    Cristina G. Rodero
    Joseph Koudelka

    have i won? :))))

  22. a wild guess for a wild crowd…
    YES
    Koudelka
    Erwitt
    Greenfield
    Davidson
    Harvey :)

    NO
    Nachtway
    Garcia Rodero
    Mccurry
    Blenkensop

  23. elliott erwitt – yes

    philip blenkensop – no

    james nachtwey – no

    bruce davidson – yes

    lauren greenfield – no

    joseph koudelka – yes

    steve mccurry – no

    cristina garcia rodero – yes

  24. Sure is fun reading!

    I’m not guessing, because I already have too many bags, but I will ask who sees more, those who do or those who don’t?

    Who ends up with the greater number of keeper photos?

    Who has the least chance of getting mugged?

    How many of you would use your camera to defend yourself?

    How many would use yourself to defend your camera?

    Is photography a job? an activity? a way of of life?

    Night All,

    Michael

  25. Michael,

    I got smashed in the face by my camera a number of times when a volleyball came directly at me. Silly me… I don’t think it really protected me! I did protect IT from a couple of bad football games and my son. :-) We have a love/hate relationship.

    Photography was an activity as a child, became a “job” in college, and now is becoming my way of life! What about you?

    Diana

  26. With Camera
    Joseph Koudelka
    Lauren Greenfield
    Elliot Erwitt
    Cristina Garcia Rodero

    Without Camera
    Steve McCurry
    James Nachtwey
    Philip Blenkinsop
    Bruce Davidson

  27. I’m sure that:
    Leonard Freed (R.I.P.)
    Antonin Kratochvil
    Francesco Cito
    and other photographer that I meet personally use to have a camera always with them.
    I think the question is: who carry a camera always? who not? and why use to carry or not.

    Greatings from italy

    Paolo

  28. Question, David: Do you mean that you literally have never seen them take a photograph? Because that would change my answer for a couple of them. Or can you not answer? Or am I too late?

  29. I have no idea but I want that BOOK! Merry Christmas to ME! Ha!

    elliott erwitt – Camera

    philip blenkensop – No Camera

    james nachtwey – Camera

    bruce davidson – Camera

    lauren greenfield- No Camera

    joseph koudelka – Camera

    steve mccurry – Camera

    cristina garcia rodero – Camera

  30. My guess would be the same as Sean’s so I’m too late to win. I don’t have a camera with me most of the time because I find it really hard work taking pictures. I’d just be tiered all the time. David do you ever snap pictures or are you always very focused with your eye behind the camera?

  31. david alan harvey

    JASON…

    it means that i literally have never seen them with a camera in their hands….or around their neck….or take a picture….in two cases, i have known them for 30 years or so and hung around with them a lot!! but, of course, i do not go on assignment with these photographers…you may change your answer if this clarifies…

    ALL…

    as the imaginary list goes on and on in my mind, it is pretty obvious that some photogs only use their camera “to go to work”…others find it part of their everyday life and may take their cameras with them to the grocery store or dentist..

    i limited this list to eight to make it easy to think about…i could have made at least six lists of eight and been able to split it 50/50 quite easily …. as i think about it more and more it really becomes a potentially interesting dialogue ..BUT it also clearly indicates how photog A or B thinks about HOW they “work” but is IRRELEVANT to the quality or depth of the”work” itself …so, this is just a game or curiosity, not a judgement!!!

    and , for me, knowing the answers, it is really interesting to see who you think carries a camera with them all the time and who does not…and it makes me wonder why you think one way or the other…fun!!

    one of the photogs that many imagine carrying a camera everywhere is one of the photogs i have never seen with a camera!!!

    anyway, i will let this roll awhile longer….some were sleeping when it started, so 24 hrs. worth or so should give everyone a chance…

    and remember this question could apply to many professions…

    for example: would formula racer michael schumaker enjoy driving his kids to the beach; would a crack fighter pilot necessarily enjoy flying from point A to B; would a famous pro golfer like playing a sunday game of golf with friends??? (maybe this would be how the photogs who do not carry cameras would identify)

    OR …is robin williams just as funny off camera as on; is meryl streep always acting, movie or not; could picasso just not stop painting, commissioned or not; was hemmingway writing to live or living to write?? (this is the group with whom photogs who carry cameras all the time may identify)…

    cheers, david

  32. Here my guess, based on pictures seen very fast on internet.

    elliott erwitt: camera
    philip blenkinsop: camera
    james nachtwey: no camera
    bruce davidson: no camera
    lauren greenfield: no camera
    joseph koudelka: camera
    steve mccurry: camera
    cristina garcia rodero: no camera

    Very interesting question actually…

    Jerome

  33. Lacking any form of knowledge here, I decided to steal yours by doing a frequency plot of your answers.

    Sean Masterson stated the “most popular” solution earliest. Eliot Erwitt has the most votes for always with Bruce Davidson and Josef Koudelka close behind.

    Only four people think that James Nactwey carries a camera off assignement.

    In a fit of contrary-ness I’m gonna pick the least popular four answers:

    Philip Blenkensop
    Jim Nachtwey
    Lauren Greenfield
    Steve McCurry

    Thus giving me scientifically the LEAST chance of winning the Harvey bag.

  34. in fact I have NO idea of who is with or without camera all the time. But this is my guess:

    With camera:
    – elliott erwitt
    – philip blenkensop
    – lauren greenfield
    – joseph kouldelka

    Without camera:
    – james nachtwey
    – bruce davidson
    – steve mccurry
    – cristina garcia rodero

    good luck to everyone! And one you give us the answer, please, give us the reasons too, as it may be interesting!!

    in my heart I’m a “always with the camera” type, but my reason why now I don’t carry it everywere is how heavy my bag is…. maybe I need a magical bag! ;)

    smiles!!

  35. Lacking any form of knowledge here, I decided to steal yours by doing a frequency plot of your answers.

    Sean Masterson stated the “most popular” solution earliest. Eliot Erwitt has the most votes for always with Bruce Davidson and Josef Koudelka close behind.

    Only four people think that James Nactwey carries a camera off assignement.

    In a fit of contrary-ness I’m gonna pick the least popular four answers:

    Philip Blenkensop
    Jim Nachtwey
    Lauren Greenfield
    Steve McCurry

    Thus giving me scientifically the LEAST chance of winning the Harvey bag.

  36. He-He…always late to the bloody party…

    with:
    lauren
    koudelka
    christina
    blenkensop

    without:
    erwitt
    nachtway
    mccurry
    davidson

    now how’s that for a doesn’t make sense list..[me..always..shit; shot some sweet stuff earlier the year whilst goin’ to buy a pack of smokes…after that, never go anywhere without it]

  37. Yes:
    Elliott Erwitt
    Steve McCurry
    Philip Blenkensop
    Bruce Davidson

    No:
    James Nachtwey
    Joseph Koudelka
    Lauren Greenfield
    Cristina Garcia Rodero

  38. Yes:
    Elliott Erwitt
    Joseph Koudelka
    Philip Blenkensop
    Cristina Garcia Rodero

    No:
    James Nachtwey
    Bruce Davidson
    Steve McCurry
    Lauren Greenfield

  39. Yes:
    Elliott Erwitt
    Joseph Koudelka
    Philip Blenkensop
    Cristina Garcia Rodero

    No:
    James Nachtwey
    Bruce Davidson
    Steve McCurry
    Lauren Greenfield

  40. camera:
    Elliott Erwitt
    Joseph Koudelka
    Bruce Davidson
    Cristina Garcia Rodero

    no camera:
    James Nachtwey
    Steve McCurry
    Lauren Greenfield
    Philip Blenkensop

  41. Hello Mr Harvey,

    First of all sorry about “spamming” under this topic.

    I have a project which you may be interested in (a documentary on photgraphy which is due to be shot in April next year).

    Can you please contact me at post.factum@gmail.com.

    Thankfully yours,

    Stoyan

  42. Certainly someone has the right answer by now. This is really an interesting and fun topic. I’ll anxiously wait to see the result.

    By the way David, I still have the bag you gave to me over 20 years ago (has it been that long?), and still use it for my backup equipment.

    Another question… how many bags have you given away?
    Mike

  43. Hi David,

    I am analytical in nature and thinking the best bet, given all the answers above, might be to tally the responses and give an option not given…but i have too much to do including cleaning out my bag!

    Nancy

  44. This is an interesting question, let alone making it into a contest to win a prize. But to study the list of photographers works, how many
    of their images came about and how did they made them?

    Henri Cartier-Bresson once described his way of working saying;

    “I’m an anarchist with an ethic”.

    What did he mean?

  45. elliott erwitt: well… I learned from this blog that he does his street photography when he is on commercial assignments… but he always seems to be in commercial assignment then… so, to me is almost to say that he carries everyday the camera… DOES
    philip blenkensop: I’m sorry… I’m SO sorry!… I feel very ignorant… but I must recognize that I don’t know his work… I promise to check the internet… or to go to a library… oh God there goes my new bag… but I’ll learn about Philip work… I promise… anyway, this is a good mental exercise, so I’ll finish
    james nachtwey: well… my conception of james nachtwey has changed a lot since the first time I watched “war photographer”… at first I though he was kind of “duro” of photography… kind of clint eastwood without horse, and with a camera instead of a gun… now I’ve learned more from the human side of him, part from you… but certainly I don’t see nachtwey taking photos of the grocery of the corner yet… in fact, I don’t see him even in the grocery!… DOES NOT
    bruce davidson: this is the kind of guy that I imagine exploring every aspect of the life of people that he finds walking in the sidewalks of NY… definitely he DOES carry a camera with him every time…
    lauren greenfield: lets say that most of the work I’ve seen from has to be with vanity… well, that’s the idea that comes to my mind with most of her essays… after all, vanity in everywhere… in different forms, shapes and colors… so, yes… she could go with her camera everywhere… DOES
    joseph koudelka: he DID… but now, it seems to me that he DOES NOT… (I have this terrible feeling of being so wrong, but anyway, I don’t have a chance for a new bag since Philip blenkensop, don’t have anything to loose)… DOES NOT
    steve mccurry: well… he loose himself in hidden streets of the most hidden corners of asian places… yes, he carries a camera everywhere… everywhere in Asia… but everywhere EVERYWHERE?… I think not… DOES NOT
    cristina garcia rodero: I have lost the opportunity to salute this woman I saw her here in Venezuela… because of my ignorance again… I was taking photos in a place called Sorte and I saw this woman with two cameras and was curious who was she… but she was in the middle of something and I didn’t want to bother… so, back in Caracas, I described the woman to friend of mine and he said “my friend, she was cristina garcía”… fuck again with my ignorance… but I swear I knew some of her work… anyway, back to the subject… she seems to me to carry the camera only when she knows exactly what to photograph… DOES NOT is my answer…
    btw… I do carry a camera with me all the time since a while, but I don’t do photos… I think sometimes my camera is so bored with me…
    is curious that cristina garcía is in this list… because I have been seeing her work again to inspire myself… I need to find my path again…
    Saludos,

  46. hello! ^^

    camera :
    elliott erwitt
    bruce davidson
    lauren greenfield
    steve mccurry

    no camera :
    philip blenkensop
    james nachtwey
    joseph koudelka
    cristina garcia rodero

  47. pierre-yves racine

    elliott erwitt : yes

    philip blenkinsop : no

    james nachtwey : no

    bruce davidson : yes

    lauren greenfield : no

    josef koudelka : yes

    steve mccurry : no

    cristina garcia rodero : yes

    that would be my spontaneous choice…

    Py

  48. Not thinking I got it right just for being logical, according to what i know from each photographer, but playing along, if way too late anyway (I couda been a contenDAH!)

    Mc Curry: no camera
    Nachtwey: no camera
    Koudelka: no camera
    Lauren Greenfield: no camera

    The first 2 have a published body of work based on specific assignments. Koudelka’s intense personal viqion does not seem based on the visceral approach of always being on the ready, or waiting for chance (could be so wrong here). Greenfield, just because I have to choose one, between her and Rodero, a real flip of the coin. I think logically the 3 others have a much more visceral type of seizing the world around them, and I can easily imagine they always have a camera somewhere on them.

    BTW, David, I think Cartier-Bresson, when fully involved with photography was, someone always with his camera. Am I wrong?

  49. anna barry-jester

    I’m with lance, I feel like I read this very regularly, yet there’s already 62 posts! you guys are good!

    Yes:
    josef koudelka
    bruce davidson
    cristina garcia rodero
    philip blenkinsop

    no:
    nachtwey
    greenfield
    erwitt
    mccurry

  50. Hi David,

    Here’s my list.

    elliott erwitt – YES

    philip blenkensop – NO

    james nachtwey – NO

    bruce davidson – YES

    lauren greenfield – NO

    joseph koudelka – YES

    steve mccurry – YES

    cristina garcia rodero – NO

    Damn, this is not easy. From the first 6 i’m 90% sure of my answere hehe. BUT damn…mr. Steve Mccurry and Cristina are difficult and pure guesswork :-)

  51. It seems to me that all of these people carry their cameras at all times, except when they don’t, which is a characteristic they all share with the late Rutherford B. Hayes, who always had his camera and his beard with him at all times, as well as a spare set of horseshoes and a plate of brownies. This trait was also shared by any number of other famous people, most shoemakers, and at least half the chapters of the Knights of Columbus I’ve ever heard of.

  52. David,

    Yes, Robin Williams is just as funny off camera. I used to work with him.
    No, Jonathan Kaye (the only PGA golfer I know) does not play golf for fun.

    So like the photographers…some do, some don’t.

    I was under the weather yesterday…could only muster up the energy to participate in your contest but will locate and resend the email this am soonest.

  53. McCurry: no camera
    Nachtwey: no camera
    Koudelka: no camera
    Greenfield: no camera

    This would be my guess as well.

  54. elliott erwitt – oui
    philip blenkensop – oui
    james nachtwey – non
    bruce davidson – oui
    lauren greenfield – oui
    joseph koudelka – non
    cristina garcia rodero – oui
    steve mccurry – non

    The answer will be very very interesting and the disussion that will follow too.

  55. Yes to:

    Erwitt
    Davidson
    Koudelka

    and number four, not a clue. BUT you say you’ve never seen the have-nots with a camera even in their hands, and you just taught a workshop with Mr Nachtwey. I suppose he must have picked up a camera during that, so I nominate him.

    Unless his teaching method is very very Jedi Master, and I wouldn’t put that past him at all.

  56. Elliot Erwitt- Camera
    Joseph Koudelka- Camera
    Cristina Garcia Rodero- Camera
    Lauren Greenfield- Camera

    James Nachtwey- No camera
    Steve McCurry- No
    Bruce Davidson- No camera
    Philip Blenkensop- No camera

    I’m almost 100% for Erwitt, Koudelka, and McCurry. Davidson is a gut feeling, as is Greenfield, against what would seem obvious. The others are educated guesses.

    I usually don’t carry a bag anyway… I’m enough of the “always have a camera” sort that to carry enough stuff to need a bag would just get in the way of other things.

  57. no camera:

    philip blenkinsop
    james nachtway
    bruce davidson
    cristina garcia rodero

    i don’t think anyone else mentioned bruce davidson as a no camera man… so i’m probably wrong there… let’s see. this was fun! can’t wait to know the answer.

    david, i didn’t know where to reply you so i will reply here. i’m still in england but if you can tell me the approximate dates when you will be there (if you know them already)then i could see if i can also go around that time. if it’s not possible to meet there then i will be in england until march so we could also meet in london if you are here during that time.

  58. I don’t really know, but I’ll give it a shot (from what I saw of the magnum meetings):

    don’t carry camera:

    elliott erwitt,
    steve mccurry,
    joseph koudelka,
    bruce davidson.

  59. i think there must be a special price for the first person who can post at first
    I don’t know jeff Hammond but, after all, how the hell do people manage to post at first in this blog???
    there has been a couple of time in which I thought I was going to be the first… and when I posted there where like 10 guys ahead of me already…
    posting at first has its merit… after all…
    Saludos,

  60. elliott erwitt, no
    philip blenkensop, yes.
    james nachtwey, yes.
    bruce davidson, no.
    lauren greenfield, no
    joseph koudelka, no
    steve mccurry, yes
    cristina garcia rodero, yes

  61. i have absolutely no clue but i’d love to know who’s carrying the camera with them constantly. very interesting contest i must admit. :)

  62. carlos said – “I don’t know jeff Hammond but, after all, how the hell do people manage to post at first in this blog???”

    ha.. it’s the only blog i have bookmarked and actually read on a daily basis.. being first to post was pure chance.. (though you’ll notice i kept my typing very short to get the first spot.. [joke] )

    that said, i wholeheartedly agree with what you’re saying about the merit and special prizes :)..

  63. no camera:

    elliott erwitt
    philip blenkensop
    james nachtwey
    bruce davidson

    yes camera:

    joseph koudelka
    lauren greenfield
    steve mccurry
    cristina garcia rodero

  64. elliott erwitt – no

    philip blenkensop – yes

    james nachtwey – no

    bruce davidson – no

    lauren greenfield – yes

    joseph koudelka – yes

    steve mccurry – no

    cristina garcia rodero – yes

  65. David:

    gave ur test to some photographers tonight at the opening of a group show we’re all in….interesting to hear the result:

    also, i suggest this:

    a test back for Harvey:

    Blog participants come up with a test for Harvey, something along the lines of his tests/questions for us?

    Winnings: if David is correct, the questioners buy him a drink (bottle?) the next time they meet him, if he is unable to answer, he buys the questioners a drink next time they meet him. Game? :)))

    running to bed
    hugs
    b

  66. Hi

    my answers:

    elliott erwitt – yes
    lauren greenfield – yes
    joseph koudelka – yes
    cristina garcia rodero – yes

    james nachtwey – no
    steve mccurry – no
    philip blenkensop – no
    bruce davidson – no

  67. Warning: Tangential Pothole

    My question would be,regardless of whether they carry a camera or not, how often do they see a photograph to take? I know for me sometimes it seems that I see more photos on the rare occasion i am without camera. I still take the picture of course. In fact that’s my best portfolio.
    …maybe that’s the portfolio to submit to Magnum…?

    Is this a fairly common occurrence to everybody?

  68. Well… its seems Im kind of late… but my guess is:

    With camera
    Elliot Erwitt
    Kouldeka
    Bruce Davidson
    Cristina García

    Without
    Philip Blenkensop
    Steve Mccurry
    Lauren Greenfield
    James Nachtwey

    Still a lot to learn about photographers!

  69. I see more photos on the rare occasion i am without camera
    —————–

    I hope others respond, it’s a very good topic. I think it all depends if we see photography as merely the act of taking pictures, or as a reflection of the personal way (to sum it up) we apprehend the world, relate with it and want to share what we found with others. In the first case, we are bound to possibly be obsessed with the missed shot, but in the second, photography is more than a click, or an opportunity. Here there, we are susceptible to regret not having seized an image, but in the course of a photographer’s life, it is of no import (not anymore than any thing we could have done but did not, for a myriad of reasons), what he/she has to say with a camera will definitely be said, missed shots or not.

    I liked what Winogrand answered when asked if he feared missing shots when loading up: “when I load up, there are no pictures to take”. The true statement from someone who was in love with the act of photography, the medium itself (which is not quite about taking oictures, as compulsive as he may have been), and that very simply, there is only photography when there is a picture, as trivial as it may sound.

    This is not to say the right way is in assignments only, self or not, but in seeing the final product, the picture(s), not simply as a good reflex, a response to impulse and intuition of a moment, lasting 1/125th of “got it-ness”, but as a response to maybe 5 minutes, 2 hours, 20 years even, a book, a film, in short, who we are and have been, and what has made us.

    Going back to San Francisco tomorrow. France/paris is great, too bad it’s got too many french people…. :-)

  70. do anyone here shoot sometimes just to SEE??? I mean, to practise the perceptual act of recognition; almost like no social|personal|political| message or agenda or anything; just to ‘njoy the problem of organising 3d-space into a 2d frame…this’ the reason for having the camera with me; to take a couple of minutes at any point in a day and practise SEEING.

    bb..the questions//the questions…

    to akaky the ghost..a beard??brownies??

  71. james nachtwey———- no camera
    philip blenkensop——no camera
    bruce davison———-no camera
    cristina garcia rodero -no camera

    elliot erwitt———si camera
    laurent greenfield —-si camera
    joseph koudelka ——-si camera
    steve Mccurry———-si camera

    greetings Sanchez

  72. jakob :)))…

    I do! :))..but it’s a bit like this: post-facto seeing…in other words, taking pics often allows me to re-see what i’d seen and then to re-see life surrounding, in other words, being a photographer, to me at least, is about reflection, rumination….

    reflection upon what it is we see, what is around us, to better be prepared and to absorb and to sense, deeply, what is around…that IS EXACTLY, why i dont always carry my camera and actually prefer never to carry my camera until im ‘ready’ to “make pictures”…i see amazing moments all the time, people, faces, places, moments and I used to think: “fuck, if i’d only had my camera…” but that was when i thought the pictures were what mattered, but in truth, for me, it’s the act of observation, swallowing, affinity, sensitivity: to be aware of what is around you so that you can better swallow and appreciate and ruminate and divine and taste and tell this passing life….actually, i get nervous around photographers who feel compelled to shoot everything/everyone/allthetime (David, I wont hold that against you amigo :)) ), but in truth for me photography has always been (at least now) like breathing…

    the breath of sight….

    i still love the alchemy and magic of making photographs (shit, i havent been a photographer, probably, long enough to weary of it), but it aint any longer about the pictures, the objects…it’s about the juice, the well-spring and swelling that the imagination of photography plants inside me and my life:

    i hope i feel and see things, not better or more clear, but with more appreciation…and that’s why i put my camera down and away for long periods of time (1 month, 2 months: once 6 months after I saw a moment jump to her death from a top of a building last October): so that i can see: with and without a camera ;))…

    questions for david: still contemplating that one ;))

    running
    bob

  73. last edition:

    in other words, as Winogrand understood, for me photography is a physical gesture, one born of both joy and bewilderment: that, i also agree, the pictures are already inside my body, my head, my thoughts, and it’s just a matter of my body colliding with the moment, and there are no lost pictures, only lost lives and putting the film in the camera (yea, oddly, i still use film), is only 1 small part of the entire experience…photographing is joyeous and saddening: i always feel loss when im done, even when i have no idea what the film will look like (how to explain the joy and fear when first seeing those negatives), though i know (almost everything) exactly what i shot and how i shot it and what i was feeling at that moment…again: ain about the pictures, but the story of one guy negotiating himself through the places and faces and stories that pass through…i used to think this: if i could make 1 good photograph that expressed exactly what someone told me, or how their life was lived, or what this charge of wave-life did, i’d box away my cameras…and now i often think: well, i may never put away the camera, for it is now just, like brushing my teeth, or reading books or writing, part of my waking life, another integral part, nothing more nothing less…eventually vanishing….

    to know that i wasn’t even able to know, let alone photograph, dima until he was 6 is enough to keep my perspective on photography…simply a gesture, a mechanism by which maybe we can speak upon other things…and then they yellow from light and air….

    b

  74. Jakob- you ask “do anyone here shoot sometimes just to SEE??? I mean, to practise the perceptual act of recognition”

    While I cannot write as eloquently as Bob B. (an understatement!), my photography, i.e. having a camera with me is often what opens my eyes and my mind to the cinema of life around me. Otherwise, my mind wanders, or rather retreats and internalizes.

    I like to look at Ralph Gibson’s photographs while keeping in mind one phrase he wrote in his book “Refractions”: his subject is often the act of perception itself, be it his perception of a chair, a shadow, a shirt etc. It’s too easy to quickly blow off his photos as mundane, but I’ve often caught myself entranced in his work.

  75. Is there no winner yet?

    Now I’m confused about who does or doesn’t that I’m not even sure if I carry my own camera with me all the time!

    Well – I guess it is most of the time. But not always. Sometimes I just want to play with my kids and the cameria gets in the way.

    DAVID are you back in NYC yet. I thought I saw you bicycling aroung the easy village on Sunday. Are we still going to meet? I have a catalogue for you.

    Who is the winner?

    Jonathan Elderfield

  76. Bugger! looks like i’m waay late on this one… reply 99 or something. I’m sure in 98 posts nearly every combination has been stabbed at. Anyways in the good name of procrastination…

    NO:

    Nachtwey
    Greenfield
    McCurry
    Blenkinsop

    YES:

    Davidson
    Koudelka
    Rodero
    Elliot

    Now back to work!!!…

  77. martin (marcin luczkowski)

    without:
    davidson
    Greenfield
    McCurry
    Blenkinsop

    with:
    Nachtwey
    Davidson
    Koudelka
    Rodero
    Elliot

    Martin

  78. Jacob, that’s a major reason that artists make art. Of course!

    There are two statements that probably mean the same thing but sound like they are at opposite ends of the shallow/profound spectrum:

    1. I make photographs (art) to see.

    2. I photograph something to see what it looks like as a photograph. (Gary Winogrand)

    The last one is actually my favorite.

    Ciao,

    Michael

  79. Bob,

    First off, I love that you can express yourself in the beautiful way you do but still think “Fuck, if I’d only had my camera…”

    I find that sometimes I’m the opposite. I only see images when I’ve got my camera there. I can see moments without the camera but I don’t see pictures. Something switches in my brain when the camera is out of its bag and suddenly my brain is framing moments and looking for subjects, foregrounds and backgrounds. I can frame without the camera to my eye but the intention of holding it sharpens my vision. Maybe in time I won’t need the camera to do this.

    Some days I feel the need to make images like an itch only my sensor can scatch. I play with the camera idly while working on other things. Perhaps I’m more cyborg than most people when photographing. Or I’m just crazy! My friends are now used to the camera appearing at the slightest provocation and grow comfortable with this.

    How much reflection, rumination that affects photography is on the surface and how much sits in the subconcious?

    Does this depend on/determine your style?

    Neil

  80. Yes, jakob, beards and brownies. Rutherford B. Hayes was one of the Republican beards who ruled this country from 1868 to 1896. From 1868 to 1896 the United States was governed, for the most part, by bearded Republicans. You could, I suppose, make an exception for Chester Arthur, who had muttonchop sideburns and a mustache, but not a full beard, but then he only became President because his predecessor James A. Garfield was shot by a crazed jobseeker named Charles Guiteau, who also had a beard, and then Garfield was killed by his doctors with unclean surgical instruments, a crime for which Guiteau was hanged by the neck until he was dead and the doctors went forward confidently to a profitable future killing their other less well-known patients. I dont know if the doctors had beards or not, but I suspect they did, beards being very in at the time. You would definitely have to make an exception for Grover Cleveland, the only Democrat and professional hangman to be President between Andrew Johnson, who was cleanshaven but not a hangman, and Woodrow Wilson, who was also cleanshaven and a college president as well; Cleveland had a walrus style mustache a la Georges Clemenceau and married a much younger woman while he was President. The Republican beards ended with Benjamin Harrison in 1892, who never had anyone hanged, as far as I know. His successor was his predecessor, the above mentioned President Cleveland, who was the 22nd and 24th President, as they are counted nowadays. Cleveland’s successor, William McKinley, was as Republican as Harrison, and was even the last Civil War veteran to serve as President, but McKinley was cleanshaven. In fact, McKinley could boast a rare talent: he could completely shave his face with a straight razor with two swipes across his face, which is easier said than done without losing a piece of your nose.

  81. It’s funny–I only “see” pictures when I have a camera. When I don’t have a camera, I often see a subject or situation and think it might be good to shoot. But the actual vision thing only comes when there’s a camera available.

  82. Blenkinsop – Yes.

    Nachtwey – No.

    Greenfield – Only in Hollywood.

    McCurry – Only in Afghanistan.

    Davidson – Sometimes.

    Koudelka – Only on family trips to the Jersey Shore.

    Rodero – Yes, but without the use of light.

    Elliot – Only in color and always, always very serious.

  83. Akaky, amazing how much you learned about the Presidents in 1st grade! :)

    (can’t forget that comment of yours)

    Bob, I actually love that you saw a “moment jump to her death”…moments are jumping to their deaths all around me as I write…but I have a feeling it was a woman you saw??? :)

    David, I did resend that message. Hope you got it.

  84. Bob,

    I’m wondering how you knew the moment was a female?
    “moment jumped to HER death”
    The moments fly by so quickly around me I can’t tell if they’re male or female. :)

    Actually I’m truly sorry to be making light of this very sad event that you witnessed. I am well aware that there is no humor in it whatsoever but I do like the concept of the “death of a moment.” Hopefully the pain of what you saw is no longer sharp.

  85. WHO had the problem with the M4 shutter? I just got an answer that will get closer to the truth. M4’s, only, do not have glue reinforcing the cloth curtain to the metal lead of the shutter. Within the last 10 years, the M4’s curtains have been ripping away from the crimped over leads.

    It is not anybody’s fault. If the guy involved has any questions, have him call Mr. Goldberg at DAG Camera Repair. He’s probably one of the foremost authorities on Leica repair.

    Ciao,

    Michael

  86. elliott erwitt, yes

    philip blenkensop, yes.

    james nachtwey, no.

    bruce davidson, yes.

    lauren greenfield, yes

    joseph koudelka,no

    steve mccurry, no

    cristina garcia rodero, no

  87. @Cathy: remember, I went to Catholic school, where I could learn all this neat stuff in the 1st grade, and I did so at a time when nuns were not averse to pounding the knowledge into your head, if subtler methods were ineffective. I still have a concussion and some ringing in the ears from those days ;-)

  88. @Cathy:

    No worries Cathy and I don’t take offense. Yes, it was a women, who lept from the 17th floor of the building where i teach and to this day, though diminished, her death (as she fell past my window and later running out of the building to see if help were possible) still has a profound effect on me, more than 13 months later…i think of her often, almost everyday when i walk in the front door or look out the class window (where my student’s and i had thought she was not real)…but, sorry for the sad side-note…

    and i too wish i had “thought” of the line when “the moment jumped to her death” instead of it coming from my horrid typing skills…but, i imagine, like life, however things fall into us, matter, not the why, …

    “moment” instead of “women” a weird Freudian typo….horribly, im afraid, i shall hold onto that, the stupid desires of a writer, something about my own desire to trap moments with words….and still, embarrassingly i write, that typo is all the truth in the world….

    dont worry….we all cradle our own bits of grief right…

    i try not to loose humour, that’s what gets us through the not-always agile day…

    cheers,
    bob

    p.s. Akaky: reading David Markson’s book at the moment “the last novel”: ur encyclopedic freakin’ knowledge of everything minute detail in life is humbling…u sure you’re not Alex B. Keaton grown up at last, all that talk of good old Rutherford B. ????…;)))

  89. DO

    Bruce Davidson
    Steve McCurry
    joseph koudelka
    elliott erwitt

    DO NOT
    philip blenkensop
    james nachtwey
    lauren greenfield
    cristina garcia rodero

  90. Akaky,
    Thanks for your short history of US Presidents’ beards, it made my day!! :D :) and it was time since I’m now going to bed!

  91. Darn.. i’m late!! Anyway..

    Camera: elliott erwitt, joseph koudelka, lauren greenfield, bruce davidson

    No camera: james nachtwey, steve mccurry, cristina garcia rodero , philip blenkensop

  92. Lovely Loquacious Bob said: “…and that’s why i put my camera down and away for long periods of time (1 month, 2 months: once 6 months…”

    Also: “…and now i often think: well, i may never put away the camera, for it is now just, like brushing my teeth…”

    Uh dude…I hope you don’t go 6 months without brushing your teeth! Heh-heh.

    Finding the balance between simply enjoying the moment and enjoying capturing the moment really is the deal isn’t it? We all have our limits. I suspect there’s little difference between people who have their cameras “all the time” and those who use it “only” on assignment. Or it is a matter of degrees. Of course there are times when after a long weekend of shooting like mad I think I don’t want to see that thing again! Of course. But I eventually (usually within a couple hours! Heh!) get back to it.

    It is like breathing. And just can’t hold my breath that long!

  93. I’m thinking about using statistics and probability to figure this out. I can’t believe nobody has guessed it yet… Hmm, this could take a while. Too bad I can’t have more guesses!

  94. Diana, there are 70 possibilities.

    There are as many possibilities as there are ways of choosing a subset of 4 photographers. Eight possibilities for the first, 7 for the second, 6 for the third, 5 for the fourth. We get 7*6*5*4=1680. Now, if we count like this we have quadruplets differing only by the order of photographers but with the same photographers in them e.g.
    Nachtwey+McCurry+Greenfield+Blenkinsop
    and Blenkinsop+Greenfield+McCurry+Nachtwey
    so, to eliminate redundant sets, we must divide by the number of 4-element set permutations i.e. 4*3*2=24 (since there are 24 quadruplets with the same photogs).
    Final result is therefore 1680/24=70.

  95. “the other four always have a camera with them and often shoot their daily life or us hanging at the bar”

    it should be five! I ALWAYS have my m6 with me even if I wondering in park, or doing shoping. so every answer will be wrong without me!!!
    think about that :))))

    peace my friends

    Martin (life is good… sometimes…)

  96. martin (marcin luczkowski)

    Derek

    I’ve seen your website… it is piece of great portrait photography!!! i hope I will see more in future!!!

    Best

    Martin (in madness of work)

  97. Martin (marcin luczkowski)

    David…

    I have little question… many times I’ve visited John Vink’s website… he have so many pictures there… very sensitive… very organic… i wondering… who he is as a person?… you know him…
    who john vink is?

    Martin

  98. david alan harvey

    ALL…

    sorry to have disappeared…had to rush down to washington because i am trying to sell my apartment that i bought so many years ago…anyway, i got caught up in all kinds of real estate biz stuff….

    on top of that i have i lot of your work to see….i am two days away from making a decision on the portfolios for the grant…

    so give me a little time to go over all of the answers here and i will announce that winner by tomorrow…

    as usual my friends, i am asking for a bit of patience please!!!

    many thanks,

    david

  99. Hi David, all –

    Really enjoying this thread, and of course, love this blog!

    Really late to reply to this, and at the very bottom, it seems, but just wanted to say how close to home this thread hits. Being an amateur through and through, it is something I think about often. Practically speaking, due to work and family constraints, having the camera w/ me is often the ONLY way I can actually get any photography done! But on a deeper level I am very taken w/ the idea of the mediation of daily life, poetic moments, documentary moments, through the camera. And, finally, as a real newbie, i’ve always been drawn to the romantic notion of early proponents of the 35mm format, such as HCB, having their camera w/ them always – didn’t a friend of HCB’s jokingly ask him if he brought his Leica into the bathroom with him?

    My own picks for carrying the camera:

    Erwitt
    Koudelka
    Davidson
    Rodero

    And, like so many others, I’d also like to know what you do, David; though I suspect you do a bit of both, carring a camera around a lot, using it on assignment, then perhaps leaving it at home.

    Thanks for a great thread and a great blog.

    Oh, and finally, Bob Black, such proflific posting, but your post on December 12, 2007 at 08:21 AM (“last edition”) really struck me – quite profound, I think.

    Best from Brooklyn!
    -Mark Brennan

  100. david alan harvey

    MARK…AND ALL

    i always have a camera…often stays in the bag, often comes out to “play”…

    as a matter of fact, it runs even deeper…i always have my whole “kit” with me…passport, credit cards,med kit (anti-biotic, aspirin,lomotil, eye drops, extra toothbrush)..and enough cards and batteries to last awhile…all in a small light bag…mostly it is because i am “out” shooting so much have mentally locked into never never separating from my “stuff”…so i feel naked without my camera, bag etc….and every once in awhile i actually make a nice random photograph…but, mostly just i am shooting just snapshots of my friends at dinner, family pics or whatever…

    cheers, david

  101. So are these photographs that have been posted, are they open for general viewing on the internet, or are you just going to showcase a select few?

  102. david alan harvey

    WILL…

    i am not sure which photographs you mean..my random photographs or the ones from the readers here???

    BOB…

    interesting…..and clarification…i always have my camera with me…but, i do not always photograph everything around me all the time…like you, there are no pictures for me unless i am ready to make them…i need to be in the mood….or moved…and no matter what i do or how hard i try, i cannot “capture life”…i wish i could…but it slips by anyway…frustrating….the camera does not help…but sometimes i like to think that it will..that “recording” will somehow preserve the moment…stop this freight train or slow it down…a futile attempt …what it does do however, is allow me to savor a situation just a bit more than i would have otherwise…because when i am shooting, no matter how casually, i do “enter” the scene on a deeper level than if i am just standing there with my hands in my pockets..i notice more, feel more, become more…the resulting picture may only be a reference… but as i sometimes go through the countless cardboard boxes i have stacked around of un-catalogued pictures, what a joy it is to discover some random snapshots of some random event that does bring a smile to my face and simply brings back a memory that i might otherwise have forgotten…and if an old song from “yesterday” happens to kick on at the same moment as when i am doing my archival rummaging, then i feel “the power” of remembering and living as in no other way…

    AKAKY…

    you must, just must, go see the new johnny depp musical…you will never look at a straight razor in quite the same way again!!

    MARTIN…

    john vink and i were nominated into Magnum on the same day in 1993…we went through the whole tortuous process of becoming part of Magnum together….there were actually three of us nominated and only john and i made it the whole route…so, yes, i know john quite well considering that i live in new york and he lives in Cambodia with his beautiful Cambodian wife and child (or maybe even two by now). …john is a very special man….righteous to a fault…cares…really cares….a truly lovely man who will totally cringe if he hears me say that about him because he likes to put out sometimes a cynical critical edge, but , in fact, he is a lovely man…

    cheers, david

  103. david alan harvey

    JONATHAN…

    yes, we should meet soonest…and, yes, you might have seen me riding my bike…probably early january is now our best bet…i am running off to paris for two days and then enjoying my mom’s cooking for two weeks in colorado…please call me the first week in january and i will have you over…

    cheers, david

  104. @asher..love gibson’s work; truly finds beauty in the everyday: just taught an introduction to the philosophy of aesthetics, and combining Robert Adam’s statement on the need for FORM as affirmation of life with some of Gibson’s images, Kant & Schopenhauer’s ideas on beauty makes for some wonderful discussion..

    @michael…to me its both:equal-combined:joined

    @cathy: i’d also like to be a SEER

    @akaky: amen: i know now more ’bout American presidential history than i ever needed too and will probably remember it also(bloody hell!!): -[

    lately i’ve been working on discovering the essential nature of the photographic medium as it relates to art, starting with the following as basic premise:

    a PHOTOGRAPH is a CARTESIAN DUALISTIC monocular TRANSCRIPTION of SPACE in TIME…

    from this one then attempts to argue the role of expression of PERCEPTION as artistic phenomena and relate it to the lifeworld of the individual’s experience of the everyday..

    and the dog chases his tail:-]] but in thinking ’bout this one attempts to answer the question of the value of photographic practise, or why take pictures at all: like Asher mentioned, having the camera with him sharpens his perception to POSSIBILITIES…

  105. of course my post had to after DAH: how the hell do you follow this:

    “like you, there are no pictures for me unless i am ready to make them…
    and no matter what i do or how hard i try, i cannot “capture life”…i wish i could…but it slips by anyway…frustrating….the camera does not help…but sometimes i like to think that it will..that “recording” will somehow preserve the moment…”

    a great answer to the question…thanx David for readin’ my mind…

  106. david alan harvey

    AMY…

    i have never seen jim with a camera in the 30 years that i have known him..including at the workshop….but, obviously i am not with him when he is working..all of us are motivated to make photographs for different reasons and at different times…it is interesting to note who “does” and who “does not”, but it does not matter at all with regard to final work produced…

    cheers, david

  107. David :)))))….

    u can take my pic anytime ;))))))

    by the way, i too never judge someone (with or without camera), ’cause in truth all photographers are WITH camera at ALL TIME, only in different ways ;))))))

    hugs

    running
    b

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