in Bangkok last week i bought a fake watch….on purpose….just to see how it would work….the genuine Panerai diver’s watch sells retail for $6,800. (guaranteed for one year to go 300 feet underwater with no leaks)….i overpaid a street salesman 30 bucks for my fake Panerai (not guaranteed for any amount of time or to even last one run through the shower)….still, as i rolled it over in my hand and looked closely at the apparent precision , i could not imagine how even a fake as good as this could be made to sell for such a low price…the "fakes" of many products sold in the streets of Bangkok are quite impressive..
however, i also bought another "fake"….or, i should say, "bought into" another fake….but, not on purpose….a fake person ….looked real, but turned out not to be….please do not try to guess who…this is nobody you know or who has ever been mentioned on this forum….and this is about biz , not love…
the fake watch will amaze me for every day that it lasts…the fake person is gone in my mind forever….i try to be a flexible man…i can take all kinds of abuse…and i often make friends with people that others may find not so "popular"….but, to be dissed, betrayed or manipulated by someone leaves me cold and disillusioned….i just hate the feeling…
i am sure that most of you, at one time or another, have had this feeling of being betrayed…..something like the helplessness one feels after being robbed or vandalized…you want to shake off the negative vibes, but they are slow to go…how do you deal with these feelings ?? do you just shake it off or are you more paranoid the next time around??
by the way, the fake watch just keeps on ticking….matched with my plastic "satellite timed" Casio, it is keeping very good time…and has survived four hot showers!! will it go down to 300 feet underwater?? i will never know…but whatever happens to this "fake" watch, i will never be disappointed….i wish i could say the same for person x……
It has happened to me many times. The first time I felt violated. Now it’s “here we go again”. I don’t take it personally anymore.
I don’t lie to people or pretend to be anything I’m not. And I assume others to be the same. Of course they’re sometimes true, sometimes false. You can learn to spot the obvious ones.
The only real protection is to cut yourself off completely, which is what I’ve done. But that isn’t the way to live a meaningful life.
David:
It is, given the nature of your remarkable generosity and heart, not a surprise to me that you’ve been washed by someone who needed you to clean their skin. The truth is, sadly, that the world is filled with fakery and honestly, at some point or another, each of us has not only been fooled by someone, but have also fooled someone, purposefully, deceitfully, hurtfully. In truth, this is most often about the chasm, the welling hole that cracks inside each of us, we broken, lost, hunger-mad humans….
Though I have always tried to be a standup person, I too have struggled with this (who hasnt) over the course of my life. Having always felt as if I were an honest and generous and loving person, it wasn’t actually until I met Marina that I realized the depth of what real honesty and truthfulness is.
In the end david, as painful as this is, as angering as this person and perpetration and perfidity is, please no that you are NOT alone: that you are thought of and cared for and supported by many. when I have been “burned” by people, I try to let it go and swallow and and, as Rilke reminds, be transformed by it (though in truth i’d prefer and rather love to put a nice size 10 leather-soled shoe up their ass instead) and let it be another part of all the bullshit that defines us….
without personalizing this, i once spent 4 long, long-hard years with someone that cost me nearly all (life, spirit, family) and yet, from that time, a new life opened, that lead, eventually, and directly to the two finest people in my life: marina and dima. Thus: the swing and saddle of our lives….
David: the truth is the world is a fucked place filled with creeping sadness and betrayal and lies, death and starvation and fucking selfishness and injustice, and it is because of all this shit, that I prefer to swallow what light enters around….because in truth we are more fucking priviledge than most of the world…more fortunate and more easied and I want you to remember this….
you are a good man Charlie Brown (ummm, i mean david alan harvey), allow the anger and the sadness and all the rest to bite but then just remember, u’ve got a hell of a lot of light, fucking magnificent light in your life brother, and that’s what counts….
for joy: dima says this: “hello david alan havey.” (then just said: “dad, who is that?”)…
that’s all that matters….
hugs, big ones
remember uptown :))
running (this time to eat paella)
bob
I agree with Luke, that cutting off completely is the only real protection… being of Irish descent, I tend to ostracise those who I feel wrong me quite easily…
I have also been betrayed to the extent that I lost my footing; the fact that it came at a time my wife was in hospital left me all the more stranded, and sadly, less likely to forgive (as I always associate that person’s betrayal with that terrible memory.)
As to dealing with it… well, I am always more paranoid, but I also have taken to blowing off steam by blogging about it, without too many specifics.
This used to leave me feeling guilty as hell, but I must say, seeing it on your blog makes it all a little more human. Guess we all react… but yeah, I also hate that feeling, and the imbalance that comes with it.
Incidentally, I misread the last line, and got the impression you wanted to take person x to 300 m below sea level!
Hope the vibes wear off soon,
L.
ps. can u get someone to send another watch for dima? ;))))
b
Hi David, funny how coincidences love company. I’m writing this from a hardware store as I’m buying anti burglary measures. Our house was broken into today. It is disappointing but it would feel worse if I was betrayed by a friend. Looks like it happened to you. I’m sorry.
This happens to me more than wish, certainly, and it gives me a terrible feeling. I think everytime something like that (?) happens, it changes you, makes you less open, less loving, less…
BTW, did it feel like someone dropping a bomb?
All the Best,
Michael
In 2001 my laptop, program disks and archive was stolen from my baby son’s bedroom which doubled as a computer room for a couple of hours daily. We were all asleep while the intruder entered and took the stuff. The weird thing is that at any time in the night my wife or myself could have gotten up to attend to little Eoin who was only a few months old at the time and still on the breast. What would have happened had either of us happened upon this creature? I dread to think.
The next morning we were due to attend a cousin’s wedding. Needless to say we were grounded. We subsequently realized that our cards were also stolen.
I was completely gutted for this was the second time I was temporarily put out of business by theft. It took ages to be put right by insurance.
For days I was immobilized by wild, vivid fantasies of doing extraordinary violence to this unknown creature of the night and dreadful thoughts of what might have been.
Finally I was calmed by the realization that we were all unharmed and that that was all that mattered, ultimately.
The police found a screw driver by the window behind the spare bed that was about 16 inches long. The thing was huge and was most likely a weapon, apparently. Terrifying entirely.
It’s always a huge personal blow when one is taken for a ride by someone David. I hope you recover quickly. I’m glad you have your watch to attract your attention away from this “person X” if only for a moment.
Bob may be correct about what the world is but I’ve managed not to know that for most of my life…as least as far as my own life is concerned…I see it out in the world but have led a very, very lucky life.
HOWEVER…it is such a coincidence you mention this subject at this time. I recently had the opportunity to meet and interact with the most horrible person I’ve ever run into in my entire life. I just deleted the tale of what has happened between us because she is the type of person that might try to sue me if she saw my comments here…that’s how angry and aggressive she is. The bottom line is that it feels a lot better when you can stand up for yourself which I did yesterday after months of not being able to and yes, I will be more paranoid the next time around…but sometimes it’s good to be paranoid…it protects you. In re-reading my comments I see that I’m so paranoid I can’t even tell you what happened! Which makes me wonder what the difference is between paranoia and just plain good thinking?
David,
Speaking of paranoid…I asked you a question for Jim in the last thread and at the end said I wouldnt have the chance to ask him because my workshop with him was cancelled. From your reply about cancelling things and being busy it seemed like you thought my question was about that? Cause my question was about bringing him to Santa Fe and your reply to me had nothing to do with that. Just paranoid you may have misunderstood.
Are you saying that Jim Nachtwey has a body double? :-)
ALL PARANOIDS: They might still be out to get you, and it might be a weather low pressure front that makes you feel bad about it.
My sister, the therapist, told me that the reason I’m paranoid is because of attitudes passed down through Russian lineage. Of course those relatives were running away from Stalin, so their paranoia was accountable for. Is that the same as justified?
Regarding broken into houses: Where I live (still, but not forever) there isn’t a locked house in the county, probably. When I leave, all the vehicles have their keys in them.
My point? Uhhh…
From the Prairie,
Michael
Etched in my head as a kid was this philosophy:
“Be friends to anyone who comes along, you never know who they may turn out to be.”
At least you will sleep all night long. Your so called friend, not so lucky.
Hi David
Sorry you had to deal w/ some raw BS. I hope it won’t affect your optimism. I guess time is the healer, but hopefully it was nothing to heavy, just meaning that I hope it does’nt take to long to shelve the negative and return to the positive.
chin up mate.
I guess there are lots of fakes. Some you expect (tuk tuks in BKK or pickpockets in Rome) but the worst are ones you counted on to be genuine. Just move on and forget them, David. No use giving yourself a headache.
“I’ve been stabed in the back so many many times, I don’t have any skin. But that’s just the way it goes”
Morrissey
On the other hand, David, it appears as if you have more “real” friends than most people I know, and you’ve worked with some of the best people around, too.
Tschüss
Michael
David,
It shakes me to see a person like you writing a subject like this. In the very short time that I “know” you through following this blog, it seems to me you are a person so very flexible. It says to me that the problem must have been very important.
Something like this has happened to me a couple of times. Really am not too much familiar with this kind of things. I think is a logical reaction to become paranoid with a person that hurts you. I’m quite naïve and I forgive easily, but I admit that for me is also very easy to be betrayed again. My nature is to be “medio pendejo” (I’ll explain you this term if you come to Caracas some time).
But to me, what you can’t do is to become paranoid with other people because of what certain person did to you in the past. In that case, I prefer to be naïve that to risk to isolate myself.
In all cases, if you don’t have to be in contact with that person in the future… lucky you!… because I have a friend, very kind woman, who was strongly betrayed by a person who works with her every day… what a f… nightmare!
Un abrazo,
LUKE…
i am not the type to cut myself “off” completely….i will go on as before…this negative vibe will pass…
BOB…
as usual, you articulate so so well…and, as you so correctly point out, who among us has also not betrayed at some point…most likely, a “love betrayal” of some sort..brutus looms large over us all…
i too prefer soaking up the “light” rather than go “dark”…and i very rarely go dark…this event will certainly not change my attitude overall one iota…i got most of the dark “out” just writing this little story!!! isn’t that what writing is for???
i will see “uptown” tomorrow…yes yes there is some light….
now, i just knew i should have bought another one of those watches for someone…dima of course!! although , wait a minute…how old is dima?? this watch is pretty big and heavy…how large is his little wrist?? well, show him the picture…if he likes it, he can have mine…i will get another the next time i go to bkk…
RENE…
my oh my, both you and cathy scholl with coincidental parallel negative events!!
i will not leave this post up too long!!…i do not want to start out the holiday season with “downer” stories…
anyway, welcome all your friends into your home…then, lock them inside!!!
CATHY…
i suppose i did mis-understand…i thought jim had cancelled santa fe, but now i realize it was julia dean he had to cancel…got the two things mixed up…i will talk to jim soonest and will ask him about santa fe…by the way, he and i both taught together at santa fe several years ago…where were you???
perhaps some form of “paranoia” could be “good thinking”…however, i think that somewhere between being totally naive and totally paranoid is where most of us should be…flat out paranoia would freeze most of us up to the point where we would not take creative risks…and risk taking is where so much artistic growth comes from…and risk taking is also how you can get hurt…just goes with the territory…
MICHAEL…
yes, running away from stalin would create enough paranoia to last a few generations to be sure…
and yes, i am blessed with many real friends…more than my fair share…and for this i am thankful and blessed…my little negative story cannot be compared in any way to the truly serious consequences of mass betrayal…
CHRIS…
i always liked that line…do you know who said it???
W.ROBERT….
thanks amigo….chin up…moving forward
SOPHIA…
yes, “that is the way it goes”….still, i truly believe there are many more good people than bad…and even this “bad” person i wrote about has, i am sure, some very good qualities…perhaps even rationalizing inside his/her head something other than what i am thinking…quien sabe???
cheers, david
CARLOS…
i did not see your comment until after i posted ….sounds like i am a bit like you…but, of course, i will not change….this was a relatively small “bump” in the road in the big picture of life…as i told bob, writing about it got most of the anger out…as you point out, i do not have to see this person again…your friend sounds like she is in a terrible predicament…she will need to change her environment somehow…
saludos, david
PAUL…
sorry, i missed your story the first time through.. now, that is flat out scary… LUCKILY you only lost your computer and some credit cards !!!
cheers, david
David: Have you been up all day? Or was it all night?
Did you get an email from me today about trips, dates, etc.?
Michael
It was told to me by a Native American Indian from Supai Village in the Grand Canyon. Not sure where he got it from. Maybe he said it?
I always embraced it.
MICHAEL…
i have not seen an e-mail from you…but, i have two accounts and have not checked the other…but, will do soonest..
i have been up all day and all night!!!
CHRIS….
hmmmm, bob black will know for sure who said that…sounds like will rogers or mark twain or ???? ok, bob, who was it???
cheers, david
Hey you guys, it was my parents. They told me that when I was old enough to make enemies. I never remember it though.
MAS
Hi David,
Awful story with fake mr. X… but if I know people… it’s happen… sometimes. We should have eyes wild open, but I rather trust people. I know many crazy wired people but any fake person… I hope…
And about your feelings… this is human experience… try forget and forgive yourself. Go forward… or just try…
Enjoy your fake working watch and morning coffee… call to friend… remember… you are lucky man…
Martin
Bob Black
I want see more your work! Do something with this!
:)
Martin (BobBlack’s work little Fan)
Sorry to hear this happened to you David.
You are such a warm, open and genereous person, and sadly this can happen then.
Good as well that you are such a positive spirit and are already dealing with this in your own way and moving on.
To the light, to other warm and great people in your life and that come on your way.
That is how I deal with it too. Just try to forget about it as fast as I can, and enjoy the great people around me even more.
Avoid negative persons as much as I can and enjoy the people who really are worth it, who I respect and respect me back.
Wendy
PS. I will be in NY from the 14th till 23rd. If you feel like going for a coffee and talk, let me know. Would be great to see you again.
PS. Is L in town as well?
David,
I hope the loss has not caused any more damage around you, with other people inolved that could threaten their relation towards you. For you to make an entry of it, the sense of betrayal must be acute, and weirdly enough I am going thru a bit of a betrayal too, though it may not be so quite yet. The signs are very strong though.
From someone I have known over 25 years, and I seem to have become someone to avoid like the pest to the people who were, so to speak, between us. I deal with it by thinking all the choices in my life have always been not to be pinned down the ground by bitterness, hatred or pettiness.
Since these people are into photography, Your blog is one of the refuges too these days, and basically, all the positive things around us, our own undying belief in goodness at our core, and the love from the people who have taken the pain to find out who we really are and gratify us with their friendship, even though for a lot of them, they had less than 25 years to make up their mind ;-).
At the end, for people like you and many of us here, The spirit wins, every time!
The worst betrayal is love and frienship. If you really believe in the person you think is your friend or loves you, if you trust this person and then you discover that everything is a lie, then you just feel small, ridiculous and with the need of cutting yourself off. But if you do so…. then you will not have the chance to find the right person, the right friend, the right love…. Not long ago I felt betrayed. I cut myself off because I was scared of feeling. But if you don’t feel, you don’t live. So forget about the fake person and keep on living with the honest people you have around. You’re alive and you have lots of good feelings to share with nice people!!
Smiles!
Hello David..
firsth of all i am very sorry you had to met such person… i know you are the person with (we say in Poland)”heart on your hand”… which means very open and friendly…and the problem is that some of the people can use it… but you can not do anything with that… the only thing you can do is just forget about that person…
I haven’t had any big problem with people in my life… i have some quite good intuition and from the firsth meeting i feel if i should trust or not and in 99% i am right but also i try not to trust people imediately…
What you can do now, is just to forget about that not nice situation and forget about that person… if you will still leave a space for him/her in your mind it will not be good
Always give a person the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise. My father told me this as a young boy and I’ve always carried this with me. The fact of the matter is that we live in a world of duality. I prefer to see the glass as half full rather than half empty. I suppose this is purely a matter of perception. One thing for sure their is a battle on earth between good and evil. We all make personal choices and we all intuitively understand the difference between + & -. Luckily for us humans we have free will. So row,row,row,row,your boat,gently down the stream, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream. Life is truly what you decide it to be for the most part. David you know best as you are really the LIVING PROOF. When life gives you Lemons then make Lemonade !! This to SHALL PASS> Already GONE.
P.S. Whenever i think i have it really bad i always turn to literature
ie..”Mans Search for Meaning,” by Dr.Victor Frankl or “The Torment of Man,” by Franz Kafka. Yes; both books have taken me right out of any vacuum that was hell bent on consuming me either physically, mentally,spiritually, and or emotionally. None of us exist in a vacuum thank; GOD. Rise above and say to yourself this will no longer lease any more space in my vessel – brain.
P.S. Count your blessings and if needed do a gratitude list. This always put’s reality into place for me. All the Best Mr. Harvey !!
Hi David,
I fully agree with Bob and some others who posted here… People are very complex in their behaviour, very special kind of logic mixed up with many other components of life. Constantly adding up to become even more complex. Actually it is quite fascinating, at least from the outside. And especially at those times when you are not affected yourself.
While in Brazil I learned a huge lesson: as long as nobody is physically harmed, try to look at it with humor. Not very easy to do, but as everyone around did it the same way, it became kind of a competing sport, which made it much easier. And of course, everyone was there to help, in case humor was not appropriate anymore.
It is amazing how things change when you manage to laugh it off! It is not about not taking it seriously, because very often it is damn serious, but it is a way to deal with what you cannot change anymore anyway.
About paranoia… well, I think it is good to be suspicious. But you do not have to let people know. Because sometimes (often) there is nothing to it and you will let good chances pass by. But … I have a looooong testing routine, that works in the back of my mind. And everytime someone manages to trick me I add a new test to the routine. But I try never to let it show, in order not to offend anyone who is just trying to be nice and help a stranger (or not so stranger).
Like buiding up a virus-filter for a computer.
Sounds very “abgeklärt” (German… damn, how do you say that in English?) “wise”? Well, I guarantee you that right after the incident I “cook in anger”, as we would say here, being terribly upset about myself for being so blind and/or about the other person, for not respecting me.
But I try to keep this phase short ;-)
Glad to hear you are fine. Very important.
Best to all,
Lassal
@ Paul
please do not get my “humour”-comment wrong. It is terrifying to thing about what could have happened to you and your family.
Very, very glad you are fine!
Please have these windows fixed!!!!
Um abraço,
Lassal
My second day in BKK, I found out there was a hit-and-run back home. My Car, new driveway, lots of new landscaping, all taken out by a runaway car. They neatly “cleaned up” and left… convenient since I was 8000 miles away.
Frustrated I told a local in BKK and , she mentioned the Thai philosophy of Jai Yen (cool heart). She was right, I tried to look at it from other angles. “I did lay those last few curbstones in a little crooked…”
Being taken advantage of, in your case (possibly??), was the direct result of being your true self… open, giving and kind.
It was a weak minded (hot hearted) person that saw those STRENGTHS as weaknesses.
Damn! Did I learn more than just how to take a better picture, down there??!!
Luckily there are witnesses, Insurance agencies, and police in my corner… Jai Yen.
Luckily there are true friends, kind strangers, and indebted students in yours… Jai Yen.
Be Well, David
P.S. Do you think the quality of those fakeys are better than those on Mulberry street?? ;-)
MARTIN…
so nice, as always, to hear from you!!…i have been traveling so much and we have not had time to chat…you always have great words of wisdom…and this so so interesting to me because we have never met and yet have been talking to each other for almost a year…i will go check the archives to find out for sure, but i think you were the very first person i responded to on this forum….
in my travels now , i always meet someone with whom i have been writing on this blog….this time i met both tom hyde and lisa, who were students in bkk, and ‘pong , who came by to see the show…martin WE just have to meet in 2008!!!
did you already post a link to your cuba work??? maybe you did and i missed it…i will go back and look or please post the link again…or, it is probably on your website…anyway, i will see it…
somehow, without even meeting you in person, i think you are REAL!!!
WENDY…
yes, i should be here in new york until the 20th or 21st….please stop by!!!! it will be great to see you…no, “L” is in london, but we were just together in bangkok..please call me as soon as you arrive….
HERVE…
one of the things i can easily see here from the comments like yours, is that so much positive energy can come out of bad…i think you know by now, that i just do not post normally anything negative….and even this little “rough edge” has led to so much “care” from the writers here…you are certainly among the most prolific and articulate writers who have assembled themselves on this forum….i can only say many thanks to you…..and yes yes…WE WIN!!!
ANA…
well, one person i know who is always smiling and it is you!!! you are even making me feel a little guilty at writing my tale of woe because this did not involve the betrayal of a long term friend or love….that is so much worse and sticks around maybe “forever”…many thanks for your letter and i assume we will see each other again in the spring in Valencia….big hugs…..
ROBERT WIEDENFELD..
i have the same outlook as you..occasionally i slip into “self pity” for brief moments and then slap myself in the face and say “hey dude…get real..get on with it…do not let one little bad moment fog up the whole picture”…
now whistling “row row row your boat…” damn, can’t get it out of my head…gee thanks!!!
LASSAL…
“abgeklart” i do not know…sorry, i could not get the two little dots over the “a”…yes, well, if it means “wise” then that just makes sense…wise does not have to mean paranoid…wise is just wise….i will keep my “virus filter” clicked on!!
cheers, david
MATT…
you posted while i was writing…
jai yen…i will try to remember that..by the way, don’t you live close by??? if so, come on over when you have a chance…this workshop is never over!!
these “fakeys” are pretty good, but i am sure one sharp eye from mulberry street could pick it right out…maybe i should change the word from “fake” to “copy”….
i miss hanging with you guys….and i will try to post your essay soonest….maybe by monday….
peace and jai yen, david
The word abgeklärt probably is the past participle (or something like that) of the verb abklären which means to filtrate.
DAVID: 1. when you are typing, to get diacritics, ¨ˆ´, use option and the u for ¨, option i for ˆ, and for the ´over the e use option e. Got it? Here is a learning experience: Hold down the option key and in turn press each of the keys starting with 1 and going to the ?. Then you’ll get an idea of what is on your keyboard.
2. Are my emails getting lost? I’ve been trying for a month now to ask when you would be in town during December, but no answer. I am getting paranoid. (not in the Russian sense)
¡™£¢∞§¶•ªº–≠‘“πøˆ¨¥†®´∑œåß∂ƒ©˙∆˚¬…æ÷≥≤µ˜∫√ç≈Ω
Michael
Well, actually “abgeklärt” has this a little shallow taste to it. It is not “wise” in a completely positive sense. One likes to use it, when a person sounds wiser than he/she probably is.
It is most often combined with a dramatically raised eyebrow.
;-))
Well, there goes the scientific approach. I really did look it up.
Michael
Oh, hi Michael,
sorry, I did not see your post …
Yeah, “klären” means something like “to clarify” or “to clear”….
But then there are these slight differences in the way these words are used … ;-)
But actually, when you raise BOTH eyebrows, it could mean real admiration, when you say, someone is “abgeklärt”. Meaning, that he actually and really could BE wise. So you see: it is all a matter of eyebrow-use.
:-))
David
Don’y take your watch down too deep or the little beetle inside will drown…………you can probably hera it coughing after a shower……..
Best from Antigua
Clive
MICHAEL, LASSAL…
abgeklärt…ok , got it…thanks for the tip…¬√©®†¥¨∫√øπµµµ∂≈®…dangerous info in the wrong hands!! but, how are you supposed to know what is where???
michael, i just answered your e-mail…sorry about that…i have 3,000 unanswered e-mails on that account, most of them comments from the blog, so some private messages can get a bit lost!!
cheers, david
David…
:)
Ha, ha… yes almost year… I thought this myself last time.
When you started you have only few comments… and now! 100-300s!!
I apologize for my absents last time but I have many work and some problems, but I’m here as always.
I’m almost sure we will met in 2008, maybe when you will be in England or Paris or rome and I will have enough money for quick trip… hmmm… rome I’ve never been in rome…
My wife said me last time in anger that I’m very asocial person (I agree with her) so I’ll be nervous…
And the link to cuba pictures… http://www.marcinluczkowski.com/cuba1.html
I have no time to create slideshow
this is still first preview… is very simply just click on photo. You must use browser’s “back” button to back. And no thumbnails… sorry.
Martin
DAVID – new email!
MAS
David :))…see u’ve got a million friends of light :)))))…
just read all comments: :)))))….
im not sure but i think that quote about “be friends to anyone who comes along..” is eleanor roosevelt, but not sure…though, it totally sounds like Twain too, but i dont know, im not a complete walking literary quotable library ;))))))
dima: he’s now 13 and almost as tall as I am and, wrist: getting bigger/stronger indeed ;)))….
martin: :)))…if we meet, i’ll give u a print :)))…thanks so much…u can see more, u can send me an email and i’ll send u some pics :))))…by the way, im a big martin fan too :)))…
enjoyed reading all the comments above:
david: uve got a great book out of this blog, some lovely wisdom and reality dose too :))))
Jai Yen :))))…
giving
abrazo :))
running
bob
David
In havana I bought casio watch…
http://www.marcinluczkowski.com/what_new/dsc_2113.jpg
i think it is no fake… 40 pesos convertible… and not so pretty as your…
peace Martin
Paranoia is not altogether a bad thing, of course; if it weren’t for raging paranoia about almost everything, I wouldnt have any personality whatsoever. I have the they’re out to get me bug so bad that when you said you’d been conned by a fake person, I thought you were talking about me (you weren’t talking about me, right? Okay, now I’ll be obsessing about this all night long, which is something that paranoiacs do really, really well). However, there are good things about being paranoid, although I’m not sure what they might be at the moment, beyond helping you save your money. Paranoiacs tend to be pretty miserly, because we think everyone’s out to steal our money, and while this does not make us happy, it does guarantee that we get visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and yet to come on a regular basis. Now if I could only figure out why Typepad won’t identify me, all will be well. I think they’re out to get me…
The bastards, they didnt identify me again! Anyway, this is Akaky saying both this and the long paranoid raving above. (Okay, Typepad, try pulling my name out of this one, if you’re so damn smart!)
http://lassal.de/2007/12/08/no-watch-no-light/
:(((
BOB…
yes yes, we do have a book here…at least at some point…already there is too much material…but let’s give ourselves a bit more to edit from….how in hell do we split up all the royalties that will be rolling in??? hmmmmm, would not want to ruin a good thing by turning it into a real business!!!
MARTIN…
nice cuba work amigo!!! some very haunting pictures…all of your best work is haunting…you should just eliminate anything “normal” and go for your “dark side”…actually, you are not dark, but many of your photographs suggest a deep mystery…just go for that!!! it is unique and YOU…at least , the artist YOU…
there are no fake casios…they are inexpensive to begin with….and maybe they are not pretty, but they do one thing really well…they keep good accurate time!!!
AKAKY…
hey dude is that you?, trying to come through, wow your face is getting blue, what you are doing wrong i haven’t a clue…
LASSAL…
some cool books you are doing…i want to see close up…
cheers, david
Akaky, I thought it was me! How dare you say it was you!
Not running
Michael
David
Thanks
Firstly I learned a lot on this trip, but there was contradiction in me, because all time I was thinking what should I do, “nice photos for sell” or I should do something deeply mine. And I risk a lot because I make some experiments and I had only 13 velvia film and 8 TX. Many, many of this experiments goes wrong… I confess… but it was worth.
I never work in that kind of light and I focus on color and mood. Maybe this works are not stunning but this was my most important lesson. Mostly I worked when sun goes down… about 30 minutes.
But you are right I’m artist and even I want change my photos on my website because first time I need more documentary photos for getting assignments. I think 70% of my work are more “artistic”… I will try put together all this stuff and make “artistic documentary” like d’agata only completely my my way.
I’m searching something new but only with small camera (even without any flash) but it’s damn hard because always I did something I saw before. And I still making too much “normal” photographs.
When I earn some money I will print my b&w photos and I will show you, but I use b&w as a notebook.
I must change my photos on website…
And how your mood today? I hope you have great day today!!
Martin
Sorry, moving quickly to a less exposed place on my website.
Just had to figure out how to make it without it appearing in the main-menu … Tricky.
http://lassal.de/hidden-ones/no-watch-no-light/
@ David
Thanks. I just stopped putting the books online because I want to redo them for their new purpose of being. I fear it will take me quite a while until I get them finished, though.
The site is far from being done. I will add some normal galleries, where one can have a look at single works, later too. My present gallery-plug-in does not support both (it is either gallery-album or slideshow), so I will have to move on to something different.
If you’d like to see anything specific, just let me know. ;) I’d be very glad to dig it out for you.
So long,
Lassal
Akaky: I know your writing anywhere :)))))…so, even your anonymity can’t be hidden! :))))…
David :))…some day, if reality, u let me know, i’ll help u edit the comments that this blog has unleashed :)))…I think this: i would donate all royalities to a charity: or rather: make the book project as a way to drum up $$ for somekind of charity: photography for inner city kids, or for children impoverished, whatever: down the line, we should think about that: the pitch to a published: a book drawn from the power of the web…anyway, that’s for another time/post :))…u’ve got enough on the plate now, maybe re-visit this in late 2008 :))…
Lassal :))) I agree with DAH: your books are brilliant and lush…there gorgeous (love love the Kursk book very much) and the layout of the Christo Gates book is magnificent! :)))..would love to have both :)))
running
bob
running bob…
i will send you message on email from lighstalkers and you will send me some of your new works… could be?
Martin
David:
When I read today your comment about been betrayed, I felt released. I just came back from been betrayed from who I concidered a good friend, until I realiced today the oposite. At the end he is the kind of guy who is allways specting a payback from their friends. So no favors are for free in his philosophy. It was sad for me because I felt whe had good friendship. I don´t know if this kind of betray is worst than the one from a thief, beacuse whe came to know each other from some time, and that is hard to forget.
However, when I think in guys like you David, with so much generosity, I feel somehow free. Don’t ever change.
Thanks for your comment David. I was really having a bad day with this betray.
best regards
Jorge
Martin ;))
yes, write me at LS and i’ll send u some pics from new project and some old projects :)))
cheers,
now=, really running, late to get to gallery for tonight :)))
hugs
bob
Lassal: i had a peek at your foto-site; very intriguing. However to my
disappointment many of the categories require a password ? Obviously you have personal reasons for such a decision. This is unfortunate as i would love to see the work. Is their a site where one can access your work without the magic typing ?
@ Robert
well … Äh … yes … actually there IS a reason for the password protection. Well to be sincere I thought it would be a very clever way to hide the fact that I have not yet finished the pages …
And two of the pages are in fact protected, because I am working out something with a gallerist. And he is little picky about the work being shown beforehand.
Dein Blog ist auf Deutsch…?? Danke für’s Kompliment, ich kann es nur zurückgeben! ;-)
@Bob
:-)))))) Thanks!! It means a lot to me, because… actually I never learned this, I’m just a little architect and, well, … oh… just … Thanks!
Really man, I mean it!
The Gates Book is not for sale… But one of Christo’s galleries want’s to have a pile of them and had me send one of the books over for Christo himself. Let’s see if they manage to convince him … But it is not in my hands.
Akaky: Anders Peterson audio interview @ http://www.lensculture.com
This interview with the photographer is 18 minutes long where he mentions that many photographers live with fear//paranoia. He say’s at one point; ” I’m very scared Man.” The reason being is most likely that we choose to put ourselves out into the Great Unknown-Universe !! Either with our cameras or ideas. We are thinkers. What other medium exposes an individuals vulnerability such as fotographie ? Diane Arbus is a perfect example. Kevin Carter another etc..
Lately i have been absorbed in Milton Rogovins life’s work. Wow; in an interview he mentions that he and his wife were held captive once in a home until the demands of money were met. The captors were drug addicts and needed money. This story took place in Buffalo N.Y. where he photographed an assorted variety of characters in an 8 block radius from his bungalow. He and his lovely wife had a deep love for the “Forgotten Ones;” as they call them. These are the people in life that typically have no voice and for the most part go unnoticed. Anyway Milton and his wife sympathized and had compassion for the very people that extorted money from them. This is Dalai Lama philosophy ie. Embrace the Enemy !! Easier said than done.
For me i can think of no better way to live just me & my cameras. If all else crumbles at least i can record it. A life unexamined is no life at all. The Journey is the Destination..
Oh; also a good woman is Absolute & Necessary for your better half. This all goes back to our yin & yang balance; key word..
@ Robert
“If all else crumbles at least i can record it.”
Interesting thought.
:))) bobblack is always running…. :D
Do you know what, David? the most beautiful hearts in the world are full of scars, mends and patches. It means that this heart felt and feels. And YES! we will see each other again in the spring with a BIG smile ;) as the world always looks brighter from behind a smile :-)
Hugs!
David
I was at the PowerHouse Books event on Dec. 5th but missed you there. Oh well, maybe I will see you at my exhibit?
Lara
David, you just need one of those trips that restore faith in human nature. They are always behind the corner. About watches… I’m looking forwards to my first Leica ;-) (http://www.asc.upenn.edu/usr/cassidy/leica-h/)
It just came to me that maybe this blog is a good “trip around the corner” to restore faith in human nature…
Although having 3000 unanswered eMails in my account would truly stress me deeply…
David, I hope you know that one of those unanswered emails is from me! Just checking…
I found out yesterday that just as you posted about betrayal a realtor who I know met a “wealthy foreign” buyer she has been corresponding with for some time to show her a house to buy. Once inside the house the woman stuck a gun down her throat, threatened her life and made her go to the bank and withdraw money which the woman took off with. Evidently she was neither wealthy or foreign and hopefully will be caught soon. How’s that for betrayal??? I think all realtors and people in professions that meet with clients privately such as body workers, especially women, need to take precaution against this type of thing.
DAVID,
Is it me or are your blogs starting to really hit me deep? On the topic of FAKE, I’m currently experiencing the worst of the worst in my <23 years of life on Earth. A supposed "friend" is threatening me with e-mails saying he is taking me to small claims court.
Why? Well, that's a bit of a long story so if you have time you can read on... if not, it's alright. Maybe someone else has a similar story.
He and I agreed to trade (for about a week) our cameras. I had a 5D and he had a Leica M4. Apparently he purchased it a week before we did the temporary trade and was looking to sell it. Anyhow I had it for a week and put 2 rolls through it. The first which I put through the first day I had it. Turns out I'm a horrible photographer when it comes to meterless cameras!
Being that it was my first experience with a Leica M I figured that it was ME so I asked around to see if I could borrow a hand-held meter. Did that for the 2nd roll (actually charted the shutter speeds, etc) and it still didn't come out very well. I got this 2nd roll developed on Dec. 6 after he claimed that the shutter was broken.
It was a very weird conversation really. I decided that I couldn't justify having a camera that I couldn't function correctly so I met up with him the day he returned from his trip and got my camera back. This is where it gets weird. He takes the camera from my hands and we talk a bit and he cocks the winder and presses the trigger and says, "hmmm".
He eventually went on to "show" me that the shutter was blown and then took the front element off and said it was loose. All of this seemed really bizarre to me because I hadn't noticed a change at all. When he took that lens off he was actually shaking the thing pretty hard and was telling me to listen to the shaking noise.
The end of the story basically comes down to him telling me that I broke his camera... 1) blew off the shutter and 2) broke his lens. This is absurd! I barely used the thing and when I did it was never treated badly -- my God, if he only knew how much I had wanted a Leica prior to ever even TOUCHING his!
So, he is threatening me with small claims court and I feel very confused. At this point I'm wondering if there was something already wrong with the camera before he gave it to me to use. Who knows, maybe that's why I couldn't get a decent shot.
I agree with Lassal and some of the others. If you can get out of the situation with your life and your health intact then be happy and focus on gratitude.
Akhay,
Hysterical. I only hope you’re kidding :)
“I have the they’re out to get me bug so bad that when you said you’d been conned by a fake person, I thought you were talking about me (you weren’t talking about me, right?”
Diana,
I hear you! Just don’t let him bully you and stand up to him. It’s hard to believe but perhaps he was setting you up, looking for a way to get money out of the (already broken) camera.
Diana,
It is pretty doubtful that you did any damage to a Leica M. With enough use, parts go bad. Shutter curtains get holes in them and need replacing.
It sounds pretty strange that he would start clicking the shutter as if to check it. There would certainly be no reason for him to do that unless he knew it was broken.
Sorry about your ordeal, but know that he’s being unreasonable.
Ciao
Michael
Diana,
after reading Michael’s post, maybe you should have the “type” of damage checked? If it is really because things are worn off after years of use, then this man could not blame you, could he?
You had the camera only for few days…
It could be a way to go, I hope…
Good luck,
Lassal
On a brighter note…
For the photographer who has everything…or for those who can’t afford the real thing…I was just going thru several Holiday catalogs that came in the mail and the Sundance catalog has (glass)
Leica Christmas tree ornaments!
Everyone,
Thank you for the support! I hope all of this fixes itself without having to go through drastic measures. I am, however, a bit disappointed that my first experience with the Leica was a bad one! Haha! Happy Holidays to everyone and I pray that misery does not find company this season!
Diana
Yeh Cathy,
That is quite a bright note, no doubt quite pricey too.
Just kind of shaking my head, who would buy such things…well..
turkeys with money to blow I guess. If your gonna buy Lieca, probably be wise to make sure its a camera.
the ultimate fetishist?
Diana,
Sorry for your ordeal.
But remember…. the proof is in the pudding. All the photos you took with his camera didn’t come out… Therefore, YOU have the proof that the camera never functioned properly from the time you took possession of it.
Hope the problem is resolved in your favor –
Happy holidays everyone
Why not put any profits from the book back into your fund for grants, prizes etc or use the money to put a show on tour? I bet every one would be happy with that.
hmmm… good idea. But unfortunately, before you earn, you will have to invest (time, money, efforts, etc.)
MARTIN…
all of us have this conflict…pictures for sale or pictures for love….go with the love…go with what you feel is important..yes, yes we must all earn a living….i have sold many pictures or done assignments to take care of my children, get them through university and keep a roof over their head..and i have to keep a roof over my own head all the time…so, i do understand this reality…but, on your website and in any arena where you have control over what is seen, just show the work most representative of the specialness you have to offer..all of the master photographers i know have sold pictures that were not their iconic work or done assignments that did not live up to their “image”….robert frank did advertising and gary winogrand too and henri cartier-bresson did an annual report…elliott erwitt has always done commercial work …none of this is a problem…BUT, when they showed their work it was NOT the commercial work..in your mind, you must keep the “sold” work separate from the personal work…then the personal work will start to sell or you will start to get assignments based on your personal work…or start to sell your art prints….you must stick with this…through rain and snow and sleet and thunder and lightning and whatever comes along…besides, it just feels better to live your life as close to exactly what you want to do and what you are capable of doing…live with less material possessions…do whatever it takes..
LASSAL….
well, it is hard to tell on-line the full nature of the books…but, the Kursk book does seem particularly interesting…can we trade books?? how about a new “Living Proof” for a “Kursk”???
LARA…
i am sorry i missed the Powerhouse event also…when is your show?? i am flooded with exhibit invitations and must have missed yours…sorry, please forgive and let me know…
CATHY…
i will check your e-mail now….
DIANA…
surely, you did not break the Leica..they don’t usually break!! however, the next time you trade cameras or buy a camera, check it out on the spot…even at the camera store, with a brand new camera, i run a roll of film through it to check everything… also with a brand new lens..they all vary a bit…you should do the same with used equipment or when trading gear..
if you are in the new york area, i have some old M6’s that work perfectly….you may stop by and borrow one for awhile to see how you like the camera..
HARRY…
good idea…normally books do not make any significant amount of money…but, the thought would count…
and with books it is always the “thought” anyway….
yes, lassal is right…books cost money to make….i always have to drop all assignments and just stop everything to layout and produce a book…who knows what the financial “losses” are to do a book……but, i do not care…doing books is what i love doing the most, so i will do whatever it takes…
cheers, david
I sat quietly at the back of David’s lecture at the Photoexpo in October looking to learn something to make me a better photographer, which I did. I came away with one important point to consider and practice. Near the start of the lecture David told the room that one thing he could offer us is guidance on how to live a good life through photography. As I’ve come to read this blog it’s become clear to me that this online collaboration is very much an excercise in exploring that concept. With regard to the direct question in the thread I have been robbed, defrauded, let down, lied to, just as everyone else has, fortunately I’ve never lost more than I could afford and I’ve been able to have a sense of perspective and a sense of humor about most of the instances of betrayal.(The ones involving money not the ones involving women) As it is I have enough rational fears to keep my nerves occupied that I don’t think of myself as paranoid.
So there is also an indirect connection between this thread and the important idea that I took away from David’s lecture. That idea was precision, critical in a watch, critical in life, critical in photography. As Michael was to begin to play the movie David noticed there was a light on in the back of the room, it would have been perfectly acceptable to my eyes to watch the movie with that light on in the back of the room but it was meaningfully better with it off. And it wasn’t easy to turn it off either, it was all the way in the back, didn’t have a switch and the plug needed to be yanked right out of the wall. When the movie began to play the sound was fine for my ears but definitely not at an optimal volume. The sound control was thought to be in the back of the room and David was insistent that the movie go back to the start and only continue when the sound had been properly adjusted. The sound was adjusted a second later to the optimal volume and things moved on with the benefit of impactful sound. Thirdly when the slide show was to begin the first slide was slightly cropped and while it didn’t appear to me that the images within the slide would have been affected, that problem needed to be solved before proceeding, much thought had gone into the precise display of these images and anything less would a diservice to the viewer . Fourthly when the lecture was to start the doors were to be closed precisely at the assigned time. All of this happened very quickly with very fast resolution but it did say to me that somehow a desire and a work ethic to achieve the most precise result is connected to good photography and perhaps other things. I walked away from that lecture thinking I am lazy, I settle for less than I should and that maybe I had just witnessed life act as a metaphor for art. I think I’ve improved a couple of things in my life since that lecture.
Hi David,
thanks for the trading-offer –
Yeah, sure. How could I not accept such a wonderful deal?! ;-)))
The only thing is that I will be on an assigment next week and leave the week after that for Scotland. Coming back around the 15th of January. I will have to order new books after my return, so it will probably be the end of January or February until I get them…
Is there a way I can reach you? There is a chance I can make the printer send it to you directly, then you’d get it while I am still up north.
;-)
Let me know.
info@lassal.de
So long,
Lassal
David
Yes, yes, yes… I know all of that. My wife is good example… she complained that nobody wanted buying her paintings, she tried to paint what people like until she decided working only for her satisfaction, then she made better paintings and now a few art sellers want her for own… I think I should do the same. I know if I will not do what I want I be disappointed and unhappy, but if I will focus on my own creativity maybe someday I will have more profits than making only commercial stuff. Now I can earn in different way.
I must work more… that’s all… life will show…
And I will change my website… I must find time only…
Next year will be full of work!!
I feel it in bones…
“doing books is what i love doing the most, so i will do whatever it takes…”
David… yesterday I watched your best photos on magnum website and I thought myself why you have four books only… no… five :)… you have so many excellent material for fifty books like Martin Parr.
How to say it… I’ll be waiting… :)
Now I’m waiting for your books from amazon!!
peace
Martin
@ Ross
beautiful description …
Thank you.
MARTIN…
good point…why only five books?? do i have five?? i had better check the site!!! well, i have actually done about 8, but i only like three of them..or two…the other ones just did not give me full control and so i never show them…i really only think of myself as having two books now…div soul and living proof…
martin parr thinks very differently…and i admire him…but, i cannot be like him…his whole “art” is to publish everything…every idea…every picture…EVERYTHING!! as a whole, all of his work, including his “mistakes” becomes a “unit” or a “whole”…his “sketches” overall command great respect…
but, i am just not like that..i think differently about books….and for many years i was just shooting and shooting and shooting and not doing so much editing…different times, different moods… some of my older work will end up in a new book fairly soon….
but i do not really care about “quantity” anyway…if i have two or three good books at the end of my life, that will be ok…
look at robert frank ..two books(well, maybe three)…and gene smith for example..zero books (only anthologies of his work)…even henri has only about six books of original material…the others used the same photographs over and over…anyway, many photographers have just a few or only one book…that is where you start..with one!!!
cheers, david
David,
I wish it were possible, but I live in the middle of the Pacific Ocean! This is one of my predicaments. It’s very difficult to find people here who are 1) selling their Leicas or 2) experienced with them. There are no stores here that sell the cameras either. At this point I’m at the mercy of the internet and the various M’s for sale on RFF, Ebay, and so forth!
Thank you SO much for the offer. If I lived in the mainland U.S. I think I would somehow make it a point to drop by to try it! Maybe I could just buy one from you and take your word that it is working perfectly… Haha… I could give you my Canon 5D! ;-) Or better, you can have my son for the week! He makes for a great photo subject… *grins* And if all else fails… well, if you EVER come to Hawai’i I’ll show you around on my home island Maui and pray that you bring that M6 with you!
Best,
Diana
Interesting, David …
So different… !
For me it is all about an idea. The idea is the center. And books are “just” helpers. Pictures are “helpers”. And of course I try to get the best helpers I can, but I cannot but approach it.
And the closer I get, the more critical, too. I would throw everything away today if it were about a single picture of mine and not about an idea. I do not like any single picture of mine… Not complex enough. I always need a group of pictures. And I love slight variations to corner something in.
At least now I have a better camera…
Thus I often change my books when I find better approaches… Or better stories to tell the idea. Or I add a book and throw another one away without regret.
Everything is just good as long as I have not found a better alternative.
Once I did a book with the “same” image over and over. Actually it was not the same but it looked like it were. Some miliseconds of difference between them…
I guess it would not be anything you would like ;-)
The Kursk book is about an idea, too …
The whole of life for me is about a (small) set of ideas…
;-)))
(I hope I did not throw myself out of the group with this statement now..)
So long,
Lassal
DAVID: Your advice to Martin about what to show, how to think about it… is absolutely what I needed to hear. Thank you.
I am planning a slight overhaul of my site to better show my best side. Of course, that’s still a question for me. Which is my best side?
Years ago, when I was a young musician, my teacher, Bucky Pizzarelli, said, stay away from those Be Boppers; they’ll mess you up.
For me, now, the message would be, “stay away from those press photographers…”
I always thought I could just do a little press stuff to make money, but I CAN’t. It makes me present everything in a non photographic (non-me) light – conentrating on facts instead of truth, story line instead of story.
Looking at Martin Parr and Elliot Erwitt is liberating. It gives one permission to be oneself artistically, and I think permission is one of the key elements.
Your work, on the other hand, is inspiring.
Do you know the McCluhan book, The Medium is the Message?
Now out of all that, I just wish I could figure out whether I am a 28mm or 35mm shooter (digital).
DIANA: Since you are shooting digital, why do you want to try out a film camera? Try out an M8. I think there might be a store out there that would let you try one out for a few days. You’d have to buy it, then return it if you don’t want it. Just be honest up front and say this is a trial basis. There’s a guy, Tony (?) at Pop Flash Photo in California who usually has some demos, and he is very flexible about his returns and favors, etc.
In addition, not knowing what you use for a lens or how you use the camera, I would suggest that you put a prime lens on your Canon and shoot totally manually – no AF, no AE, and see if you like that. After all, the 5D is a great camera.
I only ended up with Leica’s because I started out on rangefinders as a kid, with an Argus C3 brick when I was 8. Many of the greats switched to SLR’s when they were available – Walker Evans, Gene Smith, Elliot Erwitt, etc.
Also, the current M is not perfect. The framelines are not all that accurate,and there are sensors with less noise at high ISO’s.
Well, I don’t want to bash my own extended eye, and David is not big on gear talk, so…
ciao,
Michael
CATHY…
for the life of me i cannot find any e-mail you sent me on either account..at least not within the last two weeks……pls. send again …i am home and will be on top of it…
cheers, david
DIANA…
if, and when, i get to maui, i will bring along an M6 for you to try…or an M8 which i use now…do you know lee guthrie?? she is here on the blog, from maui, and a three-time student of mine…
LASSAL…
i can see from your work that it is all about ideas…cool…different from me , but i like different from me…i do not like most of my single pictures either, but i keep trying…
i grew up with books books and more books…my grandmother dumped them all on me..tall tales, lessons, epics, history, biographies, autobiographies, art, and romance…later came photographic books, which i took to be books just like any other book…hence, the books i do now always have literary referencing…and i do the layout in a “visual literacy” sort of way..my “Divided Soul” book took many years to take and make….even my little “Living Proof” took me three years…the only “fast” book i did was “Tell It Like It Is” and took me one summer..but, mine too, are about ideas…but represented in a different way and perhaps for different reasons than yours…
but, this is the absolute beauty of books…all there on the shelf to discover what one person was thinking at one particular point in their life…at their very best they can only represent what the author was thinking or doing at that point in his or her life….they can never take in the whole scope of anyone’s life…representing only one tiny slice…and this is true whether the author spent years on a book or only a few hours..
i think i will do a whole new post with this subject and add on a couple of surprise questions…stay tuned….
MICHAEL…
“The Medium is the Message” was my college bible…Marshall M. was someone i thought about a lot and read a lot…and certainly referenced perfectly with our friend lassal…
cheers, david
Great, David… ;-)
Work in progress all the way.
At it’s best when managing to captivate a little bit of truth in it’s net.
Looking forward for the new post. I will probably have to read it when I come back from Scotland in January. I’ll be in a lighthouse on an island for the first week and no internet there. No internet the second week too, I fear. Maybe later if I get lucky.
So long,
Lassal
In this business (the professional world) I find I am ever increasingly watching my back for people who are fake. This is difficult because I would really enjoy being friends with other photographers.Unfortunately I keep most at an arms length for a long time.
However, the Bible tells me to forgive, dust off my shoes and move on. This is tough but sometimes neccesary. Hang in there. Know God loves you.
David,
I think the own book is terrific stuff, and I’m thinking about self made book, something small for beginning, something personal… because it is always next step (always forward, always forward!!) but first of all- good material…
And I agree with you about number of books because sometimes less means more…
But in literature… I hate when I read all of books one favorite writers I like, and nothing more to read I have… so…
I could do book about my city, I have possibilities… but I just don’t feel it now… I try in different ways, but it still not burned my mind… I’m waiting for one, two pictures for start… something special… beginning of my story… first line…
Nothing on force… it will come… will?
I have new idea… I will start in color! hmmm… we’ll see…
Best
Martin
Welcome back home, David.
To answer your original question, the most relevant and intense experience I had was after my wife and I were mugged in Toronto around 1994 or 1995: 2 teenagers with baseball bats, while walking in a rather upscale residential neighborhood.
Even though we lost very little that night (maybe $60…), for several months after that I found myself reliving the episode in my mind, playing it out in many different ways, wanting to impart retribution, punishment… I have since trained in Tae Kwon Do and have a black belt… but the satisfaction of all those imaginary, virtual vengeful outcomes never materialized, and more importantly made me feel worse, not better. Now when I think back about that night I am at peace with the fact that we did the right thing just handing over the money, and nobody got hurt- not my wife, myself, or those two misguided, troubled teens. No lives were destroyed, no large circles of pain were created.
You’ve returned home safe and intact- which is a blessing that’s potentially easy to overlook. I hope you can regain that inner peace imminently, and just put the episode out of your mind for good.
Asher
Hi David;
Regarding showing your personal work: I’m in the process of having a website built. My quandary is that my work has evolved greatly over the last few years from nature, to editorial/documentary photo journalism.
I’d rather put my new work up on the site and don’t want to be classed as a nature photographer. But, the old work still sells and the money is really handy!!
I don’t want the site to be muddled though, any ideas? Anyone??
I don’t know if you remember, but I mentioned a while ago (about 2 months) that I’d just gone fulltime. Well things are going ok, and am enjoying the journey (short journey so far!) But the journey is the sole reason for this endeavour.
Regarding fakes; I tend to trust most people too much and have been burnt big time. With some people you have a gut feeling that something doesn’t ring true and are wary from day one.
It’s the ones you trust implicitly who let you down that hurt the most. I try to cut them loose, live and learn, & as long as I can look myself in the eye in the mirror, write it off to experience.
I had a bad experience that helped get me into the life I’m now beginning. A boss I’d worked with for 10 years shafted me properly, but the thing that bit the most was that I considered him more of a loyal friend than a boss.
To cut a long story short I decided that someone, somewhere, was telling me to move on, so decided to take a part time job to be able to pursue my goal of becoming a freelance documentary photojournalist. I tend to try to look for the silver lining, however hard that may be & even though it may be hard to find there is usually one around the corner.
David, you seem to have many people who care for you, both on this forum and in life in general. I feel that if you can count the number of friends that you can trust implicitly on one hand, you are an extremely fortunate person.
I’ve often pondered why you operate this blog, because in this day and age there’s usually a financial consideration for everything. Obviously there is no financial benefit for you & I realise that’s not your aim either. This collective you’ve formed must be one of the most selfless acts on the blog.
The amount of time & effort you put in must be mind boggling! I find it a pain sitting down in front of the laptop each morning just checking my emails!
There must be hundreds of people like me, who only occasionally leave messages (or just follow the blog) but are inspired by your and the other bloggers comments. Thank you all.
Ross why not have two web sites one for the money one for the future
Sure is a long way to scroll –
DAVID: I am postponing our yet unscheduled meeting until next year. I am doing some major reorganization, and I will want (desperately need) your input, but right now, I’m definitely onto something, AND
I just twisted my mending broken foot and probably rebroke it, so, while airline travel is maybe even easier, independence in NYC might be a little NOT!
Does it ever seem like you spend an inordinate amount of time editing?
Editing,
Michael
David, I sent a couple of invites to an address I have, but I do not know your email address in order to invite you to the exhibit via email! I feel weird posting here about it.
Lara
Harry; that’s interesting! Would that be too confusing for customers? Thanks for the idea!
ROSS…
it is really simple…letters like yours are why i produce this forum…if this group of writers were taking this forum in a cynical direction, as i see on some other sites, i would quit in a nanosecond…
so far, it has been easy for me to do this…it is something i can do while i am doing other things..as a matter of fact, if i were not busy shooting, or laying out a book or teaching or whatever else seems to keep me busy, then i would have nothing to write about or think about or help others to think about..this only works if i am in fact working…
i would like to think that all of us here discuss important issues in a civilized way..and issues that affect all of us, whether seasoned professional or serious non-professional, emerging photographer, or student or editor….and so many of you write with incredible style and grace…for this, i am very proud…
i may have mentioned before that i became a guide/teacher right after i went to my first missouri workshop when i was 22…i was so jazzed by the efforts that the “famous photographers” of the time put into us..all eager college students…i told myself right then and there that i would do the same for someone else…that no matter what happened to me that i would always put as much effort as possible into extending a hand to those who were trying to “make it” in this crazy biz…or who just needed a little help with editing or figuring out their story or dealing with personal crises right when they needed to be doing something with their photography…whatever i am doing now, i have been doing since grad school..only the internet has changed the scope …
this forum sprung up right after i did my first workshop at home last year…i looked at this forum as a kind of on-line workshop for those, who for whatever reason, had no access to certain kinds of thinking or information..and besides, i just throw out a little “bait” and the rest of you do all the work anyway!!!
i have been very lucky to have managed to keep my professional life and my personal life in more or less one big package…there are no hard edges….it all rolls together…i like to help people figure out how to do the same…helping others also always feels better than helping yourself anyway…..now mind you, i work very hard for myself too…when it come to my work, i am very selfish..bullseye on the case…no holds barred…but, even that aspect of my character i try to impart to others as well…artistic selfishness is required to survive and thrive…but , there is never any reason to make anyone else “lose face” and there is always time to lend a hand…
there is enough traffic on this forum for me to pick up sponsors….the demographic of this site is exactly what sponsors are looking for..but i do not want flashing logos on this site…as you know, i have picked up some finances for my stipend, but they go directly into the non-profit fund and then will be turned back to help at least some of the audience here…in just a few days i will be able to announce my first stipend for an emerging photographer…this just feels good….
having an affect on the next generation of photographers is the ultimate good feeling…every once in a while a young photographer will tell me that i have been an influence on their work and their life…this is the supreme compliment after years of committed work…i could never ask for anything more…money could never buy an endorsement like that…none of the truly special and good things in my life; the family, friendships, respect, work or influence, are things that money can buy…there are two types of “rich men”…i am one of them….so ross, that is quite simply why i am here…
many thanks again for your letter and please keep me updated on your progress as a full time freelancer …
LARA…
you may send your invitation to Magnum Photos, 151 West 25th, 5th floor, New York 10009….or leave a message at the desk 212 929-6000 … or, call my studio 718 388-5799…i hope i can make it…
abrazos, david
Aloha David,
I just looked up Lee Guthrie and can’t say that I’ve ever met her — although I will consider contacting her the next time I fly back to Maui for a break (currently on Oahu to complete university). I’d love to attend a workshop geared towards more documentary style photography.
It is difficult to find a mentor here who can look at my “work” constructively and criticize it to help me build on the project. I’m sure you’re a busy man with a lot of students under your wing. I can’t say that I’m very established like some of the readers and posters of this blog, but I have a topic and really want to develop it. If you have any spare time I’d love to hear any suggestions you might have. No rush, this project has been sifting in my brain for the past 2 years and I’ve finally got a subject so things should get juicy soon…
Best,
Diana
David; Thank you for that. At the moment it’s just hard-out nose to the grindstone stuff, while trying to find time to continue some personal projects.
I’m fortunate in that I have a personal interest in 90% of the articles/photos I’m working on so don’t feel that I’m compromising the artistic vision too much.
It’s funny how many people (esp. ex work mates) tell me how “lucky” I am, which is true to a point, but there’s been a lot of hard work involved to get to this stage.
Many say “Are you waiting for your big break?”, but I don’t know if there is such a thing. I think you get breaks from working hard and by actually getting out there and doing it.
Thank you all for your inspiration…
ASHER…
yes, i can imagine that scenario and the after thoughts you would have had..that event runs a whole lot deeper than my little “loss of faith”…somehow you have managed to work your way out of it in the most mature way…the imaginary retribution that plays out very well in the movies, does not really work in real life…i guess that is why we like to see it in the movies!!
many thanks for your thoughts…
MICHAEL….
sorry i will miss you this season….anyway, my door is always open…
i do spend an inordinate amount of time editing….and teaching…and writing..and shooting and and and..inordinate amounts of time are just the “name of the game”…do not worry though…you will still always have time, or should at least make the time, to go fishing, or sailing, or hiking, or watching a frisbee fly straight into an oncoming wave..
DIANA…
please stay in touch…and link me to your newest project when you get it going…you are right, i do have my hands pretty full right now particularly looking at all of the work submitted for the stipend from readers of this forum…but, i do get windows of time and space, so i will do my best to take a look when you are ready….
cheers, david
David,
You touched on important question that interests me very much. You have said many have only a few books.
Is it a deliberate strategy to limit amount of shown material if one has a strong and recognized body of work already?
I feel that Koudelka seems to be already doing that.
RENE…
i think various photographers do it various ways and for a multitude of reasons….obviously martin parr sees it differently than joseph koudelka…and both are very successful at marketing their prints…
koudelka is totally limiting the prints he sells…as a strategy…and probably a good one…for the moment, he is selling nothing!! this will of course drive his print prices way up and at some point he will command very high print prices…
books are another thing…i think photographers just do books when they feel they are ready to have a book…joseph, for example, has published books all along even though he has the print limit..
some photographers do suffer from “overexposure” which is just as bad, if not worse, than “underexposure”…nothing worse than getting “too famous”…in photography as in rock bands!!!! best bet: get respect, fly low, be slightly under-rated, have a loyal group of believers…like Phish before they got too well known!!!
cheers, david
JORGE…
sorry to hear about you and your “amigo mio”..that is the worst…but, all you can do is to trust another friend…we have no choice..otherwise we die inside….so, we must get back up on the horse and ride into the wind!!
saludos, david
Overexposure…
is that why Alec stopped doing his blog?
David,
Sounds great! I created a flickr set and I can set-up a side account for you to use to login and view the current set. I’m not sure how else to do this because I haven’t quite decided which to keep in the set of the ones I like.
I also have a powerpoint presentation that leads up this collection. I used it as a transition when I presented it to my research lab at university. Easiest way would be to send it to you direct, but I can’t find an e-mail address around here so I suppose you can just e-mail me? Mine is dianalorge@gmail.com
Whenever you have time is great with me. The big event that has been building up, however, is Jan. 19 (around that date). This is my subject’s due date. :-) It would be an honor to have your thoughts. I do have to warn you that the set I have on flickr is not the main focus of my project, but it does help to paint a picture of the given culture.
Thank you again for being so open with me! This would be such a wonderful opportunity to further develop this topic!
Best,
Diana
RAFAL…
did alec stop doing his blog??? hmmmm, i was reading it yesterday….but, the overexposure i am talking about has nothing to do with blogs…blogs have nothing to do with “the work”…alec continues to be a great photographer doing refreshing work all the time now….
i am talking about becoming too too well known in the photo world with overexposure to certain photographs or becoming too too “popular” in the public domain as an “iconic”…look what “fame” did to salgado or annie leibowitz…you can become so well known for doing a particular thing, that you can get “stuck” doing a particular thing and get “frozen” in your own “image”…all of salgado’s great work was done when he was less than “iconic”…same with annie…i have seen none of the breakthrough work from either of them lately (last 10 yrs)…the very breakthrough work that made them the icons that they deserve to be…avedon, on the other hand, was iconic and yet always doing new things..same for gene richards…so, there are always exceptions…
cheers, david
David
You should go to sleep… and i should go to work… good night and good luck…
martin
RAFAL..
hey, you are right about alec…i was reading away yesterday and totally missed alec’s opening line…nor, did i pay attention to the dates!!!
i have no idea why alec dropped the blog…i will simply ask him…but, i will say this…every creative idea has a “burn out” point..or, all good creative ideas, in order to be really creative, have an end.. he may have reached that point…
alec soth is the photographer who talked me into doing a blog in the first place (see my piece on him from last summer)…and he did one of the most influential blogs ever…he literally re-invented blogging and kept it going for a long time…but, as i said, like the making of a book or a movie or the creation of any “object” there must eventually be closure…
i do not think anyone would consider doing a one person online forum “forever”,including me…interests change….priorities change…if things are fresh and fun and rewarding, then you do them…if not, you stop and move on to the next challenge..
cheers, david
MARTIN…
yes to both!! but i cannot sleep…i am on bangkok time zone….but, you should go to work!!!
cheers, david
Wow, welcome home..
With regard to one of your comments David, I look forward to the blog about how work that is made, complied and forever around is only a reflection of where the photographer’s head was at that moment in time. I was thinking about this today, as I was walking through the streets and thinking that what most interested me last month may not be what pulls my attention today. And why? What changes, what remains?
Somedays I can’t look at people at all, it feels dangerous to even look with curiousity or vulnerability, and on those days I realize I feel like I must appear more normal to others..not peering into faces and lives, just passing by. I wonder if other photographers, who have produced images that I admire so, have felt this too, if that is a part of what they felt at one time. But that part isn’t recorded into images..
The work that sustains me from other photographers, frozen in time, just a glimpse into their now then, somehow is eternal..
Alec may have thought he was overexposing himself. I think with art photography, limited exposure is whats important, as there is a premium paid for exclusivity…with documentary photography I think thats not the same case. Id still be interested in his reasons though
ERICA…
i totally know what you mean…some days i am absolutely not interested in something that i would have been mesmerized by even the day before…because, in my case, once i have “done it” that same energy cannot be duplicated on the same subject…
many times i also wander around as a “normal” person not taking pictures at all in situations where, had i been in a different mood, i would have been going crazy..these moments are just not recorded as you say..
and this thought, or a part of this thought, will lead to my next post…by tomorrow evening…
RAFAL…
i am not at all sure i understand what you mean….what do you mean??? “with art photography limited exposure is what is important”….hmmmm, we will ask alec about that one!!! limited printing, editions, is what is important…i am not so sure about the exposure…a certain amount of exposure is necessary for the photographer to become known enough to command good print prices…
my comments about salgado and annie were about their creativity, not their print prices or their value in the art and commericial market place….their “overexposure” gives them extremely high value in the art world….i was referring only to the actual work they are producing from a “close observer” or “insider” point of view…
i was talking about what the photographer actually DID after perhaps becoming overexposed or iconic…not with what the “market” felt about the photographers work with regard to print prices etc etc etc..
as i said, i will ask alec…but i am 99% sure it had nothing to do with his vision of “overexposure”…more likely to do with raising his young kids and family time etc etc..and possibly for the creative reasons i so stated above in the other posts….
as i also think, online blog exposure had nothing to do with his “work”…either what he did or how he was perceived..alec sold out his show at the Gagosian gallery right at the height of his blog and produced “Niagra” …as a matter of fact, i now remember him telling me that his blog had significantly helped his print sales…anyway, we will have the answer soon enough….i will let you know soonest….
cheers, david
I think perhaps that in the art realm, exclusivity extends to the artist. Might this not be why artist’s get successful after they die? They arent accessible anymore?:) Seriously though, perhaps theres an air of that in the art market: not only should the print be limited, so should access to the artist, and with a blog, well, thats the opposite of that, right?
And please, dont ever get too exclusive for us, although I think maybe that with bread and butter documentary guys, that doesnt apply. But Alec is an art photog.
Also, I want to thank you about kicking my butt. No more pointless walking around the city for me. Im not shooting only stories. Ive done many since you left. Finished the TKD, did something on a choir rehearsal, finished my Fountain project, did something on Korean thanksgiving, fireworks, now Im doing a behind the scenes look at korean baby modelling used in advertising in Korea which is a big industry here.
However, being a father myself, Im sure most of his reasons are about family. You know it, kids take a LOT of time and energy and attention. We have to prune our lives and simplify to find time for whats important. I would suspect that and just time for his REAL work and creativity are what his reasons were. I guess I was just kidding a bit, though maybe theres something to that too:)
fakes are there because they make us realize the importance of the original. darkness is there so that we can enjoy the sunshine. in our lives, at some point or other, we all make ‘friends’ who later on shed their mask and we realize, at times a little too late, that they were fake ‘friends’. they utilize us for all sorts of oblique purposes. it is, no doubt, painful, but still, they all have a purpose in this strange world of ours, they make us realize the importance of true friendship.
at least, that’s the way i take this. it somehow lessens the pain.
RAFAL….
man do i need sleep..i am on bangkok time and that makes for an all night blogger!!
since my last post, i e-mailed alec to answer your question…of course, it is 1am his time in minnesota, that is if he is even in minnesota…but, eventually we will hear from him…
the lines between documentary photographer and art photographer are no longer lines..lots of blur….i see alec’s work as totally documentary in style..that is he shoots his work as documentary (bears witness) as opposed to gregory crewdson who fictionalizes his scenes….alec just “presents” it in the art world and uses an 8×10 camera…as does former news photographer now art photog luc delahaye, for example (same pictures from news stories, presented as art)…most “documentary” photographers (who would hate to be called “bread and butter” photographers) hang their work in the same museums and galleries as the “art” photographers…besides, alec soth shoots for magazines and ad agencies and is very much a commercial/editorial photographer too (see the jack spade ads)…but, certainly he mostly presents himself as an “art photographer” as you say…but, if the advertising photography does not hurt his “exposure” nor the magazine photography either, then i doubt if the blog hurt him (remember what i said that he said about his print sales re: the blog)….i am right now betting my sweet used barbour bag, that alec dropped the blog for family reasons…i mean, if i had a wife and children at home right now, i would be thrown out of the house!!! time at the computer is not the same as hugging your wife!!
SUBHRAJIT…
words of true wisdom from you…many thanks
cheers, david
Remembering Alecs post about flicr, man that set off a whirlwind, Where is the good work on flicr? thats it, that was the post. Jezuz! that was unreal, the flicr groups were having a melt down. That was really something.
DAVID, if you’re on Bangkok time, how do you manage to blog all day—-I mean night, too?
Gear questions: What do you usually use for a camera bag, your Reporter Satchel or…? What combination of bags do you carry on the plane?
If it’s going to be rainy, does that alter your choice?
OK-end of gear questions for today.
Well, not quite–Has Martin Parr gone digital? What focal length is he using?
NO LONGER GEAR: The info on Alec and generally how you and the other big boys deal with careers, art, etc. is valuable. It removes the “outside,not being able to see in” feeling.
About documentary photography, several years ago I read a book by Ken Light, in which he had chapters about various documentary photographers. It is a great book.
Back to sleep.
Michael
>
Hmm I like this phrase A LOT, David!!! With your permission, I will write it in my note book ;-)
“we must get back up on the horse and ride into the wind!!”
(That is the phrase, I don’t know why it desapeared in my last comment… oopps)
re: Alec’s blog…
I’ve read it as well, though never left any comments there, as generally I’m not at all into blogs and the DAH blog is the only blog I go to/read with any kind of frequency. In fact, LS and DAH are the only photo-related websites i look at and the reason why I was drawn to David’ blog was because of it’s community aspect. In other words, david wasn’t pontificating (with the hords applauding) but was “inviting” his readers, friends, colleagues to join in his search: of ideas, photos, discussions, etc. This is what drew me in and what has been an inspiring dialogue ever since, and this goes back to february or march, something like that.
Alec’s blog was, for me, the first really interesting bloc about photography, ’cause it broached issues larger than photography. It also offered readers an inside seat into some of the working thinking behind his work, his life, his ideas. For a long time, i also thought about making a blog, but then i realized, ad david pointed out, that if i unleashed that kind of energy on the computer world/blogosphere, my wife would immediately divorce me ;))…my web activity is pretty restricted: for photography, its this: dah, ls, johnvink site and a view from-time-to-time threads (like alec’s blog, photoeditor blog, stupidphotographer blog and a couple others), but i still spend little time, generally speaking on the web: gmail, yahoo, nytimes, villagevoice, salon, and that’s it…not enough time…so im sure that alec, out of need, had to cut it down and out…which is a shame, ’cause he is a very intelligent and thoughtful writer and photographer…i should add that I’ve also seen lots, sadly, of enmity and bitter backlash against Alec’s blog, which is a cynical unfortunate thing, but, as i wrote above, that’s the unfortunate commodity of life and especially on the web (witness the transformation of LS in the last year, christ….)….
exposure is an irrelevancy: it’s all about the work and what certain photographers continue to do…i know of photographers whose work never petered and continued to challenge right up to the end of their life and i know of photographers whose work never transcened the images to which they first drew attention for themselves…personal development, as an artist, is seems to me is no different than pesonal development in life…transfiguration/transformation: some continually swallow and feel and are open to that, some never quite get it…in the end, its all not terribly important: only pictures, the more important is the countenance and gesture by which one lives their life….
alec’s blog may be defunct, but his new book on Colmubia is extraordinary and i read he made it as a gift for his daughter…i personally dont categorize his work as anything other than this: testimony, to the ways that this disappearing life shapes and shifts…that may be art thay may be documentary, doesnt matter to me….what does is this: does the photographer speak to me about the struggle and negotiation of this passing life in rewarding and challenging and inspiring and thoughtful ways…and that alec’s work does and that is what his bloc did and that is what this blog does too…
im sure alec has his plate full with his new book and young family…i know, i’ve got a family of my own and i know the challenges of trying to get in 1 hour on the computer ….
riding into the wind ;))
bob
ps. martin: sent u some pic s;))))
running
b
W ROBERT….
i missed the flickr post or posts from alec…i will go back and look…
MICHAEL…
well my friend, when i am seriously jetlagged (as in 12 hr time diff), i do not sleep at all!! in bkk i was up late a lot..24/7 with the students…so, throw in the traveling and you have the disaster case you now see!!
you made me laugh with the bag question…my immediate friends know that i am a total bag freak…always looking for the perfect camera bag…discreet, right size, waterproof etc etc etc..you may or may not have noticed that i have given away a few of my camera bags as “prizes” on this forum…the reason…to get rid of the mountain of bags i possess..i do use only one camera and one lens…BUT, i have dozens of camera bags…still looking for the “perfect” one!!!
i think martin parr uses only film…but, sometimes people change quickly to my surprise…do not know his focal lengths…or anybody else’s either…
BOB…
yes, i could totally imagine you with a blog…after all, you are the primary writer for this one!! for sure, you have stimulated much of the writing here…you really got it going…if you did not chime in on things, harveyblog just would not be the same…if i were a magazine editor, i would have you on my staff immediately…analysis columnist..which is exactly what you do now!!
i think i have mentioned before that if things went “negative” here (as in LS sometimes) i would quit on-line chat immediately…life is too short to deal with all the young grown old too quickly cynics out there…however, i am very happy to deal with the young and young at heart photographers who need a push, a new point of view, or an uplifting thought to get them through the day..
your positive thinking is what i like…and i know surely that you have had just as many curve balls thrown at you as anyone else..maybe more….yet, you take it philosophically and move forward with gusto and grit and guts and with a joy and a big heart that can brighten a gray day…
by the way, and you probably know, alec and his wife adopted a young girl from Columbia and hence the book…personal personal personal…art, documentary, whatever…it speaks…wonderful book….
i think i will have your third from last paragraph bronzed or set in stone or electronically glued to the top of this blog forever…
now late late and running!!!
cheers, david
hi david,
it’s good to hear you had such a great time in Bangkok, although i’m sorry to hear about the one bad experience. i think most people have experienced something like that, i certainly have. while it may leave us hurt, or disillusioned, i think its important no to dwell to much on the negatives. that sort of person is simply not worth the time; its better to use the energy and time to move on to something more positive, like being with people you love, taking pictures, editing pictures – anything!
its been great to read through the comments about books. i’ve just completed a project and am looking to get it published. i’m still filled with the good feeling of completing something that can, hopefully become a book. although i’m in the early stages its been a very interesting process so far. i’ll keep you posted on how i get on.
david, is there anyway that you can let me know if my submission got through okay. i had a few problems with the ftp site. i know you’ve probably had a million request for this since the deadline, so sorry for asking, i just wouldn’t want to miss out.
are you going to be in london any time soon? if you are and you have time perhaps we could meet, i’ll pay for the fish and chips this time.
take care
Jason.
Hi David !
As usual, this post turns out to be so interesting…
As a regular reader of your blog, I feel I don’t have time to write things but I also feel I need to thank you for being so generous of your time !!
I “listen” to what is voiced here, just like many others, and sometimes I would like to smile, meaning that’s great we’re here together to exchange ideas, thoughts…
So here are a couple of smiles from a silent lurker :
:-) :-) :-)
Pierre
Oh, by the way, did you get the text that goes with the 20 pictures I submitted ? I was not able to upload it via digital railroad so I sent it to you directly (one of your email accounts)…
If it didn’t reach you, I can send it again.
Merci !
Ps : did you eventually get the pictures themselves ?
David :))…
you can bronze away, no royalities needed ;)))))…
yes, indeed, life is much too short and, in truth, we’re all pretty priviledged, too priviledged, to be muddied down by the darkness and cynicism around…since we have such a star-burst short time, why not use it to its best effect: share, live, shine :)))…
Im happy to have made a small contribution to a community (here) that has also given my own life so much :))
running :)
cheers
b
Thanks David. Will give you a call when I’m in town and hope to meet up with you then.
Talk soon.
Wendy
JASON…
i was supposed to be in london this week, but the Magnum meeting location changed, so now i end up in paris…we will do the fish n’ chips next time around..by the way, is there anything else to eat in old ‘londontown???
oh yes, your submissions are here…no problems
PIERRE-YVES..
nice to hear from you “lurkers” every now and then…and it was nice to see you in arles last summer…hmmm, where oh where did that time go?? seems like yesterday…
yes, we have all of your work….
i am in paris this weekend…but, i think you are in brittany…if not, call me at magnum….
RAFAL…
ok, i got an e-mail back from alec soth…i asked him why he dropped his blog…
directly quoting alec:
“I don’t have an altogether satisfying answer about the blog. It was a combination of things. But I guess the most prominent aspect was that it got too big. I was getting all of these e-mails from people wanting me to promote their stuff. My failure to promote one friend’s work ended up killing our friendship. What was supposed to be this personal little diary was turning into a magazine. I created the blog as an oasis from the the art business, but it was just turning into another arm of Soth Industries.”
so ends our chat about why alec dropped the blog….
cheers, david
Hi David, for the watch don’t worry, I know from good source that most of the time the parts are stolen from original warehouses or just do not reach them on the way from the production units, this means that the assembly might be the only difference with the original. Concerning Mr. X, that’s life and it usually happens that you trust someone and he makes you a child in your back (swiss expression)… this is very disappointing but luckily not everybody is like that, even when bad things happen we should not forget that trust is the essence of friendship, don’t lose trust, it’s important…
David fish and chips in London are rubbish you have to head north and get chips and gravy. Then there is curry which makes all the bad things about living in the UK worth while. Maybe you should try and get a gig at the National Media Museum in Bradford worth it just for the food.
Hi David, hi everyone,
I know that you must announce the “winner” on Dec. 15th but what about the web site for the other submissions and the feedbacks? I guess it will come a little later, since you have been pretty busy recently and it must be a very time-consuming task…
Everyone knows TRUE chippie sauce ;-) is only available in Edinburgh in unmarked, unlabelled former irn-bru bottles. Its ingredients are unknown and it’ll never get past the FDA.
Whenever I’m down south I find myself drawn to Wagamamas (there is one in Covent Garden I think).
Totally understand the bag obession! I go into stores, play with the bags for half an hour then buy a lens cap and leave.
I was impressed by “On Being a Photographer” and it was a series of edited conversations between photographers, so distilling the wisdom of this blog would make an awesome book.
A statement I keep reviewing now and again from a fridge magnet:
“What people say about you reflects only upon themselves.”
My copy of “Living Proof” arrived in the mail today. Books, paintings, photographs–of the things I own, these are what I love most. Well, my cameras also. Words and pictures can give us a spiritual connection that crosses barriers of time and place. I see and I can feel the rhythm of the world of hip hop.
I had to laugh at your dilemna with finding the right camera bag. I have too many cameras, but I have even more too many bags. In your spare time, it would be great if you designed a David Alan Harvey bag–maybe two bags. A Leica bag and a Nikon bag depending on what the shoot would be.
Dare I do this without starting a massive write in???
Unless it rains (hard) the Domke Super Satchel is great for Nikons and the Reporter Satchel is wonderful for Leicas. You can put the cameras in the big front pouches.
The cheapest I found David’s little Barbour (or something close) is at Osprey Fishing Gifts. To get the best price, you have to order the thorn proof bag which is waxed canvas. I don’t understand it, but that bag is $50 less than the other one. Probably the same bags.
I needed a break from editing, so I went shopping. So much for delving into the meat of creation and photography.
BTW – Has anybody read “Image Makers Image Takers?”
Ciao,
Michael
ROSEMARY…
it is always nice to hear from you…and it was great to see you in new york a couple of months ago….
now bags!! i have actually been offered a chance to design a camera bag for a major company…but guess what?? i just cannot make up my mind on so many things…i like this about one bag, and this about the other…and what i think is important , you make not think is important…anyway, think i will just stay a simple bag consumer for awhile!!
YAN…
i trust people until they prove otherwise…and i go with my gut…not other people’s opinions of someone…but, nobody gets it 100% of the time…
HARRY…
chips n’ gravy??? no fish? just chips n’ gravy?? hmmmm, sounds healthy!!
DAVID UKALEQ B…
i will announce the winner on december 15…but it might be about the first week in january before i can have the new web site up to show all the work that seems appropriate…everyone will just have to please be flexible and patient giving that this time of year is just raining with stuff to do falling out of the sky from everywhere!!! i imagine all of us are in the same boat….but, thanks for asking and rest assured that i am “working on it”…i have not forgotten…
NEIL…
many of you have suggested a book as an outcome for this forum…it was not something i thought about at all when i started, but after seeing the amazing amount of material that comes in textwise and now soon to be picturewise, it certainly seems like at least something to think about..the best books are organic……and this forum is totally organic…there was no plan…it just happened!! so let’s wait and see…you can do your part by writing brilliant text..no rules, no bounds….c’mon dude get cracking!!!
MICHAEL…
ok, you guys have found my “tech talk” weakness…bags…well i have always liked Domke bags…i even went to school at missouri with jim domke..i remember when he came up with the bag while a staffer photog at the Philadelphia Enquirer..he brought prototypes down to us at Geographic to see how we liked them…my only problem with the Domke is that they are a bit heavy even when empty and do not do too well in the rain..but i have used the reporters satchel quite a bit over the years..
the Barbour thorn proof waxed canvas is very light, waterproof (or very resistant) low key, and a good size..same size as the popular Billingham Hadley pro but less “steal me” styled…
i also find useful a couple of different bike courier bags because of the cross strap which allows you to use it almost like a back pack and take the weight totally off your shoulder when walking great distances, climbing or…riding a bike!! patagonia “half-mass” good…Crumpler “hoax” or “”he-goer” good…by the way, if a bag does not have a cross strap, you can put one on anyway..including Domke…you can buy a Timbuk 2 cross strap as a separate item and use it on almost any bag..
ok, no more bag talk!! until later!!
cheers, david
Reading you’re a bag freak made me laugh. I totally understand you because i’m also on the quest for the perfect bag foe years, and have too many for the cameras I actually own.
On other hand I think the frustration of not having enough money to upgrade my gear as regularly as I would like, makes me buy bags to compensate my consumist female hoemons :)
Hi David,
great to know about Alec’s reasoning. I had suspected that. Being a new father myself, I could never find the time to run a blog as big as Alec’s was and I wonder where YOU find the time to run this, even though you dont have a baby to take care of.
hi david,
i have to admit i do love fish and chips. mmmm can can taste it now, which reminds me its nearly lunch time! there’s plenty of great food to be had i’m sure we can find something.
enjoy paris and see you soon.
jason
I’m not in Paris this weekend, unfortunately. It would have been a great pleasure to meet but I have a big birthday party in Normandy…
Anyway I’m quite impressed : how were you able to remember that I live in Britanny ?
Ever been there ?
If you want to come, you’ll be welcome. A former english teacher of mine, Claude Le Gall, who is a photographer for the VU agency, really likes your work too. So if Paris is not too far, just come and we could chat ! Brittany is beautiful !!
David,
Having just read that you would be in Paris, may I ask you when? I’m in Germany this week (as usual) but will be in Paris next Tuesday…
DAVID U..
i will be in paris monday and tuesday, but probably too busy to meet…i have a Magnum board meeting and that probably will keep me from venturing too far from the office…my duty calls!!!
cheers , david
Ok David, in fact I will be in Paris only for a connection so I wouldn’t have had much time either. Maybe another time…
Have a safe trip to Paris,
David