Comments on: taking aim… https://www.burnmagazine.org/dialogue/2008/04/taking-aim/ burn is an online feature for emerging photographers worldwide. burn is curated by magnum photographer david alan harvey. Sat, 18 Jun 2016 08:34:21 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.4 By: Lucas https://www.burnmagazine.org/dialogue/2008/04/taking-aim/#comment-13240 Mon, 02 Jun 2008 23:41:51 +0000 http://s57354.gridserver.com/2008/04/02/taking-aim/#comment-13240 I see this thread is long over but after reading all the responses I still wanted to comment for some reason.

You asked the question; “do you think “great photographers” choose inherently “great subjects”??”

It is the “great photographers” part that I found missing in the discussion. You mention, Salgado, Adams, Nachtwey, Leibovitz, etc.. From my work photographing artists and some “great photographers” They were the same artists prior to what I call “the break”, as they are after. “The break” is recognition by the “right” people and all of a sudden they are “great photographers”

Most of the successful artists and photographers I’ve talked to about how they got successful can point to one instance where it all came together – “the break”

I find the break needs a confluence of events. The artist being ready is perhaps the most important element. The “right” people seeing and advancing the artists work, and the public being receptive to the work. This results in the artist going from unknown to known.

Most great photographers were picking great subjects prior to becoming known. But, there are a million great photographers out there shooting great subjects and doing great work. We will just never hear about them because they never got “The break”.

I’m not saying the “great artists” aren’t good at what they do. Just that they were in the right place in their life to see, pursue, and grab onto opportunity when it came. I have talked to artists who saw “the break” coming and decided to pass. The one had a show at a MAJOR NY gallery. The gallery wanted her to spend more time in NY, do some interviews, take time to do the business side of art. She had 2 small kids at the time and didn’t want to. She does alright now but, when her break came she said no.

So, I guess I would say, yes great photographers pick great subjects. But the photographers we think of as “great” should probably be thought of as “known”. And, the “known” photographers don’t always pick the best subjects. A “known” photographer will get more attention for photographing “interesting” subjects than a great unknown photographer who has picked a GREAT subject.

Might not be fair but fame and marketing make a difference.

My favorite example of the fame versus talent making a difference.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html

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By: pierre yves racine https://www.burnmagazine.org/dialogue/2008/04/taking-aim/#comment-13241 Mon, 14 Apr 2008 03:19:26 +0000 http://s57354.gridserver.com/2008/04/02/taking-aim/#comment-13241 thanks carlos for the link

much appreciated !

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By: Nancy Paiva https://www.burnmagazine.org/dialogue/2008/04/taking-aim/#comment-13242 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 04:34:54 +0000 http://s57354.gridserver.com/2008/04/02/taking-aim/#comment-13242 I should be editing some shots from today, but it has been weeks since I have been able to spend a little bit of time here…simply, there is no other place that offers what can be found here. I think I will pour a glass of red wine and play lurker’s catchup….

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By: carlos filipe https://www.burnmagazine.org/dialogue/2008/04/taking-aim/#comment-13243 Fri, 11 Apr 2008 18:04:31 +0000 http://s57354.gridserver.com/2008/04/02/taking-aim/#comment-13243 update to “Contact/s: The Art of Photojournalism”…

you can follow the previous link for overall information concerning the exhibition, but you should better look at http://www.contactpressimages.com/artop/index.html
to see photos and contact sheets in detail.
Carlos Filipe

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By: carlos filipe https://www.burnmagazine.org/dialogue/2008/04/taking-aim/#comment-13244 Fri, 11 Apr 2008 17:41:32 +0000 http://s57354.gridserver.com/2008/04/02/taking-aim/#comment-13244 David, Sam Harris, pierre yves…

there’s a exhibition of contact sheets by the photographers of Contact Press Images. you can read about and see the images from “Contact/s: The Art of Photojournalism” at http://www.contactpressimages.com/exhibitions/contact/exhibitions.html
acccording to the site the exhibition was in Pingyao (China, 2006), Perpignan (France, 2006), Dhaka (Bangladesh, 2006) and Sydney (Australia, 2007).
um forte abraço para todos,
Carlos Filipe

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By: Patricia Lay-Dorsey https://www.burnmagazine.org/dialogue/2008/04/taking-aim/#comment-13245 Fri, 11 Apr 2008 08:05:41 +0000 http://s57354.gridserver.com/2008/04/02/taking-aim/#comment-13245 David, you don’t know me. Not yet anyway. But I’m going to be in your “Photographic Essay” workshop in Charlottesville. Yesterday (Wednesday) I started reading this blog and found myself intrigued. What a fascinating group of friends/readers and what marvelously free-ranging discussions you have.

Regarding your question about subject matter, I’d like to share a gallery of photos I just posted on PBase.com. It probably gives my perspective better than any words I could write here. The URL is

http://www.pbase.com/windchimewalker/scooter

Patricia in Detroit

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By: pierre yves https://www.burnmagazine.org/dialogue/2008/04/taking-aim/#comment-13246 Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:57:20 +0000 http://s57354.gridserver.com/2008/04/02/taking-aim/#comment-13246 Sam,

Concerning contact sheets, there is a series of sorth fims produced by the french TV channel Arte, which you might find useful :

it’s called “Contacts” and is in French/English.

I can tell you more if ou want.

David,

never heard of the magnum exhibit on contact sheets.

could you tell me more ?

Are those contact sheets available online (ie magnum website) ?

Now, I found it very interesting the way you describe the way you work in the post about taking pictures in cafés… so different from what I have read from D. Hurn.

Concerning the importance of subjetct matter,

I think it was Robert Adams who said that the history of photography is the history of subject matters… i really found that interesting

what a great discussion this was !!!

pY.

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By: Laura Montanari (She is conscious to be in the wrong post) https://www.burnmagazine.org/dialogue/2008/04/taking-aim/#comment-13247 Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:58:01 +0000 http://s57354.gridserver.com/2008/04/02/taking-aim/#comment-13247 Anna, don’t know if you’ll read this but “Yes!”, it was the same performance and for me it was the first time of La La La..so you can imagine

Trastevere is the right place where to be. Rome’ll wait for you to come back.

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By: Herve https://www.burnmagazine.org/dialogue/2008/04/taking-aim/#comment-13248 Mon, 07 Apr 2008 04:04:35 +0000 http://s57354.gridserver.com/2008/04/02/taking-aim/#comment-13248 David made a truly nice b&w film in Cuba, “Tropicale”
——
Definitely makes us want to see more:

I like the Turnley bros, when you mentionned sitting longer at a CAFE table in paris, shooting with one Hand, David, I thought of Peter’s Les Parisiens. Half the book is shot in CAFES, with a wonderful shot of Boubat and maybe, his brother David and kid, I am not sure, across one table.

We were talking of Peace and War P., well, “In Times of Peace and War” by the duo has been available at Amazon.com USA for a peanut, literally. I recommend it wholeheartedly, if you don’t know already:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0789202999/ref=sr_1_olp_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1207526362&sr=8-6

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By: Ross Nolly https://www.burnmagazine.org/dialogue/2008/04/taking-aim/#comment-13249 Mon, 07 Apr 2008 02:51:46 +0000 http://s57354.gridserver.com/2008/04/02/taking-aim/#comment-13249 David;

I think I read somewhere that one of the Nat Geo editors said that if they gave every type of story to Allard that they would lose their hair overnight!! He said they “cherry picked” assignments especially for him.

I’m trying to spend as much time as possible on personal work. For example; the Timor trip is probably the worst financial decision I can make at the moment, but I feel that I must do it. I’m trying to use my home work to piggy back my own projects, hopefully it’ll work out…

One of the seminal moments that made me decide to freelance and pursue more documentary type work was talking to a photographer from our local daily paper. He said he envied me because i can spend time on stories.

Even spending a couple of days on a story is better than he could do. He said he often had only 30 minutes to shoot a story before going off to the next job. He hated that he often had to shoot up to 5 or 6 stories a day.

I decided that I wouldn’t go the newspaper route (& the reliable paycheck) so I could work on stories that interest me. Sure, they aren’t for Time or Nat Geo (have done some for NZ Geo..) but I am grateful that nearly every magazine story focusses on somebody doing good work in the community. Especially in the sustainability fields…

What is frustrating though is that you can’t really “let yourself rip” (except for NZ Geo) when it comes to photographic style. That’s where the long term projects come in, this is where I can better fulful the artistic intent.

Hopefully this balances the commercial versus personal work dillema. I did shoot a wedding once and absolutely hated it!!!!

And David; don’t ever worry about “over answering” a question, all food for thought is good!!!

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By: Anna Boyiazis https://www.burnmagazine.org/dialogue/2008/04/taking-aim/#comment-13250 Mon, 07 Apr 2008 02:42:20 +0000 http://s57354.gridserver.com/2008/04/02/taking-aim/#comment-13250 DAVID,

I understand and am sympathetic to the situation you and Panos describe. It’s a whole different can of worms than the picture Laura and I paint. Different, albeit challenging just the same. My heart goes out to you guys.

And, thank you… I totally appreciate the names you shared.

To clear Allard’s record, his words (you’d typed) were simply, “i have had a great support from my wives and kids…they have given me much more than i have ever given back to them.” My memory extrapolated this sentiment to include travel!!

LAURA,

I saw La La La Human Steps at an outdoor theater in Barcelona in 1988! It was incredible… I was concerned that last night’s performance would not live up to this memory. That said, last night was amazing.

There was one scene (for lack of a better word) that I interpreted as insects flickering around a lightbulb. The live music stopped… the dancers danced to a recording full of static… hard cold light was projected from the back of the room, creating shadows that climbed the angle from floor to wall. I could have stared at that all day. In another scene, there was a spiderweb-like projection on the floor… two couples danced… their movements appeared to mirror one another, though at times their symmetry was broken. If I’d walked in during this scene, I would have thought that there was a mirror on stage… and only one couple dancing. Sound familiar? I’m wondering if we saw the same performance.

p.s. I lived on the hill right above Trastevere for several months in 2005. I miss being there so much!!!

Lots of love,

Anna

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By: david alan harvey https://www.burnmagazine.org/dialogue/2008/04/taking-aim/#comment-13251 Mon, 07 Apr 2008 02:04:02 +0000 http://s57354.gridserver.com/2008/04/02/taking-aim/#comment-13251 MARCIN AND YOUNG TOM..

i am not trying to be mysterious…there is one part of this that needs to be worked out..the whole thing could collapse…like everything…nothing happens until it happens…not one single project in my whole life ever ever ever, just went “smooth” and “clean” …do you know what i mean??

david

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By: david alan harvey https://www.burnmagazine.org/dialogue/2008/04/taking-aim/#comment-13252 Mon, 07 Apr 2008 01:59:24 +0000 http://s57354.gridserver.com/2008/04/02/taking-aim/#comment-13252 ARIE….

i have been very pleased with what i have seen Peter Turnley do with his Harper’s commission…most importantly, he created it…prior to his essays, Harper’s really did not do much with pictures… i never cared about this, because i always loved the magazine for its words..one of my favorite magazines…in any case, Peter launched himself into new territory with this commission…

the Turnley twins, David and Peter, are a resourceful duo…charming and pleasantly aggressive “deal cutters”, they have managed to pull of some really interesting projects…David made a truly nice b&w film in Cuba, “Tropicale”…he never got it distributed , which was too too bad…

both David and Peter are friends of mine and they are always good company for sure…just nice guys…honestly, photographically, they get mixed reviews among their more “aesthetic oriented” peers.. but i think Peter has pushed himself very far with his Harper’s essays…his best work by far…

cheers, david

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By: Akaky https://www.burnmagazine.org/dialogue/2008/04/taking-aim/#comment-13253 Sun, 06 Apr 2008 23:38:49 +0000 http://s57354.gridserver.com/2008/04/02/taking-aim/#comment-13253 PANOS,

This is for your girl; I’m sure she agrees with everything Billie has to say, so you best take care you hang on to her ;-)

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By: tom hyde https://www.burnmagazine.org/dialogue/2008/04/taking-aim/#comment-13254 Sun, 06 Apr 2008 22:53:13 +0000 http://s57354.gridserver.com/2008/04/02/taking-aim/#comment-13254 Marcin, exact same time on last posts! … Hmmm, I think perhaps it’s time David came out of the closet on his new project with a new post … he’s been teasing for how long now? Of course it won’t be ready until he’s ready, ’til all the planets are in alignment … but I am as tortured as you! :))

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By: tom hyde https://www.burnmagazine.org/dialogue/2008/04/taking-aim/#comment-13255 Sun, 06 Apr 2008 22:44:36 +0000 http://s57354.gridserver.com/2008/04/02/taking-aim/#comment-13255 David,

Tried again on that email …

tom the younger

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By: Marcin luczkowski https://www.burnmagazine.org/dialogue/2008/04/taking-aim/#comment-13256 Sun, 06 Apr 2008 22:44:20 +0000 http://s57354.gridserver.com/2008/04/02/taking-aim/#comment-13256 Oh my… Oh my goddnes!
What was happen here??
all day without comment???
In DAH blog???
this is something new!!
This is…. this is….
amazing…
everybody shooting!!!!

peace (for shooters)

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By: Arie https://www.burnmagazine.org/dialogue/2008/04/taking-aim/#comment-13257 Sun, 06 Apr 2008 17:58:42 +0000 http://s57354.gridserver.com/2008/04/02/taking-aim/#comment-13257 Hi David,

Not sure if you recall the question I asked you about Peter Turnley and his picture essys that have been published in the Harper magazine. Not sure if you had the chance to look at one of them. Maybe you could say few words about the photographer and these essays and how they are perceived by other photographers.

Thanks

Arie

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By: david alan harvey https://www.burnmagazine.org/dialogue/2008/04/taking-aim/#comment-13258 Sun, 06 Apr 2008 16:20:09 +0000 http://s57354.gridserver.com/2008/04/02/taking-aim/#comment-13258 MARCIN…

yes, i agree…i was thinking the same thing..

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By: david alan harvey https://www.burnmagazine.org/dialogue/2008/04/taking-aim/#comment-13259 Sun, 06 Apr 2008 16:16:27 +0000 http://s57354.gridserver.com/2008/04/02/taking-aim/#comment-13259 ROSS….ALL

i think there is a bit of confusion, a semantic confusion perhaps, about the words “specializing” and being “committed”…there is a difference i think…”specializing” by being a sports photog, for example, is different than someone who takes on certain kinds of stories or essays and with a particular “style” or creates a particular mood…

certainly , the pro photogs i have known over the years who became a “jack of all trades”, “versatile” etc etc earned a good living in photography..perhaps even very popular at the time with their editors…they got the job done..hence more jobs….

however, i cannot think of one of them in this “category” who also became respected beyond the “good job joe” pat on the back…

ALL of the photographers who get mentioned here on this forum and seem to be “admired” most by readers here (and you all brought it up), tend to be “professional renegades” to one degree or another…not as “utilitarian” for editors all the time, but “brilliant” in their life work and in their “contribution”…

this is all very very subjective stuff my friend…but if you start looking at it as i allude, i believe you will see what i mean…surely, it is true in all of the arts…

certainly this creates THE DILEMMA…how to put your kids through college and yet retain a modicum of respect and fulfill your dreams…

i think what most photogs must do, have to do, is to earn their living in the best possible way..shoot weddings, passport photos, or whatever to pay the rent….BUT, in your “spare time” (and start making spare time THE TIME) photograph only what you deem to be important…of course, get the best pro assignments and work you can get…yes, yes…you would be crazy not to…

nevertheless, always know that ANY paid job is not ever the same as your personal project..some paid jobs are better than others and can be a RESOURCE for gathering some visual “nuggets”, but working on your own will yield the real YOU….

now all of this is assuming that you do have something “on your mind” and have “something to say”…

this cannot be taken for granted as i see with my students all the time…some totally “panic” when given the freedom to do “what they want”…this has to be faced first….

KNOWING WHAT YOU WANT is just as hard, or harder, to figure out than just going out and doing “a good job” for someone else…this is the REAL CHALLENGE….YOU (WE) are the enemy!!!

sorry, i think i “over answered” your question!!! or, did i even answer your question???

peace, david

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