Thursday, October 27, 2011

Nina Berman: Beyond the Fringe of Protest

 


The New York Times/Lens Blog has an excellent post today comparing the Tea Party Protests and Occupy Wall  Street Protests.

By DAVID GONZALEZ

 Nina Berman was intrigued by the idea of protest in this age, so when she heard about a nascent uprising that was gaining national momentum, she had to check it out.

 “I had an open mind,” she said. “I was wondering what made them tick, who showed up and what united them. Were they right wing? Did they draw from the left and the middle? Was it as crazy as people made it out to be?”

She was talking about the Tea Party movement, which she photographed at a huge rally in Washington in 2010. A year later, she had some of the same questions about the throngs that streamed into Lower Manhattan as part of the Occupy Wall Street protests. As she has discovered, though there are obvious differences in ideologies, the groups have some similarities. Both have staked a claim to be defenders of grass-roots values. And at times their critics have dismissed both as out of step with the rest of the nation.

 

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

2011 LUCIE AWARDS RECAP




Lucie Awards Honor Lifetime Achievements


Photo Distrct News has a good recap of the 2011 Lucie Awards:


Eli Reed, Bill Eppridge, Dawoud Bey and Rich Clarkson were among the veteran photographers honored for their contributions to photography at the 2011 Lucie Awards, held October 24 in New York City.

Bill Eppridge and Rich Clarkson Backstage © Robert Leslie

In accepting the award for Achievement in Photojournalism, Eppridge, who covered the Beatles’ arrival in America, Woodstock and Robert Kennedy’s presidential campaign and assassination, thanked “all the photographers I ever worked against,” noting, “It’s that kind of quality competition that drives you.” Dawoud Bey, who received the award for Achievement in Portraiture, said his goal has been to create “a conversation with the human community” and to raise “questions about ourselves.” Rich Clarkson, who has photographed more than 30 covers of Sports Illustrated, was honored for Achievement in Sports. In his acceptance speech, Clarkson, who is a book producer and founder of the Summit Series Workshops, and worked as photo editor and director of photography at Topeka Capital-Journal, Denver Post and National Geographic, said he felt his true mission was to foster a young generation of photographers and photo editors. In presenting the award to Eli Reed for Achievement in Documentary Photography, photographer Misha Erwitt, a friend of Reed’s, noted that Reed’s “generosity shows in his photography and in his teaching.”

Nancy McGirr, who for 20 years has been teaching photography to children living in poverty in Guatemala and Honduras through her program Fotokids, was awarded the Humanitarian prize. The Spotlight Award was given to the International Center of Photography museum and school, presented by photographer Annie Leibovitz, a winner of an ICP Infinity Award. Nobuyoshi Araki, honored for Achievement in Fine Art Photography, was unable to attend; photographer Michael Grecco, who described himself as a collector and fan of Araki’s work, presented and accepted the award on his behalf.

While most of the awards honored lifetime achievement, the awards for achievements in the past year were kept a surprise until the ceremony. Kira Pollack of Time won Photo Editor of the Year. W Magazine won Fashion Layout of the Year for its photos of actress Tilda Swinton by Tim Walker. Zoom was named Photo Magazine of the Year. Kohle Yohanman, curator of the “Beauty Culture” exhibition at the Annenberg Center in Los Angeles won Curator/Exhibition of the Year. The award for Photo Book of the Year went to Chris Boot for the book Infidel by Tim Hetherington, who was killed in Libya in April. Boot, who is now executive director of Aperture, noted that sentiment probably went into the selection of Hetherington’s book. “All of us who had the pleasure of working with Tim loved him, and still do,” Boot said.

At the start of the event, the International Photography Awards, described as “a sister effort of the Lucie Foundation” were announced. The winners were selected by a jury of 70 photo editors, reps, photographers and gallery owners. Majid Saeedi was named International Photographer of the Year, which carries a $10,000 cash prize. The Discovery of the Year award, which honors a non-professional, went to portrait photographer Anna di Prospero. The award for Deeper Perspective, which honors a combination of essay and reportage photography, went to Daniel Beltra for his work on the Deep Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.


©Bill Eppridge with Richard Stolly on stage


©Bill Eppridge Eli Reed and Dawoud Bey with programme
 
 
 


Tuesday, October 25, 2011

John Loengard : Age of Silver


Med_aos_01-jpg
Henri Cartier-Bresson, Age of silver © John Loengard

An entire generation of photographers has come of age since digital technology supplanted film technology in photography. For those who have never wound a roll of film through a camera or dipped their fingers in darkroom chemicals, but have nonetheless wondered about that archaic process, let me recommend the following description from photographer and former Life magazine director of photography John Loengard. It is as succinct and eloquent an account of photography’s origins and chemical past as you will ever find:

Read the full interview betwen David Schonauer and John Loengard in today's La Lettre de la Photographie. "Age of Siver", exhibition opens November 25, Monroe Gallery of Photography. The exhibition continues through January 29, 2012.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

2011 LUCIE AWARDS

DART



The Lucie Awards

By Peggy Roalf Friday October 21, 2011
For the 9th consecutive year, the Lucie Awards will celebrate the greatest achievements in photography the world over. This year, the gala comes to New York’s Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, on October 24, 2011.

lucies.jpg
Scenes from Lucies past, at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall. Courtesy the Lucie Foundation.

The Lucie Awards, produced by the Lucie Foundation, a nonprofit charitable foundation, honor the achievements of the world’s most accomplished photographers, discover and cultivate emerging talent through mentoring and scholarship programs, and promote the appreciation of photography worldwide. The Lucie Foundation will also recognize the winners from the 2011 International Photography Awards (IPA) competition, the foundation’s sister effort.

“I am so proud of the path the Lucie Awards has taken thus far,” said Hossein Farmani, founder of the Lucie Awards. “2011 marks the 9th year of the Lucies, and 2012 will reveal the launch of an array of significant new programming to celebrate the 10-year anniversary, when the Lucies will return to its birth city, Los Angeles, in October of 2012.”

Each year the Lucie Awards recognize master photographers who have made a significant contribution to photography. The list of honorees joining this distinguished group of 78 prior honorees includes: Dawoud Bey, Achievement in Portraiture; Bill Eppridge, Achievement in Photojournalism; Rich Clarkson, Achievement in Sports; Nobuyoshi Araki, Achievement in Fine Art; Nancy McGirr and Fotokids, Humanitarian Award; and Eli Reed, Achievement in Documentary Photography Award.

The International Center of Photography will receive the 2011 Spotlight Award, which is nominated annually by the 40-member advisory board.

The 2011 International Photography Awards (IPA), a sister effort of the Lucie Foundation, will announce the competition winners who will receive cash prizes and Lucie statues at the gala. The revenue from this world-wide competition funds the majority of the Lucie Foundation’s year-round programming. Three of the 21 finalists will be named Photographer of the Year, Discovery of the Year Award, and Deeper Perspective Photographer of the Year. See the list of the 21 finalists from which the three winners will be named.

The Lucies will also recognize those in the creative community who are integral in crafting an image in the following categories: Print Advertising Campaign of the Year, Fashion Layout of the Year, Photography Magazine of the Year, Book Publisher of the Year, Exhibition/Curator of the Year, and Picture Editor of the Year. Information.

The Lucie Awards Ceremony takes place on Monday, October 24 at the Frecerick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, 33 West 60th Street, at Columbus Circle, NY, NY. Tickets $10/$20/$40/$60/

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Tony O'Brian: "Contemplative Landscapes,” opens at the New Mexico History Museum Oct. 23




A Quiet Moment, Monastery of Christ in the Desert, 1995/2009. Photo by Tony O'Brien


The Albuquerque Journal

A time to refocus


The photographs reveal the sacred slant of light slicing across bowed heads, a solitary figure trudging up a snowy hill toward the chapel, loaves of freshly baked bread cooling on a wooden tabletop.

Tony O’Brien photographed Christ in the Desert Monastery for one year and discovered his own personal solace. The photographer’s dramatic black and white series forms the heart of “Contemplative Landscapes,” opening at the New Mexico History Museum Oct. 23.

Imprisoned by the Afghan secret police for six weeks while on assignment for Life magazine in 1989, O’Brien sought refuge and perspective at the Benedictine monastery. He returned to do a story in 1994 and in the process became a member of the community. His year-long spiritual sojourn granted him rare access to daily life in a community living a tradition dating to the Middle Ages. The monastery’s seclusion encouraged focus on St. Benedict’s guiding tenets –– hospitality, humility, acceptance and perseverance. He excavated the canyon deep within himself.

"I probably didn’t realize at the time that it was an opportunity for me to put a little closure to some things in my life that came out of prison and to understand who I was,” said O’Brien, now teaching photography at Santa Fe University of Art and Design.

The photojournalist had worked for both the Albuquerque Journal and the New Mexican and covered the Gulf War, as well as the violence in Northern Ireland, Central America, Pakistan, India and finally Afghanistan. He had visited the monastery and befriended some of the monks.

Before his capture, he had been working in Peshawar covering the war between the Soviets and the Afghan Mujahideen. There was a bounty on western journalists, especially Americans. O’Brien traveled to Kabul to meet with a network of guerrillas in a safe house.

“The commander in charge of my little group sold me out,” he said.

At first he was put in relatively solitary confinement with two Afghans.

“We never saw anyone,” he said. “I came back one day after interrogation and one of my cell mates was gone. You never knew what happened.”

Roughed up, but not beaten, he said most of the abuse he endured was psychological.

“You got shoved around a bit, but once I was in prison, it was the interrogation, never having the lights off, waking you up in the middle of the night.”

“Sometimes I’d be in interrogation for 12 hours,” he continued. “I didn’t exist in the world anymore because nobody knew where I was.”

He began re-examining his life. Hope arrived in the form of his cellmate Nadr Ali, a practicing Shiite Muslim. O’Brien watched Nadr Ali say his prayers five times a day and soon joined him in his own prayers, following the Muslim cycle. The pair even crafted their own prayer beads.

In captivity, O’Brien collided with his own vulnerability.

“When I was captured, one of my first thoughts was ‘Oh my God, I’m never going to see my mother again’,” O’Brien said. “That was shattering.” It was through Nadr Ali’s faith and trust in God that he endured.

“He was just an ordinary guy and he turned out to be one of the strongest individuals I’ve ever met. That doesn’t mean I didn’t sink into the abyss,” O’Brien said. “I give a lot of credit to Nadr and his faith. This was a Muslim –– the bad guys.”

Raised Catholic, but no longer practicing the faith of his childhood, O’Brien had long been fascinated by the Benedictines and monasticism. The similarities between monastic life and prison were not lost on him.

“I always thought it was funny,” he said. “I had a cell in Afghanistan and I had a cell at the monastery.
“It was the quiet and the solitude that drew me,” he continued. “At the same time, there was that sense of community. These monks are on their own individual journeys, but they do it in community.”

At first, O’Brien stayed in the guest house. But he quickly realized the separate quarters would always render him an outsider. The monks agreed to allow him to join them in his own cell. He rose with vigils at 4 a.m., chanted the psalms, celebrated the triumph of life over death, light over darkness in a life defined by prayer. He waited nearly a month and a half before he began taking pictures.

“By the time the project ended, even though I was the photographer, I wasn’t the photographer,” he said. “If I lifted my camera, nobody paid any attention. It was almost like having another family. I feel very blessed for that.”

The project changed the way the deadline-driven photographer worked.

“I came out of the newspaper/magazine business,” he said. “(I learned) it’s OK, slow down. If you miss it, something else will come along. Keep it simple. Watch it evolve. Another gift I got was I learned it was OK to say I don’t know.”

But perhaps most profoundly, the tiny monastery tucked between the canyon walls along the Chama River changed him spiritually.

“It allowed me to become more at peace with who I was and with my beliefs,” he explained. “Part of it all is the struggle and the questions. It’s how you live on your quest for God. Each individual is on their own journey, but you’re in a community and that’s how you get your strength to carry on.”

If you go

WHAT: “Contemplative Landscape”
WHEN: 2-4 p.m. opening reception Sunday, Oct. 23. Through April 7.
WHERE: New Mexico History Museum, 113 Lincoln Ave.
COST: $9 out-of-state; $6 New Mexico residents. Free Sunday to state residents; free Wednesday to New Mexico seniors. Free to museum members and children under 17. Free Fridays 5-8 p.m.
HOURS: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Sunday; open til 8 p.m. Friday.
CONTACT: 476-5200

Friday, October 21, 2011

SIMPLE ADVICE: TELL THE TRUTH


When asked about advice for photographers starting out today, Bill Eppridge emphasizes telling the truth. "I believe our world is at a time right now in which it should be documented completely." He says we should all be protectors of our environment and heritage. "If we can influence people with photographs, maybe we'll be able to maintain our planet."



Bill Eppridge is the 2011 Lucie Award Honoree for Achivement in Photojournalism. The Lucie Awards gala ceremony honoring the greatest achievements in photography takes place Monday, October 24 at Lincoln Center in New York.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Vivian Maier, Invisible Woman



Vivian Maier: Street Photographer, edited by John Maloof and published by PowerHouse Books. $40     


Via American Photo

Rescued in a fluke from the dustbin of history, an unknown street photographer makes a remarkable posthumous journey from obscurity to acclaim.

"Howard Greenberg, a top photography dealer who also handles prints by Cartier-Bresson and Stieglitz, confesses, “My fascination with her story has only grown, as has my involvement with her photographs. It is such an unusual story with no resolution. At first her images are extremely well seen, quality photographs of life on the street, in New York City and Chicago. But as one looks at the body of work, she reveals her deeper interests. Then one tries to imagine who she was, what motivated her, her personality. It’s not every day that one becomes so involved and even obsessed with thinking about a particular photographer. It’s completely infectious.”

Full article here.

Exhibit in Santa Fe: February 3 - April 22, 2012



Tuesday, October 18, 2011

All Access: The Rock 'n' Roll Photography of Ken Regan


 ken regan camera five book all access
 Ken Regan/Camera 5: The Rolling Stones, September, 1977


Rolling Stone Magazine has an article about the new book: All Access: The Rock 'n' Roll Photography of Ken Regan.

"This is the book that closes the book. The best book of rock photography....ever."

GQ interviews the veteran photojournalist, who talked about getting close to Bob Dylan, hanging with Mick Jagger, and his revealing new book.

Mr. Media: Audio interview with Ken Regan

"Happy Birthday" Performances to US Presidents: Then, and Now

Marilyn Monroe Singing

©Bill Ray: Marilyn Monroe Singing "Happy Birthday" to President John F. Kennedy, Madison Square Garden, NY, 1962



Another performance, another headline: Lady Gaga stole the show at former Bill Clinton's 65th birthday as she took the guise of Marilyn Monroe, sang an unplugged version of " Born this Way" and made a pass at the former President and his wife.

" Bill, I'm having my first Marilyn moment. I always wanted to have one, and I was hoping that it didn't involve pills and a strand of pearls," she joked.




" I just love you and your hot wife," she said emerging from a white tree on the stage of the Hollywood Bowl. With her long blond hair complemented with a beauty spot on her cheek, Gaga performed under the persona of Monroe, wearing a flesh colored cape, top and leggings with a large mesh hat.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Photographer captures life's curiosities

Via  The Wisconsin State Journal

Ida Wyman was sitting at her kitchen table in Fitchburg the other day, explaining why she hadn't taken more photos of a future U.S. president when she had the chance.
"I was there to cover Bonzo," Wyman said.

In November 1950, Life magazine sent Wyman to the set of "Bedtime for Bonzo," a film with a chimpanzee in the title role, supported by an actor named Ronald Reagan.

"He supposedly understood 500 commands," Wyman said of Bonzo. "He was short, like a little kid, but his grip was something else. He'd chatter at me, and I'd chatter back. He was very friendly."
She paused. "Reagan was friendly, too."

Wyman was holding a photo she took that day of Reagan holding Bonzo. "Who knew he was going to be president?"

Ida Wyman: Ronald Reagan with "Bonzo", California, 1950

Ida Wyman, 85, is a great American photographer who five years ago moved to the Madison area without a lot of fanfare. She has a granddaughter who lives here. And while Wyman has had a couple of exhibits of her work locally since then, she remains pretty much under the radar.

That may change when "Ida Wyman: Portraits of America," debuts Oct. 28 at the Paoli House Gallery. The exhibit runs through Nov. 20, and there will be an artist's reception from 5 to 9 p.m. Nov. 11. The Reagan-Bonzo photograph is included in the exhibit of some 30 images.

In addition, Wyman will be heading to New York City for the opening celebration early next month of "The Radical Camera: New York's Photo League, 1936-1951," at the Jewish Museum.

Wyman was a member of the Photo League — which encouraged photographs of the gritty realities of ordinary New Yorkers — and her work will be part of the exhibit, which runs Nov. 4 through March 25.

"My style and outlook were compatible with the league," she said. "I was already shooting in a documentary style, not posed."

She got her start in the high school camera club, growing up in the Bronx borough of New York City, where her parents were grocers.

"Usually cash poor," Wyman said. "It took a lot of coaxing to get my father to give me $5 for my first camera."

It was a modified box camera, and Wyman toted it around the city, capturing people and scenes, driven by a curiosity that has not diminished, even all these years later.

"If I'm standing on line," she said — New Yorkers don't stand "in line," they stand "on line" — "I will get the story of the people in front of me."

The camera club taught her to develop film, and over time she learned about lighting, movement, shutter speed — the tools of her craft. Still, out of high school — she graduated early, at 16 —Wyman wanted to be a nurse, not a photographer. It turned out nursing students had to be 18.

She contacted New York newspapers and news services looking for work as a photographer, instead landing a job as a printer for Acme Newspictures.

When that ended in 1945 — the men returned from the war — Wyman began pitching photo story ideas to magazines like Look and Life. She made inroads with some editors and began hanging out at the Photo League. In 1948, she took a cross-country trip, taking photographs all the way, winding up in Los Angeles, where she spent several years.

The "Bonzo" assignment came then, as did another from Life that required Wyman to travel to northern California with Richard Nixon, who was running for the U.S. Senate in 1950 against Helen Gahagan Douglas.

Nixon spoke to miners at a gold mine — "his wife gave me a gold nugget," Wyman recalled — though the photo of Nixon in the Paoli exhibit will be one Wyman snapped in a northern California deli.

"He was genuinely friendly, one on one," she said of Nixon. "On stage, you never saw it."

What got her temporarily out of photography was raising her children. That was back in New York, and it was there, no longer married, that Wyman in 1969 went to work as chief photographer with the Department of Pathology at Columbia University.

In 1983, after a cancer scare, Wyman resolved to return to her true love, magazine photography. "People said I was crazy," she said, but she revived her career.

She came to Madison in 2006, and likes it here, though she wishes the buses came by her neighborhood more often. Afternoons, when the light in her condo falls just right, she gets inspired. She's working on a memoir. Beyond that, Ida Wyman will go where her curiosity takes her.

Contact Doug Moe at 608-252-6446 or dmoe@madison.com. His column appears Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
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