Friday, March 25, 2022

In Memoriam: Dirck Halstead, 1936—2022

 Via The Briscoe Center for American History

March 25, 2022


 Dirck Halstead, award-winning photojournalist, freelance photographer, and digital journalism innovator, died on March 25, 2022.

Halstead was a pioneering photojournalist, best known for his work for Time magazine, UPI, and Life magazine. He covered major world events throughout the late twentieth century including the Vietnam War and the fall of Saigon in 1975, five presidential administrations, President Richard Nixon’s trip to China, and the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan. He was the publisher and editor of the online magazine the Digital Journalist. Halstead donated his archive to the Briscoe Center in 1995.

“I have never thought of myself as a great photographer. That’s beside the point. What I am is a storyteller. I have always felt that [my career] isn’t about what I saw. It is about how I fulfilled my responsibility to reporting history.”

Figge Museums "New Photography" Exhibit Includes Gallery Photographer Ryan Vizzions

 

color photograph of woman on horse facing down armed police at Standing Roock protest, 2016
©Ryan Vizzions: 
"Defend The Sacred", Cannon Ball, Standing Rock, Standing Rock, North Dakota, 2016


Via Quad Cities

March 24, 2022


The Figge Art Museum has an extensive photography collection that continues to grow. Beginning Saturday, visitors are invited to step into the Figge’s second-floor Lewis Gallery to view a small selection of the museum’s most recent photographic additions.

Important works by some of the most significant photographers of our time provide us with a brief survey of the collection’s recent growth and the varying impulses that guide contemporary photography, according to a Thursday museum release.

The New Photography exhibition series allows the Figge to share with the QC community some of the museum’s newly acquired works featuring objects, landscapes and figures, including photos that will adorn the Figge’s walls for years to come.

“Despite the proliferation of images made with our smart phones and circulated through social media, dedicated photographers continue to create iconic images that stand above the rest,” said Director of Collections and Exhibitions Andrew Wallace. “From the frontlines of conflict to the frontlines of daily life, photographers reward us with pictures that encourage us to look more closely at the world around us and so that we may better see ourselves.”

Acclaimed 20th-century masters including Lynn Davis and Douglas Prince — as well as recent works by Cara Romero, Victoria Sambunaris, Rebecca Norris Webb, and Ryan Vizzions — will be on view.

From the real to the surreal, the exhibition will highlight photography’s continued ability to engage, inform, and amaze. New Photography will be on view (at 225 W. 2nd St., Davenport) through July 3, 2022.


  FIGGE ART MUSEUM

225 West Second Street

Davenport, Iowa

Thursday, March 24, 2022

Joe McNally: The Real Deal: Field Notes from the Life of a Working Photographer.

Via Rangefinder

March, 2022

By Greer McNally

The Real Deal: Joe McNally’s New Book Bares the Soul of a 40-Year Photo Career

cover  of Joe McNally book "The Real Deal"


Joe McNally is up at the crack of dawn. In two days, he’ll be off to photograph the Amazon. This trip took two years to plan and has already been moved three times. Before he leaves though, he has to squeeze in a COVID-19 test—just one of many—finish programming the three Nikon Z 9 cameras that are going with him to South America, and chat with Rangefinder about his new book, The Real Deal: Field Notes from the Life of a Working Photographer.

The book isn’t what you might first expect from the internationally acclaimed photographer. It isn’t littered with how-to’s and lighting setups, though they are there. It is a beautifully written, witty snapshot of the changing life of a photographer who’s been in the business for 40 years.

It is a business. And McNally (who has no relation to the author of this article) admits that it has changed dramatically in recent times—advancing camera technology, a shift in social attitudes and the global pandemic have all seen to that. So, why write The Real Deal now? Well, like his Amazonian adventure, it’s actually taken a while to reach fruition.

When McNally, who is also a Nikon Ambassador, signed the contract with his publisher Rocky Nook five years ago, there was no deadline. “They told me to write it when I felt it,” he explains. “To write it when I could.” Today, he is grateful for his editor, Ted Waitt, and Rocky Nook’s patience. The time has allowed him to create something that he hopes is different from other how-to books.

“There is an overwhelming amount of information out there about photography and a lot of it is technique-based,” McNally says. “It’s wonderfully instructive. But what I wanted to get across was the feeling of being a photographer—the journey.”

McNally’s own 40-year creative journey leading up to The Real Deal book has seen him ascend from copy boy at New York’s Daily News, a job he almost turned down (“I wanted the title of photographer,” he says) to wire services, magazines, advertising, corporate, marketing, internet, social and, of course, digital. Thinking back to that first job, and reflecting on where he is today, he realizes how lucky he was. “As crude and humble as those beginnings were, they formed a good bedrock to jump off from,” he says. It also taught him to take risks as a photographer.

His approach is simple: “If I show up and think ‘Wow, that’s amazing, I’ve never seen anything like that before,’ then that’s what I shoot.”

On one occasion, he remembers climbing the Queensboro Bridge in New York without a safety harness or credentials to get a shot. “I vaguely said I was with the paper,” he recalls. It wouldn’t be the last time he scaled a great height to find an eye-catching viewpoint. Years later, when sent to chronicle the new docklands springing up in the East End of London, he was challenged with capturing the changes in a way different to his contemporaries. He befriended a construction worker and ended up inched out along a crane arm to photograph a bird’s eye view of the city from above.

Today, both shots would either be taken by drone or need permits and a pile of paperwork to be done in person. He seems to miss the freedom of just putting it all out there to get an exposure, and it was definitely a prompt for writing The Real Deal book. “I wanted to provide an overview of how drastically things have changed over time, while retaining the core mission of being a good storyteller,” he says.

Some of those changes have been good, but others not so much, he feels. “We live in a golden age of photography. The equipment we have is phenomenal, but the hard part is monetization. How do you make a living? How do you get someone to fund your projects?”

This is where McNally’s 40 years of industry knowledge kick in within the pages of The Real Deal book. He advises on career paths: “Drive yourself to the point of finding out what you’re really good at, what you’re happy shooting, and what you will still be happy shooting in ten years. Then follow that track,” he advises. He also emphasizes the importance of writing a coherent creative proposal, among other things. And it is all done in a compelling narrative voice.

McNally was studying to be a writer before he caught the photography bug. That connection between the written and the visual makes his memories big, bold and colorful, much like his pictures. You need only look at his portrait of a smiling Hillary Clinton or a dancer flying through the air to see the clear signatures in his work.

And there’s more to come. This year, he’s teaching a number of workshops, and he is tempted by the idea of writing again. A novel is already underway—he has, as he puts it, “some bones down on a sheet of paper.” He’s got another huge project that’s in the production stage, which is still very hush hush. But with shooting set for the first week of April, we’re bound to see some signs of it soon.


The Real Deal: Field Notes from the Life of a Working Photographer

Tuesday, March 22, 2022

‘The Godfather’: Capturing the Corleones Through the Lens of Photographer Steve Schapiro

 

Via Collider

"The Godfather is widely regarded as one of the greatest films in the history of cinema. And with the original film celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, Paramount Pictures is releasing a special anniversary edition of the entire trilogy on 4K Ultra HD on March 22. Ahead of the release, Collider has gotten an exclusive look at some of the bonus content available with the 50th Anniversary Collectors Edition and the re-released trilogy. You can now take a look inside the film and behind the scenes with the late, legendary photographer Steve Schapiro who captured several stunning and intimate moments on the set of The Godfather in 1971.

Schapiro passed away earlier this year, but his legacy continues on through the photos he took. He captured many incredible images during his lifetime, including several iconic shots from the Civil Rights movement during the 1960s. In the 1970s, he was hired by Paramount Pictures as their on-set photographer. He would go on to immortalize scenes within movies like The Godfather, Chinatown, and Taxi Driver, as well as exclusive off-camera moments of actors and crew members at work. In the behind-the-scenes featurette, which you can watch below, Schapiro discusses some of his favorite shots from his work on The Godfather." --Collider






Thursday, March 17, 2022

David Butow in Ukraine for POLITICO

screen shot of a family walking past a church on their way to the border crossing with Poland.

 


In January, we were honored to host photojournalist David Butow for an exhibition and discussion about his new book "Brink".

He is now covering the massive humanitarian crisis inside Ukraine and along its borders. POLITICO recently featured his photographs in the essay "On the ground in Ukraine, in photos: Millions flee their homes amid intensifying Russian attacks." Click to view.



Monday, March 14, 2022

Ed Kashi exhibition March 18 – April 24; Book signing and Gallery talk April 1

 

color photograph of Syrian children silhouetted against night sky in refugee camp in Jordan
Ed Kashi: Scenes of youth in a small refugee encampment in the desert of eastern Jordan after fleeing Syria, 2013



Santa Fe, NM -- Monroe Gallery of Photography is honored to announce exclusive representation of Ed Kashi, a renowned photojournalist, filmmaker, speaker, and educator dedicated to documenting the social and political issues that define our times.

A new exhibit celebrates “Abandoned Moments: A Love Letter to Photography” (Kehrer Verlag, March 2022) his newest book; featuring photographs made over a 40-year period that reveal imprecise glimpses of transitory events filled with frenetic energy – the chaos of everyday life. 

On April 1, Ed Kashi will be in discussion in the Gallery and streaming on-line via Zoom. Event starts promptly at 5:30 pm (MT), RSVP and Zoom registration at 505.992.0800, www.monroegallery.com, or info@monroegallery.com

Kashi’s sensitive eye and an intimate and compassionate relationship to his subjects are signatures of his intense and unsparing work. As a member of VII Photo Agency, Kashi has been recognized for his complex imagery and its compelling rendering of the human condition. Kashi continues to create compelling imagery and engage with the world in new ways.

“I take on issues that stir my passions about the state of humanity and our world, and I deeply believe in the power of still images to change people’s minds. I’m driven by this fact; that the work of photojournalists and documentary photographers can have a positive impact on the world. The access people give to their lives is precious as well as imperative for this important work to get done. Their openness brings with it a tremendous sense of responsibility to tell the truth but to also honor their stories.” 

– Ed Kashi




Abandoned Moments Book Trailer from Ed Kashi on Vimeo.

Friday, March 4, 2022

BRINK: Photographs by David Butow on view in the Reva & David Logan Gallery for Documentary Photography

 

Via Berkeley School of Journalism

CANCELLED

BRINK 

Photographs by David Butow 

on view in the Reva & David Logan Gallery for Documentary Photography

UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, North Gate Hall


A live conversation with photographer David Butow and Berkeley Journalism Prof. Ken Light, followed by Q&A with Berkeley Journalism students Kathryn Styer Martínez ('23) and Mathew Miranda ('22)


RSVP here

Live stream:

https://youtu.be/7uUVql_0Kmo

Friday, March 11, 2022 | 5:00-6:00 PM (PT)


Statement from David Butow:

A few weeks before the 2016 presidential election, I traveled to the swing states of the upper Midwest to try to get a sense of what was driving support for Donald Trump. I fully expected Hillary Clinton to win but Trump had tapped into something I didn't understand, and I was surprised that this self-centered, unscrupulous businessman who seemed to have no interest in government, was the Republican nominee. 

His stunning victory, and the sense that the country would go through a very strange period, compelled me to move from California to Washington, D.C. I'd spent decades as a photojournalist covering, in part, the results of public policy, but I'd never worked inside the halls of power in the nation's capital. This seemed like a good time to do it, and while I expected the incompetence, I underestimated the treachery. 

The first three years were an endless stream of scandals, highly-charged congressional hearings on Capitol Hill and declassé press events at the White House. I was curious what happened outside of the frame of television cameras and tried to make photographs that were different from typical pictures designed for the daily news cycle and quick hits on the web.

In 2020, everything changed. The drama and tension was acute, and visceral. Americans were dying of COVID-19 by the thousands, the administration was slow to respond and protests of the murder of George Floyd pressed up to the very gates of the White House. Late in the year, after Joe Biden's victory, the president and his hard-core supporters laid the groundwork for challenging the election. 

On the afternoon of January 6, 2021 I was standing on the west steps of the Capitol watching something so surreal, dramatic and terrible, for a few seconds, or maybe it was minutes, I lowered my camera and just tried to process what I was seeing through the foggy view of my gas mask. The next few weeks at the Capitol were unrecognizable, as young National Guard troops carrying loaded machine guns stood on patrol behind miles of razor wire, protecting U.S. democracy from its own citizens.

It was then that I knew I must organize the work I'd begun four years earlier into a narrative that would at least illuminate the arc of events that had brought the country to this point. We lived through history minute by minute, so much so that the gravitas of what transpired is apparent only when you step back and see how the whole saga unfolded. As revisionists seek to trivialize or downplay the events of 2016-21, it's critical to maintain a record of just how close the presidency of Donald Trump brought U.S. democracy to the brink of collapse. 

Four years ago, I thought this period would be an aberration. Regrettably, I no longer hold that view.