self-portrait selection.....

Les

 

David

 

Suryo Wibowo

ok, we have the three best forum self-portraits as curated by Magnum photographer Chris Anderson....Chris said he chose these because of "their overall photographic quality, sense of humor, and the intelligence that went into them".....there is  a link below to the 37 photographs from which he chose... these were from a "first edit" that i made yesterday....

for those three of you whose photographs are here, please confirm that you made these within the time frame i set up....honor system....and also, please give me your full name and address  so we may send out your "prizes" soonest....

Les gets an archival signed print, David a signed book, and Suryo the much coveted used camera bag!!

Chris made the same comment i made when he first saw all of the work..."impossible to judge...they are all very interesting"....but, a decision had to be made, so here you have it....

i will incorporate all of the self-portraits into a new slide show as soon as there is time...there were several others that i really think are very fine photographs, so i think it prudent to make an overall presentation of your work....

thanks again for participating....i seriously enjoyed looking at all of these portraits...the revelations were endless!!!

 

www.davidalanharvey.com/emergingphotographers/selfportraits

Comments

[Patricia Lay-Dorsey]

PAUL

Hardly inappropriate! I just ordered a copy of your book for my dear husband. He--and I--will LOVE it!!!!!! Congrats on getting the second edition completed. One less thing to do ;=)

Patricia

[Akaky]

PANOS, being a good writer on a photography blog sort of misses the point of the blog, I think. People ask me why I take pictures when I write like I can. The answer is that there are people who have actually paid me for my pictures; no one's ever paid me a red cent for the words. Second, why would anyone write if they could do something else? Writing is a slow motion form of torture some people inflict on themselves for reasons I am sure I do fathom at the moment; writing in English is more than merely masochistic, it is just incredibly stupid, since no matter how hard you try, no one will ever believe that you are better than Shakespeare or Dickens. Even in the humbler pastures I plow, no one will ever believe that I could be as good as P.G Wodehouse, S.J. Perelman, or Robert Benchley. No, writing is something to be avoided if at all possible, although I am sure that the credit card companies will not accept my logophobia as an excuse for my not signing my checks to them. All things have a downside, I fear.

BOB/MARINA,

Great pix. You might want to get someone to look at your autofocus, though. It doesnt seem to be working right.

PAUL T,

congrats on the 2nd edition, but you know, the one thing I really wonder about these days is why there are no first rate cookbooks for cannibals anymore. ;-)

[Akaky]

That's "for reasons that I do NOT fathom at the moment" Proofreading is a wonderful thing; I should do it more often.

[Glenn]

AKAKY...why don't you try
www.icantbelieveittastesjustlikechicken.com ?

BOB and PANOS , Thanks guys for dropping in on my efforts the other day.

UNCLE ...Thanks for your kind words , I will be back on deck with new pictures to show soon .. but was in the meantime going back to the olden days of this blog when you were talking about how you rationalised and compartmentalised the shooting on Divided Soul ,the reality that I have been photographing for a book only hit me a few months ago when my computer shat itself and I was unable to scan pictures ,only shoot!
Looking at the trannies and realising that I've been going over a lot of subjects a bit more than I should , repetitive pictures , same thing going on, really forced me to have a look at what I wanted to do and where I wanted the work to take me. So thanks for that!
Cheers Glenn

[anton kusters]

DAVID B...

just got back from the festival... you're right, i've seen underworld like a million times and it is nicer to NOT watch the stage & just dance :))

don't know if i fancy this kind of photography yet (new to it all), part of me says yes, but i'm not interested in the 'stars' on the stage, more in the people coming to watch... will try and put up a few pics this week

i'll be pretty maxed out from now on till september, autumn/winter fashion collections are ready and i have some websites to build (yes, the proverbial bread on the table...) so i don't know if i will be able to do any more festivals... would love to hook up with you on the norsk gigs & magazine stuff though

on another note... ALL... i'm trying to change my situation, thinking of giving up the websites (the dough) and going full on for the photography (instead of roughly half-half)... bit scared i will be putting myself "in poverty" again... (but it won't hold me back, no sir)... but... i worked eight hard years to get myself where i am now, finally making a teeny weeny bit of money, and then i would leave it behind... everybody declares me insane if i would go through with this... and sometimes i think they are a bit right too... "why not reap the benefits right now and wait a couple of years to go full ahead with the photog stuff" they all say...

the mind agrees, but the heart says noooooooo i cannot wait!

what should i do? maybe a good question to ask you guys here... ask for some honest realistic advice here... might try to rephrase my question in the morning, too tired now, Justice, Underworld and dEUS ringing in my head...

sorry ALL about the rant, just needed to let off some steam... some worries in my head... little black dogs chasing me sometimes trying to bite me...

peace and love to all of you here... sucha wonderful community we all have... such support... such LIFE

LIFE

life

what else is there
...

anton

[anton kusters]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOt15JsLloU

[andrew sullivan]

Hey Everybody,

After the highs of LOOK3, I felt a bit of the post-festival blues... But I had an experience the other day thanks to this community that snapped me back to that state you have when seeing things clearly, you realize that having a concept, committing to it and then fearlessly executing it opens the possibilities of creating something profound. You see something good and feel like anything's possible.

I helped Erica McDonald with her street portrait project in Brooklyn. First, the camaraderie we had, even though we had met only once briefly before, was forged here. We share a common ground, that of authoring photographic projects.

She's doing something special. I saw it immediately, as she found her first subject to photograph, Tommy, a 70-year-old man carrying his radio, who told us he was slow and couldn't read or write, his signature like that of a student practicing cursive.

Erica has a warm and sensitive demeanor, and she put a range of people at ease as she worked with her 4x5 camera. From our set-up on a wide sidewalk in Park Slope, she wrangled an ex-con with fierce eyes and a tattooed nose to sit for a portrait. He opened up to us in a way that I can only imagine will make a striking image.

I don't want this to get too long and really embarrass Erica, but I was inspired working with her. Anybody out there who's in town should volunteer to carry this woman's camera bag for a couple of hours (by the way, the bag is a canvas grocery bag, and you aren't actually carrying the bag!), and see a really interesting way of making a portrait. ERICA, I don't want to relinquish my spot as first assistant!

To top off a fun day with a new friend, DAH invited us to his 4th of July party. Sorry y'all, no party pics from me, but when my fiancee and I got to the Kibbutz, there were 100 cops on the street, and I worried about the matzoh factory getting raided, but thankfully all was safe. Cold Coronas awaited us in David's fridge. The man drives a hard bargain... You drink his beer, you've got to post a party report.

SO, Erica, Chris Anderson, assorted Magnum staff, Marie Arago, Mike Courvoisier and his lovely gal Maya, Jen MacFarland, and my Jen and I all enjoyed good conversation overlooking Manhattan with our host DAH. Thank you David for inviting us to your fiesta. I appreciate your hospitality.

My report is brief for we arrived late and saw the NYC fireworks from the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, but I believe the view of the show from David's place was probably phenomenal. I have it on good authority that the man himself may have actually taken a few fireworks photos.

Thanks again David and thank you Erica. I'll see you soon.
---Andrew

ANTON, Sounds like you're in a good position to meld your web expertise with your photography. Or are you already doing that? I've had numerous clients ask me if I could do both photography and web design for them. Sadly, I have zero web skills, and I struggle enough with the pictures.

[anton kusters]

andrew

thanks for the report! i can fully imagine the great atmosphere... and as usual: wishing i was there :-)

yeah you're right i do combine these things already, but i'm not happy with them living together like they are now... web design is a pretty demanding partner in this marriage... and that's what i'm trying to change... i don't need to forego on the web design all together, but i wouldn't shed too many tears if it were so (so to speak :-)

i don't know if a divorce is in order, or marriage counselling... hereby comes also my mistress, miss graphic design, with whom i sometimes secretly want to run off with...

the question is: do i divorce web design and her money which supports me, so i can pursue my photography more in depth, or do i keep on living under one roof and try counselling, knowing fully that i will have to add too much water to my wine...

i guess i'm hoping all you guys and gals here will be my wise wise counsellors :-)

cheers
anton

[Yan]

DAVID

Regarding projects about USA, I've recently seen an interesting one from Richard Pak, he's working on a long term project about daily life in the US, don't know if you've ever heard about him...
http://richard.pak.club.fr/Pursuit_001.html

[david bowen]

ANTON & GRANDMA-STER DISCO

it is true - the performers can be the least interesting aspect of events and looking towards the edges and periphery of an event normally gives a better indication of the kind of vibe going on. then for the party you can tell the part of the crowd that is kickin the most from the edges.. i'd always head for that area.
i'd say that if you wanted to try it, people are generally cool about being photoed.. on the whole.. there are bad reactions on occasion - generally positive though and if yer quick people don't even notice they have been snapped.. especially with the lights flashing.. lots of tips on camera set up to make life easy if you're interested..

ANTON
giving up money for photography.. well .. quite :o)
the way it worked for me was to take on a little commercial work to supplement the work which i loved.
one food shoot a week for 'the metro' would pay my rent and bills..
the music work payed badly - from 5 usd per photo for u.s. mag 'urb' to 300 usd per job (up to 4 or 5 days) for dj magazine. mostly broke even with it, sometimes lost.. my landlord was more understanding than my grumbling belly and my girlfriend of 7 years eventually lost patience with her absent lover and left me to my persuits

the good thing about having a magazine association is that you can gain passes and even flights and accommodation if you get the right amount of page space and the festival needs press. working with tourist boards also gained funding for expenses.. it was very, very hard and creative work to even get to the point of shooting an event.
spending 2 years living in my photo studio - (a condemned warehouse on short term lease) - also worked for me.. it depends what you want to do and what you are prepared to do to get there maybe..
the universe provides, though, and things just kind of straighten out once in a while.. one large picture sale.. one extra special commission.. and it's worth it.. carrot and donkey.. looking at the photos afterwards is rich reward.

i'd say that if you had a current source of income - keep it. you can always reduce the amount you are working in that area and make it into a supplement for the work you really want to do. if you need more time for photog then take it while nurturing your business as well. maybe there is time for it all?
your work is superb by the way. i love the crisp moments you catch with birgit and the quiet calm of the sikh mosque..

point of interest - how do others here fund their photography?

[david bowen]

http://www.heima.co.uk/video/

[david alan harvey]

AKAKY...

you are going to force me into a new post....

writing has been around awhile....everyone does it...

writing and reading are "learned" at an early age....part of our early communications skills and, in fact, the very definition of language...

photography is new...mostly viewed as a technical skill by most...but, alas, now everyone can do it...no longer a technical skill....also a language??

if so, then doing "good work" with photography will become so status quo (as is writing) and only a "Wodehouse" will thrive..

no "easy way out" my friend....

getting paid for something??? best paying job(percentage wise) i ever had was being a golf caddy at the local country club when i was 15...

we will chain you to your keyboard...you got it.....just because it is painful for you does not mean we are not waiting!!!

cheers, david

[david alan harvey]

ANDREW....

bad reporting job!!!!

you wrote that there were 100 policemen in front of my building, but you never said why!!!!

this is how rumors start....no more cold corona for you...

you do have a very nice fianceé however...so even with your bad reporting, you do have good taste, so all will eventually be forgiven...

just go finish Harlem jazz!!!

peace, david

[david alan harvey]

ANTON....

ok, you have had enough seminars, workshops, parties et al...you have been everywhere, all the time!!

now go somewhere alone....just to work....somehow keep your "day job" if possible, but work on a personal project and see how it goes...work at least for awhile the way Eric Espinosa is working...i mean, he has a "real job", raises his family, AND is out there concentrating on his photography...

IF you are really serious about your life in photography, you cannot "wait til later"...later is now....

but, that does not mean you have to necessarily "jump off the economic cliff" either...just do something now, over the next year let's say, that is "easy" to do do logistically...get immersed....then see how it looks...self evaluate....lay this work "on the table"....THEN JUMP!!!!!

peace, david

[Martin Brink]

DAVID & ALL,

Recently I've been shooting a lot and also thinking a lot about my photography. I'm shooting digital as many of you do. I've also been happy with many of my images allthough I slightly prefer the look and feel of film.
However I'm feeling stressed. It almost like an addiction to shoot and it makes it hard to relax and think about other things. I guess the use of digital cameras makes this feeling stronger, because it's so limitless. You can shoot how many frames you want every day of the week and you can view and edit the work directly after.
Yes, it of course has a lot of advantages, especially for commercial work, but for my own work it stresses me out, but maybe worries about processing and scanning would do to?
I have the feeling that film will edit a bit for me even before shooting though and will force me to be more patient and think more before. There's soo many images, soo many photographers, soo many cameras..

What's your feeling about this? I'm thinking of switching to film and slow down my shooting for my own best..

Cheers

[Martin Brink]

DAVID & ALL,

Recently I've been shooting a lot and also thinking a lot about my photography. I'm shooting digital as many of you do. I've also been happy with many of my images allthough I slightly prefer the look and feel of film.
However I'm feeling stressed. It almost like an addiction to shoot and it makes it hard to relax and think about other things. I guess the use of digital cameras makes this feeling stronger, because it's so limitless. You can shoot how many frames you want every day of the week and you can view and edit the work directly after.
Yes, it of course has a lot of advantages, especially for commercial work, but for my own work it stresses me out, but maybe worries about processing and scanning would do to?
I have the feeling that film will edit a bit for me even before shooting though and will force me to be more patient and think more before.

What's your feeling about this? I'm thinking of switching to film and slow down my shooting for my own best..

Cheers

[asher]

MARTIN

It might "help" to think about the fact that digital is in fact NOT limitless, when you consider the archiving and storage requirements, i.e. backing up in at least 2 places (preferably 3, including one remote) and on at least 2 different types of media (hard disk, DVD), and considering that no media is "forever", so at some point you'll have to migrate etc etc. Check out The DAM Book (Digital Asset Management) by Peter Krogh. I'm also in the habit of shooting RAW and I never delete any files, because "you never know"...

With all this in mind, I tend to be a bit more careful about when I trip the shutter and generate a 12 MB raw file, but still much more trigger happy than when I shot film.

I hope that helps...

[david alan harvey]

PANOS....

you have some pretty amazing work with the Jim Morrison fantasy (or reality)....different from your usual "documentary"....but all of it is some kind of "docu/drama"....not sure what it all is yet, but it is something for sure...

are you making small prints?? i mean, it is really hard for me to keep all of your work straight in my head...but sometime soon we need to have little prints spread all over the floor or tacked on a wall...

do not stop shooting now..i mean, right now you are "in the zone"...stay there....these moments do not come back...hard to find...hard to "get there"...you may not even know it, but please just keep this going as long as you can...tired? bored?? ok fine, even more reason not to stop...

yes, we will meet on the road soonest..but , between now and then, do not leave Venice...

MARCIN....

of course , i use references...because many photographers just do not have a good sense of what has "gone on before"....studying history is the best way to see the future...

seeing the past great work done should not paralyze, but influence and stimulate....when i see great work, i am first humbled, mesmerized, followed by being overwhelmed, followed by "action"...

being referential to another artist does not mean you either copy that artist nor "give up" because it has been "done before"...

for some reason, doing what comes natural, does not come natural!!!! if you can figure out in your own personal life what is truly truly natural to you, and you can put it "down"with either words or pictures or paintings or with crayons or whatever, THEN you will be doing something that has never been done before!!

hugs, david

[david alan harvey]

MARTIN BRINK....

i am using medium format film on my current project , just to make things "harder"..a bit more "deliberate"....i need to struggle..i love to struggle....i could get "better pictures faster" with digi...but, i am willing to sacrifice "good pictures" for the kind of work that i do when i CAN'T QUITE GET THERE!!

cheers, david

[Martin Brink]

ASHER,
I usually edit very tightly so I only keep about a 1/4 to a 1/5 of my images. And I may not shoot a lot when I go out to shoot but digital makes it possible to shoot whenever, at least for me and I both think it's for good and bad..

[anton kusters]

DAVID & DAVID B

thanks for the insights... i guess you guys are right, it's not "necessary" to jump the economic cliff (love the analogy:))) as a prerequisite to succeed...

i didn't realize eric espinosa juggles all three succesfully (well, at least the photography side we know for sure:)) ... that IS impressive... and also gives me strength to try to combine... it must be doable...

i love the idea of trying to do 'logistically manageable projects'... never thought of it this way, i've been concentrating projects solely looking at my own heart & gut, and purposely refusing to look at the "practical" side because i'm scared it would pollute the purity of the idea (does this make sense?)

while being good for the "idea stage", i guess at a certain point you have to get your feet back on the ground again and think practical. what is your economical situation? what is doable short term, what long term? juggle or choose?

LMP's are popping into my head already...

i will run the ideas by you, along with little mood boards, and then i will dive in alone and GET IMMERSED for a while... meet and surprise myself...

better be here when i pop up again :))

MARTIN

feel exactly the same!!! i cannot switch of my brain, i'm thinking photography all the time... i do worry about that too (yet again another worry:)) it feels to myself like i'm totally obsessed with photography, wanting to try a million things, preferrably all at the same time and with the same intensity... i'm like a loose canon firing off continuously in all directions.

I do however regard this as a SMALL price to pay for the possibilities of digital... i replicated my tri-X in digital up to a point that you cannot see the difference anymore (well at least i can't)... and as soon as i had that done, i knew i could start exploring... and i haven't had a dull day since :)))

in my case, it all comes down to focusing on your own work and not looking around too much (i find everything everybody else does always insanely interesting for some reason)... as long as i can do that i am ok... but it is very hard and i usually don't succeed (even not when using film, i think this is a different discussion!! i am as deliberate digital as in film... i do EXPERIMENT and TRY /LEARN/PRACTISE more often than before, but when i shoot for real, i stay as deliberate)

peace
anton

[david alan harvey]

KIRA....

welcome....we all look forward to seeing more of your work...

i am so please you like the work of Laura El Tantawy....have you gone to her website?? she is a very talented photographer and good and special friend....

CATHY...

i should be in Santa Fe by next weekend...and there all week....is that enough "advance warning"??

one really interesting family would be fine...Reid is helping me with some others...

i want to do something really SANTA FE...i mean, all those folks who have come from California and New York etc who have become ENLIGHTENED...and hang out at A THOUSAND WAVES spa....know any couples who wouldn't mind me shooting them getting out of bed in the morning with their Porsche slightly out of focus in the background?? do you know what i am looking for here???

the other scene is , of course, the Española world, but i do not think that is your "thing"..

by the way, what exactly is "your world"?? i guess i am about to find out!!!

i look forward to meeting you Cathy....

cheers and smiles, david

[asher]

MARTIN

I hear what you're saying. I just think that "shooting to edit" is independent of the media. However I appreciate that that's easier said than done.

DAVID

Would you be willing to post just little sneak preview of your Family photographs????

[david alan harvey]

ASHER....

several have asked me to post some of my American family work...i have thought about this quite a bit....i think it would be prudent to wait...not because i am not willing to show "work in progress", i do it all the time..but because of some of the families with whom i am working...there is a relationship i have with these families and the work i am doing...i think it best to wait a bit longer, maybe by the end of the summer, when this work will be more contextual, and the families themselves can see exactly what is happening with the pictures they so graciously allow me to make...

cheers, david

[JChance]

BOB:

Appreciate your kind words and input. Thank you. I was unable to add captions to the images on the web gallery... dunno why?... So please check out our blog for more information on the people we worked with, and this issue in general. Jessica (the better half of Chance) has two blog posts on this story, so go back for the first one if you missed it.

Talking of better halves, I enjoyed Marina's work. You guys are birds of a feather! thanks for sharing.

http://www.jameschance.com/multimedia/jctextblog/textblog.php

ERIC: Thanks for the link. Yes, I am aware of Pep Bonets work. Great Photographer. I look forward to seeing more boxing soon. How's it all going?

DAVID: If you get a chance can you give this one a quick butchers!?... Would love to hear your thoughs on this. (see link in message to Bob if you want more info on the piece.)

http://jameschance.com/coinfection

James

[asher]

Thanks David- I understand- that makes perfect sense.

[Martin Brink]

DAVID,

Interesting! You've said that you virtually always bring your camera. Can you switch off your brain (off photography) ?

ANTON,

Feels good that someone feels the same!
Film vs digital is not about the quality or the technical aspect for me. It's about the feeling that digital consumes my mind. I can't switch off. I wish I could and stay more focused of what I'm doing. The world is spinning faster and faster and I think the digital camera is the same as the computer and mobile phone.
Everything is moving quicker and quicker, but does photography and the world get better?

[david alan harvey]

JAMES....

this is some of your very best work....much much stronger , in my opinion, than the cemetery life photographs...you might be jumping around a bit too much, but i suppose this is just the nature of your current trip...if you could somehow just stay in one place long enough to really really "finish" all of these nice essays that you have "started", i think you would be better off in the long run...

peace, david

[david alan harvey]

MARTIN BRINK...

no...

cheers, david

[Sidney Atkins]

Speaking of...

"....when i see great work, i am first humbled, mesmerized, followed by being overwhelmed..."

The July issue of The Digital Journalist is now up online and the extensive feature on John Moore is "humbling, mesmerizing, and overwhelming" and much 'moore' besides:

http://digitaljournalist.org/issue0807/moore-intro.html

Especially the Pakistan Gallery. And don't miss the extensive written interview with JM.

Sidney

[panos skoulidas]

JIM MORRISON STORY...!/ DRAMA...
NON FICTION... I DID "MEET" JIM...
I KNOW IT SOUNDS CRAZY BUT I WILL EXPLAIN SOON...
i will explain...but... FOR SURE... THE JIM MORRISON PHOTOS WERE NOT POSED AT ANY LEVEL..
if i only tell you the story ( which i will, pretty soon ..)

http://gallery.mac.com/innerspacecowpanos#100101&view=mosaic&sel=0

also , last night i met a guy that claims to be JIM MORRISON'S SON...
HIS NAME IS CLIFF MORRISON... ( JIM-DAD, UNKNOWN GROUPIE- MOM)...
i will post photos AS SOON AS I CAN...
IN the meantime let's get into

http://web.mac.com/innerspacecowpanos/%22MOVIES%22/following_JIM_MORRISON_all_around_Venice..._4th_of_july.html

the VENICE FANTASY WORLD once more...
JIM MORRISON, SON'S PHOTOS hopefully tonight or tomorrow!!!
peace

[Paul Treacy]

Since I'm going to be living on the edge of Crystal Palace Park in London I've decided that that will be the location for my next big project. I'm wait a while before starting my Thames project as the initial research will take a while as will adjusting to the inevitable culture shock after more than five years Stateside.

Crystal Palace Park is a wacky place. I'm sure there will be characters to match. It's in keeping with "my thing" too. This could be my settling in project. David, are you willing to guide me? Can I show you some images towards the end of August perhaps?

Getting excited now. I can let off steam with this project. It's decided.

Thanks.

[Charlie Mahoney]

DAH:

Talking assignments, I've been thinking for awhile now about doing a story on Okupas in Barcelona. The Okupa movement is difficult to define, but in essence, it's a movement with anarchistic and punk roots of mainly young people that 'occupy' abandoned buildings.

If you'd like to read more, here's a link to wikipedia en español:
es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movimiento_Okupa

Going forward I want to focus on doing publishable work, but I have my doubts as to whether it would be something that could be of interest in Spain, one, because I think it's been covered plenty in Spain and two, outside of Spain, because, well, it's Spain.

Also, I have a long term project that I've chatted with others about offline (namely Eric, James, Bob and Erica) which is about two relatives of mine in Ireland. They are two men, now around 80 years old who still actively manage a farm in Southern Ireland. Neither ever married and thus they've lived together all these years. I have aspirations for this story but don't know where to take it next, so any feedback you or others might have would be greatly appreciated. The work that is up there was from four hours spent with them over two days.

If you'd like to take a look at any of this work, you can find it at www.charliemahoney.net. My site is now flash, so you'll have to look for it under Portfolios, then click 'Ancestral Calling.'

I always seem to catch you at bad moments, so I hope you have a chance before you go Jack Kerouac on us. If not, let me know and I'll remind you again down the line.

Cheers and have a great journey,
Charlie
www.charliemahoney.net

[andrew sullivan]

Addendum to my brief report on DAH's 4th of July fiesta...

Every good reporter knows to safeguard the beer supply, so I must quash any impending rumors of why so many cops were loitering near the Kibbutz. NYC's finest were parking their personal vehicles there while providing security for the fireworks show on the East River.

Now off to finish Harlem jazz!

Cheers,

andrew

[lee Guthrie]

Dear DAH,

Monday a.m. in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Wondering what the fuck I am doing here and knowing that it is becoming clear yet still out of focus.

The pieces on the bachelors evolve faster and faster—I can’t even keep the new edits posted. The hardest part of the whole process is what is being revealed about myself.

That's the struggle of this piece—not just that there are four bachelors of similar ilk but that pieces of me are revealed in each of these essays of the individual bachelors—and that in the end they all roll together.

I am beginning to understand the magic of photo stories. How staying with a project for as long as I have this one begins to totally reveal what the piece is supposed to show. The week-long essays in workshops showed me the how-to of the process; being immersed in life in this project is revealing the message of the process.

The truth that is being revealed about myself makes me want to run screaming back to Paradise and shut the doors to this place. Yesterday, I recognized that just being back home sends me back to patterns in behavior I thought I had outgrown yet in reality just redecorated over the years. That is what is being revealed—the core me and how destructive that core has been in my life.

Thank goodness for grace and second and third and fourth and fifth chances.

Lee

[erica mcdonald]

ANDREW..

you've rendered me silent with your kindness and generous spirit..it was a pleasure and an honor to be able to share the experience with you, and I am very much looking forward to doing it again soon. THANK YOU.

ERIC / ALL

Because of the slow (think snail crawling) nature of this assignment (shooting when it's not bloody raining - in the forecast for another 5 days now, and if I can get help) I might shoot 4 - 6 people on a day, meaning maybe 1 or 2 good images if I am doing well) it's going to take some time for it to take shape and make sense. I talked to DAH about this and think it is best to wait a bit before showing images.. I do want to share, but it's sort of like a germination period, where everything is still very much in need of a gentle touch. I have to let the people guide the piece somewhat as well, and am in the early stages of listening to them to see who to focus on. Essentially this is about one neighborhood / community and how they are experiencing the changes that so many NYC hoods are going through. But of course, it has to be in their faces / their eyes.. I guess I am trying to see the essence of the community reflected in the faces and details of individuals.

The medium format is turning out to be an important facet of the piece..as is the audio..

It becomes quite a challenge for me, how to show face after face and not bore the viewer, to retain a strength in repetition by emphasizing the commonality/uniqueness in the individual /whole..

But yes, please, if you have a day free, let me know and we will have fun and I will at least get you something to eat or drink..

DAVID

Les is wondering if you will be back in town before the 12th, and if so if he can hand pick up his print..

[David McGowan]

Panos and anyone/everyone,
Glad you like the prints! I thought you would.

I just got back this morning from camping with 40,000 to 50,000 people at the Rothbury Music Festival. I understand your feelings about the pace of the sale stuff, but I can guarantee I got some shots from the festival you'll approve. I probably walked 30 miles at the festival, burned myself out, and finally got sick of shooting!! (Long enough to sleep.)

The Garage Sale stuff is "mundane" (almost) on purpose—it's a pace that forces me to think more deliberately and that's good for me now. It's also not a project I can shoot every day, so I'll try to slip in some projects that are more your "speed!!!"

[Spencer Lloyd]

Akaky,

Writing is wonderful! If someone loves to write, the idea that they'll never be as good a writer as Shakespeare shouldn't keep them from writing. It's like anything else... use Shakespeare as inspiration. When I look at Mary Ellen Mark photos, I feel like I'll never be able to do that, but instead of giving up, it makes me want to try harder...

Anton,

Don't know if this will be helpful, but here's my experience... I went to school for photography and worked for 11 years or so as a photographer. It was very difficult. The work that I got that I actually enjoyed, didn't pay, and the work that payed was definitely not what I thought I would be doing when I was a young lad in photo school. In 97 I accidentally ended up with a job at a big company making webpages. It started out just a couple of days a week. I had no intentions of giving up the photography, but it eventually turned into a full time job. The steady paycheck was new to me and kind of exciting. And I never once had to call to bug them to pay me!!! Oh... and health insurance???!!!! So anyway, it's almost 12 years later, I'm very frustrated sitting in a cubical doing work all day that I'm not interested in. But at the same time I do have some freedom. The steady paychecks give me the ability to buy film and so on, and now I can photograph only what I want to photograph without having to worry about the bills piling up! It would be lovely to be able to spend every day doing only what I love doing, but being past due on rent is very stressfull and depressing. It's really a tough call. I think you just have to figure out what will bring you happiness... or less unhappiness. Shit... After writing this, I think I have to figure some things out for myself!

[Ari Baiense]

ANTON, SPENCER and others...

I can see I'm not alone in this situation. Feeling like being in a crossroad... which one I choose?

Your testimonies and David's advices made me relax a bit, take a deep breath and think about it.

"get immersed....then see how it looks...self evaluate....lay this work "on the table"....THEN JUMP!!!!!" (DAH's words)

All the best!

[anton kusters]

SPENCER

oooowwwww now i made you think... sorry! :))))

and yes your story too tells me to find a balance instead of throwing it all out and staring anew.

"balancing" has always proven to be so very difficult for me, i've always been a one-track person (hey, i'm a guy), going one hundred percent for one thing at a time...

and now it's time to multitask... i realise that now... branch out... keep my job and submerge as well... if eric can do it, so can i... maybe i have been using this situation too much as an excuse NOT to push forward with my photography, as contradictory as that might sound?

so no more hesitation, i'm going for the "keep job/submersion" thing...

ideas will be posted soon, and opinions asked of you all... and maybe i should ask david for an assignment when he hands out his second round... up the pressure a bit...

peace
anton

[Charlie Mahoney]

ALL:

Anyone else having problems trying to see the videos on DAH's site?

I normally don't have any problems downloading and have a relatively fast ADSL connection, but in the Emerging video always stalls on me right at the end of Katherina Hesse's story. In the Look3 video it stalls on me around the ambulance story. No idea why.

[Jean-Sébastien Bréault]

DAVID, ALL...

This is the link for my project:

http://www.photosjsbreault.com/Project/simpleviewer/index.html

Please, tell me what you think about. I did it more personnal than the previous and it is the only six I like, and I'm even not sure I'm in a the right way. I edited with a machete !(http://www.photosjsbreault.com/Mixed_Heritage/simpleviewer/index.html).

I was in Cuba last week for family vacation. I did not read the previous post. The last four week before have been hard. 3 jobs for pay the bills and the family vacation.

[Simon Griffee]

ANTON, SPENCER, ARI, OTHERS…

The 'multitasking' of life has been troublesome for me, too. Once I took David's advice to 'just do it' and WORK things got so much better.

Before, I just spent too much time thinking instead of just STARTING somewhere and taking it from there and THEN keep thinking. I found that once I started working, with anything, even just writing notes on napkins, things HAPPENED—other ideas arrived, connections were made, fires were lit. It can still be a struggle, but at least now I know to KEEP GOING when the going gets tough.

Paradoxically, I've also found that the more I have to do, the more I get done, though this doesn't change the fact that I like and always aim for a very 'chill' lifestyle, and I 'sacrifice' large salaries, job security and the like for this more relaxed life.

[Joan Sullivan]

DAH -
I have spent much of the last week moving from a one-bedroom apartment in Montréal to a 165-acre farm in eastern Québec. A good place for a Look3 reunion one day! We just got connected to the internet yesterday, hence my delayed congratulations to the three portrait winners and all the runner-ups. Wonderful, wonderful stuff.

Your July 3rd posting to Rafal has touched a cord deep within... what makes me "tick" is to marry my career in international public health with photography. I can not explain the need (or has it become an obsession?) to publish images which document how the other half of the planet lives, dies, eats, makes do with so much less than we; I can not explain this intense attraction to photographing poverty (hence the trailer park essay in Cville), broken health care systems, pollution and, increasingly, climate change.

Up to this point in my life, public health has paid most of the bills, while photography has taken a back seat. I am obviously trying to change that. However, I do recognize that public health has effectively “subsidized” my so-called photographic career to date by bringing me to countries that I would not otherwise have visited, nor would have been able to afford to visit, e.g., living the last five years in Botswana while working for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Another way of saying this is that my photography has been profoundly affected by my international career.

In an effort to move beyond AIDS photography, I am currently working with one of my professors from the Harvard School of Public Health to develop a proposal to document Chagas disease in Latin America (new continent, new disease). This disease is relatively unknown outside of Latin America, but what “attracts” me to photograph it is that it is a disease which, due to its unique vector, targets primarily the poorest of the poor. I realize that this kind of photography won’t “sell”, and it sure as hell won’t make me rich or famous, but it keeps pulling me, disturbing my sleep, makes me read scientific research articles in scholarly journals till all hours in the night and, to use your words, makes me “tick”. Now, don’t ask me why I have just bought a farm – I am surrounded by rolling hills and cows, and I don’t do cows. I want to photograph people! One of my new neighbors just told me that up the mountain behind our farm, there is … drum roll… a trailer park! So, maybe I will have to think of a way to expand my Look3 photo essay by documenting “the other side of the tracks” from both sides of the Americo-Canadian border, to show that we have much more in common that we think… That’s it for today – gotta go cord some wood for the winter! Hey, this is the first time I have ever participated in a blog…

cheers, joan

[david bowen]

david mc..

look forward to seeing the party pix.. larger festivals are a difficult beast and empathy for the miles walked.. always worth the blosters.

panos.

yer on fire.. like it.

all

i'm going to post some snaps of my week with the in-laws i think. no biggie - strictly playing - and when i get back to stavanger it would be good to get some opinions from you all on how to go about editing a larger body of work.
small chunks taken to slot into chapters seems to be the way forward.. and agreed with above about thoughts on photog.. when i drift away beate just looks at me and says
'photography?'

keep on..

[david bowen]

BLISTERS.

where's that schpelcheque?

[Charlie Mahoney]

Simon:

I hear ya, brother. I think it's a continual internal personal struggle to keep working.

The other side to this is being in a comfortable place and DAH touched upon this once on a blog a ways back. I find that whenever I return to Barcelona, it's harder for me to get focused as there are just too many things that I can easily find to distract myself, including this blog. When I'm somewhere else it's easier to focus, but then the financial costs of travel restrict the amount of time I can stay in that given place and limits the time working on the story!

In any event, it sounds like you've found a solution so hat's off to you and keep it up!

cheers,
charlie

[Arie]

THIS MESSAGE IS FOR BOBBLACK

Hi, I will be in Toronto with my wife and daughter from the 8 of July (Tomorrow) to the 10 (Thursday) for an eye surgery and I wanted to meet you for a coffee (if you have time of course). It would be great to meet the guy that writes so many interesting here. Let me kmnow if that woudl be fine with you.

take care for now, Arie

[Simon Griffee]

CHARLIE:

Yes, definitely a continual struggle to keep working… There are days I just want to do something else other than photograph (though these are relatively rare), days I despise all my photographs, days I can't stop thinking about photographing, days I'm inspired and doing and finding and moving… At any rate, I feel as if I've learned much recently, but am still (and always will be) an amateur, in the best sense of the word!

I hear you on distractions—the internet is such a large one! These days I try to limit myself to frequenting two or three websites regularly, of which this is one. And I definitely agree that traveling is a great 'focus aid' and that there never is enough time or money!

I like your Living in the Shadows work—keep it up yourself!

[erica mcdonald]

ON COMFORT / GETTING TO WORK

Just now back from dropping of film, I sat down and watched a few moments of Charlie Rose, who was talking with the prolific Pulitzer Prize winning author David McCullough. He passed on a working method that was passed on to him when he was young, which he says was the best advice ever given to him. I find it interesting and will perhaps it will be of some help to someone regarding keeping a level of structure and discipline..

McCullough does about 50% of his needed research on a project, and then at that point he commits to writing 4 typed pages a day, and at the same time keeps researching. When he is 'done', he goes back to the beginning and re-writes, which for the visual medium would mean looking at the gaps in the storytelling and filling them in.

I can see how having a format to work within could be of tremendous benefit to some..