commitment....

         

"commitment" is almost nobody's favorite word....

"freedom", "fly", "space" seem to be more comfy life "key words"....easier for one thing...and whole supporting  philosophies to go along with them....but, as we all know, at some point anyway, only through commitments do we get anything done at all either personally or professionally...

last sunday on a Carolina beach ,above,  Amanda Pitts became Amanda Halladay.....she gave up her "freedom" to marry the ever elusive can't pin me down vagabond of all vagabonds surfer boy Scott "Scooter" Halladay...you may read about Scooter in one of my chapters in Divided Soul and realize the extent of  my long relationship with Scoot since he was a young boy living at the other end of Pinetree Road... my son Bryan's best friend in Richmond and now in the wind whipped surfer community of the Outer Banks....

Amanda and Scooter announced their beach wedding less than 24 hours before it happened, therefore extending their reputations for non-conformists right up until the final "i do" here on Hatteras Island, the water burial ground of almost 300 storm related shipwrecks, and where even the crews of German U-boats,  during WWII, used to sneak ashore and get a suntan right here on these long white beaches and just a few miles from where the Wright brothers launched the first powered airplane in 1903 and Blackbeard the pirate, in the early 1700's, retired here to enjoy his loot from  hijacking ships of commerce...

lots of history for a rather "out of the way" thin strip of land likely to be erased in any hurricane, but as far as we are concerned, the Amanda/Scooter wedding is at the top of the list of "important events"...everyone down here figures that if those two can make a commitment, then all things are possible..

speaking of relationships, we have one right here....because i happen to be on vacation right now, i let the last post hang a bit too long and yet the comments are getting close to 700...crazy.....conversation...online friends...chit chat...serious thinking and references....assignments coming to fruition....work to be shared and displayed....an internet phenomenon by any reckoning....

so, now what do we do??  stay as we are?? make a commitment for more??  by the end of September we will have all assignments finished i think and i will be ready to announce new grantees from EPF....there are other "awards" besides the cash grants to come, but i will announce those later...now, i just want to get a feel for what we should do next....

frankly, i cannot do more than i am doing right now...my personal photography just cannot take a back seat to managing this forum.....and i well know that none of you expect that nor suggest otherwise...however, if some of YOU were to volunteer your help , i think we could get better without getting bigger or losing our "personal touch".... i have shunned advertising for our forum here because, well, i just think we should take our "popularity" and instead of advertising, have corporations and individuals sponsor your projects i.e. EPF ...

so far, this has been an easy "sell" for me because it is just flat out a "worthy cause" at a time of shrinking photo budgets on every front..my only problem is that i just do not have the time go really go "out there" and sell it in the way that could really make it "fly"....we will have a permanent slot as part of Look3 and next year's show will be "killer"..and i foresee we will do many more shows/exhibitions from the work generated here in 2008...a printed annual is an obvious possibility, but this will take some major fund raising  which i , in theory could easily do, but if i did i am afraid i would lose momentum on my family project....

in the next few weeks my schedule will take me to Perpignan (Sept 3-9) where i will meet many of you..we should discuss this if you are around...also ,in September ,  i have two weeks of workshops in my New York loft....then i will be back on the road with my "families"... somewhere in there, i would like to meet as many of you in New York  as i can...yes, a meeting at my place.....maybe between the two workshops.....maybe after....

your ideas on what we should do or what we can do are important...tell me, tell me....of course, we do not have to do anything different from what we already do....but, i would feel so proud if we could generate enough funding to have many of you working and with a nice publication as an end result...

again, getting "bigger" is not on my mind.....representing a growing and talented legion of photographers and writers who have made their online environment the very message itself, is potentially very interesting...it is what already happens here, but perhaps more of a commitment from some  of us could push our collaborative efforts towards its own logical evolution...

Amanda and Scooter, i wish you love and  happiness forever......

 

Comments

[Eric Espinosa]

LASSAL/ ANA,

Thanks for double checking if I was on the actual email list. I am indeed away from home and unable to check my regular mail. If someone has the list and could send it to my father email this week, this would be fantastic. His email is:

espinosaal@orange.fr

Thanks so much.

Eric

[Sidney Atkins]

TOM HYDE

Thanks for the link. You are well justified in venting. The police have always served the powerful more than the public, but over the last eight years the erosion of civil liberties and the increasing immunity and lawlessness of the people who are supposed to protect the law have become truly alarming and unfortunately probably irreversible. The Republicans may have been the worst offenders in this recent process, but it's important for all of us to remember that no party has a monopoly on encouraging and taking advantage of these abuses. I'm afraid we're all living, to some extent or other, in the 'Freedom Cage'.

[Charles Peterson]

David Bowen,

Just caught the post that you will be a dad as well, and in only six weeks time! Congrats! Yes, it's been nerve wracking. We lost one last summer. Though it was only eight weeks in it was still very difficult as we had been trying for a while. This time around everything looks really good, and today found out it's a boy. Of course I would be fine with a girl, but I think dinosaurs and race cars might be a bit easier for me... ha!

Have you picked out the ultimate stroller yet? Great blog here:

http://www.daddytypes.com

HERVE,

Yes, I have some pics of that bridge, though no women in sport leotards either! Damn! Yes, its a bipolar city/country. One of it's great appeals to an outsider, though maybe not if one has to live there. I'll try and get some pics up on my website soon and post a link when I do. No theme - just wanderings.

[Lassal]

Perpignan Crew ...

hmmm... I have filled out that form in time and everything, but actually I have not heard from them up to today!?
Apparently you get some info via normal mail.

Everybody else got it?

I think I have to call them tomorrow. We are departing on saturday... Long drive.

Sorry, have not kept up to date with the posts. Too busy now. Hope all is well...

Cheers,

[Ana Yturralde]

ERIC,

I send the list to your father's email.

See you soon!

Ana

[Ana Yturralde]

LASSAL,

I was wondering the same right now. After filling up the form I got a non-reply email from Visa pour l'Image saying that they received my request and that will send by mail around august 25th the info where to get the accreditations and details. But until today I got no more knews from there. I was just wondering if I did something wrong but it seams like it is happening to everybody (relieve, uff). Maybe they are late and will do it before sunday....

I can keep you informed if I get something

See you!

Ana

[Lassal]

Uff Ana, I am relieved now too ...
A friend of mine in Slovenia already got the info. He offered to mail it to me, because it is about all the meetingpoints, events etcetcet. Kinda nice to know.
Were you aware of the fact that the price includes breakfast?! :)))

As I always just fill out really what I absolutely HAVE to and leave everything else blanc (I am a little paranoid a to data in the net, even though it is all in there already anyway), I feared I had forgotten something important ... Then again, a good form informs if something essential is missing. Question: was it a "good" form?! :)

Well, I'll call them tomorrow and see that I get the info from Iztok. I hope he is still there. If I get it, I'll forward it to you.

Cheers, dear Ana,
L

[Ana Yturralde]

LASSAL,

Yes, I knew the price includes breakfast :-) But I think I will miss it every morning as I probably will sleep far from Perpignan.

The funny thing is that I was worried about the same things as you. I just filled the "obligatory" info (as name, email and so on) and left blanc the rest. But I got an email from them saying that it was ok and that they where going to send the rest of information around the 25th. And it was a "good form" as I checked filling one without one of the main things and a window opened saying that I missed to put it)

Anyway, if you talk to them or get all the information from your friend.... yes, please, forward it to me!!

Thanks!

Ana

Ana

[Gina Martin]

AUDREY & ERIC

wed in perpignan works for me. send me an email and i can think of a place for us to meet. gmartin@ngs.org

[panos skoulidas]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87hllT_d4hQ&feature=related

[panos skoulidas]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiX7GTelTPM&feature=related

[panos skoulidas]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TiMtDhiJ2o&feature=related

Young Tom, thanks for venting...
Sidney , thanks for commenting...

[the freedom cage]

Yay Sidney, right on!

And I am deeply concerned about civil rights and basic rights of the public to information in this country. Working in a small town I saw the trickle down effect of nationalistic policies following 9/11 slide all the way down to the most mundane little issues of local government. Suddenly everything was difficult ...

... I'm sorry we can't share any aspect of the podunk little airport plan with the public, or the pilot's lounge we're building with homeland security funds because of national security ... I'm sorry we no longer release the names of those arrested (settled within minutes of lawsuit being filed when they could not produce jail logs) ... how dare you question our decisions, you're being unpatriotic ... we have redacted all detail in the legal billing records on this government litigation and $7 million lawsuit ... all 10 officers of the department will be trained in the use of AR-15 assault rifles ... we no longer release that information but you can file an open records request and we will consider it ... all communications with the city must come through this office, all city staff have been informed not to speak to the press ...

bah ... okay, i do believe the pendulum has swung back a little, there is hope and the word on so many lips is change, but you may be right about at least some loss of rights being irreversible, or very difficult to recapture.

This particular incident is not, however, a loss of rights by law but rather by enforcement as you note. The immediate effect is little different either way. It's the long-term effect that concerns me most. I sincerely hope ABC news aggressively pursues this legally, or the Denver police department takes proactive disciplinary action and "policy clarification," as it is every bit as much the responsibility of the press to combat abuses to the first amendment of the constitution as it is to report the news. I hope it's in their budget.

The erosion of newspapers and all media is more than an economic or social issue ... it's an erosion of a fundamental check and balance in the u.s. system of governance ... the fourth estate is crumbling and i am not at all sure a highly fractured disparate conglomeration of new media sources of information, many of which rely on old media for content, can wield any kind of power necessary to combat what has always been inexorable creep of centralist paternalism.

This has been one of this countries darkest hours and through it all we also waged war on ourselves, on our neighbors, shredded the very ideals we espouse, while mindless paranoid vigilants scurried around with jack boots and the majority stroked themselves heedless wrapped in the warmth of the mystic shroud.

This Friday night ... Friday, Friday, Friday ... ultimate fighters Hamilton and Jefferson battle on in the freedom cage ...

young tom

[the freedom cage]

Hey Panos, and you thought i was done ;-)

yeah, most cops i know really hate photographers and the press in general ... not all certainly, and i've known some good officers ... but the general feeling is not good ... sort of like he NYTimes photographer who was targeted in Denver, nobody bought the explanation that he happened to look like a certain protest organizer. Yeah, ya know all the protest organizers wear credentials and carry expensive cameras ...

[panos skoulidas]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWxAnjNVBt8

PEOPLE... ALL ... please WATCH THE ABOVE VIDEO...
pleaaaase....!

[Gina Martin]

I AM PROUD, SPEECHLESS AND FUCKING BLOWN AWAY AFTER OBAMA'S SPEECH. INCREDIBLE....

[Lisa Hogben]

HEY FOLKS

Just popped in to say hi, been on the road in remote Central Australia well out of reach of any kind of communication...

Deep meditation in the landscape and the hardest story I have ever shot... another stills pj Jamie Williams and I are calling it 'Psyche Ward on Wheels'.

We have travelled from Darwin to here at Uluru with the crew from 'Beautiful Music' on my website. I am shooting vid and stills and I can tell you a great deal about commitment now!!!!

Hanging in here has been the toughest things I have every done... Think 'One Flew Over The Cockatoo's Nest' and its attendant madness.

Its been a good story that needs to be told and even though there's no money, pretty shitty conditions and unbelievable amounts of drama, tension and sheer bullshit the upshot will be I hope a doco that is uplifting...

I am just about to go out to Mutijulu and try and do something out there so I just wanted to drop by and say hi!

Hope you are all well, will be back sometime next week...

[the freedom cage]

Gina, i could not agree more ... unlock the cage.

[the freedom cage]

LISA!

It's good to hear from you and that things are okay. Been worried ... just watched the film Rabbit-proof Fence and kept wondering how you were.

young tom

[Patricia Lay-Dorsey]

ALL

Well, I needed the time away but coming back is pretty darn intimidating. A new thread with 455 comments when I arrived late this afternoon! I've made a quick run-through but couldn't do justice to any of it. Does one EVER catch up after being away???

I say I needed the time away because I'd become totally addicted to this blog. Has this happened to others? Anyway, I'd find myself spending hours every day checking in to see what new posts were there...and too often, responding. Once I saw what was happening, I knew I had to do something about it. So I went cold turkey. Let me tell you, it was HARD!!! As hard as it had been to give up caffeine, harder than it had been to give up alcohol, and almost as hard as it had been to give up cigarettes. I really had to take it one day at a time. But what happened long about Day 3 was that I realized I had SO MUCH more time available for taking photos, reading books, sitting on the porch, swimming and doing summer things, spending time with my sweetie, and simply be-ing. So, yes I'm back but not like before. Moderation in all things...

DAVID

May your mum continue to heal and soon be up and active as before. I'm sure it was a great comfort to her to have you there at her side, and an equal comfort to you to be where you needed and wanted to be.

KYUNGHEE LEE

I send you loving congratulations on the imminent publication of your book, "Islands." It sounds like you are receiving very special treatment, and that is exactly what you and your work deserve. Wow! The Paris Photo Festival!!! I can't wait to buy your book and hold it in my hands.

ANTON

I looked at both the b&w and color versions of Brigit and was deeply moved by both. I'm with Bob B and others regarding the value of each. Color shows such life and energy, while b&w digs deep into the soul. Each are power statements, but only you know what you want and need to say.

GUI

I'm so glad you've joined us. Your essay showing the home and work life of Carmen is sensitively and artistically portrayed. I anticipate seeing how it evolves. It is already a most significant body of work.

EVERYONE ELSE

It will take me time to catch up but know that I will do my best. Hope all those going to Perpignan have a grand and glorious time. Be sure to take pics & videos for us stay-at-homes!

It's really good to be back where I belong...

love & peace
Patricia

[David McGowan]

martin b / all

I know it was days ago that you asked about the economic connection to garage sales here, and I answered, but I've generated some interesting "unscientific" statistics.

I find a lot of garage sales on craigslist, so I thought I'd draw comparisons between Montreal and Grand Rapids. Montreal roughly has a population of 3.6 million and as of Thursday the 28th, has 12 listings on craigslist:

http://montreal.en.craigslist.ca/gms/

Grand Rapids roughly has a population of 200,000 and for the same date, the listings are pushing 100:

http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/gms/

Of course there are factors I can't track down now—popularity of cragislist per market, etc. but it doesn't take much of an imagination to see things here have desperately run amuck!! Job loss turns into need, need takes different directions—moving, selling, staying, trying to salvage a life, trying to lighten the load, etc. It's bad here.

[david alan harvey]

JONATHAN...

yes, i was thinking annual...no way could i get involved with anything more than a quality annual..

by the way, anything more on your Baltimore work???

cheers, david

[Marcin luczkowski]

David, how yours mom's health? I hope you both are ok.

Good vibration to your famili.
hughs

[david alan harvey]

PATRICIA....

nice to hear from you again!!! so you are a "binge blogger" and trying to get off the habit???...i totally understand....i would not recommend this forum/blog to anyone with a serious "blog habit"...however, you of all people prove that it ain't just idle chat....just look at what YOU have DONE in the last few weeks...new work..new ideas....i am a "results on the table" sort of person...chat alone means nothing...but, if we can get you stirred up a bit, get you thinking and shooting and printing and editing, then all is well i think....

i still have not seen the pictures we took at your home.....i had so so much film to develop after that cross country trip and then i just have not been in New York since all of those contact sheets came back from the lab...and i will not be in my studio to really have a good look until september 10....but i will tell Mike to send you your set of contacts soonest...he has been very very busy setting up my loft workshops for the coming month, so please please be patient....i have not forgotten..give my best to Ed please....

cheers, david

[david alan harvey]

MARCIN....ALL

my mother is back with us....weaker, but good...so, we have one more day of family vacation before we all split up again...such drama this holiday!!! thanks my friend for asking....

PERPIGNAN CROWD...

i have a flight booked...i have a room booked...but, i am right on the edge of making it or not...i should know by tomorrow if this trip is feasible ...i have not had much sleep in the last few days and the only way to go to Perpignan is with plenty of energy....so, let's see how i feel over the weekend...

the cast of characters scheduled to come to this event is a bit mind boggling...think we can handle it????

cheers, david

[Lassal]

David,

"the cast of characters scheduled to come to this event is a bit mind boggling...think we can handle it????"

My dog will keep everyone in line and behaving to their best :)))

Soooo good to hear that your mom is back home ...

Best to all of you,
L

[david alan harvey]

GUI....

you have certainly put a lot of time and effort into your work with Carmen...and working with Tatiana on this must be very rewarding...you are a good team...this is an important issue in Brazil and your "caring" is felt in the way both of you describe the life of Carmen...

i have looked very carefully at your photographs....i think you can make this a very strong essay, but first you must get away from the idea that you must shoot "a day in the life of Carmen"...

you have her doing "everything" all day long....a process....a sequence of daily "events" in the job she does...if you are going to do a story of someone, you do not need to photograph everything they do...three strong photographs of some of the things she does is way better than ten photographs of "process"....

"day in the life of" essays on one person are always tricky...difficult to do...the classic "Day in the Life of a Country Doctor" by W. Eugene Smith should be studied....Smith's essay works because of the relationship between this doctor and his patients....we can see clearly in this essay the emotional context of his dedication ...

"Carmen" is a more difficult essay, because without your words, or rather Tatiana's words, i am not sure we would comprehend exactly why we are seeing pictures of Carmen...with Smith's country doctor , it is obvious and clear what is going on...without any captions whatsoever we would see a doctor with patients....his exhaustion...his caring...his environment...a truly classic "picture story"...

with Carmen, we just do not really know what is going on in quite the same way...yes, good pictures...but it is hard to tell exactly what you are trying to tell us about Carmen except that she cleans...goes to work...comes home...i do not see any other emotional response from her to you or you to us....you will need more than this to make us "care" as much as you do....yes yes we can read about her situation, but it must come across visually as well...

i do not want to curb your enthusiasm for this subject....but your energy and enthusiasm need to be well placed....as i have said many times here on this forum, not all things that are "important" make a strong essay...you have to pick and choose very wisely how you spend your time...in any case, do hang out some more with Carmen...see if you can find something else in her life that will make us take notice...some sort of "moment" between her and who she works for.(this is key).or a better vision of her relationships at home or with friends.... and then this interest will make the viewers of your work care about Carmen as do you and Tatiana...

you must take this from photo "exercise" to essay...no small task...

my best wishes always to both you and Tatiana...i hope we will meet again soon....

cheers, david

[bobblack]

PATRICIA :)))))

I totally know what you mean :))))...here's what i've tried (i emphasize try) to do for last 4 months: only check into the blog 3 times a day (while at school) and now more than 15 minutes :)))...and only once/twice during weekend (marina would kill me)...i had to do that too, around May, too much shit to do with writing and pic making..so; TOTALLY UNDERSTAND :))))...cold turkey is always the best (and the most painful): russian proverb:

sometimes the wolf must chew its leg off in order to save it's life when trapped

(though you're the kindest "wolf" i know ;)))))))) )...

we love u and ur'e a major energy source too...so dont disappear:

as marina says: "keep david and that place inside your heart and head but dont make it your home" ;)))))

love and hugs
b

[david alan harvey]

JENNY....

this a way off of my area of expertise, but yes many American women do take the family name of the husband after marriage....

but, certainly not all...

i have no idea what percentage do and what percentage don't...and some just add the family name of the husband after their own family name...it is just totally personal choice...

in the case of Amanda and Scooter, two very independent characters, i have no idea why Amanda chose to take Scooter's family name...but, for sure, i do not think any form of "ownership" would be implied !!!...quite the contrary...Amanda is one very strong woman and not to be "owned" by Scooter!!!! maybe she just likes Halladay better than Pitts!!!

cheers, david

[bobblack]

ALL:

Last night i finally had a chance to look at and read Jonas Bendiksen's remarkable and magisterial new book THE PLACES WE LIVE

http://www.amazon.com/Places-We-Live-Philip-Gourevitch/dp/1597110671/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1220011301&sr=8-1

Without a doubt, one of the most beautiful and profound books i've had the pleasure to spend time with in a long long time. It goes without saying that the photographs are stunning (and i've looked at many of them over and over and over over the last 4 years as Jonas has worked on this project and shown/published the pics)...but, the entirety and the design of the book are just remarkable (small, hand size, with fold out pages like an accordian, a long frieze-like format that offers a panoramic view of the inside of people's homes, with remarkable text, the voices of the people Jonas has photographed)...

this will be short. ...god damned, is that a beautiful and profound book. Wow, so so beautiful and powerful. Of course, it goes without saying that i love the photographs also the design, so much love love the design with the fold out pages and the text of their voices....but, what i love about the work is in the end WHAT THE PHOTOGRAPHS AND WHAT THE DESIGN ACCOMPLISH...

it's difficult work, heart-breaking work, but it is entirely different that one would expect for a project on the world's great slums...yes, it is pitiful (not the people, but what we have done as a species to one another) the conditions that these folk have to endure, but there isn't pity in Jona's work, in fact,, the opposite: celebration of their courage and humanity and endurance...

and there is, remarkable enough, joy in the lives and in some of these photographs...a stunning and difficult complexity to see unfold...

there is so much honor and respect and grace in these pictures and in the way the work is shown and designed and in the way Jonas photographs and chooses to tell us their stories...

Since the book deals with the horrible and tragic squalor of their lives and the poverty, it would be so simple to "condescendingly" (even out of compassion) to depict these people and their lives with deep sorrow and nihilism. But, the book celebrates them for their courage and humanity and even the "joy" that is still contained in them. Don't get me wrong, the pain of this book is tremendous and profound but it is painful and humbling because you do say "look at these poor pitiful creatures." the pictures say: "look at these people, they are the same as you" it is an extraordinary and profound book...and i love everthing about it and hope it drops into has many people's palms as possible...and i hope, for god's sake, someday we can arrest the need for such work...

it broke my heart...

I am sure Milo and "his peers" will fee emmense pride and love for you and this small, in-the-hand size gift....

i recommend each of you spend some time with this book...

running away for the weekend
b

[erica mcdonald]

DAH

so nice to hear from you again, and that mom is 'back'..best of luck with your Perp decision, we need you strong..

PATRICIA

I almost emailed you to say ..where are you?.. but then I knew. I understand; do you know that studies have shown that our brains and body chemistry respond to 'virtual' friends as if they are real, meaning that a tv show like 'Friends', when watched regularly, can provide someone with a sense of being nurtured and part of something beyond one's self. Sort of scary and touching at the same time..

Here, many of us have moved beyond the virtual connections and have made in-person relationships as well. We share common interests, and have one heck of a guide helping us to grow as photographers. All good things..

The balance must be there though, agreed. For me, if I am scanning and alone anyway for the day, this place is without question a life asset..and even when I am not scanning I am here at least some, usually over waking up, winding down.. but I wouldn't want it to keep me from having an 'outside' life.

Truth be told, it isn't this place I am concerned with, it is photography in general. I often say I need more life in my life, simply because a majority of my experiences come from the fact that I am a photographer, and very little room is left for aspects beyond that if I am 'head down'. Always being 'on', even though it is for something I love, makes me feel isolated in the long run.

Yesterday, I felt this strongly, and went right to the park with the dogs..I was alone still, but found healing in some yoga on the grass among the trees. Then I spent the day picking up negatives, and then went to the spa for some rejuvenation. It's been a bit frustrating having my last week of possible shooting dwindle away because I have not been able to secure help..but I should have 2 days that I can shoot before I end. And having scanned the 4x5 (preview scans), things are all a bit in a tumult of new information and thought. Just when I thought I'd be 'power shooting' for my last week, I am scanning, thinking..and yesterday I started to lose focus and direction, hence the self rescue mission.

This photo life is all consuming at times, and as much as the Road Trip aspect must be 'managed' in moderation, I do think it is one of the places that in the larger picture will help balance the solitary component of being a photographer.

That's one long winded way of saying I am happiest in this context when I embrace the benefits of community here, and also take time to see the world through a non photographic lens.

[Gina Martin]

BOB

I love Marina's quote... "keep david and that place inside your heart and head but dont make it your home"

ERICA

yes, make sure you don't always have you "head down"... we all need life in our life....

PATRICIA

i totally understand and can see how it happens.... i have not been here long, but know that YOU are one important voice and person in this family.

[david alan harvey]

BOB...

yes, and the really interesting point is made by Jonas also that in the next 50 years there will be more people living in slums than otherwise....something like 75% of the world will live in slums....unreal...

[david alan harvey]

GINA...

as you well know, i never had any intention, nor have any intention, of somehow taking up anyone's time, particularly when they should be photographing instead of looking at a computer screen....computers, like cars, can be useful, can be destructive..

by fate we have a very interesting family here....but, like any family , sometimes one member or the other takes a walk in the woods...perfect, fine, normal, desired....all you ever want to do is to provide an environment where a "family member" will want to come back, not out of obligation, but because that is just where they want to be....

BUT, i will stand by the actual WORK done here on this forum...

first of all, the forum itself is publishable..book to be...

second, your assignments have been shown, will be shown more and a fine exhibit and/or publication will come out of these too...

third, i am producing too...i could not do this, if i was not doing that...i am doing lots of photography right now...you are not seeing it, but you will...

point is: we are all doing it!!!!

cheers, david

[david alan harvey]

ERICA....

the one thing i would love to discuss more and more and more is how all of us can in fact not have "personal life " in one place and "professional life" in another...that is, after all, my primary mantra...roll it all together....

[Ana Yturralde]

DAVID,

so great that your mom is back at home feeling better. A warm hug to you all!! Now, just enjoy, be happy, sleep, rest, live.... and get enough energy for Perpignan! we will handle it ;-)

By the way, I will drive by car to Perpignan on wednesday and you said you will fly to Barcelona and drive from there on wednesday too. As I will pass by Barcelona, I can pick you up at the airport and give you a ride to Perpignan. Just confirm me if you need it. It will be a pleasure to drive you there! (you can rest/sleep in the car) :D

Looking forward to seeying you all!

Ana

[bobblack]

DAVID :))

YES, that's the frightening point...and I saw he thankED "DAVID ALAN HARVEY" :)))...like u were at the top of the list :)))...

running y'all
bob

[david alan harvey]

ANA...

yes, i will need a ride....but, are you coordinated with Luis Montolio??? i think he his coming too from Valencia...more importantly, i would love a ride back to Barcelona if possible...i can always rent a car, but seems like wasted energy if we all end up driving to the same place....i cannot remember my return time/date right now, but will let you know soonest...

[bobblack]

DAVID/GINA/ALL:

Just to make sure everyone knows (by what i meant and what Marina quote meant):

David is in our hearts, a part of our life, as is this blog (for me), but it is important to make sure that this blog inspires you, feeds you, teaches you and helps you create real relationships, and as David writes, REAL WORK! :)))...

im excited to share with you soon Bones (hell, i even dreamed about it last light, the dream: everything was shit!...and some were in color ;)) ), but first, im gonna send some of it to david after this weekend...

so, i didnt mean to suggest that this Road Trip isn't a "home", it is, and a really helpful and loving and inspiring one...but just make sure that, like the best of families, it helps you enough to grow and to leave it, someday, in order to raise your own family :))))...

it's a rare rare place, rare...and part of that is how david has created it...

that he and the blog have generated REAL WORK is the most important aspect...i've written a long poem/essay and submitted it to foto8 for publication that was written specificially for 2 people here: David and Rene...

ok, now, gotta run for real...good weekend y'all

b

[david bowen]

david - great news that things have improved..

excellent... just that.

not sure you will have seen the post or my email - 'divided soul' received.. it's blown me away.. an excellent read.. i have my individual fav's and some sectiosn which i ponder more.. love your words as well.. REAL<>

muchas thanks mi amigo.. it's very special of you to have run the comp.. superb stuff.

charles..

great blog..
i've begun to look at prams more like cars, the relative merits of suspension.. air tyres.. we have a storming great one and i hardly want to wait for 6 weeks.. i want to stick a sack of potatoes into it and try the pram out NOW

patricia..

hello :o)
hello..

[david bowen]

david, bob, all..

it's true - this place isn't real.. and it also is..
friendships are growing along with work.. blending inspiration with real care and some snappy work to boot.. a great place..

[david bowen]

GUI

F*CKIN, TANKS MAN..
always a pleasure when someone is driven to swear with joy from looking at my snaps.. thanks for the comment on 'decade' blog...

[erica mcdonald]

DAVID

It would be really helpful to hear from you (more and more and more) about this non-division of photo/personal lives (undivided soul?)..I would like to, NEED to, move to a place photographically where the project is so much a natural extension of myself that it then becomes what I was talking about earlier, the 'important' work, that is personally meaningful and satisfying in a way that as of now I am only approaching. When I am shooting, I am in it 100%, and it simply makes no sense to spend all of my life, my days, my money, my breath and energy on anything short of a life of unified purpose..perhaps you can speak to this in a thread soon?

[Ana Yturralde]

DAVID,

Just talked with Luis. He will pick you up at the airport in Barcelona. I probably will go later in the day but it may be a chance I go with him, depends on work.... About the ride back, don't worry because either Luis or me can drive you (depending on the day you need to go) so you won't have to rent a car ;-)

Hasta pronto!

Ana

[erica mcdonald]

AND

another bit of the question/discussion..

DAH, I'd love to hear you talk about the part of always being 'head down' (though that isn't the best description, maybe locked on -like a beloved pit bull!- or eyes straight ahead or..), always being 'on' and always seeing the world 'through a photographic lens'.

For example, I found there was a time when I consciously forced myself to stop making eye contact with people on the street, and to start reading on the subway..otherwise, I was always searching people's eyes, watching the way they move, I was energetically engaging, embracing, and embodying them the stranger with whom I never spoke, even when I was without the camera and not actively out to shoot. The thing I do when I am shooting, I was doing always, without rest, and that's me, I love it, it's part of how I learn and grow, but it was as if I were drugged and I never totally was just with people without a glimmer of me being the watcher, the photographer..and there is something in this that feels insincere, as if I have an agenda...

[Sidney Atkins]

BOB, DAVID, and ALL

Jonas Bendiksen is by far my favorite of the younger Magnum photographers, and his book 'The Places We Live' is a really important contribution. I've mentioned this before here, but my previous 'career' (if you can cal it that) was as a geography-international-environmental studies researcher and teacher based in Japan, and my current 'day job' work includes a lot of translating and editing for an Asian urban studies institute based in Osaka that deals with exactly the kinds of problems so vividly shown in Jonas Bendiksen's work. The facts and figures on urbanization and slums, especially in Asia, are nothing new to me, but the photographs tell the story with far more immediacy, far more humanity, and far more nuance than any stack of research reports or policy papers. Photography is a terrific tool, maybe the single most powerful tool, for communicating these kinds of realities of our world.

The new planetary civilization that is emerging in these slums represents the mainstream future of our world. It's important to understand their reality and their dynamics. They may appear to be places of heartbreak and abandonment from one point of view, but they are also places of hope, of opportunities, of tremendous energy and creativity. They evolve and change, often in surprising ways, if allowed to. Government policies for dealing with them are almost always antiquated, discriminatory, and counter-productive. I believe Jonas' work is a tremendous addition to our knowledge and awareness and I hope it will be very widely seen and appreciated.

[david bowen]

D A H

DAM in Palestine for your info - from writer ciara leeming who's traveling there.. looks like they will hook up and work..
info@ciaraleeming.co.uk

you needed their address to send the book.. here it is..

Tamer Nafar
Hashmonaim 2/4
Lod 71208
Israel
Tel. 1 972 8 9251 304
Email dam48r@gmail.com

[cathy scholl]

DAVID, PATRICIA, AND ALL,

I can totally relate to the all-consuming nature of this blog. I would LOVE to look at each link and reply to every comment that touches me but it would require giving up shooting, editing and/or other things that I am COMMITTED to. So good time to discuss this...while we're on the subject of COMMITMENT. One must remember their priorities. If I sit around all day discussing everyone elses photography, I get nowhere with my own. My own photography MUST come first.

I've been here from the start, I will continue to be an active member of this community... so know I'm with you even if you don't see me around. :)) Keep shooting everyone!

[herve]

something like 75% of the world will live in slums
----------------

Not saying you do, David, but it is very important fo us "1st worlders" not to impose our own definitions and how things should not be or should be, and what a word (like slum) implies absolutely. Much of the failures that happened with development aid in the hard bitten regions of the world comes from thinking uni-dimensionally, with a manichean mentality on the part of the donors.

This mentality, and that of seeing victims automatically, if our own standards are not met, is much more complex, and riddled with (as Bob sees in Jonas's work), life-affirming daily moments from which we can also take example, if on a different level of having a steel and cement roof over our heads.

Just a thought.

[herve]

Sorry, last paragraph is badly written. I meant "this mentality" fails to see things are always much more complex to comprehend...