still life

many of you have asked how books get developed in the first place......there is a curiosity if one takes a stack of photographs taken over a long period of time and decides to put it together as a book or if one thinks of a concept and then goes out and shoots....

i have done it both ways....i was at least 8 years into shooting the spanish diaspora before i realized maybe i should do a book ("Divided Soul"- Phaidon)..i then worked five years more...but i was 8 days in cuba and i realized i could do  a book immediately ("Cuba"-National Geographic)..i then worked 3 years  more....it is impossible to say how any particular book develops, because there are too many variables....i have also had some "amazing" book ideas, done the layout and then dropped the whole idea....and i have done a few commissioned books which really end up being nowhere near on the level of a personal book and ultimately not as rewarding....the hip hop book coming now ("Living Proof" - Powerhouse) is a direct spin-off of an  assignment  from National Geographic...i  did some personal shooting on this after the  assignment was over, but the bulk  was  funded  by the magazine...

every photographer i  know does  it differently and possibly differently with each book he or  she does...abbas, for  example,  for his  "Islam" book must  have  done dozens of short self assigned  essays until finally he had a book in hand...susan meiselas was working with grant money to do her epic "Kurds" book  which was  a complex project  making her as much curator and editor as photographer...alex webb  combined assignments and personal work together over three years to do his new "Istanbul"..most photographers who  do significant books just flat out figure out  a way...some way....any way...and each "way" is a whole new experience....most also put significant amounts of their own finances into books....and books generally do not directly bring in income...to do a book you must drop everything else....which is why i had cheerios for lunch  and yesterday's pad thai for dinner this evening....

now, you can see i am fooling around my building...starting to think that maybe this building is some kind of microcosm of new york...a changing new york...not many places like this left here in the city and this one will change drastically soon or could be bulldozed into dust...a symbol of urban development....i love to photographed things which are changing....icons that will not be around or not be the same ever again....

so, i am sketching....thinking.....not working too much....i just shoot a little on my breaks from doing so many other things...i have to hang my show tomorrow, so i am in total panic mode...so, this work is just my little "hobby" or stress release for the moment..maybe that is all it will ever be....

today i just shot these "still life" images....i hardly ever do either landscapes or still life pictures  but sometimes i am in the mood...in this case, i am thinking to mix  "building " pictures with  "people" pictures....so, if you want to know how i  think about projects you are witnessing it right now....

Comments

[Rafal Pruszynski (jinju)]

I wonder what you think creates a better book though. It seems like the first route (shooting over a long time and gathering things together) might provide more varied work but the second route would yield work that was tighter and hung together better. Im curious about your opinion.

[Martin]

David

Thanks for answer :)

That is amazing you realized a book about Cuba in 8 days, because I’m going on this island on November for 2 weeks and my firs thought was, could I make a book in that short time? we’ll see. It depends on quality of photos.
Now I have a dilemma because I don’t know which your book I should buy. First thought was “divided soul”, but now I thing it will be “cuba”.

Working for book is excellent experience. But is only one problem “full focus”. I think that I need 100% attention.
And another problem- ambitious
If I don’t have great photos I will leave this project.
Well first of all this is for fun, for joy and style of life. One camera 6x6 older than me, and little m6, b&w films, and life.
We’ll see…

I’m scathing too. I have a thousands stupid pictures in my archive , but someday this stupid photos could get meaning. But can it plea only?

Martin

[Aga Luczakowska]

wow! i didn't know "Cuba" is from only 8 days of shooting :-)

[David]

no, no.....big mis-understanding!!! sorry....no cuba was not shot in 8 days!!! i just knew i "had a book" in me in 8 days...had it in the sense of knowing i could do a book...

it took me almost 3 years of many trips to cuba to do that book....

it usually takes me 8 days to take one picture!!!

[Nick Yoon]

david, i can just see this turning into internet "wisdom" - david alan harvey shot his cuba book in only 8 days - he said so himself!

[Martin]

3 years... i should know this is mistake...
But hope was in me... ech...
14 days...

Martin

[bobblack]

David: your a cyclone of incomparable energy...:))))...im a writer and photographer too and i can't imagine how to manage to write so much (and helpful to others to boot ;)) each day on all your blogs :)))))...u need to be awarded a Nobel for giving back ;))))...

cheers,
bb

[ArchiVue]

The "Genus loci" book... That's one I could buy and keep and share.
I hope you'll do it... Someday!
No rush, just recording that subtle "mélange" of a building and it's hosts for the time being...
A sort of Cuba on a much smaller scale...

I'd like to see it, really !
Best wishes,
Jacques

[David]

rafal...

this is a good question..one of the problems i had when i went to do the layout for "Divided Soul" was that i had worked on it so so long, that my style changed while doing this work and so i threw out a lot of the older work...not all of it, but a lot of it...

working for a shorter time could indeed produce a tighter book..my new book "Living Proof" was shot in a very short time really...it is not so "photographic" but it is tight....

martin parr only spends about 2 weeks on anything...therefore he has 40 books!! good ones and not so good ones..but, in his case all together they are a significant body of work...he basically publishes his "sketches"...it works for him...it might not work for someone else..

all of this totally depends on your subject and what your intentions happen to be....probably overall i would say that "intensity" is the main thing...this would lead me to believe that the ideal project would involve lots of intensity for as long as you could keep it going....if the intensity dies, you are finished with that project....but you can create intensity..i will write about THAT someday soon!!!!

martin...

you are one of my original and most loyal readers...i always enjoy your comments and i do hope we will meet someday...

after all, i have this nice little Polish group here, so we do have to figure out some meeting point sometime...

what do you think??

bob...

well, i am humbled by your comment...i have no idea where all this writing comes from...it just shows up.....i am trying not to think about it much....that would ruin everything!!!

jacques...

i will just have to see how it goes...everything is very instinctive for me now.....i will just have to try to keep it that way....

good night everyone....you guys sometimes keep up too late!!!

peace, david

[Martin]

David

I’m surprised myself I’m still here, because I’m person who always keep self alone, little far etc. but you are one of my three masters. You meet Cartier-Bresson, you know how is to talk with “master”. But I’m not a person who like authority, so I just always enjoy your comments too. And I hope we meet someday too.

Meeting point?

New York? ha ha ha

You mean in Europe in Poland?
England is one of our province now ha ha ha
so maybe in London? We have cheap fly now.
Krakow?

I hope this “province” it has offended nobody from our friends from GB.

Martin

[Akaky]

David Alan Harvey shot "Cuba" in 8 days...wow, it's not often I get in on the ground floor of an urban legend. Photography students are going to be arguing about that one for years to come!
;-)

[Einars O]

I think seeing more photos of your place would be very interesting. Living spaces are always so intimate and the place you live seems like it's full of character. From the photos you posted and that one which one of your female students took while staying at your place while you were traveling, I would definitely think it's worth exploring. I have many photos of where I live, and even places where I have just slept one night, heh.

[Michael A Shapiro]

Hello David, This is a great blog. It is wonderful to hear how you work and how things happen.

I first heard (saw) about you in the NG field guide about 5 years ago or so. What you had to say was inspiring then, and this blog is, now.

Almost 2 years ago at an NPPA thing, I got Bill Maar to look at my only copy of my first book, on the Inuit. He tore me to shreds. Since then, the book has sat on a shelf under boxes of prints.

Meanwhile, after printing up and starting to distribute some books of Paris Photos, I'm thinking I need to get that Inuit work looked at somewhere and to get someone looking at some work I did on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Is it ok to put my website address in here? I hope so. www.michaelashapiro.com.

I would appreciate you looking at what's there.

Again, your open door is wonderfully encouraging.

[david alan harvey]

michael...

i just had a brief look at your site which looks terrific...i will try to have a closer look soonest...