pictures to prove it™

interestingly i know a few of the people in this collection and i haven’t heard any of them mention it. maybe being on the other side of the lens is a bit too difficult for them to share.

photographers in conflict is a collection of portraits and interviews of several contemporary photographers who have covered areas of conflict. the collection is impressive, including; shaul schwarz, marco di lauro,ben lowy, bruno stevens, samantha appleton and many others.

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In the aftermath of Abu Ghraib and the Tsunami, a cross-section of 32 photographers were invited in sit for a portrait by the artists Goran Galic and Gian-Reto Gredig, into a Spartan, black painted studio, in order to capture their still portraits and video interviews. By isolating the photojournalists and placing them in front of their camera, Galic and Gredig reverse the asymmetrical power relationship between photographer and subject, and explore the self-perception of the photographers.

Cheryl Jacobs (Nicolai).

i stumbled onto Cheryl Jacobs’ website when someone (thanks Praveen) posted it to one of the many listserves to which i belong to. she photographs children primarily, but seems to dabble in photographing faces of all ages.

her work is… ummm… lovely. classic. beautiful. personal. soulful. joyous.i could add to the list for the rest of the afternoon, but i think she’d be better represented if you just took a look at her images yourself.

the images are simple and honest in a way that you know will stand the test of time. and that should be enough to inspire you to take a look at them, but the most powerful pixels on her site are the ones in this post that she used to launch her blog. i’ve copied them below.

(she and i dont really photograph the same things, but her ideas ring true in my ear. i think they are applicable for anyone who wants to use a camera, regardless of subject matter)

“What Every Aspiring Photographer Should Know

These are my thoughts, nothing more and nothing less.

I get asked all the time, during workshops, in e-mails, in private messages, what words of wisdom I would give to a new and aspiring photographer. Here’s my answer.

- Style is a voice, not a prop or an action. If you can buy it, borrow it, download it, or steal it, it is not a style. Don’t look outward for your style; look inward.

- Know your stuff. Luck is a nice thing, but a terrifying thing to rely on. It’s like money; you only have it when you don’t need it.

- Never apologize for your own sense of beauty. Nobody can tell you what you should love. Do what you do brazenly and unapologetically. You cannot build your sense of aesthetics on a concensus.

- Say no. Say it often. It may be difficult, but you owe it to yourself and your clients. Turn down jobs that don’t fit you, say no to overbooking yourself. You are no good to anyone when you’re stressed and anxious.

- Learn to say “I’m a photographer” out loud with a straight face. If you can’t say it and believe it, you can’t expect anyone else to, either.

- You cannot specialize in everything.

- You don’t have to go into business just because people tell you you should! And you don’t have to be full time and making an executive income to be successful. If you decide you want to be in business, set your limits before you begin.

- Know your style before you hang out your shingle. If you don’t, your clients will dictate your style to you. That makes you nothing more than a picture taker. Changing your style later will force you to start all over again, and that’s tough.

- Accept critique, but don’t apply it blindly. Just because someone said it does not make it so. Critiques are opinions, nothing more. Consider the advice, consider the perspective of the advice giver, consider your style and what you want to convey in your work. Implement only what makes sense to implement. That doesn’t not make you ungrateful, it makes you independent.

- Leave room for yourself to grow and evolve. It may seem like a good idea to call your business “Precious Chubby Tootsies”….but what happens when you decide you love to photograph seniors? Or boudoir?

- Remember that if your work looks like everyone else’s, there’s no reason for a client to book you instead of someone else. Unless you’re cheaper. And nobody wants to be known as “the cheaper photographer”.

- Gimmicks and merchandise will come and go, but honest photography is never outdated.

- It’s easier to focus on buying that next piece of equipment than it is to accept that you should be able to create great work with what you’ve got. Buying stuff is a convenient and expensive distraction. You need a decent camera, a decent lens, and a light meter. Until you can use those tools consistently and masterfully, don’t spend another dime. Spend money on equipment ONLY when you’ve outgrown your current equipment and you’re being limited by it. There are no magic bullets.

- Learn that people photography is about people, not about photography. Great portraits are a side effect of a strong human connection.

- Never forget why you started taking pictures in the first place. Excellent technique is a great tool, but a terrible end product. The best thing your technique can do is not call attention to itself. Never let your technique upstage your subject.

- Never compare your journey with someone else’s. It’s a marathon with no finish line. Someone else may start out faster than you, may seem to progress more quickly than you, but every runner has his own pace. Your journey is your journey, not a competition. You will never “arrive”. No one ever does.

- Embrace frustration. It pushes you to learn and grow, broadens your horizons, and lights a fire under you when your work has gone cold. Nothing is more dangerous to an artist than complacency.”

- Cheryl Jacobs

Alex Mason sent me a link to this photo of this girl’s halloween costume. i agree with him, it is brilliance. If you know this girl, tell her she should date Alex. he is very good looking and a for reals track star.

On his blog Dallas based shooter Jensen Walker has posted a video showing how he gets things done. you can peep it here. it’s almost enough to make me wish i photographed pretty girls.

“Have you seen a truly awful piece of Photoshop work? Clumsy manipulation, senseless comping, lazy cloning and thoughtless retouching are our bread and butter. And yes, deep down, we love Photoshop.”
- photoshop disasters

this site has been around for awhile, but only recently has it become one of my fav resources. there are so many goodies tucked away on this site. it’ll make you giggle and it’ll make you look at photos a little more closely.

not that i want to pick on Annie Liebowitz (cause it seems every magazine i stumble onto has some comment on her financial woes) but this photo of husband and wife Sam Mendes and Kate Winslet boggles me. with so many eyes on the production through publication of this, how did THIS happen?

i love the photo, or the concept of the photo. maybe she didnt sleep enough. that is usually my problem. i think she needs a week of RnR or maybe a solid spa day. im sure she has had a lot on her mind, but are the editors that work with her so in awe of her that they would let this pass? did they praise it?

curious eh? you can see some video of the shoot HERE. it’s funny that it isnt really a composite because they weren’t together, someone had just decided that they didn’t like him in a jacket i guess. she is famous for convincing people to take their clothes off in her photo shoots. maybe now she just tries to do it in photoshop.

HERE you can see how Vanity Fair ran it online.

the light cage is a really interesting way to visualize what light placement will achieve.

(via shamus)

im not one of those people.

me as photographed by ben lowy

ben was here for the past couple weeks. he made some pics of me and he put them on his blog. he has just started doing these multiframe portraits. id dig em. peep it.

As the unit photographer on the “Watchmen” movie set, Clay Enos saw an opportunity to shoot more than just publicity stills. He also shot his first book…

(from PDN)

Some sweet frames of Hollywood’s elite by Paolo Pellegrin.

yeah, ok, maybe i got that wrong.

they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but when does it become distasteful or criminal?

this is so blatant that is really sad. read about it here.