It better happen again because there are guys like me who never pass up a good party, and shouldn’t have missed this!!

yes yes… yet again a testimony that things turn ‘real’ around here…

“Round here we always stand up straight…
Round here something radiates”

i do believe too that we are all setting things in motion… big things… little things… and we all are part of it… the energy that radiates…

the stories and reports of everyone being there softened my pain of not being able to be there… thank you all for that.

and i am sure more will happen. much more. oh yes.

anton

ok over here in europe where it’s dark and stormy and cloudy my comment sounded more ‘in place’ :))))))

sorry for that, suffering from a case of post-posting-regret :)))

peace
anton

the first picture shows me, that it looks like a book heaven…
the second shows a celebration is going on…
the third shows a family…

not war hospital…

regards
suryo

never say never again David … never the same, of course, but never never :)) truly sorry I wasn’t there and I have to ask, did you and the group have time to brainstorm on next collective steps, if any?

yassus, tom

Want to be sure Preston sees this…

PRESTON

My apologies, friend! After all you did for me–carrying me up & down the stairs & taking fabulous pics with my camera–and I STILL misnamed you in last night’s exhausted posting of pics. I know your name and can’t understand where “Prescott” came from! Please forgive.

hugs & kisses
Petunia (you can now misname ME)

P.S. Thanks, Erica, for setting the record straight!

I was the mysterious man in the corner drinking Diet Pepsi

Patricia,
Did you know that KIM ,
already has an amazing book???

GINA, thank you for introducing
me to KIM
:-)

Erica, Patricia, Panos, David

Your words and pictures make me feel thas i was part of it so let me tell you thank you.
David you are the best i hope to see you soon
adios

ALL

It’s 2:15 p.m. here in Detroit & I’m still in my jammies working on pics from the weekend. In the midst of a lots of snapshots–many of them pretty poor–this amazing photograph appeared. It’s of Paul Fusco showing his slides of the Chernobl Legacy. I wanted to share it right away, but, don’t worry, more pics will be appearing as the day goes on…

http://www.pbase.com/image/104174478

It is best seen in the original size. Look beneath the image to where it says “other sizes” and click on “original.”

Patricia

Panos

Safe journey, dear one.

love
Patricia

Patricia,
Keep the photos coming…
Please… We all need to see more,
more , more… Photos..
I promise I will do the same..
Later…
A Boeing 747 is waiting for me..
Mike C & Diego…and sweet Paola…
What can say… I don’t know how much
help I was , but I tried hard to work
as a team..
You guys are the best..
Ok…
Flying..
Panos

Hilary…
Nice meeting you in C/Ville

HILLARY

Welcome to the family! I can tell by your words and the spirit that shines through them that you will be a real gift to us here. I long to look at your work but must continue my feverish attempt to prepare & post my photos from the past weekend. As soon as that is done I’ll come visiting.

Patricia

THANKS THANKS THANKS TO ALL..

Tor rocks like bamboo.. gurgling little beauty that he is..
i will read all reports and comments..

just celebrating my sons 12th birth-hour with a strawberry milkshake for me and some milky bubbles for him..

wiull reply to all more fuller later..
x

patricia..

your photos of the weekend are superb.. captioned is even better.

love ya.

DAVID B.

Congrats. It’s gonna be a wild ride!
Glad to see you still have time (and enough sleep) to be here. :))

ERICA,
Thanks for the report! Very well made.
Had a look at your website yesterday and there really is some amazing work.

DAVID BOWEN,
Congrats! sure you’re going to do a very good job!

ALL

Thank you for the amazing feedback that you benefited from my report..I am very happy to have been able to share..

PANOS

I appreciate the apology, but I think it doesn’t matter how many readers are or aren’t lurking, this still isn’t the place for drunken, obnoxious, sexually charged posts, especially about me..

OK, Buddies, fiesta is over, back to work…Honest critiques….. Not addressed to any new father, needless say!

Hillary, I think many of us grapple with that “problem”, taking any light for granted, it’s a tough nut to crack to own that too in a shot and make it ours. It does not have to matter always, but that is what struck me looking at your shots. The wonderful duo of the 2 boys in cowboy hats is a case in point:

http://hillaryatiyeh.com/Image.cfm?nK=6102&i=69235

Light is indifferent (or put another way, you are indifferent to the light), and I am not sure you meant the sharpest focus on the second kid behind. But I think it’s a very photographic image (its merit coming from being a photograph, not a mere subject or capture), and a good choice of. I am sure you can bounce and contrast it a bit with PS. Try mono too.

Not telling you to do anything, really, Hillary, just my way to convey my thoughts.

My first time blogging. I promise to be more succinct after this one!

Home again after the experience that was DAH ‘At Home’. My body is more weary than I can ever remember and yet I’m filled with a feeling of being so damned ALIVE it’s ridiculous. David was right in saying ‘something special’ happened this past week – although I suspect that ‘something special’ happens most everywhere DAH and his electric traveling circus pitch their tents.

DAH, thank you for your spirit and generosity. You are a man among men and your open-hearted approach to sharing with others is rare. Not only do you share your vision, your experience, your advice, your connections and your home with all who care to connect and learn from you, but you share yourself too – and that is something special indeed. What you are creating here will go down in the history books and if there is any way I can help you take this thing to the next level I would love to do that. I’ll send an email separately with some thoughts as soon as I’m able.

MIKE, DIEGO, PAOLA & MARIE – thank you all for your incredible hard work in making the workshop happen so smoothly. You’re like the little energizer bunnies – going non-stop behind the scenes yet always there to help or answer our questions and always with a smile. It’s been great to get to know you even a little bit (and apologies again for the pitiful pool playing). Thank you too for returning my couch!

MY WORKSHOP BUDDIES – I will write to each of you separately but will say now that I am already looking forward to our reunion in Perpignon – 09. You made the workshop experience so rich for me – I look forward to visiting you in your countries and hosting you in mine when you make it down under. (Kristen, can we start NYC apartment hunting now?)

ERIC V – thank you for sharing your work and your vision with us, and most of all for your encouragement on all matters related to following one’s passion in life. I’m about to get back in the river and it’s so exciting I feel lit up from the inside out! I do hope our paths cross again.

THE DAH BLOGGING CREW – I was so happy to meet so many of you! Lance, Panos, Patricia, Lee, Bob, Erica, Marina and everyone else I met but *may* have been too beer-impaired to connect with the blog — it’s been lovely to put faces and personalities to the names! And what better way to see in a birthday than sitting around David’s loft, weary but happy, sharing stories and anecdotes with the likes of this group? PRICELESS!

Now as I prepare to return to some form of my ‘normal’ life, I can only encourage the ‘lurkers’ and regular bloggers who have not yet done a workshop with DAH to do it now! It is but a tiny investment that will repay itself a thousand times over in an experience you will carry with you for a lifetime.

AKAKY – were you really there? should we quiz about the night to know if you were really standing in the corner watching???

ALL:

In honor of Sister Erica’s reportage, i shall follow suit her own style….

Part 1:

This morning, it is cool and my bones are filled with a tender, autumnal crick, an ache that is born of both exhaustion of the body and a small, tickling exhaustion of the hum of my heart. I awake this morning at 5:00 am. and find myself unable to sleep, post-NYC/Harvey trip. I lay in my bed for 45 minutes listening to the deep and satisfied breathing of my dreaming wife and as i follow, like my daily meditation, her inhalations and exhalations, i begin to replay the previous 2 1/2 days and i feel divested, as if pulled lightly from the womb of god. Happy to be home, happy to have extended our home to New York and all those who i genuinely now hold, tooth embedded in jaw, inside my body like family and flame. I am sweetly exhausted from the trip, and satisfied that we’d done all we could do and met all we could have met and yet there is a lingering sadness inside me. I call this the ache of love.

It would be impossible for me to recount how intense and wonderful our trip was for all of you because it was indeed, as it was for many of the workshop students, bloggers, guests, a remarkably emotional trip and encounter. For me, there was much at stage, for my trip was just not about getting together for the Harvey Fiesta and Harvey blog, for this trip also meant the future of my family, the future and direction of our art and the very real and practical things Marina and I had to do in order to pull up and away from the difficulty that we’ve had to endure the last year and a half. this trip was as much about my family life as it was about the life of my relationship with my “online” family. Many people, including David, Panos, Lance and Sister Erica (the 4 of whom I spent the most time with), had no idea at what was at stake. You see, Marina and I had not had a real trip together in more than a year. We’d broke off our relationship with the gallery that showed our work, we stopped my photo projection project (which nearly ended my life as a photographer), and changed our life in the most profound way. On top of this, I felt real pressure to make this trip worthwhile for Marina. To help her talk to galleries, to get others to see her beautiful work. In truth, i tried not to think of my own work, or Bones, for my goal was to focus on simpler issues than photography

I had very little expectations about the fiesta, about David, about the bloggers. You see, as I told Erica, I seldom “judge” people and i seldom rely or put too much emphasis on “impressions” or my own “thoughts” about people. I am too old, at 40, to worry about much of that. I had heard a lot of stories about David Alan Harvey, on the blog, from friends, from people i’d met in Toronto and in truth I didnt really listen or countenance any of them. Many people here have seen our “friendship” grow on the blog. What many people did not know is that David and I have written many letters to one another, had spoken on the phone, and I felt safe and happy and already comfortable with David. David once told me on the phone, “bob, do you think we’ll like each other in person.”….i told him,…well, i think so, because i already loved david for everthing he was, his greatness and his failings, just as I felt that David had accepted me and marina for our greatness and our failings (no, i aint great, that would be Marina). So, when David and i met and got that first, deep, rich chest to chest loving hug and I heard david’s baritone laughter, which for a moment also sounded like a burst of sobs and release, i knew then that I was home, that I was fine with David and that even if he and I didnt talk that first night, it would matter, and i wouldnt give a fuck. I knew, since both David and I are pretty emotional guys, and pretty fucked-in the head-in-love with life and also imperfect surfers, i knew that here no matter what was a man that understood marina and I had come to be with him, and everyone else because of life, and not because of photography or bones or epf or the blog, but to make real what had been happening over 2 years….

in new york, marina and i felt at home…long in the waiting…

PART II

Marina and i left for New York on thursday evening, 9 pm. only to discover we’d book the Dante-express. both of us were ecstatic, but nervous too. I was worried that we would get sidetracked, that i would hate trying to meet so many people (i have always preferred small groups of friends, talking drinking smoking late into the night instead of showmanship circus parties), especially trying to meet so many people who had some kind of “impression” of us from the blog or Lightstalkers or my photography. I also had so much to do in ny with marina that I secretly wondered if we’d overbook our plans….the bus was pimped out, double-decker, 80’s rock stars yellow cruiser and man, that motherfucker could fly….and fly she said….until 11:00, outside of buffalo, the driver put on the first of what would be 9 hours of loud, explosive action-dramas that made it impossible for us to sleep at night: hancock, then batman and then wanted….will smith, explosion, scream, batman, joker, explosion, screen, angelina jolie, explosion, scream, dramatic pause, explosion…no sleep…at 7:00 am., we arrived outside of madison square garden in pain, especially marina, going on 2 hrs of sleep and fighting with the loud buzzing…and then we were off and running….

breakfast, and then the elation and the energy of ny came back to us like a shot of amphetemeine straight to our pulpy hearts, pulp fiction style. from breakfast we walked down to chelsea and hit the galleries. saw a great show at Andrea Meislin, then when marina tried to drop of her cd/pin, they politely said they dont accept applications/portfolios (too important for that ;) )…more galleries, a success at one gallery and then off to MOMA to meet Mike Westfall and Spencer. So, we walked (by this time i was already exhausted and had been to the bathroom 2 times with stomach problems) up to Time Life building and there I gave Mike a big hug (he was tentative at first, probably scared to death of this weird guy with frilly scarf and arms stretched out for a hug)…we walked to the MOMA and sat in the sculpture gardent and talked for an hour. all i get thinking was that I love this man, he is so gentle and so intelligence and receptive and open and i wondered why i hadn’t met him long ago. Ditto with Spencer, although Spencer seemed preoccupied or maybe tired too (i was like non-stop talking). but, spencer comes from PHilly (where my mom lives) and we new each other’s towns (my own town being nyc and bucks country, same with him)…and we had a brilliant time together. As soon as they left, both Marina and I said: god, I hope both Mike and Spencer will come to David’s they are wonderful, sensitive cool men. We walked around the MOMA for 2 1/2 hrs (marina had never been there)…..and of course, again revelations. My hero Moriyama had 6 magnificent prints on the wall…2 of which i’d never seen before…astonishing and heart-piercing. for those prints alone the trip was worth the $400. I was also happy to think too that well maybe some folks are gonna be able to put up with bones too then. later, one of the inspirations for bones, was sitting in the gallery on post-wwii art: giacometti’s sculpture “dog in the rain”…so so happy and i thought: fuck it, dont need anything more than this….later, sat and watched the entire nan goldin “ballad of sexual dependency” and got sad and broken and teary and weak in the heart and limbs…after goldin, i didnt feel much like talking, just wanted to swallow and sleep and drink…so, we walked up to look at some matisse and called Erica and headed to Brooklyn….

PART SATURDAY:

on 3 hours of sleep, i woke up and couldnt get to sleep. David had invited us to his loft to have breakfast and to talk about photography with his workshop students, with lance and Patricia and Panos but we couldnt. Marina and I had to go to more galleries and we wanted to spend the day in Central park too (she’d never been there). So, we left Erica’s had 10, went to breakfast and then starting in soho, went to jen beckman and then remington arms, after that to some russian gallery at 53rd street, where to our shock the work of someone we know, the great photographer from st. petersubrg, evgenia mokhorev (i posted his work here before), was showing. we immediately talked to the gallery owner and bought a book of titarenko and then were again shocked to learn that Mokhorev would be in NY in 2 weeks…so we left him a note and marina was very very happy. it’s a great gallery featuring russian photographers and who knows, my hope is that they’ll also be interested in her work. then spent the rest of the day walking in central park and then dinner and when we returned to eRica’s at 7″00 pm. both of us were flat out dead. Marina was happy and strong after the great day, but i was feeling very very sad. When i am tired and overwhelmed i tend to get depressed because it’s not easy for me to disconnect from people. I personalize their words and their emotions and i had met so many people the night before and so many people, including lots of strangers who “know” me from the blog and from LS, kept saying hi and talking that i didnt know what to do or say. Also, i had so much wanted to talk to Panos and Patricia and Gina and Lance that i just felt exhausted. I almost didnt want to leave erica’s house and i told her that…fearing that she would think i was some pompous prick, but i was so tired…thankfully, we’d all decided to have a quiet night at Davids….so we left for the loft…

Saturday night was brilliant. I finally had some one-to-one time with panos and we talked about life and living. ….

when marina, erica and i first walked into the loft (8:30 and we were late) there were only a few people: david, panos, paolo and some of david’s students from the workshop and a few others (forgive me, i’ve forgotten everyone’s names). I was saddened to see that Patricia wasn’t there as I had really wanted to talk to her one-to-one. I was also hoping to talk with Gina too, though she was there when we first arrived. David and Panos wanted to chat and so after 10 minutes of “waking up” to being there again, the three of us sat down, dipped into that magnificent cornpipe and started to talk. David started to talk a bit about what happened that morning and during the day with the workshop students and their great conversation, their great lunch at a brazilian restaurant and the conversation with Patricia and her work. I told david that we were sorry we couldnt make it but that we had to go to the galleries and to central park. I also felt uneasy and reluctant to jump in, because i felt it wasnt my place to talk to David about my work or bones yet, i felt all his love and attention should be for the workshop students, so i didnt press the issue, and let others their time and attention. after some lovely puffs, david started to briefly offer his opinion about “finishing bones.” I started to tell him that i would should 1 last section (when my mom comes in november) but that I felt it was finished, or could be finished as soon as i finished the essay (this week) and shoot 2 rolls when my mom comes. Then david got up to talk to someone and Panos and i started to have a real conversation, first time. i felt comfortable and in love with the moment, he wanted to know the deal about me, my life. he kept pressuring me to talk to David about Bones or to “get your time with him, you deserve it” but i resisted and wasnt interested, i just wanted to get past all the bullshit of a first meeting. and we broke and started to talk about lots of stuff. advice for him from patricia, my own point of view, my love and trust for him, etc. then gina and lance walked in and i was overjoyed. got a big big hug from both and gave kisses to gina and gina and i started to talk a bit. she lives in an area of DC i know well and spent much of my time with. we talked about her job and Look, about her life and DC. I loved talking with her and only regret that the pipe had made my thoughts so scattered. then ERica jumped in and stole Gina away ;)), and lance and i jumped in and started to talk, for a long long time…he told me about having a great day with gina and purchasing Jason’s book “wonderland” at Strand. when i told him that Jason had been there the night before, that i’d invited him and would introduce him in the future, it was all too surreal….after more drunkenness and cool vibe , Lance asked me to show him bones….so i did…

i showed lance, gina, panos, erica, and some other people the work, i’d taken to david. the cd i brought and gave to david and lance (and i have one for patricia) contains work that i did not put on Flickr)….1/2 through the show, Eric from france wanted to show his new story on Tibet. Earlier in the night Jim Nachtwey had walked in as well. I had a moment to talk to Jim after Marina had been talking with him for a few minutes. I congratulated him on the TB project and told him that what i respected the most about him was that he lived his life lyrically and eloquently, that while i respected his work profoundly, it was the nature of how someone lived that meant the most to me. then i dashed to watched the Eric’s slideshow…..a great great and original story about a catepillar that is transformed by a mushroom and all the attendant madness that surrounds it…i later had an opportunity to talk with him about picture choice and editorial decisions, which was nice. Afterward, i returned to Bones and showed Lance the 2nd half…..you’ll will have to wait to get the reports from him or panos or erica or gina to get impressions….

afterward, lance and i spoke some more, as well as with gina and panos. then a photo shoot broke out and david started shooting pics of people and panos and i continued to chat….

the rest is pretty much a blur…but i remember getting incredibly tired and everyone else was tired too, so marina and i gave out hugs and kisses to david and gina and lance and panos and all the rest….and we left….

we stayed up a bit more talking and then poured ourselves to bed….

on sunday, after 3 hrs of sleep, we awoke and made it to the bus by 9am, and fell asleep the moment we got out of the Lincoln tunnel….

i awoke 3 hrs in upstate new york……and started to talk to david and lance and erica and panos and gina and mike w and all the people in my head….i was exhausted…..happy because marina and i had had a great talk….

i hadn’t showed david bones, not one picture, not one moment, and i was fine with that….

i was full and exhausted and sweetly sad….

and now i miss them terribly…….

p.s….

i know i forgot people (i am so fucking tired)…

KYUNG-HEE: I LOVED HER SO MUCH :))))…so filloed with light and joy “my head is spinning when i saw marina” she said :)))…and i was so happy to finally talk to her and see her magnificent work….a true joy and a beam of light and energy and intuitiion….one of the reasons i still love making work, is because there are people in this world like Kyung-hee…..

and all the rest of the folks i met….

ok, SHUT THE FUCK UP BOB….

b

LAST POST: FOR HERVE ! :)))))

herve, amigo, i just read on the last thread you wanted tactile details, and i probably got all metta on that ridiculously long post, so here are the details:

lance, anna, gina and i downed some major mojo tequilla (thanks to lance)

lance, erica, david, panos, marina and i (and a shit load of others) did major major time on the cornpipe and like i caught lots of folk falling now (you’ll have to pry the names out of me in person)….

Gina martin (after Harvey) GIVES THE BEST HUG! :))))))))))…

Patricia and erica kiss on the lips to friends (which i like)!!!

Panos is fucking hot looking…and also hot spirit…and was like major hot for another person at the party and well…you ask him or her what happened ;)))))…and it aint erica ;)))))

Jim Nachtwey is a kind as can be, but definitely in his own thoughts….

david drinks beer like i drink wine…that’s alot …

2 guys tried to hit on my wife (i dont find at all), maybe more, but she held her own :)))))

lance has the best fucking hair in the world!…

ed L, well, loves to drink ;)))))))) and has a unique shooting style…

the Kibbutz smells like a beer hall and a garden in upstate Oregon, if you know what i mean…

Harvey is kind to everyone, not just beautiful women…

Michael C had the biggest (ummmm) i’d ever seen a white boy carry…. ;)))) and no, it ain that….

lots of broken bottles, 2 young girls kissing in the stairwell after comparing their work (not bloggers that i know)….learned about the worst most expensive aphrodisiac (the catepillar from tibet)….god, i could go own…

drank alot, slept little….loved the hell out of it…

ok, done for the week…

hugs
all
b

Lance does have GREAT hair and an infectious laugh!!! love that guy!

BOB.

Your “party talk” posts remind me EXACTLY of diary entries I used to make in High School! :)) It felt so personal, but not personal about YOU… personal to ME as if I were writing…if that makes any sense.

Right up my alley. The perfect blend of gossip and self-analysis.

LOVED IT.

BOB

Your sharings touch me deeply. I love seeing and feeling the weekend through your eyes and heart. I love you and Marina dearly. Dima too.

ALL

OK, now Preston Merchant’s photos are up on my “Weekend in Brooklyn” gallery. He did a great job in low light conditions and with a cast of thousands, well, hundreds anyway! There are lots of photos in which Patricia appears which feels funny, but it’s nice for me to see who all I talked to. In situations like this, it’s all too easy to get overwhelmed and forget.

My deepest gratitude to Preston for offering to take these photos and for doing such a fabulous job. Again if I’ve misidentified anyone, please let me know.

http://www.pbase.com/windchimewalker/preston_fiesta

And now to bed. ‘Night all.

Patricia

ERICA, BOB, GINA, PATRICIA, PRESTON

Inexpressible, mountainous thanks to you for making the weekend experience so vivid and tangible for all the rest of us. Big, big applause!

CATHY

Not a Winnebago… it was a 1951 Chevy Suburban panel truck known as the “Grey Ghost” with running boards and a wood-burning stove inside with the stovepipe sticking out the back side window.

BOB…

re: Alessandra and film making…no need to leave Magnum…almost all of the Magnum photographers have made doc or feature films…some classic French features especially by Raymond Depardon and some near misses by Rene Burri….i am one of the few who have NOT stepped into film making..but, yes, Alessandra should do more with this medium…

re: beautiful women….one of the most truly beautiful women i know is Patricia (everybody knows i have a crush)…but, she will not return my phone call!! playing “hard to get”??? oh well, the really good ones always do…

SIDNEY…

i just got the cd you sent today..yes, yes , i am sure it came to the studio long ago, but i just had time to get my hands on it today..will look tomorrow …are you looking for a private e-mail review, or let it “all hang out” right here???

you had THAT car??? amazing….new respect..

CATHY….

i might have gotten lost somewhere along the line, but did you just accuse Sidney of doing mushrooms???

DAVID BOWEN…

hey dude, so so so cool!!! congratulations…for real….can i take a family portrait someday??

GINA….

hey, did you see what i saw???

DAVID M…

GO OBAMA!!!!

cheers, david

PANOS

the real venice? so you’re slowly coming closer to my end of the woods….
no ocean to separate anymore

ha! i’ll get the beer out already :)))

a

I just got back to living in NYC having been away for a year and I couldn’t think of a better way to get reacquainted than witnessing ‘THE FAMILY OF DAVID’ with his past 2 fiestas.
First – i would simply like to say “thank you” to David. It has been far better expressed by others here, so I will leave it at that. Meeting everyone was not only inspirational, but YOU ALL are the quintessential example of the “journey” – the beauty and essence …..the ” it’s not where you go that’s important, but how you get there” way of living.

Gina- I told her in an email: ” Now I know why you were popular in high school !! besides being fun, talented, and interesting, you make everyone feel special by your individual attention…. well, 24 years later, I’m glad I can be part of your “group” :) :)

Patricia- may your golden rays of gold cast a “manta” over everyone and your
“La Lucha” conquer all !!

Panos- you are so easy to talk to, which is appreciated by someone who is generally shy in big social situations…

KIM – welcome to the family!!

DAVID B – what a beautiful moment you described. Congratulations again!!!

Dear Friends,

Wow…sounds like I missed out on one hell of a party…and I thought Look3 and Perpignan were good! Glad to hear everyone had such an amazing time. David is THE host like no-other as anyone who has been to one of his gatherings will testify. It’ so nice to hear of friends meeting for the first time, second time, third time etc etc.

Please rest assured, those of us weren’t there, were somehow feeding of the vibes emanating out of New York! For one, they made their way out to Hong Kong which is where I currently am in visa-limbo land. Spending some time here whilst my visa gets processed so I can get back into the good old People’s Republic. Has anyone been to HK? This is just a mindblowing city.

Well, my best to all. Great to hear of all the fun you had with the projections and parties. Look forward to seeing the work online sometime.

Best,
Sean

PATRICIA….

what are YOU doing up so early??? exhausted, i fell asleep on the sofa at 8pm and then woke up at 3am dazed and confused…jet lag right here at home..

Panos talked me into buying an iPhone when we were walking through Soho the other day, so i have not set up the mailbox function..will call you soonest…

KIM…

welcome back to New York…so pleased to have you here in town again..your trucker book has been on my shelf all along…i show it to many…

SEAN…

your presence here would have been icing on the cake, but you have done such an amazing job of being everywhere all the time, that you are “excused” from being absent at this gathering..but, please do stop by when you are next in New York…and you may get the keys and stay at my place anytime even if i am traveling…i will get the student work up soonest for your perusal…i have not been to HK for several years, but i would imagine it has totally “blown up”…

SAM…

thanks for your story and your link….trust me, you do not want me to look at your link this morning..my eyeballs are totally burned out from three weeks of heavy editing with my students…but, give me a couple of days to recover…if you think i did not get back to your link, simply re-post please, and i will be happy to take a look…do not be afraid to stay on my case…i do not want to miss any possible key photographers from this site….

cheers et al, david

DAVID

I never expected you would look at that CD before now, and there’s still no hurry… whenever convenient, amigo. As for a response, it’s totally up to you whether to make it public or private… dealer’s choice… if you think it would be of any value or interest to the forum, by all means here… Otherwise by email. I am not thin-skinned or defensive about my photo work, at least where you are concerned. Only reason I sent you the CD instead of posting on the Net is because I don’t currently have access to that kind of storage space or bandwidth.

Cathy wasn’t really accusing me specifically of eating mushrooms (though I do love shiitake, and the morels and chantarelles that grow wild around here)… she was bemoaning the fact that she was too young to have been a hippy in the Sixties on the metaphorical (or real) magic bus, and I tried to assure her that it was better in her imagination than in reality. Now the Seventies, that’s another story…

Incidentally, I got a nice email in Korean from Kyunghee Lee this morning, back in Pusan (sorry, I’ve spelled it that way for 45 years and I ain’t gonna start writing “Busan” now). Many thanks for getting that package to her during the chaotic intensity of last week!

… fuck i forgot to set up your Voicemail… in the DAHphone…
sorry… i also need to set up your email… !
ok… soon!

Oh God… I just came back from a delicious weekend that started on the 3rd with the opening of one colective exhibition where I exhibited one photo. And even if I had a fantastic time, a wonderful company and the best atmosphere, I thought of DAH’s fiesta and you all and mentioned it to some people. Now I’m still full of the good vibes of my opening and weekend after, but coming here and reading all of you (specialy Patricia’s sensibility) and seeing the pictures makes me feel even better! I wish I had been there too but I really feel like in a way, I was, as I feel so close to the excitement and words you all are writing.

I’m very proud to be part of this community.

Keep it up!!

Peace and much Love!

Ana

PANOS

You, my beloved brother, are a wise WISE man. To see what you saw David do with his students & colleagues and compare his method to Socrates is inspired. All I can say is, YES!!!

ALL

What David wrote this morning about the reason behind, and the MOST important part of that magnificent weekend in Brooklyn, being the workshop was borne out by my personal experience of it all. Yes, it was glorious to meet my sister and brother bloggers in person and the opportunities I had for heart-to-heart talks with a few of you were priceless. And yes, the party was a real experience, one I haven’t seen the likes of in many many decades, if ever. And yes, seeing and hearing Paul and Alessandra present their work was a truly powerful experience.

But what I will never forget, what made that LONG LONG drive more than worth it, was seeing the workshop participants’ essays on Friday night and then being privileged to sit in on the final day of their workshop on Saturday. It was those seven hours on Saturday that stretched, educated, touched and moved me forward on my own photographic path. I will be assimilating what I learned there for a long time to come.

I now know THAT was why I somehow knew in my gut that I had to be in Brooklyn last weekend, even though it made NO SENSE AT ALL to drive 25 hours to be there for only 60 hours…not to mention having to pay big bucks for a hotel with a wheelchair accessible room.

Today I am working on my photos from Saturday, my workshop day. They are my favorite of all. You’ll see what I mean later on. That was when my heart was most open and, for me, that is the key to making fine photos. Besides, the light was a hell of a lot better in David’s loft during the day than it had been the night before ;=)

Today is my workout-at the-gym and swim laps-at-the middle school day, but other than that, I’m working steadily. Hopefully I’ll have a new gallery to show you by tonight.

love
Patricia

Well David, don’t let my photos come across as a complete ringing endorsement. If elected, the honeymoon is going to be pretty short with the American public if corporate taxes keep businesses from returning, and as a result unemployment and a recession are sustained.

However, he is a pretty nice guy, quite photogenic, and I’d never pass up the opportunity to create historic documents!

.. There is a whole list of countries
left out.. There is a whole list of
countries that republicans forgot to
attack and enslave..
ALL, please vote for the bush family
again.. They didn’t have enough time
to finish their god approved “plans”..
VOTE FOR REPUBLICANS..
More babies are waiting to be killed
all over the world..
Peace
( yeah right)..
The peace word is not included in the
new White trashy republican dictionary
anymore..
Akaky….
Is there a word like PEACE in your
vocabulary????
;-(((

for ALL…

(and all politicians as well:)))

i tried something for “birgit”… found music and edited a slideshow to it

plus a bunch of new images from last & this weekend (towards the end)

6 minutes. made it for no other reason than for all you here, for all the support and feedback.

take some time to relax… have a glass of wine, sit back and enjoy :)))

http://sugar.antonkusters.com/sugar.htm

ps i have no experience whatsoever in creating sound-synched-slideshows. this is the only way i know. please have patience it’s 80mb…

anton

Hi to everybody, be back to work and to “normal Life” in Italy. It’s been a really really pleasure taking part again to DAH workshop, as I was expecting me it gaves me much more seeds in my mind to make grow.
We had great opportunity to met importat photographer and editor.
The party was marvelous as usually and expecially meeting people from the blog both already met in Cville and never met before.

Now I reall want to share my new project with you to help me improving myself.

PANOS:
great pleasure meeting you again, send me your email so i send the pictures I toke of you and you need.

DAVID:
I’m looking forward to see the slideshow in your website..

LANCE:
pleasure talking with you after got in touch trough email before..

PATRICIA:
nice to met you, I was the guy who took the picture of you talking with Kyunghee.

bye for now… DAH your really made me to love Photography more and more…

LAREDO..
You are right , I forgot..

innerspacecowpanos@mac.com

ANA – congratulations on your exhibit!! sounds like you had a great vibe of a weekend too!!

AKAKY – i love your posts – they are hysterical!!

PANOS – man you nailed it! David does UNLOCK us. you friggin’ nailed it.

LOREDO – man, i am so embarrased. i knew you looked familiar and we did kiss hello – but i could not figure out how. i forgot you stayed one night in the Festival flop house at LOOK. I am sorry i did not put it together until NOW!

SAM – welcome. i really enjoy your project. there are some VERY strong images in there (only a few i would edit our). I like your audio and sequencing as well. I would like to write more about your crossroads in life – but am running short on time. but i always think you can “find your venice” whether it’s in your home, backyard or on the open road. yes, you may have to make sacrifices, but you should not have to give up your passion all together. welcome to the blog and would love to see future work.

I’m new to this web community so I hope you don’t mind me leaving a comment.

I was a student in David’s workshop last week. My head is still spinning. DAH is an amazing teacher. He’s also a brilliant, crazy, complex, alive person. It’s all right there when you look at his work.

In truth though, I learned just as much from my fellow students. It was fascinating to see them look at the same things I was and get something completely different out of it.

I left the party early friday night and miss class Saturday because I had to get back to DC for a job. The bills don’t go away when I do. I’m really sorry that I didn’t get to meet any of you at the party. It’s funny during the week, I asked DAH what Bob Black was like. BobB I have seen your frequent posts on lightstalkers and even emailed a couple times, and then noticed a couple comments you’ve made here and I was curious to meet you. I like your photography but I like your writing even more. Erica, i’ve also seen your work over at lightstalkers and it would have been fun to meet you. Next time.

peace to everyone and don’t forget to vote in a few weeks.

I put a few photos on my blog from Friday night:

http://nordichigh.blogspot.com/

Nevermind…I figured out the flickr thing.

ENJOY THE OBAMANADE! :))

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30716737@N08/sets/72157607836295661/show/

Having been one of the Loft Workshop participants I feel I owe it to the Road Trip Bloggers, who were such sincere supporters of our (the 24 loft students) endeavors, and DAH to express my gratitude and thoughts. Also, as an individual not prone to writing, it is cathartic to occasionally force (which is how it feels for me) things on “paper”. I also have a little Ben Webster and red wine to ease me in…

(Apologies in advance for typos and poor grammar. My mind moves too fast.)

So many have described DAH accurately…passionate, generous, committed, caring…and a rockstar. Yes, he can party like a rock star, putting this 34 year old to shame, but that isn’t what we all love and admire? It is the energy he puts into others and his genuine interest to help us succeed and I don’t mean that in the “American-way” of thinking—money, notoriety, influence, etc—I mean that he wants us to reach inside and examine ourselves and find a way to use ourselves, our uniqueness—strengths, weaknesses, desires, experiences, perceptions—in our photography. This creates not only authorship, but also authenticity and passion in our work. David made himself truly available to us, both emotionally and physically, and this was so important as we were venturing down this very personal and intense path.

What is most important for me to express, both so that I have it to reference in the future and to share now, is the true value of the worskshop for me personally. For me it was more about the process than the end result (the slideshow). There was so much to learn from what I didn’t do or how I felt along the way. I learned so much from the other students, their work, attitudes/perspectives and their experiences.
So the PROCESS, this is where it will get messy…

I came into this workshop open to anything. Even if what could be deemed disaster were to strike, I knew I could learn from it and I believed it would be surmountable. I had faith in myself that I could handle whatever challenge arose. I knew that I would learn a lot about photography, but probably more about myself. I transferred this attitude from another experience earlier this summer. It was an experience that I didn’t cope with as well during the process, but at least I was able to learn from it in the end and I realized the value in that.

I did have one expectation from the workshop. I wanted to create a beginning of a portfolio, something that felt like it had consistency and something I was proud of, something I could build on. For someone like myself, who sees so many things as interesting and possibilities, it is hard to stay focused—that was my first and biggest challenge. My “portfolio” (I didn’t have a portfolio, just a bunch of images) was all over the place. On the first day when we viewed each other’s work, David just whizzed through mine and said “we’ve got to talk, we have to get you focused.” I wasn’t surprised and I was in the right mental space not to take it personally. That was why I was there!

So the first challenge…an idea for a project. Some of us had ideas; a couple folks had great ideas. So you have an idea, but then what… a) you need access, b) you have expectations c) you have to be able to make images that work and create a body of work.
What if you didn’t have an idea…shit!!! That was me! Everyone had the opportunity of a one-on-one with David. So in 30 minutes of sitting in the loft looking across at Manhattan, within the first 5 hours of meting David, who sat in his wing chair (with the occasional obsessive mopping or dish doing), I was in tears divulging very personal things. This was the beginning of my week. I took what was shared in those minutes and I was off, with an idea…I was looking at a mirror. It was a start. I ended up somewhere else a bit different, but what path doesn’t lead you somewhere unexpected? There was still a lot of personal stuff going on with my project, it just felt different than I had expected.

So access, access, access…there is so much to learn about access alone…persistence, approach, intention, time, connection, clarity, and finality. Access caused a lot of stress and challenged us in so many ways.
Personally, I found myself having to observe/stalk, get the nerve up (and I am not a shy or inhibited person) and approach teenagers at parks, on the street, in stores and on the subway. How do you do this and not seem like a total freak? How do you explain your project coherently in a way that isn’t intimidating in 30-60 seconds? What are your motives? What kind of energy are you emanating? You make initial contact, but how do you take it further? What if you aren’t sure if what to pursue it, but don’t want to close the door either? Some of the answers to these questions seem obvious, but when you are out there with pressure, a deadline, not in your own environment, and with the expectation of bringing back 10 images the next day… you can stop thinking clearly. You lose your center and it all goes to shit. I kept a book that I wrote down my mistakes…for example….

1) Don’t assume limitations once you have been given access. Ask up front if there is anything you can’t photograph.
2) Get names and numbers/email. You may have stepped in a gold mine that won’t reveal itself immediately. This happened to me!
3) Don’t be afraid to ask!!!!!

Even once you have access, so much is going on in your head and has to happen. Now you have/get to make images… but then you have a whole new set of questions to answer…
What I am trying to say? My own experiences color it, but I don’t want to judge I want to just be a quiet observer and let it develop. I want to be intentional with my photos, yet have a looseness to let it evolve. Why am I am being allowed into her life, what does she want from this, does she know? What does this project mean today and what could it mean years from now? Is this about one girl or a large social commentary? Am I being aware of my own personal feelings…sometimes I feel like the vulnerable teenager and she is this other force (not adult, not child). But, in the end she is a girl, a 14-year old girl…. As I continue to work with her, it gets more personal. It isn’t just about photography, it is about experiencing, witnessing, caring and feeling. It is both a beautiful and painful exploration. I know how my teenage years shaped me and still haunt me….This is just the tip of the iceberg. The thoughts contradict, confuse, and flow out of control, so this is all I could even distill. They just swirl in my head. I hope in time there is more clarity…..

At times I have found myself being preoccupied by a profound sense of gratitude; I am so privileged to be witness to another’s private life. This girl trusts me and that is just an awesome experience in and of itself…pictures or no pictures. Many images I wanted to capture weren’t successful (or never happened) because my focus wasn’t there or I just didn’t feel right taking the picture, not yet. I am ok with all this, because it is part of the process and I am just happy to be where I am.

I am also a relatively new photographer and I still struggle technically. This makes me feel nervous and not worthy to be there taking their photos. I had to deal with my insecurities. Shooting digital people expect to see the images immediately, so if you didn’t get it, it is embarrassing. I hate this about our culture; I am so prone to wanting immediate gratification too. We don’t have time to sort shit out….

Now it is tea, bacon and the Kikujiro soundtrack that keep me here…

Then there is editing…well we all struggle with this. Watching DAH do it, it all makes sense even when it hurts. This is another place where checking your ego at the door helps you to be open. It is bummer if an image doesn’t make the cut, but if you take in the reasons as to why you will be more likely not to f**** up in the future, so what is so bad about that, right? David just wants to take you to the next level. It seems like for those photographers that are already somewhat accomplished this pressure from David can be very difficult, but he does it because he wants you to be better and knows what it takes. He expects a lot from you, which is good! But you are so wrapped up in wanting to kick ass that you can’t see that from where you are, so it just seems hard and painful.

So basically in a week…You meet and become intimate with 11 others…you share your deepest fears and expose your soul…you need to find a project that resonates with you for some reason or another…that project has to be feasible… you have to get access or find the subject/environment…you may have to travel hours each day by subway or foot carrying all your shit on like 4 hours sleep (if you are lucky)…you have to shoot in a focused way and shoot (a lot)…you have to do a nightly edit…you have to get to David’s by 9 (or so) each morning… you have to have enough work that can be edited into a tight body of work by Friday am…you have to survive your edits and learn from them… you want to be present (physically and mentally) for the lectures but at the same time you want to be out shooting…you want to smoke out of the corn cob pipe (a lot) and still be conversant… you have to think about the final presentation (theme, music, title…you want all your work to make sense…to hit hard….you have to get it together)…you want to party…you want to know what the hell is going to happen next in your photographic life, maybe in your life, period!!!!!!!

Then there is how you cope with all these things and we all do that so differently. In our own time and in our own way—we are unique in this way too! I wish we had a group photo of each morning, of each day…to see the stress, the pain, the anxiety, the frustration, the exhaustion, the excitement…and then the relief and hangover.

I am missing so much, the list goes on… Some of us, actually all of us, are so hard on ourselves and want so much to take it to the next level, whatever that is, that our own desires/expectations can hinder us. We have to learn how to balance this, so that our drive ignites us, not paralyzes us. Learning to accept where you are in life, but simultaneously staying committed to progressing is so valuable, it can beat the hell out of a jaw-dropping picture in my opinion. I also believe that the better we get at accepting and understanding ourselves, the better our photos can become. We all expected and wanted so much out of the week with David. We invested so much time, energy, and hope. But, look at all we learned and got!!!! I really believe that. I don’t think we got it all, some more that others, but isn’t that life? Even two weeks after our workshop we don’t know everything that will have come from working with David and each other. It will continue to reveal itself.

Now I turn it up a bit, Architecture in Helsinki, still drinking tea. I love tea and its pot.

One thing I am really grateful for is the emails and phone conversations that I have had in the past week with some of the other students from the workshop. Conversations of encouragement, fear, vulnerability, rehashing, game plans, and brainstorming—“coming down” from this workshop is a ride in its own, it is good to have each other for that and for the future.

I know that all you from the blog can relate, because that is what you have created here. I think what we developed in our workshop is some of what you have done via the blog. It was fun to witness the reunion of all of you that have invested so much in this blog (and into each other) at DAH’s loft for the Friday night slideshow party. I can only begin to imagine the excitement in being able to have intimate conversations in person, to embrace each other and let the energy (and alcohol) flow.

So this is my entry and exit. I will go back to reading and I thank you for letting me learn through you and I appreciate all your online encouragement while we were going through this life changing week.

David thanks again…over and over.

Holy shit, I have butterflies, I breathe…

CORI.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING YOUR WORKSHOP EXPERIENCE.
Just BEAUTIFUL!

HERVE.

I wanted any dirt to be there…to set the mood! :))

The Obama photos are for FUN. Not meant to be taken seriously!
Thanks a lot for looking and glad you are taking the time to comment but as Patricia said when she posted her party photos…this isn’t meant to be art.

It really strikes me as strange that others post snapshots here and get rave reviews and I do the same and get critiqued. Am I being held to a higher standard? If so, I don’t mind AT ALL…just wondering.

BOB, ERICA, GINA, CORI, PANOS,

Thanks to all of you for sharing your thoughts and feelings from the past week-end and in the case of Cori from the overall workshop experience…. Cori, Bob your posts were so personal, feeling so true, so REAL… I am not at home, actually traveling away on business for the past week but came across a computer in the hotel lobby where I am staying and I could not get way from the computer after starting to read the reports… You all left me in deep personal thoughts…I wish I had been there with all of you to share these very personal moments. My spirit has certainly been with all of you and I am happy for you all to have lived that very special moment…. I hope that we will have many more of these as a group in a near future and that this will be the catalyst for us all to take our friendship and our work to the next level….the image of DAH unlocking us all is so spot on Panos!

Anyway, I just wanted to thank you all for what is certainly the most moving thread we have had on the blog for long time.

CORI, please do not exit!!!!! You have a lot to bring to this place and I hope that you continue to share with us your struggles, your aspirations and hopefully let us be companions of your photographic journey…Somehow, it is such a great feeling that we are not alone here on our paths, that we can exchange, share, grow as a group…

Will leave for now…back at home next Thursday and will spend some quality time re-reading all the reports…

Cheers,

Eric

Ok, David, but I wonder if any of your so called shortcomings actually matter when you have a body of work like you you do (I was just going through the Magnum archive and looking at your photos from 1975 onwards)?! In fact, I imagine that your particular way of being contributes to your making great photos. I am obsessive and and organized and I always must work on relaxing. I would see it as a blessing to be the way you are.

KIM REIERSON,
Love the Eighteen work! Really shows how important a genuine and deep interest for something is when working on a project. This is really going to inspire me.
Not caring what other people will think about what your work will be about is important. The interest and knowledge about your subject will shine through.

Cheers

ANTON,
Had a look at your slideshow and I will say what I said last time. This really has potential, but you need to edit! I liked the way you did the slideshow. The music and the transitions are good, but there was too many images and it was way too long. There’s shots I don’t understand why you include when they are not very good and you really don’t have anything to fill out. The length of the slideshow could have been 2-3 minutes instead.
I just saw an essay by Erwitt at Magnum with shots from 50’s and 60’s and it was under four minutes and Erwitt would probably have images and funny stories for a week long slideshow.

DAVID,
Man, you need a bag sponsor! Don’t understand why you get so many though :) You know that LV makes custom bags, right? ;)

David:
sounds very much like an application for a match making agency :) both bob and i are in love with you but we’re already taken ;))) hmmm..

Cathy, Your point is quite right (and I was wrong). Why not?

On the other hand, i do not think too many of us want to show a slideshow of snapshots (though to be fair, see I did not criticize your images) we judge as “just snapshots”. I actually think your shots were not snaps, the angle, the choice of POV are too creative.

So maybe, my new point is to be careful when we show something lest it’d be taken seriously (and many want us to look seriously at their work). I am talking about essay type, or event coverage, not a single shot.

Remember David telling us about the blog being read by more than a few professionals.

Maybe it’s better to only show stuff we can vouch for, “sign under” if you will(talking of multiple images essays), and IMO, I also think that everything we shoot says something about what stage we are in our photo-taking. The snapshot-er, the more telling, maybe!

Though, at this point, for anyone of us, I doubt that we’d go out anywhere, hang an afternoon, check a big event (and by Gosh, with/for OBAMA!) to take “just snapshots”.

Cathy ,
:-)
nice Obama photos…

… but Herve is right though….
why just “snapshots”…?
when is the “right time” to do the “other” ???? , the
“great” photos…?
why just “snapshots”???, for “anything”…?
why not always “Great” for “anything & everything” ?????????

peace

again, nice photos..

HERVE and PANOS…

It seems Panos likes my “snapshots” better than my “serious” images. :)) Maybe because these are looser?

Good points both of you…It’s not that I didn’t want to make “great” photos…I didn’t go to the rally with the intention of taking snapshots…

Now you’ve got me thinking…what is a snapshot and what is not?

I’m defining many of these images as snapshots because in the crowd shots where Obama is shaking hands (for example) I am holding the camera above my head and shooting…not composing at all. Not even seeing what I am shooting. So it’s difficult for me to “take credit” artistically for this. In other shots I was stuck in the crowd and took the only possible shot I could take…again, not feeling like I had much choice to be creative. Doesn’t mean they arent nice shots.. I thought of this as something to do for fun to pass the time.

Hmmm…Like the shots everyone is taking at the loft parties… Can’t they just be for fun? Does everything have to lead to a book or long term project? Panos, you of all people should understand doing something for fun, no???

Obamanade again…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30716737@N08/sets/72157607836295661/show/

CATHY SAID:
“…It seems Panos likes my “snapshots” better than my “serious” images. :)) Maybe because these are looser?…”

DAVID SAID:
“…CATHY…

your “just for fun” Obama shoot is one of your best..it looked like you were seriously hustling and getting in there….”

peace

a quck one as i’m rushing off to work…

HERVE

you noticed! i did do quite a lot of work on the color of the images since last time… having prints made now to see how they hold up ‘on paper’…

hey MARTIN

i understand what you mean… but no worries, i never intended to do a tight edit, i just felt this music was appropriate, marked the ‘beat’, counted the marks and then chose that number of images… the song was 6 minutes… if i’d do a ‘real’ one i’d indeed limit to 25-30 max (and not choose the music first i guess)

out of curiosity… i’d love to ‘pick your brain’ as to what you think are ‘best’ vs. ‘worst’ in this series… i’ve looked at them so many times that i don’t always ‘see’ that anymore…

CATHY

love your images too…

running to work,
anton

DAVID, your post gave me a smile while starting my office day, that’s good, a good laugh…

ANTON,
OOH, very hard to say and very hard to choose from the slideshow. Which do you think are the best?
I think there’s a bit to much blurry pics without no real content. Just because there’s blur doesn’t make them artistical, emotional or anything else. They are not like Bob’s pics for example so edit those blurry shots a lot and include sme of them if there’s any real content or if some of them are good images.
I like that it all doesn’t revolve around her sickness, but sometimes I get the feeling it’s too far off, for example some of the blurry pics or some of the shots of other family members. Think you got to decide what YOU want to tell.
But you have the pictures. Just edit! :)
Just my point. Others will probably feel the opposite..

Cheers,

Martin

DAH:

I’m glad I’m not the only one living such a muddled life!

I’m currently editing and writing for the book – I have scribbled note books and boxes of slides piled up around me. But I know where everything is. Sort of anyway!

It sounds like a good time was had by all last week. Hopefully I’ll be able to make one of these gatherings sometime.

Good luck on the road with your families.

ERICA:

You were too easy on Panos!

PANOS:

You were sounding just a bit too loose my friend! I was pleased to to read that you were heading to the hills when you arrived back in LA. You’ve got (or had?) an interesting woman there.

BOB:

I took a look at Bones on flickr a week or two ago (not sure what link I followed); you have some special photographs there for sure. I wanted to offer some suggestions on what to take out, but I just don’t have the time right now, perhaps I never well. But I’m doing my best to follow what you’re up to and enjoying it.

Best to all,

Justin

DAH

had me laughing..
at least you know that the time is NOW>

and so..
my life..
thanks all again.. and for new comments.. so kind..
my life goes like this.. baby wakes, baby feeds, baby burps, baby shits, baby sleeps.. (ad nauseum)

fantastic.
he does not cry.. yet.

nearly there with photo.. but where does the project end..? it started with a pregnancy test.. ended.. erm.. it’s not ending..
and so..
the short cut.. will be ..
start of labour and journey to hospital .. to end with journey home.. a baby on the bed where once beate was collapsed in agony,.,.

it’s all there/.
it is on the way..
just got to give him one more cuddle before i can look again.. but then.. oh my.. something new is happening… where is my camera? clickclickclick..

love you all.. patricia you are the grandparent i never had, and so of course you will be Tors also..

jeeze.. i used to have a lot of free-time..

For those who don’t care one way or the other…

I am not the taco. This is always a good thing to know, of course, and it would have taken a great load off my mind had this been the sort of thing I spend a lot of time worrying about, but since it isn’t, it really didn’t make much of a difference one way or the other to me. Still, it’s always nice to know. I have to admit that I hadn’t realized that my being or not being the taco was in any way an issue until I went to lunch the other day. There’s nothing like processed meat to bring up this sort of conundrum, as well a good healthy burst of domestic natural gas untouched by the malignant touch of greedy oil companies.

In any case, off I went on that day of discovery from the egregious mold pit wherein I labor for the biblical mite, a not nearly as interesting a bug as the praying mantis, Gregor Samsa, or the crazy guy who comes in here every day wanting to know what the last thing on the computer is, but one merchants across the length and breadth of this our Great Republic are more likely to accept in their establishments than the hoarse fly, the shagged fly, and the open fly, unless, of course, you’re running that type of establishment, down [yes, this is the main verb; my apologies for the delay in getting to it—I left it on the kitchen table next to the car keys this morning and I had to go back inside for them both] the street to the Gnocchi Deli, there to consume an Italian Combo, which is not, despite the obviously misleading name, three guys from Aci Castello with second hand instruments interested in playing the greatest hits of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie with more or less (mostly less) no degree of skill, but a definitely non-kosher sandwich made from various and sundry Italian cold cuts made in Iowa by illegal aliens from Oaxaca.

It was a busy day at the deli; I am usually in the tail end of the lunchtime crowd, but that day the gods of lunchmeat and chronology were not kind to me, and so I was just one more body in a packed mass of bodies craving high sodium and fat. To add to the confusion, the new girl behind the counter had not, as most new people have not, fully mastered the intricacies of operating a cash register. But she was game, no two ways about it. She was all hustle and bustle, cheerfully scurrying this way and that way in precisely the way that someone who knows what they are doing does not. [Yes, I am paraphrasing D.N.A., for those of you who noticed.] I did not give her my order—I figured I’d cut the kid some slack—so I gave my order to Billy Gnocchi, the owner’s son, and while he made the sandwich we did what baseball fans in this neck of the woods do at this time of the year: argue about whether the Red Sox in their current incarnation are the actual spawn of Satan or merely a small and not terribly important subset of the mentally and venereally diseased slave army of the Anti-Christ. After he finished piling slabs of faux Italianate lunchmeat on a roll, Billy wrapped the sandwich up in some paper and left it by the cash register for her to ring up. And it was there, by the cash register, in the bright light of an October noon, that the new girl posed the existential question.

She was confused, as well she might be, for I strongly suspect that she lied through her teeth on her application about having any experience in food service in general or in the cut-throat, dog eat dog world of retail sandwich making in particular, and because she was confused, she was well on her way to becoming flustered as well. This is always a bad sign. It became very clear to me very quickly that the only experience this young woman had with cash registers was in rifling the contents thereof during armed robberies, a skill useful, perhaps, for those happy few who choose a career in professional lawbreaking or Democratic politics, but one not entirely germane to her current circumstances. As she tried to figure out what to do next, her conversation yes I said I will yes became a Joycean stream of consciousness that flowed riverrun out of her mouth while Mr. Leopold Bloom ate with relish the internal organs of beasts and fowls without any editing at all from her now allegedly conscious mind and a very good moocow it was too and pooled on the floor about her feet in brightly colored patterns of toxic flop sweat that positively shouted Parnell Parnell my vanquished king upon all the living and the dead. Finally, at the height of her confusion, crushed between the Scylla of orders and the Charybdis of making change, she asked me, “Are you the taco?” To which query Billy Gnocchi hollered from the other end of the deli, “No, he’s the combo.”

No, I am not the taco, but this does not mean that I, or any other human being, for that matter, can, in light of the tanking economy, avoid the question for very long. For who is and who is not the taco is ultimately a philosophical question, perhaps one of the great philosophical questions of our time, along with what is the meaning of life, how to be just in an unjust world, and why is an old guy like Hugh Hefner getting all the hot babes? The question of who is the taco is not an easy one to ask or to answer, which renders it unpopular in our glib era, where what we want from philosophy is a thirty-second sound bite that explains all of creation and has a snappy punch line too.

It was not always thus, however. Heraclitus, the greatest of the pre-Socratic philosophers, held that war and tacos were the father of us all, a position many Greeks of his time shared. Centuries later, Diogenes the Cynic held that Heraclitus was a dope and a dolt whose position on tacos would only make sense to a Theban, a noticeably not bright group of people much given to marrying their mothers and walling their daughters up in the rec room in order to avoid paying for a prom dress. Socrates himself had no position on tacos other than Xanthippe, whom he loathed, and Plato found the matter uninteresting to the nth degree. Archimedes the Syracusan, on the other hand, proved mathematically that the best way to eat a taco was while wearing a green t-shirt and boxer shorts, and Thucydides devotes a chapter of The Peloponnesian War to the Athenian attack on the polis of Burpus in upper Attica, which the Athenians did in order to get control of the taco traffic in central Greece.

But none of this mostly unnecessary verbiage really addresses the central issue: who is the taco? What is the role of the taco in modern life, and how can I fulfill my taco destiny, assuming that I even have a taco destiny? Is there a life after tacos and if there is, how can I achieve this life, and will I have to supply my own Rolaids once I achieve this life? Will the professional doubters like Christopher Hitchens undermine our society’s deepest held beliefs in the efficacy of ordering tacos? Difficult questions, all of them, and I see no desire among today’s young people to even spend the slightest amount of time considering them. We must, I fear, wait for a more reflective age than this one before we can even begin to think deeply about the question. It will be a long wait, I think.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

akaky..

akaky..

akaky..

AKAKY

“…in our glib era, where what we want from philosophy is a thirty-second sound bite that explains all of creation and has a snappy punch line too…”

Thirty-second sound bite? Are you kidding? In this era of attention deficit disorder? After twelve seconds you have lost half your audience, and after 16 most of the rest, too lazy to change the channel, have forgotten what it was you were talking about.

CATHY…

well, as i said, it looked like you were TRYING (concentrating) as in the last frame when you were up close and shooting Obama..this is the good side of “trying”…but, you also “played” quite a bit with some loose compositions and gave us the feeling of “being there”..getting “in the zone” should be fun and at the same time you are never letting up….

cheers, david

DAVID.

What can I say other than THANK YOU! One of these days I hope to make you proud :))

I think SIDNEY cleared up your magic mushroom “accusation” question but here’s more info…It all started when PANOS wrote about the “traveling circus coming to a town near you” (your road trip) and I suggested expanding the road trip into a Magic Bus 60’s hippie experience…complete with psychedelic drugs and the works… a REAL trip…joking of course :))

Evidently Sidney was “there” for the full 60’s experience and shared that it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. That’s how our conversation started….Someday we will have to hear more about Sidney in the 60’s…Any photos Sidney?

Don’t know if anyone has heard of photographer Lisa Law? I have her book Flashing on the Sixties…She recorded 60’s Hippie life in New Mexico…very cool.

Maybe my seriousness or “intention” has been getting in the way? Panos suggested that I should always go out with the intention of making great photos but “trying” and “doing” are not the same…

Cathy yes,
… you see , when i go out “desperate” for the good photo..
well… pressure…pressure…
but, when im loose i get more than i even asked sometimes ( not all
the times )… being too conscious doesnt work good in art i think…
or it doesnt WORK AT ALL…

but there is something else i wanna point out…
” light heart, looseness, openness, laughter, sense of humor,
playfulness… thats what is required for a high end delivery..
the “EMPTY” people usually say:
“…lets sit down and talk about it seriously….”

the “FULL” people disagree and say…
“… lighten up , im not talking to you… you look to damn serious..
you are acting DEEP BUT YOU ARE NOT….

thats what i really meant…

goodmorning y’all………….
( still trying to figure out about the ANCIENT GREEK TACO TRAFFICKING period….)
loved it Akaky…. SENSE OF HUMOR…. you definitely got
that down …. i cant wait to see that in your photos….;-)
PERIOD

DAVID…

Tax returns….Filing…..You don’t want to know. (quarterlies are sent, always…Easy part)

Frankly I think we all succeed, advance, or simply go thru in life DESPITE…. And that “despite” does end up being a big part of the JOURNEY, our passage on earth.

“What others find flawed about you, nurture it…It’s yourself” JEAN COCTEAU.

Photography is also like this, no? It’s a “despite” craft, or art. Cathy, see, your Obamanade… Despite many being shot haphazard, david found something telling in it (Just like I told you!!!).

Bob’s bones, Erica ‘s medium format essay and material mishaps, Panos driving 2 hours to Venice, so many Cartier-Bresson’s decisive moments, maybe all, were realized despite….

One more: Capa’s WW2 Normandy landing, the mother of all photography despites? ;-)))

I am sure, and he told us, that David has a story for many of his shots, how they came about (and maybe not like he thought them coming), and sure too that not a few of these images have a “despite…” in their story.

As an art, just making the object itself, photography is the most adversarial of all, is what I mean.

We have to embrace that, and never ever show an image to our peers, and say “it’s not that great, just a snap, to show you”, “just for fun”.

After all, how many pictures, Cathy, have you taken, “not for fun”? If so, Those better help pay the rent! :-)))

Need to go, but about anton’s slideshow. The superfluous shots, IMO, are towards the end, with many “unblurred” breaking the spell of the pastel emotions (Anton, you made me proud of myself, I had not realized your workd that after last time, and that tells me my memory may fail me, but I am LOOKING, for Godsake!).

I disagree that some “blurs” have nothing in them. Maybe, yes, but look at it from the POV of mood, emotions, conveyed, by shapes, light and color. That’s what our man Anton is about. Well, this year, at least!!!

(Hald of my lovefest (no, not the loft party) shots,last saturday, are blurs, hip-shot, 1/2 a second with flash….THE FULL CATASTROPHE!. Fuck off, you new vision freaks, all this is not DAH blog, this is….THE EMPIRE. my brain has been abducted from the house of sharpness, zombied, for the sake of art and MOSTLY, poverty….Going out at night for blurred flesh……

…..NIGHT OF THE LIVING DAH-ED!!!!!!!

HERVE???

“my brain has been abducted from the house of sharpness, zombied, for the sake of art and MOSTLY, poverty….Going out at night for blurred flesh……”

Is this YOU talking? Or did I miss some earlier quote from Panos?

Is there a link somewhere so we can see?

LANCE.

“i used to be known as the guy who needs three reasons to make a decision”

love that! :))

Loved the new report…a great follow-up to your writing about your own loft workshop experience…which I believe was the first of its kind. (Posted on the right side of this page for anyone who hasn’t read it)

Now lets hear the Mexico story! :))

Knowing that you and Dave were in NY helps to explain why Texas seemed a little less friendly last week…I was in Round Top and Fredericksburg…so you can use your imagination!

HERVE AND MARTIN

actually you are both right… it might seem that me trying to choose between b&w and color (last time) is not the real decision i have to make, but the story i need to tell… yes i know this sounds pretty obvious :)))) but after a while one loses track of that (at least i do)

what i want to show is what i shared in my introductory text to “birgit” some time ago:

—

SUGAR

This is a story about Birgit, a six year old sweet kiddo. She’s been diagnosed with diabetes about a year ago. The incurable kind. This story is about how, through her, I myself am being confronted with the fact that her illness is much more of an issue to me than it is to her. She taught me a lesson there. She is right and i am wrong. The things that are on top of a sweet kiddo’s list, should be on top of anyone’s list:

Life is about playing with friends and family and having fun as much as you possibly can.

These intimate, close images, are freeze-frames out of her daily life. Random. Lots of different moments. Almost no visual context. Bare essentials. The images are more about feeling the moment than looking at the moment.

There is no beginning and no end. A collection without order. You will recognise inside, outside, darkness, light, a bike, a bed or even a beach. But they are all irrelevant…

Just try to hear the laughter, hear the playing… Remember your own childhood… Feel like you’re there up close with her, her brother and sister. Sometimes she will notice you and say hi. Sometimes she will play and laugh with you until her stomach aches. Sometimes you feel like you need to let her be, dreaming.

She stares into the sea.

—

Martin, does the above text place the images that you saw in a different context? i’m feeling i would “lean” towards herve’s opinion, stating that individual images might seem to lack context, but the whole of the story is kind of more a collection of feelings, light and shadow and movement…

yes and reading your words again, i believe too that there are images in this edit that “damage” the overall “fleeting moments feeling”… but i have difficulty seeing which ones :)))

as well, one could argue that the time at the fairground i “tried too hard” to get the images out… and i would agree… i left in the evening feeling sad that it didn’t work…

so yes, i agree with you both Martin and Herve, that there is a lot of editing work to be done still… but i will prevail!!

thanks so much for both your feedback

and you’re very welcome Herve my man, to make you feel proud… i’m equally flattered that you noticed it at all :)))

hugs
anton

ANTON.. i am not familiar with all of the posting regarding this project, but let me tell you, I will write down or print this excerpt of SUGAR and put it where i can read it. thank you, thank BIRGIT, for the profound reminder of what’s important.

man, this blog.. it’s like Sunday Gospel around here sometimes!

Lance

yes this is like Sunday Gospel sometimes… Praise the Lord!

:)))

ps if you need the links again when you are looking just drop me a note…

hey martin,

no worries, i won’t take it the wrong way :)))

i mean, if i wouldn’t be able to take it, i shouldn’t put it up here at all…

eventually, i will complete the project and have the story exactly as i want to tell it… but in the process, i do value people’s opinions here (and definitely yours too), be it agreeing or disagreeing… they contuously make me look ever so slightly differently at my own work and discover new things. and up till now this has always been for the better…

… or at least, i believe so :))

again, really appreciate your view on this… i will let you know when i’m done editing!

(and looking at Lorenzo Castores now, learning…)

cheers,
anton

ANTON AND MARTIN.

This feels like Deja Vu…didn’t I butt in on another conversation of yours recently? :))

Finally had the 6 minutes to watch Sugar and now that I’m ready to comment I see Anton already answered one question and said some of what I was going to say…

MARTIN.

HONESTY is not HARSHNESS. I wish everyone here could feel comfortable expressing their true feelings. It’s not always easy. Please keep it up…glad to see Anton feels the same way. Thanks for the link. I do share your views regarding the use of “blur as art.”

ANTON.

I was concerned when you posted the show that you were “done” with Sugar. Glad to see this is not the case. Only the beginning hopefully. Don’t take what I said to Martin about blur personally…I do like your use of blur in many of the shots. The opening shot, the needle in the stomach, the other portrait, etc. Keep going! :))

GINA

just sent you mail… and many thanks for the kind words… i’m blushing here :-)

CATHY

yes don’t worry, i’m not done at all… birgit is only seven… still so many lovely moments to witness… but on the other side i do feel the strong urge to tell the story, to turn this into something tangible, something real, set the bar as high as possible and go for it. i will make a strong edit, design a book comp, get my text right… start “floating balloons” here and there… (dutch expression)

i will be stumbling, falling along the way… and i will shamelessy, tirelessly be asking all of you here to look, comment, help… because i trust it’s ok to do so here…

the Power of the Gospel!

peace
anton

PAT dear

happy 42nd…. wow and that on a lovely autumn day…

sending you & ed BIG hugs all the way!!!

(((((you and ed)))))

love
anton

PATRICIA….

first of all, HAPPY 42!!!! that is no small feat mi amiga… secondly, many thanks for all of your enthusiastic photo coverage of our loft doings…your energy and good spirit picked us up when we were all exhausted….by the way, i found another set of contact sheets of you and Ed…do not know how they got separated, but i think the new ones came out of the Fuji 6×9 and they were in another place…i will send them to you soonest….

all my best to both you and Ed on this very special day….

hugs, peace , david

LANCE….

you are right on….i will post a special link to the Dave Keenan piece…in all of my years of looking at student work, i have never seen a story done that was so personal and moving….a classic to be sure…a MUST SEE for anyone…

so please you were here amigo…i cannot even think of any gathering without you as a matter of fact…and i am rarely disappointed!! you are the man….

hugs, david

ANTON,
Glad to hear you take it well. And it’s funny that Gina think it’s great! Just shows how subjective photography really is! That’s why I think you should listen to yourself :)

SIDNEY,
Yes, I love his work and especially Paradiso. I have a photography blog at http://www.shutterwatch.blogspot.com where I post photographers and some other stuff. Was reminded of Lorenzos work when writing about blur. Glad I was reminded! :)

CATHY,
Thanks! glad to hear you say this!

Thanks to all for your anniversary wishes. Yes, 42 years is a long time. Amazing, even to us.

Kerry sent me an email with the correct names for my workshop photos, so now everyone is who they should be ;~)

I appreciate all the positive feedback on my photo sharings of the weekend. It was my pleasure. I loved reliving it in this way.

David, yet more contact sheets? Cool! Send them along when you have time. Ed and I are so honored to be part of your Family Drive project. I know you’re getting anxious to get back on the road…

Patricia

JEAN,

Bob’s photo (looking a bit like coluche) with ze bottel is at:

http://www.pbase.com/windchimewalker/image/104182614

PATRICIA

Happy 42nd!

I love snapshots. One of the best books I borrowed from the library this last season was a big monography on the “History of the american snapshot”, a terrific read.

Yours may be snapshots, but I see people keep complementing you for many qualities they find in them, over just being there to catch a scene, and so, they are not “just snapshots”… ;-)

Herve

Still know nothing about my schedule. I will find you anyway.

peace

GINA:
don’t worry, we were so kind that I though you remembered me. I was in the LOOK3 David Workshop.

bye

NANCY….

yes, that is the “addiction” for sure…are you also working on any long term projects??

SAM….

i liked your show…i only saw it once and would like to see it again…as usual, there are a couple of things i would have taken out, but overall very nice little travelogue with some very strong images…mostly what i liked was the “feel” or the diary aspect of your “journey”…i am rushing out this morning, but just wanted to acknowledge that i had seen your work…oh yes, there was one page in there where you had approximately 6-8 pictures…some of these deserve to be more prominent…i was frustrated that this page went by so fast just as i was getting into each image…anyway, thanks…i will look again later today…

SIDNEY….

i looked at all three of your shows…twice….as i told Sam above, i must rush out now, but i will be back soonest for a review….

first impression, fast review: very good, very Sidney, but can be improved with 10 minutes of judicious editing and sequencing…wish you were here…i could move things around just a bit, take out a few, and you would look truly quite good…

running, sorry….back soonest…

cheers, david

Had crazy photo dreams all night..

one that I had posted on LS looking for an affordable copy of Koudelka’s Gypsies, and that everyone replied with images that were color contemporary snaps as if to say..you are too old school in your adulation of this work and your willingness to pay large sums just to be able to sit withthe work..and then I dreamt that the men who pick up the trash found a 5D and asked me if I wanted it, I said I’d try to find the owner, and looked back through the photos, they were all mine, it was my camera, but I guess i had forgotten about it or thrown it out..clearly am battling old / new in my subconscious, I spent the day yesterday scanning 35mm bw that I have been shooting and really enjoying, and then looking at a little book of R. Franks’ work; just ordered The Americans yesterday, I haven’t ever even seen it..I move so slowly / digest visuals so deeply I can only take in so much if I am to do it completely and embody it in my understanding and awareness. But now the 5D is lurking, I find that annoying, but I just shot an editorial job with Preston’s 20D and without it, there would have been no images because of the light and conditions..ugghh

SIDNEY,

You made me smile. As always there is truth in what you write … calling them “snapshots” like we are hesitantly leading with false humility to spare our egos a withering. The “wanting” is the wall.

Likewise, and here is my mea culpa, calling them “postcards” amounts to much the same as calling them “snapshots,” although I did spend one day consciously making postcards of Greece for Panos, those were the only ones I called postcards. I could hear David in my head with every frame saying, “but is Greece just a pretty place to hang out?” Bloody hell Harvey, get out of my head will you and let me enjoy my “vacation.” ;-}>

But postcards and snapshots do not equate with “not trying,” at least for me. I always try. But I do stand in certain places and do snap the shutter in situations where I never intend to make a more “meaningful” frame, sometimes almost obsessively (but certainly not obnoxiously obsessive – see below), to create touchstones or studies of a place for future reference or frames to show friends or to make new friends or to just get me going and find a groove. And even when I do try to make something more, I end up with a LOT of crap photos. I remember David mentioning in his workshop a very famous and beloved photographer who made a LOT of terrible images between his iconic masterpieces. Sometimes the real bitch is in knowing the difference, although this is getting easier for me with time … and very frustrating!

Someone said recently, “if your photos suck, you are not reading enough” … this is Capa for the new age of photography where the world is now known and where “get closer” and “f8 and be there” are not enough. Where as everyone here knows, the excitement lies within turned out.

So I am working on the within as much as the act of photography itself, as if the two can be separated. I have my first back-to-college class tomorrow. I have been pondering this crazy notion i had, now set in motion, of going back to college at 41, wondering if I have made a terrible mistake. And my conclusion is no, it’s not a mistake for a variety of reasons because I have specific intent, not the least of which being to reconnect with great ideas, learn new skills in sound and film, and get some good energy from people not so worn down by life. I also have a special long-term project to do … so college too i guess can be like a snapshot, or a party, or be something more. Intent matters.

It’s been 20 years since I left the Virginia classroom for the summer, hit the road, hopped trains and thumbed my way across the continent, skipping my way across Canada and western U.S. like a rolling stone tumbling across the surface of a pond, to never return to eastern shores or college. I wish there had been a DAH back then … of course there was but you know what i mean … I’m sure I would have dove a bit deeper in my travels. Yet, I still have a few wonderful “snapshots” somewhere in my mess of slides from that journey and the fact that they are not photographic masterpieces in no way lessens their importance for me now.

And perhaps that is the point … are you going to skip across the surface, which is all fine and well, or dive for deeper depths through often murky waters? Or both? Sometimes I just try to breathe and let myself sink slowly. I actually did a lot of that this trip, sitting for hours without making a single frame and then having something wonderful present itself like a gift from the gods (forgive that overblown phrase but it was Greece after all, the gods are everywhere).

It’s interesting that during my second week in Greece while in Santorini, perhaps the most photographed and one of the most beautiful islands in the world, and well on its way to western ruination, I put my camera down for most of the week. To be sure, partly it was to spend quality time with my wife, to be there now with just her for the 18th anniversary of our being best friends, but it was also because of what I saw in the many, many photographers there which I have come to dislike, intensely dislike … “stealing” photos, obsessively snapping frames, being outside the moment and in the camera, unaware and uncaring of people around them.

I can say with certainty that I am in many, many photos and not once did anyone even look above the camera with even a questioning smile before snapping away with their latest canon markIII’s. I literally had one guy 12 inches from my face taking my picture while I was trying to enjoy my favorite old quiet spot … a precipice overlooking the Aegean now overrun by a photo workshop, tripods everywhere, gadget and gear porn run amuck, and hardly anyone enjoying the moment. Sigh.

Our friend and host Rena on the island noted the obsession with picture taking, particularly by Asian tourists, and I believe she meant predominantly Japanese tourists. Okay, so it is an unfair broad cultural generalization but there is certainly some truth in it as well. She noted in her observation that the obsessive photographers rarely ever just sit, hang out at a cafe, drink coffee or just enjoy a sunrise or sunset. They are instead taking pictures every second, and I mean every second. It is their social interaction, nearly exclusively. And in my observation this applied to many American tourists as well. It drove me nuts … bloody, bloody annoying. Such a contrast to the island of Syros where I saw very, very few cameras and taking pictures was a dance of finesse to not be an ugly American tourist.

(… As an aside, my wife remarked in Santorini, “why do all these photographers look like they are going on safari?” Made me laugh … and look at my shirt … i’m okay, i look like me … rumpled and unshaven )

And this is how digital has changed the way we take pictures isn’t it? For many it has fueled obsession to the detriment of intent and perhaps even respect for others. A few snapshots have become a few thousand snapshots … of everything, all the time, living inside our technology instead of just living. I’d rather have “the sisters of the sun rock me on the water.” (hmmm, Jackson Browne was my high school senior quote and I seem to always come back to that somehow).

“Do you think any of those photos are even any good,” Rena asked me in exasperation. It was a rhetorical question. “When do they live?” Another rhetorical question … a very good one.

So I guess the difference between a snapshot and something more can be in the intent, and perhaps the final edit ;-}>

Perhaps I am just stating the obvious here, all of it, for readers of DAH land but obvious for some is not obvious for others I guess. Would this have been obvious to me 2 years ago … I’d like to think so … but honestly i still feel like i’m making snapshots most of the time, skipping across the surface of the pond, even if that is not my intent … but my waters are getting perhaps just a bit deeper all the time, slowly, too slowly, never happy, where knowing and doing are two very different things … but I just have to breathe, let it go, and grow at my own pace i suppose because, in the end …

… the “wanting” is the wall.

… And Sidney, you were right of course, the weather here in Washington State is bloody awful but it is good to be home nonetheless. I missed my Golden Retriever … who just licked my foot … and my home, my garden, my rainforest and my salmon stream, my foggy mornings and my coffee. Tomorrow I will miss sunshine, wonderful Greek food, feta and Mythos beer.

Sidney, I like your photos from Vancouver’s Chinatown, a wonderful place I would like to visit again, and I see David is going to comment so I will just say thanks for showing these :))
And you can look at a few of my photos from Greece … I won’t categorize them … by clicking on my name below. They were often posted the same day I took them, an unadvisable practice perhaps … or am I just making excuses to spare myself a withering ;-}> … straight, too straight, right Herve?

yamas, young tom

SNL Bailout—spot on, controversial and hilarious:

http://www.snlbailout.cx/

ERICA, you going digital? Just part-time, right? Sorry, stupid question. 5D is good but still too big. The new one looks impressive though. I’m going back to film, part-time :))

tom

Also…
Not to say that snapshots aren’t an art form or to diminish them.

TOM HYDE. ALL.

I see you already jumped in on this. Thanks and welcome home.

Can’t tell you how much I have LOVED Jackson Browne :))

I met him once in front of an LA restaurant…pretty funny I was hugging my husband’s friend goodnight, looked over the guys shoulder and there was Jackson. I immediately grabbed the friend tighter and started whispering in his ear “Oh my god, I’m so in LOVE.” (meaning with Jackson) The friend looked at me and said “With ME?” (not seeing what was going on and fearing I was revealing some dark secret to him) :)) I said “No, with the guy behind you!” :)) Then after meeting him I told Jackson that my favorite song of his is LOOKING INTO YOU…to which he replied “That’s an old song” :))

Now you’ve got me going…here it is on you tube. A GREAT road trip song and a pretty darn good photography song too:

HERVE.

I like it! What the heck is Lovefest anyhow and what is Santa doing there? Are there more photos from this? Or even snapshots? :))

I don’t know if anyone is going to see your photo because you posted it to me only…try reposting for all with some background info.

Erica, you’re sweet ;-}>
Cathy, we won’t even mention “Lawyers in Love” will we?

tom

Interesting full cycle Herve. I remember your Photo Friday shot of Lovefest from last year.

TOM.

No we won’t! :)) Don’t know what that was all about! :))

HERVE.

I know you did not intend for the photo to be seen only by me but I was concerned that no one else would see it since it is in a comment addressed to me. I was acting as your PR agent :))

ANTON

no, not going..

you don’t have a way to put up small images somewhere? even flickr would work..

Tom H —
Wishful thinking, but any chance of doing a group “pass-around” of your last copy of the Air France issue?
Maybe we could do something similar to Lassal’s new project with everyone adding a “snapshot”, photo, or postcard of where they live..

anton

photoshelter is expensive for what it is – a backup system.. it does have the lightbox and gallery options, searchable database.. which can be good.. flickr works and is free.

also – photoshelter collection was closed as an ongoing business last month.. disappointing many thousands of photographers who had, like myself, dedicated hours to labelling, keywording and uploading photos.. they only gave it a year and could not get the revenue to bring about second phase of their funding..
so – they dumped it and all of our hard work.. a tough decision for them, perhaps, but also a telling sign perhaps of the companies approach..
have a brilliant time at oaxaca..
another great knees-up i’ll be unable to get to :o/

SOOOOOOOOO TIRED>?
Tor Capa wants it all.. my time.. my love.. my eyes.. and he’s getting it all.. sleepless, heady, light, long nights of cuddles, comfort and gentle feeding.. he’s a JOY>
photos nearly – nearly there..

AS a NOTE – check this out..
>>
my friend erick killed himself back in february this year, after a really cool night at home with five of us.. drinking, laughing..

he’d done this during the early hours after we had left, and i found out through a phone-call the next day – a couple of hours after beate and i found out we were expecting a baby.
then.. early monday morning..
Tor Capa was born on ericks birthday..
only a 365 to 1 shot to share a birthday.. but to find out on the same day as well?
coincidence.. love it.

ERICA…. i do not have a phone on my cell phone either….

I too am home today – not sick, just working from home.

Anton

Beautiful photos.
Most positive essay I saw last time.
Very gentle.
Very inteligent.
Terrific.

peace

marcin!

thank you for your words. they mean a lot to me. i tried hard to put a positive message of “life” in the story.

am i wrong or have you been away for a while? how are you these days?

cheers,
anton

“…my photographer friends say that I’m a writer…”

yeah, I get that a lot, too.

erica

o wow a detailed list what a treat!! now you really got me curious i’ll go check straight away… so great that you’d take the time to do this…

yes the story of Dave… i’m sure his and the other students’ work must be amazing… can’t wait to see it posted

ps how on earth did you manage to take notes and write up those great reports… it felt like i was there. you’ve got superpowers for sure…

thanks again!

woops notice it’s 1am here… sleepy time

cheers,
anton

ANTON,
Looks great. May have underrated your work yesterday. Some of the “blurries” are actually quite good. ;) But there’s still editing and processing to be done.
Are you in Europe and if so, where?

Cheers

ANTON,
Yeah, a small country, but hope you’ve eaten some of their great food?
I’m in the southern part of Sweden.
You need to sleep more! ;)

Cheers

ALL

Just uploaded a few images, 6 actually, that I took a few weeks ago on a brief road trip. I shot 10 images in all with the 4×5, i know that isn’t much but still, I didn’t think it would be SO !! hard to take this puppy on the road and make something interesting..anyway, this was a first go, an experiment..it has raised a few questions for me about how people who shoot this way do it with some grace and poignancy..not sure if I will pursue this tack at all or not.

http://www.ericamcdonaldphoto.com
private galleries
login erica, password erica (case sensitive)
american 4×5

ANTON- my favorite photos from your work on sugar are frame #7 and #8. those two shots sum it all up for me: in shot 7, the beauty is in the fragile details caught in a moment of perfection: soft tousled hair lay in playful curves above a delicate spine…and shot 8 brings you back to reality – though still in an intimate way; a seemingly giant watch to serve as a constant reminder…
there are many more i like in the slideshow, but these two really spoke to me.

ERICA – i dig the Billiards shot – nice job!!

KIM – glad you are here!!

GINA,

so what is the deal with Mexico? When can we see??? Did I miss a link or you are still editing and deciding what to show? We want to see the BUSES!!!!

Eric

KIM

I just looked at the photos from “Eighteen” on your web site, as well as googling it and reading reviews & the press release for your March 2007 exhibit at the Robin Rice Gallery.

What a monumental work!!! And I’m not just talking about the size of those rigs either. Your views into the trucker’s lives, as well as the amazing shots of these 18-wheelers out on the road and at truck stops make this so-often ignored part of our culture come to life. This is such an inspired project and portrayed so beautifully. And I am deeply moved by your personal reasons for tackling it. BRAVA to you!!!

http://www.kimreierson.com/eighteen.html

Patricia

Anton

Yes I am little out. I’ve started scanning millions of frames from my archive. My eyes want blow up. my mind is offended.

http://marcinluczkowski.com/scans.html

peace

Hi everyone,

greetings from HELSINKI!
Searched and found an open WLAN from a carless neighbour of Riitta’s and am posting something quick in the hope of getting it to you before the signal disappears (it is not very stable).

I am very late today. Should be on the road for hours but had a terrible night of no-sleep with this project of mine hounting me to the furthest corners of my mind.

It is as it is. Problems come up along the way, as soon as things get started. Situations change and you (I) notice, that what was easy before, is damn hard now. So changes of culture, light (it is getting dark outside), infrastructure (= how to get from place to place),and… not being able to communicate in one of my fluent languages … god it just adds. On top of it all it is just not me to hurry along but I simply love to spend time with people. It is important for me NOT to be the jumping stone on the watersurface but to imerge. So I was quite unhappy in Slovenia.
I was happy because I go my 16 Portraits and Cards in 2 days of “work”, but it was different than what I meant to feel and take with me. I did not take much more than a feeling of wanting to go back there from Slovenia. It was not enough time. It was not me. And I just had two days between Slovenia and Finland, two very busy days. So I was really somewhat worried about Finland and about wasting this chance.

I did again my 16 Portraits / Cards in the first two days here (5 on the first day and 11 on the second) and then I stopped to think. Which was good too … This talking to stranger’s thing is quite exhausting :) … but I had started to change the way of taking portraits here a bit, and I needed to reflect. Also I was having problem with my gear. From now on I will take additional lights. Or a tripod. But … I’d hate to take a tripod with me. I really want to go minimal.
Had a Mamiya 6 in my hands yesterday. Beautiful. But film. … Gosh, I have to find a solution for this.

Yesterday I just drifted throughout the city. Did not want to “work”. Did want to think. But I just got a void-signal in my head…
I have been having bad headaches here since the flight – they somehow had to little oxygen in the cabin. Everybody was falling asleep, it was hard to breathe. These things give me headaches.

But it was easy to connect to people here anyway. Standing at a red light on the street, talking to the supermarket cashier, speaking to a hairdresser that was having a cigarette break outside the salon (Helsinki is FULL of hair dressers!!), women soccerteam … then the owner of a bar where I was having my lunch (a perfect lasagne for a starving traveller), the “janitor” from the olympic stadium … It is not difficult to connect here. Thus I was feeling even worse with the thought that I might just be doing portraits for the waste bin right now.

So … even if I really want to get along on a fast pacing with this postcard project, I will allow myself more time now. And I will connect it to my other project “Meaning”. Thus I will have to prepare better from now on. I have not being preparing anything until now. I wanted to just jump into the cold water of every countries day-to-day life. It felt right to my mind. It does not feel right to my heart. So … Heart wins.

I will try to make a portrait over today – and to get me another lasagne. I was having trouble with the portraitsession. I was not leading people but let them stand as they wished to stand. It was a matter of seconds. The max amount of time I had for a portrait now (if you omitt Tuscany) were 4 minutes. Mostly it is something about 30 seconds. Amindst a busy street or so. I do not think it will get much better. Maybe once in a while. But I should not start dreaming. And many people feel uncomfortable in front of a camera. It shows. Last night I had an idea of how I could maybe improve the situation a little. I think it could work …

But for today I got me a tram card. Will be travelling around and having a closer look at the place. And think about how to optimize my project organization.

Will visit some strange place someone recommendet me, and tonight there is a finnish photographer’s meeting where I can go to too. I will not understand a single word though, so I might just take another drift along the harbor. So much to see here, sooo little time.

Leaving now.
Looking forward to check back in here with you in 2 weeks or so.

Keep it up and have a nice time.

Baby Bowen should have “arrived” by now. Could not check. Hope all went well and you are enjoying the first days of being a little family now. Was thinking of you, David B. Kept my fingers crossed!

Bye for now,
Lassal

ALL….

i am heading back out on the road today…down to Virginia to shoot military families and then to North Carolina, a “swing state” in the upcoming U.S. elections…i am not sure where i will drive after that….open road…maybe to Texas or ????

in any case, it will be refreshing to be out shooting….up against my own creative demons….the struggle, the joy….

incidentally, please check the Magnum website soonest to see our new daily blogging of the countdown to the election…Bruce Gilden is shooting in Florida, Gilles Peress and Alex Webb in Ohio, and i will be as aforementioned…all “swing states”…since the documenting of history is one of our primary motivations at Magnum, now seems to be the time to document a limping America…several other photographers will be out shooting soonest on the same project..my family project, by coincidence, falls right into our overall goal of chronicling the last 30 days of one leader and the first 100 days of the next…we will either launch our new site today or by monday at the latest…we will be posting daily pictures and stories from the photographers out crossing the country…stay tuned…

ok, i must pack my bags…flying to Richmond, renting a car , and driving from there….

my window faces west towards lower Manhattan..often great sunsets…but , i am now seeing the sunrise reflected off of the buildings down on Wall Street…looks pretty from here..even spectacular….hmmmmmmmm

i will be back here as soon as possible with a new post….take good care…..

peace, david

ERICA

Thanks for all that you said…

and you’d like to see more… thanks!

On my website there’s also some material from my ‘archive’ – back from my London days…

http://www.samharris.phanfare.com

also I have a lot more edited material from ‘Slow Motion Travelogue’. I put about a third onto the web site. Perhaps I should think about putting more of the project on-line…

I can agree with you that ‘it is liberating to have times of abandon in photography..’ An experiment i tried during our travels was to just be totally spontaneous using only a digital point & shoot. I wanted to work on the ‘diary’ aspect (whatever that means…). I got real loose and got some great shots, but I also shot way more crap than I would have otherwise, especialy shooting digital instead of 6×6.

cheers

Sam

KIM – WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW! You really have a feel for the road sister, the Rig as landscape is what i’m loving the most , somehow more real and now than pristine views, a monumental work.
SIDNEY – thanks mate for your comments on homelands, I’m not working with any one writer on this work , I don’t quite trust or believe that this work is anyway on the way to being resolved,your pic’s to me seem to be loosening up majorly especially # 11 and #18 , but I can’t help being drawn into the still landscapes and slices of habitat in the first few pictures and thinking that your experiences in asia have given you a certain ammount of zen , a singular eye for detail that mirrors those classic works from Japan – so much happening in a still scene that the mind boggles.
PAT – in answer to your question on how I gain access to the communities I visit , simple – I am there to take pictures and every one knows it , there is no where to hide and no room for being a bullshit artist, so I try to carry myself with as much dignity as i want to show in the folks I shoot and talk to , I am only interested in their story and I want them to know it as soon as we meet.
OMG Pat you have been married for longer than I have been alive and looking at your photo’s , reading your posts makes me think that I should really stop being such a cranky bastard – you rock Pat!
ERICA – loved your dream – my photodreams usually revolve around camera malfunctions or legs going out from under me any thing happening to stop me getting a shot away – I sometimes dream about pictures I’ve taken and how things might have progresed if I had’nt been there , But I have never dreamt of 5D ( but I do have 2 on order).

PATRICIA

I can guarantee I will be picking up my camera and getting on with it! Promise… it’s just a frustrating matter of time…

Thank you also for your comments. It feels so good to share my work FINALLY after quite some time…

The diptychs have been a strong part of my photographic life for some time.

Back in the day, before internet and digital my work would always be in ‘portfolios’. So apart from the front shot and the back shot i’d be dealing with pairs of images. I know some photographers just placed a single on one side and a blank page opposite, but I kinda liked making pairs.

Many a night would be spent with prints all over the kitchen floor, working out a new portfolio. I really got into the balance or harmony between pairs of images, sometimes the click was just spooky… anyway it’s just an evolution of that really. Although every image should ‘work’ on it’s own, no doubt, creating diptychs can ‘say’ a bit more, or give dynamics, movement to a sequence, kinda filmic perhaps… but thats just my view. Having said that, some shots just HAVE to be alone.

The pages with multiple images derive from my edit books, which I used to do with rough edits from jobs, a sort of diary scrapbook. Anyhow, glad you liked them.

Cheers

Sam

Dear David and all

I have come back my usual life at my clinic.
Sometimes i miss the scenery of the Manhattan and East sea seen from David’s apt. and his sofa with many books…

I really want to send my respects and love to mentor,David…Please take care of yourself and have safe road trip for ‘family’ works. And send my heartful thanks to Michael, Paula and Diego.

I had a great time with the workshop friends, too. They helped so much for me and heard me out with patience… thank you.

And I was very excited with meeting blog f
riends…Panos, Patricia, Bob, Marina, Lee, Mike, Glenn, Erica… maybe I’m afraid if i missed some names …
you all are very special to me…i’m very happy to meet you… amazing…

Now i’m preparing my solo exihibition of ‘Island’ on Nov.3th and am going to Paris(8th Novem. – 16th)…so i have very busy time.

I hope we all will keep going our photography and have very nice relationships.

Best wishes,
Kyunghee

ERICA
your work is breathtaking. I’ve looked at all your images. what’s most striking i find is the “timeless” quality they inhabit – best exemplified in the “New York City Portaits”

PATRICIA
thank you for the kind words. did you get my email i sent to your blog? After i met you, I said ” THIS person i have to know better..” so i’ve been catching up on your amazing life.

GINA
i can’t believe you didn’t show your bus work to the others!!!
Strong body of work and I’m excited for you and the challenging/learning process of turning it into a book and along with its headaches…and its rewards.

DAH
after all these years, i still can’t manage to do those “responsible things”…
my perfect match…aahh.. if only you weren’t taken… and/or didn’t have a long “wait list” to boot..

ALL
thank you for the feedback, it’s encouraging and has motivated me to work on being more “open” in areas I am not that confident in – like documentary film. I will soon post a link to a short … as soon as i figure out how to do a quicktime compression with subtitles….

Here in the ‘Biggest Little City’ snow is falling lightly and it seems to be more than the seasons that are changing. In talking with my workshop colleagues it’s clear the DAH ‘at home’ experience has changed us all a little…

KYUNGHEE,
I will be in London & Paris at that time — can you post details of your show? I would love, love, love to come see you!

ERICA
I took a look at your site and I really love your people images. You have a gift for going further than skin deep in a portrait. I especially love your Grateful Dead series – so free and filled with sweet spirit. I can almost hear the music. Good luck with the 4 x 5 journey…

SAM
Your slow motion travelogue is beautiful — look forward to seeing more of it. I look at your pictures and think you’d be right at home in Byron Bay, which is where I’m based when in Australia. Look me up if you make it to the ‘other side’ of Aus.

DAVID B
I don’t know you yet, but congratulations on becoming a dad! And the coincidence of your friend Erick and Tor’s arrival – probably not such a coincidence after all. In my own experience of suicide, the person you loved and lost will do many things to let you know they’re ok… you just need to be keyed into receiving the messages. Looks like you just got a big one from Erick.

PATRICIA
Belated congrats on reaching 42 years – and thanks again for your wisdom and advice on how to pursue happiness with a view to AND instead of OR…

KRISTEN
I’m still looking for a NYC roommate – great deal – I’ll only be in town 7-10 days out of every month… Remember the words in your Tracey Chapman song – “Make a new beginning…. start all over… I’m ready, I’m ready…” maybe Jan 09 is the time to do that?

AKAKY
Who ARE you? I am intrigued by you. Highly amused and very intrigued…

CATHY & ANTON

Off running right now but am looking forward to seeing the work both of you have been sharing with the community. Hopefully my life will settle down soon so I can spend time with Obama and Birgit. Until then…

love
Patricia

D A H

godspeed and fun on your journey again..
there is a double room for you and yours waiting in norway if the mood were to take you..

anton.

yes – too many callings.. they are all good..
today we listened to fuson jazz, deep house.. a little amon tobin.. a little squarepusher..
tomorrow we are moving on to classical.. stops him crying.. good boy he is..
not had the chance to check your photos.. will do mate.. look forward to when i have a moment.

lassal

your memory puts me to shame :o)
thanks for the thoughts and much love returned to you from the new family bowen..
yes.. lots of love to all.. feeling it.

kerry

hi.. such a lovely first message to say hello and you’re right.. coincidence has it’s own magical ways and it’s always a pleasure to remember friends who have left us..

all..

still editing photos from the miracle.. right now.. with you very soon.. i cannot wait to share..

BIG UPS TO ALL THE HEADS HERE AND THERE

with pea’s and many chips.

ALL

Hi, and sorry for being toatally away from keyboard lately. I`ve been photographing, alot. Alot of work, school, the part-time job in the photoshop ,my own business and my “mom” project is all going excelent.
And for you who don`t know me, I`m quite new to photography, and even more newer to this forum.

BOB AND PATRICIA

Thank you very much for the feedback. I`ve done some new, I have used alot of your tips and tricks. I`ll put up a new link soon.
New, and interesting things that I`m photographing now is my mother`s trial – her late husband`s kids want the house she lives in, for money. My older brother came home yesterday, after beeing away for 6 weeks, with no mail or phonecalls to us (recovering drug addict) and came home totally free from drugs, don`t know the english word for it. Haven`t seen him like this in many years.

And once again congratulations to the father of Tor Capa. I r happy for ju.

– I get really excited every time I hold a camera ;)

Alexander

david b

yes she definitely is..

AKAKY: So, who are you?

AKAKY IRL: Come again?

AKAKY: Kerry wants to know who you are. She’s intrigued by you.

AKAKY IRL: There’s nothing to be intrigued about.

AKAKY: I know that, but she doesn’t, so she wants to know who you are.

AKAKY IRL: Beats me, pal, I’m a stranger here myself.

AKAKY: I thought so.

david b

squarepusher!!! amon tobin!!!
dude the little fella is gonna ROCK!

okay TOR CAPA, this one’s for you (and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!):

marcin

in just 4 images you are capable of telling a story. this looks good… the atmosphere is almost “serene”, the expressions and the body language very real

anton

All

I have question, very stupid but very important to me.

I try make my photography easy and simply. I need it. That’s why I use M6 and one lens. I know why my photography is not best on the world. But still try do my job best I can. I love many kinds of photography. And my own looks like one big mess. I am useing diapositives negatives B&w and color.
But I have to make it easier.
My wife prefer my colors photos (she is a peinter). But color is very hard. I need good light, good backgroud, something have to inspired me, I have to be in good mood even. It is easier to make one good picture than good story. There is no sense to shoot in color in poland also.
B&w is only positive. I don’t need special light and special conditions. B&w is easy and best for story telling.
But B&w is not color…
Well, the truth is I can’t decided wich one choos and I dont have right mind to use both. I have to focus I have to choose.
Small camera one lens one film.
simple.

Please look at this link;
http://marcinluczkowski.com/scans2.html

What do you think, what should I choose?
To be focus…
I like Larry Towell and Alex Webb at the same level, unfortunetly…

Thanks

Marcin

ok… that’s all i saw in the KIBBUTZ…
i got photos from ALL, but we all saw that , so far…
i have 2000 photos but i liked those , below, the most…

http://web.me.com/innerspacecowpanos/%22VENICE_BEACH%22/47%29_the_KIBBUTZ.html

peace

Just as a matter of curiosity, has anyone shot the Hispanic Day parade and the Columbus Day parade on 5th Ave? Which one is the more colorful? I may be able to go to one but not both and I was just wondering which one is the better to take pix of.

Hello David and All,
I believe I have finished my work about recovery women’s house in Sicily.
It was a very difficult work because many women were not friendly and not collaborative at all, so I tried to get inside the project with kids, and I would like to express what a kid feel inside the house.The little kids spend most of their time inside the house, waiting for the mom’s get back from work.
I tried to feel like they feel on this long waits, spending time in the house.

what do you think?
http://www.cristinafaramo.com/casadonpuglisi_/
http://www.cristinafaramo.com/casadonpuglisi
tnx

also if you wants to try the choccolate,this is the link:

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B03E3D81331F937A25755C0A9609C8B63&scp=1&sq=foodstuff%20chocolate%20don%20puglisi&st=cse

– I get really excited every time I hold a camera ;)

Alexander

_________________________________

ha – brilliant.. i had to show that in class today alex.. such a cheesy photographer.. all talk and no trousers..
very funny..
and thanks again..

anton

brilliant.. Tor has really got into inrainbows.. something about the base and rythem.. compelling.. really calms his boots..

panos..

brilliant.. want to see.. just no time.. baby crying.. thanks for the photos.. tomorrow tomorrow..

CRISTINA – what a lovely project you have been working on. such intimacy and beauty in these images. i am very drawn to #1 and #3 and many more- but those pulled me in.

PANOS – love the pix – thanks for sharing.

ANTON….
if you edit down to 6 photos…
no music , no slideshows, no bull…
your work is AMAZING, AWESOME, DA BOMB….
no need for, movie crap… voiceovers & decorations…
stay simple… EDIT HARD..5 to 7 photos…
that will stay in anyone’s memory for good!
hope DAH will edit… you got STYLE!

CRISTINA,
A very beautiful and moving story. I adore 13, 16, 21…there is a story within those beautiful images…I think that it could use some moving around the photos to tell it a bit better, but I think it’s really nice.

MARCIN

You say that there is no sense to shoot in color in Poland.. man i look at your EPF project, and the prints you sent me, and I have to disagree with you amigo. I love the subdued and moody feel to your color work. You say it’s harder, so maybe you have to think more when you shoot? Like anything, with practice it becomes easier, more natural, no? I think maybe you don’t give yourself enough credit for your color work.

I also love color and black and white (Webb/Towell.. Luczkowski/Luczkowski… whoever).. I say you are shooting well with both, just shoot which one speaks most to YOU. Maybe use the difficulty of color to push yourself. Plant yourself where there is good light and wait for the characters to appear.

And allow yourself to change on a project by project basis. But I do think there is merit in sticking to one for a period of time instead of jumping back and forth sporadically.

When you visualize a project, or before you go to a place, how do you visualize your photography? In color or b&w? Take that into consideration as well.

ALL… NEW LINK
NEW LINK
NEW LINK
NEW LINK
LINK NEW
LINK NEW
LINK NEW

“DARK KIDS 2″… PART II… ( “dark kids revisited )

http://web.me.com/innerspacecowpanos/%22VENICE_BEACH%22/48%29_DARK_KIDS_2.html

peace

PANOS,

Best ones for me in your “dark kids” are 1, 10 and possibly 2. I continue to like this topic… You should consolidate with your other pictures…

Cheers,

Eric

ERICA

I’ve just had a look at some of your work, you’ve got some great portraits. They have a sensative nature as well as being strong with a lot of depth.

I think I read somewhere back in this thread that you’ve just tried working with a 5×4? If that’s the case can we see these shots? (sorry I might have missed somethng – maybe you’ve already posted them?) . Anyhow, whilst it might have been a struggle I think you should go for it, try more… I once had an idea years ago now (that I never followed up on) that I would try and hand hold a mono rail 5×4 on the street! Point & shoot style…

see what would happen…

never did try it!

I used to use a 5×4 when I started out. Loved the Polaroid Type 54? (the one with the b&w neg)

Have you seen Avedon’s ‘American West’ work?
(please forgive me if you have) In 1979 he set off ‘on the road’ with a 10×8 to document the working class of the American west.
I love these portraits, they blew me away when I first saw them. In fact they still blow me away.

Another dude with a 5×4 that inspired me a lot was Weegee.
1930-1950’s hand held press style. Weegee used to prowl the streets mostly at night and documented a New York marked by mob violence, poverty, prostitution and unemployment.
Gritty B&W flash photography. Great stuff…

cheers

Sam

PANOS – lovely light. when did you shoot these… today? i agree with eric – I like #1 and #10.

ALL – i went to the Avedon exhibit at the Corcoran Gallery here in DC… EXCELLENT. it’s on Power & Politics – focusing on his portrait work from many administrations, activists, writers, poets, military, etc. if you can get to DC before January 25 – it’s a must see!!

ok… ALL
i’m ready…
” I drove miles & miles… i followed her… into the forest… she took me by the hand… she gave me love…
devotion, submission, … pleasure… love… warmth… acceptance…

IN THE FOREST

IN THE FOREST

IN THE FOREST

http://web.me.com/innerspacecowpanos/%22VENICE_BEACH%22/49%29_IN_THE_FOREST….html

ok..
IN THE FOREST ( high resolution )

IN THE FOREST ( high resolution )

IN THE FOREST ( high resolution )

http://gallery.me.com/innerspacecowpanos#100284&view=mosaic&sel=0

peace

CATHY

sounds good to me! any time…

but I warn you, once I get started on India it’s difficult to stop…

links:
http://www.cristinafaramo.com/casadonpuglisi_/

http://www.cristinafaramo.com/casadonpuglisi

DAVID

I can’t conjure the words to thank you enough for your generosity. Thank you. That’s all I came up with.

GINA

It was so wonderful to meet you… a woman who travels a party with a dedicated bottle of wine is thinking several moves ahead, and earns my eternal admiration… You had me in stitches with your Look3 stories… thank you!! I’m going to every future Look3 until I’m overcome by my dotage, so I’ll see you next Spring, God willing!!

AKAKY

Can you trade your current imaginary parasitic twin in for a greener model? Or at least a less petulant model. :)))

n.b. use of emoticons indicate jocosity

PATRICIA

It was so nice to meet you… I’m glad you enjoyed Brooklyn!! and thank you for the photos.

PANOS

What the fuck, man… I thought we had a scientific expedition planned at the Navy Yard Cocktail Lounge… I brought a flashlight, a notebook and everything. Next time for sure.

BOB

Sent you an email… thank you for your kindness and your kind words. Love to you and Marina.

KYUNGHEE LEE

It was a pleasure to meet you, and I can’t wait for your book… you speak my language. Good luck in Paris!

TOR CAPA BOWEN

Happy birthday.

MARCIN

I don’t have an answer… though I think one of your gifts is handling color. “Black and white” is color too, a restricted palette… do you show the mechanics of your pictures, en grisaillle, or do you seduce with color, tromp l’oeil… one is part of the other… maybe you are stuck, schizophrenically, to do both, until one or the other prevails??

CORI

Thank you for your workshop report!

ERICA

Two things… first, I’m really curious about your opinion of The Americans… for me it was a life changing experience, but I was at an impressionable age… I have too many thoughts about the pictures to write on a blog… they would either seem incoherent or excessive…

Once you know the pictures, though, I think you will see them everywhere… their influence was the air that photographers breathed in the 60’s and 70’s…

Second, I do think your American 4×5 pictures are a fantastic start… I hope you do pursue the tack!!! Difficult, sure… but with time, you’ll be able to exploit it’s gifts/treasures… and they are rich.

ALL

Larry Fink has some pictures in the current “Entertainment Weekly” (?!?)… a Tina Fey profile.

I have no new photos posted… still figuring things out for my view camera project… it turns out the camera needs a new bellows, and while the elf at Lens and Repro is hand-crafting a replacement, I’m doing some research, looking at photos, and I’ve pulled my watercolors out of storage…. I’m fallow.

LISA H

Speaking of OZ… congratulations for having some of your photos chosen for this classy exhibit. I had seen a few of the ‘Beautiful Music’ pictures before, but not the whole series… really well done, Lisa! I can see why the two that are up on the news website were chosen, they have good ‘tableau’ ensemble composition and I quite like them as images, but there is more telling emotional content in some of your other photos in the series. Kudos to the choir director Peter for his dedication, passion, and compassion.

Marcin, I know what you mean; I too like Larry Towell and Alex Webb. Many of my photography books are in B&W – probably because many photographers choose to shoot with the medium – although I have many in colour including David’s Cuba and James Stanfield’s Eye of the Beholder. Try to see the book Circle of Life which includes some good colour work.

I noticed that almost all of your colour photographs just posted are were not taken in Poland and again, I understand: I live in the North of England and right now it’s as if someone has turned the lights out outside or rather has turned the colour of the light out! Colour is rarely vivid in northern climes – more muted.

Have you seen the work of Ernst Hass? His use of early Kodachrome (ISO 12) is wonderful and his style, which included long exposures was often a requirement of the slow film speed. We would now call it “loose”. He did some work in New York as I remember and it was (and is) wonderful. Colour is harder because it can affect the mood of a photograph. Susan Meiselas (can we have her attend a loft party David) photographed war in Nicaragua in colour and at the time some said that it would have been more “serious in B&W. Of course now almost everything is captured in colour even if it is subsequently converted to B&W later. For me, when you get “the” colour photograph it can’t be beaten – but they can be few and far between. It is easier to build a volume of work in B&W because you can choose a look for your photographs and carry the same look to subsequent shots where with colour you have to take what you get to a certain extent.

I like your work Marcin.

Mike R.

Christ Sidney? Armidale??? I once had my heart broken by a girl from Armidale , walking beneath the jackarandah’s , let me down hard , rather go with a footballer she said , but then fell into the arms of a stoner girl from Mullimbimby ,, did you know that it was on the HMAS Armidale thatr leading seaman Teddy Shehan won his postumous Victoria Cross for strapping himself to his okeleron gun and was still blazing away at the attacking zeros as the ship slipped beneath the Timor sea?
too bad you did’nt emigrate we need more sanity in the gene pool!
Sister Lisa – congrats on reportage I hope you have a fine night and knowing a little first hand of what you went through , I hope the ABC does an Australian Story on you.

“PLAIN” MIKE – good to hear from you. look forward to seeing you again at LOOK.

PANOS – dig the new work – very inviting, seductive and lovely.

CRISTINA – let me look at the link again…..

It’s beautiful in NYC, and I still have this evil cold..forgive my less than coherent ramblings.

ERIC

“considering..my love-hate relationship with computers…I might be done by the next decade :)” exactly..we ARE on parallel paths!

GINA

you showed Kim you Mex work, right under my nose? unfair!! :)I am looking forward to seeing it…no pressure though, not from this compassionate slow moving snail!

ANTON

2/day is a good take I think..

LASSAL

I hope your head is improved. It’s so hard to work creatively with a headache.

MARTIN and ANTON

re 4×5 on the road /empty places..this is what I am trying to sort out; if it isn’t that hard to make equally strong shots with MF, what is the point of the 4×5 for this type of image? It should be more powerful, more stunning, more commanding if I am to go to the expense and bother of shooting 4×5. My guess is that there are quiet secrets about the format that I just don’t know yet..I actually got the camera for the assignment street portrait project, and learned on the fly to use the camera, and considering, there are some strong images in 4×5..are they better than the MF? I don’t think so, but they do fit in equally, while offering a slightly different perspective. So Anton I don’t really have a good answer, other than I felt the need to see in this way, or rather, to see if I could see in this way for the places..it’s not so hard for me with people, but it’s another story to find the emotion of a place, even tho it is right there, empty, sad/ forgotten, left behind or unused..

SAM

The experiments in looseness I was talking about weren’t intended to generate final photos per se (“I also shot way more crap than I would have otherwise”)but to inform and serve future work in your (my) traditional working method. The link to the empty space stuff in 4×5 is below, but this isn’t what I normally do..I bought the 4×5 for my recent street portrait project..and yes, I too am deeply inspired by Avedon and that series..I still find it to be a testament to what is possible…and a bar of achievement set very high to keep reaching towards..

MICHAEL R

Funny you should mention Bruce Davidson’s East 100th Street; I think I am more in awe of that body of work than any other. I feel as if grace and discipline came together perfectly in that series..and it will never again be doable in the same way. It’s absolutely perfect I think. Yes, he shot a lot of film, and worked for quite some time on this, but that is what it takes..

I would (very, very, much) like to try to use the 4×5 this way, shooting people in their spaces or as environmental portraits, as social documents, but it seems at this moment a herculean task, one that will escape the reach of my time and money constraints, and perhaps my talent too. But life can be long, will many opportunities unknown..

I don’t really like empty places images either! Yes, to some extent I do, but only if they are excellent, and my 10 frames certainly are not that. Still, I am intrigues by the POSSIBILITY of gaining insight into this way. I am drawn to this side of America, and think there is room for me to explore this, if only in bits over time. I am not sure why I even shared my first foray into this, who in their right mind shares the first 10 frames of anything new, except that I did it in the interest of community and in learning..

Despite the cost, I ordered a copy of Gypsies..I couldn’t see a good reason to live without it for another moment. This too is ‘perfect’ work..

KYUNGHEE

It is good that you are safely home, thought you must be tired!

KRISTEN

Thank you..I think 40 days is close to what I intended, though it was, production-wise, absolutely ridiculous, so there are many shortcomings that I can see..the images were taken in one spot in the doorway of the church, and the only time parishioners were there was to enter or to leave church, meaning a big rush of people. So even tho it was taken over the Lent season, 40 days, I had just seconds to stop people and gain their cooperation and then keep a bunch of other people from entering / leaving the church through the door or stepping into the frame. I shot the TLR with one hand a lot, using my other like a football player to ‘bounce’ people out of the frame..it was quite funny really, and would have been more so if it wasn’t so frustrating..

KIM

XO, really..I’m going to email you to see if we can find some time to get together..am VERY interested to see your short!

KERRY

I was just a wee gal when I took the GD pics, but seeing as they are no more, I thought it was ok to include them on my site, glad you feel them..

AKAKY

I have shot at the NYC Columbus day parade..not very colorful, but easy enough..

ERIC

did you see the MM piece that went along with this? from TED? http://hub.witness.org/en/node/8902 On this link there are things people can do, sign a letter, circulate the mm piece, etc.

MIKE

Though I haven’t seen the whole body of work, I’ve seen enough of the Americans to KNOW I will love it and if I give it time to sink into me it will forever change me..I’m still (and hopefully always will be at “impressionable age”). :)

MARCIN

why do you feel you should choose one medium? Yes, it helps to focus, but it is also very freeing to do different things, each can inform the other..this is what I am doing right now, shooting 35, MF and LF, and I guess digital too :( and it feels right for me..and obviously this is what DAH is doing with his Family project, mixing formats..but if you confused by shooting many mediums, just close your eyes and feel your images, quietly, deeply..sit with the feeling for a long time, and then move to seeing what they look like
on the surface..the surface needs to serve the content and the intent..

The link to the above mentioned 4×5 experiment is here

http://www.ericamcdonaldphoto.com
private galleries
login erica, password erica (case sensitive)
american 4×5

ALL

everything has it’s good sides. Even headaches and sleepless nights.

After my photo-marathon on the two first days of Helsinki, that left me somewhat empty and unfulfilled, I changed my method and the concept for a try for the remaining days and did just 1 portrait a day!
It is not about just taking one portrait a day but it is about spending more time with the people there where this is possible. I do not always have the chance of doing so but sometimes I do. And I will use it from now on, to make the encounters more special.

So the janitor of the Olympic Stadium has a brother who runs one of the two only left public saunas of Helsinki: a marvelous little place. And he led me to yet another person and place…

Love it!

And to make changes complete, now I ask people not to write about what makes the place on the postcard special, but to choose a postcard, where they can tell me a little personal story about (the place). So it is almost the same but the other way around. I always buy whatever different postcards I can get for my “encounters” anyway… And this approach not only works better – thus is easier to be understood, but it makes the writing of the cards easier too. People dream, laugh, tell a whole lot more of stories, wonder which one they should write… To make it short: it makes a memorable NEW story to them. And to me.

And I love this too.

It even get’s easier to do the portrait afterwards (until now I always did the portrait first, now I swiched).

Better to have less portraits and better “content” than the other way around.

It now is getting really funny and interesting for a 3rd party too – I mean for someone who is not directly involved to read the cards and to see the portraits that go with it.

So I am happy as can be! :)
Just the gear problem left to be solved …

And now I am going to a finish party. Let’s see what this is all about. :)

BTW Anton, and all the nice strangers from this blog who announced a postcard (hope you have not sent it by now), I am gathering all the major information and links on my homepage of DARK. Just to make it easier.

http://dark.lassal.de/
Adress is either in the general description of the project:

http://dark.lassal.de/projects/a-strangers-wish/

or under “contact”
http://dark.lassal.de/contact/

Really hope you will join in now!!! Bob, Erica, Anton, David B … looking forward to hear from you!!!
And everybody else please feel welcome too.

All my best from Helsinki,
Lassal

CATHY

Oh, sister! You have really captured the energy, excitement, optimism and beauty that seems to surround our next President wherever he goes!!! And I agree with the rest–this is an essay to be proud of! You go, grrrrrl!!!!!

Patricia

AKAKY: Did you know that?

AKAKY IRL: Did I know what?

AKAKY: That emoticons indicate jocosity.

AKAKY IRL: Is that so? Can you get shots for it?

AKAKY: For jocosity? I imagine you can, unless they’ve something that keeps it under control the way insulin controls diabetes.

AKAKY IRL: Is that so? My my my, well, you learn something new every day, dont you? I hear you’ve been asking about color down at the Columbus Day Parade, too.

AKAKY: Where’d you hear that?

AKAKY IRL: I get around.

AKAKY: Like hell you do.

AKAKY IRL: I get around enough to hear things every now and then. What do you care about colorful, anyway? Weren’t you going to shoot this thing in black and white? If you’re doing monochrome what difference does it make if the parade is colorful?

AKAKY: I was thinking about black and white; I hadn’t thought the whole thing through yet.

AKAKY IRL: I’d go on Monday. Sausage and peppers beat empanadas any day of the week.

AKAKY: Says you, and if we’re going, it won’t be because of your culinary preferences.

AKAKY IRL: What do you mean, if we’re going? I thought this parade thing was set.

AKAKY: I thought you might change your mind. It wouldnt be the first time you’ve done that, you know.

AKAKY IRL: This is true, you got me there.

AKAKY: And you should stop being so damn petulant. Everyone has noticed your damn mood swings and they’re starting to rub people the wrong way.

AKAKY IRL: No kidding? I thought they were talking about you.

AKAKY: Like hell they were.

lisa

mike

thank you from Tor.. he sends you a joyful kick and baby mumble..
taking him outside for the first time..

PANOS

Almost missed the link to IN THE FOREST. So glad I didn’t. It is beautiful. Tender and respectful…just like you.

Patricia

LISA

BIG CONGRATS TO YOU & BEAUTIFUL MUSIC!!! I have loved that essay since first seeing it several months ago. I am so happy for you and for the people in the chorus that their commitment and transformative efforts will be seen and felt by so many. This is exactly why we do what we do…

love
Patricia

ERICA

The equipment may be awkward to schlepp around but the results make it worthwhile. Beautiful clarity & color…not to mention your wonderful artist’s eye! Look forward to seeing more.

love
Patricia

ALL….

i will be photographing particularly heavy all weekend and for the next 10 days…i will try to do a new post by monday, but please understand my absence much of the time…

some of my work, and the work of other Magnum photographers covering America right now will be up on a new blog linked off of the Magnum website starting tomorrow i think..we are scrambling to make this happen…most of us will be posting pictures daily….

before i go to Mexico on the 25th, we will have the Digital Railroad all set up for you…for those of you shooting stories, please try to have your work edited down to 50 or fewer pictures if possible…if not, i will help you….your presentations for the jury of EPF will probably be around 30 photographs….we can work together for the best presentation…

as the financial world crumbles we must not stop….we must all figure out ways to keep doing what we do….

please have a great weekend….i will be back as soon as possible…

cheers et al, david

All,

I have to edit my today’s work. I have to upload my photos tomorow so many work I have.

A few photos from today:

Life like soap bubble…
Hospice’s day

http://marcinluczkowski.com/hospice.html

must run

hi patricia, can i have you email address please?
tnx
c

I meant:

the problem is not choosing which shots, ie. editing down ….

ANDREW SULLIVAN

Love your samba photos from Salvador. For many years Salvador has long been among my favorite ‘places I’ve never been,’ and I can’t see how anyone can go wrong with this subject… but you are really doing it justice. The pictures in the slideshow that had the most impact and interest for me and seemed to tell the samba story the most directly were numbers 1, 3, 7, 10, and 12. Especially 3, I’m crazy about this picture. Very ‘Allardesque.’ Hope you can get back to Brazil soon… I have spent many years in long-distance romances and I know their sweet sorrows…

AGAIN,
ALL,
PLEASE ENJOY PATRICIA’s WONDERFUL, RADIANT SMILE…
it made my day….

http://web.me.com/innerspacecowpanos/%22VENICE_BEACH%22/47%29_the_KIBBUTZ.html#10

Shit… my english is deteriorated… I have no time to keep it used… I apologize… All of you…

PANOS

Now settle down, dear bro. There are lots of good reasons for password-protected galleries, none of them–in this group anyway–having to do with being a phony. I know I use them for works-in-progress that I want this community to review. I also use them for galleries that I only want to share with a selected few. Not everything we post on the internet has to be laid open for the entire world to see or read. Can’t we exercise our right to have a bit of privacy? Of course we can.

Now just chill out, dear one, and sit in front of your fireplace with your sweetheart at your side. Isn’t snow beautiful?

love
Patricia

PATRICIA…
yes, totally… some of your words still echo in my mind…
special day.. our lunch…
you are no fake, no phonie, no double face…
ONLY MIRROR…
THATS WHY YOUR WORK…. is superb…
REAL… you are no hiding behind fancy leicas or LARGE medium elitistic formats or cameras …
or lame excuses…
i hope everyone will “discover” Patricias honesty and strength…

LOOKING AT THE MIRROR WITH NO MAKE UP????????

how many of YOU (OR US ) are able to do that???
huhhh???
everyone is trying to show us their philosophy about the world,
their ARTISTRY, how well they can FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS
and develop a freaky film in the dark…big deal…
chemists , not photographers…
THAT IS WHAT YOU ARE… CHEMISTS…
well, i got news for you..
stick your chemicals to your fancy white asses… elitists,
phonies…

PATRICIA,
thanks again for teaching them a lesson…. keep doin it…
keep teaching them,
lets see if they ever GONNA GET IT…

once again Pat..
you are an OASIS up in this motherfucker…
you are an OASIS in hear…
you heard …???????????????????????????????????????

MY BRO PANOS

PULEEZE…I pick my nose, lie when it suits me, can be a real bitch to Ed, arbitrarily dislike folks with McCain/Palin signs on their front lawns, etc. etc.

TRUST ME, Patricia can be a real prick so please don’t put me on any pedestals. That’s a set-up for a fall…

Patricia

Patricia,
now you remind me of DAH…
ok.. you are right … no pedestal, NO FALL..
laughing
peace

ANDREW –

your opening and closing images are wonderful. and i like your use of color – very strong! nice work my friend!

ERICA – kim and i were sitting in the stairwell – i don’t know how you missed us. friday was so crazy to show my work and i did not have it with me on saturday… sorry.

MIKE

Interesting reading your take on ‘Family of Man’ in comparison with Robert Frank’s ‘The Americans.’ It reminds me of how differently different generations see things. In the early to mid Sixties, the ‘Family of Man’ exhibition and the book which came out of it were seen as very liberal, internationalist, left-wing stuff… on a similar wavelength with people like Pete Seeger, Henry Wallace, the Progressive Party, Eleanor Roosevelt… and it was the one photo book that almost every liberal intellectual in New York owned… I’m not saying your analysis is at all wrong, but it shows how far we have come… that was before the civil rights revolution led by Martin Luther King, before the gender revolutions, before gays came out of the closet, before the hippy movement or the anti-Vietnam War movement. It certainly was a piece of gross propaganda, but I never thought at the time that it was extolling the virtues of American consumerist capitalism… rather, it was the holdover of a rather superficial (in retrospect) popular ideology of a United Front against Fascism that had defeated Hitler, Mussolini, and Imperial Japan. In some ways I see ‘Family of Man’ as something of a throwback, something of a retrospective for the mood of an era that had already passed or was passing, an era exemplified by the films of Frank Capara 10 or fifteen years earlier. Well, there’s lots, lots more to be thought and said o the subject, thanks for bringing it up

patricia

somewhere in among the dirty nappies i missed your good news..
42 years.. i’m blown away.. fantastic.. you beauty.. wonderful.

really hope i get over in may to meet you guys.. inspiring relationship.. lovelovelove..