I have been trying to get this job done for about 7 years. Get my archive, that was stored in a garage in downtown Washington, a bit closer to my home.  A long but rollicking ride from D.C. to OBX with an old friend and a multi media intern ended with getting all my stuff in one place.

I took pictures and found old pictures. My excuse for little heavy lifting.

An old case I had not seen for about 40 years was opened. Not by me, but by one of my helpers. Gold. The picture on the right, shot when I was 19 or 20 and accepted to a juried show at the Va. Museum of Fine Arts, and what I considered to be my first successful picture was found today along with a “second”. Yes, to the left here, my first print of the situation. Later changing my find for the mounted photo above. You can see the same boy far left in the tattered picture with four children.

An even more truly serious find. My original fiber prints from Tell It Like It Is. I did not even know these still existed until today. Thought these prints were lost. 40 years lost. Yes, I must say beautifully carefully printed by me in the darkroom set up not far from where I was shooting. Back in 1967. As Bruce Davidson himself pointed out to me were shot 4 years before East 100th Street.  I was shooting by day and printing by night. Obsessed.

 

I am not sure how many times I moved as a kid, but it was a lot. My stuff has been packed up and moved from one space to another so many times that I honestly would have to spend some serious time thinking about it to come up with a number. Sometimes multiple moves even in the same city. So since I starting accumulating negatives, slides, prints, you know pictures I wanted to keep, I have moved dozens of times. Somehow from those earliest years until today everything is intact. Sort of. It is all there, but where is it? This is the problem. Lots of hasty moves. Cardboard boxes full of treasure in some cases, and marked on the outside with magic marker “selects” or “look again”. Nightmare. Yet today , as seen in the sequence above , treasure. Not for anyone else , but for me.

We just got everything moved in. I plan to rent a small house at the beach. Get all my stuff there. And offer work/study programs to say 5 young photographers, to come an help organize my archive in exchange for a great place to live at the beach and a full on career workshop for them. Evaluate their portfolios, get them going on projects, help them edit, and generally mentor as I most often do.

Road Trips was my personal diary. Burn has been set up to feature this audience. Yet many from this audience have asked me to jump in with my own work just a bit more. Yet when I decided to take an online audience with me while I shot in Rio last month  www.theriobook.com   I took that effort away from Burn and on to its own site. The good vibes and karma were so good with riobook that I thought I might try  a bit more mix and match here on Burn. Just more of what most folks are asking for. Solid photography from emerging photographers and insights into process. This is what worked so well on riobook.  If you were not there, honestly you missed something. Matter of fact , many are signing up now even though they know the day by day is finished, it still stands as a unique experience. An authentic experience. No way to manipulate they way it all came down.

Yet the emphasis here on Burn is still you. Burn 01 and Burn 02, our print magazines, will be followed by Burn 03. You should try to get your work in 03, the place to be.

We are also in the dreaming planning stages for SURFING WORLD. Yes, the art of the art of surfing. A book about surfing for surfers and non surfers alike. Martin Parr will shoot some of it. Top notch surf action photographers will shoot some of it. Maybe one of you can convince me to let you shoot part of it. Show me what you can do and I am up for anything.

We are also planning  a handsome book SOUTH AMERICA, a group essay shot by 80% South American photographers. It will not be what you imagine. I will be looking at portfolios soonest.

In the wings for new books are Laura El Tantawy for  IN THE SHADOW OF THE PYRAMIDS, Panos Skoulidas for DEATH IN VENICE, and an epic by Jukka Onnela and few nice surprises to be announced soonest.

Our Emerging Photographer Fund grant of $15,000. will be announced soonest. The new emphasis on the EPF grant will be to do work for Burn. Rather than a reward for past work, the shift will be to create new work , then to be  published on Burn. More of a commission than a award.

This coming May , Burn  Magazine will have an exhibition at the HeadOn Festival in Sydney, Australia alongside my own One Night in Rio. I will be doing a workshop at Bondi Beach at the same time, and I have asked Imants Krumins to curate a small show featuring young Australian photographers under 18.

So I am trying to keep things interesting for all of us.  It is only the right frame of mind and the right karma and the right space and the right place and the right mood that well makes things right…feel good, feel right….be right.

We will never get there, but we will always be on our way….

Peace, dah

 

 

 

 

66 thoughts on “ON MOVING”

  5. Sidney Atkins

    Whose pro video rig is that lying on the ground next to the scooter? Your son Bryan’s?

  6. david alan harvey

    SIDNEY

    pro video gear belongs to NagGeo….young man in truck, Spencer Milsap NG intern, was given the assignment to document the move for NatGeo…actually ties into why i did the OBX story in the first place….maybe use online , ipad etc…we will see….

    On another note… FYI, and i know you meant no harm, but when you asked Chris Johns prematurely a question it has caused some problems…the interview with Chris has not been published yet…it is after i publish the interviews here that i invite readers to ask a question…you asked BEFORE causing at least two other blogs to see it and are now accusing Chris of not answering a question…Chris Johns of course never knew you asked a question and never agreed to answer reader questions anyway…he agreed to an interview with me…i clearly said regarding readers questions that “he might, but no promises”….anyway, i am sure he will be upset by these other blogs….or maybe not..I only hope this does not backfire to the point where he wants no involvement at all…we will have to wait and see…

  7. a civilian-mass audience

    Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
    Watch your words, for they become actions.
    Watch your actions, for they become habits.
    Watch your habits, for they become character.
    Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

    THANK YOU DAH…hiii,hiii…today,I feel like calling you DAH= DoAsHarvey

  10. a civilian-mass audience

    My computer is always on…BUT this one is a basic Greek computer(only write on)…:(((

    Skype with DAH…priceless…!!!

    you will be notified as soon as I am on the air…Thank you amigo…3:00a.m and sending all my love to
    you, to your family and friends…and to my BURNIANS…!!!

  11. a civilian-mass audience

    ROSSY…hiii,hii…this quote has been stolen(by me too) …BUT credit when credit is due…

  12. Sidney Atkins

    DAVID,

    My sincere apologies to both you and Chris Johns. I honestly thought the interview was in progress or about to begin at that point. My serious misunderstanding.

    Subsequently, I have become aware that I opened a can of worms, the fallout of which I regret. Please assure Chris Johns that I will now keep my mouth shut if he is kind enough to follow through with an interview with you. But I suppose the damage probably can’t be undone. Time for me to adopt a much lower profile here.

  13. Roberta Tavares

    David…moving, going, evolving, rolling…a relentless sequence precisely fitting you personally, professionaly and had found in Burn the perfect stage to settle all the new modes, the thrilling attempts to link aspirations to planing, initiatives to actions, dreams to realization, boldness to applauses.Like you mentioned: the place to be. Being repetitive myself (you know I never miss a chance)..It’s being exciting to witness . Thank you and Burn crew for keep surprising us (will you never rest, right?? coffee secrets!)

    Ps) civi..it’s always a great feeling to see you around. It feels like home , family reunion :)
    And bunch of kisses to your assistants in this heavy hard storing mission : Bryan,Spencer and our always helpful hero Tony Skater

  15. Ross Nolly

    Here you are Gordon; the death of a Vespa…. I saw Quadrophenia when I was about 17; it made one hell of an impact on me! Apocalypse Now was released about then too and was an R18 in conservative little NZ; so we had to sneak in to see it. Those two films are the ones that had the most impact on me at the time. I suppose Quadrophenia was my generation’s Nirvana “Nevermind”…

  16. Frostfrog

    David, with such an archive, and so much to do before you are done, how can you afford to give any more time to us, who so want your time?

    I like your surfing project. Surfing was the thing that finally motivated me to pick up a camera in high school and start shooting. I wanted to take pictures like the ones in Surfer magazine. That was my entire motivation to become a photographer.

    I have not surfed in decades, but it has been my goal to do so again before I grow too old. I had wanted to go it by my 60th birthday. I was thinking maybe Yakutak, Alaska’s #1 surf spot. I didn’t make it. I could see there would be no hope for my 61st, so I didn’t even fantasize about it. My 62nd doesn’t look too promising, either – but maybe, who knows? I’ve got to do it before my 65th.

  17. eva

    OH MY!!! Look at those prints!!!!

    I’m with Thomas (a re-print of Tell It Like It Is) and Bill (to make your time YOUR time).. although I know your time here, which is our time, is your time too, the hope always is that you can take, if not as much as you give, at least part of it, back through us to you.. it’s not, should not be, a one way thing.. the RioBook was perfect.. making of Burn a mix of Road Trips and Burn and the RioBook, a bit of all of it.. wherever you put the balance, it will all be fine and greatly appreciated..

    OH MY OH MY.. I want that job! You know that there will be a whole league complaining about not paying for a job, be prepared.. like the people on the blogs complaining about non existing things (if they had read carefully they would have known that Chris Johns was interviewed by you, and no-one else, it was clearly stated in the caption below his picture!).. there will always be nay sayers.. WHO CARES?

    New projects are being dreamt about, others are getting done, opportunities are offered, right here right now.. what’s more to wish for?

    I know I will come back all day to look at the pics of those prints.. just look at the blacks.. and did you know that the left side of the cut up photograph of the girl sitting in the stars is mounted upside down in the book?

  19. david alan harvey

    SIDNEY

    do not worry, i realized, and i am sure Chris would realize you meant no harm (he may be unaware of all of this)….and no harm done….i am sure Chris will answer your question at some point…i will re-post it because it is a fair question…..and i slammed another blogger for jumping to conclusions about Chris alleged refusal to answer which is of course totally not the case…bad journalism from a pro journalist….my interview with Chris went on for an hour, so that is a big job transcribing which is happening now…interview up in a day or two when i am back at NatGeo and will post some more insights…as always , you are a gentleman…thank you….

  20. david alan harvey

    FROSTFROG…

    this IS a bit of a dilemma….right now i am 100% into Burn and 100% into my own work, but that does not leave much time left over for all the other stuff…i do like the balance of doing my own thing, then stopping and getting into the work of others…however, i do have three very important projects of my own that are all about 75% finished, and it would be a crime against myself if i did not finish them….the archive work and a lot of the Burn work can be delegated…so everything that can be delegated will be delegated…interns can do a lot of organizing without me being there…..

    the big books, SURFERS WORLD and SOUTH AMERICA can be spearheaded by others…i just need to get them going…

    it will all work out…again, the main revelation for me and my salvation is that Burn is 100% independent….Burn can be anything…does not have to be the same thing from one day to the next or one year to the next…i hope young folks will log on to Burn knowing something will happen but not knowing what specifically to expect…everything we do here is “limited edition”…riobook a one time thing.. 01 and 02, one time one of a kind….no reason to repeat…

    get a good picture from the Alaska surf spot…write a story about it…we can talk once we get further down the line…

  22. Carlo

    it’s a good thing you like to give good news little by little otherwise we will all be overloaded and smoke will start coming out of our ears and noses!

    I think this last phrase you wrote should read:

    “We “MIGHT” never get there, but we will always be on our way….”

    It seems like whatever you set you mind to it comes to fruition….you mention karma often….you have the good karma of having your projects realized for sure!

    I guess I have a little bit of patience but all of this that you are talking about is making me anxious…in a good way. I cannot wait to see it all.

    Thank you. I say thank you a lot…I know… but I really mean it.
    All of this is very inspiring and it makes me want to work harder and harder.

  26. pAtrIcIO m.

    Instead of the “Mexican suitcase” by Capa, we can call it “The Washingtonian garage” by DAH.
    WOW!! a nice treasure in there… Thinking about and exhibition somewhere with those original pictures!

    Geez, nice energy flowing in 2o12 here in Burn!

    I’m in for the South American projet. Waiting for the rules…
    You are interested in South American photographers only or South American photographers shooting in South America continent or South America images?

    Oooooooooooooooon Mooooooooooooooving

    P.

  27. Paul

    Oh those BW prints! I’ve just been ambushed by inspiration. They look like they were selenium toned and as Eva mentioned, those blacks.
    Where can I order the latest edition of “Tell it like” please?

  28. isabelaeseverri

    DAVID,

    These photos are great… And there are so many boxes full of these treasures! If you are serious about your offer, please consider me for one of the five possible photogs that can help organize your archive!! It sounds like a great experience and something I could learn a lot from. Do you know when you’ll be organizing this for?

    I was able to keep up with the first 45% of Rio and some really interesting conversations were going on at the time. It was great seeing how you work and seeing your thought process behind situations, editing, etc. Thank you for sharing all of that with us. I need to go back and catch up with the rest of the project because I’ve been doing quite a lot of traveling the last month and haven’t been able to yet… but I’m looking forward to the ONIR book in May!

    Please tell us more about the South America book… it sounds like a great project!!!

    Hope all is well and saludos desde Vzla.

  29. a civilian-mass audience

    a civilian-mass audience
    January 10, 2012 at 1:10 am
    See?…do you see MY BURNIANS?…together we CAN DO magic…HAPPY BEGINNINGS !!!

    vision is not enough…your heart,your soul has to be there…
    I know,you are gonna say…that the old greek civilian is doing the blah,blah again…
    BUT hey…

    THE UNIVERSE is working…!!!

    ANDY and ALL of YOU…Ouzo and olives on me today…:)good morning from beautiful Greece…
    EVA wake up…

    THOMAS…you sing…I am trying to do some skype sessions…hmm,do I need to load something&^%$@)(WTF)

    VIVAAA BURN…………….I DO LOVE U ALLLLLL…and I will be back

    P.S where is JIM?…Dialog posts are too fast for me:)))))))))))))))))))))

  30. a civilian-mass audience

    ADMIN…

    I just moved myself…ON MOVING , yeah…babe…!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    back to my aisle…

  31. SFJason

    David,
    If that’s where you stored all of your old camera bags… I hope
    nobody got hurt from the avalanche of dusty canvas and leather. LOL

  32. david alan harvey

    PATRICIO

    i am interested in essays from South America by South American photographers…but original work…work not seen anywhere before…this makes it difficult i know because there has been so much good work already done..and yet thus most likely already seen….no rules..when the time comes i will start looking at portfolios for assignments and for original work ..but of course South America is just a title …i have no expectations of “covering” the continent or any kind of day in the life of or anything like that…could be 6 strong essays and 30 singles …or, well, we are just thinking….you should as well please…

    text will be in Spanish, Portuguese, and English

    cheers, david

  33. david alan harvey

    ISABELLA

    we will start very soon with this organization process working with a handful of interns….i will be working on the RIO book in new york after this week for about a month….then i will be ready to take on the archive….

    i am thinking maybe March and/or April when i need to be also printing in the darkroom…in other words when i am not traveling…definitely this spring….best to contact me by skype or email if you have any other questions

    cheers, david

  34. panos skoulidas

    . It is only the right frame of mind and the right karma and the right space and the right place and the right mood that well makes things right…feel good, feel right….be right.
    ———————————————————————-

    DAH , start writing text, write a book, a NOVEL, something..!!!!
    ..even if no photos included…
    u have more writing skills than most of the “designated pro writers” out there…coz most photogs i know, cant even spell their names right ;)

  35. panos skoulidas

    http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/music/index.ssf/2012/01/the_doors_to_release_new_song.html

    The mojo is still rising for The Doors.

    More than four decades after the death of Jim Morrison, there is still new music to be heard from the iconic 1960s rock band.

    At noon today, the rock group will release a brand-new tune titled “She Smells So Nice” via the band’s official Facebook page .

    The song was discovered by Doors producer Bruce Botnick while combing through the group’s “L.A. Woman” recording sessions, according to UltimateClassicRock.com . The song will be included in a re-released, expanded edition of “L.A. Woman,” which drops Jan. 24.

    The new version of “L.A. Woman” — which was originally released in April 1971 — will include eight previously unreleased alternate takes, rehearsal reels and a behind-the-scenes DVD, according to the site.

    In addition to the “L.A. Woman” re-release, a new documentary DVD titled “Mr. Mojo Risin’: The Story of L.A. Woman” will hit store shelves on Jan. 24.

    You can listen to a snippet of “She Smells So Nice” by clicking below:

  37. panos skoulidas

    (thank you Herve for making my day , sending me the news about the “new tune” from the Doors!!!!
    and it matches DAH’s, “Death in Venice” wish above…lets see if timing is right…coz itS AS ALWAYS all about timing)

  41. John Langmore

    David,

    Happy New Year! It’s nice to get caught up on your goings on over the last several months.

    I loved seeing your finds from the move. Your “Tell It Like It Is” work still speaks loud and clear. Just had a similar experience clearing out my dad’s storage after more than 30 years of gathering dust and experienced a bunch of similar finds and also wrestling with the whole archiving process. I’ll be anxious to see how you move through yours. It’s daunting but rewarding.

    Always glad to see you shaking it up. It’s good for all of us.

    Take care and hopefully I’ll see you in the non-digital world before long.

    Best,
    J

  43. Justin Smith

    Yes FROSTFROG,

    Thank you for your posts regarding the Loft workshop – I have been enjoying them very much!

  46. Jeremy Wade Shockley

    DAVID,

    Great time hanging on New Year’s ….I posted a photo below, one Paul took at the cafe. Unseasonably warm here in the Rockies, but the beach still looks a whole lot better!

    …it feels good to know i am not the only one with a massive archive project in the unforeseeable future.

    Slides, Prints, Film, and endless digital files, some I regard as old friends, other as deja vu…like a familiar face without a name.

    A trail of experience flowing in our wake in the form of images, some memorable, other simply necessary sketching in life’s great journey!

    Here’s to the New Year! Best, Jeremy

  50. david alan harvey

    JEREMY

    thanks for the picture of us and mostly for showing your work on the reservation….hope to publish here soonest……Steaming Bean is the coffee spot for me…and especially that corner with sofa and window…

  51. david alan harvey

    EVA

    i had not seen that piece on Joe….was that really 20 years ago…sure looked OLD…those film editing machines have been gone a long time….anyway good to see it in any case…Joe is a good guy…a problem solver….

  53. a civilian-mass audience

    JEREMY…great view…???
    oime,We can only imagine…:)))))))))))

    Good morning BURNIANS…coffee time…we are moving on!!!

  54. Milli

    yesyesyes! all exciting news, things to look forward to and work towards.
    I do agree having your personal mix layered in to burn is great.

    And the prints wow. Fiber black and whites …very beautiful. Love the light in them all. And the little girl on the pavement, like she’s sitting in the cosmos.

    I look forward to seeing your reaction when you first saw those!

  56. jason

    a lot of my friends do not have actual prints! the digital world. i print. i keep prints. i have prints stored at 2 places! One in Africa, the other here in Canada.To me the web,the monitor, the screen all nice but a print can be savored and enjoyed.My daughter wants me to do something about the boxes in Africa..
    The joy of opening old boxes, so fascinating. Down memory lane not always pleasant!

  57. Frostfrog

    It took a couple of days longer than I intended, but I finally put up the Mormon missionary post in my series on the Loft Workshop. It is very long and I feared few would read it, but, judging from the comments that I am receiving, people are reading. It is a story about going out to shoot a photo essay for the workshop, one rooted in my personal history, running into a wall that made that essay as I had hoped to shoot it impossible, but of doing what I could anyway, and coming away with something that still had value.

    In this post, the written word is important. Required even. And there are a lot of written words – right up there in Bob Black territory.

    David, I still hope that you will wait to read this series until things have slowed down for you a bit – perhaps until I have completed the series. Then start at the beginning and read back up to the end, and you will see a good record what one of your students experienced at the Loft.

    Jeremy, I hope to see more of your reservation work. My career has pretty much unfolded completely in Indian Country – to include Eskimo Country. The latest couple of posts in the Loft series will give you an idea of how that came about.

    The link to the current post:

    http://www.logbookwasilla.com/logbookwasilla/2012/1/11/david-alan-harvey-loft-workshop-entry-6-my-personal-history.html

    The master link that will encompass the full series (which I think will move along much fast now that I’ve the Mormon section all but behind. But I have to go to Anchorage today and tomorrow, so I might not really get back into it until the weekend.):

    http://www.logbookwasilla.com/logbookwasilla/tag/david-alan-harvey-loft-workshop

  60. a civilian-mass audience

    MR.JOHNV…on MOVING…oime…you are so right…some are forced to move…
    THANK YOU so much for sharing…!!!

    PANOS…congrats my fellow Greeko amigo…!!! vision and soul …are Universal values!!!

    FROSTY…I was at your home…thanks for the coffee…safe travels!!!

    MY BURNIANS…keep reporting…don’t make me come after YOU:)))))))

    All my love from beautiful Greece —)

  65. Ross Nolly

    This is a great doco… The new essay “No Rent” reminded me of it. It’s amazing to be reminded how conservative NZ was in the 60’s and 70’s…. I didn’t want to post it under the essay and potentially hijack it…

    The “Ohu” concept(communal living on mostly remote govt land) seems to me to have been 30-years ahead of its time. Many of the Omoana Ohu folk used to visit our farm to help us make hay to pay for timber (felled pine and macrocarpa trees) to make houses. We also used to go pig-hunting out their way.

    The doco conveys the sense from most of the people who lived on the Ohu’s that it was an opportunity lost…. Freeloaders arrived ruining the entire subsistence dream.

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