Friday, October 31, 2014

On Familiarity - Blake Andrews (Fri 31 Oct 2014)

Tracks (*) - South Kensington (Sun 14 Sep 2014)

Blake Andrews (*) writes Familiarity (*) through an Andreas Gursky (*) (who has had an implicit influence (*) on my own photography):
[..songs] I've heard a thousand times. I know the song so well that when it comes on my brain shifts it to the background. I don't listen carefully because I think I know it. But do I?
via 99 Cent (*) by Blake Andrews (*).

Thursday, October 30, 2014

The Distance of Photography - No Caption Needed (Wed 29 Oct 2014)

A Distant Shore - Cirkewwa / Malta (Tue 23 Sep 2014)

Hariman (*) writes about Photographs (*) and Distance (*):
Photographs are valued because of how they can bring distant views close at hand, and they are faulted for introducing unnecessary distance between the viewer and reality itself.
via What Is Near and Far in the Geography of an Image? (*) by No Caption Needed (*).

Hard to believe we were there (*) just on a month ago. So different, yet I felt so comfortable and at ease. So far, yet so near through the power of a photograph.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

A Photograph and its Context - Christoph Schifferli / Jeffrey Ladd (Wed 29 Oct 2014)

Street Portrait (*) - Ealing / London (Sat 13 Sep 2014)

Christoph Schifferli (*) writes on a Photograph (*) and it's Context (*):
one of the most efficient ways to 'neutralize' the intrinsic meaning of an image is to change its context.
via Zeitungsfotos by Thomas Ruff (*) by Jeffrey Ladd (*).

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

On Photobooks and the World Beyond - Colin Pantall (Mon 27 Oct 2014)

Untitled - Ultimo / Sydney (Thu 09 Oct 2014)
Untitled - I knew we stumble (*) across this scene - Sacre-Coeur / Montmartre / Paris (Thu 18 Sep 2014)

Colin Pantall (*) writes on Photobooks (*):
I write a lot about photobooks on this blog. The photobook world is small, a few thousand people, but it is dynamic. Sometimes it's too small and it gets too self-congratulatory. When it becomes most interesting is when it looks out of itself, That's when you get great photobooks that are great books - that touch on the world at large, that tie in with a bigger picture, and touch hearts and souls beyond those of the 10,000 people in the world who regularly buy photobooks.
via Luton Airport, x-rays and Blue Peter (*) by Colin Pantall (*).

Monday, October 27, 2014

On Self-Published Photobooks - Julia Borissova / Joerg Colberg (Fri 19 Apr 2013)

Julia - Avenue de Flandre / Paris (Mon 15 Sep 2014)

Joerg Colberg (*) writes on Photobooks (*) and Self-publishing (*):
Self-published in a small edition, Borissova’s (*) book (*) reached me from Russia. Here then is one of the beauties of today’s photobook boom, which to a large extent is fueled by the internet and its way of allowing for connections to be made: Stories from far away can be told and brought to one’s door step, without requiring the need of a major publisher. All it takes is an artist willing and able to make a book, and to allow for that little piece of art to sail off into the world - a piece of art not part of the electronically floating world, but a real thing, to be held and enjoyed.
via Review: The Farther Shore by Julia Borissova (*) by Joerg Colberg (*).

Thank you and all the best Julia (*).

Also a big thank you to Joerg (*) for providing a place [The Independent Photo Book (*)] for photographers to promote their books (*).
Julia - just a few metres away from the original above - Avenue de Flandre / Paris (Mon 15 Sep 2014)

Sunday, October 26, 2014

On Photography - No Caption Needed (Mon 20 Oct 2014)

Untitled - Paris (Thu 18 Sep 2014)

Lucaites (*) writes on Photography (*):
Any photograph is both more or less a record of what has happened, and more or less an artistically enhanced experience, both more or less empirical, and more or less interpretive, both more or less accurate, and more or less suggestive. The point here is that photographs –whether analogue or digital—operate in the interspace between reality and imagination. The camera records the surface of the world like no other instrument, but the truth of what is shown can be realized only through an act of imagination. Stated otherwise, the photograph is inherently not reducible to a simplistic realism, but is instead a heterogeneous object where different sources of meaning intersect, and the intersections are lodged in the formal design and explored through interpretation.
via A Realist Imagination (or is it An Imaginary Realism?) (*) by No Caption Needed (*).

Might have to read this a few times.

Saturday, October 25, 2014

On Love and Succeeding - Khalik Allah (Fri 24 Oct 2014)

Reflection - Ceriva / Italy (Mon 08 Sep 2014)

Khalik Allah (*) writes Love (*) and Success (*:
When you offer only love to the world you can never go wrong. I am becoming an example of this. We all share the same function of forgiveness and healing, and for me photography is a channel to express that. Be well.
via Peace G. Just stopping by to show love, it's been a minute. I see you've been getting some good looks lately, [..] Keep building, you'll have books and exhibitions in no time. (*) by Khalik Allah (*).

Friday, October 24, 2014

On Numbers and Performance - Vernon Gambetta (Thu 23 Oct 2014)

The Numbers - GPS Results for an Outrigging Training Session - (Thu 23 Oct 2014)

Functional Path Training (*) writes on Numbers (*) and Performance (*):
Numbers need context. Numbers are one dimensional, human performance is multidimensional. We must focus on the human element, the athlete; they are not integers in an equation.
via It’s Still Just A Number (*) by Vernon Gambetta (*).

The numbers always tell a story if you know how to look at them.

The trained eye can see more than the numbers. They see the elements that create them - the environment, human performance and emotion they reflect. I've learnt so much from the numbers and I know how to read them for the sport I have been participating for almost ten years now - an example (*).

I've also seen how the environment, physical and mental reflect their way into performance and as a result, the numbers. I guess it's called experience. You can sit back and let experiences pass you by without even noticing. But if you stop and reflect on the experience, you will remember the how's and the why's of the result. They feed back into future experiences and you will improve.

I do know what Vern talks about though. The numbers are a guide and should not be the be and end all. You have to be there to see how the human element influenced the performance, which are reflected in the numbers. It's the context Vernon talks about.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Who inspires you? - Khalik Allah (Tue 21 Oct 2014)

Heart (*) - Intersection (*) / Copenhagen (Fri 23 Aug 2013)

Khalik Allah (*) writes on Inspiration (*) and for his photography (*):
The pursuit of real vision. That is what inspires (*) me. The eyes (*) do not see, and the ears (*) do not hear. My photography is predicated on the heart (*), which is the real organ of vision (*).
via Who inspires you? (*) by Khalik Allah (*).

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

The Archive: A Legacy for the Future - Shooting Wide Open (Tue 21 Oct 2014)

Street Art (*) - Chippendale (Tue 15 Apr 2014)

Jin (*) writes on the Archive (*):
It comforts me a bit that even if nobody pays attention to my work [..] during my lifetime, there might be a place for it in an archive. It is a humble end, but I find the prospect of being stored for future sifting by researchers or scholars immensely appealing.
via On archives (*) by Shooting Wide Open (*).

I suppose this blog (*) will be my archive, my legacy, if there was to be a legacy, along with a beautiful old house (*), just maybe. And of course there is archive.org (*) - elj-daily (*) and GUERL (*). Amazing looking back at all of this just now. I've forgotten so much. What I do remember is how exciting it was to be connecting to people from all over the world. These were the early days of the World Wide Web and somehow I was part of it.

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

The Compulsion of Photographing a Building - Kathy Ryan / James Estrin (Wed 15 Oct 2014)

Untitled - Alexandria (Sat 11 Oct 2014)

Kathy Ryan (*) writes on the Compulsion (*) of Photographing (*) a Building (*):
It is like a compulsion. I can’t quite explain where it comes from other than this truly extraordinary building. The combination of the light [..] that cast wonderful striping shadows [..] is extraordinary.
via Loving Light at the Office (*) by James Estrin (*).

I know what she means.

Monday, October 20, 2014

On Gary Winogrand - Sean O'Hagan (Thu 16 Oct 2014)

Street Portrait (*) - Westminster Bridge (*) / London (Sun 14 Sep 2014)

Sean O'Hagan (*) writes on Gary Winogrand (*) and Street Photography (*) :
His subjects tend to stare back at his camera sadly or in a slightly bewildered fashion. Around them, the world tilts – the horizon line is seldom level – but there is always what might be called a Winograndian logic to his compositions, an instinctive grasp of the geometry of a good photograph. His interest was the rhythm of the streets and the people who created it.
via Garry Winogrand: the restless genius who gave street photography attitude (*) by Sean O'Hagan (*).

On Subtitles - Salamander / Annabel Ross (Mon 20 Oct 2014)

18 - Brussels (*) / Belgium (*) (Fri 11 Sep 2009)

Annabel Ross (*) writes on Subtitles (*):
Watching drama with subtitles shifts the perspective to take in more than can be fully understood. Once into the rhythm of this complex narrative, the sensation is truly that of entering another world.
via The Guide (*) by Annabel Ross (*).

The only TV Drama I seem to watch now is subtitled and mostly from a DVD. Recent favourites include The Bridge (*), The Tunnel (*), Borgen (*), The Killing (*) and now Salamander (*). I think it is partly because of the drama, but it is also because of the subtitles as Annabel so nice describes. Seeing the words helps me remember more than I would if I just hear it.

Friday, October 17, 2014

The Balancing Act between Looking and Doing - The Story of Telling (Fri 17 Oct 2014)

Look - Street Portrait (*) - Oxford Street / London (Fri 12 Sep 2014)

Bernadette (*) writes:
sometimes you forget to stop looking and start doing. [..]

Great works or art, design, graffiti (*) and literature from Banksy to Brontë are all inspired (*) by lived experiences (*) or drawn from within.

Your inspiration (*) is all around you in your day to day. Your advantage probably already exists.

You’re just not looking there. Yet.
via How Everything Truly Great Is Inspired (*) by The Story of Telling (*).

Thursday, October 16, 2014

More on Photography and Story Telling - Colin Pantall (Wed 15 Oct 2014)

Just Because I Really Love You (c) - Bologna (Fri 29 Aug 2014)

Colin Pantall (*) writes on Story Telling (*) and Photography (*) through the 2014 Booker Prize (*) awarded to Richard Flanagan (*) who:
worked for 12 years to tell this story. He told it as a love story because he says that while war stories dark about death, war also illuminates love (*) which is the greatest expression of hope (*). It's what we live (*) for.

And because it's what we live for, it's what we want to read about. Flanagan has every reason to be self-indulgent and wallow in his father's misery, but it seems like he's translating the story for readership. He's reaching out, he's editing (*), he's adapting (*), he's simplifying (*), he's making it a story that has been written for the reader. It's written on the reader's terms.
Colin questions and challenges Photographers (*)
I think an interesting question here is how often do photographers do this?; go out to the reader and sacrifice their self-indulgence to tell the story well? How often do they do this, how often don't they do this?
via Whatever Evil is, it wasn't in that Room (*) by Colin Pantall (*).

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

On Editing your Work - The Story Grid (Tue 14 Oct 2014)

This is Bologna (*) - Bologna (Fri 29 Aug 2014)

The Story Grid (*) on Editing (*):
The only one committed to making your book best in class is you. And guess what? That is as it should be.
via The Realpolitik of Book Publishing (*) by Shawn Coyne (*).

Same for your photos.

On Photography - Jeffrey Ladd / Jorg Colberg (Tue 14 Oct 2014)

Intersection (*) - Zurich (Thu 25 Sep 2014)

Jeffrey Ladd (*) writes (*) on Photography (*):
A photograph should be more interesting than the subject (*) and transcend (*) its obviousness.
As Jorg Colberg (*) writes:
Print this out, and hang it in a place where you’ll always see it.
via It is what it is (*) by Jorg Colberg (*).

Done.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

On Hands - Colin Pantall (Mon 13 Oct 2014)

Street Portrait (*) - Piccadilly Circus / London (Fri 12 Sep 2014)

Colin Pantall (*) writes on Hands (*) in Photos (*) and Paintings (*):
Hands are so important. But why is that?
via Propaganda, Propaganda, Propaganda (*) by Colin Pantall (*).

Monday, October 13, 2014

On Imitation - Looking for Snapshots (Mon 13 Oct 2014)

Che 'Homer' Guevara (*) - Rialto Bridge / Venice (Thu 11 Sep 2014)

Looking for Snapshots (*) writes on Imitation (*):
We know that snapshots are mostly boring, but a found photo—a snapshot or other non-art photo given meaning by someone who didn’t take it—can be boring, too: finding a photo can be as thoughtless an activity as taking one. Both logic and experience suggest that the percentages are no better for found photos than for any other kind. One way a found photo can be boring is to be derivative.

[..] imitation is something you don’t want to get rid of: cultural transmission couldn’t happen without it. There’s no bright line between an artist who imitates and one who is (productively) influenced, or between an artist who isn’t doing anything new and one who is carrying on a tradition. An artist who imitates is probably one who loves, and love is a good thing.
via Imitation (*) by Looking for Snapshots (*).

Another great piece of writing and presentation. Writing seems to be easy if you know what you want to say. Rule 1: know the point you want to get across.

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Remarkable - Jeffrey Ladd on Katy Grannan (Sat 11 Oct 2014)

A New Patchwork Chair - Alexandria (Sun 12 Oct 214)

Jeffrey Ladd (*) writes on Katy Grannan (*) book Katy Grannan: The Ninety Nine and The Nine (*):
What is remarkable to me is less her ability to integrate herself and large camera into that community than what she has transcended. She achieves finding the moments of grace in the unexpected – a trait that photography is rife with and frankly at this stage, not surprising – but she uses the surrounding landscape to punctuate those moments filling the frame with additional visual textures – fences, television antennas, road signs, trees, building sides, and power lines – that feel weighty yet light, beautiful yet ugly, oppressive yet fragile and on the verge of collapse.
via The Nine and The Ninety-Nine by Katy Grannan (*) by Jeffrey Ladd (*).

Jeff's words are just as remarkable as the photos he describes and that is the reason they are here. Inspiration for me. As Seth wrote today (*) on writing, it is:
the ability to work on our words until they succeed in transmitting our ideas and causing action. [..]

you do have precisely the same keyboard as everyone else. It's the most level playing field we've got.

The first step is to say it poorly. And then say it again and again and again until you're able to edit your words into something that works.

But mostly, you need to decide that it matters. [HT: Shawn (*)]
Thanks Jeff and Seth.

Saturday, October 11, 2014

On Ray K. Metzker - Michael Johnson (Sat 11 Oct 2014)

New Table and Chairs - Alexandria (*) (Sat 11 Oct 2014)

Michael Johnson (*) on Ray K. Metzer (*).:
Ray was an experimentalist with a brilliant sense of graphic composition (*) using deep shadow (*) as bold black shapes, and he was especially sensitive to repetition, minimalism and subtle variation.
via Ray K. Metzker 1931-2014 (*) by Mike Johnson (*).

On Photography - Ray K Metzer / Douglas Martin (Sat 11 Oct 2014)

The Photographs of Ray K. Metzker (*) - Alexandia (Sat 11 Oct 2014)

Ray K. Metzer (*) on Photography (*):
Photographers are victims of paradox, [..] tracking the impermanent to make it permanent.
via Ray K. Metzker, Art Photographer, Dies at 83 (*) by Douglas Martin (*).

Where Inspiration can be Found - An Artist / HONY (Fri 10 Oct 2014)

Street Portraits (*) Prints - Alexandria (Sep 2013)

Where Inspiration (*) can be found:
I’m not sure. I’m an artist, and I thought it would be good to create a situation where I feel out of place and slightly fearful. I feel like you can only draw inspiration from circumstances. Inspiration isn’t really something that you can sit around and extract from your psyche.
via This spot in the park reminds me a bit of Massachusetts, so I... (*) by HONY (*).

Occasionally I have some prints made from the photos I have taken. It takes effort to get out there and to make photos. When I see them laid out like this, it surprises me that I have taken them and to see an apparent theme that seems to pervade them (which I had forgotten about). They are part of my archive (something I have never really thought about) and my life now. They make me understand (*) the influences (*) that have helped create them - a couple here (*) and here (*). Inspiration also comes from these influences, but more importantly the photos now provide the inspiration to get out out there and to see what else is waiting to be found (*). It's kind of self fulfilling in a way.

Friday, October 10, 2014

On Enthusiasms - Mike Johnson (Wed 08 Sep 2014)

Street Portrait (*) - Music Addict (*) - Tour of Great Britain / Westminster Bridge (*) / London (Sun 14 Sep 2014)

Mike Johnston (*) writes on Enthusiasms (*):
Your enthusiasms are the things you really take to and learn about because you love them and that bring you consistent pleasure.
via On the Road Again (*) by Mike Johnston (*).

Maybe this blog is it for me. Sometimes I scroll through the entries here and it lifts my spirits - the words (which are mostly others - how I would like to communicate like that) but also the photographs I have taken. They remind me I am doing something with my life.

Thursday, October 9, 2014

On Street Photography - Steven Rosen and Brian Sholis (Wed 08 Oct 2014)

SMASH THEIR CAMERAS - Newtown (Aug 2014)

Steven Rosen (*) writes Street Photography (*):
The mid-20th century was when street photography became well known, thanks to photographers like Henri Cartier-Bresson, Garry Winogrand and others. Armed with unobtrusive hand-held cameras, they rapidly snapped pictures of passersby, searching for unstudied compositions [..]
Brian Sholis (*) continues:
In the 21st century, for better or worse, there are fewer people at home during the day and we’ve offloaded a lot of that ‘eyes on the street’ to surveillance cameras,
Steven Rosen (*) summarises:
At the same time, those cameras fill many with unease.

So 21st century street photographers are dealing with techniques and issues far different from their forebears
Brian Sholis (*) concludes:
What unites them is they’re incredibly attentive and able to reveal things that we might not otherwise see because the street is such a kinetic and dynamic place
via Street Photography in the 21st Century (*) by Steven Rosen (*).

Street Portrait (*) - Piccadilly Ciricus / London (Fri 12 Sep 2014)

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

The Experience of Choice - The Story of Telling (Wed 08 Oct 2014)

Smile - Bologna (Fri 29 Aug 2014)

Bernadette (*) writes on Experience (*) and Choice (*):
Making things people want goes beyond the making of the thing. How we create experiences, tell stories and give our customer’s stories to tell matters. [..]
because as Bernadette (*) concludes:
when we have an option we will always choose how something feels, before we choose how it tastes, looks or works.
via The Trap Of The Misleading Advantage (*) by The Story of Telling (*).

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

On Photobooks and Inspiration - Eric Kim (Tue 07 Oct 2014)

East London Swimmers (*) / Madeleine Waller (*) - The Photographers Gallery (*) (Sun 13 Sep 2014)

Eric Kim (*) on Photobooks (*) and Inspiration (*):
the purpose of a [photo]book is to educate and inspire you.
via On Opportunity Costs in Street Photography (*) by Eric Kim (*).

A fantastic book which I bought a few weeks before our big trip (*). So simple but so effective. It inspired us to go (*). Found a beautiful wildflower meadow (*) on the way. Surprising where a Photobook will take you, if you let it.

Geoff by Jo - London Fields Lido (*) / Hackney (Sat 12 Sep 2014)

On the Untalented - Oliver Burkeman (Tue 07 Oct 2014)

Gozo Ferry Window - Cirkewwa / Malta (Tue 23 Sep 2014)

Oliver Burkeman (*) writes on the Untalented (*):
The genuinely untalented [..] probably have no idea that they’re no good—because they’re too untalented to realize it. (This is the “Dunning-Kruger effect [..] ) In short: if you’re worried you don’t measure up, that could well be a sign that you do.
Maybe there is some hope:
The real trick to producing great work isn’t to find ways to eliminate the edgy, nervous feeling that you might be swimming out of your depth. Instead, it’s to remember that everyone else is feeling it, too. We’re all in deep water. Which is fine: it’s by far the most exciting place to be.
via Nobody Knows What The Hell They Are Doing (*) by Oliver Burkeman (*) [swissmiss (*)].

On Perfection - William Gedney / fototazo (Tue 07 Oct 2014)

Free. Please take me home. - Alexandria (Tue 07 Oct 2014)

William Gedney (*) on Perfection (*):
Either you feel that a thing must be perfect before you present it to the public, or you are willing to let it go out even knowing that it is not perfect, because you are striving for something even beyond what you have achieved, but in struggling too hard for perfection you know that you may lose the very glimmer of life, the very spirit of the thing that you also know exists at a particular point in what you have done; and that to interfere with it would be to destroy that very living quality.
via Photographers on Photographers: Looking for the Ghost of William Gedney (*) by fototazo (*).

Monday, October 6, 2014

On Inspiration - Ebony / Khalik Allah (Mon 06 Oct 2014)

Wildflower Meadow (*) - London Fields (*) / Hackney / London (Sat 13 Sep 2014)

Khalik Allah (*) writes Inspiration (*):
I am grateful to have inspired you, ultimately that is my focus. Inspiration is spiritual. Inspiration is of God.
via Just watched your doc. It was so insightful and humble to the max! Love your work your photographs are a great inspiration for my artwork! Your one amazing being! Sending love from South Carolina! (*) by Khalik Allah (*).

Inspiration for a front garden.

Wildflower Meadow (*) - London Fields / Hackney / London (Sat 13 Sep 2014)

Sunday, October 5, 2014

On Vivian Maier - Naomi Cass / Andrew Stephens (Sat 04 Oct 2014)

Street Portrait - Valletta / Malta (Sun 21 Sep 2014)

Andrew Stephens (*) writes on Vivian Maier (*):
the almost magical appearance of Maier's work, as if it had been conjured, has not only inspired much further creativity and contemplation about the nature of photography, it has also shown how their own interests and approaches have crossed paths with Maier's.
Naomi Cass (*) expands Vivian Maier (*) Influence (*) on the Past (*), Present (*) and Identity (*):
We always need to think of a way of activating the past with respect to the present. We couldn't assume Maier to have had an influence on contemporary practice, however all the artists in this exhibition are acutely aware of not just her work but the complexity of her identity.
via Maier's portraits are an unexpected gift (*) by Andrew Stephens (*).

A great article and probably the most interesting I have read on Vivian Maier (*). Her work has become well known and her influence is expanding into interesting and diverse areas of the art world.

Saturday, October 4, 2014

On being an Artist - Ben Davis (Tue 01 Oct 2014)

Untitled - Murano / Venice (Wed 10 Sep 2014)

Ben Davis (*) writes on the realities of being an Artist (*):
most people who call themselves “artists” actually make money somewhere else.
via How Small It Actually Is, Alex Zafiris interviews Ben Davis (*) by Alex Zafiris (*) [via photographsonthebrain (*)].

Friday, October 3, 2014

How to make great things happen - The Story of Telling (Fri 03 Oct 2014)

Untitled - Paris (Thu 18 Sep 2014)

Bernadette (*) writes on Making Great Things Happen (*):
Once we start showing up with the right intention (*) we can begin to make great things happen.
via My New Book—Marketing: A Love Story (*) by The Story of Telling (*).

What If? #5 - Story of Telling (Wed 10 Sep 2014)

Untitled - Zurich (Fri 26 Sep 2014)

The Story of Telling (*) writes on What If (*):
What if the thing my brain tries convinces me to run from, is the reason I’m here?
via What If? (*) by The Story of Telling (*).