Mark Cohen - Street Photography (YouTube)

Mark Cohen - Street Photography [Youtube (*)]
A bit of a preamble to this but it is worth the wait in order to see his working method on the street and the ensuing interview of which there are many great quotes On Photography (*). I have scribbled a few down here:

[..] They are snapshots and they are made in a very simple way. But the thing they see when they continue to look at the pictures, they start to see the closeness is one of the things they see. Some one is making pictures that are really close on the street and its that kind of taking the camera so close to the subject and making pictures and not in a studio way. in a flow of life on the street or field kind of way. And they see that closeness and that is the thing that gives the pictures there uniqueness and their agressive sort of character.

When you make an exhibit of this work, you walk around in a room filled with it and you see all these strange pictures. You know there is a certain excitement to it, There is a certain quality in that room about an artists mind, and an artists work that comes from the pictures and touches the viewer in some way. That's why it works. I don't know why exactly it works. A lot of physcological reasons, sexual reasons. A lot of things are going on in those pictures.

It is not some kind of exact analytical science going on here, its right on the edge of meaninglessness, but its in there and that is what makes it so fascinating.

It feels awkward for me to try to talk about my work, frequently. Once in a while I do it. I do a slide show and I describe how I take the pictures. Describe how I think they fit into things socially and formally, in the context of photography in America. Different kind of things.

You usually don't think about that kind of stuff. You dont think about that. You think about when you are taking pictures the most important thing is to get new pictures.

The pictures you already took, you already took those pictures. My main drive is to do something new. To make some new kind of picture. [..]

A copy of Grim Street (*) is on the way.

On Being Human, Photo Creation, Chaos and Understanding - Spencer Lum (Tue 08 Jan 2013)

Taking Human Pictures (*) - Erskineville Road / Erskineville (Mon 31 Dec 2012)
Spencer Lum (*) writes On being Human (*) and Photo Creation (*):

Human pictures aren’t pictures of people.

They’re pictures that mean something to people.

And there are as many ways to create them as there are pictures to take.

to which he expands On Chaos (*) and On Understanding (*):

Take this crazy, complex, overgrown world of ours, distill it down to something, and you’ve done exactly what you’re supposed to do.

You’ve restructured a systemic chaos more complex than we’ll ever know into terms we, as humans, can understand.

via Taking Human Pictures (*) by Spencer Lum (*).

On Taking Pictures that Matter - Marc Riboud / Ayesugul Sert (Apr 2005)

untitled - not sure it matters but I think it says something, to me at least - Barcelona (Mon 05 Aug 2013)

Marc Riboud on taking Pictures that Matter:

We take good pictures, we become good photographers by living life, by talking to people, avoiding preconceived ideas, and being open. That’s how we get to take pictures that matter.

via Marc Riboud on Photography, Hard Work and How We are All the Same by Ayesugul Sert [original here]

On Photography - Mark Cohen / Eric Kim Blog (Mon 17 Feb 2014)

Street Portrait - Harris Street / Haymarket (Tue 25 Feb 2014)
Untitled - Dibbs Street / Alexandria (Jan 2014)
Abstract - Pitt Street / Redfern (Fri 21 Feb 2014)
Mark Cohen (*) on Photography (*):

When you feel like you’re making pictures - the most important is to make new pictures. The pictures you already took - you already took those pictures. My main drive is to do something new - to make some new kind of picture.

via 14 Lessons Mark Cohen Has Taught Me About Street Photography (*) by Eric Kim (*).

Make Pictures that are Larger than the Frame - Michael Davis - Montreal (Thu 25 Aug 2011)

Recently stumbled across a great blog (*) hosted by Michael Davis (*), a Professional Picture Editor (*). Lots of great insights there for any budding photographer.

The following is an extract from a post, that caught my attention:

You can engage people who look at your work more dimensionally if you decide whether to make the picture larger than the frame. [..]

The notion is pretty straightforward but explaining it is not so easy.

The idea is that when people’s minds complete aspects of a photograph that don’t appear within the frame, the experience of looking at the photograph is more dimensional than when everything fits within the frame.

From Make Pictures that are Larger than the Frame (*) by Michael Davis (*) [Tue 29 Nov 2011]

I think the first photo below demonstrates the dimensionality that Michael talks about above. The rear part of the car on the left hand side of the frame and the reflective puddle leading in from the bottom of the frame, being the elements needing completion.

I did spend a bit of time in this car park photographing the surrounding buildings. As I sit here looking back at that time in the car park, I can see that I experimented with different framings, trying to find something that was stronger than the others.

Maybe this is a good way to think about composing a photo - be a bit looser in the framing and make pictures that are larger than the frame (*). Thanks Michael.

Mural (3 of 3) - Sainte-Catherine St / Montreal (Thu 25 Aug 2011)
Mural (2 of 3) - Sainte-Catherine St / Montreal (Thu 25 Aug 2011)
Mural (1 of 3) - Sainte-Catherine St / Montreal (Thu 25 Aug 2011)
PS - If you look at the first two photos close enough you will be rewarded with the tiny detail that caught my eye - it was not the giant mural, but something much smaller that resonated with the mural. Will show this detail in a later post.

On Photography and Editing - Larry Towell / James Estrin (Mon 10 Nov 2014)

Untitled - Venice (*) (Wed 16 Sep 2009)
Larry Towell (*) writes on Photography (*) and Editing (*):

Photography is not just about seeing and taking pictures, it’s also about making sense of the photograph and making sense of it is what editing does, .. You take a series of photographs, you tell a story (*) with them and many pictures fall between the cracks in the process. [..]

When you’re editing you’re editing towards a certain end, and when that end is met you forget about the pictures that didn’t make it, .. What this Magnum project has done is allowed us to go back and re-edit. There isn’t enough re-editing being done today.

via Magnum’s Archive of Once-Orphaned Photos (*) by James Estrin (*).

Venice.

On the Gift of Photography - Stephen Dupont / Ella Rubeli (Wed 08 Jul 2015)

Stephen Dupont - Stills Gallery / Paddington (Sat 28 Mar 2015)

Stephen Dupont on the Gift of Photography:

I feel more grateful more than anything, that I'm allowed to go in and capture these moments, because you don't take pictures . . . you're given pictures, it's a gift

via Photojournalist Stephen Dupont captures modern-day Papua New Guinea by Ella Rubeli.

On Photography - Martin Elkort (Mon 09 Apr 2001)

Untitled - Redfern (Tue 21 Jul 2015)

Martin Elkort on Photography:

When something inside me resonates with what I see, my finger moves to the shutter. In that moment, I have understood and explained both the inner and outer worlds I inhabit. When others see my pictures and react, I know that I have captured a moment in life. These moments are the core of my art.

via Why I Take Pictures by Martin Elkort.

The Minds Eye by Henri Cartier-Bresson (Extract)

For photographers, there are two kinds of selection to be made, and either of them can lead to eventual regrets.

There is the selection we make when we look through the view-finder at the subject; and there is the one we make after the films have been developed and printed.

After developing and printing, you must go about separating the pictures which, though they are all right, aren’t the strongest.

When it’s too late, then you know with a terrible clarity exactly where you failed; and at this point you often recall the telltale feeling you had while you were actually making the pictures.

Was it a feeling of hesitation due to uncertainty?

Was it because of some physical gulf between yourself and the unfolding event?

Was it simply that you did not take into account a certain detail in relation to the whole setup?

Or was it (and this is more frequent) that your glance became vague, your eyes wandered off?

The Picture Story in The Minds Eye by Henri Cartier-Bresson.

What struck about this passage was not the regret that is felt at losing an opportunity to have a great photo, but what we have learnt from why the photo is not as strong as we would like. I have felt this in not only in my photography, but also in my paddling. If you know you have made a mistake and know why, then you have learnt a valuable lesson and you will become better at your chosen activity.

Graffiti - Brick Lane/London - Wed 2 Sep 2009
Window and Books - St Ives/Cornwall - Tue 8 Sep 2009

On Photography - Jorg Colberg (Tue 09 Jul 2013)

Jörg Colberg (*) writes On Photography (*):

People usually love talking about their photographs, and they love telling you what is in those pictures (even if most of that is not apparent to a stranger at all – we’re certainly all photographers in the sense of believing there are things in the pictures someone else simply can’t see, given her or his lack of background knowledge).

via Photography’s Existential Dread (*).

Dimitri the 6 year old Carpet Snake - Newtown (Sun 07 Jul 2013)>

Daido Moriyama: In Pictures - William Klein + Daido Moriyama - Tate Modern: Exhibition (YouTube)

Daido Moriyama: In Pictures - William Klein + Daido Moriyama - Tate Modern: Exhibition (*) [Youtube (*)]

On Photos and Process - Jörg Colberg (Tue 19 Aug 2014)

Water (*) (more (*)) and Trees (*) (more (*)) - Copenhagen (Fri 23 Aug 2013)
Jörg Colberg (*) writes on Photos (*) and Process (*):

At the end of the day, it should be about the pictures. [..]

So I look at the pictures first – are they any good? – and then at the process.

via On Process (Further Down the Rabbit Hole) (*) by Jörg Colberg (*).

On Vivian Maier - Jerry Saltz / Vulture (Sun 30 Jun 2014)

An Observer (*) - Barcelona (Tue 06 Aug 2013)
Jerry Saltz (*) writes On Vivian Maier (*):

She was a servant of her talent (*), compelled to use her servitude (*) to make what she needed to make. [..]

Bells go off when you look at her pictures; you become witness to something big. Proust talked of "the apogee of the particular." That's here. This gives Maier's work psychological and philosophical force, something deeply observant. At the same time, she also has an outsider's (*) view of the world. She's one who watches, silently observes (*), is alert to the tiniest disturbance in the visual or psychic field. [..] The valor of being alive comes into focus.

via Jerry Saltz on Finding Vivian Maier: An Invisible Artist and the Man Who Found Her (*) by Jerry Saltz (*).

Ordinary Extraordinary - Martin Gayford (Thu 04 Aug 2016)

Green Fern - Redfern (Fri 01 Jul 2016)

Martin Gayford on Ordinary and Extraordinary:

great pictures are often images of very commonplace sights.

via What makes William Eggleston's ordinary photographs so extraordinary? by Martin Gayford.

Photos and how we feel when we Remember - Colin Pantell (Tue 18 Mar2014)

Joanne and Jenny - "puts a smile on face" - Dobroyd (Sun 27 Aug 2006)

Colin Pantall on Photography and Remembering:

It's strange how one remembers things without being aware on any conscious level of why one remembers or how one remembers. [..]

Perhaps it might be good to reach elsewhere for our ideas on photography, outside the small, incestuous world of photo-theory so that we can add to and enrich our understanding of how images work with added engagement and added interest. Today, cognitive and social psychology might be good places to start. [..]

I can't help but feel that there is also an element of the false memory (more of which in a different post) and wish fulfilment in there as well.

The idea that when we see those happy pictures, we remember them and feel that those happy times will come again.

Via A Happy Post for Happy People by Colin Pantall.

On Training and Discipline - Siegfried Hansen / Eric Kim Street Photography (Wed 18 Dec 2013)

Untitled - Pitt Street / Sydney (Wed 18 Dec 2013)
Siegfried Hansen (*) writes On Traininng (*) and Discipline (*):

There are many things you learn by training (*) and discipline (*), but overall you should internalize both theory (*) and technique (*) to a point that you can fully concentrate (*) on the moment when taking pictures. I navigate through [..] my hometown, almost blindly (*) on certain routes, focusing on things that are happening around me. It’s all coincidental, nothing is preset.

via Capturing Harmony on the Streets through Graphical Images: Interview with Siegfried Hansen (*) by Eric Kim (*).


Untitled (Detail) - Pitt Street / Sydney (Wed 18 Dec 2013)

Photographer: Murray Fredericks

Murray Fredericks is an Australian Photographer. I was aware of him and his works from my foray into large format photography. I had bought a 4x5 inch large format camera in Shanghai in November 2004 (that's another story) and I needed to learn how to use it. Murray was offering a weekend workshop at a rural location in western NSW, near Oberon, and I had considered attending. With assistance of my friend Leigh Perry, I was able to work it all out and did not need to take Murray's workshop in the end. Some scans of my initial transparencies, by an Epson 4990 scanner, are here

I follow news regarding photography and photography exhibitions in Sydney - typically article written by Robert McFarlane who writes occasionally for the Sydney Morning Herald (just found he has a blog at ozphotoreview.blogspot.com). I have known of Murray since the time his work was exhibited at the Point Light Gallery in 2003. His initial SALT work was also reviewed by Robert McFarlane

When flying to Prague, on the flight to Prague from Helsinki on FinnAir, I was pleasantly surprised and delighted to read an English Newspaper (The Financial Times) that had a review of Murray's exhibition in London at the Hamiltons Gallery in Mayfair. I pulled out the page inflight and put it away with a mental note to make sure I would find the Gallery and view the Salt Exhibition when in London a few weeks later. Was very impressed to read that his photos were being compared to Turner paintings and that the largest and most expensive photo was being sold for 30,000 Pounds - pretty impressive for a humble landscape photographer who started his career as an Economist from Sydney University.

Blue Sky Thinking - Murray Fredericks - SALT II - A Newspaper Article found inflight between Helsinki and Prague - Sat 22 Aug 2009 - (picasa)
The day before the Great River Race, I had organised our seats on boats and I had time to do some sight seeing in London. I found the Gallery using Google Maps and made my way there on the Tube. I found the Gallery easily and chatted with the Gallery guy, who gave my a DVD of the SALT Documentary of his trip to Lake Eyre. Managed to sneak in a few photos before I left for the Photographers Gallery (yet another story), which was walking distance away (well maybe at least a couple hours rambling through the back streets of London).

Murray Fredericks: Salt Exhibition - Hamiltons Gallery / London - Fri 04 Sep 2009 (picasa)

Murray Fredericks: Salt Exhibition - Hamiltons Gallery / London - Fri 04 Sep 2009 (picasa)

Murray Fredericks: Salt Exhibition - Hamiltons Gallery / London - Fri 04 Sep 2009 (picasa)

SALT37 by Murray Fredericks - Sep 2009 (www.gosee.de)

Self Portrait in Lake Eyre - Hamiltons Gallery / London - Fri 04 Sep 2009 (picasa)
The ABC are showing his SALT Documentary tonight. There was a review in yesterdays Sydney Morning Herald titled - Searching for infinite space in extreme locations. An extract follows:

Murray Fredericks - Sydney Morning Herald 22 Mar 2010 - Searching for infinite space in extreme locations - Tue 23 Mar 2010 (picasa)
Having been "the guy with a camera" at high school who took pictures of sports teams, Fredericks was a serious photographer with commercial and artistic ambitions in his mid-twenties. He shot what he calls traditional coffee table-style photos until he realised he wanted more from his work.

"I reached the point where I went through everything and went 'there's nothing new here'. All I'm doing is finding new angles and new locations but the message itself - and the way the message is delivered - isn't changing'," he says.

"So I went through everything again and I thought 'which images affect me differently?' and they were the images that conveyed a sense of space."

That discovery has taken Fredericks 14 times to Lake Eyre in outback South Australia in the past six years. His aim was to photograph the flat salt plain with its low horizon and lack of distinctive features.

Hauling his gear to the location by bicycle, he spent up to five weeks by himself trying to capture the nothingness. And when things changed, he wanted to capture that too.

"Everything happens on the cusp, on the change,'' he says. ''It's the transition periods that are interesting because that's when the stuff you can't imagine or you can't expect happens."

Fredericks's shots of land and sky have proven so popular there are three galleries - in Sydney, Melbourne and London - waiting for his new work.

SALT 8 by Murray Fredericks

Found a nice review by Rebecca Wolkenstein who writes:

.. it wasn’t until I viewed his film SALT, that I decided my roster couldn’t live without him. The film and the work had a spiritual element I had never really understood before then. It sounds rather dramatic to be speaking this way, doesn’t it? When the film comes out [..], I highly recommend that you immerse yourself in the landscape. It’s full of surprises.

SALT 5 by Murray Fredericks

My friend Leigh Perry shoots very similar photos, but typically from the shore of Sydney's coastline - see his portfolios: Invariance and Peripheral Vision. Beautiful photos ..

Invariance #116011 - Reef by Leigh Perry

Invariance #332 - Lake. by Leigh Perry

On the Beauty of Photography - Spencer Lum (Mon 07 Jan 2012)

Green / CAMO - Alexandria (Mon 16 Dec 2012)
Spencer Lum (*) writes On the Beauty of Photography (*):

The question isn’t what looks good.

The question is what fits.

Are you building something?

Are you filtering through what works and what doesn’t and packing your pictures with connotation?

Or just showing what’s there?

In the simplest terms, get rid of the bad and keep the good.

You can spend a lifetime deciding on just what that means.

And that’s the beauty of photography.

The key is just to keep making those decisions.

via Say what you mean and mean what you say (*) by Spencer Lum (*).

Always making decisions here. It's part of the attraction of doing what happens here. I look back over the four years of photos here and sometimes I shake my head at what I see. I look at it and say to myself, it was the right decision (or maybe the only decision) to make at the time. In some ways it makes me realise how much I have done and learnt. So while I might shake my head, there are no regrets.

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)

On Photography and Vivian Maier - Ella Taylor (Fri 28 Mar 2914)

Pink Balloon - Madrid (Sun 11 Aug 2013)
Ella Taylor (*) writes On Vivian Maier (*), photography (*) and maybe a few more of us:

Perhaps she just loved taking pictures; perhaps they kept her company or even prevented her, for a while, from falling apart. Perhaps it never crossed her mind that she was an artist.

via 'Vivian Maier' Brings Nanny-Photographer's Life Into Focus (*) by Ella Taylor (*).

In 2010 as I struggled with the loss of Jenny (*), those around me were concerned. So I am thankful to my Mother who suggested I should try to get back into my photography and Jo, who independently, suggested I start to organise my photos. And so I did (*), and still do ..