Two people I'm feeling right now...

Check out the work of Greg Miller. From what I read briefly he just finished his Guggenheim Fellowship. Amazing body of work that I'm still making my way through. Also really feeling the "Cruel Story of Youth" project by Jennifer Loeber. Her other photographs aren't too bad, but this particular project is pretty nice.

Not sure if you've noticed but I've streamlined the blog a bit, thank you Nick Haggard for the help and tips. If you've never seen Nick's pictures before its definitely worth checking out. He's also started a blog.
Just purchased my own 150mm lens for my Toyo so I'm hoping to make some new photos over the holidays and working on the "People You May Know" (working title) project. Feels weird about titling it but I can't just keep calling it "the project".

UPDATE: I just received a super nice email from Greg Miller thanking me for mentioning him on my blog. He had some very nice things to say about my work and also mentioned that he's only halfway through his Guggenheim Fellowship (6 months more). So definitely keep an eye out for new work from him over the next year.
As well as being a great photographer Greg teaches large format photography at the ICP in NY.

New 4x5

Here are some quick scans of two new pictures I made a week or so ago. Super psyched on the large format. Still need to get used to it a bit, want to be able to add some light so I can make my shooting times more flexible.






Lilla and her daughter Bliss waiting for grandma.
Plum Island, MA 2008








Aidan his wife Olivia near the end of her 3rd trimester
Rowely, MA 2008

Skateboard Decks

A little while ago my good friend and sometime collaborator Zach Johnsen called me and asked if it was cool if our first t-shirt collaboration (see them here, here, here, and here) could be used on some skateboard decks. "Of course", I said and that was it. I kind of forgot about it till recently. Check them out here. I haven't seen any in person but I think they look pretty cool. Also, I just did product shots of Zach's new belt buckle company, Death Metal Belt Buckles. Not sure what the url will be for them but I'm sure through Tank Theory or Tank Theory's blog you'll be able to see them in a week or two.

Here a peek of the two designs they went with:







In other news I just got my first sheets back with the new 4x5 camera, hope to scan them over the weekend!

James Nachtwey

I had the honor of shooting James Nachtwey. Who is one of the most famous living war and conflict photographers. There is a great documentary on him called War Photographer. This isn't what ran in the mag, they ran a different version of the close-up. You can see it in the new Swindle Magazine Icons issue 3. I have a couple other portraits in there as well, should be on newsstands now.






James Nachtwey
NYC 2008

Richard Renaldi

Some nice large format portraiture here. I suggest looking at "figure and ground" first.

Nice, new online photo mag

From the guy who brought you the We Can't Paint blog is a new online photo magazine called Wassenaar. Check it out when you get a sec. I think it is something to pay attention to.

More Hasselblad stuff...

Finished some quick scans of the rest of the film I had, here's a few more I'm feeling. A mix of strangers and friends I've photographed. I also added that picture of Michelle to my regular site. Check it out when you get a sec. I've edited my site down a bunch, love to get some feedback.



Clay Patrick McBride showing off his gold tooth and trusty Super 8 camera
EAW, Upstate, NY 2008








Revolutionary War Reenactors in front of home
Upstate, NY 2008








Teens with prizes
Topsfield Fair 2008








David Hartman finishing a cigarette
LES, NYC 2008

Film + Hasselblad = some new portraits

It's been a while since I've posted my own work. It's mostly because I am shooting film for my personal stuff and the whole process takes a lot longer for obvious reasons. Here are two that I scanned last night. I'm thinking of adding the one of Michelle to my site, I did a high res scan as well that I'll do a final retouch on tonight. But for the most part it will look like this. As for the other portrait of my brother, I really like what is going on there, I think its an idea to use for the future. I also have some stuff scanned from this summer shooting up at the beaches, I'm on the fence about posting them yet. It's not that I don't like them, I just think I want to hold off on them to be shown within a larger edit or when I have a more concise idea of what I plan to make them into. I have 3 more rolls to get through tonight. Maybe I'll do another post before the weekend is up.

I also got a 4x5 camera again. This time its not a frankencamera like the last one. This is a real deal Toyofield camera and has been really fun working with. I'm getting some sheets processed this week. I'm really enjoying shooting from a tripod again, which was something I was trying to avoid with that last nightmare of a 4x5 camera I had tested. In college I shot 99% of the time on a tripod and tried to break that habit and loosen up once I was shooting 35mm digi, but lately I am realizing it is a better way to work with how I make my photos these days. I swear its always a push in a new direction that in the end brings back some aspects of my past, especially right now with the 4x5 and tripod.






Michelle Clark on her birthday
Boston, MA 2008






This one of Derek almost takes to an extreme the environmental portrait style I've been doing the past year or so.

Derek Amengual with a glass of milk
Newbury, MA 2008
He's been showing some great landscapes on his blog lately.

Patriotism

St. Marks, NYC 2008 Election Night

Great quote

“It is not from the sons of the millionaire or the noble that the world receives its teachers, its martyrs, its inventors, its statesmen, its poets, or even its men of affairs. It is from the cottage of the poor that all these spring.”

- Andrew Carnegie

via The Constant Siege

Yes!

In other good news Question 2 passed in MA, decriminalizing possession of under once ounce of weed, a.k.a..

In sad news Question 8 was passed in CA, banning gay marriage.

War

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.

This world in arms is not spending money alone.

It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. The cost of one modern heavy bomber is this: a modern brick school in more than 30 cities. It is two electric power plants, each serving a town of 60,000 population. It is two fine, fully equipped hospitals. It is some fifty miles of concrete pavement.

We pay for a single fighter plane with a half million bushels of wheat. We pay for a single destroyer with new homes that could have housed more than 8,000 people.

This is, I repeat, the best way of life to be found on the road the world has been taking.

This is not a way of life at all, in any true sense. Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron. These plain and cruel truths define the peril and point the hope that come with this spring of 1953.

This is one of those times in the affairs of nations when the gravest choices must be made, if there is to be a turning toward a just and lasting peace. It is a moment that calls upon the governments of the world to speak their intentions with simplicity and with honesty.

It calls upon them to answer the question that stirs the hearts of all sane men: is there no other way the world may live?”

Dwight Eisenhower 1961

I stole this quote and post idea from The Constant Siege. I've told many people about the movie Why We Fight and seeing up on Mr Cubitt's blog gave me a kick to repost it on mine. I think it is one of the best documentary films I have ever seen. You can catch it in clips here on YouTube. Even McCain makes an appearance. I was actually very blown away by him and remember thinking, "Wow, for a Republican he's not that bad." Its funny how the pursuit of power corrupts. You do actually see him turn into a bitch when he gets a phone call from Bush, so I guess that was just a hint of things to come. Please watch it. For the conservatives out there, I promise this isn't a "Michael Moore" type "documentary".
Also, I just found the full film on google video:

Bill Eppridge

Bill Eppridge
RFK Ambassador Hotel on June 5, 1968

Bill Eppridge's work is a legacy of photojournalism. The access and trust that he has been able to get from his subjects is incredible. I've had the privilege of hearing him talk several times at the Eddie Adams Workshop and I am blown away each time. Here is a little bio, although the gallery link there doesn't really do him justice, look here instead.

and this clip of him talking about Obama's energy, which I find pretty inspiring...

Erika Larsen

I'm really feeling her work right now. Check it out here.

I'm not a huge fan of...

all street art. Sometime it just tries to hard. But a new guy on the scene, Mr. Brainwash, has got all the necessary elements for good street art: Its bold, its political, it's not too artsy, its smart and a few more I can't think of right now. Check out how great this image is:



See more of his work here.

So this is where Superman lives...

Photograph by Carsten Peter

Simply amazing. Read more here and here.

Great photographers

So I just put together this list for some students I had at The Eddie Adams Workshop. I'm often asked whom are my favorite photographers, that has changed over the years. Looking at my photo books on the shelf right now I am realizing that I am forgetting some people, but this list is mostly made of people who don't have books, whom are not the usual names people throw around. Some, I'm very proud to say, are close friends of mine.
Too many to make hot links for, so I apologize for you having to cut and past. The first third is more documentary and photojournalist. Enjoy!

http://www.matteichphoto.com/display?enter=true
http://jamesrexroad.com/index.htm
http://farahnosh.com/index2.html
http://www.simonnorfolk.com/
http://www.pieterhugo.com/index.html
http://www.carldekeyzer.com/
http://www.joakimeskildsen.com/
http://rafalmilach.com/
http://www.andresgonzalezphoto.com/index1.html
http://www.simbapix.com/
http://www.davidrochkind.com/main.php
http://www.jocelynbainhogg.com/Portfolio.cfm?nK=2502&nL=1&nS=2
http://dylanvitone.com/
http://www.peterbeste.com/houston_grp1.html
http://www.syewilliams.com/main_bodyslam.php
http://www.weepingash.co.uk/links/trj/trj01.html
http://www.simoncroberts.com/site/movie.html
http://www.coreyfishes.com/#/fish-work-norway/4/
http://www.andreadiefenbach.com/
http://www.digitalrailroad.net/borotov/Default.aspx
http://www.billcharles.com/index.html (so many great photogs rep'd here)
http://stevenbrahms.com/
http://www.dannyclinch.com/
http://www.joshualutz.com/#a=0&at=0&mi=2&pt=1&pi=10000&s=0&p=0
http://www.thomasprior.com/
http://alecsoth.com/
http://www.ahetherington.com/#mi=2&pt=1&pi=10000&s=0&p=1&a=0&at=0
http://marklikosky.com/
http://www.earth-talks.com/ (diptychs)
http://www.melanieschiff.net/slideshow/1.htm
http://michaelschmelling.com/
http://www.chrisbuck.com/Default.aspx?MenuItemID=47
http://www.briansorgfoto.com/main
http://www.emilianogranado.com/
http://www.rjshaughnessy.com/
http://davidblackphotography.com/index.html
http://justinhollar.com/#
http://www.mcatanese.com/index.html
http://www.markhartmanphoto.com/#a=0&at=0&mi=1&pt=0&pi=1&s=0&p=-1
http://www.francescaromeo.com/
http://www.josephrynkiewicz.com/
http://www.jasonlazarus.com/
http://www.mitchepstein.net/
http://www.joaocanziani.com
http://www.keirnanmonaghan.com/#
http://www.andersonhopkins.com/kereszi/lk_reviews_articles.html
http://www.anthonyblasko.com/
http://www.ianbaguskas.com/
http://www.adamfedderly.com/
http://www.rachelbarrett.net/
http://www.barneykulok.net/
http://boruobrien.com/
http://www.knotan.com/index2.html
http://www.gretaanderson.com/
http://www.brianfinke.com/
http://www.granser.de/granser.html
http://vincentskeltis.com/home/
http://www.thesearemypictures.com/
http://www.mattguntherphoto.com/
http://www.michalchelbin.com/chelbin.htm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/senyoriguana/
http://www.edelmangallery.com/misrach.htm
http://www.whitneyhubbs.com/index.html
http://www.nathanbaker.org/rupture
http://www.kategreenephotography.com/index.html
http://rehearsalsfordeparture.com/index.html
http://www.brianbermanphoto.com/
http://www.luhringaugustine.com/index.php?mode=artists&object_id=67
http://www.magnumphotos.com/Archive/c.aspx?VP=XSpecific_MAG.BookDetail_VPage&pid=2K7O3R151HV4

please let me know who your feeling.

interesting point

I'm a super hater of "referencing", of course I have a a lot of influences but still I've seen some much "referencing" it drives me crazy. But this take from one of my favorite blogs Conscientious is a good point,

"Interestingly enough, what gets people so riled up in photography is taken for granted and widely accepted in many other art forms. For example, in music certain artists are just accepted as influences for generations of later artists - without the endless "ripping off" or "just copying" "discussions" that we see in photography. There are occasional discussions about someone ripping off another artist, but these are fairly rare, and usually, they are usually also very obvious (and, often, it's all about money)."

Great quote

"The artist, however faithful to his personal vision of reality, becomes the last champion of the individual mind and sensibility against an intrusive society and an officious state. The great artist is thus a solitary figure. [...] In pursuing his perceptions of reality, he must often sail against the currents of his time. This is not a popular role. [...] I see little of more importance to the future of our country and our civilization than full recognition of the place of the artist. If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him. We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth. [...] In free society art is not a weapon and it does not belong to the spheres of polemic and ideology. Artists are not engineers of the soul. [...] And the nation which disdains the mission of art invites the fate of Robert Frost's hired man, the fate of having 'nothing to look backward to with pride, and nothing to look forward to with hope.'" -

President John F. Kennedy, in remarks given at Amherst College, October 26, 1963

Stolen from Conscientious blog.

Some nerd shit...33 mega pixel camera

So today I was assisting Don Flood the digital tech and I started doing some test on this new camera that came out. For those of you that live and work in this world you probably don't care, but for people not in the industry you might be interested, or you just might be a nerd like me. I'll often in conversation about work mention that the high end digital backs are 33-39 mega pixels. These examples are from a 33 mpxl Leaf back with their new camera system which has amazing lenses. This is the full frame and then a full res crop.

The first image was not cropped the 90mm just gets super close.



And here is a full res crop at 100%.

Make sure you click on these pictures to see them bigger.

All right. Nerd signing off...