Martin Parr In Conversation
Cross-posted from It’s Nice That. By Ayla Angelos.
“Martin Parr is an amiable man. Perhaps his composed – and somewhat abrupt – demeanour comes from the fact that he’s taken part in around 50 interviews over the past three weeks, or that he’s had over 50 years’ experience within his field. Yet one thing’s for sure, is that ever since he first picked up a camera at the age of 13, he has continued to make work that’s innately British.”
https://www.itsnicethat.com/features/martin-parr-in-conversation-photography-090919
Designing Like a Reporter
Cross-posted from Communications Arts. By Marianne Seregi.
National Geographic is famous for its photography, but in the design world, it’s also famous for its design, and the process of producing a coherent layout and content is just as intense as the photography. Marianne Seregi is the design director, coming to the job after working at National Geographic Traveler and the Washington Post.
“After shooting an assignment, a photographer will submit thousands of frames to the photo editor. The two of them will then narrow that selection down to 50 to 100 images. This “final tray” is then passed on to the designer, who prints “minis,” three-inch copies of every frame. The designer, photo editor and sometimes the photographer will sit in a room and push the minis around, working through the narrative arc. Once they have an order and flow they feel good about, the designer puts the images in real layouts and brings in the director of photography, creative director and design director for feedback. Following their edits, the final layout is presented to the editor in chief. It’s a thorough process, with many voices and perspectives that enable the highest-quality edits.”
https://www.commarts.com/columns/seregi
The Amazing Treasure Trove of Bill Cunningham
Cross-posted from The New York Times. By Alex Ward.
“He had an unerring eye for catching every fashion wave well before anyone else, and doing so not just on runways (though he loved designer fashion shows), but out there on the pavement of good old gritty Gotham.
Say what you will about this unfair city, the parade here never stops, and no one understood that better than a Bostonian named William J. Cunningham. Starting in the 1970s for The Times, he created a singular image of himself by visually chronicling what people (overwhelmingly New Yorkers, but also Parisians) were wearing as they went about their business. Which was often trying to get Bill to photograph them.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/01/style/bill-cunningham-book
How Arthur Felig Became the Legendary Street Photographer Weegee
Cross-posted from Lit Hub. By Christopher Bonanos.
Weegee, now hugely famous for his urban, and especially, crime, photos, was part yet not a part of his local New York photography world in the 1930s, ‘40s, and ‘50s. He needed the help and association of his colleagues to become who we know him to be today.
www.lithub.com/how-arthur-felig-became-the-legendary-street-photographer-weegee/
Alec Soth’s Secret Farmhouse Project
Cross-posted from Magnum Photos. By Alec Soth.
“A new short film sees the photographer discussing that happiest year of his life and the impact one ramshackle building had upon his photographic approach”
“In the midst of a period of turbulence in his career, spurred by growing doubts about the validity of his work and photographic processes, Alec Soth started a new project, one unlike any he had pursued before…”
https://www.magnumphotos.com/theory-and-practice/alec-soths-secret-farmhouse-project/
WHO I’VE HIRED:
JOLIE RUBEN, CULTURE DESK PHOTO EDITOR
AT THE NEW YORK TIMES
Cross-posted from The New York Times. By David Walker.
“Jolie Ruben joined The New York Times as a photo editor in 2014. She commissions feature portrait shoots as well as photo essays for the Times’ Culture desk. PDN recently interviewed Ruben about what she’s looking for in the photographers she hires, and who she has hired recently.”
Congress Is Investigating the Rapid Closure of
Art Institutes Across United States
Cross-posted from Hyperallergic. By Zachary Small.
“The collapse of a university franchise that owned more than 40 college campuses across the country has left nearly 26,000 students with ample debt and no degrees. Nearly half of the schools shuttered belonged to the Art Institute brand, which once offered classes in animation, graphic design, and fashion.” – and photography.
www.hyperallergic.com/511431/congress-art-institutes-investigation/
MY FIRST TIME: TOUGH LESSONS FROM A PORTFOLIO REVIEW
Cross-posted from PDN. By Jennifer McLure.
“My goal in going to Fotofest was to get my work on a wall. I thought that’s what fine-art photographers were supposed to do. I wasn’t aware yet of the power and reach of the online photo world, which offers emerging artists opportunities to share their work with viewers even if they are not yet exhibiting in galleries, museums or other institutions. I requested reviewers representing commercial and non-profit galleries, and I did very little research beyond reading the bios sent out by festival organizers. I put all my focus on one of my projects, a self-portrait series about relationships that was set in hotel rooms.”
www.pdnonline.com/features/fine-art-photography/portfolio-review-tough-lessons/
Jack Davison’s Throwback to a Golden Age of Editorial Portraiture
Cross-posted from The New Yorker. By Chris Wiley.
“Twenty-eight years old, baby-faced and affable, he has been shooting editorial work for the likes of the Times Magazine, British Vogue, and various cultish brands (Craig Green, Margaret Howell) since he was barely out of college; his first monograph, titled simply “Photographs,” was released in May by the London-based imprint Loose Joints. And his work, with its moody chiaroscuro, vintage Kodachrome palette, and Mannerist emotionality, seems to have been ripped out of the pages of glossy magazines from an era when Irving Penn and Richard Avedon were still huddled underneath their dark cloths, and Ralph Gibson and Saul Leiter still prowled the streets.”
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/jack-davisons-throwback-to-a-golden-age-of-editorial-portraiture
A Writer’s Guide to Fair Use and Permissions
Cross-posted from Jane Friedman.
Fair Use is always a hot topic, in part because it can be so hard to pin down. Photographers who publish books and have photos in other people’s books need to know about the legalities as much as any writer. Jane Friedman is a respected educator on all aspects of writing and publishing.
“Unfortunately, quoting or excerpting someone else’s work falls into one of the grayest areas of copyright law. There is no legal rule stipulating what quantity is OK to use without seeking permission from the owner or creator of the material. Major legal battles have been fought over this question, but there is still no black-and-white rule.”
www.janefriedman.com/sample-permission-letter/
HOW MUSIC PHOTOGRAPHER FARRAH SKEIKY DECODES INSTAGRAM’S ALGORITHM
Cross-posted from PDN. By David Walker.
“Editorial photographer Farrah Skeiky specializes in shooting bands and live music performances. She has also shot food and portrait assignments for a variety of websites and publication in the Washington, DC area. Currently, Skeiky serves as the creative/culture manager at The LINE Hotel DC, where she manages visual branding, music and cultural events, and social media for the hotel.”
/www.pdnonline.com/features/how-music-photographer-farrah-skeiky-decodes-instagrams-algorithm/
Work by Irving Penn and Other Teachers of the
Famous Photographers School Emerges
Cross-posted from Hyperallergic. By Claire Voon.
“In the 1950s and ’60s, tens of thousands of students across the US were receiving an arts education by mail, through correspondence courses designed and distributed by the Famous Artists School on painting, illustration, and cartooning. In 1961, 13 years after the Westport, Connecticut-based school’s founding by Albert Dorne, students could also learn about photography under the guidance of some of the field’s most famous names, from Richard Avedon to Irving Penn. Known as the Famous Photographers School, the offshoot lasted for just over a decade, closing in 1974.”
How To Get New Photographic Ideas
Philippe Halsman’s tips for developing
creative photographic projects
Cross-posted from Magnum.
“The life’s work of late Latvian-American Magnum photographer Philippe Halsman is a masterclass in creativity. The photographer’s outside-of-the-box thinking resulted in creative compositions and genre-pushing takes on portraiture, from getting an actor to answer questions via facial expression, to making portrait subjects jump in the air.”
“A now-rare book published in 1961, Halsman on the Creation of Photographic Ideas, aimed to offer unpretentious, practical advice and inspiration for photographers in order to help develop creative approaches to their work, addressing a problem faced by photographers of all kinds.”
https://www.magnumphotos.com/theory-and-practice/philippe-halsman-how-to-get-new-photographic-ideas/
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