Alec Soth interview

Here is a great video interview with Alec Soth.  I found it on the “Horses Think” blog.

Alec talks about using digital prints now, and gives a wonderful perspective on that issue.

The 621 Gallery’s 15th Annual Art Auction

621 Gallery - 15th Annual Art Auction

Tallahassee’s 621 Gallery gets into high gear tomorrow with “…the 15th Annual Art Auction, the evening of Friday November 21st, 2008. The Annual Art Auction is the gallery’s principal fundraiser featuring over 100 new works generously donated by the regions finest artists. The auction opens at 5:30 p.m. with the silent auction closing at 7:30 p.m. The live auction begins at 8:00 p.m. Reception includes hors d’oeuvres and entertainment. Admission and bid registration to the Annual Art Auction is free.”

So, if you live in the area, make sure you come, look at the art, mingle and bid on a piece to help our great gallery. And if you are feeling really energetic, search the walls of the gallery for one of my “Tarnished Mirror” pieces.

digital is a construct….

In my September 27 post, discussing film vs. digital photography, I said, among other things that ” …This reinforces my theory that digital is a construct; at first it was trying very hard to look like the results one would get with film photography. However, very quickly those using it produced images that got away from the film/print look in a hurry. People discovered that exciting looking images could be made in a huge variety of ways, images that would have been extremely difficult or more often, impossible to make with film and enlargers. I think we will see this difference widening at an ever accelerating pace, and it is going to be super interesting to follow, be surprised, and hopefully also delighted at some of the results….”
In a blog post today, John Paul Caponigro discusses HDR photography and says, “….HDR imaging represents a radical departure from traditional forms of photography. It cuts straight to the heart of one of the most fundamental challenges of making photographs, fitting the dynamic range of what we see into the dynamic range of a capture device first and an output device second….”
So, the future arrived a lot earlier than I had thought. Of course, HDR was around when I posted the September entry. I think it now has gotten to the point of where it is no longer a “niche thing” but is entering the photographic mainstream. It is moving photography along a path that will make the end product look a lot different than the photography we have known for the last few decades. Stay tuned….

Another 19/98 draft layout spread

Here is another ‘draft’ page layout.

19/98 Book – page layout

I am working full speed on my 19/98 book – so that I can get it out before Christmas.  Right now I am still processing photos from our last trip, and inserting them into the Blurb Booksmart software.  I am a little overwhelmed by all the color and all the images.  As soon as I process and load all of them, I am going to have to print out a working copy and have Alexandria tackle the job of laying them out. Here is one ‘draft’ spread.  It may not survive final editing, but I love posting the work-in-progress layouts of the book.

WaterWoman Portrait

This remains one of my favorite portraits of April – it is from last year, but I still think it deserves to be shown. Especially now that I try and upload larger versions of my photos.  Click on it and let me know what you think.

“Vogue” – editioning & “1 Limited Release”

I can’t get around the fact that the editioning of photographic prints greatly interests me, or perhaps it would be better to say, confuses me. As I have addressed the issue previously on this blog, as a printmaker of traditional prints such as engravings and woodcuts, as well as a printer of silver gelatin prints, I just can’t ever quite get my head around the idea of ‘editioning’ photo prints.  However, I do it once in a while too, so I am not an innocent.

Without regurgitating the whole range of issues around that topic, I just want to pass on an interesting item from the November 2008 issue of Vogue magazine.  It carries the Vogue ad for:

1 Limited Release

10 Exclusive Photos

100 Percent Vogue

and then notes at the bottom that: “A select group of iconic Vogue photographs is now available as limited-edition prints….and will be numbered, stamped, and accompanied by a letter of authenticity….printed on bamboo paper, using archival pigment inks.” By bamboo paper I guess they mean, but don’t know, Hahnemühle Bamboo fine art inkjet paper.

Seems Vogue has upped the ante by adding a ‘letter of authenticity.’

To me the whole thing raises many questions.  I guess the main one is, will it work as a marketing tool?  I am looking forward to some lively discussion on this topic, if not on this blog, but surely somewhere in the ‘photo world.’

PS.  I would be interested in hearing from anybody who has used Hahnemühle Bamboo Fine Art Paper.  I am really taken with Museo Silver Rag.

Vincent Laforet’s Blog

Respected and well known photographer Vincent Laforet is promoting a new concept of marketing and promoting one’s work.  Using photoshelter, he has put together a gallery of images.  Here is his explanation of the project:

“For years now, I’ve been waiting for someone to take full advantage of the web and to allow photographers to better connect with their audiences.  I’ve always found that traditional media rarely offer up a way for photographers to connect directly with their readers/viewers.   Photoshelter has just recently released a little widget that allows anyone to embed flash galleries in their (and other people’s) websites.   This tool allows photographers to easily share their images – and perhaps to generate some income.  In this case – you can simply view the photographs within the widget – and if you’d like, you can purchase a print as well.

I think this has a tremendous potential – so much so, that I’m going to try to encourage you to embed this gallery into your personal sites (or publications!) by applying all of the profits from these print sales for the next 30 days to a student internship/scholarship…

Yep – all of the income (minus the cost of printing, labor, and shipping) will be put towards a student internship/scholarship that I set up.   I’ll determine how to select the student (and perhaps students depending on how popular this experiment becomes) and how the money will be dispersed etc.   I will work out all of these details at the end of the 30 days once I know how much we have raised and how we can maximize those $$$ to best benefit a student (or students)… Sounds fun no?

One more benefit – there are a total of 88 images in this gallery – all but the first one are limited edition prints.   The first image in the gallery of an aerial of Times Square however – will be offered at a significant discount – often more than 10 times cheaper than the limited edition prints…”

19/98 Book – pause for thought

Here is a photo for the book, taken on my last trip.  It sure got my attention!

A map of the Cedar Key – Tallahassee trip.  The distance is about 150 miles and with a couple of stops for coffee, bathroom, and perhaps gas, it usually takes me three hours.  Once on the Chiefland to Tallahassee leg the highway is four lane, with little trafic, and a speed limit of 65 mph.  It is probably one of the least traveled four-lane highway stretches in Florida.

V Magazine

I am a magazine junkie and as a photographer, the more ‘visual’ a magazine is the more I usually enjoy it. Recently I ran across V magazine.  It had some huge glossy black and whites in it, and when I realized the magazine ‘only’ cost $6.50, I could not resist.  I think it is published quarterly and a yearly subscription is only $10.00.  You might want to check it out.

Lilya Corneli

I noticed I received several ‘hits’ from people searching for info about Lilya Corneli.  Other than a link to her website I really don’t have anything written about her.  So, this might be of interest.  I was truly taken by Lilya’s images when I first came across them a few years back. So much so that I ended up corresponding with her.  She was always extremly supportive of my work, and gave me advice and help on techniques she was using.  Help which I translated into images in my Tarnished Mirror suite. When I went to Berlin a couple of years ago, we arranged to get together and she came down from Hamburg.  We met at the Wintergarten, an elegant and well known cafe right off the Ku-Damm, and next to the Kathe Kollwitz Museum. Then we spent the rest of the day hitting the galleries and art exhibits in Berlin. Lilya also has a blog up on Live Journal, unfortunately it is in Russian.  However, it is a good way to keep up with her work, exhibits, and what she is doing.