What Was I Thinking?

Teachers Make A Difference

2011-03-29T01:23:00.001-04:00

Why teach? Here's why. Love it...

Common and The Fearless Revolution

2011-02-25T09:46:00.000-05:00

I've been following this Common thing by The Fearless Revolution. I don't really have a handle on what it is. I do know it's the brainchild of Alex Bogusky and John Bielenberg and Rob Schuham. John is also Project M and did that great work in Hale County around municipal water that I told you about here.

"Common" or "The Fearless Revolution" work out of a place called "The Cottage"and the concept is to build a network of creative types - and to actually brand that network - and I guess harness the power of this immense group of artists, filmmakers, graphic designers, web developers, art directors, writers, photographers, illustrators, researchers, producers, and advertsisng execs to work on pro bono projects and to actually work in areas that will be a huge benefit to society and the planet. They also talk about wanting to "fast prototype a new capitalism." and they are "seeing a dramatic shift in the way business is done towards more transparency, more collaboration, more democracy, and ultimately more value."

You can sign up to join "The Fearless Force" and do pro bono work here. Although, I've signed up and haven't heard a peep from them.

Here's the Butler Bros "advermentary" about "Common"

A COMMON START from The Butler Bros on Vimeo.

Why don't ad agencies have staff photographers?

2011-02-10T17:59:00.001-05:00

Why don't ad agencies/design agencies have staff photographers? What I mean here is that since editorial photography is dead and the age of copyright protection is over, I imagine you could find one or two great photographers that would be readily available for a staff position at a fraction of the price you'd have had to pay a few years ago for such a luxury. I mean wouldn't it be a treat to put an accomplished photographer on the payroll!

Seriously, check out the two links above. Rob Haggart has some great thoughts on the morphing of editorial photography and Doug Menuez should be inducted into the business of photography hall of fame with his analysis of photography as a viable business.

And I am really curious if there are examples of staff photographers at agencies. Anyone care to give me the cons of such a concept?

Friday Stock Request Image

2011-02-04T17:13:00.005-05:00

I got an email today for an image I shot at Insight Meditation in Barre, Massachusetts. I hadn't looked at these images in a while. They are very quiet images. Calming. Imagine that.

Here's one of the images:

Insight Meditation, Barre, MA for AARP - The Magazine ©Russell Kaye

I've recently joined a mediation center here in Decatur called The Shambala Center.
Maybe I'm just getting older and with age comes wisdom - but I've really come to believe that there are immense benefits to meditation. I want to make more time for my practice. How hard could it be to practice mindfulness a few minutes every day?

Mt Sinai Ad - Back Cover- NY Sunday Times

2011-02-03T11:24:00.003-05:00

This was fun to see - it's an ad for Mt Sinai Hospital
on the back of the

Sunday New York Times Magazine.
Agency: Devito/Verdi

They added a Father. And made it a vertical. Have a look:

and here's my original (click image to see it bigger)

Allagash Wilderness Waterway, Churchill Lake, Maine for National Geographic Adventure ©Russell Kaye

I'm dedicating some positive energy today to my Dad and his liver (and his lymph nodes) he's recently been beating hepatitis...

go get'm Dad, get better! Love ya- R

Want to buy a little something for the wall?

2011-01-27T12:42:00.005-05:00

Happy New Year. I wanted to alert my regular followers of something new I'm trying out. I'm putting a few Photographs on Ebay and Etsy. Here's the first one I'm making available and to test the waters a bit, I'm putting a 17x22 up on Ebay with no reserve price and without the buy it now or regular pricing information. I'm curious to see if anyone that doesn't read my blog here bids it past my regular price. Thanks again for looking - Russell

Viking Ship Snorri at Full Sail, Labrador Sea, 1998

These are Limited edition prints and are a great value - see chart below.
Museum quality - printed to highest archival standards.
Printed by me or under my supervision by Anthony at Green Rhino's Brooklyn Print Works
Includes a certificate of authenticity and is numbered and signed.
And the best part - you receive a beautiful photograph and also know that you are directly supporting me (and my family.)
Regular Pricing & Edition Info
$75 8.5x11"    print, edition of 100
$200     17x22"    print, edition of 100
$2000 30x40"     print, edition of 5

Photography, New York, Fall 2010

2010-10-18T09:41:00.000-04:00

I just found a great list of what is on view this fall in New York. From the blog Horses Think. Thanks.

Lee Friedlander: America By Car at The Whitney Museum
September 4 – November 28, 2010
Phillip Toledano: A New Kind of Beauty at Klompching Gallery
September 8 – October 29, 2010
Jessica Backhaus: I Wanted to See the World at Laurence Miller Gallery
September 9 – October 30, 2010
Adam Fuss: Home and the World at Cheim & Read
September 9 – October 23, 2010
Lee Friedlander: Recent Western Landscape at Mary Boone Gallery
September 9 – October 23, 2010
William Lamson: A Line Describing the Sun at The Boiler, Pierogi
September 10 – October 10, 2010
Chris Verene: Family at Postmasters
September 10 – October 16, 2010
Polly Apfelbaum: Off Color at D’Amelio Terras
September 10 – October 23, 2010
Pipilotti Rist: Heroes of Birth at Luhring Augustine
September 11 – October 23, 2010
Bing Wright: Silver at Paula Cooper Gallery
September 14 – October 23, 2010
Chris Killip: 4 & 20 Photographs at Amador Gallery
September 15 – November 13, 2010
Laura Letinsky: After All at Yancey Richardson Gallery
September 16 – October 30, 2010
An-My Lê at Murray Guy
September 16 – October 30, 2010
Sarah Sze at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery
September 16 – October 23, 2010
Ricci Albenda: Paintings at Andrew Kreps
September 16 October 23, 2010
Sara VanDerBeek: To Think of Time at The Whitney Museum
September 17 – December 5, 2010
Sue Williams: Al-Qaeda Is The CIA at 303 Gallery
September 18 – October 23 2010
Mark Barrow at Elizabeth Dee
September 23 – October 30, 2010
Gregory Crewdson: Sanctuary at Gagosian Gallery
September 23 – October 30, 2010
The Students of Harry Callahan and Aaron Siskind at the Institute of Design at Higher Pictures
September 23 – October 30, 2010
New Photography 2010: Roe Ethridge, Elad Lassry, Alex Prager, Amanda Ross-Ho at MoMA
September 29 – January 10, 2011
Taryn Simon: Contraband at Lever House
September 30 – December 31, 2010
Abelardo Morell: Groundwork at Bonni Benrubi
October 7 – December 18, 2010
Abelardo Morell: The Universe Next Door at Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery
October 29 – December 11, 2010
Collier Schorr: Here The World Held Its Breath at 303 Gallery
October 30 – December 4, 2010
Elad Lassry at Luhring Augustine
October 30 – December 18, 2010
James Casebere at Sean Kelly Gallery
October – November 2010

Eric Baker Says Goodbye to Beauty, Absurdity and Naivete

2010-08-22T12:40:00.001-04:00

The Complete Book of Palmistry by Joyce Wilson, Bantam Books, 1971 (1982)
from Eric Baker Today 8/7/2010 which is from Stopping Off Place

Eric Baker over at Design Observer call it quits on his "Today:" photo essay, random, image round-up of sorts. Long a fixture of my weekly blog reading - well maybe not so long - I guess he's only been at it since October 2008. Still I am going to miss him.

From the October '08 entry:
Perhaps the most appealing part of the process is the randomness of the images: an obscure Czech modernist poster followed by a vintage Australian mug-shot, followed by a diagram of a Soviet space station. This very randomness creates a different way of seeing by removing the context of the images. At times, sometimes by accident or occasionally by design, a relationship in the images will emerge. Mostly, though, I love the vagaries of the images — their beauty, absurdity and naivete.

Read all his words about Today: here

For Howard Finster and Nicholas - It Could Be Worse

2010-08-21T16:24:00.001-04:00

RA Miller Polar Bear circa 1995. "It Could Be Worse," Decatur, GA. 2010

I had dreams last night. Vivid dreams. About Georgia folk artist, Howard Finster. Howard was in his garden and had on those toy angel wings and Howard kept repeating to me, "it could be worse, it could be worse." And I knew why, of course, as I had just been speaking about Howard to a new friend last night. Well I should say I knew at least why Howard was in my dream. I didn't really know why he kept saying what he was saying.

Until this afternoon. Until I got to thinking about Howard again while cutting the grass. Because then my friend Nicholas flooded my thoughts. And I knew why, of course, as I had just been catching up with Nicholas on the phone this week. Nicholas, who also performed our wedding twelve years ago and who also so kindly got me and Sandi tickets to see one of our favorite singer/songwriters tonight, Beth Orton, had a bit of a nasty accident recently and was telling me about it. It was one of those accidents with a piece of yard maintenance equipment - completely avoidable - unless you are in a hurry and barefoot and unlucky and I'm sure it happens all the time and he's alright and all but his big toe is gone and he is in excruciating pain. And all the words of comfort anyone can say to him can't take away his misfortune but he so amazingly was in great spirits and at the end of the phone call kept repeating the same thing Howard Finster had been saying to me in my dream, "it could be worse."

And then, again while cutting the grass, I strode past a picture I had wanted to take. A picture of the work of another Georgia folk artist, RA Miller. It's a sculpture that we've had so long hanging on a tree in our various yards that it's coming apart a bit. So I finally took the picture and as I was looking at it while lightroom finished the download, I started thinking about fixing the RA Miller or not, leaving it as it is. And then I so wisely put two and two together and heard my friend Nicholas and Howard and anyway here's the picture - it's called: "It Could Be Worse."

Death In Decatur

2010-06-14T20:14:00.003-04:00

The other morning, very early, just before dawn on Memorial day, the lights flickered and there was a kind of crash or boom outside toward the front of the house. After I hushed the alarm system, Rufus and I decided to let Lucy sleep-in and that we'd celebrate our heroic veterans (and no school) by getting some breakfast at The Waffle House. When we went out front, there was a "lineman" from the county in a cherry picker, rising up from the street to the transformer above.

The morning light was peaceful and the air still cool.

"What made the lights flicker like that and what was that boom?" I yelled up to him in his bucket.

He didn't reply but instead pointed down to the sidewalk. A squirrel in the fetal position, very scorched and obviously dead, lay motionless at the base of the utility pole.

"Does that happen alot?" I asked.

"Yeah," he replied, "happens all the time, but I guess not enough because we sure have a ton of'm left running around up here."

Just then an ambulance came roaring down our block and it started to rain.

Daniel Gordon: Flying Pictures

2010-04-28T08:43:00.001-04:00

I really love these images. Anthony Accardi at Green Rhino/Brooklyn Print Works had me take a look at Danny Gordon's images. You should too. No Photoshop. He actually launches himself across the frame. I hope he does a series about the landings...

Don't let April pass without a blogpost...

2010-04-27T00:13:00.001-04:00

Did I mention that we moved again? And that it really is a blast to pack everything in boxes and rent a big truck. It must be a blast - why else would we have moved 7 times in 3 years?

Seriously, I've been revisiting a tintype project I did last year for the Vampire Diaries being filmed out in Madison, Georgia. I do wonder if any of the images were ever used. I need to check with the production company and see if I'm free and clear to post a couple of them here. Meanwhile enjoy the Zebra from Utah on the side of a u-haul truck and if there's anyone left reading my disjointed and very sparse musings here, be the third person to email with your name and address to give_back at russellkaye.com and I'll send you an 8x10 of our moving truck...

UPDATE**
We will have two winners. Mr David Leith was #3 and he's won before. (Imagine having that kind of luck.) So while I'm glad to send David a print, I'm also going to send a print to my #4 - which, by the way, has not happened yet.

viv magazine's iPad demo

2010-03-19T09:53:00.001-04:00

Had anyone ever heard of VIV magazine before today. (Is that Viv or 14?)

I'm really not sure what I think about it yet. I can't see sitting under a tree "reading" this.

VIV Mag Motion Cover - iPad Demo from Alexx Henry on Vimeo.

update:
a reader also just turned my attention to Outside's iPad demo also by Alexx Henry. See His Vimeo stuff here

Outside Magazine - iPad Feature from Alexx Henry on Vimeo.

Tipper Gore

2010-03-19T09:39:00.000-04:00

I just stumbled onto Tipper's website. Something about it felt familiar and then I realized she's using Rob Haggart's A Photo Folio. I wonder if Rob had to get "security clearance." I'm sure the secret service at least sent someone over to fingerprint him...

The Tongue Wag

2010-03-13T11:40:00.002-05:00

What is it about athletes wagging their tongues while in the heat of competition?

The geography of nowhere takes one last trip down the rabbit hole before it’s paved over...

2010-02-02T10:12:00.001-05:00

Caution: blog entry ahead with many links to follow and questions without answers.

The Geography of Nowhere by James Howard Kunstler made quite an impression on me when Frank Reiss of A Capella Books gave it to me in 1993. It's wasn't a book that filled my head with pretty pictures. Kunstler says he wrote The Geography of Nowhere, "because I believe a lot of people share my feelings about the tragic landscape of highway strips, parking lots, housing tracts, mega-malls, junked cities, and ravaged countryside that makes up the everyday environment where most Americans live and work."

Fast forward sixteen years to the SlamDance Film Festival last week in Utah to the documentary category:

As background, General Order No. 9 was the document signed on April 10, 1865 by General Robert E. Lee surrendering the Army of Northern Virginia at the end of the Civil War.

General Orders No. 9 (orders in plural) is the title of a recent documentary about The South by first-time director Robert Persons. Persons plot description starts with "one last trip down the rabbit hole before it’s paved over," and he says that "General Orders No. 9 is an experimental documentary that contemplates the signs of loss and change in the American South as potent metaphors of personal and collective destiny."

Somehow his description doesn't fill my head with pretty pictures either. And, I may be mistaken, but when I watch the trailer, I don't think that the movie is going to have a happy ending.

Seriously, I do want to see General Orders #9. Variety says it's photographically beautiful and my friend, David Lyman shot some of it so I know it is. (No, not the David Lyman at The Maine Photo Workshops. The David Lyman in Decatur, GA)

Seriously, Kunstler and General Orders are part of something that I affectionately call the "pessimism genre" and I have to admit, I'm drawn to the genre and the imagery. And I'm not sure why. Is it just easy? Is it an age thing? I kind of joke here, but I find myself repulsed by yet drawn to Mark Tucker's images of closed up car dealerships. And why? Is it a way to express our discomfort with change? Is it a way to describe and depict the struggle with change and the acceleration of endings? And the endings of many things I could never foresee ending? Like contact sheets and photo editors and film and magazines and newspapers and books and publishing and bookstores and the end of cheap fossil fuels and the music business and record stores and the end of campaign contribution limits on corporations and the end of real estate appreciating, and the end of kodachrome (not that I ever shot it,) and the end of hope for health care with a public option and the end of Port au Prince and the end of JD Salinger not giving interviews. And again, I kind of joke here, but I'm wondering why I'm drawn to photograph those damn cell phone towers disguised as trees.

ps. whatever you do, don't read Kunstler's very popular blog "Clusterfuck Nation" - it doesn't have a happy ending.

Unhappy Hipsters

2010-01-28T20:46:00.000-05:00

here's the link: http://unhappyhipsters.tumblr.com/

ephemera and carte de visite and chasing dollars with a butterfly net

2010-01-14T17:22:00.002-05:00

Caution: Rambling Thoughts Ahead: Craig Nova was in touch with me a few months ago. Craig has a new book and started a new blog. Craig and Christine and me and Sandi had a delightful time chasing brook trout by float plane on assignment in the North Woods of Maine for Men's Journal a hundred years ago and we even ended up on the cover. And then recently I start to see on my Google Analytics report a steady stream of referring traffic from a site called GoGoAbigail.com And then I go there and try and figure out why and who and then I figure out that Abigail is Abbey and that Abbey is Abbey Nova and that Abbey Nova is Craig's daughter and that she has listed me as a daily read on her blog. And then Abbey and I trade emails and she volunteers that she also loves photography and in fact, started Flak Photo with Andy Adams before heading off to get her MFA in design history and then we share a few more emails about blogs and especially design blogs and I remember that I haven't looked at Design Observer blog in a few months and that I used to especially love Eric Baker's weekly image roundups and now I'm all over a website devoted to ephemera and now I desperately need a back mark or a carte de visite. I've always said it's not about the photograph, it's about the background.
And now it's all about the back of the photograph.

How about the back mark above? Chasing dollars with a butterfly net? Where does one go to get something done like this? I bet Abbey knows.

Snowy Night In Georgia - View From My Window

2010-01-11T10:15:00.002-05:00

Snowy Night in Georgia, 2010. ©Russell Kaye

Certainly not Gene Smith's 6th Ave, but still, it's from my window and I'm listening to some Monk.

Make Sure to check out Sam Stephenson's Blog.

The Fungus is back Among us

2009-12-16T08:52:00.001-05:00

I'm not sure if I really understand the title but "he's" back and calling himself Lester B. Morrison? Look here. And I have to say it was an excellent excuse to re-read some great writing about creativity and photography. ( I also had forgotten about Mr Soth's obsession with Chan Marshall.) Anyway, check it out and let me know who the heck is Lester B Morrison? (He kinda looks like a distant relative of Ernest T Bass.)

Recent Readings: Bad Pictures and Bad Politics

2009-12-13T21:12:00.000-05:00

“The thing that’s important to know is that you never know. You’re always sort of feeling your way.”

“I never have taken a picture I’ve intended. They’re always better or worse.”

"It’s important to take bad pictures. It’s the bad ones that have to do with what you’ve never done before. They can make you recognize something you hadn’t seen in a way that will make you recognize it when you see it again.”

– Diane Arbus (thanks Rob) (originally posted in 1000 Words Photography Magazine)

2. and Matt Taibbi on Obama and Our Financial Leaders

Pictures soon. Promise.

Why are Real Estate deals closings and gallery shows openings?

2009-12-08T11:26:00.000-05:00

I much prefer openings to closings.

The End of Days

2009-11-02T11:52:00.001-05:00

©Kevin DeMaria

Last year we moved to Atlanta for Sandi to start her new faculty position at SCAD-Atlanta. It was like we moved just in time for the end of days. Lehman Bros failed on her very first day of work. This year Conde Nast pulled the plug on Gourmet. Here's a very powerful visual account of The Last Days of Gourmet by Gourmet Art Director, Kevin DeMaria.

AsukaBook- How About This Business Model?

2009-10-30T14:24:00.000-04:00

I was just researching the book publishing sites out there after speaking to fellow Nat Geo Adventure Photographer Andrew Kornylak. Andrew loves AsukaBook. I went to their site and, of course you have to register first, to get information. But what stuck me as odd was the check box to certify that you are a professional. Then the follow up email they send mentions waiting two days for approval to use their services. Who limits access to their customers? Who waits for anything anymore in the digital age?

Here's their explanation:

An email approving your registration request or requesting further information will be sent to you within 2 business days.

As mentioned on the Registration page, AsukaBook products are available to professional photographers and designers creating books for resale or promotions. To protect the integrity and confidentiality of our registered customers, we do not disclose our prices to the general public, as well as ordering capability. For this reason, verifying professional status is imperative. We may request further information from you such as business web site, membership of professional photography associations, and/or sample images. Your cooperation with this process is most obliged.

It made me recall conversations with my Kodak Pro Rep years ago in which I used to kid them that they needed to limit to whom they sold "pro" film. Those guys taking "pro" film and cross processing it were giving Kodak a bad name.

Which gets me to thinking that maybe there's room for a flickr style site that limits who can upload. Maybe a little exclusivity (or censorship?) would go a long way. Just a thought.

Roy DeCarava

2009-10-30T10:15:00.001-04:00

Ketchup Bottles, Table and Coat, 1952 ©Roy DeCarava

Roy DeCarava passed away this week. One of the great photographers of the last century. NYTimes obit here. Multimedia on NYT Lens Blog here

We Demand Vincent Laforet's "Nocturne" Emission

2009-10-28T10:59:00.001-04:00

Apologies for the wordplay - it was one of those silly health class phrases - I guess I haven't evolved much from my high school days.

Just wanted to direct your attention to the newest Canon still camera. Just after midnight last week Vincent Laforet posted his newest project that showcased the video capabilities of Canon's new 1D Mark4.

Earlier in the day the creator of the smash hit video "Reverie" had posted a note to be sure to tune in just after midnight EST for a mind-numbing blog entry. What could it be this time? Could Canon have built a nuclear fusion reactor? Well it turned out to be the EOS 1D MKIV and it's amazing low light capabilities as showcased in Laforet's newest film entitled "Nocturne." The new camera has a new sensor so sensitive to light that it can probe the unlit areas of our night-time imaginations (where no video camera has probed before.) The 1D MKIV does ISO 12,800. Remember Acufine? That's like pushing tri-x 5 stops!

Here's an excerpt from Mr Laforet's blog that night.

Just a little over two weeks ago my jaw dropped even harder when I took a prototype of the Canon 1D MKIV outdoors to test it at night. I was on the road, it was late and I had just rushed back to my hotel to get to the unit. I was expecting a 1D body, with 24p, a 1.3 crop factor sensor, 10 fps for stills, a new AF system - 60 fps at 720p - and of course 1080p video.

Nothing prepared me for what happened next.

I set the ASA to high - and I pointed it towards an area lit by a single flood light. The image was overexposed by 4-5 stops. I then started to play with the settings, pointing my light into an area in complete shadow (my eye saw nothing but black) but on the rear of the LCD I saw sharp, green leaves as crystal clear as if it were shot in daylight.

I think it’s safe to say that every single filmmaker and photographer has always dreamed of cameras that can see what our naked eyes can see. This time these cameras can actually see more. Sure - they may not have the dynamic ranges of our eyes just yet - but they see more than my naked eyes can see in low light.

Period.

And that’s qualifies as a paradigm shift in my book.

It was late and I had had a big day and decided to watch it later - and then when I came back to watch I found this: Canon has requested that we take down “Nocturne.”. WTF? C'mon Canon, we demand our nocturnal emission back.

Great Radio: Hookworms+Asthma

2009-10-26T09:45:00.001-04:00

great radio going on over at WNYC's- RadioLab (thank's Seth)

Listen Here or find it on iTunes (easier to download and listen in the car)

Go See. I'll Say It Again: Really Go. (If you happen to be in Georgia.)

2009-10-06T13:38:00.003-04:00

Sharon Core's "Early American" Exhibition at SCAD-Atlanta's Trois Gallery - it's not clear in their materials but I believe there is an opening reception and artist talk - Thursday 10/8 at 6PM
Show Runs Oct. 2-Nov. 25

Trois Gallery, 1600 Peachtree St., Atlanta, Ga.
The exhibitions department presents "Early American," a series of still life photographs by artist Sharon Core based on the paintings of early 19th-century still life painter Raphaelle Peale. In her work, Core engages the concept of illusionism central to the genre of still life and upends the notion of trompe l'oeil by attempting to create a photograph that appears to be a painting. This exhibition is free and open to the public. For more on Sharon's work see my blog here

******

William Christenberry: Photographs, 1961–2005

at The Morris Meseum of Art, Macon Georgia. September 12–November 8, 2009. Not everything is in Atlanta, so jump in the car and head South to Macon. We missed Mr Christenberry's gallery talk last month. Sadly, we just forgot to put it on our calendar.

******

©Tierney Gearon

Tierney Gearon. It's ACP time (Atlanta Celebrates Photography) (another festival, lord knows Atlanta loves a festival and every other day there's a new photography-related festival popping up) and Tierney Gearon is in town at the end of the month speaking about her work. If you don't know her images, you should. Netflix her documentary "The Mother Project" and go see her talk at The High Museum of Art Thu, Oct 29, 7pm - 9pm FREE!

As part of Atlanta Celebrates Photography’s annual lecture series, The High Museum presents a lecture by acclaimed, native Atlantan photographer, Tierney Gearon, in The Hill Auditorium on Thursday, October 29 at 7:00 PM. Tierney’s lecture will encompass the entire span of her career as a photographer - beginning with her first portraits of her family, her early commercial work as a fashion photographer in Europe, her discovery by Charles Saatchi, subsequent shows at The Gagosian Gallery, The Mother Project, and her newest series, EXPLOSURE.

******

Check back here regularly as I'll hopefully add other directives as we move through the month.

Also NOTE: all images above are found freely and easily on the web and while used without permission here, I'm sure the images are copyright protected and rights remain with their respective owners...

MacArthur Fellows

2009-09-24T13:13:00.000-04:00

Very interesting to look over the entire list of MacArthur Fellows. What list of grant winners could include Cindy Sherman, Sam Mockbee, David Foster Wallace, and Nora England (Ms. England is my all-time favorite anthropological linguist) And congratulations to ornithologist Rick Prum for receiving a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation fellowship this year. I met Rick and his documentary cinematographer wife Anne Johnson Prum in a very long dugout canoe on the Rio Aquarico in eastern Ecuador in 1991. They had even more gear than me.

Another interesting tidbit about the list is to see that photographer Lynsey Adario isn't listed with the photographers, but instead with the journalists. I wonder if that's her choice or that of the selection committee.

2009-09-14T01:00:00.002-04:00

Rufus, Tintype, 2009 ©Russell Kaye & Sandra-Lee Phipps

Fire Roundup

2009-09-09T14:28:00.008-04:00

Seal River, Manitoba, 1994 ©Russell Kaye

A couple of thoughts today about fire and it's power and beauty and also the heroes that attempt to extinguish them. I'm not sure why this all came up today except that I was thinking about these images when fellow photographer Eric Ellis of SimplePhoto sent out a link to photos of the wildfires that are burning out in California. I also ran into friends Suellen and Allison and Allison's band Super Hooligan is playing a benefit remembrance/tribute to the firepeople for the upcoming 9/11 anniversary. And finally, I've been fascinated by David Grann's New Yorker story last week about Todd Willingham and Fire. Willingham was on death row in Texas for the arosn/murder of his three infant children - the fire forensics science that Grann recounts are fascinating and have proven that Texas put an innocent man to death. Here's the links:

David Grann on Todd Willingham
Super Holligan at Masquerade for Fuel the Fire 9/11 Show
Eric's Link to California Fire Images

And finally another couple of fire images from my library...

Seal River, Manitoba, 1994 ©Russell Kaye

Congratulation to This Old House

2009-09-04T15:35:00.003-04:00

Congratulations are in order to the folks over at This Old House. They have won their 17th emmy. It was a long dry spell for the celebrity carpenters (First in Eleven years) but you have to take your hat off to the show that started the DIY pimp your crib genre of tv. I worked on the set covering the show for This Old House Magazine for four years (2004-2007) and you never will meet a more friendly and down to earth bunch of guys and girl (Deb Hood, Producer is pretty nice too) working in tv.

note: the emmy was for their series that worked on a house in New Orleans after Katrina. I may have to go digitize some of the images I made in New Orleans on an assignment for TOH the first Summer after Katrina. Stay tuned.

A Gentle Reminder From the NYTimes

2009-09-02T10:01:00.006-04:00

I wonder what caused the New York Times to send out this email yesterday:

TO: ALL FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHERS

This is a reminder of The Times's policies on digital manipulation or other alteration of photos.

As you know, under the contract you signed for The Times, you warrant that any photo submitted for publication "will be original and unaltered (unless it is a photo illustration, pre-approved by your editor and fully disclosed in caption information materials)."

The Times takes this obligation very seriously; the integrity of photographs and other material we publish goes to the heart of our credibility as a news organization. The prohibition on unauthorized alteration of photos applies to all sections of the paper, the Magazine and the Web site.

This passage from the newsroom's "Guidelines on Our Integrity" explains our rules in more detail:

Photography and Images. Images in our pages, in the paper or on the Web, that purport to depict reality must be genuine in every way. No people or objects may be added, rearranged, reversed, distorted or removed from a scene (except for the recognized practice of cropping to omit extraneous outer portions). Adjustments of color or gray scale should be limited to those minimally necessary for clear and accurate reproduction, analogous to the "burning" and "dodging" that formerly took place in darkroom processing of images. Pictures of news situations must not be posed.

In some sections, and in magazines, where a photograph is used to serve the same purposes as a commissioned drawing or painting - as an illustration of an idea or situation or as a demonstration of how a device works, etc. - it must always be clearly labeled as a photo illustration. This does not apply to portraits or still-lifes (photos of food, shoes, etc.), but it does apply to other kinds of shots in which we have artificially arranged people or things, as well as to collages, montages, and photographs that have been digitally altered.

If you have any questions about what is permissible under the rules, please consult the assigning editor.

Sincerely,

William E. Schmidt
Deputy Managing Editor
The New York Times Newspaper
Division of The New York Times Company

If anyone has any ideas please leave comments here or here.

The 7D

2009-09-01T12:43:00.002-04:00

at $1699 and with 24P - I'm waiting for the 11D - That's the one where Canon pays you to use it.

The Link

Massacre of Fact: Sebastian Rich at Gallery Stock

2009-08-28T02:21:00.003-04:00

Above is ©Sebastian Rich

Amazingly well-written and angry and true by photographer Sebastian Rich. Please read this about working in Croatia: Massacre of Fact

Can't you see a couple of goats up there?

2009-08-19T11:12:00.009-04:00

Click to enlarge ©Russell Kaye

The thing I really miss about our past life in Maine was renovating our 1850 Farmhouse. I hadn't really thought much about houses and building since moving to Georgia. But that ended yesterday. I attended the opening of the new Southface Eco Office Building. Call me a gear queer but the garden on the roof that also serves as a rainwater catchment for all the buildings gray water got me wanting to buy a little piece of land and get building again.

Can't you see a sod roof and a couple of goats up there? And a homemade chevre with a crisp rose´?

*Those pavers in the garden above were recycled from that spongy surface you see especially in urban playgrounds. Nicely repurposed, I'd say.

Michael Pollan Explores Why We Watch Cooking Shows

2009-08-02T09:04:00.003-04:00

Untitled, From the Road, North Carolina, 2009 ©Russell Kaye

Needless to say, I am fascinated by the concept of food and our culture. Today's Sunday Times has the newest installment of the Pollan Chronicles. This time he explores Julia Child and the birth of the cooking show as well as the success of the Food Network.

My favorite quote of Pollan's from todays story has to be the following:

"Food shows are the campfires in the deep cable forest, drawing us like hungry wanderers to their flames."

Read the whole story here on the NY Times.

Abel Raises Cain Before Bruno

2009-07-07T13:58:00.009-04:00

still from Abel Raises Cain ©Jenny Abel & Jeff Hockett

With all the brew ha over Bruno, I got to thinking about the mockumentary and remembered seeing Abel Raises Cain at the Camden International Film Festival in 2005. One of my favorites was Abel Raises Cain about Alan Abel. It's a documentary made by his daughter Jenny Abel with Jeff Hockett. Alan was the prankster behind SINA (Society for Indecency to Naked Animals) as well as the 2000 campaign to ban all breastfeeding. One of my favorites was the hoax that purported the nutritiousness of human hair on a New York tv talk show (to which Jenny Abel, as a child, accompanied her father on tv but refused to eat her hair sandwich.)

Alan Abel was way ahead of Ali G and, in fact, made a couple of mock documentaries himself. I'm trying to get a copy of his 1971 Is There Sex After Death? for the upcoming 2009 Decatur Film Festival.

He's still the only person for whom the New York Times ever had to retract an obituary.

Is Anyone Listening?

2009-07-06T14:49:00.006-04:00

Labrador, 1998 ©ArtCamp LLC, Russell Kaye & Sandra-Lee Phipps, Photographers

From last weeks New Yorker. A profile of James Hansen by Elizabeth Kolbert. He's the go-to scientist that created one of the first models to study climate change. For thirty years he's studied our climate. For thirty years his models have been very accurate. For thirty years no one has really heard his message. Below is a excerpt with a letter he wrote to Mr and Mrs Obama in Dec '08.

©Elizabeth Kolbert & The New Yorker

Today's New York Times

2009-07-03T08:10:00.002-04:00

and slideshow here

Archive Ad vol 1 no 1

2009-06-29T01:11:00.005-04:00

Untiltled, From The Road, Maine, 2008 ©Sandra-Lee Phipps

Archive Ad vol. 1 no. 1

Michael Pollan on Bill Maher

2009-05-31T20:11:00.000-04:00

Free Pie Atlanta May 16th 2009

2009-05-08T12:28:00.005-04:00

Remember my post about Project M and buyameter.org last year?

Well Project M has started a side project called Pie Lab and is "doing" it in Atlanta next weekend May 16th. They have a couple of websites Pie-Lab and Free Pie but briefly, here's some background:

On 3/14/2009 (Pi day) at 1:59 pm, a group of young graphic designers from all over the country, gathered in Belfast Maine and gave away free pie. They shared stories and laughter and united groups of all kinds, all while savoring slices from 35 different pies. Their message was unassuming and honest: Sometimes life is bad; free pie isn’t. The Free Pie Movement is founded on the idea that simple gestures, like giving away free pie, can unite communities and spread joy. Sweet or savory, fruit-filling or custard, graham crust or pastry, pie is a delicious provender enjoyed by all.

So make a pie and join them and Spread the Word.

Housing Works Photo Auction

2009-05-06T08:59:00.006-04:00

Whenever I'm asked, I donate work to good causes to be auctioned at fund aisers. From the PTA fundraiser at my kids schools to the recent Leave Out Violence Fundraiser, it's a great way to help out and have your work seen and appreciated.

Which brings me to the reason for my post today. Here's a great cause to support with your love of photography: The Housing Works Design-on-a-Dime event tomorrow night in NYC. Here's a sample (from Cig Harvey) of the work that will be on sale:

What: Housing Works Fifth-Annual Design on a Dime silent photo auction, featuring over 40 photographs from top fashion, celebrity and fine-art photographers.

Who: Work by more than 40 photographers including Pamela Hanson, Alistair Taylor Young, Hank Willis Thomas, Todd Selby, Eric McNatt, Neal Slavin, Ingvar Kenne and more

Where: Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 W. 18th St between 6th and 7th Aves.

When: Thursday, May 7, 2009 from 6pm to 9pm

Tickets: Tickets include access to the opening night Design on a Dime party, featuring cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and incredible preview shopping of 50 room vignettes by top interior designers. Tickets start at $150. To purchase tickets, visit www.housingworks.org/dime or 212-645-8111 ×164

BENEFITS: Housing Works’ lifesaving services for homeless and low-income New Yorkers living with HIV and AIDS

Last Gorilla of the Congo

2009-05-05T09:25:00.004-04:00

©Brett Sirton

One of the most memorable editorial moments last year was seeing Brett Striton's Who Murdered the Virunga Gorillas? in National Geographic. He's won numerous awards for this photography and now has a show at Fovea Gallery (a great little niche gallery in Beacon, NY - they only show photojournalism.) Also check out Striton's new projects at http://www.brentstirton.com

see the virtual exhibition here

Send A Salami to Your Boy in the Army (pronounced Ahh-me)

2009-04-27T13:54:00.003-04:00

Katz's Deli, Houston Street, NYC. ©Russell Kaye & Sandra-Lee Phipps

The Selby visits Michael and Thomas

2009-03-27T01:47:00.002-04:00

Todd Selby has a blog called The Selby. It features photographs, paintings and videos by Todd Selby of interesting people in creative spaces...It's kind of homemade but I think very well done and insightful. He recently visited Michael Stipe and Thomas Dozol. Take a look!

Cinematic Hot Potato

2009-03-26T12:28:00.003-04:00

I have more to write about here (and photograph) take a look and I'll be back when I have some better quality free time.

ps - has anyone noticed the "statistics & data" section at the bottom of the you tube videos - there's links (and click numbers) to the sites that have linked to the video. Makes for some fascinating reading:

Beef Magazine Blog

Dairy Herd Management

In San Francisco

2009-03-26T10:42:00.000-04:00

William Eggleston and Jimmy Carter

2009-03-25T12:52:00.002-04:00

I never knew the backstory from this. I've had Mr Wenner kill a few stories.

Just before the election of 1976, Eggleston received a commission from Rolling Stone magazine to photograph presidential candidate Jimmy Carter, his family, and their hometown of Plains, Georgia. Carter was away campaigning while Eggleston was there photographing, however, so none of the images show the politician. Although the magazine never printed the photographs, the following year Election Eve was published in two volumes containing one hundred chromogenic prints, taken in Plains and the surrounding area.

Lovers Seperating at Dawn

2009-03-25T10:26:00.004-04:00

Longtime most-entertaining photographer's agent Julian Richards writes amazingly well and witty and wins my award for most irreverant ever..see his post today about his recent break up with his prized photographer..http://julianrichards.com/homily/?p=207

Are You A Font Freak

2009-03-13T09:10:00.002-04:00

If you've ever dabbled as an amateur graphic designer you will love this periodic table of typefaces that squishdot has put together...see the large jpg here

Keith Loutiti

2009-03-04T09:17:00.003-05:00

This was on Paul Melcher's blog last month - but I thought it worth posting here as well. Sydney-based Photographer Keith Loutiti uses tilt shift lenses on a still camera and time lapse to make these very interesting 3-minute videos. The forced perspective and lack of focus combines very nicely with the time lapse and it's well worth a look. see all is work on vimeo here - (make sure to watch in full frame mode)

Bathtub IV from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

Mismanagement at the NY Times

2009-02-27T11:15:00.003-05:00

Why did the NY Times try and manage their stock price instead of their media business?

Rocky Mountain News Closing Tomorrow

2009-02-26T16:25:00.001-05:00

and announces it's demise on Twitter: "It's strange to cover your own funeral."

Passion vs Paycheck

2009-02-26T15:45:00.001-05:00

The Debate rages over at Rob Haggart's blog.

Countdown Clock under three hours

2009-01-20T09:10:00.002-05:00

We've been watching our countdown clock for over 800 days. We're down to o days 2 hours. Amen.

News Flash

2008-12-11T09:47:00.003-05:00

News Flash: There's Real Money to be Made on You Tube

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/11/business/media/11youtube.html

October 2008- US Sales at Getty

2008-11-20T11:57:00.003-05:00

click for a full-size look

How can it even be worth the accounting to license an image for $2? And this isn't Royalty Free - this is Rights Managed. My total US Sales at Getty Images for October 2008. Maybe Vince is right.

Staying Positive

2008-11-19T08:38:00.004-05:00

Do not, I repeat, do not read Vince Laforet's latest economic outlook report entitled The Perfect Storm Has Arrived. Also don't peak as the Grim Reaper visits the NY Times Play and Cottage Living.

Instead, stay upbeat and positive.

Enjoy your morning reading Amy Stein's blog and watching the 28 minute 1962 science fiction film La Jetée by Chris Marker that is comprised of only black and white still images.

Or for a quicker morning of blog reading check out Michael Shaw's "Reading the Pictures" at Huffington Post. It's an entertaining look at Obama and Joe and uses photographer Mark Wilson's perfect picture of Joe Lieberman as seen below.

©Mark Wilson, Getty Images

The Red Object of Desire

2008-11-13T13:17:00.002-05:00

from Gizmodo - check it out here

The Money Hole - Embeded Video of the Day

2008-11-13T10:25:00.004-05:00

The Money Hole (thanks to Jon Crane)

In The Know: Should The Government Stop Dumping Money Into A Giant Hole?

Change is Volcanic (again)

2008-11-13T09:46:00.005-05:00

This week I've been seriously under-employed. One day of "paid" work this week and nothing for next week. And listening to way too much NPR-talk about the gloomy economy and bailouts and credit default swaps - made me revisit my thoughts on change and volcanos from last week. I reread a comment from reader JB:

from Gifford Pinchot III author of INTRAPRENEURING: Why You Don't Have to Leave the Corporation to Become an Entrepreneur:

The purpose of the economy is to support our health, wellbeing and happiness. Unless we find ways to produce substantially more happiness with far less stuff and damage, our civilization is doomed. But this is a happy task, a joint project of sustainability experts, entrepreneurs, consumers, citizens, corporate innovators, academics, legislators and policy wonks. Given that most of happiness comes from relationships and most of consumption uses stuff symbolically rather than for its intrinsic value, it won’t be hard to make 1000 fold improvements in the ratio of happiness to stuff. These innovations will often be very popular, cost-effective and profitable. In this direction lies hope and true prosperity.

Hope and true prosperity - sign me up! But what, then, I wondered, is Intrapeneuring? A quick look at Mr Pinchot's bio tells us that he has defined the ground rules for an emerging field of enterprise: the courageous pursuit of new ideas within established organizations. And he rolls this idea of working within the corporation to innovate and change in order to develop a sustainable business. Sounds like he's on to something. Maybe GM could use a bit of Pinchot's consulting help. Maybe I could use a bit of his consulting help - I wonder what he charges....

Note: Gifford Pinchot III will speak THIS WEEKEND at Green Festival San Francisco on the topic "Health, Happiness and Sustainable Business: The Happo/Dammo Ratio"

Multimedia on the Web

2008-11-07T09:36:00.010-05:00

Sandra-Lee Phipps mentioned that she showed a simple yet powerful multimedia story by legendary Magnum photographer Giles Peres in her documentary photo class at SCAD last week. And then a comment by returning super-blogger Alec Soth also refernced the same Giles Peres story on Magnum in Motion.

I finally took nine minutes out of my day to take a look. You should too.

I'd love to know more about how this piece was developed. Was it preconceived by Mr Peres going in or was it put together by a multimedia team once they saw the images? Was Mr Peres shooting the video himself? Somehow I can't imagine him with a handycam. Was he recording the audio? I love the bits that sound like they're just recorded off a local radio station in his rental car. Have a look and listen:

**note** video works best in Firefox

CHAMPION OF PHOTOGRAPHY and ART

2008-11-07T06:40:00.003-05:00

Job Listing: CHAMPION OF PHOTOGRAPHY and ART

I had just mentioned looking for a job and then this shows up in my in-box:

"On behalf of our client we are seeking an 'impassioned and talented champion of photography', to join a uniquely positioned enterprise that gathers and sells (curates commercially) an archive of sought after, contemporary photographers' work."

Can't you hear the conversation at the PTA meeting: so what do you do for a living? Oh, well I am a champion of photography and art....

Here's the link

Change is Volcanic

2008-11-06T08:51:00.004-05:00

Open-ended, not so well-written blog post of what I started my day off today thinking.

Jack Meyers calls himself a media futurist. He wrote in 1998:

"Change is volcanic. Volcanoes lull those nearby into a false sense of security. Their constant rumblings and small, uneventful eruptions convince those living nearby that they can manage and survive. But there is no security. When the top blows and the lava flows, everything it touches is either destroyed or changed forever."

Today at JackMeyers.com he writes that we're in the "relationship age" and that the election of 2008 was a volcanic event: "our nation and world are changed forever."

He writes ( or predicts or scares or whatever a media futurist really does) further:

"If you do not believe your business is about to be destroyed or changed forever by the events of the next two years, you are dangerously mistaken. You can play by the established rules or take advantage of the opportunities this economic downturn is creating and adapt quickly to the future. The solutions are not, however, apparent in economic models, on Wall Street, on Madison Avenue or in Silicon Valley. Your future depends on your vision and your ability to define it, share it, communicate it and offer hope to those who you can motivate to join you on your mission."

Hmm. I think. I never knew I needed a vision? All I really wanted to do was pay my bills as a photographer working for magazines. Hmmm, I think, "business is about to be destroyed?" Whoa. That's pretty big. And I can't really argue. The handwriting has been on the proverbial wall. I'm certainly experiencing a lack of assignments and reduced budgets when we I do get an assignment. And then we all did read Vincent Laforet's treatise about the state of editorial photography entitled "The Cloud is Falling" (Laforet advises that there will always be a need for wedding photographers.) And then we've all read David Carr's recent "Mourning the Decline of Old Media" in the media section of the NY Times. And we know how easily we can be replaced if we don't sign that work-for-hire agreement. And we are well aware of the recent failures and closings of the photographer-friendly stock photography sites Digital Rail Road and Photoshelter.

I even keep up with "Magazine Death Pool."

I just didn't think about a vision and a mission, let alone, have a vision or a mission.

Why then don't I just quit freelancing and go get a real job? My friend John Bruce says having a job is like having a vacation. "Vacation," I reply," I don't really take vacations either." Working is too much fun.

November 4 2008

2008-11-06T05:20:00.002-05:00

Patrick Moberg's November 4 2008

Print is Not Dead

2008-11-05T15:03:00.003-05:00

Headed out first thing this morning for a souvenir NY Times but sadly all the newstands were empty.

Immediately thought of ebay

And then I just saw this on Swiss Miss

The Queue on 8th Ave to Purchase a NY Times

addendum: NY Times Store (online) is selling November 5th issue for $14.95 plus shipping

We're A Better Country Than We Ever Imagined.

2008-11-05T08:24:00.005-05:00

Where Is The Record Turn Out?

2008-11-04T12:23:00.003-05:00

High Noon Today in Decatur, Georgia.

The Imperial Presidency

2008-11-03T12:52:00.002-05:00

Politics Abounds Today. Up at 4Am this morning thanks to the switch back to standard time but also to the oh so many files to edit and jpg. I shot over 1400 files in three days last week. (betcha you can't do that with 4x5 and polaroid.)

While I work I listen to Bill Moyers, by far my favorite journalist on the planet. Take a moment and dial in to a recent conversation with Andrew J Bacevich. Bacevich is a historian and former US Army Colonel. He is able to succinctly and soberly talk about the American way of life - our economic crisis. Our militarism and how we got to the place where as a citizenry we are not at all responsible for ourselves or our government's actions.

Here's a sample of the interview:

BILL MOYERS: I was in the White House, back in the early 60s, and I've been a White House watcher ever since. And I have never come across a more distilled essence of the evolution of the presidency than in just one paragraph in your book.

You say, "Beginning with the election of John F. Kennedy in 1960, "the occupant of the White House has become a combination of demigod, father figure and, inevitably, the betrayer of inflated hopes. Pope. Pop star. Scold. Scapegoat. Crisis manager. Commander in Chief. Agenda settler. Moral philosopher. Interpreter of the nation's charisma. Object of veneration. And the butt of jokes. All rolled into one." I would say you nailed the modern presidency.

ANDREW BACEVICH: Well, and the - I think the troubling part is, because of this preoccupation with, fascination with, the presidency, the President has become what we have instead of genuine politics. Instead of genuine democracy.

We look to the President, to the next President. You know, we know that the current President's a failure and a disappoint - we look to the next President to fix things. And, of course, as long as we have this expectation that the next President is going to fix things then, of course, that lifts all responsibility from me to fix things.

One of the real problems with the imperial presidency, I think, is that it has hollowed out our politics. And, in many respects, has made our democracy a false one. We're going through the motions of a democratic political system. But the fabric of democracy, I think, really has worn very thin.

This Fucking Election

2008-11-03T06:43:00.002-05:00

And This.
(Thanks, Amy)

Neiman Marxist

2008-11-03T06:38:00.002-05:00

Couldn't help it. Dress Like Palin...

Maybe After Tuesday It'll Be Smiles Again?

2008-10-31T11:55:00.004-04:00

I don't think Rob Haggart was kidding when he joked about the lack of photographer's submitting pictures of people smiling for the Critical Mass contest. Serious portraits have always been easier than smiling ones but it seems to be more the vogue than ever these last few years. I know I'm guilty of it - see above. Maybe it got worse eight years ago? I can't really remember. I do know I assisted Arnold Newman way back at the end of the eighties and he always warned his subjects: "lips together - smile and I'll kill ya."

I wonder if photographers mirror the timbre of the times? Will the change in leadership next Tuesday launch a round of smilin' portraits? Let's hope so.

New York Times Most Emailed & The Media..

2008-10-29T08:40:00.004-04:00

When I'm short of time I browse the NY Times most emailed list:

Here's three that caught this magazine photographers eye this morning:

Time Inc will slash 600 jobs in the next two weeks.

The Christian Science Monitor will end it's daily print edition after 100 years of publishing - and go "on-line" only...

Gannet to cut 10% of it's workforce - or about 3000 jobs... Gannett being the largest newspaper chain in the country...

Late Bloomers vs Genius: Experimental vs Conceptual

2008-10-28T10:30:00.006-04:00

Great Post over at JM Colberg's Conscientious today. I too was completely fascinated by Malcolm Gladwell's article on genius and youth.

I read the article twice on the plane coming home yesterday. I can't remember the last time I underlined text in a magazine.

Colberg's post today is interested in the idea of age and why someone later in life cannot be an "emerging photographer." And that is certainly an ever-present conversation in the photo world. (Here''s a recent example where Cara Phillips calls Brian Ulrich an elder statesman. Elder statesman? Brian was born in 1971.)

But back to Gladwell's article: it is entitled "Late Bloomers" and begins with a description of writer Ben Fountain's experience with his novel "Brief Encounters." Fountain quits his job at 30 to become a writer and it takes him thirty trips to Haiti and eighteen years to make his "breakthrough" as a "young" writer. At the age of 48?

Gladwell then looks at a study by University of Chicago Economist David Galenson testing the theory that poetry is considered the domain of youth. Galenson used 47 poetry anthologies since 1980 and counted the poems that appear most frequently. The top eleven poems were written at an average age of 37.09 ( I had to do the math) which easily dispels the myth that "lyric poetry is a domain where talent is discovered early, burns brightly, and then peters out at an early age."

Gladwell then looks at Galenson trying to understand the artworld examples of Picasso and Cezanne. Picasso churning out masterpieces at 20 is widely considered a genius. Versus Cezanne, who's greatest work is from his later years. (Cezanne's later works are 15 times more valuable at auction than his early work.) Was it just the idea that the market failed to discover the genius of Cezanne or was his early work just not all that good?

The real kicker for me is the difference in the creative process. Picasso disdains the idea of his work having anything to do with search or exploration. Picasso claims in an interview "to have never made trials or experiments." While Cezanne would have sitters for portraits return over and over again. Cezanne speaks often of his work being about search and seeking.

Galenson's idea then, is that creativity can really be divided into two camps: experimental versus conceptual.

And therefore the idea that youth and genius go together is really based on more the idea that it takes time to do work that is more about evolution - about research and experiments. About seeing how the world looks photographed. Galenson describes "late bloomers" as working "the other way around." "Their goals are imprecise, so their procedure is tentative and incremental."

The lesson then, is that if you want to be a genius photographer, you must do work at a young age that is not at all tentative or experimental. It cannot evolve and it must be conceptual and from the beginning have a clear idea of where it's going.

What photographers does this remind you of? I think I may work on a list of conceptual versus experimental photographers. Genius versus Late Bloomer?

Photography and Painting

2008-10-17T13:05:00.004-04:00

Shows I'd Go See If I Still Lived Anywhere Near New York:

Sharon Core's images explore the relationships between painting and photography. See more images here:

James Nachtwey's Big Announcement & TED Prize

2008-10-01T12:04:00.002-04:00

It should be interesting. Big Announcement on 10/3. Read about it here and spread the word.

Most Recent Great Client: Angela Adams

2008-09-29T11:07:00.003-04:00

I've had this post lying around for a while - I was waiting to let the client show them first. Which they still haven't done but I have permission to use a few of the images here and I'm not sure if I mentioned this quote before - but in the previously-mentioned Sean Kernan workshop, Jay Maisel offered a quote that really summed up commercial photography for me:

"...while it takes a great photographer to make a great photograph, it takes a great client to actually use them."

I've been lucky to have a number of great clients. My most recent great client is Angela Adams. We had a blast of a shoot out on North Haven Island this summer - a series of ads of her new couture rugs and images for her "stock" files. I promised not to show the couture rugs yet but I wanted to show a few of the other images.

Call Your Representatives in DC Today

2008-09-26T09:05:00.004-04:00

It is time to voice your opinion either way. Up or down. It's time to read about the bailout. Ask questions and get educated. Here's a good read by Jim Quinn.

It's time to call your representatives in DC.

Here's a quote from Ron Paul that sums it up pretty well for me:

"The issue boils down to this: do we care about freedom? Do we care about responsibility and accountability? Do we care that our government and media have been bought and paid for? Do we care that average Americans are about to be looted in order to subsidize the fattest of cats on Wall Street and in government? Do we care?"

Well do we? I believe pretty firmly in the free market. It's all the tinkering with interest rates to avert recessions combined with past bailouts that are coming back to bite us on the ass and it's gotta stop. We can stop now or after we throw $700 Billion at the "crisis."

I'm glad to see such outrage from normal Americans and not looking forward to the certain economic slowdown, but in the end, our kids we'll thank us if we have the guts to say no.

No Pop!Tech for us!

2008-09-25T13:32:00.001-04:00

The big show here at the Camden Opera House next month is something called Pop!Tech.
Sandi and I were asked if we'd be interested in photographing it. It's a series of speakers at podiums- three days of 12 hour shoot days for $5,000 - not terribly fun work and not too terribly well-paid, but work nonetheless. (Some good speakers and attendees that I was looking forward to meeting like Singer John Legend, Artist Jonathan Harris, Fisherman Ted Ames, and Carl "Slow" Honore. There were rumors as well that Martha Stewart and Stephen Colbert would be attending. Oh I forgot, also Chris Jordan is performing (I do enjoy his images -he's the photographer that does the large pictures of trash and discarded cell phones )

We found out last night that we weren't hired. That's fine - no sour grapes here - they found someone who specializes in conference pictures. It seems they're going with a specialist named Kris Krug from Vancouver.

Two things about this. And again, please don't call me a sore looser - This happens all the time in our business and PopTech is certainly allowed to spend their hard-earned dollars in any country it chooses - these are just a few observations about our community and our times.

First, PopTech prides itself on being a forward-thinking, "carbon neutral" conference. In fact this year's theme is "The Human Impact." there's plenty of ways to offset KK's jetfuel - and besides his plane would come here whether or not he was aboard. I hope the caterers still get to bring napkins.

And second, I thought, let me Google him, he must be an amazing photographer and I wanted to see what set him apart that PopTech would want to bring him all the way to Maine instead of using not just me and Sandi but any of the other fine local photographers
(local web designer Jim Dugan has a list of only about 200 Maine photographers)

So I did Google Kris Krug to take a look at his work and instead of finding his pictures right away - I found a picture of Kris Himself in a moment of total wardrobe failure.

Kris Krug atop the Great Wall of China - from his own Flickr Page:

link to KK at flickr- KK wants to have shots of himself naked on top of all of the world Great Wonders,

Addendum: Pop!Tech did apologize for putting us through the painful way they make decisions and I 'm also thinking that Kris' stunt does merit an award for bravery - imagine how many years he could've gotten in a Chinese prison if caught with his package peeled open atop their sacred wall!

The 5d Mark II has landed

2008-09-22T08:22:00.004-04:00

It's finally here- the still camera that shoots such high quality video that we won't shoot stills anymore. I can't wait to see how it changes my working method. I imagine the backend workflow for editing might be a bit time consuming- 7 seconds of video is 210 frames - imagine editing a few minutes of video looking for the perfect frame.

from Vincent Laforet's Blog:

"the quality of this video is so high - that I see you pulling stills from it - and not needing to shoot still unless there are special circumstances ( i.e. you need to run the image vertically on a cover… or you need to stop fast action such as sports)"

Vincent snagged a camera for the weekend and rented a helicopter and made a small-budget movie - he's promised to put up some video once he's figured out the bandwidth issue.

Check out his excitement over this camera - (and the 350 comments since Saturday afternoon) his post makes him sound like a schoolboy finding his his Dad's Playboy collection.

Damien Hirst Loves Art

2008-09-18T09:31:00.011-04:00

Quote of the day by Damien Hirst who yesterday did an end-around on the dealers and galleries and took his work right to Sotheby's and cleared $178 Million:

"I think the market is bigger than anyone knows. I love art and this proves I'm not alone, and the future looks great for everyone."

Great article over at the Financial Times

x-ray man

2008-09-18T09:31:00.008-04:00

I just got an invitation to Bryan Whitney's newest installation of x-ray photographs.
More information here

Object of Desire

2008-09-17T10:22:00.008-04:00

Canon just announced the 5D mark II and it's certainly my object of desire for today. (Thanks, Jason.)

Full frame, 21MP, and 1080P video (and stereo audio) at 30fps for 12 minutes. And only $2700. Woot! I bet Chase Jarvis will even want a couple of them to go with his new D90

Read the Gizmodo review here

Robert Mapplethorpe's 20x24 Kostiner Print Washer

2008-08-13T14:14:00.003-04:00

on ebay... For the Photo Collector that Has Everything- one of my prized possessions from the days of the wet darkroom..... Mr Robert Mapplethorpe's 20x24 Print Washer. Note - the image isn't the actual washer as it's been boxed for careful moving or shipping.

I bought it from the estate after his death in 1989. My roommate in Brooklyn, Suzanne Donaldson, was Robert's studio manager. She'll vouch for it's authenticity!

here's the ebay link

Friday Give-Back: The Raven Tree

2008-06-20T10:12:00.008-04:00

Friday Give-Back Day: the lucky 7th name and address to give_back@russellkaye.com with the subject line "The Raven Tree" will get a handsome 8x10 in the US Mail. And no email stuffing please - one email per person. Thanks.

Print no longer available...WE Have A Winner!! Mat Thorne of Rockport but moving to Long Island. Is everyone in transition?

Thank You

2008-06-16T06:19:00.005-04:00

Before I forget I need to post a big hug and kiss to everyone at The Workshop's for offering up this great opportunity. A big hug to you, Elizabeth Greenberg as I've heard from Sean that you're responsible for making the class happen.

Also big thanks to Charles Altschul and John Claussen and all the other board members for keeping the lights on at such a special place. Big thanks to Kate I. and her management team. And Brad and his crew for the great food and drink. And our Teaching Assistant, Virginia from Virginia. Thank you, really great working with you.

And also many thanks to Bogen for my new Kata digital rucksack - it's actually one of those bags that you think excitedly about: this is very well-designed - wow - It could clean-up my whole life. Now someone tell Canon I just need a couple of those mark 3's to carry around.

And finally, can I also just say or actually ask that if you're on the fence about whether to come to Maine for a workshop this summer - for a week of art or crafts, how many lives do you have left? C'mon, this isn't the practice run!

and here's a hint .... Sean Kernan teaches again the week of July 20th.

My Day 5 - Baggage: An Experiment

2008-06-14T08:06:00.006-04:00

Childhood Home, Pompano Beach, Florida, 2000

I found myself on day five buzzing with excitement around Sean's week-long assignment: "extend the photograph"

I knew I wanted to do something with photographs I took in 2000 of the house I lived in as a kid in Pompano Beach, Florida. I also knew I wanted to extend the photograph into a sculpture or a performance piece entitled "baggage." The title fit so well, I spent the week almost in a daydream about how I could communicate the concept. It seemed to work on so many levels and was reinforced by the fact that during the week at The Maine Workshops, Sandi and I would spend our evenings moving the contents of our offices and home from our winter rental to our summer rental (see previous post on Maine and year-round rentals)

And even more baggage - for years I've been carrying around the trauma of an early childhood event. An event traumatic to the point that it feels like it happened to someone else. Like a movie or like one of the stories you tell so often, that you're not really sure anymore that it's true. Needless to say I've worked with therapists for years to let go and transform this emotional baggage and to a point I've had success by managing to understand how my baggage impacts my relationships and the rest of my life. Sandi likes to use the phrase (from rockstar therapist Terry Real) about how the solution involves understanding that some people just have their thermostats set much higher than others. I'm so accustomed to chaos and disfunction that the house can be burning down (literally) before I'll notice that something maybe is not right.

So the morning of Day 5 rolls around and we're supposed to turn in our week's assignment and I'm still not sure what I'm going to do. Somehow this week of dancing and movement and improv has really jarred something loose. The buzzing is growing louder and I really want to smash this assignment out of the park. It's going to be part theater, part photography. I want to go with the idea of improv - no script, an experiment. Let's just see where it takes us. I'm going to start the performance without even telling anyone that it is a performance. I'm going to start by bringing in twenty moving boxes full to the brim with negatives from projects and assignments from the last 19 years and spill a few to the floor - total disregard, total disarray. It will be disruptive and annoying. People in the class will ask to help carry some of my baggage, I'll decline: "No, I'm fine; everything's ok," I'll reply.

I'm going to bring in a bowl of cereal and milk - cereal like Fruit Loops or Capt Crunch - cereal only a child would eat. I'm going to bring in toys and scatter them about the room. Like they were suddenly abandoned. I'm going to bring in my barbecue grill and fill the room with a little wood smoke. I'm going to bring in a pair of woman's shoes - red high-heels like the fireman in my dreams carries out of the house in Pompano Beach - the house in the photographs on the table next to the bowl of cereal - next to the spilled milk - next to the photographs of my mother's gravesite - next to where I stand or sit - a grown man still so very full of sadness and loss forty-one years later.

Next post: why "Baggage" didn't work.

Extend The Photograph

2008-06-14T07:24:00.001-04:00

Day Five of the Sean Kernan Master Class for Master's was show and tell day. Our assignment for the week was "Extend the Photograph." Quickly, here are some of the results:

The Head Wags The Tail

2008-06-14T06:39:00.001-04:00

and the tail wags back..

Day Four: Weight Shifting with Alison Chase

2008-06-14T06:10:00.004-04:00

I wrote a fairly long piece Thursday evening about Sean Kernan's Master Class for Master's with special guest star Alison Chase, renowned choreographer and founder and former artistic director of Pilobolous Dance Theatre. I wrote about Alison's ethereal presence and grace. I wrote about my own experience working with Alison as her partner while she demonstrated an exercise she calls weight shifting. Then Thursday evening turned to Friday morning (the 13th) and my long post disappeared.

There are three parts to the exercise. The first two "shifting toward your partner' and "shifting away from your partner" are mirrors - both participants mirror the energy of pushing or pulling to stay in balance. The third part is inverted - one person shifts toward while the other receives from. I'm realizing how much easier it would be to explain the exercise with images rather than words.

We finished the exercise by choosing new partners and choreographing our own mini weight-shifting dance. Fellow classmate Elizabeth Opalenik suggested Sandi (my wife) and I partner. Imagine the restraint and cooperation I learned as I easily bring 100 more pounds to the exercise than Sandi. I'm hoping Jay will email me some pictures.

Trying Not To Think

2008-06-11T23:39:00.003-04:00

So far the Sean Kernan Master Class on Creativity for Masters has been about not thinking. It's been about dancing and meditation, about motion and cooperation, about focus and watching. Exercises abound to get us out of our heads and out of our own way. We've thrown a variety of imaginary balls (including tennis, soft, foot, volley, and beach) around a parking lot. We've had a tug-of-war with an imaginary rope. We've moved around a room attempting to form an equilateral triangle with two other members of our class that we've secretly picked (hard to explain - good spot for a video example?)

We've interpreted random music and prose with extemporaneous dance and a bit of acting. And today we did a series of exercises dealing with movement and gesture and cooperation using something called Viewpoints as developed by stage director Anne Bogart. I "cooperated" with John Paul Caponigro in an exercise where we took turns supporting various percentages of our partners body weight - maybe a video of John Paul supporting me 100% ( yeah replace "supporting" with "riding") will surface before week's end.

The last part of today was our first bit of traditional free-form workshop banter and talking shop - and psychotherapy. Who are your mentors? Do you edit your own work? Is pain important to art and creativity? And just why are so many visual artists diagnosed with attention deficit? Being diagnosed with the alphabet soup of disorders myself, I was wishing I had better retention of John Ratey's Shadow Syndromes in which he discusses the positive aspects of mild disorders like OCD, hypomania and attention deficit. Another work I couldn't recall this afternoon in class is a fascinating work by Thom Hartman in ADD-A Different Perception in which he theorizes that the ADD trait is a leftover from the era when humans were hunters not farmers. These ADD traits or symptoms such as constantly scanning the environment and lost-in-thought day-dreaming followed by periods of hyperfocus on one activity can be seen to be beneficial to a hunter - or maybe even a photographer.

I'm seeing the development of a new reading list for creativity. More tomorrow.

Friday Give-Back News

2008-06-06T12:34:00.003-04:00

It's been a little quiet here. Maybe it's Spring in Maine or maybe it's that the blooms off the rose for me and blogging. Or maybe I haven't been so enraptured with "what I was thinking." Anyway, thought I'd check in here as I just went to the post office (finally) with all my past friday give-back print winners - so keep an eye out on your mailboxes. Felt great to give-back and get those off my to-do list.

And speaking of give-back, I wanted also to give a nod to another fine example of giving-back - and one where I will be the beneficiary. Sean Kernan and The Maine Media Workshops as a way to say thank you to the teacher's at The Workshops has invited us "Master's" of Photography the chance to spend (tuition-free) a week in the role of student. I don't know Sean - I think I remember meeting him when I was the Audio/Visual manager at The Workshops in 1985 ( it seems I only remember the photographers that weren't so pleasant to work with - but that's another post.) Sean is, by all accounts, the master of creativity. Tim Whelan (of Tim Whelan's Books & Prints in Rockport - one of the best photography bookstores you'll ever set foot in) described Sean's class to me one recent Sunday in the charcoal section of the hardware store (that's right - no gas grill here- old-fashioned lump charcoal only!) as the most difficult class Tim's ever taken. Sean's approach is interesting and I'm quite intrigued. He's been teaching for more than thirty years and by his own admission this class is not so much about photography as it is about awareness and seeing and focus. He describes it in the invitation letter as being about "what happens before the picture is taken."

The workshop is next week. I'll try and keep you all posted - maybe you'll be able to see my creativity spike.

Addendum: As I was researching this post, I discovered that Sean has a new website and also a blog. Check it out - it's complete with exercises to get your creativity on. I think we're in for an interesting week.

Oh yeah - almost forgot- check out the list of Sean's students for next week:

Arduina Caponigro

John Paul Caponigro

Brenton Hamilton

Sean Harris

Greg Heisler

Russell Kaye

Tara Law

Jay Maisel

Alan Meyerson

Elizabeth Opalenik

Dee Peppe

SandraLee Phipps

Alison Shaw

Matthew Smolensky

Alan Vlach

Sharon Core - Pop Art or Early American Master Still Life Photographer

2008-04-30T16:15:00.001-04:00

After seeing this image in last Sunday's New York Times Magazine, I wanted to write about the work of Sharon Core. Sharon smashed an ace in 2003 with her photographs based upon Wayne Thiebaud's paintings and sold, if not every print in the edition, so many prints at Bellwether Gallery that Bellwether left Williamsburg for Chelsea. If you don't know the Thiebaud paintings or Sharon's photographs, she was able to create exact replicas of what Thiebaud painted from imagination. Call her work overly conceptual, I call it amazing (and maybe a bit obsessive compulsive.) Imagine the lighting control and forced perspective when looking at the work- not to mention the culinary control!

I emailed Sharon because I was curious about her crossover from the fine art world to the world of magazines. I wondered if The Times picture had been an assignment or, as the photograph had a decidedly Dutch-master feel to it, was it maybe part of a new series she was working that the Times just happened to pick up. She wrote that it was the best of both worlds. The Times had seen a preview of the work at her new gallery Yancey Richardson and commissioned her to use this feel for the food story about striped bass.

It turns out that Sharon's new work is based upon the painter Raphaelle Peale (son of early American painter Charles Wilson Peale and brother of Rembrandt and Titian.) Charles is said to have started what is considered the first museum in America and named his children after famous painters.

Sharon is still developing the work and plans to show in early 2009. Get a preview here.

Here's a good article from the Times. Here's the Thiebauds at Bellwether.

And here's a Thiebaud painting and a Sharon Core photograph:

Utah Update

2008-04-29T07:59:00.004-04:00

c'mon folks... I must go to the Post Office today to mail my quarterly payroll forms to the IRS. Can't I mail you a lovely print from Utah?

Stew, The Negro Problem, and Passing Strange

2008-04-28T15:24:00.004-04:00

A Broadway Show Not to Miss? Isn't that an oxymoron? Since hearing his 2003 cd "Something Deeper Than These Changes," we've been big fans of Stew and his band The Negro Problem (Sandi to the point of obsession - for a while he was the only thing on her ipod.) Sandi drove the 400 miles to New York from Maine last year just to see Passing Strange at The Public before it came to Broadway.

I picked up same-day tickets for only $26 last weekend. If you're intrigued and want to know more listen to Kurt Anderson interview Stew about the play co-written with Heidi Rodewald.

Also be sure to check out Stew's yahoo group (negroproblem@yahoogroups.com)

The Cold Morning Light of April in the Escalante of Utah

2008-04-25T12:09:00.009-04:00

Friday Give-Back: 12th email with subject "utah" to "give_back@russellkaye.com " get's an 8x10 in the mail. Be sure to include your mailing address and I have to admit I'm a little flummoxed as my passover image is still available from last week. I didn't think it would be that hard to give away prints. Also I'll announce when we have a winner - so don't assume it's over until I say it is...

UPDATE - we have a winner-actually two winners. I'm giving-back two prints this time; one to Charles Allen who was sort of the 12th email when he sent a second email from his wife's email address and one to Lisa Pitcher the official 12th email. Thanks for all the entries.

Robb Kendrick's Tintypes

2008-04-20T08:25:00.004-04:00

©Robb Kendrick

Has anyone looked at a Nat Geo recently? I think they've taken the level of magazine photography up a couple of notches.

Robb Kendricks tintypes of cowboys (above in NG) show a devotion to alchemy and craft that you can't get with a computer and a pigment print. There's a good article about Robb and his method in April 20 NY Times.

Friday Give-Back (The Exodus from Slavery)

2008-04-18T08:12:00.010-04:00

The above image shot in Williamsburg, Brooklyn during Purim a few years ago is a bit timely as not only am I visiting Williamsburg this week but also Passover begins tomorrow at sunset.

Passover celebrates the Jews exodus from slavery in Egypt and in remembrance of said exodus and of the ten plagues that finally got the Egyptians attention we will be giving away an 8x10 of this image to the tenth person to email "passover" to give_back (at) russellkaye.com

Also please note there's another photographer giving back here at Sandra-Lee Phipps

UPDATE: We Have A Winner- if Tomé Duarte will email me an address please!!