Who would've thought, even five years ago, we'd be seeing such extraordinary images from cell phones. 2015 IPPA Awards #IPPAwards
A Love Letter to Appalachia
"Testify is a visual love letter to Appalachia, the land of my blood. This is my testimony of how I came to see the importance of home and my connection to place.” Roger May in the Bitter Southerner.
Robert Frank Story in NYT's Magazine
Fascinating story on the life and work of Robert Frank. I can't confirm the assertion that he is the most influential photographer alive, but "The Americans" is surely one of the most influential photography books of all time.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/05/magazine/robert-franks-america.html
Robert Frank
"When people look at my pictures I want them to feel the way they do when they want to read a line of a poem twice." — Robert Frank
Larry Fink on the essence of his photography
“I have one thing I keep on stressing, and have all my life. There’s no such thing as a good picture made of something which you haven’t experienced. If you just go out to make a picture just for the sake of making a picture, [that’s] all fine and dandy. But more than likely, the only reason that a picture lives in its own breath is because you yourself have been gasping in front of something which astounded you in some silent way, or subtle way, or bombastic way. Something that has taken your gut out, turned it around, and mixed it up. And you go: How can I? Is it possible? The question you arrive at, when you photograph—Is it possible?— and of course it’s not possible to translate what’s in your mind, through a camera. That’s why we work: to make it possible.”
Larry Fink at the Look3 Festival of the Photograph
Looking at Appalachia
Roger May describes himself as an "Appalachian American" in this New York Times Lens blog about his project collecting photographs of Appalachia from those who know and love the region.
Sally Mann
Sally Mann, in the New York Times, on her intimate, unflinching, decades-long project photographing her own children, and the overwhelming public response to her work. Her writing is as eloquent and beautiful as are her photographs.
High Museum
The High has a deep permanent photography collection and the current exhibitions are always worth at least one visit. I also enjoy hanging out and people watching in the lobby.
South x Southeast
I'm thrilled to be included in the March/April 2015 issue of SxSE Photomagazine for its Mother Nature issue: http://www.sxsemagazine.com/
Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge
From a recent trip to the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge on the Tennessee River.
Baldwin Lee
Delighted to learn about Baldwin Lee in one of my favorite blogs - The Southern Photographer. Baldwin has been documenting the South, particularly the African American story, for 30 years. In the great B&W tradition of Walker Evans and Builder Levy.
Rural South
The rural Georgia vernacular is a favorite subject. This place is outside Palmetto, GA.
Atlanta Beltline
New streetlights, new bridge, new apartments, even the art is in place, all waiting for the Atlanta BeltLine Eastside Trail to extend a little further south. Maybe the most significant urban redevelopment project in the US right now.
Vivian Maier
The fascinating story of Vivian Maier has captured an audience well beyond the photography world. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/from-streets-scenes-of-the-50s-and-60s-to-neighborhood-characters-photographer-vivian-maier-captured-it-all/
Steve Schapiro
I recently had the chance to hear Steve Schapiro talk about his experiences covering the civil rights movement while working for Life. In a seemingly off hand aside, he gave this pithy advice: "Every photo should have emotion, design, information. The most important of these for me is emotion."
Builder Levy
I had the wonderful opportunity to hear Builder Levy speak about his career and a number of his most iconic photographs last week. At 73 he remains as passionate as ever about issues of social justice. Inspiring and willing to take time to talk about everything, from why he embarked on his monumental Appalachia project (he was inspired as a boy by a Woody Guthrie song about coal miners) to his choices on composition, exposure and printing techniques on individual photographs in the show.
Wynn Bullock, Leonard Freed, Gordan Parks
It's a great time to visit the High Museum if you love photography, as the work of three great photographers are on display in major exhibits. http://www.high.org/Art/Current-Exhibitions.aspx
Colors of Fall
There is nothing like autumn in New England, but our fall, while not as intense, just lasts for weeks! My tribute:
Gordon Parks
Gordon Parks: Segregation Story opens at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, on November 15th. The show contains 40 color prints from a 1950s Life Magazine assignment. After the article was published many of the prints were put away in storage, only to be rediscovered in 2012. http://www.high.org/Art/Exhibitions/Gordon-Parks.aspx
Paul Strand
A Paul Strand retrospective opens at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I still marvel at his images. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/24/arts/paul-strands-lifetime-of-photography-at-philadelphia-museum.html