bon voyage!

i leave tomorrow morning for southeast asia, and i'm much more excited than my last posting about this trip may have sounded. i have some new gear to toy around with, and am going to shoot my first video footage with the d90 and my new digital audio recorder (thanks for the xmas pressie, sebastien!). all the packing is done and all that's left to do is wait for itunes to update. which is taking forever.

to bide some time, i came across these stunning environmental portraits in vanity fair by swiss duo braschler/fischer.




they trek around the world with a large-format camera, portable strobes and soft-box. that's some hefty equipment to be lugging around, but the resulting photographs are crisp, beautifully composed, and immaculately staged. simply gorgeous.

enjoy the photos, and see you in the new year.

image by mathias braschler and monika fischer
courtesy of vanity fair online

epson iphone print application

At first glance, iPrint, Epson's free wifi printing application for the iPhone is great. I'd love to be able to print a few of the hundreds of photos amassed on my phone. After reading a little more about the app it appears that only non-professional printer models are compatible with it, specifically the Artisan, Stylus NX, and WorkForce consumer grade models. This is unfortunate because this omits the photographers who use iPhones and have professional grade printers as potential customers.

Read more about Epson iPrint here.

Back to Bangkok

I head back to Southeast Asia next week. I had lived there for four years (my mother is Thai), completing all of high school there. Each year brought unique experiences that ultimately laid the brickwork for who I am today. It was my first time living in a developing country, and my most vivid memory is of the crazy flooding during the first 3 months living there. Sitting in a friend’s car, I remember we literally floated from block to block. The sight of people wading across the road in waist-high waters was incredible especially as we sat inside the car, protected and removed from the situation. It was an exciting way to get a first taste of how life would be, and how radically my life and outlook would change in just four years. I arrived in Thailand as a foreigner watching from the outside, and left feeling as part of the culture and that I had finally found home.

Next week, though, I return as essentially a stranger. It has now been over 11 years since I lived in Asia. I have no idea what to expect. Bangkok changes so quickly and without regret or looking back. The two times I’ve been back this decade have been unsettling. I wandered through old haunts but they have changed so much that I hardly recognise them. Khao Sarn Rd, a place mother hated me going to since no respectable (half) Thai girl should be seen hanging out with backpackers amid hostels, seamy bars, tattoo parlours and cheap retail stalls, is now a street bustling with Thai students, air-conditioned hotels and ritzy nightclubs. The Sky Train now makes it much easier to navigate through Bangkok instead of sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Chatuchak, a massive maze of a weekend market where you sweated your way through miles upon miles of stalls offering wares ranging from clothes and accessories to food to dogs to miniature porcelain fruit and veg to furniture, now has air-conditioned lots for vendors. I ask myself though, is it the city that is different, or is it me who has changed?

This trip, I want to create photographs that describe how it feels to be lost in a home that doesn’t exist outside my memories.

Photo taken in Bangkok, January 2008.

Time Magazine's Top 10 Plundered Artifacts

Time Magazine has released its series of Top 10 lists for a variety of things including Pictures of the Year, Art Exhibitions, and Fiction Books.

The most interesting list, however, was the Top 10 Plundered Artifacts. Art theft and cultural repatriation is a topic I've been reading about on and off over the past two years and the information never fails to both amaze and shock. The destruction of cultural history is inexcusable, particularly in contemporary times, yet there remains an insatiable appetite for antiques and stolen artwork - I've read stats saying that the annual market for such objects ranges from $3-6 billion.

If you're interested in learning more about this, the following are terrific reads: Stealing History, The Medici Conspiracy, The Rape of Europa, The Lost Painting, and The Rescue Artist.

For a dose of reality, check out the FBI's Art Theft Program for pictures of art that has yet to be recovered.

(danse de) macabre

i've add a new series of images, entitled (danse de) macabre to the personal projects section of my website. artist's statements aren't my strong point, but i'm trying to evoke a sense of moroseness through the monochromatic palette and the objects themselves. my favorite image is the last one - i love the bird inside the hurricane glass, the reflection of the cross where its eye should be, and the dias de los muertos bride and groom figurines in the background. i feel it speaks to my internal conflict with the concept of marriage and the intense struggle i have with the conventions that people place on it.

i love this photograph

i love this image: the colours, lighting, lines, the fact that it was shot on 4x5...

i feel like i'm sitting right there in the sweeping waves of the tent.

just a stunning photograph.

photographed by william anthony
click here to see larger image, courtesy of pdn photo of the day

all i want for xmas...

last year i listed out some photo books and monographs that would make fantastic xmas gifts. this year, i'm going balls out.

this is what i want. the snake necklace from tiffany's. *sigh*



or maybe the diamond version. actually, i'll take sjp's entire outfit.



as the great mick jagger said, you can't always get what you want, but a girl can dream. happy xmas.

images courtesy of tiffany.com and laineygossip.com

more iphone photo apps

damn, wish i'd seen this nyt article on all these cool iphone photo apps during the apple sale last week.

One Hundredth of a Second

My friend Iwan, forwarded this to me. One Hundredth of a Second is a short, fictional film of a woman who wins a "New Photographer of the Year" award for a photo made during some sort of siege. The congratulatory applause completely mocks the gravity of the situation in which the photograph was made, and the photograph itself. I can only begin to imagine how photographers like James Nachtwey deal with their success coming from capturing such awful situations. Perhaps photojournalists are not the "fraud," but the way in which their image is fed to and received by the public.

No plans on Thanksgiving Day? Check out these photo exhibits.

One of the best things about DC is that the Smithsonian Institution and other major arts havens are open on Thanksgiving Day. If you don’t have obligations / observe Thanksgiving, which is entirely feasible since this city has a very international demographic, check out these photography exhibits around the National Mall.


HIGHLIGHT - National Gallery of Art
In the Darkroom: Photographic Processes before the Digital Age
Traditional film and darkroom processes are quickly being relegated to “alternative” photo courses in universities around the USA (but not at American University's photography program, where our faculty believe these skills are essential to understanding the basics of photography). “This exhibition chronicles the major technological developments in photographic processes from the origins of the medium until the advent of digital photography,” and was curated by my friend Sarah Kennel, Associate Curator, Department of Photographs.


American history buffs will find these three exhibits right up their alley:

National Portrait Gallery
Faces of the Frontier: Photographic Portraits from the American West, 1845-1924 “The American West was dramatically reconstituted during the 80 years between the Mexican War and the passage of the Indian Citizenship Act in 1924. This exhibition tells the story of these changes through 100 portrait photographs of the defining men and women of this period.”

National Museum of American History
Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero Program 1942 – 1964 “Through photographs and audio excerpts from oral histories, this exhibition will examine the experiences of bracero workers and their families while providing insight into Mexican American history and historical context to today's debates on guest worker programs.”

The Scurlock Studio and Black Washington: Picturing the Promise
“Nearly a century's worth of photographs from the Scurlock studio form a vivid portrait of black Washington, D.C., in all its guises—its challenges and its victories, its dignity and its determination… features more than 100 images created by one of the premiere African American studios in the country and one of the longest-running black businesses in Washington.”

Love Asian art? Explore the convergence of photography and video in Yeongdoo Jung’s “Moving Perspectives" at the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. “Through photography and video, Yeondoo Jung… invites viewers into the dreams and memories of others… Ultimately, these videos suggest that, when filtered through nostalgia and the passage of time, reality exists somewhere between truth and imagination.”

Nature lovers can get their fix at National Museum of Natural History’s Nature’s Best Photography Awards Exhibition 2009 “The annual Nature’s Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Awards competition recognizes this passion and dedication to nature. This celebration of creative talent and discovery has become one of the most prestigious competitions of its kind, uncovering new photographers and new perspectives from around the globe.”

Of course, there are many more amazing museums and photography exhibits currently showing in the city, such as Edward Burtynsky’s “Oil” at the Corcoran, Man Ray at The Phillips Collection and Terri Weifenbach’s “Woods” at Civilian Arts Gallery. The shows highlighted here are specifically photography-related and open on Thanksgiving Day.

Christopher Anderson and subjective photography

Last week, Magnum Photographer Christopher Anderson shared his experiences as a photographer and presented his new book, Capitolio, as a part of American University School of Communication’s Camera as a Catalyst program and FotoWeek DC 2009.

I wasn’t familiar with Anderson’s work, and I was lucky in that I got to talk to Anderson before viewing his photographs. Hearing about his background and working philosophy was critical to my understanding of his work and his non-mainstream perspective on photojournalism. The debate on whether or not an image should/can stand for itself without the influence of an audience’s preconceived notions is irrelevant. Through today’s media – traditional and online – we have unprecedented access to information. Even if we have no direct experience with a certain situation in a certain country, the fact that we have or can read or watch something about it taints what little objectivity exists.

If it is impossible to view images without some sort of bias, then there is much information to be gleaned from the photographer’s motivations. What compelled them to pick up the camera in the first place, and what is the drive behind pursuing a particular project? The answers to these questions can be just as important and just as revealing as the work itself. Anderson’s educational background in cultural anthropology leads me to believe that he has the skills to be aware and respectful, an important trait in any field photographer. Whether or not he puts these skills to use will be evident in his images. Photographing Caracas, Venezuela was a calculated decision to cover a drastically different environment than the Middle East, a region in which Anderson had spent much time. Capitolio, in Anderson’s words “… is a portrait of a time and place seen by a stranger as if from a passing car in the night. It is an experience of encounters, observations, and fears sometimes completely out of context.” (5b4 blog)

It is an incredibly moving experience to view Anderson’s images, and the deliberate omission of text and didactics is an effective tool. There is an emotional undercurrent that reverberates in all of his photographs, from the soft painterly images from Nonfiction, a collection of images taken only with the plastic Holga, to the starkly masculine photographs of Capitolio. It is the key element of his “op-ed” philosophy; all images are inherently subjective because he is trying to convey his perspective about a specific time and place.

Anderson is not the only photographer to practice this belief. Mary Ellen Mark, when asked if it is possible to be an “objective observer in situations you are photographing”, answered:

…I don’t think you’re ever an objective observer. By making a frame you’re being selective, then you edit the pictures you want published and you’re being selective again. You develop a point of view that you want to express. You try to go into a situation with an open mind, but then you form an opinion, and you express it in your photographs. (The Photo Essay, 1990)

Richard Avedon described it succinctly when he said, “All photographs are accurate. None of them is the truth."

Anderson, who is in his late 30s with a charming and easy-going attitude, has been very forthcoming and consistent with his op-ed messaging; yet he has come under fire over the past few months due to a recent ‘controversial’ statement he made on the Conscientious photoblog. The link to the entire interview is provided at the end of this posting, and I encourage you to read it in its entirety for full context of the conversation. For all intents and purposes, I’ve included sections of the interview that demonstrate Anderson’s case:

Capitolio, in its book form, as you astutely observed, is not photojournalism, at least not in the way that that word is loaded. True, some of the pictures were taken and originally used in a journalistic context, but assembled as they are in the form of the book, the term photojournalism is inaccurate. But I have always felt uncomfortable with the term "photojournalist". In terms of my documentary work, there has always been a difference between my role and that of a reporter. If there can be a comparison, it is that I am perhaps an editorialist. My job has always been to comment on what I witness as opposed to the reporting of an event. I am subjective. I have a point of view. There is no such thing as objectivity in photography. I don't believe in facts, but I AM obsessed with truth. And my work always deals with this distinction (my first book, Nonfiction, is an example). My work is a truth, but it is my truth, my experience. That is all I can offer.

In terms of what that means for Photojournalism (capital P), that is a large question. I don't think this idea of subjectivity is anything new, it is just that somewhere along the way, we convinced ourselves that the glorious photojournalism was about objective fact. In reality it never was. Robert Capa himself photographed in the Spanish Civil War as an act of anti-fascist combat, not as an objective reporter.

Essentially, Anderson reinforces what has been previously discussed: he acknowledges that a distinct point of view was pursued in the making of the images for Capitolio and that he consciously makes op-ed photographs. The controversial statement follows in the rest of the interview. The section that is bolded will be discussed afterward:

(Interviewer): Sounds like you're really not all that concerned about the future of photojournalism (both as far as the business and the craft are concerned), which I find rather refreshing given all the brouhaha that is currently produced about the end of newspapers and the struggles of photojournalists. Is this correct? Or are you panicking inside, while remaining cool on the outside?

Anderson: Not cool, just that I have already shed my tears. The death of journalism is bad for society, but we'll be better off with less photojournalism. I won't miss the self-important, self-congratulatory, hypocritical part of photojournalism at all. The industry has been a fraud for some time. We created an industry where photography is like big-game hunting. We created an industry of contests that reinforce a hyper-dramatic view of the world. Hyperbole is what makes the double spread (sells) and is also the picture that wins the contest. We end up with cartoons and concerned photographer myths (disclaimer: yes, there are photographers doing meaningful work)

Of course I am worried about how I will make my living now, and I worry for my friends and colleagues too, but I don't really care about the future of photojournalism. The soul of it has been rotten for a while

Just a few weeks after this interview was posted online, a forum entitled “I don't really care about the future of photojournalism” popped up on the LightStalkers website. 37 members of the website contributed to a heated and varied conversation with comments like:

We have bigger concerns than just ‘self important photojournalists’ and the ‘death of newspapers’… So if we could all get over the ‘God’ complex that we have have about telling things as they are and just got on with the business of doing it-then Chris Anderson’s hand ringing pronunciations on the fate of photojournalism might truly be as they should, a girlish attack of the guilts for wanting to be paid to report on the horrible, nasty and shitty things that human beings do to one another.

He has accused photographers of going out to win contests rather than out of a real concern for the subject…..so since he himself has entered the World Press and won, shot numerous stories for US News, and has been among the most recognized of news photographers, working with Magnum. etc… the only conclusion that one can draw is that Chris Anderson is himself a fraud….who else could he be talking about?

A photojournalist is a human being not a monolitic, so evolution, new perspectives, critics should be wellcome as fresh and creative breath

I am NOT an artist. I am a journalist writing with photography as my pen.

for one, photojournalism needs to move towards contemporary art. this isn’t because it’s an economically viable exit, since it is not on the scale photojournalism needs to function, but because the degree of conceptual freedom within allows approaches that are much more in phase with the current landscape, both political and “philosophical” than the slow evolution of 1930’s aesthetics that seems prevalent. you simply cannot represent afghanistan, or somalia, like you represented WW2 or viet-nâm… One of the fundamental questions is how to deal with tectonic shift in the public perception of the real – not that long ago, people still didn’t understand that photographs, even photographs of real things, even photographs of wars, were the product of historical, social, and formal norms, and not just a representation of what was in front of the lens. in other words, that they are a construct. now, how do you deal with that? my answer has been to say that a first step needs to be to acknowledge the construct by embracing it, and representing it…

Photojournalism, documentary photography is going to have a voice and there will be money for it in the future…….and I am sure that those who are now “artists” or “editorialists” will be back to being “photojournalists” when it suits them.

To quote Simon Norfolk:
“[photojournalism] its intellectually bankrupt, locked in a mode of operating that came to an end in the 50’s, it’s heyday. Like an old bloke that still listens to the records he got into when he was eighteen, photojournalism is unable to unhinge itself from the modes it learnt in its puberty.” Dismissing photojournalism as a “fraud” rather than making a constructive argument about how the industry needs to try and reinvent itself, isn’t particularly helpful. Especially coming from someone who sits very high on the ladder.

If I hadn’t met Anderson and heard the words directly from him, if I hadn’t spent time reading all angles of the “controversy”, I could understand why people would be pissed off. Assuming the LightStalker comments were based on just the bolded quotation from that interview, we face a symptom of today’s reality: putting too much emphasis on summaries and synopses from which thoughts and decisions are based. His statements have opened up several offshoot conversations, but the issue at hand is that Anderson has upset a lot of people because of his opinion on the future of photojournalism. He has valid insight since he has worked as a photojournalist for certain stories, but he does not consider or misrepresent himself as a photojournalist, nor does Magnum.

Anderson is fully aware of what is being said about him and he stands his ground. I don’t believe that Anderson is trying to convince anyone that his opinion of the future of photojournalism is the only correct opinion. In fact, that is not the case at all. Anderson defends his statement on photojournalism based on his philosophy that all photography is subjective. He is not alone, as we can see from Mary Ellen Mark and Richard Avedon’s words. As a photographer, Anderson owns to controlling how his image is made and ultimately presented to the public. The key message he reiterates, and the root of his stance on photojournalism, seems to have fallen to the side in these web-based battles. Anderson’s photographs are the representation of his vision and his truth only.


Sources:
Christopher Anderson presentation at American University

5b4
New York Times LENS
LightStalkers
Conscientious
Mary Ellen Mark, The Photo Essay, 1990

fotoweek dc events at american university

fotoweek dc starts tonight, and the photo department here at american university has lined up two exciting events for next week.

on wednesday, november 11, we welcome photographers cameron davidson, karen kasmauski, and jeffrey watts; sr. photo editor at national geographic elizabeth krist; and fine arts photography gallery owner kathleen ewing for a lively discussion photography's current marketplace and its implication for the future of the industry.

on thursday, november 12, magnum photographer christopher anderson will be speaking about his new book, capitolio.

"visual acoustics" a documentary about photographer julius shulman

tonight, i'm super excited to go see visual acoustics, a documentary film on julius shulman, one of america's most important architectural photographers. mr schulman passed away earlier this summer, but his visual legacy of southern california architecture lives on.

pdn online published shulman's photographic obituary, which you can read here.

New website is up and running

I'm proud to announce that my new website is finally up and running! Check it out at www.tarakfoto.com.



My goal with this website is to really highlight my architectural and interior design photographs and my travel work, as well as weddings, events, and my personal work in documentary. I hope you enjoy it.

Buy a t-shirt to support polaroid's comeback

Start celebrating the 2010 comeback of the new and improved Polaroid film. The Impossible Project's 12-man team was this week commissioned by the Polaroid company to develop a contemporary - and affordable - version of film by end of 2009 and manufacture by mid-2010. The team is based in The Netherlands in the former site of Polaroid's Integral Instant producing factory.

Want to help the cause? Buy one of these t-shirts. All proceeds go to factory operations.

Pho & Asian Groceries

I can't think anything better on rainy day than a massive bowl of pho bo, Vietnamese noodle soup with beef. It's been pouring non-stop the past 4 days here in Washington DC. No fun. Noodles are my comfort food and I inevitably seek them out when it's raining, I'm hungover, or in need of some food love. My friend, fellow foodie and Asian, Michelle (check out her blog, Lavender & Cocoa) trekked out to Eden Center in Seven Corners, VA to eat pho and hit up the Vietnamese grocery store, and below are some iPhone photos (using my fave app, Toy Camera) from today's adventure.

celebrity outtakes

I covered the First Annual Women in Entertainment Empowerment Network (WEEN) Awards last Friday for a local publication, and this one happened to be a little more exciting than usual since bonafide celebrities would be at this event, and we all know how much I heart celebrity stuff.

Amongst the high profile attendees were Vivica A. Fox (loved her in Kill Bill, and her performance in Booty Call was totally underrated) who is super duper tall, and Harper Hill from CSI: New York, whom I observed to be very good at small talk (which takes mad skills). There were a few other big names there, but I don't feel like name-dropping so you can check them out at www.weenonline.org

It was my first time witnessing and shooting on the red carpet, and luckily enough the magazine I was representing doesn't use a lot of these images so I spent just enough time to look and learn. It gets crowded quickly and you've got to be either tall or pushy to make it into the front. Props to those photogs who shoot a lot of red carpet events.

I did meet a few photographers which was great because I'm all about community building. One was a photog who was the first female photographer to shoot for Capitol Records and DeathRow Records (no mean feat), and a couple of guys who made career switches into photography. Super inspirational.

Here are a couple of outtakes:

iPhone photos

I love making photos on my iPhone. The quality of the images, for what they are, are actually pretty nice.

From my experience, iPhone shoots landscapes better than portraits, for example:





My fave new thing, though, is the ToyCamera application. My sister gave me a Diana camera as a gift a couple of years ago and after only 4 rolls it broke =( So now I'm settling for the digital version. It's the only application I've paid for and it's really cheap at just $1.99. It gives you the option of setting it on random mode or selecting a specific treatment for your photograph. Here are some images from just playing around with the different modes:

random (vintage warm?)



random (hicon b&w?)



vintage yellow



low saturation

fake photo essay wins french newspaper contest

this is crazy - two french photo students submitted their photo essay to a french newspaper contest and won. when they went to collect the prize, they announced that the whole thing was staged, and they had completely fooled the judges. the photographers said, "they had wanted to make a 'powerful artistic gesture' attacking the 'voyeurism' and gullibility of parts of the press."

check it out.

the images are beautiful - the texture and emotion combined make a great photo, but as my good friend and fellow photog marisa just pointed out to me, "the only way you know any image is not staged is if the artist tells you so the only point they're making is artists lie... people make staged essays that convey emotions too."

if the purpose was to fool the audience, they should've just taken the prize. what do you think?

Tennis pro portraits

I really enjoyed these portraits of tennis pros in Life's online magazine. Technically speaking, they aren't the best - I'm not a fan of the lighting and it comes off as slightly student-ish rather than pro photos I would expect to see in Life. However, I do like the energy and goofy behaviour of the subjects. Courtside, we see them as very focused and strong and professional and it's fun to see a lighter side of them off-court. It also goes to show how important the relationship is between the photographer and subject - in these images, the viewer can see the sense of comradery and collaboration - and trust - through the playful demeanor of the subject.

Cutest cameras ever!

My sister just sent me links to the cutest cameras ever!

The Fuji Instax Mini 7S takes credit card sized polaroid photographs and requires specialized film for this camera and it looks like it's only available in Japan?



The other is the Demekin Pocket Fisheye Camera which looks like a 1960s underwater device (It's not. Unless you put it in a water-tight casing). It costs Aussie$65 and also requires a film that is relatively obscure these days.

Busy month

Wow - I didn't even realise it's been more than a month since my last posting. Whoops. Busy bee. Here's what I've been up to:

1) Artomatic
I'm one of the two Steering Committee co-chairs (in other words, executive planning committee) for this year's event. We've got about 1100 visual artists and probably a good 500 or so performing artists participating in this year's 5 week event. It's been like having a second full-time job (and my paying job is very demanding) and I admit that it's been a balancing act, and one that has been challenging to manage at times.

I've learned a ton about arts events planning and management, artist management, working with arts organization executive leadership... from logistics to marketing to security to public art... These are experiences and lessons I'll absolutely carry with me for a long time.

I'm excited to be showing some new photographs (I have 8 in mind, but most likely will be showing 4 or 5) and hope to have a really cool looking exhibit. Check it out on the 7th floor!

2) artdc.org's 12' x 12' show
At the last minute I felt that I should participate in this quirky local exhibit. All artists could buy a foot of space in which to hang their artwork, which couldn't be any larger than 12' x 12'. I admit that I was in a bit of a panic, trying to find existing prints to exhibit, and then figure out how to frame them. I ended up buying Ikea frames that were 3" too small (did I mention I'm horrible with numbers), and then at the ring of the buzzer, got some discounted frames at Plaza Arts, who were really nice and totally hooked me up. I'm hanging two black and white prints that were made back in 2002, and are the first set of photos I took with my medium-format camera.

The show is up until June 6, and the main opening is on May 16 in conjunction with Hyattsville Arts Festival.

3) First gallery rejection
I'm usually very thin-skinned to the point where I don't always share my photographs even with my friends but earlier this year I submitted an RFP to Flashpoint Gallery in DC. I did it for the experience, I even went to the workshop, and of course hoped that my project would be accepted by the judging panel. Eh. Didn't quite pan out. I'm not really upset which was surprising. What I was surprised by was that my project revolved around DC's creative community, and Flashpoint's mission - and it's panel of locally based arts people (I'm not going to call them arts professionals because I have some reservations about some of their qualifications)I'll probably contact the gallery director to get feedback on my proposal, and I'm still going to pursue the project and see how it turns out.

On a related note, my favorite saying at the moment is quoted one by Steve Lazarides during an interview with The Art Newspaper:

It’s hard to know who the tastemakers are. Is it three people sitting in a room deciding what’s going to last a long time or is it the five million who go and look at a video online?

bananas = cleared debt?

This is so ridiculous and funny that I had to share... Tony Mendoza, faculty member of Ohio State University's MFA program, sent a contact strip of himself in response to creditor/debt collection letters. Consequently, Mendoza never heard from them again.

His series, Stories, is good fun. Particularly #11. Check it out here.

Image © Tony Mendoza

picturing the recession

The New York Times requests your deep and dirty photos of how the recession is affecting us folks. You can check it out here.

Just know that NYT reserves the right to "..use your submission in all manner and media of NYTimes.com and that we shall have the right to authorize third parties to do so".

quote of the day

quote of the day

“governments which support the arts on average see a return on investment of $7 in taxes for every $1 that the government appropriates.”

take that, republican haters.

source:
The Recovery and Reinvestment Act will help the arts, but more is still needed
By Robert Lynch
Posted online: 18.3.09 | From Issue 200 (March 2009)
http://www.theartnewspaper.com/article.asp?id=17094

laughing my arse off...

Laughing my arse off at Leibovitz's spoof of her 2006 portrait of Tom Ford, Scarlett Johansson and Keira Knightley.

Jonah Hill's expression is priceless.

All images by Annie Leibovitz.

Celebrity Photographer: Peggy Sirota

LA-based celebrity photographer Peggy Sirota, photographed a series of lifestyle portraits with the romantic leads from Lost (Evangeline Lily and Michael Fox), and Twilight (Robert Pattinson (swoon!) and Kristen Stewart). Lucky lady. For the record, I hope Kate chooses Sawyer, and it was bound to happen that I would dedicate a posting to my current obsessions with these series.

I came across the Lost photographs during my weekly Lost analysis reading session (I highly recommend The Washington Post’s Dueling Analysis, and EW’s Doc Jenson’s Analysis). As I clicked through the gallery, I quickly realized that these images looked a wee bit familiar, and very much like Vanity Fair's December 2008 spread on the Twilight cast.

These days, the photographer is as much a celebrity as the actor. Is Sirota capturing the relationship between the characters and/or the actors, or is this a statement about her own relationship with the subjects?

The similarities between both shoots are obvious: positioning within the frame, physical contact/interaction between the subjects, direct gazes into the camera, outdoor locations, wardrobe, and the emotional connection: tense, intimate, whimsical, etc. At the first wedding I assisted for, I was really nervous since it’s such an important day for the subjects and essentially I didn’t want to eff anything up for them. The photographer I was assisting noticed my jitters and explained that the easiest way to get through those sessions is to develop a formula, stick to the shots, and its basically an in and out thing from there. I was shocked, and I still personally ignore his advice. Photographers work a lifetime to develop and sustain personal style that allows them to stick out from the masses, but style is not synonymous with formula, and it’s evident that some still follow the formulaic route.

The differences are also clear. The location, obviously, but I find the weather conditions to be really interesting and potentially revealing – overcast and stormy versus bright and sun bleached – euphemisms for the subject’s on-screen relationship status, or just a cool idea for a shoot?

Finally, what is the message behind these images? I’m not sure that question is relevant since the images seem to follow a formula. If formula sells, then what does it say about us as consumers?

The conclusion I came to is that photographing the actors from Lost and Twilight has more to do with Sirota’s brand positioning than art. She’s a celebrity / lifestyle photographer, and Lost and Twilight both happen to be very popular series in current pop culture. These photographs have major exposure not just because of the popularity of the subjects, but because of the outlets in which they were released: Entertainment Weekly and Vanity Fair. It maintains her relevance in current celebrity portraiture. It’s a boost for the actors, their respective series, and Sirota herself.

Challenge: What does the "real DC" look like?

So I'm at work, searching through stock photos to find an interesting and fun image of DC that doesn't show a monument or the Capitol. I'm 100 images into my search and every single image has a national monument in it. No wonder people think DC is boring!

I know for a fact that there are a ton of stock shooters in DC, and I challenge them to diversify their portfolio and show real images of DC: U St, Dupont Circle, Georgetown, 9:30 Club, people running on Rock Creek Parkway, people running on the waterfront past the Kennedy Center, runners in general... Seriously, it's all people do here. George Clooney's character from Burn After Reading nailed it on the head when he repeatedly states "It's still early; I can fit in a run."

Submit your photos to tara.kocourek@gmail.com (keep em at 72dpi thanks!) so we can start a visual collection of true DC life. I'll post them all - credited to you of course - at the beginning of March.

"Ballet, not Bombs"

A well written and compelling argument as to why Congress should fund "ballet, not bombs". As I wrote a few weeks back, Senate is now mulling over whether or not to move forward with the House-approved $50 billion in additional funding for the National Endowment for the Arts. Christopher Knight, the writer of this article, cites "About 100,000 nonprofit arts groups operate in the 50 states. Collectively they employ almost 6 million people."

That's a lot of people and lot of jobs. Again, I urge you to contact your Senator and compel them to support this very important bill.

The Watchmen a la Avedon

This is cool - Clay Enos shot these The Watchmen character portraits a la Avedon. Here's a snapshot of Sally Jupiter, one of the two female characters from the comic. Can't wait to see the portrait of the Nite Owl. Actually, Bernard the news vendor is my favorite.

I guess I have to wait for the book to come out next week.

Image: Clay Enos

AP Sues Fairey for Obama Poster Source

As a follow up to last month's post on Shepherd Fairey's Obama poster photo source, the Today Show announced this morning that AP is now suing Fairey for copyright infringement and demanding compensation and credit.

This was a long time coming, and touches on the huge issue of creative commons and access to information now that anybody can view and share (or rip) images from websites and search engines - Google Images was Fairey's source.

Image from MSNBC website: Manny Garcia/AP

And the Pursuit of Happiness by Maira Kalman

And the Pursuit of Happiness by Maira Kalman - posted on the NYT website.

House approves additional $50 million to the National Endowment for the Arts

Hooray! The House approved an additional $50 million to the National Endowment for the Arts.

Americans for the Arts reported today that:

Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed their version of the Economic Recovery Package by a vote of 244 to 188 which successfully included $50 million in supplemental grants funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)!... However, our work is not finished yet as the U.S. Senate starts their debate on the bill tomorrow and continues through next week. The Senate Appropriations Committee did not include an arts jobs funding provision in their version of the bill, but advocates still have an opportunity to change the final outcome.

Use your voice and urge Congress to pass this hugely important funding.

Modern take on an old portrait

Hendrik Kersten's image (second) is a modern take on 15th century Flemish portraits like that of Rogier Van Der Weyden. This is a fun image, and I love the expression on the model's face. The quality of the light is lovely, albeit slightly colder in temperature, capturing that soft glow that I love about Northern Renaissance paintings.

The rest of Kersten's images are quite interesting, especially Sunburnt. I like how his subjects appear so removed - both in physically and emotionally. It's interesting to note that the subject is his daughter, making the relationship between photographer and model all the more interestingly complex. Lovely.

Rogier Van Der Weyden, Portrait of a Lady (image from www.artsales.com)
Hendrik Kersten, Bag (image from his website)

Obama love on U St.

My U St. neighbourhood was teeming with Obama love this weekend. This area is quickly becoming 'the' place to live and hang out, but true to DC style, the foot traffic is always relatively light except from 11pm onwards on Fridays and Saturdays.

This weekend, however, the sidewalks were packed with people. The line outside of Ben's Chili Bowl was ridiculous, winding outside the shop and down and around to the next corner, and it seemed like there were vendors hawking Obama memorabilia every couple of steps down the main drag, and even food vendors are getting in on the action - including a newly erected food stall at the Shaw Metro exit, offering pizza, burgers, hot dogs, everything!

It reminded me of NYC (more like Brooklyn, actually) and I felt slightly disoriented - in my 10 years here I've never felt such excitement and so much activity in DC. I love that DC is finally getting recognition and hopefully that recognition will shift from politics/law to our burgeoning arts and cultural scene.

But not everyone shares the love; I snapped this 'installation' piece on the corner of U and 9th.



Image © Tara Kocourek 2009

Obama Poster - source image found

Read the full story here.

Photo courtesy of PDNPulse

Inauguration Week events in DC

DC is blowing up with all sorts of events to celebrate Inauguration Week! Check out DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities' calendar of events for arty happenings.

I'll be heading over to the Art of Change Ball on the night of the 20th, which was put together by my fave, Artomatic, as well as a slew of other local arts organizations.

Other arty events that have caught my eye include:

ManifestHope: DC from Saturday, Jan. 17 through Monday, Jan. 19 @ 3333 M Street NW

X - DC's only 24 hour Inauguration Party on Saturday, Jan. 17 @ BeBar - cnr 9th & N

Inaugural Opening Concert at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday, Jan. 18

Cool artwork for the Grammys

Check out the cool artwork that was done for this year's Grammys. These protraits by Spinner are made up from a list of 15 songs that inspired the musicians.

Airport fashion

Airport fashion: a fun photo essay by Elizabeth Lippman for The New York Times. Lord knows I prefer to wear comfy clothes on planes, especially during the 24 hour door-to-door trip back home to Thailand, but sometimes it's nice to look good. Especially if you're a celeb hounded by the paparazzi when leaving the airport. But I'm not quite there yet.

First step in mastering studio lighting, for cheap

PDN offers cash-strapped (and/or fiscally-conscious) photographers a way to set up their very own studio for around $3000. Two guys were recruited to outfit their own studio, and the comparison between the products they bought and the thought processes behind their choices are super helpful because not only does it recognize the important fact that not all photographers shoot the same way, it offers readers like me a choice.

Most, if not all the equipment was bought online at eBay or craigslist, and while I do like shiny, new things, the breakdown of their research and decisions as well as their “Buyer Be Wary” caveat, helps someone like me who is not confident in hunting down quality bargains from these sites.

I found especially useful the section on buying a lighting kit; I’ve casually browsed lighting kits in catalogs from B&H and Calumet for several years now and I still have no clue on the difference between a must-have and a nice-to-have-but-not-necessary. Yes, I admit I’m afraid of studio lighting and gravitate towards only natural lighting opportunities, except for when I shoot events (yay for mastering the Nikon SB-800!).

But, after seeing Julia Fullerton-Batten’s website and reading that she uses at minimum 7 flash heads I realized, well, I need to up my game and just learn. I did take an undergrad course in studio lighting & large format (combination class) but at the time I was more interested in honing aesthetic vision than I was in developing technical ability. I see now that excluding one from the other was a huge mistake on my part, and because I lack developed skills in artificial lighting I feel that I am certainly at a disadvantage.

Using this guide, especially the lighting kit selection, I feel that this will help me take the first step in the direction of mastering studio lighting.

Image by Irving Penn