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Acts of Lights, on dancing with Martha Graham

April 22, 2011

another review of a photographic book i bought when we saw the Graham company in their last New York season this past year. Acts of light, Martha Graham in the 21st Century shows a completely different side to Martha’s work. the photography is excellent done by John Deane and text by Nan Deane Cano. I do recommend this book to anyone who loves dance. it’s a worthy one to have laying around on your coffee table, actually both books are wonderful.

book cover

what separates this book from Barbara Morgans lovely B&W book on almost the same subject is color for obvious but the sharing from the dancers point of character. what they are thinking about the different roles they are asked to perform some directly from Martha herself and some maybe from other dancers. this is what i loved about the book, it gave me another dimension  on Martha’s work.

book cover

what is so exciting to me about this book are the pictures of dancers i knew or have worked on their creations. Valerie Bettis, Anna Sokolow, Jose Limon then Merc Cunningham, Doris Humphrey, Charles Weidman and Martha Graham herself but also included are pictures of Dr. Daietz Teitaro Suzuki along with other personal work.

now my images of Martha were more like the cover on Barbara’s  book but what i see in Acts of Light are costumes much different than the fully covered  ones in Morgan’s book. while there is nothing outrageous in either book, also no nude female forms while the men have much less clothing on. i’ve often wondered how female dancers have seen themselves over the years even now.

i love the well toned human form  but cringe looking at how my body has develpoed a mind of it’s own these days. who is that person looking back from the mirror at me. but then again i don’t spend hours in dance class nor wrestling with a bare, more like a bag of potato chips.

Posted in art, dance photography, educational, Photography, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

reading Minor White books instead of making photos

April 5, 2011

i’ve been buying photography books and reading them lately. i’ve an old time relationship with books, walking into a used book store smelling paper just overcomes any hesitation i have to spend money. i usually walk out of the store with an arm full of books. yes one could say all the books on my shelves are useless until one picks them up and opens them.

i get dizzy remembering them, my copy of the ‘Rainbow book’, put out by the Fine Art Museums of San Francisco explaining everything you wanted to know about rainbows is just so cool sitting on top of Hollywood Glamor Portraits , next to Barbara Morgan’s dance photography, see the list goes on. be still my heart.

one of my favorite teachers whom i never had the chance to meet is Minor White. his name has been spoken reverently around me by photographers i’ve known and liked so that has created in me a hunger to learn about him.

my first purchase was Minor White’s ‘Rites & Passages’ an  Apeture foundation book, which i found very interesting, because in included his photographs and excerpts from his diaries and letters and biographic essays by John Baker Hill.

minor white 'rites & passages'

i don’t think by reading a book one can get close to the teacher but maybe some word or phrase might make a wheel or clog move and mesh causing a connection. looking at pictures stimulates my imagination because i am sort of seeing through the photographers eyes. not always do i get it but it’s like sex, the fun is in the doing, not the final outcome.

for anyone interested in Minor White’s work and opinions this is a worth while sit down. i really enjoyed this book

the second Minor White book is ‘The Moment of Seeing’, Minor White at the California of fine arts, by Stephine Comer & Debroah Klochko with an essay by Jeff Gunderson is printed on lovely paper but most of the book was a disappointment for me. i really don’t care who attended California Fine arts school when. i am sure by now a lot of them are dead and gone as i soon will be.

the moment of seeing.great cover  photo reminds me of cartier bresson’s work

there is a twenty page pedagogy of some Whites teachings but just getting to page 79 was a chore. maybe i should have sped through the beginning chapters  but i didn’t.  i did like reading minor white’s ‘seeing a photograph’ in the pedagogy but getting there was a big boring chore as i was looking for information about minor’s teaching’s, not who he taught. what he thought and taught was what interested me. the portfolios of the students and teachers are nice, not cluttered with words just pictures and who was there is history in itself.

what happened in the school started by Ansel Adams who then went off doing his Zone system landscape work and left to minor white and other great names in photography is pretty cool but i wanted to hear from the various creatives their views on working.

oh well not everyone likes everything. spring is here time to explore the world around us again lovely flowers poke their fragrant bodies in the air.

have a good day

jene

http://www.jeneyoutt.com

Posted in educational, Photography, photography teachers, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Studio St. Petersburg by Deborah Turbeville

March 16, 2011

recently i bought three photography books at amazon and have been asked to review my purchases, so i might as well do it here as well. this will be the first one i write about.

since i am a self-taught photographer i don’t have much organized photography education so what ever i pick up it’s from here and there. i came to Deborah Turbeville’s photography in an oblique way which was through a wonderful man and teacher, well actually Milton was a salesman at B&H when i met him, who worked in the darkroom developing area.

Milton Spieel was his name who has passed through my life and so many other countless photographers. RIP. he always had a story or joke to tell and if you asked a question an answer. one day i guess we were talking about picture styles and i brought up my dance series of fuzzypictures and he told me about one of his customers, Deborah Turbeville who he knew from Willoughby’s photo which was the place to go in the 70’s 80’s for photography, then located on 32nd street.

Deborah would tell Milton to not tell her assistants how to operate the photo equipment she would send them in for. one day she was in the store buying some gear and had her portfolio with her and asked Milton if he wanted to see it? ‘Sure’ he said,  well he wasn’t impressed because of her style, he said he would have thrown it in the garbage. Milton did mention she did a book on Newport RI Remembered that made her friends, so i’ve kept my eyes open for it and have ordered it today.

well Deborah got the last laugh on Milton, she has many photography books in print while Milton is feeding the worms. Studio St Petersburg  is the first book i have of hers. Mary and i were lucky to have seem one of her photography exhibits at the Staley-Wise gallery down in soho, heres a link to my short review. she is a unique photographer to say the least.

deborah turbeville

Deborah Tuberville

my guess on taste would be like caviar as it needs to be acquired before one can really appreciate it. Mary and i both enjoyed the Past Imperfect exhibit and seeing her work as large prints is amazing. Deborah Tubeville was born 1938 in new england and moved to new york when she was twenty. See her profile in Professional Photographer as she really is a legend.

but i love her work because it’s not so much about photography but more about feelings. When Jackie Onassis commissioned her to photograph the unseen Versailles, the late president’s wife urged the photographer to ‘evoke the feeling that there were ghosts and memories.’ Turbeville began by researching the palace’s ‘mistresses and discarded mistresses’, then photographed not just the palace’s grand chambers and vistas but its store rooms and attics.

well that’s what Studio St. Petersburg is about for me the feelings of the past guess that’s why her exhibit called past imperfect. our memories of the past events place and people are clouded over by so many uncontrollable things. so to see photographs that take this cloudiness into consideration and make the viewer work to see and understand what might be the story presented is pretty cool.

deborah tubeville

although there is no need for back story in this picture. i think it’s pretty understandable.

deborah tubeville

one might wonder what ever happened here in this old house? what history

might have walked these halls, looked from these windows?

but what first attracted me to Tubeville was her sensuality that came through to me in her fashion work.

deborah turbeville

tubeville 2

she like so many other fashion photographic icons had her own style that didn’t conform to the norm which is why it’s so refreshing to see anytime. timeless comes to mind. Studio St Petersburg just makes me want to go see that city even more. do i think i’ll find what she did? no i am no fool.

today is so different from yesterday, but today in Japan we have another atomic power problem. to think of all those brave russian souls who perished fighting the Chernobyl disaster or crippled with its aftermath makes me sad.

of course it wasn’t too many months or weeks ago that atomic energy power plants were in the news as an attractive alternative for the united states energy follies, as there isn’t any real energy policy put forth by our government. oh well

sorry about all this rambling on about one thing or another that might not have been relevant to photography. well maybe x-ray photography  but that’s not what i was discussing here.

i hope i might have opened up another creative connection for you, books by Deborah Tubeville for my readers. sorry no new naked women today but as the masthead says opinions, and i’ve got plenty.

jene youtt

www.jeneyoutt.com

Posted in art, books, educational, fashion, living life to it's fullist, Photography, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

Stieglitz, Steichen, Strand @ the Metropolitan museum

March 1, 2011

wow what a triumvirate of photography i thought when i heard of this exhibit being put on by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. this is going to be something special to see i told mary on our way up to the museum on a cold February afternoon.

when we were in paris we had an opportunity to see Steichen’s the ‘Conde Nash years‘ exhibit at the Musee de l’Elysee and i recently bought the accompaning  book as the one at the show was in french and i don’t read french. the photos in that show were marvelous along with a movie taken during one of his photo shoots. talk about lights, wires, cameras everything was huge. a portrait of Gloria Swanson under a hat net was fabulous in person, really popped out at you, but given the restrains of book printing it looks ordinary in the book.

 

Gloria Swanson

 

 

see video of exhibit from florida

well this show considering who is represented is ordinary i was quite disappointed. the last major exhibit we saw in the photographic exhibit space was Robert Franks ‘The Americas’ which took up the four rooms and the hallway. the Stieglitz, Steichen, Strand exhibit only took up three rooms and the hallway. oh well

with Stieglitz being the oldest and father figure of the group encouraging their exterminating with new mediums and styles and giving them a place to publish their work in Camera Work, a copy which is under glass at the exhibit but can be purchased as a complete book on-line or in stores. Stieglitz is in the first of the rooms. in a way i thought each of these photographers could have filled the entire space with their own work. Stieglitz had early New York City and Georgia O’Keeffe to photograph, not bad subjects at all especially O’Keeffe’s hands, very powerful.

 

5th Ave

 

 

 

Georgia-OKeeffe-Hands

 

 

 

O'keeffe figure study

 

 

but to see the actual prints of these photographers and maybe a glimpse of their creative minds is pretty cool. what were they thinking comes to mind. in this digital world we are living in, i think some of what is important THE PRINT is being lost. seeing Steichen’s three prints of ‘The Flatiron” building side by side was very informative. Steichen used a mixed process of Gum bichromate underneath a Platinum print as his background as a painter made him willing to mix processes to achieve a desired effect.

 

The Flatiron

 

 

The Flatiron

 

 

mary and i both looked at each other after reading this repeating our in joke ‘he’d never get to be a member of Soho Photo with antics like this.’ which comes from my experience with their membership committee when i was denied membership due to one white mat not matching the others in the portfolio. never mind the attitude that the photo asks for, no really demands a certain paper or process. oh well i can’t open a closed mind nor would i care to look inside of one.

my first exposure to photography books was ‘The Family of Man’ which Steichen produced while at The Museum of Modern Art to coincide with the photographic exhibit hailed as the most successful exhibition of photography ever assembled in 1955. way before my developing mind could grasp the concept. i was just beginning to see girls never mind a family of men.

Paul Strand had a whole other artistic direction, although he to was a painter, where he began to develop his belief in the humanistic value of portraiture. not that he didn’t take pictures of his surroundings traveling around mexico and new england  but i think we engage what we see or is it the other way around.

 

Blind

Mexican children

 

 

Wall street

 

 

the whole exhibit as small as it is, is about coming of age see the nytimes review and if you’re at least bit interested in photography i suggest dropping by and seeing for yourself these outstanding prints. remember the Metropolitan Museum od Art is a pay what you can museum.

have a good day

jene

www.jeneyoutt.com

 

Posted in art, educational, fashion, Photography, photography exhibits, photography presentations, public art, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

whirlwind week in February, dance reviews & memories

February 18, 2011

this has been a busy week for us getting out of the house of memories, i guess soon we’ll stop looking down for shadow whom we called ‘fur trap’, as she would be waiting outside any closed-door for us to reappear. she would stick her nose in the opening and sniff  to check if we were in there. it will take some time for us to adjust to being a single couple.

of course what we are doing could be done with shadow here, going to movies, gallery openings, plays and dinners. to say nothing of making travel plans which we haven’t really begun, panama is weighing heavily on me getting back to my book project and mary is going off to europe in april. but we haven’t made any travel plans yet other than getting the xr 7 on the road and driving cross-country.

1970 xr 7 restore

it’s so nice to have someone in my life who just by being there adds another dimension, making my life so much fuller. a positive force to negate my negative vibes.

so catching up with our social life we saw ‘Black Swan‘ the only current movie up for an academy award. friends have said it was so cool  but i like my dance films closer to reality. maybe its a reflection of the times that things need to be blown up larger than life, needing more twist and turns,complications in order to hold this gen x generation’s attention.

i wasn’t thrilled with the movie, while i did connect with parts of the characters it never connected with the whole. reading Alstair Macauly ‘many faces of Black Swan deconstructed‘ in the NYTimes article on the movie didn’t help me any.

but hey i’ve aways thought Robert Altman’s movie Company the best dance company movie i’ve even seen, yes i know the hooky dance performance in thunder & lighting was a bit over the top but lovely anyways. A scene of a Lar Lubovitch pas de deux “My Funny Valentine” in a thunderstorm is no doubt meant to evoke deep, elegiac emotion with sturm-und-drang. The dancers forge on as rain and storm-detritus blow onto the stage. says dance magazine review. but whats a movie without some drama?

then we move on to an actual live dance performance at city center february 16 thru 20 called Flamingo Hoy which i urge you to see. now if i actually understood the moves and language of this dance form i might have gotten more than an evening’s entertainment but it’s director Carlos Saura, one of Spain’s most prominent filmmakers who made one of my favorite dance movies Carmen see the utube excerpt or  NYTimes review. maybe i really need to learn spanish. but having toured in the 70’s with maria alba dance company, i did learn something about the passion involved in the art form of flamingo.

Maria’s name is remembered with reverence here in new york. i remember talking to one of the flamingo dancers at ‘N’ a small tapas bar down in soho where on wednesday night you can catch a wonderful show in their small space, a real intimate experience. come on down and enjoy the show sit at the bar or one of the tables and watch the performance.

flamenco dancers at N

talk about intimate

flamenco dancer

flamenco dancers at N

last night we when down to a Adorama’s presentation by flash guru Joe McNally before heading out to dinner at Wallse located on the past site of Mother Courage, the first feminist restaurant in new york. i had a friend who managed the place who loved my son, when ever she saw him coming home from school she would give him a big hug. old neighborhood full of memories. after all it was my birthday and i decided to go to Joe’s presentation  maybe even learn something while trying something new to eat.

yes we did learn something, buy more equipment, get three assistants, and buy more equipment. well we do have each other, a big help on our shoots, if we could only get the right numbers to appear on our lottery tickets we could get more equipment. there’s an idea for another Adorama workshop ” how to pick a winning lottery number for fun and profit.” are you listening helen?

tonight we are in for a sensual experience going to Knickerbocker bar & grill for dinner and jazz, my all time favorite steak house. one never knows how long we ‘ll walk on this earth, nor be buried underneath it, and to give up a lovely experience shared with someone who loves you seems to be a shame. there may never come tomorrow so why wait? biting down on their steak is almost as good as biting  on mary’s ………………………opps.

but i’ve got to get back to work, what is writing this? yes it to is a lot of work for me to communicate with people by writing actual words on almost paper is something that’s taken me awhile to feel comfortable with. that’s where journaling has helped. so here are some non edited images from the other day.

woman on couch in black lingerie

and for the shoe fetish people

black Patten leather pumps

this is some job i’ve got, now if i could only parlay this into a money-making effort it might be more fun, oh well

mauve bra and panties with black stockings

oh it’s not too late to visit the George Segal Gallery at Montclair University as this is the last weekend to see mary’s and my prints during Art Connections 7 finally week. why don’t you stop by, hey maybe even buy something.

more of my adventures latter

jene

www.jeneyoutt.com

Posted in art, dance photography, Edwardian corsets, lingerie, movies, Photography, theater productions, video | Leave a Comment »

Art Connections 7 opening reception invite

January 19, 2011

the George Segal Gallery at The Montclair State University once again along with, Mary Durante Wehrhahn and i  Jene Youtt cordially invites you and your guest to our special art exhibition and sale. Opening reception Sunday January 23, 2011, 2:00pm -5:00pm, 1 Normal Ave, Montclair, NJ 07043

* Access from the 4th floor of the Red Hawk Deck parking area adjacent to the Alexander Kasser Theater

Exhibition dates: January 18 – February 19, 2011.   Gallery hours: tue,wed,fri & sat 10a to 5pm, thru 12:30p to 7:30p.

973 655 3382  / montclair.edu/segalgallery

we, mary & i, both have work showing this year.  we would be more than happy to chat about our artistic styles and philosophy over a glass or two of wine. in the past we’ve met some interesting artist and photographers from all over here and they have met us.

i know this is during the green bay packer / chicago bears playoff game, and i’ve no idea what these college people are thinking when they plan these events, but hey maybe you don’t follow football and want to meet us. cool

Golden

http://www.marywehrhahn.com/

http://jeneyoutt.photoshelter.com/

Posted in art, Artist, dance photography, fund raising, modern dance, Photography, photography contests, photography exhibits, photography presentations, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

the great naked Leica M9 give-away

January 5, 2011

January 5th 2011 – THE GREAT LEICA M9 GIVE-AWAY CONTEST HAS BEGUN!


The time has come! The Leica M9 Give-Away has begun! Read on for the details…the rules…and how YOU can win this Leica M9 signed by both Seal and myself on the inside bottom plate. Spread the word to all of your photo friends and send them here so they can also enter this amazing contest! ONE OF YOU READING THIS NOW WILL WIN THIS LEICA M9!

THANKS TO THE GENEROSITY OF Seal (~6)

The Black M9 that we are giving away was donated by ~6 (Seal) which was his previous personal M9. He just recently received his gorgeous Titanium M9 ( see his post HERE) so he kindly donated his black M9 to this site so we could give it away in this contest.  Not only that…since NO ONE has ever given away a $7000 Leica M9, the inside bottom plate will be signed by both of us to mark this special occasion!

What most of you already know is that the man who posts here as “~6″  is the recording artist and photographer Seal. If you did not know that, now you do. This contest/giveaway was his idea and when he approached  me about it I was VERY excited. I mean, what other website has given away something like a Leica M9? Seal is not only intensely passionate about music, but also photography and I am proud to call him on of my dearest friends. How cool is it that he has donated his personal BLACK M9 to give away here? IT’s AMAZINGLY INCREDIBLE!

Since he has been so generous with the M9 donation for the up coming contest I wanted to mention HIS new website.

Just recently Seal has launched a very cool photo website called picortwo.com and I urge you to go check it out and register to follow your favorite photographer. Basically you can follow any photographer on the site..Seal, his wife Heidi, or any of the other photographers on the site. Just by entering your e-mail address you will recieve a pic or two in your mailbox every day that they took during the day.

For example, if you are following Seal, every day you will get a pic or two in your email that he shot THAT DAY. It’s like you are following the daily life of the photographer you follow. So make sure you go check it out at picortwo.com. Browse the photographers and follow whoever you like. It’s REALLY cool and REALLY fun.

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What you have been waiting for! How you can enter and win this camera!

Anyone can enter and anyone can win. Well, anyone who is passionate about photography that is. We wanted to make sure that whoever wins it will cherish it and USE it for their photography. Hell, I would love to have it myself but I would rather give it away to a reader here who has that passion and love for photography. That is what this site is all about..the passion!

So here is how to enter, along with the rules:

It is a photo submission contest  but it is about telling a story with only 2 photos. This is called “sequential narrative photography” or creating a photo narrative. This can be challenging, fun, and also spark your creative juices. In case you need some pointers, Here is a description I found online of a photo narrative.

These photos can be of any subject but you must pic a topic for your story. Just make sure that the images form a narrative and tell a story. The only thing being judged here is the two photos and the topic/title.

Also, just for my information, along with the photos tell me something about yourself (just a short 2-3 sentences) and why a Leica M9 would help you in your photographic journey. That is it. This contest is NOT about what equipment you use to take the shots. As a matter of fact, you can use a cel phone to take the images and yes, a cel phone image may just win. Again, it is NOT about the equipment but more about the photos as a set.

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How the winners will be chosen..

At the deadline, all submissions will be looked over and I will pick the top 10. After that, the top 10 will be sent directly to the two final judges who will pick the winners.

Who are the two final judges? Seals wife, Heidi Klum and professional photographer Rankin will do the honor of choosing the first and second place winners. Yep, this contest is big time now and yes, there is a 2nd place price which is being supplied by Leica Camera themselves! Exciting huh?

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The Prizes:

The 1st place prize:

A black Leica M9 which is slightly used. This was Seal’s personal M9 and will be signed by the both of us on the inside bottom plate. This is a $7000 camera if buying new.

The 2nd place prize:

The 2nd place prize will be a new in box Leica V-Lux 2 supplied by Leica Camera. $849 value. Pretty cool huh?

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THE FIVE STEPS TO WINNING THE LEICA M9

OK here is how you can officially enter this contest.

Step 1:

You must go over to picortwo.com and register and follow at least one photographer at the site. For example, yuo can follow Seal, Heidi or Rankin and you will get an e-mail with their pics when they submit a pic or two from their daily lives. This step is mandatory! If you are already registered then move to Step 2.

Step 2:

You must also be registered at this site. When you register here this will allow you to not only enter all contests but will also allow you to post in the forums and take part in future activities here on the site. So after you register over at picortwo.com you must register here. To do so, click HERE. This step is also mandatory! If you are already registered here, move to Step 3.

Step 3:

Take your photos. To enter you must submit only 2 photos that form a story. We must be able to know what is going on by looking at the photos so because of this there will be no text explaining the photos, just your topic. For example your topic could be called “People in the Park”. Take 2 photos that form a narrative and number them in sequential order. Submit them to me at my e-mail stevehuff1@mac.com along with your name, address, e-mail address, age, topic title and tell me about you and your photographic passion (but keep it short and brief..no essays). Photos must be shot between now and the deadline date of February 5th 2011.

Step 4:

HELP SPREAD THE WORD!

I want as many photographers to know about this as possible. I want EVERYONE to be able to have a shot at this so help me spread the word by tweeting this, or by posting it to your facebook (you can use the handy buttons at the top of this page to do so), or mentioning it wherever you can – digg, forums, or wherever! Just linking back to this page will help tremendously and make this contest a success. If it is a success, more will come :) This is not a mandatory step of course, but will help me out a bit.

Step 5:

Get excited and Wait. I will be accepting submissions starting today, January 5th 2011. Submissions will end on February 5th 2011. The contest duration is 30 days. On February 15th I will post the top 10 winners on this site along with their photos. The top 10 will then go to Heidi Klum and Rankin for final selection. The winner will be announced on March 1st 2011 and the Leica M9 will be shipped out to the winner by March 15th 2011.

The 2nd place winner will win a Leica V-Lux 2 supplied by Leica Camera. Both cameras will be shipped by me via FedEx to the winners no later than March 15th 2011.

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THE RULES – Follow them or be disqualified! READ READ READ! IMPORTANT!

  1. You must register at picortwo.com and stevehuffphoto.com to be eligible to enter and win. Again, to be clear – you will only be eligible to win if your name and email address is registered at both websites. See steps 1 & 2 above to do this.
  2. When you submit your images make them no larger than 1300 pixels wide but also no smaller than 680 pixels wide.
  3. You must submit TWO images that form a narrative to enter and win.
  4. Include your name, address, email address, age, and topic title with the submission and a short note about you and your passion for photography.
  5. Photos can be taken with ANY camera – film, digital, or even a cel phone. This is not about the gear you are using to take the photos but more about the photos themselves.
  6. You can submit only ONE SET of images that tell a story – no text explaining what the story it, just a topic title. ONE ENTRY PER PERSON.
  7. Photos for this contest must be taken between the submission dates (1/05/11 – 02/05/11). In other words, they must be taken for this contest. No old photos allowed.
  8. EXIF Data must be present in the photos so I can verify dates. If you do not know what this means then you should be OK. Basically do not strip the EXIF data! If shooting film, just let me know the dates you shot the film.
  9. Contest begins on 1/05/11 and the deadline for your submission will be 2/05/11. Top 10 will be chosen by Steve Huff on 2/15/11 and they will be posted on the site for all to see. The final two winners will be chosen by Heidi Klum and Rankin and announced on March 1st 2011.
  10. The 1st prize is a black Leica M9 signed by Seal and Steve Huff. This was the personal M9 of Seal, so it is used but in great shape. The 2nd place prize will be a new Leica V-Lux 2.
  11. THIS IS A WORLDWIDE CONTEST! No matter where you live, you can enter!
  12. Steve Huff, Seal, and family members are not eligible to enter or win (Damn!)
  13. The decision of all judges is FINAL. No complaining, no whining and no bitching allowed in the comments. Keep it fun and let’s all have a good time.
  14. Finally, your submitted images may be shown on the site if you make the top 10 so you are giving rights for me to show your images here if you make it.

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SUBMIT YOUR ENTRIES HERE!

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TELL A STORY WITH PHOTOGRAPHS!

There are several ways to tell a story with sequential photos that reveal a moment, or a narrative. Get your creative juices flowing.

NARRATIVE: A good story has a beginning, middle, and an end. Lots of information can be told in as little as two photos but basically we want to be able to look at the photos and see the story. Get creative and be confident. ANYONE can win. Do not worry about what you use to shoot with as we are not looking for the best technical quality or highest resolution. If you have the ability to tell a great story with photographs then you deserve and have a great chance to win the M9.

SEQUENTIAL PHOTOS: Maybe you want to submit a set of photos that reveal a moment? For example, maybe you are shooting in the street and you see something funny that happens and can be caught within 2 frames. Does it reveal a moment or tell a story? If so, send them in. Have fun out there and get creative.

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AS ALWAYS, I NEED YOUR HELP TO KEEP THIS SITE GOING AND GROWING!

Again, this site has been able to stick around and grow over the past  two years thanks you YOU, the readers. Those who come here every day to see whats new, to see the passion of photography alive and well and to join in the discussions.

Thanks to you guys helping me out with buying your photo gear from my links to B&H Photo and Amazon and supporting my sponsors like Dale Photo and J-Tec. Let’s not forget Ken Hansen who has been a true friend AND a great Leica dealer. So without that support, this site would not be where it is today and this contest would not exist.

So here are those direct links again and if you ever need any photo related gear you can use the B&H Photo Link HERE (not able to bookmark the B&H link, must be clicked on from this site). If you like AMAZON, anything you buy there will help me out with pennies on the dollar (it adds up) and you can use that link HERE (and can bookmark the Amazon link!). You can also use the handy search boxes on the upper right side of any page.

Also, be sure to follow me on twitter, facebook and my RSS feed here. This all helps me out! Also, for more discussion you can visit my forums here on the site :)

Posted in photographic opportunity, Photography, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Kodachrome Road Ends at Photo Lab in Kansas

December 30, 2010

as dorothy said to toto, ‘i don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore’ but we are here at the end of the road for Kodachrome.

dwayne’s photo lab has  closed it’s processing plant today. That celebrated 75-year run from mainstream to niche photography is scheduled to come to an end on Thursday when the last processing machine is shut down here to be sold for scrap.

In the last weeks, dozens of visitors and thousands of overnight packages have raced here, transforming this small prairie-bound city not far from the Oklahoma border for a brief time into a center of nostalgia for the days when photographs appeared not in the sterile frame of a computer screen or in a pack of flimsy prints from the local drugstore but in the warm glow of a projector pulling an image from a carousel of vivid slides.

see the nytimes article here

or paul simon singing mama don’t take my kodachrome away

a sad day for photography for sure. here are some new years resolutions for photogs for the upcoming year.

New Year’s resolutions for photographers  

Improve your photos in 2011 with these fun challenges

by Ben Long, Christopher Breen, Heather Kelly, Macworld.com // Dec 30, 2010 10:00 am

Instead of making the same ho-hum New Year’s resolutions you break every year, consider these resolutions specifically for photographers. It’s easy to fall into photography ruts. This year, make it a point to try new things, break old habits, and push your gear and talent to new limits.

  • Turn off Auto: Try venturing out of your safety zone and experimenting with your camera’s manual settings. Start small by turning the exposure compensation up or down for a moody or blown-out effect.
  • Edit your images: The problem with giant memory cards is that you can end up with too many images. After each shoot or adventure, take time to sort thorough your photographs and mark your favorites. The star systems in Bridge, Lightroom, and Aperture are great for this task.
  • Back-up your images.
  • Work the subject: Don’t just take one picture, move around and shoot every angle and perspective you can think of.
  • Fill the frame with your subject.
  • Pay attention to your camera position and associated focal length. These dramatically change the sense of space and proportions in your scene.
  • Learn to always note shutter speed, and to take action to prevent camera shake when shutter speed is too low.
  • Bend your knees—don’t shoot every image from eye level.
  • Stop thinking that a new piece of gear is going to make you a better photographer.
  • Commit to practicing. It’s the only thing that will make you a better photographer.
  • Study the work of other photographers.
  • Choose a long-term photo project.
  • Remember that you don’t have to go somewhere exotic to take good pictures. Your own life makes great subject matter.
  • Don’t use a regular flash outside at night. Instead, use your camera’s slow sync flash feature.
  • Learn to use your camera’s flash exposure compensation for better flash results wherever you are.
  • Try packing only an unfamiliar and limited lens and shoot with it all day. A 50mm or macro lens, for example.
  • Narrow your comfort zone. For example, if you’re comfortable street shooting with a telephoto, use wide angle and get in the face of strangers.
  • Shoot (literally) from the hip.
  • Shoot as if there was no Photoshop.
  • Switch your camera to black and white mode.
  • Load your camera with the most limited memory card you can find. Recall what it’s like to shoot with only 12 exposures, knowing every shot counts.
  • Resist using a flash in low light.
  • Break the habit of leaving the moment to examine every shot you take on the LCD screen.
  • Share your shots: Don’t keep all those great new photos to yourself. Post them on Flickr, Picasa, MobileMe, Smugmug, or any other sharing site. Join a photography group and get feedback.

Share your own photography-related resolutions in the comments. Happy New Year!

Posted in art, kodachrome, Photography, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Smack Mellon call for proposals, artist & curators

December 1, 2010

Call for Proposals:

EMERGING ARTISTS and EMERGING CURATORS
Deadline: January 15, 2011

Interior Space 1
Note: Applications will only be accepted through an online process starting

December 1, 2010.  Deadline is 11:59pm, January 15, 2011

Proposals are accepted annually from Emerging Artists and Emerging Curators for Smack Mellon’s Summer Show. The selected Emerging Curator will review submissions from the Emerging Artists.  The Curator will be expected to select half of the exhibiting artists from these submissions.

The exhibition will be presented June 18 – July 31, 2011.

An Emerging Artist is considered to be an artist without commercial representation who shows significant potential; has some evidence of professional achievement but not a substantial record of accomplishment; and is recognized as emerging by other artists, curators, producers, critics, and arts administrators.

An Emerging Curator is defined as an independent curator who is beginning his or her career as a curator. Emerging Curator proposals must show history of at least 3 examples of prior curatorial projects successfully presented to a public audience.

Emerging Artist guidelines are here and Emerging Curator guidelines are here.

Posted in art, Artist, awards, curators, photographic opportunity, Photography, public art, Uncategorized, video | Leave a Comment »

lovely thoughts on this week after thanksgiving

November 30, 2010

Often while traveling with a camera we arrive just as the sun slips over the horizon

of a moment, too late to expose film, only time enough to expose our hearts.
—Minor White (1908-1976)
thanks to http://blog.fotovisura.com/page/4

Posted in art, Photography, travel, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

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