This Week In Photography Books: Nicolo Degiorgis

by Jonathan Blaustein

I once made fun of the Chinese government. It’s true. You can look it up in the APE archives. I was defending Ai Weiwei, when he was unfairly incarcerated, and I said some rather indelicate things.

These days, the evil enemy de rigeur is ISIS, or ISIL, depending on which acronym you prefer. Those guys are genuinely awful, but I think I’ll stop short of name calling this time.

Why?

Because those fuckers are so crazy, and Internet-Savvy, they might just send a sleeper over the Mexican border to come chop off my head. So, to be clear, I’m not making fun of you, ISIS. I’m merely pointing out your preference for horrifying, anarchic violence, in the name of worshipping your deity. (Different strokes, different folks, I always say.)

One of the sad facts of the ISIS ascendance is that they cast a pall over the many millions, if not billions, of peaceful, law-abiding, God-loving Muslims around the planet. Those folks wouldn’t behead a fly, unless it was buzzing around their head incessantly. Then, maybe they’d just swat at it, trying desperately to make it go away, before they had to resort to insect murder.

Please, Mr. Fly, go somewhere else. Leave me alone. I bear you no ill will. I will not kill you unless you leave me no choice.

Muslims are people, like Jews and Christians and Buddhists and Hindus and Zoroastrians. Here in the United States, we talk a good game about respecting religious freedom. Hell, I can even remember that classic asshole George W. Bush declaring that Muslims were not the enemy, right after 9/11, and right after he put Iran and Iraq on the Axis of Evil list. (Mixed messages much, George?)

We may allow religious freedom here, but that doesn’t mean it flies elsewhere, even in the developed world. Apparently, though Islam is the second largest religion in Italy, after Catholicism, there are only 8 official mosques in the entire country. How can I rattle off this specific statistic so easily?

Good question.

I read it in a Martin Parr-scribed introduction to “Hidden Islam,” a new book by Nicolo Degiorgis, recently published by Rorhof, in Italy. The book is subtitled “Islamic Makeshift Places of Worship in North East Italy, 2009-2013,” so let’s not count this one among the many books that try to fool you, or dare you to figure out what the heck is going on.

Frankly, I really liked the clarity. It helped me adjust to the bleak, generic, black and white buildings that are broken down into categories on the cover as well. (Warehouses, shops, supermarkets, etc.)

I didn’t read the introduction right away, because I sometimes skip the text. (Dirty secret time.) Also, I didn’t see it, at first. It wasn’t obviously there.

I was turning the pages gingerly, for a while, believing this was one more book that used double-page, sewn spreads, just to make it seem more significant. Then, halfway through, one of the pages started to come undone. So I pulled it the rest of the way, hoping I wasn’t ruining it. (Again, I don’t get to keep these books. You break it, you bought it.)

To my great surprise, I had stumbled upon a color image of the inside of the makeshift mosque, with many people kneeling on the ground in prayer. Say what now?

I tried the trick again, and found it was, in fact, the way the book was built. Hidden Islam indeed.

The juxtaposition of the banal black and white and the revelatory color images is terrific. Really smartly done. Not something I’ve seen before, at least, not that I can easily recall.

This book is earnest, and means to show us things we cannot otherwise see. And it takes aim at some conservative fat cats in Northern Italy, who don’t allow the migrant worker Muslims to pray in any sort of official capacity. So that’s admirable, as one can imagine some of those power brokers are connected to the Mafia. The Cosa Nostra. Ndgragheta. (Call them what you will.)

I can’t claim that the photos within the book are legendarily good. But they don’t have to be. As I’ve said many times before, a book is an experience, when done properly. And this experience was memorable.

May we all, someday, live in a world where we can worship as we please. A world, I would hope, where murderous psychopaths in pickup trucks have been put in their proper place. (I don’t mean you, ISIS. You guys are swell. If you’re into that sort of thing. It’s all relative, right?)

Bottom Line: Terrific, sly book that shows us private moments of worship

To Purchase “Hidden Islam” Visit Photo-Eye

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Books are provided by Photo-Eye in exchange for links back for purchase.

Books are found in the bookstore and submissions are not accepted.

Art Producers Speak: Tania Quintanilla

We emailed Art Buyers and Art Producers around the world asking them to submit names of established photographers who were keeping it fresh and up-and-comers who they are keeping their eye on. If you are an Art Buyer/Producer or an Art Director at an agency and want to submit a photographer anonymously for this column email: Suzanne.sease@verizon.net

Anonymous Art Buyer: I nominate Tania Quintanilla. Her style is very classic beauty. She has an excellent command of studio lighting and impeccable retouching skills. On set, she is fun but also very focused, she’s a great leader and she knows what she wants and how to get there. In my opinion, she is the best fashion photographer in central Texas and I feel her career is about to take off in other markets in a big way.

This is one of my recent North American Hair Awards (NAHA) images—an ocean inspired hair story.
This is one of my recent North American Hair Awards (NAHA) images—an ocean inspired hair story.
This was from a test I did recently.
This was from a test I did recently.
I’m obsessed with religious iconography.  Here’s an interpretation of the Sacred Heart.
I’m obsessed with religious iconography. Here’s an interpretation of the Sacred Heart.
A hair shoot for NAHA.
A hair shoot for NAHA.
For this western wear shoot we intentionally gave the model hat hair.
For this western wear shoot we intentionally gave the model hat hair.
Hair shoot for the styling director of Aveda, Allen Ruiz.
Hair shoot for the styling director of Aveda, Allen Ruiz.
This was shot for Leaf Camera a while back.
This was shot for Leaf Camera a while back.
An editorial shot for Austin Monthly last year.
An editorial shot for Austin Monthly last year.
I really love this outtake from a fashion editorial coming out this month—it reminds me of Botticelli’s Venus.
I really love this outtake from a fashion editorial coming out this month—it reminds me of Botticelli’s Venus.
An outtake from a hair shoot. The blackness in this photo..
An outtake from a hair shoot. The blackness in this photo..
An image taken for one of my side projects—Dance.
An image taken for one of my side projects—Dance.
Dance
Dance

How many years have you been in business?
My Austin studio opened in 2005, but I’ve been doing photography work since the mid 90’s.

Are you self-taught or photography school taught?
A little of both: I started photographing my friends in makeshift fashion shoots in high school, later one of my teachers encouraged me to go to Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara, CA. I picked up a lot of technical skill at Brooks. When I was there digital SLR’s were just coming out, and they were still teaching us on large format film cameras and darkrooms. It was a really wonderful experience. I took some underwater classes where we would scuba dive near the Catalina islands, and every time you went under with all of your gear you could only shoot 36 frames max. It really taught you to slow down. Back then, instead of experimenting with Photoshop, students would mess around with high sensitive film and cross-processing. I would have to wait at least a week to get the results back from the lab. It’s funny to think that was only 15 years ago.

Who was your greatest influence that inspired you to get into this business?
My early years were heavily influenced by MTV, Vogue magazine, and pop culture generally. My family moved to the U.S. from Monterrey Mexico in the mid 80’s. Whitney Houston and my mom were the center of my fashion universe. Later, my high school photography teacher, Mr. McNichols, showed me how I might make a living from something I seemed good at and enjoyed doing. He was the one who really pushed me to go to photography school.

How do you find your inspiration to be so fresh, push the envelope, stay true to yourself so that creative folks are noticing you and hiring you?
I view my work as a team sport. I’m easily inspired and aim to be a great collaborator. I surround myself with talented people and we all bring our own experiences and ideas to the game. My job is to collect ideas and stay flexible; I want to be a conduit for the group energy. There are a lot of trends that are hard to appreciate at first– I stay open-minded. Once we put the shot together, if its not rubbing me the right way I can’t ignore it. When it’s right, it feels really right. Like in your guts right. In the end, staying true to myself is where my talents are tested. I get to bring it all home, bring it all together, and that’s the best part.

Do you find that some creatives love your work but the client holds you back?
Sometimes. But coming from a fashion background, having too many people with too many opinions is part of the job description. So I’m used to it. Everyone wants that client with a money tree and a vivid imagination. That’s fun! But I can also enjoy the challenge of a small budget and a big idea. I also like to have really clear communication with my clients from the beginning. I try and always get on the same page way before the shooting starts.

What are you doing to get your vision out to the buying audience?
I shoot a lot of fashion and beauty editorials. That’s my main outlet. In the last couple of months I have started working with a new magazine in Austin. The art director has really let me shape the direction of its fashion section, so I get to experiment with some new ideas that have been calling to me for a while. Of course, I also send out mailers, and work at keeping my book, website, and social media up to date.

What is your advice for those who are showing what they think the buyers want to see?
You’ll never be better at being someone else than you are at being yourself. Shoot who you are, discover and use your voice. When you tap into that inner voice, people naturally want to hear it.

Are you shooting for yourself and creating new work to keep your artistic talent true to you?
I work out a lot of my creative angst in my fashion editorial work and with my hair clients. And I love to shoot more abstract work, so I carry a small camera around wherever I go. I’m just fascinated with the human face. I paint too, and it’s always portraits. I can’t get away from portraits. I love retouching my own work. I get really into it. When I shoot for my hair clients, I have to pay such close attention to each strand, it’s like sculpting the image after its been captured.

How often are you shooting new work?
I’m either shooting or working on a photo project in some capacity every day. One of my favorite photography teachers, Ralph Clevenger, once told me after a holiday break from school, “If you’re not shooting or thinking about shooting every day then you’re in the wrong place.” There’s so much work that goes into each shoot, and I love to be a part of every step if I can. I never really stop being a photographer. Even if I had to walk around with my eyes closed I would still be dreaming up something to shoot.

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Tania Quintanilla, fashion/advertising photographer and artist, born in Monterrey, Mexico, and now based in Austin, Texas.

Tania@tqphoto.com
(512) 632-2471
http://www.tqphoto.com

APE contributor Suzanne Sease currently works as a consultant for photographers and illustrators around the world. She has been involved in the photography and illustration industry since the mid 80s, after founding the art buying department at The Martin Agency then working for Kaplan-Thaler, Capital One, Best Buy and numerous smaller agencies and companies. She has a new Twitter fed with helpful marketing information.  Follow her@SuzanneSease.

Catch Suzanne presenting with Kat Dalager for Market Right 2014 in NYC on Wednesday, October 29th http://yodelist.wordpress.com/2014/10/03/were-proud-to-announce-market-right-2014

Nick Knight on the Changing Face of Fashion Photography

Nick Knight on… the appeal of Instagram

“Having a phone and an Instagram account means that I can create images on my own. When I first started using it a couple of years ago, it reminded me of the 70s, when I first started out in photography. It felt very direct – it was about me taking the image. It felt really authentic. I don’t have a Twitter account because it’s essentially about writing and my focus has always been visual. Instagram felt like the most appropriate way for me to communicate. I also really enjoy the instantaneous nature of it – you can publish images straight away – and get feedback from people across the globe. And I’m really interested in figures who have huge followings – such as Kim Kardashian, Cara Delevingne and Lily Allen. People have so much power to put out a message direct to their fans. It’s almost like when magazines were in their heyday – a printed publication would be where you could get celebrity images. Now it’s been reversed and the next generation is one that is used to getting information from digital mediums. The Diesel campaign acknowledges that and feels completely relevant. This is an exciting time – things are changing and I always think change is good.”

via Nick Knight on the Changing Face of Fashion Photography – Culture Talks | AnOther.

The Daily Edit – Jacqueline Bates: The California Sunday Magazine

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The California Sunday Magazine

Editor-in-Chief: Douglas McGray
Creative Director: Leo Jung
Photography Director: Jacqueline Bates

While it’s called “The California Sunday Magazine,” you’re also bringing geopolitics into the fold, and you have a different unique editorial architecture as well as distribution. Tell us about it.

We are a general interest magazine focusing on stories, mostly about people, that take place in California, the West, Latin America and Asia. We are on all digital platforms and a printed edition, with a launch circulation of more than 400,000, delivered on the first Sunday of each month with the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and Sacramento Bee. (And for a limited time, in the Bay Area, with home delivered copies of the New York Times.) We’re comprised of two sections: shorts and features. We are not a service based magazine–we won’t tell you where to eat and where to shop. There are plenty of magazines who do that really well already!

The west coast deserves a good Sunday magazine, how did this emerge?

We emerged from the popular live events series, that our editor-in-chief, Doug McGray started, called Pop-Up Magazine, which is a live magazine which writers, documentary filmmakers, radio producers, photographers, and illustrators perform original stories to sell-out crowds at San Francisco’s Davies Symphony Hall. They’ve had great photographers showing new work on stage — Larry Sultan, Jim Goldberg, Autumn de Wilde, Richard Misrach, Cheryl Dunn, Ron Haviv, Todd Hido, Lucas Foglia. After doing the show for a few years, Doug realized it was strange that California wasn’t home to a big-audience general interest magazine. He loved the sense of community he and the Pop-Up team were building. Fast forward to 2014..and here we are! Doug hired Leo Jung as creative director (formerly Design Director at Wired, deputy art director at The New York Times Magazine) and then I was hired soon after. I moved to San Francisco after working in magazines in NYC for a number of years (W Magazine, ELLE Magazine, and Interview). It’s such an incredible challenge and so unique for a photo editor to help shape what the magazine looks like, from scratch. It’s so inspiring and challenging. When Doug and I first met he said the magazine wasn’t going to have any cover lines. I thought he was crazy. And I knew I had to work with him immediately.

What type of visual stories is the magazine seeking? 

We’re always looking for pitches from photographers. It’s not just about beautiful photos — they need to have a sense of story. Photo essays can be big and sweeping and urgent, or they can be small, local curiosities. As you’ll see in our first issue, we will have a mix of established and young artists. I love having that balance. Photographers can email us at art@californiasunday.com to get our contributor guidelines.

 

Describe your photographic direction for the magazine.

The magazine is made in California. So when it comes to photography, whenever possible we use artists who have a deep, authentic connection to this place, creatively and personally. And that authenticity can be seen in their photographs. We always want to surprise readers. California Sunday imagery will feel cinematic, thought-provoking, not overly stylized or retouched. A sense of place is really important to the magazine, so there won’t be a lot of studio photography. Imagery will feel bright, smart but not pretentious. Subjects will be represented in an authentic, real way. Always accessible, but never dumbed down.

 

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You have a section called “visual short”,  is this an opportunity for photographers to pitch you ideas?

Absolutely. Photographers can email us their pitches and links to their unpublished bodies of work.

In each issue we’d like to try and include a visual short. For the first issue we commissioned Will Adler, who is a fantastic fine art photographer. I saw his brilliant series of surf photography at Danziger Gallery in NY–he has such a deep connection to surf and art (his uncle, Tom Adler, is an art director of seminal early surf photography books.) I love his dreamy color palette and he really embodies the feel of the magazine we’re trying to achieve…cinematic and surprising. Will sent us so many striking images it so hard to choose. We chose a different image for the TOC image where the surfer’s body felt quite still, but when you turn to the story its a nice contrast –turbulent and wonderfully disorienting.

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Holly Andres shot your cover/feature, virtual reality is a challenging topic to visually cover I’d imagine. Some of her work has a wonderfully unsettling narrative. Why did you gravitate towards her work for this?

I met Holly in Portland in 2011 at the PhotoLucida photo previews when I was at W. She was still focusing primarily on fine art photography. I love how she creates imagery that invites you in and takes you to another world, from an era you can’t quite place…which was perfect for the setting we were trying to create for our cover story, called “The Last Medium,” about virtual reality in Hollywood.

We’re hoping to do something really unique with our covers–immediately after you turn the page we have an inside cover, which is an opportunity to continue the cover on to a spread. We think it sets the tone up front in the way we sequence images, very cinematically. The cover is a young girl at home–wearing a virtual reality headset, then you turn the page and you’re in that alternate world with her. We continued that in the story as well, domestic scenes of the family together, then you turn to the last image and the family is in a bright otherworldly setting…

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Often news journalism is about heart break. Omar Lucas photographed Ruth Thalia’s family. Undoubtedly this was important to select the right photographer. It takes a certain type of photographer to gracefully come into a family’s life and capture their sorrow.  Why Omar Lucas?

Omar is a Lima-based photographer, and this was his first time working with a foreign publication. It was important for me that whoever was going in to the home where Ruth Thalia once lived, that they understand the sensitivity of the situation. Omar was familiar with Ruth Thalia’s story–it was on the news frequently there–so he made sure to go to their home and speak with them at length before he even picked up his camera.

 

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Tell me about Daniel Shea‘s piece.

We teamed LA Times arts writer Carolina Miranda with the fantastic Daniel Shea, who was spending a lot of time out west and inspired by the contemporary arts scene. We decided on a unique approach, featuring artists who were directly inspired by the landscape around them. We used architectural historian Reyner Banham’s four ecologies as a guide.

If you want to join, click here to find out more.

 

 

 

Pricing And Negotiating: Forbes Magazine Contract

by Bill Cramer, Wonderful Machine

Over the years, I’ve shot for lots of business magazines, but my favorite was always Forbes. The photo editors were experienced, smart, and nice. They appreciated good photography and they used it well. Not only did they have a reasonable contract, and decent budgets for assignments, but I was often able to generate additional revenue from those assignments by licensing the pictures to other publications or by selling article reprints to the subjects or their companies. However, with Forbes experiencing the same financial pressures that most print publications are facing, their contract has changed dramatically. (After several years on the market, Forbes Media announced recently that a group of investors has acquired a majority stake in the company.)

In an effort to save money on assignment photography (or even make money on it), Forbes has created The Forbes Photography Collection to license pictures generated from their assignments through Corbis Images. They hired Robyn Selman, formerly of Corbis, to guide that process as their Director of Photography. Forbes Media isn’t the first publisher to syndicate their photographers’ pictures (Condé Nast comes to mind), but still, it’s a dramatic shift from the way most magazines and photographers have historically done business with each other.

In a nutshell, here’s how their new contract differs from their old one:

Instead of photographers getting compensated separately for residual use of their photos (including space, foreign Forbes editions, and article reprints), those rights are bundled into a flat shoot fee, and the photographer gets a maximum of 12.5% of third party sales through The Forbes Photography Collection. (The contract specifies that the photographer gets 25% of Forbes’ half of the gross fee when Corbis is the only agent involved in the sale. If another agent gets involved in the sale, the share to the photographer could be less than 12.5%.) From what I gather, the shoot fees are 1000.00 or more (plus expenses) now, as opposed to 700.00/day (plus expenses) against space with their previous contract. It’s hard to compare flat fees to day rate vs. space, but my own experience was that my Forbes assignments frequently generated space rate payments. So while the fees and expenses for the initial shoot may be about the same, photographers are giving up significant money (not to mention control), on foreign editions, article reprints (which are often worth more than the original assignment), and stock sales to the subject and to other magazines.

The flat shoot fee is negotiated for each assignment. In the past, photographers and the magazine would renegotiate day rates and space rates every couple of years (as a practical matter, the magazine would simply have standard day and space rates that they would pay). With this contract, Forbes no longer ties the fees directly to the amount of time it takes to shoot the job or the size/number of photos that appear in the magazine. That’s problematic in several important ways. First, if the value of the assignment isn’t tied to the amount of time it takes to shoot the job or the space the pictures occupy in the magazine, then what will be the basis of that negotiation? Second, putting the photographer and the photo editor in the awkward position of renegotiating the fee for every assignment wastes valuable time and energy at exactly the moment when you need to get a job done fast, and it sets up a regular source of conflict that will have the effect of eroding rather than building and streamlining the relationship between contributor and editor. Third, it creates a conflict of interest between the photographer and the client. It’s natural and sustainable to put the photographer’s economic interests in line with the client’s. Lastly, anyone growing a business (even a freelance photographer), needs to build equity along with revenue. For photographers, the rights to their photographs are their main source of equity.

I can understand Forbes Media’s impulse to capture this additional revenue in the short-term. But is it in their long-term interest?

I’m not sure it’s sensible for Forbes to enter into the business of syndicating photographs. For starters, it’s clearly outside their area of expertise. Though there is a modest amount of residual value to the photos for Forbes, I wonder how much of it is negated by the administrative costs of starting up and maintaining the infrastructure required to support those sales, and the additional up-front fees they have to pay the photographers. Also, the minuscule back-end split they’re offering photographers not only removes any incentive for them to produce lots of excellent photos (which would otherwise earn those photographers space rates and other residual fees), but they’re also making it less attractive for good photographers to work with Forbes in the first place. So the photos they’ll end up with won’t look as good in the magazine and they won’t have as much residual value as they otherwise would. A smarter approach would be to maintain the day vs. space fee structure, and simply lower or raise the fees as their ability to afford high-quality photography shrinks and grows. (Another approach might be to maintain a higher fee structure, and increase or decrease the number of hand-out and stock photos that they use, as their budgets ebb and flow.) Either way, it’s naive to think that you can reduce the compensation to photographers without adversely affecting the quality of their photos.

Here’s the contract. It’s separated into an Artists’ Agreement (which gets signed once), and a Schedule A (which gets signed for each assignment):

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If you are a photographer (or a magazine), and need help building an estimate or reviewing a contract, please feel free to contact any of our producers. If you’d like to read more of our Pricing & Negotiating articles, you can find them here.

This Week In Photography Books: Keliy Anderson-Staley

by Jonathan Blaustein

I have a young student named Montanna. She grew up in the hinterlands of Virginia, but recently moved to the boonies of New Mexico. (Confused yet?)

Montanna often walks 5 miles to and from the bus stop, each way, if she wants to make it to school. She said her folks don’t always have enough gasoline to drive her up the dirt road. Other times, she stays with a neighbor who lives close to the highway.

Yes, we’re living 2014 out here.
I swear.

New Mexico was just ranked 50th out of 50 states in poverty rate, which is nothing to brag about. The allure of the Wild West comes with a price, I’m afraid. And it’s often hardest on the youth.

Montanna is a committed and bright photographer, so I’d be surprised if she didn’t claw her way success. That type of hardship builds character. It etches itself into one’s countenance, like wrinkles on an orangutan’s face.

Co-incidentally, I saw Montanna staring back at me from a sheet of metal, just the other day.

We had an outdoor art festival here in Taos, last Friday evening. The Native American photographer Will Wilson set up a make-shift studio along the main street. A friend dragged me out at night to see it, which was the equivalent of Dracula venturing out in the daytime.

I bumped into several of my students waiting in line, and watched Mr. Wilson make Montanna’s portrait, using the wet plate collodion process. Then they disappeared into his tent/darkroom, along with the Project Runway contestant Patricia Michaels, who was having her picture made at the same time. (Unfortunately, Heidi Klum couldn’t make it.)

The trio emerged, a few minutes later, and Montanna beamed as she held her tin type for all to see. (Yes, it was dark out, but the bright flood lights more than made up for the black sky.) The portrait managed to capture her toughness, her freckles, and her determination.

I have to say, it was remarkable. These are young artists shooting with cell phones, so the old-school technique demonstrated the magic we all remember, back in the chemical days. It was a revelation for them.

The ubiquity of computerized photographs alters how we view historical processes. They become that much more precious, and the labor involved assumes added import. When everything is so easy, why make it harder on yourself?

It’s a fair question, and one that today’s book can help us answer. “On a Wet Bough” is a large, red hardcover by Keliy Anderson-Staley, released by the nascent publisher Waltz Books, in Indiana.

The artist, whom the end notes tell us was raised “off the grid,” has been making tin types for years. According to the text, we also learn she’s extremely prolific, which suggests she’s patient, hard-working, and perhaps a tad obsessed. (She’d probably be a perfect mentor for young Montanna, come to think of it.)

The book is filled with portraits, made in the style of the 19th Century. But these are not pictures we might confuse with olden days. They’re clearly contemporary.

The sitters stare seriously at the camera, with many a mad-dog look in their eyes. Others seem sad, some are contemplative. Did she tell them not to smile? How much time did she spend with each person? Was she trying to capture their individual souls, or is it more about her desire acquire a volume of personalities?

I was startled to see a few photo-world folks looking at me, like Brian Clamp, Doug DuBois, and Christian Patterson. It broke the illusion that these were all strangers, lacking histories I could easily access. I suppose that’s only an insider read, but surely she considered its impact on a certain type of viewer. (Especially as photographers are typical buyers of photobooks.)

Initially, I wasn’t as captivated as I expected to be. Perhaps it’s because the unique quality of the metal object is essentially lost, once it’s digitized and embedded in paper? That would make sense. Making a book destroys the inherent nature of the pictures.

But then I got to a couple of portraits of shirtless men rocking chest hair. What? The texture and the oddity brought me back into the moment. They were great pictures, but also added a touch of funk and originality that was theretofore lacking.

Next, we get to a section of dual portraits and group pictures that definitely had more zing. Why is that? Does Ms. Anderson-Staley have an easier time chatting when there are more people around? Is it just a coincidence?

Frankly, these types of pictures will always be compared with Julia Margaret Cameron. Fair or not, it’s going to happen. It gives me extra appreciation for Ms. Cameron’s relationship with her sitters, that allowed her to make pictures that really do haunt, two lifetimes later.

These pictures don’t rise to that level, but why should they? They’re from another time, and were cranked out by the hundreds. So I think that’s an inappropriate standard. Especially as this is an accomplished project in its own right.

In a book, seen in the LED glow of 2014, the pictures have a weight and a power I think you’ll appreciate. And they stand as a great reminder that hard work is often its own reward, as cheesy at that might sound in our “selfie-ish” era.

Bottom Line: Very-well-made book of old-school tin type portraits.

To Purchase “On a Wet Bough” Visit Photo-Eye

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Books are provided by Photo-Eye in exchange for links back for purchase.

Books are found in the bookstore and submissions are not accepted.

Art Producers Speak: Jonathan Hanson

We emailed Art Buyers and Art Producers around the world asking them to submit names of established photographers who were keeping it fresh and up-and-comers who they are keeping their eye on. If you are an Art Buyer/Producer or an Art Director at an agency and want to submit a photographer anonymously for this column email: Suzanne.sease@verizon.net

Anonymous Art Buyer: I nominate Jonathan Hanson as an established Baltimore portrait and music photographer for this column. He is always keeping it fresh by capturing the essence of the real people and urban culture- the charm- of Charm City. All the while, his images still show glimpses of universal human spirit in the subjects and polish of his portraits.

In an effort to create authentic lifestyle imagery I began working with people who I felt embody the lifestyle I'm depicting in my work. Meet Aus and Riss; Aus is in The Creators, a group of artists and hip-hop musicians. Riss is working as a model/stylist as she studies acting. I met the two of them earlier in the year working on my personal project on hip-hop.  Shortly after, we teamed up on a commissioned shoot with Adidas.
In an effort to create authentic lifestyle imagery I began working with people who I felt embody the lifestyle I’m depicting in my work. Meet Aus and Riss; Aus is in The Creators, a group of artists and hip-hop musicians. Riss is working as a model/stylist as she studies acting. I met the two of them earlier in the year working on my personal project on hip-hop.  Shortly after, we teamed up on a commissioned shoot with Adidas.
A hip-hop artist performs onstage during a show at Sonar in Baltimore, MD.  This image is from an ongoing series on Baltimore’s hip-hop scene. 
A hip-hop artist performs onstage during a show at Sonar in Baltimore, MD.  This image is from an ongoing series on Baltimore’s hip-hop scene. 
Baltimore rapper, Jay Royale, during a recording session in Baltimore, MD.
Baltimore rapper, Jay Royale, during a recording session in Baltimore, MD.
A project I shot with Adidas for their shoe line, “Hackmore”.
A project I shot with Adidas for their shoe line, “Hackmore”.
Personal work with model and actress Riss Boodoo.
Personal work with model and actress Riss Boodoo.
A portrait of Baltimore musician, Rye-Rye, taken backstage before a performance.
A portrait of Baltimore musician, Rye-Rye, taken backstage before a performance.

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David Wiesand, lead designer at Mclain Wiesand, a furniture fabrication firm with design roots in the 18th and 19th century.
David Wiesand, lead designer at Mclain Wiesand, a furniture fabrication firm with design roots in the 18th and 19th century.
Baltimore musician, Abdu-Ali, photographed in at his apartment.
Baltimore musician, Abdu-Ali, photographed in at his apartment.
An elderly man sits by the window in his home after being robbed for his social security money in East Baltimore.  This was taken during a series of ride-alongs with the Baltimore City Police.
An elderly man sits by the window in his home after being robbed for his social security money in East Baltimore.  This was taken during a series of ride-alongs with the Baltimore City Police.
Veterans Day Parade, Baltimore, MD. From the series, These City Streets. 
Veterans Day Parade, Baltimore, MD. From the series, These City Streets. 
 Portrait from the series, The Reilly’s. 
 Portrait from the series, The Reilly’s. 
Concessions at the Maryland State Fair. 
Concessions at the Maryland State Fair. 
Street portrait, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 
Street portrait, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 
Swimmers at the Four Seasons Hotel in Baltimore, MD.
Swimmers at the Four Seasons Hotel in Baltimore, MD.
Lawrence Burney, writer and creator of True Laurels zine, at studio 506 in Baltimore, MD for Strangers With Style. 
Lawrence Burney, writer and creator of True Laurels zine, at studio 506 in Baltimore, MD for Strangers With Style. 
Al Rogers Jr. an up and coming Baltimore musician at studio 506 in Baltimore, MD.
Al Rogers Jr. an up and coming Baltimore musician at studio 506 in Baltimore, MD.
Performance artist Sophia Mak at studio 506 in Baltimore, MD for Strangers With Style.
Performance artist Sophia Mak at studio 506 in Baltimore, MD for Strangers With Style.
Emma Fineman, painter.
Emma Fineman, painter.

How many years have you been in business?
5

Are you self-taught or photography school taught?
I’m mostly self-taught. I feel fortunate photography is an intuitive process for me. I’ve learned the most through trusting my gut, knowing when to listen to others and pushing myself beyond my comfort zone. Facing new challenges is where the real learning takes place for me, that conflict gives life to my work.

Who was your greatest influence that inspired you to get into this business?
I took a trip to Amsterdam with two close friends around the same time I first became interested in photography.  A few days into the trip, we were sitting in the courtyard of a café when I noticed a sunflower craning in the warm evening light. I walked over, carefully composed a photo, and as I hit the shutter, a gust of wind blew the sunflower out of frame. I cursed the wind and shot another frame. A few weeks later when I was looking through the film, my first major lesson in photography was staring back at me. The photo where the wind blew the sunflower was far better than what I had composed. I realized there is a crossroads where preparation, chance and being in the right place at the right time come together to create something special.  I’ve been obsessed since.  

How do you find your inspiration to be so fresh, push the envelope, stay true to yourself so that creative folks are noticing you and hiring you?
I think it’s really important to live in a community that inspires.
Baltimore has been the backbone of my work since moving here six years ago. The creative energy and abundance of eclectic subcultures offer a constant stream of original work I draw inspiration from.

Do you find that some creatives love your work but the client holds you back?
I tend to get a lot of creative freedom so if issues arise it’s usually with very restrictive editorial contracts that are a fight to get amended or can’t be amended at all.  In these instances, I feel held back because the terms are meant to only benefit the hiring company and deny the photographer the opportunity to earn future income.

What are you doing to get your vision out to the buying audience?
I’ve had the most success showing a printed portfolio during meetings with creatives. The prints give the presentation life and dimension while encouraging people to linger over the work. Because of the sheer volume of photos online and the speediness we navigate through them, giving someone a print to hold creates a connection to the work that a digital screen can’t offer. I recently shot a series of projects for Johns Hopkins that were the result of passionately discussing my work over coffee and a stack of prints.

What is your advice for those who are showing what they think the buyers want to see?
A couple of years ago, I met with an art buyer and I brought my freshly printed book full of new work.  She quickly pointed out a few images that honestly did not hold up against the others.  On the train ride back, I thought about those images and why I made them. I made them to cater to what I thought a buyer wanted to see.

The personal connection needs to be present in the work to take on an authentic, original voice that will inspire people to hire you. This is a business only the passionate and driven can survive. You have to believe in what you do… otherwise, what’s the point?

Are you shooting for yourself and creating new work to keep your artistic talent true to you?
Personal projects are the foundation of my work. I’m currently shooting a street portrait series (These City Streets), a portrait series exploring androgyne and I just wrapped up a music video with musician, Al Rogers Jr. I’ve learned more through personal projects than I would through a formal education in photography.  More important, each project is a way to reflect personally and question the way I see the world.

How often are you shooting new work?
I’m shooting new work every week either personal or commissioned.

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Jonathan Hanson is a Baltimore based editorial and advertising photographer. Select clients include Adidas, Bank of America, Animal Planet, Der Spiegel ,Ebony Magazine, Essence, Fortune, Sports Illustrated and The Wall Street Journal.

Music, color and culture inspire much of his work. He credits early street photography for seducing him into being a photographer.

jonathan@jhansonphoto.com
www.jhansonphoto.com
IG: jhansonfoto
FB: facebook.com/jhansonfoto

APE contributor Suzanne Sease currently works as a consultant for photographers and illustrators around the world. She has been involved in the photography and illustration industry since the mid 80s, after founding the art buying department at The Martin Agency then working for Kaplan-Thaler, Capital One, Best Buy and numerous smaller agencies and companies. She has a new Twitter fed with helpful marketing information.  Follow her@SuzanneSease.

The Daily Edit – Stan Evans: Red Bull

Red Bull /Olympic Hopefuls

Creative Directors: Ryan Snyder, Ilana Taub
Photo Editor: Marv Watson
Photography: Stan Evans
Photo Assistants: West Coast: Cory Steffen/ East Coast: Will Crakes
Hair: / MUA/ Laura Fey
Styling: Stan Evans/ Laura Fey

 

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(Grete Eliassen) Grete is the best all around female skier I’ve ever seen but the truth is I’m always excited to bring out her feminine side and show her in another light. 99.9% of the time she’s in a helmet or ski gear but for this moment I got her to wear a dress. Originally she wasn’t quite feeling it (mainly because of the cold) but I said when you see the image that’s in my head, this will be the photo you show your grand kids to remind them how beautiful you were.

Screen shot 2014-09-29 at 5.22.13 PM(Louie Vito)  ​Louie is probable the best athlete I’ve ever shot. He is always early, always cracking jokes, always making people feel at home which was the beauty of this shoot. I got to turn Louie into someone else besides “Mr. Nice Guy”. I love the camera for the simple fact that you can take a person’s persona and flip it on it’s head.

Screen shot 2014-09-29 at 5.22.32 PM(Bobby Brown) I’d never met Bobby before but he was a consummate pro. He cared just as much about the portrait process as the action photos which is rare for an action sports athlete.

Screen shot 2014-09-29 at 5.22.43 PM(Greg Bretz) Greg was pretty much in a media sponsor frenzy when I shot these photos. He looked to be the first lock on the Olympic Halfpipe selection and you could tell he had alot of interviews on his plate. Pretty much the last thing you want to hear as a snowboarder is “some guy from New York” is here to take your photo. That usually equates to “guy in the sky” and missed grabbed photos with poor style. Two things the core audience of snowboarding hates.  I try to stay true to my roots and remember where I came from so I made it quick for Greg and got these shots in 2 takes. I saw Greg at breakfast later that week told him, by the way,  I shot snowboarding for 15+ years and I grew up in Alaska.

Screen shot 2014-09-29 at 5.22.51 PM(Arielle Gold) ​For this shot I literally introduced myself on the side of the halfpipe. “Hi I’m Stan Evans and I’m here to shoot your portrait for Red Bull!”  This was during practice for the final  so I would literally caught her hiking to do another run. I was actually lined up on the wrong wall for her action shot and practice ended so I hustled back up at night time (about 10 degrees) and got the action portion of her then.

Screen shot 2014-09-29 at 5.22.58 PM(Nick Goepper) Sometime in all the seriousness of preparing for the the olympics we forget these are kids. So for Nick’s shoot it was all about fun. It was pretty fun convincing him to do a cartwheel in ski boots and he had the biggest grin when I asked him to backflip with my camera. He asked,  “what happens if i wreck?”  I told him I have insurance…. but don’t wreck. (it’s a canon 5d mark II in his hand that I remote triggered from the ground) If you look closely you can see me bottom left.

Heidi: Had you pitched Red Bull projects previously? Or was this the first open assignment with them?
Stan: Yes, here’s a list of what I had pitched and executed for them:
Grete Eliassen Movie: “Say My Name”
Travis Rice portraits: “That’s it, That’s All”, Mainstream Media ( below )

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Edwin De La Rosa:  BMX Portraits ( below )

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For Travis Rice, “That It, That’s ‘s All”  I shot test samples and had meetings with Travis, Brainfarm Producers and Red Bull, the goal was to shoot for a mainstream audience so it wasn’t as much about his performance on a snowboard as it was building a compelling character.

 

The pitch for Grete’s movie actually took about 8 months. It ended up being a two year project We created a teaser and photos compiled of Grete adventures of what logged the first year and coordinated it with outlets that had already expressed interests in the project and projected views. Grete, Adam Bebout, her regional athlete Manger and I flew down to Red Bull and we pitched in person. They warmed up to it a bit but what took it over the top was the hip jump idea. It was something that differentiated it from other female ski projects and opened the appeal to a larger audience. The general public might not understand skiing but the idea that a woman could fly 30+ feet in the air and create a world record was something a lot of people could be excited about.
Here’s a few pages from the Virulence Report from my office which was for interest in the movie before hand. After Grete’s hip jump/world record the impressions were 33 million the first month by Red Bull’s analytics team.

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What were the directives from the brand?
Red Bull wanted portraits that were compelling to mainstream media but could still live within endemic media. Logo placement is always imperative but I try to blend it subtly. It was nice because action was secondary but I think being able to handle both sides of the spectrum was a large selling point for them.

My guess is you’re also an athlete adventurer. How does that play into your work?
I love the outdoors and being a part of the action but being snowboard photographer started to take it’s toll. I actually was in a car accident on my way to filming a part of Grete’s movie. I chipped off a piece of bone in my kneecap and after 6 knee surgeries I was ready to take a different direction so I started focusing on portraits. If anything I’ve probably toned it down a bit. It lets me see more of the quiet moments between the action and helps humanize people. I still love risky jobs and exploring in that I connect with the subjects because they realize I know what they are going through and as a photographer, I’m trying to make them look their absolute best.
The biggest oxymoron is being on a set in NYC where people act as if something goes wrong someone might die as opposed to being on the side of a mountain in Alaska where someone actually could die.
For example, before Kevin Pearce there was Timmy Ostler. Tim was an amazing snowboarder that I was shooting at Park City. He had a freak fall in the halfpipe, was heli-evaced and consequently paralyzed from the waist down. Those moments change you. I’m not trying to be a downer but those moments make you realize what’s at stake on set or in the studio. I’m so thankful I get to do what I do, and I try to remember that, as well as remind those around me. Positivity and being happy to be there are a huge part of my shoots because in the back of my mind I realize, this can all be taken away in an instant.

What was the biggest hurdle with the assignment?
Weather is always a factor. For the Grand Prix it snowed ton during qualifiers and people could barely get speed for jumps. It made for pretty lackluster action and inopportune for some of the locations I had scouted. I usually try to have a plan B – get creative and adapt. Grete’s location was really the only specific parameter I had to nail. Schedule was probably the other, many of the athletes had overlapping practice or events, other sponsor commitments and competing with television and other media outlets . But sometimes that worked out. I met one of the hosts for NBC and showed him some of the photos of Louie. They ended up using them in a “Road to Sochi” spot so turnaround was quick and I caught a lucky break.

How long did you spend with the athletes in order to capture the non action side of them?
Sometimes 5 – 10 minutes, sometimes days.
I had a hard time tracking down Arielle Gold. I literally saw her at the halfpipe, introduced myself, shot her portrait and action on the spot. For Louie we actually talked quite a bit and he invited me to his home. I was immersed in his training regimen. I ate what he ate. Woke up when he did and would get the gym before him to set up. It made for an amazing experience and it shows in the photos. We ended up having a great spread of photos of everything he did but the edit focused on his physique.
Grete is beautiful woman and was probably the most challenging yet rewarding to shoot. I wanted her to look feminine and have the environment and props tell the story. She really is standing in the woods in 15 degrees with a pair of skis in a dress. That’s amazing trust.
Bobby Brown was probably my favorite though. I had him for about 45 mins. Once he came on set he was invested. He was so curious about the process and how he could help make the shot better. Never looked at his watch, never told me he had places to be. A consummate pro – I was really happy he fought through some injuries and made the Olympic team… I’m a Bobby Brown fan for life.

US Forest Service Wild Land Photo Permit Kerfuffle

If you want to comment on the “Directive for Commercial Filming in Wilderness; Special Uses Administration” that was widely reported to allow charging people $1500 to take photos on federal wild lands you can do so here (deadline extended to Dec. 3):

https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2014/09/04/2014-21093/proposed-directive-for-commercial-filming-in-wilderness-special-uses-administration

I can’t make heads or tails of the directive pasted below but on Friday the Washington Post reported:

After receiving complaints about a proposal to require photographers to have a permit to shoot on federal wild lands, the U.S. Forest Service says it will make some changes to ensure it doesn’t violate First Amendment rights.

And that the news media and private individuals will not be asked to apply for a permit to take pictures.

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Directive for Commercial Filming in Wilderness; Special Uses Administration

This Notice document was issued by the Forest Service (FS)

Action

Notice of proposed directive; request for public comment.

Summary

The Forest Service proposes to incorporate interim directive (ID) 2709.11-2013.1 into Forest Service Handbook (FSH) 2709.11, chapter 40 to make permanent guidance for the evaluation of proposals for still photography and commercial filming on National Forest System Lands. The proposed amendment would address the establishment of consistent national criteria to evaluate requests for special use permits on National Forest System (NFS) lands. Specifically, this policy provides the criteria used to evaluate request for special use permits related to still photography and commercial filming in congressionally designated wilderness areas. Public comment is invited and will be considered in the development of the final directive.

Dates

Comments must be received in writing on or before November 3, 2014 to be assured of consideration.

Addresses

Submit comments electronically by following the instructions at the federal eRulemaking portal at http://www.regulation.gov or submit comments via fax to 703-605-5131 or 703-605-5106. Please identify faxed comments by including “Commercial Filming in Wilderness” on the cover sheet or first page. Comments may also be submitted via mail to Commercial Filming in Wilderness, USDA, Forest Service, Attn: Wilderness & Wild and Scenic Rivers (WWSR), 201 14th Street SW., Mailstop Code: 1124, Washington, DC 20250-1124. Email comments may be sent to: reply_lands@fs.fed.us. If comments are submitted electronically, duplicate comments should not be sent by mail. Hand-delivered comments will not be accepted and receipt of comments cannot be confirmed. Please restrict comments to issues pertinent to the proposed directive, explain the reasons for any recommended changes, and, where possible, reference the specific section and wording being addressed.

All comments, including names and addresses when provided, will be placed in the record and be made available for public inspection and copying. The public may inspect the comments received at the USDA Forest Service Headquarters, Sidney R. Yates Federal Building, 201 14th Street SW., Washington, DC, in the Office of the Director, WWSR, 5th Floor South, during normal business hours. Visitors are encouraged to call ahead to 202-644-4862 to facilitate entry to the building.

For Further Information Contact

Elwood York, WWSR, at 202-649-1727.

Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday.

Supplementary Information

1. Background and Need for the Proposed Directive

The proposed directive is necessary for the Forest Service to issue and administer special use authorizations that will allow the public to use and occupy National Forest System (NFS) lands for still photography and commercial filming in wilderness. The proposed directive FSH 2709.11, chapter 40, is currently issued as the third consecutive interim directive (ID) which is set to expire in October 2014. The previous directive addressed still photography in wilderness and did not provide adequate guidance to review commercial filming in wilderness permit proposals. The notice and comments are collected and used by Forest Service officials, unless otherwise noted, to ensure the use of NFS lands are authorized, in the public interest, and compatible with the Agency’s mission and/or record authorization of use granted by appropriate Forest Service officials.

2. Overview of Proposed Directive, FSH 2709.11, Chapter 40

The Forest Service is requesting public input with respect to Agency policy. Our intent with the issuance of this notice of proposed directive is to consider such input and, as appropriate, incorporate it into future policy. Certain suggestions, whether due to legislative or other limitations, may not be implemented through Agency policy, and we wish for the public to understand that as well.

The current language has been in place for 48 months. This proposal would make permanent guidelines for the acceptance and denial for still photography and commercial filming permits in congressionally designated wilderness areas.

Section 45.1c—Evaluation of Proposals

This proposed section would include criteria in addition to that of still photography to incorporate commercial filming activities. Furthermore, the Agency is proposing to clarify when a special use permit may be issued to authorize the use of NFS lands if the proposed activity, other than noncommercial still photography would be in a congressionally designated wilderness area.

The proposed directive for FSH 2709.11, chapter 40, section 45.1c is as follows:

45.1C—EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS

A special use permit may be issued (when required by sections 45.1a and 45.2a) to authorize the use of National Forest System lands for still photography or commercial filming when the proposed activity:

1. Meets the screening criteria in 36 CFR 251.54(e);

2. Would not cause unacceptable resource damage;

3. Would not unreasonably disrupt the public’s use and enjoyment of the site where the activity would occur;

4. Would not pose a public health and safety risk; and

5. Meets the following additional criteria, if the proposed activity, other than noncommercial still photography (36 CFR 251.51), would be in a congressionally designated wilderness area:

a. Has a primary objective of dissemination of information about the use and enjoyment of wilderness or its ecological, geological, or other features of scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value (16 U.S.C. 1131(a) and (b));

b. Would preserve the wilderness character of the area proposed for use, for example, would leave it untrammeled, natural, and undeveloped and would preserve opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation (16 U.S.C. 1131(a));

c. Is wilderness-dependent, for example, a location within a wilderness area is identified for the proposed activity and there are no suitable locations outside of a wilderness area (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(6));

d. Would not involve use of a motor vehicle, motorboat, or motorized equipment, including landing of aircraft, unless authorized by the enabling legislation for the wilderness area (36 CFR 261.18(a) and (c));

e. Would not involve the use of mechanical transport, such as a hang glider or bicycle, unless authorized by the enabling legislation for the wilderness area (36 CFR 261.18(b));

f. Would not violate any applicable order (36 CFR 261.57); and

g. Would not advertise any product or service (16 U.S.C. 1133(c)).

Continue reading

This Week In Photography Books: Stephen Shore

by Jonathan Blaustein

I was sitting in a Mexican restaurant the other day. My Dad was across the table; we were both a little sketched out. The joint seemed like a front for the mob: dirty, empty, and unintentional.

Dad was buying with a coupon, so I guess I already appear ungrateful. Which might end up as the theme of the column, when all is said and done. (Yes, that is foreshadowing.)

We were waiting for our tacos when the door flew open. Dramatically. In stepped a very large, crew-cut, blue-eyed man dressed like rancher, in jeans and a Western shirt. He was sporting a baseball cap that made reference to Texas. (I couldn’t say beyond that, exactly, as he was moving rather quick.)

Behind him marched a procession of five children and a wife, all wearing homemade long dresses and bright-white bonnets. They looked Amish, or like refugees from a compound in Utah that they featured on “Big Love.” It was a little bit Kubrick, to say the least.

Stranger still, once they got settled, the big man began speaking, very loudly, to two Mexican men, the only other patrons in the place. Fluently. In Mexican-accented Spanish.

I did a triple-take.

Odder-yet-still, within five minutes, he began singing. In Spanish. At the top of his lungs. In the middle of lunch.

What?

I had no frame of reference.

Sometimes, life catches you by surprise, like a leopard pouncing on a lady who’s just out to wash the laundry. There’s no way to prepare.

That’s how I felt when I opened up the new Stephen Shore book, “From Galilee to the Negev,” recently published by Phaidon. Wouldn’t you know, it was the next book on my stack, after last week’s genius Israel offering by Rosalind Fox Solomon.

Stephen Shore, doing Israel, for the “This Place” folks? How lucky was I? How lucky are you?

Awkward silence.
Fingers pausing on the keyboard.
How to proceed?

All right, I’ll just be honest. I found this book less-than-enthralling. Slightly under-dramatic. It’s hard to believe he’s covering the same country as Ms. Solomon. No sooner than I’d written about the tension in the air, the vibe pulsing through everything in its path, than I open up this book.

I know, many of you will consider it blasphemous that I’d even hint at criticizing a master of the medium. A member of the metaphorical Mt Rushmore of 20th Century photography. How dare he, you might think.

I get it. That’s why I chose to review the book, if you call this a review. I’ll let you see some photos and make up your own mind.

Mr. Shore, at his best, managed to squeeze deep pathos into the most meaningless of situations. That’s his hallmark, a level of perception that supersedes mere mortals. Not to mention his subtlety with color, and super-sharp large format negatives.

In this book, there is not a lot of life. (No chutzpah, if you will.)

What happened?

I couldn’t tell you. Which makes it interesting. How does a great artist go to a fascinating place and not make fascinating pictures? How did Baz Lurhmann’s “The Great Gatsby” end up so bad I couldn’t make it 10 minutes into the film?

Not to suggest that this book is bad. It’s not. It just depicts a place entirely more placid than in the books I reviewed by Mr. Brenner and Ms. Solomon.

Am I an ingrate? To expect greatness from a great artist? Are average fish tacos worth it, if you don’t have to pay for them? Did that big Texan break his family out from some Branch-Dividian-esque compound near Waco?

I have no idea.

If I were a betting man, I’d say they were his kids, he does ranch work near the Mexican border, and makes his family dress differently than he does. I’d also bet that Mr. Shore enjoyed making these pictures as much as he did in his stuff from the 70’s.

It’s hard not to see this project as something like the Rolling Stones might make at this stage of their career. They keep touring, and people keep buying tickets to hear “Satisfaction” in person. Their fans are thrilled to get the experience, and consider it money well spent.

Am I being unfair to Mr. Shore, when I compare his book directly with two others that were made in the same place? Or by expecting his work to reach the same heights it did years ago? Are these questions worth asking?

Let’s finish by wishing you a Happy New Year. If you celebrate that sort of thing.

Bottom Line: Confusing book about Israel from a master

To Purchase “From Galilee to the Negev” Visit Photo-Eye

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Books are provided by Photo-Eye in exchange for links back for purchase.

Books are found in the bookstore and submissions are not accepted.

Art Producers Speak: Joseph Puhy

We emailed Art Buyers and Art Producers around the world asking them to submit names of established photographers who were keeping it fresh and up-and-comers who they are keeping their eye on. If you are an Art Buyer/Producer or an Art Director at an agency and want to submit a photographer anonymously for this column email: Suzanne.sease@verizon.net

Anonymous Art Buyer: I nominate Joseph Puhy because he is absolutely darling.

The Duke Boys!! It was a dream come true working with my childhood heroes during this project for Doner and autotrader.com
The Duke Boys!! It was a dream come true working with my childhood heroes during this project for Doner and autotrader.com
While documenting the chaos of running a mud bog on the set of the Animal Planet series, Mud Lovin’ Rednecks, I caught this tender moment between father and son.
While documenting the chaos of running a mud bog on the set of the Animal Planet series, Mud Lovin’ Rednecks, I caught this tender moment between father and son.
A personal project, inspired by one of my favorite dirt bike riding locations, created this late afternoon situation for a great image.
A personal project, inspired by one of my favorite dirt bike riding locations, created this late afternoon situation for a great image.
For Dry Kounty’s look-book shoot, we decided to use actors as models in vignettes to embody the personality of the brand.
For Dry Kounty’s look-book shoot, we decided to use actors as models in vignettes to embody the personality of the brand.
In collaboration with the model, my original concept morphed into this quirky portrait.
In collaboration with the model, my original concept morphed into this quirky portrait.
Using the model from the above (image 5), I highlighted his versatility in relation to our location. I love environmental portraits.
Using the model from the above (image 5), I highlighted his versatility in relation to our location. I love environmental portraits.
Reflective of my personal style, this is one of six ads shot for the Woo Agency and Lenovo.
Reflective of my personal style, this is one of six ads shot for the Woo Agency and Lenovo.
As with the above (image 7), there was an easy rapport with the Art Director for this Lowe CE agency Ghirardelli Chocolate ad.
As with the above (image 7), there was an easy rapport with the Art Director for this Lowe CE agency Ghirardelli Chocolate ad.
Kip Thorne, Theoretical Physicist. Photographed for science magazine, Newton.
Kip Thorne, Theoretical Physicist. Photographed for science magazine, Newton.
Dude. Running. Location. Epic.
Dude. Running. Location. Epic.

How many years have you been in business?
19 years total, including assisting which started in high school, but shooting consistently the last seven years.

Are you self-taught or photography school taught?
I graduated from Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, back in the days of film and Polaroid. I’ve taught myself everything digital since my days in the darkroom.

Who was your greatest influence that inspired you to get into this business?
First off, my father was a Creative Director, so there was endless reference material at home to get lost in; art, photography books, art publications like Zoom and Lurzer’s Archive. Also, he’d take me out on shoots during the summers. Next, it was the photographers I worked for on summer breaks in high school and first years at college. They introduced me to the craft of photography, lens choice, lighting, processing, film stocks, and how it all tied together. There was a real sense of alchemy that I couldn’t figure out but was drawn to. That’s the reason I decided to go to Brooks and learn the technical aspects of photography.

How do you find your inspiration to be so fresh, push the envelope, stay true to yourself so that creative folks are noticing you and hiring you?
It’s a balance that I’m constantly refining. Luckily, now I have a body of work where I can throw a few curve balls into a commercial book. A balance between execution, observation, and subject matter.

Do you find that some creatives love your work but the client holds you back?
Yes, to a certain extent. Not so much when shooting the job, because at that point it’s a collaboration, more in trying to get the job. I’ve found that having great relationships with creatives, buyers and producers has gotten me to the table to bid on some amazing projects but often lose out to a “bigger name photographer” based on the client’s recommendation. In the end it’s their money, and they need to make the decision that’s best for them. I just keep pushing forward to the next opportunity.

What are you doing to get your vision out to the buying audience?
First, I try to meet face-to-face with agencies where I might be a good fit. That can be a difficult process, but I think that when meeting someone in person, they can get a better sense of what I’m about. I participate on many marketing sites, and was recently invited to be a part of At-Edge.

What is your advice for those who are showing what they think the buyers want to see?
You better like it too. You have to show work that you want to produce.

Are you shooting for yourself and creating new work to keep your artistic talent true to you?
Yes, I do personal projects for promos. If there is time on jobs and the situation allows for it I try to do a version for myself.

How often are you shooting new work?
Every month.

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I am a Los Angeles photographer that works with a wide range of clients from commercial to editorial. My style has a natural aesthetic with a cinematic approach. I capture moments of people and things relating to their environment, either in harmony or discord. That relationship tells stories worth sharing.

Website: www.puhy.com
E-mail: Joseph@puhy.com

APE contributor Suzanne Sease currently works as a consultant for photographers and illustrators around the world. She has been involved in the photography and illustration industry since the mid 80s, after founding the art buying department at The Martin Agency then working for Kaplan-Thaler, Capital One, Best Buy and numerous smaller agencies and companies. She has a new Twitter fed with helpful marketing information.  Follow her@SuzanneSease.

The Daily Edit – Gail Bichler : New York Times Magazine Design Director

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The New York Times Magazine

Editor: Jake Silverstein
Deputy Editor: Bill Wasik
Design Director: Gail Bichler
Director of Photography: Kathy Ryan

Photo Editor: Christine Walsh
Deputy Photo Editor: Joanna Milter
Photographer:
Johnny Miller
Stylist: Randi Brookman Harris

Heidi:Once your direction was set to show a package of pills received by mail, what were the next steps in the creative process and what was your time frame?
Gail: The next steps were deciding how we wanted to the package to look, thinking about what type of image would best convey our message and then figuring out the best person to shoot that kind of image. We were on a pretty tight time frame, as we usually are since the magazine is weekly. We had about five days to pull the shoot together.

 

 

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Was it this body of work (My Parents Love Letters ) by Johnny Miller that convinced the team he was right for the project? Were there any other considerations and made you choose him? See the full gallery  here
Yes, this was the body of work that made us think of him. We wanted the image to feel very natural and dimensional – to walk the line of being a conceptual image but with the feel of something real. Our photo department had been looking for an opportunity to work with Johnny, and Christine Walsh (the photo editor on the project) and I thought he would be great for this because his work is clean and graphic but still personal.

I loved the small tear in the cover where the bottle is, what other details were taken into consideration to make this image come alive?
A simple image like this is all about the details, so we paid a lot of attention to them. We hired stylist Randi Brookman Harris, with whom we’ve collaborated quite a bit. She sourced a number of different kinds of envelopes and adjusted them to fit the proportions of the cover. We also designed cancellation and metered postage stamps from India (the point of origin for the packages mentioned in the story) and Randi commissioned rubber stamps of them to be applied to the envelopes. We estimated how much a package like this would weigh and accounted for that when fabricating the metered stamp. Randi applied both stamps to the modified envelopes somewhat haphazardly to approximate the way they would appear if they had actually gone through the postal service, and she applied unequal pressure so the ink would vary in density. We placed a square box in the package to give the impression of the volume of the pillbox and began shooting. As the shoot progressed, we also tried versions where we beat up the envelope more, adding wrinkles and smearing the stamps to give the impression that the envelope had been through the mail.

I know from working at news organization there’s prestige and a social responsibility that comes with designing news journalism. How has your role as the Art Director shaped you personally?
There is definitely a social responsibility aspect to working for The New York Times. While there is always a craft and attention to aesthetics that is part of what art directors do, there are also many other considerations when designing news. Under the best circumstances the most eye-catching design is tonally on target, the most arresting photographs correspond with the narrative of the piece, and the most graphic concept for a cover accurately captures the main point of the story, but in cases where that doesn’t happen, conveying the intent and message of the writing sometimes wins out over the aesthetic considerations. I have learned to look past my own viewpoints on the subjects we cover and see the story from varying angles. And in some cases, it’s necessary for me to temper my own goals for the visuals of a piece with what is right for the magazine and the brand of The New York Times. My view of visual story telling and journalism has become much more nuanced.

While I was at The Los Angeles Times Magazine I remembered having moments of being semi paralyzed and in awe of the amount of news being produced on a daily basis. How does the volume of news and your acute awareness effect you as a mother?
The amount of news being generated a daily basis is absolutely dizzying. Particularly in this moment when digital access means that our choices of where to get information have multiplied exponentially. As a mother, I sometimes worry about the easy accessibility of news that is increasingly more violent and graphic. I want to protect my 5-year-old son’s innocence while I can, so I make efforts not to watch or listen to the news around him, because the coverage can quickly shift from a benign topic to something that could be scary for a little person. 

However, I’ve also seen the upsides to the kind of instant access to news and information that we now have. It’s great to be able to satisfy a curious mind not only with a verbal explanation, but also with images. Particularly for a very visual learner like my son. That has never been as easy to do as it is now. As with everything, we take the good with the bad.

Brands will define pro photography for the next decade

From Paul Melcher’s blog “Thoughts of a Bohemian”

since editorial photography’s dominance in our cultural landscape diminished, the advertising world had to look elsewhere for inspiration. No longer can they count on their magazines to give them a hint on what type of photography is successful. Instead, they turned to the new trend indicator : Social media.

It will not be surprising, it is happening already, to see editorial photography influenced by brand photography. In an effort to keep pace with current trends, online and print publications are more and more looking into what works for brands and applying it to their spreads.

For now, we still live in a world slightly dominated by editorial photography, only because of cultural habits. But deeper, the evolution has already happened and is progressing with patient obstination.

Read The Article Here: Brands will define pro photography for the next decade. – Thoughts of a Bohemian.

This Week In Photography Books: Rosalind Fox Solomon

by Jonathan Blaustein

I know a photographer who won’t tell people he/she is Jewish. It’s a secret. He/she worries for his/her safety, if the information ever got out.

I still remember the fantasy of Barack Obama’s inaugural days as President, when people spoke of a post-racial society. It would be funny, if it weren’t so sad. How ridiculous that idea seems, in retrospect.

There is, and has always been, the other. People who don’t look like you, talk like you, or copulate like you. People who worship a deity with a different name.

Them.

They’re not like us.

Me, I admit I’m Jewish in this column all the time. Why? It feels a touch defiant, as my people are disliked by many. Growing up, in the 70’s and 80’s, I still felt like I ought to keep my identity on the downlow. And this was in the orbit of New York City, no less.

I suppose I revel in the rebellion of claiming membership in a controversial tribe. “The Tribe,” as we often call ourselves. If it ever comes back to bite me, this freedom of identification, I suppose you can say “I told you so.”

As I mentioned some time back, I visited Israel when I was young, but have yet to return. I’m hoping the opportunity presents itself, but I guess we’ll have to see. It’s a country that is claimed by many, and owned by few. A more tortured history, you’re unlikely to find. (Insert random suffering reference here.)

The Jews were expelled for daring to stand up to the Romans. A diaspora of millions, created with the stroke of a pen. (Or a quill? What would those Romans have written with, I wonder?)

Regardless, the Palestinians were kind-of-ejected as well, and they’d like to get it back. The Christians, too, feel a deep connection, as it was the birthplace of the Jewish man Jesus, a messiah to some.

Regardless of which side you root for, it’s not a stretch to say the tension is carried through the air, there, like heat waves rising off of pale cobblestones. The wounds might never heal. Or perhaps they will? Who am I to speculate?

But that tension, that crippling feeling in your stomach, pulsates through “Them,” a new book by Rosalind Fox Solomon, recently published by MACK.

This book is one of the series commissioned by the project “This Place,” which invited major artists to Israel to poke around. A month or so ago, I reviewed an excellent book by Frederic Brenner, from the same series, and I might do more still, if the quality is this good going forward.

Open it up, and the first page shows a tourist holding a map of Israel, talking to two African women. It sets the scene, in a subtle way. Then, three words on otherwise blank pages: the holy longing. Afterwards, a photograph of a sere, desolate desert. It’s safe to guess we’re in the Holy Land. (At least, I did.)

I wasn’t aware, when I first perused, that this book was a part of “This Place.” I was curious what motivated the production. I hate to repeat words, but it’s just so cripplingly tense. It made me physically uncomfortable, turning the pages.

So much passion. Anger. Dismay. Banality. Drama.

There are text breaks on blank pages throughout, and they might crack through your veneer of world-weariness:

“you don’t understand”
“i want my kids to live in peace”
“god is here for everyone”
“security will be suspicious”
“i love you i love you i love you”
“take care of your mother/ i’ll call you tomorrow.”

Needless to say, those lines could have been uttered by anyone wrapped up in the conflict. They’re universal, which is part of the book’s message, I suppose. When so many have been done wrong, over so long, who can claim a superiority of suffering?

I almost skipped to the end of this book, several times, just to break the spell. I wanted it to be over, the unpleasant perceptiveness. I wanted to feel safe again, in my own house, with asshole neighbors, yes, but not ones who wanted to kill me.

I resisted. The urge, that is. It’s my job to look at these books and report to you, so I stayed strong and went one page at a time. Like a good boy.

It’s rare that I pick up a book and have it affect me this palpably. It’s experiential, this one, so much so that I haven’t really mentioned the successful use of black and white, or the square frame. So many of these pictures appear as if they could have been made 10, 20, 30, or 40 years ago. They feel timeless and fresh at the same time.

Despite the fact that the end credits name-drop some heavy hitters in the art world, and that the invited artists were all meant to be “prominent,” I’d never heard of Ms. Solomon before.

Too bad for me.

She is clearly an insightful, creative, and powerful artist, near the top of her craft. For as many books as I see, for one to crack me over the skull like this is worth mentioning again. You might consider buying this one.

It’s special.

Bottom Line: Masterful depiction of every-day life in a perpetual conflict zone

To Purchase “Them” Visit Photo-Eye

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Books are provided by Photo-Eye in exchange for links back for purchase.

Books are found in the bookstore and submissions are not accepted.

Art Producers Speak: Patrick Fraser

We emailed Art Buyers and Art Producers around the world asking them to submit names of established photographers who were keeping it fresh and up-and-comers who they are keeping their eye on. If you are an Art Buyer/Producer or an Art Director at an agency and want to submit a photographer anonymously for this column email: Suzanne.sease@verizon.net

Anonymous Art Buyer: I nominate Patrick Fraser. I worked with him on extremely complicated projects and he always over delivered. Understanding vision of agency creative, suggesting solution for unusual concepts, delivering beautiful photography and always under budget. What else can an art buyer want from the photographer.

Carla Korbes is a principal dancer with the Pacific Northwest Ballet.  I wanted to photograph her in a raw setting with very simple styling so I picked Long Beach WA in the early morning wearing this very simple black leotard.
Carla Korbes is a principal dancer with the Pacific Northwest Ballet.  I wanted to photograph her in a raw setting with very simple styling so I picked Long Beach WA in the early morning wearing this very simple black leotard.
Here is an example of my magazine portrait work.  Don Cheadle and Chloe Sevigny photographed for two different magazine features. The magazine ended up using color images for the features but I like to offer up some black and white.  For Don I used a 4x5 with BW film.  Chloe pictured in the window of a studio in New York was also taken with a roll of grainy BW medium format film.
Here is an example of my magazine portrait work.  Don Cheadle and Chloe Sevigny photographed for two different magazine features. The magazine ended up using color images for the features but I like to offer up some black and white.  For Don I used a 4×5 with BW film.  Chloe pictured in the window of a studio in New York was also taken with a roll of grainy BW medium format film.
My friends daughter Jane was taken with a disposable underwater camera.  Everything is working for me, her hair, the colors, the grainy real quality and her gaze.
My friends daughter Jane was taken with a disposable underwater camera.  Everything is working for me, her hair, the colors, the grainy real quality and her gaze.
I was walking the streets of Paris when I spotted these boys playing Rugby.  I walked up to them with my Leica M6 and started to shoot and they did'nt mind at all they just kept on playing.  I love the faces here and all that muddy skin. 
I was walking the streets of Paris when I spotted these boys playing Rugby.  I walked up to them with my Leica M6 and started to shoot and they did’nt mind at all they just kept on playing.  I love the faces here and all that muddy skin. 
I shot this lookbook all at night in Silver Lake CA.  The story was called Into the Night.
I shot this lookbook all at night in Silver Lake CA.  The story was called Into the Night.
One of those real moments caught between a friend Ceara and her dog.
One of those real moments caught between a friend Ceara and her dog.
This was taken for an editorial men's fashion story about night surfers in San Diego.  The art director wanted it as real as possible. I started the shoot by getting on my wetsuit and shooting the guys in the water with a flash. Shooting surfing at night is a challenge but the images came out great!
This was taken for an editorial men’s fashion story about night surfers in San Diego.  The art director wanted it as real as possible. I started the shoot by getting on my wetsuit and shooting the guys in the water with a flash. Shooting surfing at night is a challenge but the images came out great!
I love the spontaneous energy in this shot of two actors from TV show Nashville.  It shows my studio work and was photographed for Nylon Magazine's TV special issue.
I love the spontaneous energy in this shot of two actors from TV show Nashville.  It shows my studio work and was photographed for Nylon Magazine’s TV special issue.
This is a still from a music video I directed with musician Marissa Nadler.  I chose Lake Erie in Ohio for the location as a cold frozen lake spoke to me in her song Rosary.  I love this location and luckily it was the middle of winter so the lake was frozen which ads to the drama.
This is a still from a music video I directed with musician Marissa Nadler.  I chose Lake Erie in Ohio for the location as a cold frozen lake spoke to me in her song Rosary.  I love this location and luckily it was the middle of winter so the lake was frozen which ads to the drama.
This is one of the shots I took at Vail International Dance Festival in August 2014. It pictures Tiler Peck and Robbie Fairchild of New York City Ballet doing a pose from the Jerome Robbins ballet  "Afternoon of a Faun".  I love to shoot dancers as they know how to move.
This is one of the shots I took at Vail International Dance Festival in August 2014. It pictures Tiler Peck and Robbie Fairchild of New York City Ballet doing a pose from the Jerome Robbins ballet  “Afternoon of a Faun”.  I love to shoot dancers as they know how to move.
One of my all time favorite editorial shoots here with David Lynch.  I arrived at his home and his assistant told me he was in his art studio.  I carefully asked her if there was any way I could go up there and take pictures of him working.   She asked him and he agreed.  It really felt personal, like taking a look into an artists private space.  The result is I have a wonderful series of him working on his fine art.  
One of my all time favorite editorial shoots here with David Lynch.  I arrived at his home and his assistant told me he was in his art studio.  I carefully asked her if there was any way I could go up there and take pictures of him working.  
She asked him and he agreed.  It really felt personal, like taking a look into an artists private space.  The result is I have a wonderful series of him working on his fine art.  

How many years have you been in business?
My first magazine assignment was 16 years ago.

Are you self-taught or photography school taught?
I didn’t go to photography school I actually studied fine art majoring in painting at University in England. Before that I took a foundation course in art & design in my hometown, which had a few photo classes. My father was a documentary filmmaker and gave me my first SLR at age 8. He taught me a lot about photography and showed me how to do black & white printing in the darkroom we had at our home.

Who was your greatest influence that inspired you to get into this business?
I used to collect photography monographs from a really young age and pore over new issues of The Face and Arena magazines as a teen. If it came down to one photographer I’d have to say Avedon. What inspired me about his work was his range of subject matter. He mixed fashion and celebrity in the studio with everyday American workers outdoors in the American West series.

How do you find your inspiration to be so fresh, push the envelope, stay true to yourself so that creative folks are noticing you and hiring you?
I’m always shooting editorial which keeps me on my toes and keeps a constant feed of new work rolling in. Editorial gives me the creative freedom to experiment whilst collaborating with a photo editor or art director. I like how it sharpens my problem solving skills, which can be invaluable on advertising shoots. Editorial is a good way to experiment with new lighting set ups and keep visually exploring. It’s also a good way to keep your name out there.

Do you find that some creatives love your work but the client holds you back?
I’ve been lucky, as I can’t say I have had that experience. Once I have been selected for a project I like to keep up a level of communication, which makes it hard for this to happen. If the communication is clear from the word go and the collaborators are all working well together then the client is usually more than happy with the results.

What are you doing to get your vision out to the buying audience?
You never can market yourself enough and I should be more aggressive in this department. My marketing plan is multi layered and consists of personal printed pieces, e-mails, alongside my editorial credits. My agent also sends out marketing and they do showings of my portfolio.

I was skeptical at first of social networking for marketing and promo, I felt like it weakened the work. Now I have started to post more images that I love and behind the scenes shots on Instagram and have begun to use it more, like an online portfolio. I feel like Instagram is the best social network tool for photographers and a good way to get one’s work in front of creative minded people. You can see my posts @patchypics

What is your advice for those who are showing what they think the buyers want to see?
Photography trends come in waves. You’ll see a photographer being used all over for a couple of years, their style of shooting might start to get copied and then the market for that imagery gets saturated. One must always stay true to one’s own vision and continue to grow and evolve. Shoot what comes naturally to you. Following trends is the kiss of death.

Are you shooting for yourself and creating new work to keep your artistic talent true to you?
Yes always. I’m always out there shooting a test, making a film or thrashing out an idea I had driving or even in my sleep! Just this past week I was up in Vail at a dance festival for a few days and then I started asking the dancers if they had some spare time for a session. I came back with some really strong new images and that started an idea for a new series for me.

How often are you shooting new work?
I have a constant flow of new work. I get excited when there is a gap in commercial or magazine assignments where I can just go off and make images for myself both stills and motion. That is the time to explore what you love and usually that’s when you come back with strong images which were self motivated.

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10 FACTS ABOUT PATRICK
1) When he was 18 he rode an Enfield 350 Bullet Motorbike around Northern India.
2) He is renovating a 1948 Homesteader cabin in Joshua Tree, CA.

3) Is reading The 100-Year-Old Man who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared

4) Made his first piece of furniture in 2012, a bench for his garden

5) Is restoring a 1973 Alfa Romeo GTV

6) Loves to sketch

7) He is big on roasting and using the BBQ for slow cooking

8) Rents a production office near Abbott Kinney in Venice, CA

9) 2014 completed a documentary about the art of Taxidermy called Skin Movers

10) He Plays the French horn

APE contributor Suzanne Sease currently works as a consultant for photographers and illustrators around the world. She has been involved in the photography and illustration industry since the mid 80s, after founding the art buying department at The Martin Agency then working for Kaplan-Thaler, Capital One, Best Buy and numerous smaller agencies and companies. She has a new Twitter fed with helpful marketing information.  Follow her@SuzanneSease.

21st Century Book Deal Hustle

Every era gets the catch phrase it deserves. Just think about “Where’s the beef?” Remember that cranky old lady on the Wendy’s commercials? Of course you do. That it happened during the 80’s, when actors like Stallone and Schwarzenegger were beef-caking up the movie theaters?

Not a coincidence.

By now, you know my own catchphrase like you know the pixel count on your new iPhone. I always talk about the 21st Century Hustle. Hustle this, hustle that. I might as well be Huggy Bear strutting down the street in Starsky and Hutch, for all I talk about hustling.

What does it look like in real life though? I could tell you about how many different jobs I do in a given day, or a given week. But that would sound like complaining. Which I don’t want to do.

It just so happens that I bumped into the perfect embodiment of the 21st Century Hustle a couple of weeks ago, in Santa Fe. I was standing there, minding my own business, when WHAM, a hustler’s moment cracked me in the head like a steroidal cop’s blackjack.

I was at an after-party for a friend’s art opening. I’d already done 5 errands in 2 hours, including a futile search for a hoodie at Target. So I was pretty burnt, by evenings end.

There I was, loading up my plate full of vegetarian goodies, getting ready to drink up a half a margarita. (I had a 2 hour drive home afterwards, so no Tequila buzz for me.) I looked up, and who did I see but Jamey Stillings, the unofficial mayor of the Santa Fe photo scene, and Brad Wilson, whose excellent photo book I’d just reviewed the week before.

Not such huge coincidence, as it’s a small town, but still. I was there, they were there, so we started talking. I’d met Brad briefly at Review Santa Fe in 2009, but not seen him since. I’ve bumped into Jamey 50 times since then, but we rarely chat at length.

Here was our moment.

Brad began telling us what it was like to go viral, and have his work everywhere, as it is now. Jamey and I had each had similar experiences, so we offered up our own coping strategies.

We kept talking. That’s what you do at parties.

But then, ten minutes or so into the chat, the guys both started talking about how they got their most recent book deals. And neither of them had to put up any money for the production. They were giving me serious details. Inside information.

BAM.

My brain switched into journalist mode quicker than Obama would punch Vlad Putin flush in the face, if given the opportunity. It happened so quickly, I wasn’t even aware of it at first. But it wasn’t on the record…we were just chatting. The 21st Century Hustle says you don’t care. You go for the story. Period. (Everyone’s got to get paid.)

So I asked a bunch of more specific questions, and at the end, right before I had to head to my car, I asked the guys if we could consider the chat on the record. Could I write it up, so that you, the audience, could get the benefit of their accrued wisdom?

Classy guys, they both said yes.

Here we go.

Jamey had his first book published by Nazraeli Press a few years ago. They did a great job, and Jamey didn’t have to put in any of his own funds. How did it come about?

Turns out, Jamey first met Chris Pichler, the publisher, at Photo LA a while back. He was encouraged to go hand him a MagCloud booklet of his popular project, “The Bridge at Hoover Dam,” in which he had documented the creation of a major American infrastructure project.

Jamey didn’t want to hand it off like that, as it seemed too forward, but he was strongly encouraged to do it. Unsurprisingly, Mr. Pichler told Jamey he had never, ever published a book from someone who approached him randomly like that. Jamey, who is typically very diplomatic, made a rare faux pas and said something rude in return.

Bridge burned, he assumed. (Pun intended.)

Fast forward a couple of years, and he had a portfolio review with Mr. Pichler in Palm Springs early in the morning of the last review day. Luckily, the first meeting, brief as it was, had been forgotten. Jamey put Mr. Pichler at ease by saying that he knew he chose his books based upon a personalized set of criteria, so he was not looking to be published. Just wanted some feedback.

If you don’t know, letting people know you don’t want something from them is a great way to chill them out. It worked here, and Mr. Pichler offered to publish the project in short order. They also worked out an agreement where the funding Jamey sought and received from the Bridge’s chief engineering firm was used to create a special edition of the book for the company. They got to give out the “special edition” books as gifts. (The win-win is such a feature of the 21st C, I’ve found.)

When it came time for his second book, a series about the massive Ivanpah solar field in California, Jamey first approached Nazraeli Press about its interest. Though now good friends, Chris Pichler took a pass on the new project. Jamey also pitched another publisher he respected, but they also passed. (Which was fortunate, as they’re known for requiring photographers to spend a very large sum to get a book published.)

He did receive interest from another relatively new publisher, but the deal would also have necessitated significant funding. This seemed counter-intuitive to Jamey, based on his initial book publishing experience, and his belief in the new body of work.

Jamey felt he could do better.

He decided to give it a shot with Steidl, the gold standard of the photo book publishing world. As it transpired at the party, Brad knew the ending of this story, but I didn’t. So I got to express my surprise in real time.

Jamey hired a very reputable book designer to help him make a BLAD, an industry term for a mockup. Once done, they made a digital version as well. Jamey then set up a series of digital download incarnations, including Dropbox and WeTransfer. He was meticulous, he told me, and made sure it was absolutely perfect.

Then, having invested time and money into the potential book, he emailed it directly to Gerhard Steidl. How did he get the email address, I asked? It’s right on the website, apparently.

Jamey got an automated response the next day saying that they don’t accept digital submissions, so could he please submit a traditional paper version. But the next day, he got notification that the digital submission had been downloaded by Mr. Steidl. (Thank god for notifications, I suppose, which are normally annoying as hell.)

An hour later, he got an email saying that they wanted to publish the book. WTF? I bet he hollered louder than a drunk Texan skiing fresh powder, when he read that note.

Now, before I paint a picture that the book is free, so he’s the big winner of 2014, hold tight. Jamey told me he books helicopter time in massive amounts to get the aerial photos he seeks. He is a successful commercial photographer, but still, that shit costs money. So he invested in the work itself, and then in the preparations for a book, in order to get the end result he wanted.

“It takes money to make money” is a tenet of business for a reason.

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Brad’s story is similar. He spent a bunch of his own resources hiring animal trainers, and traveling the country, as I speculated in the book review a few weeks ago. It was money he earned in his day job as a commercial photographer, but he chose to reinvest it in his art. This was a project he had to make, and it took three years.

At some point, a gallery in London had heard of his work, and bookmarked his website. They were negotiating with another fine-art animal photographer for gallery representation, but the deal fell through. They happened to go back to Brad’s website, saw that he had the new “Affinity” project up, and they offered him a contract and subsequent exhibition forthwith.

Brad decided to go all in, and made the prints 40×60, framed in museum glass, for the London exhibition. The cost was steep. But the show was a big hit, and the gallery hired a PR firm to get the word out. Brad specifically asked them to target book publishers, as he was hoping to make a book out of the project. And he knew he was putting his best foot forward.

Sure enough, a representative from Prestel came to the show, was smitten, and offered Brad a book deal. Like Steidl, they don’t ask the artist for any contributions. And they even gave Brad an advance. Very unlike the stories we’ve been warning you about, where less reputable publishers will take your $30,000-$50,000, as long as you have it.

Image from the Affinity series

Image from the Affinity series

Image from the Affinity series

Image from the Affinity series

Image from the Affinity series

Each artist stressed to me that they felt like this happened to them because they’d been working towards it for a long time. Separately, they each spoke of talent alone as an over-rated concept. You have to buckle down and be patient, if you’re going to get anything achieved.

They both put themselves in a position for good things to happen, they said, rather than feeling like they got lucky.

Each project was done out of passion and necessity. They invested their resources in themselves, because they believed if they were interested in the stories they were telling, others might be too. They had faith in themselves, but also told me they weren’t worried about outcomes while they were making the work.

Both guys were making photographic projects based upon major changes being wrought during the early stages of the 21st C. (Disappearing wildlife, emerging alternative technology.) They both found that things worked out in the end. (What? I’m American. I like happy endings.)

The moral here, though, is that nobody gets off for free. I accept that. When we make art, we invest time, money, psychic energy, and sometimes more than that. There are no guarantees.

Brad and Jamey both echoed each other, with respect to their attention to detail, serious preparation for when the moment was right, and a willingness to bet on themselves. I think we can all learn from that.

Don’t you?

Portfolio Events May Not Be Worth It For Established Photographers

What advice would you give to established photographers who are “on the fence” about attending a networking event?

To be honest, I’m not sure it’s worth it for established photographers who have a presence in NY already.  It’s expensive and it’s probably more worth their while to put that money towards promos or testing.  I would, however, suggest it for photographers who are trying to break into the scene and meet reps and art buyers.

via Notes From A Rep's Journal.