o elogio da sombra

Kevin Gray is a photographer, whose photographs are an heritage of the work of the color pioneers like William Eggleston. Not that i found Gray’s work to be a mere update of what was been done before but more like he picked up where the others left. An american way of life exudes from his portraits and can be felt in those photographs, for me his works shows the american way of life but not the glamorous LA kind of life that we see on the telly but the true, normal, day to day life.
His landscapes, photographed all over the world, avoid the postcard look and feel, Venice is portrayed from a rooftop, loosing the mystic from the view of the canals that have been photographed ad nauseum by hundreds of photographers and tourists. Sometimes it pays to work hard to get the right photograph, the one no one has never imagined and that shows up in his photographs. So let’s ear what he has to say:

How do you started taking photographs and why?

I went to film school at The University of California at Santa Barbara from 1991-1994 and some of our assignments were to create narratives with still photos. A lot of our exams were written essays on cartoon strips or comic books so I learned the still image tells a lot. Movies and cinematographers were my early influences.

In your opinion, what makes a good photo?

I think the main elements that make up a good photo are design/composition, expression of the subject, and light. Composition is probably the first thing I pay attention to. I like to figure out what motivated the photographer to place the camera in it’s position. In the case of portraiture, the subject’s expression explains what motivated the photographer to push the button. Light dictates where the viewer’s eye starts and ends when looking at the photo. All photographers use these elements differently but if their picture shows a moment of reality or expression, then they have taken a good photo.

What makes you want to capture a photo? What you must see in a subject to make you release the shutter?

I try to find interesting people to photograph. I don’t just mean interesting looking, I mean interesting personalities. These are the people that will give you something worth capturing. They will give you the moment and the reason to push the button. I also enjoy shooting landscapes. I am not really sure what makes me decide weather or not a scene is worth shooting other than I just think it is beautiful. This is a hard question…

Do you have a routine to take the photos for your projects or you just let it happen and see where it takes you?

I think I let it happen and see where it takes me. Travel is a major source for inspiration and it is all about letting it take you. MOST PHOTOGRAPHERS LACK ANY KIND OF ROUTINE IN THEIR DAILY LIVES……

At the end of a shooting session how do you choose the photos that are worth to show in your portfolio?

I try and let as much time as possible go by after a shoot before I do an edit. This is sometimes impossible but for portfolio selection, I think it is important to separate myself from the experience for a period of time. This allows me to look at individual images instead of the whole shoot.

Name a few photographers that inspired you and your work and why they inspired you.

Stephen Shore: His book Uncommon Places is one of my favorites. This book inspired me to start photographing American cars in different environments.
David Tsay: I assisted David for approximately 3 years. I learned a lot about photography and life from him. He primarily uses natural light and can decide where to place the camera and how to run the film based on the quality of light. A lot of photographers think it is important to know how to use additional lighting in order to achieve a great photo. David’s work proves this to not be true. His instructors told him to go out of the studio and in the sun and take some pictures. He basically told me the same thing.
Glen Friedman: I love the attitude that comes through his photos.
Robert Frank: His book The Americans shows the moments of reality that I spoke of in the first question.
Taryn Simon: She takes some of the best portraits and has had some very powerful work published. Look at her book The Innocents.
Gregg Toland: Cinematographer used long depth of field with very long takes.
Jordan Cronenweth: Blade Runner was my favorite film in school.

How digital technology changed the way we look at photography as art?

I love my new scanner. It allows me to easily go back and look at old contact sheets, print at home and see things that I would not have seen otherwise. As much as I resist, it is important to embrace technology and keep learning. I think the photographers that subscribe to the purist school of thought will go exclusively large format just to further separate themselves from the digital photographers. I think I will continue to shoot with film as long as I can. I love my old cameras and the way digital technology is going, I don’t see it necessary to buy digital cameras. RENT THEM.

© Port of LA – Kevin Gray.

Kevin Gray website.

I discovered Steph Parke’s work in the Light leaks and i later found out that she was the supervisor editor of the magazine. For those who, like me, grew with Holgas and film, Light leaks is a treat: great works, wonderful photographers and it’s the living proof of the old concept that the camera doesn’t matter, it’s the eyes of the photographers that make the difference. So what she have to say? Well, you have to read for yourself.
Her work is delicate and has a kind of vintage look, maybe is the Holga’s and Diana’s she uses, but maybe it’s that 6th sense that women have, who knows for sure?

How do you started taking photographs and why?

The first photograph I ever took was when I was probably three years old. When my parents weren’t looking, I grabbed the Polaroid Land Camera, snapped a photo and ended up with a blurry, close-up photo of my eye, which we still have in the family album.
Throughout childhood and my teenage years, I always had a camera with me for fun snapshots of my family and friends, but it wasn’t until about five years ago in college that I really became interested in photography. It was at this same time that I stopped taking “people pictures” and started focusing on nature. In the last couple of years, I’ve become obsessed with toy cameras and prefer using my Holgas and Dianas over any other camera.
I don’t have any wise words to explain why I take photographs. I just do it for the same reasons I did when I was a kid: it’s fun and I enjoy it.

In your opinion, what makes a good photo?

A good photo arbitrarily has a pleasing composition, lovely tones or colors, nice light, etc, and those things are all important, but for me, a good photo is one that stirs emotion and memory. A photograph is nothing unless it makes the viewer think and feel.

What makes you want to capture a photo? What you must see in a subject to make you release the shutter?

Anytime I’m on vacation or on a nice hike or kayaking outing, I want to take pictures. I want to remember things exactly as I saw them, and with photography, I’m able to do that. I’m always on the lookout for the right light, or interesting line, shape and form, but mostly, I’m collecting memories.

Do you have a routine to take the photos for your projects or you just let it happen and see where it takes you?

For one project, I was very deliberate and routine. I shot a series called Local Color, in my hometown. I used the same Holga camera, the same type of film and shot at the same time of day and only when the sky was overcast. It took me several months to complete the project, but because I took great care in all the little technicalities, it’s uniform and looks as if I could have shot it all in one day. Local Color can be seen on FILE Magazine.
Normally, however, when I go out shooting, I take a variety of cameras and film with me, and shoot whatever strikes my fancy. I have the same general theme in my mind, and that’s nature, landscapes, water, trees, etc, but the last time I went out, I took photos of graffiti and old trains for a couple of hours. It was nice to have a change of pace.

At the end of a shooting session how do you choose the photos that are worth to show in your portfolio?

I’m really tough on myself as far as editing my work goes. When I shoot a new roll, I usually scan all of it, but if something stands out to me, I’ll print it and hang it up for a couple of weeks before I do anything else with it. If I get used to it being there and don’t get any bad vibes from it, it goes in the portfolio (and my portfolio is currently my website).

Name a few photographers that inspired you and your work and why they inspired you.

Right now, I’m inspired by all the photographers who submit to Light Leaks Magazine. As the Supervising Editor, one of my responsibilities is to review portfolios/websites and determine if the work I see would be a good fit for an Artist Showcase in our magazine. I am inspired by so much of what I see, artistically, and it’s silly, but for me, someone who is a bit of a hermit and rather shy about showing my own work, it’s inspiring to me to see how brave people are to just say “Here I am. Here’s my photography. Showcase me.” It’s taught me a lot about showing my own work. I’ve been able to put myself out there a little more and if people like what they see, great! If not, oh well.
I’m also constantly inspired by the kind people on toycamera.com and filmwasters.com. They’re all photographers who aren’t afraid to try new things and who have fun doing it.

How has digital technology changed the way we look at photography as art?

Art is in the eye of the beholder, and for me, I’m not a big fan of digitized art. I like straight-up photography, where I know that a particular landscape or person actually exists. With digital technology, we now have to question everything: “Does that really exist?” “Was that rock, flower, person, shadow, etc really there?” Early photographers documented the truth, and that’s the romantic ideal that I first fell in love with. I think of William Henry Jackson, who was the first photographer to capture the wild and otherworldly beauty of Yellowstone National Park. Although nearly no one had ever seen the place, they knew what Jackson captured was real because that was the aesthetic of photography in the late 1800s. If it was in a photograph, it really existed. That’s what I love about photography, and in my opinion, digital technology isn’t doing much to keep reality and truthfulness alive in photographic art.

© West Desert – Steph Parke.

Links:
Steph Parke website
Light leaks magazine
Toy camera
Film wasters
“Local color” on File magazine

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Descobri o trabalho da Steph Parke na Light leaks e posteriormente verifiquei que era editora da revista. Para aqueles, como eu, que cresceram com as Holgas e o filme, a Light leaks é um rebuçado: grandes trabalhos em exposição, bons fotógrafos, inovação e a revista é a prova concreta da velha máxima da fotografia: a câmara não interessa, são os olhos do fotógrafo que fazem a diferença. O que diz Steph Parke? Bem, o melhor é lerem.
Steph Parke tem um trabalho de uma delicadeza extraordinária, muito próprio e com uma visão característica sua, que escapa aos grandes clichés da paisagem e natureza como geralmente nos é apresentada pelos fotógrafos desta especialidade. O uso de máquinas que habitualmente estamos habituados a ver ‘ligadas’ a uma estética mais urbana e contemporânea, como é o caso dos meus entrevistados Susan Bowen e bricologe.108, é uma das características que sobressai do seu trabalho. Será também uma visão muito feminina, que partilha com Teresa Sá (outra das minhas entrevistadas), que a distingue.
Continue reading ‘Interview with Steph Parke.’

Brendan Hoffman is a young photographer (he was born in 1980) and his photographs have appeared in the New York Times, Newsweek, Salon, and JPG Magazine, among others. He has been awarded with a grant from the Yellow Fox Foundation. Let’s read what he has to say about photography and photo journalism:

How do you started taking photographs and why?

Well, I’ve always had an artistic side, and in high school I took a photography class and ended up loving it. I was never great at drawing or painting, so photography made sense as something that relies less on physical talents. After high school, I actually stopped taking pictures for a few years, mainly because my university didn’t offer photography classes. When I got my first point-and-shoot digital camera in 2001, I fell in love with photography all over again, and it fit really well with my burgeoning interest in world events and social issues. Photojournalism was a way for me to use my inclination toward visual thinking to talk about things that mattered to me but in a much more accessible way than entering the art world.

In your opinion, what makes a good photo?

I always find that the most successful photos offer something unexpected, meaning that you have to “read” the picture in a way that makes it unfold like a narrative, and there’s kind of a climax or punch line to it that doesn’t come out at first glance. Personally, when I find a picture like that, the experience of viewing the picture makes me feel like I’ve been transported to the scene and I’m watching it unfold in ultra-slow motion. There’s no sound, only what I can see, like it’s happening underwater or
I’m wearing earplugs.

What makes you want to capture a photo? What must you see in a subject to make you release the shutter?

First of all, an emotional connection to the moment, something that to me symbolizes a particular aspect of the subject that I find important or compelling. After that, great light. Third, an interesting composition, ideally with some kind of juxtaposition to give the picture an interesting sense of context.

Do you have a routine to take the photos for your projects or you just let it happen and see where it takes you?

I’m a firm believer in letting a project or moment unfold naturally, for a lot of reasons. No two subjects are alike, so I don’t think you can successfully use a formula to create great photos. I’m also constantly surprised by where I’m taken when I just go with the flow. Also, if I’m trying to document a subject objectively, it’s not my place to interfere; I have to let things happen on their own.

At the end of a shooting session how do you choose the photos that are worth to show in your portfolio?

This is always the hardest part – I don’t consider myself to be a very good editor of my own pictures. Sometimes it’s obvious, but you have to consider the end use of the photo. A picture can be impressive in one context and bland in another. For portfolio use, I try to show a variety of styles and subject areas, with the overall goal of demonstrating a unique and interesting way of seeing.

Name a few photographers that inspired you and your work and why they inspired you.

I don’t actually have that many specific inspirations – most of the time, I’ll be inspired by a project or photo that I see, but it can come from anyone. I think there’s a pretty sharp difference between admiring/appreciating work and being inspired by it. That said, John Stanmeyer (who shoots for VII) takes the kind of pictures that I aspire to
take one day – our styles are similar I think, and more than most other photographers I “get” what he’s doing, but at the same time I’m constantly amazed at how he realizes the potential of each situation. I also really loved Tomas van Houtryve’s Nepal work, for example, and Christoph Bangert’s work from Iraq and elsewhere is really really amazing for its simplicity and, as David Allen Harvey would say, sense of authorship. If you’ve ever seen War Photographer or read an interview with James Nachtwey, you can’t help but be inspired by the way he approaches photography and his subjects.

How digital technology changed the way we look at photography as art?

I think digital technology has changed photography in every sense, both as art and as journalism or an unvarnished record of the truth. I’ll attempt to give an example that may be hard to convey in words. A friend of a friend is an artist and does this work where he takes hundreds of photographs of sometimes mundane things from slightly different angles and digitally stitches them together so that there is no perspective, no vanishing point. Everything is viewed from straight on. That wouldn’t have been possible without technology from just the past few years. So it’s definitely opening doors to new dimensions of possibility. It also puts more of an emphasis on the photographic process, which before was inevitable and sometimes taken for granted. Digital has liberated film and darkroom printing in the same way that photography liberated painting. As far as changing photojournalism, I think examples abound, like with the Reuters photographer cloning extra smoke into that picture from Lebanon
last summer. People don’t trust a photo any more than they trust a written article and are quick to find bias. I think that the mainstream media is partly to blame for this, too, and not just because of fluke things like the Reuters photo, but because of its willingness to embrace so-called “citizen journalism.” There are definitely times when Johnny On The Spot isn’t a professional photojournalist, but I think it’s important to draw a bright line between a trained professional who subscribes to an ethical code of objectivity and accuracy and someone who doesn’t. On the other hand, I’m all for non-traditional methods of distributing news—blogs and so on that democratize the flow of information—so it’s a tough balance. It’ll be interesting to see where things end up in another five years.

© Brendan Hoffman.

Brendan Hoffman website.

~pt~

Brendan Hoffman é um jovem fotógrafo (ele nasceu em 1980) e o seu trabalho já foi publicado no New York Times, na Newsweek, na Salon, e na JPG Magazine, entre outras. Recebeu recentemente uma bolsa da Yellow Fox Foundation. Leiam o que ele tem a dizer sobre a fotografia e fotojornalismo:
Continue reading ‘Interview with Brendan Hoffman.’