Photographer_ Steven Meisel..."Three Hundred and Seventeen and Counting"

Photographer Steven Meisel has photographed every single cover of Italian Vogue for the last 20 years and nine months. That equals 317 covers and is the title of his new book, "Three Hundred and Seventeen and Counting". Lets see, my book would have to be called something like... Fifty Seven Thousand and Counting. Take a look at an interesting article about this fine photographer and see a slide show of his work and a video HERE.

Spring Clean up_ Rock, Glove and Gym Shoe

I'm looking around my garage, seeing all the junk laying around. I know I have some cleaning up to do, but I decide to take some photos of the crap in my garage. I set my lights and start bringing worthless junk from my garage to my basement to photograph it. So here is a Rock, a Glove and an old Gym Shoe for your viewing pleasure.

Photo Gallery_East Germany, Up Close and Personal

One of the subjects that we recently talked about at work was the future of Cuba. The Obama Administration is loosening restrictions and there is now talk that we (Americans) might soon be able to travel again to that island nation. We talked as photographers how it would be so interesting to photograph and document Cuba as soon as travel restrictions were lifted, because if Americans were to travel to Cuba again that island would change rapidly and forever. Here is something similar, West German photographer Karlheinz Jardner set off on a trip to the East German island of Rugen just after the Wall fell in the spring of 1990 capturing a world that would soon disappear forever. Twenty Years later he looks back and talks about his journey in a first-person account, HERE. and to see his photographs HERE.

Update_Photographer Stephen Mallon's Flight 1549 Salvage Photos

It now appears that insurer AIG and US Airways have given in to public pressure and have allowed Photographer Stephen Mallon to post his salvage photos. AIG and US Airways had previously pressured Mallon to not show these photos for which he was hired to shoot. (Scroll and see my blog posted on Friday, March 27, 2008). See his website and the salvage photos of flight 1549 HERE.

More on Dignified Transfer of U.S. Military Personnel

Boston.com presents a 25 photo picture story documenting the return of U.S. war dead. The Obama administration reversed a ban on media coverage of returning war dead and their dignified transfer implemented in 1991 by president Bush. See photos HERE.

Photographer_Robert Adams Wins Hasselblad Award

U.S. photographer Robert Adams, who is known for documenting human impact on the American West, has won the Hasselblad Award."Robert Adams is one of the most important and influential photographers of the last 40 years," the jury said in its citation."Precise and undramatic, Adams's accumulative vision of the West now stands as a formidable document, reflecting broader, global concerns about the environment, while consistently recognizing signs of human aspiration and elements of hope across a particular changing landscape," the jury said.He was particularly interested in how human activity, including agriculture and building, had transformed the West as documented by earlier photographers such as Timothy O'Sullivan and William Henry Jackson.In his images of main streets, tract houses, trees, and waterways, Adams records two kinds of landscapes, one damaged by people and the other somehow beyond their power to harm. He asks us, through his photographs, to consider where we live and how we relate to our environment. Learn more about this photographer HERE.

PDN Virtual Trade Show

I have been to the New York Photo trade show several times in the past and I always came back with a positive experience. There is nothing like it to see new equipment, to hold it in your hands and get the feel of it, see how it operates, listen to it. You come back enthused and inspired with new ideas and a renewed position of your creativity. But its not always possible to get away either, I havn't been to the trade show in a number of years. Now PDN is sponsoring a Photographer's virtual tradeshow. It is a free online tradeshow for professional and advanced amateur photographers. You will be able to hear and interact with industry experts on the latest technologies, techniques and trends. This online event will happen on two days, May 21 & June 11 and you must also register to attend. Check it out and see their program schedules HERE.

More on Photographer_Eddie Adams

NPR has a feature story about Eddie Adams and his Vietnam images including a radio broadcast and an image gallery. Check it out HERE. Also scroll down to see my post about Eddie Adams dated Tuesday, March 10, 2009 and use the link to see a very cool trailer of a documentary made of the Eddie Adams story.

The Bigger Picture

The Bigger Picture is a blog produced by the Smithsonian Institute representing an inside look at the Smithsonian's photography collections and invites audiences to engage in an online discussion about photography's impact on our world. The Smithsonian has more than 13 million images in some 700 collections. Through this blog you get a behind-the-scenes look at their photo collections from researchers, archivists, curators, and other Smithsonian staff, updates about ongoing research and discoveries, and discussions of the latest ideas and issues in visual culture. Check it out HERE.

All Aboard...Spring Break

My son and I had a little spring break together, and decided to take our camera's and video equipment on a road trip. My son and I are really into trains and planes, this time our objective was to shoot trains. We headed for Janesville Wisconsin, home of the Wisconsin and Southern Rail Road. An interesting company, we were informed that the gentleman who started and continues to own and operate Wisconsin and Southern got his initial funding from his father who invented the wire nut and also the plastic zip lock ties. A small company by rail road standards, they do all their work in a round house that is over 100 years old and operate possibly the only full scale turnabout in Wisconsin. We headed on to Rochelle Illinois, where there is a major crossing handling the Pacific Union and BNSF lines. Rochelle sees over 120 trains pass by a day.

On our way we passed by the now closed GM plant in Janesville and I have to say that seeing a plant of this size sitting with no people or cars around was a very scary site. It had a ghost town feeling and really hit home the fact that our country is in a really bad place right now.

Badger Army Ammunition Plant

The photo's above are a few pics from the Badger Army Ammunition Plant up in Baraboo Wisconsin. My son and I were fortunate enough to be included in a tour of the plant recently. With a very long and interesting past the plant has produced munitions for three major wars, including World War II, the Korean War, and a major producer for the Vietnam war. The Plant was first built in 1942 and was decommissioned in 1999. With a new plan in place it is now being torn down and the lands and water in and around the plant are being cleaned up from hazardous toxins that are present. Some of the lands are to be given back to the original owners, the Ho Chunk nation (Winnebago tribe), who plan to raise bison there. The Wisconsin DNR also are receiving a large part of the property. I hope to have a link to all the images soon.

Dignified Transfer

These are some of the first images covered by the media of a Dignified Transfer of U.S. military personnel killed in action since the beginning of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars began. Previously these ceremonies were closed to the media. Air Force Staff Sgt. Phillip Myers was killed in Afghanistan on Saturday. His body returned to his family at Dover Air Force Base. Photographers from the major wire services and newspapers were there to cover the ceremony. See more of the images at Daylife, HERE.