BP= Photographers Not Allowed_Photographs They don't want you to see

Photographers say BP and government officials are preventing them from documenting the impact of the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

British Petroleum, BP, a foreign company to the United States is now limiting access and totally in charge of our Gulf Coast beaches, airspace and our Gulf of Mexico water ways. They appear to be censoring our news coverage of their oil spill by not allowing photographers access to our public beaches and controlling the Gulf's airspace and water ways. They don't want us to see the destruction they have caused and the pictures like the ones here posted on my blog, you can see more HERE at the Boston Globe. News photographers are complaining that their efforts to document the slow-motion disaster in the Gulf of Mexico are being thwarted by local and federal officials—working with BP—who are blocking access to the sites where the effects of the spill are most visible. The ability to document a disaster, particularly through images, is key to focusing the nation’s attention on it, and the resulting clean-up efforts. For more read HERE from Newsweek. And another good article from Mother Jones about a first hand account of a journalist trying to access the oil spill area_When I tell Chief Aubrey Chaisson that I would like to get a comment on Barbara's intimations—and my experience so far—that BP is running the show, he says he'll meet me in a parking lot. He pulls in, rolls down the window of his maroon Crown Victoria, and tells me that I can't trust the government or big corporations. When everyone saw the oil coming in as clear as day several days before that, BP insisted it was red tide—algae. Chaisson says he's half-Indian and grew up here and just wants to protect the land. When I tell him BP says the inland side of the island is still clean, he spits, "They're fucking liars. There's oil over there. It's already all up through the pass." Read the Mother Jones article HERE. Oh yea, one last thing I forgot to say, fuck you BP, and get the hell off our property.

A New Way to Fund & Follow Creativity

Here's a site with a new idea that was brought to my attention by my trusted assistant (and very good photographer, and friend) Nick. This site takes people's creative projects and creates a funding format to fulfill their dreams. I love the idea, although it is not just photographic in nature. Theatre, writing, technology as well as photography is produced here, and you can become a part of these projects and follow along as they are produced, and receive gifts for your involvement and donation to fund these projects. Check out kickstarter.com HERE.

Create Advertising and Enjoy it!

II came upon this quotation from "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller. It made me think of advertising.

"He knew everything there was to know about literature, except how to enjoy it."

It seems that much of the problem in the world today is that we're too smart, too professional, too schooled and too scared.

Liking something--and responding with a gasp or a chortle or anger or a laugh is like a fart or a hiccup. Liking something is involuntary and a reaction. Such things are not meant to be controlled by our intellect. However, in the corporate world brains rule and hearts are something you use on the weekend when you're pushing your kids in a $500 stroller.

In short, how many people do you work with--including creative people--who know everything about advertising or marketing, except how to enjoy it.

Maybe the difference between good advertising and bad advertising is enjoyment. Good advertising should be enjoyable. You should feel enriched by it. It should elevate, educate or amuse. It shouldn't just lay there like a lox.

source of this info is from: http://adaged.blogspot.com/2010/06/experts.html

Dennis Hopper_Photographer

He photographed most avidly during the 1960's. The self taught photographer again picked up the camera during the 1980's to capture mostly texture...the abraded surfaces of peeling walls and billboards. Read full story of: Remembering Dennis Hopper, Photographer, from the LA Times HERE. I also did a little searching for more of his photos on the web and did not find much, but a few did show up HERE at artnet.

Civil War Photos

A re-enactment of the civil war. These guys are serious and they look great with their civil war period clothing. I would highly suggest anyone to attend one of these re-enactments. Its interesting and educational and provides for a great photo opportunity. Enjoy...more to come.

j

photographer_Filip Dujardin@Chazen Museum of Art, Madison Wisconsin

The Chazen Museum of Art (800 University Ave., Madison Wisconsin) will be featuring photographs of Filip Dujardin's "Imaginary Architecture" March 20 thru May 16. Filip is from Ghent, Belgium and is an architectural photographer. This show features photographs of buildings that are pieced together to form structures that are not possible in the real world of architecture. Its a really cool idea and the photographs are great, well worth checking out in that great little city of Madison, Wisconsin. Chazen Museum HERE. Filip Dujardin's Resampled Space blog HERE.

The Still Image with Crash Taylor

Here is a web site set up by photographer Crash Taylor that features an image from different photographers and their story behind the photo. It's interesting and inspiring and the photographers talk about how they made each image, briefly covering what equipment was used, how it was lit and what was done in post processing, it doesn't go into great detail but there is a nice variety of images. Its nice to see what other talent is doing out there and the inspiration level is high. Check it out HERE. Also, this Crash Taylor guy is a really, really good wedding photographer and I would suggest checking out his site HERE.

Photographer_Louis Fabian Bachrach Jr.

This photographer, Louis Bachrach Jr. just passed away and his story is pretty amazing. His family has been photographing portraits for about 140 years through generations of Bachrachs. The family launched its business in a Baltimore studio in the late 1860s, about five years after a publication sent Mr. Bachrach's grandfather, David, to photograph President Abraham Lincoln delivering the Gettysburg Address. They have photographed presidents and celebrities ever since. The first time Louis photographed John F. Kennedy, Louis said in a 1985 interview "I worked like hell for an hour, but I didn't get anything; I bombed out". Great story at Boston.com HERE. Aso interesting, see Bachrach studio web site for additional portraits HERE.

Photographer_Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley

Wilson A. Bentley adapted a microscope to a bellows camera and became the first person to photograph a single snow crystal in 1885. He would go on to photograph over 5000 snowflakes during his lifetime making the discovery in his small rural town of Jericho, Vermont, that "no two snowflakes are alike". Not only is this interesting but appropriate for this time of year. See more of his collection HERE at snowflakebentley.com, and more here at the Buffalo Museum of Science.

A Photographic Benefit for the Survivors of the Haiti Earthquake

The title Haiti: One Respe comes from a traditional Haitian greeting meaning "honor and respect." Several photographers including the iconic photojournalist Mary Ellen Mark, have donated the use of one or more of their works to help create this issue as a fund-raising photography magazine to benefit Haiti.

All proceeds go to the American Red Cross International Response Fund for Haiti relief.

A good way to help the people of Haiti and receive an interesting and beautiful collection of photographs in this Magazine.

CHECK IT OUT HERE

Who Needs A Camera

CGI... Computer generated imaging. The movie Avatar has taken cgi to new heights, computer imaging is going nuclear and you will be seeing more of it even if your not aware of it. Take this video for example, it was produced by a guy in Spain on a single PC. All of it is computer generated. What else is amazing about this, well here is a quote from A PHOTO EDITOR, "We’ve all seen a lot of CGI over the years, but it’s usually just a bit off, or just too slick and most of it is really expensive, and requires a team of people to make it look right. But this is different — this is one guy and a PC. Low budget. And he’s not a photographer by training either. Photographers, especially ad shooters, are freaking out about this. (Read HERE) The video below includes composite breakdowns of the imaging process. To see the full video done by Alex Roman go HERE.

Compositing Breakdown (T&S) from Alex Roman on Vimeo.

BIG...NOT LITTLE

Canon. 5200mm, f14 lens was for sale last month on ebay. Price: $45,000, No takers

World's Largest Nature Photo Competition Investigation, (Or Scandal)?

Evidence of a scandal?, it could be but I say it is still a great photograph. A tame wolf with some of the same markings as the supposedly wild wolf in the photograph has come to light. It does seem to be the same wolf with the exception of a difference in one ear that is being attributed to a possible fight the animal may have been in since the photo was taken. Also is a photo comparison of the actual spot where the photographer took the photo inside a nature preserve that holds the tamed wolves...UH -OH. Seriously this is a big deal because this is the largest and most respected nature photo competition in the world and the winning photographer inherits a huge merit for life. This information comes from Suomen Luonto, full story HERE.

UPDATE to this Post_INVESTIGATION OF IMAGE

I posted this image of an Iberian wolf back on October 27, (scroll down to see original post). The image, shot by Jose Luis Rodriguez won the Veolia Environment Wildlife Photographer of the Year award and was selected from over 43,000 entries from 91 countries. Staff at the Natural History Museum opened an investigation after learning the image may have breached competition rules and it seems the photographer may be stripped of his title. At issue are allegations that the photographer used a farm raised "animal model" rather than capturing the spontaneous behaviour of a wild wolf. Kingsley Marten, the managing director of the Association of Photographers said the rules, which clearly state that images of captive animals must be declared and that judges will take preference to images taken in free and wild conditions. Full story from The Independent HERE. Set up with a tamed wolf or not its a great shot that would require a great amount of planning and photographic skill.

A Lighting Tutorial

I'm not saying you need to follow the technique exactly, but the idea is there. A good basic starting point for shooting people in direct sunlight. A simple white card will work, or an assistant in a tight, white suite will work too. So if you want better photos of people outside in direct sun... watch the video and remember...BOUNCEMAN!

Platon's Portraits of Power

The New Yorker magazine has an interactive portfolio of portraits by Platon of world leaders along with commentary by the photographer on every image. Viewing images in print form is better than viewing images on a computer, but this portfolio along with the commentary is extremely conducive to the computer platform. Platon, a staff photographer for the New Yorker set up a tiny studio off the floor of the General Assembly this past September when most world leaders were in New York for a meeting of the United Nations and worked to hustle as many of them in front of his lens as possible. I'm sure this was a very intense project for any photographer but I think Platon nailed it by looking at his portraits...they are great, and the commentary he has with the images are fascinating and add to the portrait viewing experience. See it HERE at the New Yorker. Platon's web site HERE.

Polar Obsession

National Geographic photographer Paul Nicklen has an amazing collection of photographs of Leopard Seals HERE that will be published in a new book called "Polar Obsession" HERE. Check out this amazing story he has of swimming and photographing these beasts on you tube video!!

Fallout From The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

There is a mass of plastic garbage floating in the pacific. Nobody knows how big, some reports compare it to the size of Texas, and some the size of the United States. Nobody knows how much garbage is out there either. Part of the problem is that you can't see it because most of the plastic garbage is floating under the surface of the water. The fact that it is hard to see poses many problems with research, but one interesting obsticle that I came across at A Photo Editor (HERE) is how to do a story on it and present photos of the garbage. It seems that this was such a difficult task that whole stories were scrapped because of it. Photographer Chris Jordan was able to photograph some of this plastic garbage when he photographed dead albatross chicks that were fed this garbage by their parents, thinking it was food. Tens of thousands of albatross chicks die from this diet of human trash every year. Photographing on Midway Atoll, a small stretch of sand in the middle of the North Pacific, and more than 2000 miles from the nearest continent, these images depict actual stomach contents of the baby birds without any manipulation. See more Chris Jordan photos HERE.

A picture of a hunting wolf has won the prestigious Veolia Environment Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2009 award.

Jose Luis Rodriguez captured the imaginations of the judges with a picture that he had planned for years, and even sketched out on a piece of paper. This is what vision, a layout, and good photographic abilities can bring... an award winning photograph."I wanted to capture a photo in which you would see a wolf in an act of hunting - or predation - but without blood," he told BBC News. "I didn't want a cruel image."
With a great deal of patience and careful observation of the wolves' movements, he succeeded in taking the award-winning photograph.The panel of judges looked through more than 43,000 entries to this year's competition.When he started planning the photograph, he feared that he might not be able to get close enough to the Iberian wolves.
This subspecies of the grey wolf lives close to human habitation in northern Spain. They are often persecuted by people who see them as a threat to livestock, and they are consequently very wary.
Watching the animals as they returned to the same spot to collect food each night, Mr Rodriguez decided on his dream shot.
He eventually captured it using a photographic trap that included a motion sensor and an infrared barrier to operate the camera. Full story HERE.

Prius "Harmony" TV Commercial

Interesting video of behind the scenes look at the making of the Prius Harmony commercial. Obviously a lot of planning and work went into this little commercial. Thanks to my friend Jim for bringing this video to my attention.

Ten photographs that changed the world

This interesting article comes to my attention from my friend Jim, who occasionally sends me interesting tid bits of information on world oddities and human interests, and since I have been really busy and not updating this blog as much as I would like, I thank you Jim for the info.
To celebrate 170 years of the camera in the public domain, a look back over photographs that have had a profound impact on the way we live today, see the Ten photographs that changed the world from the Telegraph HERE.

The Making of a commercial Product Photograph

This week I spent 10 Hours on a photograph for a catalog. It was not the greatest photograph, but it was technically correct and pleasing, an excellent photograph to interest a person to buy this particular merchandise. 10 Hours! Thats a long time for a photograph. But, with that said I have spent as little as minutes to multiple days photographing merchandise. It all depends on the complexity of the photograph and the merchandise involved. Here is an example of a cover shot for Mac World, done by photographer Peter Belanger. He shot a time lapse video of this cover shot, check it out. Check out the Mac World article HERE.

Cover creation from Peter Belanger on Vimeo.

10 Years, 60 Hours a Week=80 Photographs

Photographer Robert Buelteman sends 80,000 volts of electricity through his flowers via a metal plate and uses a fiber-optic light source to photograph his flowery subjects. Its hard for me to believe but he has spent and average of 60 hours a week for 10 years to produce 80 of these types of photo's!?!? These photos are nice BUT...10 YEARS, 60 HOURS A WEEK, ARE YOU CRAZY? Read full article HERE at Daily Mail.

The Slap-Chop Re-Mix

This remix of the Slap-Chop commercial apparently started as a joke but is now a real commercial starting this week. The re-mix was done without copyright permission, but the owner of the copyright liked it so much they decided to make it an official commercial to sell their product, read more HERE at Photo Business and News Forum. Obviously a lot of work went into this re-mix and it is pretty cool, check it out. Compare it to the original commercial HERE.

Iconic Woodstock Photo_40 Years Later

Nick and Bobbi Ercoline, now in their 60's were immortalized on the cover of the original Woodstock album in 1970 and also on the movie poster. The photo was taken by Burk Uzzle. They had met three months before Woodstock and married two summers after and remain together. This August 15-17 is the 40th anniversary of Woodstock. Read the full article HERE from NY Daily News.