This month I attended a great grassroots photography festival called “Look3.”  I drove two hours down to Charlottesville, Virginia from D.C. I really had no idea what I was in for. The festival used to be a low-key backyard barbecue organized each summer by a National Geographic staffer to hang out and look at slides of great photos. It outgrew his backyard and this was its public debut.

For all its so-called quaintness, (Charlottesville is a one-horse town) it had tons of attendees that paid up to 100 big ones for an all-access pass for the three-day festival. I went up for one day and had a blast.

From the edgy short films taken by pro shooters themselves, to nightly “Actor’s Studio” type interviews with photographers, the energy there was palpable; and even a Friday evening thunderstorm didn’t slow down the crowds. Attendees, namely photographers, simply grabbed their cameras and began to shoot people running in the rain ( and in the dark).

There were three headliners for this year’s festivities: Photographers William Albert Allard, Sally Mann and Eugene Richards. All fabulous, the live events centered around them. But, I discovered Sally Mann on this trip.

Mann is a local girl, born, raised and living in nearby Lexington, Virginia. This was particularly fitting, since most of her work is rooted in the area as well. Virginia is exemplified by her photographs that comprised her books, Immediate Family, What Remains and Deep South. Her work was shown Friday evening on the historical Paramount theater’s film screen. A shy Mann spoke about each image, one by one, with interviewer Alex Chadwick of NPR sitting by her side.

Fearless. Raw. Politically-incorrect. Explorative. Her collections through the years seem to mirror her stages of discovery in life. Like any true artist, her medium is her release. She takes time to experiment with the most antiquated technology possible. To go on research trips. To be uncomfortable. To be comfortable. To journey through her lens and hope to come out the other side a better creative.

Near the evening’s close, Mann said that she doesn’t consider herself spiritual. Not in the religious sense per say, but the hopeful, karmic sense of the word. This confused me. The work I saw seemed to be rooted in magic ; taken by someone open to receiving small miracles daily.

Yet, when she talked of waking up on her farm on a pristine, summer morning and seeing that first picture–Mann spoke of the inspiration taking hold of every cell of her body. Inspiration is spiritual, no? It’s like a religion.  And she does breathes it.

Whether nudes of her children playing in a time of innocence or stages of human decay at the Body Farm, maybe Mann hasn’t yet realized that her image explorations help us to grow, us expand. That is a very spiritual thing to accomplish.

Lately, her bravery has led her to capture her own husband as he changes form right before her eyes, experiencing a debilitating illness. She marinates in the beauty of living, dying and death. It’s because of discovering Sally Mann at Look3 that I’m not as afraid of death or dying than I was. Through her eyes I now realize how natural and beautiful it is. Not being afraid of dying translates into not being afraid of living. You just can’t give people a gift like that unless you’ve received one. Because of this, I believe Mann is one of the most spiritually aware photographers of our time. This is my ode to her. Thanks Sally.

In her words: “…I am not afraid to use lyricism, romance and intimacy which, like venom to the snake-handlers, offer terrible risk but also a ticket to transcendence.”

And if her aren’t aquainted with her images yet, visit http://www.kochgallery.com/artists/contemporary/Mann/index.html

First, I want to apologize for the brief absence from updating the blog. We were in the process of improving many things on imaginginfo. But we’re back baby!

No need to fret over no more Sopranos! Now, you have the Eye Openers blog  at least once a week and we promise no ambiguous endings like last night’s Sopranos finale. Okay, did Tony die or what? I’ll tell you one thing. Anyone who loves photography would have noticed some of the gorgeous shots in last night’s episode, that would have lent themselves to beautiful stills. Like the shot at the meal after Tony’s brother-in-law’s funeral. Carmella sitting elegantly ladylike with a wall-size painting behind here. Tony standing up next to her. The lighting was low, shadows were sublime and I wish they would sell that shot as a photograph. And, the last scene, an amalgamation of goings on in a diner-like depot as Tony waits for his family to arrive for dinner. Each one arrively separately, exchanging pleasantries, warm gestures and popping onion rings into their mouths, and then cutting to other patrons: some kissing, others chatting, others looking suspicious. It reminded me of what Richard Russo’s diner from his Pulitzer Prize-winning book might have looked like in stills.

Some things are just better as photographs.

From face recognition to image stabilization, from GPS to Foveon sensors, what happened over these past few days in Vegas definitely won’t stay in Vegas (sorry, I couldn’t resist).

Consumer products are getting more personalized, pro products more refined and accessories more cool. GE ran out of promo pieces quickly because, they say, all the competition already sunk their teeth into its materials to digest on the plane ride home. With six sleek consumer snappers in sexy colors, two pro-oriented prototypes from the X-Series set to be released, and a toaster-size quick printer; they truly believe they are entering a market that is as unsaturated as soy butter.

Canon reps are jazzed about the deal on the table to build a new headquaterers in Long Island that will have a campus-like setting not unlike the one built for a very popular software company in Redmond, Wa. Canon’s “Explorers of Light program” was buzzing around the showroom floor with huge, panoramaic cavases as demonstrations. Parish Kohanim (check out his business cards), Greg Gorman and Eddie Tapp are among the artists involved. Center stage at the Nikon booth photog. Tony Corbell passionately peddled Nik Capture NX software, heralding, in particular, its automatic Color Booster feature. He explained how it worked wonders with overcast photos from a recent trip to London.

Samsung’s photo bridge, designed for as a place for shooters to try out the new GX-10 on the show floor, was a very popular booth, especially with humans of the male persuasion. I couldn’t resist seeing why all the men were hundled together shooting with their own cameras. Checking it out, I saw a young woman, apparently naked but completely covered in body paint to simulate a tiger. And while the men may not have been using the Samsung model to shoot her, I’m pretty sure they won’t forget that booth. Other creative methods used to summon the crowds over include Ink Open’s , maker of cartridge refilling systems, ”Karaoke Idol” stage, complete with people brave enough to sing right on the show floor. One exhibitor had a Tina Turner impersonator rushing through the halls, followed by a swarm of mock paparazzi-but you had to follow her to see who the mock-singer was representing. Perhaps a flaw in approach.

A booth tour at Sony revealed Wi-Fi and streaming capabilites with the G-1 line, green infrared and an ability to shoot at 1/4,000th of a sec with the H-9 NightShot, although you won’t be able to shoot at 1/4,000 of a sec at night. Sony says what makes this a favorite, is that it is the perfect marriage of a point-and-shoot with a DSLR which makes it a good choice for a pro who wants to travel lightly. A trend this year seems to be the portable printers. While packaged for the consumer, they certainly are a good option for a pro who wants a client to view proofs and for portablity. If fact, with a car voltage converter, Sony’s DPP-FP90 can print in the middle of a wildlife preserve a hundred miles from civilization. A good choice for professionals who shoot sports is the pro UP-DR150, it prints in 7 seconds, and delivers 4×6 quality prints. Execs say it’s already being used by photo pros to shoot the golf pros on the green. 

The fact that accessories are important in fashion has seemed to crossover to the photo market, as accessories were all the rage. Cute photo bags for women looked that looked more like designer purses were omnipresent. Crumpler’s trendy specialty bags were showcased in their traditional cardboard Pet Shop. In addition, MFuel had its Power Banks displayed, which uses a single, high-capacity Lithium ion battery to fuel all personal multimedia content on-the-go, including a cell phone, blackberry, ipod, laptop and cell phone. A fun accessory that had a debut on The Today Show was the Quik Pod. This cute accessory is an extendable, handheld tripod and is being trumpeted as the world’s first. It can convert easily from tabletop to handheld and weights the same as a pair of sunglasses. Through a distibution deal with LifePics, PixFusion debuted photo-personalized videos. It allows consumers to order an audio and photo-personalized cartoon adventure DVD. And then, for clean freaks and neurotics like me, there was the new Visible Dust camera cleaning product for pros, the Artic Butterfly SD 800. All in all, a great show. People are so passionate about the exhibitors that I saw people taking home every bag, from every vendor, but not filling them. When I asked one man what he was doing with them, he said that he’ll hang them on the walls of his studio when he returns home to Jamaica tomorrow.

Another gorgeous day in the city that never sleeps. I have a new-found jealousy for westerners. They’ve got the weather, the desert’s mysterious vibe of energy that seems to flow through them and they can see Cirque de Soleil, Elton John and party at the Palms all in one week. 

Friday, I began my day with a morning session, “Marketing Ideas Exchange” moderated by William McCurry of McCurry Associates. What was interesting, was how many of the dealers/retailers’ ideas translated to promotions a pro shooter could offer to his or her clients. Here are some of the best presented: offering free prints (no strings attached) when customers purchase a camera, which can be presented via punch card or coffee card look alike; offer one day a week discounts, such as a Free-Friday; have people get on photo kiosks by offering the first 30 prints free, this gets them to use the kiosks; present customers with specialty-made mouse pads with your company logo and information, to cut costs make it yourself by using a copy machine and a heat press; create a slogan that can be used on the radio or on print promos; and offer discount cards to  community-based locations, such as the PTA and schools. At the forum, the owner of a small company in Barbados said a monthly competition with a camera prize, significantly added to their customer base by asking the customers who completed the entrance form add the email addresses of three other people. This caused their email list to inflate, jumping from 3,000 names to 10,000 names. Other retailers mail out color newsletters, offer kids $25 to stuff mailboxes with flyers and offer events with give-aways such as a “Girls Night Out” event offered by a store in Australia. While at the talk, I met the self-acclaimed “oldest photo retail operator” 80-something Fred Ernst.  Meanwhile, at an afternoon press conference, a small, but growing company, Albumprinter, popular in Europe, is banking on interest in America. The maker of desktop photo book solutions announced an alliance with Lightening Source, the on-demand-based book manufacturer, to publish personalized soft and hard-cover albums. I thought they would make a great option as a photographer’s portfolio. My favorite was the personalized day planners.

Later in the day, Photo Trade News (PTN) honored its Dealer of the Year, Bedford Camera & Video, out of Little Rock, Arkansas, with a reception at the Vegas Hilton Hotel. It wasn’t hard to see why the photo retail chain  is successful after watching a DVD presented of its catchy TV commercials shown and the humility, spirit and leadership of their CEO, Stan Bedford, who gave a moving and inspirational speech before about 100 people. We appreciate Olympus letting us try out their newest digital recorder model to podcast the event. Later, at an Apple-friendly Aperture event it looked like Adobe’s similar product, Lightroom 1.0, could have a run for its money or maybe earn a good friend.-a.s. 

When “The Today Show” said that Las Vegas was their “Pick City” of the day, I knew it’d be a wonderful day in the convention center. In fact, since the doors flew open there has been a renewed sense of energy and hope that rivals years of old. Manufacturers are touting incredible new technology and refining bells and whistles. They seem determined to stay on the cutting edge and continue to offer new products to a customer base that will continue to grow. And technology has gotten more “cool” than ever as those who make and offer products want to make the lives of those who use them easier— so we can have more time to take pictures, to take care of our kids, to focus on our jobs, to travel and enjoy life without being chained to a computer monitor for half our lives.

PMA estimates that photo imaging is an $83 billion worldwide industry. This was reflected in the fact that this 83rd annual convention is host to 600 exhibitors, 400 speakers and 250 educational sessions. Although the audited attendance figures won’t be available until a month after the show, buzz is that attendance is up from last year.

Thursday there were three “official” press conferences: DIMA Shoot-Out winners were announced, KIS/Photo-Me and Lowepro made announcements of their own. Actor Danny Glover was on the scene today to speak at the spouse’s luncheon, but I have yet to meet anyone who saw him. [If you did please let us know].

As soon as I hit the show floor, I was struck by the crowd at booth Sigma and learned that the much-anticipated SD14 camera, touted as being “faithful to the colors of nature” with Foveon X3 technology was ready to roll. You couldn’t miss a very bright newcomer GE, which introduced its very first line of digital cameras by its new General Imaging branch, that includes eight cameras and a printer. It seems like they are part of the “in” crowd already and are definitely NOT eating lunch alone while the cool kids laugh and giggle. GE’s emergence seems to be taken seriously by all the “popular” kids, if you will. This year some regulars, such as Apple and Adobe, have chosen not to have booths but are available to media in technology suites.

Speaking of Adobe, because I know our imaginginfo.com readers love Photoshop, I hung out with the Adobe crew for a succulent dinner at the newest hotel on the Vegas strip, The Wynn. I guess a bit of Vegas’ lady luck must have rubbed off because I was lucky enough to be sandwiched between Lightroom 1.0 mastermind and product manager Tom Hogarty and Adobe spokeswoman extraordinaire Sherry Shen. I discovered that Adobe would be releasing two new products this year, a new version of Photoshop as well as a tweaked version geared for architects. As reporters mingled with the Adobe crew, it was inspiring to see a team so passionate about what they do and so democratic about the promotion of technology and technique for its sake and not as a way to corner the marketplace. As I munched on a crab salad, poached salmon in leek sauce and pineapple sorbet, I learned from Hogarty, former digital consultant to Fashion Photog Steven Maisel that Lightroom lets users import, manage and present large volumes of photos. Adobe conducted a public beta program over the last year with more than 500,000 photographers participating. In the program’s Library mode, an advanced keyword tool helps to comb through large collections and there is a color label ranking system. For some really cool color, if you have time, check out the light show in the outdoor bar area at the Wynn. Way cool.

As technology and creativity continue to align in our business many interesting alliances have popped up such as HP’s alliance with DreamWorks Animation, makers of films like Shrek, and the Indigo line, which include products with “a nice, gooey interface,” according to an HP spokeswoman. Some personalization-based exhibitors that added to the eclectic aurora at PMA included Hasbro Games, Picture My Wine, Kenneth Cole and The Picture Mug Company. The Hasbro product creates full-size personalized photo puzzles.

The most-thrilling part of my day was discovering at the Women’s Roundtable midday session that women are contributing to the business of photography in amazing ways. Coincidently timed with International Women’s Day, the four female speakers (visit womeninimaging.com for more info) seem to be opening the door to an industry roadway that looks a bit different than in the past. One that when customers ask to see the owner of a studio/lab/store, they shouldn’t expect that it will be a man. And the sign you see from the road just may be pink. More later. –a.s.

Can’t say I hit the ground running today, but I am definitely inspired. It’s barely lunchtime and today I’ve hailed a cab in Paris, seen the New York City skyline and flew over the Nevada desert in the middle of the night. Making the mistake of taking an evening flight in winter (father Winter has finally decided to go to work), my 8:30 p.m. flight out of D.C. was delayed due to the one to three inches of snow blanketing the area. The delay ended up being much longer with some strange, rather noisy maintenance thing being done on the aircraft before we took off (was this de-icing, I wondered?). But I grew to feel comfortable in my airbus capsule in the sky. I must say, America West made up for the delays with extras like treats and a free movie. I got to see the film, Casino Royale, for free and the latest charming 007, played by Daniel Craig, allowed me to drift off in a trance-like dreamy state, taking breaks to drink my ginger ale and to give my bags of free pretzels to my snoring neighbor, since I’m allergic to wheat. Like the sweet sound of a mother’s whisper, I awoke to the words of the captain saying we were soon to touchdown in Vegas.

Now I have never been to Vegas, day or night, but I can’t imagine anything as stunning as what I saw. Flying over the area in the pitch black of night reminded me that there are miracles. We flew over the vast expanse of black nothingness. Right in the middle of the void, with not a twinkle of light in sight, sat, rather majestically, this glowing planet-called Las Vegas. Gold, glittery, twinkling (everything it represents on earth) placed in the middle of nowhere. This was one of the most amazing sites of my entire life. As we approached the landing strip, the pilot almost clipped mountains before the shining scene was truly revealed in all its glory. I’ve heard that Vegas is one of the few places that you can see from outer space and that’s probably true. How did they get all that stuff out in the middle of the desert though? This absolutely fascinates me. Are there even roads in the dusty dark? I plan to head out to the desert myself before I leave here.

In the air, I asked myself, why all of us who love photography travelled out to the middle of the desert to attend this show. Sure, some may be thinking ‘well, the casinos silly’, others may think it makes sense economically. I think the real reason is our industry is as exciting as the place itself. A captivating photo has the power to truly light up the desert in the middle of the night. Later today: a recap of events and news.

Five prominent photographers talk about the importance of film in a world of digital imaging. Speakers include: Steve McCurry, Chris Usher and John Sexton. Held at the Helen Hayes Theater in New York City on November 2, 2006. 

 

 Kodak podcast from PhotoPlus 2006: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Happy New Year. If you, like most people, were wrapped up in holiday planning the entire month of December, you might have missed that Time magazine has named “You” (I admit, it is a collective You, sorry) as the Person of the Year in 2006.

It is referring to Web 2.0 and web-generated content, saying “In 2006, the World Wide Web became a tool for bringing together the small contributions of millions of people and making them matter.”

On the cover was one of those mirror stickers that you see in some of the funnier Hallmark cards, you know, the kind where you can’t really see anything. I thought it was a cop out to name “us” with all the events of 2006. I imagined it would be a soldier, or a whole division of the military. I mean these guys and gals are being killed every day. If Time wanted to be edgy, by naming a collective group, how about all our troops or the troops’ families. Or someone crusading for peace. I think that would have been a more prudent choice.

Oh well, it can’t be undone. It’s us. It’s all of us that contribute to citizen journalism in some form which includes bloggers, of which many of us have started in 2006 or have commented on or read, at the very least. I still feel uneasy about the designation though. For one, there was no prize, no awards show, no fancy dinner or a big check. Second, I feel uncomfortable being looked upon as a collective anything, especially by a group of editors that no doubt are part of the “You” too. I feel like part of the borg on Star Trek, The Next Generation.
Perhaps participating in the information age has meant success to one-time start ups like YouTube and MySpace, but has it really made our world a better place?

In our case, the photography industry, like the entire media profession, is very affected by the way the information tide is turning. Nobody really knows if the ease of getting or seeing photos on whatever and sharing them online will help or hurt us. For now, the popularity of the image, whether moving or still, is the glue that is making communities stick to their computer screens and adding to the success of citizen journalism as a whole. Oh, and congrats on your win. -a.s.

Do you ever catch yourself looking at a photo covered in tragedy and think it’s beautiful. I felt guilty when I saw an exhibit on Hurricane Katrina at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City last weekend. Robert Polidori’s large chromogenic print series called, “After the Flood,” was the most artistic work I’ve seen to come out of the disaster. Usually, I’m not fond of post-disaster photos posing as art. Many times you can still see traces of death. But the exhibit of 20 near-life-size color photos taken between September 2005 and April 2006 was different for me. It was cathartic and full of symbolism.

Drawing upon his background as one of the world’s premier architectural photographers, the photos were all taken with a large-format camera and close attention was given to composition. Going address to address (each print is named after the home’s or debris’ address), Polidori used ambient light and long exposures to encapsulate the mood of heaviness in the air, paralleling the heaviness of heart felt by those affected by the disaster.

While the photographer has an accompanying 331-page book of the same name, the platform of display on the grand museum walls really highlighted the beauty found in the details of tragedy. “After the Flood” is exhibited at the Howard Gilman Gallery now through Dec. 10. The small gallery was filled to capacity the entire two hours I spent there. Onlookers seemed shocked at the bounds of destruction and sometimes stared at any one photo for minutes.

The exhibit is a journey through the leftovers of human existence in homes that have become like other planets - inhabitable ones at that. I felt a little odd looking at people’s most personal effects, without their knowledge, like a noisy neighbor. But you begin to realize that despite the obvious absence of people in every photo, the belongings help you put a face or personality with each home. The personals give the photos their true meaning and depth. When you realize this, it is moving.

A definite comment on the “fragility of life,” the exhibit is also a celebration of the resilience and immortality of human beings - of their souls and personalities through the survival of their artifacts. Belongings such as clothing, toys, religious mementos, framed photos, cereal boxes and board games were magnified on the huge prints. The enlargement of the possessions and their randomness throughout showed how each homeowner may have suffered financially, emotionally or even physically. The tumble of furniture, rotting wallboards, mud-caked upholstery, phones left off the hook and stopped clocks, seemed to tell the story of a bigger picture though - the story of the power of nature over man.

Despite the gray coating of debris on just about everything, the prints had leaps of vivacious color provided by a very strange source. The rich colors came from the existence of mold, as it climbed up the walls of bedrooms, kitchens and living rooms, in such vivid greens, pinks, yellows- it was as though artist Jackson Pollock had a hand in it. The toxic allure of the bright pathogen may symbolize the lure of New Orleans itself - and why many chose not to leave.

See the show if you can. To view photos from the exhibit, visit, http://www.metmuseum.org/special/new_orleans/images.asp

-.a.s.

Rising for Day 2 of the Expo was like having to eat a slice of warm homemade apple pie topped with vanilla ice cream - even with the lack of sleep. Out of my hotel window, a morning view of Times Square , with the pink hues of sunrise muting out the bright lights, was all the inspiration I needed. No cars were present, only a few people scurried to work on foot. I couldn’t wait to return to the photo utopia of PhotoPlus.

I was fresh off the previous night’s Kodak event at the Hayes Theater where pros talked about their latest projects to a crowd of about 100 feasting on Asian-inspired hors d’oeuvres. (listen to a podcast of the event soon). I stood armed with my podcasting equipment among white table linens covered with square white candles and rolls of film as centerpieces and listened to Steve McCurry, Chris Usher and John Sexton champion the use of film. And I was certain that film was not dead.

But today, I would find out that other greats were perfectly happy to completely transfer to digital and testify that the quality of their work has improved as a result. I admit I was shocked to hear famed-celebrity shooter Greg Gorman talk up digital at the Canon booth. At first, Gorman said, “I don’t think that digital makes you a good photographer,” adding that he looks for “cohesiveness” in student’s work. However, after he went through dozens of black and whites of the most famous people in the world, taken in a pre-digital age mostly with a Hasselblad, he pulled out the trick. A set of digital photos taken with the Canon M2 and 1DS. The crowd of spectators which overflowed onto the expo floor, listened carefully to his musings. I think many of us began to feel like we were parishioners ready to convert to a new digital religion. Still, Gorman himself wasn’t a convert until a few year’s ago. It was difficult to imagine that during the onset of digital in 1999, he thought the technology was “a good excuse for poor photography.”

According to Gorman, his sharp, poignant digital portraits with little or no background were able to look like that with little ambient light because of the quality of digital gear today. Reflecting on the first time he used the new Canon on a cloudy New York day, Gorman said, “I could not believe how digital saw light at such a low luminance…Film could never do that. Now I get the spontaneity of digital capture, with the quality of a 35 mm.”

Assignment Photographer Ami Vitale paralleled Gorman’s comments as she spoke about her projects around the world in the Nikon booth. She uses the Nikon D200 and D1X for her shots in war-torn countries and remote areas of the world. Vitale talked about the importance of keeping her shots organized when overseas and uses the online archiving software of Photoshelter, which exhibited at the Expo. She explained the benefits of using digital when you’re in the middle of India with one bag of gear. She only brings with her two bodies, two lenses and no tripod. At her talk, there was a question by a United Press International guy who had been in the previous day’s talk about HP’s alliance with the humanitarian organization CARE. Again, he asked the same question. Do villagers and tribal people sign releases or do they get a cut of her profits? Vitale answered, “No, I consider myself a journalist, not a commercial photographer.” The question is an interesting one though.

By the time I left the show floor to return to Washington , I began to feel that digital for professionals is here to stay. It is being used in place of traditional cameras and film by some of the best shooters in the world. But film is not dead either. The theme: we are lucky enough to be alive in a time when the medium and technology is evolving to something new. But just because we rent DVDs, doesn’t mean we stop listening to the radio.

As I walked off the floor for the last time and saw a picture-perfect view of the city’s skyline turning pink as the sun set, I thought about my first session of the day and how it changed my idea about what pictures could do. The session was “Watching the World Change: The Story of 9/11.” Photographers David Friend, John Labriola, Kelly Price and Jonathan Torgovik showed photos from that harrowing day on a theater-sized screen to a sobbing audience. As tears dripped onto my notepad, I realized I hadn’t gotten over the day, and neither had others. The photos taken by these photographers captured the last moments of many people. The speakers explained how photos offered catharsis for many of the victims’ family members.

Photographers are a special breed, they wear their hearts on their sleeves, and they enter each day like a sponge - absorbing all, whether good or bad - for the common cause of exposing life. I imagined the courage it took to hold the camera while descending the World Trade Center stairs on the morning of September 11, to photograph colleagues, firemen and employees, yet knowing that for some it would be their last picture. When you consider this, it’s not important which is better . . . film or digital. The important thing should always be the subject. (See Web site for the full story soon).