'http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1265/4678661019
The cat photo I took in Indo is getting some attention on Flickr, check it out. Im stoked
7/13/10
Work, work WorK, WOrK. I've been interning in London for about a month now. I only work 3 days a week and one of them is a half day. I work 9-5 on the other days. I can't imagine going to work mon-fri, 9-5. I commend those who do. My mind just doesn't work around that sort of schedule. I'd rather sit on my __ and drink coffee, surf, eat lunch, lounge around, maybe go see a movie, go out to the club once in a while. Even just before this I thought it was going to be great to put on a suit and tie and walk down the street. No, its not like the movies, the camera isn't directed towards you. People are moving and the city is growing, and if you don't seem to find the speed to catch up, it will soon pass you by. I guess I'm just going to have to keep working to see where I can have my cake and eat it too.I just read this while I finished my coffee:
"The only sense of achievement I truly feel though is the fact that I have carved out a whole career from my passion for international relations and the arts. But I never for a minute leave it all to luck. My mantra in three words: monstrous hard work." -Pablo Ganguli
7/11/10
Brighton was an amazing beach, a great escape. We got there and the sun had just begun to show its face, it was about 11:30 in the morning. There were many people getting off the train like us, heading straight for the beach, heading straight for what it seemed to be the only open space I had seen for about a month. I could smell the ocean air. Salty, wet. Its amazing what the ocean will do for you. We sat on the beach the whole day, relaxing and settling our feet into what it would seem as a uncomfortably rocky beach, but as we drank our beers and sank into our chairs, the smooth pebbles remained to be something very inviting. The fog rolled in about an hour and a half after we got there. It sat there the whole day. 7/8/10
"There’s an old aphorism: “A change is not necessarily an improvement.” The digital world has changed things; however, whether it’s an improvement has yet to be seen. Digital photography is indeed a change, but not necessarily an improvement. I happen to like film grain, when it’s controlled. I like the atmosphere it creates, particularly in black and white film. Digital pictures still seem a little sterile to me. I have to admit that the sharpness of a digital picture is rather attractive; however, there also seems to be a lack of atmosphere, a lack of soul." -Rodney Smith
7/7/10
Why do some photographers have something unique to say, when so many others just shoot pictures that are general and lacking vision? Most people would say it has to do with talent. Maybe. But maybe not. Maybe it has nothing to do with talent. Maybe it has to do with the ability to express one’s feelings. The person who presents a strong vision has figured out a way to express his or her feelings, while others are struggling to do that.Talent, then, becomes not so much artistic talent, though that may be a good part of it, but rather emotional talent.
This applies to music as well: much of music, obviously, is a technical skill, as is photography. However, the difference between a good musician and a great musician is, I think quite obvious: emotion. When I was in Israel right after graduate school, I sat in on master classes with Arthur Rubinstein, Isaac Stern, Alexander Schneider, and Gina Bachauer. I remember a particular class with Isaac Stern. They had some of Israel’s greatest prodigies on the violin. They would play in a technically perfect way. But then Isaac Stern would play the same thing. It was like night and day. The difference was not so much that Isaac Stern knew the notes any better; rather, he could feel it better. He knew himself and his emotions better. -Rodney Smith
I could read his writings all day...
This applies to music as well: much of music, obviously, is a technical skill, as is photography. However, the difference between a good musician and a great musician is, I think quite obvious: emotion. When I was in Israel right after graduate school, I sat in on master classes with Arthur Rubinstein, Isaac Stern, Alexander Schneider, and Gina Bachauer. I remember a particular class with Isaac Stern. They had some of Israel’s greatest prodigies on the violin. They would play in a technically perfect way. But then Isaac Stern would play the same thing. It was like night and day. The difference was not so much that Isaac Stern knew the notes any better; rather, he could feel it better. He knew himself and his emotions better. -Rodney Smith
I could read his writings all day...
7/6/10
While at my internship this morning I've been reading the blog of Rodney Smith. He is infact, probably my biggest inspiration and influence. I feel like he and I would get a long very well. I'd say he likes to listen to Paul Simon, his images remind me of Paul Simon.
"I care about the patina and craftsmanship of things, and well-made objects give me great pleasure...I can make those closest to me, my family and friends miserable, but as the book connotes, this is The End! Some side is going to finally triumph. Either its off to the New England shore, resting in peace, keeping all things under control, or for the life of me, which it may very well be, its off to taking pictures, sticking my head where it shouldn’t be, looking deeply into the very soul of life, causing angst, disrupting the quietude, fighting the “never-ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way. It all started with my father (and of course my mother), but you already know this. I have learned a lot, and knowledge is power, but I still can’t let me be me. I have hidden myself from myself, and as I approach The End, I am truly finding that if I can somehow or somewhere find the strength, it will just be the beginning. Cleanliness is next to godliness, and despite everything, I must admit- my parents were right. All things do have their right place.
If you look at my photographs, this sense of compulsion, which has turned into a sense of composition, was nurtured and driven into me from a young boy. Despite throwing it up and out, I have learned to use it in my favor. I have learned to place things in their right place, to find order in chaos, to distill an essence from a catastrophe, and to learn my own rhythm. It all looks so easy, but believe me, it took many years of torture and anguish to learn to rule from the center.I see what I am seeking often, in the gentleness of a touch, the grace in a woman’s stance, or even in laughter. I see it in the way people hold a cup, or gaze at their partner, or in the landscape, and some architecture, some furniture, and often in older art. I rarely find it in modern popular culture.
My photographs are part of the journey to The End of that road. They are my attempt to help with the quest, to point the way for me, and for others, that out there we are not abandoned and forsaken. In life, we can find what we are looking for, both in the manmade and the naturally occurring. We can find the peace we seek, if only for a short time, and finally let it go."-Rodney Smith
"I care about the patina and craftsmanship of things, and well-made objects give me great pleasure...I can make those closest to me, my family and friends miserable, but as the book connotes, this is The End! Some side is going to finally triumph. Either its off to the New England shore, resting in peace, keeping all things under control, or for the life of me, which it may very well be, its off to taking pictures, sticking my head where it shouldn’t be, looking deeply into the very soul of life, causing angst, disrupting the quietude, fighting the “never-ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way. It all started with my father (and of course my mother), but you already know this. I have learned a lot, and knowledge is power, but I still can’t let me be me. I have hidden myself from myself, and as I approach The End, I am truly finding that if I can somehow or somewhere find the strength, it will just be the beginning. Cleanliness is next to godliness, and despite everything, I must admit- my parents were right. All things do have their right place.
If you look at my photographs, this sense of compulsion, which has turned into a sense of composition, was nurtured and driven into me from a young boy. Despite throwing it up and out, I have learned to use it in my favor. I have learned to place things in their right place, to find order in chaos, to distill an essence from a catastrophe, and to learn my own rhythm. It all looks so easy, but believe me, it took many years of torture and anguish to learn to rule from the center.I see what I am seeking often, in the gentleness of a touch, the grace in a woman’s stance, or even in laughter. I see it in the way people hold a cup, or gaze at their partner, or in the landscape, and some architecture, some furniture, and often in older art. I rarely find it in modern popular culture.
My photographs are part of the journey to The End of that road. They are my attempt to help with the quest, to point the way for me, and for others, that out there we are not abandoned and forsaken. In life, we can find what we are looking for, both in the manmade and the naturally occurring. We can find the peace we seek, if only for a short time, and finally let it go."-Rodney Smith
7/2/10
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Thinking about the war in Afghanistan and Iraq is usually put aside when I'm living in the states. But like any major metropolitan city, you get a collective group of people who feel the need to voice their opinion, and I applaud them. When they were burning an order given to them by parliament, a haggard man, he probably hadn't washed in a while, was talking to his lawyer on a blackberry. It was a little ironic. They have it figured out over there, and they really do believe in what they're doing. Tents are pitched, peace flags pepper the lawn. They've been there for a while, the grass is brown. When they were burning the paper, it felt... I felt alive.
6/23/10
6/21/10
http://www.worldphoto.org/news-and-events/wpo-news/visa-pour-limage-2010-coming-soon-to-perpignan/
My first assignment at the WPO. Working and living in London isn't too shabby...
My first assignment at the WPO. Working and living in London isn't too shabby...
6/14/10
It's my second day in London. My friend Dan and I visited Paris for 2 days and I'm not sure if I was that excited about it. I'm sure if I had visited it at a time when there was less of a crowd I would have enjoyed it much more. I mean, shit, the city is still pretty amazing, and so is their wine. We walked through the Louvre, saw the Mona Lisa. The Louvre is a pretty amazing example of architecture. Our first meal was a set of cheeses, beer and many bowls of bread. We watched the USA vs. England game at a local cafe and had some fine French wine and a cheeseburger. A member of the French Legion bought us a couple of drinks and we went off to bed pretty drunk.Before this blog I went running through Hyde Park... what an amazing park...
6/7/10
Don't ever take your rolls of film, if your using something other than a multipurpose film, to CVS or any drug store, they'll fuck it up. Yah I'm probably an idiot, but they ruined about 5 rolls of black & white film and I'm not too happy right now. But here are some survivors of some color film I shot while I've been home. Ektar 100...yippedeeedooooo
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