Chris_Sellas_01.jpg

I don't know what happened to you that night / VODKA


Chris Sellas was in the SVA MFA Photo Thesis Exhibit I saw last June. He just got back in touch, telling me my blog post on the exhibition "...kind of helped my work a lot. I landed a second show, and my book sold out in weeks." Hurrah for Chris! Here are a few more from his series 'You. I.' wherein he mails two copies of a photograph to a significant person from his past. He's hand-written on one; the recipient sends back their comment on the other. It really works well as a bigger series so see if you can still get a copy.

Chris_Sellas_02.jpg

You pushed me up against the bathroom door and went down on me / I remember being down on my knees thinking this would get you to like me more

Chris_Sellas_03.jpg

You chose to rob me of my innocence when I was 5 / If you felt I hurt you then I am sorry. I do not remember what you are talking about

Beryl_Bryden_billie.jpgOpening at the Proud Strand Gallery in London on March 7th is a new photo exhibition: She Bop A Lula! The exhibition will feature over 60 fabulous pictures of some of the most successful and creative women singers from the last six decades. From Lady Day to Lady Gaga, the list of artists include not only top chart sellers, but those women who have excited and entertained us with their music and stage performances.

The pictures, all taken by women photographers, are a mix of candid and intimate backstage scenes, sensitive and stylised portraits, through to the excitement and raw power of live performance.

Now you have the opportunity to own one of these fantastic pictures as the prints are available to purchase at £200. All the photographers have generously donated their work for free and 100% of sales will go to Breakthrough Breast Cancer Charity, the UK's leading charity which undertakes vital research into a disease that affects 1 in 8 women.

Dusty Springfield, Nina Simone, Dolly Parton, Patti Smith, Debbie Harry, Madonna, Diana Ross, PJ Harvey, Poly Styrene, Sade, Tina Turner, Kylie Minogue, Annie Lennox, Katy Perry, Beyonce, Adele are some of the names - there are many more!

You will have the opportunity to bid for exclusive prints - signed by some of the artists including the late Amy Winehouse. There are also two specially commissioned artworks of Kate Bush by Dawn Wilsher and Barbra Streisand by Sally Munton for sale.

She Bop a Lula opens 7 March through 1 April 2012 at the Strand Gallery, 32 John Adam Street, London WC2N 6BP

Billie Holiday © Beryl Bryden

Laura_Noel_Gail.jpg

Gail, Behind Her Room, 2006

Laura Noel has been photographing the sneaky fag break for several years. I like what she says on her website about this project so I'll leave it to her to expand. Check out her other work, too. When I hear photographers saying they don't know what to shoot, I want to send them to people like Laura.



Whitney, Behind Her Job, 2006


"Though this is a fairly broad subject, I am primarily interested in visualizing the emotions involved in the decision to smoke. I consider these portraits to be psychological in nature, as well as an examination of the places smokers have retreated to. The pull of self-image and addiction is very strong. 

My pictures concern the attitudes - defiance, enjoyment, resignation, and contentment - of those who continue to smoke cigarettes in the face of public disapproval. More importantly, these portraits reveal that for some smokers, cigarettes are a way to enter into a state of contemplation.
 
This introspective pause in a hectic world is more valuable to smokers than non-smokers would imagine."

Laura_Noel_Amy2.jpg

Amy, In Her Backyard, 2005


"A residue of glamour can also be seen in these photographs - the theatrical inhaling and exhaling, the sensual pleasure of watching smoke float and dissipate in the air, and the primal tie to fire. Though we may not approve of the act, we can understand the appeal of smoking, however false it may turn out to be.
 
Since the anti-smoking movement began gaining momentum in the 1970's, culminating in the current ban on public consumption, smokers have become social refugees banished to windy corners, cars, and private rooms. I am interested in exploring the idea that society has become so disenchanted with smokers, that we have tried to legislate them out of existence."

Laura_Noel_Barry.jpg

Barry, Behind The Lab, 2010


"Of course, smoking is unhealthy and potentially fatal, but my images are not a defense of this dangerous practice, but instead a portrait of a diverse group of people united by a habit."

All images © Laura Noel

Adam_Bartos_4788.jpg

Cairo, Egypt (Ramses Hilton under construction), 1980 © Adam Bartos

Gitterman Gallery will host their first exhibition with Adam Bartos, opening March 1st and showing never before exhibited color photographs. The exhibition includes work he made in North and East Africa and Mexico in the early 1980s and recent photographs made in Long Island, New York between 2007-2010. The spiel:

"Bartos' interest in the 19th century travel work of Samuel Bourne, Robert MacPherson, and others, led him to Egypt, Kenya, and Mexico with a large format camera and color film. His images are thoroughly modern, yet their energy is inspired by the lucid depiction of form and light that the earlier photographers achieved. The same impulse is present in his recent work, although the subject matter is found much closer to home, in eastern Long Island. These images have been printed using a four-color carbon transfer process that, with its tonal range and description of fine detail, emphasizes Bartos' subtle color palette and formal compositions."

Thanks to Kate Greenberg for tip top PR stuff.

Adam_Bartos_4793.jpg

Kenya, 1980

Adam_Bartos_4786.jpg

Cairo, Egypt, Sultan Hassan Mosque, 1980

Adam_Bartos_4787.jpg

Teotihuacan, Mexico, 1981

All images © Adam Bartos

Karsh_Glenn_John_1968.jpgToday marks 50 years since John Glenn's orbit around the earth, circling it three times in five hours.

I hope to live long enough and have enough money to take a trip myself, Virgin Galactic or otherwise.






I find it almost impossible to imagine this great nation so forward-looking as I watch the desperate attempts by the right to roll back progress.

John Glenn, 1968 © Yousuf Karsh

Bill_Schwab_wave_trails_2002.jpg

Wave Trails, Black Sand, Iceland, 2002 © Bill Schwab

Bill Schwab and I first crossed paths many years ago when he joined my agency for syndication. I recall some photos of Dee Dee Ramone. The wonderful world of social media brought our paths together again recently and I learned about the other Bill Schwab, who, with a Kodak Brownie and a home darkroom kit received as a gift from his father, taught himself to process film and contact print at age twelve: a widely exhibited and collected fine art photographer, wet plate practitioner and teacher, and producer of stunning landscapes. Bill has made several trips to Iceland and takes workshops out there (one of which 'Iceland: The South Coast' is later this year); his work also often centers around his home base of the Detroit area.

Bill's book 'Gathering Calm' is available in its second edition, and his next book, featuring his work from Belle Isle, Detroit, will be released this year.

View the full screen magazine photo feature.

Bill_Schwab_dee_dee_ramone_1991.jpg














Dee Dee Ramone, Detroit, 1991 © Bill Schwab

Auger-Dominguez_01.jpg

Christopher Auger-Domínguez makes photographs of kids that I actually enjoy looking at. At a recent portfolio review it was a real pleasure to see Christopher again; his demeanour is reflected in his photos.

Auger-Dominguez_03.jpg

Auger-Dominguez_02.jpg All images © Christopher Auger-Domínguez

Kevin_Steel_Monkey.jpg

John Logan Pierson with Lucky the one-armed squirrel monkey © Kevin Steele

Kevin "Just-back-from-Ecuador" Steele found a local assistant during his three-week shoot. Nice work if you can get it. Check out the wonderful Compassionate Adventure story at Kevin's blog.

NOPA_Exhibition.jpg

© J. Stephen Young

I am just as thrilled as can be to see the results from the show I curated for the New Orleans Photo Alliance, which opened this past weekend. I felt a great responsibility to do justice to both the contributors and to the Alliance and I hope that all the attendees find it an engaging exhibition.

'Light' runs at the Alliance, 1111 St. Mary Street, New Orleans, LA, 70130,  February 11th to March 25th 2012.

Pictures_Not_Taken_web.jpg
In stores soon is this new infinitely-readable little book, 'Photographs Not Taken,' brought to you by the bright and brilliant team at Daylight. Author Will Steacy's short essays by photographers is a collection of personal stories about missed opportunities, mistakes, missteps and many other varied vignettes; some of them are glad that they hold the memory instead of a physical manifestation. "Diane Arbus would have done it" states Sylvia Plachy, in hindsight. Other short tales from Mary Ellen Mark, Roger Ballen, Amy Elkins, Mark Power, Jamel Shabazz, Tim Hetherington and dozens more.

Pre-order one now. Great value, great reading, relatable and moving.

Recent Entries

Categories

Links