Like a cat bringing a mouse to its owner, a tattooist in England reported this rendering of a self-portrait by Mr. Karsh to our curator. The gentleman doesn't know quite how he found the image, nor did he know who it was until recently, but had "managed to convince one of my friends to have the portrait"... we don't know where. The big joke among my Karsh colleagues is how I plan to handle this copyright infringement.
© Leslie Jean-BartAnother interesting find at a portfolio review,
Leslie Jean-Bart was sent to me by a fellow Brit so I could see his tea-stain photos, which I really enjoyed.
I was also drawn to his colorful, abstract series. For this ongoing summer project Leslie spends hours at Coney Island, studying the sea, the sand, the boardwalk, the people, their interactions. His goal is "to get back to 'seeing', to a kind of pure photography not driven so much by narrative or issues, but by light, by color, shape and form. I am completely at the mercy of the elements since the sand and tide move at times faster than a mosquito flying by one's ears in the summer."
View the full screen magazine photo feature.
Samples from the 'tea stain' series
All images © Leslie Jean-BartFellow northern hemisphere dwellers: It's only 5 weeks till the shortest day. 
At this year's Classic Rock Magazine annual award ceremony for contribution to the rock music industry, my great friend and colleague
Baron Wolman was given a VIP Award. This was the first time it had been given to a photographer. When we last spoke, he hadn't decided on his acceptance speech but by that night he'd nailed it: According to
Dave Brolan, Baron said he couldn't
understand how Pete Townshend could smash his guitar, but saw how great he looked
and that he's always wanted to do it. So he threw a camera onto the
stage and it smashed... the place went wild, Pete came over and said "Well
done!" and that he'd always liked his photos. They hugged & posed
for pictures. This is how rock history is made!
IN TIME FOR THE HOLIDAYS the premium editions of Baron's book are running low.
Go get one now and make someone's Christmas.
NYC Fotoworks vet all their potential portfolio review attendees and this does change the dynamics slightly for a reviewer. We can expect a certain level of work experience and practiced professionalism. At my first review for them recently, there were a few photographers whose work I really enjoyed and I hope I was able to impart useful knowledge to each of them.
Of all the great shots
Kevin Steele showed me, Mount Rushmore made me beam. Kevin's a rock climber too, of course! and all his work has that edge of exhilaration. Hey, if you can climb rocks, why not take breathtaking rock climbing photographs.
Go and enjoy some vicarious thrills.
Bir Nabala, Palestine, West Bank, 2010
Quiet work betrays a bold personality: when complaining on Facebook about a photographer who didn't follow up on my offer of publication, Berlin-based
Benedikt Partenheimer cheerily suggested I publish his work instead. After a look through the different series on his website, making an exception to my "no horses" rule, I was most taken by 'Expiration' for its cool, calm look at the West Bank city of Bir Nabala, once a commercial center but now sealed off from Jerusalem by the Wall.
View the full screen magazine photo feature.
© Benedikt PartenheimerA new innovative system for online image reviewing was announced in October by the Super Team at
Eyeist:
Allegra Wilde, friend, consultant and co-host of
In The Loupe;
Jesse Diamond and
Micah Diamond, two successful photographers; and
Doug Dawirs, a techno hero to many of us in the photography industry, are the founders. Eyeist is a simple, web-based system that allows image makers to engage the services of a photography professional at various levels, each affordable. When I think about the many people who can't get to a portfolio review, don't feel ready to present in person, or might want to have some work edited anonymously, I realize how successful this is going to be. I'm proud to be in on the ground floor and look forward to it launching fully in January 2012.
aCurator (r) with Allegra Wilde © Tony GaleThere is still time to make a donation to the cARTwheel Initiative to support their premiere voyage, but they leave soon! A small team of wonderful artists, photographers, musicians, therapists, head to Sri Lanka soon to bring workshops to more than 200 school children and hold an exhibition of their work in Colombo at the end. cARTwheel will bus some kids down from the north who have never left their war-torn neighborhood.
Give what you can, via IndieGoGo.
I love to publish Karsh in my blog but hate to bore anyone by over-doing it. So I publish when something presents itself. In a classic Karsh pose, this is Joseph Roberts "Joey" Smallwood, a
controversial character who was ultimately responsible for bringing Newfoundland into the Canadian confederation in 1948, becoming its first premiere* in 1949, the same year in which he was Karshed.
*tautology?Joseph Smallwood, 1949 © Yousuf Karsh
Rooftop © Lisa Ross, 2011,
courtesy Asya Geisberg Gallery. 40"x60" archival digital print on cotton paperLisa Ross has documented the ritual objects and burial sites of the Uyghurs of Western China.
In her new series, 'After Night,' she focuses on the sparse beds found outside in this community.
"Isolated within the vast and arid desert landscape, they... suggest an aesthetic intervention, when in fact they are captured as they were found."
'After Night' is showing at
Asya Geisberg Gallery in NYC now through December 17th, with an artist talk at 1 pm on November 12th.
Canal © Lisa Ross, 2011,
courtesy Asya Geisberg Gallery. 22"x33" archival digital print on cotton paper
Companions © Lisa Ross, 2011,
courtesy Asya Geisberg Gallery. 40"x60" archival digital print on cotton paper
Pink Trim © Lisa Ross, 2011,
courtesy Asya Geisberg Gallery. 28"x42" archival digital print on cotton paper
