The legendary and extremely humble photo-journalist and Magnum Photographer Steve McCurry spoke to Phaidon.com about the stories behind some of his iconic photographs taken from around the world.
Every image tells a story, but it's rather special to hear it from the photographer.
One of my very favorite photographers is Albert Watson.
Over the past 35 years his striking portraits have appeared on more than 250 covers of Vogue and many of the iconic figures of our time - including Kate Moss, nude, on her 18th birthday, Alfred Hitchcock and Johnny Depp - have posed for him. His more recent personal photography projects are frequently on display in gallery and museums all over the world.
In this video, Albert Watson reflects on his approach to photography and some of the defining moments, and photographs, of his career.
My photograph of power lifter Matt Kroczaleski has been awarded photo of the day for March 30th at FWAphoto in the UK. http://www.fwaphoto.com/#/2011-03-30/
Bodybuilders of the 21st century are bigger and bolder than ever. These photographs made between the years 2007-2010 showcase the extreme dimensions of some of bodybuildings' most heroic figures.
...Just wanted to share a couple of photographs made of world record holder, Powerlifter Matt Kroczaleski, as he prepared for his first ever bodybuilding show. These images were made in Dallas Texas in August 2010.
"What Remains: The Life and Work of Sally Mann" is a documentary film where Sally Mann, one of Americas most well known fine art photographers, discusses her work, process and why she's decided to make a career of focusing on the subject matter closest to her. Mann has photographed her children, her local landscape and now, as showcased in depth in this film, the theme of death and decay. A worthwhile watch for all photography enthusiasts! A six part series available on youtube, begins with the one attached here.
Nineteenth century British photographer, Julia Margaret Cameron, remains one of the most important portrait photographers since the creation of the medium. She tirelessly photographed many of the celebrities of the time with her unique style. Cameron's photographs also show a certain spontaneity which was not common in the work of other photographers of the time.This video pays tribute to one of the true masters of photography.
I came across this fantastic youtube video today that I just had to share... Sarah Moon, an amazing fashion photographer that has produced such unique fashion pictures of a dreamlike quality, speaks of her thinking process when making photographs while showcasing her incredible images on the screen. I hope you enjoy it!
As I write this post, I am venturing in the beautiful city of Budapest Hungary. This old historic city has so much to offer with the culture, the people and the mystique of a place so vastly different from the one I live in. The textures, colors, the varied terrain and spendid architecture allow so many incredible stimuli for pictures. I just keep shooting and the pleasure is surreal.
It is so important as an artist to stay inspired. One of the greatest skills an artist can have, I believe, is the ability to do this. Travelling is a good way to find the "new", always so rewarding for the eyes.
Alex Webb, a great Magnum photographer, has produced a wonderful set of images of the city of Istanbul and displays them in a video presentation attached here. I hope you enjoy this interpretation as much as I have. This video comes to us via Youtube.
Some of the richest photography I thoroughly enjoy is photo-journalistic photography, made by that special breed of photographer who travels the globe covering news surrounding world issues, seeking out the truth and capturing some remarkable images. These images are so vitally important in raising awareness for the social and political issues that plague mankind.
Some of the most talented photographers working today are members of the legendary photo agency "Magnum". Magnum Photos is an international photographic cooperative owned by its photographer-members, with offices located in New York, Paris, London and Tokyo. According to co-founder Henri Cartier-Bresson, "Magnum is a community of thought, a shared human quality, a curiosity about what is going on in the world, a respect for what is going on and a desire to transcribe it visually."
War photographers Robert Capa, David "Chim" Seymour, William Vandivert, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and George Rodger founded Magnum in 1947, responding to their World War II experiences. Magnum is one of the first photographic cooperatives, owned and administered entirely by members. The staff serve a support role for the photographers who retain all copyrights to their own work.
The Magnum cooperative has included photojournalists from across the world and has covered many historical events of the 20th century. The cooperative's archive includes photographs depicting family life, drugs, religion, war, poverty, famine, crime, government and celebrities.
The video attached here is a collective of just a small fraction of eye opening visuals that were created through Magnum.
When I discovered photography podcasts a little over 2 years ago, my passion and inspiration for photography reached new heights. Some that I really enjoy are podcasts by Brooks Jensen from "Lenswork", Jeff Curto's "History of Photography", Ibarionex Perello's "The Candid Frame" and Craig Tanner's podcasts on "The Radiant Vista" website, now "The Mindful Eye". All of these are accessible from the itunes store or from their respective websites. I highly recommend them to anyone interested in the creative side of photography.
Just recently, I came across a site hosting some outstanding podcasts entitled "Podcasts for the Creative Mind". These are really great and are in the form of interviews featuring some truly gifted artists, from painters to photographers, musicians to designers, chefs to architects. In this series of podcasts, they share their passions. Ralph Gibson, one of my favorite photographers for instance, discusses topics like "Art & Vocation", "Originality" and "The Making of a Photograph".
You can play these directly off the site or download them for listening later.
"The Mindful Eye", founded by Craig Tanner, previously with "The Radiant Vista", is an online photo community where you can go to gain inspiration and knowledge about the photographic life. One feature available there, which I love, is the Daily Critique. Members are encouraged to upload photos, and if selected, have the opportunity of getting a video critique by Craig Tanner. This critique is then posted on the site and YouTube for others to learn from, comment on and generally enjoy.
Today, one of my street photography portraits was chosen for critique. "Smoker" is the title of the photograph.
Ever since I discovered I could adapt my favorite legendary Contax Carl Zeiss manual focus lenses to my Canon digital camera, I literally went to heaven – photographically speaking of course. There are certainly limitations to using some of these older lenses like the lack of auto focus for instance, which we've all become so desperately dependent on. Also, the inability of the lens to communicate electronically to the camera body means that most of, if not all auto functions are disabled – stop down metering is available in AV mode. Why then would one want to give up all this modern luxury for an old, archaic lens? I personally enjoy the fact that focusing manually allows me to slow down and really contemplate what I'm trying to achieve when looking through the viewfinder. With a little bit of practice and installation of a split prism focusing screen, first for my Digital Rebel almost 5 years ago and now for my Canon 40D, I'm finding that I can compose and focus very quickly if needed, then stop down to my desired aperture just before clicking the shutter to make my exposure. Not only is this fun but the results can be really superb!
The great part is that so many of these older lenses can be adapted or converted for so many modern camera systems. People are ditching their so called "obsolete" 35 mm camera gear online, on Ebay and the like, by the truck load. I bought my Carl Zeiss 50mm f/1.7 lens for a mere $130.00, and I can safely say, it is probably the sharpest optic I have ever owned. With the additional purchase of a relatively inexpensive adapter, readily found on Ebay again, a willingness to try something different, and a tad bit of effort, you can bring new light to your photographic experience. Give it a try, it worked for me!
Here are some great resources covering this topic in much greater depth:
Lens Adaption & Conversion Forums Adapting and converting lenses to various camera mounts. http://forum.cogitech.ca
Manual Focus Forum Discuss how to buy, fix, clean, and use all the old manual focus photography kit you can find. M42, Pentacon 6, Contax, Leica, Canon, Nikkor, Carl Zeiss Jena, Asahi Pentax Takumars etc! http://forum.manualfocus.org
The world wide web has generated unprecedented opportunities for photographers wanting to promote their work. The video link attached here is an example of how I was able to get my work critiqued and then published online. This was presented by Craig Tanner on the "The Radiant Vista" website. This site was a great resource for uploading images daily for potential critique. Craig would select an image a day and create a quicktime video evaluating the selected piece. In this case , my series entitled "Alleys of Hope" was discussed as a series and presented on the site.
Craig Tanner is a phenomenal photographer, teacher, podcaster and writer. His teachings through podcasts and critiques have been invaluable to me as a photographic artist and I highly recommend visiting his amazing new site named "The Mindful Eye". Here, Craig has continued the tradition of supplying photographers with an awesome resource for learning and sharing.
Hi! A couple of years or so ago, I completed this series of photographs incorporating figures against some remarkable graffiti art in downtown Toronto. The project is called "Alleys of Hope". These images were made late at night and I used a flash light to paint areas of the scene. I also used extensive photoshop post processing techniques to bring out color saturation and detail. The entire series can be viewed on my site at: www.carminegroe.com
I am curious what you think about the images and if you're interested in this technique? Cheers,Carmine
