©Photo-Fenix.com

About two years ago, a good friend of mine needed a change a pace and a change of perspective.  At the time I worked for an airline and I had won two free passes to anywhere they flew.  We looked at the flights and decided on a four day trip to Lima, Peru.  I know passable Spanish (Cerveza, por favor) and figured it would be different enough from my French Canadian joie de vivre. My friend is an avid photographer and we basically carried more camera gear than changes of clothes. We had a great time going to different parts of town, sleeping on a new found friend’s couch (thanks Couch Surfer!), and enjoy

the “occasional” pisco sour.  However, on one of our jaunts our cab driver got hopelessly lost and whether it was my poor communication skills or his lack of direction, we were zipping through the part of town we were told to avoid.  We were excited as we had decided to avoid this part of town because we would not likely come out with all our gear; so of course, out come our cameras as we discreetly as possible tried to shoot our environment.  Our taxi driver just about had a heart attack.  He told us to put the cameras away as he wagged his fingers feverishly.  And although I can’t be completely sure, I am sure he was indicating we were being followed.  For the first time during this perfect trip, I was concerned for my well being.  (Kindly note, Lima is one of my favourite cities in the world because of that trip and would move there in a heartbeat given the opportunity. Te amo, Lima!)

The camera gear between the two of us was probably worth at least 10 times the value of the car we were in.  The average monthly salary in Peru is $200 USD.  For the few people out there looking to improve their situation in a dishonest fashion, we would have been an easy mark.  I got to thinking about the privileged life I was born into.  While I am not sipping champagne on craving caviar, I might as well be compared to a large population of the world.   For example, I could work one wedding and clear the average yearly salary in Peru and still be giving a great deal.  We have an expensive hobby/passion/job and are fortunate to be able to partake in it.  And though it is a fictional web slinger’s who says, “With great power, comes great responsibility.” it is most certainly a truth that we consider in a non-fictional way.

So what can you do?  Glad you let me ask that for you.

Being aware

While we are just one in 7 billion humans to inhabit this planet, there are certainly things we can do.  I understand that it is a lot easier to care about what piece of equipment to buy or which cable package suits your needs best, than to think about oil spills, earthquakes, and floods.  If things don’t happen here and now, it’s hard to give it priority; there is a bigger world out there and it is even more beautiful than our small piece of it.  Photography is a huge vessel to bring awareness of the good and bad out there.  To see the pain of a family who have lost loved ones due to an earthquake helps us get one step closer to action.  To see the victory of a young child rescued from tons of rubble brought a worldwide smile and tears of joy.  Organizations such as Focus for Humanity’s mission entail “providing financial support, resources, and training for professional and amateur photographers who capture these stories of our shared humanity and to help fund their work with NGO’s.”  On a smaller scale Child Labor Photo Project focuses on “photographing individual children in their worlds – their families, communities, countries – hoping to see behind the child labor label.”  There are issues and problems that need to be addressed in your neighbourhoods and towns and using your gifts, talents, and equipment you can bring attention and draw others to a cause they may not know existed.  That’s the first step.

Take action

We know there are issues out there, globally and locally.  If you don’t you may as well continue on to another site for some celebrity gossip.  However, some aren’t necessarily issues, but ways that you can take action yourself.  There are probably friends and/or family in your circle that could never afford for a professional photo session for a pregnant mom, a newborn baby, or family portraits.  I know I couldn’t.  No matter what your level or equipment is have you thought of offering to spend an afternoon, an hour even, and giving them a red carpet treatment?  If you want an idea of professional already doing this, check out Help-Portrait; they are a “movement of photographers who are using their time, equipment and expertise to give back to those who are less fortunate.”  Make sure you check out their videos.

It only gets bigger from there.  There are community groups, beginning artists, actors, and musicians trying to get a leg up and a head start; some great photos for a portfolio or website would be really handy!  There are probably festivals, churches, community events that would welcome a willing photographer with open arms.  Do you know how animated kids can get when in front of a camera?  Think of the schools with sports, arts, and other extra-curricular activities that could benefit from photographic encouragement.

You’re in need

Do you know that there are programs all over the world the puts cameras into the hands of kids, of the disabled, the less fortunate to boost their creativity, to further their development, and to give hope?  Do you know that there is an emerging field within art therapy that encourages participants to take pictures as a way of expressing themselves and confronting their issues?  There is another side of it where clients look at pictures as part of their healing process? Now imagine, we get to do this all the time.  We can pick up our camera and express ourselves.  We can delve into a feeling, emotion, or subject like no other medium out there.  I can promise you, you will grow.  You will grow as a person and as a photographer.  Check out “Born into Brothels.” Get your creative juices going.

©Photo-Fenix.com

The tone of this post may seem aggressive at spots, but that’s only because I am wrestling with this personally.  I have to go out and do this.  I can make people aware of important issues; I can help.  I have friends and family I can serve by doing a free shoot.  If you have other ideas, I and others would love to hear them.   If you have given of your photography share your stories with us.  Let’s help each other out.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Ed.Notes

Photo Credits from top to bottom

Photo 2: Photo-Fenix

Photo 5: Danny C. Jackson

Photo 6: Nyúl Dániel’s

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My photographing style developed from working with my daughter, Alison.  The “Alison Series” began as a father/daughter activity.  I thought of the project as a gift for my daughter, and it wasn’t until I had photographed her for fifteen years that I considered exhibiting the body of work.

Alison was my first collaborator, and she felt free to participate in any photographic decision. Our sessions were short, casual, and frequent.  I would occasionally leave the lights set up in our home to take advantage of special occasions.

Crucial to the project was my desire to make photographs of Alison that depicted her life without my intervention.  If she had a friend who annoyed me, or had a romance with someone I disliked, I still documented the moment.  When I caught her smoking, I was very upset (this was particularly difficult, because her mother and I were former smokers who had struggled mightily to quit). Rightly or wrongly, I made the decision to include the ever-present cigarette and cup of coffee in the series.  (These situations highlighted the difficult issue for me of parental disapproval and intervention vs. my desire to objectively and artistically document the everyday “in-between” moments of her life over time.  Happily, Alison today is a non-smoker, as well as a musician and artist, who lives in Virginia with her husband and enjoys excellent relationships with her parents.)

What began as a simple father/daughter fun activity of “making images”, eventually blossomed into a years-long wholly collaborative effort resulting in seven three-inch binders packed with negatives of Alison.  They are a catalog of my memories. When I think of Alison as a young child, I immediately think of my photograph of her sleeping on Cape Cod (“Alison Sleeping, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 1978″).  As she grew older and declared her independence, I think of “Driving Lessons, Columbia, Maryland, 1990”, or the image of her writing poetry with a friend in a local café (“Alison and Bean, Daily Grind Café,  Baltimore, Maryland, 1992“).  When I think of our trip to Ireland, my memories are triggered by the photograph in our Dublin bed and breakfast (“Alison in Dublin, Ireland, 1994”).

It was through my work with Alison in the early years, that I gradually came to a career decision that was pivotal:  I decided that what was most important to me was to photograph my subjects over an extended period of time.  I began using a 50mm wide-angle lens for my Hasselblad camera, which afforded me the opportunity to get as close as 12 inches to my subject, thereby creating an atmosphere of intimacy in the image.

The Alison project was the springboard which led to the development of many other long-term series.  My process for the ongoing documentation of lives is to make appointments with my subjects usually two or three times a year.  Despite the fact that we might not have seen each other for months, or sometimes as much as a year, the sessions are relaxed.  It is something like spending time with an old friend, but the focus of the meeting is always on the subject.  I now use a medium format Mamiya 645 and studio strobes with stands and umbrellas for the sessions, and there is almost a ritual in loading the camera with film and setting up the equipment to create a studio on location.  If there is any initial tension or discomfort on the part of the subject, it usually dissipates during this process.

I usually ask if the subject has a preference for a location for the shoot.  Lighting for a location is critical to the success of the images.  My objective is to create an “available light” look, so that the lighting source is not obvious.  I achieve this by using multiple light sources, e.g., by mixing ambient light with that from strobes bouncing off environmental surfaces.  The location is thus transformed into a studio, and becomes its own universe.  It seems counterintuitive, but the lighting creates an illusion of safety and comfort, where the subject feels free to be spontaneous. At the end of an approximately two hour session, when the modeling lights are turned off, the mood abruptly reverts to reality.

About the author:

I was born in New Jersey in 1940.  I received an undergraduate and master’s degree in sociology.  I taught myself the basic photographic process in the Marines and completed advanced studies at the University of Maryland. In 1975 started to concentrate on the portrait.  I currently live in Baltimore City.

To see more of Jack’s work, please visit www.behance.net/JackRadcliffe

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Photo by: Roc Herm

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Photo by: Michael Creagh

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Our approach to photography has changed a lot in the past couple of years. Our main goal now is to become full-fledged cinematographers. One thing that you learn by making films is that the story is the key. Your whole universe resides within the text. You could be shooting a film with a HI8 camera and still make something amazing if you have a good story. A good photographic process will also come from your relations to your subject and your life experiences. You need to learn to trust your instincts; this is where the creativity comes from.

The process of creating a photographic atmosphere should be determined by an idea and a story. What am I trying to say here? Digital technology and the general instantaneity of still photography tend to take away from that. Don’t get me wrong this can lead to amazing results. But, the process of thinking something through and visualization can be an awesome experience. We actually recently bought a 4×5 camera for this exact purpose. We were tired of shooting away.

Now that we have an idea, what do we do next? We steal! Not literally! A good project will always start with some good research and references, especially when you are working with a partner (like us). This way you can communicate your idea clearly. Of course, genius ideas can always come to you (especially at 2am when you don’t want to get out of bed to take a note). But, good research into what you are doing might open some new doors or even make you realize that you should be rethinking your project. Most of the time what you’ll find as reference material will only solidify your idea and vision. The relationship you have to your subject will be heavily dependent on how much you know. It’s like reading a script 15 times and knowing each character like they were your friends. At that point you dive into your project with great confidence and dexterity. Of course, what you need is a cue – copying is never a good thing. Any good artist out there knows that once you’re on the shoot there is no way you could copy someone. You are way too concentrated on the creative work at hand.

Usually, from that point on you have pretty good idea of what you want your project to look like. This is where it gets critical. You have to stick with your look while leaving some place for new ideas and improvements. Your guts are 90% of your work and upon arriving on your shoot you’ll start to see new things. At that point it’s important to keep focused on what you’re doing (not forgetting your main idea) while letting the shoots’ energy and chemistry seep in. This is usually where the magic happens. A good dose of wild and unbridled creativity is always good.

It gets even more critical in post-production. This is the part where you really need to get your ideas straight. Post can become intensive when you find yourself spending too much time tweaking the reds and tuning down the greens in the shadows. “Oh hell! Why not dodge the whole sky!” Post should exist only to accentuate your work. Unfortunately, like we all know, we use this process more often to fix errors. Which brings us back to our planning and creative research process. Start well, end well, and don’t go too far in post! You just end up hurting your images and your wallet. It’s ok to say “I’m done!”.

The cinematic process we now use to prepare most of our shoots has helped us visualize our ideas, which is the key to creating any good photographic atmosphere. The whole idea of making a film is having the right universe around the story. Plan it, see it, bring all your visual tools to the shoot and give it a killer look in post. It might not be true for everyone but it’s definitely helped us.

About the Artists:
Chuck & Twist is a collective of long time friends that are passionate about cinematography and photography. We are also multidisciplinary artists that will strive to envision your story, message or idea with color and panache.

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My photographs analyze the relationship between humanity and environment in a muted and simple manner.  In the broadest sense, all humans identify with an environment, whether on a macro level of habitation and commerce or locally through interactions within ones culture.  My purpose in examining this relationship with a camera is to document the effects that humanity brands upon its environment, whether visible or obscured.  The resulting images illustrate a simultaneous portrait of domain, human existence and control – byproducts of a relationship that all individuals have with the space around them.

In the series Signs of American Life I examine a unique characteristic of the remote American landscape.  Often, when traveling throughout the United States, outside of major urban centers, I have felt a loneliness due to the landscape’s foreignness and the distance from other humans and familiarities.  Many times when I felt this isolation, I quickly realized than in fact other humans were close by or had been very recently, leaving signs of their presence.  A picnic bench, portable toilets, a forgotten tourist destination and even humans themselves became evidence that the seclusion I had initially felt while traveling had transformed.  Instead, these scenes produced a bizarre sense of comfort knowing that I was not truly isolated, but the disconnect I felt with the unfamiliar environment continued to remain.  The photographs taken in this series express that what is familiar and unfamiliar can coexist in a single image and are frequently closer than I imagine.

All photographs in Signs of American Life were taken with available light at each location.  A Hasselblad 500c/m using 50mm, 80mm and 150mm lenses and color negative film was used to create the images.  I felt the muted color palette of negative film matched well with the lonely subject matter of the isolated landscape.  The 6×6cm film was processed normally then scanned to create digital files.  Minimal post-production effects were applied to each image, with the intention of translating only traditional darkroom techniques such as exposure, color correction and dodging/burning to computer software.

About the Author

Stephen Tamiesie lives and works in Santa Barbara, CA.  He has been included in various exhibitions including “Brooks Institute’s 60^th Anniversary Retrospective” at The Javits Center, New York City and “Discover America” at Dorothy Polley Gallery, Paris, France.  His work has been published by Esquire, McCann-Erickson Worldwide and is included in the private collection of Marriott International, Inc.

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Image by Mikkel Bache

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Image by Victor Eredel

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Image by Michel Rajkovic

Image by Rengim Mutevellioglu

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I never planned to find myself wearing a bulletproof vest, standing behind an armored vehicle in the middle of Port au Prince ducking for cover. But one morning I received an IM from a friend working for the United Nations in Haiti during the 2004 crisis, and she offered me a week under U.N. auspices. I had to make a decision on the spot because within the week they would close down access for journalists. I paused to take in the offer as I stared at the blinking curser in the dialog box…This trip would not have been possible without the help of Myrna Dormit and photographer Sophia Paris.

I arrived in October of 2004, the year Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted from office, and shortly after Hurricane Jeanne reaped its destruction. Aristide’s administration was wrought with charges of human rights violations, corruption and severe poverty. Haitian society had been crippled for months by heavy violence from a former gang called the “Cannibal Army” now operating under the name of “The National Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of Haiti”. While there I spent time traveling with the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), going on patrol in Port Au Prince with the Brazilian Marines to the pro-Aristide slums of Cite Soléil and Bel Air and flying in a Mi-8 into Gonaïves, and Cap- Haitian. During this time I also visited an orphanage on the outskirts of the city and spent a day walking through Port-au-Prince on my own.

I had never traveled to a war zone, but I chose to pack light and simple. I packed 15 rolls of Ilford HP 400, 10 Fujichrome Velvia, 2 Nikon N8008 bodies, 22mm lens, 33-105mm and 2 red filters. I prefer shooting 35mm.

Our movement was restricted and any travel outside of U.N. areas had to be authorized and provided with proper security. When on patrols with the marines we generally had to stay in the vicinity of the troops or within the perimeter of the secured area. This hampered my normal process of shooting because I wasn’t used to working under such conspicuous conditions. Not only was I wearing a bright blue helmet and Kevlar vest but I was surrounded by young men with big guns standing in front of even bigger armored vehicles. Normally I like to affect the least amount of change possible on my environment by assimilating into it, shooting intimate moments when people lower their guard. To accomplish this I hide in plain sight, so to speak. I try to move through the streets as any local would, occasionally engaging with my environment and never pressing for a picture, blending into my surroundings.

When traveling to foreign countries, especially in areas of poverty or economic duress it’s easy to stick out and be perceived as a possible victim or a threat, both of which aren’t conducive to taking intimate and observatory photography. Your body language becomes very important and feeling (or at least seeming) comfortable in your surroundings goes a long way in easing tensions, especially when you aren’t fluent in the local language. Sometimes I’ll spend ages in one location, sitting near one subject just to get the right shot, other times I walk away when the camera creates a tension between me and the subject that I do not like in my work.

Although I shoot primarily on manual, I keep my camera set to automatic and at f5.6 in between shots. Theoretically this allows me to be ready for those fleeting moments we always regret missing. Tensions were naturally high among locals when
we were around. I tried to portray the discomfort that our presence created but was amazed at how adverse people became at having their picture taken as opposed to when I travel by myself. I stopped being a bystander and a casual observer, and to my dismay became an intruder documenting with force. People became victims of my camera rather than me becoming a witness of their struggles. When observing humanity pushed to such extremes your emotions are all over the place, like a roller coaster plunging and climbing, rarely reaching hope. In its place, adrenaline keeps you going when energy fades. I found few cues for optimism until I joined the Canadian CivPol at an orphanage on the outskirts of Port au Prince. Here I finally saw what I was looking for: a little hope, a reason to not give up and forsake humanity. I saw in the children an innocence that had not had the opportunity to be polluted by fear, violence and poverty. Their ability to feel joy and hope, to play and dance reminded me that there was something left to save and it was hiding within the children. This was the highlight of an exciting and eye opening experience.

About the Author

Marlon Krieger has been documenting humanity around the globe for ten years covering everything from war zones and refugees to celebrities and nightlife. His  work has been exhibited in group and solo shows in New York, Hamburg and London. He is currently working on the production of his first book based on his series “Island in the Stream- a story of Cuba”. Marlon resides and works commercially in New York City.

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Shortly after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, I visited the city. much to my surprise, big part of the city seemed intact as if nothing happened. Yet the media painted a different picture, which got me wondering where the truth really lies. On my return home, I looked into visual  and theoretical material, such as news media footage, documentary film, art works and articles, in order to try and understand New Orleans Post Katrina. which led me back to a second visit, deeper into the neighborhoods of New Orleans. My third visit was a year and a half after the hurricane, and I came fully prepared, cameras in hand.

Hurricane Katrina was the costliest and one of the deadliest hurricanes in the history of North America.
Katrina originated in the Bahamas on August 23, 2005 and moved rapidly over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. On August 28, shortly after the hurricane reached category 5 storm, The Mayor of New Orleans ordered the first ever mandatory evacuation of the city.   On the morning of August 29 Katrina hit New Orleans.  Katrina’s flooded 80% of New Orleans, which caused severe and severe damage.

In the aftermath, thousands of people were left homeless. As of July 2006, thousands of people still remained without homes and many others whom were forced to flee the city during the hurricane, never returned.

On February 2007, I wandered through New Orleans. The streets were still scattered with debris, homes still deserted, left as they were the day they were abandoned. I found the dissonance of chaos and the exposure of intimate living quarters both aesthetic and disturbing. While walking on a thin line, between documentary and art, I worked with both my digital camera and 35 mm black and white film. I was met with many challenges, for example: rotten and shaky floors, blocked entrances, debris and darkness, along with the psychological aspect of walking into someone’s home. These challenges  made me more aware of my surroundings,  as subtle as a martini glass left in place or as striking as the natural light falling on a bed.

Light plays an essential part in my photography where I work mainly with natural light.  The seasonal weather in New Orleans gave me a chance to use soft light with deep tones. In some homes the darkness forced me to use a tripod enabling long exposures, which I preferred to artificial lighting.
It was an intense week, from morning till night, both physically and emotionally.

Back at my studio in Tel Aviv, I had a huge amount of material to look through, contemplate and sort out. I had to find images that work individually and together, creating an artistic vision and documenting the story of New Orleans post Katrina.

Sigal Ben david, I was born in Israel in 1973. recently graduated from Camera Obscura, school of art, in Tel Aviv.
Some of my works have been published in “At” Fashion magazine (February 2009) and in “Bait Ve Noy” Architecture and design magazine (November-December 2008)
I currently live and work in Tel Aviv, Israel.
My work can be seen at – www.behance.net/SigalBendavid

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