Conscientious

Continue reading "A Conversation with Andreas Gefeller" »

I wasn't going to cover this stuff here, but these two clips are too good not to link to them. So if you missed ("missed") the convention coverage, here are two one-minute summaries: Democrats, Republicans. And now go and enjoy your weekends!

There was a moment in the Sally Mann documentary recommended here earlier that I found very striking: After having finished her series "What Remains", and after having agreed on getting the work shown at some very prestigious New York gallery, Sally Mann is being informed that the gallery decided to cancel the show. Of course, she is very upset about this (who wouldn't be?); and then while she's trying to understand what might possibly be the reason, I noticed that one obvious possible explanation is never brought up: Maybe the work simply isn't that good. She never entertains that idea. I found that striking.

Continue reading "On doubt" »

When you download the pdf from this page the document might look weird at first for those not used to looking at scientific papers. But keep flipping the pages to see some of the art work... I'm aware of the fact that this might be really just a fringe issue for this blog, but I'm sure there are enough people out there who'll enjoy seeing this stuff.

Continue reading "Friday Music Mix: All those Germans" »

What John McCain is now learning the hard way right is that properly vetting the pick for vice president is a very good idea (just as an aside, his pick of an ultra-conservative governor with basically no experience and a whole bunch of scandals despite her young age is extremely amusing). Proper vetting is also a good idea for people who just want to forward an image that supposedly shows Sarah Palin, posing with a gun and an American flag bikini: A two-second Google investigation reveals it's not real.

In an earlier post, I looked into the kinds of problems one can get with "on-demand" book publishing - where you send off your book (actual the electronic version of it) to be printed somewhere else (only to then get it back with strong magenta casts on thin paper, for example). What appears to be somewhat forgotten is that before on-demand publishing existed, photographers published their own books simply (or maybe I should write "simply") by printing photographs and then by binding the pages into a book (or getting this last bit done by someone with the necessary skill set).

Continue reading "What it takes to self-publish a book" »

"An Associated Press photographer and a Democracy Now! TV and radio show host were among those arrested at an anti-war march on the first day of the Republican National Convention. Both were released hours later. [...] David Ake, an AP assistant chief of bureau in Washington, said he was concerned by the arrest of Rourke, a Philadelphia-based photographer. 'Covering news is a constitutionally protected activity, and covering a riot is part of that coverage,' Ake said. 'Photographers should not be detained for covering breaking news.'" - story

Continue reading "A Conversation with Curtis Mann" »

You know, this latest Vogue shoot in India, where, for example, "an old woman missing her upper front teeth holds a child in rumpled clothes - who is wearing a Fendi bib (retail price, about $100)" is just the tip of the iceberg called the "fashion" industry. The shoot is basically the logical continuation of a philosophy (big word for something so measly, I know) that will do just about anything to push clothes that basically nobody needs (and the photography is usually as disposable as the "fashion" product, because once it's shown it already loses its luster, and something new has to be found).

Continue reading "Vogue takes it to the top" »