Over at Exposure Compensation, Miguel shares some thoughts about portfolio editing.
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Richard Renaldi is the latest newcomer to the blog scene - check it out!
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Ofer Wolberger emailed me to tell me about his new blog, Horses Think. Check out his great post about Candida Höfer’s photography!
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“I’m looking for a democratic perfect image of myself. So it is up to you to give me directions how I should change my face and body.” - Go and tell Monique Bergen Henegouwen what to fix next on her blog.
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Alec Soth’s blog is one year old today. Happy anniversary, Alec! Ch’ng Yaohong’s Asian Photography Blog is a new, most welcome addition to the blog scene. With so much interesting photography coming out of Asia (and so much of it underrepresented in the West) it’s great to see a blog devoted to it.
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I realize that the list of links on the main page of my blog is hopelessly outdated (in part because the new version of the blog, over at the new hosting, will have an updated list). But given there’s such a large number of truly great photo blogs out there now I thought I’d lean out of the window a bit (hopefully not too far) and list my current favourite photo blogs (and more) here, with the list being hopelessly subjective (as always) and in some sort of order (or not).
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Right out of Düsseldorf, the oddly named German town that brought the world Kraftwerk and, through its art academy, some of the hottest photographers on this planet, comes the new Sonic Blog, a weblog about photography. I talked Peter, who maintains the site, into adding a brief English prefix to each post, so non-German speakers can enjoy them, too (but then the links are all in a different colour anyway).
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Überblog kottke.org is 9 years old today; and we are told that “writer and professional pundit Bruce Sterling has cracked bloggers with the extinction stick, saying the plebs will crawl back into their ooze by 2017.” Because, what this here is - if you want to believe the pundit - is some sort of “tribal instincts of man passing down stories in an unregulated fashion”. Well, what do you know - I thought the whole “tribal” idea was some sort of late 1990’s fad! (And as always getretener Quark wird breit, nicht stark.)
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Well, what do you know! The current (March 2007) edition of German photo magazine Photonews features a long article about photo blogs entitled “The smoky loft” (actually, it’s called “Das verrauchte Loft”), which, sadly, is not available online. So if you’re here because you saw the link in that article herzlich willkommen!
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In an extended post, Edward Winkleman discusses what art blogs are, what they are not, and what this means for their relationship with discussions of art in magazines (aka the standard media). It’s an interesting and important read. I personally am a bit weary of those kinds of discussions, though, especially since they often involve bloggers telling the standard media why they are doomed (a curious statement, often based on a combination of wishful thinking and outright delusion) or the standard media taking cheap swipes at what they consider to be flaky journalism (ditto). Much to his credit, Edward steers around this, and quite elegantly so.
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You know, Mrs Deane’s name isn’t really Mrs Deane. But regardless, the Mrs Deane blog is quite a fabulous blog, and since it’s now being written in English, everybody (and not just the Dutch) can enjoy it!
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For some people, the internet has the same effect as beer: The higher the consumption, the lower the inhibitions and the higher the wish for a cheap spectacle. Needless to say, this is not all that different from TV, with the notable exception that while no one really cares if you yell at your TV set, on the internet you can tell everyone what you think. And this is exactly where it sometimes gets a bit iffy (see, for example, this article that I just linked to yesterday). Another current example is provided by what has now been inflated into a “Trump versus Rosie” spectacle (if you don’t know one - or maybe even both - of those people don’t worry, you haven’t missed anything important). A while ago, on his blog Alec Soth commented on the photography coming out of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, asking Where are the people?. This caused a flurry of comments, eventually leading to Robert Polidori leaving a comment (which frankly left me somewhat startled) and Alec posting another entry with a clarification. Here’s the key quote from it: “Just to be clear, I never said that Polidori (or the others) did anything wrong. I didn’t criticize the use of beauty and certainly did not suggest a moral failure. My point was quite simple. ‘While it is worthwhile to see the architectural devastation of New Orleans,’ I wrote, ‘I also want to see the people - the lives actually living in this mess.’” How is this not absolutely clear? How does this look like there is some sort of “skirmish” going on? How does this justify turning a discussion about a very interesting topic into a “Trump versus Rosie”? What is being gained from turning this into the kind of freak show that we now appear to be mistaking for “culture”? PS: Also see another article from a Guardian blogger.
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“I’m not convinced, though, that what might politely be described as ‘robust’ debate on the blog generates light as well as heat. The internet has always licensed people to be far ruder than they would in a face-to-face encounter. […] Many of the people who post on blogs appear to be annoyed not by what the writers say so much as the fact that they’re in a position to say it. […] The most belligerent voices on the blogs speak with either a weary, condescending sneer or a florid pomposity redolent of Ignatius J Reilly in A Confederacy of Dunces. If, as they imply, their taste is flawless and their intellect mighty, then perhaps they could find a better use for these prodigious gifts than taking potshots on websites.” writes Guardian critic and blogger Dorian Lynskey
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More on blogs by photographers from American Photo’s blog.
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I received many requests for comments to be enabled. I have had a whole set of reasons why there were no comments, some of which technical, others non-technical. This blog is using a somewhat outdated version of Movable Type, and - unlike most other people - I am not willing to replace something that is working very well with something else that might (or might not) be working very well, especially since it would take too much of my time. So commenting on posts will be done in a somewhat different way - namely at Yeah But No. For many - but not all - posts there will be a link to a comment post at Yeah But No like this one: Comments…
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American Photo’s list of Photography Innovators of 2006 features bloggers (including this one) - it really looks like photo blogs (like this one) have finally become a part of the photo world that is accepted. I am quite pleased about this, since one of the things that has made me spend lots and lots of hours compiling this blog was/is my belief that the internet can contribute a lot to making cutting-edge contemporary photography more widely known.
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Overheard Starbuck is all about what Christopher Guest is interested in: “I am interested in the notion that people can become so obsessed by their world that they lose sense and awareness of how they appear to other people. They’re so earnest about it.”
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I have the feeling that blogging about photography - not to be confused with photoblogs, where people regularly post their photos online - has now reached critical mass. To be honest, I was a bit pessimistic a few years ago, when there was but a small number of blogs like this one, many of them even disappearing with time. But now, with so many high-profile photographers having their own blog, things appear to have changed - I am actually worried about losing track of all the blogs! Now that is a problem I enjoy having!
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I’m sure most of you are already aware of these following two blogs. First, there’s Alec Soth’s blog, all new and sparkly. And there’s Christian Patterson’s blog, not quite as new (but newly added to my links here, on the side), but about as sparkly.
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There’s an exciting new photoblog in town, éclectique, written and compiled by Taylan Özdere.
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If you feel like discovering a good photo/art/life related blog visit Meet Me In Ataxia, Baby. I have no idea what “Ataxia” is, and I’m beyond the age where sober people would contemplate calling me “baby”, but Ms. Ragna’s blog is one of my daily must-read’s. Maybe it’ll be yours, too.
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It’s about time to point out 1mag3, a beautifully designed weblog with lots of links to interesting photography. Reading through it, I realized (yet again!) what a silly name choice “Conscientious” was: People keep misspelling it. I really should have opted for something simpler!
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If I was to invent a product “Instant Art Scene” it would contain a bag with some powder in it, and after you pour hot water over it, it would result in a smallish group of people who only talk to each other or to people wealthy enough to buy art, using mostly code - a language that makes only limited sense in the real world. Of course, I’m just kidding. Anyway, there are some interesting art blogs out there, written by professional art critics (as far as I can tell), and it’s always worth checking those out. I just discovered Edward Winkleman’s blog, check it out! The term “photo blog” is often used for blogs where people post their own photos. As is obvious, this - and many other - blogs does not fit into that category. You could probably start a discussion about whether blogs like this one are meta-photo blogs but I don’t want to be mistaken for belonging to an art scene (kidding again). Somewhere in between are blogs like Martin Fuchs’ who is “currently doing a 6-months internship at the renowned photo agency Magnum Photos in their New York City office” (sponsored by Canon - now there’s an idea for me! however: why would anyone want to sponsor this blog?). If you’re interested in what’s going on at Magnum and what it’s like to be part of that crowd, have a look at Martin’s experiences.
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As regular visitors know, I rarely - if ever - link to photoblogs for a variety of reasons. But I’m more than happy to make the occasional exception to the rule, if I come across something special. Worksongs contains quite a few very interesting photos (those who wonder what I am talking about might want to start here and click on “Prev” to look at more). (Thanks, Tobias!)
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I participated in the MIT weblog survey.
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There’s a new blog jonZfoto, which deals with different aspects of photography and culture. Those familiar with the cassandra pages definitely might want to check it out (even though I bet they already have).
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I just discovered a series of very interesting interviews that Melanie McBride (of chandasutra) has been conducting with bloggers, some of whose blogs I have been reading for quite a while.
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Andrew, creator of the amazing gmtPlus9 weblog, celebrates his birthday today. Happy birthday, Andrew! If you’ve never visited his weblog there’s something for you to do while Conscientious is dormant for a week!
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“PDNedu is a print and online publication produced for the student photo community. We were founded by Photo District News magazine in 2002.”
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The photoblog community now has their “Photobloggies” - a well… best of where you can vote for your favourite photoblog. Or not. As it says “Nominations are open to everyone” but “Voting in the finalist phase is open only to the finalists themselves”. I guess they couldn’t possibly make that more self-congratulatory, could they? (Sort of reminds me of the electoral college…) Update (22 March): The finalists have been posted and you can vote for them. Yes, that’s right, they changed the rules. Conscientious endorses orbit1. Update (30 March): For once, Conscientious endorsed the right candidate. orbit1 was voted “Best American Photoblog” and “Best Studio Photography of a Photoblog” and “Best Portrait Photography of a Photoblog”. Conscientious also announces the winner of “Best Awkwardly Named Categories in a Blog Competition”, it’s.. well, what do you know… “Photobloggies”. Congratulations to all!
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I am saddened to learn that Nick Kilroy, the photographer behind Zabriskie Point, has died. Zabriskie Point was one of the most creative and imaginative photoblogs out there, reflecting Nick’s unique vision and outlook. He will be missed.
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There are a few interesting points in this article (and discussion) about the role of blogs. I have never wasted a moment of my life on thinking about what the role of this blog is, whether it is competition for photo magazines… well, OK, that was a lie - unlike most American photo magazines this weblog is not a glorified catalogue for the latest photo gizmos that throws in a few photos to keep some facade up; and I’m actually proud of that - even though it also means I’m not seeing any money for my efforts. Money obviously - what glorious times we live in! - is one of the big criteria used for the arguments, even though I am very tempted to think that at least for a photographer there is more to the art than making money (easy to say if you don’t make one!). Which brings us to some sort of divide: There are blogs like this one, run by hapless amateurs, and blogs run by people who make every effort to tell their readers over and over again that they’re journalists. I guess the discussion mentioned above is more about the latter blogs. However, I’d be more than willing to argue that many of us amateurs can easily compete with what the self-proclaimed pros have to offer. But in the end, the final decision rests with the reader; and boring the reader with long rants about the role of weblogs might not really be the best thing to do.
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After a hiatus of about a year, Elena Karo’s pretty serendipities is back.
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There’s an article about photoblogs in Shutterbug. I haven’t been talking too much about the kinds of photoblogs mentioned in the article so if you’re curious go and read the article. I think I’ve said this before (but I’ll say it again): I find that most photoblogs - apart from a tiny number of exceptions (for example John Perkinson’s orbit) - are really not very interesting in terms of the photography. Photoblogs actually discourage what is most important in photography, namely editing one’s work, and that shows in most photoblogs.
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A fine photo blog with tons of nice photos: Dave Jackson’s Losing December. I especially like the first set of the ‘December 04’ photos. (thanks, Tobias!)
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I very rarely look at or link to photologs. One the best - if not the best - photolog I am aware of is orbit1, which I pointed out earlier. Having looked through it again today I feel I need to repeat my recommendation to look at it.
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There’s a new web magazine called BZK Mag, launched by BZK Group, a group of Portuguese photographers (I’m sure you are familiar with some of their weblogs…). I was invited to contribute to BZK Mag, but regardless of that I think you might want to check it out in any case.
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Today, the New York Times Magazine featured an article about political weblogs (note that depending on when you try to look at it it might have already disappeared in the commercial archive - at the time of this writing, it hasn’t). Unlike Conscientious, major political weblogs get thousands of visitors per hour and actually make money using ads. However, they tend to have a vastly lower signal-to-noise ratio (or maybe that’s just me).
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One of the finest weblogs has been morphing into a new shape: “consumptive is back. a lot simpler, a lot more blank.” James said that he would “update with something new every week or three - the sort of things you’d see if you were to visit my studio or look through a sketchbook, except that i don’t have a studio or sketchbook. i just have this website.” - and this is what he did. Check it out.
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the space in between is a new weblog, created by Stacy Oborn. Stacy has an M.F.A. in photography so (unlike yours truly) she knows what she’s talking about! (found on consumptive.org)
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Check out eye-imagine.co.uk.
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Matt Balara’s PolaroiDiary is the ultimate “fotolog”: The photos are all taken with a Polaroid camera.
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The Branding of Polaroid is a weblog by Paul Giambarba, “the man responsible for Polaroid’s identity and packaging back in the sixties and seventies.”
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Check out today’s post on coincidences for a fairly interesting set of photographers doing alternative (non-standard) photography.
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It’s, well, anniversary time here at Conscientious with a total of 1,000 entries so far - at least that’s what my computer says. I yet have to go through the uncategorized entries and maybe do a bit of pruning here and there but 1,000 entries are still 1,000 entries. Thanks are due to everybody who has contributed one way or another to Conscientious. I’m sure that if I attempted to compile a complete list of those people I’d forget some. So let me just thank James for the inspiriation, Mark, Jimmy, and many others for the support, and Stan and especially Tobias for sending in suggestions and links.
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There is a new and very promising photography magazine on the web called AK47.tv. A few weblogs reported erroneously that I am associated with AK47.tv but I’m not.
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Expose is a new weblog about photography. It’s good to see that photo addicts can now shop around. And, hey!, Expose starts with an “e”!
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While looking through the list of referrers I stumbled across Photorant which is part of Kevin A. Bjorke’s Botzilla. Photorant is being updated regularly, albeit with longer intervals between individual posts, and there is a lot of interesting information to be found there.
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phototalk is a photography weblog that I came across the other day. A lot of stuff to read, a lot of information about all kinds of professional photography. Check it out!
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Even though I pulled a few links from it already I never talked about one of the finest art-related weblogs around, gmtPlus9. If you’ve never gone to look at it do it now! I don’t know how whoever is behind the weblog manages to find all that stuff - it’s truly impressive!
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