Quote of the Week

"I never wanna be seduced by all those pixels to the point that I confuse a detailed picture with a good picture."

- Joe McNally

Joe was speaking of the new Nikon D3X and how detailed the images coming out of a version he got to test were.

I for one, am certainly guilty of often conversely confusing a blurry/non-detailed picture with a bad picture, which is not always the case. I'm glad we're getting to a point where this is a potential problem, though.

Top Photographic Find of 2008

Copyright Roger Ballen, Mimicry 2005

So everyone is publishing best of lists for 2008 but I'll just share my personal top photographic find of 2008, Roger Ballen. Based in South Africa and a geoligist by trade, Ballen is a wonderful reminder that life is long. He never made any money with his photography but kept shooting because he had to before receiving well-deserved acclaim for his work in his 50's.

Lens Culture just posted a slideshow and excellent inteview with Ballen that I highly recommend listening to.

Back - Photo LA

Copyright Alex Prager, Kimberly, 2008

So my apologies for the recent lack of posts. Things got a bit too hectic during the holiday season and so I needed a little break. Hopefully, things should start to pick up a bit with photo happenings around town now also.

So Aline beat me to the punch and posted all you need to know here about Photo LA, which kicks off with an opening reception this Thursday. I agree with Aline's statements regarding how one feels during and after these fairs, having not missed ARCO or PhotoEspana for the last three years. I can only add to it that you will equally be inspired and impressed by great work and conversely, given a newfound sense of optimism about your own work after seeing the mediocre work being represented by galleries.

I can't stress how important it is to go to this if you are here in LA and serious about art photography. This is your glimpse into a world that can at times seem mysterious and out of reach and an amazing learning opportunity.

I am most excited about attending the portfolio walk on Saturday from 6-9pm to see the work of fellow emerging photographers and to get a glimpse of presentation methods ahead of my own participation at reviews, which is on the books for next year.

Quote of the Week

U.S. 91, leaving Blackfoot, Idaho. Copyright © Robert Frank

From an article in the NYT art section commemorating the 50th anniversary of the publication of Robert Frank's The Americans :

Still, Mr. Frank’s picture of a man at the wheel taken from the passenger seat of the car, “U.S. 91, Leaving Blackfoot, Idaho,” might well double for a portrait of the characters in “On the Road.” He was quick, however, to dismiss that association, remembering the men simply as “hitchhikers I picked up,” adding, “We were going to Butte, I think.”

Mr. Frank referred several times to the lessons he gained from just such opportune moments: “to find your way by intuition, not by intelligence, but intuition.”

Feature - Lou Mora

Lou Mora is a portrait and lifestyle photographer based here in So. Cal. I'd like to feature a project from the personal section of his website in which he uses a simple, but beautiful technique. Kudos to whoever can guess how he achieves this.

Hint: It's not Photoshop.

Holly Andres at DNJ Gallery

The Lost Mitten. © Holly Andres

Holly Andres's fairy tale-esque adolescent female tableaus promise to be compose one of the better shows in LA this season. The official opening will be on January 17th, but the works will be on view starting this Saturday at DNJ Gallery.

Conversation and Booksigning with Catherine Opie and Lari Pittman

I you can roll out of bed by noon tomorrow, MOCA is hosting a conversation between these two artists to celebrate the release of their new books. If you are curious as to how shooting shocking things might get you a spot in the Whitney Biennial, this one's for you.

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Saturday: Open Group Show curated by David Pagel

David Pagel, art critic for the L.A. Times curates an Open Group show with work chosen from an open call for submissions on view at Gallery 825 from December 13th through January 16th under the umbrella of the Los Angeles Art Association.

Opening reception Saturday night, December 13 from 6-9pm.

Opening Tomorrow - Tim Barber Curated "TV Books"

Tim Barber of Tiny Vices fame and champion of the snapshot aesthetic curates "TV Books Exhibition and Catalog Viewing" at Space 15Twenty. Opening reception (PBR's anyone?) tomorrow, Friday the 12th from 6-9pm.

The Gallery Space @ 15Twenty
1520 N. Cahuenga Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028

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The Ten Most Expensive Photos of All Time

This is not my post, but I thought it an interesting one to link to.

The Ten Most Expensive Photographs of All Time.

The death of the newspaper still photographer

Vincent Laforet's talk last night at APA-LA was quite interesting. It's always nice to hear the stories behind shots first hand.

I thought I'd share something he spoke about last night that honestly, left a bad taste in my mouth. He said that with the advent of HD video capabilities, he couldn't see anyone in the future who shoots for newspapers shooting still images. It just doesn't make sense when you are there to cover an event and need to get the shot and you can now shoot HD video that allows you to pull any frame at 72 dpi and 2000 pixels wide, which is plenty of quality for online or newsprint. The exception, he said, would be sports photographers.

Sad.

Photographer Quote of the Week

Copyright Torbjørn Rødland

From an excellent interview on Shane Lavalette's blog

Torbjørn Rødland:

I accept that my imagination is limited: I cannot design a chair, but show me ten and I know which one is right for me. I suspect this is a typical photographer’s handicap.

USC Avance Photography Exhibition - Opening Sat., 7-10pm

The kids...are coming up from behind. I'm curious to see what's "broken" about their view.

@ Five Thirty Three
533 S. Los Angeles St.
7-10pm

New Community (let's hope...) - Too Much Chocolate

Jake Stangel has launched a new hub for all of us emerging photographers to get to know one another, give and ask for advice, or just vent when necessary. Hopefully, the discussion forum section of Too Much Chocolate will catch on and be a valuable virtual zone for all of us. Also included on the site will be interviews with gatekeepers who's take on things I'm sure we're curious about and a rotating curatorial "tag you're it" gallery feauturing an emerging photographer's work each week. I encourage you to go sign up.

Copyright Sam Abell

Longtime (1967) National Geographic shooter, Sam Abell will be speaking at A&I Thursday from 7:30 - 9pm. The event is put on by Julia Dean Workshops and will be followed by a booksigning.

PDF here.

Also, an interesting interview with PDN over having one of his photographs stolen appropriated by Richard Prince here.