Quote of the Week: Paul Melcher

"What does this means for the future of photography ? Well, for one, it’s certainly confirms that we are addicted to it. Not just at looking at the images of the masters but to participating in its creation. We are slaves to the shutter, even if, that too, is poised to disappear. 
We have also have entered the area of the disposable image. Shoot, beautify, share and forget. Repeat. Hundreds, thousands, millions of time. Because it is so simple and easy, we can photograph leisurely, for free, with no worries whatsoever. Its the era of the instantaneous image, not only because it is easy to take but also because it is easy to share. It’s the fast food of photography. Fast, cheap, appealing, and easily forgotten."


Paul Melcher, via his post on Instagram's acquisition.

Bruce Davidson in LA

Nice video over on the New Yorker on Bruce Davidson's work in LA.

“I’ve never been a photographer that loves sunshine, I love gloom. But now it’s changing for me. I just want the tree to be there and to be lit beautifully, and the light in L.A. is extraordinary. It’s still L.A. It’s still wonderfully absurd. I began to really love it:"

Quote of the Week - Joerg Colberg

"...and we don’t know whether the photographer made him do that or not. OK, it’s probably safe to say that he did. But the image works because it doesn’t look as if he did. It feels like a real moment."


- Joerg Colberg, via.


I've long felt that the photos I stage are most successful when it feels like they aren't staged; as if you've just stumbled onto the scene.

Opening Sat - Play It As It Lays

Time for a little shameless self-promotion:

I'm in the company of some truly great photographers in this group show, an official MOPLA selection curated by Audrey Landreth.

There's also an Ansel Adams show in the back gallery (DRKRM) going on.

Saturday, Apr 07 2012, 6-9pm
Play it as it Lays: Picturing California
Edgar Varela Fine Arts Gallery, 727 S. Spring Street

Admission: Free 

Play it as it Lays: Picturing California is a group photography show of California images that share a quiet and somber tone. Images of people seeking connection and focus, as well as landscapes that illuminate a certain psychological haze that one could argue is distinct to California. On a grander scale, this haze seems to transcend California and taps into a timely sensibility of people trying to navigate through social and political blurriness to figure out who they are in the world, dealing with what they have. The pictures evoke the inner-workings of individuals alone in their own head. Alone, yet not necessarily lonely. Just free to awkwardly unravel and to get lost for a while in the landscape of California.

Participating Artists include:

Michael Muller
Jesse Chehak
RJ Shaughnessy
David Black
Danielle Nelson Mourning
Todd Cole
J. Wesley Brown
Danielle Levitt
Amanda Marsalis
Alex Hoerner
Emily Shur
Jason Nocito
Zen Sekizawa
Juco
J. Bennett Fitts
Lauren Dukoff
Thomas Prior
Megan Mack
Sean Garrison