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Depression…
For much of my childhood and adult life I have struggled, with varying degrees of success, with depression. For the past few years, I thought I had finally broken free of this wretched affliction.
Unfortunately, over the past few months it has crept back into my life, slowly stripping away all that I have worked hard to build up, leaving me a smack in the middle of a desolate psychic landscape that stretches to infinity. Hence my lack of posting, or looking, or caring about this blog, my personal photography, and yours too.
Feeling as if I am encased in mud makes every thing I do feel overwhelmingly difficult, if not impossible. A multitude of events and issues are behind this. It’s all too complicated to get into without writing a novel.
The upside is that I know where I am, and now I just have to figure a way out. I hope I can.
Photo reblogged from Michael Sebastian with 6 notes
A very thoughtful and well considered series of photographs that looks at the world we live in, and so often avert our eyes from, by Michael Sebastian…
Las Vegas, Nevada. From the (in-progress) series Economalypse.
©Michael Sebastian. All Rights Reserved.
Source: mikeseb
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More than you'd ever want to know... →
An interview with yours truly on Eric Kim’s street photography blog.
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Sorry for the long time between posts. No excuses, no story, just sorry.
This was the first photograph I took as a part of this project. I entered the area, set up my light with my trusted assistant and good friend Gena, and noticed this man. He was sitting on his bicycle and holding on to that sign post, just watching the world go by. Couples in love, or lust, pretty girls in high heels and tiny dresses, guys looking tough or smooth, or something that is intended to attract, or at least not repel the pretty girls, chauffeur’s waiting, and waiting, street vendors doing their thing. It’s a spectacle of humanity, especially revealing on this hot sticky summer evening. And like this guy, I too was there to watch, just as I always have. That’s what I love about being a photographer, it gives me license to look. But like this guy, it also keeps me at a distance, always with a camera between myself and life. Fortunately over the years I’ve learned that there are times to put the camera down and just be a part of my own life. It’s refreshing.
Link reblogged from The Inspiration Room with 10 notes
The Inspiration Room: A Richard Avedon Essay – “Be kind to me” on photographing Henry Kissinger →
Thanks to Dean Bradshaw for posting this, and to Richard Avedon for the image and words that follow…
I once went to Washington for what they call a “photo opportunity” with Henry Kissinger. As I led him to the camera, he said a puzzling thing. He said, “Be kind to me.” I wish there had been time to ask him exactly what he meant, although it’s probably clear. Now, Kissinger knows a lot…
Source: deanbradshaw
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Interestingly, most of the people that I meet in the Meatpacking District are not from NYC. This couple are from Belgium, taking advantage of the strong Euro (for now) and having a grand old time in NYC. Seems it’s time to amend the bridge and tunnel moniker to include the word airport. As a member of the bridge and tunnel crowd myself, I can relate to most of the people crowding the sidewalks these days.
Quote reblogged from ... with 17 notes
Talent is something anyone can have. It can go away. It needs to be nurtured, taken care of. The best thing about getting older is that you kind of know what you are doing — if you stick with something. It doesn’t get easier. But you get stronger. Pilgrimage is an exercise in taking care of what I do. My books are my way of being able to express myself completely.
Source: The New York Times
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The dynamic between photographer and subject is a fascinating one in that if the subject is aware of being photographed, like here, you can sometimes manage to find something in the expression that hints at what they might be thinking. For me, the sideways glance and turn of the head are what make this image and give it some tension. The serendipitous arrival of the taxi whizzing by in the background is just that extra little bit that can never be planned for. It is the gift of shooting on the street. You just have to be out there and ready.
Photo with 16 notes
Sorry for my absence lately, I’ve been busy buttoning up another project.
This photo of a young man I found smoking is one of those photos that may appear as if I posed him. In this meatpacking district series, I have been asking people if I could make a photo of them, but I don’t ask them to do anything in particular beyond not smiling. In this, he was standing there, agreed to my question, and then up went the hand and that was the photo.
The not smiling thing is important to me. I see a smile as a mask that can mean many things. I’ve had people smile to my face while they screwed me over many times. I see facebook smiles everywhere I go as groups of people aim their phones at themselves and click away, smiling with teeth as if they really mean it. I’ve seen people stand in front of the World Trade Center site, smiling like idiots at their cameras.
An unsmiling face is far more honest and straightforward to me, any time. And it’s amazing how hard it can be for some people to suppress it with a camera pointing at them. Asking them not to smile seems require amazing feats of concentration. All the better to involve the subject with the process, transforming the moment into something out of the ordinary.
Thinking about portraits…
For me, a successful portrait allows some space for the imagination of the viewer to fill in a narrative of their own, thus making the experience of viewing the image engaging and interactive, forging a connection between the viewer and the subject.
Or at least, that is what I strive for. I’m not sure if I’m always successful.
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