2019: 27 (Swim with the Current)

July 6, 2019

Now that the GoFundMe campaign is wrapped up, it’s time to get this show going! Ninety prints need to be framed… slow and steady and I will get them done. Really looking forward to the show and book release, which is a little less than a month away. Full details for the exhibition opening will be shared very soon.

A huge thanks to all of you fine folks who supported out fundraiser. Although we didn’t meet our ultimate goal, the funds were enough to cover printing and frame costs (also thanks to a few holiday sales at the Mpix and Michael’s!)

2019: 14 (Inspiration)

April 6, 2019

Busy week for me photographically. The sales of my latest self-publishing projects are going well. I made a vow that any money brought in BY my photography can only be spent on things FOR my photography. With the income from book sales, as well and a photo shoot I recently completed for a local musician (more about that project will emerge sometime soon) I was able to purchase some tools and treats.

The behemoth film camera above, affectionately known as a “Texas Leica” now has a place in my arsenal. The Fuji 6x9 will be my non-digital toy for the foreseeable future. I am using it to shoot 35mm panoramic, and my early tests look promising.I’ll share some scans soon.

I also bought a couple of photo books. Nathan Lyons has been a huge influence on me, ever since I saw work from his groundbreaking book “Notations in Passing” when I was back in college. Lyons died in 2016, and recently was the focus of a retrospective exhibit at the George Eastman House. The catalog from the show is the book titled “In Pursuit of Magic” and is a recent addition to my personal library. I plan on studying this work deeply and thoroughly.

Lee Friedlander’s “The American Monument” is another book I have coveted for some time. Originally released in 1976, it has been out of print for decades, and either ridiculously expensive or downright impossible to find. Until now. A recent re-issue made my wish for a copy finally come true. And what a beautiful piece it is. A huge (nearly 11” x 17”) format, with each page printed on one side. The book is flat bound with side grommets. The image reproduction is absolutely beautiful. This is one of 2000 printed, and I will treasure it for years to come.

Finally, a tip of the hat to my photographic compatriot Justin Thor Simenson. We have been mutually supporting each other’s work for some time now. I was recently presented with a very exclusive edition of his “El Burque” zines, compiled and bound in an 8.5 x 11” magazine format. The work is great, and the presentation in this format really befits the long term nature of his series. Justin has a Patreon page, which you should consider supporting. It’s how I received this exclusive magazine, and the guy is so prolific, you’ll be excited to be receiving new work from him on a frequent basis.

2019: 12 (Magnum: Contact Sheets)

March 23, 2019

I made two resolutions this past New Year’s Day. One was that I would write a blog entry on this website once a week. I have kept this up for 12 weeks, so I consider it a good start as we round the corner on the first quarter of 2019. The other resolution I made was to purchase at least one photo book every month. I was excited when the most recent purchase arrived in the mail. As you can see it is “Magnum: Contact Sheets.”

The book is a fantastic look “behind the curtain,” so to speak; to see the rolls of film that have yielded so many historic, incredibly memorable icons of 20th-century photography. Looking through this book triggered so many memories for me, recalling the days when I was strictly a film photographer. Exposing 36 exposure rolls of film, developing the film myself, and then finally making a contact sheet of each roll. Finally seeing all of the images I captured with my camera. There is still a feeling of magic for me when I look at contact sheets. Hence my joy of adding “Magnum: Contact Sheets” to my library. I love looking throughout the book and seeing the photographers’ markings… isolating the specific image that they chose to print, seeing that frame on the contact sheet marked in bold grease pencil.

Though shooting digital photographs has many advantages, there is something lost when there is not a tangible record of the photos that came before or after the ones we choose to show the world. I highly recommend this book. It should be part of any serious photographers personal library. It might even inspire you to grab a roll of film and shoot “old school.”

2019: 11 (Self-publish Your Photo Books)

March 16, 2019

Very excited to get my two new book projects out into the word this week. I am grateful as always for the support from my friends, family and fellow artists. This project has been kicking around for months and months, but it wasn’t until a return to Naples in December that I was able to really focus on the thrust of this work. It was the return visit to Italy that really clarified things for me, and what ultimately pushed me to produce two separate books of photos.

From a design standpoint, the book layout was a bit of departure for me. First of all was the decision to include both color and black and white photos throughout the book. Breaking that self-inflicted barrier was a huge leap of faith for me. I also worked with a very different “grid” for the pages. Instead of simply dropping in one photo per page, I really explored combining photos of different sizes in a spread, as well as using two, three or four images per spread. I found this both challenging and liberating.

I’d like to thank those who have already purchased a book (or two) and welcome anyone else who may be interested to visit my online shop to order a copy (or two.)

Buy Photo Books, Not Photo Gear

April 12, 2018

A camera is a tool. A lens is a tool. More cameras and more lenses may give you more options to explore and capture the world. However, more important than any piece of equipment are your eyes. And no fancy pants, ultra high megapixel device is going to make you a better photographer if your eyes (and your mind) aren't functioning photographically. With the relentless torrent of images bombarding us everyday off of computer monitors, smart phones or other screen-based platforms, it is even more important to devote time to the tangible and the tactile. Investing in photo books will bring more lasting value to your life as a photographer than any new shiny piece of glass and metal (and plastic.)

There really is no replacement for seeing photographs in print. Many of us don't have the time or the access to a museum or gallery on a regular basis to view photos hanging in a frame on a wall. And not to diminish those opportunities, but the photo book format is, in many ways, the ultimate way to consume photographic images. You can spend as much time with each image, studying and contemplating. You can delve deeply into the sequencing of the images, which is a key component to a true body of work, as opposed to a single image that pops up on your Instagram feed. Books have permanence, and they will most likely increase in value. Try saying that about the latest mirrorless camera you just dropped a grand on.

Click on the image to find a copy for purchase

I recently added a few titles to my photo book library. I was thrilled to hear that the earliest books by the black and white master Ralph Gibson had been reissued in a new compilation. "The Black Trilogy" highlights the surreal, dreamlike work that Gibson soon became highly recognized for. What I find most striking about this body of work is how prevalently the vertical format is featured. I remember hearing once that Gibson felt that shifting to a vertical format subconsciously unsettles the viewer by a small degree, moving them away from the expected and more familiar horizontal presentation of an image. Combined with the inherent qualities of black and white, this helps push the work further from reality and deeper into the viewers psyche.

The second book I'm featuring is by the great Japanese photographer Daido Moriyama. "Record" is a hardbound, slipcased book that complies his work that was originally released in a series of self-published magazines. The work spans almost thirty years, and highlights Moriyama's are-bure-boke (“shaky-blurry”) style. It is a bit difficult to comprehend how revolutionary this style was when it first surfaced in the late 1960s, especially considering how many contemporary photographers now ape Daido's look. As the work progresses chronologically, it becomes perhaps sharper and clearer, but never any less provocative.

The last book up for discussion is a fairly obscure title, called "Meta Photographs" by Richard Gordon. Now before you go thinking this is some "johnny come lately, post-modern hipster, internet age" cash in, please note that the book was originally published in 1978. I had never heard of it, nor the photographer Richard Gordon, before I happened upon a set of images from this book on view at SFMOMA. This book falls squarely in my wheelhouse, as it is strictly photography about photography. Or more accurately, photos of items or environments that include some photographic representation in them. Photos of celebrity portraits on a wall, photos of people using cameras, photos of people being photographed. What I love the most about this book is how a simple undercurrent unites the whole project; how a photographic image can be recontextualized; how something that at first glance seems mundane, can actually be infinitely thought provoking.

What are some of your personal favorite photo books? Feel free to share your thoughts.