In Focus, 1: Why Photographers Need More Access to the White House
The question of how often and what type of access press photographers should get has been argued for as long as photographers have been in the White House, and it arose once again two weeks ago with greater fervor than ever when 38 media outlets sent a letter to White House Press Secretary Jay Carney to protest the lack of access provided by the Obama administration. At Time LightBox, Mike Davis, the Alexia Tsairis Chair for Documentary Photography at S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, points out why photographic access is crucial—and why it’s only half the issue. Read the full Story >>
In Focus, 2: Spanish Photog Abducted by Al-Qaeda Affliliate in Syria
Freelance photographer Ricardo Garcia Vilanova and reporter Javier Espinosa of El Mundo were abducted in Syria on September 16, notes PDN Pulse. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, the two were abducted at gunpoint at a checkpoint near tal-Abyad in northern Syria and taken to a detention center run by the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham, an Al-Qaeda affiliate that has been operating in Syria. Vilanova has been covering the conflict in Syria for over a year; his photos have been published by CNN Photos and Al Jazeera. Read the full Story >>
PPD Spotlight: Catherine Jansen's "1008," a Sacred Visual Journey
Philadelphia-based photographer Catherine Jansen describes her new book project, now being Kickstarted, as “an experiential journey into sacred story telling through 1008 images of strange and haunting beauty.” Featuring Jansen’s photographs of India, the book, titled 1008, is a non-linear narrative designed, the photographer notes, “to be lived with, looked at over and over, with pages turned from bottom to top, like pages of a calendar that mark the passage of time.” Proceeds support the Friends of Varanasi charity in India aiding poor children and animals. Read the full Story >>
Art News: US Photogs Plant Flag Abroad via Embassy Donations
The Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies, a non-profit organization that donates US artwork to American embassies worldwide, has started a contemporary US photography collection, and, notes the Art Newspaper, photogs William Wegman and Tina Barney are among the first to donate work to the program. A pro-bono advisory committee led by Robert Storr, the dean of the Yale University School of Art, selects and commissions all the foundation’s artists. Photographers donate each work in an edition of 50; the images are displayed in embassies and consulates around the world. Read the full Story >>
Agenda: Swann Heats Up December with Sexy Photo Books
On December 12 the Swann auction house in New York will be offering what it calls “many examples of envelope-pushing photobooks exploring sexual themes” as part of its Classic Photographs & Photobooks sales. Among the sexy books are two from Japanese artists: Document Kouen, in which photographer Kohei Yoshiyuki captured nighttime rendezvous in Tokyo parks circa 1980, and a group of 20 volumes of The Works of Nobuyoshi Araki, the prolific king of sexual literature. Helmut Newton’s groundbreaking book SUMO is also featured. Read the full Story >>
Tech News: Nikon Firmware Update Kills 3rd-Party Battery Compatibility
Nikon recently released a firmware update for its D3100, D3200, D5100, D5200, and P7700 cameras that maximized battery performance and allowed the camera to more accurately tell you how much charge you have left. But, reports PetaPixel, it seems there was an unintended—or maybe not so unintended—side effect: Third-party batteries no longer work. “If you haven’t updated and you use third party batteries, we suggest you hold off,” advises PP. Read the full Story >>
Let's Continue the Conversation ...
Please contact me (button at top) to let me know about any books, shows, or projects you’ve got going. If you "Like" the Pro Photo Daily Facebook page, you'll get updates of stories that don't make the Daily and shared stories from others. And of course we hope you will give us your opinions on some of the issues we address. You can find an archive of Pro Photo Daily posts at http://www.ai-ap.com/prophotodaily/. Follow me on Twitter @davidschonauer. Read the full Story >>
PPD Spotlight: The Graphic Design of Heroin
“The images in this series are of heroin baggies collected years ago during a period of addiction,” writes photographer (and PPD reader) Graham MacIndoe of his project “All In—Buying Into the Drug Trade.” The work, on view at the Kopeikin Gallery at the Miami Project, focuses on the typography and design of the glassine envelopes used to package the drug. “Dealers branded and marketed their product like entrepreneurs in any business, pairing names like ‘Dead Medicine’ with a skull and crossbones to appeal to risk-takers, or an airplane labeled ‘First Class’ to give the illusion of grandeur,” notes MacIndoe. Read the full Story >>
In Focus: RISD Prez Departs to Consult on eBay's Latest Art Venture
Having watched Amazon.com and other companies launch ventures to sell fine art online, eBay is planning to join in … again. The Art Newspaper points out that this will be eBay’s third attempt to enter the art market; the company first dipped its toes into the art trade during the dot.com boom, when it acquired Butterfields auction house in 1999; a joint venture with Sotheby’s also failed. New York-based art adviser Josh Baer is consulting on the new project, as is John Maeda, who recently resigned as president of the Rhode Island School of Design. Read the full Story >>
Portfolio: Photog Explores How Murder Affects One Family
Los Angeles-based photographer Noelle Swan Gilbert’s project “Life After Death: How Murder Affects A Family” began in 2007, when Gilbert’s sister Laura was murdered by her ex-husband in the home they shared with their two young sons, then age two and four. With their mother dead and their father in jail, the boys’ lives were instantly changed—they spent time in foster care before being released to Gilbert’s parents in Seattle. She has since been documenting their new lives. “It started out as a way to deal with my grief,” she says of the work. Read the full Story >>
Resources: Pull Photos Into Lightroom Wirelessly ... As You Shoot
The ability to pull photos out of your camera and onto your computer wirelessly is an incredibly useful tool that many photographers use, but what if you could pull those photos instantly into Lightroom while on location? You can, and, notes PetaPixel, it’s not even that hard to do. Photographer and blogger Benjamin Von Wong explains how Nikon and Canon users can do this using the popular CamRanger gadget and just a few quick settings adjustments on their computers. Read the full Story >>
Trending, 1: Retouching Legend Pascal Dangin Reinvents Himself
In the late 1990s, when Pascal Dangin was one of the few people who knew how to retouch digital images, he was like a genie in a bottle, notes the New York Times. Dangin’s Box Studios, in NYC’s meatpacking district, became the go-to retouching base for photography’s biggest names, and Dangin’s success brought him fame—including a profile in the New Yorker. Now he is expanding Box Studios into video post-production work and moving it to Brooklyn, even as he starts a new agency, KiDS, focused on fashion branding. Read the full Story >>
Trending, 2: In 2014, Think Purple
Pantone has declared Radiant Orchid (18-3224 on your fandeck) to be the “expressive, exotic” color of the year for 2014, reports UnBeige. In the wake of 2013′s color of the year, Emerald, Radiant Orchid marks a return to the tropical shades favored by the color authority in recent years, such as Tangerine Tango, Honeysuckle, Turquoise, and Mimosa. “An enchanting harmony of fuchsia, purple, and pink undertones, Radiant Orchid inspires confidence and emanates great joy, love, and health,” declares Pantone. Read the full Story >>
Let's Continue the Conversation ...
Please contact me (button at top) to let me know about any books, shows, or projects you’ve got going. If you "Like" the Pro Photo Daily Facebook page, you'll get updates of stories that don't make the Daily and shared stories from others. And of course we hope you will give us your opinions on some of the issues we address. You can find an archive of Pro Photo Daily posts at http://www.ai-ap.com/prophotodaily/. Follow me on Twitter @davidschonauer. Read the full Story >>
In Focus: David Turnley's Tribute to Nelson Mandela
Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer David Turnley spent 28 years photographing South Africa’s struggles with apartheid, and at Time LightBox he tells the story of one day in particular—February 11, 1990, when Nelson Mandela was freed from prison after 27 years. Tipped of in advance, Turnley and his brother, the photojournalist Peter Turnley, arrived in front of Victor Verster prison at 5:30 am. “After approximately 11 hours of holding our ground,” he writes, “we [saw] an entourage making its way towards the prison gate. Adrenaline surged—suddenly the prison gate opened, and marching towards us [was] Nelson Mandela, fist in the air.” More of Turnley's Mandela reflections, as well as those of photogs João Silva and Louise Gubb, can be found at the New York Times. Read the full Story >>
Tech News: The Mogopod, a Versatile Tripod
The Mogopod is your basic a monopod—only with “more features and bells than you could imagine,” notes DIY Photography, which praises the monopod's design: It has three sections but only one twist lock. That means that you can open the entire Mogopod to full length—about 63 inches—in one swift motion. There’s GIF of that happening that you will probably want to watch all day. Videographers—you can also use it as a mic boom. Price: around $120. Read the full Story >>
Portfolio: Nude Portraits Challenge Concepts of Attractiveness
Artist Gracie Hagen explores the difference between media-propagated versions of beauty and the reality of human flesh in her NSFW series "Illusions of the Body," notes the Huffington Post. Recruiting women and men of various sizes and shapes, Hagen photographed her models in two separate poses, one in which they stand in what they think are conventionally sexy positions, hiding what they deem unattractive. In the second frame, the same models were asked to consciously strike unflattering poses. Read the full Story >>
Art News: Photography In Focus At Art Basil Miami Beach
In past years, Art Basel Miami Beach has been known primarily as a commercial platform for major modern and contemporary art galleries from across the world; but this year, notes the Art Newspaper, a handful of photography dealers have put their chosen medium at center stage. New York City’s Pace/MacGill, for instance, is taking part in the Florida art fair for the first time, lured by what a spokesman calls “an increasing number of new collectors from around the world [who have joined] the ranks of museum directors, museum curators and familiar clients who enthusiastically attend the fair.” Read the full Story >>
Trending: A Look at Teen Years, by Rising Star Petra Collins
Last week we noted that photographer Ryan McGinley had become a pied piper for a group of rising photographic stars, including Petra Collins. It’s Nice That spotlights Collins’s series “The Teenage Gaze,” which explores the tantalizingly boring period of adolescence. Collins, who curates a women’s art collective called the Ardorous and photographs for the online magazine Rookie, captures the drawn-out nature of teen years, filled with anticipation but also a lot of waiting around for the good stuff to start happening, notes INT. Read the full Story >>
Legal File: Exploring the New Copyright Study and Recommendations
The average cost to litigate a small copyright infringement lawsuit can easily climb to hundreds of thousands of dollars, making it impractical for most independent creators and small businesses to protect their work, which is why the U.S. Copyright Office conducted a new study to develop alternatives ways for creators to pursue infringement claims. Among the recommendations: a centralized Copyright Office tribunal that would administer proceedings through online and teleconferencing facilities. The Photo Attorney blog explores the report in an interview with Jacqueline Charlesworth, General Counsel of the U.S. Copyright Office. Read the full Story >>