8.28.2010

Photo Festival in South Carolina, Y'all Come!


I just got the poster for the Click646 festival held annually in October in Greenwood, SC. This year, the events will take place on October 1st and 2nd. There will be music, exhibitions, portfolio reviews, Taste of Greenwood and lectures. Ann Jastrab, Cig Harvey, Ben Ham and I will be speaking as well. Go to Click646 for more info or email me to get the exact schedule.

8.13.2010

Gregory Schaffer Print Fundraiser


Years ago, Gregory Schaffer walked into my office looking for a photobook. He has an extensive photobook library and he was hungry for a purchase. I suggested one of my favorite books at the time (and one which has continued to be a favorite) Sophie Ristelhueber's Details of the World. That recommendation forged a pen pal-type relationship that lasted through his time in the Peace Corps in China and his move to Seattle, Washington. Gregory is now planning an exhibition and as part of the fundraising, he is selling the print shown above that was taken during his time in China. It is printed in an edition of ten on 13x19 inch inkjet pigmented paper. For more info visit his blog. I think there is still one left as of August 8th. Email him to inquire at trickygregor@yahoo.com.

8.08.2010

A Short Interview with Photographer and Self-Publisher David Carol




This year David Carol's book All My Lies are True... was selected by PDN as a Best Book of 2010 and Carol has shown the power social media by selling numerous copies of this new publication on Facebook. Antone Dolezal states of Carol's newest book:

"In the spirit of celebrating the self-published book, I thought I would share one of my favorite self-published titles of 2010. David Carol’s latest book All My Lies Are True is a refreshing reminder that somewhere wanders the obscure photographer, creating images of the mundane and absurd. Carol’s new title showcases the beauty that allows photography to be the means of an adventure born of travel, humor, and intelligence – a journey that ceases to end once the shutter is released, but rather continues to develop into a diary of genuine and often humorous photographs."

Here Carol answers a few questions relating to this publication and his previous book 40 Miles of Bad Road.



MM: What made you want to self-publish?
DC: I decided to do the book myself, first because i could and second because I wanted to be in control of every aspect of the way the photographs were presented. My photography is a very solo experience and going to a publisher is the opposite of "solo". I don't want to be involved with their concerns about costs, marketing, profits, etc. In my experience in the business of photography (over 25 years), the business never benefit's the photography, its about money and that's great for my commercial life but not the work I do for myself. For me its all about taking pictures that I like and seeing what they look like.The only person I collaborate with on any regular basis is Chuck Kelton who does my printing (since 1991) and that's specifically about how I want the prints to look (or how Chuck wants them to look, quite often he knows better then I do). So, I guess my point is, I want to be the last word on how my pictures are seen. I draw from a group of very talented people that know what I want and show me how to get there.



MM: Who designed and printed the catalogues? How many did you print?
DC: I love photography books and have been collecting them since the early 80s. I know how I want my books to look. I have an idea of the way I want the book to look, layout, size, cover design, paper,etc. I made a mock up of the book and brought it to Steve Reisig, an amazing designer that actually worked on my last book, and he laid it out for me based on my model. Steve made a finished and refined product from my rough outline. Its great to have someone you can trust and knows what your looking for. For the printing I went to a childhood friend, Steve Warren of Kroma Printing, that is in the printing business. I told him what I needed and he set me up with a local NYC printer so I could be on press as the book was printed. Joe Chanin, a very talented photographer and extremely knowledgeable in everything photography, made the books scans and separations and went on press with me. The original intent was to print 500, but when all was said and done we had enough sheets that looked good to make 600, so we did...The fun of doing it yourself!




MM: How would you recommend a photographer get funding for his or her project aside from personal funds? Do limited edition prints help?
DC: How to get the funds to publish a book? That's a tough question... I think I'm gonna lie about this one. Just ask your friends!!! 
The truth for me is, Ive been in this world of photography for over 25 years. You meet a lot of people over the years and some you even become friends with. I didn't just rely on the kindness of strangers. With the help of Joe Chanin, Steve Reisig, Steve Warren and a few other people the project was completed. I wanted this to be a "real" book. To me that means "INK". Ink on paper. I'm old fashion and I just don't like the way digital printing looks. I want the paper to go thru a press and come out with ink and varnish on it. Then I want that paper to be folded and bound... All this is very expensive. I like taking photographs, I do not like applying for grants or entering photo contests so I had to find a way to cover the costs without doing anything I don't normally do. The solution: a limited edition of the book that included a limited edition 11x14 photograph signed and numbered by me. I made this edition available at a pre-press price of $250 that increased to $500 once the book was released. I gave the buyers a choice of three photos from the book. I promoted this special edition, in a big way, through Facebook. I sold over 30 copies within one month... I was also invited by The National Arts Club in New York City to give a talk and do a book signing. I promoted that heavily through postal mailings, emails and Facebook and that went very well too... I sold a lot of books that night. So between the limited edition and the book signing at National Arts Club the book was already in the black...so easy right?



MM: Who is your favorite photographer or one who has impacted your life and work?
DC: Who is my favorite photographer? So do i say Lee Friedlander, Garry Winogrand, Robert Frank, Josef Koudelka, Diane Arbus, Walker Evans, Irving Penn and on and on? I love their work, but I don't know them so they cant be my favorite photographers.
Instead I think i will give you two names... I will pick the two photographers whose work I love and who I know and like as people. I would say the amazing photographer Abby Robinson has personally influenced my photographs more then anyone else, she was my first photo instructor at School of Visual Arts and a great friend (she also edited my book 40 Miles of Bad Road...). I love her work and her mind.
The next photographer is Joe Chanin. His photographic work speaks for itself, there is nobody like him. He has been the subject of quite a few of my photographs and has been on more photographic trips with me then any other photographer. 
Besides still photography I know my biggest influences have been TV and movies. I watched a lot of TV as a kid so the shape stuck, I cant take square photos. But probably the biggest visual influence- Stanley Kubrick.


MM: What blogs do you read? Magazines? 
DC: I don't really read any blogs and the only magazines I read are Golf magazines. 

MM: What is your favorite book, photo or otherwise?
DC: My favorite photography books...hmmm, OK, Ill give a few (nothing surprising):
Lee Frielander Photographs
Garry Winogrand The Animals
Josef Koudleka  Gypsies and that big panoramic one, I don't want to go upstairs and look for the title ha-ha
Irving Penn Moments Preserved
William Eggelston's Guide
Les Krims those little books stack o wheat murders, little people
JH Lartigue The Photo Album book
Robert Frank The Americans, but not the ugly newer printings
Wegee Naked City

I guess that makes my point, all those books. 

MM: Do you have an odd or funny photography related story?
 
DC: My entire life is a funny and odd photo story...How much time do you have?

Click 646 in October 2010

I am pleased to be reviewing portfolios, lecturing and jurying alongside Cig Harvey and Ann Jastrab in Greenwood, SC in October 2010 for Click646. This is the second year of the festival which will feature the work of Ben Ham and the work of many students and professors from South Carolina colleges and universities. If you would like to have your work reviewed, contact Jon Holloway as soon as possible as the reviews are first come, first serve and are only $25. You will get twenty minutes with Cig Harvey, Ann Jastrab, or myself.

Here is more info from the press release.


Mark your calendars:
Click646 returns to Greenwood in October

GREENWOOD, S.C. -----Renowned photographers Cig Harvey, Ann Jastrab, Melanie McWhorter and Ben Ham will share their images and ideas at the second annual Click646 photographic collective in Uptown Greenwood on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 1 and 2. The event will also feature food, music by groups including the Nouveaux Honkies, and the launch of a Scholastic Invitational Contest and Exhibit.

Click646 made its debut in 2009 with special guests Christina Mittermeier, International League of Conversation Photographers founding executive director; Keith Cardwell, a UK photographer best known for his Cuban works; and Joyce Tenneson, who has been described as "one of America's most interesting portrayers of the human character" as well as one of the ten most influential women photographers in history.

“We are equally excited about the photographers who will be with us this year,” says jon. “They are all amazing artists with a lot to share about their works and careers.”  Jon describes the event as both a celebration of the photograph and a recognition of the power of the photograph to inspire thought, conversation and action relating to world issues.

The event will open on Friday, Oct. 1, with a Taste of Greenwood, local restaurants serving food at various venues throughout Uptown. The Nouveaux Honkies, a group known for an original and energetic combination of blues, swing, country and jazz, will perform on the street and there will be live projections on buildings along Oregon and Maxwell avenues.

An exhibit of Ben Ham’s stunning, large format black and white photographs will open in jon holloway’s sundance gallery and will remain up for the month of October.  Ben works on an 8x10 wooden field camera capturing landscape images on film. A resident of Hilton Head Island, his subject matter is often the landscapes of Southeastern coasts and the Western states.

Uptown galleries will be open to the public for free from 7-10 p.m. and many will serve free desserts. Galleries at the Arts Council in the Federal Building and at The Museum will feature photographs chosen for the Scholastic Invitational exhibit. Ten colleges from across South Carolina have been invited to submit the very best work from their current students and faculty: Anderson University, Clemson University, College of Charleston, Converse College, Furman University, Greenville Technical College, Lander University, Piedmont Technical College, Winthrop University and the University of South Carolina.

“It’s our goal that in following years educators and students will use this annual event as an opportunity to gather together and create friendships and collaboration between other schools from S.C., “ said jon.

Activities continue into Saturday, Oct. 2, with the Scholastic Invitational awards ceremony and workshops/portfolio reviews and keynote presentations by guest photographers Cig Harvey, Ann Jastrab and Melanie McWhorter.

Cig Harvey and Ann Jastrab have both taught at the prestigious Maine Photographic Workshops. Cig is acclaimed photographer and professor at The Art Institute of Boston at Leslie University. Her images are in numerous collections worldwide. She recently teamed up with Maine Magazine to create a year of covers. Ann is a fine art photographer, master printer and teacher and is director of Rayko Photo Center in San Francisco.

Photographer Melanie McWhorter is a regular contributor to the online magazines Fraction and photo-eye, and maintains her own photo blog, melaniephotoblog.com. She manages the photo-eye Book Division and curates exhibitions of local photographers in the photo-eye Bookstore.

Up-to-date schedules and information about Click646 can be found at www.click646.com.

Further information about the artists is available on their websites:

Ann Jastrab at RayKo Photo Center: http://raykophoto.com/
Ben Ham: http://www.benhamimages.com
Cig Harvey: http://www.cigharvey.com
Melanie McWhorter: http://melaniemcwhorter.com/
The Nouveaux Honkies: http://tnhband.com

8.07.2010

Follow-up on Newsprint and the Contemporary Photobook

Thanks to those who emailed my as a follow up to the Newsprint and Contemporary Photobook Series (No. 1 with Soth and Roth, No. 2 with Gottlund and Willing, and No. 3 with van der Weijde, Mazzeo and Gossage)



David Schoerner at Hassla emailed me the link to rgb transferences, 2010 by Pierre Le Hors. Le hors used the medium of newsprint to produce his publication on the occasion of his MFA Thesis. It is offset-printed on newsprint in an edition of 1000.



Sean Cousin's mentioned that I neglected to included Geert van Kesteren's Baghdad Calling
(printed by Drukkerij Robstalk). Cousin's states (and I hope he does not mind me quoting him):

"While bound as a book, the vast majority of the images are printed on newspaper, bar the text and images by Geert van Kesteren - the majority of the books images are by other individuals. Additionally, many of the images are derived from mobile phones. It is one of the most interesting books I have picked up in a long while. 

The combination of mobile phone images - as well as stills from moving images - and newspaper print is interesting: it excentuates the rudimentary nature of both."
Mentioning Baghdad Calling, I have to also list the follow up book by van Kesteren, Why Mister, Why? 
Cousin has a blog and has the link to The Newspaper Club in the UK in his signature. This might be the answer to the comment on an earlier post about whether any POD companies use this type of paper. 

Finally, I did not mention Hackney Rag with photos by Stephen Gill and Vintage Time Photography 1960s with photos by Kishin Shinoyama. Both books are 40 pages and published on newsprint by ArtBeat Publishers in Japan as part of their Lumen series. Thanks to Ashley Buttle for reminding me of these books.


New Fraction Magazine




The newest issue of Fraction Magazine, Issue 17, has the work of Amy Elkins, Daniel Shea, Phil Underdown, Tabitha Soren and Tom Griscom along with a wonderful review by Susan Burnstine of Dave Anderson's One Block and Tom Leininger's review of Trent Parke's Bedknobs and Broomsticks.

8.05.2010

Finite Foto Taking August Off




If you have missed us, Finite Foto is taking August off. We will launch Issue 10: Politics and Advocacy in early September with contributions from David Ondrik, Jonathan Blaustein, Jennifer Schlesinger, Antone Dolezal and myself featuring photographers in the US and abroad who are working on projects relating to this theme. In the meantime, check out issue nine: society with work by Wendy Young and Maurice Sherif, as well as interviews with Thomas Barrow, Lisa Law and Taj Forer and a reflection on Taos, NM resident, actor and photographer Dennis Hopper.

Email Finite Foto at finitefoto@gmail.com, follow up on Twitter or Facebook
or sign up for the mailing list on the home page.

8.01.2010

Jason Fulford in South Korea for the printing of The Mushroom Collector

 Announcement of The Mushroom Collector 
(glassine case with color cards and letterpress insert )

I emailed photographer and publisher of J&L Books Jason Fulford to thank and compliment him on his beautiful old-fashioned snail mail announcement for The Mushroom Collector soon to be published by The Soon Institute. Jason informed me that he would be going to press in South Korea in the following week. Since Ron Jude had so kindly offered to do an on-press story in 2008 for his book Other Nature published by The Ice Plant, I asked Jason if he would be willing to do a comparable story. What I received back was more of a journal of his trip and I am pleased that Jason has allowed me to publish this a private snapshot of his travels to Seoul.

Keep an eye out for an interview with Lorenzo De Rita of The Soon Institute in the next few weeks.
Photographs by Niek van Lonkhuijzen, Mediabus and Jason Fulford.



1. Welcome to Seoul. This week we printed two books. One for J&L: a book of watercolours by Jason Logan titled Festus. And one for The Soon Institute: my new book, The Mushroom Collector.

2. Niek and I set up in our office at the printer.

3. I slipped on my work shoes.

4. Wet proofs were produced, and we made final color corrections to the files.

5. That evening, the sulphur smoked duck (with sesame leaves and chives) tasted like ham.

6. Our hotel was an old Hanok.

7. We climbed Inwangsan, on the northern edge of Seoul.
Buddhist temple music mingled with the pine needles.

8. Wild miniature dogs hid in the bushes near Skeleton Rock.

9. Would hitting baseballs help the jetlag? After a few rounds, the bat flew out of my hands.

10.

11. Final measurements for the dust jacket.

12. We tried all of the vending machine drinks.

13. Seoul Art Cinema was playing Japanese movies with Korean subtitles.

14. The best new thing to happen to Seoul.

15. I was invited to give a talk about J&L.

16. Two suitcases worth of books.

17. Press time.

18. We checked the pages as they came off the press.

19. I love the sounds and smells of the press floor.

20.

21. The printed pages are put aside until the ink dries. Binding will happen in two weeks.

22. PMS 511

23. Printing the endpapers.

24. The crystal ball said wet shoes and black sesame buns.

25. Meanwhile Cw.Gu tried not to electrocute himself.

26. Jeong Eun Kim showed me the latest issue of IANN. (photographs by Hein-kuhn Oh)

27. A final postcard session at MMMG before driving to the airport.