Claire and John – Sneak Peek
I had a great portrait session with Claire and John in Columbia Park on Friday. We had a lot of fun and I got a bunch of fantastic images! Here are a couple of favorites.
Photo Date!
My wife Athena and I went to downtown Kennewick last night for an impromptu photo date. We had a lot of fun and made some great images! Here are a few of my favorites. Enjoy!
Friday Inspiration (on a Sunday) – Jonas Bendiksen
Yeah, I know I’m posting this “Friday Inspiration” on a Sunday, but I’m afraid I’m running a few days behind right now! My family got back last week from a wonderful short vacation on the Oregon coast – one of my favorite places in the world – and I’ll be sharing images soon!
I went to the library the other day and glanced at the new books. One photography book was on the shelf and I took a quick look at it. It looked like a potentially good book of documentary work and the library was closing soon, so I checked it out.
Boy, did I make a good choice! The book is The Places We Live, by Jonas Bendiksen. First off, Bendiksen is a Magnum photographer, which places him in the category of world-class. Secondly, the prints in this book are both phenomenal and heartbreaking. There are a few photographers whose work I love for their ability to make beautiful photographs of terrible things. Bendiksen has just been added to that list. His use of light, composition, and his saturated colors make these images fantastic!
For this book, he spent time in the slums of four cities: Caracas, Venzuela; Nairobi, Kenya; Mumbai, India; and Jakarta, Indonesia. He visited people in their homes and photographed the four walls of each home. The heart of the book is these series of photographs – the pages open so you can view all four photographs at once. The remainder of the photographs are from the neighborhoods these homes are in.
Bendiksen interviewed one member of each family and allows them to tell their own story as a preface to each set of photographs. He writes:
“Tell me about life here,” I said. I hoped that they would talk about whatever they felt like—their homes, families, dreams, hopes, jobs, frustrations, or fears. This book is a collection of their voices and reflections on living in the world’s fastest-growing human habitat—the slums. These are the places we live.
Make sure to check out his Magnum portfolio and a few images from the book.
Another from OSP West
Here’s one more from OSP West for you. I really love the motion here! (Here’s the first post in case you missed it.)
Cinco de Mayo Parade
I had fun at the Cinco de Mayo parade earlier today in downtown Pasco – even with the rain. Here’s a couple favorites – I’ll share more soon.
I love the irony here:
I really love the motion in this one!
OSP West – Sneak Peek
Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to hang out with a large group of photographers from the photography forum I’m a member of – Open Source Photo, or OSP. We spent three days in Seattle learning, shooting, and just having fun. Here’s one of my favorite images from the weekend, taken in Post Alley near Pike’s Place Market.
I’ll share more soon!
March for Respect
Did you see the sneak peek?
The Arc of Tri-Cities asked me if I would document the annual March for Respect this year. I was delighted to, and I had a great time photographing it (and keeping my cameras dry in the rain)! According to the official flyer, the March “is a public rally honoring citizens with disabilities on Saturday, March 28th, 2009. The rally will feature inspirational speeches that show respect and honor for those that live every day with a disability. This is a day to celebrate abilities.”
Here are some of my favorite images from the event.
If you’re on the main blog page, click the link to read the rest of the post – there are a bunch more photos! Continue reading this entry »
Friday Inspiration – James Nachtwey
James Nachtwey is one of the best photographers in the world. I’ve covered him before in an inspiration post, if you’d like to read for some background information.
In 2007 Nachtwey won the TED Prize. His wish (what he used the prize money for) was, “I’m working on a story that the world needs to know about. I wish for you to help me break it, in a way that provides spectacular proof of the power of news photography in the digital age.”
That story is the emergence of Extremely Drug Resistant Tuberculosis, or XDR-TB. From the TED website, here is what he did:
For 18 months, James Nachtwey went around the world to capture images of the scourge of extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis. On October 3, 2008, his wish became a reality with the launch of the website XDRTB.org, a series of global projections and LED screen showings, and a 7 page spread in TIME magazine. In response to James’ wish, both candidates for US president responded with support for working to stop the spread of TB. Media outlets around the world picked up the story and hundreds of thousands of people viewed the slideshow in the first two weeks after its release.
Here is the slideshow, featuring Nachtwey’s haunting photography:
I’m inspired by someone who sees something in the world that shouldn’t be, and uses his or her unique talent to do something to bring change.
For more information, check out xdrtb.org.
National Poetry Month
April is National Poetry Month! Here’s Billy Collins reading his poem, “Litany,” which I really enjoyed. (H.T. [Hat Tip] to Steve McCoy, who turned me on to Billy Collins and National Poetry Month last year. He’ll be blogging on poetry all month, so check out his blog.)
March for Respect – Sneak Peek
I was asked by The Arc of Tri-Cities to document the annual March for Respect for them this year. Here’s one of my favorites from Saturday’s march.
I’ll have more for you soon!