The Cove Wins An Oscar!

Congratulations to Louie Psihoyos on winning the Oscar for The Cove! If you still haven't seen it, rent it right now. This is an incredible example of storytelling, and a photographer evolving from still to moving image.

Tell Me What You're Working On

Since this has been a really slow time for a lot of photographers I'm wondering what people are doing to fill their time. What are you shooting? Do you have a personal project you're working on?

I’m trying to get a broader view of what people are shooting across the country that reflects our economy, their own communities, or the stimulus projects around the country. I’d like to hear from you and am asking for links so I can see your work (that's better than emailing images).

My idea is to pull together a project with strong, moving images that are both timely and universal. If this speaks to you, email me at info@stellakramer.com.

If you are outside of the US, yet are shooting similar things, I'd like to know. I haven’t decided the particulars of the project--I’m just getting started--and no matter how much work I look at, I don’t see or hear about everything.

Be sure to tell your friends as well. I'm happy to look at lots of work.

Daylight with Michael Itkoff

Michael Itkoff is the editor of Daylight Magazine which publishes in-depth photographic essays on important issues of the day. It is a part of Daylight Community Arts Foundation (DCAF), a non-profit organization that collaborates with established and emerging artists to re-imagine the use of documentary work.
I met Michael over a year ago and was fascinated by the work he is doing with Daylight, and with his own personal photography.

Give us a little of your background and how you came to photography

I remember going to see a 76ers game at the old Spectrum arena when I was about ten years old. As the players were warming up I snuck down to the courtside and stood behind Bill Cosbys' chair. When David Robinson (of the Spurs) jogged by I yelled 'Hey Davey' and held my plastic lens Vivitar to my eye. Robinson looked up and waved as I snapped the picture. I was ecstatic! A few years later I was unable to sleep one night so I picked up a camera and ended up shooting a bunch of rolls of stuff in my room. That night I became obsessed with the latent image, waiting to see what I had captured and trying to play with my perception and the limits of representation. Most images failed but it was the process that was important.

I ended up studying photography through High School and photographed extensively during a gap year when I traveled through Israel and Europe. At Sarah Lawrence College I was lucky enough to study with Joel Sternfeld who became an important influence and mentor.

Whose work do you admire/follow?

There are so many photographers I could name here but Brian Ulrich, Tim Davis, Brenda Ann Kenneally, Teru Kuwayama come to mind...

Tell us about starting Daylight and DCAF

Daylight was started out of a frustration with the lack of outlets for emerging photographers. My senior year at SLC I teamed up with Taj Forer and began what was intended to be a serial publication featuring our work along with folks we admired. When Alec Soth agreed to be involved (in November 2003) we knew we should pull our work out and make it a purely curatorial effort. We started a non-profit organization, Daylight Community Arts Foundation, and published the first edition in time for the 2004 Whitney Biennial where the edition sold out.

How do you choose your subject matter and your photographers?

This is my favorite aspect of what Taj and I do. There are so many things I am interested in and Daylight is an amazing way to study and learn about the world. Based on our interests Taj and I pick a theme and research which photographers have worked along those lines. Our printing schedule is quite slow due to a number of factors so it allows us the time to really dig in and find a diverse group of photogs that collectively illustrate a subject. Taj and I will bounce news articles, essays and websites back and forth, attend openings and art fairs and generally keep our eyes and ears peeled for relevant information and potential artists.

How important is it for photographers to be able to write about their work?

Daylight serves as an independent platform for photographers portfolios and we encourage the photographers to write their own opening statements. Although photography is a depictive, non-textual form of communication it remains a tool of expression that can be greatly enhanced by the written insights of the artist. While I do believe an image should be able to stand on its own, there is no doubt that the context within which an image is displayed will greatly affect its reading. The various permutations of text and image relationships will continue to evolve indefinitely so exploring this terrain is important for any image maker.

What should photographers know about submitting their work to Daylight?

We have an open submission policy but require the purchase of an issue of the magazine in lieu of a submission fee. Generally we prefer a link to a website along with a statement and CV.

Is your project “Street Photographs” still on-going?

Street Portraits is a project that I have laid to rest for now but I could very easily pick it up again at any time. My recent monograph (Street Portraits, Charta Editions, 2009) provided a certain amount of closure for the project.

There are so few women in the book, how come?

Street Portraits arose after I spent a summer interning for Annie Leibovitz. Working with celebrities in studios for three months, I developed a great desire to go out and photograph everyday people in the streets. I traveled to five cities around the world for the project, often alone, and found that in each place I would often identify with other men in the city, like 'that might be me if I was born here' or 'that could be my life'.

The project was a bit quixotic, looking at humanity as a whole and perceiving us all as members of an extended family. With this notion in my head I began to identify with people I encountered in the streets and tried to picture my life as theirs and the identification simply happened more often with other men.

People say Photojournalism is dead, and yet on the cover of Daylight, it says “Documentary Photography.” Obviously you don’t subscribe to that belief. Talk about why not, and what it means to you.

The photo industry may be changing thanks to the democratization of imaging and communication technology but there will always be a need for professional photographic depiction of events. I am incredibly thankful for and excited by the complementary coverage we have received over the last couple of years with Iranian, Burmese and Egyptian dissent (to take just three examples) being recorded and shared via the internet. This does not eliminate the need for professional photojournalists and documentarians who pursue in-depth stories with technical proficiency and a bit more objectivity than those involved in the scenarios themselves.

Although there has been a vibrant, and valid, critique on the veracity of the documentary photograph as objective evidence it remains important for individuals from within and without a given context to bare witness, share their stories and participate in the global visual dialogue. Daylight seeks to embrace this gray area and further explore the territory between straight depiction and personal truth.


Do you think photographers need to blog? Do you read blogs? If so, which ones?

Blogging is one tool among many that photographers can use to further communicate and engender a sort of repeat audience, fan base or clientele. As with any tool I think each photographer first needs to visualize a goal and see if blogging is a way to achieve what they want.

When I have time I do read blogs via an aggregator and I sometimes search them for relevant content for Daylight. Among my favorites are A Photo Editor, Verve, and Resolve. On that note the Daylight Daily blog is looking for contributors willing to regularly review exhibitions books and miscellany as well.

Michael Itkoff's reception for his MFA show Michael Itkoff: Each + Every
Friday Feb. 26th, 6-10pm
On View Saturday Feb. 27th 12-5pm

24-20 Jackson Avenue, 3rd FLoor
Long Island City, Queens

Peter Turnley's Life in Photography

I was down in West Palm Beach Florida last month, at FotoFusion, and amidst the portfolio reviews and panels, I got a chance to hear esteemed photojournalist Peter Turnley talk about his career while showing an amazing variety of photographs. I worked with Peter for several years when I was a photo editor at Newsweek, and it was great listening to him talk about his work and how he became a photographer. He even showed a photograph that I remember choosing for the cover of one of the international editions of Newsweek (below). Peter had 43 covers for Newsweek when he was a contract photographer there. Sometimes you can learn so much about a person that you never knew before.

I will be paraphrasing some of what he said, but I think Peter’s career and passion are examples people can really learn from. He grew up in a family where “the notion of public service” helped to shape the way he looked at the world. Due to being laid up from a sports injury as a teenager he was introduced to the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson, and it opened his eyes. For Peter Turnley, photography is “sharing a response to the world.”

Peter and his twin brother, David, were influenced by Bruce Davidson’s “East 100th St.” project, and while in high school they were drawn to shoot in their own Ft. Wayne, Indiana backyard, on McClellan Street. They got to know the neighborhood and the people, and with one camera traded off photographing them. When the brothers published a book of this work recently they went back to their hometown to show the work. And although the neighborhood no longer exists, the people they photographed 39 years earlier came out to see the photographs and reminisce with the brothers Turnley.

Peter really seemed to find himself when photographing people. They “offered texture to the world,” and so he began his lifelong fascination with the people of the world, traveling to nearly every country on the planet, and covering the range of human emotion and experience. The most exciting moment of his career was photographing Nelson Mandela’s release from prison after 27 years.

Peter’s desire to “pierce the soul” of a person in the news compelled him to shoot, especially someone who has been photographed by so many others. Looking at his work you can see the arc of history from the late 1970s through the 1990s. From Princess Diana’s funeral to Mother Teresa’s funeral; Nixon to Gorbachev and the Pope; and from Nelson Mandela to Richard Nixon.

For Peter Turnley there is no such thing as “objectivity” in journalism. You pick moment to photograph, you point your camera—you’re making a choice. He totally defends the “right to a point of view, as long as it’s honest.” I couldn’t agree more. Just the decision to do one thing over another, or choose one person over another, or one line of thought over another is an action denoting a point of view. So let’s not debate the trivia, and make our judgments based upon the integrity of the information.

From covering wars and famine around the world, the “family of man” has always influenced Peter and his view of the world. He strives to show the “universality of grieving death from war, and the universality of the suffering of war.” It is the juxtaposition of these two sides of an issue and the juxtaposition of two photographs that has captured his interest.

Peter penned a piece for The Online Photographer, "Notes from a Life in Photography" and I encourage you to read it. After such a long and distinguished career it's great to hear someone still filled with such a sense of wonder at the world. He also runs photo workshops around the world and sells his black & white prints of Parisienne life.


Peter has recently been producing eight-page photo essays for Harper’s magazine, where Louis Lapham offered him the chance to be treated "like an author with photographs.” It's a remarkable gift for a photographer, and one of the few places left where someone can show so much of their work in such a respectful way to so many people. And we are all the better for it.

Peter's 50 image photo essay from Haiti, just completed, can be seen here

Look, It's Great Photography

Opening tonight, February 4:
Lydia Panas
The Mark of Abel
Foley Gallery
547 West 27th Street, 5th floor
Reception: 6-8pm

Catch feature artist Barbara Alper's underwater photography on view at Griffin Museum of Photography’s virtual gallery until March 28.



And don't forget the latest show at Danziger Projects: ‘The Year in Pictures – from the blog pictureyear.blogspot.com‘.


When: January 22 – February 27, 2010.
Danziger Projects
534 West 24th Street

Featuring the work of: Jowhara AlSaud, Chan-Hyo Bae, Thomas Bangsted, Mandy Corrado, Stephen Gill, Joseph Holmes, Alejandra Laviada, Greg Miller, David Schoerner, Patrick Smith, Tommy Ton, Scout Tufankjian, Oliver Warden, Katherine Wolkoff, Tsukasa Yokozawa.
And in remembrance of: Evelyn Hofer, Helen Levitt, Irving Penn, Julius Shulman, Bettie Page, and Charis Wilson.

Help Haiti And Buy Prints

It's easy with our busy lives, to lose track of the fact that the people in Haiti are still suffering to a massive extent. The media is moving on, and it can be overwhelming to look at the destruction over and over again. The photography community has stepped up, selling prints through a number of places, and I thought I would list a number of them here. So if you haven't donated money yet, or if you want to do more, here's your chance.


WallSpace Gallery in Seattle, is selling $50 prints by such photographers as David Bram (bottom), Emily Shur (top), Lydia Panas, Aline Smithson, Liz Kuball, Jordan Tate, and many more. All proceeds go to Doctors Without Borders and their efforts in Haiti.

Soul Catcher Studio is also offering prints to support Doctors Without Borders. Photographers included are Laurie Lambrecht, Heather McClintock, Ann Pallesen, Sarah Wilson (top), Natalie Young, Jennifer Shaw, Sarah Small (bottom), and others from around the country.


Cameron Davidson is selling prints of his aerial photographs and donating the profits to the the Community Coalition for Haiti, to benefit farmers and children in Haiti. The money will help buy seeds for farmers whose crops were damaged by hurricanes and provide food for needy children. Davidson has been shooting photos for this NGO since 1999 and serves on its board.
You can see much more of Davidson's work, and order prints, on his AerialStock site.

Big Cartel is offering prints from emerging photographers like Rachel Hulin, Rafael Soldi, Kate Hutchinson (below), Alex Leme, Sarah Sudoff, and others. Proceeds go to Doctors Without Borders. Many of the $50 are already sold out, so don't waste time.

San Francisco photographer Jeff Singer will be donating 100% of the proceeds from the next ten print sales* from his etsy page to The American Red Cross or Oxfam (buyer choice) to help with the Haiti disaster relief. Print prices range from $50 – $200 depending on the size of the print, so the larger the print the more money will be going to Haiti relief. All prints are individually custom printed.
*100% of the print sale will be donated after any paypal/etsy fees or taxes. Just mention this blog post or Haiti disaster relief when ordering. Good through the end of February.

Images Without Borders provides stunning images from world class photographers working around the globe offered to the public at a special price for this project. All profits go directly to Doctors without Borders, less only the cost of printing.
(Gallery Prints $50-100 : iPhone prints $32)

A Photographic Benefit for the Survivors of the Haiti Earthquake
All proceeds go to the American Red Cross International Response Fund for Haiti relief.

Several photographers, including the iconic photojournalist Mary Ellen Mark, have donated photographs to help create this special fund-raising collection of captivating images to benefit the people of Haiti. The title Haiti: Onè Respe comes from a traditional Haitian greeting meaning "honor and respect."
Since MagCloud has generously offered to pay for the printing costs, your purchase price of $12.00 will be donated in full to the American Red Cross International Response Fund for Haiti relief.
Photographs by: Chet Gordon, Kari Hartmann, Mary Ellen Mark, Peter Pereira, Lindsay Stark. Edited by Lane Hartwell and Michael Biven

Last Night's Panel Was a Great Success

Thank you all for coming out last night for the "Multi Platform Editing-Presenting Your Work to the New Media Landscape" panel. Thanks to our great panelists: Chris Owyoung, Alex Wright, Alison Zavos, Erin Rabasca, Joe Pritchard and Roberto De Luna. Thanks to Kaia Hemming of APA and John Dessereau of Calumet Photographic for pulling it all together, and to Tony Gale for the photo.

For those of you who couldn't get in, we are discussing the possibility of doing it again soon. And hopefully you can see an edited version shortly online (more details to come).
Kristina Feliciano who writes the Stockland Martel blog reviewed it here

Where Will Your Photos Appear Now?

I’ve been reading a lot and thinking a lot about the new media platforms that are being touted: from Kindle to the Nook to the Manhattan Project of Time Inc. to iPhones to the Skiff and the like, and wondering what that means for photographers. And that’s not even mentioning Apple’s upcoming entry into this sweepstakes. So, are photographers thinking in terms of new technology and how it will affect their work? Will people be composing their images differently if the medium changes?

When you look at an image on an iPhone or iPod or other small device can you see the image and get what the photographer wants you to understand? As with thumbnails on a website, do all images translate to that small screen? And if not, what does the photographer do? How do you edit for this new world of content?

It seems to me that photographers needs to think in these terms, just as they hopefully thought about how their photos would appear on a computer screen, as the transition from solely print portfolios shifted to include images on the screen.

To this end I will be moderating a panel produced by APA on January 27 to be held at Calumet Photographic. For more info and to register go here.

There will be these great panelists:
Roberto De Luna, photo editor at TimeOut
Joe Pritchard, photographer’s rep at Vaughn-Hannigan
Alison Zavos, independent curator of featureshoot.com
Alex Wright, co-creator of Dripbook
Erin Rabasca, head of art buying R/GA
Chris Owyoung, music photographer

A raffle for valuable gifts and a chance to talk and think about what’s coming down the pike for you. Be there.

The People of Haiti by Les Stone

Les Stone, multi-award winning photojournalist first went to Haiti in 1987 after the Duvalier dictatorship fell. Since then he has visited to Haiti dozens of times to document that religious life of the people. You can read more about Les and his incredible career in an interview I did in July here. I thought it was fitting to show you some of the beauty of the people of Haiti at this devastating time.






If you haven't done it yet, please donate to help the people of Haiti.

Help Haiti And Give What You Can

I have spent the last few days glued to the TV watching the news and images come out of Haiti. My blog is focused on photography, but this trumps that, so I am asking everyone to give what you can. As a supporter of Doctors Without Borders, I suggest them, and you can donate here. But there are dozens of good, dedicated organizations who need your help.
So don't just watch, give.

Judith Fox, I Still Do

I met Judith Fox at last year's ReviewLA portfolio review. When she opened her portfolio and I got a first look at her photos I found myself tearing up--a most unusual reaction. Judith told me she had been photographing her husband Ed who has had Alzheimer's Disease for the past ten years. I was so moved by the intimacy and rawness of the photos, and by the way she faced the subject head on.
In October, powerHouse published her work in a book, "I Still Do". On Saturday, January 9, "I Still Do" opens at the Andrea Meislin Gallery in New York.

There is nothing coy or precious in these photos. We see how frail the body really is, and how it can betray us. When you look into Ed's eyes you can't help but think about the photographer and her subject and how intertwined they are. There is a fierce honesty in Judith's photographs. This project is about both of them, and gives us a lesson in how to look unsparingly at the world around us.

Tell me a little of your background and how you came to photography

I grew up in New York (where I won, in third grade, a New York City art contest.) In hindsight, I was an artist and an entrepreneur from childhood. When I was nine, I combined my interest in art and my skills as an entrepreneur and successfully sold packages of seeds door-to-door so that I could “win” a Brownie camera.

A fast-forward summary of my career highlights: I was a freelance writer for national magazines; I owned a photography studio on Long Island; I started and ran a temporary service in Virginia and New York (18 years later I sold my company to a New York Stock Exchange firm); I exhibited and sold my fine art photography; I created a book of photographs called "I Still Do: Loving and Living with Alzheimer’s” which was published by powerHouse books in October, 2009.

Tell me about how and why “I Still Do” came to be
When I started photographing my husband, Ed Ackell, I thought I was doing so as an artistic challenge to myself in response to a book I’d read called “The Model Wife.” Where, I wondered, is “The Model Husband”? Then I realized I was married to him. So I started seriously photographing my husband, my model, my muse.

Ed had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease three years after we were married (I was widowed, he was divorced) and I started “I Still Do” three years after his diagnosis. In time, I realized that my project was also about living with AD and that I was photographing Ed as he was leaving me.

When I first saw the project earlier this year I was so moved by the intimacy of the photographs. How hard was it to begin, and has it been difficult for your husband and for you?

It was easy to begin the project, in part because I didn’t initially relate it (consciously) to AD.

Photographing the man I love was an intimate process. When I watched Ed through my camera lens, despite the distance of several feet between us, I felt as though I was caressing him. My camera wasn’t an obstruction, it was another way of touching him; and my photography helped me stay sane while the demanding role of caregiver continued to balloon.

What made you decide to show the work and to create the book? Has this been difficult?

When I showed the first group of photographs I’d taken of Ed to Arthur Ollman, the founding director of the Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA) and the author of “The Model Wife,” he told me I had a book. Before going forward with that as a goal, I thought about what it meant in terms of giving up our privacy; and I discussed it with Ed. My husband supported my work and believed in me, and I knew that the only way to create the kind of book I believed in was to be honest and open. Once I made that decision, the rest was relatively easy.

Talk about making the contacts to get the book out there

For many years, while I was making the photographs that would become part of “I Still Do,” I was focused on my husband and the world of Alzheimer’s. I didn’t think about marketing the work, or my photography, or connecting with a photography community until sometime around 2007. I started by meeting with Mary Virginia Swanson (a very good move) and then I started attending a few portfolio reviews.

As a result of attending reviews, my sample book was seen by a number of interested publishers and reviewers. Because of that process, I received two offers to publish “I Still Do” and I signed a contract with powerHouse Books. Less than a year later, my book was released.

Of course, nothing is quite that simple—there was an agent who told me he wouldn’t take my book on because there wasn’t a publishing house that would print a book about such a depressing subject, no matter how beautifully done. After talking with three prospective agents, I decided it would be easier to find a publisher myself than to find an agent. I was right.

Is this still an ongoing project?
Marketing and publicizing a book is a full-time job; it’s part two of creating a book and getting it published.

I’m no longer photographing Ed—at least as I write this. But I’ve become an advocate on behalf of AD as a result of writing “I Still Do.” I’ve been invited to travel the world to talk about my book and living with AD. The book and photography are leading to amazing opportunities, including several gallery and museum shows.

I have several other photography projects in process (photography that’s very different from the work in the book—and work about which I’m very excited.)

Talk about adding the text—usually people add too much, yet in your book it is almost haiku
The text came about towards the end of the project. I knew I didn’t want to provide traditional captions for the photographs, nor did I want to write so much that it distracted from the images. I started writing in a spare style and found that it enabled me to say what I wanted to in a manner that interested me. The writing became a very important, fulfilling and enjoyable part of the process and project.

What do you want people to take away from seeing your work?
I want them to better understand the human beings who are dealing with Alzheimer’s—and to know that it’s a disease that can happen to anybody. I want people to understand the pain that’s involved in living with AD, and the desperate need to find better treatments and an eventual cure for the disease. I hope people reading “I Still Do” will have a better understanding of the importance of family caregivers and how difficult and isolating that life is. I want people who see my work to recognize that, while much is taken away by Alzheimer’s, a person is still left behind; a person who deserves respect, dignity and love. And I hope that people will recognize that there are gifts and moments of joy and beauty that come with even the most terrible of diseases.

Here's to the New Year

I’m finally over the end-of-the-year/holiday nightmare and I enter 2010 with a sense of guarded optimism. Everything seems to stop at the beginning of December, and I lose any momentum I might have had. So, good riddance to 2009 and welcome to this New Year. Let’s get to work!

Here’s what’s happening this week:

Thursday, January 7:


Resource Magazine is having a silent auction from 6-11pm at Milk Gallery, 450 W. 15th St. Featuring work by such photographers as Danny Clinch, Henry Leutwyler, Martin Schoeller, Patricia McDonough, Walter Chin, Vincent Laforet and many more.
RSVP not required, but preferred

Saturday, January 9:



The Andrea Meislin Gallery presents Judith Fox's poignant and moving photographs of her husband who has Alzheimer's. The opening and signing of her PowerHouse book, I Still Do will be from 3-5pm at the Gallery, 526 W. 26th St. #214.

Check back here later in the week when I will be posting an interview with Judith Fox, a totally fascinating woman.

The Photographer Project by Brian Ach

Brian Ach has been shooting celebrities for the past four years: walking the red carpet, attending invite-only events, and on occasion even vacationing with them. After a fellow shooter fell ill, Brian came up with the concept for this coffee-table book, turning the tables on the photographers and asking them about themselves and their work.
What I love about this project is it's simplicity (it was something right in front of him), the clever questions and the funny answers.

How did you come to photography?
I had always thought photography was an interesting art, but never did much involving it. When my grandfather passed away in 1988, I decided that I wanted his Canon AE-1 that he always has with him. I got it, and it sat on a shelf for over ten years. One day, I took it out and decided I needed to learn how to use it. A friend of mine showed me the basics. When I got that first roll of Tri-X back, I was hooked.

Michael Loccisano:

How did you become a celebrity shooter? Are you one of the paparazzi?
I was obsessed with photography, and shot so much film I almost single-handedly saved Kodak. I had taught myself graphic design and was doing that full-time, but was getting bored. Through a film I worked on, I became friends with James Gandolfini, and did a couple of jobs for him and his family. I went on vacation with him and shot his son’s birthday party. I then went to the Venice Film Festival with him and shot some of it and some behind-the-scenes stuff. When I got back to the U.S., I thought, I could do this for a living. I cold emailed Wireimage, and they called me in the next day. I showed them my books, my fine art and celebrity stuff, and I was working for them within days.
Seems easy, but you really have to know your stuff, and be in the right place at the right time and have the right personality for this. The job is not easy, and new photographers are often chewed up and spit out in months. I am not a paparazzi, although I have taken some unplanned shots here and there. If you need the shot for a client, sometimes you are left with no choice but to shoot first, ask after.
Mike Coppola:

How do you feel about celebrity?
Celebrity, in general, is an interesting thing. Maybe only 2 or 3 times have I been “starstruck,” and I have shot basically everyone. Usually it is someone from my childhood that I grew up respecting, like Neil Armstrong or a hockey player like Pat LaFontaine, not some big Hollywood star. For me, it all has to do with the work someone does, whether I respect it or the process. Reality TV and American Idol and MySpace etc., those have really changed the idea of what a “celebrity” is nowadays. People now are famous for literally doing nothing…it is an interesting concept. I try not to judge, but before, to become famous, there had to be something of substance, a body of work, an accomplishment, which brought the person some stature. Today, people are overnight successes, literally. Before, you had to build a career--lay the groundwork, promote yourself, and have a body of work, to become somebody in your field.
I find that these overnight stars sometimes do not know the proper etiquette, the way to handle themselves in their career. Sometimes they have to be reminded. In the end, the one thing I have learned (and actually knew before I started) was that celebs are just people who happen to have a somewhat different job than most people. Generally, though, I find almost everyone fascinating in some way. This is what I believe makes a good photographer--unless you are shooting food.

What made you do this project?
I started the project almost exactly a year ago. The project was started because a friend of mine and fellow photographer, Paul Hawthorne, had become sick. No one really knew how serious it was at the time, but the medical bills were mounting for him and his family. He was also not able to work anymore. Paul (and I) belong to a small group of entertainment photographers in NYC. We shoot all of the red carpets, concerts, and parties for agencies like Wireimage and Getty. Not having Paul around every night was kind of sad.
The reason the project seems personal, is because it is. Paul was a mentor to me when I broke into this business over 4 years ago. He gave me tips and advice when other people would not. This is a small group, and breaking into the business is hard. I appreciated that about Paul, if you were a good honest person, he would help. Paul was diagnosed in the fall with amyloidosis, a rare blood disorder.
I started the project in December of 2008, shooting it out of my Brooklyn studio. The call went out to all the photogs in NYC who do this type of work- from the big names like Kevin Mazur to the street paps. I was going to shoot full-length portraits of them, have them fill out a questionnaire, and put the end product together in a book. The book would then be sold to raise money for his family.
Paul was touched and excited that such a fuss would be made for his benefit. I was glad to be working in my studio on something important. Sadly, Paul passed away right before Christmas. The shock was palpable, no one really knew how sick he was. I vowed to go ahead with the project and see it through to the end, for Paul. It has taken me a year, while working for my agencies and doing other work. All the portraits were completed in January, but the surveys were difficult to get people to fill out-some of the answers are very personal. I also designed the entire book myself.
In February, I pitched the book exclusively to the features editor at PDN. I showed him about 30 of the portraits, and described the questions I was going to ask the photographers. No one else had seen the pictures or heard the concept. He was enthusiastically interested, and said he wanted to do a feature on the project in the December entertainment issue. Off and on we conversed by email for months, with me sending him samples of the work and questions. Imagine my surprise when the issue comes out this month, and they have their own “version” of the project, with very similar questions.
Lesson learned, keep your great ideas to yourself. The amount of work that went into the project was huge.
Bryan Bedder:

The book was finally finished this past week, and has 64 photographers in it, as well as outtakes and an irreverent glossary of terms that we use in this specialized industry. I am hoping that people share my enthusiasm for this project and the book. it really is totally unique and gives a true glimpse into one of the more interesting jobs in photography, one that most people don't know anything about. It also gives that rare look into the lives of celebrities, with some answers to questions that will surprise a lot of people! As I have stated, a portion of the proceeds after printing costs go directly to Pauls' family.

How did shooters react to having the tables turned on them? Were they difficult or cooperative?
Most were very cooperative, if not a little uncomfortable. A lot of people who do this work feel very comfortable with having the camera between themselves and the subject-- it offers a certain sort or barrier or protection. Turning the tables, I had to reassure people what the goal was--to have an accurate portrait of themselves showing their personality and how they differ from the others who do this work. Knowing most of them very well, it at first appeared to be simple. But after 20 or 30 people, you have to be very quick on your feet in coming up with new things to capture that are true.
One photographer, who was coaxed into doing the project, I only took 5 frames of—but I got what I needed before he said, “OK, I am done.” In this job, you often only have 3 seconds to come up with the perfect shot before a celebrity, publicist, handler, security, or fan ends the shot, so I have learned to think ahead, plan, improvise, and push to get what I need while leaving the subject feeling like it was a collaborative effort.

Tell us a great celebrity story—good or bad.
I was working a private party for Wire, a while ago.It was a big event, with many a-listers. I was working inside, and then a certain teenage tabloid queen entered and was whisked straight back to the back, to a private table. PR came up to me and said it would be a bit before she would do photos. After a half hour, he came to get me and bring me back to her table. He got my attention, and said, “Only this” (indicating from the waist up) “and none of this” (indicating the table in front of her). I looked down and saw all types of alcohol and illicit contraband sprawled out on the table. I had a 17mm lens on my camera, so I could have gotten it all in the frame. However, I was house, and it was exclusive, so they would have known it was me even if I did somehow sell it under the table. She stood up and posed, I took three frames, and she sat down. The PR guy checked my photos on my camera to make sure they were ok, as I saw $100,000 flitter through my hands.
Patricia Schlein:

Which celebrity do YOU think has gotten a bad rap?
I can only go from personal experience, but I have photographed Tom Cruise multiple times in many different circumstances, and it is no surprise to me that, in the book, more photographers name him as their most favorite celeb to work with. He is a true pro with fans, photographers, and everyone else, making sure that everyone gets what they want and need. Nice to a fault, he knows how the game is played. I’d buy him a beer.

How are you dealing with the changing photo industry?
It seems like it is probably obvious, but diversifying appears to be the way to go right now. I think the celebrity market for agency photos is going down the tube now, with most of it going to the internet and rates for pictures going to new lows every day. Providing value to your clients while holding the line on your rate is the angle I am taking. Quality customer service can go a long way, and is an art that is being lost in this digital hurry-up and do it, use it, throw it away world. I think you will see a lot more cross-over, from commercial to editorial, editorial to advertising, as clients try to capitalize on the next big thing. Staying up on technology is something I have been striving to do.

What’s next for you?
Maybe a part 2 of The Photographer Project, but with a big twist. I am possibly directing an unrelated short film, and I am looking at shooting a studio project on stereotypes. I like to do things that sort of scare me. I don’t want to give too much of it away, though, I learned that lesson already.

This book can be purchased through Blurb.com, and part of the proceeds will go to the family of the late Paul Hawthorne, entertainment photographer.

Catherine Ledner's Glamour Dogs

Catherine Ledner was born into a creative New Orleans family where "no two walls were parallel and no ceilings were flat," owing to her architect dad. Growing up in a home full of dogs, rats, rabbits, guinea pigs, fish and turtles led to her lifelong love of animals. After graduating from NYU with a degree in film, she worked in television for a year and a half. She then worked as a studio manager for a photographer in New York, which led to her eventual move to Pasadena to study photography at Art Center College of Design.

Catherine's work has appeared in numerous publications including Travel & Leisure, Dwell, New York Times Magazine, and Vanity Fair. Her first book, "Animal House" is available through Welcome Books and Amazon.com. Catherine currently lives in South Pasadena with her husband Kyle, their dogs, Dodger, Gracie and Little Bear, two cats and several rabbits.

I met Catherine in 1998 when she shot two covers for me when I was DP for a women's start-up financial magazine (EQUITY). Both shoots were tons of fun, and I loved Catherine's zest for her work, and her ability to find something wonderful no matter how sterile the environment. I visited her this last January and saw the beginnings of her newest book, "Glamour Dogs." I knew immediately that I wanted to interview her for this blog.

Tell me when and why did you start shooting animals?

I started shooting animals in the studio against wallpaper in 2001. I was shooting a fair amount of advertising at the time and finally had the funds to realize my dream. I could hire wild animals and buy any wallpaper my heart desired.

How did Animal House come about?

Basically, it came from my head. I love animals and thought it would be great to shoot them in the studio on crazy cool wallpaper. I’d never seen that done before and it looked good in my head.

Was it hard getting your book deal?

Not at all. PQ Blackwell, out of New Zealand contacted me after seeing the animal images on Getty. They were interested in pitching a book. That first book came out in 2007 and is called Animal House.


What made you decide to do Glamour Dogs?

I wanted to do a second book and needed a subject that was more accessible and less expensive. I could no longer afford fancy animals and trainers. I love dogs and thought it would be fun to shoot them in a glamorous way. It was great working with all “real” dogs. Only the afghan was an agency dog with some training. Every other dog was just a regular dog, having his or her day! The owners and I had fun. The sets were similar to Animal House because it worked with the theme and it’s what my publisher was looking for.

Can you tell us any stories about shooting particular animals?

Well dogs are the best. I can relate to them the way I relate to people. They are very intuitive and fun. One of the owners (also a vet) brought 3 of his 15 dogs. They were crazy fun jumping off the walls and all begging for attention. Getting a shot where all 3 sat still (for a second) was quite a challenge.


As for the trained animals from Animal House, they were all a joy to behold. The Flamingos arrived in special crates that held their long necks up without getting hurt in the drive. When they walked on set it was a beautiful thing. I love the way long necked animals like flamingos, ostriches and swans move. They move in a constant ballet. So graceful to behold.



I see Little Bear is in the book, what about Gracie?
Little Bear is in the book. He was shot against an old fashioned looking paper that brings out his natural regal look. His long hair was freshly washed and he sparkled. Gracie was shot on the same pink sofa that the French Bulldog (on the cover) was shot and she got lost on the cutting room floor. I needed a new photo for the book jacket so I posed with a freshly cut Gracie so she would make it in – even if it was just at the end with me.
Dodger, of Animal House fame, is also in the book. I can’t believe she made it in. Being almost 11 years old and turning a bit grey – but she is the consummate poser so of course she did well and became a “Glamour Dog”. She is on a beautiful ivory inlaid chair that I rented from a prop house.

How are you faring in today’s market?

I’m getting by. It has been challenging. I try to adopt the attitude that “necessity is the mother of invention” and I am working on myself and my work in a different way than I did before. All and all things are doing well. I am extremely grateful to have Glamour Dogs coming out. Dumont (a European company) has made a stunning 2010 calendar with 12 of the images from Animal House and they have plans for two 2011 calendars, one with more Animal House images and another with 12 Glamour Dog images. I am also selling fine art prints from Animal House and am planning on getting involved with Etsy and selling smaller prints that are not in limited editions. I am also shooting assignment work for magazines and am chasing the ad work as best I can.

What would be your dream job?

I would love to be sent to a remote place and shoot a stock library for a great client like HP. I love traveling and meeting new people. I also love to shoot many different types of things. I would make a visual diary of the place. That would be my dream job for sure.

What’s next for you?

I am continuing to keep my head above water first and foremost. Then I think I will start shooting a seriously fun book about Gracie, my standard poodle. I don’t want to give away my plan – but it will be different than the wallpaper series. I see it in my head so clearly – now I just need to make the time and shoot it!