Permission To Suck

Photographic Point of View – Ralph Gibson

Monday, January 11, 2010

Listening to Ralph Gibson speak, and reviewing his work, something hit me. Yes, his work is simultaneously complex and simple. Its complexity is hidden by simplicity. His chosen frame is the disguise. But moreover, his work over five decades is astonishingly similar and that, to me, is especially remarkable when bearing in mind that I consider changing my approach daily.

The Space Between Your Notes

Thursday, December 17, 2009

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“Music is the space between the notes” – Claude Debussy I thought of this quote before discovering someone much more intelligent said it first. I was at a show listening to bluegrass virtuosos play so fast that it was hard to discern a space between notes. It made me realize that there was only one interpretation possible. There were no spaces for me to think or feel anything but the energy of their content.

Permission To Suck Manifesto 16, 17, 18 …

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

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This time, an addition of three items to the Permission To Suck Manifesto comes from my own attempts recently to reignite my passion for photography. It's not that I stopped enjoying the work but it's that I had forgotten what it felt like when everything felt new. Suspension of disbelief might be the answer - whatever works - but these three points have been rolling around in my head the past couple months.

The Afghanistan Portfolio of Photographer – David Guttenfelder

Thursday, November 26, 2009

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Photographers learn early to capture contrast. Most serious photographers – pre digital – started seeing frames in black and white so the word “contrast” is etched into our professional consciousness. Yet, contrast is more importantly seen as paradox. In this group of images taken in Afghanistan by Photographer David Guttenfelder, we are confronted with some of the most profound examples.

Making a Human Connection – David Griffin

Monday, November 23, 2009

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Your frozen mental picture is attached to a narrative. Dreams feel like movies but the meaningful moment is a photograph in your mind with an ascribed story. Precise and complete recall isn’t called video graphic memory now is it? Video Presentation by David Griffin, National Geographic Magazine Director of Photography with links to Photographers featured in the presentation.

Don’t Tell Me What to Feel

Monday, November 16, 2009

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The artist has success with me if feeling threads don’t break as he/she reels me in. A paradox, an emotional a-ha moment; whatever the established connection can be destroyed if the artist comes on too strong by telling me how to feel about my journey. Simultaneously beautiful and ugly, Edward Burtynsky's photos of manufactured landscapes are perfect examples of artistic paradox. Featured: Video Interview of Canadian photographer, Edward Burtynsky

The Message Follows Motivation – Terry Richardson knows

Thursday, October 29, 2009

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Terry Richardson reminds us that photography can be a very basic tool. By reducing it to a simple capture of emotions the authenticity is preserved, the blather is eliminated and it feels as personal as discovering photos on a friend’s Face Book page. Needless finesse of the craft is sacrificed to capture the raw motivation of the moment.

Talking with Photographer – Bruce DeBoer

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

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In 1970, a 12 year old boy enthusiastically picked up the family Kodak Instamatic and started pointing it at anything. Or was it everything – hard to tell – but after only one twelve exposure cassette, he was running to the corner Drug for processing. Every photographer knows the ecstasy of repeated shutter clicks whether [...]

Steve McCurry: Arts and Minds

Thursday, October 8, 2009

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McCurry is an adventurer, documentarian and photojournalist with a great soul, a big heart, and a celebrated pair of eyes. Steve is an anthropologist who endures with his subjects.

Ben Wiggins – Beyond the “Cool” of time compression

Thursday, October 1, 2009

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I’ve seen time lapse before, who hasn’t? Maybe it’s a shaky seedling sprouting from the ground or a street scene with jittery people. Yet, there’s an emotion to Ben’s short films that I find unexpected. Not only is the still frame that captures the motion well considered but the motion itself has a power beyond the usual “cool” of time compression.