Breaking News

Just found out: my short film "Notebook on Santas and Elves" is going to ... well, I'm not sure I'm allowed to say yet. Will announce the festival and screening dates very soon. Let's just say it's a festival I like very much.

Pictures, Or It Didn't Happen

Since my pocket camera went kablooey, I've been at a loss. I carry my DSLR when appropriate, but I miss a lot of the shots that arise in daily life. No camera, poor Internet access, no photos: maybe I should learn to sketch.

ROTF, But Not LMAO

This weekend my Internet access has been on, off, on, and mostly off. So much for good luch.

Oh, Fuch

That can really such.

An Army of Not Me

On Sunday, while I was indefatigably practicing a bit of street shooting, walking from Midtown to the Upper East Side, I couldn't help but notice how overwhelmingly saturated the street is with cameras.

Cell phones, sure: dozens of people locked in a zombielike shuffle, phone jammed against temple, swerving in front of me at intervals. But cameras: everywhere. At the same time, little of it could be called street photography, really. It's just not what people do.

Above: near Bryant Park.

That's Right: Indefatigable

The Frugal Traveler has a great post about what it takes to produce the text and video for the Grand Tour:

What’s Still in Matt’s Duffel Bag?

Eternal Return

Last year I walked past this statue near 59th Street and realized a second too late that the person hailing a cab in front of me was a great echo for the statue's pose. I missed that shot, but now whenever I go by I look for people in some relationship to the statue. Have not caught a cab hailing yet, but I will eventually.

Sunday on the Street

I went to International Center of Photography with students from my Hunter College Continuing Education class, and decided to walk home later up 5th Avenue. I haven't shot on the street in a little while, though, so my timing was a little off the entire way. I'll admit I missed a few good shots.

When in doubt, photograph stationary objects. Or, stationery objects will work too.

Frugal Traveler Europe, Week 9

A new episode, just edited on Tuesday night:

Frugal Traveler Europe, Week 9: Vilnius, Lithuania

Bend & Bow to Kosovo

A while back I made a short film called "Bend & Bow" with the Profluence Productions group. It showed in Toronto at HotDocs, and tonight I received the following email:

Hello Doc Challenge Finalists,

The Doc Challenge Finalists showcase has been accepted into Dokufest in Kosovo! Your film will be screening in Prizren, Kosovo sometime between August 4-10. (The exact time has not yet been confirmed.)

Details soon.

What I Did On My Summer Vacation, 2008 Edition

Ah, leisurely summertime. Well, not at the moment. I've kept fairly busy.

Usually I discuss video editing work on my other blog, Actualities, but here are links to some of the videos I've edited this season -- so far:

Frugal Traveler: The Grand Tour. Week 1: Dover to Calais
Frugal Traveler: The Grand Tour. Week 2: Paris, France
Frugal Traveler: The Grand Tour. Week 3: Southwestern France
Frugal Traveler: The Grand Tour. Week 4: French Riviera
Frugal Traveler: The Grand Tour. Week 5: Rome
Frugal Traveler: The Grand Tour. Week 6: Malta
Frugal Traveler: The Grand Tour. Week 7: Cyprus
Frugal Traveler: The Grand Tour. Week 8: Bucharest


On Par by Bill Pennington: Rules That Rule
On Par by Bill Pennington: Coming Up Short
On Par by Bill Pennington: Relief on the Range
On Par by Bill Pennington: The Long and Short of It
On Par by Bill Pennington: The Starter
On Par by Bill Pennington: Nothing Fancy
On Par by Bill Pennington: Hitting it Fat

Of course, it's only half way through the season. Maybe Fall will be a peaceful, relaxing time.

Photography in the News, International Edition

As always, there are stories about: "news" organizations using Photoshop to create unflattering images of reporters at other organizations, pop stars being retouched in magazines, and even a followup to the fake-tiger story complete with resignations. Yawn. Are there any stories that have a little more interest, maybe something that reveals how images work in contemporary news? You bet.

In an Iranian Image, a Missile Too Many

As news spread across the world of Iran’s provocative missile tests, so did an image of four missiles heading skyward in unison. Unfortunately, it contained one too many missiles, a fact that had not emerged before the photo appeared on the front pages of The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune and several other newspapers as well as on BBC News, MSNBC, Yahoo! News, NYTimes.com and many other major news Web sites.

Aesthetically, the fake image is better. Except for being a fake, of course.

Animals

I was riding on the 6 train on the way to teach my continuing education class at Hunter. My laptop case was filled by a hard drive, so I was carrying two photography books under my arm: Robert Frank: The Americans and Garry Winogrand: The Animals.

Two women got on the train, standing a few feet away. They were talking, then one looked down at my books and turned her head to see better. She tapped her friend on the arm, and pointed at the book. Her friend looked, smiled, and nodded.

Ah, photography fans, I thought. They know Winogrand, or Frank. I didn't really want to start a conversation, so I just kept looking ahead.

When I got off the train, I looked down at the books and realized that the side of the book they had seen was the back of "The Animals" -- which is a photo of two lions mating.