At AIPAD, An Old Acquaintance

Because Mrs. New York Portraits is working at the event, I attended the AIPAD (Association of International Photography Art Dealers) Photography Show on Friday night. Also, because they have many, many photographs.

In one of the booths, I saw a face I hadn't seen in person in ten years: Lucien Clergue. He was signing a print he had just sold, and looking great. Ten years later, and he looks younger.

That could be because he photographs nude people for a living, of course. Here's what he was doing the last time I saw him -- link is Not Safe For Work viewing:

Lucien Clergue's Nude Workshop

He remembered it, and we discussed that it was the first -- and only -- time he has shot digitally. He was very kind, and came over to meet Mrs. New York Portraits. She kept her clothing on for the duration of the conversation.

AIPAD Starts Tonight

The AIPAD (Association of International Photography Art Dealers) Photography Show starts tonight here in Manhattan with a Gala fundraiser, then continues through Sunday, April 13, 2008, at the Park Avenue Armory at 67th Street in New York City. If you were going tonight, you'd already be there, but for the rest of the week show hours will be:

Thursday, April 10 -- 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Friday, April 11 -- 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 12 -- 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 13 -- 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Admission is $25 daily or $35 for the run-of-show, and includes a show catalogue. No advance purchase required, tickets available at the door.

AIPAD 2008

From the Department of Planning Way in the Heck Ahead: The AIPAD (Association of International Photography Art Dealers) Photography Show New York will run from Thursday, April 10 though Sunday, April 13, 2008 at the Park Avenue Armory at 67th Street in New York City.

Is there any way you can double check that? Yep, you could click right here.

PhotoPlus Friday

I went to PhotoPlus Expo this afternoon. Strobes, softboxes, stands; backgrounds, bare bulbs, batteries; cases, cards and cameras.

Touched some Nikons, some Canons, the new Sony Alpha.

The Sony booth had one or two models posing at all times, and when two worked together, a crowd formed of a dozen men, surging forward. The cameras had huge zooms mounted on them, thick and long. (You need two hands to handle them properly, really.) The men would sometimes look at each other, comparing, then point them at the models and blast away.

I walked around the corner and tried out a Sony 28mm F2.8. When I asked to see it, the salesman put a big zoom lens on the camera instead and smiled. "No, the 28mm prime," I said. "Oh," he said. "No one has asked to see that before." It's a very unsexy lens. Not fast, not expensive. Snubnose and light. Invisible.

Wednesday Night's Photography Event

Confounding Expectations:
Photography in Context: Lisette Model and Her Successors:
September 26, 2007 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

"Model’s edgy, indelible point of view gave rise to a portrait of the United States at all social levels, from Coney Island to Fifth Avenue. Larry Fink, Gary Schneider, Ann Thomas, and Rosalind Solomon will participate in the panel discussion, which will be moderated by William Hunt of Hasted Hunt Gallery. The New School, Tishman Auditorium, 66 West 12th Street. Free."