Sometimes You’re Just A Camera Monkey

Assignment photography is a hot-dog factory where the end results are images rather than sausages. If people saw what went into some of this stuff there’s no way they’d want anything to do with it. The sad reality is that there are all kinds of reasons you’re brought in on projects, some of them more edifying than others. Sometimes you’re exactly the right person for the job, other times you’re just a camera monkey. My favourite is the “wouldn’t-it-be-cool-if” call, where everyone gets all excited about an idea that turns out to be completely impractical.

Read more on planet shapton.

Tim Hetherington At Yossi Milo

I think that Hetherington’s images from Afghanistan will end up being THE images from this particular war; put them on the shelf with icons by Capa and Smith and the rest of pantheon of great war photographers.

via DLK COLLECTION.

You Can’t Recreate The Past

No matter how fast you shovel digital dirt into the chasm of print loss, you can’t recreate the past; you can’t fill the hole. Now, though, we see new foundations being set and fresher building — with more realistic expectations — begun. The change is a huge one. Where once top newspaper company execs eschewed new initiatives as too small with which to bother, the awareness that the old business simply is never coming back has almost sunk in.

via Nieman Journalism Lab.

I had to abandon traditional notions of photographic documentation, truth and representation

…people hold onto the creaky, dusty notion of photographs as some sort of reality; this only increases the potential for complexity through the many different possible readings of work that challenges or contradicts this restrictive perception of what a photograph is or what it can do. I consider this a wonderful gift to me as an artist, or any artist making work that disregards this concern with the real.

Read more on Conscientious Extended | A Conversation with Christian Patterson.

Tim Held The Door Open

Like all artists, Tim Hetherington’s work outlives him. For that I am grateful, but the loss is even more keen because of the unique way in which he viewed the world, and because of his fierce desire to peel back the obvious to show us the base from which the actions and emotions sprang.

Read more at Stellazine: Tim Hetherington at Yossi Milo.

YES, I still have a printed portfolio

All technology has done for me is allowed me to adapt my portfolio to more platforms, i.e. web, iPad, etc.  I used to have 12 printed portfolios, now I use less than half that.  A magazine hasn’t called in a “book” in over three years now, but agencies sometimes still want them.  And my agent, Big Leo, takes them to portfolio meetings where having a tangible thing to touch still has value.  And to be honest, printed portfolios are really nice when done well.

read the whole post on Less Is More.

Magazines Fumble the iPad Opportunity

“I don’t think there’s anything magazine-like out there that’s really resonating or working,” said Khoi Vinh, former design director for The New York Times. “Ultimately, the concept of a magazine feels like an uncomfortable fit for this platform. It shouldn’t be a packaged slate of content; it’s an awkward fit for a connected device that can be up to the minute.”

via, RexBlog, and Digiday.