Pictory

I subscribed to JPG magazine for a year. It always was relegated to the magazine rack next to the toilet and always migrated to the bottom of the stack. The photos just couldn’t hold my interest and the whole concept seemed based on a popularity contest. I found it very boring. Remember the flickr posts asking to vote for photos?

Laura Brunow Miner, the former editor of JPG now has a web magazine called “Pictory”. A topic is provided each week. Readers submit photos along with a descriptive caption. Most of the captions are in the form of a short essay explaining why the photo is important to the photographer. The caption adds another dimension to the photo and I find that the tight edit and quality of the photos holds my interest much better than JPG every did. This makes Pictory a site that I’ll be going back to.

If you’re interested in participating check it out.

http://www.pictorymag.com/

Artist Statements

For anyone that is working to get their work noticed, Joerg Colberg of the Conscientious photo blog, recently posted an essay about artist statements that is worth a read and careful consideration.

Masahisa Fukase – The Solitude of Ravens

The great thing about Inter Library Loan is that you can view great photo books that might not be available in your small city library. This month I ordered Masahisa Fukase’s “The Solitude of Ravens”.

When I opened the book and started to page through it I immediately thought about a time in my life about 10 years ago. I was doing lots of international travel and the long flights gave me lots of time to think about the ending of my marriage. I’ve never felt more alone than standing on the streets of Hong Kong and Shanghai. Looking through The Solitude of Ravens I couldn’t help but feel the same melancholy. This book is the perfect visual when listening to Portishead.

Fukase photos took me on a sorrowful trip into my past. It is one of the most powerful photography books I’ve seen and one that I would gladly have in my collection.

Survey

I'm running behind schedule to look at and report on the data contained in the Holga survey. It will take several weeks to complete.

London Bridge

London Bridge

Lake Havasu City, Arizona

"The blue waters of Lake Havasu form a backdrop for the famous London Bridge - one of Arizona's major tourist attractions."