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Category Archives: News and Commentary
Wedding and Family Photography Snobbery
Of late I have noticed many “serious” photographers claiming that they don’t do weddings and children. I even found myself removing a few flickr contacts last week because of this reason.
Let me explain my reasoning.
As a photographer I have covered many events, I have been on stage with the courteeners at a gig in front of 5,000 people, I have photographed features for magazines with bands such as the view and the Enemy and I have had the pleasure of meeting some amazing people (some I would class as personal heroes).
Now this all may sound like gratuitous name dropping, my partner and children will confirm I will quite happily name drop at will (don’t get my better half started on the email I received from Katie from the Ting Tings complete with a kiss), however it does serve a purpose. As much as working in this kind of environment is a bit of a buzz and quite exciting, it completely pails into insignificance when you compare it the stress and planning that is required for a wedding event.
During set pieces for photoshoot you can plan everything to the last detail, you are in control of the environment, the lighting and the people. When it comes to a wedding you need also need to be in control of your environment, however there are crucial key moments that you get one “pop” at. If you miss the bride and father coming down the isle or the you “may kiss the bride” moment then that’s it, it’s gone forever, you can’t stage a moment like that so the pressure is on. Couple this factor with the low level of light in the church and the fact that using flash within the service (from my perspective) would be completely disrespectful, then you are left with a pretty hard gig to cover.
So getting back to my point, to criticise photographers who cover weddings and children and to question their credibility in my view is ludicrous. Maybe these “artists” should stop taking self portraits in whacky situations, step up to the mark and take on a real challenge 
Annie Leibovitz + NPR = Yes.
How did I miss Annie Leibovitz on NPR on tuesday? I must be seriously slacking in my news gathering. Check it out over here. Among other things, she talks about her great new collection, “Annie Leibovitz at Work”.
Here’s a couple of short quotes to wet your appetite…
“It’s a romantic story,” she says. “Can you imagine? Being young, being on the road with the Rolling Stones, doing everything, and holding on tight to my camera.”
“I sometimes find the surface interesting. To say that the mark of a good portrait is whether you get them or get the soul — I don’t think this is possible all of the time,” she says. “Could you imagine trying to get the soul every day?”
I highly suggest you give a listen, or at least check out the NPR article for some highlights.
Photographer Sentenced to Two Years in Burmese Prison
From Reporters Without Borders…
Reporters Without Borders and the Burma Media Association are outraged by the two-year sentence passed today on Ein Khaing Oo, a 24-year-old woman journalist employed by the weekly Ecovision Journal, for taking photos of Cyclone Nargis victims. She was arrest in Rangoon last June.
“This unjust sentence comes amid a wave of unprecedented sentences for journalists and activists,” the two organisations said. “We appeal to Burma’s military authorities to free Ein Khaing Oo, whose only crime was to cover the humanitarian disaster in the Irrawaddy delta.”
This is an insane story. Hot on the heels of the UK cracking down on cops harassing photographers for doing nothing wrong, there are countries which take this stuff to the extreme. And it just keeps getting worse too.
Another journalist, Zaw Thet Htwe, and a blogger, Zarganar, are also being held for helping Nargis victims.
Not only does this sort of thing show a complete lack of respect for humans rights (among other things), there really isn’t much that can be done from the outside beyond pushing for political pressure.
There have been so many such arrests in Burma that there has been a website created to be a central source of information about the victims of these arrests, protests, petitions, etc. You can find that at www.fbppn.net.
Red Digital Goes EPIC
EPIC Indeed.
I could talk about the newly announced “SCARLET” and “EPIC” photo/cinema systems from Red Digital for a very long time I’m sure. I won’t though. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so instead of wasting all that time on writing what I think about the mass of information and photos that they just dumped into our proverbial lap, you should just head over HERE and see it for yourself. You probably wouldn’t believe the full description I’d have to give it anyway…just go look…trust me.
President Obama’s Flickr Account
Did you ever think you would see the day when the president of the United States shared pictures on Flickr?
Even though this is likely handled by his team, and regardless of your politics, I think this is a great move, and fascinating behind the scenes photographs.
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