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Araki is so much more interesting than any other photographer... he is different. one of the kind.
“My photos are my diary, period. Every photo is no more than a representation of a single day. And each single day contains the past and the projection into the future. That’s why I feel compelled to indicate the date on every photo I take. For example, I go up to a hotel with a girl. It may be no more than one event in the day but I want to show that this isolated moment in the day is linked to the past and the future. What makes it precious is that it is a present instant cut between the past and the future. I sense both of them, want to capture it. My own memories wipe out when I take the photo; in the end the camera becomes my memory.”
“At the time photography was about reportage and the reign of objectivity. There were groups like Magnum and Life. Being a photographer at the time involved denying your own feelings in favour of total objectivity but my approach was radically different: you can photograph yourself and the things that mean something to you, that is where the essential lies, where the dramatic intensity is at its strongest.”
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Magnum Contact Sheets reveals how Magnum photographers have captured and edited their best shots from the 1930s to the present. The contact sheet, a direct print of a ...
Analyse (find more examples) how the cs are hung and displayed on a wall.
One of the most valuable books I currently have in my library is Magnum Contact Sheets. It is a book that was put out by Thames and Hudson in the last year or so, and contains over 139 contact shee…
“ As Lubben explained in the blurb previous, contact sheets give a “uniquely intimate glimpse” into the working process of each photographer. If you look at the contact sheets of different photographers, you will see how differently photographers shoot. “
“ (*Exception is Mikhael Subotzky, who shoots in color film but edits the film digitally.) “ --> I had a hunch! Research him!
“ There is generally a myth behind “the decisive moment” as it generally takes a photographer several attempts at working a scene to get a certain memorable shot. To show contact sheets of a photographer “demystifies” the magic of photography. However I love the demystification of certain famous images, as they can be studied by students of photography and show that the great photographers that came before us are also “regular human beings” (just like you and me). “
“ However it seems that the sense of disappointment that I feel isn’t just exclusive to myself – but also to accomplished photographers. “ --> contacts reveal that we are not geniuses. That photography always steps in and does its thing... The ideal we are seeking is really hardly ever found.
“It is interesting to note that in the early days of Magnum, photographers were judged by their contact sheets (to get accepted) rather than their final work prints. This practice has continued until around 2000 when digital photography started taking over.Why did Magnum do this? It was due to the fact that a photographer’s admission into Magnum wasn’t due to just their final images, but their working style and how they thought when taking photographs. John G. Morris, one of the editors for Magnum, shares: “That’s so you can see their thinking.” --> more revealing about the personal style, more honest. i crave honesty.
“ As a takeaway point, realize that photography isn’t just about your final images- but the hard work that goes into them. I encourage you to re-visit your personal favorite images and see the before and afters of the shot. Think to yourself: how long did I have to wait for a shot? Did I “work the scene” and create the shot, or did it serendipitously come to me? Did I take too many scenes of a shot, or not enough? Thinking these things will help you better understand your own working style in photography.” --> I am much more spontaneous than that...
“ Jim Goldberg, from Magnum talks about how switching from film to digital is changing the pace of photographing. He shares that having to reload his film forces him to pause and reflect in the shooting process “to reset, rewind your thinking. The opportunity for that forced pause has been lost.” As has the “containment of a roll of film”. --> shooting film is much more intimate.
“ I think it is also important to be self-critical and set high standards in terms of what you show. In the age where images flood the internet by the trillions, less is more. Quality triumphs over quantity. “ --> I disagree (I think). Self-criticism is great but it is not very thorough... and it can be limiting. I like to share a plethora of images. It’s more organic, more alive, less staged... I don’t intend to only gather that which is polished. I think this is a remnant of the way we think of painting... But photography is good at reproduction, at existing in multiple forms.
“ Poring over a photographer’s contact sheets is a little like studying how his or her mind works. Instead of just seeing the perfect selection of final winners, we see the outtakes, the missteps, and the throwaways, the visual ideas that start one place and ultimately end up somewhere else. It reveals photography to be something much more than instantaneous random snapping – for many, it’s a deliberate process of refinement, and recalibration, and reconsideration, step by step, frame by individual frame, not unlike stalking or hunting or careful optimization. (...) the filmstrips have been pared down and re-edited, using the contact sheet as its own kind of presentation form. We still see plenty of multiples and evolving imagery, but the process is much more controlled, and much of the messiness has been removed. (...) What’s different here is that Kawauchi has taken those fleeting, ephemeral moments that are her signature and allowed them to expand into larger sequences. (...)
Throughout the book, expandable double page folds add another layer to the contact sheet metaphor. Underneath many of the image arrays, an enlarged strip of two or three images unfolds, often cropped to show partial sections of several photographs. Sometimes this forces a turning of the book to see the pictures in the right orientation, and it always changes the scale of the viewing process – it’s like zooming in, away from the grid and into the closeness of the images. It’s a delicate, immediate photobook device that draws the viewer into a specific moment, bringing us back closer to the experience of a single image. “
Today we will see the beautiful book of Jola Sopek, called “Morningrise”.
I will start with the technical aspects. I loved the cover, is a beautiful picture, which brings us some kind of peace and quiet, I like particularly of the cover texture, is very nice. Another aspect that pleases me a lot, is the book’s layout, is dynamic, and fits well in their own images. I think the Jola thought well on the whole project, everything seems in place, in the right place; the text at the beginning (very beautiful), the sequence of images is also interesting. The only thing that could really be better is the printing, some images lose some quality because of it.
In relation to the history of the book, it seems to me a very personal project, I have to be honest, I am an admirer of the work of Jola Sopek, I think his work has a beautiful simplicity, almost disarming.
This project is a reflection of that! The mornings have their meaning, mornings have their own light, mornings can bring us new beginnings and second chances.
Really happy to announce that my self-published book Morningrise has been featured on the virtual bookshelf The Unknown Books. Thank you for the review, I really appreciate it - and am glad that the theme resonates with you.
I will soon upload the project here on the website and make it available for purchase.
A photograph is a kind of interview; perhaps you could say that it’s the same as an interview. The idea is to draw something out of the subject. This is the point of an interview. In other words, it's not about expression so much as appearance. The aim isn’t to express something to do with the subject but to draw something out of him
It may seem like a good idea to take a single camera with a zoom lens when you go travelling, but it's too simplistic. It means that you can't decide on the lens you need for the subject. It means you haven’t got your ideas in order. Once you know what you're about, all you need is a single Leica 35 mm camera. This is how it should be done. If you can't do it like this, it means that you're still not up to being a photographer.
To keep this going for a long time, you just have to carry on taking photographs. By taking photographs you make discoveries about yourself and come to realise various things. If you are constantly being made aware of things, this gives you the impulse to carry on. You learn things through taking photographs; photography is your teacher. The main thing is to keep on taking photographs for ever and ever.
Nobuyoshi Araki x Takashi Homma: N. Araki’s Photographic Art (Tokyo 1998)
Two publishers discuss the state of photobook market today
Oversaturation of the ‘art’ market is huge, and elusive. I get easily lost. It is way too easy to work within one’s personal bubble and be happy doing simple things without fighting for money and attention.