Today Jim Staub lead the discussion for f8...in an area near and dear to JIm..."Postcards" JIm as we now know is both a creator and collector of postcards for many years. Before we hear in his own words and see a few examples, search Wikipedia for "Postcard History"... great discussion During the meeting we chatted about "chrome cards"...here is a definition of what they are: Chrome Postcards (CHR) - Any card after 1939 with a shiny paper surface. The term is derived from Kodachrome. These are modern glossy cards and are most prevalent among traders. They are the most common type of card you will find on postcard racks today. Chrome refers to a process used to make the cards. Jim showed a number of postcards of old...several examples below Finally here are some words directly from Jim:
"My headlong venture into self- produced silver halide darkroom photo postcards began in ernest in1990 and tapered off about 2005. I had succumbed to the digital revolution by then. Postcard collecting had been in my blood for several years prior to becoming a publisher of my own cards, so I know much about the medium, and what had been committed to published commercial postcards. There was a good deal missing of Southern California. I set about therefore, as a citizen documentarian, to fill these gaps, or update scenes and locations commonly found on postcards. The cards required at least a minimum description to fulfill their mission at communicating to the viewer the locale, so following the model of many postcards I added a caption. Since many of these cards were on the mundane side I often interjected some satirical or social commentary about curious juxtapositions and what not. In conclusion not having the constrictions of a publisher/agent afforded me free range to explore material not often found on the typical postcard. It also meant that I have all these boxes of cards I made down in the basement." Finally here are two examples of hand made Jim Staub postcards...the last caption is classic "Jim"...enjoy
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“A good photographer records; a great photographer reveals.” Skyler Reid Today, we were again hosted by Minh Thai at Girdner Gallery in meeting with Dr. Ken Jones the photographer who has the current exhibit at the gallery "American Ghosts." If you read the quote that leads this blog post, Ken certainly is a photographer who "reveals" parts of our urban environment that one would consider lost to our eyes. Ken has been working on the current series "American Ghosts" a number of years ago using all his previous technical skills while working at JPL and in the movie industry to bring out murals all but lost to the progress of man, time and the environment. Ken has traveled around the country looking for almost disappeared wall murals then bringing the images back to his studio in La Canada to recreate the original images. His stunning photographic work an example of which is below: To be honest, no picture on line can do his work justice when you see them in person you will understand. So, for those f8'ers not at the gallery on Saturday...make the trip and see them in person
Ken has an extensive website with both his pictures as well as insight into his capture and production techniques. www.drkenjones.com Since starting this project in 2009, Ken has photographed 7000 ghost signs in 48 states. Besides his work at JPL on the Mars Viking Lander, his work in the movie industry includes credits for such movies as Titantic and Contact. His exhibit at Girdner will be up until March 25th “There is one thing the photograph must contain, the humanity of the moment.” Robert Frank Today was an open session but we had a number of great visual contributions. We reviewed two presentations that were shown at Open Show several days ago. The first was by Joe Loudermilk entitled "William: The Story of a Boy." The boy is Joe's son who was born with CP (Cerebral Palsy). Joe's presentation visually showed Will's ability in spite of his disability. Below are just several pictures from his project on Will. From the same Open Show we saw the presentation by David Schulman entitled "Nasty Women & Bad Hombres"...David is not a part of f8. David shot these people as they were protesting on the street with his iPhone 7-Plus with its Portrait Lens...and amazing bokeh. See a few pictures from his series below. Jim Staub showed prints he made from negatives 40-50 years old. Below is a comment directly from Jim "With the premise that one's photographic output is open to interpretation throughout the life of the photographer, I have made revisits to my work, most incisively through the means of digitialization, with evolving personal aesthetics and editing tool. Using for example this 1977 image of, 'San Gabriel Drive In' I am in essence collaborating with myself 40 years later. To paraphrase Ansel Adams, " The negative is the score; the print is the performance". Richard Schuster showed a photo calendar he created for his friends who meet at Jones virtually every day...below are several pinup calendar months Lastly, Bill showed a small series of reprints from older images "Art of the City Wall" 2013. One example is shown below:
“It’s one thing to make a picture of what a person looks like, it’s another thing to make a portrait of who they are.” – Paul Caponigro Today Mark brought to f8 a Netflix video...a documentary on the photographer Platon. The series is part of a larger documentary "Abstract: The Art of Design" but he is the only photographer represented in the series. We all agreed the videographers did an outstanding job of documenting Platon his aesthetic approach and his work environment as well as showing his interaction with his subjects. There were many take-aways that could influence our own photography. Here are some comments from the video: "you need to earn your portrait" "tap into and shoot the human condition" "99% of portraiture is the connection between subject and photographer" "strip down complexity to get to the core of subject" "influence of family and other artists...open you up as a creative" "good photographic design uncomplicates a confused world" "focus on compassion, humility and dignity of the subject" For those not there today, take the time to search out the video on Netflix...it will be inspiring and instructive Bill presented a small visual project he shot in Marrakesh, Morocco. The large marketplace in the city Medina (old city) was replete with musicians, snake charmers and hundreds of food stalls. These food stalls were a source of pride and income for the families and each has a distinctive homemade signs. These signs caught his visual attention and he shot 8-10 in this shortish project. Below are two examples of these signs... Take the time to search out visually projects that are doable...short and sweet. Don't forget to print them...that is the object of photography. Chris showed several recent prints from his trip to Mono Lake...one of which is below:
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