Identity Politics: an interview with Paolo Woods
Think of Haiti, and chances are, one of a few images will spring to mind. The earthquake of 2010, with its grisly death toll and survivors living in makeshift tent … Continue reading
A Hard Softness: Julia Margaret Cameron and Afterimage
The new Julia Margaret Cameron show at the Metropolitan Museum is everything Cameron herself was not: small, orderly, and understated. Yet it’s far from being a trifle. Even in a … Continue reading
Trendspotting at Photoville
Take a bare strip of land on the Brooklyn waterfront, throw in some shipping containers, add lashings of photography and a generous pinch of the Brooklyn hipster vibe, and what … Continue reading
Mass Observation
Where is the line between observation and surveillance, between reportage and invasion of privacy? This is one of the old chestnuts of journalism, and it’s especially sensitive in the case … Continue reading
Photograms, from Man Ray to Thomas Ruff
Recently I’ve been reading Man Ray’s 1963 autobiography, Self Portrait, as research for my fiction. It’s an interesting read on many levels. The child of poor Russian Jewish immigrants, Ray … Continue reading
End of the Road: An Interview with Jeff Jacobson
Provia, Agfapan, Kodachrome, Plus X, Polaroid Type 55. In the last few years, the list of films being discontinued has gotten longer, prompting cries and groans from desolate photographers. Imagine, … Continue reading
Flights of Fantasy: An Interview with Paolo Ventura
Nostalgia is a potent force. We long for lost times, people we’ve left behind, a former self. Or perhaps we fantasize about paths not taken, ideas left unexplored. Either way, … Continue reading
South Africa’s Disgrace in Words and Images
How do great literature and great photography enhance each other, and what can each do that the other can’t? Those of you who’ve been reading this blog for a while … Continue reading
Gordon Parks: Picturing the Invisible
Gordon Parks, who was born a hundred years ago, was the very definition of a Renaissance man. Though remembered primarily as a photographer, he was a prolific writer, composer and … Continue reading
