How do a group of the world’s premier photographers shoot a group portrait? Well, just like the rest of us! This short one minute video shows photographer René Burri — who made iconic photos of Che Guevara and Pablo Picasso — shooting the group portrait at the end of this year’s meeting between Magnum Photo members (something he’s done for 30 years).
Kudos to anyone who can identify the camera Burri used and the people in the group photo shown at the end.
Back in February 2011, Leica Camera and Magnum Photos announced a partnership that will spawn a series of multimedia essays created by Magnum photojournalists with Leica equipment. They also created this inspirational video telling the story of how many of history’s iconic photographs were captured by Magnum photographers using Leica gear.
Newspapers are fading. News media is in a limbo of redefinition. Now we can add photojournalism to that list of defunct media, said Neil Burgess, head of London-based photo agency NB Pictures. Burgess is also the former head of Network Photographers and Magnum Photos, and twice Chairman of World Press Photo, and has spent much of his life working on social documentary photography and 25 years as a photojournalist.
This fascinating video shows how Magnum photographer Bruce Gilden does his street photography in New York City. If you’ve ever wondered what kind of person it takes to capture closeup shots of people in a place like NYC, this video may be very interesting to you. He’s the complete opposite of someone who stands on the other side of the street, using a telephoto to “get close”.
(via Reddit)
We reported at the beginning of last month that photography co-op Magnum had sold nearly 200,000 prints to billionaire Michael Dell’s MSD Capital. Now, new details are emerging as to exactly what they plan to do with the money and with their future direction.
Magnum managing director Mark Lubell recently told ArtInfo.com that he developed a three year turnaround business plan to move the co-op away from traditional revenue streams – a plan that was approved with a unanimous vote by Magnum’s members and estates. The plan involved not only embracing new media, but returning to their photojournalistic roots:
Although he declined to go in to detail about how the company plans to use the proceeds from the sale of its archive, Lubell says that some money will go toward a Web initiative that will give photographers a platform to distribute content. Funds will also be devoted to helping photographers reach field destinations for stories and see them through long-term — the kind of journalism that was once Magnum’s bread and butter. For instance, photographers will be sent to Haiti over the next 12 to 18 months to document the nation’s effort to rebuild. After the initial tragedy subsides, “everyone leaves,” Lubell says, and because the aftermath isn’t headline news, coverage of continuing crises typically aren’t “funded in traditional media circles.”
In an age where everyone is suddenly a “photographer”, it’ll be nice to see Magnum going places and documenting things that amateurs and traditional media neglect.
Billionaire Michael Dell‘s investment firm MSD Capital, L.P has purchased the entire New York print archive of renowned photo agency Magnum Photos, totaling nearly 200,000 images. The collection includes some of the most iconic images throughout history, including photos of world leaders, celebrities, and major events such as World War II. Though the price was not disclosed, the collection was previously insured for over $100 million.
Under the agreement, the prints will be preserved, catalogued, and made accessible by the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin. While MSD Capital purchased all of the physical prints, Magnum’s member photographers will still retain the copyright and licensing rights to all of the photographs.
Thomas F. Staley, director of the Ransom Center, states,
This is a singularly valuable collection in the history of photography, [...] It brings together some of the finest photojournalists of the profession and spans more than a half century of contributions to the medium.
The collection was relocated to Texas from New York City in December 2009 on two trailer trucks.
(via Bloomberg)
Update: Jonathan from Magnum Photos informs us that the acquisition encompasses the entire press print archive, not the entire archive of the agency. We’ve changed “print” to “press” in the title to reflect this.
Update: We’ve fixed a couple typos that ajehals pointed out. Thanks!
