If you’re a fan of hearing from photography greats and have some free time, check out his awesome documentary film about Henri Cartier-Bresson titled Henri Cartier-Bresson: L’amour Tout Court (“Just Plain Love”). It was directed by Raphaël O’Byrne back in 2001 when Cartier-Bresson was 92 years old, and features interviews with the legendary photojournalist as he talks about how various photographs were made.
(via Imaging Resource)
Kai over at DigitalRev put together this video that offers photography advice in burst mode: 50 (or 49) short and sweet tips in less than 15 minutes. If you take yourself too seriously, be warned: the tips are presented in Kai’s trademark “infotainment” style.
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I try to stay involved as much as I can with students studying photography at different institutions in the area. Every year I go back to RIT and do a lecture on the business of photography and I feel it’s important that I do so.
Recently I got an email from a young photographer asking me about the career of being a still life/food photographer.
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Here’s a quote by photographer Richard Benson on Lee Friedlander’s approach to photography (from his afterword in In the Picture: Self-Portraits, 1958-2011):
Lee has often worked without a specific project in mind, simply making pictures of what he saw, in order, as Garry Winogrand said, to see what it looked like photographed. This way of working led him to look at his contact sheets (of which there have been an astonishing number) to find out what was there that he might not have expected. His shadow, and more clearly defined versions of himself, turned up with regularity. At some point early on Lee realized that he was making self-portraits along with many other photographs that were defining a new landscape for all of us who saw his work. There is a great lesson in this for photographers of today who dedicate themselves to one project or another, failing to understand that the best work might come from an obsession with the medium rather than the personally oriented choice of what might be done with it. Lee always has a camera with him and is constantly making pictures. How much better the work of today might be if all the young and dedicated photographers took up this habit.
If you’re in a creative rut and can’t think of a “project” idea, don’t worry — just be obsessed with photography itself and constantly be ready to photograph what interests you.
(via valerian via tokyo camera style)
Image credit: Self Portrait Series – Untitled 4, Barcelona (2012) by Mooglio
Renowned photojournalist Steve McCurry, the man behind “Afghan Girl“, offers this piece of advice regarding photographing people in public: “don’t forget to say hello”. It’s part of one-minute masterclass series by Phaidon Press.
(via Eric Kim)
Here’s the second half of Tamara Lackey‘s recent interview with photographer Chase Jarvis.
[...] Chase gets very real about how he deals with critics, actually taking pride in being disruptive. And, while on the topic of criticism, some thoughts on dealing with the voices in your own head.
We shared the first part last weekend.
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Tamara Lackey recently sat down with Chase Jarvis to talk about how he became a successful photographer. Chase offers a lot of really good high-level advice for aspiring photographers based on his own experiences — both the successes and the failures.
(via Fstoppers)
Is it your dream to become a professional photographer? Magnum photographer Christopher Anderson says you should focus more on the word “photographer” than the word “professional”:
Forget about the profession of being a photographer. First be a photographer and maybe the profession will come after. Don’t be in a rush to pay your rent with your camera. Jimi Hendrix didn’t decide on the career of professional musician before he learned to play guitar. No, he loved music and created something beautiful and that THEN became a profession. Larry Towell, for instance, was not a “professional” photographer until he was already a “famous” photographer. Make the pictures you feel compelled to make and perhaps that will lead to a career. But if you try to make the career first, you will just make sh*tty pictures that you don’t care about.
IdeasTap has a great two-part series in which Magnum members offer advice for young photographers looking to get into the game. Definitely worth a read.
Magnum: Advice for young photographers | Part 2 (via A Photo Editor)
Image credit: Lens or telescope? by San Diego Shooter
Here’s a nice bit of encouragement for times when you feel like everyone else is coming up with neat ideas while you’re stuck with lame ones.
(via Nice)
It’s not every where you get to watch and hear someone picking the brain of a National Geographic photographer. The Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library recorded this video interview with photographer Jim Richardson and asked him to share about his experiences and words of advice. Richardson also has an interesting FAQ page on his website that answers a lot of questions about shooting for the famous yellow-bordered magazine.
