Fashion Friday

If you were as enamored as we were with the fist issue of New York Magazines fashtacular companion publication New York Look (review post here) fear not because issue 2 is here and lives up to all the promise of the inaugural issue. And what do you know those clever people at New York have kept with the winning formula and created another masterpiece with yet another masterclass in photo editing.

First time around it was Magnum photog Paolo Pellegrin who was responsible for almost the entire magazine; this time around its another Magnum alumn Christopher Anderson who gets a crack. Oh and yeah he turns in another tour de force hitting it out the park just as Pellegrin did. Anderson is all colour for this pairing and I have to say his talent really shines through. It all just looks so much better in the printed matter where it belongs not in a slideshow on the web so treat yourself if you can its breathtaking ! Makes you wonder what you could accomplish if handed the same brief and circumstance.

Whatever will become of Magnums own annual Fashion Magazine ? Which illustrious member of the cooperative do you think will get the green light for next seasons New York Look ?





Photos © Christopher Anderson

Heres to you New York Look and Christopher Anderson, nice one !

Jacks back

Well I don't think anyone missed me too much as there were no emails worrying about the blogs extended absence this time around. Suffice to say we were both away personally and professionally.

In the meantime though answer me this will you, how come whenever you book a personal trip the calls for work come flooding in for the dates you will be away ? Its always the same could be sitting around with out a bite to be had and then voila just as you are packed and ready to go the phone starts ringing off the hook.

There is always that omnipresent fear of missing out on the holy grail once tickets have been booked and plans made. These fears are more often then not realized come departure day and cause us freelancers to often never book any sort of holiday time far in advance. We can usually come up with some sort of self serving reasoning; you know its like nothing ever happens in August because the whole industry is away but hang on a sec if I am around and all the other photogs are out of town maybe the goose will lay me a golden egg.

Grrrr whats one to do ? Thankfully my beautiful wife keeps us mobilized. With a job in the real world one has to manage ones away time carefully so we do plan ahead to maximize every extra day and opportunity. If I was left to my own devices everything would end up being so last minute we probably wouldn't end up going anywhere.

Although I have to say I have scored a gig from time to time being away by giving PE's a heads up as to my whereabouts.

On this occasion a quick 5 day trip to Ireland resulted in missing 5 days work for 3 different magazines. The itinerary was non transferable as were the shoot dates so no go for me on any of the gigs. Often best you don't get too much info on the jobs you are missing out on so you don't get too upset at what possibilities may be lost.

Not to worry though I had a choice gig to come back to, but what the fuck as soon as I hit the tarmac on the return to NYC and powered up the Blackberry there were 2 more sweet gigs in the inbox with complete specs and what do you know they all want the same dates. Aaaargh this is aggravating especially when the assignments are all plum with image making potential.

One photographers loss is of course anothers gain. You wouldn't mind though nothing in the books for this week after the flurry; just plenty more work working on work and maybe a little blogging while we are at it. Stay tuned.

Nice one . . . . W

I have always had a keen interest in fashion photography after all I had my sights firmly set on being the next David Bailey, Peter Lindbergh or Steven Meisel during my formative years. I enjoyed some success working my way from front of book to well stories for Mademoiselle capping it off with the infamous 'Panty Raid' spread for Cosmopolitan a few years back. Realizing I had got as far as I could go on my talents things took a turn et voila a new journey of discovery and photographic endeavours began.

I used to eat up the fashion mags as part of my educational diet and had quite the collection. Although my passion for fashion has waned somewhat I am still a huge fan especially the photographic genre. Although I don't spend as much time as I once did trolling through all the fashion gutters every now and then I see a story that just blows my mind.

Long time collaborators Philip-Lorca diCorcia and W Magazine are at it again. This time the diCorcia show landed in Cairo for an epic 30+ pages of well epicness. To say this man has talent would be an understatement, cant help but make one wonder how far one has to go. As is the case in a story of this magnitude the web slide show here doesn't really do the trick. Treat yourself to a copy of the magazine itself or at least give it a good going over on the news stand where the big W pages were made for such a lavish production. Yes APE magazines are the proper vehicle for such beautiful work but I cannot help but wonder why they chose to feature it in all its entirety on their website and not just titillate us with a seductive sampling that might bring in a few extra hard copy sales.

And yes there are credits for the clothing although sometimes the fact that this a fashion shoot and not solely a fine art piece can seem a little blurry. diCorcia has done many features for W over the years in a similar vain but fuck does he still bring it. Why not help them spend some of their budget on realizing his own vision, I am sure we will see some of these pictures filter into his art portfolio or a future book project even a show as some of his previous outings for W have remained relevant to diCorcia long past the news stand sell by date.







Heres to you PLD and W magazine.

Lighting porn

Well with Spring in the air the odds of stumbling upon a photo shoot on the streets of NYC are on the rise. There I was making my way through Astor Place and lo and behold theres some heavy strobe flashing catching my eye across the way.


Wanting to be cool and non plussed one doesn't normally stop and stare but turns out in this instance it was safe to move in for a close up as the photographer du jour was friend and inspirator Eric McNatt (below).


Eric was on assignment for New York Magazine and the pics are slated to run in next weeks issue. You know you can't resist checking his lighting rig. I was tempted to draw up a quick schematic with all the vitals but instead I left the pictures nice and big, go on you know you want to click on them and take a more intimate look don't you !


Then again its not all about the 7b; had this shoot happening right outside my window yesterday.

Nice one - Wired

It's been a while since I picked out what I consider to be some inspired photo editing and posted about it. Not that there hasn't been a ton that's caught my eye but every now and again there's a real unexpected gem.

Big UP to Wired for commissioning Nick Waplington for a photo essay in the April issue entitled: Unlikely Places Where Wired Pioneers Had Their Eureka ! Moments.

Photo © Nick Waplington

NETFLIX, 1997
Reed Hastings
Founder and CEO of Netflix
Canyon Video (above)
La Honda
California

"I had a big late fee for Apollo 13. It was six weeks late, and I owed the video store $40. I had misplaced the cassette. It was all my fault. I didn't want to tell my wife about it. And I said to myself, 'I'm going to compromise the integrity of my marriage over a late fee' ... I started thinking, 'How come movie rentals don't work like a health club, where, whether you use it a lot or a little, you get the same charge?"

There are 8 pictures in the portfolio and all are available online. Its a great photo driven essay and concept. Waplington is certainly an interesting choice for an assignment like this. One rarely (if ever ?) see's his name on editorial work but this seems to make sense; no big theatrics, lighting rigs or high concept, in fact its rather straightforward and honest especially for a glossy tech publication like Wired. Then again its kind of fascinating how some of the great ideas of our time have come about in some of the most ordinarily mundane nondescript locals. The imagery fits and I cannot help but wonder will the average Wired reader appreciate the subtle touch of the photographer but maybe thats the draw. The rest of the issue is a little photo light so this is certainly the main feature. It wouldn't surprise me if this picks up some awards next year its the kind of thing juries will love.

Noted for his conceptual approach to photography, Waplingtons ground breaking books 'The Wedding' and 'Living Room' are two of my all time favorites.

Heres to you Wired and Nick Waplington !

How did you do that ?

Its been a while since I shamelessly self promoted the alter ego but then again thats what the blog is all about anyways isn't it ? I have been meaning to put up my tears from this months Wired magazine for a while but then I was fired into action by this email over the weekend:

Hello,

I recently read the Wired article about the Cougar Ace salvage team, and was intrigued by your photos.

I am an amateur photographer, and I LOVE the effects you used on the pictures of the crew. May I ask what process you used to achieve this look? They look like an almost 1970's aged feel, maybe using HDR? I'm not sure. If this is a trade secret you can't divulge, I'll understand.

This photo in particular is fantastic...

Thank you.

Well there are no trade secrets its all pretty straight forward; especially to anyone who knows me and my work. The process is quite simple after all: color neg, straight up traditional c-prints, one on camera flash, daylight when available and no retouching, well not on my end but doesn't look like the mag did any touch up.

My emailer it turns out is 29, a writer who lives with his wife and two dogs in Dallas. Not really wanting to get into a debate on the merits of analogue v digital but am I presuming that many folk don't even consider film as an option when questioning the technicalities of a picture they like these days. A generational thing perhaps ? Maybe thats why I get a kick out of the "1970's aged feel" line. Anyway what the fuck is a photographer doing shooting film for Wired shouldn't they be up on mandating all contributors to use the latest technology.

I always bring a similar camera and lighting package on all my gigs. I find that the results are always different each time I go out; there is always that intangible variant that makes the consistent inconsistent. I could and do use the same set up day in and day out and the results are always different. You may argue that my stuff always looks the same but I swear there is always something going on, another lesson to be learnt from unpredictable happenings. Sometimes the light just doesn't do what you want it to and doesn't look like you had envisaged it. Some subjects just suck up the light, I think some of you know what I mean. You do your set up on your assistant looks great then your victim steps in, a quick polaroid followed by "what the fuck ! where's the magic gone ?" Maybe its their skin tone, what they are wearing but I have been having me a lot of this recently.


The 'Cowboys of the Deep Seas: The race to Save the Cougar Ace' is an epic tale and a terrific read; available for free in its entirety here. The story is about the recovery and salvage of the Cougar Ace a deep sea car transport ship, its 14 decks packed with 4703 new Mazda's bound for the USA. The ship and its cargo: valued at $ 103 million, ended up losing stability during a transfer of water ballast and developed a 60 degree list to its port side off the Alaskan coast in 2006. This is when my subjects the men of Titan Salvage got involved and brought there particular skill set into play.


The portraits were taken over two days back in November. Unfortunately there would be no shipping wrecks for me to use as background although most of the crew were heading out to Japan on assignment the next day and there was a moment due to scheduling when I might have had to head out with them. Four of the portraits were taken at Titans home base in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This of course sounded a lot more exotic then it ultimately was. The location was basically an office and a black hole of a warehouse a couple of miles from the sea. It was certainly challenging, especially with all the photographs of their successes scattered throughout the premises. They had me of course dreaming of what might have been. Time per person was a little limiting too so there wasn't much opportunity for multiple set ups not that there were any anyways so thats why I did the tighter head shots trying to load the bases in my favor as much as possible. How about having some of this crazy shit below as a background, how could you go wrong, just point and shoot right ?



Courtesy Titan Salvage

The other two portraits were taken in a shipyard in Salinas in the Dominican Republic (read earlier post here) which was certainly a visual relief from the limiting Ft Lauderdale location. The guys worked out a treat and were certainly gracious and willing although a little hesitant at first.


The mag did a fine job giving me space in the layout considering the main opener isn't one of mine, after all I wasn't on scene back in 2006.

I have come across some discussion about the story and pics on chat rooms here's a few lines that pertain to yours truly, again with the 70's thing:

The portraits of the guys involved say it all: a harder looking crew would be difficult to imagine.

I like how each member of the team is like a character from a movie or videogame. Each with his own speciality and look.

to me they totally look like old scanned and retouched pictures from the 70s and 80s.. in a good way

Big up to Zana Woods my editor on the piece, the writer Joshua Davis and all at Titan. I hear that the story has been optioned as a movie maybe the film company could use of my retro flair for the posters and promotional campaign.

Class of 2008

Well its that time of year again for PDN to unveil their 30 new and emerging photographers to watch. Although the full list remains secret and will be revealed in the March issue which has yet to hit the news stands or arrive in the mailbox we here at WTJ were cunningly able to identify two of the 30.

Not meaning to play spoiler but seeing as it is February the 29th already BIG UP to Mike and Adam for their inclusion in this years class. I am a huge fan of them both and had no problem spotting their signature work on the invite to the upcoming seminar 'Transitions: Strategies For The Young Working Photographer.'

This show and tell will feature 4 of the 30 along with moderator Jeanine Fijol, photo editor PDN, Amy Lunden, photo editor Budget Travel magazine and Fiona McDonagh, photo director Entertainment Weekly magazine.

Scheduled for Monday March 10 at Parsons School of Design we will remind you all again closer to.

As a PDN 30 alumn myself I cannot say how grateful I am for the opportunity and the honor. It certainly helped open doors for me and I wrote a post here on my experiences.

So welcome Mike, Adam and the other 28; make sure to pick up the key to the special 30 clubroom over at PDN HQ and don't forget to ask about the secret hand shake.

Heres to you PDN 30 class of 2008 !

London calling

Seeing as its all the rage here on the photo blogosphere to have a 'conversation' or a Q+A with our peers; I didn't want to be left out of the party so here's my first serious contribution to the genre ! A little back and forth with inspirator and friend Chris Floyd.

AH: Hey Chris I have been trying for sometime now to come up with a decent post on the state of British photography after your comment over on APE a couple of weeks back, here. I think a lot of us would be interested to hear your take on the U.K. scene; in particular the editorial market and how it differs from your experiences working this side.

CF: To be honest, it's in a dire way these days, editorially speaking. Well it is if you're talking about paid editorial. I am working quite a bit but the lack of vision and imagination is so depressing, especially having lived in NY for over half a decade. British editorial photography is really an exercise in page filling. What's important are the ad pages, as always.

AH: From my experiences things work a little differently over on your side of the Atlantic.

CF: Thinking about it now, the most immediate reason for this is the impotency of the British editorial photo editor. The title is there on the mastheads but, by and large, the photo ed here is really just a glorified researcher who calls in pictures of teenage celebrities drunk and showing their knickers for the pap pages. Maybe that's overstating it but, at the heart of it, no one higher up the editorial publishing tree is thinking "Ooh I wonder what our director of photography will make of the fabulous shoot we are trying to set up with Mr XYZ." The commissioning and editing of photography is not a consultative or well thought out process.

AH: I noticed that myself when I went on go sees in London a few years back. A different experience then what I am used to in New York. When ever I did meet with a photo editor I always got the impression that they didn't in fact have any power to hire, there was another commissioning force responsible. I went to GQ once thinking that I was meeting with the PE but they escorted me up to see Tony Chambers the Creative Director at the time.

CF: Your mention of GQ is the perfect example. It's so perfect, as an example, they should put it in a museum. It crystallizes everything I'm thinking about. Tony Chambers is the single most influential creative director I've ever met. His influence on me in terms of aesthetic, attention to detail, approach and overall philosophy is something I shall always be thankful for. However, Tony is unique. He's very well read and that's because he's innately curious. You should see the bookshelves in his apartment. He views all these things - art, design, music, photography, graphics, use of space, writing, ideas, fashion - as strands that all converge in a place called magazines. He sees his job as fighting for the consideration of the visual. He also has a fantastic sense of history and lineage. He knows and understands how things came to be the way they did. How this person influenced that person and on and on. He is the only creative director I've met who seems to actually read the stuff in the magazines he designs. And he influenced all the people around him in that way. As much as a hard taskmaster as he could be, you learned stuff from Tony that you would use time and time again. So when you have someone like him running the art department it works because he knows how to pull all the elements together. But he is gone from there now. Modern magazine publishers don't really know or understand what qualities a great art director needs. As long as the girl on the cover is showing plenty of flesh and has her tongue hanging out it doesn't really matter. So they appoint people who are perfectly competent....graphic designers. But they are not art directors as I would define them. Yet they are given business cards that say they are art directors or creative directors so they must be those things. What a great magazine needs to make it great is an editor in chief and a creative director that must pull and push their respective sides - words and visuals. However, the E-i-C's and the publishers are appointing people who don't have the desire to be in that role. They are picking people who like and want the job title and will do the bidding of the E-i-C. It's a separation of church & state situation that's required but it's not happening here. The editor's decision is first and last, as well as everything.

It's no surprise to me that Tony is now an editor in chief (at Wallpaper*). When he got the job lots of people were surprised because the notion that someone who comes from the visual side could, heavens above, edit a magazine was a bit of a shock to some.

He's an exception though. 90% of the rest of those in the creative director position are not well read or curious about what is going on outside of their own narrow field. They don't read the copy. They're just thinking about fonts. Come on, who gives a toss about fonts ? A font is where you christen your baby. Not where you lay out the altar of your life. I have a great story that illustrates this. A friend of mine who is the features editor at one of the best selling men's mag in the UK told me how the current creative director told him that the first letter of the first sentence of a feature they were running on a female celebrity had to begin with the letter'L' because he had designed the most wicked upper case 'L' ever. When my friend laughed him off the guy had a proper hissy fit and stormed off. I mean, this is the level of intellect we are dealing with here a lot of the time.

There is a good interview with Tony on magCulture here.

AH: How has your work flow changed since you moved back to old blighty ?

CF: When I lived in NYC all my work was enviroportraiture and reportage style portraiture. No celebs at all.

Now I'm back here the bulk of my work is celebrity stuff. I can't complain, the resale of it does me well. I have a daughter and a wife who wants another so I really am not bitching at all. When I lived in NY I did ok but I was doing work there that I LOVED. Buffalo farmers in N.Dakota. Military cadets at West Point. Illegal immigrants in Arizona. Really great stories of modern America. There is nothing of that here and that is because there is no money for this stuff. It's exactly how Simon Roberts put it in his talk at KlompChing. You've got to assign yourself and then treat it as an art project almost, with books and print sales foremost in your mind.

AH: I loved your comment on how the Russians could have taken Britain with a phone call. You obviously enjoyed the vast American experience; are you just as jazzed these days by a spin up the M1 or is a lot of what you do now in London ? Or do u get around a bit ? Europe for instance.

CF: No, not really. 95% of my work is in London. Britain is not like America. The UK media market is London, London, London. Trailing a distant fourth place is London. Although, today I'm writing this in Cardiff, the capital of Wales. This is my first trip outside of London for a job since last July. Oh wait, that's a lie. I was in Toulouse, France a week ago to shoot a portrait of the chief engineer at Airbus.

AH: Following our phone discussion it would be safe to say that the U.K. has a stronger newspaper culture and that the U.S. has a stronger magazine culture. I just finished Don McCullin's terrific autobiography 'Unreasonable Behaviour'. Reading it reminded me how the British print media has had a long tradition of ground breaking photo journalism.

I remember the epic newspaper strikes growing up and subsequent shuttering of the Times for a year over its move to new printing technologies. McCullin has a great line when he noticed the shifting tides in his own career with the changing visual needs of his employer, "lifestyles rather then life were coming into fashion". I couldn't think of a better sentence to describe what was happening at the time and how relevant these words are today. Not only a description of how photography was being repackaged for the masses but also the major socio and economic changes going on throughout the country.

CF: Yes. Bang on. Please don't bring us anything that might make the advertisers baulk. The commissioning of big stories is gone. If you are working for UK mags then no one is going to send you off somewhere for a month to work on the equivalent of the great American novel. The content is kind of irrelevant. It's not important, as long as the skin looks ok. I just did a job for someone. It was a big bunch of teenagers. Real kids. Not models. What do all teenagers have the world over ? Acne ! Guess what they wanted me to do ? Retouch out the acne and smooth the skin. This isn't reportage. It's advertising interspersed with infomercials. News International (Times/Sunday Times) has just dictated this new rule: All photos are to be digital. They will not pay for film and processing or prints. You can shoot on film but your final submission must be a digital file and they will pay a maximum of £150 towards the cost of your digital equipment.

The publishers of the Sunday supps - Guardian, Telegraph, Times, Independent, Observer have all taken the attitude that what they operate are platforms for advertising and new media. The content is relevant only up to a very low threshold. Ultimately people like us are merely content providers and there are millions of us.

I did a shoot for Sunday Times on the 3rd Jan. The wold champion female track cyclist. A Brit. Big hopes for the Olympics. Great ! A job immediately after the new year - it gets your confidence up and your new year is out the traps. I got £250 fee. One of my very first commissions ever was for The Sunday Times in 1993. My fee was £250. In 15 years they have held down their costs 100%. What an amazing achievement. The chief picture editor of the whole newspaper - a man I've never even heard of or met - so the boss over and above the PE's in all the sections/magazines - was so impressed with my picture that he got his p.a. to call me and "ask" me if it was alright if they could hold on to the pictures for a little bit longer as they were so good he felt that they were very syndicatable. How long for? Not long, just a while, well until after the Olympics. Is there going to be a split in it for me? We'd give you 10%. The institutional disrespect for photographers and photography cannot be over emphasised.

AH: Same as here, there has been little change in rates since I started. Have you noticed a difference in your clients usage demands too ?

CF: So they not only are paying me the same rate as they were 15 years ago. They are then demanding to take away the thing that would financially render the gig worthwhile - the right to re-sell the work elsewhere. I could barely conceal my rage at this Murdochian crushing of the little freelancer and finished by suggesting that I was being financially penalised for producing work of a sufficient quality to be noticed by the guy at the top of the photo food chain in Murdoch Towers, E1. Then I tag teamed Getty into it and he relented. However, I still need to be able to work for them so I had to give him a way out of his position by allowing News International the right to re-use the pictures in any of their own publications for 6 months for free.

I've spun away from the state of British photography here into the state of the British photography industry but there you are.

AH: No worries man, you are obviously passionate about your art, you have referred to yourself as a journeyman. I liked that, care to elaborate ?

CF: Sure. I take a great deal of pride in the fact that you can send me anywhere and I will bring you something that is a) compelling and b) will tell you something vital about the subject. I can find something to be curious about in pretty much anyone. It's like that line "How can you justify your fees ?" It only took you 20 minutes to do it!" - "Yes it did but it took me 20 years to learn how to do it in 20 minutes."

I also have a fundamental mistrust, suspicion, dislike of and animosity towards anyone who defines themselves as an artist without very good reason. It is too easy now to say "I AM AN ARTIST." All the greatest people were, to a large extent, artisans. If someone were to call me an artisan that is what I would be most proud of. If you called me an artist I would have to leave. The job Michelangelo did on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel was a commission. A gig. Shakespeare was really just a guy with a quill trying to make some dough. The Mona Lisa -La Giaconda- was a commission. How possible can it be to create something so beautiful and for it purely to be inspired by something so common as a pay check ? One of my great heroes is George Orwell. Some of his greatest writing was commissioned journalism. When you try to exist in your own self defined vacuum you are entering dangerous waters. There has been this great shift towards "art" photography, particularly in New York. Some of it is good and some of it is terrible. Most of it.....what is the point ? What does it say outside of the fact that Kathy Ryan thinks it's awesome ? Gregory Crewdson ? Is it good ? I don't know. What I do know is that it is a fantastic exercise in production. What is he doing for us that Edward Hopper or Stephen Spielberg haven't done ? That's all it is to me. Edward Hopper's tableaux married to Spielberg's lighting and production values. And...?

There can be, not always - some of my best friends are artists- this weird attitude of condescension towards those of an artisinal bent from those who define themselves as artists. When I lived in New York I was commissioned by the Guardian in London to spend 2 or 3 days with this band, the Arctic Monkeys. At the same time Rolling Stone had sent along a very well known and young American photographer who takes a lot of pictures of his friends cavorting naked and jumping off of idyllic rural bridges into far below rivers on cross country summer road trips.

We got to chatting while the band were sound checking and I asked him how he came to be there. He said that he just did whatever he felt like doing and this was a band he was really into and he called up Rolling Stone and told them so. So they got him the access and hey ho... Then I asked him who else he worked for, bearing in mind I totally knew who he was, he got a little superior on me and said "well I don't really accept commissions..that's not my thing. I just tend to create my own projects. I'm self assigning."

The fact is I think his pictures really are fantastic but what I baulked at was this idea that an idea is only valid if it is self generated. A commission was like a dirty word. But what that statement also said to me was that this was someone who had never had to earn a living from his work. He was privileged. There is nothing wrong with privilege. My daughter gets what she wants all the time but if you are privileged you need to show respect towards those that need to earn a living from their trade. In France, to become an artisan is a process that takes time and ends in an official recognition and status. To call oneself an artisinal baker, for instance, means that one has been through a period of learning. There is a respect there.

AH: It would appear difficult or almost impossible then for fine art to cross over into editorial as it has done here. There simply isn't the market ? Or does it all stop @ Martin Parr ?

CF: There isn't that level of ambition. I'm convinced Martin Parr has some form of Asperger's syndrome. Can I say that ? Is that actionable ? I've met him half a dozen times. He doesn't know who I am. His eyes glaze over when he's not talking about himself.

AH: You have said Britain doesn't have a magazine culture although style bibles like Arena, I-D, Dazed and Confused and the now defunct Blitz and the Face were considered the cutting edge. Did the average man in the high street give a shit or he more inclinded towards a bit of tit and ass and a healthy dose of Maxim ?

CF: I think that, historically, those mags (Face, Arena, Blitz, i-D, Dazed) will come to be seen as an anomaly. All those people that started those mags, and were on the outside of the establishment and vocally proud of it, are now very much a part of the establishment and they are certainly not letting anyone else in. What they did do was pave the way for popular culture to be taken seriously by broadsheet newspapers. All the broadsheets now have pop music columnists and reviewers, fashion coverage etc. Ironically, considering this discussion, not one of them has a proper, serious full time photography reviewer. And that is probably the single most defining aspect of what we are talking about when it comes to British photography and the public attitude towards it. Photography ? Paparazzi or weddings?

AH: So tell me this then why then are there so many British fashion photographers at the top ? Must be the accent right ? Goes down a treat over here.

CF: Hmmm...there is a very strong art school tradition in Britain. Some of our greatest bands came out of art school. The Beatles, The Who, Roxy Music to name 3. There is a great unofficially vertically integrated fashion scene at work in this country. Music, clubs, fashion, design. Out of that mind meld come incredibly hipped up people with cameras. However, a lot of those mags that were great in the 80's and early 90's started to eat themselves. Instead of generating great ideas at street level they started to get above themselves and they became trade mags. Fashion mags by fashion people for fashion people. They froze out the 16 year old kid in Leeds with 8 quid in his/her pocket and instead said "oh wow we have great shots by Craig (McDean) of Kate (Moss) wearing Stella (McCartney) that were styled by Katie (England) which will help all of us get a great new campaign from Karl (Lagerfeld)". The minute they started using first names only was the minute they entered Marie Antoinette territory. And at that point they all moved to New York anyway for the massive cash bonuses on offer. That's what you have now. The generation that made it big in the 90's are now shooting all the big stories and campaigns for the international fashion brands - mags and labels. I'm not sure what there is here now in the way of mags to help breed a new crop though? No one is going to make it big in Japan by shooting for British InStyle are they.

AH: Can you tell me a little about the effect the photo blogs have had on you ?

CF: Oh man ! They have opened my eyes to the fact that I....am....not.....alone. What we do, us photographers, is so solitary. To be able to engage with other people at an intelligent level of discussion is just awesome. Part of me feels like Tom Hanks. I've been sitting here growing a beard and talking to a fedex box for 15 years and now there are people that I can engage with who live time zones away.

AH: You obviously enjoy the new found interaction. This was evident when you were lamped on a little for that infamous early comment of yours over on APE, here . You know the one where you wrote talked about how fabulous your life is. The chatter with Olivier Laude and then his anonymous alter ego was great.

CF: Ha ha. Indeedy deedy !! That little contretemps was in answer to APE's post about how being a photographer can be one of the greatest jobs in the world if the chips fall in your favor. What I was saying was how right he was. However, the chips don't fall in your favor all the time. The day before that posting of APE's (can we call him Rob now?) I had just won the highest paying job of my life. Enough money to pay the mortgage and keep the wolf from the door for several months. It was a big publicity shoot with Gwyneth Paltrow for Paramount Pictures. On top of that I had several other tasty things in the pipeline. That was in October I think. From January to March of last year I just about kept my head above the parapet so this was a complete turnaround. This is a career with unutterably high highs and intolerably low lows. I said it myself in one of the back and forths with Olivier. "Sometimes weeks go by where the best part of the day is the bit where you get to go to bed intoxicated and numb with self loathing." I've been doing this for 15 years as a professional. So having had the strength of character and conviction to see out those periods which are regular visitors to my door, without bitching, then you've got to allow me the honour of feeling a little pleased with myself when the tide turns in my favor considerably from time to time. The insecurity and worry never goes away. No matter how pleased one feels at any given moment I am smart enough to know that the weather can change like that. You see, the thing about what we do that our friends with safe, secure 9 to 5's will never quite grasp is that, although, to them, our lives look sweet and easy going, we get no sick pay, no holiday pay, no guaranteed income or pay cheque and most importantly, no one to talk to or share problems with in the office or the pub after work. Those fears are always there. In the evenings, before bed, at weekends, on holiday, on Christmas Day, while you're having sex, in the shower, at dinner, in a cab, while I'm cuddling my daughter, in the garden, on and on and on and on. We do this alone, as I said just now, talking to a fedex box for company. And going back to the APE posting, if you read all the comments from people, you'll see that the vast majority responded in my defence and I felt vindicated there. Those that know what it's like...they know. The buzz from this job can be incredible but can you take the solitude and doubt ? We lay it all out there and have to survive on each and every roll of the dice. What is a photo editor after all ? A professional opinion holder, although Rob is one of the good ones it seems.

AH: Do you run into many of your peers, gallery openings etc ?

CF: What gallery openings ? That just does not exist here at any level of significance.

AH: Lets get away from all the rambling, time to answer some of the more obvious questions.

Photographers you admire ?

CF: Martin Parr & Gregory Crewdson. Seriously. For the soup they make from their base stock.

From the then: Stephen Shore, Joel Meyorowitz, Joel Sternfeld. All the bona fide canon fodder. Chris von Waggenheim, David Bailey for making me want to be a photog in the first place, Avedon, Penn, William Klein, Eggleston (duh!), Slim Aarons, Harry Callahan, Bob Richardson

From the now: Martin Schoeller, Glen Luchford, Mario Sorrenti, Simon Roberts, Larry Sultan, Chris Buck, James Nachtwey......

AH: Any pre-shoot rituals ?

CF: Coffee. No food at all. Good music.

AH: Most annoying celebrity subject ?

CF: John Mayer - by a country mile.

AH: Least annoying Most awesome celebrity subject ?

CF: Lots actually but probably Christopher Reeve for incredible warmth, humor, optimism, enthusiasm, curiosity and attention to detail in the face of the most permanent and debilitating adversity.

AH: If you weren't a photographer what would u like to be ?

CF: A good father.

AH: Any other silly/clever questions u can think of ? Don't worry I will take the credit.

CF: "Can I go now ? It's 1am here."

AH: Chris it's been a real treat, I really appreciate you taking the time and making the effort. You know this has been really great for me, a meaningful creative way for us to collaborate other then doing a Mert and Marcus or an Inez and Vinoodh. Thanks man.

Person of the Year

Photo © Platon

Congrats to the 'top man' himself Platon for landing the prestigious Time Person of the Year cover. Looks like Platon had no problems sneaking his infamous portrait lens past Russian authorities as this years winner, if in fact the cover star is deemed to be such a thing, Vladimir Putin gets the special treatment.

Photo © Dan Winters.

Not that there are winners and losers but the runners up were Al Gore and Dan Winters, sorry lads but there ya go.

Happy 50th . . . The Fader

December sees the 50th issue of the Fader magazine. A culture and style bible with a heavy emphasis on hip-hop, reggae, rock and dance music the magazine has long been a pioneer of fresh and innovative photography. Originally art directed by Eddie Brannan and now under the guidance of the legendary Phil Bicker it continues to push boundaries both in the printed form and through its website where a downloadable pdf / mp3 version of the issue is free and easily accessible.

As well as breaking new blood The Fader has been very loyal to a trusted band of extremely talented photographers who's own careers have developed as the magazines visual language has evolved. The commemorative issue is chock full of memorable imagery from the archives and includes work by some of my favorite photographers; Johnathan "Mr Hip-Hop" Mannion, Liz Johnson Artur, Andrew Dosunmu, Jason Nocito, Phil Knott, Michael Schmelling, Lauren Fleishman, Todd Cole and Joshua Wildman.

Its a real treat, be sure to check it out.

New York Look live

Photo © Paolo Pellegrin

New York magazines spin off fashion biannual extravaganza 'Look' now has its website up and running to accompany the printed matter. I have to say I was quite taken with the first issue and in particular with Paolo Pellegrins epic contribution, read here.

In addition to all Pellegrins pictures being now available online there are a further 48 web exclusive photos that didn't make it into the final mix. I have to say that while it is great to have access to all the imagery I prefer looking at them in the printed form as the art direction and layout really contributed to a wonderfully complete package that gets lost in the on screen slideshow presentation. Worth the perusal though none the less.

Oh and New York is offering 'Look' for sale here for $ 11.99 if you cannot track it down, be warned though thats a big mark up from the $ 5.99 news stand price.

Big up to Luke for the tip.

Stocking stuffers

Here's a little something you may want to add to your gift list or maybe as a pressie for one of your clients.

Yes its that time of year again, tis the season of giving. Its always a tricky one, what to get, for whom and how much $ to spend and I am not talking about friends and family I am of course talking about clients, photo editors, reps etc, etc. I try and give a little something to those I have worked closely with during the year but I have heard stories of large and extravagant gift giving. I don't know whether some tales are mere folklore or the stuff of legend but I always wonder what if anything is expected.

Hey APE maybe you could shed a little light on this from your perspective and that of your colleagues. How about a card, a print, a bottle of wine, fruit basket, selection of fine cheeses, an ipod or a 42 inch hi-def plasma TV ? Have you ever received a big ticket item or something so inappropriate that you had to huck it in the trash. I am wondering if it is the thought that counts or will a bad choice in gifting result in demotion in ones cache ?

The Minox Leica M3 miniature replica digital camera above is available from B&H here. The 4.0 megapixel version retails at $ 149.95, the 5.0 megapixel will run you $ 199.95 but is currently out of stock. Alternately Urban Outfitters appear to have gobbled up all the 5.0 megapixels and are charging $ 225.00 for the privilege here, but they do offer free shipping

Tell us a story . . . . Jackanory

I am heading out of town today for a little work trip, starting off in Florida and then on to the Dominican Republic so I won't be posting this week. So instead I thought I would share a story from my last outing to the Caribbean a few years back. Its quite the epic so for those of you who think I ramble on a bit I have broken the tale down to ease its digestion.


Introduction

It's February 2005 and I am having a hectic week with a two day gig in Miami on the Monday / Tuesday, back to New York for a shoot in the city on the Wednesday / Thursday and then top it off with a trip to Jamaica for the weekend. It helps to know that along the way my ATM card gets swallowed by a machine and although I manage to get a temporary replacement it no longer has its debit/credit powers (remember this for later).

This is my second trip to Jamaica. The first one was back in my assisting days and I have to admit I have mixed memories of that trip, some good, some bad, but it was certainly a challenging work environment. But no worries I am bringing an open mind this time and hey at least I am working for myself, living the dream, who would have thought on my previous misadventure that I would someday return under my own steam.

The gig is for one of the business magazines and turns out its a pretty interesting assignment, right up my alley; I am to photograph a photographer photographing. The premise is that I will follow a fellow photographer as he shoots a small independently owned resort for their advertising and publicity campaign. My bit was part of a larger expose that went behind the scenes and examined the visual tricks, illusions and half truths that go into making resorts as inviting and photogenically alluring as possible to would be vacationers. Of course none of the big hotel or resort chains were interested in us recording their process, no surprise there.

On my previous excursion to the island we had some local production that had helped expedite our passage through Jamaican Customs, so this time around I thought I should be prepared, minimize the risks, be all official and get a Carnet. Nice one, all my experience coming in handy, oh yeah.

Chapter 1

Friday morning arrives, its been a hectic week so I have to say I am looking forward to having a weekend by the sea. Off out to JFK then, straight to Customs to validate the paperwork, no problemo there, all the numbers match up and the US official is courteous yet sarcastic as they usually are, how come one can't always help but feel they are always trying to catch you out in a friendly but subtly devious manner, must be the training. Then upstairs to check in for the Lovebird itself courtesy Air Jamaica. We are on a direct flight to Montego Bay scheduled for an 9.00am departure, then we are to hop a ride to our final destination Negril, should be sipping a cold Red Stripe on the beach by happy hour, nice one.

Smooth sailing so far, through security and all set to board. Its busy enough because its the Presidents Day holiday weekend so lots of families looking forward to some sun on their winter break. Full house then no chance of an empty seat along side to stretch out in. Mmmmmmmmmm departure time is getting close and yet no announcement to board. Well what do you know there is a technical problem with the plane, a one hour delay, then a two hour delay, then a three hour delay and fuck hang on more delay. The already impatient crowd starts to get edgy when it is finally announced that they are waiting for a replacement part to come from Jamaica and that they will be do the right thing by us in the interim and are putting us up in an airport hotel as the departure has now been rescheduled to 8.00pm. Yes would all 300 passengers kindly line up in front of the podium in a calm and orderly manner as all the correct vouchers are processed and handed out. Of course the desk is besieged and bedlam ensues, oh and because its a holiday weekend this is our only option to get to where we are going so don't even think about looking for another flight or another airline. No worries though its at times like this that you are grateful you are not flying with small children. I didn't fancy trucking over to a hotel so my assistant BM and I hang on till the throngs have dispersed and request a pass to the first class lounge, its been a long week and we really don't fancy hoppin a bus, so after some negotiating our request is granted.

BM and I had been working together all week. For the record it helps to know that we are old friends too. The other gigs that week had their fair share of minor dramas so we were both looking forward to putting them behind us on this one.

So we settle in and make use of the fine facilities, feeling very much like the first class travellers we are not, it will be the back of the bus for us on this trip. The flight had been rescheduled for 8.00pm but all of a sudden there is an announcement in the lounge over the P.A. looks like the part has shown up quicker then anticipated and a 6.00pm wheels up time is now a go, so would we please get our act together and run along to the gate.

Brilliant, only problem most of the passengers are at the hotel, a bus ride away and as you can imagine it takes a while to wrangle them back to the terminal. Oh and what do you know as a further bonus they had to remove our plane from the gate as it is now required by another aircraft. Turns out it is now parked out on the tarmac and we will be bussed to it. Ok but they could only manage one bus for 300 passengers. Comedy of fuckin errors the whole process ends up taking two hours so what do you know its 8.00pm anyways but woo woo we are out of here. A direct flight to Montego Bay and as some passengers were scheduled to catch connections to Kingston earlier in the day that were now long gone the plane would then continue on with them aboard. Everyone happy and relieved.

All strapped in exhausted, its sleepy time. I manage to pass out for the duration of the flight only to awake as we begin our descent. Hang on a sec, they have one of those live in flight maps up on the screen; we are crossing the Jamaican coast only we are heading straight for Kingston, what the fuck ? The pilots going to make a sharp right turn any second, right ? Couldn't fly through Cuban airspace, me thinks. Well no ! Turns out in my slumber that I had missed an important announcement pertaining to a small change in our itinerary ! Now we would be going to Kingston first and then onto Montego Bay, oh and while we are there we will do Immigration in Kingston and Customs in Montego Bay, big bummer.

So we have to get off the plane to pass through Immigration, no problems there but now there is also an aircraft change as our crew have fortuitously surpassed their mandated allowable work time and what do you know the new crew haven't yet arrived. Scheduled departure now 1.00am, fuck, everyone is tired and cranky to say the least. Finally we are all aboard for the 30 minute puddle jump, Montego Bay here we come.

Chapter 2

We are exhausted. Wouldn't you know it our bags are last off the belt, but at least they made it. That's the thing isn't it as long as they make it everything will be okay. I have been very fortunate over the years and have never experienced baggage or equipment loss. Yes plenty of delays but miraculously everything has always shown up; all present, correct and accounted for. I dont have much stuff, 1 Tenba shoulder bag and a couple of Tenba cases that's it nothing over the top and anyways I have the Carnet so I am golden.

So up we pull to the Customs officer I whip out the Carnet and am prepared for the inevitable grilling. But fuck me things gets nasty quick, my honesty is not paying off. The female officer proceeds to tell me that Jamaica does not recognise Carnets and as I didn't have a valid work visa or a local representative to meet me she was confiscating all my gear and my film and impounding it. Fuck what do you do, try and slip her a $ 100.00 ? I was tired the airport was empty, we are the last two, only a couple of officials hanging around, obviously pissed because they are here long past their scheduled work day as a result of our delay. There is no one of higher authority present so I am instructed to come back in the morning at 8am with a customs broker and everything will sort itself out, right ?

Luckily I have a couple of luggage locks handy and secure the bags as best I could before they leave my sight. What the fuck ? We walk out the terminal and there is our driver who has been waiting for us all day to take us to Negril which is a 90 minute drive away. I don't fancy going all the way out there now only to try and get back in five hours time so we manage to find a hotel locally 1 room, 1 queen bed. Its Friday night and its all that was left but I got to pay the driver anyways for his trouble; the full amount for our originally scheduled ride, $ 110.00, ah well at least the the magazine is paying. Budgets long shot already !

To say we are tired is an understatement. But that's a good thing seeing as BM and I are sharing a bed oh and does BM fuckin snore or what ! We wake up bright and early and get a call from the owner of the resort we were heading to, he has heard all the news via the van driver and has placed some calls to higher powers and gives me a brokers number to ring. I call the broker, fuck he has just left the airport and is heading to Kingston and anyways its Saturday morning legislative offices are closed, oh and how much is the value of my gear $ 20,000.00 wow that could potentially cost me $ 5,000.00 in duties nothing he could do for me, but he gives me the name and number of the official on duty at the airport and suggests I call her immediately. Turns out she cannot help me over the phone but suggests its best I get back down the airport and argue my case face to face.

Alright so this is when it is a good time to have an agent. I get on the blower with Marcel Saba and seek his worldly advice. We decide that the worse case scenario being that I cannot retrieve the gear I should be professional and get the job done no matter. And what would any photographer worth his salt do ? Yeah you guessed right ! Buy a camera and do the job on that, cool but in the meantime I am shitting myself that if I cannot get the gear it may mysteriously disappear from its holding pen, yeah like the local police would really be interested in investigating such a misappropriation on such hallowed ground. (Oh and by the way all these phone calls end up costing a small fortune, when the credit card bill eventually rolls in).

So back at the airport I am now running low on cash funds and wouldn't you know it my fuckin temporary card wont work at the airport ATM, ah well I am still liquid, should manage for the moment. Turns out to gain access to customs one has to pay a small $ 20 admission fee. I manage to get in and talk to the head honcho, she is having none of it, basically telling me that I have no work visa etc etc and that as it is a Saturday all offices of authority are closed and there is nothing that can be done till Monday, my day of departure. What a fuckin nightmare !

I had arranged for our driver to come back and meet us which he did. So there we are its Saturday around noon and off we go downtown Montego Bay in search of a camera and some film. Its slim pickings, a ton of second hand stuff but I settle on a brand new Olympus Stylus, fixed lens, twice the price it retails in New York. Oh yes Sir we only take cash by the way. I had one of these years ago and while no T4 it was pretty sharp and reliable, if T-Bone can do it why not I. Oh and some grey market Kodak Gold 100 completes the kit.

And off we go to Negril. I remember clearly stopping for a sandwich and a couple of beers for nourishment fuck we deserved it. Another $ 110.00 for the driver but at least we got to where we needed safely. Everyone drives like a lunatic so this is a bonus, things are looking up.

Chapter 3

24 hours late we finally get to Negril where we are greeted by the other crew, the one we are shooting. The photographer is super cool and after exchanging war stories lends me one of his 35mm Nikon SLR'S after all I will be shooting him shooting, so you know increase his chances of looking half way cool. He had similar difficulties coming through Customs it transpires but he said he was here to photograph his best friends wedding and not coming for real work he got through scot free. See I was honest had the paper work and got fucked, lesson learnt.

He's been here for a few days and is doing set up lifestyly stuff, image pieces that are to be used as a resort enhancer. Not really my cup of tea but I appreciate what hes doing and gamefully jump in to work mode with my new toys as he gets busy with this evenings set up. Classic situation shooting around the golden sunset light, nice ! So we run some film through the camera as he shoots some guys eating fire against a setting sun and crystal blue sea, stunning !

Anyways as I have mentioned this is a holiday weekend and the featured resort has no room for me and BM so we are shuttled down the street to another hotel. Can I say shit hole ! And because of the weekend that's in it I will have to pay for last night, the one I spent In Montego Bay too, 3 day total $ 700.00. At least BM and I have separate rooms in our not so luxurious suite. Ah well no worries we wont be spending much time here as we will be up before the dawn to capture the magical sunrise and all.


Chapter 4

We spend Sunday working, resting, drinking, all pretty straightforward. BM and I are pretty fucked, we have been in each others hair for a long week and are done with the island and I guess each other, we just want to get home. So we bid farewell to the crew and amble down the beach to our own hovel but what do you know we run into a couple of friends we haven't seen in years. First good thing that's happened all trip so we manage a fun dinner and a few drinks, reliving our current dramas and reminiscing about past adventures.

We get up early, the flights not till 2.00pm but I want to get back to the airport early and get sorted. So time to check out. Remember I only have a temporary ATM card and haven't managed to top off my cash reserves all weekend but I have an American Express too, but fuck what do you know the hotel only takes Visa. No one told us at check in. The magazine had made the reservation through a local booking agency and as it was the holiday weekend corporate travel could not make the arrangements through usual channels so although the editor had used his card to hold the room they would only accept my card or cash now as the reservation was in my name, don't ask. Fuckin comedy of errors, I swear I am not making any of this up. Oh and of course there was a little Visa sign up behind the front desk but we were so tired by the time we got around to checking in we didn't spot it. I have $ 150.00 cash on me; $110.00 for the taxi, $ 20.00 to get back into Customs and $ 20.00 for food, fuck I hope I don't need bribe money, shit. So we head to downtown Negril and find a bank. Yeah and because its Monday morning and the bank is just about to open the place is chock a block, come on get a move on everyone. Bingo my ATM card is working though, but now we got to figure out the exchange rate, complicated ! I manage to withdraw cash but of course there would be a limit on the amount of cash one can take out; $ 500.00 per day that's it and I need $ 700.00 for the room so luckily BM is able to make up the balance although we are shitting it further because he has no idea how much is in his account and whether his wife has used up their reserves over the weekend. Back to the hotel, settle up and off we go back to Montego Bay. Now we are running late and I am really bricking it I hope the gear is still there, fuck, what am I going to do if it isn't ? Oh and we are starving saving the lunch money for later.

Chapter 5

So here I am back in Customs, I know the drill by now, heart pounding sweating profusely its like Midnight Expressin reverse I am not hiding anything but hoping to find something, yeah there they are the bags safe and sound. But there are procedures, you just wont be walking off with those sonny. We are escorted to departures with our checked luggage but the camera bag remains behind, I cannot reclaim this until 30 minutes before the flights departure at which time I must descend from departures through Immigration back to Customs where they will release the bag in to my custody where upon I will then be escorted again and physically placed on the plane. Nice, at least we are flying American I don't think I could handle the Lovebird again.

So with 30 minutes to go I mange to extrapolate the camera bag, well what do you know everything is just as I left it and hey I get placed on the plane first much to my relief, to the obvious annoyance of some, curiosity of others, nothing like seeing someone being escorted a board. A fugitive ? A mercenary ? A smuggler ? Doesn't everyone have an active imagination.

Its amazing how much one can pack in to such a finite time. Its been less then 72 hours on this trip but what an adventure. Yeah I can laugh about it now but it was definately frought with fear at times. The magazine was cool, accepting responsibilty for all my difficulties and the film looked good for what it was. So all in all a success I guess, another experience to chalk into the memory banks and yeah it made for a great war story particularly in the weeks that followed where BM and I did a little double act recounting the tale many times over pints to captivated audiences. I am sure I have left stuff out and hopefully it reads as well as I remember. Heres hoping this weeks adventure wont be quite as perilous.

Nice one . . . . New York Look

Photo © Paolo Pellegrin

Wow ! That's what I said to myself when I saw the inaugural issue of Look magazine; a spin off courtesy of the fashion department at New York. This side project which I believe will be published twice a year takes their usual newsy fashion week coverage and follows it up with a more thorough, digested review of the season from the runways of New York, Milan and Paris.

So if that isn't enough to whet your passion for fashion fear not, the photographs are terrific with one man responsible for the bulk of the issue: all hail Paolo Pellegrin who has turned in a stunning performance with 40 amazing images. I am not even a huge Pellegrin fan to be honest but he nails it here.

I picked up the magazine at the supermarket the other day more out of curiosity then anything else. I didn't even browse through it just brought it home, a little something to amuse myself over lunch, if nothing else Mrs H would enjoy the read. Anyways the cover looks fine so I wasn't overly expectant of too many surprises on the inside; another precious avant guard look at the fashion world me thought.

Well fuck me Pellegrin is on another planet. His refreshing and revealing approach to an oft tackled subject is magical. He was in the thick of the action, Paris, Milan, New York; backstage, front stage, on stage and has turned in a powerhouse portfolio. Black & white and color this is a true master at the top of his game, if nothing else this makes me realize how far I have got to go. As I mentioned already I am not a huge fan of his work but he really brings the funk and the noise here. What an inspired bit of photo editing, not only in choice of photographer and in the edit/layout but also in having the balls and vision to commission one photographer to tackle an entire magazine. Oh and have I said award winning yet, if this doesn't mop some up I don't know what will.

Unfortunately the web version of Look is not up yet but is due in the next few weeks and the pictures are not yet available online. The magazine retails for $5.99 on news stands and while readily available in New York, Barnes and Noble would be your best bet elsewhere. Do yourself a favor and check it out I promise you will not be disappointed even if your not too keen on the fashion.

Here's to you Paolo !

The Irish, English, Scottish, Welsh new wave

Got some time on your hands and want to see what talents coming out of some of the fine photography schools in Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales ? Well then go here for links to the 2007 Graduate Exhibitions and discover some of the stars of tomorrow.

Courtesy of Source a really terrific quarterly magazine of contemporary photography out of Belfast Northern Ireland.

Nice one . . . . Vanity Fair

Photo © Mark Heithoff

Its the usual list of suspects in the December issue of Vanity Fair, Annie (Leibovitz), Norman Jean (Roy), Jonathan (Becker), Michael (Thompson), Mark (Seliger), Gasper (Triangle) but what was really refreshing was to see some new talent breaking through. Kudos to Mark Heithoff for a bang up well story featuring artist of the moment Richard Prince. I really like the opening spread, there's hope for the rest of us one light practitioners yet in this pantheon of big production.

Nice one Mark !

Congrats DM

Photo © Domingo Millela

Congratulations to friend and inspirator, the Italian with the big 8x10 camera himself Domingo Millela who has work from his catalogue of the 'Human Landscape' featured in the new issue of international photography magazine Foam. Domingo has and I quote; been developing this project over the past 6 years with the precision of a cartographer, as he charts our world the way it is: the layers of detritus, the relentless creep of the urban and our fruitless attempts to manage the force of nature. See here and here.

Heres to you Domingo ! I see you got top billing on the cover, even pushing veritable superstar Taryn Simon into second place, nice one !