The Marks of Man

Joan Fontcuberta http://www.lensculture.com/audio.html Discusses image-making, the role of photography, media, reality – and propaganda. Excerpt: I am a Spaniard. I was born in 1955, and this means that for the first 20 years of my life I was suffering under dictatorship in my country: lack of information, propaganda, censorship. So this probably created a sense of fighting against the rules – of distrusting the official media. To be skeptical regarding how the authority, the power, was distributing messages and information. I think that my work is a sort of rebellion against repression, against this lack of freedom, against this lack of democracy, against this authority. I’m anti-authoritarian in my work. I try with my work to discuss the concept of truth, the concept of credibility – which is inherent in photographic messages. The heart [of my work], the quintessential, remains the questioning of photographic truth. Be careful, be

Fred Stein, [Gerda Taro and Robert Capa on the terrace of Café du Dôme in Montparnasse, Paris], early 1936. © Estate of Fred Stein. International Center of Photography Gerda Taro (real name Gerta Pohorylle ; 1 August 1910, Stuttgart - 26 July 1937, near Brunete , Spain) was a Jewish German war photographer, and the companion and professional partner of photographer Robert Capa . Taro is regarded often as the first female photojournalist to cover the front lines of a war and to die while doing so. Early life Gerta Pohorylle was born in 1910, in Stuttgart , into a middle-class Jewish Polish family. Pohorylle attended a Swiss boarding school . [ 1 ] [ 2 ] In 1929 the family moved to Leipzig , just prior to the beginning of Nazi Germany. Taro opposed the Nazi Party , joining leftist groups. In 1933, she was arrested and detained for distributing anti-Nazi propaganda. Eventually, the entire Pohorylle household was forced to leave Nazi Germany toward different destinations. Tar

Rediscovered Spanish Civil War negatives by Capa, Chim, and Taro SEPTEMBER 24–JANUARY 9, 2011 The Mexican Suitcase The Mexican Suitcase will for the first time give the public an opportunity to experience images drawn from this famous collection of recovered negatives. In December 2007, three boxes filled with rolls of film, containing 4,500 35mm negatives of the Spanish Civil War by Robert Capa, Gerda Taro, and Chim (David Seymour)—which had been considered lost since 1939—arrived at the International Center of Photography. These three photographers, who lived in Paris, worked in Spain, and published internationally, laid the foundation for modern war photography. Their work has long been considered some of the most innovative and passionate coverage of the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). Many of the contact sheets made from the negatives will be on view as part of the exhibition, which will look closely at some of the major stories by Capa, Taro, and Chim as interpr

New York 2010 © Pedro Meyer Pedro Meyer asks the old question, that started with the Kodak. I have been asked many times what I think about the fact that nowadays almost everyone takes pictures. The question of course, has a sort of hidden agenda. It suggest that photography has become so common place so as to render photography into a commodity, taking away from it, it's aura of sophistication, uniqueness and or the merit of being seen as some form of art, after all most people make pictures that are quite bad. All along my answer has been consistently the same. I more than welcome the fact that so many more people today take pictures in comparison to, lets say, just ten years ago. Let me explain: if we were having this debate over the written word, probably no one would object that a nation make all the needed efforts to achieve total literacy. As a matter of fact, all over the world there is a strong awareness of how important it is for its population to becom

by Karl Baden As always fantastic stuff from Zone Zero . Download a PDF of the exhibition

Anthony Epes One of the founders of the"International Environmental Photographers Association". The aim of this network is to bring photographers from across the world whose subject and passion is the natural world. Anthony Epes This is the whole reason why I made a major change to digital work 15 years ago. Though I cannot quite give up Polaroid and salt printing. I remember seeing tubs of colour chemicals being dumped in the 1980's and wondering if there was a better way. Living in America at the time, in New Hampshire and California I got an understand as to why photographers like Adams were involved in environmentalism, and how it started in the USA, and also why it is the biggest polluter, for all the cultural reasons, strangely only Americans could appreciate. Any way take a look at Anthony's site, it is well worth a visit. http://anthonyepes.com

I hear lots of discussion from artists and students, about this great new idea they have, usually a project based on time, disseminated on a blog or face book. Here is an example of "its been done before". The difference is this project could only have come to fruition in the era of blogging and video online. Made from the late nineties for ten years, this man made a picture of himself with a Polaroid camera. I am amazed at his tenaciousness, I could not have made them due to children problems, lost chickens or having a head made of air. Or now with this Pneumonia bored, searching the net for something that is not there. Or this stunning 3 year project

Sadly the photographer uses film no longer made by Polaroid. I have a few boxes that I buy when the price is right off eBay. The camera they are advertising is a toy, and I have nothing against toy cameras, i use them. But how can you compare a toy against type 55. This is very sad. How hard is it to start up a machine and make a bit for us? I know Impossible makes its version, but the real stuff is the pos neg. I have been getting great results with Fuji pack film in my converted 180 camera, so I cant complain. You can also make a negative out of Fuji too go, to this link. http://new55project.blogspot.com/2010/01/new-55-project-commences.html

Could the photos you take for fun actually be worth something? Many amateur snappers are now making money by selling their shots online. In fact it's getting so popular the professionals are starting to complain. Dan Simmons looks at some new shortcuts to cashing in. Video http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/9387518.stm Read more: How to pick a digital camera

Wayne is an expert at gathering wild food. Every time we meet, we have a feast from the sea, or Mushrooms from the field. He has a wealth of "secret" gathering locations, for produce. This weekend we found Watercress, Walnuts and Mussels, it was too muddy to see the Paua. Tilly is an enthusiastic supporter of rabbit hunting.

Did this as part of a demonstration with the students today. Much better teaching on location then in a computer suite. 65mm lens on a graphex with a phase one scanning back FX, tethered to a power mac.