Phillip Toledano documents his struggle dealing with his father’s dementia following the death of his mother in his touching and beautifully crafted photo-series, Days with My Father. This quote from Shape and Colour says what I’m thinking more eloquently than I ever could.
It takes a real artist to know when something is special enough to simply be documented, and not necessarily explored or extrapolated on. To give something room to breathe and hold it’s own based only on the fact that you’ve found the strength to share it. I don’t take it lightly when artists take their most personal moments and reveal them to me, trusting that hopefully the cycle of creator and receiver will nurture us both. There’s something delicate and tenuous in the act of letting your story go in the desire that it will mean as much to a stranger as it does to you.
via Kottke
The documentary filmmaker, Errol Morris, interviews Hany Farid, a Dartmouth professor and an expert on digital photography, on using photography as a weapon.
Of course, we all know that doctoring (photoshopping) photographs to make them dramatic, misleading, or politically controversial is a widespread issue (problem?), but what about using captions to influence?
The photographs presented by Colin Powell at the United Nations in 2003 provide several examples. Photographs that were used to justify a war. And yet, the actual photographs are low-res, muddy aerial surveillance photographs of buildings and vehicles on the ground in Iraq. I’m not an aerial intelligence expert. I could be looking at anything. It is the labels, the captions, and the surrounding text that turn the images from one thing into another.
via Schneier on Security
A list of 25 great photography tutorials and links – courtesy of Digital Photography School.
I’ve no idea how to pronounce his name, but Maciej Dakowicz’s photography speaks to me on a more… local level.
Now living in Cardiff, his Cardiff at night set depicts wonderfully(?) what is to be expected on a Friday or Saturday night out in Cardiff. This video is also quite enlightening.
I’ve thought before on how to document a road trip: it’s a tricky area with no perfect solution. Photojojo’s Ultimate Guide to Road Trip Photography has thrown a few more ideas into the mix. I like this suggestion:
Make Your Own Postcards - Before you head out, read our tutorial on three easy ways to make post cards or stock up on some mailable photo frames. Throughout your route, stop by the nearest drug store chain, pop in your memory card and print out some home-made memorabilia to send back home.