SPE WEST

The SPE west conference is being held at our school November 13 - 16. Academy students get in for free, but you have to register online. Alec Soth is the guest speaker, there are events all weekend, and you can sign up for portfolio reviews with different people on Saturday. Do it!

Margo

Joakim Eskildsen

I found this work from the Danish photographer in the June issue of PDN(thanks Margo). I'm captivated by his mastery of available light and strong use of color. He has the ability to use light as a graphical element in found environments. These images come from a small village in Hungary and are a small part of a much larger body covering the Roma, or "gypsies". Fantastic I think. You can see the rest of the project @ www.joakimeskildsen.com

Charlie

AARON RUELL

Aaron Ruell has some great portraits and spaces on his website. I love his minimalist approach. Everything is so clean and linear. His compositions are so deliberate it's almost creepy and humorous, and the mood he creates is finding the unusual in the usual. It just makes you think, what's going on here? On a side note, he played Kip in Napoleon Dynamite.

Margo

THANKS CHRIS

thanks to Christopher Kern for the visit last saturday, and his inimitable candor and enthusiasm (thanks also for the posts below Chris!)

should anyone want to intern with chris i encourage you to contact him. Chris' reality is not that far removed from (y)our own; although Chris has been very successful in accelerated way, it has not been a huge gap of time that would a disconnect in accordance to your own experience level; Chris will have really relevant and timely insight.

James

THOUGHTS FROM YOU ALL?

not to sure how many of you were familiar with jill greenberg - la based portrait photographer. but over the years she has gotten a lot of attention and work from here series of crying babies, monkeys and other works. she has a signature light for portraits - we all know what it looks like and frankly most of us have been bored of it for quite sometime. although, she works a lot.

but, things change, and they have. read about it...

see what she did to mccain. the power of the media and the power of art... what's your thoughts on this...

CK

INSPIRATION FROM CK

margo - we talked a lot about movement and form. wanted to share with you and the class a couple links of some contemporary fashion and portrait photographers playing with this very concept.

sarah silver - nyc based fashion and beauty photographer.

scott morgan - la based fashion and portrait photographer

some aspiring photographers that for me continues to knock my socks off...

philip lorca diCorcia - nyc based portrait photographer.

jeff riedel - nyc based fashion and portrait photographer.

thierry le goues - french fashion photographer.

taryn simon - portrait photographer / assignment photographer for ny times magazine.

nadav kander - to me nadav is the photographer of photographers, from still life, portrait to landscape - amazing!

that's all for now...

other great sources for inspiration... the major players in photography can be found at agency websites...

art and commerce - annie leibovitz, craig mcdean, steven meisel, taryn simon, carter smith, glen luchford - the best of the best...

jet root - michael thompson, diego uchitel, joshua jordan, etc...

some la talent - movie stars, cement ponds and that sort of thing...

fox creative

the rex agency

the list goes on and on... but these are the resources we use to see what work is out there - these are not the names we aspire to but rather who we have to compete against.

CK

RESOURCES FROM CK

first and foremost - it was a pleasure having the opportunity to sit in on your class with james chiang last weekend.  james has been a great source of inspiration for myself both in life and art.  i hope he helps with your path to inspiration and art as well.

photography is much more than the images we create.  it's about the networks we encompass, and the resources to cultivate and replenish.

here's some links to resources that have helped me with my marketing and promotions.

taurus bookbindery - 2736 16th street - san francisco, ca 94103 / 415.671.2233

- taurus is a great resource for seeing what ideas for options you have to present your work.  they have a shelves of samples that they have done for other artists as well as photographers, and endless options for fabrics, materials and leathers.

lexjet - paper options are endless and we are not all confined to using standard sizes.  i personally use the lexjet archival matte paper.  try some out for yourself - see what you like.

jr press - 365 s van ness ave.  - san francisco, ca 94103 / 415.558.0592 (ask for tom) 

- my lexjet paper is purchased as 13x19 sheets, I then have taken it to jr press and had it cut down to my custom book size which is roughly 11 1/4 by 15 1/2 - including being scoured and drilled for my chicago screw posts.

4by6.com - great resource for business cards and promo cards.  Use promo code SM25 for the rest of this month and get twenty-five bucks off your order.

good luck,

christopher kern

ckern@christopherkern.com / 415.302.3622

SHOOTING ASSIGNMENT FOR 9/20 FROM PAUL TRAPANI

SHOOTING ASSIGNMENT FROM PAUL TRAPANI

'please communicate a specific idea, 3-5 images within the context of the fashion (or anti-fashion) vernacular.
Or, communicate a specific narrative idea of your own choosing, perhaps something unexpected of the genre if that is your chosen path of exploration, use a model/models/human subject as tool in the communication of that Idea.. be able to discuss.'

thanks guys.

James

GUEST SPEAKER 9/20 PAUL TRAPANI

We're fortunate to have Paul Trapani as our guest this saturday, 9/20. I've blogged about Paul on my personal blog in the past, and for the sake of brevity will attach this post below:

(original link)

Just did these portraits for my new website (soon!) of my friend and colleague Paul Trapani. Paul is a fellow director / photo / educator guy and hands down the best hockey player I have ever had the opportunity to play with. He's not the most gifted player out there, but he's that coast to coast break through the defenders and score while falling through the air, Bobby Orr style. All heart. When I was captain of the team, we were in last place, but I had Paul take over and we've now won 3 championships in 7 years (and not because of me.)

Paul is one of my favorite photo subjects, I just love the expressive faces he makes, as well as the ones he doesn't

The Deardorff 8x10 view camera belonged to Paul's father.

check out his photo work here

James

New crüe

I updated the links section to add myself to the class role, and I fixed some broken links.

On another note: If you haven't been to the galleries at 42 Geary, you are missing out on some world class photography from the past and present.

Chris

EMILY NATHAN

incredible lifestyle / travel / portrait photographer mentioned in class. nuanced and thoughtful; Emily's acuity and sensitivity adds a second layer of complexity beyond what's been asked of her to shoot, and leaves an indelible imprint on what can otherwise sometimes be a ubiquitous segment of photography.

I count Emily's work is as some of my favorite, something that i find surprising and always enjoy seeing.

in my opinion Emily's work elevates the bar for which this genre is percieved considerably.


Emily Nathan website


James