New York Times: Burma

Image © New York Times-All Rights Reserved
News agencies reported that the pro-democracy leader in Myanmar, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, recently with members of her party, the National League for Democracy, for the first time in three years as well as with Aung Kyi, the general appointed as a liaison by Myanmar’s military government.

The New York Times reports that "Six weeks after its violent crackdown on protests led by Buddhist monks, Myanmar’s military government has telegraphed alternating signs of combativeness and flexibility. Analysts say they are watching to determine whether the ruling generals’ outreach to Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi is genuine or whether it falls into a well-established pattern of short-lived concessions toward dissidents followed by a return to a hard-line stance."

In my view and that of others, Burma's military government is buying time as it always does in similar situations, and hoping that the international community will soon be distracted by other world events...such as the current turmoil in Pakistan. By the way, isn't the current political situation in Pakistan eerily similar to that of Burma?

Another feature from the New York Times on Burma

NY Times: Mexico's Day of the Dead

Image © Janet Jarman/NY Times-All Rights Reserved
I completely forgot that it was the Day of the Dead or Día de los Muertos some 10 days ago. This a holiday celebrated mainly in Mexico and the Mexican community living in north America, but it's also observed in other Latin American countries.

The Mexican celebration occurs on November 1 (All Saints' Day) and November 2 (All Souls' Day). Celebrating the dead may be considered morbid to other cultures, but celebrants consider the Day of the Dead as a joyful and happy occasion. The tradition is to celebrate and honor the lives of the deceased. It also celebrate the continuation of life, believing that death is not the end, but rather the beginning of a new stage in life.

In atonement for my oversight, here's a New York Times slide show on the Day of the Dead. The photographs are by Janet Jarman...I found the accompanying explanatory text to each image to be very useful, which is why I deem this particular slide show not exactly a 'fluff' piece for tourists.

By the way, this weekend is also Diwali for Hindus. When I stumble on a Diwali-themed photo essay, I'll post it.

The New York Times' Day of the Dead

Kenro Izu: Bhutan, The Sacred Within

Image Copyright © Kenro Izu-All Rights Reserved
I was glad to go to the Rubin Museum of Art (RMA) yesterday to see Kenro Izu's exhibition of photographs from Bhutan. The RMA devoted its entire third floor to the exhibition, and it was visually stunning...as most of its exhibitions are.

From the RMA's brochure: "Bhutan, the Sacred Within exhibition is the last of Kenro Izu's trilogy related to sacred landscapes, si the second to premiere at RMA. The people of Bhutan, heirs to an unbroken tradition of Buddhist government and religion, sustain the values of family bonds, community life, agrarian labor and worship. Izu finds this focus in the faces and postures of his subjects. His meticulous, hand-printed platinum prints bring us closer to a population that seeks to maintain traditions while on the brink of modernity."

Using a turn of the century technique, Kenro Izu takes platinum palladium prints with a custom built camera that produces 14 x 20-inch negatives. In a significant departure from his previous large scale projects, most of Izu's photographs of Bhutan are of people. The subjects are posed, and I was told that because of the lens aperture, the poses were unusually long by modern standards and resulted in a slight softness in some of the photographs; the subjects of the photographs understandably moving a little.

The total number of prints on the third floor are probably about 50, out of which a handful were much larger than 14x20 inches. The photographs are either carbon pigment prints or platinum/palladium prints. Having no clue what was a carbon pigment print, I looked it up on Wikipedia and it's "a photographic print produced by soaking a carbon tissue in a dilute sensitizing solution of potassium bichromate. The solution also consists of carbon, gelatin, and a coloring agent." As for the platinum/palladium prints, they are contact prints — the photographs are the size of the negatives, and they cannot be enlarged.

I was told that while all the regular-sized photographs were hand printed, the handful of larger photographs had been digitally printed because of their size.

I particularly admired a photograph of two tsechu dancers, one poker-faced and the other almost frowning, made the Tamshing Lakhang in Bumthang. Another masterpiece is the triptych of dancers made during the Wangdue tsechu in central Bhutan.

There's no question that this is a must-see exhibition if you live or are in New York and you're interested in Bhutan, Buddhism, and in sophisticated visual arts. Others -who are more qualified than I- as well as press releases have already lauded the exhbition and the photographs...but take it from me, it shouldn't be missed.

Incidentally, Kenro Izu has published a wonderful book of his Bhutan photographs...more like a monograph...and it's available at the RMA's bookstore if you want to take these photographs home. I couldn't find it online...so do take a look at it while you're there.

I found a couple of older QT snippets of an interview with Kenro Izu and his process on the Peabody Essex Museum website.

Izu's Interview

Izu's Printing Process

Tim Leffel on the Seven Myths of Travel Writing

Tim Leffel, the author of The World's Cheapest Destinations, has written a hard-hitting and eye-opening account of the truths about being a travel writer, and it's a winner.

A few weeks ago I received an interesting piece of mail. It said, “Launch your dream career as a travel writer today and get paid to travel the world.” All I had to do was sign up for an expensive correspondence course on travel writing. After that I could expect such rewards as “a complimentary week on an exotic Asian island” or a luxury vacation in Cancun “with airfare and all expenses paid.” The breathless come-on letter asked, “Why not live on permanent vacation?”

Why not indeed? Get paid to travel the world and live a life of leisure. What could be more glamorous?

Before you fall for it, remember that it is also glamorous to be a rock star, a best-selling novelist, or a starter for the Lakers. It’s not so glamorous, however, to be an aspiring actor (waiter) in Los Angeles, an aspiring songwriter (waiter) in Nashville, or an aspiring novelist (waiter) in New York. It may sound silly to compare travel writers like Tim Cahill or Jeff Greenwald to celebrities such as Tom Cruise and Stephen King, but the odds of getting to that level of success are just as daunting. The big difference is that when you do get to that upper echelon of travel writers, you’re still not making nearly as much money as the lowest-paid bench warmer in the NBA.

Just as plugging in a Stratocaster doesn’t make you a rock star, writing tales about your travels is not going to make you a travel writer. Like any position where supply far exceeds demand, you’ll need to follow the right steps and then pay your dues. It’s not going to happen overnight.

As a service to any beginning travel writers out there who are ready for the real story, here are the seven biggest myths of travel writing and the dirt on what to it will take to defy the odds.

Myth #1: Travel writers make enough money to live on

Transitions Abroad

WIP

Image & Design © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

Watch this space....

Mirror Beach

Mirror beach or in local language Pantai Cermin is located in Serdang Bedagai Regency.
It's a nice place to swim, sun bathing and fishing. It's one of eastern beaches in Indonesia. Unlike the western beaches, Mirror beach has a calm wave so it's not an appropriate place to surf. The local government has developed the beach to contribute another good object tourism of North Sumatera. The sand of the beach is white like a glass, therefore they called the beach by the name "cermin" means Mirror.

Is Travel Photography Dying...or Dead?

Image Copyright © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved
A few days ago Heather Jacobsen of hk imagery and a reader of TTP, asked me whether I thought that travel photography was dead...she had heard that statement from many in the industry, and was interested to know my view.

Well, here it is: I do not subscribe to the notion that “travel” photography is dead. It has evolved...and I mean really evolved...not a progressive kind of evolution, but it changed with a relative abruptness that left many of those unprepared gasping for air...and not only was the change sudden, but it happened dynamically.

The confluence of many factors contributed to the evolution of “travel” photography. The relatively cheap travel, the accessibility of the ‘off-the-beaten path’ places, computers, digital photography and all its hardware and software accouterments, the Internet, mini-stock agencies and free photo hosting websites, to name but a few, are all factors that changed traditional ‘travel’ photography industry.

So my response to Heather was essentially that traditional "travel" photography had evolved so much and so rapidly, that many deemed it dead. I guess the emphasis here is on 'traditional'. I also made the rather obvious point that photographers needed to acquire new skills to adapt in this new environment.

Everyone realizes that anyone with a half-decent digital camera can now produce sensational photographs of the Pyramids or Angkor Wat, but that doesn’t mean that working photographers should give up and stay home doing something else. It just means (at least to me) that photographers who travel to photograph must develop skills and abilities more akin to those of photojournalists...they need to tell stories with their photographs.

I follow the Travel section of the New York Times quite closely, and see how photographers and its photo editors are using its website to effectively showcase travel photography. I recently posted a multimedia feature (by Chris Ramirez) on Trinidad which combined photography with its food and wine industry: one of a rapidly expanding genre in the travel photography domain.

There are photographers at the top of the food chain...the members of the ‘oligopoly’… who still sell technically perfect photographs of the Pyramids, or of infinity swimming pools in the Maldives, or of coconut trees swaying in the wind...and who get handsomely paid...but even they are a dying breed and their days are numbered.

While I'm at it, let me add this about the photo tours business...and I've been saying it for years. Photographers -whether celebrity or not- who lead photo tours can no longer rest on their laurels. They too have to evolve. The days of doing the same itinerary over and over are gone...and the "hey! shoot like me!" days are also gone. Photo tour leaders have to research and offer, not only new itineraries, but guidance as to how to weave the participants' daily inventory of photographs into eventual photo stories....how to build compelling stories out of their photographs. Yes, that's right...more workshop-like than just a photo tour.

I firmly believe that the future of "travel" photography is where the photojournalists are treading...and where they’re going...and its adherents will face the same challenges photojournalists face. They’ll have to tell and sell compelling stories though their photographs, by adding creative multimedia effects and sound recordings, and become in effect almost documentary filmmakers. Some will embrace this evolution, will continue to evolve and will thrive, and others will not.

Survival of the fittest...it's that simple.

Photo Tours: Paying Through the Nose?

Image Copyright © Ralph Childs-All Rights Reserved
It’s incredible but true...people will pay more -often much more- than others for exactly the same product or service. Others will pay more - sometimes hugely more - for an inferior product or service that looks or sounds the same.

This behavior is often exhibited in photo tours, and specifically those to Bhutan. Figuring out costs in Bhutan is simple because the government dictates a standard price per day for tourists (currently $200), and where accommodations are within the same price range and quality (excepting the 4 luxury Aman hotels in Bhutan that are exempted from government tariff setting, and which charge about $900 a night!).

The land cost for the photo-expedition I organized and led to Bhutan last October was $2890. The duration of the tour was 14 days, which means that the cost per day for each member (single occupancy) was $206. The maximum number of participants on my expeditions is not more than 8 photographers.

I just ran a thorough search for ‘photo tours to Bhutan’ using Google, and found a handful of photo tours ranging in price (land costs only) from a low of $4350 for 14 days (ie $310 per day for each member) to a high of $6900 for 10 days (ie $690 per day per member). So why would anyone pay $690 a day instead of $310...or even $206? Accommodations, guides, vehicle, transportation, food, sight seeing, access to festivals, are virtually the same. In some cases, even the land operator in Bhutan is one and the same.

Naturally, what’s left out from the above comparison is the capability and experience of the photo tour leader, which impacts on whether the photographers on the tour return with great photographs or not. But whether this is worth the add-on to the land costs is a qualitative factor that can only be determined by members' experiences. Having a celebrity photographer lead the tour is no assurance that it'll be worth the premium....especially if the celebrity is more interested in shooting stock for his/her inventory during the tour.

So here’s the challenge: if any member of any photo tour to Bhutan reads TTP, and believes that his or her photographs are better than the one above by Ralph Childs…a regular member on my photo expeditions…made during the Prakhar tsechu, please email it to me, along with an explanation as to why it’s better and why the tour cost you paid is -in your view- justifiable. I'll post the photographs and your comments on TTP.

Rick Sammon's Travel Tips

Image Copyright © Colleen Wheeler-All Rights Reserved
The O'Reilly Digital Media website brings us a podcast of a conversational interview with travel photographer Rick Sammon by Derrick Story in the O'Reilly Media booth at PhotoPlus Expo 2007 in New York City.

I haven't heard anything really new in the podcast, however I was not surprised to hear Rick's take on wearing a photo vest to circumvent airline restrictions on carry-on luggage. I fill the pockets of my Orvis safari jacket with lenses and a flash when I'm faced with check-in agents who insist in weighing my carry-on. It was interesting to hear both interlocutors laud the Canon 70-200mm IS f4. They describe the lens as one of the best Canon has ever manufactured.

The podcast's length is about 16 minutes.

Rick Sammon's podcast

NY Times: Protests in Pakistan

Image Copyright © Arif Ali/AFP/Getty-All Rights Reserved
The New York Times brings us a multimedia feature on the current protests in Pakistan against the imposition of martial law by the government of General Pervez Musharraf.

Today's editorial is quite strongly worded (for a change): "The general, Pakistan’s president, justified his crackdown as a defense against Islamic militants, but his desperate and reprehensible actions — suspending the constitution, rounding up judges, beating and jailing lawyers and journalists — will embolden extremists. They will also fuel anger and mistrust among Pakistani moderates. "

A comment from a reader on the NY Times' website sees it this way : “The problem is not Musharraf’s dictatorship. It’s the American interference in Pakistan’s internal affairs”.

The photograph above is probably the best of the feature. The slideshow includes a verbal report by reporter David Rohde from Islamabad.

The NY Times' Protests in Pakistan

Angkor Photo Festival: Nov 17-28, 2007

The Angkor Photography Festival, the first of its kind in South-East Asia, was created in 2005 by Gary Knight, Christophe Loviny and Jean-Yves Navel. This year, for the third time, the temples of Angkor will become a hub for famous and passionate photographers from across the world.

The festival’s program cuts a broad swathe through the world of photography in Asia and plays host to “concerned” documentary photography and fine art photography. This year, the festival presents this part of the world through the eyes of photographers from Europe (Agnès Dherbeys Olivier Föllmi, and Simon Larbalestier among others), from the United States (Stephanie Sinclair, John Stanmeyer, and others), from India (Altaf Qadri, Dar Yasin and Palani Mohan) and many more.

The whole programme for the festival is available here

Angkor Photography Festival website

Canon Service Notice: EOS-1D Mark III

The National Geographic Digital Photography blog has posted the information and link to the Canon Europe website which has a post updating the auto focus tracking issue on the Canon EOS-1D Mark III digital SLR that explains how they plan to fix the problem.

Canon Europe offers an apology and a range of serial numbers for cameras affected by the AF tracking challenge.

"If the serial number on the bottom of the camera is between 501001 and 546561, it could contain one of the AF mirrors with the adjustment problem."

Information is here: Canon Europe Update

Les Stone: Haiti's Voodoo

Image Copyright © Les Stone-All Rights Reserved
This month's Digital Journalist brings us the gripping work on voodoo in Haiti by photographer Les Stone.

Les Stone is an acclaimed photographer who chronicled the human cost of conflict in Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, Kosovo, Liberia, Cambodia and Haiti, among other troubled spots. He won several World Press Photo Awards and Picture of the Year Awards, and has covered stories often ignored by the mainstream media, including the deadly legacy of Agent Orange in Vietnam, the plight of Iraqi Kurds fleeing the first Gulf War, and the deployment of child-soldiers in Africa. His photographs have been published in National Geographic, Time, Life, Paris Match, Stern and Fortune, as well as on the pages many books.

Voodoo is a name attributed to a traditionally West African spiritual system of faith and ritual practices which are espoused in Haiti (among other places). Haitian Vodouisants believe, in accordance with widespread African tradition, that there is one God who is the creator of all, referred to as "Bondyè" (from the French "Bon Dieu" or "Good God"). Bondyè is often considered the same God of other religions, such as Christianity and Islam. It is the spirits that the Vodouisant turns to for help, as well as to the ancestors. The Vodouisant worships God, and serves the spirits, who are treated with honor and respect as elder members of a household might be.

Les Stone's Voodoo on Digital Journalist.

VII Seminar: Day 2 - Pasadena (Nov 2-4th)

Eric Beecroft completes his report on the VII Seminar in Pasadena:

"After Stanley Greene's phenomenal projection, the schedule called for Digital Railroad and Apple technical seminars- which I didn't attend. It's not that I'm interested; it's that I'm not a tech-head, and it wasn't anything stunningly new or revolutionary.

The post lunch session was a new feature for VII Seminars, now in its sixth or so incarnation: a group showing by young(ish) photographers called "the new photojournalists." These photographers were as diverse as could be in style and content; the only similarity was their strong dedication to the craft (in terms of lifestyle, not just a career), and their amazing ability.

Work was shown by Boogie, Jessica Dimmock, Marcus Bleasdale and Stephanie Sinclair. All of the work was very good; particularly touching was the multimedia piece shown by Jessica Dimmock of her book titled "the Ninth Floor", a long term project on heroin addicts inhabiting an apartment in New York City. It so moving that I saw some tears in the audience.

Stephanie Sinclair showed her work on child marriages. Her presentation was special to me, as she spoke of an accident her mother had - an event which led her directly into conflict photography. Maybe it's just my preference for "humanness" from the photographers, but Stephanie's passion, breaking voice and the obvious emotional consequences of doing this work which really made an impression on me and on the audience.

Marcus's work was a mix of incredible still photos mixed in with gathered audio and video clips from his decade spent in the Congo documenting the conflict there (four million lives lost since 1998); his story on how he started photojournalism was also inspiring- quitting his secure banking job in his mid 20s, buying a ticket to the Balkans, and just going there.

It was also a mixed bag as far as education went- Boogie and Marcus are essentially self taught, with not much of formal photographic eduction- whereas Stephanie and Jessica both followed a more formal course of study. Stephanie was a top newsspaper photographer for seven years before venturing to Iraq; she ended up staying for 2 years, then resettling in Lebanon, and doing the work she really believes in. It just proves that there are many paths to the work we do, none one right for everyone- and all of these photographers are incredibly talented and driven, no matter their background or degrees.

The seminar ended with two show stopping presentations by two veteran- and I'd say almost preternaturally talented- conflict photographers in the world. Ron Haviv, who in my opinion, gave one of the most powerful talks of the seminar. He addressed the photographers' responsibility to document by creating awareness of the world's problems. This was ilustrated with examples from his ten years of work during the Balkans conflict. His photography documentation was crucial evidence against Serbian war criminals during the Hague's war crimes trials, and has almost cost him his life. Ron recounted how the notorious warlord Arkan had a hit out on Ron's head; he was subsequently interrogated, beaten and mock executed by guards in a shack in the woods, and his release had to be arranged by the Russian and French governments.

Further examples of our obligation to produce work with meaning and that creates awareness- and hopefully produces change- came from a great multimedia piece on Los Angeles' gangs and on the crime waves that afflict certain neighborhoods. Ron also showed his most recent work on the long term conflict in Sri Lanka. Not only are his images amazing, but more so, to me, was his absolute and passionate dedication for photojournalism. He practices what he preaches.

Last to present was the living legend Eugene Richards. Unfortunately. I couldn't stay for his whole presentation , as I was exhausted from the long nights and all day onslaught of powerful imagery. For what I saw, his work deserves the legendary label, and he is truly the artist of the VII crew, focusing on social issues and much lesser problems almost all in the United States. Issues from drugs to domestic abuse to cancer and the elderly were shown; Eugene showed through his work that you don't have to travel long distances to foreign lands to tell amazing, powerful, necessary stories- they are right in your backyard.

Let me end with a wrap up of the best quotes (at least those I can remember) from the Seminar. All the presenters, locals and students were marvelous. I'd just like to thank some specifically by name for their generosity, patience with my (at times overeager and very energetic) photo-j students, and for the portfolio reviews, feedback, discussions, dinner, and inspiration that they gave to all who were there. Extra huge thanks to Ron Haviv, Stanley Greene, Chris Morris and his wife; Rick Loomis, Mike Robinson Chavez, Stephanie Sinclair, Marcus Bleasdale, Boogie, Ben Lowy, Jessica Dimmock, Gary Knight, Joachim Ladefoged, Frank Evers, Lauren Greenfield, and the rest.

Now for the quotes:

Boogie: Just go out and shoot...its on the street, right in front of you.

Gary Knight: The photographer's job is to be useful.

Stanley Greene: What you have to do is go, keep trying. I'm not attracted to violence, I'm interested in questions- what makes people do these things...are those things inside of me? I'm a storyteller, with picture, When I started out...I was very bad. People told me I should be a disc jockey. The minute you push the button, you create history. This is what I was made to do; to be a photographer until I die.

To close: rumors are flying, but expect VII seminars internationally, perhaps Europe, maybe Mideast, maybe Asia...who knows ? If you ever have the chance to go, you've got to do it. It's worth much more then the modest admission cost and travel, and it leaves one inspired, working to improve, and with lifelong friends."

Eric Beecroft

Ramin Rahimian: Istanbul

Image Copyright © Ramin Rahimian-All Rights Reserved
Ramin Rahimian's slideshow on Istanbul starts with a quote from Alphonse de Lamartine: "If one has but one glance to give the world, one should gaze at Istanbul". How true.

However if you expect to see skyline of Istanbul, its beautiful mosques and other architectural wonders, you'll be disappointed. Ramin's work is of the documentary style, and it's beautifully edgy.

Ramin was born in Iran and grew up in northern California. He started taking photojournalism seriously at UC Berkeley and currently freelances out of Salt Lake City in Utah. He worked for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and freelances for thee New York Times, Reuters, ZUMA and has gleaned many awards.

His website has interesting other photo essays which I encourage you to see. The one titled Boomtown is particularly powerful...but for TTP, I chose Ramin's view of Istanbuli life, and also chose this photograph because of its colors and shadow play.

Ramin Rahimian's Istanbul

VII Seminar: Day 2 - Pasadena (Nov 2-4th)

Image Copyright © Eric Beecroft-All Rights Reserved
Eric Beecroft reports on the second day of the VII Seminar:

"This really is the land of the scarf people. Well, scarves- ethnic scarves, not the old woolen tartan ones you wore when you were seven- and funny shoes. European style leather square toed boots and slipper things.

The second day started with a presentation by veteran conflict photographer Gary Knight. Softspoken, serious and compelling, Gary showed work from various projects of the last fifteen years, beginning with powerful images from his Evidenceseries- essentially gathering visual evidence for the indictment against Milosevic during the war in Kosovo in 1999. The room hushed as his photographs brought a somber, thoughtful tone to the day's proceedings. From Kosovo to Congo, India, Brazil and Darfur, the work continued unabated in quality and intensity.

From Iraq, Gary projected not only the best images he made, but all the images made in between- and, by doing so, you could feel him running, see his photographic thought process and understand that the best in the world also make less then stellar images.

Next up was Antonin Kratochvil, surely one of the most honest- and funniest- photographers present at the seminar. He told stories and showed work on Romanian gypsies, the dying culture of Saxons in central Europe, and discussed his work photographing Bono, AIDS in Africa and his support for the Red clothing label. His most telling quote was "I do it my way,", and it certainly applied to his marvelous work as well as his powerful presence.

Following Antonin, it was the turn of Noor's founding member Stanley Greene. This venerable institution of photography, an understudy of Gene Smith, a child of Harlem Renaissance parents and the creator of one of the most beautiful, brutal and historically necessary of all bodies of work on war: Open Wound, spoke inspirationally on the power of the photographic community to help itself, about his departure from the Vu Agency, and his involvement in the creation of Noor.

Stanley's work- stunning and silencing in its ability to convey, literally, pure evil- from Chechnya, Nagorno-Karabah, and points north south east and west- was dark, brooding, and a departure in style and means (all shot on film, Stanley still shoots black and with his old Leica)."

VII Seminar: Day 1 - Pasadena (Nov 2-4th)

Image Copyright © Eric Beecroft-All Rights Reserved
Eric Beecroft has kindly volunteered to report on the going-ons at the VII Seminar held at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena (November 2nd, 3rd and 4th, 2007).

Here is Eric's first report:

"The day began with Kent Koberstein, former director of photography for National Geographic,delivering his keynote address as a dedication-cum-eulogy for the recently passed VII member Alexandra Boulat. His words, accompanied by a projection of her work, were poignant; both those who knew her and those who only knew her through her work were deeply touched. Christopher Morris, the first VII photographer to present his work, was visibly shaken after the speech, and had to compose himself before he could continue.

Christopher's work focused on his documenting of the war in Iraq in 2003 through his time as a White House photographer, culminating in his almost-creepy work of Republican America (from his book "My America") and his short film/parody on a certain president, "the Dear Leader". His work was masterful, well executed, and compelling as usual.

Image Copyright © Eric Beecroft-All Rights Reserved
Joachim Ladefoged followed, showcasing a diverse range of projects- from S&M culture to German punks, dying fishermen's' life ways in Atlantic Canada to body building in Denmark, to Katrina a year later - a story he photographed that wasn't run at the last minute because Pluto's demise as a planet was deemed more newsworthy. He ended with his seminal work "the Albanians". Joachim's talents are obvious, and he seemed to have the golden touch: whatever he shot, in color or B&W, was stunning. He's been all digital for four years; and his advice to all in the audience was stay curious to the world around you.

An afternoon panel discussion on the rise of multimedia was packed, with converging and diverging opinions on the rise of this new and exciting form. Questions and topics ranged from the retention of copyright for multimedia pieces and audio gathered in the field, to creating a unique multimedia style, to keeping the skill sets of photographer, and the issue of audio and video separate but still working together. What no one wanted to hear was that still photography was dead but that everyone needed to learn Final Cut Pro; thankfully this message was heartily endorsed by most in attendance. The consensus was that it's good, even necessary, to have multiple skill sets, but you'll need to be best at one thing (in this case, photography).

Image Copyright © Eric Beecroft-All Rights Reserved
The final presentation of the day was by Lauren Greenfield. She showed powerful work from her Thin and Girl Culture work; the clips format were particularly moving- perhaps the most of the entire day, at least for me. This is definitely conflict work of a different sort, but powerful nonetheless. She premiered her short film "Kids and Money"and it received a standing ovation, and indication to its quality and insight. It was really funny with much riotous laughter among the seriousness of the message. This piece is a must-see.

As always the attendees were stellar; very cool people from as far afield as Cambodia, South Africa, and Vancouver. I drove 11 hours with 12 teenage photographers from the Walden School to attend the seminar, and it's been worth every minute- for myself and them. Sometimes this business can engender some serious ego; not in this group. All the photographers were incredibly kind, open, interested in the attendees, funny, and genuine- no egos or big heads, just curiosity and a drive to keep pushing thr work forward. A special thanks to those who went to dinner with my (eager and starstruck) students : Stanley Greene, Chris Morris and his wife, Ben Lowy, Rick Loomis, Boogie, Joachim Ladefoged, Marcus Bleasdale, Stephanie Sinclair, Jessica Dimmock, and everybody else. It was a marvelous meal, with inspiration, advice, and good vibes all around.

Tomorrow I'll be back; on the schedule is Stanley Greene, Ron Haviv, Antonin Kratchkovil, Gary Knight, Marcus Bleadale, Stephanie Sinclair, Jessica Dimmock, and Boogie- I'm sure it will be another wonderful day."