It really is true. Also Neal McDonough deserves an honorary mention in bold type. We did Book of Blue prototype project Luscious Photo (in the same house in Ho-Ho-Kus where I launched PlanetWaves.net) He is referenced throughout Book of Blue. Medium format artist.
There were other unusual influences. When I was in high school I used to explore Greenwich Village at all hours; god knows how I did this but I did. I may have been a little older. University freshman would get my mom off to the side of such expeditions.
One night (I think the same night I met the woman translating Mirabai, who gave me an astonishing palm reading) at like 2 am I ran into a young guy maybe 25 or so who was a freelancer in the tradition of Weegee (Arthur) Fellig. He had a police scanner and was the guy who would get the most greusome images from train tracks etc etc. He took me to his car to show me his two books...portfolios each eight inches thick.
Also in high school, my first year homeroom was the photo lab. There were no desks, just a classroom divided in half and the other half was the darkroom. The teacher went by his first name (because, of course, he was the photo teacher). I never took the class. I spent all those years learning to write, organize a publication, and mastering various stages of print technology.
I am pretty sure Gregory Crewdson did take that class. But maybe not; in that era he was busy becomnig a minor rock star on the New Wave scene (played rhythm for The Speedies). He co-wrote this:
Speaking of Weegee Fellig. He is one of the inventors of modern photojournalism — the Ukranian immigrant with a darkroom in the trunk of his car, who lived in an apartment behind police headquarters, and invented the home police scanner by modifying a shortwave radio.
One day on the NYS Thruway I walked past the sunglass thing and the guy sitting there selling glasses saw my camera and said hello. I stopped to speak with him. Turns out he was the grand nephew of Weegee, of whom I had never heard...and he told me an abbreviated version of the story. So I first heard of Fellig from a blood relative. Fellig not only influenced news journalists, many others including Diane Arbus found their voice from looking at his work. His
Both Arbus and Nan Goldin cite Felig as an influence. While researching visual ideas for one of my album covers, I discovered his work. Once you see his emotional gut-punch crime scene images, you never forget them. Thanks for the book rec. I just bought it!
I love it too...it was at an event with a portrait photographer. It's got a real personal feel doesn't it? With my pinky uselessly through a little safety strap...and I'm wondering which lens is 82mm. I really don't remember having that one but that is def my Canon5Diii so it must exist somewhere :-)
I enjoy reading your life stories and experiences.
"So I have my MFA in photography from Girlfriend University."
Many of us,60 & over, went to that kind of University. I don't know if people have that
kind of experience any longer. My kids didn't.
I took photography in HS. We developed our own photos. That was a lot of fun.
I also got a fancy camera and took lots of photos over the years. I was not good with the
technical stuff though. Understanding light and lenses and apertures. But I was young and always in a hurry, so I didn't spend the time to learn it.
My daughter's job at the NY Times is to partner stories with visuals that make the story
more understandable, relatable, and relevant. But not usually photographs. She is more involved in the on-line version not the print.
Except to get out of the box a bit, she did an internship on the National Desk. She actually wrote and curated a story about the advantage of Buses in metro areas. That had photos, and diagrams. She got a week-end front page for that story.
She also was sent to FL for the big hurricane with a photographer. Her job was to direct him as to what photos to take. She also was sent to N. Dakota to do a story on the pipelines that were being proposed to capture CO2. She went with a photographer for that as well.
If anyone has an on-line subscription to the Times, if you look at the Olympics coverage, she came up with the moving visual of the snowboarding so people could compare performances.
Everyone knows that earning an MFA from the International Girlfriend University is the most prestigious and the absolute coolest degree one can have.
Love the Staten Island Ferry pic. Impossible to tell the year. Timeless.
It really is true. Also Neal McDonough deserves an honorary mention in bold type. We did Book of Blue prototype project Luscious Photo (in the same house in Ho-Ho-Kus where I launched PlanetWaves.net) He is referenced throughout Book of Blue. Medium format artist.
There were other unusual influences. When I was in high school I used to explore Greenwich Village at all hours; god knows how I did this but I did. I may have been a little older. University freshman would get my mom off to the side of such expeditions.
One night (I think the same night I met the woman translating Mirabai, who gave me an astonishing palm reading) at like 2 am I ran into a young guy maybe 25 or so who was a freelancer in the tradition of Weegee (Arthur) Fellig. He had a police scanner and was the guy who would get the most greusome images from train tracks etc etc. He took me to his car to show me his two books...portfolios each eight inches thick.
Also in high school, my first year homeroom was the photo lab. There were no desks, just a classroom divided in half and the other half was the darkroom. The teacher went by his first name (because, of course, he was the photo teacher). I never took the class. I spent all those years learning to write, organize a publication, and mastering various stages of print technology.
I am pretty sure Gregory Crewdson did take that class. But maybe not; in that era he was busy becomnig a minor rock star on the New Wave scene (played rhythm for The Speedies). He co-wrote this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8XluynKckE
Now chairman at Yale.
https://gagosian.com/artists/gregory-crewdson/
Speaking of Weegee Fellig. He is one of the inventors of modern photojournalism — the Ukranian immigrant with a darkroom in the trunk of his car, who lived in an apartment behind police headquarters, and invented the home police scanner by modifying a shortwave radio.
One day on the NYS Thruway I walked past the sunglass thing and the guy sitting there selling glasses saw my camera and said hello. I stopped to speak with him. Turns out he was the grand nephew of Weegee, of whom I had never heard...and he told me an abbreviated version of the story. So I first heard of Fellig from a blood relative. Fellig not only influenced news journalists, many others including Diane Arbus found their voice from looking at his work. His
Here is a sample...
https://www.moma.org/artists/1842-weegee-arthur-fellig
https://www.icp.org/browse/archive/objects/salvador-dali-and-mel-harris
This is one of the best-written books I've ever read — short. He came to the US around age nine not speaking a word of English.
https://www.amazon.com/Weegee-Autobiography-Arthur-Fellig/dp/1942531168
Maybe this will work, it's just an image search of his name.
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-e&hs=ZOLp&sca_esv=15046669d36cafaf&sxsrf=ANbL-n70MIisCAdOXKBk1XAEA4czkGkGDQ:1770983712227&udm=2&fbs=ADc_l-aN0CWEZBOHjofHoaMMDiKpaEWjvZ2Py1XXV8d8KvlI3p-ML-906rRL_m6h4jR-tdCeKIwp94h-QiJ4lJfObsqU79yRFgWBtc5FGpXu1cRl7X9K_lZiVV4puNbwaSlw7vOdnNVu7r4Ls11fk9XdxtkRh-jALD_E6rkGVPciaDkrDoAQLIR3m9dprNfIqzeNIn8XexAPoxzRGFi9p9dkmmCe0X0VsQ&q=weegee+fellig&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjx5ce4tNaSAxW-g4kEHUrhGGgQtKgLegQIEBAB&biw=1176&bih=975&dpr=2.61
Both Arbus and Nan Goldin cite Felig as an influence. While researching visual ideas for one of my album covers, I discovered his work. Once you see his emotional gut-punch crime scene images, you never forget them. Thanks for the book rec. I just bought it!
Plus he is so down to earth and so darned funny.
Love the shot of the camera with your hand
I love it too...it was at an event with a portrait photographer. It's got a real personal feel doesn't it? With my pinky uselessly through a little safety strap...and I'm wondering which lens is 82mm. I really don't remember having that one but that is def my Canon5Diii so it must exist somewhere :-)
It does, the contrast due to keeping the shot black and white is a enthralling and invites continued viewing, at least in my case.
yes the Staten Island ferry pic is gorgeous. I'd buy a print of that.
I will find the file and work on it :-)
I deeply enjoyed this whimsical post, and the accompanying gorgeous photography.
I enjoy reading your life stories and experiences.
"So I have my MFA in photography from Girlfriend University."
Many of us,60 & over, went to that kind of University. I don't know if people have that
kind of experience any longer. My kids didn't.
I took photography in HS. We developed our own photos. That was a lot of fun.
I also got a fancy camera and took lots of photos over the years. I was not good with the
technical stuff though. Understanding light and lenses and apertures. But I was young and always in a hurry, so I didn't spend the time to learn it.
My daughter's job at the NY Times is to partner stories with visuals that make the story
more understandable, relatable, and relevant. But not usually photographs. She is more involved in the on-line version not the print.
Except to get out of the box a bit, she did an internship on the National Desk. She actually wrote and curated a story about the advantage of Buses in metro areas. That had photos, and diagrams. She got a week-end front page for that story.
She also was sent to FL for the big hurricane with a photographer. Her job was to direct him as to what photos to take. She also was sent to N. Dakota to do a story on the pipelines that were being proposed to capture CO2. She went with a photographer for that as well.
If anyone has an on-line subscription to the Times, if you look at the Olympics coverage, she came up with the moving visual of the snowboarding so people could compare performances.
Her Name is Eden.
Visual Art is so important.
Beautiful sunrise! <3 I love taking ‘pictures’, but I’m not very photogenic.
I've been on that wavelength for quite a while, there Ms Rachel. :-) I am sure you are, with the right photographer and light.