i like to tell stories

A friend put it yesterday after he was sentenced, “Glad Bernie got 1.5 centuries in the slammer. Hope it’s self-funded.“

Dear NY Post,

I understand the who made what and why is not important to you, but after several publications now, it would be nice if my name was at least spelled correctly.

Sincerely,
Jonathan

Greetings Family & Friends,

I hope you are all well.

I am writing to you today because I need to ask you all a favor. My beautiful mother Isabel Richter is fighting for her life against Large Cell Lymphoma Cancer in Maine at the York Hospital, and as of 2:00pm EST they have begun to administer a very hardcore, industrial strength dosage of chemotherapy. Please send her some prayers, positive vibes, or whatever you feel is appropriate to help her out in this very difficult time. For those that know my mum she is a fighter, and even in her weak condition she is determined to try to beat this cancer. So please, if you have a chance close your eyes for one moment and send some good love to her. She is a wonderful person & I hope that the Lord does not decide to call her just yet. And maybe if you all send some energy she might be able to stick it out a bit longer and try to enjoy the remainder of her life here on earth.

I thank you all for taking the time to read this & appreciate the love & prayers that many of you have already sent and will be sending.

Many thanks,

Alexander

PS- Please let your loved ones know how you feel about them. Family is so fragile and you never know when life will throw you & them into the challenge of your life.

If you are interested. Here is a link to some photo’s of my mother and her battle with cancer.

Photographs above by Alexander.

There are a million reasons I love the internet. One of them, if not the best reason to love the internet, are the notes and stories other people that love the internet sometimes send my way… Receiving these notes and stories is absolutely wonderful, in fact, it downright keeps my world spinning.

Yesterday as I am sure you know, Michael Jackson passed away. Last year, almost to the day, George Carlin passed. I will forever now be nervous every June that someone I have had a photographic connection with will suffer the same fate. Both shoots were life altering yet in very different ways and now my archive is proving to be a place you may not want to find yourself: Carlin, the Madoff affair and now Michael.

I made a series of photographs in a warehouse filled to the rafters with Jackson family belongings on a day in January 2004 that started in sunlight and ended in a blizzard.

An empire discarded and lost being sifted through by strangers for profit, understanding, entertainment and basic human inquisitiveness. It was bewildering and changed the way I looked at the world on more levels then I understand.

The lyrics to “We Are The World” – signed by many of those that sang it, rare sketches of Michael’s, costumes, video props, Neverland Valley keepsakes, sex toys, hand written notes, a Pepsi can with Michael printed on it, an MTV Moonman Award, Michael’s Mowtown ID card from 1970, the pair of Michael’s underwear that was to be later seized by prosecutors and talked about around the globe on news channels and many more small little items of curiosity…. I got to see, touch and photograph them all.

A PDF of The Jackson Collection is available only on request.

I haven’t stopped listening to Michael’s music all night long.

I disagree wholeheartedly and yet at the same time I completely understand.

A very large warm thank you for this song,
Jonathan

touch image for a video tickle

We showed up at the medical office early, I am always ridiculously early, to everything. We sat in the waiting room along with a small number of patients that all seemed to ignore me, my assistant and the large cart of gear. I stared at the fish tank and sat there anxious to get set up or started. Then we got our 15-20 minutes to set up after meeting the two women who agreed to let us photograph their procedure (and who signed releases). To say it was awkward is an understatement but we all had our assigned roles and all was to go smoothly. The room was small, there was the doctor and her assistant, me and my assistant and then the patient. Five of us, all jammed in close around one chair to witness what at least appears to be a simple procedure.

I photographed two procedures, one from pulled back to give a sense of what it was like to be in there and the other shot close for details of the procedure itself. It was really difficult to watch on one level yet on another level, it was really hard to look away. I could imagine the feeling of shot after shot, see the expressions ranging all over the map from the patients faces and then watching through the lens the needles poke and the blood drip, really heightened each prick and drop to an interesting level that at one point, I did look away from. I can remember watching one patient hands during the few moments I looked away, each time I saw her hand clench, I pressed the shutter… then I just had to look again, it was all too important to not witness every moment of, all the while pressing the shutter.

Then it was over. The most amazing part to me was how brave the women were. Not only making the choice to endure the pain, but for allowing us to photograph at all. It’s hard to tell in these two images but I was really close, for most of these images in fact, the patient had to straddle the tripod. So imagine sitting in that chair, imagine the doctor working away with a needle on your skin, imagine the bright medical light in your face, imagine a few extra lights/strobes going on your face and then imagine a tall, big, man between your feet with a giant camera on a tripod, watching it all in great detail… amazing.

* – Archive
I’ve done many wonderful assignments that for one reason or another, have gone under the radar. Be it in the publications the images were created for, or maybe the images worked great in the publication but not for anything else or simply the images just didn’t fit the rest of the work in my portfolio/promotion/whatever at the time. So I now want to share some here. It will always be random and hopefully as interesting as I find them…

I made a promise a few weeks ago to send 25 prints to someone. Today, I walked that box of prints to where they work and had it sent up to them in the fancy building and walked away.

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Unfortunately, we are unable to add the photo you submitted to your profile.

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Unfortunately, we are unable to add the photo you submitted to your profile.

While the video is only of one camera and one shot, two cameras were shot that day. Both cameras were actually live with video at the time of the shotgun blast however neither memory card could be located. Three of us searched for approximately thirty minutes to locate and collect all the parts but no memory cards were recovered although between the three of us, about 10 or so ticks collected on us.

I wanted to see what it would look like when a small point and shoot digital camera was hit with a 12g shotgun blast and to see what that camera saw. I will never know what the camera saw as the memory cards were destroyed or otherwise un-recoverable, but what the camera recording the event witnessed, is rather fascinating.

What were once antique trophies of technology and tools of creation will now take on a new life on my shelf of actual trophies. A new collection begins.

I can remember thinking how cool it was if only the image quality was there. Today it has reached an interesting point and there are many good things about these cameras. My old film point and shoot was perfect but the cost to scan time ratio is just unbearable, I have yet to be able to say that about any digital point and shoot so I would still not really recommend any of the cameras pictured here. I started taping them up last year as I couldn’t stand all the branding, who needs a subject trying to read the damn logo while you take their picture, who needs yet another photographer constantly eyeballing your camera and dragging me into yet another pointless debate on digital versus film or mega pixels or whatever, who needs another camera trying to jam too many MP and features into to ever odder cameras, I just couldn’t couldn’t care less lately. Get the best camera you can afford and is the closest to the features you wish it had and go use it. I am still in “do the best with what is available” mode with these things. I have one just for videos and another just for stills. Both have very serious flaws honestly that get in the way of the very tasks they were created to perform. Someday, one of these camera makers will get it correct, I have to hold onto that hope, so close, yet still so far…

1st row left = bent lens barrel array (pulled from pocket while on).

1st row right = display stopped functioning correctly (not my fault).

2nd row left = smashed display (thanks Disney World Big Thunder Mountain Railroad).

2nd row right = flash burnout/upgrade (the flash literally smoked when fired, very cool actually).

3rd row left = dust inside lens – cheaper to buy new camera then repair.

3rd row right = display stopped functioning correctly (not my fault).

4th row left = still functioning as of this post.

4th row right = still functioning as of this post.

Not pictured camera #1 = dust on sensor.

Not pictured camera #2 = Ebay for new model, I wish I had kept it.

Not pictured camera #3 = newer model of #2, actually I returned it as it was not as good previous version.

Not pictured camera #4 = returned to manufacturer for non-working pixel under warranty, only to have that model run out of stock after new models release. New model actually now has less features, the first of many missteps taken by camera maker. Why would one remove features? Sigh.

I purposefully left out names, models and many details as 1) they are obvious if you like cameras in any way at all 2) Until I get free models to test, free models to keep or am otherwise reimbursed or sponsored for the countless $’s I spend on these things, I am content leaving out these details.

5/9/2003 at 6:30:05PM to 5/27/2009 at 10:33:41PM = approximately 6 years, 18 days, 4 hours, 1 minute, 36 seconds and these 12 cameras have made approximately 39,437 images and over 1000 short movies. Roughly 18 pictures a day for 6 years. Thinking about these numbers and what has happen in my life during all this time makes me realize these numbers are quite low and only makes me wish I had made more pictures…