i like to tell stories

As she turned towards the group and stepped off the curb, I made an image similar to this one about the same time I noticed a large white van with flashing lights coming right at us… then I heard it’s siren. It was not going to stop and it was not going to avoid us. My left arm was free and the closest to her. I grabbed her bag strap and pulled her out of the way, close enough that my arm then went around her waist and I didn’t stop pulling her out of that white van’s way till we were almost back up on the curb.

I’ve done similar things before at awkward streetlights and always, always, always overreacted, once so bad I never lived it down.

This time, this night, I did not overreact.

I have never finished a single hard alcoholic beverage.

I have had less then maybe thirty beers my entire life, never more then two at a time.

I have never tried a single illegal drug.

I never take medicine unless it is prescribed.

The last time I was prescribed medicine I didn’t finish over half the dosage.

I was recently given a new prescription for these little yellow tablets, one a day, for a year, as my one bad habit (see here), is proving to be slowly killing me just like any of the above would, most likely even faster.

I’ve had the above little yellow tablets a week now, I have yet to take a single pill.

Chemicals as chemicals somehow bother me yet chemicals disguised as plain hamburgers, cupcakes or pasta somehow I choose to celebrate.

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.

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…

Last August, Kevin invited me to make a photograph at the same time as 10 others for tinytinygroupshow #6. You can get the info here and see it here.

For all the photographs I made that day, go here. Life is so different now yet it feels like yesterday I was watching my clock, not wanting to miss that moment I needed to click my camera along with all those other cameras.

I was visiting some friends in Ohio. I had gone downtown with he and his daughters for ballet practice only instead of ballet, I got to borrow his new camera for awhile. So for that hour, I went for a walk. I had noticed kids were around and tried to be sure I never pointed the camera towards any of them. Then when I came around the corner from a wall I had been photographing, I heard a group of young voices from overhead, “What you taking pictures for?” I thought about it a moment and really didn’t know how to answer them, “I just enjoy it,” I said, only half believing it myself.

“Take our picture!”

So I stepped closer to the wall, guessed the focus (as this camera was manual focus without a rangefinder or TTL focus), guessed the exposure and said, “1, 2, 3…”

They all grinned, I snapped the shutter and they said, “Thanks Mister.”

Then I walked back to ballet practice.

It is NYPH’09 time here in NYC. I was going to go to everything, but with all the presentations going online this year and Andrew out there at the parties, it may be easier to just sit at home and follow along… (of course I am still going).

In one of my first moments in TX with my niece recently she asked why my girl wasn’t with me. I didn’t know how to explain we weren’t together anymore to a 5 year old, so I did my best and a day or two went by without it coming up again.

Then, in the middle of making the image above and out of the blue, Sidney said, “You should send that picture of me to ______.” I said okay. A few minutes later, also without any more discussion on the matter, Sidney also told me I should send a picture of a flower to ______, I said okay and took a picture of the very next flower I saw.

When I got back to NYC, I did as Sidney requested.

This was not just a photo competition or even a photography only category, it was open to all blogs of a cultural or personal nature. I am truly humbled to have my images and stories included in such a wide open category among so many diverse websites, it really is an amazing thing to realize.

I called my father, emailed a few friends and 2h later, haven’t stopped smiling.

I’d like to thank the Academy (yes, it’s an academy) and everyone along the way that let me photograph them or otherwise let me share my part of their life……

– – –
The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet. Established in 1996 during the Web’s infancy, the Webbys are presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 550-member body of leading Web experts, business figures, luminaries, visionaries and creative celebrities.

The Academy is an intellectually diverse organization that includes members such as musicians Beck and David Bowie, Internet inventor Vint Cerf, political columnist Arianna Huffington, Real Networks CEO Rob Glaser, “The Simpsons” creator Matt Groening, R/GA Founder and Chairman Robert Greenberg, Virgin Atlantic Chairman and Founder Richard Branson, and The Weinstein Company Co-Founder Harvey Weinstein. Members also include writers and editors from publications such as The New York Times, Wired, Details, Fast Company, Elle, The Los Angeles Times, Vibe, and WallPaper.

The 12th Annual Webby Awards received nearly 10,000 entries from over 60 countries and all 50 states and generated over 750 million media impressions worldwide.

She had called me up a day or two before and asked if I would be interested in taking her portrait to which I replied, “Yes, I would be very interested, but only if you are doing this for you and for me and not because of any odd ill intentioned reasoning or to hurt my friend ______.” While I had not met her before or spoken to her before, she and a friend of mine were once in love with each other and now were no longer. This much I did know. He had talked about me and introduced her to my stories, which she now follows even though they haven’t been together for some time now. She assured me it was for her and for me, so obviously I was fascinated to photograph her once this was now out of the way. It seems while she knew the following, I did not… The first time I met our mutual friend, was also April 2nd, the same day I first took his portrait here in #1RN one year ago to the day.

I cannot make this stuff up, this is why I like to tell stories. One of many reasons anyway… as it turns out my connections to my new friend Cadence did not stop here.

About 48h after leaving #1RN, I get another interesting story from Cadence in an email. It turns out she was once photographed by my friend Joshua 13 years ago long before Joshua was even known to me and long since they had forgotten about each other. Only did meeting me and seeing that Joshua was now my friend did this memory spark for her. At some point in 1996, Joshua photographed Cadence in an elevator here in NYC. Although their meeting was brief, Joshua had it in his heart to mail her a print. As is his way still today, he spent hours composing the text on the mailing labels and the text on the included letter on his typewriter… even going on to apologize for the lack of color correction in the print.

This is why I tell stories, this is why I love my friends.

Mike was more dapper, gentlemanly, enjoyable and well put together then most men who wear suits on television playing the type of man Mike actually is… I want to be like Mike and so should you.

The following facts as I have experienced them relate to far more experiences of mine then just the Madoff situation:

Just because an image is online or otherwise easy to come by, does not mean that it is yours to do with whatever you please in anyway whatsoever.

Just because a business wants to use your image online only, does not mean that it should be free.

Just because someplace wants to publish it somewhere in someway, does not mean that it is special enough to be there for free, no matter how special this place thinks it is and tells you they are.

Never before like now has our culture expressed the importance of an images power as the fight for the most unique or most recent of whatever grows more dramatic daily.

(However never before it seems has uniqueness been sacrificed so quickly for a race to the bottom in price point. Quality is out the window nor even considered to effect pricing, if place X has an image and place Y has an image, they should be priced the same right?).

Never before like now have those in need of images tried to convince the creator of these images of their worthlessness while at the same time only wanting them to make a profit.

I had an incident today when I realized something important and it thus helped me make up my mind regarding a potential licensing inquiry… (No, I am not talking about the email I got posted above, although I have to admit, I have gotten offers just as absurd from places we have all heard of).

The guy who hangs the advertising for your magazine/tv show/whatever on the bus that almost hit me today makes more money for hanging that sign on the bus that is promoting your product then the very magazine/tv show/whatever being promoted are even offering me for the actual content of the product you want my image for in the first place.

Wake up people.

This would be a really funny story if it was not all true.

I was asked by a friend to have my 150 Meals in a show he was curating. It was to take place in Kentucky. Before he was even done asking me, I think I had bought a plane ticket. Who wouldn’t want a slide show of any kind in Kentucky?

“Jonathan Saunders likes to tell stories (there’s a puzzled and puzzling portrait of Bernie Madoff on the cover of CONDE NAST PORTFOLIO; for TIME, here’s Bill Gates adjusting his still geeky glasses. With us, he’s sharing 150 Meals. It’s the story of what Jonathan ate. Plate by plate, the story unfolds: Jonathan eats out (a lot) – and he doesn’t always eat his vegetables. Compelling, and weirdly appetizing, these plates leave you yearning for a culinary life (like his) – in New York City, where we too could choose Mexican for breakfast, Indonesian for lunch and Croatian for dinner.” – Kate Gallion

Gawker Says:

“One guy making money from the whole Bernie Madoff debacle: the photographer who took some boring photos of Madoff for a Fortune article ten years ago. Suddenly everybody wants to buy those pictures! The lesson: take photos of as many people as possible, because at least a few of them are bound to become famous villains.”

BAGnewsNotes Says:

Visual culture and media is scrambling now to capture and represent the near-depression we’re in. In that net, of course, we can expect a lot of faces of victims and villains. I had several strong and immediate associations to this image given its relationship to current circumstances. Before you click through and see where I went, however, how does the image read to you?

(touch to see the discussions on it)

I shot 167 images (she is laughing in 139) in 15m 12s.

In 2007, I shot 3200 registered targets. I shot in everything I could and more, 35 tournaments that year with Nationals being the only focus. I went from E Class up to C Class, but fell short in my quest to place in any event at Nationals. At Nationals I even placed 11th in one event that went to 10th, all in C Class.

In 2008, I shot 1700 registered targets and 6,860 total. I didn’t expect to shoot much this year, but for varying reasons and all last minute, I ended up at some Big Blast tournaments (more competitors, more $, better trophies, harder targets). I went from C Class to B Class. I then made it to Nationals again. Only this year, I was 14th of about 200 in both the MAIN event and 5 STAND, 2 of the 3 events I entered. All in B Class, a harder division then 2007.

I have 3 of the 8 punches I need for A Class. I have zero plans and goals for this year. (so far).

9/2005 – 11/2008, according to the records on my clays, I have shot 17,332 targets.

– I got that above sentence gleefully emailed to me recently from a friend. They had just received an email from a far away love of theirs that read:

“i was thinking, i should probably blame your friend saunders for our current situation. i remember when you posted the pic he took of you with the ______ ______, and i came across it on ________ and could not stop looking at it. it is strange how it brought back the feeling of being in your presence, and all that came with that. somehow that image sneaked into my heart and has stayed there since. so there, it is not my fault that i am thinking about you all day right?”

A few years ago while visiting my grandmother, I realized I was surrounded by Bunnies. Since for one reason or another, we never end up there long, I ran around as fast as I could and tried to take a picture of as many of them as possible.

I visited for Christmas this year and realized that now in addition or sometimes in place of the bunnies, there are now Santas. If you look really close, you can see Santas with bunnies.

The charge? $20-$50 BILLION in Securities Fraud. Yes, Billion.

Bernie was once even chairman of the NASDAQ.

Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC
on their website:
“In an era of faceless organizations owned by other equally faceless organizations, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC harks back to an earlier era in the financial world: The owner’s name is on the door. Clients know that Bernard Madoff has a personal interest in maintaining the unblemished record of value, fair-dealing, and high ethical standards that has always been the firm’s hallmark.”

by Bernie’s own admission via the AP:
Madoff told employees he was “finished,” that he had “absolutely nothing,” that “it’s all just one big lie” and it was “basically, a giant Ponzi scheme,” according to a criminal complaint in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

via the WSJ/NYT:
The disclosure came after Mr. Madoff tried to distribute early bonuses to employees of his firm, (approximately $200 million to $300 million to “certain selected employees, family and friends.”) prompting questions by senior employees, a person familiar with the situation said. Mr. Madoff, 70 years old, allegedly told employees he had a couple of hundred million dollars left and wanted to distribute it before turning himself in to authorities, this person said.

Images by Jonathan, where no one cared about him at a different exhibition that I believe had nothing at all to do with Mr. Byrne.

(just one rule, no flash).

2 min. duration

People rarely come by, but when they do, it is sometimes grouped together randomly in one day or all within a few hours. I am okay with this too, even more so when they overlap. Random 1, 2, 3.

When shooting someone shooting, make sure they have a serious championship victory under their belt, or like Anthony, several victories.

I felt really foolish at first but then decided I’d rather be a fool then live in a world where I assume people are missing their limbs from war because they have a Segway or a romantic boyfriend.

Now I was sitting in a rocking chair by the gate in San Antonio, waiting for my flight. She walked by with her boyfriend and I wondered where they were off to. Was it home, was it a vacation, was it her first time out of San Antonio and its hospitals?

Now sitting on my flight in the aisle seat, getting hit with bag after bag as everyone filed on, I looked up as one bag all the sudden had a cat in it I could see through the mesh. The cat was scared and starring at me, as I leaned in for a closer look at the poor cat, the next bag hit me, I looked up and there she was again. “Sorry,” she whispered as she smiled at me when our eyes met and then down the aisle she went, cats in bags and boyfriend in tow.

I walked out of the bathroom at LaGuardia after being one of the first off the flight. There were people all around and it was really crowded in the terminal. As I stepped over some bags and through the crowd to get to baggage claim, I saw her again for the last time. I hadn’t even realized she was on my flight to NYC as well. She was bent down and wrestling with her bags with what was left of her arms. I think she was actually just talking to the cat, but I’ll never be sure. As I went down the last set of stairs, I tried to not let the tears out all over again.

14th of 162 in the MAIN, prizes to 15th
I get an award and 1 punch (1 point towards A Class)

14th of 117 in the 5 Stand, prizes to 10th
No award, but 1 punch (1 point towards A Class)
8th-14th had the same score of 83/100, all ties receive same punch as 8th place.

85th of 163 in the Krieghoff Cup, prizes to 10th
No excuses and no comment.

All above results are in B Class.

Still shocked, amazed and stoked I got 14th in the MAIN. Already dreaming up belt buckle designs to order for myself in celebration, to me, it’s that big a deal.

(touch the image to start 2 min video)

then when i did stories, he asked for one. the printer cannot ship out of the USA directly yet, so robert asked if i would send him one each and we worked it out on our own. i waited till #2 was ready and shipped them.

it took them about a month to arrive. i had asked him to take a snap of the envelope when they arrived as i am still oddly fascinated by mail and the way it looks upon arrival, more so internationally. today this photo arrived of robert holding my envelope, courtesy of his wife…

awake 30h now, i arrive, warm up, eat, hit the course. i only had one bad station, missed 4 of 6, all me getting in my own way, same for every target missed today, all breaks in focus. the ones that made me nervous, i broke them all, it’s the ones i took for granted i missed.

My Shoot History

I am not John McCain and I do not support this message.

Audio by John | Corpulent Procyon Lotor

the first, at a major museum you have heard of showing a wonderful photographer you have certainly heard of. the show was dark and dramatically lit, which i liked. however if images are to be displayed in a dark or dramatic fashion, one or at least i, would think extra attention would be paid to how the images look in such an environment. this didn’t seem to be the case. cheap, highly reflective and warped plexi was used and i spent the show looking at the awful and warped reflections instead of the image in the frame itself. this wasn’t even the worst part. the plexi was so awful, that even viewing the images from across the room, what should of been a nice rich black in the photograph appeared purple. well done fancy major museum, i paid full price and you gave me half a show that if it weren’t for your piss poor display techniques, otherwise would of been great to see.

the second, which i promised myself i wouldn’t write about or mention to anyone, is now keeping me up as i just cannot believe what i saw and really couldn’t keep a secret if my whole life was on the line, i just cannot do it. (i really hope i am mistaken somehow for the record, but i think i am on target as i spent a lot of time and thought on this at the show).

it was a nice show, i would of been proud to have a show in the space if i was ever so fortunate and the crowd was happy and thick. i didn’t buy the book, but i was impressed at all the hard work and accomplishment of making it all happen, well done, truly. yet as i was waiting for friends, i peeked the book again. it just so happen there was an image right above the reception desk that was also in the book. i first looked at the reproduction in the book as it was done by a publisher you have certainly heard of and i wanted to see the quality since the print and book were only feet apart from each other. the reproduction was decent, but i could see differences. then it hit me, this is a different crop, no wait, the perspectives are a little different. no, it must just be a different crop. the image was relatively abstract so it was hard to see at first, so i kept studying it and looking at shapes around the edges. then it hit me again, the image is upside down. so i spun the large book around 180 degrees, yup, that’s it. either the image on the wall or the image in the book is upside down.

i couldn’t believe it. the perspective leads me to believe that not only is the image upside down in the book, it is a different crop as well. the different crop wouldn’t bother me in the slightest, but upside down, i just cannot find the words for, other then of course, wow, do i hope i am wrong. if i am wrong and if it still seems i could be so certain something is a miss, it’s still not a good thing. my only theory is that since its abstract, the only abstract in the project and not next to the print that often, the publisher/photographer didn’t even notice, liked it better upside down or couldn’t/wouldn’t reprint the book… or i am just wrong, but… um, ?

in the film, the prize of Field’s Medal was tossed around. i thought it was made up as i don’t tend to know science awards as well as i know other random information. i am of course quite wrong i discovered today in researching and fact checking a man i photographed a few years ago that got requested from my library today. i remember going to the ‘Institute for Advanced Study’ and thinking it almost all seemed made up, i mean really, are people this intelligent?

they are, well, this man is, mr witten. he won the fields medal in 1990, the first physicist to win the prize. i knew the gravity of the man when i photographed him, but still, glad i didn’t read too much before hand, sometimes it’s not good to know exactly how much smarter then you someone is. not at first.

i delete more feeds these days then i add, it should be the opposite. lately more and more feeds/sites are linking only what they found elsewhere and claiming it as their discovery or that they saw it first or they take credit for seeing it months ago when whatever it is hits more mainstream. nevermind that whatever is discussed is not their work or creation, it’s just something they saw online and relinked. i could never relate to this. there are fine lines to me about being a creative curator so to speak of good/smart/interesting work and just relinking what was found on another site many of the people reading your site also subscribe to. the noise out there was getting loud, repetitive or otherwise uninteresting.

what got me into flak is that it is exactly as it should be, a place where images/photographers are celebrated and shared without all the noise, condescending attitudes or one-upmanship so prevalent in sites that are about photography. while familiar with some of the work and unfamiliar with much more, it is all presented in a sensible pleasing way. a new image everyday is shared, links to books, shows, smart photographers, it’s all there in a way that is not only respectful of the work, it celebrates it in a way only the internet can share it. all done by a guy named andy in wisconsin who obviously loves photography as much as i do or anyone reading this does.

a couple months after i started reading flak, i got an email one day out of the blue. it was an invitation from andy to share something or make an ad for my stories vol. II. turns out he’d been watching my site as i had been watching his. the internet is as small as it is large so it turns out. i was impressed, flattered and got right on it. i made 8 banners and let him choose which he wanted, it’s up there now, go peek.

there is no still photography permit for this, you need a motion picture permit for your one light on a stand outside in NYC, your proof of $1,000,000.00 of insurance, a ‘key to city’ signed agreement and a form stating where you’d like to put this one stand with a light on it outside in NYC. all typed, all info in the correct box/space/form. one mistake, you must start over.

i need to put a light on a stand soon outside in NYC so i did it all, handed it in and was told to come back in 20 minutes. i gave them over an hour and went back. there was a problem, in all these pages of questions and filled out boxes, there was no space or question or line item where i was asked or instructed to inform them of my need for this one light outside on a stand in NYC, therefore, according to all this paperwork and trouble, i don’t need a permit. while filling out my motion picture permit forms for the second time i was surrounded by production professionals working for actual films and tv shows you all have heard of while i filled out the same papers they were for my one light on a stand outside in NYC.

i was then instructed that i was suppose to state my need for a light on a stand outside in NYC on the form where it asked me the address of the shoot. how i was suppose to know this is quite unclear.

also unclear, why the need for a permit at all, they are free. never mind all the other serious flaws in the entire process or why a camera on a tripod doesn’t need a permit but a light on a tripod outside in NYC requires $1,000,000.00 of insurance.

odd side note, the office is above david letterman’s studio and thank goodness, 2 blocks east and 1 block north of my home.

taking a picture outside on a street with one light on stand in NYC should not be this hard.