Camera Work

PKR said:
An Evening with Sebastião Salgado
Filed under: photography — Tags: Sebastiao Salgado — richard @ 9:06 am

As one of the most famous documentary photographers of our time, Mr. Sebastião Salgado ... Nevertheless, I look forward to the publication of Genesis.
Click to expand...

Cher PKR,

This is a beautifully written précis. Merci beaucoup.

Mme. O.
 
My Friend Paul Fusco passed away on the 15th as most of you know.

I've been trying to figure out what to say about him. So, i'll write bits here until i figure that I've completed something for Paul.

I met Paul in the early 70s. He lived with his family in Mill Valley, CA. Paul had been sent by Look Magazine to photograph the 60s music thing in San Francisco and loved the area. He moved his family to a town just north of SF.

While Paul is known for his PJ and documentary work, it was his yearly corporate annual report work that paid his bills. Most of Magnum's income came from this work. Burt Glinn, and Elliott Erwitt were a big source of Magnum's money, with Paul and a few others contributing heavily.

I was a young photographer in the 70s and, had been packing my portfolio around to design firms and AD agencies. When visiting a large graphic design firm with offices in NY snd SF, one of the designers asked if i knew Paul Fusco. I said no. She offered to call Paul to see if he would review my portfolio. I agreed.

About a week later she called with his home phone number and we set up an afternoon meeting.

Paul had a work area in the lower part of his home, where we talked. As he looked through my color prints and tear sheets he said, (I never forgot this one) when Oskar Barnack created a frame, he didn't make it sacred - it's okay to crop your images. He then set out to crop a few with a couple of sheets of paper.

In my book, i had some prints of large computerized (CNC) machine tools. The machines were pretty interesting and, i made nice photos of them with their operators for my client. Paul paused at these. He said, when you look at these machines you see their beauty and motion, when your client looks at them, he sees money and profit.. never forget that. You're being hired to make his company look good. He doesn't care about art, he cares about money..

The next thing he asked about was my day rate. In the early 70's it was $300/day, the ASMP rate. Paul said, double it. I was afraid of loosing work if i followed his advice but, i did. I lost a few small clients but, kept most and gained a lot more. His advice was good and accurate.

He asked about my lighting gear. I didn't have a lot of money and my photo gear was minimal. i had 2 Nikon F bodies, several lenses, a Leica M2 with a 35 & 50, 2 Lowel Tota Lights and a battery run flash unit. Paul showed me his Dynalite gear. 2-800ws generators and 3 flash heads. I got the money together and in a year, had a similar lighting kit.

During this time, i was working part time in a huge color lab. I was the tech. i mostly repaired and modified computerized printers and aligned optical systems. I didn't need to be there every day and the boss liked me so, i took lots of time off to do photo jobs. I needed to learn to light. So, i took on another job as an assistant to Irving Penn's former studio manager.

In leaving Paul's house that day, i knew things had changed for me. In a few hours, I was given enough information to expand my photo work and very small business. I don't know of others that Paul helped, there must be some. Sarah, the designer who arranged our meeting, because of our similar personalities, figured that we would get along. Paul was a quiet, methodical guy... me too. He was extremely kind and generous .. I'm not up to his standard but try to be with some folks.

7.25.2020

Moving on a bunch of years, I hadn't seen Paul for a long time. I was told that he had cancer. Paul was a heavy smoker when i first met him. He survived the cancer and when i next saw him, it was on the bike path in Mill Valley jogging. Paul became an avid runner for a bunch of years.

At some point, Paul moved back to NYC. I can remember calling his home and speaking to his wife. She stayed in Mill Valley and Paul was in NYC. Paul's son Anthony had moved to NY to attend Juilliard and stayed on after college. I think, the move might have been connected to being close to his son. Paul's wife encouraged me to stay in touch with him but, i didn't. It was my failing and i still feel bad about it.

In the many times i ran into Paul on the bike path, i had the feeling that he wanted to talk. I was on a bike on my way back to SF with a group and, didn't want to be separated from them long enough as not being able to catch back up. Again, my failing.

I owe a lot to Paul. He did what only a sage in a given field can do for a beginner. His imparted knowledge was paid for by his labor and given freely to me. The advice mentioned above may not seem that important to some but, it changed my life.

RIP Paul

https://www.marincountyparks.org/parkspreserves/parks/mill-valley-sausalito-pathway

again, more in a bit..

Hi John and Neary.. missed you guys !

I've been looking for bits of Paul's work that isn't seen much, if at all these days.

https://fansinaflashbulb.wordpress.com/2013/11/14/castro-street-fair-san-francisco-1980/

From the Magnum Site:

“Dear Paul, For our generation, you were truly the artist who defined the humanistic view and for me, really exemplified the creative spirit of Magnum. I will always remember your kindness and gentle spirit.”

Bruce Davidson

“There are few words to describe Paul: kind beyond kind, humane beyond what humane can be.”

Gilles Peress

“Paul is, and will always be, in my heart and mind, the kind of human being that I think of as the best of what a human can be. A wonderful caring human being who happens to be a photographer. He is the best of us who speak with our respective approaches of capturing this world that we live in for a while.”

Eli Reed
https://www.magnumphotos.com/newsroom/paul-fusco-1930-2020/
 
PKR said:
My Friend Paul Fusco passed away on the 15th as most of you know.

I've been trying to figure out what to say about him. So, i'll write bits here until i figure that I've completed something for Paul.

I met Paul in the early 70s. He lived with his family in Mill Valley, CA. Paul had been sent by Look Magazine to photograph the 60s music thing in San Francisco and loved the area. He moved his family to a town just north of SF.

While Paul is known for his PJ and documentary work, it was his yearly corporate annual report work that paid his bills. Most of Magnum's income came from this work. Burt Glinn, and Elliott Erwitt were a big source of Magnum's money, with Paul and a few others contributing heavily.

I was a young photographer in the 70s and, had been packing my portfolio around to design firms and AD agencies. When visiting a large graphic design firm with offices in NY snd SF, one of the designers asked if i knew Paul Fusco. I said no. She offered to call Paul to see if he would review my portfolio. I agreed.

About a week later she called with his home phone number and we set up an afternoon meeting.

Paul had a work area in the lower part of his home, where we talked. As he looked through my color prints and tear sheets he said, (I never forgot this one) when Oskar Barnack created a frame, he didn't make it sacred - it's okay to crop your images. He then set out to crop a few with a couple of sheets of paper.

more in a bit..
Click to expand...

Thank your for sharing this. I look forward to reading more
 
This thread is a great resource, many thanks are owed to all regular contributors. By now it's a staggering 47 pages long. Is there a good (any!) way to make a search for specific photographers mentioned in the thread? Or do you have to go the whole hog finding them?
 
telenous said:
This thread is a great resource, many thanks are owed to all regular contributors. By now it's a staggering 47 pages long. Is there a good (any!) way to make a search for specific photographers mentioned in the thread? Or do you have to go the whole hog finding them?
Click to expand...

If you look at the first page, i began to index a bit. I gave it up as, there were just a few of us reading the thread.

Many of the links are now dead but, lots of good photo work can still be found here.

best, pkr
 
I can remember reading that Lee Friedlander refused to Edition his prints. He said that, a simple numbering system was "more democratic". Lee sells lots of prints for big money.

In doing some reading, i found this gallery site that looks like it selling an edition of Friedlander prints. Beyond that, the print/paper size strikes me as very unusual. As one example:

Lee Friedlander

Signed and numbered 35/75
Silver gelatin print
15 1/2 x 19 3/4 inches (sheet size)
6 1/4 x 9 1/2 inches (images size)

From a portfolio of fifteen photographs by Lee Friedlander
From an edition of seventy-five copies, with fifteen artists proofs

https://huxleyparlour.com/works/hollywood-california-1970/

I've only editioned once, with a set of Dye Transfer Prints. It was the printer's idea and choice. He got one set of 10 prints for his work. I was very happy with the proposal.

Anyway, here's the gallery site.

https://huxleyparlour.com/artists/lee-friedlander/

I'm thinking about printing up some newer stuff. All made on film and printed digitally..
 
PKR said:
If you look at the first page, i began to index a bit. I gave it up as, there were just a few of us reading the thread.

Many of the links are now dead but, lots of good photo work can still be found here.

best, pkr
Click to expand...

Thank you PKR, I appreciate your reply. Checking the first page I realized I'd seen the index before but having not visited the forum (and the thread) for
quite some time I'd all but forgotten it. This is a good resource, thanks again to all contributors.
 
Cuba must be one of the most photographed places on earth. The other day I came across the photography of a Cuban photographer by the name Raúl Cañibano and it made me stop. Here's a link with some highlight's from The Photographer's Gallery in London. (The "Show More" button at the bottom takes you to a page with a few more of his photos.)


Raúl Cañibano:
https://thephotographersgallery.org.uk/print-sales/explore-artists/raul-canibano

.
 
emraphoto said:
Moving pictures but....

Deakins just won the Oscar for cinematography

https://www.rogerdeakins.com/
Click to expand...

dourbalistar said:
Photographer Lynn Johnson is featured in NPR's latest The Picture Show, with some wonderful photos of Mister Rogers. There's even one of him using a (Olympus?) point-and-shoot, shooting Lynn as she's shooting him. :)

https://www.npr.org/sections/pictur...rs-away-from-the-neighborhood-of-make-believe
Click to expand...

Two very interesting links I will spend some time to go deepr into them.

Thanks
 
PKR said:
My Friend Paul Fusco passed away on the 15th as most of you know.

I've been trying to figure out what to say about him. So, i'll write bits here until i figure that I've completed something for Paul.

I met Paul in the early 70s. He lived with his family in Mill Valley, CA. Paul had been sent by Look Magazine to photograph the 60s music thing in San Francisco and loved the area. He moved his family to a town just north of SF.

While Paul is known for his PJ and documentary work, it was his yearly corporate annual report work that paid his bills. Most of Magnum's income came from this work. Burt Glinn, and Elliott Erwitt were a big source of Magnum's money, with Paul and a few others contributing heavily.

I was a young photographer in the 70s and, had been packing my portfolio around to design firms and AD agencies. When visiting a large graphic design firm with offices in NY snd SF, one of the designers asked if i knew Paul Fusco. I said no. She offered to call Paul to see if he would review my portfolio. I agreed.

About a week later she called with his home phone number and we set up an afternoon meeting.

Paul had a work area in the lower part of his home, where we talked. As he looked through my color prints and tear sheets he said, (I never forgot this one) when Oskar Barnack created a frame, he didn't make it sacred - it's okay to crop your images. He then set out to crop a few with a couple of sheets of paper.

In my book, i had some prints of large computerized (CNC) machine tools. The machines were pretty interesting and, i made nice photos of them with their operators for my client. Paul paused at these. He said, when you look at these machines you see their beauty and motion, when your client looks at them, he sees money and profit.. never forget that. You're being hired to make his company look good. He doesn't care about art, he cares about money..

The next thing he asked about was my day rate. In the early 70's it was $300/day, the ASMP rate. Paul said, double it. I was afraid of loosing work if i followed his advice but, i did. I lost a few small clients but, kept most and gained a lot more. His advice was good and accurate.

He asked about my lighting gear. I didn't have a lot of money and my photo gear was minimal. i had 2 Nikon F bodies, several lenses, a Leica M2 with a 35 & 50, 2 Lowel Tota Lights and a battery run flash unit. Paul showed me his Dynalite gear. 2-800ws generators and 3 flash heads. I got the money together and in a year, had a similar lighting kit.

During this time, i was working part time in a huge color lab. I was the tech. i mostly repaired and modified computerized printers and aligned optical systems. I didn't need to be there every day and the boss liked me so, i took lots of time off to do photo jobs. I needed to learn to light. So, i took on another job as an assistant to Irving Penn's former studio manager.

In leaving Paul's house that day, i knew things had changed for me. In a few hours, I was given enough information to expand my photo work and very small business. I don't know of others that Paul helped, there must be some. Sarah, the designer who arranged our meeting, because of our similar personalities, figured that we would get along. Paul was a quiet, methodical guy... me too. He was extremely kind and generous .. I'm not up to his standard but try to be with some folks.

7.25.2020

Moving on a bunch of years, I hadn't seen Paul for a long time. I was told that he had cancer. Paul was a heavy smoker when i first met him. He survived the cancer and when i next saw him, it was on the bike path in Mill Valley jogging. Paul became an avid runner for a bunch of years.

At some point, Paul moved back to NYC. I can remember calling his home and speaking to his wife. She stayed in Mill Valley and Paul was in NYC. Paul's son Anthony had moved to NY to attend Juilliard and stayed on after college. I think, the move might have been connected to being close to his son. Paul's wife encouraged me to stay in touch with him but, i didn't. It was my failing and i still feel bad about it.

In the many times i ran into Paul on the bike path, i had the feeling that he wanted to talk. I was on a bike on my way back to SF with a group and, didn't want to be separated from them long enough as not being able to catch back up. Again, my failing.

I owe a lot to Paul. He did what only a sage in a given field can do for a beginner. His imparted knowledge was paid for by his labor and given freely to me. The advice mentioned above may not seem that important to some but, it changed my life.

RIP Paul

https://www.marincountyparks.org/parkspreserves/parks/mill-valley-sausalito-pathway

again, more in a bit..

Hi John and Neary.. missed you guys !

I've been looking for bits of Paul's work that isn't seen much, if at all these days.

https://fansinaflashbulb.wordpress.com/2013/11/14/castro-street-fair-san-francisco-1980/

From the Magnum Site:

“Dear Paul, For our generation, you were truly the artist who defined the humanistic view and for me, really exemplified the creative spirit of Magnum. I will always remember your kindness and gentle spirit.”

Bruce Davidson

“There are few words to describe Paul: kind beyond kind, humane beyond what humane can be.”

Gilles Peress

“Paul is, and will always be, in my heart and mind, the kind of human being that I think of as the best of what a human can be. A wonderful caring human being who happens to be a photographer. He is the best of us who speak with our respective approaches of capturing this world that we live in for a while.”

Eli Reed
https://www.magnumphotos.com/newsroom/paul-fusco-1930-2020/
Click to expand...

Thanks PKR for sharing these moments. It's always sad to lose a friend and mentor.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top