It’s that time of year again, although Christmas stuff coming before US Thanksgiving is always a strange thing (think we first started to see it before Halloween in LA)…
BUT, the folks at Office Max have partnered up with JibJab and you can, once again, take your favorite still portrait and make yourself (and others) into dancing elves. So you can go Elf Yourself!

Here I am shaking it up with Edward Weston:

Yes, I really did that. And really put it out there.
C’mon ! Lighten up!
You can put up to 5 people into your dancing troupe this year and pick from a variety of dances.
Made all of us here laugh, anyway.

And check out all of the other JibJab offerings for a unique holiday card. This stuff is hysterical.

Hmmmm…are you laughing at me? Or with me?

The day I left Paris left time enough for coffee and a croissant with a loved one, and then a last trip to a Museum that had been closed til Weds.
I had 2 more Metro transfers left, 2 hours before the taxi would come, and knew it took 7 mins to get to the place. Done.
The Maison Europeenne de la Photographie.
Set back off the street, easily found from the Saint Paul stop of the Metro, this building houses not only some of the best photography exhibits,but also a library unparalleled for research.

[photopress:00315gx9.jpeg,full,centered]© Sabine Weiss

This year, we saw a huge body of work from a photographer that has been a part of one of the most famous photo agencies ever, the Rapho agency since 1953,(see below)*
Swiss photographer Sabine Weiss, has been working for many years in Paris and helped define the “humanist” style of photography, already well defined by Willy Ronis and Henri Cartier-Bresson.

I can’t tell you how her images affected me so profoundly, as the exhibit opened with her work with light, shadow, and fog. Her loosely reined touch of reality, coupled with the distance of black and white, created images that told a longer story than the still image presented. And the curators included enough photographs in that vein to give you a sense of her working style and exploration of the light.

[photopress:101207_rsf02.jpg,full,centered]© Sabine Weiss
[photopress:Weiss_07.jpg,full,centered] © Sabine Weiss

Then it was her approach with children. The intimacy and trust she garnished from each situation appeared pure and loving, the faces she captured, not only let you see the joy of childhood, but let that joy come through in a variety of circumstances. In one series she photographed a group of kids riding makeshift wooden go-carts, and then returns to add a portrait of a single participant.

The beauty that I found here was also in the curating of the show. There seemed to be a certain willingness to show all and, all was brilliant. Not content to just frame a single shot from a series, but the images from the same day perhaps, that continued to tell the story and revealed Sabine Weiss’s thought process.

Yes, there was a plexiglass case with some of her commercial work, which we were happy to see. Not that it is directly reflected her style always, but paid homage to her skills. She did start out as an assistant to fashion photographer Willy Maywald in the late 1940s, so she was well trained in studio lighting techniques. This experience paradoxically seemed to helped her to understand the full potential of natural light to convey emotion.

True, she is an icon. But this was a discovery to me, an uninformed photographer from the US.. And the effect of her work has stayed with me.

An interesting note is that the style of working on exhibit here, or whether it’s Henri Cartier-Bresson, or Mr. Ronis, is being seriously curtailed in France. The privacy laws are very strict for “street shooting”. If there are less than 9 people in the shot, you must have a release from all of them. You may have heard a bit about the privacy laws when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were living in the South, and the paps were kept at bay.

Another note: Sabine Weiss was included in the Family of Man exhibit and resultant book with 3 images.

So, after seeing that exhibit, we caught one more in the Maison, which we’ll discuss at another time.
It was a quick visit, relatively, but a rich one. All we really want to do is let you know about her, if you didn’t already, and seek out her photographs. You’ll be well rewarded.

When we see so many images in a short amount of time, which is what will happen at any art fair, the beautiful thing is when the best just separates itself from the rest.
We do suggest that you never stop checking out all that is available, because, heck, you just don’t know what you’ll find.
Like Sabine Weiss.

*Located in the heart of Paris, RAPHO is one of the oldest photographic press agencies. It is famous for the diversity and renown of its photographers and represents some of the best-known classic, humanistic photographers, but also a team of photo-journalists and contemporary photographers published world-wide and who have been honored by the most prestigious photographic prizes. RAPHO is the agency of tradition and modernity. It was established in 1933 by Charles Rado, a Hungarian immigrant. In December 2000, RAPHO joined the Hachette Filipacchi Photos Group.

OK, we gave away a copy of the Annie Leibowitz At Work book this week, and we had never seen it, but had high hopes.
Well, that particular gamble paid off handsomely.
Returning from the trip to Paris with all of it’s photo-goodness, the stack of books waiting on our door step, felt like Christmas morning.
[photopress:annieredux.jpg,full,alignright] And the Annie Leibowitz book topped the stack and won our hearts.
This is one excellent book, that gives you an insight into the most successful photographer working today. You’ve heard the stories, you’ve seen the work. This 237 pg. hardbound book breaks it down behind the scenes on so many levels.
Not only does she go through shooting sessions, and the process of getting ready, set, go, but she answers all of the questions you always wanted to ask her. Or ask ANY working photographer.
She discusses the gear she has used and grown with, discusses working with assistants, digital photography vs. film and then goes into the Ten Questions she is asked the most starting with ” What advice do you have for a young photographer who is just starting out ?”

No matter what your thoughts are on her work, you really should buy this book. It is an insight into a photographers head, that you rarely see realized in print.

Plus the printing is beautiful. Random House did themselves proud.
So if you are looking for a suggestion to give someone for your next gift, or you just can’t wait, it’s a short stroke purchase (inexpensive), for a book that will become a classic.

And because of that, we are doing Annie Leibowitz At Work: Redux as our weekly giveaway, this week also.

Subscribe to the NEWSLETTER and you’ll be eligible for a free copy of this book, shipped anywhere in the world.

Due to our busy sched on the road, we hadn’t mentioned the winner of the Saul Leiter: Early Color book, last week. Congratulations to Charlene H., Uncasville, CT! This book will be shipped in a very special dark beige wrapping material, and presented at the shipping address, for his approval.
OK, fine. It’s coming from Amazon through the mail.

And we now return to our regularly scheduled program:
The last gallery we visited in Paris, yielded photographic fruit that we are so fortunate not to have missed.
More after some coffee.

The folks at Ovation TV (you know, the network that actually cares about the arts?) is running an 8 day programming block with some of the coolest content on photography, called Framed, sponsored by Nikon.

Reprinted here is an article on the first go round in June of this year:

“On Sunday, it was a bit hot here in Los Angeles, making it was a good day to read and maybe catch up on some TV.
Flipping around the channels, we searched for some content that would hold at least SOME interest.
Spain had already won.
and then, “woah”
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Ovation TV had an all day marathon on photography. The Genius of Photography series from the BBC; Closeup: Photographers at Work; Sally Mann “What Remains”; David LaChapelle: Portrait of a Photographer and a ton more.
The DVR was working overtime.
What a great TV channel to give us all of this. OK, they also cover all art music, film, performance, etc. to be fair.
But all of this photographic content!
Now we know almost half of you are off of the North American continent, and we try to share things with the whole group. Kinda like when we were kids and the teacher would bust someone with candy or gum and say “Well I hope you brought enough for the whole class” knowing we didn’t and it was just another way to feel bad.
I digress.
So we are going to turn you onto these programs in a snack form on their site and on YouTube. We had a great discussion with Ovation today and they would love to welcome our whole group in.

Don’t worry, plenty of bandwidth for everyone.

So you can go here for the official site with vids and TV scheds for future airings, and go here for the Youtube content.
yes, each link takes you a different set of vids.

Please note that the online and YouTube vids are just samples, but should give you a clue as to what is out there. Unfortunately, Ovation TV is only in the states so that is why we wanted to share this online resource with you.

They have assured me the solid marathon of photographic materials will be back in the fall. But you can check this stuff out in the meantime.

Say, would a block on the HOME page or RESOURCE page with listings of Photography on TV be of use to anyone? Just a question for the group. Post a comment if you think it would be cool/useful/pointless.

It’s a good way to start the week.”

Now we produce original video content that we post onto the VIDEO SHORTS page here, but we all need more.
What would you like to see?

You’ve seen so many of Annie Leibowitz’s photographs in your life, perhaps sometimes without knowing it. Her coverage and depiction of the people of her generation and yours, has created a body of work that speaks to a style of image making she has created all for herself.
There have been documentaries, traveling exhibits, and numerous books of her photographs.She is probably the most famous photographer to the world at large.

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Now, you can learn more about her technique, with this new book, Annie Leibowitz at Work, dropping Nov. 18th, 2008.
We’re always looking at the lighting set-ups and equipment used whenever these “photogs at work” documentaries air on TV. Curiosity at the very least, since you are photographers, also.

We’re giving this book away, before we’ve even seen it, but have heard all about it. It should prove to answer questions, teach you, and well, understand that the gear isn’t the whole story. You need the right tools, but a good shoot is a thing of beauty, and who better to pull back the curtain than someone doing it 24/7, like Ms. Leibowitz?

“The first thing I did with my very first camera was climb Mt. Fuji. Climbing Mt. Fuji is a lesson in determination and moderation. It would be fair to ask if I took the moderation part to heart. But it certainly was a lesson in respecting your camera. If I was going to live with this thing, I was going to have to think about what that meant. There were not going to be any pictures without it.”
—Annie Leibovitz

Annie Leibovitz describes how her pictures were made, starting with Richard Nixon’s resignation, a story she covered with Hunter S. Thompson, and ending with Barack Obama’s campaign. In between are a Rolling Stones Tour, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, The Blues Brothers, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Keith Haring, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Patti Smith, George W. Bush, William S. Burroughs, Kate Moss and Queen Elizabeth. The most celebrated photographer of our time discusses portraiture, reportage, fashion photography, lighting, and digital cameras.

Details on getting this book sent to you free of charge, delivered by an official uniformed government employee, well packed and ready to consume, will be in this weeks NEWSLETTER.
Whhhhaaaat? You haven’t subscribed yet? No worries. Just click here and make it happen.
And on Weds. morning at 9:00 AM PST, an email will wing its way into your inbox, and the simple weekly giveaway rules are spelled out inside.