Not 2 minutes into Larry Finks lecture, he delivered that line accompanied by a photo of his mom and Irving.
It was laid out deadpan.
Comedy? Satire? Lecture structure? Whatever, it worked and got the crowd to loosen a bit.
And as he further described his photographs you understood what he meant when he said that his images are not meant to judge or glorify, but to present a truth, a reality. His reality.

[photopress:finkPI.jpg,full,centered]© Damon Webster

A tenured professor at Bard in NYC, Mr Fink is on tour courtesy of the good folks at Aperture. Tonight , it was at the Hammer Museum in Westwood CA.
He entertained the respectful ( read: QUIET!) crowd with stories behind his images as diverse as his family, Vanity Fair Fashion assignments and the praying mantis at his home, a farm in Pennsylvania.

One of the highlights were the stories of the coverage of his own show at the Metropolitan Museum in NYC. After 3 months of planning, he had strategically placed about 17 strobes around the event venue.
Then with an assistant following with a pole strobe (yep, just what it sounds like- a strobe head on a pole) he had a field day photographing the high end fine art world attendees. To be truly current, the images were shot digitally, and uploaded to screens live, at the event. Not known for his beauty portrait style the crowd wondered when the REAL photographer was arriving. Unfortunately, he was vilified as he reacted to that comment and let everyone know he was one of the best photographers ever. Honestly, he is not shy about his mastery, but the revelers should have understood whose work they were becoming a part of, live.

[photopress:finkhomagetogeorgegrosz.jpg,full,centered] © Larry Fink Homage to George Grosz

Fink reflects on his work,“Some people mistake my work for satire. I don’t object because satire is a powerful force, so if the work is seen that way it serves one function. But I don’t agree. The pictures are taken in the spirit of finding myself in the other, or finding the other in myself. They are taken in the spirit of empathy. Emotional, physical, sensual empathy. This work is political, but not polemical. There is potential for the formation of an underlying theme in how the system suppresses and distorts both the rich and the poor, but it is not Marx who chooses the characters in this book; it is lust, attraction, and destiny.”

[photopress:2004_18_14fink.jpg,full,centered] © Larry Fink- Grubman Wedding

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One of our favorite books of his, is the homage to music, Somewhere There’s Music. Other than his commercial work, his photography has a full-on jazz feel to it in a riffy, yet surprisingly specific way, but the flow is all there.

Did that all make sense?

But we did want to let you know that we had Larry Fink sign one of his books which will be next weeks giveaway.
Details to follow.

[photopress:finkpi2.jpg,full,centered] © Damon Webster

If you are just getting started in the digital world of photo manipulation, or could uses a little refresher course, today may be your lucky day.
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Wednesday’s Daily Giveaway are 2 discs from Software-Cinema.One of the premiere training companies has , for years put out a full roster of easy to digest, learning discs. This time we have Photoshop Elements lessons, with the titles How to Wow- Elements Fundamentals, and Creating Scrapbook pages.
We try to have something for all of you, no matter where you are in your photographic life.
Please note: One is a DVD, one is a CD-Rom.

All you have to do is email us at: damonw@photoinduced.com and put the words “Elements” in the subject line and give us a shipping address.
The first one in gets it. AND WE SHIP ALL OVER THE WORLD !

The winner of the A LA Carte book from Tuesday was Paul K, of Phoenix, Arizona. Congratulations!

And we have a winner on the Bundle bag from Crumpler. This time it’s Bunny B from Malaysia- Congratulations!

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And todays, Tuesday April 18th, Daily Giveaway is a book that’s been getting a lot of attention lately: A la Cart: The Secret Lives of Grocery Shoppers by Hillary Carlip
It’s by a photographer who became fascinated with found grocery lists; those left behind, discarded after fulfillment,perhaps imagined.
What she has done is created the characters she has married to the lists. To portray these folks she has picked a friendly model: herself.
In the spirit of Cindy Sherman and Tracy Ullman, this lighter side book will make you a little more observant of your own lists. Hmmmmm what secrets have YOU revealed ?

Simply email us at: damonw@photoinduced.com and put the words “Grocery” in the subject line and give us a shipping address.
The first one in gets it. AND WE SHIP ALL OVER THE WORLD !

We all have our favorite angles to shoot from. Sometimes feet spread apart, elbow braced arms keeping a tight grip on the camera.
Sometimes on a tripod, locking in an exact placement of lens, allowing the subject to reveal in front of it.
Or do you grab a shot from the hip. Pull it up to your eye and SNAP! The deed is done. Image captured.

Let us introduce you to a photographer who has another perspective.

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Kevin Connolly was born without legs.
He is a photographer and skier. With a perspective that is his life, the reactions of people he encounters has become the subject of a project called The Rolling Exhibition.

What’s important here are his reasonings behind the exhibit.

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His words:

“1 year ago I was asked by a little boy in Christchurch, New Zealand if I had been eaten by a shark.

2 months ago I was asked by an elderly woman in Sighisoara, Romania if I had lost my legs in a car accident.

6 weeks ago I was asked by a bar patron in Helena, Montana if I still wore my dog tags from Iraq.

Everyone tries to create a story in their heads to explain the things that baffle them. For the same reason we want to know how a magic trick works, or how mystery novel ends, we want to know how someone different, strange, or disfigured came to be as they are. Everyone does it. It’s natural. It’s curiosity.

But before any of us can ponder or speculate – we react. We stare. Whether it is a glance or a neck twisting ogle, we look at that which does not seem to fit in our day to day lives. It is that one instant of unabashed curiosity – more reflex than conscious action – that makes us who we are and has been one of my goals to capture over the past year.

It is after this instant that we try to hazard a guess as to why such an anomalous person exists. Was it disease? Was it a birth defect? Was it a landmine? These narratives all come from the context in which we live our lives. Illness, drugs, calamity, war – all of these might become potential stories depending upon what we are exposed to in connection with disability.

In each photograph the subjects share a commonality, but what does their context say? Looking at each face, I saw humanity. Rolling through their streets, I found the unique cultures and customs that created an individual. ”

If you’d like to hear Kevin in his own words, click here.

This is the good stuff. Kevin has traveled the world and has been in the middle of many cultures. In knowing what a normal reaction it is for people to stare, he has imagined the stories they have in their head to explain his physical appearance. And sometime it reaches all the way to their mouths.

Here is another article and video to check out.

Just because it was the first day of the week, in this week of daily giveaways, we gave away 2 of the Taschen books. Congrats to both
And it was a sunny day in Southern California. Classic, really.

Today we have a great kit bag made by Crumpler: The Bundle.
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As you start to venture outside. and the weather lets you take less layers, you may want to take just a few necessary items, such as your point and shoot, extra batts and cards in a nice comfy, protected case.
[photopress:b231_o1.jpg,thumb,alignright] The folks at Crumpler have had this winner in their lineup for a few years with good reason; it just fits right.

Look, we will always advocate taking your DSLR. Everywhere. Nothing beats a big sensor, enough megapixels, and a solid RAW file.
But like we always say, “the right tool for the job”.
And this case protects it all.

Just email us at: damonw@photoinduced.com and put the words Bundle in the subject line and give us a shipping address.
The first one in gets it. AND WE SHIP ALL OVER THE WORLD !

Yep, we’re taking a breath as the goodies get shared. Right time for it.