( This article was first posted in 2008. Updated,it still feels the same.)

Not like “This is not a pipe” (Ceci n’est pas une pipe) the famous painting by Rene Magritte, below

Nothing like that. Well, maybe a little borrowed concept for the sake of this post.

Instead it’s a bit of memory that has a photo of an object as it’s touch point.

When I was a kid, we used to have thanksgiving dinner at our apt. The cousins always joined us, the good flatware came out, and that’s just what you did.
Mom cooked the turkey in a paper bag to keep it at a certain moisture level, and the pies were a sweet pecan.
But the appetizer was the most unique item.
A seafood mixture with a creamy binder, the origins of which I can’t remember, and bread crumbs.

All mixed together and served in shells. Like the one shown above.
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Today, Nikon announces the coming of the new D4s, the professionals choice for years, and gets an update.
Oh yeah, that 409,600 ISO is not a misprint.

Not the biggest secret out there. It was due.
But make no mistake: this is a camera for the pros. This is the top of the line Nikon camera; built like a tank, utilizing the best technology available in a workhorse package.

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MOMA is long known for having a love affair with photography, and maintaining one of the most sophisticated palettes, while evolving and promoting the new talent.

And now,Quentin Bajac, MOMA’s new chief curator of photography, has a chance to show a fresh vision in curation in one of the temples of photography.
A World of Its Own: Photographic Practices in the Studio February 08, 2014–October 05, 2014
I won’t lie: It took 2 visits to appreciate.

Man Ray. Laboratory of the Future. 1935. Gelatin silver print, 9 1/16 x 7″ (23.1 x 17.8 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of James Johnson Sweeney © 2014 Man Ray Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Each room is broken up into an exploration of the different uses of the studio: As Stage; Set; Neutral Space (where time and space have no relation ala Avedon); Virtual Space, as created by the darkroom or computer,And as Playground.

At first blush, the promise of exploration of a photographic artists space is a huge chunk to bite off.
With quotes from Man-Ray, and a continuous running film of an artist setting up a simple studio for the 20’s, the ride was on.
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…APS-C new camera from Sony!

At this point all we can do is drool over the stats: 11FPS! Claiming to be the world’s fastest AF performance at just 0.06 seconds. Continue Reading »

The archives of Robert Capa, Master Photojournalist are housed in The International Center of Photography, which was started by his brother Cornell Capa. They have just released a set of images from mid-century that will breath a whole new life into the world of photojournalism from that period.

His coverage of World War II across Europe,the Spanish Civil War, the Second Sino-Japanese War,the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and the First Indochina War brought the world some of the most emotion riddled images of those wars. While a student at Ryerson in Toronto, one of his most famous images,”Falling Soldier” greeted us in the student lounge daily. It was in 1938, he began the use of Kodachrome into his work, often carrying 2 cameras, one for B&W and one for Color.

Robert Capa, [Pablo Picasso playing in the water with his son Claude, Vallauris, France], 1948. © Robert Capa/International Center of Photography/Magnum Photos.

Even before starting Magnum Photo Agency with cohorts Henri Cartier-Bresson, David Seymor (Chim), George Rodgers and William Vandivert, he knew that with the rise of the weekly mags, the public wanted more color imagery. It was time for the public to leave the big war behind, and start looking ahead to better times. Color helped in that healing.
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