Archive for category photography
Georgia History That I Knew Nothing About: Columbians of 1946
Posted by admin in history, photography on January 5, 2013
While not well-versed in the history of racism in my home state, I was consider myself fairly well informed. Therefore I was surprised that it took until yesterday (thanks to a photo in AJC’s new Photo Vault Tumblr) to become aware that in 1946, there was a Georgia-based neo-nazi group called the Columbians.
Consider this excerpt from the Georgia Encyclopedia:
“During the summer of 1946, Atlantans witnessed the rise of the Columbians, the nation’s first neo-Nazi political organization. The group pursued a campaign of intimidation against the city’s minorities, patrolling those neighborhoods most vulnerable to racial transition, and threatening with violence those residents who dared cross the city’s “color line.” Although they attracted some support from Atlanta’s working-class whites, the Columbians were uniformly condemned by the city’s press and targeted for arrest by its political establishment. By the following summer the group had dissolved, following the conviction of its leaders, Homer Loomis and Emory Burke, on charges of usurping police power and inciting to riot.”
While racism still exists today on some level, I take some solace that as far back as 1946, the establishment fought it on some level. Not as much as it should, of course–but still some level of resistance is better than none. God, if only I could say there is no racism today, but that’s sadly would be a delusional belief.
Sara Ryan on Empress of the World
Posted by admin in comics, Literature, Music, photography on September 19, 2012
Empress of the World
Back in 2001, librarian and novelist Sara Ryan captured folks’ attention with her young adult novel, Empress of the World. The book (described as “about friendship, love, and the sometimes blurry lines between the two”) is an Oregon Book Award winner, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award. Recently the book was re-released in an expanded edition. Ryan and I conducted an email interview about it, as well as delving into her upcoming comics work, which includes Bad Houses, a collaboration with Carla Speed McNeil. This interview goes in some pleasant directions and I was lucky to get to interview Ryan.
Tim O’Shea: In researching our interview, I searched for your Tumblr page but accidentally discovered the number of people that quote your work (and hashtag it “Sara Ryan”). I think it safe to assume that any writer wonders how much their work resonates with people. How affirming is it when you see people quoting your work?
Sara Ryan: Here’s where I expose my ignorance of the finer points of Tumblr. Until you pointed it out, it hadn’t occurred to me to check if anyone had tagged posts about me/my work. Now that I know said posts exist, I’m certainly pleased!
Speaking of Tumblr, visiting your Tumblr page it becomes obvious (at least to me) that you love the power of photography.
I do. Photography actually connects very much to comics writing for me; I can’t draw, but I can compose images with my camera. I try to use that same visual sensibility when I write panel descriptions — while leaving enough room for the artist to bring their own interpretation, of course.
Photographic History: The Lively Morgue
Posted by admin in photography on February 29, 2012
Oh my, the New York Times has created a Tumblr site that documents some of its old photos. Better than showing the photos themselves, it also documents the notations and edits on the backside of the picture. Consider this 1973 Joe Namath example.
Backside of a 1973 New York Times picture
Appreciating the World Around Her: Susan Straight for KCET
Posted by admin in photography on February 15, 2012
Friend of the blog, novelist Susan Straight, recently made me aware of her biweekly feature (in conjunction with photographer Doug McCulloh) for KCET, in which she shares stories/slices of life pieces about Riverside, California. Here’s a snippet from this week’s installment:
But now Guasti is a startling contradiction in landscape, a convergence that happens over and over in Southern California. The road heads through CentreLake, an industrial park of buildings with white walls and blue glass that house for-profit colleges and businesses. And then, you see the Guasti Post Office, and an old brick schoolhouse, and across from there, one of the loveliest churches I’ve ever seen. Anywhere in the world.
Radoslav Lorkovic on His Music
Posted by admin in Music, photography, sports on November 23, 2011
Radoslav Lorkovic
What keeps me coming back to Cayamo is the opportunity to discover different musicians. This past year, one of the new musicians I discovered was Ellis Paul. Part of Paul’s band was an incredible piano and accordion player Radoslav Lorkovic. Over the next several days of the cruise, Lorkovic also turned up jamming with several other musicians. I meant to conduct this interview immediately after the cruise, but life events delayed my intentions. I was glad to finally conduct the email interview this week. Be sure to visit Lorkovic’s Facebook page, as he is indeed an impressive photographer (as we discuss) in addition to his musical prowess. This interview includes a new Talking with Tim milestone, a musician quoting NFL legendary coach Vince Lombardi.
Tim O’Shea: You are currently touring with Ellis Paul, what attracted you to working with Ellis?
Radoslav Lorkovic: Ellis has been a great friend through the years. Music is just a natural part of what is really a great ‘hang’ Being on stage is little different than having a drink at three AM in some ridiculous club laughing. The music, however, is quite serious and precise. It is presented without out the baggage of seriousness. He also plays everything in C sharp–for me the most difficult piano key. It’s a massive exercise in a way.
Baron Wolman on The Rolling Stone Years
Posted by admin in Music, photography on August 31, 2011
Article first published as Interview: Photographer BaronWolman on The Rolling Stone Years on Blogcritics.
Baron Wolman: The Rolling Stone Years
Only one person can lay claim to being Rolling Stone magazine’s first chief photographer–and his name is Baron Wolman. From 1967 to 1970, Wolman captured some of the most iconic images of musicians that graced the magazine’s pages. This August marks the release of The Rolling Stone Years, a collection of Wolman’s photographs from those three years, described by publisher Omnibus Press as consisting of “many … images from the late sixties and early seventies [that] have become iconic shots from rock’s most fertile era.” In addition to his amazing photos, Wolman writes a substantial amount about the early days of the influential magazine as well as his experiences photographing musical greats of the late 1960s/early 1970s.
At one point in the book, you express your preference to shoot in natural light. What is the appeal of using that kind of light for your photos?
Natural light is just that. “Natural.” Nothing artificial about it. What you see in the photo is what I saw when I took the picture. For the most part, flash disturbs the subject and ruins the intimacy of the moment…
What was more challenging to do, decide which pictures to run in the book or writing the text to accompany the pictures?
Both were challenging in the best sense of the word, not to mention the locales where the challenge was met: Paris, Santa Fe, Bangkok. I wanted to add some international “spice” to the process.
Some of your subjects died far too young, how hard was it to look at those pictures?
Not easy, of course. Wondering how their lives would have evolved had they had the opportunity, sad for such talent ended before it had a chance to soar, remembering the moments we shared.
Places I Need to Visit Someday: Center for Creative Photography
Posted by admin in art, photography on August 20, 2011
Ansel Adams in the National Parks
I was recently reading the Ansel Adams in the National Parks book (released in 2010), and got curious to know who hosts his collection. It turns out that it is the University of Arizona’s Center for Creative Photography. I have never had an interest in visiting Arizona, but this knowledge might change my mind.
Apparently the center was co-founded by Adams, as noted by the site: “Famed American photographer Ansel Adams (1902–1984) co-founded the Center for Creative Photography in 1975. His was one of five inaugural archives, and it remains a cornerstone of the Center’s fine art and archival collections. Adams’s career spans seven decades and a wide range of subject matter, including portraits, still lifes, architecture, and the landscapes for which he is most famous. Viewers often associate his lifelong environmentalism and advocacy for America’s wilderness places with his dramatic, panoramic photographs that celebrate the redemptive potential of the natural world. Many of his best-known images were made in the American West, including a large group of works made in Yosemite Valley.”
Captions That Crack Me Up: Slate/Magnum Photos’ Coney Island Piece
Posted by admin in photography on August 3, 2011
The captions (I think intentionally) in this Slate collection of Bruce Gilden/Magnum Photos (at Coney Island through the years) are written to amuse the reader. I only include one example, because each photo (and caption) is a gem and worthy of closer examination.
OK, I get the guy exercising and the sunbather, but what exactly is the story for the guy in the middle? Not only is he wearing a jacket, but it appears he’s brought a sweater as well.
Library of Congress Digital Archives: Cab Calloway (1947)
Posted by admin in Music, photography on March 27, 2011
If you have never visited it before, you might enjoy exploring the digital collections from the Library of Congress. I recently discovered this in the William P. Gottlieb Collection.
William P. Gottlieb's 1947 Portrait of Cab Calloway
You have to love the caption from the publication, Down Beat, where this originally ran. “Down Beat: Dizzy may play be-bop, but Cab Calloway wears it. The king of hi-de-ho poses backstage at the Strand theater in his be-bop suit, much more conservative than his previous zoot costumes. It is blue serge, no drape, no shape, just a belt in the back, pearl buttons and a hunk of watch chain”
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