Our Photos of the Year

 

We here at the Discarted blog decided to post our favorite photos of the year – that we ourselves took. I’m not in the same league as discarted or cinemafia, but I like to pull out the point-and-shoot once in awhile. Or as a certain someone calls it, the point-and-miss-it.

For me, it was a tie. I took this one in Griffith Park in Los Angeles. Despite there being practically no visibility on most days up in those hills due to smog and pollution, the light and colors at the Observatory are gorgeous.

I also like this one I took in Utah in September on the return leg of my six-week-long cross-country road trip. I was overall pretty amazed with Utah and now think you haven’t really lived until you visit there.

It is the remains of the Dewey Bridge, built in 1916, located on the Upper Colorado River Scenic Byway – one of the most beautiful drives in the country. In April, a fire, accidentally set at a nearby campground, destroyed it.

No Photos in Long Beach Port

Photo by Thomas Hawk

Thomas Hawk, a blogger and photographer from San Francisco, was stopped by police for shooting photos in Long Beach Harbor this past weekend. He writes about the incident here. Since he was approached two times by security, and a third time by law enforcement who told him he needed a permit to photograph the harbor, Hawk sought clarification from the Port of Long Beach. And today he posts the response, from spokesperson Art Wong.

In the [sic] Sunday night it seems that the officer thought you were trying to enter a private area and you were a commercial photographer. You, and other photographers, have a right a take pictures from public right-aways. But for your own safety, and for the security of the Port, we have asked our officers to be as vigilant as possible.

Hawk takes issue with Wong’s explanation that the officer claimed Hawk and his friend were trying to enter a restricted private area. Hawk is insistent, and has the photos to prove it, that he was on an overpass, on a public sidewalk.

This is typical of officers who err on the side of overzealous enforcement; they always claim a restricted area – totally irregardless of the law - was being breached when they’re called out.

To voice your complaints contact:

Art Wong, Assistant Director of Communications/PIO, (562) 590-4123, (562) 619-5665 (cell) or wong@polb.com

For Photojournalist, Pen a Concealed Weapon

Also in London, also from Dec. 10, a photojournalist named Jesse Oldershaw was stopped and searched while covering protests in front of the Greek Embassy where people had gathered in reaction to the unrest in Greece.

At 4:25 of the video, a police officer, rather preposterously, asks if Oldershaw has a knife in his back pocket. As he is being directed off to the side, Oldershaw is screaming out, “Why am I being stopped and searched by the police for a yellow pen in my bag? Everybody can see the yellow pen!” and “I’m press, why am I being stopped and searched by the police at a demonstration?”

Oldershaw continues to give a play-by-play of the incident and at one point asks the police straight out their reasoning when he is protected by law to be doing what he’s doing. They largely ignore him, but one does seem to give him a ticket.

Wedding Photographer Threat to National Security?

Jess Hurd, a photographer for the Guardian, was detained for 45 minutes by Metropolitan police Dec. 10 for taking video and stills at a Ramada Hotel in east London. Hurd was working on a story about weddings within an itinerent community known as travellers, but police felt she might be doing reconnaissance as a terrorist.

The police justified their actions by saying they are within their rights if they see suspicious activity, especially if it’s in close proximity to a sensitive sight. Apparently the Ramada was close to both the airport and a wharf. It is unclear what is suspicious about a credentialed press photographer outside a wedding reception.

The National Union of Journalists released a statement today that says, in part, “This is yet another absurd misuse of the s44 powers which are designed to allow the police to detain those actively involved in carrying out a terrorist activity not to stop press photographers carrying out their legitimate business.”

The Amateur Photograher blog says Hurd is considering legal action.

Found on Flickr: Gumanow

This is another installment in our continuing series where we talk to photographers whose work we’ve appreciated on Flickr.

This week we feature gumanow.

cinemafia: Many of your photographs are done in the street photography vein and are taken in public at close proximity to strangers, often with them obviously aware that you are photographing them. Many people would find this kind of photography uncomfortable or impossible, yet others seem to thrive on it. What does this overt process mean to you, and how do you think it affects the people who see the end product?

gumanow: First off, let me say that I am honored that you and discarted have selected me for this interview. Thanks!

I would have to say that I thrive on getting close. Sometimes now I wish I could get even closer. Yeah, many photographers find it uncomfortable to shoot close. A lot of the time my subjects think I’m shooting behind them or they got in my way and are sorry. If they do see me, I usually give them a nod or smile. Most of the time this disarms them – I did say “most” of the time!

When I first started out shooting street I was uncomfortable with getting close to people. I started out shooting from the chest without the camera to my eye, however, this lead to a lot of very poor results. This was one of my first street shots of people. You can see in this shot by the position of my shadow that I don’t have the camera up to my eye. I shot this from my chest and you can tell by the level of the perspective. Now I shoot exclusively with the viewfinder to my eye. I still feel nervous, uncomfortable, scared, and my heart races. But after the first few shutter clicks I feel right at home and energized.

I’ve heard from a lot of beginning street shooters that say if you get close you are interfering with the “slice” of life you are trying to capture. And while I’m striving for that slice, sometimes being a character in the shot is interesting as well – and that interaction with people. By putting the viewfinder to my eye I am in effect saying, “I’m taking your picture!” I’m not going to hide or pretend that I’m not. How they react to me is just as much part of the “slice” as anything else.

I’ve also seen a lot of shots using a telephoto lens from far away and the photographer still gets noticed. My approach is to get into the action, be a part of the street scene. Most of the time people don’t notice me and when they do, I try to get the shot in that split second between when they first notice me and when they react. Sometimes a glance your way can really make the shot.

Just Another Day “At Work”

Annie Leibovitz/Rolling Stone – January 22, 1981

If you haven’t seen it, Annie Leibovitz’s latest book “At Work” is a good read and an interesting look behind the scenes with one of the world’s most famous photographers. In it, she tells the stories of some of her iconic shots, including Rolling Stone covers of John and Yoko and the Blues Brothers, as well as Vanity Fair portraits of everyone from Arnold Schwarzenegger to George W. Bush’s cabinet (a classic mafioso family shot if there ever was one).   

What’s amazing about her story is, her talent notwithstanding, she was also fortunate enough to start out in a much simpler era - when a novice photographer could just call up Rolling Stone’s art director and show him her shots of anti-war rallies in San Francisco. (Granted, Rolling Stone was truly a fringe, counter-culture magazine back then.) She describes getting the plum assignment of tagging alongside notorious gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson this way: “So I just jumped in the car and went along with him for a while.” That just doesn’t happen anymore.

Leibovitz is also the subject of this week’s Time magazine’s reader-generated feature “10 Questions.”

Girl of Famed Photo Speaks

Library of Congress

It’s probably one of the most famous images of the American Depression – known as ”Migrant Mother,” it was taken of 32-year-old Florence Owens Thompson by photographer Dorothea Lange in Nipomo, CA in 1936. Today CNN.com has an interview with Thompson’s daughter, Katherine McIntosh, now 77, who is on the left of the photo. Rather than help the family, bringing light to their plight, McIntosh says, “We were ashamed of it. We didn’t want no one to know who we were.”

Read the full article here.

In the Blink of an Eye: Mark Rebilas

Ever since I witnessed Michael Jordan launching himself from the foul line to slam home the NBA’s 1988 dunk contest, I’ve been a huge fan of sports photography – and this is way before I figured out that I had even the slightest bit of passion for photography.

As a child I collected every Sports Illustrated that featured MJ’s high-flying escapades, fixated by the beauty of these images while wondering where they had come from and wishing I could dunk like my idol. With the ability to touch a 10-foot rim by age 14, but unable to draw all that well, I had my mother buy me some tracing paper and colored pencils to create my own images of MJ posterizing some flat-footed sixth man. For hours I would hover over my desk, palms stained with lead and meticulously copy the SI covers, patiently and carefully following each meandering line as though I were a surgeon.

This week I was in childlike awe once again as I discovered Mark J. Rebilas’ website. As a professional sports photographer and son of motorsports photography legend Gil Rebilas, Mark’s images have appeared in ESPN Magazine, USA Today, the Los Angeles Times and on the top sports websites in the country.

What I find most fascinating about Mark is not the fact that he’s funny, self-deprecating and able to capture such beautiful images in the blink of an eye, but that he’s so willing to share his experiences with others while working in one of the most competitive fields in photography. Finally, I no longer have to wonder where images like the ones I worshiped as kid come from.

They come from Mark Rebilas.