Sunrise, Sunset

August 13, 2010

A day for a first. I have seen many sun rises, many sun sets, different latitudes, different longitudes, but a world class experience in British Columbia made August 13 a fairly awesome day. Awesome is used with its true definition in mind as there certainly was some awe when intently and purposefully taking in the rise and set of the sun from the same island on the same day. Rise over mountains and water, to set over water and mountains. Not many other places that is going to happen. Fortunate. Thanks to B for the trek in making the second half possible.

Here’s to the next first you experience.

PhotoSensitive – Cancer Connections

Emotions. Black and White. Cancer.

When I was in Ottawa recently I came across an outdoor public installation of over 600 photographs and stories that portrayed Canadians dealing with cancer, titled Cancer Connections. Put on by PhotoSensitive, all photos were in black and white. Photos came from all over the country, from all demographics, and from all ages. Each was accompanied by a short story about a person, family, friends, community, or event, and the impact of cancer. I stopped to view and read each one. It was dark when I left. You should view the website: www.photosensitive.com/cc.

The power of black and white photography fits this project more than words can easily express. In black and white, emotions are there for the taking and giving at great depth if you are willing. The range of emotions, from photo to photo, was at times a somewhat intense experience. Anger, fear, sadness, joy, expectation, relief. Simple still images invite you into these emotions, and into this battle that we are all familiar with on some level unfortunately.

Go carefully, but you should certainly go.

Donations to the Canadian Cancer Society can be made here, and to the Terry Fox Foundation here.

Images of Courage and Hope

Last year, Andrew Topham – talented photographer and fine friend – worked with mothers2mothers in East Africa, and captured some amazing images. This Friday, an exhibition titled Images of Courage and Hope: Extraordinary Stories of Women Living With HIV, will showcase his photographs and raise funds for this more than worthwhile cause. It is in Toronto, so if you live, or plan to be in the area this Friday I strongly recommend you check it out.

mothers2mothers works with pregnant and new mothers living with HIV/AIDS. Their focus is creating a sustainable model of care and education. The organization “trains and employs new mothers with HIV to provide education and support to their peers, empowering them to access lifesaving treatment for their babies and themselves” (m2m.org/about-us). For more information you can visit their website.

Andrew Topham’s photographs are captivating, emotional, and educational. He is an intentional photographer, and human being. If you are unable to view his show in Toronto this Friday you can view his m2m work here. I particularly like these two: here and here.

To find out how you can support mothers2mothers visit their How To Help page.

Intrusion or Insight

A couple of years ago I wrote about finding the balance between taking photographs of a moment versus actually experiencing the moment (When is the Experience?). Through a much more somber and serious lens I was reminded of those thoughts today when I noticed that Life magazine has just released a series of previously unpublished photographs taken on April 4, 1968 at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, site of Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination. Photographer Henry Groskinsky and writer Mike Silva were on the scene that evening. Groskinsky captured some scenes that are graphic in their simplicity, and hauntingly revealing. One can sense the vacuum that has been created in the lives of the people in these photos. The question that springs to my mind, and Groskinsky admits to having similar thoughts on his mind – is this documentation or invasion? Is it exploitation even? I am initially partial to it being documentation. He takes a very limited number of shots. He explains how he gauged the emotions and withdrew quite quickly. His images allow the viewer to engage with the firsthand emotions, confusion, and emptiness of this historical event. However, it was also a very personal event for number of people, some present in the photographs and some not. For family and others closest to events such as these, it is firstly a personal event, rather than a societal and historical one, and because of that, one must still question just how intrusive these images can be, especially today. Tragedies in our current culture are captured by media in a completely different fashion then they were some forty years ago. There are many examples of how the recording of tragedy is an instantaneous and collective exercise in our world. Two came quickly to mind as I reflected on this issue: the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili and the recent bombings in Moscow. Video and photos of these tragic incidents were available around the world to anyone with an internet connection mere moments after they had occurred. In both of these cases I found the display of these tragedies to be intrusive, rather than informative. While I am aware that the means of documenting world events has changed forever, and there should be no going back, but I question at what point it is acceptable for a passenger on the Moscow metro to film people writhing in agony so it can be posted on Youtube? Is this necessary in order to allow us to properly connect with the historical and personal nature of this event, or is it simply intrusion? Would it have been alright if it was a journalist and we had been warned with a disclaimer on the news before it was shown?

I have a lot of questions tonight, and few answers. Perhaps I feel Groskinsky’s shots are acceptable because he did seem to feel there was consent. However, life events happen without consent, and there is much to be learned and felt from documenting both personal and historical milestones. Perhaps it is not the act of capturing the event itself I am taking issue with, but the decisions as to what material should be published, and when it should be published, I am most concerned about. Forty-two years between King’s death and the viewing of these black and white photographs put a lot of space between the viewer and the event. As with many things in life, the role of timing in our emotional connections cannot be underestimated. Perhaps some sort of answer lies in more reflection on the balance of timing in publishing, and the affect on personal emotions.

Wolf Photo

BBC Wildlife Magazine and London’s Natural History Museum award annual wildlife photography awards. This year’s winner of the Veolia Environment Wildlife Photographer of the Year award went to Jose Luis Rodriguez for his absolutely amazing shot of a wolf in flight – so to speak. I recommend you check out his photo and the other winners by going here: Leaping Wolf Snatches Photo Prize. It also explains the painstaking efforts that went into making this shot happen.

While I do give him credit for a well planned and well executed shot, he did have to rely upon a lot of technology. We are about balancing ideas out here, so maybe we should ask: as a result, can it be given the same credit as other wildlife shots?

It’s still a wicked capture.

8 from 08

Here are eight shots from 2008. I can’t say for sure if they are my best shots. I guess I could say they are just some of my favourites. I can definitely say there are some great memories associated with each of them, and they are a cross section of places and activities from the calendar year that has passed. If you visit my flickr stream, feel free to let me know which ones stand out for you from 08. More importantly, it would be great to hear from you on what were some of your memorable photos from the past year. Please let me know through one of the many communication means at your disposable.

Happy New Year.

To see the 8th, you can click here. Only thing, you’ll have to be one of my friends on flickr to see it. It’s a great shot of J&D in Maui, maybe one of the best. Want to see it, join flickr, send me a message that you have, and I’ll do the rest.

Keyboard Airline

Keyboard Airline

Originally uploaded by irober.

Somehow, in the span of just 24 days, this photograph became the second most viewed shot in my photostream. As of this posting it has been viewed 130 times. I took it on the evening of June 11 when I was just practicing with my camera. I liked how the blues turned out, both on the plane and the keyboard. It captured a bit of my procrastination, as I actually took about a dozen or so shots of this little plastic plane. It is a rather old toy, and comes from Air Canada. The shot also highlights two of the tools I use to travel.

In the end, thought it was kind of cool, especially how the blues matched up without any initial planning. so I posted it. I had no idea it would attract as many views as it did. Not that it’s a bad photo, but I think I’ve taken better ones? Or have I? Any thoughts – either on what you think of the photo, why it might get clicked on, or anything for that matter – are welcome.

Who knew procrastination could have turned out so well? Then again, maybe it wasn’t a waste of time. Practice with the camera, capturing something myself and others seem to like, and providing content for the blog – sounds like time well spent.

2007 World Press Photos

The 2007 prize wining World Press Photos were announced in February, but I repeatedly put off drawing attention to them. Finally, a few comments about some outstanding photographs.

The entire gallery can be viewed on the World Press Photo site. There is a lot of turmoil and imbalance in most of these photos, and Tim Hetherington’s Grand Prize winner captures both and more. While it isn’t my favourite, it is a shot that conveys emotions and questions. When these two aspects are put forward, both subtely and brazenly, the makings of a great press photo are present.

My personal favourite is Balazs Gardi’s First Prize winner in the Singles category. Words cannot adequately describe the man’s eyes in this shot. Be sure to take note of the eyes of the person in his arms. A good photo has many layers beyond what first captures our attention, and this is just one example. While many of these photos are unsettling, Francesco Zizola has a series of photos that are quite harsh emotionally. While one could say that viewer discretion is advised, I must admit that this photograph stands out from all the others.

These are all photographs of the world we live in. These shots have an impact on us. What impact do we have on the world that gives rise to these photos?

flickr Account

So this is more of a message than it is a blog posting – my apologies, but hey, you’ll get over it, and I’ll get back to posting… eventually, it’s better that life keeps me busy anyways.

As you know – look on the left – I keep a flickr account for my photos, and it feeds onto the blog here, (again, 10 most recent on your left). I also use the photos directly in some blog postings. Most importantly, flickr is just plain super duper cool, with tons of great photos from regular people (like me) and expert photographers (not me) from all around the world. The point of my little promo here: why are you not a member of flickr yet??? (Ohhh, three question marks, he must be serious).

True, you don’t have to be a member to view most photos (including most of mine – go ahead check them out now here). But, if you have any interest in photography, want to learn a bit more, want to see some amazing shots, want to be a part of a helpful photog community: come on board. On a personal note, some of my photos are now kept private, and only my “contacts” can see them, they don’t show up on the left there. So, if you join, we could become contacts and you could see all of my photos. As a contact you could also view the photos in much larger sizes too.

What? You post photos on facebook? You are aware that when you do that facebook makes a copy, and you automatically grant them the rights to use those photos in pretty much anyway they see fit (its in their terms of use). In other words, you no longer own the rights to those photos. (Remember, the jury on social networking sites is still out: click here for a post a while back on that). But if you want, you could do both, there is a flickr application for facebook.

Back to the point. If you’re in to photography even just a bit, then give flickr a go. It’s free, posting and organizing are easy, you can learn lots of great photo tips, and we could be “flickr friends” and share even more photos.

But of course, even better is getting off the computer, maybe doing a little photoging, and actually interacting in real life – I won’t bother you if you’re doing that rather than joining flickr.

When Is The Experience?

I glanced at the cover of the National Post today and an article by Katie Rook caught my eye. The title is: Record Now, Experience Later. She speaks about the rising trend to digitally document events as they are happening, to have a record rather than fully participate and be in the event or moment. I recalled a reflection I had about my own photography experiences, more than a year ago. An excerpt from the posting is below:

Is there a point where one stops being in the moment and becomes separated into trying to have a picture of the moment – without actually experiencing it? On occasion I have felt this question begin to nag. Sometimes what my own eye is capturing, the sounds I am hearing, the smells being taken in and the feeling of the moment can only be captured and held together by me – not the camera. Thus, sometimes I put the camera away. The recollection of some moments, scenes, sights or experiences will only be found in my memory and stories, and not in any photo.

Further, there is authority in experiencing, not just documenting. If one wants to lend credence to an experience, and be able to draw meaning from it, learn from it, pass the “experience” garnered on to others, than one has spend effort and be in the experience. This effort can include not hitting the record button.

With an itchy record finger, there are times when we are not giving ourselves the opportunity to properly develop thoughts and emotions within the experience. Without the thoughts and emotions, how are we to place the experience in context?

Time magazine awarded its Person of the Year honours to You in 2006, because You are able to capture, post, share and discuss any event, anywhere in the world, in almost any medium. However, to keep Your credibility, it might be that sometimes You have to stop recording and just be.