Tag: Documentary

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Friday Inspiration: Gregory Crewdson

dreamhousecrewdson

I had a chance to look at some of Edward Hopper’s paintings of scenes from small town America over the Christmas break and couldn’t help but be reminded of the work of Gregory Crewdson. Like Hopper’s paintings, Crewdson’s photography shows scenes from small town America. They are vignettes that raise questions, that invite you in to wonder what happened before and what will happen next.

Many people will talk about their photographs being ‘cinematic’ but Crewdson’s images could really be stills from a movie. The work that goes into setting up each of the shots is not far from what you might expect for a cinematic production. You get a glimpse behind the scenes in the videos below. The second video is a trailer for the documentary ‘Brief Encounters‘ filmed over a 10 year period it gives not only an in depth look at what goes into the making of the work but also a sense of the events and experiences that shaped Crewdson the man.

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Friday Inspiration: Joey L.

I recently came across a solid recommendation for Joey L.’s new book Photographing Shadow and Light: Inside the Dramatic Lighting Techniques and Creative Vision of Portrait Photographer Joey L. and decided to give Joey a second chance after writing him off based on his performance at the GPP 2010 photo shoot out. Check that out here.

I must say that I was glad that I did. His book covers both his personal and commercial work and gives what seems to me to be a pretty decent look behind the scenes at how he approaches shooting. Much more interesting to me were the videos that Cale Glendening produced of some of Joey’s trips to make the personal work. I was impressed with the time that Joey puts in to get to know his subjects and his willingness to go the extra mile to break down barriers and build relationships. Well worth a look. Look out for Cale getting a traditional Mentawai tattoo. Check out the videos below.

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Press Pause Play: Cary Wolinsky Interview

On my regular trawl looking for interviews of photographers talking about the creative process, the future of photography etc. I found an interview with Cary Wolinsky, a 30 year veteran of National Geographic and one of the founders of the Center for Digital Imaging Arts from the Press Pause Play Project. Check the interview out below. I’d be interested in your thoughts and comments about Cary’s view of where things are headed for today’s photographers.

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Friday Inspiration: Sally Mann

Sally Mann has used a large format camera to photograph the deep south since the 1970’s producing bodies of work that cover portraiture, architecture, landscape and still life. Perhaps her most well known work was ‘Immediate Family’ which focused on her three children who were all under 12 at the time. It’s release was met with controversy, including accusations of child pornography – many of the photos were of her children playing and swimming naked at the families summer cottage.

Sally Mann has received many awards including being named ‘America’s Best Photographer’ by Time Magazine in 2001, she’s a Guggenheim fellow and three times a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship awardee.

Check out the 2006 documentary of Sally Mann, her work and her process ‘What Remains’ below.

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Friday Inspiration: Press Pause Play

I stumbled upon the documentary ‘Press Pause Play‘ this week. I’ve mentioned here a few times that this is an amazing time that we are living through in terms of the ability to create and get things out into the world and to do that on your on terms. Press Pause Play asks the question ‘Does democratized culture mean better art or is true talent instead drowned out?’ While heavily weighted towards the music industry I think that the comments from people like Moby and Seth Godin are relevant to anyone involved in the creative arts. Check out the full documentary below.

PressPausePlay from House of Radon on Vimeo.