Trial by F-Stop

Mr. Winogrand had no patience for the phony sympathies he thought connected too many photographers to their subjects… [he] was so enthralled by photography that he kept saying yes to the medium, which left him little time or reason to go back and say no to one image over another.

—Gary Winogrand - Nonstop and Unedited - I truly agree with Winogrand on this one.  I love the act of taking photographs, maybe far more so than whatever comes out of the camera.  I guess this is why I can keep my rolls undeveloped for a long time.

are you an active or passive participant in your own manifestation of photographic identity?

—a bunch of SG-based streettogs have a deep conversation sparked off from Alec Soth’s Eggleston question, and this is the most distilled, important point I can make as a result of that discussion (which I’ll post up soon).

littlebrownmushroom:

Alec Soth: A few years ago Robert Frank said, “There are too many images, too many cameras now. We’re all being watched. It gets sillier and sillier. As if all action is meaningful. Nothing is really all that special. It’s just life. If all moments are recorded, then nothing is beautiful and maybe photography isn’t an art any more. Maybe it never was.” What do you think about this?

William Eggleston: I don’t disagree with any part of that statement.

streetportrait:

Da block I live on is kinda interesting. I remember going outside of my house a few times and seeing a few ladies running. I watched for a while and they were actually running laps around the building for exercise.

I also noticed that there is an old guy with a walking stick doing the same…

If you’ve never heard of the Street Portraitist before, now’s the time.  Ade’s a real cool cat, living and working out of Japan.  He’s got a real slick vibe and he’s mean with a camera.  The best part is he documents all the everyday folk he encounters on the streets and takes their portraits.  Then he writes about his encounters with ‘em.

It’s like you’re right there next to Ade, talking to these lovely people.  I urge you to look at the pictures, read his words, and follow his stunning blog.

Photography is not about the thing photographed. It is about how that thing looks photographed.

—GARRY WINOGRAND.  My hero.

I have a lot of respect for people who work in daily journalism, and local news in particular. These are guys who go out every day and find new stories or angles in the same tiny village for 25 years. That’s not easy,” says Bendiksen. ”This is all very good experience for me to apply to all my photography. Sharpening my eyes a bit for finding images in the everyday. This I’ll definitely take with me.

—

Jonas Bendiksen, who started working for a small town newspaper with a circulation of 8,000. 

via Wired.com

(via photographsonthebrain)

This is a good reminder for me to continue seeking the magic of Singapore for my photography project on it.  I find it much easier to take street photographs of places I’ve never been to before, but the challenge is looking at home.

(via photographsonthebrain)