Study the Masters: Vivian Maier
Unless you’ve been hiding in a cabin in the woods, there’s a better than none chance that you’ve heard about Vivian Maier (1926-2009), the reclusive nanny who lived and worked – and photographed – in Chicago for most of her adult life. Her work never saw the light of day until discovered serendipitously by a collector, John Maloof, when he …
The Artist’s Journey
One of the great revelations of my life came when I discovered Joseph Campbell and his book, The Hero With a Thousand Faces. I read it while studying films and screenplays and trying to understand what makes a great story. And I read it while divorcing for the first time and not sure I was going to survive the trauma …
Study the Masters: Dorothea Lange
Dorothea Lange (1895-1965) was an American photographer best known for her photojournalism in the Great Depression, and notably known for the image above, Migrant Mother. An early documentary photographer, Lange’s work in the depression was done primarily on behalf of the American Farm Security Administration (FSA). Later covering the forced relocation of Japanese Americans, in post-Pearl Harbour America to internment …
Study the Masters: W. Eugene Smith
W. Eugene Smith (1918-1978) was an American photojournalist with an uncanny sense of timing and humanity. Often credited as the father of the photo-essay, Smith began his career making photographs for papers in Wichita, Kansas, before eventually moving on to Newsweek, then Life, which he eventually left over an argument about how they used his images of Albert Schweitzer, after …
A Beautiful Anarchy
Colour outside the lines and make the best art of your life! To my core I believe that our lives can be lived boldly, intentionally, and as our truest work of art. I believe we are all capable of living extraordinary lives; that people like Gandhi, Picasso, or Mother Teresa, were ordinary people who chose to be fully themselves …
Study the Masters: Irving Penn
The last two in the Study the Masters series were Yousuf Karsh and Arnold Newman, both of whom I consider sublime portraitists who set a high bar for those of us to follow and learn from. The third logical Master for me is Irving Penn (1917-2009) whose career spanned, but out-lived, the careers of both Karsh and Newman. Like Avedon …
For Jennifer, Whomever You Are.
Jennifer is a composite of all the students who’ve asked me to look at their work online and offer some advice. My advice has changed over the years. Dear David, I’m a second-year photography student. Would you look at my work and offer me any advice? Dear Jennifer, Thank you for the invitation to spend some time with your work. …
Study the Masters: Arnold Newman
Last week I introduced you to Yousuf Karsh. American-born Arnold Newman (1918-2006) was his contemporary and the studying the two together is an interesting study in voice. Both photographed largely in black and white, both photographed celebrities, artists, and luminaries of their generation, and both used simple composition. To my eye, Newman is more graphic, though he leans no less …
Within The Frame Giveway: Signed Print Folio
As part of Within The Frame month, which we’re celebrating over here in wild style (My book, Within The Frame, came out 5 years ago. There has been wine, and there’s a good chance there will be again,) I wanted to do a couple giveaways. In part I’m hoping to bring new interest to a book I still believe is …
Study the Masters: Yousuf Karsh
Yousuf Karsh was one of my earliest influences. His portraits, much of his work in black and white, were simple, elegant, and deeply human. An Armenian-Canadian, Karsh was born in Turkey in 1908, worked most of his life in Ottawa, and died in 2002, leaving behind a lifetime of beautiful portraits of the leaders of his generation. I think what …