Photography and Freedom
January 25th, 2007
I saw Joel Meyerowitz last night. He was giving a talk about his work at Ground Zero in NYC during the cleanup. He has a book out of the images he made there. The story of how he came to do those photos was compelling and had some important messages for all of us. It’s nice to encounter such a well spoken photographer, since so many of us are known for our inability to talk about what we do in a coherent manner…myself included.
Meyerowitz is a NYC native, but happened to be out of town on 9/11. As soon as he was able to get back into the city he went to see the site of the attack. When he got there he found the site blocked off with fence covered by tarps so no one could see anything. While he was looking he picked up his Leica to take a few snaps. Almost immediately a policewoman tapped him on the shoulder and told him all photography was forbidden.
I understand the rage he felt in response to that. I feel it any time anyone tries to tell me I can’t photograph. This is America. We are supposed to be free. No one has the right to stop us from photographing. And what we do with our cameras is important and powerful. So important and powerful that some in authority feel they must stop us from doing it because we are a threat.
Well, Meyerowitz knew that photos had to be taken of the cleanup at Ground Zero. It was important. There needed to be a record for the future and as a way of healing for all of us who have been affected by the horrible events of 9/11. So he did something about it.
Through a variety of means Meyerowitz managed to get into the site and make photos. At first he would be thrown out several times a day and simply walked to a different entry point and went back in. He didn’t sneak around to do his work. In fact, he did most of the photos with an 8×10 view camera. After a time Meyerowitz made friends with many of the people working at the site and soon they were helping him stay there whenever he was challenged.
It’s also worth noting that although he ended up being the only photographer who was able to document the cleanup, that wasn’t how Meyerowitz wanted it to be. In fact, he sent a written proposal to the mayor asking for a team of 6 photographers to be given permission to work there to produce a photographic archive. He never received a response to that proposal. So he did the job alone.
Thanks to Meyerowitz there is now an archive of fine photos to help us remember what went on in that cleanup operation. We all owe him a debt for that.
And we need to remember that we must defend our freedoms, including the freedom to photograph, from those who would stop us.
This reminded me of a memorial service for an uncle that I attended recently. His daughters spoke at the service and one of the many things they mentioned about their father was that he taught them that “No Trespassing” signs meant “Come on in and look around.”
Which, of course, harkens to the verse by Woody Guthrie:
I saw a sign
Sign said, “No Trespassing”
The other side of the sign didn’t say nothin’
That side was made for you and me.
That’s how we as photographers should be looking at the world.
This is getting long so I’ll stop and maybe write more about this and related subjects in future posts. But it reminded me that I must be careful to make sure I never let anyone tell me where I can or cannot make photos. And it reminded me of the times when someone has tried to do that to me and just how angry that can make me. When anyone tries to restrict our freedom to photograph what and where we want, it is the responsibility of all of us to stand up and protest. We can’t allow that in our free society or we have lost what is most precious. Thank you Joel Meyerowitz for not listening to the bureaucratic idiots who tried to stop you from doing what needed to be done.
The photo is, of course, Nola again in her attic, a private place that she shared with me so we could use it to make some art. Thanks, Nola.
More Nola in the attic
January 24th, 2007
Nola’s attic was a rich location. I love incorporating compositional elements like those offered by this spot with the variety of light that was available here. Add in a beautiful nude figure and a very nice model who is fun to work with and I’m having a great time. That’s how this shoot was. I plan to post several more photos all from the attic just to show the variety available in such a common location. It’s good to get out of the studio. I start to get stir crazy in the winter when I haven’t been able to shoot outdoors for a while. I try to plan trips to warm places to shoot and I also am always talking to models about shooting in the snow…for some reason I don’t get a lot of takers for that idea…but this year I’ve had to postpone my planned winter trip because of some health issues that are getting taken care of right now. But I’m planning to make that winter trip in a month or so…guess it will be a spring trip by that time…and get some new outdoor photos. Until then I’ll keep looking around for other locations and keep working in the studio. More of Nola coming in the next few posts.
Nola
January 23rd, 2007
Here’s another shot of Nola from Vermont. One of the joys of shooting on locations is finding new backgrounds and seeing how they can be worked into compositions that mean something to me. The attic of Nola’s house, though unheated, was a great spot for shooting and we did quite a few photos up there. This is one that just uses the color of the wall and the quality of the natural daylight filtered through some windows. I’ll post some more soon that show more of the environment that I found there and was able to work into some compositions that work well for me.
Nola is a fine model and a very nice person. I don’t know how long she will be staying in Vermont, so if you are a photographer in that area you should work with her soon while you have the chance. I hope to get the chance to work with her again no matter where she ends up moving to.
Candace again
January 21st, 2007
Here’s another shot of Candace from our recent shoot. Candace and Elizabeth both did a great job in a short shoot. There are a lot more from this shoot to share with you.
I’m back from my weekend out of town and I’ll be posting more of Candace and Elizabeth in the coming days. Hard to miss with models as good as these two.
Iris
January 19th, 2007
In honor of the snow on the ground today I thought a photo from warmer times was in order. This is Iris on the shore of Lake Erie. It was a day of “challenging light” as I’ve mentioned before. Here I like what the bright sunlight was doing casting shadows and interesting bright shapes through the trees. Iris’ great feminine shape plays nicely against those sun spots and the curves that the waves have left in the mud of the shore. Iris and I will be shooting again soon. I’ll make sure we find some less challenging light to work with this time.
I’ll be out of town for a funeral this weekend. Probably won’t be able to post again until I return on Sunday. So enjoy Iris until then. If you haven’t been to her blog, it’s linked over on the right and is well worth a look.
Candace in the sunlight
January 18th, 2007
Another super busy day today, even more so than yesterday. So here is a shot of Candace in the sunlight through the windows in my studio. Next week I promise some more words. My truck now has 4 new tires and I’m $700 poorer. I’ll be out running from one thing to another all day today. Things should slow down soon, though.
Sunlight
January 17th, 2007
Still in the middle of a very busy week. Not much time to spend here. But here’s another shot of Elizabeth from last week. I was just playing around with the sunlight coming in the studio windows. I think it made a nice composition and is a little bit different take on this very old cliche’.
Next week I hope to have more time to write. But right now I have to leave and go get 4 new tires put on my truck. Had a major blowout yesterday when I hit something on the interstate that shredded one of my tires. It was about time for a new set anyway, especially since I have several major driving trips to do photos planned for this year.
New stool
January 16th, 2007
I saw this stool on sale and couldn’t pass it up. Elizabeth made a nice decoration for the top of it, I think you’ll agree. This one has a sort of “Vargas” look to me.
I’m having an extremely busy week so I’m not able to take time to write much here. You’ll just have to content yourselves with photos of beautiful nude women. I hope it isn’t too much of a hardship.
I haven’t heard from any of my European readers about which of my photos is in the current issue of French PHOTO magazine. Guess I’m just going to have to wait for them to make their way across the Atlantic in a month or so to find out.
Candace
January 15th, 2007
Here’s a studio shot of Candace from last week. Candace is one of the most accomplished figure models I’ve worked with. Very talented and versatile at posing and an absolute professional. Someone who pretty much guarantees fine results. We only did a short shoot in the studio, but worked on several different concepts. I’ll show you more of those over the rest of this week.
Elizabeth
January 14th, 2007
Candace Nirvana and her friend Elizabeth visited Ohio last week for some shooting. They stayed with us part of the time they were in our state and I did a quick shoot with them one day. Both are very talented models. I’ve worked with Candace several times before, but Elizabeth was new and a very pleasant young lady to work with. This photo is one example. I’ll post some more from our shoot over the next few days.
You can fine Elizabeth here:
http://www.onemodelplace.com/member.cfm?ID=180514
