Archive for June 2008
A photographer’s life, 1990 – 2005
This is of course about Annie Leibovitz and her european exhibition kick off at MEP Paris.
Maison Européenne de la photographie
“Leibovitz’s most recent book, A PHOTOGRAPHER’S LIFE: 1990-2005, includes her trademark celebrity portraits. But it also features personal photographs from Leibovitz’s life: her parents, siblings, children, nieces and nephews, and Sontag. Leibovitz, who has called the collection “a memoir in photographs,” was spurred to assemble it by the deaths of Sontag and her father, only weeks apart. The book even includes photos of Leibovitz herself, like the one that shows her nude and eight months pregnant, à la Demi Moore.
Leibovitz composed these personal photographs with materials that she used when she was first starting out in the ’70s: a 35-millimeter camera, black-and-white Tri X film. “I don’t have two lives,” she writes in the book’s introduction. “This is one life, and the personal pictures and the assignment work are all part of it.” Read the whole PBS post
And for those that read French : Le Monde | Annie Leibovitz, une star une vraie
I can admit that I recently saw the documentary “Annie Leibovitz : Life Through a Lens” and that it fascinated me. Recommended viewing.
The New York Times review | Annie Leibovitz: Life Through a Lens (2007)
Below clip is only an introduction of 2,5 minutes :
Attempt to define standards on news quoting in blogs
Fellow-bloggers, for your information. It seems that AP wants to guide (read restrict) bloggers from using the agency’s content.
The New York Times | The Associated Press to Set Guidelines for Using Its Articles in Blogs
“Fair use has become an essential concept to many bloggers, who often quote portions of articles before discussing them. The A.P., a cooperative owned by 1,500 daily newspapers, including The New York Times, provides written articles and broadcast material to thousands of news organizations and Web sites that pay to use them.
Last week, The A.P. took an unusually strict position against quotation of its work, sending a letter to the Drudge Retort asking it to remove seven items that contained quotations from A.P. articles ranging from 39 to 79 words”.
Oeps, this quote approx. 90 words! I might be in the danger zone here…
(added 10.09.2008)
Fair Use of Photography On A Blog
The rise of mirco stock photos from hobbyist photographers and semi profs
Orphan works
Street photography versus portrait right
In my previous post I linked to an article that is about a Dutch law suit. A woman was photographed in the street. She did not know about it and is now suing because her photo was published (as stock photo) with an editorial. Professional photographers in the Netherlands are watching this case closely.
There are many similar frictions, questions and cases about the rights of the portraited individual and the rights of the photographer/artist. Here’s an article on the topic :
Herald Tribune | Street photography: A right or invasion? / (The Theater of the Street, the Subject of the Photograph)
“The practice of street photography has a long tradition in the United States, with documentary and artistic strains, in big cities and small towns. Photographers usually must obtain permission to photograph on private property – including restaurants and hotel lobbies – but the freedom to photograph in public has long been taken for granted. And it has had a profound impact on the history of the medium. Without it, Lee Friedlander would not have roamed the streets of New York photographing strangers, and Walker Evans would never have produced his series of subway portraits in the 1940s”.
“In an affidavit submitted to the court on diCorcia’s behalf, Peter Galassi, chief curator of photography at the Museum of Modern Art, said diCorcia’s “Heads” fit into a tradition of street photography well defined by artists ranging from Alfred Stieglitz and Henri Cartier-Bresson to Robert Frank and Garry Winogrand. “If the law were to forbid artists to exhibit and sell photographs made in public places without the consent of all who might appear in those photographs,” Galassi wrote, “then artistic expression in the field of photography would suffer drastically. If such a ban were projected retroactively, it would rob the public of one of the most valuable traditions of our cultural inheritance.”
The Getty | About Walker Evans’ subway portraits
This subject is difficult, as there are two sides to the coin. I would not like it if my portrait was published or displayed in an exhibition without my knowledge and consent. But on the other hand, if I were the photographer, I would like/need my right to artistic expression…
I know two things though, if somebody would object to me making photos in a public place or the street, I would respect the NO. Also I would never publish a photo that would be disrespectful.
Last year I was very upset when a disrespectful photograph of my grandmother was published in a newspaper. The paper admitted the mistake and published my complaint, but the harm was done of course. It was extra bitter because the photo was taken at an happy occasion for my grandmother and my family and it turned out to be our last happy occasion together. It’s difficult to think back to our special event and not see that ugly picture.
Ethics are necessary.
