VoxPhotographs Weblog

One thing about reading a newspaper on paper as opposed to the electronic experience is that your eye is forced to travel the entire page of articles looking for things of interest. Online, I just click on the headlines I’m interested in and…well, I would have missed the review of “Islander” for sure if I hadn’t had my husband’s leftover Sunday Maine Telegram in front of me yesterday at lunch here at the gallery in Portland and caught a line or two of Ted Fry’s (Seattle Times) rave review of the film co-written by Thomas Hildreth, a Portland, Maine native, as I was turning the page.

As luck would have it, I did read it, and didn’t hesitate to get myself over to The Movies On Exchange for their 3:15 showing. I love Maine fiction, Maine social history, and obviously Maine photographic experiences and this fit the bill on all three counts.

How about if I just quote from CinemaDave’s review of the camera work in this film? It’s terrific and even if it weren’t couched in a lovely, sweet and authentic story, it would be worth seeing for itself:

Review by CinemaDave © CinemaDave
“Produced on a low budget, ‘Islander’ contains breathtaking cinematography, the slow pace of a southern told tale and a narrative with a complete middle and end.

Despite the fictional elements, “Islander” has the feel of a personal documentary. Many shots are devoted to the detail of pulling lobster traps from the briny deep and bait being cut. While the film is low budget, it does contain some of the best outdoor photography filmed on the open sea. Director of photography Dan Coplan should receive an award by the Maine tourist council. “Islander” is definitely a vacation from the ordinary motion pictures.”

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If you’re into photography, pre-order the DVD, or if you are lucky this summer, get yourself to a cinema to see this film and appreciate what one expert cameraman can do with Maine scenery and its way of life. Here’s more on Dan Coplan:

Dan Coplan, Director of Photography
Dan Coplan is a Los Angeles based director of photography, Steadicam operator, and digital imaging technician. He started his career in entertainment with visual effects and editing, spending a brief period with George Lucas’s company Industrial Lights & Magic. However, the lack of sun and human interaction motivated him to seek a different creative field. On a whim, Dan bought a miniDV camera and started shooting projects for free to gain experience and material for his reel.

One small break led to another as Dan moved from volunteer work to earning a living. Seeking a wider variety of productions with larger budgets, Dan begrudgingly left his great friends and apartment (with parking!) in San Francisco, packed his bags, and moved to LA to make the most of his career. Since then, Dan has worked on numerous projects for a wide variety of clients and is a member of several associations including the International Cinematographers Guild, Society of Camera Operators, Steadicam Operators Association, and Digital Cinema Society.
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Okay, so here’s the bad news. Yesterday was the last day the film was playing in Maine. You’ll need to write to Thomas Hildreth (thomas@sternmanproductions.com) to find out where you can see the movie in the coming weeks here in Maine. Michael Hurley of Belfast’s Colonial Theatre writes that they showed it twice last year. Sign up on the website to be alerted to the availability of the DVD, buy one and schedule a movie party for everyone you know. You’ll be a hero.

But have lots of kleenex handy. I cried ten times during this film, and put off much-needed bladder relief (hey it was hot yesterday and I drank a lot of water!) because I couldn’t miss one second of this film.

• Los Angeles Film Festival official selection 2006
• Maine International Film Festival official selection 2006
• Williamstown Film Festival official selection 2006
• Hatch Film Festival official selection 2006
• Sedona Film Festival official selection 2007 (Director’s Choice Award for Best Feature Film)
• Martha’s Vineyard International Film Festival official selection 2007
• Environmental Film Festival official selection 2007

Thanks to a re-scheduled appt. last Saturday morning I scuttled over to the Portland Museum of Art just after opening time to get my first viewing of the just-opened Georgia O’Keeffe and the Camera - The Art of Identity exhibit curated by Susan Danly, Curator of Graphics, Photography, and Contemporary Art at the museum. The exhibit was already humming with people who were clearly really getting into what they were seeing, to the extent that over the next hour I got cornered by a couple of delighted strangers who just had to talk about what they were looking at. That’s a first.

I went to the far corner of the farthest room of the exhibit to try and get some space and soon totally forgot about the annoyance that there are other people in the world. I had found gold - and the fact that others were enjoying the same treasure no longer mattered.

I’d suggest you start at the beginning. If I had seen nothing but the first photograph Stieglitz took in 1917 of O’Keeffe when she was 30, standing in front of her first one woman show at his NYC gallery, that would have been enough. It is all about her, as opposed to many of his subsequent photographs of her which were much about him. Of course, I’ve seen this image in books, but studying this original platinum print left me practically levitating. Alfred Stieglitz took well over 300 photographs of O’Keeffe and they are truly icons in the history of photography. In 1918, in front of her work No.15, Stieglitz photographed O’Keeffe in her hat and coat, hands beautifully arranged around the top coat button. These two images are simply unforgettable.

After O’Keeffe moved to New Mexico, she was photographed throughout the rest of her life by the best of the best. Many of these images I had never seen. Regardless of the point of the exhibit - how O’Keeffe collaborated with and controlled many of the photographers who came to take her image to create a certain sort of public persona, the portraits collected here are quite frankly breathtaking and talk to me as much about the photographers as about the subject herself.

A huge silver gelatin portrait (1956) by Yousuf Karsh of O’Keeffe sitting in the shady alley of Abiquiu is beautiful beyond belief (and reproduced a little light in the catalog). The touch of light on O’Keeffe’s face and just beyond her in the corner of the alley is something only a master could achieve. Ditto for the catalog cover silver gelatin image portrait of O’Keeffe with a white headscarf on (above). Honestly…could it get better than this?

Well, I had never seen the Irving Penn full length studio shot of O’Keeffe kind of cowering in a corner - did the photographer really master her, I wonder? It is amazing. The iconic Arnold Newman image (1968 ) used for the promotional pieces for the exhibit will be no stranger to anyone and you can see why when you stand in front of the real thing.

John Loengard’s two pictures - The Rock from Eliot Porter, Abiquiu, 1966 and Evening Walk, Ghost Ranch, 1966 are images I will spend much time studying before the end of the exhibit on September 7. The latter says it all about O’Keeffe. An almost endless vista of desert engulfs the tiny figure of O’Keeffe from the back walking on a dry rocky path with her chow further on ahead. Engulfed she may be, but there is no doubt she is completely at home in that desert. It’s completely inspired and both portraits demonstrate Loengard to be a photograper with a powerful and unique vision.

I’m not a huge fan of Ansel Adams but I was blown away by two of his images in this exhibit: the simply gorgeous and perfect St. Francis Church, Ranchos de Taos, NM (circa 1937) and surprise: the wonderful 1937 shot Palomino, Ghost Ranch. I’m so glad it was included in the exhibit - it’s a stunner. Neither are reproduced in the catalog, so I’ll have to return to the exhibit itself to enjoy them further.

I will also return to see O’Keeffe’s simple and exquisite painting The House I Live In, 1937, the quote next to which provoked a seemingly endless monologue from another museum-goer who just had to speak about what he was feeling. I happened along and looked as good as any other witless audience, I guess!

Three years ago my friend Peg Golden and I spent a week in Santa Fe and reserved tickets in advance to tour Abiquiu. The two hours is imprinted forever on our memories. Standing in O’Keeffe’s studio (right next to her priceless journals and catalog raisonné) gazing out the picture windows over the miles of desert she loved, allowed into her spare, beautiful bedroom, her living room, her kitchen, her gardens. If you can, put it at the top of your life’s TO DO list. Of course the photos in this exhibit of O’Keeffe’s personal spaces at Abiquiu bring back that treasured afternoon and that’s a gift in itself.

Summer’s upon us. My favorite beach will be the Portland Museum of Art - cellphone turned to “silent”, a deep frown on my face to discourage comments from strangers, and seriously, my heart speeding up in anticipation as I enter these rooms again and again to lose myself in the presence of greatness.

Alternative processes and historic processes are getting a lot of attention these days. Ambrotypist David Puntel, based in Casco, Maine, who has been at this for about 10 years, is going to be featured in the next issue of Black & White magazine, and is represented by VoxPhotographs (www.voxphotographs.com) says many people love taking the workshops to learn more about these processes, but few pursue them afterwards. Too complicated, too slow and where do you get the stuff? You have to be really dedicated. You have to love process as much, if not more, than shooting. If you don’t like taking all day to make a photograph, you aren’t a good candidate for pursuing this. Instead, read about it and get educated.

Well, here are two people who are dedicated: Dick Arentz and Christopher James. Each is teaching a workshop this summer; James in Maine at Maine Media Workshops in Rockport. http://www.theworkshops.com/catalog/faculty/index.asp?SchoolID=20&FacultyID=505

Yesterday I got a blurb via e-mail about Christopher James’ new edition of his book - it looks like it came from the man himself. So let’s talk about that first. Titled “The Book of Alternative Photographic Processes, Second Edition” is just out and from the reviews of the first edition and this one, this looks like a book that will stand the test of time. I’ve looked through a friend’s copy of the first edition and found that I could actually read and understand much of it AND enjoy it, even with my technical shortcomings. Alot of the reviews mention how humorous and fun the book is, so we can assume Mr. James has a great sense of humor. He is currently Chair of Photography at the Art Institute of Boston as Lesley College AND he is working as well. You can see 2007 work at www.christopherjames-studio.com. Here’s one to whet your appetite. What do you think? I can’t get the full-size image to show up on the blog without being cropped because the file is too big, but go to James’ site and see it larger.

Pond Palm, 2007, copyright Christopher James

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I actually read through Dick Arentz’ Platinum and Palladium Printing, Second Edition, to get a decent grasp on things for my inaugural show in Oct/07 of David Wolfe’s palladium images of Portland. He is represented by VoxPhotographs as well. I retained a fair amount of info considering how tough it is for me to get the technical stuff, but didn’t smile much, contrary to the reviewers of James’ book! What I really enjoyed were the pics side by side of palladium and silver gelatin. That taught me a lot and helped me hone my skills at recognizing process when first seeing a photograph. Arentz’ work is something you could look at all day and never tire of it.

I couldn’t find any recent work by Dick Arentz online, so help me out if you do. It looks like he’s been occupied with writing the book and teaching. His own website album hasn’t been updated since 2005! However, here’s an image from 2000 and there are many more in his book. This is very typical of his gorgeous work, much of which is from using mammoth cameras up to 12×20 inches.

Levens, England, copyright 2000 Dick Arentz.

View more images at www.dickarentz.com/gallery/album.

Arentz is teaching this August in Condon, Montana - here is the blurb link www.dickarentz.com/workshops.html. David Puntel teaches there too and loves the whole experience.

So, your choice: Rockport, Maine or Condon, Montana if you want to be more than an armchair practitioner.

A month ago, I would have said the same thing, and maybe I did when I saw two large color prints of his at a NYC gallery in January.If you like street photography for a start, Fred Herzog is your man. He lives in Vancouver and has shot the streets of that great city since 1957, using Kodachrome slide film when it was only being used for advertising.Since the 50’s, Herzog mostly gave slide presentations to expose his work until he discovered very recently that “digital photography comes close to traditional methods, in others it exceeds them.” He now directs the digital printing of his work from his original slides and it will become much easier to find Herzogs in the coming years. The prints pop off the walls at you. Every page you turn in Fred Herzog -Vancouver Photographs has you on the edge of your easy chair.I had to go through a Canadian friend to get a copy of Fred Herzog - Vancouver Photographs, a sold out publication from February 2007. There were none available anywhere in the country last month, and only this one copy in all of Canada that was available to buy. Today I see Amazon has two used copies so get online and grab one.This will be one of my favorite books - just seeing the photograph on p.21 called “Buying a Hat, 1959″ is worth geting it. The man is brilliant. The photographs resulting from his long walks in Vancouver are truly some of the best street photography I have ever seen.The essay by Grant Arnold and the interview with Herzog are fascinating.This from a Canadian Review, Olga Stein/Books in Canada: “I have never encountered such a painterly command of street scenes.”Well, I’d like to continue this review, but now that I’ve turned to the image “Buying a Hat, 1959″, I’m outta here. The book calls.

William Eggleston in the Real World (via Netflix/2005/84 min.)

Certainly studying photo history has helped me appreciate Eggleston more than I did in my ignorance, but this film clinched it. I saw it at the Portland Museum of Art last year. If you don’t think Eggleston is a giant, see this documentary and it may change your mind.