sun’s out, temps up + the days are stretching into the good weather again. spot of fun of what’s to come. music by danish artist trentemoller.

racking up the travel miles lately and having a great time working with the likes of cosmo, barkley, 24 hour fitness and even ali vincent, the winner of nbc’s the biggest loser show. covering a few different states has left a slew thanks and i’d like to personally shout out to both portland and phoenix crews for all the help. couldn’t do what we do without a ton of help. anyone that ever thinks photography is a solo endeavor is sadly mistaken.

portland wise, always a fantastic time when you dodge the rain this time of year. colors were fabulous as was the talent. my favorite part, however, might be the meetings – can’t get much better than voodoo donuts and turntables. cheers robert.

beyond my own self indugence wanted to send up a little recognition to the clients i mentioned above as well as jdk and merrell as we’ve incorporated carbon credits into all this work. it’s far from perfect but props to these companies for taking the first of many steps towards making a difference.

i’m experimenting with additional ideas as we push into 2009. look for more background soon but in the meantime send in ideas that you’ve been playing with or using. we’ll start compiling everything for a universal release soon.

This idea is out there all the time and particularly been on my mind lately. Apparently I’m not the only one as these recent ruminations elaborate.

The first from Jim Casper on lenscultureweblog on the cover image of French mag Enjeux. The prejudice and political nuances of the image seem misleading at best.

The second is slightly older but has a far better title. At photodoto.com – photographers are visual liars delves into the concept of advertising, using an images to sell something, as an example as well.

And lastly, Hollywood Makeovers, Frame by Frame an NPR report covering the film industry is completely compatible with still photography today. This is a great synapsis of how an industry and the public in general have become used to this ‘evolution’ of truth. The idea that “some stars now have digital coloring written into their contracts” doesn’t surprise me at all. In fact, I’ve had a similar clause relating to ICC profiles of delivered files in our Delivery Memos for a years.

To quote photographer Kyle Cassidy,

“Photography is about lies just as much as it is about the truth. We use photography to tell partial truths and thereby to create an imaginary reality. Sure models look like that, but they look like that for 1/125th of a second, and sometimes after two hours of makeup. Sure the landscape looks like that, but only if you stand in a particular place. Sure she was floating three feet in the air, but not for a terribly long time.
In a world where truth can be so discouraging, we all like to be lied to a little about the way that things could be.”

In the end, this job/passion/art/drive to photograph is in it’s simplest form a means of translation. Just the way that high level political interpreters may slightly shift tenses & conjugations to better reflect the most minute inflections of a leaders intentions, it is our job to translate the world as it is, or as we see it, or as clients would like to portray it to an authentic two dimensional representation.

Perhaps my concept of translation is skewed due to a travel and language background but I’ve always felt this conviction. What’s the Czech proverb – learn a new language get a new soul. And it’s gaining prominence, even in the current Lowepro catalog as long time color man Eric Meola is quoted as,

“I found myself transfixed by those eyes. My own eyes became the translator, my way into other worlds; it was if I no longer held a camera in front of me. For the first time I couldn’t remember having made certain photographs, because I hadn’t made them. They had made themselves.”

As a location photographer, I think the best thing one can do is bring back 1/125th of the truth ….. and run with it.

Seems obvious that war photographers are by far those that sustain the most frequent and severe injuries among us. The work that they do is unparalleled in terms of risk and exposure. That is only confirmed with the frequency, particularly these conflicted days, that the media brings to light stories on wounded or missing journalists. I applaud everyone that makes that work happen day in and day out.

Though not in that realm myself, I’ve always considered myself lucky for the very few ‘penalties’ I’ve received from the work and lifestyle I pursue. And this despite the fact that I’ve never been good at believing without attempting. You look at mountain bikers, skiers, ultra runners, climbers and almost any athlete chasing a dream and see some of the worst things imaginable done to the human body (and I’m not talking steroids). It’s amazing that with all the shooters out there hanging off cliffs, standing near hurtling objects and general following Capa’s advice that there aren’t more incidents. Working in this arena has always left me cautious but yet rarely hesitant to dive into whatever’s at hand.

That was all questioned this week with the latest handy work on my knee. There’s not much I don’t consider when putting together an image but the examples below are perhaps evidence that we all need to take stock of risk sometimes. Get insurance, build your savings and eat your spinach.

Now.

On assignment for European magazines at Selkirk Mtn Lodge, BC, Canada (with four days left).

Leeches after multiple days in Taman Negra National Park, Malaysia.

It’s here. With a bit of back and forth winter’s arrived in the northern Rockies. The image here is from the latest storm system to rumble through the area. It features a huge swath of primarily public lands encompassing local, state and federal controls. Coincidently enough there is actually a hearing this week in the House of Representatives regarding photography & public lands. Here’s the word from ASMP:

“On Wednesday, Dec. 12, the House Committee on Natural Resources will hold a hearing on