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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

Features 33 Images of the Year For this year’s selection, the editors of American Photo asked some of the most inﬂuential minds in photography which images of 2012 stood out the most for them. then AP combined those nominations with their own picks to bring you the most powerful, most compelling and simply the best pictures of the year.

cover: © Jill greenberg/courtesy of clampart gallery, nyc and rizzoli new york. this page: © todd baxter.

BY Michael kaplan

On the Cover Jill greenberg’s photographs of stunning equine models (from Horses; rizzoli, 2012) easily made our images of the year.

33 January/February 2013 americanphotomag.com 5

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

Departments 12 EDITOR’S NOTE

After the Flood michael massaia’s elegy for the Jersey Shore. By MiriaM Leuchter

Focus 15 ONE TO WATCH

Devil for the Details randal Ford’s hyper-real portraits give americana a meticulous, hip upgrade. By frankLin MeLendez 20 WORk IN PROgRESS

Oil from the Air garth Lenz shoots the world’s largest intact forest— and the industry that threatens it. By Jack crager 24 bOOkS

Near Windows Voyeuristic cityscapes, arnold newman’s trade secrets, the end of analog and more. By Jack crager

28 ON THE WALL

Diary of an Uneasy Rider Danny Lyon’s american odyssey, plus Leibovitz’s icons and more. By Lindsay coMstock

Gear 69 EDITOR’S CHOICE

Fashion Forward Why hasselblad’s new iLc is out of this world. By stan horaczek

70 NEW STUFF

The goods

74 TRENDS

The Next big Thing? affordable, full-frame DSLrs offer new options. By steve Morgenstern

80 PARTINg SHOT

A Long Time Coming marc asnin’s biographical project spans decades. By Lori fredrickson

SubScriptionS: American Photo (ISSN 1046-8986) (USPS 526-930), January/February, Volume 24, No. 1. American Photo is published bimonthly (Jan/Feb, Mar/Apr, May/June, July/Aug, Sept/Oct, Nov/Dec) by Bonnier Corporation, 2 Park Ave., New York, NY 10016. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY 10016 and at additional mailing ofces. Authorized periodicals postage by the Post Ofce Department, Ottawa, Canada, and for payment in cash. poStMAStEr: Send address changes to American Photo, P.O. Box 420235, Palm Coast, FL 32142; 386-246-0408; www.americanphotomag.com/cs. If the postal services alert us that your magazine is undeliverable, we have no further obligation unless we receive a corrected address within one year. One-year subscription rate (six issues) for U.S. and possessions, $15; Canada, $25; and foreign, $35; cash orders only, payable in U.S. currency. Two years: U.S., $30; Canada, $50; and foreign, $70. Three years: U.S., $45; Canada, $75; and foreign, $105. CANADA POST: Publications Mail Agreement Number: 40612608. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Pitney Bowes, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2. For reprints email: reprints@bonniercorp.com.

6 americanphotomag.com January/ February 2013

From top: © randal Ford; © Danny Lyon/magnum photos

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF MIRIAM LEUCHTER FEATURES EDITOR Debbie Grossman TECHNICAL EDITOR Philip Ryan MANAGING EDITOR Jill C. Shomer PHOTO EDITOR Amy Berkley ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR Lindsay Lichtman DESIGNER Michael Moreno COPY EDITOR Meg Ryan Heery FACT CHECKER Rebecca Geiger ONLINE EDITORS Dan Bracaglia, Stan Horaczek CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Aimee Baldridge, Lindsay Comstock, Jack Crager, Michael Kaplan, Steve Morgenstern CREATIVE DIRECTOR SAM SYED

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editor’s note

After the Flood hen Superstorm Sandy hit the East Coast at the end of October, we had just finished selecting American Photo’s annual Images of the Year. Faced with an early production deadline in planning this issue, our editors and designers had already defined “the year” as the 12 months ending October 31, 2012. But we couldn’t have predicted that we would see so many amazing photographs, all produced just as our “year” ended. Our office, which had lost power along with much of lower Manhattan, reopened a week later; still a little shell-shocked, we decided then that only in time would the signal photographs from Sandy and its aftermath emerge— too late for our 2012 Images of the Year. Then I saw this one by Michael Massaia. For the past few years, this New Jersey native has been making ghostly nighttime photographs at amusement piers for his series Afterlife—New Jersey Shore. So after the storm surge tore through these beach towns, he went back to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights with his large-format field camera and permission from the property owners to capture the destruction. “I grew up down there—I knew it really well. I surfed off that pier for 15 years,” he says. “This photograph felt like a good ending” for Afterlife. This haunting image sums up for me not just the many tragedies Sandy wrought but also the way that the best photography can transform reality into art. American Photo’s mission is to bring you that art— to present contemporary photography at its highest level and to step behind the lens of those who create it. Photojournalists, artists, portraitists, commercial shooters, documentarians, fabulists: These are their images and their stories.

MiriaM Leuchter, editor-in-chief

12 aMErICaNPHOTOMag.COM JaNuarY/FEBruarY 2013

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Casino Pier & Star Jet Coaster Post Hurricane Sandy, November 12, 2012â&#x20AC;? by Michael Massaia. 30x40 split-toned silver gelatin print hand-printed by the artist.

january/February 2013 americanphotomag.com 13

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The people behind The picS Work in Progress 20 Books 24 on the Wall 28

one To WATch

Devil for the Details In the hyper-realistic portraiture of Randal Ford, Americana gets a hip upgrade exas native Randal Ford is no stranger to photographic challenges. Choreographing rattlesnakes, rounding up cowboys, wrangling a movie icon—it’s all in a day’s work for the 31-year-old commercial photographer. So in a recent shoot for the retailer L.L.Bean, he insisted on some particulars. Charged with re-creating the company’s hand-painted art commissions— idyllic scenes of Americana from the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s—for a series of catalog covers, Ford painstakingly restaged a 1933 ﬁshing scene in

By Franklin Melendez

Freeport, Maine, down to period-specific costumes (borrowed from New York City’s Metropolitan Opera) and the precise breed of fish (eastern brook trout). Ford even hired a biologist to keep the fish alive during the shoot. (Dead fish would have looked fake, Ford says.) Such exactitude, in addition to his painterly visual style evocative of apple-pie values, made Ford the man for the job. But to hear him tell it, the gig’s beginnings were rather humble. “I guess it started with the cows,” says Ford from his home

Above: Randal Ford’s painterly aesthetic and cheekymeets-cornpone sense of humor are captured in his portraits of a young man, shot for the design ﬁrm The Matchbox Studio for a back-to-school promotion (left); and an outtake of a toddler photographed for a cover of Texas Monthly.

JANuARY/FeBRuARY 2013 AMeRICANphOTOMAg.COM 15

For retailer l.l.bean’s 100th anniversary series, Ford re-created decades-old scenes with exacting detail, down to the ﬁsh in the lake.

16 AMeRICANphOTOMAg.COM JANuARY/FeBRuARY 2013

one to Watch

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CLOSE-UP

Randal Ford

Clockwise from top left: Students, for the cover of Texas Monthly’s college football issue; a bull, from Ford’s personal extension of his portraits for Dairy Today; a vizsla, for a veterinary-pharmaceuticals company.

18 americanphotomag.com January/February 2013

randalford.com Lives In Austin, Texas Studied At Texas A&M Awards Communication Arts 2012 Photography Annual; Lürzers Archive 200 Best Ad Photographers Worldwide 2010/2011; Graphis 100 Best in Photography 2013 Clients Include The Home Depot, Ace Hardware, AARP, Dell, AT&T, Pentagram, TBWA\Chiat\Day, Fast Company, Texas Monthly In the Bag “My equipment is a tool,” Ford says. “I used to use a medium-format digital-back Phase One system. When the Nikon D800 came out I switched. It’s a perfect size chip for what I do, and it’s more fun to shoot with a DSLR than a digital back.”

base in austin. “i shot a series of dairy-cow portraits for [the trade magazine] Dairy Today a few years back, and that got me on their radar.” the cows, like the catalogs, are signature Ford: slick, graphic and whimsical, their nod to the good old days leavened by high-tech savvy and wry humor. none of this was part of the official plan back in 2000, when Ford enrolled at texas a&m university to study business. but it wasn’t long before he deviated from his core courses to pursue a growing interest in photography. “i was part of the generation that grew up on digital,” he recalls, “and that made things really accessible. i went online and explored, taught myself some of the basics. [the Web] is a great asset, and the feedback is immediate.” after earning his business degree, Ford eschewed a traditional art education and instead jumped straight into the field. inspired by both the warts-and-all portraiture of richard avedon and the homespun realism of norman rockwell, he strove to establish his own look. “When i got into photography, i knew i wanted to do commercial work, collaborate with advertising agencies, be in magazines and have a very specific style,” he says. “i think knowing this made the path quicker.” it certainly made for a magnetic draw, as the young shooter lined up clients including Texas Monthly, Audubon and Fast Company magazines and such high-profile agencies as pentagram, tbWa\chiat\Day and the richards group. Ford photographed hollywood legend tommy Lee Jones for Dallas-based D Magazine at the ripe age of 25. “he really hazed me,” Ford recalls, chuckling. “he busted my chops.” Ford’s breakout project was The Amazing Faith of Texas, a 2006 coffee-table book by roy Spence that surveys the Lone Star State’s spiritual diversity. “it was an exciting opportunity, but daunting and downright scary at times,” Ford says. “the project gave me credibility.” as his practice grows, Ford continues to refine his signature blend of animals, humor and goodole-boy values. his dream assignment? “i want to shoot the chick-fil-a calendar.” AP

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Oil from the Air Garth Lenz keeps tabs on one of the world’s largest intact forests—and the industry that threatens it

s a former piano teacher, garth Lenz, a photographer who specializes in conserva tion issues, brings a great sense of counter point to his visual reportage. in surveys that pair pristine nature with human industry, Lenz has studied the forests and clearcut deforestation in chile, burgeoning tourism on mexico’s yucatan peninsula and coalmining sites in alberta, canada. “i love photographing wilderness areas and indus trialized environments,” he says from his home ofﬁce in Victoria, british columbia. “i’m fascinated by the contrast between the two.” Lenz found his most compelling location of all in the alberta tar Sands within canada’s surrounding boreal forest. “there’s an amazing contrast be tween one of the largest energy projects set amidst the largest, most intact forest ecosystem remain

Above: “Tar Pit #3, Alberta Tar Sands,” 2010, from The True Cost of Oil. Opposite, top: “Dry Tailings #2, Alberta Tar Sands,” 2010. Technologies are being developed for dry-stackable tailings—the materials left over after extracting an ore—that may help limit vast ponds of mining waste in the Tar Sands region. Bottom right: “Boreal Forest and Wetland, Athabasca-Peace Delta, Alberta,” 2010. This is one of the world’s largest freshwater deltas and a critical stopover for migrating waterfowl.

20 americanphotomag.com january/february 2013

By Jack crager

ing on earth,” he says of the area, also known as alberta’s oil Sands, which he began documenting in 2005. “meanwhile, you have this extraordinarily relevant issue of introducing a vast, previously not very accessible oil resource into a planet that is already in the throes of climate change and global warming—a lot of interesting aspects to explore.” explore he has. When he returned in 2010 to shoot the region extensively, he found an altered landscape. “it’s rapidly changing—the rate of oil extraction keeps increasing,” he says. “right now there are ﬁve large mines, and there are plans in the approval process to expand.” compelled by the sociopolitical issues surround ing this expansion, he created an ongoing series, The True Cost of Oil: Canada’s Tar Sands and the Last Great Forest, which has been exhibited in the

wOrk in PrOgress

g2 gallery in Venice, california, and brooklyn’s powerhouse arena. along with abstract paintings by rebecca allan and music by Laura Kaminsky, his images are part of the multimedia Crossroads Project. Debuted at utah State university in Logan, talks are under way for exhibitions in purchase, new york, and other cities this year. the largescale prints (up to 40 by 60 inches) in The True Cost of Oil blend art with admoni tion. “the industrialized images are beautiful and perhaps abstract, so people are drawn in, and then they look at what the subject matter actually is and do a double take,” Lenz says. “i don’t want to just take pretty pictures. i want to take pictures that mean something and can hopefully foster some kind of positive change for the world.” Still, in his photos and accompanying text, Lenz stresses facts over fanaticism. “energy and conservation have become polarizing issues, and i’d like to get back from that and have people just look at the images. hopefully this stimulates dis cussion and exploration of these subjects as people come to their own conclusions,” he says. “there’s no scapegoating. there’s no ‘us and them’ in this issue of global warming and climate change. the people who work in [the oil] industry are provid ing a resource that we all demand, and they’re trying to provide it the best way they can. the issue is more a societal one: our energy consump tion is, ultimately, not sustainable.” most of Lenz’s tar Sands photos are aerials, for a few reasons: “the landscape is huge and very flat,” he says, “and the industrialized scenes are all behind closed doors, with security guarded very aggressively. So there’s no place to get a full view of these mines unless you’re in some sort of air craft.” he shoots out of either helicopters or small, fixedwing planes with the doors off or windows open. “it’s usually just me and the pilot, sometimes someone else along for the ride,” he says. “Some of the images where there’s snow on the ground were taken when it was 30 below without wind chill,” he adds with a laugh. “you get about 30 seconds to shoot from the open window, and after that you start losing all feeling in your fingers. it doesn’t make you super popular with pilots.” Lenz started this series on a pentax 6x7 cam era with roll film, but in recent years he has gone digital. “i use a nikon D800e, and it makes life a lot more straightforward. and the technology is phenomenal in what it allows you to reproduce.” he finances his expeditions with magazine as signments, stock and print sales, donations from nonprofits and private fundraising. “it’s about

CLOSE-UP

Garth Lenz garthlenz.com Lives In Victoria, BC, Canada Awards Include 1st place, SocialDocumentary.net’s “Ten Years After 9/11,” 2011; 1st prize (nature/trees), International Photography Awards, 2008; 2nd and 3rd place (photo journalism/environment), Prix de la Photographie Paris, 2008 Publications The Christian Science Monitor, The New York Times, Time, BBC Wildlife, Canadian Geographic, National Wildlife, The Globe and Mail In the Bag Nikon D800E, D3 and D300; 14–24mm f/2.8G ED, 70–200mm f/2.8G IFED, 2470 f/2.8G ED, IFED, 300mm f/4D IFED, 85mm f/1.8G Nikkor lenses; Gitzo tripod; Really Right Stuff mounting plates and quickrelease clamps; B+W and Lee ﬁlters; MacBook Pro; SanDisk memory cards

finding different creative ways to be able to con tinue doing this work,” he says. Lately, he’s been photographing the site of the proposed enbridge northern gateway project in northern british columbia. “if built, one thing this pipeline would do is take unrefined crude from the tar Sands out to the west coast of bc and in so doing would cross many remote landscapes and rivers,” Lenz says. “there are two main concerns: one is a pipeline rupture, particularly over some of these very rich salmon rivers. and the other is [that] once the stuff gets to port, it would have to go through an extraordinarily difficulttonavigate series of fjords. the fear is that an oil tanker could create a huge spill in this pristine natural area.” Lenz’s work takes him away from his wife and two kids for weeks at a time. “that’s tough, but it’s the way of my life,” he says. “and my work on these issues is about trying to do something that will allow my kids and other people’s kids to have the same kind of environment and opportunities that we’ve had. if you’re going to bring children into this world, then you’ve got a job to do to ensure that they inherit a world in the same condition that we got it. that’s a tall order.” aP

january/february 2013 americanphotomag.com 21

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For more information about Lightroom 4, visit www.adobe.com/go/lrphoto. * Adobe online services and other third-party online services are available only to users 13 and older and require agreement to additional terms and/or Adobe’s online privacy policy (available at www.adobe.com/go/terms). Online services are not available in all countries or languages, may require user registration and may be subject to change or discontinuation without notice. Additional fees or subscription charges may apply. © 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved. Adobe, Photoshop, Lightroom and the Adobe logo are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other counties. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Camera. Lens. Lightroom. You’ve got the camera, you’ve got the lens. Now there’s one essential tool lef: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 sofware. It helps you take your photos to the next level, leting you do everything from correct the tiniest details to unleashing awe-inspiring possibilities and beyond. adobe.com/go/lrphoto © 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved. Adobe, Photoshop, Lightroom and the Adobe logo are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other counties. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

BOOKS

Near Windows Unfolding life’s small dramas in front of an indifferent city

By Jack crager

By Gail Albert Halaban powerHouse $50 Like a cross between Alfred Hitchcock and Edward Hopper, this work combines voyeurism with a storyteller’s sense of empathy. In various locations throughout New York City, Gail Albert Halaban directs her 4x5 and 6x9 cameras out one window to peer into others, capturing slice-of-life vignettes in seemingly private spaces. Because her subjects are also her collaborators, Halaban’s striking architectural studies are lent a bit of mystery and intrigue: a man alone in one room while people party in another; a nude woman looking out her kitchen window at a distant bridge. The effect is both melancholic and oddly reassuring. 24 AmErICANpHoTomAG.Com JANuArY/FEBruArY 2013

From top: Gail Albert Halaban’s “Chelsea, Manhattan Bumblebee and Bottle,” 2010; “Midtown East, Manhattan, 57 East 57th Street, Into the Four Seasons,” 2010.

Out My WindOW

ArnOld neWMAn At WOrk

By Roy Flukinger Harry Ransom Center and University of Texas, Austin Press $60 En route to his position as one of the 20th century’s great portraitists, the late Arnold Newman earned a reputation as a perfectionist, curmudgeon, charmer, taskmaster and teddy bear. pegged to an exhibition at the university of Texas–Austin’s Harry ransom Center this spring, the book peeks behind the scenes of his proliﬁc output at outtakes, letters and exhibition shots to reveal the method behind his mastery. Newman’s handwritten notes, contact sheets and test prints hint at the hallmarks of his ﬁnished work: carefully chosen locations, strong rapport with subjects, attention to visual detail, an obsession with tonal contrast and a willingness to create illusion. But his true gift was composition. “Arnold Newman is the best there is,” says Colin Ford, a colleague, “for formal portrait, prepared, composed and executed with all the thoroughness and depth of an oil painting.”

see the WOrld BeAutiful

by Anne Menke Glitterati Incorporated $85 menke is a fashion photographer who is drawn to farflung locales, seeking out stylistic innovation in rural settings around the globe—from iridescent costumes in Nairobi, Africa, to Native American style in the Badlands of South Dakota. This collection focuses on the blend of culture and fashion that menke has encountered on and between shoots for Vogue, Elle, Condé Nast Traveler and other publications. Her curiosity about indigenous lifestyles and her eye for graphic patterns and flashes of color energize her street photography while humanizing her fashion work. “Beauty is happiness,” she writes. “You can find it anywhere, but it helps to have a good pair of walking shoes and a 35mm lens.”

the disAppeArAnce Of dArkness: phOtOgrAphy At the end Of the AnAlOg erA

By Robert Burley Princeton Architectural Press $50 using a 4x5 field camera, Burley documents the demise of the analog photography infrastructure in this report on film-processing centers that are dying in the wake of the digital revolution. Captured here are the remnants of film-era outposts: a neighborhood photo studio, imploded Kodak buildings, polaroid’s abandoned offices, dormant equipment. It’s a desolate landscape. Not all these shots are grabbers, but they tell poignant stories and serve as a requiem for a disappearing industry and subculture.

Clockwise from top left: Newman’s “Ernest Trova at Pace Gallery,” 1971; Menke’s “Barrow, Alaska, United States,” 1999; Burley’s “Dwayne’s Photo Lab, Parsons, Kansas,” December 30, 2010.

26 AmErICANpHoTomAG.Com JANuArY/FEBruArY 2013

Clockwise from top left: Courtesy of Harry ransom Center; © Anne menke; © The Disappearance of Darkness by robert Burley (princeton Architectural)

BOOKS

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FINDING THE SHOT AND THE SHOT FINDING YOU.

EXPEDITION ALASKA

Embark on a Lindblad-National Geographic expedition and you’ll venture deep into the heart of Alaska, where others simply can’t reach. Our Lindblad-National Geographic certiﬁed photo instructor will help you to capture each incredible moment, so you’ll return home with the story of a lifetime, and the photos to back it up. See the difference at EXPEDITIONS.COM 1.800.EXPEDITION or call your travel agent.

Diary of an Uneasy Rider Danny Lyon’s unforgettable journey on the B-side of society This World is NoT My hoMe: PhoTograPhs by daNNy lyoN de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA, through Jan. 27 deyoung.famsf.org

Danny Lyon epitomizes the generation of photographers who absorbed the 1960s zeitgeist by taking to the streets and following the action. in both images and writings, he embraced the new Journalism by immersing himself in the lifestyles of his subjects, many of whom lived on the fringes of american society—motorcycle gangs in the midwest, Death row inmates in texas prisons— and he became the ﬁrst ofﬁcial photographer for the civil rights movement, shooting many a march against segregation. So-called objectivity was far beside the point. recalling the ’60s, Lyon says: “i was a bike rider, a photographer and a history student, probably in that order.” but Lyon’s idealism didn’t go the way of bell bottoms and lava lamps. in recent decades, he’s covered such varied subjects as native american

by liNdsay CoMsToCk

communities in new mexico, abandoned street children in colombia, political turmoil in haiti, cultural change in china and the occupy movements in new york city and Los angeles. inspired by the “absolute realism” of Walker evans and, to some degree, by maverick photographer robert Frank, Lyon’s style of photography has emerged as a ﬂashpoint for activism—a catalyst for the advancement of social causes and human rights in the united States and beyond. in more than 60 images, This World Is Not My Home traces Lyon’s long and winding voyage. Drawn from the artist’s studio as well as several private collections, the show spans work from throughout his career, including rarely seen montages in which Lyon arranged old and new photographs to create reﬂections on memory, family and friendship. the collection reveals constant forces driving Lyon: restlessness, inquisitiveness and compassion for the underdog. the resulting work is as psychologically charged as it is aesthetically bold.

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Above: “Crossing the Ohio, Louisville 1966.” While making photographs for his 1968 book The Bike riders, Lyon himself rode with the Chicago Outlaws Motorcycle Club.

on the wall

E aNNie leiboviTz Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, FL, Jan. 17–June 9 norton.org

the refrain about Leibovitz is that many of her celebrity portraits are as renowned as their subjects. this 39-shot slice includes a mix of well-known and lesser-known work, showing the progression of her classic portraiture from the 1970s (when she worked on staff at Rolling Stone) through now. inevitably, iconic faces emerge— brad pitt, al Sharpton (shown here), cindy Sherman—but this collection emphasizes soul over sizzle. “the photographs we’ve chosen demonstrate the quiet power of the photograph,” says charles Stainback, exhibition curator and assistant director of the norton museum of art, “and the vital connection between the artist and the subject—the essential element of all great portraits.”

Also... Sound and Vision: Monumental Rock & Roll Photography

G WAR/PHOTOGRAPHY: Images of Armed Conflict and Its Aftermath The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, through Feb. 3 mfah.org From the work of photographers on the battlefield to visual journals from the streets of war-torn nations, this 165-year survey probes the impact of armed conflict on our world.

G ruud vaN eMPel: sTraNge beauTy Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego, CA, through Feb. 3 mopa.org

if the images by Dutch artist ruud van empel appear too polished or fanciful to be true, it’s because they are. many of the hyper-realistic and color-saturated planes are almost entirely constructed in adobe photoshop. Sometimes van empel pieces together features of multiple individuals to create entirely new children and impossible beauty; other times he explores how a subject ﬁts into a fantasy landscape. this collection, the artist’s ﬁrst solo museum exhibition in the united States, reveals a process that blurs reality and subjugates ideals of beauty. 30 americanphotomag.com January/February 2013

South Africa in Apartheid and After: David Goldblatt, Ernest Cole, Billy Monk San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA, through Mar. 5 sfmoma.org South African photographer David Goldblatt is joined by his colleagues Ernest Cole and Billy Monk in a multifaceted view of South African culture during the years of Apartheid and beyond. Clockwise from top: “The Reverend Al Sharpton, PrimaDonna Beauty Care Center, Brooklyn, New York, 1988,” by Annie Leibovitz, at the Norton Museum of Art; “Muchachos Await Counter Attack by the National Guard, Matagalpa, Nicaragua, 1978,” by Susan Meiselas, at MFAH; “World #29, 2008,” by Ruud van Empel, at MOPA.

Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, AL, through May 5 hsvmuseum.org A show-stopping exploration of the dance between imagery and rock and roll, featuring the usual suspects—Harry Benson, Jim Marshall and Mark Seliger—and a bunch of other brash punks with cameras.

ROBERT K. JACOBS

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Left to right: © pari Dukovic/trunk archive, © phillip toledano, © christopher anderson/magnum photos, © Lauren marsolier/courtesy of the robert berman gallery, © Dan Winters

Images Year of the

We asked some of the keenest observers of photography to share the most important images they’d seen in the past year. Then we combined their nominations with our picks and made the final call. What follows is our noncomprehensive, totally biased selection of the most powerful, most influential, simply the best pictures of 2012. Some names appear multiple times: New York and Time magazines continue to commission groundbreaking work, and photographers such as Martin Schoeller and Peter Yang had such a great year that we couldn’t pick just one shot for each of them. Surely you’ll find lamentable absences. Nonetheless, we proudly present 2012’s Images of the Year. By Michael Kaplan

January/February 2013 americanphotomag.com 33

Images of the Year

ESPN ThE MagaziNE; July 23, 2012 ESPN The Magazine’s annual body issue, which features nude photographs of athletes in their prime, can cross the line into kitsch. but we fell for Lippman’s portrait of anna tunnicliffe, winner of an olympic gold medal in the women’s one-person dinghy event. tunnicliffe had no problem dealing with the rough seas during the shoot, but Lippman says his crew “could take only so much.” he adds that this particular shot was snagged from the side of a ﬁshing boat. “anna came at me at about 20 miles per hour and missed the boat by a foot, but she was in complete control.” For his part, Lippman had to angle his shots so as to strategically conceal tunnicliffe’s nude form while he capitalized on a stormy backdrop and contended with a small-craft advisory. “i wanted a great picture, but i also wanted anna to be safe and not demolish either of the boats.”

STEVEN LIPPMAN

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January/February 2013 americanphotomag.com 35

this series went viral this year, and with good reason: the repetition of a simple visual device communicates volumes about the daily lives of cartagenaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s subjects. 36 americanphotomag.com January/February 2013

Images of the Year

ALEJANDRO CARTAGENA The cAr PoolerS; PerSonAl ProJecT While shooting an assignment on the ways mexicans use their streets, alejandro cartagena noticed construction workers stowing away in the beds of pickup trucks from the suburbs of monterrey to the city of San pedro. “i wanted to photograph the unintended consequences of suburbia in mexico,” says cartagena, who made these images while perched on highway overpasses. “if they didn’t travel like this, they’d be taking many buses and arriving late for work.” cartagena enjoyed the voyeuristic aspect of this project: “they’re doing intimate things right in public; more than half of the guys are sleeping. but if you’re at street level, you would never know. i’m exposing the invisible.” cartagena is not the only one who found these perspectives fascinating. “the photo series went viral on the internet,” he says. “the work has been shown in galleries. car bloggers have picked up on it. people embrace these images and relate to them.”

January/February 2013 americanphotomag.com 37

38 americanphotomag.com January/February 2013

Images of the Year

PETER READ MILLER SPorTS illuSTraTEd; July 23, 2012 intense as this year’s olympic games may have been, the olympic trials came with tensions of their own. as miller explains, “it’s win or go home and wait four more years.” there can be heartbreak for the shooter, too: a photographer’s best shot of the trials might be of a losing athlete, rendering the image basically worthless. miller avoided that fate when he captured soon-to-be gold medalist gabrielle Douglas in mid-air via an overhead camera mounted on a catwalk. “you need to know how high she will be off the beam when you make the exposure with your pocketWizard,” says miller, who watched Douglas’s warmup, gauged the height and pre-focused his camera onto a Fedex box held up by his assistant. “i knew the point when she would make this move, timed it well and got as close to perfect with it as you can get.”

January/February 2013 americanphotomag.com 39

ÂŠ Dan Winters

Images of the Year

DAN WINTERS TiMe; July 23, 2012 up against a four-day deadline, Winters staged a shot for a Time magazine cover story about suicide and the military. a notorious perfectionist, he wanted to get everything right. “i told a military dealer/collector friend that i needed a class a uniform, fully decked out,” says Winters, whose 2012 included two published books and a career-spanning retrospective at the telfair museums’ Jepson center in Savannah, georgia. “then i recruited a muscular guy who had gone to military school. he’s even using the military bugle. not one person in the military would see this picture and ﬁnd a ﬂaw in it.” the image was so strong that iowa congressman Leonard boswell displayed the cover when he rallied for $10 million in funding to help prevent active-duty suicides. the amendment passed in the house last summer.

these stark and beautiful pictures sprang straight from the imaginations of their creators. LAUREN MARSOLIER © Lauren marsolier/courtesy of the robert berman gallery

lAndScAPe WiTh covered cAr 0, 1, 2; PerSonAl ProJecT

Some of our favorite images this year were not made in the camera alone. always taking pictures, marsolier makes libraries of shots that form the building blocks of her ﬁnal images. “i start each piece with a striking image that speaks strongly to me,” she says. “and then i build an image around it, adding pieces as if i am doing a puzzle.” For the trio at right, she says, “i started with the picture at the center, worked on the landscape and imagined what would be on the left and right. i wanted it to feel both realistic and fabricated. you become unsure of what is true and what is not.” using adobe photoshop, marsolier creates her own world. eight years into this method, she says, “i am getting more conﬁdent, experimenting with the technique and becoming better at putting together the puzzle pieces.” JuLy/auguSt 2012 January/February 2013 americanphotomag.com 41

Images of the Year

TODD BAXTER

oWl ScouTS: loST in The WoodS; PerSonAl ProJecT the idea for this project was sparked by a pair of vintage boy and girl Scout uniforms baxter spotted while antiques shopping. “they made me think about kids in dire situations, lost in the woods, with their uniforms scuffed up,” he says. he soon imagined a photo series about kids in a co-ed scouting organization attempting to surmount various challenges—and failing every time. “branding is exciting to me, and i like the idea of creating new organizations. So i called it the owl Scouts. a friend designed the logos. Fashion students sewed the uniforms.” baxter meticulously storyboarded each image and shot professional models on sets inside his studio. he photographed the locations separately and stitched everything together in post-production. as for the conceptual inspiration, he says, “i had just gotten divorced; maybe there was something about a boy and girl failing in the world.”

MICHAEL THOMPSON W; ocTober 2012 inspired by the dark colors of last fall’s fashions, thompson and W magazine fashion director edward enninful dreamed up a story depicting a small-town family in their Sunday best. the location is rural oregon, about ﬁve hours from where thompson is based. using the work of the german portrait and documentary photographer august Sander as a touchstone, thompson combined cutting-edge fashion and vintage detailing and put it in the time machine. “What’s interesting is that Sander was a portrait photographer—we usually reference other fashion photos [for fashion shoots],” says Jacqueline bates, senior photo editor at W. “putting the style of portraiture into fashion is unique. We knew that only some people would get the references, so the photos had to stand on their own.” January/February 2013 americanphotomag.com 43

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Images of the Year

CHRISTOPHER ANDERSON New York magaziNe; September 10, 2012 on the road with Joe biden during the recent presidential campaign, christopher anderson had nearly unfettered access to the Vp. but in the political arena, he says, “it’s tough to shoot the picture that has not been designed for you,” and he wanted to go beyond the typical politician-deplaning shot. “i wanted to show what you don’t see. there is a Dr. Strangelove feel to [this image], with those uniforms, plus the biden swagger and all those colors working together. Knowing that i’d have those elements to work with, i positioned myself to get this shot. because of my access, there weren’t a lot of questions as to what i was doing.” a veteran of road stints with such celebrities as Lance armstrong and alicia Keys, anderson recognizes at least two important distinctions of covering a vice president: “the seriousness and the security are both higher. you have guys with guns!”

Images of the Year

MARTIN SCHOELLER

PHILLIP TOLEDANO the atlaNtic; JulY/auguSt 2012 Time magazine wasn’t alone in stirring up controversy about contemporary motherhood, though in this case the cover image for The Atlantic’s story on working women wasn’t nearly as divisive as the article itself. the assignment called for toledano to photograph a crying baby in a briefcase, but he “proposed that a woman holding the bag creates more context.” Following his instincts, toledano shot it both ways, and his concept ended up gracing the cover. our favorite image was a bit different from the one that ran. the magazine went with a child wearing a more neutral expression, which likely suited the story better, but we prefer the drama of the meltdown on the right. 46 americanphotomag.com January/February 2013

time; maY 21, 2012 this photo of a mother (Jamie Lynne grumet) and her son was one of this year’s most controversial, but the shoot itself was drama-free. Schoeller describes the atmosphere as completely relaxed (the photographer even brought his own 3-year-old son, who happened to be the same age as the boy in the photograph). “i was asked if i wanted [him] to wear something other than combat pants, but i thought they were great because they underscored his age,” says Schoeller. “the mom was great, too, because she was pretty and petite and her breasts weren’t so large that the picture would be about her breast. it was my idea to have the kid stand”—to show his height—“and he breastfed for 45 minutes.” Schoeller considers the controversy “silly,” adding, “everyone [on the shoot] thought of it as being completely normal—except my son. he thought the boy was eating his mommy.”

Images of the Year

aFP/gETTy iMagES; SEPTEMbEr 2012 countless images this year depicted events in Syria, but this photograph by Joseph eid struck us as singular. perhaps that’s thanks in part to eid’s perspective. born and raised in Lebanon and now shooting for aFp, eid has dedicated himself to communicating the suffering, heroism, and violence in his home region. he captured this one in the company of the Syrian army as soldiers escorted him in aleppo after a battle. “buildings had been destroyed, and people were hoping to ﬁnd what was left of their belongings,” eid says. “i saw this old man walking along, like he didn’t know where to go. he looked like one survivor in the aftermath of destruction. he said that everything had been stolen by the rebels and that nothing was left for him in this neighborhood, where he lived for his entire life.”

JOSEPH EID

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January/February 2013 americanphotomag.com 49

JILL GREENbERG horSES;

PErSoNal ProJEcT

We’ve long been fans of greenberg’s stunning portraits of animals, whether wild or domestic, and we love her latest exhibition and book, Horses (rizzoli, 2012), just as much. one of her big challenges was ﬁnding cooperative owners: “i wanted to shoot these expensive animals, off their bridles, with strobes. Lights can startle horses, and if they hurt themselves, they’re done.” but greenberg charmed her way into elite stables and emerged with stunning pictures of the “supermodel horses” (such as “casey-4-50,” shown here) she desired. 50 americanphotomag.com January/February 2013

Images of the Year

PARI DukOvIC New York magaziNe; auguSt 20, 2012 Kim Kardashian has been photographed countless times, so when Dukovic was assigned to shoot her for the cover of New York’s Fall Fashion issue, he hoped to portray her in a unique but iconic way. turning to his background in art history, he found inspiration in Julia margaret cameron’s portraits. he planned to present Kardashian in a natural state, stripped of the glamorous trappings that typically surround her. “as the shoot went on, i wanted to bring out something more spiritual in her,” says Dukovic. “toward the end, she began connecting with what i wanted to capture. i told her, ‘i want just you. nothing else.’ Suddenly the muscles in her face relaxed. there was a glow and i saw a golden moment.” January/February 2013 americanphotomag.com 51

Images of the Year

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In a world where retouchIng Is ubIquItous, we can’t help but admIre abstract Images that are accomplIshed In the camera.

©giles revell/Vaughan hannigan

GILES REVELL ThE TiMES EurEka MagaziNE; SEPTEMbEr 2012 revell’s otherworldly abstracts illustrate something concrete: the ways pressure can affect the body when freediving to extreme depths. he made this image, depicting the heart under aquatic pressure, using nothing but water and pigments. “i drop them into the tank, knowing that some will mix and others will dissolve to make clouds. i create volume by working with different colors and densities. i tried to suggest the marine world and the human world [merging].” and revell says a lot of digital post-production was not part of nailing the look. “i’m bored with looking at pictures that are retouched beyond photography,” he says, demurring when pressed for details on exactly how the effects were achieved: “these things take a long time to discover, and i think [the process] should remain ambiguous.”

January/February 2013 americanphotomag.com 53 JuLy/auguSt 2012

Images of the Year

PETER YANG

The New York Times magaziNe; april 29, 2012 esquire; FebruarY 2012 Peter Yang had such a big year that we couldn’t settle on just one image. When he looks back on 2012, he sees lots of celebrities and politicians. One big difference between the two, he says, is that politicians give him 10 minutes, while celebs settle in for the afternoon. His sessions with Samuel L. Jackson for The New York Times Magazine and Bill Clinton for Esquire played to type. “Because I had just 10 minutes to get an iconic shot of Clinton, I did a ton of research on how to make him look the most interesting,” Yang says. “And he knew how he wanted to look. He had his eyes on the lens the whole time.” Jackson, on the other hand, gave Yang three hours and a movie’s worth of facial expressions. Both guys, says Yang, exude attitude: “They are not inward as photo subjects. They move outward. You keep encouraging them and go along for the ride.”

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Images of the Year

Despite the controversy surrounDing this shoot, Mert & Marcus’s portraits of aDele are unDeniably stunning.

Vogue; March 2012 When Vogue required luscious and seductive photographs of Adele, the magazine turned to the reigning superstars of fashion photography, the duo Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, who are often known simply as Mert & Marcus. Working in a style that calls to mind both Guy Bourdin and Helmut Newton—when Newton died in 2004 the duo reportedly created a memorial shrine to him behind their house in Ibiza—they captured Adele in a manner that augments her natural glamour. Nonetheless, the photograph has a classic beauty that would likely have been impossible without some serious post-production. (Grace Coddington, the magazine’s creative director, has complimentarily described their signature style as “fakey, fakey, fakey.”) While many outspoken fans felt the pair’s edits went too far, Alas once told The New Yorker that digital enhancements are an important part of his work: “You can achieve what you want eventually, even if you didn’t do it that way. You seem freer than when ‘what you shot is what you got.’”

Mert AlAs And MArcus Piggott

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MARTiN scHoEllER NaTioNal geographic; JaNuarY 2012 When martin Schoeller went to Twinsburg, Ohio, to photograph the annual festival of twins on assignment for National Geographic, he initially viewed it as too obvious to be interesting. In short order, Schoeller found himself so fascinated that he turned the one-off gig into a book (Identical: Portraits of Twins, teneues, 2012). Schoeller became interested in the differences that years of smoking or a few pounds of weight can have on people who started out looking exactly alike. “There is something eerie about twins,” he says. “everybody thinks of themselves as being unique. Twins call that into question. It’s a little spooky and philosophical.” 58 AmerICAnPHOTOmAg.COm JAnuArY/FeBruArY 2013

Images of the Year

ÂŠ martin Schoeller/August Image, LLC (8)

schoellerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s technical skill turneD twins into coMpelling, becher-esque typologies.

Images of the Year

haNdguN;

persoNal proJecT

An editorial commission to shoot a question mark made of pills inspired the image above; when the work was done, eschliman wanted to take the idea further. That led to a series that also includes a syringe, a dollar sign and a smiley face—all made of pills. “For the gun we created a ‘cookie cutter’ out of aluminum and ﬁlled it in with pills,” says eschliman. “We surrounded it with white pills, removed the cookie cutter and did very little post-production.” Fascinated by the transformative power of objects, eschliman wanted to make a point about drug use. “It’s a quick read in terms of concept, and people who see it tell us it’s really cool or they want to know how we did it.” 60 AmerICAnPHOTOmAg.COm JAnuArY/FeBruArY 2013

dWiGHT EscHliMAN

FREdRiK BRodÉN

ThiNkmoNeY; spriNg 2012 Some photographers like to add humor to their pictures in post-production, but Fredrik Brodén does it at the shoot itself. Hence, when models come to his studio, they don’t always know what to expect. “We once had a guy up to his nose in water,” says Brodén. “We’ve had people hanging from ropes and standing on ladders in precarious positions.” For this job, to illustrate a trade that investors can’t bail out of early, Brodén bound a model from shoulder to waist. Beyond the simple but effective propping, Brodén knew that the model’s ability to convey discomfort and distress were crucial to a successful image. “I’ve booked this guy several times before because he is good with his body language. Sometimes it’s good to book a model because he’s slightly awkward, and that is what’s working here.”

these photos bear the hallMarks of a successful creative concept: strong visuals anD clever set-ups.

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Images of the Year

New York magaziNe; ocTober 1, 2012 We kind of couldn’t get over this picture of a monkey in a bathing suit. (A monkey in a bathing suit!) To illustrate a story on the erstwhile sitcom Animal Practice, New York hatched a plan to shoot a thespian primate named Crystal in her native environment: Hollywood. minton says that this model was a cinch to work with. “She gave a perfect smile and was better behaved than a lot of my subjects. I shot her exactly as I would any Hollywood celebrity.” The swimsuit was custom-made, and concerns were expressed about the cocktail—though, minton notes, Crystal played a drug mule in The Hangover Part II. The biggest hurdle was location. “eight hotels turned us down, but the Chateau marmont was cool. They acted as if this was completely normal.”

JEFF MiNToN

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Images of the Year MicHAEl cHRisToPHER BRoWN Time; augusT 16, 2012 We had a feeling that this year’s Images of the Year would include at least one shot with a phone. For Time’s ﬁrst issue devoted to wireless technology, Brown captured these images using an iPhone and the Hipstamatic app. “The iPhone’s advantage was its perception,” says Brown. “members of the public do not perceive a phone in the same way they perceive a camera. I think the images”—about the impact of the Democratic republic of Congo’s mines, which provide minerals used in the electronics industry —“became more intimate. I do not feel as intrusive with a phone. I was less of a photographer and more of a human.” Though he gave up some resolution, Brown doesn’t mind the trade-off. “Part of the phone’s greatness is that control goes out the window. The focus becomes about the situation and one’s position inside that situation.”

iMAGEs oF THE YEAR’s PANEl oF iNFluENcERs

We are indebted to the following editors, curators, photographers and allaround picture geniuses who contributed their suggestions to this story: Alan Taylor - Senior Editor, The Atlantic Brenna Britton - Deputy Photo Editor (Entertainment), People Clare O’Dea - owner, Clare Agency Jacqueline Bates Senior Photo Editor, W Jim Colton - Photo Editor John Toolan - Photography Director Field & Stream and Outdoor Life Erica McDonald - photographer educator, curator and founder of DEVELOP Photo Karen Frank - Senior Director of Photography, ESPN The Magazine Kira Pollack - Director of Photography, Time Lisa Sutcliffe -Assistant Curator of Photography, SFMOMA Michael Itkoff - cofounder, Daylight Paul Kopeikin - owner, Kopeikin Gallery Patrick James Miller - photographer Steve Fine - Director of Photography, Sports Illustrated Jennifer R. Grad - Associate Editor of Photography, Sports Illustrated Simon Barnett - Director of Photography, CNN Digital W.M. Hunt curator, collector, consultant, teacher, fundraiser and author of The Unseen Eye: Photographs from the Unconscious Amy Berkley, Photography Editor

64 AmerICAnPHOTOmAg.COm JAnuArY/FeBruArY 2013

using phones that take great pictures anD apps that Make theM better, pros have officially MaDe Mobile caMeras an inDispensable tool.

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Pack up your camera gear and sense of adventure and join the Mentor Series as we journey to breathtaking New Zealand! From the patchwork green quilt of the Canterbury Plains to the icy blue peaks of Fox Glacier, witness the unique dichotomy of this country’s postcard-perfect landscape. With Nikon professional photographers Reed Hoffmann and Layne Kennedy at your side, you will be able to sense your photo skills sharpening with each press of the shutter and each new sight encountered! Starting out from Christchurch, we will soon reach glorious Mount Cook. Capture the stunning scenery on the Glacier Explorer Tour, which includes a walk and cruise granting up-close access to the Tasman Glacier icebergs. Prepare for another day chock-full of photo ops when we head to Fox Glacier and nearby Lake Matheson. A walk through lush rainforest with a pause at viewing platforms along the way will offer memorable panoramic views of the highest peaks with native trees, birds, and flora. Fill your frame with the alpine delight of the snow-topped Southern Alps, as well as the sparkling lakes, meandering meadows, and idyllic farmland surrounding the range. Don’t miss out on this incredible expedition to New Zealand, where nature’s magnificent tableau truly makes it a photographer’s paradise.

SAN ANTONIO SPEEDLIGHT FLASH CLASS February 21–24, 2013

NEW ZEALAND

Pack your camera gear and NIkon Speedlights and join the Mentor Series as we trek south to light up San Antonio, Texas. This historic locale will provide the perfect backdrop in which to learn the rewards of using light to create an intentional effect in your photos, as well as capture the spirit of this Lone Star destination. Allow Nikon professional photographers and illumination gurus David Tejada, Michael Clark and Dave Black to simplify techniques and help you address lighting scenarios that will convey a desired atmosphere, while capturing unique images in both controlled and spontaneous shooting situations. Light is the essence of any photograph, and it is important to understand how to control your light and to explore which lighting is best suited to subject and scene. Take your passion for photography to the next level on this trek by practicing the Mentor Series hands-on approach and walking away with in-depth knowledge of your Nikon Speedlights and how they can work for you. You can’t miss with mentors Dave Black, Michael Clark and David Tejada, industry leaders when it comes to using Speedlights in their stylized images.

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GALAPAGOS June 7–16, 2013

There is no place on earth quite like White Sands National Monument. Join the Mentor Series where the dune fields appear otherworldly before your lens. Allow Nikon professional photographers Mark Alberhasky and Wolfgang Kaehler to guide you in creating compelling images, as this tranquil landscape begs to be framed and captured from different perspectives and in changing light. We will head out in the dark and be set up and ready to press the shutter when first light appears on the crystalline dynamic spectacle before us. The mentors will remind you to meter the scene, and compensate your exposure for the endless white pearlescent particles that make up the fascinating gypsum floor. Consider leading lines in your composition as the sand crystals mirror the sun’s early morning glows when catching them at the right angle. Spend some time at Missile Range Park. Zoom in on the sharp aerodynamic angles that can create unusual abstract shapes, or step back with your wide angle and take in the entire field for effect. The mountains stand proudly in the background and contrast the human element represented here. We will head out into the dunes again at sunset and be prepared to create more images of the fascinating terrain in the warm golden soft light. You won’t be at a loss for opportunity to learn the best ways to represent this particularly astonishing topography.

Embark on a journey to the magnificent Galapagos Islands located nearly 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador. Aboard our private chartered luxury yacht, venture to several of these wondrous islands to photograph the varied terrain and get up close to the unique wildlife that gives this stunning locale its magical character. Nikon professional photographer Layne Kennedy will be on hand to assist you in capturing the wonder and awe this destination offers. Each island here gives us a new opportunity for discovery, each day a chance to tell its story. Walk amongst the unique species and stop to consider various angles to frame a giant tortoise lumbering by, or step back to take in the entire scene of sea lions peppering the shores. Encounter nesting colonies of Albatross, or witness the famous blue-footed boobies’ beautiful mating ritual. Focus your lens up to the steep dramatic cliffs that have been formed by rising lava. Our small group size will allow for impromptu photo discussions and plenty of opportunity to review your images one-on-one with your mentor, receiving invaluable feedback. Each cabin has a private balcony to capture sunsets, and a great chance to see dolphins and whales right from your room! No doubt a photo adventure with the Mentor Series to these enchanted islands will leave a lasting impression for years to come.

Come on a Mentor Series trek and try out offers some of the latest equipment that including their high-performance HD-SLRs, NIKKOR lenses, the Nikon 1 System and a variety of COOLPIX compact digital cameras.

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FOR THE PAST 15 YEARS, the Mentor Series has taken photo enthusiasts to destinations across the country and around the world. With top Nikon professional photographers accompanying participants every day and teaching them how and what to shoot, there’s nothing like a Mentor Series trek. You and your photography will never be the same!

D800

WHAT PHOTOGRAPHERS NEED THE GOODS 70 TRENDS 74

EDITOR’S CHOICE

FASHION FORWARD

Hasselblad’s first ILC puts a designer flourish on a familiar camera lenty of cameras made their debut at the 2012 Photokina trade show last fall, most of which shouted their spec sheets. But while they were touting things like megapixels and sensor sizes, Hasselblad took a different approach, positioning its interchangeablelens compact, the Lunar, as more of a high-end fashion accessory. The Lunar gets its name from the company’s long history with the NASA space program. A number of Hasselblads were left on the moon by Neil Armstrong and his crew in 1969. But the Italian-designed Lunar is a far cry from the purpose-built, flat gray Electronic Data Camera. In fact, it’s mostly a Sony Alpha NEX-7 dressed up in some very fancy duds. When you pick up the camera, the Sony connection is immediately obvious. The OLED electronic viewfinder, the TriNavi control scheme, even the 24.3-megapixel APS-C-size sensor are all familiar. But the shell has gotten considerable attention. The grip is formidable and can be wrapped in materials you’d expect to find in luxury cars: carbon fiber, wood and leather. Even the dials on the top have been given dapper little titanium hats. While those fine materials make it a pleasure

BY STAN HORACZEK

to hold and to behold, they don’t add much in the way of performance. And they certainly wouldn’t endure a trip to the moon. While Hasselblad made a big deal about the design, almost everyone else at the camera’s launch event seemed more concerned with the price. The Lunar, which comes to market in the ﬁrst quarter of 2013, starts around 5,000 euro (about $6,400) and goes up from there if you add such premiums as gold trim. Yes, gold is an actual option. Though Hasselblad shooters are used to high prices, they’re also used to stellar optics. The Lunar comes with a kit lens that looks and feels nearly identical to the Sony 18–55mm E-mount kit lens; a Hasselblad rep assures that “it’s a Hasselblad lens,” but it’s the only one for now. Otherwise, the camera relies on Sony and Carl Zeiss lenses in A- and Emount glass, just like the much less costly NEX-7. Hasselblad’s heavy focus on style has met with tangible backlash in the camera community. In a candid moment on the Photokina show ﬂoor, a Hasselblad rep said, “Maybe this isn’t the right show to debut a product like this,” a nod to the fact that the Lunar may be better suited to those who carry an ostrich-skin briefcase than a tattered camera bag. AP

NOTEWORTHY SPECS DIMENSIONS 5.5 x 3.3 x 2.6 in. (140 x 83 x 67 mm) IMAGE SENSOR 24.3MP APS-C-size CMOS SENSITIVITY ISO 100–16,000 FLASH Pop-up and Sony hot-shoe VIDEO auto or fully manual control; Full HD 60/24p recording; one touch instant recording; external microphone jack LCD MONITOR Tilting 3.0-inch VIEWFINDER 2.359 million–dot OLED EVF PHOTO FORMAT RAW, RAW + JPEG, JPEG Fine, JPEG Standard BUY IT $6,400 (estimated), hasselblad-lunar.com

Above: The Hasselblad Lunar (artist rendering)

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013 AMERICANPHOTOMAG.COM 69

THE GOODS New tools for pro shooters

BY THE STAFF OF AMERICAN PHOTO

WIRED GLASS

FLY EDITS, ANDROID STYLE

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 We all know photographers are fanatics for their iDevices. Right? Right? Well, for those who haven’t drunk the Apple Kool-Aid, here’s an Android tablet that offers some special capabilities for shooters who want to edit on the ﬂy. The most obvious: Samsung’s S Pen. This pressure-sensitive stylus, which comes standard with the tablet, lets users select areas of an image much more precisely than is possible with a ﬁnger. This lets mobile photographers take full advantage of the preinstalled Adobe Photoshop Touch, one of the most robust image-editing apps in either Android or iOS ecosystems. Sure, Samsung’s screen doesn’t match the resolution of the iPad 3’s Retina display, but it is a little taller and weighs a little less. BUY IT $500, samsung.com

Sigma 120–300mm f/2.8 DG OS When it comes to long telephoto zoom lenses, fast is where it’s at. And only Sigma makes a full-frame zoom with this much reach that has a fast maximum aperture of f/2.8. But what makes this update of a 2011 version so intriguing is the new USB-connected docking station (sold separately), which will let photographers download firmware updates directly into the lens and upload the optical profile of the lens into imaging software. For glass geeks, this could prove both useful and fun. The lens is also the first in Sigma’s new Sports line, which—besides better resistance to dust and weather—boasts a focus limiter and focus speed control. Look for it to hit stores early in 2013. BUY IT Price not available, sigmaphoto.com

LIGHTNING STROBE

Profoto Pro-B4 1000 Air Talk about strobes, and the real cognoscenti start asking about duration. So how fast does this new power pack pop? Profoto claims a ﬂash duration of as little as 1/25,000 second, making it easier than ever to freeze action in a studio or on location. On its lowest output setting, 1 watt-second, this battery/generator can manage an incredible 30 pops per second; at full 1,000Ws power it recycles in less than a second. The cast aluminum, rubber-framed pack contains a lithium-ion battery that recharges in just 45 minutes, and it charges even when in use. BUY IT $7,900, profoto.com

A SHIFTY ONE

Novoflex Balpro T/S Dedicated macro photographers prize bellows for their ability to take subject magnification to extremes. What makes this new Novoflex kit so cool is that it adds tilt/shift movements for perspective correction or creative distortion. And with separate mounts for the camera body and lens, this compact bellows adapts pretty much any lens to work with any body, from almost any 35mm through 6x7 medium-format cameras. (With Canon EOS mounts, it maintains electronic communication between the two.) It opens up a crazy number of options when it comes to both gear selection and composition, not just for macro photography but for products, architecture, landscapes, portraits and more. And at just 2.14 pounds (without the camera and lens adapters), it easily goes from the studio to the field. BUY IT $1,475, bellows only (camera and lens adapters sold separately), novoflex.com 70 AMERICANPHOTOMAG.COM

THE BEST OF M

Leica M For its successor of sorts to the M9 digital rangeﬁnder, Leica left the number off altogether. The reason may be that this is what a digital M should have been all along. This new version sports a new 24-megapixel Leica Max CMOS sensor and Leica Maestro image processor, bringing with them capabilities that have long been standard on just about every other digital full-frame camera, from live view in the LCD to (gasp!) 1080p video capture. Sensitivity ﬁnally reaches ISO 6400—not much in this era of six-digit speed, but up from ISO 2500 on the M9 (which remains in the lineup). Even the venerable Leica build has gotten an upgrade, with splash-protective rubber seals and a Gorilla Glass surface on its 3-inch LCD. And as a bonus to photographers still hoarding their Leica R-mount glass (from the company’s 35mm SLR line discontinued in 2009), a new adapter will allow these lenses to be mounted on the M. Look for this modern classic to arrive—and immediately sell out— in the U.S. around the end of February. BUY IT $6,950, body only, us.leica-camera.com

PURE ZEISS

Zeiss 135mm f/2 Apo Sonnar T* 2/135 There’s a certain breed of photographer whose heart beats faster on hearing the words “Zeiss glass.” But this fast telephoto, the longest focal length Zeiss makes for DSLRs, requires a steady eye and hand since focus is purely a manual affair; the focus ring’s smooth 268degree rotation will help. The lens has a durable all-metal barrel and a nine-bladed aperture for beautifully circular bokeh. Due out in early 2013, it comes in Canon (ZE) and Nikon (ZF.2) mounts. BUY IT $2,125, lenses.zeiss.com

VER-SA-TIL-I-TY

Mamiya Leaf 645DF+ Modular units that belong to Phase One, Mamiya and Leaf’s medium-format platform come together in this update of a studio workhorse. The new Mamiya 645DF+, shown here with the Leaf Credo digital back, has had all of its moving parts overhauled. The company promises more responsive and accurate autofocus, higher-capacity battery power (up to 10,000 shots on a single charge), and the ability to make precise adjustments in alignment for each back used on the camera. The updated Credo backs come in 40-, 60- and 80-megapixel capacities with a 3.2-inch touchscreen LCD. BUY IT starting around $26,100, mamiyaleaf.com

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013 AMERICANPHOTOMAG.COM 71

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Pictured, left to right: Rosie Sandoval (Sony Marketing); Brian Smith (Sony Artisan); Matthew Jordan Smith (Sony Artisan); Andy Katz (Sony Artisan); Kayla Lindquist (Director, Sony Artisan of Imagery); Me Ra Koh (Sony Artisan); David McLain (Sony Artisan); Cristina Mittermeier (Sony Artisan)

Top image, top left to bottom right: Gabriel Johnson (Sony); Ruben Tellez (Sony); Mike Kahn (Sony); Rosie Sandoval (Sony); Erica Johnson; David Wheeler (Sony); Mike Iadanza (American Photo); Matt Parnell (Sony); Misty Cauble (Blue Pixel Creates) Bottom left, left to right: Elliott Erwitt (Photographer); Kayla Lindquist (Sony)

Sony & American Photo : Coming Together to Celebrate Photography In what has become the must-attend event during PhotoPlus Expo, Sony and American Photo welcomed media analysts, professional photographers and industry icons in celebration of the art of photography, as well as the photographic community — whose collective vision shapes the way we see the world. The evening began with a pre-party ceremony in which Sony was presented with an American

Photo Editors’ Choice Award for the Sony Alpha a99, and then transformed into a night of revelry where photography took its rightful place on center stage. Sony’s Artisans of Imagery, a diverse group of talented professional photographers, and the winners of the Sony World Photography Awards provided a stunning visual backdrop that enveloped the evening’s invitees with powerful imagery.

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TRENDS

THE NEXT BIG THING? An influx of cameras with 35mm image sensors brings new choices to photographers raditionally, moving up to a DSLR with a full-frame sensor has been a win-lose proposition for many photographers. In the “win” column: improved image quality, shallower depth of field and wide-angle lenses that actually deliver on their great view-embracing promise. On the other side: heftier gear, heftier price (especially when you start adding lenses). Now there are signs of a shake-up in the 35mm digital market, with introductions from Canon, Nikon and Sony to challenge photographers’ assumptions about, notably, body size and price. With well-established full-frame flagships already anchoring their product lines, Canon and Nikon are trying to lure would-be upgraders by adding smaller, less expensive full-framers. Their new models come

Four different body dimensions, one sensor size—here are the new full-framers. Clockwise from top left: Sony Cyber-shot RX1 (4.5 x 2.6 x 2.8 in.); Nikon D600 (5.6 x 4.4 x 3.2 in.); Canon EOS 6D, (5.7 x 4.4 x 2.8 in.); Sony Alpha A99 (5.8 x 4.5 x 3.1 in.).

74 AMERICANPHOTOMAG.COM JANUARY/FEBRAURY 2013

BY STEVE MORGENSTERN

around the same time as a double-hitter from Sony: the Alpha 99, the first full-frame DSLR with a lighttransmissive mirror, and the Cyber-shot RX1, the industry’s first 35mm digital compact. First up is Canon’s EOS 6D, setting the MSRP bar at $2,099. Compare that against the full-frame EOS 5D Mark III, priced at $3,499: Both have a 63-zone metering system and DIGIC 5+ processor, and resolutions are similar (20.2 megapixels for the 6D, 22.3 for the EOS 5D Mark III). The 6D adds GPS (for geotagging photos) and Wi-Fi connectivity, two increasingly popular consumer-oriented built-in features. Of course, a lower price comes at a cost, in this case not-quite-as-rugged construction and a viewfinder that provides 97% coverage instead of the full 100% you’d find in top-of-the-line full-framers.

The 6D’s autofocus system, with just 11 AF points and a single, central cross-type, sounds underwhelming (at least on paper—we haven’t had a chance to test this camera yet). Canon claims exceptional low-light sensitivity here, though, down to –3 EV. The camera is also smaller and lighter than its full-frame counterpart, weighing about half a pound less than the EOS 5D Mark III. Nikon’s D600 hits the same $2,100 mark, and though it lacks the GPS and Wi-Fi, it delivers 100% viewfinder coverage, a built-in flash and support for dual SD cards (a useful feature for sending files to different storage locations or for keeping an ongoing backup on a second card). The D600 design and control layout resembles Nikon’s APS-C-sensor D7000 more than it does the company’s higherend full-frame offerings. Here again, size matters, with a 5-ounce advantage over the D800. And while it’s not an ideal solution, current Nikon APS-C shooters will be able to use their existing lenses with the D600, albeit at reduced resolution. Sony’s two-pronged full-frame assault is distinctly different from the approach taken by the SLR industry leaders, instead continuing its emphasis on cuttingedge tech developments. With the A99, Sony brings to the full-frame party its innovations in SLR and ILC lines, including multi-shot noise reduction, in-camera HDR and panorama compositing. Foremost among these features is its unique transmissive mirror technology (Sony calls it “translucent”) that eliminates the time-tested SLR moving-mirror assembly. Substituting a fixed mirror that transmits a percentage of the incoming light to a phase-detect AF sensor enables smooth continuous autofocus (particularly valuable when shooting video) along with a lighter feel and quieter operation. The A99 also adopts Sony’s top-notch video-shooting standard with support for 1080p video at 60 frames per second (versus the 30fps standard found in Canon and Nikon cameras). Because moving to this mirror system means doing away with an optical viewfinder, the A99 relies on an electronic viewfinder with 100% coverage. Fortunately, this OLED display with 2.4 million–dot resolution is a solid performer, and it has the added benefits of live exposure preview and the option to brighten up the view when shooting in low light. Also noteworthy is the rear LCD, both for its display system (an extra white pixel

In designing the EOS 6D, Canon took an approach similar to its midlevel EOS 60D. The large command wheel on the back and generous number of dedicated control buttons show that this is a serious camera for serious shooters. The 6D has a ﬁxed LCD screen, unlike the articulated one on the 60D.

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TRENDS

adds brightness while cutting down on battery consumption) and its cleverly articulated screen, which pivots from a bottom hinge. The A99 weighs slightly less than the Nikon and Canon but at $2,800, it costs considerably more. But the most eyebrow-raising of the new fullframe crop is the Sony Cyber-shot RX1, the world’s most compact full-frame camera. The RX1 is based on the same 24.3-megapixel full-frame sensor as the 16.1-ounce A99, weighs just 17 ounces and measures 41/2 x 25/8 x 23/4 inches—not pants-pocket compatible, but fine for a jacket or purse. You get Sony’s Full HD 24p/60i/60p video recording, a built-in flash and ISO sensitivity up to 51,200 (102,400 using multishot NR mode). Squeezing full-frame capabilities into a compact frame required sacrifices. There is no interchangeable lens—instead, there’s a fixed f/2 Carl Zeiss 35mm. There’s no viewfinder included (an optional optical viewfinder sells for $600, an EVF for $450). And the camera price is an eye-watering $2,800. Granted, that includes the lens, but it’s still a healthy chunk of change, especially for a compact.

Sony’s RX1 is a marvel in size alone, and its interface is sophisticated for a compact. The A99 is the largest DSLR in this bunch; its articulated LCD and highly customizable interface further set it apart.

Pros See the Cons Since traditionally, fullframe photography has been largely the domain of professional photographers, we reached out to shooters from several different specialties to get their feedback. The lower prices didn’t faze this crowd much. As portrait photographer 76 AMERICANPHOTOMAG.COM JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

Nathaniel Welch explains, “When I got into the digital market, my ﬁrst camera was a Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III and it was $8,000 or $9,000—I remember it was a fortune. But then the EOS 5D Mark II came out and I got it for, like, $2,200. I don’t really do the research based on price now because the top cameras are really not expensive—I have three of them.” As for the lower-priced cameras’ potential in the consumer market, Michael Shane, who shoots features for the online publication The Verge, notes that when it comes to embracing full-frame photography, the camera body itself is just the starting point. “The sort of less expensive but really not quite affordable full-frame camera is a bit of an enigma. Once you go full-frame, you’re not going to buy $200 lenses anymore—I mean, you can’t,” he says. “So maybe one day we’ll have $500 full-frame camera bodies, but I don’t know how Canon can ever make an 85mm L prime for less than two grand. You’re dealing with materials and workmanship; there’s just no way for them to be less expensive than that.” Photojournalist Ron Antonelli expresses similar skepticism. “I have two categories: cameras I use for work and cameras I walk around with—vacation cameras. For me, the new full-frame cameras would be in the walk-around category,” he says. “I don’t think I’d ever use them as a backup, because they just have a different feel in your hand, a different weight, a different body, a different interface. I need everything to just work, and the inconsistency is [what stops me from] using those cameras professionally.” Antonelli also emphasizes the importance of having a physically robust camera in high-pressure situations. “Every time a new lower-cost model sparks my interest, it falls apart somewhere for me. It’s just that it feels like a toy compared to a Nikon D3 or D4—it doesn’t have the same feel. Especially shooting sports and news. You’re running around with this stuff, and if it bangs into a wall, it’s not going to work anymore. I put my cameras through some pretty bad stuff, and I’ve never had them go down from impact damage.” While relatively modest savings in size and weight couldn’t lure our pros away from their established bodies, the surprisingly compact Sony RX1 did raise some eyebrows. “Nothing will replace my workhorse Nikon D4, but for such a small piece of equipment it packs a wallop,” says wedding photographer Cliff Mautner. “A 35mm f/2—sweet! But you also have to weigh the price—it comes with a pretty heavy price tag to use a ﬁxed lens on this type of sensor.”

The Full-Frame Conundrum The war for the hearts and minds of photographers, both amateur and pro, has gone through many battles in the past few years. First there were the

PROMOTION

megapixel wars, a mighty stat-based conflagration that’s become increasingly irrelevant. Low-light capability remains an important issue when sizing up a new camera purchase, but the ammunition to get the job done, even at reasonable prices, is already well established and widespread. Will full-frame photography be next? For the established full-frame market of professional photographers, shaving a few hundred dollars off the price of their bread-and-butter tool doesn’t seem like a game changer. Even for backup, the pros seem willing to invest in top-tier gear or hang on to their previous-generation models. And as travel and editorial photographer Michael Freeman points out, the film-era need to carry more than one camera at a time (one for black and white and one for color, for example) has long since faded in the digital age. Still, there are many enthusiasts who will be intrigued at the idea of stepping up to full-frame at lower prices, although the savings so far have been only incremental. Investing $2,000 or more (and that’s before lenses) is still challenging economic ground. But a Canon EOS 6D or Nikon D600 doesn’t cost a whole lot more than those makers’ top APS-C models. And there’s every reason to expect even more affordable full-framers in the future. It may all come down to marketing: In a land of happy smartphone-toting snapshooters and increasingly impressive cameras with APS-C and smaller sensors, selling the benefits of full-frame photography could prove challenging. In the end, it may be the Sony RX1, with its temptingly compact form, that makes the biggest impact. While a camera without a zoom lens may be a foreign concept for some consumers, it’s solidly established among professional photographers, and the profile is far more discreet on the street than an SLR. The price is undeniably steep, but it doesn’t approach Leica territory. Perhaps this will become a competitive, more affordable category in the future. AP

Nikon’s D600 body design closely mimics the D7000, differing signiﬁcantly from the company’s higher-end models. For pros looking for a backup full-frame body, this might be a dealbreaker.

HAVE YOUR PORTFOLIO REVIEWED BY OUR PROFESSIONALS! This is your chance to have your photography reviewed and critiqued by our experts in the ﬁelds of photography, art, media, and advertising, and to receive guidance and mentoring for future career development. All without having to leave the comfort of your own home! By using the latest technologies, our experts will be able to review your work and give you feedback in a very informative and simple way.

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PARTING SHOT

A Long Time Coming s long and intensive as many personal projects tend to be, marc asnin’s Uncle Charlie surpasses most. the 30-year investigation into his uncle charlie henschke’s chaotic life started in 1981, when asnin began photographing him for a student project. now more than 200 images (culled from thousands) are intertwined with interviews compiled from hundreds of transcripts and presented in short-story (really, prose-poem) form. the document encompasses charlie’s life at his home at 23 troutman Street in the bushwick section of brooklyn, where he played a significant part in street life and drug culture as far back as 1969 and dealt with personal tragedies such as the loss of his middle son, Joe, from aiDS in 1996. a father of five and asnin’s godfather, uncle charlie had originally been a figure of strength to the photographer—but the work revealed a

Marc Asnin’s photographic subject of 30 years on his last day in his home in 2000, published in Uncle Charlie (Contrasto, 2012). See more of his work at marcasnin.com.

80 americanphotomag.com January/February 2013

By Lori Fredrickson

much more complicated personality, one who struggled with emotional and mental health issues, a history of substance abuse and often-conﬂicted relationships with his neighbors. the photo above was taken on charlie’s moving day in 2000 after being forced into public housing following his eviction from troutman Street. though he’d frequently talked about relocating, “this was a big issue in learning to adapt to a new identity,” asnin says, “because it was leaving memory and history behind.” the conﬂict of identity—how one’s selfperception changes through circumstances, oftentimes sudden and dramatic—underlies most of the long history in Uncle Charlie, as well as the ways in which his uncle receives the work today. Sometimes, asnin says, “he tells me i’ll go to hell for this, but he takes pride in it. he says, ‘these are my words, this is my genius.’” AP

Marc Asnin’s Uncle Charlie describes a work and a life, both decades in the making

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