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Dan Winters Flying BaBy Frans lanting neW york nights meet matt eich 20-inch taBlet panorama gear

10 Wedding Best

Photographers

2013 trends Why would a big-time photographer use a phone on assignment?

profile

Tim Flach talks about how and why he makes studio portraits of wild animals.

The aesthetics of an artist, the reflexes of a sports shooter, the people skills of an Oprah—and a big love for Love.

That’s what it takes to be a top wedding pro today.

display until 5/6/13 March/april $4.99

®

LEARN FROM NIKON MASTERS WHILE TRAVELING AROUND THE WORLD

REED HOFFMANN A professional newspaper photographer for over 20 years, Reed began shooting digital in 1996 and is an acclaimed digital expert who has helped nearly 50 organizations make the digital transition and created countless photographic instruction and workflow programs. A lover of the outdoors and wildlife, he’s covered everything from presidential elections to the Super Bowl to Eco-Challenge adventure races across the globe, and is a two-time winner of the National Press Photographers Association Regional Photographer of the Year Award. A Nikon Mentor since 2000, he has guided over 3- dozen treks, and he’s impressed.

“Mentor Treks are extraordinarily well planned, with a full and varied itinerary. Everybody goes home exhausted but thrilled with what they’ve accomplished over several days, talking and living photography with people on the same wavelength, and receiving personal one-onone critiques from friendly, accessible Nikon pro photographers. It’s a grand photo adventure that gives you precious time for exploration and self-discovery, all while having a fun learning experience with professional help always available. Two great things the China participants came home with are a better understanding of controlling exposure and clearer concepts of composition, including framing, foregrounds and backgrounds, and optimizing depth of field.”

There is almost no better, faster way to enhance your visual creativity, upgrade your photographic skills, tap into the knowledge base of seasoned professional photographers, and experience the camaraderie and passion of fellow photo enthusiasts than joining a Nikon-sponsored Mentor Series Photo Trek. Acclaimed by experts and participants as the most effective, enlightening and enjoyable events of their kind, they provide a unique hands-on learning experience—a total-immersion course in visual expression wrapped in a seamlessly organized, carefree, once-in-a-lifetime photographic adventure!

DAVE BLACK

Mentored by approachable Nikon professional photographers who share their shooting secrets and priceless practical tips, you will receive the kind of personal one-on-one attention that will have you shooting better pictures almost immediately.

You will also have the chance to use the latest high-performance Nikon digital cameras with legendary NIKKOR lenses, experience incredible photo opportunities, and bring home images to treasure forever.

An acclaimed sports shooter for over 30 years, Dave’s dynamic images have appeared in such iconic publications as Sports Illustrated, Time, and Newsweek, and on the award-winning ESPN show, Sports Century. He’s covered 12 Olympics, countless NFL and NASCAR events, and his mastery of specialized lighting is showcased in National Geographic’s moving book on Arlington National Cemetery, “Where Valor Rests.” “I’ve conducted hands-on workshops for over 25 years,” says Dave, “and this Montana trek was one of the best. It gave trekkers from other regions an authentic western experience—everything from working ranches, to Yellowstone National Park, to a real ghost town. As usual, the entire event was superbly organized and we always seemed to be in the right location at the right time to capture spectacular natural light.

What makes Nikon Mentors so special? Read their amazing profiles and heartfelt comments that follow.

“We’re there to help people learn and grow, to better understand photography so they can find their own great shots. The social element adds another dimension to the experience because you’re constantly feeding off other people’s energy and ideas. You just might make friends for life.”

One of the hallmarks of this program is that you don’t waste time— you’re usually busy making pictures, and when you’re not, you’re getting great tips on photo techniques and technology that you then put to immediate use to hone your skills. We covered light painting at two different ranches and the cowboys and cowgirls we shot were working ranch hands, not professional models. Anytime you can capture pictures of real people it always makes the experience—and the images—more authentic and meaningful. Another great aspect is the willingness of the staff to stop when picture opportunities present themselves—that flexibility is priceless, especially in Montana where wildlife is so accessible. The camaraderie was exceptional, with everyone pitching in to help fellow trekkers succeed. Best of all, these folks actually bring home and use what they’ve learned—as a mentor that’s truly inspiring, and it’s why so many people sign up for more.”

CHINA

“Everybody goes home exhausted but thrilled with what they’ve accomplished over several days, talking and living photography with people on the same wavelength, and receiving personal one-on-one critiques from friendly, accessible Nikon pro photographers.”

INSIDE REED’S CAMERA BAG Nikon D800 and D600 bodies, 16-35mm f/4, 50mm f/1.8, and 70-200mm f/2.8 VR Nikkor lenses SB900 Speedlight, Nikon Circular Polarizer, variable and graduated ND filters. When shooting wildlife, add 200-400mm f/4 VR Zoom Nikkor.

MONTANA

“One of the hallmarks of this program is that you don’t waste time—you’re usually busy making pictures, and when you’re not, you’re getting great tips on photo techniques and technology that you then put to immediate use to hone your skills.”

INSIDE DAVE’S CAMERA BAG Nikon D4 and D800 bodies, 14-24mm f/2.8, 24-70mm f/2.8, 70-200mm f/2.8 VR, 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 and 200-400mm f/4 Nikkor lenses, 2 SB900 Speedlights, Nikon SV-800 Wireless Speedlight Commander, graduated ND filter, (3X), circular Polarizer, SanDisk Extreme Pro CF cards.

PANAMA

“The fun thing about a Mentor trek for me is that it takes a learning experience and makes it fun and social—and when you add travel, it’s a winning combination.”

INSIDE MARK’S CAMERA BAG Nikon 1 System: Nikon 1 V1 (now 1 V2) body, 10mm f/2.8, 18.5mm f/1.8, 10-30mm or 11-27mm f/3.5-5.6, 30-110mm f/3.5-5.6 in Nikon 1 mount, Nikon FT-1 adapter for mounting Nikon F-mount lenses. Alternate: Nikon D600 or D800 body, Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8, 50mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.8, and 70-200 f/2.8 VR.

DUBAI

“In the course of 4-10 days of intensive shooting with the pros you have a unique opportunity to experience and explore a magnificent location in a safe and secure way while becoming a better photographer.”

INSIDE DAVID’S CAMERA BAG Nikon D800 and D700 camera bodies, 16-35mm f/4-5.6, 24-70mm f/2.8, 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII, and 80-400mm f/4-5.6D VR Nikkor Zooms 85mm f/1.4 Nikkor lens, variable ND (3 stops) and graduated ND filters, electronic release, up to 5 SB800 Speedlights

MARK ALBERHASKY A retired physician, author, inventor, internationally published, award-winning professional photographer, and esteemed educator, Mark’s experience spans over 40 years, shooting subjects as diverse as nature, wildlife, cityscapes, and people—all with a masterful use of light. “Panama is remarkably diverse, ranging from tropical rain forests to sprawling Panama City to the historic Panama Canal,” Mark recalls, “and it was delightful to cover it all with a Nikon 1 V1, a serious camera I could hold in the palm of my hand.

The educational experience is seamless because the feature set is identical to a DSLR, and Nikon even provided Nikon AW-100 cameras so we could shoot underwater pictures in a mangrove swamp! The fun thing about a Mentor trek for me is that it takes a learning experience and makes it fun and social—and when you add travel, it’s a winning combination. Trekkers are invariably enthusiastic photographers, and it’s gratifying to show them how to see and use light effectively because you can watch them evolve before your eyes.

Participants are given the priceless opportunity to pursue a non-stop, dawn-to-dusk photo experience grouped with like-minded people excited about making pictures. Everything is perfectly organized with special access to spectacular venues at optimum times. The instructors are all very knowledgeable and friendly, with an uncanny ability to convey complex concepts one-on-one in simple language so you remember what you learn. Their passion is contagious and that’s one reason why there are so many repeat trekkers.”

®

WHERE ARE WE GOING IN 2013?

NEW ZEALAND SAN ANTONIO, TX WHITE SANDS, NM CALIFORNIA COAST SEDONA, AZ UTAH SOUTH DAKOTA BLACK HILLS GALAPAGOS

DAVID TEJADA One of Colorado’s most esteemed location photographers, David specializes in shooting iconic images for the corporate annual reports of Fortune 500 companies, and has over 30 years experience in creating visuals for graphic design firms and other demanding clients. His work brilliantly integrates exciting color, strong graphic composition, and a masterful use of light to make the emphatic and memorable statements that define his style.

A seasoned educator, he has taught workshops all around the world.

“Dubai is a great ice-breaker for Westerners traveling to the Middle East,” David observes, “because it combines traditional Arab culture with a vibrant Western influence. Our incredible itinerary included a hot air balloon ride at sunrise, photographing Whirling Dervish dancers, a Bedouin dinner in the desert, and shooting from the top of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. Even more remarkable, while taking in all these exotic sights, trekkers are busy meeting new friends, shooting memorable pictures, and learning new skills from a variety of accessible mentors, thereby increasing their joy of photography immensely.

In the course of 4-10 days of intensive shooting with the pros you have a unique opportunity to experience and explore a magnificent location in a safe and secure way while becoming a better photographer. You’re having so much fun you’re on sensory overload, and everybody including the mentors, goes home refreshed with new ideas and techniques they can carry forward. Photography is always evolving and, as seasoned trekkers are well aware, it’s a great adventure.”

MONTANA THAILAND SCOTLAND

For more information, and to sign up

www.mentorseries.com

For more information on Nikon’s digital line-up, please visit nikonusa.com

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March/april 2013

54

Features 28 The Top 10 Wedding Photographers With the reflexes of sports shooters and the aesthetic skills of artists, the best wedding pros bring their own sensibility to the party. here are 2013’s standouts.

BY aimee Baldridge

47 #iphoneonly in the brave new world of breakneck news cycles and global social media platforms, savvy photographers have a new favorite tool: the smartphone.

BY travis marshall

54 Animal Insight We have no choice but to view animals through human eyes. What do they tell us about ourselves?

BY tim flach

cover: © Matt Miller. this page, from top: © tim Flach; © Samm Blake.

28 On the cover in Matt Miller’s double portrait, bride and groom Kendrick and David bring a little Mexican spirit to their wedding in St. petersburg, Florida.

This page: Tim Flach’s portrait of Grace, of the great gray owl (Strix nebulosa) species; Samm Blake captures bridesmaids helping the bride into her dress. Next page: Alligator hunting near Shell Island, Louisiana, 2009 by Matt Eich; actor Colin Firth by Dan Winters.

March/april 2013 aMericanphotoMag.coM 5

March/april 2013

Departments

13

10 EDITOR’S NOTE

Another Face introducing our own art-world star.

By MiriaM Leuchter

Focus 13 ONE TO WATCH

Triple Threat Matt eich’s commercial work supports his ventures in fine art and photojournalism. By MicheLLe Bogre 18 WORk IN PROGRESS

A Flock of Symbols in suspended sculptures, thomas Jackson explores the idea of groupthink. By judy geLMan Myers 20 BOOkS

Winters Wonderland Dan Winters unleashed, Frans lanting in the wild, nYc after hours, and arthur Meyerson on the road.

By jack crager

24 ON THE WALL

Cry Hometown latoya ruby Frazier’s city in ruins, george georgiou’s divided turkey, Sandy haber Fifield’s dreamworks, and more. By Lindsay coMstock

Gear 63 COMING ATTRACTION

Screen Star panasonic shows off a 20-inch tablet prototype.

64 NEW STUFF

The Goods the coolest tools for all kinds of photographers.

68 REVIEW

Works on Paper We put canon’s new pixma pro-10 photo printer through the wringer.

72 PARTING SHOT

Flight of Fantasy in Flying Henry, rachel hulin sends her son aloft.

By Lori Fredrickson

20

SubScriptionS: American Photo (ISSN 1046-8986) (USPS 526-930), March/April, Volume 24, No. 2. 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 March/april 2013

From top: © Matt eich; © Dan Winters

By andrew darLow

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editor’s note

10 americanphotomag.com march/april 2013

Another Face few months ago, when i added the job of leading American Photo to my work as editor-inchief of Popular Photography, i vowed to make the change as seamless for you as i could. this is my second issue, and i’ve altered very little, aside from sharpening our focus on contemporary photography and how it’s practiced at its highest level. and one of the people helping to reshape that discussion is also helping to reshape the art of photography itself. meet our new features editor, Debbie grossman. readers of Pop Photo will recognize her as the longtime writer of the monthly Software Workshop, as well as the force behind its coverage of image editing. But Debbie (i’m forgoing our formal style as a colleague and friend) is also an artist. While working full-time for Pop Photo, she earned an mFa in photography, video, and related media from the School of Visual arts, where she won the paula rhodes memorial prize; she is now represented by the Julie Saul gallery in new York city. her images are in the permanent collections of the metropolitan museum of art, Jewish museum, and others. in fact, her series, My Pie Town, is on view at the met in “after photoshop: manipulated photography in the Digital age” through may 27. one example of Debbie’s extraordinary work in My Pie Town is at left. Using high-resolution, publicdomain scans of russell lee’s Depression-era photos of pie town, new mexico, she transformed it into a community made up solely of women.

She subtly reshaped jawlines and figures, smoothed over beard stubble, and erased at least one husband altogether. her artwork challenges assumptions about photography. and i think that her experience and curatorial eye will add a new dimension to what you find in American Photo.

Debbie Grossman’s “Jessie Evans-Whinery, Homesteader, with Her Wife Edith Evans-Whinery and Their Baby,” 2010.

© Debbie grossman/Julie Saul gallery

a

MiriaM Leuchter, editor-in-chief

march/april 2013 americanphotomag.com 11

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tHE pEopLE bEHind tHE piCs Work in Progress 18 Books 20 on the Wall 24

onE to WatCH

triple threat Matt Eich hustles commercial work to fund his photojournalism and fine art projects ven as an undergraduate at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, Matt Eich had a rigorous work ethic. He freelanced as a photographer, interned at newspapers including the Orange County Register in California and Portland’s The Oregonian, and picked up honors as the 2006 College Photographer of the Year, always a career boost.

Then, when Eich was 21, he became a parent, and life changed dramatically. “I knew I had to up my game if I was going to be able to support my

© Matt Eich

E

By Michelle Bogre

family,” says Eich, now 26. “I couldn’t rely on one client or one market. I needed some stability.”

And up his game he did. Since graduating in 2008, Eich has built a roster of A-list clients such as Apple, AARP, National Geographic, Time, and Newsweek. He’s earned grants including an Aaron Siskind fellowship, a National Geographic Magazine Photography Grant, a ShootQ Grant, and a National Press Photographers Association Short Grant. He’s received international awards and his work is in several museums and private collections.

Matt Eich’s “Chop, Houma, Louisiana, 2010,” from the project Trouble in the Water, about the alligator industry in Louisiana.

MARCH/APRIl 2013 AMERICANPHOTOMAG.COM 13

one to Watch

14 AMERICANPHOTOMAG.COM MARCH/APRIl 2013

CLosE-Up

Matt Eich matteichphoto.com Lives In Norfolk, VA Studied At Ohio University Awards F25 Award for Concerned Photography, 2010; Pictures of the Year International Community Awareness Award, 2009 Clients Include Apple, Bloomberg Businessweek, Esquire, GQ, Harper’s, Mother Jones, National Geographic, Time, Sentara Healthcare In the Bag Canon EOS 5D Mark II; Canon EF lenses including EF 35mm f/1.4L USM, EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM, and EF 50mm f/1.2L USM; Canon Speedlite 580EX II

© Matt Eich (3)

This year Eich will present a new solo show (his sixth) in collaboration with the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art in Virginia Beach for his project The Seven Cities. “I wanted to find a reason to work close to home,” he says. “I pitched to the museum the idea of photographing all the cities that make up what’s known as the Hampton Roads and how dependent the area is both on the water that surrounds it and the military industry.”

Other work has come from the photo collective lUCEO, which Eich formed with five friends in 2007 to provide mutual creative feedback and camaraderie; he left it in 2012 to pursue other projects and spend more time with his family. “I thrive in a creative community, and that’s what lUCEO was for me,” he says. “We would critique each other’s work and that’s where the real learning happened.”

While with lUCEO, Eich began an ongoing project, The Invisible Yoke, which comprises The Seven Cities as well as two other series, Carry Me Ohio and Sin & Salvaabove: “tornado aftertion in Baptist Town. math, Joplin, Missouri, The latter began in 2011,” from an assignment 2010 as a brief assignfor Esquire. Right: “Guy ment on rural health McRoberts, Russellville, care for the AARP ohio, 2012,” from Carry Bulletin. Baptist Town Me Ohio, part of Eich’s is a neighborhood in project The Invisible Yoke.

top: “Mail boat to tangier island, Virginia, 2010,” from Eich’s series Poems, Half Remembered. bottom: “demolition derby, athens, ohio, 2012,” from the series Carry Me Ohio.

people I had photographed and made friends.”

After his second visit, one of the people he’d befriended, Demetrius “Butta” Anderson, was shot to death. Eich needed to photograph the funeral—but he was broke. “I didn’t even have money for gas, so a friend gave me money and my editor got me an assignment so I could spend 48 hours there.”

Even more determined to finish the project, he raised $5,690 through the crowd-funding platform Emphas.is so he could spend a month in Greenwood.

Then in 2012 he received $32,000 in grants, which he applied to continuing the series. “The Baptist Town project functions well for me in the documentary sphere, but that’s not enough for me anymore,” Eich says. “I want the images to function for the community, so I’ve been thinking about how to have it play out in the streets or in social media.” This idea was sparked when he used Instagram as a sort of digital Polaroid to engage people. “Instagram is much more permanent than a Polaroid if I can tag [the subject] on a social site.”

In upping his game, Eich always has different projects in play. Between sessions on The Invisible Yoke, he shoots commercial work. “I hope that people hire me for the way I see,” he says, “but I also hope they know my pictures aren’t always dark. I find that I can create a situation—and then real moments will occur if I step back and let life unfold.” AP

© Randal Ford (2); portrait by © Austin lochheed

Greenwood, Mississippi, plagued by poverty and crime but held together by a sense of family and community. “I knew there was a much bigger story there about the real legacies of racism in the South, so I begged my editor, Michael Wichita, to send me back,” he recalls. “I brought prints to the

© Matt Eich (2)

one to Watch

16 AMERICANPHOTOMAG.COM MARCH/APRIl 2013

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A Flock of Symbols Thomas Jackson’s suspended sculptures illuminate the idea of groupthink

ine-art photographer thomas Jackson seeks to give form to shapes that appear in his head. in his current work, those shapes look a lot like self-organizing systems— or, in everyday lingo, flocks of birds, schools of fish, termite mounds, swarming locusts. Swarming insects fill us with fear and fascination, says Jackson, and he loosely employs them as models for the sculptures he constructs out of everyday objects to tap into our subconscious dread of those forces which we can’t see but we know are real.

Jackson’s recent photo series, Emergent Behavior, also has roots in his work with found objects.

While working on an earlier series called The Robot, Jackson fell in love with the art of building and

F

Works from Thomas Jackson’s series Emergent Behavior reflect the collective action of self-organizing systems. Above: “Glow Sticks #1.” Opposite, from top: “Cups #1”; “Leaves #1.”

18 americanphotomag.com march/april 2013

By Judy Gelman myers

lighting staged scenarios; he wanted to continue that process with something more abstract. “the original idea was to pick up stuff lying around new York city that i could build into a sculpture and photograph to make come alive in a hallucinatory sort of way,” he says.

Jackson headed to an industrial section of imlay Street, in Brooklyn’s red hook neighborhood, where he found hundreds of pallet shards scattered along sidewalks and gutters. he collected the scraps and brought them back to his studio in Dumbo, built a small sculpture, then returned to imlay Street at 4 a.m. to photograph his creation in the middle of the street with a 30-second exposure in ambient light. he shot the sculpture in a slightly

© thomas Jackson (3); portrait by carrie Dutcher

work in ProgreSS different position, then repeated the process six or eight times before assembling the shots digitally to produce “Broken pallet.”

For his next image, “leaves #1,” he trekked to the forest, where he gathered branches off the ground. this time, though, he wove them into a 30-foot-long support structure he’d built of wire mesh. to get the floating effect, he hoisted the thing eight feet in the air and attached it with rope to nearby trees.

But Jackson soon became aware of the reality of limiting himself to found objects: “it basically meant walking around new York city picking up garbage, or out in the country picking up leaves and sticks,” he recalls. “Ultimately, i found the idea of extreme juxtaposition more interesting.”

So for “leaves #2,” he first took a photo at a city intersection in Brooklyn, then wove that image together digitally with shots of leaves thrown in the air back at the studio. context became the concept: For “cups #1” he digitally relocated a welter of plastic drinkware from pennsylvania, where it was shot, to the catskills, adding the shadow to give it a sense of occupying space.

Jackson’s preference, however, is to work entirely in the field and to create these mysterious effects in camera. So now he uses the logistical lessons from early experiments to build his sculptures onsite. this often entails a race against the clock to get materials assembled and shot by sundown and battles with the weather. in “plates #1,” the sculpture—plastic plates attached to dozens of monofilaments strung between a tree and a stepladder—is 35 feet long, 9 feet tall and 4 feet deep. his “glow Sticks #1” looks as if it’s suspended in space, but it’s sitting on a stand to keep it from swinging in the breeze. Jackson removes the sculptural supports in post production to keep the “magic,” he says, but he no longer builds images in photoshop. “i subtract, but i don’t add,” he explains.

Jackson says he’s halfway through the series and wants to improvise further: instead of working around the wind, he’ll use it, making sculptures that are supposed to move. he also hopes to draw on scientific phenomena for his swarm images. not long into his work on Emergent Behavior, he was contacted by andrew hartnett, a researcher at the couzin lab at princeton who had seen Jackson’s swarms. hartnett studies “startle events” in schools of fish by poking one of the creatures with a small monofilament then recording the school’s response with a high-speed camera. “it’s super-cool,” says Jackson, “and there’s much more to be done with that.” he adds that hartnett is working on a theory of collective decision making with potential applications on voting in human groups. Voting in human groups? that should give Jackson plenty of material for tapping into our dread of forces we can’t see but know are real. AP

CLOSE-UP

Thomas Jackson thomasjacksonphotography.com Lives In Brooklyn, NY Studied At The College of Wooster, Wooster, OH Awards/Honors Critical Mass, Top 50, 2012 Influences Environmental sculptor Andy Goldsworthy; artist/writer Yayoi Kusama; film director Andrei Tarkovsky In the Bag Shen Hao HZX45-IIA field camera; Schneider Kreuznach APO-Symmar f/5.6 135mm

and Caltar II-N f/5.6 150mm lenses; Profoto AcuteB and/or AlienBees strobes Background After taking photo classes in high school and college, Jackson put the camera away for 15 years and worked as a magazine editor and writer. He bought a Leica M3 to shoot landscapes and, later, a 4x5 Graflex Crown Graphic to experiment with staged images.

He shot commercial work before dedicating himself to fine-art photography.

march/april 2013 americanphotomag.com 19

BOOKS

Winters Wonderland The wild imaginings behind the craft of a top editorial image maker

By Jack crager

Dan Winters’s america: icons anD ingenuity

splotchy ink patterns, and scientific forays such as sepia-toned negative close-ups of honeybees.

With a chapter on space-shuttle photographs from his project Last Launch: Discovery, Endeavour, Atlantis—the subject of another book he released in 2012—Winters makes his point: The human experience is the limit. “photography has allowed me to step into the lives of others, however briefly, and be inspired and amazed,” he notes. “it has given me access to places and events that have only been available to me as a practitioner of my craft.” He gives access, in turn, to his audience.

20 americanpHoTomag.com marcH/apriL 2013

Clockwise from left: “Christina Ricci, Hollywood, 1997”; “Shuttle Endeavour Launch, Cape Canaveral, 2011”; “Dolphin Tail, Florida Keys, 1989.”

© Dan Winters (3)

By Dan Winters Telfair Museums of Savannah, GA $40 This book contains multitudes. Dan Winters’s America is at once wacky and poignant, buoyant and grim, slick and artsy. Having established a signature celebrity-shot style for publications including The New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, and Rolling Stone, Winters duly showcases editorial portraits, from the campy Will Ferrell cover image to somber studies of Heath Ledger and Tupac Shakur. But Winters also reveals his breadth with abstract art projects, surreal anatomical montages, “cameraless” images of

OkavangO: africa’s Last EdEn

By Frans Lanting Taschen $40 expanding on material he first published 20 years ago, photographer Frans lanting returns to the okavango Delta region of Botswana to update us on the fate of an untamed refuge. this volume offers a diverse mix, ranging from insect close-ups to sweeping aerials, from scientific inquiry to aesthetic wonder. With his editor and wife, christine eckstrom, lanting provides plenty of fun facts: We not only see warthogs butting heads but also discover that lions consider them a delicacy. We learn that antelopes have splayed hooves and eat “tender papyrus crowns,” and that while hunters have made crocodiles wary of humans, “when crocs strike, they do so with astonishing speed and strength.” and we witness an ecosystem in a delicate state of preserve. “in Botswana,” he writes, “the legitimate claims of local people and the economic aspirations of a developing country must be balanced with the growing concern over preserving the earth’s last edens.”

nEw YOrk at night: PhOtOgraPhY aftEr dark

Edited by Norma Stevens and Yolanda Cuomo powerHouse $125 With the possible exception of paris, no city has held a more constant sway on the camera’s eye than new York. the editors of this 100-year survey credit its nocturnal charms—from the honeycomb glow of Berenice abbott’s cityscape to the shadowy grit of Weegee’s candid shots to the underground vibe of nan goldin’s party scenes. like a taxi ride down Broadway, the story veers wildly but clips along: haunting portraits by Diane arbus, a deftly framed candid by irving penn, and an iconic study in light by Walker evans coexist in this scattered narrative. the book makes a noble effort to live up to its epigraph, by F. Scott Fitzgerald: “…the city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of all the mystery and beauty in the world.”

thE cOLOr Of Light

By Arthur Meyerson Arthur Meyerson Editions $80 its abstract title sums up the contents: iridescent studies of reflections and shadows, textures and patterns, moods and hues. meyerson is a houston-based commercial photographer whose nearly 40-year career has taken him to farflung locales; this self-published volume (arthurmeyerson .com/book) highlights personal snaps made along the way. With help from designer lowell Williams, meyerson pairs scenes that are separated by time and place but linked chromatically. his favorite images are “photos that ask questions,” he writes. this collection is full of them.

Clockwise from top left: Frans Lanting’s shot of four lionesses awakening for the hunt in the wilds of Botswana; Berenice Abbott’s New York cityscape, “The Nightview, 1932”; Arthur Meyerson’s “Outdoor Restaurant, Vancouver, 2010.”

22 americanphotomag.com march/april 2013

clockwise from top left: © Frans lanting; New York at Night: Photography after Dark edited by norma Stevens and Yolanda cuomo, published by powerhouse Books; © arthur meyerson

BOOKS

on the wall

Cry Hometown LaToya Ruby Frazier faces a homeland in ruins by Lindsay ComsToCk LaToya Ruby FRazieR: a HaunTed CapiTaL in the tradition of social documentary that strives to capture the essence of america, latoya ruby Frazier has trained her lens on her troubled hometown of Braddock, pennsylvania. located downriver from pittsburgh, Braddock began as one of the first steel-mill towns in the United States. Since the collapse of that industry, the once-thriving city has shriveled to a population of less than 2,500, and the state has considered it a “distressed municipality.” in both still and moving images, Frazier documented her family there for a decade, capturing human resilience and family bonds amid the hard times. her thought-provoking work—some of which was included in the prestigious Whitney 2012 Biennial and the new museum’s exhibition The Generational: Younger than Jesus—takes center stage in this solo show of about 40 images. an associate curator at rutgers University, where she’s also taught photography, Frazier calls her artistic motivations both personal and sociological. her work addresses how an individual’s “environment impacts the body and shapes how you perceive yourself in the world,” she said in a 2012 film clip. her stark black-and-white portraits challenge how the poor are portrayed in the media, how we think about the relationships between mothers and daughters, and how “environmental racism” persists in many american cities like From top, two of LaToya Braddock, where environRuby Frazier’s portraits mental degradation occurs from her series The in low-income and minority Notion of Family: “Self neighborhoods. “the mind Portrait (March 10am),” is the battleground for 2009; “Grandma Ruby photography,” Frazier says. and Me,” 2005.

24 americanphotomag.com march/april 2013

© latoya ruby Frazier (2)

Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY, Mar. 22 – Aug. 11 brooklynmuseum.org

on the wall F GeorGe GeorGiou: Fault lines Jackson Fine Art, Atlanta, GA, through April 13 jacksonfineart.com

the title of georgiou’s Fault Lines refers to the fissures between eastern and Western culture in turkey, where the British photographer lived and shot for several years. georgiou creates planes of vivid color and surreal light, depicting everyday life in these rapidly developing communities. the underlying social tension is made palpable as religious, political, cultural, and geographic battles brew and the country oscillates between holding on to its tradition and moving into modernity.

G sandi haber FiField: aFter the threshold

Also...

E Japan’s Modern Divide: The Photographs of Hiroshi Hamaya and Kansuke Yamamoto The Getty Center, Los Angeles, CA, Mar. 26 – Aug. 25 getty.edu This exhibition contrasts the work of two influential Japanese lensmen: Hiroshi Hamaya, whose documentary work explored social and regional issues, and Kansuke Yamamoto, whose experimental vision brought traditional Japanese realism into the realm of avant-garde surrealism.

Unseen: The Photographs of Jessica Lange Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego, CA, through May 19 mopa.org MOPA’s retrospective unveils cinematic stills by the Oscar-winning actress.

The black-and-white images from Lange’s shoots in Europe, Ethiopia, Russia, and North America demonstrate an eye for everyday drama. “I find photography a most mysterious process,” she notes, “capturing that moment in time and space, elusive and fleeting, and crystallizing it.”

G Color rush: 75 Years oF Color PhotoGraPhY in ameriCa Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI, through May 19 mam.org

this collection explores innovations in color photography between 1907, when autochrome film was first marketed, and 1981, when (the curators maintain) color photography was fully accepted by the art world. included among the nearly 200 images and objects are works by pioneers such as harry callahan, William eggleston, nan goldin, cindy Sherman, and Stephen Shore.

26 americanphotomag.com march/april 2013

Takuma Nakahira Circulation: Date, Place, Events Yossi Milo Gallery, New York, NY, May 23 – July 12 yossimilo.com This solo exhibition was first shown at the 7th Paris Biennale in 1971. Over a week in Paris, the activist made around 100 images each day, developed the film at night, and showed works the next day without omission—what he called “pieces of reality cut out by means of the camera.”

Clockwise from top left: “Trabzon,” by George Georgiou, 2006; “Missing Stair,” from Sandi Haber Fifield’s series After the Threshold; “A Chronicle of Drifting,” 1949, by Kansuke Yamamoto; “Huntsville, Alabama,” 1978, by William Eggleston, from Color Rush.

clockwise from top left: © george georgiou, courtesy Jackson Fine art; © Sandi haber Fifield, courtesy rick Wester Fine art; © toshio Yamamoto; John glembin, © eggleston artistic trust, courtesy cheim & read, new York

RICk WeSTeR FINe ART, NeW YoRk, NY, APRIL 18 – MAY 30 rickwesterfineart.com

the dreamlike vision of Sandi haber Fifield is built on what she calls “collisions and alignments” of unrelated images. Drawing from her archive of imagery, Fifield threads together incongruent scenes in triptychs and quadriptychs. as a result, she explains, “formal connections reveal themselves and suggest the reassuring possibility of meaning and order in the apparent randomness of experience.” the show coincides with a monograph of the same title.

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The Top 10 Wedding Photographers

Morgan Lynn razi Morgan Lynn Razi met both of her great loves— photography and her husband-to-be—when she was just 15 years old. By the time she was a fine-art photography and business student at the University of colorado, Boulder, she was already shooting weddings—never mind that her sideline didn’t impress her instructors or peers. “i didn’t feel like it was a cool, hip thing to do,” she says. But she combined her artistic training with a meticulous technical approach—and came into her own just as wedding photography was becoming more respected. “now it’s a really desirable job to get into,” she says. even more than her photographic skills, it’s her affinity for great love stories that allows her to bring out the beauty in each event. “i get excited and inspired by people’s joy and emotion, and by people who are in love,” she says. “i can really relate to that, because i’ve been so lucky in love.” the couple are now based in houston, where her husband, amir, has recently started shooting with her full-time. razi applies her technical skill in the houston event halls where receptions with elaborate and varied lighting are often held, seeing the possibili-

Above: The groom realizes his wife’s dress is hiked up dangerously high during a Houston wedding. Below: Bride and bridesmaid dance to a favorite song.

30 americanphotomag.com march/april 2013

ties in challenges that many photographers would find daunting. her view reflects the sanguine attitude she has toward every wedding she captures: “i probably have rose-colored glasses on,” she says, “but i want to believe that these are two people who are insanely in love with each other.”

this page: © matt miller (3). opposite: © morgan lynn razi (2).

Matt MiLLer

Sometimes it takes a big shift to set you on the path to the love you’re meant for. after matt miller’s punk-rock band decided to take a break in 2007, he moved back to atlanta from Brooklyn and tried various jobs, including as a concert photographer. When a friend recommended him to assist on a wedding gig, he was skeptical. “it sounded awful,” he recalls. “i didn’t know anything about wedding photography, and all i could think of was overly posed, very stiff weddings, tuxedos, and boringness.” But he needed the money, so he went for it. the wedding, it turned out, “had so much love and interestingness to it, which for some reason i’d never thought of in wedding photography, that i kind of fell in love with it.” after assisting for three years, he took the lead and started booking his own shoots. as fate would have it, his background as a musician turned out to be a boon for his wedding career. “Being in a touring band for seven years, i got to meet people across the U.S. and worldwide,” he explains. “i know tons of people in bands and the punk-rock subculture, so a lot of the weddings i shoot are very alternative. that’s been a blessing for me. it ends up being a lot more personal.” the lighting skills miller picked up while working with bands in dark venues also come into play in his wedding work. During receptions, he often sets up studio lights that illuminate the whole space. as miller has stuck around the wedding scene, Top: The newlyweds say his rock-star dreams have taken a back seat, makfarewell to friends and ing way for a brighter photographic style—and a family in the Blue Ridge sunnier disposition. “the more weddings i shot, the Mountains, Georgia. Midmore i fell in love with it and with the people getdle: The bride and groom ting married,” he reflects. “my outlook as a perdance at the reception. son became a little bit happier. When my outlook Bottom: A guest sweeps the changed, the images started changing, too.” barefoot bride off her feet. march/april 2013 americanphotomag.com 31

“When I started doing weddings, it was a field day for me,” says new York–based ryan Brenizer. he had been working as a photographer for columbia University, shooting academic events that were usually less than exciting. at a wedding, he says, “i was walking into a scenario where there were emotions and there was beauty, and i could just build on that.”

Brenizer certainly had the tools for the job, with a knack for the technical and a background in journalism. “i do tend to approach weddings as assignments,” he says. “Whoever the people are, i want to tell their story. i want to show the things that are different and unique about them, what makes it their wedding.” recognized for his own unique approach, Brenizer uses such techniques as composite lighting, free-lensing, and light painting, and he has even come up with a way to capture panoramic portraits with shallow depth of field that’s become known by photographers as the Brenizer method. nevertheless, he insists, “the technical stuff is just a means to an end. What’s important are the moments between people.”

34 americanphotomag.com march/april 2013

Top: The 11/11/11 newlyweds, also pictured on the previous spread, kiss at their reception. Bottom: A flower girl hams it up at a Manhattan reception.

this page: © ryan Brenzier (2). opposite: © Samm Blake (4).

ryan Brenizer

The Top 10 Wedding Photographers

SaMM BLake As a young photographer, Samm Blake explored multiple genres, earning a degree in communications and making professional forays into the fashion and commercial worlds. But it was the wedding photography she’d gotten into as a student just to make a little money that ended up captivating her. “it was the one type of photography where i was given complete creative freedom,” she explains. “i could be completely myself and have no one telling me how to shoot or what to shoot. i guess i’m stubborn like that.” not that her approach is just about her creative druthers. Blake’s shooting style is informed by the lessons in restraint learned from personal docu-

mentary projects. “i realized that when i’m quiet, it’s giving room to the couple, because i’m not interjecting,” she says. “that’s where the shots that i really love start to happen.” Blake gives her subjects room to breathe compositionally too, creating a spacious feel that echoes the western australian landscape where she grew up, even when she’s shooting in her latest base, new York city. many of Blake’s clients work in creative fields and appreciate her blend of artistry and documentary, but above all, both they and Blake herself value the moving authenticity her subtle style achieves. “i don’t want it to just be a pretty picture on a wall,” she says of her work. “When somebody looks at my photography, i want their heart to beat faster for a moment.”

Clockwise from top left: The newlyweds go up the stairs of the Parliament House in Melbourne, Australia. The bride takes a moment. The couple greets cheering reception guests. On a balcony.

march/april 2013 americanphotomag.com 35

The Top 10 Wedding Photographers

ryan JoSeph

Opposite: A moment after the bride has put on her dress in Tuscany, Italy.

Right: The groom enjoys a cigar and a scotch at his reception in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Below: In Tuscany, the bride and groom share their first dance after the rain.

© ryan joseph (3)

When Ryan Joseph was recruited to play football at ohio University, little did he know that he was enrolling at a school with a top photography program. Four years later, he left ohio with a photography degree in hand, eventually settling in tampa and opening his own studio. joseph works in a fine art style, but relishes drawing on a wide variety of skills to achieve it. “a wedding photographer has to be a little bit of everything,” he observes. “You’ve got to be a photojournalist, a portrait artist, a storyteller—sometimes you’ve got to be a psychologist.”

When it comes time for portraits, joseph puts on his director’s hat, making careful compositions that use natural light. he also brings an attentiveness to his subjects that allows their personalities and presence to determine the look of the images. “the point of a portrait is exposing who that person is on their wedding day,” he explains. the enduring quality of those pictures, joseph says, comes from bringing out the genuineness in his subjects. “i want them to be as classic 20 years from now as they are today,” he says. and the job never gets old for joseph. “every time i think i’ve seen it all, something else happens at a wedding,” he says. “it keeps me on my toes.”

march/april 2013 americanphotomag.com 37

The Top 10 Wedding Photographers

eMin kuLiyev For Emin Kuliyev, each wedding is a journey of discovery, a photographic treasure hunt embarked upon with an unusually happy bunch of traveling companions. “You don’t know where you’re going; you don’t know the people; you don’t know anything,” he explains. “You’re like a bee flying to the flower.”

Kuliyev’s own journey began when he left his native city of Baku, azerbaijan, and settled in new York. after he found work as a graphic designer, his course made an unexpected turn when a car crash took him off his feet for a year. he used the time to learn how to operate his new digital camera. “When i could walk with a cane,” he says,

“i started to shoot everything around my building.”

Soon, he was exploring the city with his camera, honing his skills by photographing everything from portraits to cityscapes to gorillas at the Bronx Zoo. When Kuliyev discovered wedding photography, he realized he’d found what he was looking for: “i’m my own boss,” he says. “i like to see happy people around me, and i use all my skills in the wedding field.” his thoughtfully composed images are by turns witty, expressive, and poignant—the work of someone who has, as he puts it, “found my passion.” that isn’t to say he’s not open to the next adventure. “it’s hard to say what will happen tomorrow,” he muses. “maybe i will write a poem, or paint something interesting.”

38 americanphotomag.com march/april 2013

Top: A flower girl with balloons. Bottom, from left: A bride gets ready.

Bridesmaids talk with the bride. The bride and her sister help their father fix his bowtie.

this page: © ashley and jeremy parsons (2). opposite: © emin Kuliyev (4).

aShLey and JereMy parSonS

When Ashley Parsons was first asked to photograph a wedding, she was working as a doula and presenting at a health fair for expectant moms. “i just laughed and said, ‘i’m not a photographer, but thank you,’” she recalls. But the requester, who had seen family photographs she had taken, wouldn’t let it go. Shooting that first wedding turned out to be a revelation. “i went from one experience to another, and every photograph that i made was like giving myself a present,” she recalls. “i came home and said, ‘jeremy, we have to become wedding photographers.’” her enthusiasm won him over. “i went for it because i love spending time with my wife and i hated my job,” says jeremy, who was working for a loan servicing company in their home base of Kansas city, missouri, at the time. the couple spent their savings on a booth at a bridal show. they booked 18 weddings, and jeremy quit his job. now, after years of developing a natural-looking documentary style together, the parsons work with clients whom they get to know personally before the wedding. “We’ve got to have a connection to them that feels different than a client,” ashley explains. “if we wanted to work with

clients, we could go back to the business world.

We want to have couples that we get. We get their stories and what they’re about, and they get us.” that the leap of faith they made together has worked out so well doesn’t seem to surprise them. as ashley says, “how can you not feel inspired when you have the love of your life with you?”

Top: Newlyweds on the Baltic Sea island of Gotland, Sweden, where the groom spent summers when he was a boy. Bottom: The same bride, just before leaving her cottage to walk to the nearby church.

march/april 2013 americanphotomag.com 39

The Top 10 Wedding Photographers

Sean FLanigan

Sean Flanigan began his career in 2005 shooting a combination of photojournalism and weddings—work he’d begun as a photography student at the art institute of Seattle. But he came to a crossroads when he was offered a staff position at a newspaper. “i was getting assignments,” he recalls, “but they ended up not being as fun as the jobs i was getting from wedding clients.” Flanigan turned the position down and began to cultivate a clientele that valued his sometimes unconventional aesthetic. “only images that i would want to take again would go in my portfolio,” he explains. as a result, many of his clients today are creative professionals who share his enthusiasm for an artistic take on the wedding event. “my bride and groom are like my art directors of the day,” he says, “and i want to get them on board with me to collaborate as much as possible, so we’re coming away with the images as a team.”

Flanigan’s artistic approach includes occasional shots with lomo film cameras, plus a keen eye for available light developed in the Seattle area, where he grew up and where his business is based. “it has

Above: Newlyweds share a playful moment in Paris.

Below: The bride’s sisterin-law-to-be fixes her hair.

Opposite: Bride and groom with a skull the groom found.

40 americanphotomag.com march/april 2013

a real scarcity of directional light,” he says of his hometown. “So when i see the light, i go right to it. i’ve got a knack for seeing where the interesting light is. it just jumps out at me.”

Beyond technique, Flanigan credits his success to the trust and access his clients give him in capturing the event. “Ultimately,” he says, “what it comes down to for me is just seeing them get married and the looks on their faces. it’s awesome.”

Š Sean Flanigan (3)

© Todd Hunter McGaw

Todd Hunter McGaw The Top 10 Wedding Photographers

The bride walks across a ďŹ eld on the family property in the Gold Coast hinterland of Queensland, Australia, where her wedding was held.

MARCH/APRIL 2013 AMERICANPHOTOMAG.COM 43

The Top 10 Wedding Photographers

todd hunter Mcgaw

he says. But as much as his clients love the portraits, they’re often pleasantly surprised when they see the candid shots in their album. Says mcgaw: “We tell people, ‘You’re really going to love the photos of you kissing your mom,’ and they say, ‘Yeah, yeah, but let’s get to the interesting stuff.’ then when they see the albums, they really appreciate those little moments, which is honestly the whole reason we do it.”

Above: A bride with her bridesmaids. Below: A groom (second from left) walks off jitters with his groomsmen.

this page © todd hunter mcgaw (2). opposite: © tyler Wirken (4).

“I didn’t set out to be a wedding photographer,” says todd hunter mcgaw. “i always wanted to be a commercial photographer.” But when someone asked the Brisbane, australia–based photographer to shoot a wedding, he realized he could work with all of the elements he liked from multiple genres in one place. “i found that i could bring variety to my approach to photographing weddings, and people responded to that,” he says. mcgaw’s location brings lots of variety to him, too. “australia is quite a multicultural society,” he explains, “so we do Vietnamese and chinese weddings, tea ceremonies, Serbian orthodox weddings, and also people with pop-culture influences.” mcgaw has shot a wedding officiated by Darth Vader and a video-game-themed event where the bride walked down the aisle to mario Brothers music. “there are lots of people injecting their own personalities into their event, which we love,” he says. the common thread running through all the weddings mcgaw shoots is his clients’ enthusiasm for photography and the inventive portraits he creates with their collaboration. “We’re known for the conceptual, creative shoots we include on the day,”

tyLer wirken “We’re not for everybody,” says tyler Wirken of his Kansas city, missouri, studio. his clients, he explains, are usually more interested in images of other people at their wedding than of themselves. they’re “not center-of-attention people,” he says. You could say the same of Wirken himself. having started out as a photojournalist, he takes an unobtrusive approach to capturing the wedding day through candid shots of shared moments. “outside of portraits, i don’t direct anything,” he says. “if i talk to them a lot, then i end up affecting the integrity of the moment.”

Wirken even removes himself from the scene, at times shooting with remote cameras in churches and reception halls. But that doesn’t mean he

doesn’t have a personal connection with his clients. “i spend a lot of time with my couples before the wedding,” he explains, “so by the time i get there, i’ve got their trust.” establishing that personal relationship resonates with his family-oriented clientele. “i think my style really fits in here,” he says. “most of my clients still live in the town they grew up in. that strong family bond really makes a difference.” illuminating long-standing bonds is his ultimate goal, which is why he stays until the very end. “if i can dig deeper and show more of who people are, aside from it being a wedding day, then i feel i’ve succeeded,” Wirken says. “Usually at the end of the night, that comes out. the party’s over, and they one hundred percent become themselves.” AP

Top: The bride sheds a tear during the first dance with her husband. Bottom, from left: The bride tosses her bouquet. Reception guests celebrate. The groom dances his signature dance.

march/april 2013 americanphotomag.com 45

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.

From left: © Benjamin lowy/reportage by getty images; © Benjamin lowy/reportage by getty images for the Magnum emergency Fund (4).

#iphoneonly s Superstorm Sandy bore down on the eastern Seaboard, Time magazine’s direc­ tor of photography, Kira pollack, had a snap decision to make about how to document the impending chaos. “We came in Monday morn­ ing [october 29, 2012]—Sandy hit Monday night,” pollack says. “We really didn’t know what would happen: whether the power would go out, or how we would file images.” the solution? pollack’s team contacted five photo­ journalists and handed them the keys to Time’s instagram feed, granting unmediated access to the magazine’s presence on the social­photography platform; the images would also appear on light­

a

Journalist Ben Lowy covered the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy (above, left) with his phone. He’d used his phone for his work before, for instance, documenting events in Libya during the summer of 2012 (above, right).

Smartphone-savvy photographers find their niches in the brave new world of pocket publishing

by Travis Marshall

Box, the magazine’s online photography portal. “i had immediate access to hundreds of thou­ sands of viewers,” photographer Michael christo­ pher Brown says about shooting the assignment. “there was this tremendous sense of power, as i was both a photographer and an editor, able to reach an audience faster than any wire service.”

Within hours, five shooters hit the ground to document the devastation: Brown, fellow editorial photographer Ben lowy, frequent National Geographic shooter and Vii member ed Kashi, recent australian transplant to new York and World press photo award winner andrew Quilty, and Stephen Wilkes, who’d earned accolades for his

March/april 2013 aMericanphotoMag.coM 47

#iphoneonly large­format interiors in Ellis Island: Ghosts of Freedom. the kicker: Four of the five relied primarily on their smartphones. (Quilty used his DSlr and his iphone; Wilkes had a laptop, which he used to download one image.) “it was really about speed,” pollack says. “it was a way to get images up as quickly as we could, but we had to have the right photographers to make it work.” She explains that lowy, Brown, and Kashi especially were chosen for their smartphone shoot­ ing chops. “these are extraordinary journalists, and what they do with the technology is equally amaz­ ing,” she says. “Brown was literally shooting images in the middle of the night—in total darkness, with the power out in the city and only minimal light available—using nothing but his cellphone.” lowy and Brown are no strangers to chaos in the field. each specializes in conflict photography, where, they’ve found, smartphone technology adds a layer of flexibility and freedom to their jour­ nalism. “in libya, everyone used phones to take pictures and videos, so what i was doing was no different,” Brown says.

Brown had shot mobile for a project in china and then got his first smartphone­only assign­ ment covering the Democratic republic of congo, rwanda, and Uganda for Time’s mobile tech issue. “i flew to africa with three phones and no photo equipment,” he says. “i have to thank Kira pollack for believing in the project. on previous jobs with other publications, the consensus was we were only safe if we were using a 35mm.” lowy similarly garnered recognition when im­ ages he took in afghanistan with the app hipsta­ matic landed in The New York Times Magazine. “i flew back to new York from california as the storm was coming in,” lowy says. “When the plane landed i had an e­mail from deputy photo editor paul Moakley at Time saying they were thinking of having me cover the storm, and i realized the rockaways and coney island were where i needed to be.” in hindsight, his instincts were right on; his iphone image of the waves pounding coney island made the cover of Time’s subsequent print issue.

ConneCted Cameras Digital photography has become easier for every­ one to create and distribute thanks to smartphones and access to instant­publishing tools. “i think, with the democratization of photogra­ phy, people look at what they have readily available and they can say, ‘i take a picture of my lunch or my cat with my iphone, and this guy is using an iphone to photograph afghanistan or libya or the hurricane.’ it brings it that much closer to them,” lowy says. “it’s not some foreign tool. it’s like a very small psychological bridge that you can use to connect with your audience.” this simple tool may have the power to change how professional photographers interact, not only 48 aMericanphotoMag.coM March/april 2013

© Michael christopher Brown (3)

with their craft, subjects, and audiences but also with the outlets that buy their work. it’s difficult to shrug off the impact of connected photography. in november 2012 Samsung released the galaxy camera, a first attempt to incorporate the android oS and a cellular antenna into a compact camera. then canon introduced the eoS 6D, a full­frame DSlr with Wi­Fi and sharing tools built in. “this connectivity will become the new normal,” says richard Koci hernandez, an emmy­winning multimedia journalist, assistant professor of jour­ nalism at Uc Berkeley, and mobile­photography maven. “i never bet against technology.”

Covering the Democratic Republic of Congo (opposite and above) with his iPhones has given Michael Christopher Brown increased freedom and flexibility.

hernandez was an early adopter of iphone photography and social media. as a photojournalist for the San Jose Mercury News, he bought his first iphone in 2007—the first iteration, with its brutally grainy 2Mp camera—and almost immediately start­ ed using it on the job. “the combination of a camera and an internet connection meant i didn’t have to bring out my laptop,” hernandez says. “it was so convenient, i didn’t want to use anything else.” hernandez was an avid lomo and holga user before he embraced the iphone, and he thinks the smartphone’s shortcomings—like poor low­light performance and lack of manual controls—are

March/april 2013 aMericanphotoMag.coM 49

small sacrifices to make for the ability to edit and publish images from the palm of his hand. today hernandez has more than 160,000 follow­ ers on instagram, and the moody black­and­white street images that populate his feed have been pub­ lished everywhere from The New York Times’s lens blog and Slate to a national geographic book (pub­ lished in germany) titled iPhone-Fotografie, which features hernandez alongside four other iphone photographers, including Michael christopher Brown. “With the iphone 4S, at least, the camera is 50 aMericanphotoMag.coM March/april 2013

finally acceptable,” hernandez says. “good enough to get blown up for a national geographic book.” at a time when every part of the image­making business—fine artists, news outlets, multinational brands—are fighting for increasingly fragmented and distracted audiences, finding ways to engage people through social media and photo­sharing sites is considered the brass ring. “i’ve been ap­ proached numerous times by major car companies, clothing lines, and alcohol brands looking for mobile photography expertise,” hernandez says.

#iphoneonly

Instagram takeover the role social­savvy photographers such as her­ nandez play in galvanizing communities around a topic, whether it’s a new craft distillery or a vital news event like Superstorm Sandy, is still very much in its Wild West phase. But examples abound of pioneering shooters who take great images with simple tools, engage online audiences, and ulti­ mately carve out careers for themselves based in some part on photography they make with their smartphones. take liz eswein, who—with two other insta­ grammers with big followings, Brian DiFeo and anthony Danielle—cofounded the Mobile Media lab, one of the first social­media marketing con­ sultancies built almost entirely around instagram. eswein was a student at nYU when she joined the startup social photography site in 2011, well before its current status as a Facebook­owned tech juggernaut. She casually chose the username @newyorkcity. “i decided i wanted to show photos of the city. i tried a few names, and amazingly this one was available,” eswein says. “i was so excited when i had 50 followers, but then it just exploded.” eswein quickly realized the inherent value of her username when people from all over the world started liking, sharing, and commenting on her snapshots of skylines, street scenes, food, and fashion. her following quickly swelled into the hundreds of thousands—more than 560,000 as this went to print—and early last year eswein started getting offers from nYc­based brands willing to pay to build their mobile marketing and appear in her photo stream.

Fresh out of college, eswein, then 23, had inad­ vertently become a one­woman publishing house with an audience to rival that of many magazines, her feed the de facto face of new York city. cue the light bulb.

“Brian, anthony, and i were already being ap­ proached individually when we decided to cofound the company, and we got a big campaign with Samsung right after we teamed up,” eswein says. “it’s been really successful so far—i’d say about 95 percent of our clients approach us, rather than the other way around.” Mobile Media lab’s recent work has included coverage for Kérastase at new York Fashion Week and evian at the U.S. open, as well as virtual guest appearances—known as instagram takeovers—for such outlets as Lucky magazine.

© richard Koci hernandez (3)

toward a mobIle aesthetIC one byproduct of the spike in demand for mobile photography is the widespread use of filters and frames on images shared through instagram and similar apps. they serve to mask the flaws that come with lower­quality images, but filtering has also become its own kind of aesthetic.

Veteran sports photographer Brad Mangin brought that look to the print pages of Sports Illustrated when the July 23, 2012, issue included a

Early adopter Richard Koci Hernandez (who shot the three images on this spread) has been a camera-phone devotee since he started using the first iPhone (with its 2MP camera) to shoot assignments for the San Jose Mercury News.

three­page spread comprising 18 instagram base­ ball images that he took during spring training and the regular season. like many photographers getting a new per­ spective on their craft thanks to the simplicity and creativity of smartphone photography, Mangin found it liberating to shed his big cameras and just experiment. “We are always looking for ways to present the game of baseball in a fun photo essay,” Mangin says. “and we liked the idea of instagram because it was kind of new—none of the big weekly magazines had done much with it yet.”

March/april 2013 aMericanphotoMag.coM 51

52 aMericanphotoMag.coM March/april 2013

my dark room, apparatus, and gallery,” Young says. “the technology lets me share test images with ef­ fects quickly, then turn around the final shots on a tight deadline, but at the end of the day, my clients want me for my artistry, not the device.”

edItorIalIzIng Web publishing is another venue for which instant mobile photography is a perfect fit. the past five years have seen an explosion of original online content, and it all needs Web­optimized images

© Brad Mangin (4)

Former art director turned iphoneographer tim Young had never seriously picked up a camera before he began sharing his iphone photos on insta­ gram, but two of his images were selected for inclu­ sion in the first international iphoneography Show at the Soho gallery for Digital art. the ensuing snowball effect included a book with the creators of the apps FX photo Studio and color Splash Studio, more gallery shows, and commissioned works. “i’m a photographer that chooses to use an iphone. it’s about ease of use, unobtrusiveness—it’s

#iphoneonly that can move from camera to reader quickly.

Kirsten alana, a travel photographer, blogger, and social­media consultant, fell into iphone pho­ tography thanks to an equipment malfunction. “My canon eoS 5D Mark ii had a bad water encounter,” she says. “So i decided to travel light and carry less equipment, testing myself to see if i could still cap­ ture images good enough to submit to editors.” now alana spends much of her life on the road as a contributor for travel outlets such as Afar magazine, Gadling, and Hostelworld and as a cor­ respondent for expedia; she gives talks and classes about smartphone photography along the way. “i’ve now been using an iphone as my work camera for nearly two years,” she says. “So far, no complaints.” alana credits the pocket­sized portability, endless supply of apps, and the ability to publish photos from anywhere as the primary reasons she’s chosen to work with a smartphone rather than her DSlrs. “i want people to feel like they are there, traveling as well, experiencing a destination along with me,” she explains. “an iphone lets me do this better than most digital cameras.”

From top: © liz eswein; © Kirsten alana

the tos debate as this article was being filed, instagram an­ nounced planned changes to its terms of service, sparking criticism among pros who use the site, including many of the photographers interviewed here. the most controversial among the proposed changes were those construed as giving instagram and parent company Facebook the rights to publish and sell images for advertising without consent from or compensation for the photographer. the huge backlash among high­profile users led instagram ceo Kevin Systrom to release a clarify­ ing blog post within 24 hours, part of which read, “to be clear: it is not our intention to sell your photos.” Shortly afterward, Systrom announced, “We are reverting this advertising section to the original version that has been in effect since we launched the service in october 2010.”

Michael christopher Brown was willing to wait for the dust to settle. “initially, my reaction was to wait for the final verdict,” he says. “though if they had changed the terms to what they were propos­ ing, i would have closed the account.” Mangin says he was worried and would have left the service had instagram not rolled back to its original terms, but ultimately, is happy that the company listened to its users. he continues to use the service. in the era of social networking and instant publishing, debates like these will keep popping up. instagram, like many other social networking platforms, may be a powerful publishing tool, but it is also a for­profit enterprise.

Sports photographer Brad Mangin (opposite) used an iPhone and Instagram for his baseball portraits, which later became part of a book. Liz Eswein, who shoots on Instagram with the handle @newyorkcity, has turned her feed into a business. This shot (right) was part of a sponsored series for handbag designer Gryson. Constantly on the road, travel photographer Kirsten Alana counts on her iPhone’s camera to quickly turn around images like the one below.

them: in a fast­paced world, convenience, speed, and connectivity rule the day.

Both a magazine and its readers benefit when reporting spreads as far and wide as possible. pollack had published smartphone images before Sandy; she even incorporated instagram into Time’s first Wireless issue. But the magazine’s storm coverage was still very much an experi­ ment—its first attempt at using the platform for a breaking­news event of this magnitude. the experiment worked, driving 13 percent of the entire website’s traffic during a week with one of the highest traffic days in its history. “the images were strong, immediate, and emotional. and they spread like wildfire,” pollack says. “When it lends itself to the right story, with the right photogra­ phers, i’ll do it again.” AP

prInt-worthy Ultimately, the reasons that Time’s photo team chose smartphones to cover Superstorm Sandy are much the same reasons eswein and alana use March/april 2013 aMericanphotoMag.coM 53

Jambo, a chimpanzee living at Twycross Zoo in Warwickshire, U.K., suffers from alopecia totalis and has no hair. Heﾃ不 the dominant male chimp in his colony; this may account for the scar on his head, perhaps a consequence of trying to maintain control over the other chimps.

Animal Insight We have no choice but to look at animals through human eyes. What do such portrayals tell us about ourselves?

by Tim Flach

A commercial photographer based in London, Tim Flach first became fascinated with animals in 1993, when an ad shoot for Guinness required him to pair a python with a vulture. He went on to pursue an ambitious seven-year study of horses that culminated in his first book, equus, in 2008. From there he took on an in-depth survey of man’s best friend in his 2010 volume, Dogs. In late 2012 Flach published more than human, which examines a wide swath of the animal kingdom—from insects to apes to elephants. Here he shares the stories and ideas behind his ongoing exploration of our natural cohabiters. ne of the first animals i brought into the studio was a panther that wasn’t very cooperative. it got so annoyed that it snarled at the camera. But that’s what’s great about working with animals—i love the uncertainty. i’m interested in the juxtaposition of chaos and control. on set, i am bringing an unexpected element—the animal—into a situation that is otherwise controlled. and i become an observer of the unpredictable events that unfold in front of my lens.

You can have a framework and an idea, but one of the most productive spaces to be in is one where you’re not married to what you think you’ll get. and that which surprises you can in turn surprise others. perhaps by choosing animals, i’m relying on a subject that forces me to work in that kind of space. a lot of my images deal with anthropocentrism, the idea that reality is defined by the human perspective. We inevitably project our own values upon animals. and it’s often tempting for us to imagine ourselves in their place. take the case of rajang, the orangutan in the photograph at the top of page 56. he was placed in a breeding program many years ago. at that time we were just starting to do Dna sequencing, and they discovered that he wasn’t a purebred, that

© 2012 tim Flach

o

march/april 2013 americanphotomag.com 55

On the Job

Clockwise from above: Rajang, an orangutan hybrid at Colchester Zoo in Essex, U.K.; Jambo, a Northern white-faced scops owl at AmeyZoo, an exoticanimal shelter in Hertfordshire, U.K.; Ivory, a White Transvaal lion at the T.I.G.E.R.S. Preservation Station in South Carolina.

beauty & The beasts at the root of my work are two things: a celebration of nature’s beauty and an exploration of how we shape nature and how it shapes us. there is a tendency—particularly with beautiful pictures in advertising—toward a commoditization of imagery. But you can have something that looks to a scientific idea and is pretty at the same time. my experience as a commercial photographer informs my work with animals. my art background, having trained as a painter, informs it as well. and my concern with the debates around animals is relevant to a broader audience than just the artwork. i think aesthetics offer a way to bring into a debate 56 americanphotomag.com march/april 2013

© 2012 tim Flach (3)

he was actually a cross between a Bornean and a Sumatran orangutan—which meant they had to give him a vasectomy, because it would be contrary to the practice of zoos to breed hybrids. and he wasn’t suitable for wild release, either. So the poor guy had been sitting in a zoo for more than 30 years and not allowed to breed. after hearing this story, you might look at him and say, “look at his sad eyes!” that’s anthropocentrism: our projection of what we think he’s thinking.

But how can we possibly know what he is thinking? it’s hard to know another person’s perceptual space, let alone some other species’. But we tend to have more empathy toward a subject that seems to extend our own understanding of intelligence. carrier pigeons, for example, can navigate without using a gpS, yet we don’t worry about their ethical position, do we? Because that intelligence is beyond our comprehension. But when we see an animal’s intelligence as an extension or our own, we get more concerned about where the boundaries of ethics lie.

So i tend to look for the human connection. in the shot of the owl on the opposite page, i like the delicateness of the eyelashes. i try to find little details that connect us to the animals.

people who might not come otherwise. i’ve heard that my work looks stylized. i find that interesting because i do value the evidence in front of the camera—and that is what i photograph. i don’t want to cause trouble here, but i would suggest that some documentary photographers aren’t always as transparent about what lies in front of the camera. and yet, when you look at my pictures, you might question whether they are real. Which is a bit ironic. i like the idea that photography can fragment a moment, like the flight of a bird, or that you can take a very small subject and bring it up in scale, like the close-up of the chimp’s hands—actually a chimp holding his own foot—at the bottom of page 59. observing something in detail, with the context removed, allows us time to reflect on its meaning. an image works well when you know what you’re looking at but you still have space to wonder. i do keep the background quite neutral—i want you to engage purely with the animal. most of the time i shoot with a hasselblad h4D-50 and a digital back, with Broncolor lights, and when possible i’ll bring the subject into my studio and place a black velvet behind the animal. often i’ll take the studio to the animal. the shot of the lion, below, for example, was made in a private breeding program; i did a series of portraits where i looked at different colorations of great cats.

On the Job

march/april 2013 americanphotomag.com 57

58 americanphotomag.com march/april 2013

On the Job

© 2012 tim Flach (4)

there was black velvet behind the animal, but for other shots there was concrete, so i set up a beamed light source so that the background goes black, to approximate a sense of studio-quality lighting.

Very rarely do i add black in post production. i wouldn’t even shoot something on a gray background and then go make it black, because i feel that’s artificial. in an exhibition setting, a lot of my pictures go up to three and a half meters long—i don’t believe they would hold up if i were trying to do some dodgy bit around the background. in some cases i engage with the animal, maybe by having a trainer dangle a chunk of meat on a stick. in other situations, i’m shooting through glass and i don’t control anything—i have no way to influence what the animal does. there is always uncertainty. the animal might pee or poop or just decide that it’s having a bad day. no matter how much production or research goes into an image, the key is never to be distracted from the act of observing. closest Kin my book More Than Human features many species that are genetically quite similar to Homo sapiens. We think of chimpanzees in this category; their Dna is about 98.4 percent the same as ours. But bonobos—as seen in the middle image at left—are an alternative social scenario of our closest relatives. Whereas chimps might use more aggression to create order and control, bonobos tend to use sex to negotiate. they are matriarchal, not patriarchal, and are affectionate, as this image suggests. the capuchin monkey on the opposite page may look like he’s counting his fingers, but we have no way of knowing. For this photo i wanted to reference a project led by Keith chen, associate professor of economics at Yale University, where they introduced a monetary system into a colony of capuchins by encouraging them to buy food with tokens. an interesting outcome: the monkeys were risk-averse and very clear about what they would negotiate with their tokens. and at least one monkey reportedly used a token to buy sex. then there are the animals who have, in tandem with humans, become the most domesticated. While working on my 2010 book project, Dogs, a central challenge was not just dealing with the dogs Clockwise from far left: but also the owners, Rupee, a white-faced capubecause it seems that chin monkey at Hollywood Animals, Santa Clarita, CA; a domestic dog would Djala, a Western lowland almost rather be with gorilla at Port Lympne Wild a human than with Animal Park, Kent, U.K.; its own species. and Ditou and Cheka, a pair of when the human gets bonobos at Twycross Zoo stressed out, the dog in Warwickshire, U.K.; does as well. a dog’s Tojo, a chimpanzee at Twycross Zoo. sensitivity to smell is march/april 2013 americanphotomag.com 59

hundreds of times greater than ours—so they can smell the chemistry, if nothing else. the afghan hound above is a show dog who was brought in wearing shoes, with a scarf around his neck to protect his beautifully manicured hair. i showed him looking down to be evocative—so you concentrate on the parting. i’m sure many women would be proud to have hair like that. i was making a direct reference to the idea of grooming. if you think about the dog—rooted in the gray

Above: Chico, a champion show dog, is an Afghan hound, first introduced to the West around the 19th century. Originally developed for hunting, Afghans possess exceptional speed and vision, not to mention hair.

60 americanphotomag.com march/april 2013

wolf, yet there’s everything from a chihuahua to a great Dane—it is the one animal that we’ve brought into our homes and whose fate we’ve determined like no other.

Whether the subject is a species we are close to or one that the human race threatens, i see my photography as a way of examining our attitudes and responsibilities toward the natural world. to look at animals with intensity is to question what we are all doing here.

—As told to Jack Crager

© 2012 tim Flach

On the Job

INTRODUCING!

PopPhoto Poses with Lindsay Adler is the essential posing guide for photographers looking to add creative and unique posing options for their clients. Each photo includes the tips and techniques to easily direct and shoot fashion.

Fashion Poses

EW!l N L L A ssentia

The e fashion r app fo graphers photo

Lindsay Adler is a portrait and fashion photographer based in NY. Her images have appeared in dozens of publications internationally. Lindsay has authored two photography books and teaches thousands of photographers annually how to improve their vision and craft.

PopPhoto Poses with Lindsay Adler

Scan to see a photo tip from Lindsay

WHAT PHOTOGRAPHERS NEED THE GOODS 64 REVIEW 66

COMING ATTRACTION

SCREEN STAR Panasonic introduces a super-tablet for super visuals

n a digital technology landscape littered with me-too tablets, it’s rare that a prototype captures the imagination. But at the 2013 International CES show in Las Vegas in January, Panasonic garnered a lot of buzz with its 20-inch version, whose astonishingly highresolution display, a 4K IPS Alpha LCD touchscreen, promises to show off photographs better than any other portable device—tablet or laptop computer—available today.

Not that this puppy is meant to be carried around all that much. Measuring nearly 19 inches on its longest side (the “20-inch” designation is a diagonal screen measurement) and weighing more than 5 pounds, the tablet won’t fit easily in a camera or computer bag.

Panasonic is positioning it more for use in studios and design-intensive offices. Photographers will benefit from not just the screen’s super resolution—it’s more than four times the pixel count of Full HD and significantly higher than Apple’s Retina display—but also the high-precision digital

I

BY MIRIAM LEUCHTER

pen that comes with it for retouching, image editing, and note taking.

Although the tablet might have a competitor or two by the time it arrives in stores later this year, at this point Panasonic has no real rivals.

The closest is Wacom’s Cintiq, a line of interactive displays for retouching, drawing, and editing images directly using a remarkably precise pressure-sensitive pen (or less-precise fingertip on the 24-inch touchscreen model). But the Cintiq’s resolution tops out at 1920 x 1200 (compared with 3840 x 2560 for the Panasonic) and it must be tethered to a computer to operate—it’s only a display, after all. And aside from its smaller 12-inch version, the Cintiq offers little in the way of portability: The top 24-inch model weighs nearly 64 pounds.

We’ll see to what extent this forthcoming Panasonic changes how photographers interact with their images in the studio and on the road. But it certainly augurs well for the future of mobile technology for imaging. AP

NOTEWORTHY SPECS DIMENSIONS 18.7 x 13.1 x 0.4 in.

(475 x 333 x 11 mm) WEIGHT 5.3 lbs (2.4 kg) RESOLUTION 3840 x 2560 (230 ppi); 9.83 million pixels OPERATING SYSTEM Windows 8 Pro 64 Bit CPU Intel Core i5 3427U vPro 1.80GHz MEMORY 4GB (16GB max); 128GB flash drive (SSD) WIRELESS IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n (Wi-Fi); Bluetooth 4.0 USB PORT USB 2.0 MEMORY CARD SLOT microSD BATTERY LIFE Approx. 2 hours BUY IT Available 2nd half of 2013, price to be announced; panasonic.com

MARCH/APRIL 2013 AMERICANPHOTOMAG.COM 63

the goods Cool new gear for photographers

By the editors of american photo

PACKed Pistol

neo-ClAssiC UPdAte Fujifilm X100S It’s been well over two years since Fujifilm unveiled its retro rangefinder-style compact, the X100. Now its APS-C-sized X-Trans CMOS sensor has been beefed up, and with it, the autofocus system.

Besides 16 megapixels (up from 12.3MP) for capturing images, the new sensor on the X100S has embedded phase-detection pixels for speedier, more accurate AF. Prefer to focus manually? It will be easier with the new digital split-image focusing and focus-peaking features; the former shows the center of the frame split by seams that align the image as it comes into focus, while the latter highlights the sharply focused areas within the frame. A hybrid finder lets you switch between an electronic and a 100 percent accurate optical view. As did its predecessor, the X100S sports a 35mm (full-frame equivalent) f/2 lens for a street shooter’s classic angle on the world. BUY IT $1,300, fujifilm-x.com

Vanguard GH-300T This unique ballhead for tripods wears its difference prominently: Its pistol grip makes repositioning the camera a snap, and the handle can be rotated 360 degrees for comfortable use at any angle, even when the camera sits flush to the ground. But less obvious is the orange button that controls a remote shutter trigger built into the handle. Using a universal 2.5mm DC shutter release cable (it comes with versions for Canon and Nikon DSLRs), this allows the photographer to snap a photo without letting go of the handle, making it much easier to shoot while panning along with a moving subject.

The 360-degree panorama base just below the camera mount has 72 clickstops to regulate sequential shots to be stitched together later, and a second panning plate closer to where the head fits into the tripod affords a full range of horizontal motion in tracking. Besides adding the shutter trigger, Vanguard redesigned its signature head to hold more weight—it now supports a rig of up to 17.5 pounds, up from 13.2 pounds.

BUY IT $200, vanguardworld.com

tiny tele Sigma DP3 Merrill This sleek little compact, the third in Sigma’s DP Merrill line, promises big performance.

First there’s the fast (f/2.8) fixed telephoto lens: 50mm, which on the camera’s APS-C-sized sensor scales up to the equivalent of 75mm on a full-frame sensor. Then there’s the sensor itself, Sigma’s Foveon X3, a three-layered imaging chip that forgoes the Bayer pattern of most camera sensors and instead has separate layers for its 15.3 million (each) red-, green-, and blue-sensitive pixels.

Built similarly to the DP1 and DP2 Merrills, but with longer reach (the others’ lenses are 28mm and 45mm equivalents, respectively) the DP3 Merrill is made for tele purists and Foveon fans who want a truly pocketable camera and are willing to pay a pretty penny—while the DP3 hasn’t been priced yet, its siblings sell for just under $1,000. BUY IT Price to be announced, sigmaphoto.com

64 americanphotomag.com march/april 2013

neW diMension in 3d

sPeed MeMory Lexar Professional 1100x XQD cards and XQD USB 3.0 reader So far, only the Nikon D4 takes XQD memory cards, but Lexar is diving in (after Sony) with cards in 32- and 64-gigabyte capacities. With a minimum guaranteed read transfer speed of 168 megabytes per second, XQD provides the fastest transfer of any card format, reducing the time it takes to move those big files from camera to computer.

BUY IT $300 (32GB), $580 (64GB), $45 (reader); info at lexar.com

Samsung NX300 and 45mm f/1.8 2D/3D lens With these additions to its line of interchangeable-lens compacts, Samsung is taking a new approach to 3D. Used on the NX300, this 45mm lens fires its twin LCD shutters to capture alternate left- and righteye shots; set to 2D, it works like a regular lens on any NX body. Photographers who stick to two dimensions will like the camera’s 20.3MP APS-C-sized CMOS sensor, stunning 3.3-inch AMOLED display, and souped-up autofocus system. BUY IT Price for kit (as shown) to be announced, samsungimaging.net

hArd GlAss Hoya HD2 filters These high-quality filters come in three varieties: UV to block ultraviolet light, polarizing to control glare and reflections, and protective to shield the lens from dings and scratches. The thin-frame, high-pass circular polarizer transmits more light than most. Made of hardened optical glass with eight layers of coating, the HD2 series resists oil, water, smudges, and stains. That’s stuff no digital filter can do. BUY IT $50 to $225, thkphoto.com

stellAr PAnorAMAs Celestron Sky-Watcher Virtuoso Versatile Mount Nothing takes the hassle out of shooting enormous multi-shot panorama images like an automated mount. GigaPan’s robotic models pretty much had the corner on this specialized field, but now telescope maker Celestron is bringing this kind of gear down to earth. Its Virtuoso Vesatile Mount includes a 1⁄4-20-thread L-bracket that holds most types of cameras, from DSLRs to camcorders to smartphones.

Although it comes with a remote trigger for Canon EOS Rebel bodies, it will accept cables from other camera makers.

The Virtuoso affords dual-axis tracking for horizontal or skyward panoramas. And with accessories such as eyepieces for astronomical viewing and a solar filter and finder for safely viewing the sun, the Virtuoso might make the most terrestrial of shooters take up astrophotography.

BUY IT $250, celestron.com march/april 2013 americanphotomag.com 65

Review

WOrKS On PaPer Canon’s new Pixma Pro-10 is not your average inkjet

ew pigment-ink photo printers don’t come around often, so when canon released its pixma pro-10 in late 2012, we were excited to get our hands on one. it joins canon’s other 13-inch pigment printers, the pixma pro-1 from 2011 and the older pixma pro9500 mark ii, adding Wi-Fi connectivity for wireless printing to keep up with the demands of tech-savvy shooters. in many ways the pro-10 resembles the pixma pro-1: same angled manual-feed tray, same built-in ethernet port, same chroma optimizer in the ink sets. and it costs about $300 less than the pro-1.

But this version also makes cutbacks, using 10 14milliliter pigment-based ink tanks instead of the dozen 36ml tanks of the pro-1, and three monochrome inks down from five. (Both printers can produce a “made in a black-and-white darkroom” look, with rich, even tones from highlights to shadows.) like the pro-1, the pro-10 allows switching between matte and gloss/semi-gloss papers without wasting time or ink because matte black and photo black inks are always on board and ready to go (unlike most pigment-ink printers from other companies, including epson). and these inks are made to last. most inkjets (including others from canon) use dye-based inks. But pigment inks almost always last longer, prove more water-resistant, and

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BY anDrEW DarLoW

dry faster, allowing critical color inspection just a few minutes after output. print longevity specialist Wilhelm imaging research estimates that prints from the pixma pro-1 (essentially equivalent to the pro-10) will last 100 years or more before noticeable fading when displayed under UV acrylic (200 or more years in dark storage).

Setting it uP the pixma pro-10 can fit just fine into most home offices or studios. Weighing just under 44 pounds, it’s solidly built and feels as though it will stand the test of time. Because of the way its feed trays work, the printer can be placed close to a wall.

From the time we lifted it from its box, it took only about 45 minutes to download the printer drivers and software (from the canon website instead of the provided DVD, for the latest versions), install the print head, load the inks, run the print head calibration (this requires two sheets of plain paper), and make our first test print. this was using USB; printing via the network connection, and then wirelessly (using canon’s iJ network tool and onscreen manual), came later and worked flawlessly.

We found the mini master Setup application to guide the process on the site, which also provides well-made how-to videos on many topics, from

66 americanphotomag.com march/april 2013

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Review

Print SPeed trialS

setting up the printer to how to print a disc label.

We started the clock from the time the printer started feeding the paper. Here’s how the Canon canon provides a lot of Pixma Pro-10 fared. software with the pro-10, including its print Studio Paper Type Print/Paper Size Quality Setting Time (min:sec) pro plug-in and other tools for printing cards, Medium 3:37 calendars, stickers, and Matte albums. the plug-in works 8x10 High 4:42 on with canon’s Dpp and Medium 2:29 8.5x11 adobe photoshop, lightroom, and elements, but Semi-gloss High 3:20 we opted for a tried-andHighest 7:14 true approach, loading the driver via the mini master Medium 5:30 Setup first, and using Matte 11x14 High 6:55 lightroom and photoon shop to get our printing Medium 3:37 13x19 done. another rare item included: canon’s color High 5:07 Semi-gloss management tool, which Highest 10:35 lets you make custom paper profiles and calibrate the printer (color-management hardware is Canon Pixma media type in the canon driver. this affords just Pro-10 required for this feature). about any margin as well as custom paper sizes.

Some of the items we like in pro-level printers caveats: You’ll sacrifice a tiny bit of image quality ProS from epson that are missing or not as configucompared with the art paper settings, there’s no M Excellent build quality rable with the pixma pro-10 include the ability to manual feed option, and you’ll need to make your M Stunning print quality on glossy and semi-gloss papers adjust the printer’s head clearance for individual own profiles or let the printer manage colors since M Excellent print quality on papers (instead, it can be done in the print utility there are no profiles provided for plain paper. matte papers for all papers) and the ability to increase overall M No internal or manual ink density inside the driver when printing with Print Quality and SPeed change-over needed to switch profiles through a color-management-aware ediWe performed a number of print tests to judge between the matte black and photo black inks tor such as apple’s aperture, adobe photoshop, print quality and speeds: You may be surprised at M Vivid colors and excellent or lightroom. ink density and other adjustments the quality you can achieve at settings lower than black-and-white output can be made inside the driver when the printer the highest permitted. the speed bump can be M 14-inch-wide down to 3.5x5manages colors, but not when selecting a custom especially dramatic if you print a lot. inch paper capability or vendor-supplied profile in lightroom’s print on high-quality semi-gloss and gloss (includM Two separate feed trays for module or photoshop’s print dialogue box. ing fiber gloss) papers from canon, hahnemuhle, media up to 350gsm ilford, moab, premierart, red river paper, and M Chroma Optimizer cartridge for smoother surface appearothers, we got stunning results with canon’s pro Handling tHe PaPer ance on gloss/semi-gloss semi-gloss profiles, paper-manufacturer-supplied the two paper-feed trays on the pro-10 are well M CD/DVD and borderless profiles (though this varied), and our own customdesigned and perform superbly. We tested the rear printing capability made profiles. Sharpness, color saturation, lack of feed tray, actually located on the top of the printer, M Relatively quiet visible dots, and overall image depth were fantastic. M Wireless printing; apps to with many paper types, from single sheets of copy But prints made on high-quality matte inkjet paper to a stack of about eight 300gsm sheets of print from phones and tablets M Ink use very efficient despite papers from many of these companies impressed art paper. in the rear of the printer is a drop-down its relatively small cartridges us less at first, especially when compared with the tray called the manual feed tray, which accepts same images printed on the same papers using an sheets only one at a time but is easy to use when ConS epson Stylus pro 3880, a 17-inch pigment printer. feeding papers up to 14 inches wide.

M 30mm border requirement prints were a bit flat and lacked punch. however, the print driver allows users to choose from a for matte fine-art papers (see adjusting image contrast in photoshop or lightnumber of paper types, but as the pro-1 does, the workaround in the article) room hugely affected both print contrast and satupro-10 produced some mixed messages. For exM Comparatively small ink cartridges (14ml) ration, making differences nearly imperceptible. ample, when we chose a matte “art paper” setting, our black-and-whites from the pro-10 were which uses matte Black ink, we received an error M Limited print driver options (speed, head clearance, ink excellent overall, particularly on fiber gloss papers, telling us that we needed to use a paper-size setting density) though we preferred the slightly more detailed look canon calls “art paper margin 30,” indicating that M On matte papers, slightly of semi-gloss B&W prints from the pro-1, which the printer requires at least a 30mm border on the lower print quality than some uses up to four gray inks at any one time when top and bottom—a problem if you want to print competitors printing. the canon driver offers a dedicated closer to the edge of the paper or use a custom page button to have the driver take over the B&W size. We got around this by using the plain paper 68 americanphotomag.com march/april 2013

Actual size is 40.6 mm

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REVIEW conversion, and it does a very good job. And much as with Epson’s Advanced Black and White driver option, you can fine-tune the monotone tonality, contrast, and other characteristics under the Manual Color Adjustment section (Windows) or Color Options menu item (Mac).

Print speeds were good—in some cases, great.

We clicked on “Custom” inside the driver to set the print quality/speed, but even then we had only two options in most cases. The good news is that the medium setting on matte papers produced virtually the same image quality as the highest settings, but with a significant speed bump—about a minute for an 8x10 image on 8.5x11-inch paper, and close to a minute and a half for an 11x14 on 13x19-inch paper (see the table on page 68).

For semi-gloss/gloss papers, we saw more difference between the medium- and highest-quality settings, but in many cases medium (specifically, the setting just below Fine for semi-gloss/gloss papers) will fit the bill, and at speeds that are significantly faster—sometimes twice as fast.

The Pro-10 surprised us with how little ink it used during our tests: The level in most of our cartridges dropped only about 25 percent after more than 50 8x10 prints. For photographers who make just a

Andrew Darlow (imagingbuffet.com) is a photographer and consultant and the author of 301 Inkjet Tips and Techniques: An Essential Printing Resource for Photographers.

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THE BOTTOM LINE

few prints a week, there are advantages to purchasing a printer like this one with relatively small cartridges. Based on that usage, the inks should take six months to a year to cycle through, and replacements will be less expensive than those needed for printers with larger-capacity ink tanks.

Overall, the Canon Pixma Pro-10 has much to recommend it, from its sturdy construction to its ability to make affordable, long-lasting, high-quality prints on a wide range of papers. AP

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PARTING SHOT

he most magical part of childhood is the ability to live in the imagination. providence, rhode island, and new York city–based rachel hulin often draws on her early fantasies of levitation for her editorial and commercial photography. But the inspiration for her new children’s book, Flying Henry (powerhouse Books, 2013), came mostly from her son. in 2011, henry, then 6 months old, loved being held aloft and sailed around the room. after photographing this a few times, hulin was struck by how much it appeared as if he were caught in his own experience, floating apart. “it was an allegory for how he seemed so in his own world,” she explains. “i was always trying to figure out what was going on in his mind.”

She began staging shoots of henry in flight, using a tripod and self-timer as she (and occasionally, her husband, David) held him. the photo sessions usually took 10 minutes, netting five shots of the background and five of henry before he lost

t

In this photo from Flying Henry, the baby decides it’s time to fly the coop in search of adventure. Rachel Hulin photographed her son Henry to tell the story.

72 americanphotomag.com march/april 2013

Rachel Hulin sends her son aloft

By Lori Fredrickson

interest. She composited the images and erased the adults in adobe photoshop. encouraged by positive responses from friends and colleagues on Facebook, she pitched the photos as a children’s book.

But crafting a storyline was tough going for hulin. “i knew where henry’s adventure started— in the home—but i wasn’t sure where it would end,” she says. after making images at home, she devised trips to a topiary garden and a zoo during a halloween festival: life for a floating baby truly in the outside world. the book’s conclusion—henry realizes that the world is much more fun to explore with friends—was captured with the help of the smaller guests at David’s 35th birthday party. the image here was taken in David’s parents’ kitchen when henry was about 10 months old. “it’s a solitary, quiet moment—the light when it comes in during the afternoon is beautiful,” hulin says. “this is the moment where nothing in the kitchen is quite within his reach. it’s when he decides to fly off and have all of these adventures.” AP

© rachel hulin. From Flying Henry by rachel hulin, published by powerhouse Books

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