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Do photographers make the worst portrait subjects? That’s a question for Rene Burri, who has been taking group portraits of the members of Magnum Photos at the cooperative’s annual meeting for over 30 years.
At Magnum’s recent meeting in Paris, Chien-Chi Chang shot a short video of Burri as he attempts to direct and cajole the members in three languages. The resulting portrait appears at the end of the video.
Peter Parker, who was arguably the most famous newspaper photojournalist (albeit a fictional one) and superhero, has died. The final installment in the “Death of Spider-Man” comic book series went on sale June 22, Marvel Comic announced last week. (Speculation that Parker, Spider-Man’s alter ego, committed suicide after scathing reviews of his Broadway musical, “Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark,” are currently unfounded.)
Longtime fans of the web-slinger needn’t fear, though. The Spider-Man killed in this month’s Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #160 is a re-imagined version created in 2000 under Marvel Comics’ Ultimate Marvel imprint as part of an effort to appeal to a younger audience. One recent storyline involved Parker being fired from the Daily Bugle for doctoring photos.
While the Ultimate Marvel version was being published, the original Spider-Man was having his own adventures in several series that were published concurrently. The more seasoned Spider-Man, created in 1962 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, will continue to grace his own monthly titles.
Somehow we knew the real Peter Parker would never Photoshop photos meant for publication.
Tempers have been flaring for months over New York City’s bike lanes. Residents blame them for adding to traffic congestion; bicyclist claim motorists who flout the rules make the bike lanes unsafe. Against that backdrop, filmmaker (and bicyclist) Casey Neistat has posted a 3-minute video titled “bike lanes” to protest a fine he had to pay for straying outside a bike lane. His initial encounter with a police officer makes for a slow start, but if you stay with it, the rest of the video makes for quite an entertaining short.
This new fashion spread features high production values, detailed styling, great lighting, lots of imagination… And it induces giggles, as fashion photography often does.
Photographer Peter Lippmann, known for exquisite still lifes, has re-interpreted several well known paintings, by Zubaran, Whistler, de la Tour and others. In each photo, he’s placed a shoe or handbag from the 2011 collection of 
luxury fashion designer Christian Louboutin. The idea seems to be that Louboutin’s sculpted, bejeweled and befeathered shoes and clutch purses are works of art.
What strikes us funny is that none of the models in the photos are actually wearing the shoes — they’re holding them in their laps, gazing lovingly at them as they sit on a table or carrying them atop a tray of fruit. That’s probably wise, because posing in those heels could hurt. And people who collect Louboutin’s red-soled creations aren’t really interested in their practicality.
Still, it would have been nice if Whistler’s mother had spiced up that dowdy outfit of hers with a pair of roccia leather ankle boots with studded piping. After all, she’s got a foot rest.
All photos © Peter Lippmann
A silent auction of photographic prints to benefit relief efforts in Japan will be held next Thursday, April 21 at 25CPW Gallery in New York City. The auction is being organized by a group of NY-based Japanese and American photographers, and includes work donated by more than 60 photographers.
Ticket sales for the event, and 100% of proceeds will go to Architecture for Humanity, a non-profit organization that is helping rebuild communities affected by the earthquake and tsunami.
Participating photographers include Gilles Bensimon, Kenro Izo, Elliott Erwitt, Jean Gaumy, Lois Conner, Nina Berman, Suzanne Opton, Wayne Liu, James Whitlow Delano, Jonathan Mannion, and Stephen Ferry.
In addition to a silent auction, the event will feature Japanese-themed live music, food and drink.
The event is dubbed The Wa Project, after the ancient Japanese term, which “dates back to the 8th century and means many things,” says a statement by the organizers. “It is the ancient name of the spirit of the country itself. It also stands for peace and calm and is a symbol of the circle, unity, and harmony.”
The Wa Project is being produced through a partnership with Nuru Project, 25CPW and Sombra Projects, with contributions from the Magnum Foundation and Friends Without Borders.
For more information on participating artists, and to purchase tickets, please visit http://waphotographyauction.com/.
©Marcel Steger
Stock agencies frequently boast about the size of their image collections. Just yesterday, in fact, a well-known agency announced that its collection had reached 23 million images. It’s impossible to know how many images make up the entire stock photo universe, but suffice it to say the number runs into the hundreds of millions, at least. And the laws of probability dictate that some bad images–and I mean, really bad–are going to slip past the gatekeepers.
BuzzFeed.com has compiled a gallery of some of the worst examples. It’s hard to imagine how many of these pictures were even conceived, much less approved by photo editors. In fact, some are so outlandish that it occurred to us they might be hoaxes. We can’t vouch for the authenticity of all the watermarks indicating where the images came from, but Corbis confirmed that the image at above is indeed from its collection. It was shot by photographer Marcel Steger, and a Corbis spokesperson sent a link to his portfolio, presumably to help mitigate the shock of this particular image by giving it some context.
The BuzzFeed gallery also includes a dozen or so images from Getty, including the one shown at left. Asked whether this and the other images with Getty watermarks are really from Getty, an agency spokesperson said she’d get back to us. We’ll update the post if we get more information.
To see the rest of the gallery, click here at your own risk.
Anne Geddes eat your heart out! We think we’ve discovered the newest trend to hit baby photography since placing them in pumpkins was all the rage back in the ’90s.
Dress them up like Mr. T and pity the fool who calls you crazy.
More Mr. T “Mini Me’s” here.
(Via Dangerous Minds.)
http://www.thefitnessrepublicofchina.com
Corporate photographer Christopher Wahl shot this video in a park in Shanghai, China, on one of his days off. He used a Canon EOS 1D Mark IV and turned the whole piece into a microsite of nonstop repetitious exercise movements, http://www.the fitnessrepublicofchina.com (rollover each individual frame on the site to hear the accompanying audio. “I was inspired by how a simple movement and the initial act of practice is reflective in the lives of many living in China,” Wahl says. His favorite is the man in the blue sweatsuit shaking his posterior. What’s yours?
All images © Christopher Wahl
Photographer Stephen Mallon directed this time lapse video showing the delivery and installation of the new Willis Avenue bridge linking Manhattan and the Bronx. The 2,400-ton steel structure was assembled near Coeymans, New York, then transported 136 miles down the Hudson River by barge. Mallon directed 9 camera operators working from the barge, other boats on the Hudson, and vantage points onshore along the route. He assembled the final video from more than 30,000 still images. The video will be screened at FPS Fest, which starts this evening in Brooklyn and runs through tomorrow. Other photographer/directors whose films will be screened at the festival include Danny Clinch, the Wade Brothers, Alexx Henry, to name a few.
The self-proclaimed King of All Media Howard Stern has added another medium to his media arsenal: digital photography. Stern, who hosts a show on Sirius Satellite Radio, just tweeted thanks to “the good folks” at Adorama Camera in New York City for helping him purchase a Nikon D7000 digital SLR.
Contrary to what some Stern critics might say, the controversial radio host has good taste (at least when it comes to DSLRs). We named the D7000 camera of the year for 2010.
Happy shooting Howard and looking forward to seeing your pics! (As long as they’re not of your private parts!)
