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Archive: November 2009 | View all recent posts | Back to main site
11.30.09 | On Photography
The Book That Changed My Life
When I was 16 years old my parents took me to a show at MoMA in New York, and then bought me a book of Bruce Davidson's photographs in the gift shop. The rest is a blur -- all I remember is lying on the hotel bed for hours, poring over the worlds this man documented: East Side tenements, a travelling circus, a Brooklyn gang. It was like hearing a dog whistle -- I had found my language. Although I wasn't able to speak it yet, I could understand it clear as a bell, and this man was talking to me.
Shortly after that trip my dad lent me his Canon AE-1, a heavy beast of a camera with a solid 50mm lens on it. I was in love.
Shortly after that trip my dad lent me his Canon AE-1, a heavy beast of a camera with a solid 50mm lens on it. I was in love.
Photography and I have been together now for twenty-six years. We broke up for a stretch in the late '80s when I thought I would get along better with acting or writing novels, and there was a brief flirtation with pursuing a career in law and even the FBI (I had just seen "Silence of the Lambs" after all). But speaking in images has always been my first language, and it has always welcomed me back, even when I have strayed.
From Bruce Davidson I was introduced to Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank, Berenice Abbott, Julia Margaret-Cameron, Diane Arbus, Dorothea Lange, Elliot Erwitt. I felt as though I had an imaginary group of mentors, thinkers and seers who could -- and did -- usher me through the vicissitudes of being a sullen teenager and emerging adult.
Over the next few weeks I'm going to post some of my favorite photographs by these masters and talk about what speaks to me, why they are an essential part of our cultural vocabulary, and why -- if you are an aspiring photographer -- I strongly suggest you learn everything you can about the pioneers of our art.
I'd love to hear what book changed your life -- tell me about it in the comments below.
From Bruce Davidson I was introduced to Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank, Berenice Abbott, Julia Margaret-Cameron, Diane Arbus, Dorothea Lange, Elliot Erwitt. I felt as though I had an imaginary group of mentors, thinkers and seers who could -- and did -- usher me through the vicissitudes of being a sullen teenager and emerging adult.
Over the next few weeks I'm going to post some of my favorite photographs by these masters and talk about what speaks to me, why they are an essential part of our cultural vocabulary, and why -- if you are an aspiring photographer -- I strongly suggest you learn everything you can about the pioneers of our art.
I'd love to hear what book changed your life -- tell me about it in the comments below.
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11.25.09 | Personal
Thankful
So much to be thankful for, including: waiting so long to have kids that I was sure I didn't want any, then having two arrive within 7 months of each other, then trying to remember what it was like before they got here. There used to be more time to read books, but now there's more time to marvel at the Divine. And for that I am very thankful.
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11.23.09 | Portraits
{ Portraits: Emma }
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where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again.”~Elizabeth Lawrence
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11.22.09 | Weddings
Featured on Weddings Unveiled
I {heart} Weddings Unveiled magazine, and am very happy that they chose to feature the lovely Katherine and Rob on their blog yesterday. Thank you, WU ladies!
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11.20.09 | Personal
Sixty One Years
You may notice that the most loyal of my blog commenters is a mysterious person who goes by the name "THADDEUS." He is such a huge fan, and I'm so grateful for his interest in photography, but it's time to out him as none other than my dad (as if you couldn't tell!).
He and my mother celebrated their sixty-first wedding anniversary today (wrap your head around that for a minute, you young 'uns), and they deserve their own post -- the question is, will you comment on it, THADDEUS?
Here's my comment: HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!!! :) Sure do love you....
He and my mother celebrated their sixty-first wedding anniversary today (wrap your head around that for a minute, you young 'uns), and they deserve their own post -- the question is, will you comment on it, THADDEUS?
Here's my comment: HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!!! :) Sure do love you....
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