Michael Kenna in conversation Mary ellen Mark remembered Lois Greenfield Can photographers protect their images? does your website work well on mobile?
Issue #03
Review of the year
the big photo stories of 2015
Steve Mccurry on india
Welcome
letter from the editor things we won’t ever forget about 2015
W
e had always planned this issue to be sombre in tone. We wanted this issue to feature an extensive retrospective of 2015 – looking at some of the most poignant pictures and stories from the year. Majoring on the great photographers who have passed away over the last 12 months, it was always going to be reflective in nature. And our look at some of our favourite prize winners of the year was always going to feature amazing news images that are more likely to bring a tear to your face than a smile. But we planned all this before the appalling events in Paris on Friday, November 13th. I was in Paris the day of the horrific attacks. Like thousands of photographers, publishers and gallerists, I had spent the day at Paris Photo and its various fringe events. By the time the carnage began, I was already sitting at the boarding gate at Charles de Gaulle airport, so was spared the fear, chaos and confusion that our peers had to endure that night and weekend
alongside millions of Parisians. But I still found myself in shock over the following days. The crazed actions of the jihadi extremists that night also meant that Paris Photo didn’t open on the Saturday or Sunday; nor did the Offprint Paris, the independent photo publishing fair I had also visited that afternoon. Brutal terrorism is all too common, but this time it was very close to home… and in the home of photography itself. It was here that Daguerre and Niépce had collaborated over the invention of photography. It’s here that some of the best exhibitions of photography continue to be held every year. It’s here that some of the most iconic images have been taken – and that many photographers from around the world end up making their home. Paris and Paris Photo will come back stronger, but neither will ever be quite the same again. But it isn’t just the violence and the tragic loss of life that will stay in my memory, but also the spontaneous acts of solidarity that came afterwards. May that spirt of liberty, equality and fraternity stay with us all through 2016. Chris George Group Editor-in-chief chris.george@futurenet.com
Did you miss either of our first two editions? You can buy back issues of these at www.bitly.com/pp_back You can also download digital versions – see page 57. CHRISTMAS 2015 _ PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY _ 3
Contents Issue 3 / Christmas 2015 /
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Profiles Steve McCurry 8 The Magnum man talks about his enduring fascination with India michael kenna 18 The master of minimalist landscapes shares his passion for Japan geolocation 24 Nate Larson and Marni Shindelman on bringing Twitter comments to life lois greenfield 30 A masterclass in split-second timing and choreographed composition
review of the year MARY ELLEN MARK HILLA BECHER RONDAL PARTRIDGE ROBYN BEECHE Valérie belin MikHael Subotzky PATRICK WATERHOUSE BRENT STIRTON DANIEL BEREHULAK st. louis post-dispatch SEBASTIAN GIL MIRANDA YONGZHI CHU
08
Steve McCurry: on india
35
review of the year: 2015 in pictures
36 40 42 43 44 46 46 48 50 52 54 56
Personal projects bumfortH manor 58 Nick Simpson’s very peculiar project chronicles a grotesque family history looking for alice 62 A portrait of a child with Down’s Syndrome as seen by her mother
4 _ PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY _ CHRISTMAS 2015
To subscribe turn to page 112
18
The Business
michael kenna: forms of japan
Marketing 82 Why you need to make sure your website is mobile friendly Round table 90 Our panel discusses whether digital images can be protected
24
geolocation: tweeting around
© marsel van oosten
My space 96 Portrait photographer Stephen Perry shows us around his place
90
Roundtable: Can you protect your images?
Regulars
62
SiÂn davey: looking for alice
Martin Middlebrook News Calendar Expos & festivals Bookshelf Read this... Pro kit The long view Next month Subscription offers Lottie Davies
67 70 74 76 78 79 99 106 111 112 114
CHRISTMAS 2015 _ PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY _ 5
Contributors Issue 3 / Christmas 2015 /
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This month’s featured pros
Just some of the photographers, industry experts and writers that feature in our second issue…
michael kenna
lois greenfield
The master of the square-cropped minimalist landscape explains to us about his fascination with Japan, the subject of his latest book.
Lois Greenfield’s dance images capture movement in a beautifully choreographed still image. We talk to her about her latest book.
Lottie Davies
nick simpson
In the third of her columns on the trials of the working photographer, Davies argues that working for free does noone any favours.
Simpson’s personal project has been to create a fictitious family album of his ancestors. The result is the strange world of Bumforth Manor.
Nate Larson and Marni Shindelman
Martin Middlebrook
siÂn davey
Jim mortram
We find Middlebrook in philosophical mood as he strenuously argues that style should be chosen to suit the subject rather than suit personal whim.
Davey reveals why her personal documentary project about her daughter has been as frustrating as it has been cathartic.
Social documentary specialist Mortram picks the one book that he would recommend to others, and selects a little gem first published in 1982.
Tiree dawson
daniel berehulak
Sal shuel
How mobile-friendly is your website? Wedding specialist Dawson explains how she ensures everyone can see her site whatever device they use.
The Getty Images newsman recounts how he won a 2015 Pulitzer Prize with his photo essay documenting the Ebola crisis in West Africa.
Shuel is the UK’s leading authority on copyright, and gives the letter of the law in our Round Table debate on how to protect images from internet theft.
Brent stirton
Marsel van oosten
Dan Chung
Stirton’s powerful images for the National Geographic have helped tell the world that ivory poaching is still a very real problem in Africa.
The Dutch wildlife and nature specialist shares his experience of having his picture stolen, edited and re-published online.
The Guardian photojournalist and D-SLR video expert helps our test team assess Sony’s new Alpha 7S Mark II’s movie-making capabilities.
Bruno Barbey
page 8
The travelling Magnum maestro talks to us about his love of India, and about the priceless piece of advice he was given by Henri Cartier-Bresson.
Song xiangyang
steve McCurry
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Editorial contributors
Launch editor Chris George chris.george@futurenet.com Acting features editor Kathrine Anker professionalphotography@futurenet.com Art editor Michelle McLaren michelle.mclaren@futurenet.com Designer Rosie Webber rosie.webber@futurenet.com Operations editor Steven Raynes steven.raynes@futurenet.com Head of testing Angela Nicholson angela.nicholson@futurenet.com
Future is an award-winning international media group and leading digital business. We reach more than 49 million international consumers a month, and create world-class content and advertising for passionate consumers online, on tablet and smartphone, and in print.
Advertising
Advertising manager Sasha McGregor sasha.mcgregor@futurenet.com Account director Matt Bailey matt.bailey@futurenet.com Account manager Claire Harris claire.harris@futurenet.com
Page 100
Licensing
Senior Licensing & Syndication Manager Matt Ellis matt.ellis@futurenet.com +44 (0)1225 442244
Management
Group editor-in-chief Chris George
Circulation
Group art director Rodney Dive
Production and distribution Production coordinator Vivienne Calvert
Content & Marketing director Nial Ferguson
Trade marketing manager Michelle Brock +44 (0)20 7429 4000
Future plc is a public company quoted on the London Stock Exchange (symbol: FUTR). www.futureplc.com
Head of Content & Marketing: Photography, Creative & Design Matthew Pierce
Chief executive Zillah Byng-Thorne Non-executive chairman Peter Allen Chief financial officer Penny Ladkin-Brand Tel +44 (0)20 7042 4000 (London) Tel +44 (0)1225 442244 (Bath)
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This team uses Twitter in an unusual way… taking strangers’ messages as the caption and location for their pictures.
page 90
page 90
Mark Alexander, Martin Beddall, Hilla Becher, Robyn Beeche, Valérie Belin, Elias Rendón Benger, Andy Biggar, Ben Brain, Leslie Burns, David Carson, Yongzhi Chu, David Clark, Chris Davies, Steve Fairclough, Lou Freeman, Christian Gehrig, Matt Golowczynski, Nataly Huff, Ali Jennings, Alastair Jolly, Huy Mach, Mary Ellen Mark, Tom May, Heidi McClymont, Sebastian Gil Miranda, Kevin Mullins, Lisa O’Connor, Rondal Partridge, Stephen Perry, Matthew Richards, Matthew Saville, Marni Shindelman, Mikhael Subotzky, Mark Sutton, Patrick Waterhouse
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STEVE McCU R RY ON INDIA Steve McCurry’s new book on India brings together over 35 years of his pictures of the people, landscapes and culture of this diverse country. He speaks candidly about his approach and motivations for the project
Profile _ Steve _ McCurry
[Pages 8 and 9] Boy in mid-flight, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India, 2007 [Above] Mother and child at a car window, Mumbai, India, 1993 [Right] Young girl runs past movie poster, Mumbai, India, 1993
What drove your initial interest in photographing India? “I had already travelled in Africa, Latin America and Europe, and I had always been curious about going to India – it was a place I’d always read about and had a fascination with. I remember the great LIFE magazine story about the monsoon, and I remember seeing Henri Cartier-Bresson’s pictures of India. So it was a place I’d always wanted to go to. It’s so culturally rich and has so much cultural depth that, once I got there, I ended up spending two years basically living in India.” You’ve been there many times since. What keeps drawing you back? “There are different stories and different places that I want to work on. I always want to go back to the same place and update the story. I’ve always been fascinated with Le Thuoc and Buddhism, and Tibetan culture, so I’ve been back to Le Thuoc many times, and Rajasthan. I find cities like Calcutta and Bombay just endlessly fascinating, and you’re always learning something. It’s always
If you look at the pictures, hopefully it’ll explain what it is about that country that keeps drawing me back. 10 _ PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY _ CHRISTMAS 2015
stimulating to be in a place that has such an array of cultures and religions, and the strong colonial architectural element, especially in Calcutta. It’s a place where you’re always learning something, and there’s always something new to discover.” Why did you decide to do the India book now, and how did it come about? “I thought that with my travels there I just wanted to put it together and see what it looked like. I’m working in new areas now, but I still go back to India frequently. It was time to put the work together, see what it looked like, and then put it in a book.” Is there any kind of message you’re trying to get across with this collection? “The reason I’ve been drawn back to India so many times is in those pictures. If you look at the pictures, hopefully it’ll explain what it is about that country that keeps drawing me back.” When you’re in India do you go to specific places? Do you decide what you’re going to shoot or otherwise? “Both. Sometimes you’re going to a specific event or place for a reason. Sometimes you just go without any agenda; without any plan and you’re just open to whatever you happen to see on that particular day – you’re just out taking a walk and experiencing life.”
CHRISTMAS 2015 _ PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY _ 17
Profile _ Steve _ McCurry
[Above] Crowds gather for the Kumbh Mela festival on temporary pontoon bridges across the River Ganges, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India, 2001 [Top right] Father and son at home, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India, 1996 [Bottom right] Bicycles hang on the side of a train, West Bengal, India, 1982
Is it a case of setting up pictures or do you just take what you see? “It’s about discovering; it’s about wandering; it’s about curiosity. It’s really just finding what’s there and recording it; photographing it – that’s pretty much what it is.” Did you try to develop a narrative in these images? “It’s a question of observation and seeing things that you find interesting or curious, or things that perhaps make a comment about the human condition or about a particular moment in time. It could be almost anything. Sometimes I go out with an idea to do something, but sometimes it’s just simply taking a walk and seeing what you’ll find.” This collection of images spans the film to digital era. How have you found the analogue-to-digital transition, and has it changed the way you shoot? “No. That doesn’t change anything. For me, it’s pretty seamless. I don’t see any difference between the two mediums. There are only advantages to digital – there’s no real down side. You’re able to
Why would somebody write a song, apart from making money? What would be the point of that? 12 _ PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY _ CHRISTMAS 2015
work in much lower light. You’re able to do things with digital that you can never do with film, and that appeals to me.” Is there anything that you would like people to see in the pictures from India? “I think it’s like if you write a song or you write a play or you make a movie or you compose a symphony or you write a short story … I think that the hope is that people will respond and perhaps see something in your work that creates some emotional response or enlightens or illuminates; something that you can connect with. I mean, why would somebody write a song, apart from making money? What would be the point of that? If I was the only person on the planet, would I write? Would I do anything? Would you write a poem if you would be the only person who would read it? I don’t know.” Since you’ve been going to India, have you noticed any particular changes to the country? “Obviously, the communication network and the internet. The economy has opened up quite a bit. I mean, I guess we all, at one time or another, lived in kind of closed societies that were inwardlooking, without much knowledge of travel and communications. We start realising that there are other people in the world, other points of view, and other alternative ways of doing things.
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