Underdogs issue 4

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DOGS photography magazine / issue_4

Magnus ร strรถm Alexis Clerc Christian Conrad Lars Kiss Ahmed Makhlouf Alistair Osbourne Timothy Pyle Andy Pye Natasha Simba

Designer/Editor: Isa Gelb Cover & back cover: Christian Conrad All images and text published in Underdogs are the sole property of the featured photographers.

NO image can be reproduced, edited, copied or distributed without the express written permission of its legal owner.

NO part of the publication may be reproduced in any form without the written consent of the publisher.

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DOGS

This fourth issue of Underdogs, like the previous three issues, features only color photography.

However, five of the nine photographers featured in this issue—and many of the photographers featured in previous issues—shoot in black and white as well.

My decision to show only color photography in Underdogs (at least up to this point) is yet another moment where my editorial discretion comes into play.

Stepping back from the magazine, it is interesting to see how the debate over color photography has played out over the years. The attitude first held by some influential photographers toward color film could be summarized by Henry Cartier-Bresson's remark to William Eggleston: “Color is bullshit.”

Walker Evans was quoted as finding color “vulgar” before eventually giving in and shooting color photos with a Polaroid instant camera. At this point, the wide recognition of artistic qualities in the works of color photographers such as Eggleston and Stephen Shore have rendered moot arguments that color is inferior to black and white.

Today, with there being less need to use either color or black and white in order to reach a critical audience, the choice of one over the other is more than ever a personal decision.

For my part, I still feel a rush that I believe the early color photographers must have felt when I view, for lack of a better term, “good color photography.” I respect the rigor that is specific to good color photography in its engagement with the world as it is. Without taking away from its counterpart, “good black and white photography,” I disagree with statements made to the effect that black and white reveals the “soul” of an image in a way that color cannot. I find that black and white can just as easily, and maybe even more often, act as a cosmetic.

That being said, I have my own personal relationship to black and white. I shot it in the past, and it connotes a difficult time I have now put behind me. There's no doubt that experience still affects my objectivity when I view black and white photography.

There is also a practical reason why I deal exclusively with color photography. It is an art that I believe needs to be explored in depth on its own. Working with black and white as well would not allow me to treat color (or black and white, for that matter) with the same care.

Maybe one day Underdogs will produce a special black and white issue.

Until then, please enjoy the wonderful works produced by the photographers featured in this Issue 4.

Isa Gelb https://www.flickr.com/photos/91262356@N06/ http://punkroyaltiger.tumblr.com/ Special thanks to John Koch for his help on the editorial writing https://www.flickr.com/photos/orphotographer/

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MAGNUS ร STrรถM

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MAGNUS ÅSTröM Stockholm / Sweden https://www.flickr.com/photos/29596723@N00/ http://magastrom.tumblr.com/

I'm an Art Director based in Stockholm, Sweden. My job is creative work but still rather left-brained, leaning towards the logical, analytical and calculated. Photography allows me to think less and to be more right-brained: intuitive, impulsive, ambiguous and (hopefully) helps retain a naive view of the world. I tend to avoid consciously working in terms of series or projects, but somehow they find me — in a semi-conscious way, or simply as an afterthought.

My daughter (age 11) once summed it up: ”Dad, you really like taking photographs of things that are out of place”. I think she’s got a point.

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HIS CAMERAS

Busch Pressman D 4x5, Mamiya 7 II, Mamiya 6 MF, Mamiya RZ67 Pro II, Mamiya 645 AF, Fuji GW690 III, Hasselblad 500 C/M, Rolleiflex 3.5F, Leica M3, Contax T2, Sony A7 or NEX-7 for digital

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ALExIS CLErC

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ALExIS CLErC Shizuoka / Japan https://www.flickr.com/photos/alexis-clerc/ http://alexisclerc.tumblr.com/

HIS CAMERAS These days I shoot film with a Ricoh GR10, and digital on a Ricoh GR. I have used quite a few of those fixed-lens compacts from the 80’s, 90’s (Yashica T4, Olympus MJUII, Olympus AF-1, Pentax PC35, Canon MC, etc) These cameras have great optics and their weird design make you look like a clumsy tourist, which turns out to be useful quite often. Now I am saving for a Ricoh GR1s.

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CHrISTIAN CONrAD

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CHrISTIAN CONrAD Höhr-Grenzhausen / Germany https://www.flickr.com/photos/ichdarfdas/ http://www.zimmer117.de/category/photographer/christian-conrad/

HIS CAMERAS

I was changing cameras a lot because I was looking for the right partner and because I think different cameras are like different pencils and brushes and because I’m always curious, I like to experiment. Some that I love to hold in my hands: Pentax Spotmatic with the old Takumar lenses (mainly: 1:2/35mm), Olympus Mju 2 (I broke 4; gave it up), Contax T3 (broken), Contax T2 (broken), Yashica T3 (got my third), Olympus Af-1, Olympus XA

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LArS KISS

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LARS KISS Berlin / Germany http://www.zimmer117.de/category/photographer/lars-kiss/ https://www.ickr.com/photos/yschon/sets/72157632475116547/

HIS CAMERAS Yashica T5, Olympus Mju2 Leica M6, Fuji Instax210

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AHMED MAKHLOUF

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AHMED MAKHLOUF Sfax / Tunisia http://ahmedma5.tumblr.com/

HIS CAMERAS Nikon FE2, Contax 159 mm

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ALISTAIr OSBOUrNE

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ALISTAIr OSBOUrNE northampton / england https://www.ickr.com/photos/81832726@N07/with/15798251903/

HIS CAMERAS I use a Contax T3, a Mju 2 and a Canon sure shot AF.

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ANDy PyE

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ANDy PyE nottingham / england www.flickr.com/photos/53544300@N03/ owl-photo.tumblr.com/

At the moment I mostly take photos on planned routes, which could be labelled “trips out of town”. It seems like these walks are part of my creative process, little journeys where I can find some surprises.

I like to find images in which I can sense a “presence”, a reverberation between the inner and outer worlds. It seems to me there is a strange magic that occurs when I look at a subject and recognise an intimate thought or feeling that is within me and yet which still exists “out there”.

HIS CAMERAS Sony nex6 plus standard zoom. I like something that’s portable, feels good in the hand and gets the job done.

I use a Sony RX100 when I need something smaller.

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TIMOTHy PyLE

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TIMOTHy PyLE Fairfield, Connecticut / uSA https://www.flickr.com/photos/96737627@N04/

HIS CAMERAS I use mostly a Sony Nex-7 with a fixed lens Sigma 19 mm.

I also use my iPhone sometimes.

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NATASHA SIMBA

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NATASHA SIMBA Moscow / russia https://www.flickr.com/photos/natasha_simba/with/9869707665/

HER CAMERAS

Fujifilm instax 210 Smena 8M

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MANy THANKS TO MAGNUS ÅSTRöM https://www.flickr.com/photos/29596723@N00/ http://magastrom.tumblr.com/

ALEXIS CLERC https://www.flickr.com/photos/alexis-clerc/ http://alexisclerc.tumblr.com/

CHRISTIAN CONRAD https://www.flickr.com/photos/ichdarfdas/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/yschon/

LARS KISS https://www.flickr.com/photos/yschon/sets/72157632475116547/ http://www.zimmer117.de/category/photographer/lars-kiss/

AHMED MAKLOUF http://ahmedma5.tumblr.com/

ALISTAIR OSBOURNE https://www.flickr.com/photos/81832726@N07/with/15798251903/

ANDY PYE https://www.flickr.com/photos/53544300@N03/ owl-photo.tumblr.com/

TIM PYLE https://www.flickr.com/photos/96737627@N04/

NATASHA SIMBA https://www.flickr.com/photos/natasha_simba/with/9869707665/

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Next issue july 2015

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DOGS issue_4