old Ladies with character and self confidence...

...that allow you to make their photograph - Love them!


Lisbon, Portugal. July, 2008

Bensusan Museum of Photography

During my recent trip to South Africa we found ourselves with a little downtime so I was fortunate enough to get to see a little of downtown Johannesburg. The city is really interesting and visually inspiring. Also, I was quite suprised to see so much really cool modernist architecture. I made a few portraits with the 8 x 10 which I can´t wait to get home and develop. We passed by a museum called Museum Africa and decided to investigate. Inside this building (which used to be an old fruit and vegetable market) were a bunch of exhibits on natural history, culture, and apartheid. The exhibits were all a little shoddy and in disrepair and we were starting to feel depressed about how hard things have been for the South Africans- when we came across an exhibit about photography. It was totally unexpected and turned out to be a real treat and quite a special little nook on our planet devoted entirely to the history of the camera. We walked through room after room of photographic artifacts, cameras, and exhibits. This post is dedicated to this most inspiring and thoughtful collection.

leaving Africa...

I am leaving South Africa tomorrow evening for Lisbon and am feeling a bit sad about that. I am just becoming familiar with this amazing continent and want to dig deeper into it and know and see more but alas these 10 days will have to do for now - and I am aware of how lucky I am to have seen and done as much as I have. I would love to post more photographs from here but unfortunately - suddenly the laptop seems to be pretty much dead so I will work on a pdf for when I return home. Probably not many posts until then either...

Highways

I updated the Highways series on my website before leaving for Africa. Here is a link to this series dedicated to traveling the roads and highways of our great planet.

Cats...

We saw these beautiful lions driving down the road the other day while in Etosha National Park in northern Namibia. After having watched them for over half an hour we drove right past them. They were literally 7 feet from the passenger side window where I was sitting. Needless to say the windows were up but I was still quite scared though it was extremely exhilarating.

Namibia, Africa.

Microsoft (the gift that keeps on giving) has sent me out again this summer to two more countries for the On My Way Campaign. One of those countries being South Africa where I write this post from now - Seth & I (my partner and assistant on this job) decided to leave a few days before the shoot begins and see some of the African wildlife that has captured our imaginations since childhood. We flew into the capital of Windhoek and rented a Toyota Corolla and headed for Etosha National Park. We had the most spectacular time there. An experience we will never forget. We saw such an abundance of wildlife it would surely be bragging to describe them all here but I will anyway - in a later post with more pictures! I hope these photos convey some of the beauty of Africa that we experienced.


me - Flying over Namibia



Hilde, The Kalahari Sands Hotel and Casino - Windhoek



Downtown Windhoek



Downtown Windhoek



Tsumeb, Namibia



Etosha National Park



Etosha National Park



Termite Mound - Etosha National Park



Etosha National Park



Springbok - Etosha National Park



Etosha National Park



Etosha National Park



Etosha National Park

Jerome - from NYC Portraits

A More Perfect Union

Andrew Sloat directed this beautiful piece about the American Constitution. Andrew is the super talented and smart designer of Figure and Ground and many other recent Aperture books.
Have a look.



(HD) A More Perfect Union from Andrew Sloat on Vimeo.

George Towne

A while back a great painter and friend named George Towne made some photographs of my partner Seth & I at home for a painting that he is planning to make of us. I have known George for many years and not only is he a talented artist but also a super nice guy. I am really looking forward to seeing the finished work. He did a couple of "studies" that he sent me these photos of and agreed to allow me to show them here. Have a look at his website to see more. I think the likeness to me is amazingly accurate.

Pier 45

I photographically revisited my old stomping ground of the Christopher Street Piers here in New York City last week. If you are not familiar with the work I shot there for over 5 years from 1993-1998. The series is on my website and can be seen here. I really hope to do something with these photographs someday. My original intent had been to publish this body of work in the book form. It was my first real go at taking work around and having the doors close one by one. I think it is a good example of how one should push onwards even when discouraged by rejection... It is also refreshing to revisit the more casual style of shooting with a SLR.

Roots of Breakdance

Joey Chestnut wins in Sudden Death!

Nathan's International July Fourth Hot Dog Eating Contest has always fascinated me. The six time champ Takeru "Tsunami" Kobayashi went down last year to newcomer Joey Chestnut from California. This year they ended up in a tie - each eating 59 hot dogs in under 10 minutes. The first tie ever they faced a sudden death challenge - who could eat 5 dogs the fastest. Chestnut came out on top defending his title.


(c)Xinhua Photo

Do Go Chasing Waterfalls

I liked the NYC waterfalls by Olafur Eliasson much more than I was expecting.










How fast do you think they got that sign up?


and remember these...

Javier Tellez

I was rewarded this spring when I took the time to look at a video piece (which I too often pass over) during this spring's Whitney Biennial by Venezuelan born artist Javier Tellez. The film titled "Letter on the Blind For the Use of Those Who See" inspired by an Indian parable “The Blind Men and the Elephant,” films six blind people in gorgeous black and white as they touch different parts of a living elephant. He shows us their “moments of tactile recognition” and alongside we hear their own descriptions of what they feel. The film was touching and beautiful on so many levels I wish it were on youtube for everyone to see. It was commissioned by Creative Time and they have some very good stills here.









All photos: Galerie Peter Kilchmann