Moscow, the first city

In part two of our “Arrivals and Departures” series with Magnum Photographer Jacob Aue Sobol, the Trans Siberian Railway has stopped in Moscow. Jacob brings us along his journey as he shoots the streets of Russia’s capital not sure of what will happen but equipped with a Leica M Monochrom.

-Leica Internet Team

To learn more about Jacob and view his work, visit his website at www.auesobol.dk.

“Want this in or want this out – what’s the story?”;  ”You call this fresh?”; “Out, out, out…”; “To me it’s very encouraging”; “It’s strange, it’s weird, it’s got character,”…

This year’s Leica Oskar Barnack Award had a record number of entries: around 2,800 entries from 101 different countries (last year’s competition total was 2,000 entries). Needless to say, jury members had many photographs to debate over, and debate they did.

The jury members included: Bruce Gilden, Magnum photographer, Stephan Erfurt, Director of the C/O Berlin, Valérie Fougeirol, Creative Director of the Magnum Gallery in Paris, Karin Rehn-Kaufmann, Artistic Director of the Leica Galerie in Salzburg and Brigitte Schaller, Art Director of Leica Fotografie International magazine.

The winners of the two awards, the Leica Oskar Barnack Award and the Leica Oskar Barnack Newcomer Award 2012, will be announced on 20 June 2012. Watch this video to get an insider glimpse of the 2012 Oskar Barnack jury deciding who the winners will be and to see who steels the show!

-Leica Internet Team

 For more information about the Leica Oskar Barnack Award, click here. 

Earlier this year, Joel Penland correctly guessed how many lenses were in a jar on Leica’s page on Facebook. A nature and underwater photographer from Easley, South Carolina, Joel won a trip to Berlin for the “LEICA – DAS WESENTLICHE” on May 10 (which also happened to be the first prize he ever won)! Already an X1 photographer, Joel was pleasantly surprised that he got to test out the new Leica X2 in Germany’s capital city. Now motivated to do more with his photography, Joel has pre-ordered the new Leica X2. Here is the video recap of the “LEICA – DAS WESENTLICHE” and Joel’s perspective on the event, the new Leica X2 and his appreciation for Leica craftsmanship.

Q: How did it feel to win the trip to Berlin?

A: It was a complete surprise! At first I thought it was a joke and then realized that it was real after a couple of days. I would have liked to won this trip with a level of skill. I can say like most people the cliché applies to me also “I have never won anything like this in my life.”

Q: You already own the Leica X1 – how do you like it?

A: I like the non-obtrusive quality of Leica X1 among other Leica models. It’s non-obtrusive to carry anywhere.  The camera is small in size and excellent for travel. I ride motorcycles a lot and the Leica is a great camera to accompany me when I ride. I purchased the Leica X1 in 2011 as a substitute for carrying large SLRs and lenses. One of the features that sold me on Leica was that the X1 is the smallest camera with the largest digital sensor.

Q: You mentioned that Leica is synonymous with fine art. Can you expand on this?

A: As a lover of art, I have always been a fan of Leica; the quality workmanship of the camera brand is in itself a work of art. I have always been impressed by the images of Leica photographic artists. The Leica camera has a certain feel about it. Also, a lot of the photography I do consists of aiming the camera from certain vantage points (e.g. close to ground) whereas I cannot look through the viewfinder but estimate the image composition. The Leica is great for this due to its small size.

Q: Now having shot with the X1 and X2, what are your impressions of the new Leica X2?

A: It ruined my X1 and I’ve already put in my order for the X2! I am interested in a simple, non-obtrusive camera that allows me to be creative and get professional results. I found this in the X2. It was a pleasure to use.

From a user interface standpoint, the X2 menu is the same in menu format as the X1 with upgraded features. The controls on the X2 are not loose like the X1 so there is no accidental movement. Having easy access to shutter/ F-stop controls, the X2 is extremely easy to use and allows the capability to be nostalgically creative. Just pick it up, turn it on, and start shooting. The simplicity propagates the creativity. The X2 is extremely compact and non-obtrusive (like the X1). Moreso, the X2 auto-focus is instantaneous and appears to be 2-3 times+ faster than my X1. ISO sensitivity to 12,500 ISO compared to the X1’s 3200 scale. I also found the X2 loves low light! The X2 is 16 megapixels and creates very sharp images. The X2 has a new designed pop-up flash that I found very innovative. I foresee being able to use this in conjunction with light diffusers for creative effects. There is no setting to set macro like the X1, just AF/ MF which focuses down to same macro as the X1 which is a great convenience. Like the X1, this camera has a histogram view.

Q: What did you think about the “LEICA – DAS WESENTLICHE”?

A: I had a fantastic time! It was an amazing opportunity being in the company of all the Leica artists at the event and experiencing the new products. It was very motivating for me to get out and do more of my own photography. I also really enjoyed all of the photographs that were featured. The portrait gallery was striking.

I used to see in color now I do think I am now beginning to see in black and white—it opened up a whole new world of perspective! Maybe in a few years when I get decent at black and white photography, I may have my mind on the Monchromatic.

Thank you all again!

Thank you Joel!

-Leica Internet Team

To see more of Joel’s photographs from Berlin visit this album and to see more of Joel’s photography, please visit http://jpenland.com/. 

Huge distances in a slow pace

On this journey I will visit three cities, where I have never been before:  Moscow, Ulan Batar, and Beijing. The train will bring me from the Russian forests to the Mongolian desert and finally through the mountains to Beijing. The train will be the red thread connecting these capitals. From the window I will follow the change of landscape and the change of mood.

It’s a trip I have always wanted to take; The legendary journey along the Trans Siberian Railway. So much history has taken place along these tracks, so many eyes have seen what I am about to see. I want to find out if traveling with the train will give me another perspective. In Denmark you can cross the country in five hours by train, but in Russia the distances are huge. I wonder if the connection between people and places will feel different considering the fact that I will pass every tree, every house and every village on my way to Beijing?

Everything is new

To me Russia, Mongolia and China are all unknown lands, and so is my equipment on this journey: The brand new Leica M Monochrome and a 50 mm apo-summicron-lens. On top of this, it is also my first time using a digital camera, and my first time using a Leica-camera at all. Everything is new, but then again, my ambition is always the same. I will use the camera as a tool to create contact, closeness and intimacy. I want to meet people, to connect with the cities, to make the places mine, even if it’s just for a short while.

Black and White

Working with black and white photography has always been the most direct way for me to reach more existential questions. In black and white I feel my images are not bound to a specific location or time, but they create their own universe. I like to think they are about something else and more than just what they show. At least that is my ambition; to focus on our emotions and a state of mind that is not defined by how we look or where we come from, but on the things that connect us and make us dependent on each other.

image from I, Tokyo
illustrations by Sun Hee Engelstoft

Thank you, Jacob!

-Leica Internet Team

To learn more about Jacob and view his work, visit his website at www.auesobol.dk.

Dear Leica Readers and Friends,

We’re interrupting our regular blog post schedule today because the Internet Team is preparing for the “LEICA – DAS WESENTLICHE” event taking place tonight in Berlin.

Leica is celebrating the essence of the art of photography: ‘Das Wesentliche’, the essential element of a moment in time. While many Leica photographers, guests and media will be in Germany’s capital city, we invite you to join the celebration online. The event begins at 4:45PM GMT / 6:45 PM CEST. The event’s official hashtag we’ll be using on Twitter is #may10.

Until tonight…

-The Leica Internet Team

If you’ve needed an excuse, now is the time to follow Leica Camera on Twitter (@leica_camera) or “Like” us on Facebook. The event hashtag is #may10.

Looking at the body of work that photographer Marco Barbon is compiling with the intricacy of an expert craftsman, we can distinguish several defining characteristics that the artist repeatedly questions. Those characteristics, in return, structure his work and create connections between the different series that comprise it. Amongst these are the question of the “ambiguous” temporality that his images convey, their openness to the dynamics of dreams, a definite penchant for historic edifices, and a certain propensity to include letters or entire words in his images. This interview focuses primarily on these four axes.

Born in Rome in 1972, Marco Barbon lives and works in Paris. He is the author of three photographic works: Asmara Dream (Postcart / Filigranes éditions, 2009), Cronotopie (Trans Photographic Press, 2010) and Casablanca (Postcart / Filigranes éditions 2011). His work has been exhibited in Italy, France and Morocco.

Q: In your first book, Asmara Dream, you wrote: “Before all this, one may wonder what period we are in, in the present or some place buried in our memories”. With Casablanca, your new work, which is also the fruit of a collaboration between the Italian and French publishing houses Postcart and Filigranes, one could ask the same question. It also seems to reflect the question of what might be described as a floating temporality that indeed seems to be at the centre of your work…

A: It’s true that there are similarities between Casablanca and Asmara Dream. This temporal “ambiguity” at play between my perception, the capturing of a precise moment, and its photographic rendition characterizes my approach. In my new work, that is further reinforced by the technical means I chose: out-of-date Polaroid film. The film in itself bears the mark of time – one could even say the mark of the past. The colours of my photos are not saturated and they adhere to the subject that they capture. For example, the light of the ocean, which, in a manner of speaking, is a dated light, is omnipresent in Casablanca.

I also tend to work on subjects, situations and places that have been abandoned or are on the fringes of the town. In that, they possess an atmosphere, a quality and a particular temporal charge. With Asmara, the Eritrean capital, that was even clearer because, as a result of its vicissitudes, the whole country has remained on the margins of the world’s historical movements.

For Casablanca, it’s different: it’s a very modern city, but one which has also retained a decadent aspect. It’s grown from an early 20^th century little fishing port into Morocco’s economic capital today. Most of its historic buildings date to 1910-1940; they were built by the French at the time when the country was a French protectorate.

I must point out that my aim wasn’t to produce an exhaustive book on this town. On the contrary. I chose a viewpoint of Casablanca, which gives a necessarily limited perspective. It is my personal vision. I wanted to follow my intuition in this urban space and I stopped in certain neighbourhoods in particular. In the town centre, I roamed up and down the main boulevards and took photos of the run-down hotels, cafés, nightclubs, an old theatre dating back to the Twenties, etc. I also walked the corniche a lot.

These places testify to a by-gone period. For that matter, a whole host of renovation projects are now currently underway. It was precisely these “remains” that attracted me.

The Casablanca series is nourished by the imagination – an imagination built out of details.

Speaking of which, I would like to insist on one point. It seems to me that in my own work, and in those of the photographers I like, it is possible to imagine that which we do not see from a detail in the image. For instance, one can imagine the invisible –what is outside the shot. It is fundamental for me to allow viewers the freedom of imagination.

The question of suspension and waiting, which a certain kind of photograph displays, fascinates me because it is related to a “beyond time”. The image thus invites you to imagine what might have happened before or after the shot was taken, something which is not concentrated in the present moment of the taking. It’s clearly something paradoxical… and quite complicated. What really interests me are the things that do not have clear contours (I don’t mean technically speaking): the temporality of the image as an opening, a point of tipping into something that is beyond it.

Another aspect that the images from the Casablanca and Asmara Dream series share is that I feel that a kind of silence is perceptible in them. Even though Casablanca is a noisy town, even say a little tiring, the images I shot there are permeated with silence. For me, the American painter Edward Hopper is a reference. His solitary characters in urban settings are also full of silence.

Casablanca’s inhabitants are rarely present in my photos. The photos relay man’s solitude in general and the solitude of those who arrive in this megalopolis, for it is a town where people come from all over the world to look for work.

Q: In the work you devoted to the town of Asmara, the question of dreams was present right from the start: in the title. Here, even though not explicitly mentioned, the notion of dreams is never very far…

A: There is a photo in this series that I particularly like, “a fishing boat painted on the wall of the Medina braves the sea”. That could well be an image representing the town of Casablanca, as a passage from Souad Bahechar’s text that accompanies my photos points out (4), but also, once again, a metaphor of human life. Related to that is the idea of dreams. The sea and the horizon represent an opening toward the possible, the realm of the imagination. One can’t forget that this town is situated on Morocco’s Atlantic coast and America lies on the other side of the ocean. Casablanca is conducive to dreams, to projections and, like all megalopolises, incarnates the very possibility of dreams. But dreams can also get washed-up there.

Q: In Asmara Dream, you scrutinize this East African town’s modernist architecture. Casablanca is also clearly home to architectural beauties that catch your eye. On one of the buildings you photographed, the “Rialto” movie theatre, there’s a banner which reads “urban rehabilitation and heritage defence”…

A: Casablanca is home to a considerable architectural heritage and also to a lot of art Deco buildings. One association, Casamémoire, works, to raise awareness about its conservation. The buildings of that period have something majestic about them, but also something domineering. I photographed them from low angles to accentuate the idea of the town’s overbearing nature and that of the solitude we spoke about earlier. For me, it was a case of accentuating certain details that are part of the experience of a town like Casablanca. Once again, this is a personal vision and path: the perspective of a pedestrian. I personally preferred to wander around places that have a certain gentleness – where the individual can be in touch with him/herself. These are, more often than not, places that are off the beaten track, and which resonate in relation to certain experiences.

Q: In some of your photographs, letters or complete words, with evocative, often cinematographic meanings, penetrate the surface of the image: Calypso, Rialto, L’aventure [Adventure]. They thus seem to convey new connections, echoes, etc. …

A: Yes, some words appear in my photos due to what they convey both as an evocative force or for their graphic form. In Casablanca, one of the images focuses on a sign: “L’aventure” [Adventure]. It’s a reference to the wild nights of “Casa”, as people familiarly call the town. But it also hints to the adventure and the destiny of the town, and this adventure that is human life.

Since the places I photographed are abandoned, they are completely open to a certain type of imagination. It is possible to build a more intimate, individual relationship with them. At the other extreme, to give an example, is the Hassan II Mosque. It has the highest minaret in the world and almost all tourists in Casablanca visit it. In these places, which are already laden with collective and shared meanings, there isn’t really much room left for the imagination.

Q: One final, maybe anecdotal question: there are often images of cafés in your work. Why is that?

A: The café is the ultimate place of “passing through”. People meet at cafés and, at the end of a conversation or appointment, go their separate ways. It’s a space that, to me, seems representative of big towns where people meet and lose one another again. It’s also similar to a theatre stage: things take place there and stories are played out. When the space is empty, it is loaded with what happened in the past or what might happen in the future. And when it looks out onto the sea, as was the case with the café that we can see in the photo at the end of the book, it is all the more evocative…

-Leica Internet Team

To learn more about Marco and view his photographs, visit his website at www.marcobarbon.com.

Answer to “Where am I?”: The island of Koh Samui

Congratulations to everyone who answered correctly on the blog, Facebook and Twitter: Chua, Cece, Ernest, Nick, and Lee.

I am always on the road and luck plays a huge part in where I travel. This year alone, I have been lucky enough to visit Thailand twice: once to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai and, more recently, to Bangkok and the beautiful island of Koh Samui.

“Luck” is such a great phenomenon. If it wasn’t for luck, Sir Isaac Newton would not have theorized gravity (apple falling from a tree), Alfred Nobel would not have discovered dynamite and Albert Hofmann would not have created LSD!

“Luck” played a huge part in the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the ruins of Pompeii and the foundations for the black “Taj Mahal”.

“Luck” also was present when The Golden Buddha (also known as Phra Phuttha Maha Suwan Patimakon) was rediscovered in Bangkok, Thailand. It is the largest gold statue in the world and sits 3 metres tall. It weighs 5.5 tons and would cost a mighty $320 million dollars to produce today!

It was molded in the 14^thcentury (the Sukhothai period) and is made of three pieces. To save it from being stolen and melted down by Burmese invaders, it was disguised by local Thai Buddhist monks by covering it in thick plaster and colored glass. Then in the 19^th century, it was moved to Bangkok from the town of Ayutthaya and was installed into a temple by King Rama III who was unaware of the amazing golden statue within the plaster statue.

In 1955, while being lifted into a new home (Wat Traimit), a crane cable broke and the statue crashed to the ground. It was left overnight during the rainy season and in the morning, the temple’s Abbott discovered that the plaster had cracked – revealing the pure gold statue of Buddha. It was rediscovered after 200 years!

How lucky was that?

-Varun Sharma

Varun Sharma is the host of Inside Luxury Travel – a television show that focuses on high-end travel. The show airs in over 169 countries, in 21 languages and is beamed into 1 billion homes worldwide. He has now stayed in nearly 700 luxury hotels & resorts … and has in the past couple of  years has flown in a fighter jet, gone diving – without a cage – in Tiger Shark infested-waters, had dinner with a dingo and has cooked with over 75 Michelin-starred chefs! His new venture Culinary Travels starts airing later this year. He likes nothing better than playing a round of golf with his pooch Gemima by his side, cigar in mouth and flask of single malt Scottish whiskey to hand! 

 Here is your one clue:

“What island off the east coast of Thailand, also featured in Alex Garland’s “The Beach,” is one of the most popular holiday destinations in South East Asia?”

Check back tomorrow for the correct answer.

-Varun Sharma

Varun Sharma is the host of Inside Luxury Travel – a television show that focuses on high-end travel. The show airs in over 169 countries, in 21 languages and is beamed into 1 billion homes worldwide. He has now stayed in nearly 700 luxury hotels & resorts … and has in the past couple of  years has flown in a fighter jet, gone diving – without a cage – in Tiger Shark infested-waters, had dinner with a dingo and has cooked with over 75 Michelin-starred chefs! His new venture Culinary Travels starts airing later this year. He likes nothing better than playing a round of golf with his pooch Gemima by his side, cigar in mouth and flask of single malt Scottish whiskey to hand! 

If you’ve visited Chinatown, New York City, you’re familiar with the lively bounty of people, colors, sounds and smells that make up a thriving portion of lower Manhattan, but there’s another side to this area that most people don’t see.

In our latest photo essay made in collaboration with Magnum Photos, Chien-Chi Chang presents us with a collection of photographs taken between 1992-2011. In this video, each photograph is paired with sound and whether spirited, tranquil or airing distress; they add a range of emotions to aid his story which gives us a glimpse of the lives and living conditions of immigrant workers.

Chang states, “The men of Fuzhou, China leave their wives and families to work as dishwashers, cooks, carpenters and day laborers in New York City’s Chinatown. Their little leisure time is spent in overcrowded dorm like apartments where they cook, eat, sleep and dream of prosperity and of home.

The women of Fuzhou raise their children with the money absent fathers send back to China. Such bifurcated lives mean that many families spend their time waiting for the men of the household to either send for them or return home. In the end, it’s all about the essential human need to hold hope in your hands and having the willingness to sacrifice your own happiness to realize the dream of giving children a better life.”

An estimated 100,000 Chinese people live in the Canal Street area of Manhattan, the largest Chinese community outside of Asia. Chang has spent the past 19 years capturing what goes on behind Chinatown’s façade.

Using a Leica M6 and MP, Chang creates visually strong, symbolic images that depict living conditions of illegal immigrant workers. Chang photographed in color and in black-and-white to further emphasize the exchange between visible and invisible worlds.

-Leica Internet Team

For more photos from Chien-Chi Chang, please visit his portfolio on Magnum Photos.

For many years, I’ve harbored a secret conviction that digital cameras delude us into believing we’re much better photographers than we really are. Snapping up-down and willy-nilly with a blithe disregard for focus, exposure, composition, context, pathos, ethos, irony or significance is a sure-fire way to take a lot of crappy photos. But digital cameras allow us to take so many photos and review them so effortlessly that, inevitably, even the worst photographer manages to accidentally stumble into the occasionally compelling shot. Such cavalier technique works on the “stopped clock is correct twice a day” principle. But with the Delete button so close-at-hand, and without contact sheets to remind us of our failures, we retain only the “good” shots — thus deluding ourselves into believing we’re every bit as wonderful as the legendary photographers who preceded us.

I’ll admit right here — before the eyes of my peers — that I was wrong. To state that digital cameras delude photographers into believing they’re much better than they are is, itself, a deluded idea. Photographers were, in fact, deluded long before digital cameras were but a twinkle in Steve Sasson’s grandfather’s eye. It’s not the technology that deludes us — it’s our own egos.

I stumbled upon this humbling realization on a recent trip down memory lane. “Memory Lane,” as I define it, is “a long strip of acetate with a silver halide coating.” I consider my film cameras to be miniature time capsules. My past self records a person, scene or event that it thinks my future self will find interesting. Some film cameras, like my Leicas, are short-term time capsules — so frequently used that they reveal their images within a day or two after capture. Other, more “casual” cameras (like my medium formats or panoramics), are long-term capsules — often retaining negatives for 6-months before my future self gets to develop them. Curiously, the longer a roll of film sits in a camera, the more convinced I am that Pulitzer-caliber shots reside within. With each month that passes, my future self grows more certain of my past self’s ability to find, frame and shoot moments of sheer magic.

So imagine my delight when, during a recent cleaning expedition into some long forgotten drawers, I found an old Diana camera with half a roll of exposed film inside. I vaguely remember entombing it several years ago, when I decided that the camera (for which I paid a mere $10) wasn’t really worth the cost of the film it shot. I had no idea what kind of film I’d left in the camera, nor any recollection of what those half-dozen exposed frames might contain. I knew only one thing — those exposures sat within the camera for so long that they couldn’t possibly contain anything other than masterpieces!

This discovery set me on another expedition — to see what other film cameras were sitting around with half-exposed rolls. My Widelux, which I last loaded in August, still had a few frames left to shoot. So, too, did my little Rollei 35T. My Yashica Mat was sitting idle on the shelf since December.

These cameras, plus the unearthed Diana, all contained exposures taken by my past self — who my present self has always considered to be a superior photographer. I could barely conceive of the photographic heights I must have achieved within these four rolls of half-exposed film. I could wait no longer. Over the next four days, I took each camera for a walk and exposed its remaining frames, then got on with the task of developing this year’s Oscar Barnack Award winners.

Upon opening both the Diana and the Yashica Mat, I was somewhat surprised to see that each contained Kodak Portra 400NC color film. One thing my present self knows about my past self is that he has practically no interest in color photography. So I’m not completely sure why these cameras both contained color film, nor why I still have several rolls nestled up next to the beer in the bottom of my refrigerator. I suspect my past self got a good deal on some expired stock, and took advantage of it.

When one struggles to make a living with photography, one becomes inherently cheap. So, Pulitzer or no Pulitzer, there was no way I would pay some lab to perform the C41 color processing on this film. Besides, in the past year, all the photo labs had abandoned downtown Vancouver for cheaper rents in the boondocks. I could see no reason to jump in the car, drive out of town, hand over cash money and drive back the next day just to get some color negatives to scan.

So, convinced that my past self had no intention to make any use of the color information contained within this film, I simply stand-developed both rolls of 120 film in Rodinal. During the 60 minutes that the film sat undisturbed within the elixir, I thought about the riches these frames would bring, and of the future assignments that would surely result. After a glorious hour of daydreaming, I gave the film a water stop bath, a swish in the fixer, unspooled the rolls and excitedly held them up to the light. Not a single frame contained the slightest hint of mastery. Each shot was, in fact, as dull and worthless as the bulk of my daily photographic output.

Undaunted, I got on with developing the two 35mm rolls — one from the Widelux and one from the Rollei 35T. In spite of the heightened expectations brought about by my unyielding admiration of my past self, neither strip contained anything of value. So banal were all these shots that, although I’ve sprinkled them throughout this article, I suspect you didn’t even notice them. Masterpieces? Hardly. Noteworthy? Nope. Interesting? Not even. It turns out that, even though my expectations grow exponentially with the amount of time since an image was shot, the shots themselves are no better now now than they were on the day I took them. Delusion is a cruel mistress. She is not the sole province of the digital shooter. She does not distinguish photographers by their chosen imaging surface, lens, camera type or brand. She is merely there, hovering over us — sadistically motivating us to try and live up to our own self-aggrandizing misconceptions.

Which reminds me — I just realized I have a half-exposed roll of film in my Vermeer 6×6 pinhole camera, and I’m rather certain I haven’t shot with it since last autumn. A Post-It™ Note attached to the camera’s top tells me there’s Plus-X film inside but, alas, that note doesn’t tell me what’s on any of the exposed frames. No problem, ’cause I’ll bet you dollars to donuts there’s a Pulitzer Prize sitting on one of those frames…

ABOUT THESE PHOTOS: “Morning, Yaletown” and “Holeyscape” were shot with a Widelux F7 on Tri-X at ISO 400 and developed in Ilfotec DD-X. The first “Rain” and “Shine” set was shot with a Diana toy camera on Portra 400NC at ISO 400 and stand-developed for 1 hour in Rodinal 1:100. The double exposure evident in the sky of the first “Rain” photo is compliments of the Diana’s dicey film transport mechanism. The second “Rain” and “Shine” set was shot with an old Yashica Mat on Portra 400NC at ISO 400 and stand-developed for 1 hour in Rodinal 1:100. “Obfuscated View, English Bay” and “Obfuscated Temptress, Vancouver Sidewalk” were shot with a Rollei 35T on Tri-X at ISO 400 and developed in Rodinal 1:35. Absolutely no Leica cameras were harmed in the writing of this article — I have a whole different set of delusions where those are concerned.

-grEGORy simpson

grEGORy simpson is a professional “pounder.” You may find him pounding on his computer keyboard, churning out articles for both the Leica Blog and his own blog at photography.ULTRAsomething.com. Or you may hear him pounding on a musical keyboard, composing music and designing new sounds. Frequently, he’s out pounding city pavement and photographing humans simply being. And that sound you hear? That’s either the sound of him pounding on doors trying to get hired or, more likely, it’s the sound of him pounding his head against the wall when he doesn’t. Fellow pounders are welcome to follow along on the ULTRAsomething Facebook page or G+ account.

Andy Lee is a full-time professional photographer currently residing in Toronto, Canada. He specializes in fashion, beauty and lifestyle photography, which he executes with uncommon insight, drama and exquisite sensuality. Lee’s work has been exhibited and featured in a wide variety of well-known magazines and showcased internationally. His list of recent accomplishments and accolades includes receiving an Applied Arts Magazine award, the Unisource NUARs 2008 award and Two International Aperture Awards. Here in his owns words are the essential elements of his creative quest.

Q: How would you describe your photography?

A: Fashion photography isn’t just about pictures of beautiful people in beautiful clothes. There’s a saying “You can buy fashion, but you can’t buy style.” So my images aim at reflecting the sensibilities of pop culture, the clothing designers and makeup artists involved, the personality of my models and what I believe to be beautiful and interesting. That’s a pretty complex model, so my work feels like it oscillates from dramatic, agressive-energetic to calm and serene softness.  I want my images to feel like love letters– exuding allure but still seeking for affection.

Q: When did you first become interested in photography as a mode of expression, an art form, a profession? Did you have any formal education in photography, with a mentor, or were you self-taught?

A: I was always interested in photography and fashion as a child so going to art school was a pretty easy decision. In my first year at university, I was privileged to have had a photo instructor who saw potential in me; he kept challenging my work and pushed me to go further. It was a full “eureka” moment and from then on I pretty much devoted every waking moment to photography.  I hold a bachelor of Fine Arts Specialized Honours Degree from York University in Canada, as well as several college certificates in applied photography. After finishing school, I worked as a freelance photo assistant for about six years with different advertising photographers who taught me the business, how to hone my craft and then I went out on my own as a professional photographer.

Q: What genre or genres are your photos?

A: My work is primarily fashion and beauty commercial photography. I shoot a mix of editorial and advertising work, though I love shooting portraits and landscape work as well.

Q: How did you first become interested in Leica?

A: When I first got interested in photography, I quickly learned that the Leica brand was synonymous with great lenses. Once I started studying the history of photography, I was fascinated by how Leica pioneered many aspects of photography, as well as the heritage of iconic photographers who shot with their cameras.

Q: What camera and equipment do you use?

A: Right now my primary working camera is the Leica M9, though depending on the job requirements, I’ll shoot with Canon 1Ds/5D or Phase back setup as well.

My absolute favorite lens is the Leica 50mm f/1.4 Summilux ASPH (my preferred focal length for most images). I’ve never seen a better performing lens with such nuanced character elsewhere. My other M lenses are the 28mm F2 Summicron ASPH., 35mm Summicron ASPH. and 75mm Summicron ASPH. I recently placed an order for the new 35mm Summilux ASPH FLE, which I’m quite excited about.

Q: What inspired you to use the M8 and M9 in the studio? What unique advantages and disadvantages have you found with using the Leica M-System in such a setting?

A: I grew up shooting with rangefinder cameras, so I guess there’s an inherent comfort level for me in using them. I feel my shooting process is less rigid and I approach framing the image in a slightly abstract way compared to shooting with SLRs. The viewfinder is quite accurate, but it doesn’t show exactly what the lens is seeing, so it’s sort of akin to getting the shot that you imagine in your head, as opposed to getting the shot that you see in front of you.

I’ve been shooting digital only since the early 2000′s, mostly with Canon SLRs. I was heavily invested in their cameras and lenses, but for some reason I kept looking for something else. When Leica first announced the M8 in 2006, I said to myself “I have to have one!”  Aside from being a rangefinder, for me the big pluses are amazing performing lenses, a super small and light camera body and the fact that I can easily focus in very dim light.

I feel that the Leica M9 is almost a perfect work camera for me. I tend to hit the buffer a lot, so I’ve missed some shots while waiting for the camera to catch up. On the next digital Leica M, I’d love to see a much faster buffer/image processor, good tethered-shooting software and maybe live-view could be useful.

Fellow photographers are often surprised to learn I shoot fashion with an M9, but I really don’t think a camera should dictate how/what you take pictures of.

Q: What approach do you take with your photography and what does photography mean to you?

A: Aside from being my profession, photography is a deeply personal process for me. I remember being younger and feeling it was very difficult articulating my thoughts and ideas verbally or in writing. The process of taking pictures clears everything up! I don’t feel like I’m truly alive unless I’m shooting, so I have a constant need to take photographs and to pursue growth as a photographer and take better and better pictures.

Q: Many photographers use digital DLRs and medium-format cameras to create stylized fashion images, but you do a masterful job with a Leica M9. Can you tell us a bit more about that experience?

A: I’ve done a lot of shoots with DSLRs and digital medium format backs. What I like about the Leica M9 is that it’s so small and light in comparison. I can move around quickly and it feels very unobtrusive, all the while producing images with amazing amounts of detail. I’m also pretty decent at focusing with a rangefinder, so manual lenses don’t slow me down too much.

Q: Many of your images are very sensual and glamorous, but they seem to have a naturalness and honesty that transcends the boudoir genre. Do you agree and if so, how do you achieve this?

A: Thanks! I do agree because it’s something I definitely strive for. I always try to create a rapport and sense of trust with my subjects so they can be themselves. I believe true beauty first and foremost comes from within. We are all too insecure and self-conscious to show it all the time, so it’s my job to bring it out in people when I’m behind the camera.

Q: All of your images exhibit an effective and sophisticated use of lighting, a hallmark of successful professionals. Do you prefer natural light or flash and can you say something about your concept of lighting in fashion photography?

A: Nothing beats natural sunlight!  It’s really difficult to reproduce the look of real natural looking sunlight, but I also shoot a lot with strobe lighting– it’s the control freak part of me I guess. I like very dramatic lighting, but I also don’t like it when images look overly ‘lit’ so I try to limit the number of lights I use.

Q: Most photojournalists and street photographers who shoot with the Leica M9 use 35mm and 28mm lenses for the majority of their work, but you prefer the 50mm f/1.4 Summilux. Why do you favor the 50mm focal length and does Summilux have any specific characteristics that help you to articulate your vision? Also, when do you use other lenses on your M9?

A: When I’m in the middle of shooting, I often change lenses to try out different ideas, but I find I just keep going back to the 50mm focal length because it gives just the right amount of perspective I look for in my images. Shooting with the Leica M9 and 50mm Summilux ASPH at f/4 is just incredible.

I just got my new 35mm f/1.4 Summilux ASPH. FLE and I can’t stop raving about it. I like it even more than my 35mm Summicron ASPH, which is saying A LOT!

Q: There is a definite retro quality to your close-up portrait of a model with sensuous lips and a vintage hairdo posed against a floral background– it almost looks like a still taken from Gone With The Wind! Can you tell us something about this image and what you were trying to convey?

A: I wanted to shoot a very dynamic beauty story that was bold in color but still soft in my subject (model) and concept (florals), so I shot with a pretty big open aperture. I like the play on vibrancy against delicacy.

Q: With one possible exception, the images in your blog portfolio are either high contrast or low contrast. What influences your decision in which way to go, do you think you favor contrast extremes and if so, can you tell us about how this fits into your creative process.

A: Yes! I’m all about contrast extremes. I like how fashion photography can be this big, bold, larger-than-life world on one side of the coin, and super intimate low-tech/low-key on the other. I choose one style over the other based on the wardrobe/model/environment/makeup and vice versa. All these elements need to be cohesive and appropriate in order to complete the planned idea. Before going into a shoot I will always create mood boards of images that inspire me and have a creative brief with my team to make sure we are all on the same page. Unlike other genres of photography, fashion photography is a very collaborative process.

Q: How do you see your photography evolving over, say the next 3-5 years and do you plan to explore any other genres professionally or as personal expression?

A: I’m in my 30s, so I am considered a young photographer. Right now I am focused on developing my commercial career, so that means landing bigger, high-profile jobs and clients and shooting more work on an international level.

I think being a good photographer means that you ALWAYS need to reinvent yourself and stay fresh.  I have a number of ideas for shoots I’d like to do but I can’t be sure it will determine my style in the next few years– it’s really a trial and error process.  The key is to just keep shooting!

You can see more of Andy’s work on his website, www.andyleephotography.com. You can also connect with Andy on Twitter.

Abdoulaye Barry is a Chadian photographer, who was born in N’Djamena in 1980. Following the presentation of a monographic exhibition of his work at the recent Rencontres de Bamako photo festival, we spoke with him about his Pêcheurs de nuit (Night Fishermen) series taken on Lake Chad in 2010, about his professional path and about the reception of documentary and art photography in Chad.

Q: How did you first become a photographer?

A: I was fascinated by photography from a very early age. As a child, I was struck by the mystery behind the reproduction of images. My friends from my neighbourhood and I used to go to the “Normandie”, “Vog” or “Rio” cinemas to collect the worn-out and damaged film reels so we could try to set up our own cinema. We made a kind of wooden projector with an electric bulb and a magnifying glass. When the light was projected through the film, you could see the film images quite distinctly, which were, in turn, enlarged by the magnifying glass fixed in front of our wooden projector. This home-made cinema we created was art in itself; I just didn’t realize it at the time! Today, now that I consider myself an artist, I can say that it is a path that I embraced even in my childhood.

Q: What happened next? How did you decide to make photography your profession?

A: The real catalyst was a cousin who was an amateur photographer. For two years, I helped him during photo sessions. We would send the negatives to be developed and printed in Maiduguri or Kano – in neighbouring Nigeria. I have to point out that I worked for free at the time. What drove me then was none other than a natural passion for the miracle of photography. Getting people to pose and immortalizing some of their moments filled me with pleasure. Finally, in 1995, my uncle gave me my first Yashica camera. I can still remember the intensity of the emotion that I felt when he gave it to me. It was then that I began taking pictures at school, during wedding ceremonies and other festivities. As the eldest of a fatherless family (my father, a soldier, was killed in combat in 1987), it was my duty to help my mother bring up my four little brothers in a dignified manner. This meant making sure that they got a decent education from the money I earned from my photography. As it’s not always easy to pursue two goals at the same time, I had to give up my studies to devote myself exclusively to photography to support myself and my family.

It was in 2006 that I had the chance to take a documentary photography course for the first time at the French Cultural Centre in N’Djamena. There, I was fortunate enough to become acquainted with the rich experience and advice of internationally renowned photographers like Bruno Boudjelal and Bill Akwa Bétoté. Thanks to this experience, I began to work on a series of photos focusing on street children living in the Chadian capital. In 2009, I participated in another, equally enriching training course bringing together emerging photographers from West and Central Africa which was held at the Alliance Française in Accra, Ghana.

Since then, I have been to several workshops and training courses in other African countries. They have enabled me, professionally speaking, to more effectively broach my own areas of interest and the issues of the society I live in.

Finally, in November 2009, my work was chosen to be presented in one of the exhibitions at the Bamako Biennial, in Mali. My series on street children drew considerable attention and I was awarded the festival’s jury prize. That enabled me to purchase a laptop and a new camera to continue my career.

Q: In 2010, you produced a series on Lake Chad, which was the object of a monographic show presented at the last Bamako Biennial. What were you trying to show in this photographic work?

A: Lake Chad, which is the source of millions of people’s livelihood, is at risk of disappearing due to global warming and the invasion of the sands. Through this gallery of portraits and night atmospheres caught around the lake, I wanted to testify to the fishermen’s fragile existence and the threat weighing on their lives. I am concerned by this issue which goes well beyond the Lake Chad region. Thus, I exhibited my photos as an appeal to the need to save and preserve this natural environment, an essential freshwater reserve for my country, Chad, and for all the countries of the African continent. So, in the monographic exhibition you mentioned, I wanted to show how men can continue to live and retain their dignity in a protected natural environment. As I suffered a great deal in my childhood, I don’t want the fishermen and their children to suffer.

Q: In what conditions did you take the Night Fishermen series? What equipment did you use, given the lack of light?

A: I have to confess that the working conditions were hard, due mostly to the proliferation of insects which wreak havoc day and night. Working on the lake, with the fishermen, in their dugouts was a considerable effort – especially at night. Every night, I accompanied the fishermen on their fishing trips and my only source of light were the torches that the fishermen fix to their heads. I caught their gestures with my Nikon D50 camera, without a flash. Which is why, in the pictures, there is very little light. Even though my camera isn’t particularly sophisticated, and I wasn’t using particularly sensitive film, I still managed to immortalize the dignified people who live in a state of complete vulnerability. It’s true that my equipment is inadequate, but that’s not an obstacle that can stop me from taking photos.

Q: How is fine art photography like yours perceived in Chad?

A: Chad is, in this respect, still a virgin territory: documentary photography is embryonic. It’s only thanks to coverage from the Chadian press that I am able to draw some of the country’s authorities’ attention to what I do. I must add that this press coverage of my work was limited to several lines published in the local columns announcing the exhibition of my work.

Otherwise, the social categories that take most interest in my work are, for the moment, expatriates, diplomats and, above all, the Chadian youth who regularly send me messages of encouragement and congratulations for what I do. That gives me a real boost to continue my work.

Q: In a context that’s apparently not easy, other than purely commercial photography, what sources do you draw on to continue your personal photographic work?

A: I would say that my first source of inspiration is my own life. As I explained earlier, I discovered the daily realities of our society marked by poverty and hardship at a very early age. My photos recount the lives of men and women who struggle in difficult circumstances just to survive. Secondly, I am influenced by Bruno Boudjelal’s style, whose works I find deeply moving – notably La traversée de l’Afrique (Across Africa) – and also by Robert Capa, whose photos of the Spanish Civil War have also greatly impressed me and guided my professional practices.

But your question also needs to be answered from another angle: I receive no funding for this personal work. The income that allows me to work comes essentially from the photographs I take during weddings, baptisms, mourning ceremonies, birthday celebrations, family photos, etc. But that doesn’t discourage me. My passion for photography and the problems that need to be shown in our society are so great that I cannot wait until I’ve made it financially before taking on my share of responsibility.

Q: Finally, what projects do you have for 2012?

A: I have big dreams for 2012. Firstly, I am currently working on a project I’ve called N’Djamena By Night. This project aims to highlight the moral depravity amongst young people that has opened the way to the terrible ravages of HIV/AIDS.

In 1995, I met a woman in a nightclub who was crazy about night-life photography. After prostituting herself for years, she managed to buy a concession for her family, but then she ended up contracting HIV. As if by magic, the concession she bought was later demolished by the town authorities, on the pretext that the land belonged to a state reserve. This young woman’s tale moved me so deeply that after her death, I decided to take up my camera and journey back into the town’s “hot spots”, with a professional eye. It’s a way of drawing attention to the high-risk milieux that our youth frequent.

Secondly, I am planning to produce a compilation of the series of photos that I began in 2006 on N’Djamena’s street children and expand it to street children in Central Africa – then to the whole of the African continent. My plan is to produce a big photographic book on the conditions of this category of African children.

Thirdly, it’s my dream to finish the Lake Chad… Two Faces project during the dry season. Indeed, the first phase of this series, carried out in 2010 with the photographer Bruno Boudjelal (thanks to funding from the European Union and the French Cultural Centre in Chad), focused on the rainy season. This second part would make it possible to see this environment in all its dimensions.

Thank you, Abdoulaye!

-Leica Internet Team

This is a guest post by Robert Callway, who has his own production company Nilsfilm, which produces corporate promos and documentaries. Also a cameraman and occasional photographer, Robert has shot a number of prime-time award winning C4/BBC documentaries including this year’s C4′s “Battlefront” (Digital Emmy) and BBC’s “Remembrance-A Sikh Story” (RTS Award). 

35mm is regarded by the majority of rangefinder photographers as their ideal focal length. The evidence is that the 35mm Summicron ASPH is Leica’s best selling lens. With it’s small dimensions, fast speed and aspherical element, Leica’s “jewel” is seen as the perfect optic. And you know what….I have never even tried it!

If there was one lens I regretted having to say goodbye to it was it’s predecessor, the Leica Summicron version IV, also known as the “King of Bokeh.” What it lacked in contrast at f2 and any aspherical qualities, it more than paid back with it’s out-of-focus rendering. So why get rid of it? I really can’t answer that one, apart from the fact that I wanted to go that little bit faster and was increasingly finding myself in many darkly lit situations and needed that extra stop. Summilux time!

At first glance, Leica’s Summilux range of 35mm lenses intrigued me as there seemed to be quite a few different models: the original 35mm Classic (vI-II), the Double Aspherical (vIII),  the ASPH (vIV) and then, a couple of years ago, Leica introduced the 35mm Summilux ASPH (vV) FLE.

Well, I researched and researched the internet review sites to see which one of these beauties could be my weapon of choice.

The Classic certainly has it’s signature look but, again, contrast at f1.4-2 wasn’t my thing.

The Double Aspherical is a rare beast and highly collectible….having two aspherical elements made it too expensive for Leica to produce and therefore has a real hefty secondhand price-tag.

The Summilux ASPH (vV) FLE looks amazing but what I was really enjoying and falling in love with were the images/samples from the Summilux ASPH  (vIV).

It is very difficult to describe the look coming from the Summilux ASPH (vIV)  and I thank Steve from SteveHuffPhoto.com for helping me out here that there is definitely “mojo” around this lens. It gives a perfect mix of modern sharpness and classic out-of-focus rendering as well as brilliant contrast. But the Summilux ASPH (vIV) had been getting some negative press recently.

The reason? Focus-shift when the lens was coupled with the, then new, M9. Leica, to their credit, immediately went to work to iron out any imperfections and released the Summilux ASPH (vV) FLE (all these issues are well documented by Ming Thein in the Leica blog). Having purchased an M9 a year ago I was gutted to find out that the “look” I was wanting might be more difficult for me to achieve. But, I should have looked into some of the internet articles a little more. Some photographers weren’t having focus-shift issues with the previous model at all and it was soon becoming obvious that quite a few thought the Summilux ASPH (vIV) is a better lens. These thoughts coincided with me coming across one at my local camera store. I was in there like a shot!

Andy, the owner, was brilliant and very patient in allowing me to test the lens before purchasing it. Nice, clicky aperture, smooth-focusing, slightly worn edges, but very clean glass.

So what about the  Focus-Shift? What Focus-shift?!  If there is any, it wasn’t visible enough to make a difference to prints … and this particular 35mm Summilux ASPH (vIV) hasn’t left my M9 since.

-Robert Callway

For more of Robert’s work, visit his websites www.nilsfoto.com and www.nilsfilm.com.

Q: What are some attributes that make a great street photographer?

A: Genre is secondary; one must be a good photographer first. Beyond that, I’d say a kind of visual/spatial/interpersonal curiosity, a hunger to explore, and the ability to see whatever is in front of oneself without flattery or prejudice. This, coupled with an unconditional psychological need to translate this into interesting pictures. - TC Lin

Q: What are some clichés in street photography that people should try to steer clear of?

A: In some respects the cliché may be harder to do well so that it is not seen as just another cliché. But I’m not sure there are any strict clichés to avoid at the shooting stage – If something sparks your interest – shoot it, but set your standards high during editing. There’s often a fine line – a small element that can elevate a picture out of the mundane and overworked pit. Shooting something obvious or widely repeatable can help loosen up the kind of inhibitions we all experience from time to time. If you can readily recognise these pictures as clichés you will be increasingly responsive to more engaging situations and pictures. - Justin Sainsbury 

Q: How would you define “style” in terms of street photography- and how important is it?

A: I would define style, in any creative outlet, as the ability to show your personality through your work. You can look at photographs you like, shoot in a way that resembles them, read about the photographers behind them (in fact, doing that can be very educational and inspiring), but in the end, when you have gained enough confidence and skill doing so, you should be able to let go of what you have seen others do and go with your instincts. Especially in shooting candid (or street, if you will) photography, instinct is key. I guess to me, “style” is about trusting that instinct and about finding a way to put a bit of yourself in an image. I think it’s incredibly important, because if you don’t, in one way or another, feel connected with what you shoot and are unable to show that, how can you expect the image to resonate with others? - Regina van der Kloet

Q: What advice could you give to anybody else out there trying to start their own street photography collective?

A: There are two ways of looking at this. You could focus on forsaking friendships and social connections and seek out those whom you admire for their work, or you could just assemble a group of friends. The former looks at talent and the latter at community. A talent-based collective runs the risk of implosion due to creative differences, whereas a friendship-based collective will likely include sub-standard work. I feel that a talent-based collective is better, as personality conflicts can be overcome, while photographic mediocrity cannot. At Burn My Eye, we have adopted more of a talent-based approach, but good friendships have developed over time, which has helped on the creative side. Good friends tell each other what’s wrong or right and forgive quirks. - Alexandros Konstantinakis-Karmis

Q: What makes a good critique vs. a poor critique?

A: When beginning, the best critique is self-critique. There’s enough photographic material out there to allow you to compare your work with the best. This will allow you to see where you may be going wrong. Then, with the basics learnt and the right visual literacy, most critiques from a third party are useful. However, seek out those that get to the heart of the problem with an image . . . not technically, but emotionally. If they can convey that essence succinctly and with impact, it’s a good critique. A good critic is a bit like a good therapist: instead of handing you over a ready-made solution, they say the right things to get you thinking, or broaden your perspective, allowing you to draw your own conclusions. Of paramount importance though is to have a listening ear and a desire to learn. People can give the most elaborate and constructive criticism, but, if you are not willing to listen to it, it will be lost. A desire to learn can make even the most nonchalantly made remark a source of inspiration and education. Finally, remember the prejudices of the critic. There is no such thing as an objective critique. - Jack Simon

Q: How many shots do you typically take before you get a “keeper”?

A: This number grows every time I walk out the door as the word “keeper” keeps being redefined. This is not because worse images are being taken (well some days you’ll have nothing but crap) but more so, the fact that your editing must and will become much tighter and more crafted. The photographer needs to find the raison d’être for the selection of the image (whether at the time of shooting or during editing). This is the hardest part for me (as it is for the majority of photographers I’m sure) but is a skill that will ultimately define your work, so its importance is high. - JB Maher

Q: Are online social photo-sharing sites such as Flickr helpful or detrimental to those trying to take their photography more seriously?

A: There are a considerable number of Flickr groups that are all about gear, flowers, Yorkshire Terriers (which I love), or millions of other things that have very little to do with photography. People love praise, but Flickr, like most social media, can be seen as a forum for mutual appreciation of mediocrity. How do you learn from cut and pasted “nice capture” comments? But there are also parts of Flickr, isolated communities, groups of like-minded people, where incredibly useful resources, honest points of view, wonderful photographic work, and fascinating photographers can be found. If you can wriggle your way into these nooks and crannies, Flickr can be incredible. I suppose Flickr is a microcosm of life – you have to find the right friends and places to hang out. - Charlie Kirk

Q: How do you see street photography evolving in the next ten years?

A: I have the impression that street photography is undergoing a revival. Hardcore Street Photography on Flickr has more than 40,000 members, and there are several great blogs out there, including your own, Eric, that are dedicated to street photography. There seem to be more competitions these days and there is even the annual London Festival of Photography which focuses on street photography. But whether this “revival” relates to a blossoming of street photography or photography in general is debatable. Photography is now a kind of mass hobby. I can only see this continuing over the next ten years, especially with improvements in mobile phone cameras and ways of sharing through social media. - Frédéric Le Mauff

Q: How did Burn My Eye form? Who were some of the people who started it, and what makes Burn My Eye unique from the other street photography collectives out there?

A: Burn My Eye was formed just over a year ago. We began as a private image and portfolio critique group on Flickr. Gradually we added a few more photographers whose work we liked, who were passionate and who displayed high visual literacy. Over the course of time, the group decided to establish a public presence and the website was formed a few months ago. We wouldn’t necessarily say we are unique, but we would like to think that we have considerable energy and a wide ranging vision. No two photographers in the group shoot alike and we all have discernible styles. Many of us do not regard ourselves as street photographers – especially Regina, Fred, Charlie and myself – we are just photographers that sometimes take candid photos. What might be unique is that our decision-making is decentralised and we spend considerable time helping each other with critique, editing and sequencing. We are more “internal” than “external”. We would also argue that we place a greater focus than some other collectives on group edits, and we plan to do a lot more of these going forward. - Jason Penner

Q: What advice would you give to someone trying to start a street photography project?

A: There are two ways to go about making a project: either shoot it from the outset or gather previously shot photographs into a project. Trying to search for something from scratch under a project title is tough and won’t always give you the results you want. Therefore, I would usually start with the latter when I realize that I have a number of photographs with a common thread (this is what we do at Burn My Eye with our Visual Correspondence game). What differentiates projects from professionals with those undertaken by amateurs is access to places and people. However, each one of us has access to some places that others don’t because of our work, friendships or hobbies. Therefore I would suggest that amateurs look at the places they have access to and build a project around them. This might take a few years, so be patient. - Andrew Kochanowski

Q: What kind of vision do all Burn My Eye members share?

A: We all see the world differently and feel that this diversity comes out quite well in our collective. However, we all strive to take memorable photos that have parts of us in them. - Justin Vogel

Q: What is the manifesto of Burn My Eye – what do you guys wish to achieve through this collective?

A: We don’t have a manifesto as such. We have developed very organically. Alongside the development of friendships, creative support and inspiration, we would like to exhibit as a group and perhaps produce a magazine or a book. Our aspirations are quite humble. We have just started, and there are many destinations our journey could take. - Zisis Kardianos

-Leica Internet Team

To learn more about Burn My Eye and view their photographs, visit www.burnmyeye.org or tumblr.burnmyeye.org or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

Matt Borkowski is a Brooklyn, NY based photographer focused on minimalism and environmental portraiture. Matt is currently pursuing printed publication, exhibition, and commissioned opportunities. His extensive artistic background includes work in graphic and web design, fashion, and literature.

I feel that as a photographer, I’m always seeking new things to capture and express in my own right. I’ve lived in New York City, more particularly Brooklyn, for about five years now. One might assume that residing in what many consider to be the artistic capital of the United States (if not the world), would provide limitless inspiration, as well as countless oddities and characters to photograph, and while all of this is true, sometimes I need a break from it all. I guess the old adage of the grass being greener on the other side is sometimes true – and in this case, the fence I’m peeking over looks straight into my home state of California.

I think it was growing up in the Golden State that (obviously) makes California so special to me. Being able to call the beach your backyard (well, it was a few blocks…), making the half hour drive to the iconic Big Sur or catching the sunset on 17 Mile Drive in Pebble Beach were all commonplace to me and I feel as though I never fully appreciated these semi-wonders of our amazing world until I moved away from them.

New York is harsh and usually more aesthetically ironic than pleasing. It’s different from anything I had known on the West Coast (including San Francisco and Los Angeles) and because of this, I found the grit of the Big Apple to be appealing photographically. I find myself at times, however, longing for that openness that California provides me and simply have to get out of the hustle of New York to slow down and switch gears.

It was this feeling that was the initial impetus for the creation of an exhibition I put on last year at the lovely Brooklyn Collective titled “The California Republic.” It was a broad look at some of the less noticed niceties that my state has to offer, albeit a bit limited (due largely in part to my wallet). Since shooting “The California Republic,” I’ve traveled back out West several times to create, add to and preserve an ongoing catalog of work from this special place. My overall perspective on the series (which is now available to view on my website), is one of contrasting appreciation. I’ve tried to create a narrative juxtaposing the altered landscape of California (due largely to the effect of man’s inhabitance) with simple, natural beauty which is often overlooked or even unavailable for to me experience in New York City.

I’ve chosen a selection of photos from my California collection to share with you in this blog entry and encourage you to view the continuation of the series on my website.

-Matt Borkowski

To learn more about Matt and his work, please visit: www.mattborkowski.com.