Plagiarism: The World's Oldest Profession

With much (too much) discussion of late about plagiarism in the photography world, it's important to have some historical context. To wit, You Thought We Wouldn't Notice points to the interesting similarities between the lions in Peter Paul Rubens's ?The Meeting of Marie de Médicis and Henri IV at Lyon? and Paul de Vos's ?The Ark of Noah.?

Theft seems to be the one true constant in the long human history of creative expression.

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Tales From FotoFest

The stage is set for portfolio speed-dating
I've always wanted to go to Houston for FotoFest. The shows, the people, the line dancing. One year I'll get down there. In the meantime I asked a two friends, Phil Toledano and Justine Reyes, who attended the portfolio reviews this year to report back from the trenches. It's been a few days since they returned home, but you get the idea.

Phil Toledano
Now I know what it?s like to be a cow at the meat-yard, waiting for the compressed-air bolt to the forehead.

Fotofest is a very interesting experience-it peels back the little band-aid the covers the giant weeping rash of desperation that all (ok-most) of us suffer from. Of course, it?s useful-for some of us, it?ll crack open a career. But (to quote George Bush, which I try and do as much as possible) make no mistake-we?re all down here dancing about like monkeys, selling our wares. Is this a little bleak? Well, I suppose so, but then again, I am the Morrisey of photography.

Sometimes I?m asked what I hope to get out of a meeting. Honestly? The only thing I?d like to hear is something along the lines of: ?I?ve never seen genius of this importance before in my life-hang on, let me get the curator of MOMA on the horn? That would be great. Or a screaming artgasm ?when harry met sally? style, reviewer white-knuckling the sides of the table.

But I?ll settle for a group show in Nebraska.

Now, don?t get me wrong, I?ve had a good time, and I?ve had some lovely conversations with some people who seemed (at the time) interested. I also met some really great photographers (red Sonja and death reyes-shout out to my peeps!)

We all ask each other how it?s going, and it?s a question I find very hard to answer. Some people liked my work, others, not so much. You really don?t have any clue. It can take a week, a month, or a few years.


Justine Reyes
Last day at Fotofest. Trying to summarize this experience seems like an extremely daunting task at the moment. I am exhausted. Being a first timer I guess I didn?t quite know what to expect. For only four days a lot is packed in. I met with ten reviewers today alone and then did an open portfolio night.

On the good side I have gotten to know some really lovely people, talented photographers and critical thinkers. It has been fun looking at people?s work and getting feedback on my own.

On the bad side there is at times this odd competitive/aggressive energy that I naively wasn?t expecting to encounter.

All in all I am glad I got to come and be a part of it although I don?t think I will be able to process this experience fully until after I return home and escape the vortex that is Fotofest.

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Macro: 7 Tips for Photographing Insects

Shooting macro photographs of insects is a hugely fun and rewarding area of photography and with the winner of this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year being a macro shot, it’s sure to increase in popularity over the near future. The problem for us budding macro photographers is that there are a few tricky elements [...]

Photography Tutorials, Case Studies and Discounts - LightStalking Photography Newsletter.

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Add the Model Look to Your Portraits with These Photoshop Tips

Having a ?model look? to your portraits is a bit more than just great lighting and using a sharp lens ? while you can create stunning, magazine-quality photos with just your camera, you can bring out the true beauty in your images using a few simple Photoshop techniques. 1. Soften the Skin Having professional-grade camera [...]

Photography Tutorials, Case Studies and Discounts - LightStalking Photography Newsletter.

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New York Photo Festival and NY Perspectives

© Marc Garanger
May in New York means the New York Photo Festival, which opens this Thursday. Last year I missed the festival because I was traveling, but this time around I plan to get myself to many of the events. There are some great artists talks scheduled including: Deborah Willis and Jessica Ingram, Zed Nelson, Eirik Johnson and Jason Houston, and Marc Garanger.

As an army photographer in the 1960s, Garanger was forced to photograph Algerian women against their will for identity cards issued by the French government. Many of the women in the photographs had never shown their faces in public before standing in front of Garanger's camera.

Garanger returned to Algeria in 2002 to foster a discussion within the same communities around these photographs. The images are haunting and raise questions the relationship of colonialism and the photographic document.

Here's the full schedule for the New York Photo Festival.

© Joshua Lutz
On Tuesday, before all of this gets underway, NY Perspectives, featuring the work of Joshua Lutz, Gus Powell and Carl Wooley, opens at 25 Central Park West. The show features work they made in 2009 through a commission by the City of Amsterdam Archives and Foam_Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam. I'm not sure what 25CPW is, but it sounds nice. Like the kind of place with hors d'oeuvres and wine in real glasses.

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Halloween in Harlem Prints Now Available on 20x200

Untitled (Hulk) and Untitled (Powerpuff Girls) from my Halloween in Harlem series are now available from 20x200. I am a big believer in the 20x200 mission of (limited editions × low prices) + the internet = art for everyone and was flattered when they asked me to participate. For my 20x200 edition I made the decision to offer C-prints which meant hand printing every last photo. It almost killed me, but I am in love with the final prints. Check out the 20x200 site to see (and purchase!) the editions.

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