Timothy Archibald

 
I spent an hour or so on the phone this morning with photographer Timothy Archibald. I'm working on the possibility of a book deal for my Day & Night project and he had a book called Sex Machines published a few years ago. It contains similarly controversial photographs of an unusual fringe social group like mine. And, also similar to me, he's not a big time name in fine art photography circles. I've been following his work for some time, I think since he shot the Kodak annual report years ago. He's a terrific portrait shooter and has a quirky sense of humor. He also has recently completed a project called Echolilia with moving and sensitive pictures he created in collaboration with his son Eli. Please take the time to look at his work.

His fine photographs aren't the reason I'm writing. I'm writing because he spent an hour of his time sharing his experiences and valuable insights with me. We've never met. We've had a few e-mails back and forth, but to him, I'm just a faceless guy on the other side of the country. As an educator, I'm expected to share my time with my students, with prospective students, with all sorts of people. It's my job. But I've also always done what I can to help those in my profession who come to me asking for help. Assistants, colleagues- I believe it's important to give back to the profession that has been so good to me. These days it's rare that I'm on the other side of that relationship and it's good to realize that there are people out there who are so giving. Tim's sharing of his experiences was invaluable. I'm very grateful.

Phil Toledano

I've been looking at the work of Phil Toledano for the past few days. He's that rare combination of commercial and fine art photographer that I see too few of. I have great respect for anyone who can live with the day to day rigors of assignment photography and still find the time and energy to produce work destined for books and galleries.

His project work has a remarkable breadth. Days With my Father is deeply personal. Bankrupt and The United States of Entertainment are quite political. And Phonesex and A New Kind of Beauty are really social commentary. There are others, as well.

His assignment work is slick and funny and creative. And extremely well crafted.

Well worth a look.

Mikes (Pronounced Mick-esh)

Cesky Krumlov is the second most visited site in the Czech Republic, after Prague. It's a Renaissance town with an imposing castle surrounded by winding, narrow, cobblestone streets. After falling into ruin during the years of Communist rule, they've been restoring it since about 1990 and their efforts are impressive. The Baroque and Renaissance buildings are beautiful and often extravagently painted on the exterior. The streets are lined with shops, restaurants, and pubs. And the Czechs certainly know how to make beer.

Mikes Milan owns a flower shop near where we're staying. I was stricken by this large, sturdy man surrounded by the delicate offerings of his business. The fact that he spoke no English and I spoke no Czech was a bit of a problem, but after he called a friend on his cell phone to translate and explain what I wanted, he was happy to let me photograph.

Jan

Jan is about to graduate from high school in Cesky Krumlov, The Czech Republic. He's traveled a fair bit for someone from such a small town. His trips have included the south of France and Toronto. He plans to study biology at a nearby university in the fall.

Hermann & Franz

Andrea and I ended up in the tiny town of Wesenufer on the Danube River in the north west corner of Austria near Germany. We're headed for the Czech Republic and the pouring rain finally got to us, so we stopped. The Gasthof zum Schiffmeister was the first place we went into looking for a room. There was a long table with a few folks drinking beer and they seemed friendly in spite of the fact they spoke almost no English and we speak no German. After we had checked into our room, we went back down and sat at a table near them, drinking beer and playing gin rummy. I asked if I could take some pictures and they agreed after I assured them I wasn't the papparazzi. Over the next several hours, we noticed that people came and left, but that table was always busy. The cast of characters changed continually. Sometimes it was more boisterous and sometimes less, but it was always occupied and always lively.  Several times we accepted schnapz from people sitting there and they eventually invited us to join them. 

Franz and Hermann were two of the regulars.

Dino

Dino Spreafico runs the Hotel Flora in Chiavenna, Italy. It's been in his family for sixty years. Although much of his time is taken up with the hotel, it was clear that his passion is photography. He showed me some of his published work and I was impressed. He seems comfortable making his living one way and indulging his passion in another.

Alesandra

Alesandra Matera runs Paitin Farmhouse Bed & Breakfast outside Alba, Italy. She has incredible energy and always seems happy and exuberant. Although she doesn't speak much English, she can usually make her point known through sheer enthusiasm.