Food for Thought

Vanishing Coast: A Photography Exhibition by Michael Barrientos

21 November – 2 December, 2009

Admission Free

Exhibition Hours: Daily: 9:00 – 12:00/14:00 – 17:00

Associação Moçambicano de Fotografia (AMF)
618 Avenida Julius Nyerere
(Across the Street from the Avenida Hotel)
Maputo, Mozambique

for more information see: vanishingcoast.info

Photo Essays & Picture Stories

We had our long-lost final class this week about picture stories and photo essays. A picture story is a group of photographs that has a beginning, middle, and end. A photo essay is a group of themed group of photographs that is stronger as a group that as individual pictures. We looked at several of my own projects including personal family examples: a picture story of my first child's birth, and a photo essay of portraits of my little boy at different places around the United States. In examples from my professional work, we looked at a picture story I did on homeless people in Florida who went from living on the street to getting their own home; we saw a photo essay of different Elvis impersonators.

For the quintessential photo essay, we examined several stories from photographer W. Eugene Smith who is the father of the genre. Some stories we looked at included: Spanish Village, Country Doctor, Nurse Midwife, Pittsburgh and MInamata. His work can be found at both the Magnum website and on Google who has a library of classic LIFE Magazine photographs online now. It's a wonderful place to spend time looking at great photography.

I recapped some of the things we talked about such as framing, layering, and light. But, most importantly, I spoke again about physically moving yourself. You can think of yourself as they predator and your subject as the prey and circle them or it, as the case may be. Stand up on a chair, get down low on the ground, try different perspectives: just move. You may find a great picture by simply moving or getting closer and paying attention.

Finally, I shared my project on the Maputo coastline with you. I will be exhibiting it at the Associação Moçambicana de Fotografia from November 21 – December 2. For details about the show, you can go to the website at: vanishingcoast.info.

Despite my assertion that W. Eugene Smith's Pittsburgh project has "never been published," it is more accurate to say that it was never published in its entirety as he envisioned it. Read about it here.

"The Pittsburgh story has never been published in any form approaching his book-length intentions. The most complete version, in his own layout, comprising 88 photographs covering 37 pages, was published in 1959 Photography Annual. Smith considered it a failure."

BBC has a wonderful documentary about Gene Smith's work in Wales on YouTube. See it here.

The Best Camera Is The One That's With You

Chase Jarvis, a guy who's a good enough photographer that Nikon asked him to advance test the Nikon D90, just put out a photo-book called "The Best Camera Is The One That's With You". He only used an iPhone.

"The Best Camera is the One That's WIth You."

click for book summary