We are still seeking applicants to fill the position of Secretary. Please email Andrew at: onpaprez@gmail.com.
And as always, please send me your news, updates, or inspirations. We want to know what everyone is up to!
Thanks.
INSPIRATIONS:
1/ There’s some kernels of truth applicable to what we do with our cameras in terms of growth and how we see as discussed in Viola Davis’ interview on the New Yorker Radio Hour: ‘On Playing Michelle Obama, And Finding Her Voice As An Actor”.
“What happens so much as we move through the world – especially with social media, is that we try to bogart other people’s lives. It sort of like going into plastic surgery and saying, ‘I want Anglelina Jolie’s nose, and then maybe I want Scarlett Johansen’s lips’ – you know they do that with plastic surgery. But on a metaphoric level I think that people pick and choose whose pope’s lives they want to emulate. And before they know it they become a Mr. Potato Head of other people’s dreams, hopes, looks, values – everything. And they never ever focus on their inner voice within them – that mindfulness of just … who you are! That’s what I would import with them, because with me, I always want to see that one person walking across the screen that is gonna be different than everybody else. I think that’s how you do it: You use you. Always.”
2/ The Abilene Reporter News has reported on April 19, that Pulitzer Prize winner David Leeson has died in Abilene, TX.
David was a friend, and mentor at times. We spoke online over the course of a few years, but communication had lapsed some time ago. It was no secret that he struggled with mental health stemming from his coverage of the Iraq War and other conflict zones. He is survived by his wife Kim, children, and countless people across the globe whom lives he touched. David will be deeply missed. May his soul finally be at peace.
The work he did in Iraq during the war while embedded with the US Army earned him a Pulitzer, along with fellow staff Cheryl Diaz Meyer. That portfolio can be viewed in a recent post from Kim Leeson in the ‘David Leeson Facebook Memorial Page’ started by colleague and friend at TDMN, Barbara Davidson: https://www.facebook.com/groups/davidleesonmemorial/permalink/588789512099727/. In the Pulitzer Nomination letter, TDMN Deputy Managing Editor Walt Stallings writes: “In the first three weeks of war, 13 journalists died in the line duty.”
Pulitzer page for their work: https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/david-leeson-and-cheryl-diaz-meyer.
His recently published obituary can be read here: https://obits.dallasnews.com/us/obituaries/dallasmorningnews/name/david-leeson-obituary?id=34554404&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=obitsharebeta&fbclid=IwAR3o77_UrLDzhZDa54LyTliksWfH4iJrjb8WObAwBak1DTrldKSrBcfKyZE
From his second wife, Kim Leeson, a list made by David:
3/ The Marshal Project (Cleveland):
“The Cleveland news team is the first of several planned as The Marshall Project seeks to amplify local accountability and criminal justice journalism in communities across the country. In addition to hiring reporters on the ground, the award-winning newsroom will support the Cleveland team with resources in data, production, multimedia and design.”
What is planned for visual content? Will a staff be hired, or will TMP use local freelancers?
TMP is currently hiring, here: https://www.themarshallproject.org/jobs
AND, “Two new nonprofit newsrooms in Cleveland name their editors-in-chief”
https://www.ideastream.org/news/two-new-nonprofit-newsrooms-in-cleveland-name-their-editors-in-chief
4/ CALL FOR ENTRY:
From our friends at The Photo Brigade, and also reported in the NPPA weekly newsletter: the entry window is now open for “Wide Open Excellence in Photography” competition. It’s sponsored by Sony, and Ohio University’s School of Visual Communications.
https://dairybarn.org/exhibits/call-for-entries/#WO22_prospectus
“The third biennial international exhibition celebrates photography of all genres. This exhibition is produced by The Dairy Barn Arts Center with support from Ohio University School of Visual Communication. WideOpen: Excellence in Photography exhibition has featured outstanding work by established, emerging, and amature photographers. The stellar jury for the 2022 biennale will select photographs of all genres to curate an exhibit of contemporary excellence in photography. Each accepted photo will be featured in the WideOpen: Excellence in Photography 2022 exhibition catalog.”
Submission must be received by Thursday, June 30, 2022 at 11:59pm Eastern. There is a $45 general submission rate, and a $35 reduced rate for students and members.
5/ David LaBelle is moving. Help lighten the load.
6/
“Images are everywhere in our digital lives, and you may want to take a longer look at the images you create and consume. Photojournalist Michael Fagans shows how his camera lens reveals hidden, overlooked, and alternative perspectives. To paraphrase Hugh Brody: “The [photographer’s] mind is humanity’s most sophisticated combination of detailed knowledge and intuition. It is where direct experience and metaphor unite in a joint concern to know and use the truth.” Michael Fagans is an Assistant Professor at the School of Journalism and New Media, a working photojournalist, a documentary filmmaker, and an author. He enjoys telling people’s stories. Michael’s work has taken him to the Navajo Nation, Malawi, India, Austria, Afghanistan, Scotland, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Belize, and Guatemala. His documentary film, The Trafficked Life, helped raise over $50,000 that was donated to ten nonprofits working to combat human trafficking in California’s central valley. His documentary about David Sheffield’s autobiographical play, The Heartbreak Henry, is currently in post-production. Additionally, he has authored three books on iPhone photography with Amherst Media. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.”
7/ “One small step for me.”
8/ Choices of how to frame Elon …
9/ The words chosen along with this now ubiquitous hero pose portraiture is problematic. Here’s Damon Kiesow’s thread about the matter: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1518226370454769665.html
10/ All iPhone photographs, from Scott Strazzante, famous (in our industry at least) for — among other things, Shooting From The Hip. It’s a book, after all. 😉Looks like it played very well in print. Here’s the online version: https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2022/visuals/oakland-athletics-coliseum/
11/ LOCAL JOB: Cleveland Browns photo intern.
12/ Love persists through war.
