Results tagged “photography”

This would have made a great Halloween costume. Fred Lebain has a new series of photographs that blend New Yorkers right into New York. Animal notes that "After shooting the scene, Lebain returned with a large-format print that he then photographed again using tripods and other ubiquitous poster-holding techniques." Perfect for a city where pretty much everyone is invisible.

Many of you probably have that image of a youthful Farrah Fawcett in a red bathing suit engraved in your memory, but another iconic photograph was taken of her that decade.

Call it a comeback. Following the announcement that Polaroid cameras and film would be gone forever and ever and never return; and following every hipster in town eating up the film on eBay to document their party nights ever-so-nostalgically; and following Urban Outfitters temporarily stocking them... Polaroid is returning! Cameras and film will be on sale by mid-2010, or you can try to buy this special kit on the 16th for the not-so-old-timey price of $430.

     

If you've ever seen Warhol's Factory, it was likely in part through the lens of Nat Finkelstein, who documented much of that era and the characters who created it. The photographer died of pneumonia and emphysema on October 2nd at the age of 76, while at his home in Shandaken, New York. The NY Times notes that he was the house photographer at the Factory from 1964 to 1967, and "created spontaneous portraits not only of Factory regulars like Sedgwick and Gerard Malanga but also of the artists and celebrities who drifted in and out of the Warhol orbit."

       

As you may know, Dennis Hopper (yes, that one—the only 73-year-old white male Republican who can still hold our interest), fancies himself a bit of a photographer. Currently his "Signs of the Times" show is hung at the Tony Shafrazi Gallery, where it will be on view through October 24th. It includes a "vast selection of the artist's iconic 1960s photographs, twelve enormous and never-seen-before 'billboard paintings,' and select video excerpts from Hopper's extensive body of work as an actor and director in film and television." That's a whole lotta Hopper! Here's a report from the opening that went down earlier this month.

       

In early 2008, New York-based photographer Haik Kocharian spent six weeks traveling alone through India; the impressive fruit of his journey has been gathered into a new exhibit at the 92Y Tribeca, called "Walking the Way." Featuring photographs taken in and around the Indian sub-continent, including the ancient city of Varanasi, the coasts of Varkala, and the Tar Desert, Kocharian's intimate images seem to exhale the serene elegance and colorful grit of everyday life. In addition to his work with still photography, Kocharian is also a fiercely independent filmmaker and musician (MySpace); following the opening reception Friday night, he screened his striking black and white short film "Control Z" and performed a set of passionate rock ballads with his three-piece band. "Walking the Way" runs through September 30th at 92Y Tribeca, located at 200 Hudson Street.

     

The New York Transit Museum is presenting a photo exhibit featuring images taken on the last day the Myrtle Avenue El in Brooklyn was in operation, all taken by noted photographer Theresa King. You can revisit the past starting September 29th at the museum (running through the end of February), but here's a sneak peek and a little history.

Not too long ago there was some pole dancing for arts sake on the L train. Well, yesterday photographer Zach Hyman (he's like the one-model-at-a-time version of Spencer Tunick) brought his nude subject to a museum. Surprisingly, it seems the MTA is cooler with the naked human form than the Met is!

Just when it looked like The Man was standing up for photographer's rights, or at least understanding the law, things have gone sour again. Carlos Miller reports that 43-year-old professional photographer Randall Thomas "was jailed for six hours—and had his camera and memory card confiscated by a judge—after filming an FBI building from across the street in New York City Monday."

    

From stage to television to film, Joel Grey has acted, danced, and sung in virtually every entertainment medium over the course of his 60-year career. You might know him best as the Master of Ceremonies from 1966's Broadway hit Cabaret and its later 1972 film incarnation, but you've probably also seen him in numerous TV guest appearances on programs including House, Oz, and Star Trek: Voyager, not to mention roles in films like Choke and Dancer in the Dark.

              

Through August 28th, the Yancey Richardson Gallery is looking at Times Square, then and now, the real and the unreal. The exhibit, titled Glitz & Grime, includes photographs taken in or inspired by Times Square, with both contemporary and classic photographers behind the lens. When traveling from 1945 through 2009 in just a few seconds, it's hard not to miss the old, gritty Crossroads... even if it's nostalgia for a time we never knew personally.

A plump cob roller just flew by our window, and some New York City police officers actually defended a photographer's rights. Carlos Miller reports that recently a witness reported seeing a Japanese tourist toting an SLR getting harassed by a man who told him he was not allowed to take photos in the subway system or in Yankee Stadium (the origin of the report is at SubChat, where it's noted this took place at Rockefeller Center's northbound side). When the tourist stood up for his rights, the man got "slightly physical" and drew the argument out. The tourist found two NYPD officers to ask them the rules, "and was shockingly told that it was legal. In fact, the officers even walked downstairs with him and informed the man that photography was indeed legal." Score one for photographers, seems some in the NYPD actually got the memo!

As the battle for the Gowanus Canal continues, and Superfund supporters bring their campaign from doorsteps to YouTube, the NY Times looks at the canal as one man's artistic muse (and it's not the first time).

Okay, not really. But Flavorwire tagged along with Spencer Tunick to get a close-up look at the nakedest beach party in the Hamptons (surely it was fun getting all that sand off at the end of the day). The photographer set the scene for his latest nude project before dawn in Montauk, and the site reported back: "Tunick went through the setups he’d be arranging for the shoot, including a horrific-sounding pose called 'The Crab.' The group of 300 or so then trekked down to the beachfront, nestled between high cliffs and the picturesque Montauk Lighthouse, for more waiting. Once dawn arrived and the clouds broke, everyone stripped down and picked their way across the rocky beach to take position." And that's how the magic happens.

In July of 2007 Arun Wiita visited all 468 subway stations in New York City, taking photos around each of them. At one point during the ten days of documenting, he was detained by police, handcuffed and held for 30 minutes. Later in the year he filed a Civil Liberties lawsuit, with an overall goal of changing the NYPD's photography policies. We caught up with him this week, after he completed The New York Subway Project, where his photos from 2007 are included in a subway map, and every station contains notes on the interior as well as of the surrounding neighborhood.

A series of photographs by Lee Jaffe have (re)surfaced, giving a colorful and intimate look at artist Jean-Michel Basquiat as he was creating one of his works. The Brooklyn-born artist wasn't in town when creating this piece, however, the shots were taken in Jamaica. [via Hypebeast]

Say "cheese," NYPD! The NY Post reports that the department is finally schooling officers on photography rights, releasing an order stating, in part, "Photography and the videotaping of public places, buildings and structures are common activities within New York City... and is rarely unlawful." It continues on to clarify that cops have no right to demand photos be destroyed or deleted, or request to view photos taken by an individual. Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne noted that they're attempting to balance their efforts to stop possible terrorist activity while keeping in mind the First Amendment—but will this reminder help people like Arun Wiita? His was just one of the many incidents where the long arm of the law attempted to stop an innocent photographer; most recently an MTA worker was given a summons for not having permits to photograph underground—something that you actually don't need a permit for! While it's a good sign the NYPD is getting a reminder, you still may want to carry around a copy of the photographer's bill of rights with you.

                     

Finally, photographer Allan Tannenbaum is releasing a new book of photographs that will transport you back to NYC as it was in the '70s. Sex, drugs, street gangs, disco divas, politicians, homeless, celebrities, musicians, hookers, and literally every other thing (and person) that went down during the decade are amongst the images included. It's nearly impossible to narrow down just a few from the book, but consider this a preview (minus all the sex club, disco orgy, x-rated shots). The book is out April 2nd, and the preface is written by Yoko Ono, with a foreword by P.J. O’Rourke.

Many a straphanger has taken heat for pulling out their point and shoot cameras in the subway system, but now an off-duty MTA worker has been arrested by the NYPD's transit cops for photographing the underground. Carlos Miller reports on the charges made against 30-year-old Robert Taylor, who has been with the MTA for three years and actually cited section 1050.9 (c) of the Rules of Conduct to the arresting officers, which state that photography is allowed under certain conditions, all of which he met.

     

Nathan Kensinger is an urban explorer, filmmaker, location scout and photographer. Illegally accessing areas that normal folks don't usually see, his photos give everyone a glimpse at what's inside the restricted areas. His work has landed in the Brooklyn Museum and Library in the past, and now he has a new show about to open at Union Docs called "Abandoned Brookyn," which shows "the rapid pace of development along the waterfront has been reshaping many old industrial neighborhoods" in the borough.

       

Queens gets the Then & Now treatment as Arcadia Publishing releases their image-heavy book by Jason D. Antos, filled with contemporary and historic photographs of the borough. You'll get side-by-side shots comparing the old and the new landscapes, but the book won't hit shelves until January 19th, so here's a sneak peek at what you'll find inside.

    

This Friday at CHC Gallery (511 West 20th Street), part-time New Yorker and full-time photographer Susan Mikula will unveil her solo exhibition titled "sic transit," which exploits "the idiosyncrasies of a Polaroid camera." The photographer comments on her work saying, “I'm obsessed with the passing of time and the way light changes. When I've done what I set out to accomplish in a photograph, I have preserved the skipping and floating and grinding of time.”

    

Photographer Tom Mason has put together a series called the Fabric of Brooklyn, in which he captured some corners of the borough in about half hour time increments and around 100 snapshots. Digitally compositing the images, he compressed time "in informationally rich ways," and created bustling scenes while focusing in on the finer details and unique population. And hey, DUMBO never looked so crowded! [via Kottke]

        

Photographer William Eggleston got famous in 1976 when his photographs—derided by art snobs for their bold departure from black and white—were exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art. According to the Times, the controversial show, with its emphasis on the lifestyles of everyday Southern folk, was received with such dismissive comments as "Perfectly banal, perfectly boring." Now, of course, his work is considered iconic, and the photos' abiding popularity is due in no small part to Eggleston's costly use of the dye transfer printing method, which yields stunning colors.

     

The last time we looked at the South Bronx it was 1979 through 1987, and now photographer Ray Mortenson focuses in on 1982 through 1984 in his new exhibit titled "Broken Glass: Photographs of the South Bronx." Opening November 14th (and running through March 9th) at the Museum of the City of New York, Mortenson's exhibit of 50 black & white prints will take a look at "the abandoned, burnt out, and razed structures of entire city blocks in the South Bronx in the aftermath of the 1970s, during which this neighborhood experienced dramatic decline." (Did you know about 12,000 fires occurred annually in the neighborhood throughout the decade?)

    

Beginning October 30th (through November 6th) Affirmation Arts will show bits of old New York in an exhibit of Christophe von Hohenberg's work titled: A Cornucopia in Photography. "The exhibition highlights a collection of von Hohenberg's most poignant photographs and features a vast range of work including portraiture, nudes, photographic essays, and images from his [Andy] Warhol book."

      

Brooklyn photographer Michael Crouser sure has captured the dark side of New York's dog parks. The images are for his new book of photography called Dog Run, and a selection of them will be on display at the Gallery FCB through the month of October. Crouser relayed one story from a dog park to us, in which the pug you'll see in the images is the protagonist.

This little pug kept barking at me, and following me around, so eventually I turned my camera on him...he picked a distance that he liked to bark from, but it was just inches too close for me to focus on him. If I backed away he moved toward me the exact same distance and kept barking. I tried again, and again he moved with me...soon people were laughing at our little dog and camera show as we shuffled across the park. I finally figured out that if I moved toward him he would back away, just into range, so I could get one or two shots before he reestablished his fighting distance. This went on for about five minutes...until I had shot a whole roll of him looking earnestly and protectively and barkingly into the eye of the 300mm alien, which he very obviously didn't care for.

Atlantic Monthly says that photographer Jill Greenberg broke the terms of her contract thus it will not pay and may sue her for the photo shoot in which she tricked John McCain into an evil-looking photo. An editor for the magazine also tells Fox News that they are sending a letter of apology to McCain. Today Greenberg is not taking as harsh a stance in defense of the photos with her husband and spokesperson Robert Green telling Radar, "She feels bad that the Atlantic has been dragged into this. Her beef is not with them. She's an artist who is expressing herself through the medium she expresses herself through." The author of the accompanying article has come out and said that Greenberg's art is "juvenile, and on occasion repulsive" and called her "an indecent person who should not be working in magazine journalism."

Photographer Jill Greenberg tricked John McCain into allowing her to shoot him in an ominous, unflattering light that created a diabolical image of the senator. After taking the cover shot for this month's Atlantic Monthly, Greenberg (who owns the domain Manipulator.com for her web site) asked the candidate to come over to another setup where she had previously placed a strobe light below where McCain now stood and captured him with an eerie shadow.

The film Captured documents the documentarian Clayton Patterson (watch the trailer after the jump), and will screen in New York on the 20th anniversary of the Tompkins Square Park police riots, which Patterson famously filmed ("little brother is watching big brother," he's noted in the past). Recently, the artist, writer, community activist, and photographer who for the past 25 years has documented the Lower East Side...from drag queens to heroin addicts to rabbis...was arrested for taking photos. In an email, he stated:

"On Ludlow – between Stanton and Rivington – was arrested for taking photographs. The problem has more to do with police procedure on the street. On this day the street was not a frozen zone. People were allowed to walk through. Kids were hanging out. There was not a police-line. There was not even a fire, just a little smoke."