my little muses

Being here in new york makes me ask why i like photography. Everyone goes into it for different reasons. In fashion photography I think there are plenty of people (and by people I mean men) who do it just cause they like photographing hott babes all day. And i guess thats okay.
One of the best things I will learn this summer is a better understanding of my purpose for photography. And I don't even know what it is but I understand it better now than before.
I took these six years ago on and around the day of my sister's first holy communion. Her hands in every single picture are the most beautifully posed hands i have seen in a long time... and I guarantee that if I didn't have a sister, I wouldn't be a photographer. They are THE most honest photographs I have, and this is the type of photography I like. Honest photography. There is something about the first picture and he close up picture of my mom that really touches me in the same way Steichen's photographs of his sister touch me. Sally Mann has the same essence in her photographs and Dan Winters has it in his personal work. They are just honest portraits of their little muses.

These are honest portraits of my little muses.

Poison plants

I don't really understand the notion of "beauty" photography. This is the type of photography that goes into Estee Lauder type makeup campaigns, MAC, Neautrogena...whatever. And then there is always the ever popular model mayhem (mm) beauty photography, which is something unto itself.
But how can an industry really try to create this one notion of beauty for everyone, when everyone clearly does not have the same ingrained notion of beauty? When we are born, nature tells our mind what is beautiful and what is too crazy: the blue in the sea, the red in poison plants. We create our own notion of beauty as our minds grow. Thus explaining why most people think their moms are really beautiful.
But how can their be one standard? That doesn't even make sense, and honestly its not that beautiful.

Coney Island

I finally took pictures today... and I might finally be enjoying the city.
Also, I learned there is a beach at coney island.

Peter Yang, honestly amazing

photo by peter yang.

Screw PDN's 30 Under 30 (or 36ish).
Peter Yang is shooting covers and inside spreads like nobody's business. And his covers are far beyond any Nylon magazine Terry Richardson knockoff covers. They are in another galaxy.
His photography is smart, a simple word that has become all to obscure in the world of editorial/fashion/commercial photography. And perhaps it is because he is just that-- smart.

Instead of wasting his 20s assisting bullshit photographers that claim to do blow with Mert and Marcus and sleeping with hott models, Peter interned at Newseek, attended the Eddie Adams workshop, and was staffed at the Austin American Statesman newspaper for four years.
Frankly, Peter is amazing.

I just had lunch with him... not something I dreamed I would be doing a year ago. But when I talked to him, it was surpisingly simple and honest. The secret he shared with me is that I need to master my technical skills and shoot--everyday. He told me that what set him apart from all the other billion photographer's he has run into over the years is that he shoots as much as he can. Even if it's "only" personal work, photography is still photography. It's the time when you pick up the camera and shoot people that you think are beautiful. I get the impression that his newspaper photography background is what makes him a genius. You learn to shoot quick, be slick, but honest.

Be an honest photographer. This is a completely different perspective on photography than I found a few days ago speaking with another NY photographer. Photographer M. Idolizing this other photographer seems to have been a mistake. His work is sexy and quick, but honestly, it's not that smart. The difference between these two men NY photographers is large, but the secret to Peter's success is largely in his honesty. He tries to make the best pictures he can but realizes that in the beginning he blatantly knocked off Dan Winters. But not in a deceiving way, in a serious homage on a quest for technical mastery. Ironically when I asked Photographer M if he had ever copied anything his answer was "Never, I don't have to."
Seriously?

So this is my analysis of what makes a powerful photographer: honesty.
It takes honesty to make honest photography... and that will never change.