Mexican box of negatives
Robert Capa's photograph at ICP
ICP
TIME
Today was busy as well with a change of plans putting us at the Int'l Center of Photography (ICP), TIME magazine and Sports Illustrated before the party at Connolly's at 7. The Mexican Suitcase exhibition has my eyes actually watery. If anyone knows me well, you're probably thinking, "Jesse teared up? Is she... ill?" It happens when I think about Tanzania and sometimes photography now.
There were a lot of great photographers and editors in that crowd tonight. I met an editor of the New York Times Lens Blog, saw Frank Fournier again, Andrew Burton was back from Japan, Andreas Gephard from Getty, another Getty guy's girlfriend Jessica. She said I looked just like her sister and we both love ceramics (only she stuck with it). By 8 I was so ready to be done socializing. It kills me that roofs are always off limits in NY. Introvert at heart. I can rock the crowd scene for a while then I have to go. It was a lively night to be sure.
Remember that story I've been working on at the House of Mercy in Rochester? Grace and Rita told me about an RIT, Korean photo chick named SK who photographed a man named Oscar last year. I'd seen her photo on the wall and heard she worked for a Korean paper in NYC. So I'd just started talking to Andreas from Getty when a Korean woman (last named Kim) bring over this woman to meet Andreas and I, of course, start eavesdropping and suddenly hear Korean Times, RIT grad, and interrupt to ask if she's SK. They're one in the same. We both photographed the House of Mercy a year apart from each other.
Around midnight I realized all of my classmates had left the bar and Andrew and I were the youngest people there by a few years. Alan Chin showed up and he'd come to talk with us but everyone was at a diner. After a few calls, Alexis came over and we talked with people for a while.
Mel Burford is hilarious. She has a fantastic New Zealand accent and a vivacious personality. Her work is phenomenal (she's won a Pulitzer). Also around was the colourful Rick Gershon who has also won a Pulitzer. It was getting stuffy with all the Pulitzer winners in the room, including my professor. There are worse things to suffocate on.
Last night, Jason Eskenazi asked me why I was going to school for photography. I said I wanted to learn to see better and to have access to people with resources as great as William Snyder. At Getty we heard that we don't choose this job, it chooses us. In a way, I think it's very true for the best though certainly not for everyone.
Getting to the heart of the matter, in my phone I have this list of quotes I've begun entitled, "Price of a Life Well Lived". James Nachtwey, Yousuf Karsh, P.J. Pretorius, Dante, and Epicetus all make appearances. Karsh said, "I've also seen that great men are often lonely. This is understandable, because they have built such high standards for themselves that they often feel alone. But that same loneliness is part of their ability to create."James Nachtwey comes to mind but going back to who chooses who.
I'm not sure if I agree that the craft chooses us. As with love, we always have a choice. Free will to stay or go. The desire to push through when things become tough. It is more honourable to choose to love someone and not to rely on some high or elation you feel. No photographer feels like photographing every moment of everyday and like the drumlins we have ups and downs.
It's nearly 5AM so I'll get 3.5 hours of sleep. It's like crew all over again! The team is probably all going to wake up in six minutes for practice. Here I am, blogging my sleep away after a night in NYC. If this doesn't make sense, it's not without effort. I got back at 2 and started homework and haven't left this spot. This is the city that never sleeps! My books, camera and sometimes laptop are my mistress. I literally sleep on a twin bed here and in Rochester with a stack of books and my camera taking up however much space necessary.
You should look these people up that I mention, the sites are good. The photo below is one of Rick's photographs from Deadliest Catch. It's mad good. If you don't know this yet, I have an affinity for photographs of birds in flight. When the wind of their wings rush overhead... I swoon. Until tomorrow...
*The title of this post refers to the band City and Colour
No comments:
Post a Comment