For the past five days or so, I have been wondering around with a Virigin Mary bag filled with camera, video, and audio gear in Oaxaca, Mexico. After trying oysters for the first time, I was invited to attend photographer David Alan Harvey's Dia de los Muertos workshop two weeks prior to the start of this adventure. I emphatically agreed, and found myself last Saturday morning stranded in Mexico city waiting for my brief flight (which offered free Modelo!) to Oaxaca.

The intensive workshops consist of long periods of shooting combined with in-depth morning critique sessions led by David and influenced by the rest of the class. The constant cycle of feedback and work is a pressure-cooker, but has produced obvious results in the students-- David has stressed the concept of personal vision and a stylistic approach over techincal refinement, and has influenced his students to push behind stereotypical images. Some of the portfolios developing are beyond impressive.

Oaxaca is a phenomenal city to shoot in-- the light is consistently vibrant, and the landscapes are multigenerational and rich in terms of texture and layors. From the beef, bags, queso and marigolds of the market, to the solitude of the northern wall of the cathedral in the main zocalo, images are so obviously extractable.

Here are a few images from the experiences in the city at large, and the community this workshop has created...

From one massive entertainment event to another...

Photographer Jennifer Macfarlane recently arrived home to New York from her travels with the band, Manu Chao. Manu, which can be described as a poly-lingual stoner version of U2, recently played shows in Mexico and Tijuana, and Jenn caught every moment of the dirty moshes and onstage frenzies. Although not well-known outside of eclectic music circles, the band is well-loved worldwide...

The "decisive moment" seems to be the most discussed but least understood aspect of photography for both the amateur and professional alike. To be sure, most can agree that no other skill is more important in making photographs that resonate emotionally. When asked, most photographers interpret the decisive moment as a function of stopping time. Some go further and speak of heightening tension of the observer by freezing human interaction and behaviors in mid-execution. While both of these are technically correct, I advance that there is much more to this type of photography than simply this.


Boy stealing sugar molasses on the jetty in Mandalay by Ido Magdal

For me, the decisive moment is more an application of Jay Maisel's approach of "Light, Gesture and Color" than it is a tension caused by temporal dissonance. Maisel has oft described good photography as a fruitful combination of the above factors. First and foremost, it's the quality of light being most important in terms of the representation of texture, form and color. Second, the need for effective and emotionally arresting gesture on the part of your subject is paramount. This includes non-living objects as well as living. Finally the ability to combine colors (or tones for you black and white types) in a manner that both attracts and compels the photographic audience as the final layer of creative execution using this model. Now, anyone who has listened to Maisel describe this approach will understand this description is GREATLY simplified, but I contend that in virtually every instance described as a successful "decisive moment" photograph, you see these three formalist factors successfully in balance.

I recently took a motorcycle trip upstate to photograph the magical town of Sharon Springs, NY. After arriving and settling into our residence for the weekend ( a converted church) we meandered to the lovely Black Cat for some prime sandwiches, the printing press to purchase an ostrich journal, and then off to eerie abandoned buildings that give the town character...


I honestly don't know WHAT sort of shivery dilapidation would more resemble a horror movie. Click the photo above for my Hitchcock-esque discoveries.

And check out the full selection of all Sharon Springs images here.

Perception of color is often overlooked in the practice of color photography. Many hobbyists photograph the world in color as opposed to actively seeing, seeking, isolating and composing the color in their immediate environment. When making successful color photographs, color of light, color of subject and color relationships within the composition are all of prime importance. Complex color relationships and dissonant color combinations can be very distracting to the eye within a given environment.

Therefore it is necessary to distill the scene and compose for pleasing color combinations in order to create successfully communicative color photographs. Seeking out different color palettes is a useful method for approaching the complexities of color photography. Common color palettes include monochromatic, analogous, and complimentary.


(Photo by Seth Butler)

A monochromatic color palette relies on variations in lightness and saturation of a single color. These variations are then unified by the differing amounts of the same hue. In the case of Seth Butler's photograph of a woman shopping in Bagan, Myanmar,

Light is, by far, the most misunderstood aspect of photography for many people. Taken as a whole, photographers tend to believe that light is an element of photography that must be controlled, created, or consistent. In fact, ask many photographers what the best light to shoot in is and they will answer "daylight."

How wrong they are.

When asked why we would plan a trip to Southeast Asia during the monsoon season, we simply answered "Monsoon Light." Because of the environmental factors including daily thunder showers and high overcast skies, every day offers a beautifully diffuse soft light for virtually all of the daylight hours. In addition, light streaming into doorways and windows during the brightest part of the day creates a textural character that is, in a word, stunning.


(Photo by Seth Butler)

In short, there is such a thing as good light over bad light. Take the photograph of the upended Buddha statue taken by Seth Butler during late morning. By this time, the sun had already risen above the horizon and was nearly directly overhead. If it had been a clear day it would have been virtually impossible to solve the exposure problem associated with a bright white foreground form and a darker colored background. Invariably the white form would have been far overexposed for a proper background exposure. With filtered and less intense overhead light he was able to not only capture wonderful texture in the marble statue, but was equally able to get saturated color and detailed texture in the background. It would have otherwise been too contrasty to fit within the proper exposure latitude.

Greetings from Myanmar! For the next couple weeks, I'll be shooting photos and posting work from a photographic workshop taking place in Myanmar -- also known as Burma. This country, known for its beautiful scenery, deep Buddhist traditions, and rocky political history is the site chosen by the Momenta photographic workshop to teach aspiring documentary photographers how to communicate with photography and sound.

The trip promises to deliver amazing monsoon light and some of the most amazing human landscape available to photograph. The residents of this country are some of the most photo-friendly I've ever worked with. Virtually no inhibitions stand in the way of the enterprising photographer. In addition to this access, the villages, cities and, monasteries are in a word, silly with photographs. Every day it seems wherever you point your camera, you have an image.

So, here is the first installment of imagery. As the photography emerging from the workshop grows, I'll be sending more every couple days or so, depending on the availability of Internet access. We'll also share some of the successes and challenges that our photographers are facing s they search for their own photographic voice. If the advance scouting has been any indication, we'll have lots to talk about.


(Photo by Heather McClintock)

Until next time, cheers.