Alex JD Smith //Blog

Portfolio | Sarah Small I came across the work of Sarah Small...

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 15:37:00 -0500

I came across the work of Sarah Small today, via Flak Photo, and was pretty much blown away. Every shot in her portfolio is a winner, and many of them made me verbally exclaim when I first saw them. The juxtaposition of people - old vs. young, naked vs. clothed, ugly vs. atttractive - is striking. She often uses these combinations in conjunction with extreme posing; the effect is pretty jarring, yet oddly beautiful.

Twins, old naked people, vibrant colours, children’s expressions and long hair caught mid-movement; all these feature heavily in Small’s work, and make for one of the most cohesive and distinctive bodies of work I’ve seen in some time.

Interview with Chris Buck

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 14:18:00 -0500

Interview with Chris Buck:

Great interview with Chris Buck over at A Photo Editor. His take on assisting is interesting, especially when contrasted with his comment about his own assistants at the end. Pretty funny.

Part two comes tomorrow; looking forward to it.

William Eggleston - Interview Magazine

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:56:39 -0500

William Eggleston - Interview Magazine:

Nice little interview by Harmony Korine.

"…a photograph is not a documentation of reality, and it is most definitely not about the..."

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 01:27:48 -0500

“…a photograph is not a documentation of reality, and it is most definitely not about the “thing” in the viewfinder.”

- Two Way Lens: Andrew Phelps

A wonderfully concise explanation of the type of photography that I’m pursuing; a type which often elicits questions about its purpose, as it does not serve an obvious ‘function’, or at least its function is not apparent to any superficial appraisal.

The whole interview is good, in fact; Phelps is honest and forthright, which is all anyone can ask for these days.

untitled (via lisa scheer)

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 20:06:48 -0500

untitled (via lisa scheer)

raoul gatepin / diagonale Raoul’s latest work shows some...

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:51:40 -0500

raoul gatepin / diagonale

Raoul’s latest work shows some real development. This whole series feels a little more thoughtful and considered - perhaps a by-product of being back in his native land? Whatever the reason, I’m impressed.

(via Barack Obama) Extraordinary set of images, from behind the...

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 19:10:08 -0500

(via Barack Obama)

Extraordinary set of images, from behind the scenes.

Foreclosures | InSight America

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 18:53:42 -0500

Foreclosures | InSight America:

By Bruce Gilden.

bryanformhals: Art Review - William Eggleston - Full-Color...

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 23:51:42 -0500

bryanformhals:

Art Review - William Eggleston - Full-Color Images of a Changing South at the Whitney Museum - NYTimes.com

Callie Shell: Obama Shell’s work for Time magazine on the...

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 13:49:44 -0400

Callie Shell: Obama

Shell’s work for Time magazine on the Obama campaign has been excellent throughout, so its great to see it collected on the Digital Journalist. These images have a real sense of timelessness and, should Obama win the election, will likely become iconic records of a momentous point in American history.

I particularly like this image; the sense of being in the eye of a storm, of observing a moment of calm amongst the madness, is palpable.

Modern Actions | By Alex JD Smith | Category: Arts &...

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 16:38:26 -0400

Modern Actions | By Alex JD Smith | Category: Arts & Photography | Blurb

I published my first book of photographs on Blurb today; a collection of images from my recent project Modern Actions.

B: Bruce Wrighton has arrived We often hear about the artist...

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 00:34:00 -0400

B: Bruce Wrighton has arrived

We often hear about the artist whose talents go unnoticed until late in their lives, or even after their death. Blake Andrews has an intersting post about a photographer who fills this description perfectly; Bruce Wrighton died young, pretty much unknown, and leaving behind him a collection of wonderful photographs.

I love the warm colours and subtle tones of this image in particular.

Fog One of the downsides to living in Los Angeles is the lack of...

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 16:14:18 -0400

Fog

One of the downsides to living in Los Angeles is the lack of discernible seasons. Whilst the golden California light is a unique and wonderful source of interest for me, photographically speaking, the relentless consistency of it can sometimes be a little wearying. This is why any slight deviation in weather is seen as a newsworthy event in these parts, and is often leapt upon with great enthusiasm by the locals (last year’s morning of snow in Malibu was covered live for hours by local news stations).

I live right on the coast, and we often have a light mist in the mornings, particularly in winter, but last week we woke to find an unusual thick fog hanging over the entire area. I’ve never seen this happen in the five years I’ve been here, so I rushed out to grab some shots of it. This is one of them, grabbed with my Bessa R2 and some Neopan 400.

Pentax 6x7 Here’s a scan from the first roll I shot with...

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 01:50:29 -0400

Pentax 6x7

Here’s a scan from the first roll I shot with the Pentax 6x7. The negatives are enormous in comparison to 35mm, and the detail you can see with the naked eye alone is fantastic. I’m pretty pleased with the shots, despite some under-exposure in the shadow areas. The light was particularly harsh that day, and I was shooting close to midday in Los Angeles, which is really not the best time/place combination, but I needed to get a test roll completed in order to verify the monster actually worked.

This is a pretty raw scan, and still needs some clean up work, but it’s a good indicator of the direction this body of work will be taking.

Pentax 6x7

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 02:07:05 -0400

Earlier this week I took delivery of an old Pentax 6x7, which I plan to use for one of my new projects. This as yet unnamed series will lead on, in some ways, from The Dawn Of Better Living, and expands on some of the ideas I had while shooting that stuff, much of which revolves around the exploration of ‘empty populated spaces’, and the notion of people’s presence creating a visual history within a space; one that continues even after they have left.

For some time, I’ve been feeling that I needed to move up to medium format in order to really do justice to the kinds of spaces that I’m interested in, and the 6x7 format really appealed to me. After looking around for a while, I came across the Pentax 6x7 and snapped one up. I took it out for a trial run the other day. The thing is a monster. Four pounds of solid metal and glass, it looks like an oversized 35mm SLR, and pretty much handles like one too. However, the sheer heft of the thing forces you to slow down, and the medium format (less shots per roll, coupled with a relatively slow reloading process) is a great incentive to be more selective and considered when shooting. The physical experience of using it is wonderful, and I felt immediately at home with the beast, as I lugged it around from place to place and attempted to steady myself under its bulk. I’m going to get one of the wooden grip/handles, in order to avoid the inevitable injury I’ll get from carrying it around over my shoulder too :)

The first roll has been scanned, and I’ll post a work-in-progress image soon.

(via alexjdsmith) What better way to get this started than with...

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 01:13:00 -0400

(via alexjdsmith)

What better way to get this started than with a self portrait? :)

I wasn’t sure I really wanted to embark on yet another ‘web presence’, but I feel I need a place to explore through words the things I explore in my photography. So, here it is: we’ll let it evolve and see what comes of it, much like the rest of my work.