How do you find your subjects?

作者 Alec Soth
来源 alecsoth.com

I try to keep the process fluid. Years ago I did a project called From Here to There. The idea was that one picture leads to the next. An example:

Boy with chicken

Young man with egg (and superman tattoo)

Superman suit

While working on this project I made a trip down the Mississippi River. After awhile I saw the river as a metaphor for this kind of improvisational wandering. I decided to make the river the explicit subject while continuing to play all of these games beneath the surface.

I still play these games. Now I usually have a list of subject I’m looking for. With Niagara, for example, this list included things like motels, love letters, couples, and so forth. I feel a bit lost if I don’t have anything specific to search for. But the list is just a starting place. It gets me involved in the landscape. Once I’m engaged any number of things can develop.

Alex Majoli points and shoots

作者 Eamon Hickey
来源 robgalbraith.com

In 2003, Magnum photographer Alex Majoli shot some big stories for Newsweek magazine.

He spent a month in China shooting documentary images of daily life. He was in Congo for two weeks and Iraq for almost two months. In those two places he was shooting war.

Majoli's images for all three stories drew rave notices, and they earned him some of photojournalism's most prestigious awards in 2004, including the U.S. National Press Photographers Association's Best of Photojournalism Magazine Photographer of the Year Award and the U.S. Overseas Press Club's Feature Photography Award.

It would seem reasonable to guess that all that award-winning work in remote and frequently dangerous places must have been shot with big, fast, bulletproof pro SLR cameras. But in fact, Majoli shot every frame with Olympus C-5050 digital point-and-shoots -- the same camera your snap happy Uncle Maury takes to Disney World.

More recently he's been using the Olympus C-8080, along with his older C-5050 and C-5060 cameras, for many of his assignments, including shooting in Israel for Vanity Fair and the U.S. presidential elections for Newsweek.

(2003) Street kids begging in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo. (Photo by Alex Majoli/Magnum Photos)

Majoli acknowledges that most of his photojournalist colleagues think he's crazy, but he's been shooting with digital point-and-shoots for three years, developing techniques to deal with their shortcomings and exploring their unique strengths, which still intrigue him.

"I was interested in finding a camera that gives me some new way to approach the subject," says the 34-year-old Majoli, who was born in Italy and now splits his time between there and New York City. His English is clear and delivered with a distinct Italian accent. "This camera, you can shoot in a different way."

Majoli, who has been a professional photojournalist since 1990, first discovered the new way that digital point-and-shoots make possible when he was working on the book project A Day in the Life of Africa in early 2002. Olympus was one of the sponsors of that particular Day in the Life effort, and the company gave Majoli an E-20 digital SLR and a 4-megapixel C-4040 digital point-and-shoot to use while shooting for the book.

"I found the C-4040 amazing," the photographer says. "So small. And it made a great file. So this was the big thing, the size of the camera and the quality of the file."

But other qualities that differentiate the various point-and-shoot models he's used from their SLR cousins also fit well with his shooting preferences, Majoli says. "The screen that pulls out [and] shooting really silent. Digital cameras are great in the night. Depth of field is fantastic; everything is sharp. This was another thing that was really interesting. It's like on video, everything possible is sharp. It's a new way to see the world."

(April 2003) U.S. troops survey burning oil fields in southwest Iraq. (Photo by Alex Majoli/Magnum Photos)

The C-4040 was not actually Majoli's first digital camera, and his previous experience had been with a camera more likely to be associated with a professional photojournalist, namely the Canon EOS D30. He used one while covering the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, adopting it because of the need to meet short deadlines.

But it's perhaps easy to understand why Majoli wasn't particularly enamored of that camera when you learn that -- prior to his fateful meeting with the C-4040 -- the photographer shot all of his previous work with Leica rangefinders and the very compact 28mm and 35mm Leica M-system lenses.

On a typical shooting day now, Majoli carries four Olympus point-and-shoots and not a single digital SLR or film rangefinder. In 2003, he began using the C-4040's successors, the 5-megapixel C-5050 and C-5060 cameras, and in the summer of 2004 he added a few of the 8-megapixel C-8080 cameras to his gear bag.

He carries six or seven 512MB Lexar CompactFlash cards but no shooting accessories -- not even an external flash. When he gears up for a long assignment he'll pack a couple of extra cameras -- i.e. six total -- so that he can weather any equipment failures. (Six C-5060 bodies have almost exactly the same weight as two Canon EOS-1D Mark II cameras.)

(April 2003) American soldiers in Iraq wait out a sandstorm. (Photo by Alex Majoli/Magnum Photos)

(March 2003) A demonstration in Amman, Jordan against the Iraq war. (Photo by Alex Majoli/Magnum Photos)

To be sure, doing effective photojournalism with point-and-shoot cameras requires some special techniques. Shutter delay is obstacle number one. Like the earliest digital SLR shooters who faced the same problem, Majoli has honed his anticipation skills and learned a new shutter timing rhythm, but he says he can't eliminate the problem entirely.

Still, he cuts the lag way down by always presetting the focus rather than relying on autofocus. This technique depends on the fact that precise focus isn't nearly as critical as it would be on a 35mm film camera or on a digital SLR. This is due, of course, to the comparatively vast depth of field provided by the very short focal length lenses on digital point-and-shoots. (The actual focal length of the zoom lens on a C-5060, for example, is 5.7 - 22.8mm, which yields the same angles of view as a 27 - 110mm lens on a 35mm camera.)

Majoli also sets his exposures manually or uses the exposure lock function when shooting in any automatic mode, which also yields marginal improvements in the camera's responsiveness.

Because Majoli is usually shooting magazine stories, his need for high frame rates and large image buffers is much less pronounced than it is for many newspaper and sports photographers. But while shooting in Iraq, where he needed to capture long bursts more often than he normally does, Majoli developed a method for overcoming problems with buffer stall.

He carried two C-5050 cameras on straps around his neck, with one strap cinched shorter than the other, so that the cameras hung at slightly different heights on his chest. The cameras were set for 3-shot burst mode. When a long sequence of shots was called for, Majoli fired a 3-shot burst with one camera, dropped it, grabbed the other and shot a burst with it. The first camera wrote its images to the card, thereby clearing its buffer, while Majoli shot with the second. He just kept rotating from one to the other for as long as the action in front of him continued.

"That was my way to shoot in Iraq," he says. "I'm talking about for news. In other situations, I don't need this." Majoli says he can't think of any shots he missed while trading cameras and points out that the overall system is faster than manually winding a Leica, his pre-digital practice.

(2003) Soldiers train in the Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. (Photo by Alex Majoli/Magnum Photos)

Beginning with the C-5050, Olympus began fitting its so-called prosumer cameras with LCD monitors that either tilt or tilt and swivel. Majoli loves this capability, using it often to take pictures without holding the camera to his eye.

It's a technique that dovetails nicely with the virtually silent operation of these cameras when you turn off their indicator beeps and pre-recorded shutter sounds. "It's really changed the way I shoot," says the photographer. "People don't realize I'm taking pictures. It's fantastic. Fantastic."

Another quality of point-and-shoots that would bedevil many photojournalists -- their lack of interchangeable lenses, especially long telephotos -- doesn't bother Majoli all that much. When he was using Leicas, he shot almost exclusively with 28mm and 35mm fixed wides, so the zooms on his Olympus cameras actually provide greater lens versatility, and more telephoto reach, than he was previously used to.

All of Majoli's pictures are captured in JPEG format at the lowest compression level available on his camera. Outdoors, he generally sets his white balance to "sunlight" and his in-camera sharpening to the -1 setting. Otherwise, he leaves image parameters such as contrast and saturation at their default values.

Though he loves the dramatically wide depth of field afforded by his point-and-shoot cameras, Majoli struggles with himself over some other aspects of the look of his digital images, especially their contrast.

In his Leica days, he shot Tri-X and developed it in D-76. His Olympus files show much more shadow detail than those old Tri-X negatives, the photographer says. So he often finds himself increasing the contrast of his digital pictures in Photoshop, but part of him considers it a nasty habit.

"Digital, you can see everything," he says. "I used to try to catch as much detail in the blacks as I can, and now I can see everything. It's more than I need, so I try to go back to what I used to see in the past. It's wrong, psychologically. Digital is something different than film, but I try to go back to the idea of what film could do. Film is more black. I need the blacks."

(March 2003) A protest in Damascus, Syria against the war in Iraq. (Photo by Alex Majoli/Magnum Photos)

In other respects, Majoli is satisfied with the images his point-and-shoots make, and so are his clients, he says. "In the beginning there was a general problem with digital, not with my specific camera. But you can actually say that I have shot for National Geographic [with the point-and-shoots]. We just do it and show the prints, and they forget about [what camera was used]."

Majoli's photojournalist colleagues have been a bit more dubious. "In Iraq, [other shooters] looked at me like I'm crazy," the photographer remembers. "They said, 'What? What are you doing with this?' But many of my colleagues are influenced by this. They are trying the point-and-shoots. At the beginning, they need a little bit of instruction."

Though he has had great success with his point-and-shoot cameras, Majoli has some improvements he'd like to see. When you add them up, they describe an enticing synthesis of the old and the new.

"I miss the strongest of the old generation cameras -- Olympus OM-1, the Leica. The dream would be a digital camera the size of the C-5060 -- not bigger than a Leica, let's say -- with exchangeable lenses. Small lenses. I would like to see fixed lenses, not zooms. Maybe some bigger apertures -- f/1.8. The file is fine. I don't need 20 million megapixels."

Oh, and there's one more thing. "I would like to have the same battery for everything -- iPod, camera, computer, cell phone, the Palm Pilot. All should work on the same charger. Just one charger. I get crazy."

PDN's 30 2007

作者 -
来源 PDN

http://www.pdngallery.com/gallery/pdns30/2007/

玛格南的神话与悲剧

作者 汪伟 金姬
来源 sina.com.cn

玛格南的神话与悲剧

　　“博物馆和画廊将扮演越来越重要的角色，但大多数(玛格南)摄影师会以同样的方法工作下去。”

　　撰稿／汪 伟(记者) 金 姬(记者)

　　2007年，世界上最有名的图片社玛格南(Magnum)成立60周年了。

　　“当你脑海中想到一张经典照片，但想不起来照片的作者和出处，它很可能就来自玛格南。”

　　这是今天的玛格南图片社在网站上对自己的介绍，空前狂妄；看看它的创始人亨利·卡蒂尔-布勒松的描述，要谦虚得多：

　　“玛格南作为一个团体基于如下思想：共享精神，对世界上每时每刻发生之事怀有好奇心、尊重并渴望用视觉语言来传达事实。”

　　成立于1947年的玛格南是

二战的产物。它的创始人有4个：美籍匈牙利人罗伯特·卡帕，英国人乔治·罗杰，波兰犹太人大卫·西蒙和法国人布勒松，若不是二战赋予了摄影师前所未有的机动性，他们的跨国联系就无从建立。

　　成立玛格南的本意，更多的是利益考量，而不是为了追求道德和勇气。摄影师在战时受媒体派遣，拿报社的经费去战地工作，照片的版权和所有权都归报 社所有；怎么使用照片是编辑的事情，摄影师无从置喙——罗伯特·卡帕为此愤愤不平，要改变这种受制于人的现状。在摄影师们的午餐聚会上，他提出成立玛格南 的动议，有没有经过深思熟虑，大可值得怀疑。好在那是充满了机会和可能性的时代。二战虽然结束了，战争还在继续，摄影师有的是拍摄任务，所以有和媒体议价 的空间。

　　1940年代的玛格南在利益分配上采取的是共产主

义乌托 邦式的平均分配、共有共享原则。罗伯特·卡帕是玛格南的精神领袖，他是滥赌鬼，也是社交家，不断为图片社拉来媒体订单。布勒松是独来独往的个人主义者，用 艺术主张对玛格南发挥影响。1954年，卡帕在越南战场触雷身亡，而布勒松2004年以96岁高寿逝世于法国。他们还在世的时候，就分别被神化为新闻勇气 和摄影艺术的象征。

　　真正理解他们的人会觉得，被神化其实是卡帕和布勒松的悲剧。罗伯特·卡帕当然勇气惊人，布勒松也是真正的艺术家，将他们神化的，有摄影师，但大 多是摄影爱好者，绝大多数人在两方面都比他们稍逊一筹。现代社会的大多数神化都有着相同的起因，那就是公众的狂热最终压垮了事实。这件事同样也不例外。

　　玛格南的财务制度当然增添了传奇的指数。它遭遇到的大多数危机，也都和这一制度有关。但玛格南遭遇的最大危机，是电视新闻越来越成为一种潮流。 1957年，摄影师雷·贝利在希腊执行拍摄任务。结束一天的工作后，他回到旅馆，正要把胶卷从相机中取出来，却看到电视正在报道他拍摄的事件。他突然清楚 地意识到，新闻摄影的黄金时代过去了。他拍了一天照片，还没有寄出去，就已经变成了过时的东西。

　　考虑到电视和现代企业制度改造我们的生活所达到的深度与广度，玛格南能够生存到今天，当然是一个奇迹。很多次它濒临解散边缘。这个奇迹不是—— 至少不仅仅是——因为摄影师们坚持了理想主义，而是因为玛格南不断改革。在摄影的纪实和艺术两方面，玛格南至今保持着高水平，但不再是摄影界的唯一标准； 它也不再以道德的偶像自居。也许，它从来没有以唯一标准和道德偶像自居过。一切都不过是我们的误解罢了。

　　2007年1月，《新民周刊》通过电子邮件采访了玛格南图片社的现任主席Stuart Franklin。

　　新民周刊：Magnum成立60周年了，玛格南会举行哪些活动来纪念这一时刻？

　　Stuart Franklin：我们将在纽约举行一个庆祝活动。柏林电影节和阿尔勒摄影节都将为玛格南举行纪念活动。

　　新民周刊：创立玛格南的几位摄影师的风格差别很大，为什么会有这个动议？在1940年代，很多摄影师有着强烈的参与政治的意识，他们希望用照片促进社会发生变革，关心政治还是今天玛格南摄影师的传统吗？

　　Stuart Franklin：创立玛格南的目的是为了使摄影师获得独立，维护作为作者的权利。这意味着对怎么使用图片，摄影师有一定的权利干预，同时，他还拥有图片的版权和所有权。

　　当然，玛格南的创始人能够走到一起，也是出于对纪实摄影的共同兴趣。纪实摄影天然地关注变革，就像雅各布·里斯(注：丹麦裔美籍摄影师，以关于 纽约贫民窟的报道著名)和路易斯·海因(注：美国摄影师，以报道美国童工著称)的作品表现出来的那样，目的是为了让这个世界变得更好。通过纪实摄影促进改 革是玛格南一直以来的方向。现在我们正在进行一个大型的集体项目，它关注的是当代世界的血汗劳工，这个项目正是追随了这一传统。

　　新民周刊：几位创始人对玛格南产生了什么样的影响？一些著名的摄影师加入玛格南后又选择了退出，他们为什么会做出这样的决定？这对玛格南来说是不是一种伤害？

　　Stuart Franklin：玛格南的创始人给我们留下了不同的影响。1954年5月，罗伯特·卡帕和温纳·别斯切夫在9天之内前后去世，他们都天赋过人，死的时候 正值壮年，这给玛格南很大的打击。亨利·卡蒂尔-布勒松的探索是在不同的影响下产生的：尤其是超现实主义和美学上的形式主义，给他的影响很大。卡帕则对见 证和记录世界的变化更有兴趣。总的来说，两者都取决于对世界的好奇，他们对世界的变化的关注。

　　因为种种原因，许多重要的摄影师先后离开了玛格南。有一些是彻底离开了，有些转而选择和玛格南保持一种更松散的合作关系：很早的时候，布勒松和 Marilyn Silverstone(英国女摄影师)就是如此了。玛格南里面的摄影师的观点很多元，在不同的摄影师看来，这些离开的人产生的影响是不一样的。有一些人 离开，是因为不能接受在玛格南里的收入。

　　新民周刊：对很多人来说，玛格南意味着一种共同的价值观念、工作方式，甚至是类似图片的风格。事实是这样吗？那些年轻的风格特别的摄影师申请加入玛格南，对他们的作品存在争议吗？

　　Stuart Franklin：实际上，我们在风格和工作方式上存在着巨大的差异，新的摄影师想要加入玛格南的时候，对他们的作品永远都存在争议，但这是玛格南的力量 所在。这些风格不同的摄影师之所以能够团结起来工作，秘诀就是尊重。我们都能从别人那里学到东西。我们通过成员大会检讨和制定政策，使全世界各地的分支机 构保持目标一致。

　　新民周刊：玛格南如何面对其他图片社，例如7photo的竞争？

　　Stuart Franklin：我认为我们是独一无二的。

　　新民周刊：玛格南和电视，和其他媒体形式是什么样的关系？

　　Stuart Franklin：总的来说，电视改变了摄影，尤其是新闻摄影发生了很大的变化，不独玛格南如是。后来大多数刊登纪实摄影作品的杂志都停刊了，对玛格南来 说，这是很艰难的时刻。我们对杂志的依赖受到了挑战，我们以前很多最好的作品都是来自于杂志委派的任务。我们和媒体的关系是玛格南的一个重要方面。

　　新民周刊：互联网的出现对玛格南来说是新的挑战吗？玛格南已经改善了自己的网站，摄影师的工作方式有没有因此发生变化？

　　Stuart Franklin：互联网不仅是个新挑战，也是今日摄影一个重要的平台。玛格南一直在提升它的网络服务。现在大概有三分之一到一半的玛格南摄影师用

数码相机——也许还不止这么多。

　　新民周刊：玛格南今天的财务制度，和罗伯特卡帕时代有何不同？财务困难是否真的曾使玛格南面临解体？

　　Stuart Franklin：过了这么长时间，我们的财务范围已经扩大了，而且引入了互联网，但玛格南和摄影师的基本分配原则并没有变化。玛格南很不寻常，在我所在 的英国分部，75%的合作在第一年就难以维系，合作不是一个简单的用来管理和维持的经济构架，我觉得这是一个让我们坚持下去的承诺。

　　新民周刊：玛格南现在还鼓励记者长期拍摄某些选题，即使他们的财务贡献很低？

　　Stuart Franklin：是的。

　　新民周刊：摄影师对玛格南的财务贡献不同，但他们享受同样的服务，这一点存在争议吗？

　　Stuart Franklin：没有任何争议。

　　新民周刊：很多摄影师越来越重视艺术品收藏市场，这会促使他们改变自己的风格来迎合收藏吗？在今天这个世界上，玛格南和纪实摄影师扮演着什么样的角色？

　　Stuart Franklin：这一点不可避免，博物馆和画廊将扮演越来越重要的角色，但我想大多数摄影师会一如既往地以同样的方法工作下去。

　　我们面对的挑战是继续拍摄重要的作品，并且把图片社经营下去。我们在全世界许多报纸和杂志上发表作品，每年出不少书，在画廊与博物馆中进行展 览，我们还有不断增长的网上业务。我要做的是继续保持玛格南在纪实摄影领域的领头羊地位。正如赫拉克里特所说，万物变动不居，面对挑战，玛格南总是能够做 出革新，我们存在了60年，早在1994年，我们就开始将图片档案数字化，就是一个证明。

一个矿工摄影师的国际化之路

作者 汪伟
来源 sina.com.cn

一个矿工摄影师的国际化之路

　　从山东的巷道到北京再到法国，幸运的宋朝，用尽全身力气，抓住了一个稍纵即逝的瞬间。.

　　撰稿／汪 伟(记者)

　　和宋朝约好在北京电影学院门口见面，到晚上7点钟，他才匆忙走进学校。笑嘻嘻的，单肩背了一个超级大的摄影包。

　　他伸出手来握手。是这人了。年纪不大，戴眼镜，个头偏矮小，白面孔，是最普通不过的学生模样。他正忙着为《纽约时报周刊》拍摄一组中国当代艺术家的照片。很难想象，几年前这个年轻人是个地道的矿工：凌晨4点，他要坐罐笼车深入地下500米，在山东某个煤矿里，他和工友吭哧吭哧地挖着坑道，一直到中午12点钟才能结束。

　　“我想去北京混”

　　我是1979年生人。家乡在鲁西南。我叔中专毕业到我们山东兖矿集团鲍店煤矿子弟学校里当美术老师，就把我和我哥都接到身边读书。

　　初中毕业了，我考了兖矿技校，毕业了可以在矿上工作，还是正式工。我在学校里学的是综掘，综合机械化掘进，挖巷道，毕业后我就下井了，一直在矿上干到2004年。每个月能拿两三千块钱。待遇挺好的。

　　2001年，《中国青年》的摄影记者黑明到兖矿集团采访，跟随着煤矿的陪同人员，坐着罐笼车深入地下，一个随行检测瓦斯浓度的年轻矿工显然被黑明的相机吸引住了。

　　“这是徕卡相机吗？”年轻人指着黑明胸前两台徕卡M6相机问道。地底下一片漆黑，充满了煤尘，这个年轻人的问题让黑明感到惊讶。他着实没有想到，在500米深的煤矿坑道里，也能遇上摄影爱好者——然而，这个摄影爱好者不仅了解他的相机，弄清黑明的身份后，他甚至准确地说出了黑明的代表作品，并且兴奋地打电话给自己在另一个煤矿工作的弟弟，让他来请教“北京来的老师”。

　　瓦斯检测员的弟弟就是宋朝，后者闻讯赶到兄弟的煤矿。一开始他就显示出了强烈的学习愿望。在随后几天中，他一直陪同黑明采访，给他帮忙。黑明即将离开煤矿回北京的时候，他和盘托出自己的愿望。

　　宋朝已经在鲍店煤矿待了4年，仍然充满了年轻人的骚动情绪，想到要在这里一直待下去，就忍不住郁郁不欢。他承认自己并不安分——否则，他应该像很多同龄人一样，考虑房子或者婚事一类更现实的情形，然而，他满脑子想的是怎么才能换一种活法。愿望如此强烈——否则宋朝也许不会这么大胆地向几乎陌生的黑明吐露心声。实际上他是一个相当羞涩的人。即使后来小有名气，接着考进北京电影学院学习摄影(两年后又考上研究生)，他总的来说仍然不善言谈，讲到人生规划时，尤其含糊其辞。但显而易见，年轻的矿工在他迄今关键的时刻，用最直接明确的方式，表达了自己的真实想法。

　　“我喜欢摄影”，宋朝对黑明说，“我想去北京混。”

　　黑明要求看看宋朝的作品。这个要求让宋朝傻了眼。他没有。他一心希望闯荡北京，改变每天凌晨4点下井、中午12点重回地面的刻板生活，然而却无所凭借。摄影是一根救命稻草——但他对这根救命稻草的了解，却仅限于朋友结婚或者过生日的场合，用傻瓜相机拍摄的以资纪念的若干留影。

　　和他的叔叔相比，2001年的宋朝甚至算不上一个真正的摄影爱好者。

　　摄影爱好者的作为

　　真正的爱好者常常会做出一些了不得的事情。1990年代初，每逢学校放假，鲍店煤矿子弟学校的宋老师就把两个年幼的侄子留在学校里，自己出发到全国各地采风。两个孩子只好自己照顾自己。叔父对摄影的热爱给两个孩子留下了极深的印象。宋老师的旅行不像那些有钱而且有闲的摄影爱好者那样轻松，为了省钱，他为旅途准备的食物常常是一大包煎饼。宋老师寒酸的行囊和与寒酸对应的热情，在今天大概会惹来嘲笑，15年前这样的游历却是一种壮举。

　　宋老师几乎是15年前我们身边常见的一类摄影爱好者的缩影。尽管摄影作为一种爱好相对昂贵，而且许多专家认为他们大多缺乏必要的视觉艺术的素养和训练，但摄影在中国仍有着广泛的群众基础。业余摄影师将走乡串县的创作活动命名为“采风”：这个词在中国语言中有特殊的意义，古代专指政府机构采集民歌的活动，1949年之后用来指“艺术工作者”以游历的方式体验生活和了解现实——总带有一点较高阶层深入民间的味道。摄影师胸前挂着的照相机是稀罕的物件；他们的采风因此看似有几分浪漫情调。宋老师从远方归来之后，就发动两个侄子为自己打下手，配制显影液、定影液一干药水，在自家的小暗房里冲印胶卷。

　　来自遥远外地的风光和人物并不仅仅到宋老师的暗房为止。在煤矿正月十五举行的灯会上，它们被宋老师展览出来。观看者的赞赏大大增进了宋老师在煤矿上的声名和口碑。这种高昂的劲头不是每个爱好者都有的，宋老师这“一股劲”，自然是一个家族性的伏笔。他对爱好的严肃态度至今还鼓舞着宋朝。“北京来的黑明老师”走了，22岁的宋朝在天赐良机的刺激下，投入了兴奋的创作，用一台老旧的俄国产相机拍摄了一堆胶卷后，他自己冲印成照片，忐忑地坐上前往北京的火车，将有生以来的第一组作品送给黑明过目。这是一次彻头彻尾的失败经历。黑明不得不告诉宋朝，无论构图还是光线、影调，都与他的预想相去甚远，还有些照片甚至是虚的。第二天，宋朝心情败坏地坐上了回山东的火车，送行的黑明说，要不回去换一台相机试试？——此情此景，这话或许是一种安慰，却把年轻的宋朝从自我否定的沮丧情绪中解放了出来。一个星期之后，他携带2万元巨款，再次出现在北京。关于相机器材，宋朝了解得不多，但目的却明确之极：要买能拍出“最清晰”照片的相机。最后，他买下一台庞大的座机，使用4×５底片，拍摄时需要固定在地上，拍摄者头蒙黑布，操作手法既复杂又古典——类似的情形，相信很多人在电影(也仅仅在电影，比如《黄飞鸿》)中看到过。当然，照片的效果让他心满意足。“清晰度真是高啊”，几年后，宋朝带着自嘲的口气回忆自己的兴奋心情， “眼毛一根一根的”。

　　不久之后，黑明接到了从山东快递过来的照片。这是新机器的第一批产品。照片数量不多，宋朝急于了解到他的看法。

　　在山东的等待陷入了提心吊胆和患得患失交织在一起的情绪。宋朝已经竭尽了全力。凌晨4点，他和其他工人坐罐笼车深入地下，中午12点，带着满脸满身黑尘回到地面；如果是晴天，宋朝的朋友提前在井口准备好拍照设备，一到地面，他立即开始拍摄和他一起坐罐笼车上来的工人。他在摄影上的投入已经达到1 万多块钱，这是有生以来最大的一笔开销，而只是为了一个根本不能确定的未来。时间和精力的投入和他的渴望相比微不足道，如果照片仍然不能被接受，宋朝会立刻陷入绝望。然而，好运这时候光临到头上。他的照片打动了从业多年的黑明。

　　命运的分水岭

　　鲍店煤矿矿工的肖像照片成了宋朝命运的分水岭。2002年，在鲍店煤矿结识黑明整整一年之后，后者兑现了自己的承诺。《矿工》在北京展出，随后被推荐给国际策展人。

　　这组照片从此坐上了命运的过山车。它们在2003年7月的法国阿尔勒摄影节上展出。宋朝被邀请到法国去，行程前后10天。这是他第一次坐飞机，当然也是第一次出国。

　　《矿工》以炫目的速度和前所未有的方式展现自己。在法国的10天里，宋朝被媒体所包围。他经常听到的一个问题是：你认为自己是一个矿工，还是一个摄影师？

　　宋朝被眼前完全陌生的一切弄懵了。

　　所有的环节都在23岁的矿工的掌握之外。国际摄影节、策展人和艺术收藏市场的圈子不光对他来说是陌生的，对整个中国摄影界来说，也少有人能够深知其间奥妙。这个生态当然充满了名利场特有的浮华；看上去很美——至少对很多急于获得国际市场的资金和好评的年轻人来说是如此。它似乎无所不能，一夜之间就改变一个新人的命运；有一度，很多年轻人在创作之余用能够想象的一切方式接近这个圈子，成功者有多少，大概只有天知道。

　　从山东的巷道到北京再到法国，其间的距离几乎无从衡量。当极度稀缺的机会从天而降的一刹那，幸运的宋朝，用尽全身力气，抓住了一个稍纵即逝的瞬间。

　　为此他感激命运。“每一个关键时刻应该出现的那个人都出现了，给了我决定性的帮助。”

　　这还不是他个人的幸运。如果不是宋朝赋予了《矿工》同样稀缺的品质——一种高度的诚恳，命运不会自动向他招手。这组作品称不上完美。宋朝在构图上花费了许多心思，为了与众不同，有时候用力过猛，过于夸张；他太渴望脱颖而出，却暴露出自己仍然是火气十足的年轻人——经验不足，有待时间的淘洗和净化。然而，他的处女作中表现出的诚恳却无法从时间和经验中获得。鲍店煤矿的矿工们在照片上无不目光坦然；他们放大的瞳仁中能看见宋朝和他那台巨大的相机，他们带着煤尘站在这台相机面前，脸色像水一样平静：没有局促，没有掩饰，也没有怀疑。很少有肖像能够如此诚恳，同时饱含力量。

　　这组照片现在就挂在北京百年印象画廊的墙上。百年印象代理的作品中，宋朝的照片尺幅并非最大，价钱不是最高，行情也不是最好。那些20英寸的黑白矿工肖像作品，不扎眼，然而一眼看到，的确让人印象深刻。

　　宋朝当然是有天赋的。他和相机不像一些人那样好奇、高高在上，或者充满了窥淫癖式的色情幻想。另一个幸运之处在于，沃尔玛化的全球艺术品供销市场，已经将中国变成了产销链上的一环。宋朝进入国际市场的速度是对此最好的说明。

　　一切还和煤矿有关

　　矿上矿震很常见，经常“咣”，地震三级、三点五级什么的，很多，后来我们习惯了，觉得很正常。要是在北京，“咣”这么一下，不吓死了？真有意思。

　　2003年宋朝还是一个严格意义上的矿工。在此之前，他梦想的边界不过是在北京举行一次摄影展——如果黑明知道宋朝的摄影基础，甚至不会做出这个承诺。2002年10月之后发生的所有的事情：发表、展览、参赛、获奖、国际策展人的介入、到国外参展……他都是被动的，他被一些似曾相识的姓名和一些闻所未闻的姓名带领着，奔向梦想的边界之外的生活。事情如此顺利，他不得不感谢命运的垂青。

　　出发到法国之前，正在筹备百年印象画廊的陈光俊给他打了预防针：出去了别和人乱签协议。宋朝懵懵懂懂，一点没有领会陈光俊的深意。从法国回来，百年印象画廊开张了，他是最早和陈光俊合作的摄影师之一。作品挂在百年印象的墙壁上，他收拾好东西，回山东上班去了。

　　为了拍照片和参加各种活动，他请了很多假，后来索性调换了工种。在煤矿工作7年时间里，宋朝干过井下一线掘进工、电工、测绘和矿震监测。这样频繁地调换工种，似乎有一种心不在焉的味道——是的。他已经尝到了另一种味道。离开煤矿势在必行，只是方式和时间早晚的问题。

　　离开煤矿之前，他拍摄了一组《矿工家庭》。创意来源于矿工下井时携带的一张“安全操作资格证”。为了提醒工人记住全家的幸福，在井下遵章作业，这张证件的背后意味深长地贴了一张矿工家庭照片。宋朝欣赏这个创意。煤矿工会帮他找来了各工区安全方面表现突出的矿工。矿工和家人一起，宋朝为他们拍摄了全家福。工会希望宋朝的照片能用来宣传安全生产。

　　他又开始拍摄《矿民》。在鲍店煤矿，矿工及其家属在2万人以上，庞大的人群世代逐矿而居；随着技术和设备日益更新，煤炭开采速度越来越快，临时构成的矿民社区随时面临着解体和迁移。宋朝拍摄的靠煤矿吃饭的人群中，有他的小学数学老师，修理自行车的邻居，打架子鼓的童年玩伴，工友的妻子，亲戚…… 这些面目和善而普通的人置身在随处可见的煤炭痕迹之间，构成了一个命运随地下的煤炭储量而变更的熟人社会。

　　离开煤矿之前，在挖巷道和摄影这两件截然不同的事情上，很难说宋朝更擅长哪一个，但他显然更喜欢后者。几年之后在北京电影学院念摄影专业的研究生，又在北京、在所谓的摄影圈里生活了两年多，这个工龄7年的矿工仍然没有学会利索地用时下流行的术语表达想法。曝光课程的考试对他来说是一件难事；谈到摄影，他的舌头仿佛打了结。一旦话题转到煤矿，他的情绪才会高涨起来，常常忍不住大笑。

　　他怀念着那里的生活。这一点将他和同龄的艺术家清晰地区分开来。今时今日，探讨艺术和出身、故土甚至是社会、时代的关联，如果不用一种流行的彻底反讽的口气，就是一件冒险的事情——要冒着被人嘲笑是“土鳖”的危险。而宋朝正在着手的工作和对未来创作的设想，很大一部分仍然和煤矿、和他日渐远离的那个煤矿里的熟人社会有关。他侃侃而谈，话题最终还是要绕到煤矿上去——从矿工，到矿工家庭，到矿民，他的视野一点点扩大，基调却流连于亿万年才缓慢成形的煤炭和越来越快的挖掘速度之间的矛盾，以及匮乏的资源与中国发展速度之间的失衡。

　　他讨论问题的方式甚至让人觉得，当初他选择了一台不能移动的沉重的相机，简直是他的艺术生涯和煤矿之间关系的一个隐喻。

　　当然，他也不得不考虑市场对他的创意的反应。《矿民》中的3张被瑞士一家摄影博物馆收藏。价格不贵，每张几百美元。随后的全球巡展对他的市场前景不无帮助，而且为他带来了一些短期工作的机会。但到目前为止，利好也仅限于此。收藏市场还没有对他的作品表现出持久强烈的兴趣，至少在中国，资金眼下更喜欢追逐更“观念”或者更“历史”的作品，比如相对稀缺的“文革”照片。

　　飘着，焦虑着

　　我哥现在还在煤矿。他结婚了，有家了，又生了孩子。他对摄影也有兴趣，回去以后我们常聊，他挺想知道外面的事情。(有没有考虑过你哥哥也复制你出来的过程？)太难了，其实我已经很幸运、很吃力了。而且，出来也未必将来就能怎么着。我哥觉得他在煤矿有工作，有房子，有家，一切都挺正常的，如果那就是他想要的生活，没有太多的未知数，生活没有不可知的(东西)，也许这就是他想要的幸福。幸福本身没有标准，他不喜欢漂，可我不希望在一个地方呆着。

　　很多人替宋朝假设过这一情景：让他重新拍摄从前的工友，能否拍出2002年的味道？他已经没有了这样的信心。为此，失落清楚地写在他的脸上。

　　对宋朝来说，北京意味着前所未有的宽阔平台和机会，他的问题在于时间和精力被短期合约、学院课程和各种活动切割成碎片。拍摄《矿工》时那种自由的工作状态已经不复存在。离开煤矿后，他还没有集中精力在一段时间里做出一个完整的东西来。

　　那个让他在短时间内脱颖而出的沃尔玛式的全球艺术品供销市场，并没有为他做任何停顿，相反更加迅速地推出了更多更年轻的艺术家。这些20刚出头的年轻人像几年前的宋朝一样兴奋，充满渴望。市场亢奋的新陈代谢让年轻的宋朝自觉正在飞速衰老；他还不到30岁，周围更年轻的面孔却让他像一个压力重重的中年人。

　　他愈加迫切地想拿出新作品。市场给他种种诱惑，同时残酷地提醒他，忘记一个年轻人比让他出名更容易。然而，他不能拒绝那些短期的拍摄工作，尽管他有时候并不怎么喜欢。它们每次能给他带来几千块钱的收入。他放不下，也不舍得放下；他需要这些收入来支付学费和日常的开销。

　　北京解放了他的视线。摄影曾经是他主导生活的唯一可能性，他必须不顾一切地把握它，现在他认为，摄影只不过是一件工具，诸多可能性中的一种。 “我不可能一辈子按照一种方式拍摄，我觉得那挺傻的”，宋朝说，“如果能把我的想法表达出来的话，用不用摄影无所谓，用Video，用装置都可以。”

　　“关键在于表达我对社会和意识形态的看法，并且提出我的问题。”如果不是来到北京，他不可能产生这种大胆的念头；事情当然都矛盾着。和2002 年相比，他对自己掌控影像的能力更有信心，但不是每天凌晨4点钻进巷道，他怎么可能拍出《矿工》来？不管他怎样真诚地怀念着鲍店煤矿，他也不可能再回到 2002年前的单纯生活。他比那时候更加焦虑未来的生活。和所有“北漂”一样，未来难以预计、难以猜测、难以把握——这一点和他面前的市场一样。

　　为了减轻生活的不确定性，他选择了上学。之后的事情，“我想应该不会‘死’那么快吧？”在北影的集体宿舍里，他笑了。

　　毕竟，他的“命好”。运气来得太快，太突然，有一点像是做梦。每个时代都有梦想成真的故事。在摄影圈子里，宋朝是不折不扣的幸运儿。不是吗？想一想，他代表了多少年轻人未遂的梦。

“真实”正在老去？

作者 汪伟
来源 sina.com.cn

“真实”正在老去？

　　有人永远钟情于纪实摄影的道德价值，怀念理想主义的时光。

　　撰稿／汪 伟(记者)

　　苏州河肯定是中国照片最多的河流之一。对苏州河的拍摄已经持续了100多年。几乎所有在上海生活过的摄影师，都拍摄过这条河流。然而宋涛和小纪 无动于衷。从他们的“鸟头”摄影工作室望去，苏州河近在咫尺。这条著名的河流却没有在他们的照片里出现过。不管是有意的反叛，还是无意的冷落，对许多年轻 摄影师来说，相机和取景框里的中国，已经不再是过去的景象。

　　让人无所适从的照片

　　2007年1月，一个下午，天很冷，又在下雨，但是宋涛仍然穿着拖鞋，赤脚，一副起床不久的样子。“鸟头摄影”工作室是一间没有

装修的公寓

客厅，一边被改造成暗房，另一边拥挤着许许多多奇怪的物件。引人注目的是几把漂亮的椅子，各色新旧相机，一盒盒照片、有趣的玩具……还有一些小摆设和烟灰缸，拥塞在电脑和电脑之间、搁物架上和简易塑料箱上。

　　这个拥挤、杂乱、充斥着玩具和工具的房间，游戏与工作失去了界限：正是他们的摄影风格的一个象征。宋涛出示了一本厚厚的8开的书样，一共印刷有 照片数百张，全部拍摄于2005年；一部分构图严谨而传统的照片带来的观感让人意识到，摄影师熟练地掌握了必需的技巧，并且在表现上有特别的偏好——通常 我们将其称之为“风格”；但让人愕然的是，这些技巧成熟的作品竟然与大量随意即兴的照片——许多呆板平静的街道，两个摄影师互相拍摄的工作照，画面空虚或 者颗粒粗糙的一些不明所以的影像——编排在一起，彩色和黑白混杂，几乎没有遵从任何视觉和色彩的逻辑。

　　在这本厚厚的书样间寻求逻辑和关联的努力，注定是要失败的：没有任何情节，遑论找到关于“意义”的任何暗示，这本书就像一间充满了小玩意的房间，拥挤、杂乱，一边展示了严肃的工作，一边又在嘲笑这严肃本身。

　　宋涛在电脑前演示2006年的工作成果的时候，小纪坐在他背后，眼睛并不看着什么特定的地方。小纪是个羞涩的年轻人，和陌生人说话甚至脸红。他 和宋涛毕业于同一所学校，后者学的是雕塑，小纪的专业是平面设计。2000年，小纪去英国念书，行前将自己的相机送给了宋涛，4年后，他回到上海，两人开 始合作拍照片，继而成立了工作室。这个故事毫无悬念。从一开始，拍照就是一份正经工作，他们投入了大部分精力和时间，尽管还没有任何回报——如果工作本身 的快感不计算在内的话。

　　复旦大学教授顾铮介绍说，2006年“鸟头”在拍摄上海的工人新村。他的语气似乎在介绍一个传统而计划周详、思虑严密并且按部就班的摄影项目。 工人新村既包含着上海作为一个工业城市的历史，又和1949年以来工人阶级在社会主义国家的政治地位有千丝万缕的联系，半个世纪之后，它们变成了低收入阶 层的聚居地：听者就是这样理解“鸟头”的计划，然而宋涛和小纪演示的照片证明，这是一个误会和笑话。两个年轻摄影师拍摄的工人新村，只不过是他们的出生地 和童年时光的遗迹罢了。

　　浦东的一处工人新村，正在因为世博动迁而平地消失。他们断断续续拍摄了数月之久。这种工作算不上即兴，但也充满了随意的色彩。他们也拟定了粗略 的拍摄计划，然而更多是兴之所至的时候前去拍摄。没有任何记录即将消失的事物时的急迫情绪。带回来的照片则无所不包，除了新村，还有来回路上的无聊景象， 游戏性的自拍与互拍……这些不断离题的照片成了乐趣所在，最后统统被编排在一起。

　　看惯了焦点明晰、构图严谨和意旨明确的照片，“鸟头”的作品使人无所适从。

　　纪实摄影成了old fashion(老派)

　　在种种方面，宋涛和小纪这样的年轻摄影师和传统的摄影理论、美学趣味和工作方法保持着刻意的距离。他们的照片混杂在一起，很难辨认开来——这种不分别署名的工作方式之于摄影是罕见，他们也视作理所当然。

　　在与传统保持距离的同时，宋涛表达了对传统本身的敬意，他尤其提到一位名叫陆元敏的摄影师，他并不喜欢后者的照片，但是，宋涛说，“陆元敏的工作增进了上海的摄影传统。”

　　关于苏州河的最好的照片，有一些的确出自陆元敏之手。

　　1990年代起，在上海普陀区文化馆工作的摄影师常常在午休时拍摄苏州河边的城市景象。许多年以后，这批照片在文学评论家吴亮主持的画廊里展览 时，反响良好。吴亮是一位上海人，他为陆元敏的展览写的评论中说：“我愿意相信苏州河至今仍如陆元敏所摄———日光、桥、楼房、行人和阴影，这一切仿佛都 丧失了时间性。”但事实并不如他所愿。苏州河两岸的景象在1990年代中后期之后发生了巨大的变化。陆元敏本人并不强调拍摄的纪录性，但他数年时间之内拍 摄的海量的照片，仍为巨变中的城市留下了让人难以忘怀的记录。

　　这些照片上的景观非常本地化。那些在上海特别是苏州河边生活过的人，很容易从黑白照片中感受到弥漫其上的属于逝去时代的气息。而对没有在上海生活过的人来说，陆元敏的照片具有中国纪实摄影的范本意义。

　　所谓“纪实摄影”，正是20世纪摄影传统的主流。在西方，纪实摄影的高峰出现在20世纪中期，大师辈出的数十年间产生了数量庞大的极具感染力的 照片。其中许多出自摄影师足迹遍布全球的旅行。陆元敏的工作方式则截然相反，他困守上海的一个不大的角落，反复拍摄不止。但他的风格毫无疑问属于纪实摄影 的世界性的传统：那些极其普通的场景，被他的黑白影像赋予了特殊的韵律和诗意。

　　许多人都知道陆元敏异常沉默的脾气，因为内向，他很少近距离地拍摄人物，也很少和拍摄对象沟通，“人”却是他最重要的主题。照片上的河流和街道，深深打着人类生活的烙印。某些照片上的孤寂气氛因为人群的存在格外触目。这是他跻身纪实摄影传统的另一个证明。

　　在没有电视直播，更遑论互联网的时代里，只有摄影师能将几千公里外的战争、贫穷、饥饿和风俗民情变成直观的影像，送到读者的餐桌前。那是纪实摄 影的黄金时代。时至今日，不管在西方还是中国，市场对经典纪实风格的照片都表现得极为冷淡。1990年代之后，大多数摄影师不再以谋求传播为己任，媒体不 再是照片最重要的顾客，摄影师越来越多地面向收藏市场：世易时移，顾铮说，纪实摄影被某些西方策展人与画商贬为old fashion：老派，一种过时的风尚。

　　摄影变得难以定义

　　宋涛这样阐释“鸟头”的照片：每一张照片都有价值，即兴本身就是一种价值，而拍摄是所有事情中最有价值的事情——照片是一种后果，充其量证明了拍摄的发生。

　　小纪频频点头称是。他们对照片的阐释让人头晕目眩，听起来和摄影没有什么关系；拍照似乎变成了一种行为艺术。

　　看不懂照片的抱怨远远滞后于看不懂其他艺术品的抱怨。油画、诗歌、戏剧都因为脱离观者的口味而饱受指责的时候，摄影师还在兢兢业业地传达事实， 将真实作为自己唯一的追求。随着西方纪实摄影在上世纪70年代以来的衰落，摄影艺术也迅速加入了公众“看不懂”的艺术门类的行列。到了21世纪，席卷全球 的金融市场流动性过剩，部分地导致了席卷全球的当代艺术收藏热。所有的艺术家都在千方百计靠拢这股热潮，大胆、出位、以观念见长的作品呈现出泛滥之势。摄 影也不例外。

　　位于北京798艺术中心的百年印象画廊专营中国摄影作品，画廊主人陈光俊大力推荐的《我和我的新娘》，尺幅巨大的照片中有一个面无表情的年轻男 子，携带一具身着婚纱的塑料模特，出现在北京的街头、游乐场里和建筑工地的脚手架上。这些意味抽象含混的照片传达了一种极其超现实的气氛。

　　这些照片的作者名叫邱震，一个刚刚毕业的年轻人，照片上的男子正是他本人。因为看好市场前景，画廊老板陈光俊决定在2007年出资支持邱震的拍 摄。想得到资助的年轻摄影师很多，陈光俊必须做选择，在摄影师提交的申请里，他力图选择既有想法又能投合市场所好的计划。因为这个原因，“老派”的纪实摄 影不在他的考虑范围之内。

　　摄影界的偶像也发生了变化。对纪实摄影师来说，生于1908年的法国人亨利·卡蒂尔-布勒松可能是世界上最有名的摄影师，他的摄影哲学“决定性 瞬间”风靡了数十年，那种把握戏剧性时刻的特别技巧曾经让很多中国后学心醉神迷，但对宋涛和小纪这样的年轻人来说，布勒松早已是褪色的偶像，他们(还有很 多年轻人)服膺的是日本摄影师荒木经惟的作品和哲学。他们愿将自己的作品归入“当代艺术”而非“摄影”。

　　虽然在摄影圈里浸淫了20多年，陈光俊有时候也对眼下的潮流感到困惑。虽然百年印象最初的资源是一批传统的纪实摄影师，但这个定位迅速被市场所 修正。有一些作品很难界定是否符合传统对“摄影(艺术)”的定义，却是市场的大势所趋。最后，陈光俊决定，“只要是影像，最后是打印或以相纸形式呈现在墙 上，都算(摄影)。”

　　作为当代艺术的摄影和纪实摄影正变得泾渭分明。策展人、画商和画廊的趣味正将摄影的两种走向变成对立的事物。“从某种意义上说，中国当代摄影的 国际形象，基本上是由包括日本在内的西方的收藏家与策展人塑造的。”顾铮说，“节节上升的价格，似乎证明了‘作为当代艺术的中国摄影’的全面胜利，但其实 胜利者只是那些在市场上的风云人物，以及根据这些曲线图来决定自己的艺术投资方向的人。”

　　在他看来，更多的艺术家将被这种风向所摧毁。“许多人变得焦虑不堪，拼命思考自己为什么没有获得西方的承认，而不去关注真正值得自己思考的现实与艺术问题。”

　　大尺幅、摆拍、超现实、意旨抽象含混：北京、上海、广州和成都等大城市的画廊和展览里，常常可以看到和《我和我的新娘》类似的照片。它们与纪实 摄影的区别一目了然；摄影师们彻底摆脱了摄影对“真实”的依赖。这与30年前一代中国摄影师的追求正好相反。1970年代末，年轻的摄影师渴望的是突破英 雄宣传画般的摄影教条。“真实”曾是他们喊出来的最响亮的口号。

　　真实的价值

　　20年前的中国摄影师讨论摄影的“纪录性”、“原生态”和所谓“决定性瞬间”时，被认为是重要的观念突破；1990年代，《黑镜头》和《老照 片》两套丛书宣布“读图时代”到来时，“真实”仍然是摄影的最高标准——很难说这些标准在今天的中国已经过时了，它们只是“不好卖”而已。

　　广东美术馆第一家大规模收藏国内纪实摄影作品，代表性的藏品是“中国人本”，以每幅500元的价格，共收藏250位摄影师的601幅作品。这次 收藏的起因是陕西摄影师侯登科去世前发出的“谁来收藏摄影师的作品”的慨叹。对那些作品没有发表机会，更无流传渠道的摄影师来说，死亡不仅带走他们的生 命，也意味着作品散佚无归。摄影师安哥受广东美术馆之托，奔波全国，调查和收罗50年来的纪实摄影作品。展览原定名为“曝光不足”——记录中国民间生活的 照片，穷作者一生，其实罕有接触公众的机会。

　　真实是“中国人本”首要的价值，安哥说。“中国人本”在中国美术馆的展览结束之后，著名学者汪明安多少有一点幽默地说，他的女儿刚刚出生，他很担心她怎么才能在这个复杂的社会里生存，但影展让他看到了希望，因为这些照片里能看到中国人的生存智慧。

　　为收藏而进行的调查让安哥见到大量生活在底层的拍摄者，他们拍照大多出于爱好，却不乏令人吃惊的优异之作。除了“自己玩玩”之外，他们从没想过也没机会展示照片记录的弥足珍贵的历史的细节。

　　焦虑作品可能失散的侯登科2003年死于肺癌。在他去世前一个月，李媚和另一位摄影师去侯家帮助整理底片，侯登科对李媚说，如果有机构愿意收藏 他的底片，他希望能设立一个侯登科纪实奖，用来奖励像他一样工作的摄影师。4年后，随着摄影收藏市场行情看好，一家专营油画的画廊开辟了影像收藏，收藏侯 登科作品的同时，遵其遗愿设立了“侯登科纪实摄影奖”——不论侯登科身后的行情如何，至少在3年内，每年将有10万元用于资助纪实摄影项目。

　　“这个奖是一个雪中送炭的奖，不是奖励一个有成就的摄影师，而是资助摄影师的拍摄项目”，李媚说，这个奖核心价值是公平、正义与良知。

　　这个对纪实摄影感情深厚的女人永远钟情于摄影的道德价值。1980年代，她曾是《现代摄影》的主编。这本杂志大名鼎鼎，充当了摄影师的老师、同 道和资讯来源等多种角色，也惹来过种种麻烦。李媚的亡友侯登科代她写了许多检查，杂志每每顺利过关。她至今怀念那一段理想主义的时光。

　　也许，理想主义的时光已经彻底过去了。在市场的虚火与乱象之间，李媚屡屡提出要辨析“不好卖”与“过时”的区别；她提出要整理中国摄影的历史，建立中国的价值标准，以此来评判作品。和20年前不同，今天她的提议应者寥寥，争议多多。

新民周刊：谁为中国影像定价

作者 汪伟
来源 sina.com.cn

玛格南摄影师马克·吕布拍摄于中国的作品

邱震作品《我和我的新娘》。作为当代艺术的摄影作品，其尺幅和标价都不是传统纪实摄影可以比拟的

王福春的《火车上的中国人》是最传统的影像风格，标价在数百美元一幅

这是李楠的作品《小脚女人》中最畅销的一张照片，它有一个西方人眼里最具标志性的背景

　　中国影像圈躁动

　　每年在荷兰揭晓的世界新闻摄影比赛(WPP)，在2007年改变了保守而严肃的风格，把更多眼光投向了“纪实”和“纪实摄影”以外的照片。这个 转变是摄影作为一个行业和一门艺术近年来在全世界发生的巨大变化的一部分：从前我们在报纸和杂志上观看照片，这一历史至今没有终结，但情形有了重大的变 化；越来越多的照片出现在画廊、美术馆、博物馆和拍卖会上。摄影师的创新渴望和资本的口味，正在改变照片的风格。

　　三位年轻的中国摄影师获得了2007年WPP的嘉奖。与此同时，摄影在中国也在发生巨大的变化。

　　伴随着2006年以来摄影市场亢奋气息的弥漫，很多讨论开始发生：纪实摄影是否过时，中国摄影有没有自己的价值标准，照片行情的虚实——也许该体味莎翁的名言：……如痴人说梦，充满着喧哗与骚动，却没有任何意义。

　　谁为中国影像定价

　　总有人想方设法要制造市场潮流。只有流行的刺激才能将价格炒得更高。

　　撰稿／汪 伟(记者)

　　从2004年到现在，上海摄影师宋涛和小纪的照片一直挂在复兴西路上的画廊里，一张都没有卖出去。暗淡的行情却没有影响他们的信心。“我相信我们会成功的。”宋涛说，很坚定，他的朋友小纪点头赞成。

　　不光是小纪和宋涛这样想。2006年，对成功前所未有的渴望，伴随着关于成功的种种传说，在中国摄影圈里萦绕不去。

　　亢奋的气息

　　去年10月底，在名为“专家见面会”的一次市场活动中，一些国外影像专家应邀来到中国，与数百个报名者中挑选出来的300个中国摄影师见面，评价他们的作品。类似的活动在国外据说是一种惯例，在中国却是头一次，由此引起了摄影师们空前的关注。

　　这似乎是最好的时代。资本争相进入中国

艺术收藏市场的大背景已经人所共见，“过分充裕”的资金除了一路推高股价和

房价， 也在寻找一切可能的增值机会与渠道。中国摄影就这样变成了一个亟待开拓的收藏领域。中国美术，尤其是油画市场的行情一路走高，使得收藏市场的动向已经占据 了很多媒体的版面和时间，某些曾经在印刷品上见过的照片的拍卖价格同样令人瞠目。对摄影拍卖的关注已经不限于“价格创纪录”这样的饭后谈资，而变成了一项 真正有利可图的生意。

　　扭转观念，普及市场知识似乎一夜之间就可以完成。摄影师看重专家见面会，不是因为有摄影大师到场。实际上，到场的都是和市场密切相关的人员：国际策展人、美术馆和收藏机构的专家。因为他们的到来，中国摄影界充满了跃跃欲试的气氛。

　　这似乎又是最坏的时代。一些摄影师对即将到来的市场前景充满了自我期待，同时急于了解国际市场的口味。有人敏感地在现场捕捉和市场口味有关的只 言片语。一位重要的摄影评论家、前《现代摄影》主编李媚忧心忡忡地说，国际市场的“标准”，对中国摄影的趣味、风格和偏好正在发生非常大的，甚至是决定性 的影响。

　　李媚敏感地注意到“专家见面会”的形式：专家是坐着的，摄影师拿着作品，站在专家面前。对她来说，这场面似乎是一个隐喻：中国摄影师战战兢兢，等待着国际市场的“判决”。

　　李媚眼里的摄影师，形象似乎过于被动了。评论家刘树勇用不无讽刺的口气说，有人准备随时模仿那些受到国外专家青睐的作品。

　　然而，“模仿”，并非所有人都认为这个词代表了一种贬抑。更多的人想的是怎么“复制”美术市场的辉煌，模仿不模仿，不过是其次的问题。

　　“美术界大热，摄影的也觉得自己应该有一个好价钱，这是可以理解的；何况近年来中国摄影的发展也确实令人振奋”，复旦大学教授、评论家顾铮说，成功的可能性已足以让一些摄影师亢奋。

　　当时间到了年终，成功的统一标准——行情，也迫不及待要浮出水面了。

　　去年11月底，一家拍卖行举行了中国第一次影像拍卖专场，一些耳熟能详的照片，都卖出了好价钱。2007年1月，一家专事中国影像收藏的公司获 得了风险投资，热闹而高调地与上百名中国摄影师签订了合同：它承诺将有一系列的市场推广活动，包括在法国和中国举行的拍卖，以及常驻国外的分支机构，向国 际市场推销签约摄影师的作品。

　　至此，空气中真正充满了“亢奋”的气息。

　　“不好卖”，还是“过时”？

　　宋涛和小纪也参加了10月的“专家见面会”。在那里，他们看到的中国摄影师或许比此前看到的总和还要多。他们的同行在北京或欢喜或失落，充分体 会到直面市场的刺激。有几个策展人对宋涛等人的“鸟头”工作室的作品表示了兴趣，表达了邀请他们参展的意向。由于进入市场较早，这样“可能性”在落实之 前，难能让宋涛和小纪兴奋，更不要说“亢奋”。

　　在画廊遍布的北京798艺术中心，“百年印象”是其中最早专门代理摄影作品的画廊，也是“专家见面会”的主办方之一。画廊主人陈光俊一直经营着 一家高档摄影器材商店。2003年，陈光俊带着摄影圈里积累多年的人脉进入市场——市场趋于亢奋之前，他早早嗅到了有利可图的气味。

　　事实证明，他的嗅觉是正确的。他和投资者做好了亏本5年打基础的计划，但画廊两年就已经收支平衡，市场的表现好于他的想象：“这是大的市场气候造成的，谁也左右不了，谁也预计不了，谁也阻止不了。”

　　在百年印象里展出的邱震的《我和我的新娘》，是一些尺幅达到1.8m×１.2m的巨大彩色照片。照片放到这么大是很罕见的——实际上，这通常是大幅油画的尺寸。画框上标明，每张底片限量复制照片20幅。画廊开出的价格是2000美元一幅。

　　百年印象代理的这组《我和我的新娘》(共9幅)是邱震的毕业作品。因为资金和技术的原因，邱震的作品还不能称作完美，标价却称得上昂贵。陈光俊 承认，这些照片的价格远远高于一些更有名的摄影师的成名之作。同样由百年印象代理的还有《中国青年报》记者解海龙的作品；解海龙拍摄的失学儿童的照片，曾 经作为“希望工程”的标志轰动海内外，其中传播最广的代表作《大眼睛》，就挂在百年印象的墙上。规格20英寸的《大眼睛》，限量复制30幅，编号24号的 照片在不久前的拍卖会上拍出过30万元的价格，但此前画廊标价最早是600美元一张，剩下张数越少价格越高，最贵也不超过每幅2000美元。

　　标价即使不是画廊经营活动的核心环节，也是最重要的环节之一。一般来说，标出的价格经过画廊和摄影师双方协商，但画廊的意见最终具有决定性。定价意味着画廊对摄影师作品的市场定位。

　　对陈光俊来说，定价的一个重要依据是目下市场的趣味。尽管他经营最久、人脉最深的领域是传统的纪实摄影，但国内外藏家青睐的中国摄影，一种是数 量稀少而权属清晰的历史照片，如记录“文革”政治运动的摄影作品，另一种趣味则是作为当代艺术的摄影作品：这是热捧中国当代艺术的市场潮流的延伸。

　　“大家都在炒概念”，陈光俊说，随着大形势的变化，市场显然对纪实作品缺乏兴趣。百年印象代理的王福春的著名作品《火车上的中国人》，每幅标价600到800美元一幅。虽然也能卖，但是卖得既少又慢。

　　“在西方，这一类作品的鼎盛是在上世纪六七十年代之前。”陈光俊说，仿佛在遗憾他的老哥们错过了时代。“不好卖”有时候已经成了“过时”的别名。

　　定价之惑

　　西方买家是百年印象的主要顾客群。冷冰冰的价格表明，欧美市场的口味是21世纪的，对这一口味来说，中国纪实摄影的生存体验还停留在欧美国家数 十年前的水平——事实的确如此。然而，国际市场的价格并不体恤纪实摄影的中国价值。李媚认为，西方人比中国的收藏界要早许多年关注中国的摄影，市场的营造 者顺理成章地决定了口味。

　　“在这个价钱决定价值的时代，哪儿有市场，哪儿的标准就是标准。谁的钱包鼓，谁就在制定标准。”她不无苦味地说。

　　现在的展览与市场关系密切，“一些看上去可能没有很好的市场利润”的作品就被断然排除在外。顾铮认为，“一些摄影家开始做那些可以和美术作品拼 尺寸的大照片，因为价格不一样”。尺寸越大，价位越高，画廊也越起劲——而纪实摄影一般只能放大到20英寸左右，受到冷遇是可以想见的。

　　真正不幸的是，亢奋的国内市场最大的渴望是与国际接轨——首先要在价格上接轨，由此产生许多乱象。陈光俊苦恼地说，中国的摄影收藏市场是一个没有定价标准的市场。

　　在西方成熟的影像收藏市场里，一组照片定在什么价位，基本上有据可依：除了作品数量和作者的知名度这些基本市场数据，作品的风格与影像表现力是 定价的另一个依据。“健全的市场是通过画廊来找摄影家。而有长远眼光的画廊强调与艺术家共同成长，将他们稳定地推出去，有计划地举办展览，为作品拟定一个 理性的价位与上升通道。”顾铮说。

　　国内并无独立的摄影作品评价体系和定价体系，比照美术作品为摄影作品定价是最常见不过的事情。另一种常见的市场手法是将某个摄影师的作品送进拍 卖行，制造一个可疑的(很可能是假的)价格纪录，以此拉动这个摄影师其他作品的定价——至于最终能卖多少，只有天知道。对画廊来说有“斩一刀是一刀”的味 道，当然，有价无市最后伤害的自然是摄影师。

　　在初期亢奋的市场上，画廊都在跑马圈地；年轻人很容易找到签约画廊或者代理。然而，画廊能否提供定期和有效的推广，其中甘苦，也只有个人自知。

　　总有人想方设法要制造市场潮流。因为只有流行的刺激才能将价格炒得更高。“画商、画廊、策展人往往联手牟利。”顾铮说，“资本介入之后，画廊要推出一批东西，往往先找策展人，以学术展的形式包装起来，让人以为这是新的潮流，勾买家上钩。”

Todd Cole

作者 Todd Cole
来源 www.toddcolephoto.com

IN CAMERA: Juergen Teller

作者 -
来源 showstudio.com

Penny Martin, Editor, SHOWstudio: There is an image in your current exhibition at Modern Art where you and your wife are pictured standing either side of an estate car, much in the way that Mrs and Mrs Andrews stand in front of their country estate in the Gainsborough painting. Are you asserting yourself as the new society painter?

Juergen Teller: First of all, it's not an estate car. It's a Mercedes 500CL. It's for me the perfect family portrait where I've put everything: the car, the wife and the kid. It's a happy photograph. It's my state of mind.

Alison, New York: Why do you think you became a photographer?

Juergen Teller: I really don't know. If I think for a second, I guess I wanted to explore the world.

Pol, Barcelona: Why do you think you have been successful?

Juergen Teller: What is success? If you are content with yourself, then it's a success.

Tracey Emin, London: Dear Juergen, do you ever feel that you use people?

Juergen Teller: Of course I use people and people use me. That doesn't mean it's in a negative way whatsoever. As much as I use, I give. When other people use me, they give me something as well.

Wulan, Jakarta, Indonesia: In your opinion, does talent come from hard work or are you just born with it?

Juergen Teller: You are born with it. But you have to work hard on yourself.

Peter Bannan, Christchurch New Zealand: What most inspires you to press the shutter?

Juergen Teller: Strange question. I'm not really interested in the shutter.

Charles Warren, Rock Hill, South Carolina: Has Helmut Newton influenced your work?

Juergen Teller: Not really.

krasi genova, sofia, bulgaria: Are you competitive?

Juergen Teller: Yes.

cristina, america: Which painters have influenced you?

Juergen Teller: Many things influence me in life. I couldn't recall one particular painter.

Renee, Perth, Australia: What makes your photography art?

Juergen Teller: I don't know.

Lou Mensah - photographer, London: Juergen, do you find that your work is criticised more zealously now that your are positioning yourself as an art, rather than purely a fashion photographer?

Juergen Teller: I don't consider myself as an art photographer. Nor as a fashion photographer. I consider myself as a photographer who produces work. I am interested in many things. But your question has a point. People want to put everyone in one cupboard because it's easier for them to deal with.

Santiago Forero, Colombia (South America): Do you think you have been influenced by the work of Wolfgang Tillmans?

Juergen Teller: I like some of his work. Whenever I like somebody's work, whether it's a painting, a film, a book or whatever it might be, it has impact somehow deep in your psyche, or in yourself.

James Tregaskes, London, SW10: Do you have any message that you wish to communicate through your work?

Juergen Teller: To be yourself.

Abby Kirkwood, Sutton, England: Your work provokes extreme reactions. What makes you invite hostility towards you?

Juergen Teller: I don't think it's so extreme. I just try to do what I believe in.

nacho, Barcelona: Where do you see yourself within contemporary German photography?

Juergen Teller: I am not concerned about countries and borders.

lars, london: hallo juergen, sehnst sich du dich manchmal nach deutschland. (Hello Juergen, Do you sometimes feel a longing for Germany?

Juergen Teller: Of course I do. Whenever I miss it too much, I go. I go quite regularly.

Pino, Milano: Do you think there is any social value in your work? Does it benefit anyone?

Juergen Teller: I think there is. If it helps you to find your own individuality, which I always try to push within my work, free from any preconceptions, to try to find yourself. That's an extremely difficult thing to do for a lot of people.

jason evans, hove: who do you think you are kidding ?

Juergen Teller: Fuck off.

david pineda, london east: Does your status as a well known photographer make the challenges of your personal work more difficult to fulfill?

Juergen Teller: No it doesn't.

Anna Parker, Essex: Does politics have a place in fashion?

Juergen Teller: You can be politically aware whatever you do.

Angelica Maszil, Barcelona: Why have you decreased the amount of fashion editorial you publish?

Juergen Teller: Because I don't have so many ideas. Only when I have one I pursue and try to publish it.

Rachael OPP, London: Juergen, when conducting a fashion shoot do you prefer working with models or 'real people'?

Juergen Teller: It changes all the time. They are all real people to me.

ivan, new york: Which designer is the most enjoyable to work with?

Juergen Teller: Marc Jacobs and Helmut Lang.

Aaron Tan, Singapore: Why is it necessary to credit yourself at the bottom of every ad campaign?

Juergen Teller: Why not?

Kath, Australia: Do you find your ad work more satisfying or your personal work?

Juergen Teller: What do you think?

Mike , London: What's your day rate for a 'commercial shoot' like your Helmut lang or Marc Jacobs work?

Juergen Teller: You'll have to call my agent.

Nick Knight, London: Personally I believe what we all do as photographers is performance. With your last series of photos of you and Charlotte Rampling, the pictures were taken by someone else presumably under your direction. If you are relinquishing control through the lens you are therefore taking a step toward pure performance as both director & actor. Are you conscientious of this and can you be persuaded to go further and perform a piece for our webcams?

Juergen Teller: I am in complete control. People don't ask a filmmaker 'did you really shoot this film?' just because there was a cameraman? And Nick, I don't know what a webcam is. If you have any ideas, why don't we do something together?

Joelena, North Carolina: Why Charlotte Rampling?

Juergen Teller: I am an old friend of hers and I love her.

Terry Jones, i-D, London: What's your view of fatherhood?

Juergen Teller: My view of fatherhood? What do you mean? I am very happy and proud to be a father and I enjoy it very much.

Heather @ NYLON MAG, NYC: Hotel rooms are a constant setting for your A-list sitters. What do they add to your portraits?

Juergen Teller: Well, they are just in them.

Wong Kar-Wai, Shanghai / Hong Kong: As a film/advertising director I get 200% out of my cast supposedly! How do you as a photographer get your sitter's attention to detail as you would want it?

Juergen Teller: I am just there with them. Talk to them, engage with them, work with them, eat and drink with them, have a good time with them. Being involved with them and them with me.

christine, athens: Do you sleep with your models?

Juergen Teller: Yes, with all of them.

Simon Foxton, Western London: Hello Juergen, Why do you appear naked in so many of your pictures? Is this a statement about yourself or possibly about the representation of the body in photography? Do you dislike clothes or are you perhaps a little turned on by exposing yourself to such a large audience?

Juergen Teller: It's about being pure and honest. At certain moments, I didn't want to deal with what certain clothes mean. It helped me to be more direct. I am not turned on by exposing myself to an audience.

Nick Knight, London: How do you know if you have gone too far?

Juergen Teller: It hasn't happened yet because I wouldn't go to certain places where it's uncomfortable for myself or for the sitter. I am very concious of being responsible to myself and to others.

Scott Denton-Cardew, Portland: What is private for you?

Juergen Teller: That is private.

JOSE NUÑEZ, MADRID-SPAIN: Describe your relationship with Kate Moss.

Juergen Teller: She is a friend. We have known each other for about 15 years and have spent good times working and playing together.

faith bowman, chicago, il: Does your current photographic technique bear any resemblance to your formal training?

Juergen Teller: My formal training was very conservative. I spent two years in photo college, learning to work with a large, medium and 35mm camera, learnt how to develop black and white films and print colour and black and white. It was a solid education.

pat, mumbai india: What kind of cameras and lights do you use? We are students from india.

Juergen Teller: Contax G2 with a flash on top.

Thymaya Payne, Los Angeles California: In an era defined by the moving image, how do you see photography maintaining its relevance?

Juergen Teller: Is the moving image defining our era? I think photography remains as relevant. What are you talking about?

Miss Yau Kiu Chan, Hong Kong: How do you get away with just using compact cameras?

Juergen Teller: I get away as fast as I can!

Nico, Australia: Has taking photographs become easier in the digital age?

Juergen Teller: I don't know. I don't work digitally. Taking photographs has nothing to do with the medium.

Kate, Oregon: Do you ever feel obligated to be "Juergen Teller": are you trapped by your own career?

Juergen Teller: No.

Georgios Mavrikos, London: Do you ever feel insecure about the work you are producing?

Juergen Teller: Of course. At certain moments, if you are insecure, then it becomes exciting. You don't know where it's going. That's the interesting bit. You have to push yourself where it's unsafe. It's very exciting.

Boris, Deutschland: Hast Du schon einmal daran gedacht mit dem Fotografieren aufzuhören? (Have you ever considered quitting photography altogether?)

Juergen Teller: No. As long as I am excited about life. There needs to always be a reason why you take a picture in the first place. You have to think very hard before you want to take a photograph. There is always something in life that I want to explore.

jared, l.a., ca tx: Do you believe in Jesus?

Juergen Teller: Not really.

Mark, leeds: What advice do you have for young photographers, starting out in their careers?

Juergen Teller: You have to know why you want to take a picture in the first place. And that's a hell of a difficult question. If you don't know, don't start.

Dirk Messner, www.dirkmessner.com: Sag mal Jürgen, was sagt denn eigentlich deine Mama zu deinen Sachen? (Tell me, Juergen, What does your Mum actually say about the subject of your work?) Dirk

Juergen Teller: Some things she likes. Somethings she has enormous problems with. But I try to discuss it as much as I can with her. But I don't expect her to fully understand everything about it. But if I can help, explaining it to her, that's a good thing.

Nobuyoshi Araki, Japan: I prefer to ask questions in person, so instead I am sending you my warmest regards.

Juergen Teller: Thank you. I am coming soon. Love

Paul Herbst

作者 Paul Herbst
来源 my-dream-is-the-awakening.net

Lithuanian
www.flickr.com/photos/paul_herbst
my-dream-is-the-awakening.net

A Young Man With an Eye, and Friends Up a Tree

作者 Philip Gefter
来源 www.nytimes.com

Team Gallery, New York

Ryan McGinley's “Dakota Hair, 2004.” He is to receive the Young Photographer of the Year award at the International Center of Photography’s Infinity Awards.

IN the beginning Ryan McGinley was known for pictures of his young downtown Manhattan friends. By day he photographed them running, skateboarding, moving, always in motion. By night they were partying, having sex, taking drugs, living fast.

Michael Nagle for The New York Times

Mr. McGinley in his Canal Street studio.

Team Gallery, New York

“Untitled (Kiss Explosion), 2005,” by Ryan McGinley, who says of his photographs: “I’m making the art for me first. I’m making it because these are the pictures I want to see.”

Team Gallery, New York

“Tree No. 3, 2003,” one of the photographs Mr. McGinley made in Vermont using friends from New York City.

Team Gallery, New York

“BMX, 2000.”

“For me the reason to go out to a party was to photograph,” Mr. McGinley said about those early pictures, which are as playful as they are voyeuristic, straddling a line between exuberance and disorientation.

Motion is a visual aspect of his work, and his career has been equally fast moving. At 24 he had his first show at the Whitney Museum of American Art; the next year P.S. 1/MoMA exhibited his new work. Now Mr. McGinley, not yet 30, will be honored as Young Photographer of the Year next week at the International Center of Photography’s Infinity Awards dinner. So much attention so fast hasn’t seemed to faze him.

“I’m just a photographer, not a movie star,” he said during a recent conversation in his bright, meticulous studio on the Lower East Side, adding that it’s not as if he is recognized by strangers walking down the street. “I’ve worked really hard. I’ve devoted my life to this. I’m not feeling any expectation from anybody else. I’m doing it for myself. I’m making the art for me first. I’m making it because these are the pictures I want to see. I’m making pictures that don’t yet exist.”

The Chelsea gallery owner John Connelly included Mr. McGinley in “Bystander,” a 2002 show he organized at the Andrea Rosen Gallery to spotlight the next generation of photographers. The participants included young photographers who documented the spontaneous activities of their friends in their own environment, a decided contrast to the constructed imagery of Gregory Crewdson, Philip-Lorca diCorcia and Jeff Wall.

“I saw something more casual, immediate and sincere,” Mr. Connelly said about Mr. McGinley’s work. “One picture, of the bicycle taken from above, stuck in my mind. I wanted to put it in the show.”

Reviewing that show in The New York Times, Holland Cotter wrote that “it will be good to see more” of Mr. McGinley’s work. The treatment of gay male bonding “feels refreshingly direct and immediate, autobiographical without being narcissistic,” Mr. Cotter added. “Among other things it’s part of a new approach to the visual depiction of gay life in art.”

The skateboarders, musicians, graffiti artists and gay people in Mr. McGinley’s early work “know what it means to be photographed,” said Sylvia Wolf, the former curator of photography at the Whitney, who organized his show there. “His subjects are performing for the camera and exploring themselves with an acute self-awareness that is decidedly contemporary. They are savvy about visual culture, acutely aware of how identity can be not only communicated but created. They are willing collaborators.”

Mr. McGinley began taking pictures during his junior year as a graphic design student at what was then the Parsons School of Design. “I became obsessed with photographing,” he recalled.

Obsessive might also describe Mr. McGinley’s rigorous method of working. From 1998 to 2003, when he lived with friends in Greenwich Village, he took Polaroid pictures of anyone who visited. He wrote the name of his subject, the time and the date on each Polaroid, then fastidiously placed them on the wall. Eventually the apartment walls were covered with tidy Polaroid grids.

Now every one of his Polaroid portraits is archived by date in 300 black binders that line the shelves of his studio.

In 2000, while still a student at Parsons, he mounted a do-it-yourself show of his pictures — called “The Kids Are All Right” — at 420 West Broadway, a SoHo building that once was home to the Castelli, Sonnabend and Mary Boone galleries. At the time the building was being renovated, and Mr. McGinley used an empty area under construction for his show.

Employing his graphic design skills and technological proficiency, he produced a desktop book with 50 of his photographs. He sold 50 books at the show for $20 each and sent another 50 to artists he admired — including Larry Clark, Nan Goldin, Jack Pierson and Wolfgang Tillmans — and to magazine editors.

The enterprising idea struck him as logical. “No one knows who I am, so I’ll send out my books,” he said.

Index magazine responded with an assignment to photograph the musician Momus in Berlin.

“I was so nervous,” recalled Mr. McGinley, who was only 21 at the time. “It was the first time I had to take photographs of someone I didn’t know, and it was scary trying to make it look like pictures of my friends. First I asked if he would take his shirt off, and then if his girlfriend would take off her clothes down to her underwear.” They did.

Time and experience have made him bolder. Esquire recently assigned him to shoot Robert Frank, known as a photographer who waits for the moment. Mr. McGinley, who shoots as much as he can in the belief that “editing is just as good as shooting,” said he was aware that Mr. Frank was irritated by him. “I just started shooting, and I could tell the sound of the shutter going off was driving him nuts, like the sound of a machine gun.” Paradoxically Mr. McGinley is a beneficiary of the way Mr. Frank changed photography in his day: the authentic moment, the sense of motion, the anarchy of form within the composition.

Ms. Wolf, who became aware of Mr. McGinley when a curatorial assistant at the Whitney put a copy of “The Kids Are All Right” on her desk, said his use of printed material is typical of his techno-savvy generation. But his graphic design background, she added, sets him apart from other artists. “The attitude of getting your work out there,” she noted, “straddling photographic art and graphic art, certainly got his work in front of me.”

Mr. McGinley’s early work and desktop books anticipated the YouTube-MySpace phenomenon of intimate visual diaries created for public consumption. While the confessional and voyeuristic nature of his work may be representative of his generation, what distinguishes him from a personal blogger or online visual diarist is the rigor of his artistic output and his ambition.

“I’m interested in reaching the masses with my work,” he said. “It’s one of my goals.”

The work he began after the Whitney show was significantly different. In 2003 he rented a house in Vermont and invited groups of friends from New York, some of whom he had met at downtown clubs, to spend a week at a time in the country. With his guests as models in a variety of unexpected situations, his images captured their spontaneous behavior.

“I put a trampoline in the middle of a field,” he said, giving one example. He photographed the group walking naked from the house through the woods to the field and then jumping on the trampoline. For another series he spent an afternoon clearing branches from a tree and that night directed his friends to sit together naked in it. And he used an underwater camera to photograph his friends in the lake.

Like his earliest works these images were documentary. He was a fly on the wall. But then he began to direct the activities, photographing his subjects in a cinéma-vérité mode.

“I got to the point where I couldn’t wait for the pictures to happen anymore,” he said. “I was wasting time, and so I started making pictures happen. It borders between being set up or really happening. There’s that fine line.”

The last two summers Mr. McGinley made pictures on cross-country trips, driving with groups of eight friends, plus two assistants, in two vans. He did research to plan the cinematic settings — including swimming holes and bungee-jumping sites — in which he placed his friends. He assembled booklets with pictures from old physique and nudist magazines to show his models and get them in the mood to pose comfortably and spontaneously for the camera. During the road trips Mr. McGinley shot 20 or 30 rolls of film a day while his two assistants filmed the entire process.

The group of friends changed at each coast, as did the route they traveled between New York and California. Mr. McGinley paid each model a day rate and paid for everyone’s food and lodging, as well as the flights home. “The trips are like small film productions,” Mr. McGinley said. “For a three-month trip it comes close to $100,000 for everything.”

The activities in which he places his subjects, and the sense of motion he captures in his pictures, might have a source in his own activities as a teenager: “I was a snowboard instructor after school, and I was skateboarding at 12 or 13,” he said. “I’d come into the city to skateboard downtown in the Financial District, and I’d end up at Astor Place.”

The communal experience, a theme running through all of Mr. McGinley’s work, mirrors his New Jersey upbringing as the youngest of eight siblings. “I grew up very American,” he said. “There were always people around. We’re a totally a touchy-feely family.”

Recalling how much he enjoyed those familial moments, Mr. McGinley talked about the spontaneity he seeks to project in his images. “My photographs are a celebration of life, fun and the beautiful,” he said. “They are a world that doesn’t exist. A fantasy. Freedom is real. There are no rules. The life I wish I was living.”

Jeff Wall in His Own Words

作者 -
来源 www.moma.org

Jeff Wall in His Own Words

C-Heads Magazine Issue 5

作者 -
来源 www.c-heads.com

为什么你还在用胶片？

作者 -
来源 www.lightstalkers.org

why do you still use film?

Sirio Magnabosco

作者 Sirio Magnabosco
来源 www.mrsirio.com

意大利人
他的Flickr

Rafal Milach

作者 Rafal Milach
来源 www.rafalmilach.com

1978年生，波兰人

Shooting Satrs in Focus: Terry Richardson

作者 Lee Carter
来源 hitmag.com

Nothing is too vulgar for the magazine world's Marquis de Sade, Terry Richardson, whose full-frontal photographs of supple body parts, often in orgiastic orchestration, can really grab ya. His uncompromising style has left a trail of sticky magazine pages from here to down there and inspired a generation of photographers to keep it real. Taken with an old Instamatic, Richardson's body of work has become one of fashion's most instantly recognizable, and sought after; his sizzling images have appeared in the pages of i-D, French Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, as well as campaigns for Gucci, Sisley and Armani Exchange.

The product of an unconventional childhood—divided between New York and Los Angeles, where his father, the eccentric 60s fashion photographer Bob Richardson, lives—Richardson continues to occupy a space in between, blending a New York fashion sense with L.A. street cred. Richardson sat down with LEE CARTER to reveal his soft spots for cinema, cars and naked skateboarding.

Lee Carter: Is Terry Richardson a New Yorker or a So. Cal. kind of guy?

Terry Richardson: I think it's not where you're from, it's where you are, and right now I'm in New York. I feel like a New Yorker.

LC: Do you have another place in New York, or do you call this studio home?

TR: This is it—home, everything. I like how you refer to it as the studio. The French call it le studio. A lot's gone on this couch, let me tell you.

LC: Uh, should I get up?

TR: No. Just kidding. Sort of.

LC: Do you still skateboard?

TR: The last time I went skateboarding I was hit by a cab. I got a bruised hip and my face was cut up. I realized I shouldn't be skating around the streets of New York City. Safety first. Now I have an indoor skateboard.
LC: You skate in here?

TR: Yeah, on my little skateboard, the best $6 I ever spent in a thrift store. We have naked skateboarding contests. That'll be the concept for a future ad campaign, naked skateboarding.

LC: Naked skateboarding would be one of your tamer concepts. Has there been a time when you felt you'd gone too far? Too explicit?

TR: No, but there are a lot of pictures that have never run.

LC: I was thinking on the way over here that you would be ideal as a celebrity photographer for Playboy. Or something raunchier like Penthouse.

TR: Well, I'm working on some top secret stuff out in LA.

LC: But you can tell me, of course.
TR: Let's just say I get a lot of offers. But I like putting sexual images in mainstream magazines, not porn magazines. With porn mags, you'll see penetration and people fucking and fucking, but it all looks the same after a while. Fashion can look the same, too. I like to be subversive, to push images as far as I can and still get them run. It's a challenge to see what I can slip in.

LC: Pun intended?

TR: I like to explore sexuality and people instead of just showing cum shots, fist fucking and whatever to shock people.

LC: Does that make you an artist?

TR: Maybe.

LC: I saw an art show of yours at Alleged gallery a while back. And the soundtrack was the sound of really vitriolic phone messages, but no one knew who it was. I found out later they were between you and your father.

TR: Actually, it was just my father. He bombarded me one afternoon.

LC: What provoked it?

TR: Who knows? It goes deep. Everyone needs to vent sometimes.

LC: Is he still taking photos?

TR: Don't know. I haven't talked to him in about a year. He's still kicking. He's a strong fucker.

LC: I'm waiting for your quote about how he still gets a hard-on every morning. I've read that everywhere.

TR: Do I say that a lot? He says it all the time to me.

LC: The first time I read it, he was 70 and still getting a hard-on, the second time he was 71, then he was 74. He'll be 100 and still getting boners. That libido must run in the family.

TR: Yep, it's in the genes.

LC: Pun intended again? Maybe you can do what Ted William's son is trying to do and cryogenically freeze your dad's body. There's something in his DNA that needs to be preserved.

TR: Yes and no. [laughs] He's one-of-a-kind. He can't be duplicated.
LC: Not even in you?

TR: A bit. That's what I'm working on in therapy, not to repeat the same patterns.

LC: Do you want to have kids?

TR: Yes. Kids are amazing, I think the best conversations I've had in the last six months have been with 3-year-olds. They're so direct and honest. They don't know about too much stuff yet.

LC: Think you'll be a good dad?

TR: I think so. But I'm still just an eligible bachelor right now. It's kind of nice. I can do whatever I want. I like the freedom and the time to myself.

LC: What's a typically date like with Terry Richardson?

TR: [yells out to assistants] Hey, what's a typical date like with Terry Richardson, as I refer to myself in the third person?

Assistants: Golf!

LC: I take it there's no corsage involved?

TR: No corsage. I guess I would say I'm part romantic. [laughs] I sound like a dating service. "I like walks on the beach at sunset, sushi and rock climbing." I'm actually quite shy.

LC: You're shy?

TR: I like daytime dates. I like to just do whatever, go to the beach, take a walk, get an ice cream cone. There's less pressure. I don't wonder whether I'm going to take her home. This is like the Dating Game. [sings theme song] "Bachelor #2, what's your star sign?"

LC: I hear there's a modeling agency in London that takes Polaroids of their girls and tells clients they're your photos.

TR: Excellent! That's funny. It's like sampling. A girl told me someone went up to her on the street once and told her he was me, and tried to get her to his studio. That's kinda creepy.
LC: Did it work?

TR: No. But I want to find out who the impersonator is. And I've heard people dress up like me on Halloween.

LC: It wouldn't be hard. Just throw on some glasses and grow mutton chops.

TR: And there's already a mask of me in the Sisley catalog.

LC: That's a mask? So anyone can be Terry.

TR: Yeah. You know, put it on and make some love, Terry-style.

LC: Wouldn't girls want the real Terry?

TR: Nothing wrong with fantasy.
LC: Do girls throw themselves at you?

TR: Sometime, but the sleazy photographer thing is cliché.

LC: Can I see the famous instamatic? You have two, right?

TR: Oh, boy. [gets cameras] They're old, they don't make them anymore.

LC: Have you ever used a digital camera?

TR: No. [Editor's note: Terry later used a digital camera to take his self-portrait seen on the first page, the first time he'd taken a digital photo.] I like the idea of having negatives and making prints, but I'm not against digital. We just learned how to scan, actually. It's very exciting, we can send people pictures. We had the scanner for 2 years, but never did anything. We finally had somebody come over last week to show us how to use it. We needed to know so we can start building my website, www.terryrichardson.com, which should be up and running later this summer.

LC: You'll be the master of your own domain name. What else are you working on?

TR: A book for Taschen. I've done three books before, but this one is more of a retrospective art thing. I guess it's a coffeetable book. That's such a cheap term for a book, so vulgar. Whoever invented that should be shot. It sounds like there should be a little holder for a coffee mug and an ashtray. So I'm doing that, editorials, ad campaigns and just taking tons of picture. I'm also taking off across the country this summer in my car, a suped up black '87 Buick. I love cars. They're beautiful, like art objects.

LC: Sexual, too.

TR: Exactly. My car is called Mandingo, like the old pulp novel about a Southern plantation that would castrate the male slaves, but they'd also have a breeder, the stud, that the white women would all want to fuck, too. It was made into a film in the 70s with Ken Norton, who played Mandingo, James Mason, Perry King and Susan George. It's excellent, like an exploitation of Gone With the Wind.

LC: Sounds like you're a movie buff.

TR: Yeah, I'm in the midst of writing a screenplay, too. I have to submit it in December. I'm still putting ideas on paper. They want a European art house thing, with lots of sex.
LC: You're just the man for the job. What's the first film you saw that really impressed you?

TR: Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Five Easy Pieces, Carnal Knowledge, Out of the Blue, Over the Edge. And early Nicholson. My dad took me to see all that great 70s American cinema, like Godfather. And I like all those Jerry Shatzberg films with their bleak, unhappy endings that started with Midnight Cowboy. They're anti-heroes because they're criminals, and they die in the end.

LC: Which was a new thing at the time, not wrapping things up neatly at the end.

TR: Oh, totally. Have you read Easy Riders, Raging Bull? It's about all those guys making those realistic films of the 70s.

LC: Which is, in a sense, exactly what you're doing.

TR: Yeah. Keeping it real, that's what the kids say.

LC: You're one of few photographers who can marry art and commerce. You can bring a lot of sexuality to a brand like Sisley and it seems right.

TR: My best pictures are improvisational. It's all about casting, especially with Sisley. If the cast is wrong, the whole thing is fucked. If you get people who know what's going on, who are into it, then you just let them go, let them get into their characters.

LC: How much do you have to prod them?

TR: A little, but the casting is where I do the big grill session to see who's comfortable. A lot of people are exhibitionists once you get them going. I've had people fuck on set, and suck, and fuck some more. And guys fucking, girls fucking, guys and girls, penetration. Sometimes I'll cast a couple if I want them to do it, but strangers have done it, too. That's why casting is so important. I can't make magic with just anyone! But I'm not going to connect with everybody. I've walked off sets a couple of times. I said I was going out for coffee, then I'd leave.

LC: Are magazines very controlling? Or do they let you do what you want since you're Terry Richardson?
TR: There's more freedom with magazines than advertising. But even European mags are worried about advertisers now. You can't work with a glossy and bring in all new girls. They want the big names. It makes it harder for new people to break in. Like I've always said, it's not who you know, it's who you blow. I don't have a hole in my jeans for nothing.

LC: How long have you been shooting the Sisley campaigns?

TR: About five years.

LC: What's the inspiration behind the fall campaign?

TR: It was the first time we went into the studio. We just wanted to do a shiny black thing. Next time we're going back on location, for atmosphere. I think we're going to shoot the next one in LA again.

LC: They're the most sexually-charged ads I think I've ever seen.
TR: Yeah, we tried to put a picture of a girl with little pompoms over her tits on a Sisley poster in Soho. This one [points at the catalog]. They said no because a little of her areola was showing.

LC: Or, as I like to say, hairy-ola.

TR: [laughs] I like that word. They said it was too sexy and it would be too close to a church and a school. It's all so silly and conservative.

LC: I didn't realize until recently that i-D runs an exclusive Sisley ad of you with each new campaign.

TR: We give them my self-portrait each season. It's not even in the catalog, just in i-D. I always look forward to it. Humor is good. I love to make people laugh from a photograph. I think that's the best compliment.

LC: Sex and comedy mixed together. You're sort of the Woody Allen of photography.

TR: Annie Hall and Manhattan are my two favorite films ever. To me, photographs are more about people than clothes. I'm not one of those photographers who says, "Ooh, that dress is just making me crazy."

LC: Think Woody ever went to rehab?

TR: What?

LC: I have to ask about rehab.

TR: Oh my god, where do you get the goods?

LC: I don't think it's embarrassing. It's common knowledge.

TR: Really?

LC: Sort of. Better to air it. Everyone's doing rehab these days anyway.

TR: Oh, I know, it's chic. I know so many people doing it.

LC: Silver Hill?

TR: No, somewhere in Pasadena. It was my first time. It really changed my life, made me really look at myself. It brings it all right down to simple things. It's nice to put your life on pause. Life is a beautiful thing. Before rehab I wanted to feel good all the time. "All things in moderation," as my mother always says. But a little excess can be good every once in a while.


from hintmag.com