Priorities, Priorities...

Yup, always gotta admire someone who's got 'em straight...

Know Thyself

 

First picture taken in SF Chinatown in 20+ years. Photo:  © Stan Banos 

   

OK, so maybe he was a perv (Found In Brooklyn remains one of my fave photo books), but Thomas Roma had it right when he told his students to stay the hell outta Chinatown. Something about treating certain ethnicities as exotic, and therefore premium photographic fodder; it's not even about being racist- more the danger that the foreign exoticism itself becomes the actual raison d'être for the photo's existence, rather than the actual content, composition or uniqueness. And basically one ends up with little more than... well composed travel photos. The same danger also persists should one end up traveling the thousands of miles to capture that exoticism in its actual country of origin. 

Of course, some people are more than happy with photos striving for that Nat Geo look, but even in Nat Geo one would get treated to that rare individual photograph that manifested a core universal humanity- or an instance that seemed to transcend our very humanity...

How $120k Beat $4.3 Miillion

Or how a “not smart, or articulate” worker beat Amazon and formed its first ever Union!
More on anti-union tactics, here.
-Stan B, Union Steward- SEIU 1021

A Little Late For April's Fool Day, But...

 It appears genuine and am only providing a link since they have a licensing clause.
Well Worth the 1:09 of your life!!!

Can Only Imagine...

How absolutely radical these few chords must've sounded back in '58! Enough to get Rumble (an instrumental no less) banned in several states. An Indian named Link Wray had made his mark- and how prescient is this...

Two For The Road!

 

Photo: © Stan Banos

I love vintage, and one thing that still pops up on San Francisco streets (unfortunately, a lot less, a whole lot less, than human feces) is the occasional souped up car from my childhood dreams as witnessed above and below. Hard to get better than either of these! That '65 Fastback is pure design perfection!

Photo: © Stan Banos

A Coup In Search Of A Political Theory...

“The illegality of the plan was obvious,” said Judge David Carter. Well, that may just be speculation- but NO doubt about this:

"He plans to release the video in 2 weeks, along with his tax returns and healthcare plan."  -Jack Cocchiarella

Viva La France!

What's with the title? Well, I haven't done anything to try and raise my blog stats in quite the many years now. Them days is long gone. Recently, boredom X curiosity had me checking out this blog's stats and discovered that the vast majority of visitors originated in... France! Huh?!? What the...

So- A hearty Viva La France to all the French born bots that are using and/or doing god knows what to or with my humble blog. Love you guys- just don't get me busted (here or abroad)! And throw a few Euros my way...

'Nuff Said

 Can only hope a newly elected NY Governor sends Alvin Bragg back wherever he came from..

HELP!!!

People are being slaughtered, starved and displaced again, or is "as usual" more appropriate? Please, help the people of Ukraine however you can- and don't forget those every bit as desperate, in Yemen and Syria, and not getting the attention (and aid) they so desperately need...

Red Pill or Blue- Wait... There's More?

As Mr. Wolff points out, in the US of A (unlike many other parts of the world) we are taught that there is Good (Capitalism) vs. Evil (Communism, Socialism, Satanism, terrorism- same difference). That's why precious few Americans can describe or even recognize the major differences between: fascism, socialism and communism. There is no alternative!

It's a Big Ask, but if you listen to this 2hr lecture (plus question and answer period) you'll not only understand why Americans can fall prey to a charlatan's bombastic  boast that, "I alone can fix it," but also hold in contempt someone who actually does have the workingman's best interest in mind.

But you don't have to take Mr. Wolff's word, he simply asks you to remove your elbows from your ears and review the simple facts of US and world history as... they... occurred. They alone make the case for his argument quite eloquently, and convincingly! 

So if you want to know whatever happened to... The American Dream- have a listen and all is explained.

PS- It's seven years old, but just as relevant now as...

One Thing Leads To Another...

 

Photo: © Ulrich Wüst

First noticed Ulrich Wüst's work at Photo-Eye, which in turn led me to Nowhere Diary (a most worthwhile photo blog/online gallery I never heard of till now) which in turn led me to the equally remarkable work of Sebastian Ferruzo. Find your own faves!

Photo: © Sebastian Ferruzo

How To Send Steidl Your Book Dummy For Publication!

In other words- just remember it can't be a Blurb. Anything but a Blurb.
Jesus H. Christ- Don't tell me you were seriously considering sending Gerhard a Blurb!

The Criminal Injustice System

Whatever small faith I had remaining in the criminal justice system was pretty much thrown under the bus after watching this...

Watching Evil, Eating Dinner

Pregnant mothers being bombed in hospital, civilians being shelled and butchered- a surreal slaughter routinely watched from the comfort of our dinner table. Untold thousands will be needlessly murdered all for the vanity of one man. And for daring to stand up to this maniacal murderer, Ukranians will only be made to suffer all the more to avenge his petty vanity.

And before we all start to warm in the self induced glow of self imposed sanctimony- how is this totally unnecessary war any different, any less evil than what happened when a certain country knowingly lied itself into the bloodbath called Iraq in 2003?

The HONY Homey

The other day I was wondering whatever happened to that guy, you know... the Humans of New York guy. I mean, he was practically the be all and end all guy for a coupla years running. Seemed everybody loved the guy, had a gazillion billion followers. And looking back, not hard to see why- he had positive, feel good sound bite stories illustrated with complimentary photos. 

Of course, he did attract a vocal minority of haters, mostly from "the street photographer community" who took umbrage at his being considered... "a street photographer," as he was often referred to. No serious photographer was he, they were quick to point out- just an overly popular, no talent hack! How could anyone (anyone!) take him seriously?

And serious "art" photographer he was (and probably is still) not. Actually his photographic "style" reminds me of another "just the facts" type of photographer/typologist- Bill Cunningham. The latter just took simple, straightforward documentary snap shots of people in their latest fashion attire. No photographic art aspirations- any style to be found was in his subject's attire. Brandon Stanton's main aim was exposing the person's unique story, the positive feel good vignette illustrated by a well exposed, properly focused portrait that showed his subject in their best light. Brandon was a true "story teller," the photograph was secondary. Despite that, a lot of people assumed he was a really good photographer because the photographs were technically proficient, and everyone always smiled- I'm assuming the latter, again, since I was never a fan. And the "good photographer" part is what irked some people, especially those who took "the art of photography" tres serious. 

At first, I guess, I was one of those- until I rather quickly realized that (as I said) he really wasn't about the photography, but the story. I have no idea if he considers himself a serious or good portrait photographer, I'd imagine he does to some extent- after all, he certainly has been successful! And to be honest, I don't think I would have been able to handle and come out of the whole FAME thing as relatively unscathed as he has, particularly at his age at the time.

The NY Mag story asserts that he has a rather formulaic process which he forces upon individuals to get the feel good, adversity conquering vibe that appeals to his fans. Seems it, but then, doesn't any successful artist, entrepreneur, whatever operate on honing their skills into as efficient a formula as possible? And it certainly does seem that he definitely has done far more good for certain people he's featured than any long lasting harm. Like I said, never followed the guy that closely (more like, at all)- but it stands to reason there would be more dirt and retaliation on the guy if he was up to no good.

Years back, I thought he would end up in some branch of documentary film making since storytelling is his main thing. Apparently not, but hey, I wish the dude well- maybe, besides making money for himself and his subjects, he'll even learn to take a decent portrait one day.

Genius Strikes Again

Trump said the U.S. could “put the Chinese flag” on F-22 fighter jets and use them to “bomb the shit out of Russia,” “And then we say, China did it, we didn’t do it, China did it, and then they start fighting with each other and we sit back and watch,” Trump said.

Really, this guy should be like... President or something! He's like totally outta the box, off the hook- G-E-N-I-U-S!!! And just, like when he actually was POTUS (that actually did happen)- his sycophants insist he was just joking. And if ever cornered about his mind blowing, mind numbing stupidity- he was just being... "sarcastic!"

Between A Rock And A Hard Place

Chechnya post-Putin; what he does best.          Photo: James Nachtwey

 

By now, we've all seen that notorious traffic jam of tanks and military vehicles,  all those little ducks all lined up so neatly in a row. And just a coupla planes could wreak such absolute havoc upon them all... and possibly ignite a world war the size and consequence of which would make our impending global warming catastrophe moot. Zelenskyy is right in pleading for those NATO planes to draw attention to the plight of his people, but should they consent to his impassioned pleas- it would well ignite the ire of the once apparent and now fully exposed Russian nuclear madman. 

Russian forces are already maniacal enough to attack one of the worlds largest nuclear reactors that contains... 6 reactors! Poke a stick in the eye of that mother and it will make Chernobyl look like proverbial child's play- a nuclear exclusion zone that would stretch thousands of miles for thousands of years (not to mention the hundreds of thousands of immediate, and long term deaths)!

Should the US and NATO team up to defeat this madman, you know his fellow autocrat, wannabe world rulers in China and North Korea will join in the fun and... goodbye, blue marble in space.* Mutually Assured Destruction.

You know we got some undercover ops working in there now, and maybe, just maybe we can get just enough weaponry in there to hold off this mass murdering lunatic from doing his utmost. He's already been humiliated in the world's eyes, and that means he's gonna double down on the payback end. Let's not forget how Putin joyfully reduced Chechnya to bricks and rubble in another unjustified war in which the levels of brutality shocked even hardened conflict journalists, and how Russian jets repeatedly attacked Syrian schools and hospitals. The guy has to be stopped (contained?), the question being- how to do it without killing off the rest of us...

* and that's not to say that the US and Russia alone can't destroy planet Earth

Soth & Black

 

Photo: Alec Soth

No, not the latest law firm, just two of photography's current big guns currently showing in the same building in San Francisco- one on the fifth fl. at The Robert Koch Gallery, the other directly below on the fourth at The Fraenkel Gallery. 

Matt Black displays square photographs from his latest book American Geography which concentrates on the poverty he's documented throughout the US. Digital photography does not often translate well into B&W; it doesn't have the 'infinite' shades of nuanced whites, subtle greys and sublime blacks found in film- and therefore lacks its classic beauty. But Black seems to have found his particular style and language in the B&W digital realm, he prints dark and deep, reminiscent of de Carava, avoids digital highlight blow outs, and while his prints are tack sharp, they also maintain a grainy, somewhat dream like, Holgaesque type character.

Alec Soth's A Pound of Pictures is not the best work I've seen by him, some of them (literally) being just very large snapshots of very many snapshots. Still, he had at least three photographs that really appeal to me: one is a massive shot of an Asian woman taking a selfie at Niagra Falls, a close up of a rather tattered butterfly on a piece of fruit, and a beautiful shot of some wild sunflowers set against a blue sky with puffy clouds. 

PS- Oh, and the woman at the desk at the Fraenkel actually says, "Hello" upon entering- a very different experience from NYC galleries where visitors and attendants actively glare at each other (should eyes per chance lock).

Photo: Matt Black

WTFx3!!!

 WTF is up with DA Alvin Bragg and Attorney General Merrick Garland!?!

Relatively Speaking...

Much as I am in full support of the Ukrainian people in their hour of need, it would sure be nice if the world offered as much love for the people of: Syria, Yemen and Palestine, etc. as they get the ever lovin' shit bombed outta them.

Hhmmm... wonder why that is?

PS- As far as I recall, Europe has a fairly long... history of war(s).