uncommons

Bringing gear into a conversation is dangerous matter, because it usually results in seemingly pointless banter on and on about minor details that mean little in the hands of a good photographer and a lot in the rants and raves of postings. However, it’s refreshing to see Preston Mack’s article about the switch to Nikon in today’s Sportsshooter. After a few shoots with the new D3 and D300 and even this new (to me) D70, it’s not a question — there is a hardened Nikon fan here, among others, at the Post-Dispatch. The new cameras are amazing.

Before going off on a tangent, there’s some news. The Joop Swart Masterclass selected their participants for the upcoming workshop. Here’s the news straight from the email:

Twelve young photographers will come together with a group of masters
for the 15th annual World Press Photo Joop Swart Masterclass to be
held from 8 to 13 November 2008 in Foam_Fotografiemuseum, Amsterdam.
The 12 participants were selected among 132 candidates who had been
nominated to submit their portfolios. During the masterclass meeting
in November, the participant photographers will interact with six
prominent experts, discussing technical, journalistic and ethical
aspects of their work.
The following 12 photographers were selected to participate in the
2008 masterclass:
- Peter van Agtmael, The Netherlands/USA
- Martina Bacigalupo, Italy
- Massimo Berruti, Italy
- Andrew Biraj, Bangladesh
- Michael Christopher Brown, USA
- Agnes Dherbeys, France
- Iñaki Domingo, Spain
- Philipp Ebeling, Germany
- Clemence de Limburg, Belgium
- David Magnusson, Sweden
- Jehad Nga, Libya/USA
- James Pomerantz, United Kingdom/USA

There are some names I’ve never heard and there are some names that I consistently hear about. Take Michael Brown for example — he’s on his way up since the beginning of his internship work in Springfield, IL.

Hopefully this group will have an opportunity to illustrate a story which will be featured in (most likely, since it was the same this year) book and online form. Last year’s theme was centered around the term “fragile,” and the work featured in the galleries at times can be a little stretch from the topic. Others, however, a bit more centered around the theme. Take a look.

Hey, don’t forget — Sam Abell is releasing a new book in October. It’s on pre-order now from Amazon. Go get yours.

The book, ‘The Day to Day Life of Albert Hastings‘ just arrived today. There is a beautiful sense of humanity judging quickly from the first few pages. The first few lines are tender.

I prefer baking my own cake, tart, plum pies, etc., I know what I’m eating then.

It may sound rather trite out of context, but in the setting of this gorgeous little book, it brings a warm smile. This is going to be nice, I can tell.

Here’s a photo from today to leave you with. It’s something from a failed feature hunt this morning. Somehow it reminded me of tributaries flowing into a larger body of water.

Suson Park, St. Louis County, Missouri