Thursday, August 19, 2010

'At Home' with David Alan Harvey, NY - Ch. 1


And if a day goes by without my doing something related to photography, it's as though I've neglected something essential to my existence, as though I had forgotten to wake up. I know that the accident of my being a photographer has made my life possible.
- Richard Avedon - 1970


Only 12 students are invited to David Alan Harvey's 'At Home' Workshop every year, which is held at his loft in Brooklyn. Celebrated editors and publishers as well as distinguished photographers pop in for jam sessions whilst the students shoot their own personal photo essay over the course of a week. At the end of it all, the students' work is exhibited in a slideshow format in front of the NY photo world.  DAH's goal with the workshop is to help emerging photographers move to the next level.


I purposely arrived a few days early so that I could contemplate the subject of my photo essay. I had done some research on surf spots around NY prior to leaving but the closest was over an hour away in Queens and I knew shooting time was going to be crucial. I had hoped when I arrived that I would stumble upon some topic or person magically and that would be it. Uh, not quite so easy.


Cait had been back in NY since I last saw her there in May and Marj (from San Francisco) also happened to be there checking out grad schools. What a treat this was! Cait and I had travelled in Thailand, Cambodia and NZ together and Marj was my surf sister in Indo. I had yammered on about how amazing they each were to both of them and was so happy that they would finally meet and we were all in the same city at once.


We met at a veggie restaurant in the East Village called 'Yummy House'. Cait had taken me there in May and I was almost as excited to eat there again as I was to meet David Alan Harvey. As I suspected, Marj and Cait got on like a house on fire and I could barely get a word in edgewise! I was elated to be with them both in my most favourite city.



Marj and I met up again the next day to go to the Brooklyn Bridge and planned to find cheap tix to a Broadway show but as per usual, the two of us shooting together in an 'exotic' place does not help us do 'on time' very well. So we ended up taking in a late comedy show instead.


I ventured on over to Harvey's loft in Williamsburg, Brooklyn that Friday eve for a casual meet n' greet pre-workshop. It was on the way there that my camera REALLY started acting up. I had bought my Canon 50D when I was in NZ in late '08. It had randomly been giving me the dreaded 'error99' when I clicked the shutter. Of course, it would do this always at the worst possible time and I would miss the shot..now it was throwing out errors like candy at kind of a mega critical time!

So I arrived at the loft in a bit of a huff. Fortunately for me, Marios Savva had brought a 50D as a backup to his 5DII and said I could use it for the duration of the workshop. A-maaazing. What a lifesaver! This alleviated some of the stress and I was able to stop worrying about my camera and start meeting the rest of the workshop cronies who hailed from all over the place: Italy, Germany, India, Australia, Canada and the US. We lingered on the top of the building, affectionately referred to as the 'Kibbutz', and marveled at the spectacular view of Manhattan.


It was hard to believe where I was. And David Alan Harvey just hangin' a few feet away. He has contributed images to prestigious publications such as Sports Illustrated, NY Times and Life Magazine and to over 40 articles in National Geographic since 1973. His book publications include 'Cuba', 'Divided Soul' and 'Living Proof'. He has been a member of Magnum Photos since 1997 and counts Magazine Photographer of the Year (NPPA, 1978) as part of his award collection.

He is well known for mentoring photographers and one of the ways he does this is by bringing emerging and iconic photographers together through Burn Magazine, which he curates, edits and publishes with Anton Kusters. Burn Magazine won a Lucie Award (the Oscars of the photo world) for best online photography magazine this past year.

So...he's KIND of a big deal. Meeting him was as I suspected. Not only is he taller than the average human, his presence is larger than life and when he walks into a room, you know it! The guy is madly in love with life, photography, humanity and the arts. In short, he is a sweet combo of teacher, mentor and drinking buddy.

Sleep took some time to set in from all the excitement. I was nervous about what the week would bring. Would I find a compelling topic? Would I get the shots I wanted? Flounder or flourish under the pressure? And the critiques...not nerve wracking at all! Regardless, I knew the experience would be rich and I was happy and grateful for the opportunity to even be there...and hellbent on giving it my all.

Focus more on your desire than on your doubt, and the dream will take care of itself. You may be surprised at how easily this happens. Your doubts are not as powerful as your desires, unless you make them so.
- Marcia Wieder, Author and Speaker

Sunday, August 8, 2010

My First Magazine Cover (Ketut from Eat, Pray, Love)!


"I want God to play in my bloodstream the way sunlight amuses itself on the water."
— Elizabeth Gilbert
For those of you who haven't heard of 'Eat, Pray, Love' by American author Elizabeth Gilbert yet, well just wait a few days, and you will. Her story takes readers on a pleasure, spiritual, and fate seeking journey through Italy (Eat), India (Pray) and finally Bali (Love), that many of us have marveled at  (envied) since she released her bestselling memoir in 2006.

'Eat, Pray, Love', the movie will be released next week (August 13) starring Julia Roberts and Javier Bardem. If they aren't already, it's only a matter of time before Ketut Liyer, the medicine man and Wayan, the herbal healer, both from Ubud and very influential in the Love (Bali) portion of the book, will be household names.

MG Photography

In Bali for the first time in July '08, I had dragged my new friend and fellow traveler Marj along with me to have a vitamin lunch and Traditional Balinese Massage with Wayan, followed by a reading of my destiny with Ketut (my fortune was almost exactly the same as Gilbert's in the book BTW, but a good one nonetheless). Of course we took many pictures of both experiences not knowing that they may come in handy someday for...oh let's say, a feature story in a magazine? 

My friend Mike (bless him!), a writer currently living the life in Bali, wrote a compelling article about Ketut and asked if I'd like to submit some images to accompany the story. I got word in September from the Editor of 'The Bud Magazine' that they'd like to use one of my photos for the cover and a selection of both Marj and I's photos within Mike's feature for the Winter 2009 Issue.

Holding a magazine in your hands with an image that you took published on the cover is a pretty cool moment in one's photography career. But even better was to be able to share my giddiness with one of my favourite people and the very friend I experienced Bali with, Marjorie Green.
"we must take care of our families where-ever we find them."
— Elizabeth Gilbert

Read more about our visit in the original blog posting with Ketut and Wayan here.

These are the images used in the article:

TT Photography

MG Photography
"But is it such a bad thing to live like this for just a little while? Just for a few months of one's life, is it so awful to...nap in a garden, in a patch of sunlight, in the middle of the day, right next to your favorite fountain? And then to do it again the next day?"
— Elizabeth Gilbert
MG Photography
"You were given life; it is your duty (and also your entitlement as a human being) to find something beautiful within life, no matter how slight."
— Elizabeth Gilbert
TT Photography
MG Photography

To see the rest of the images, visit my Eat, Pray, Love: Ketut and Wayan Gallery or view the slideshow below:

"

I'm sure watching the movie will make me ache for Bali, as I do often, but more than anything, I'm grateful to have gotten to go there at all. It is a magical and mysterious little island. Those of us who have been there know exactly what I'm talking about and those of us who haven't, should go and see for themselves!

Gilbert's book contains an unexpected plethora of insight and wisdom, causing many of us to question if we are really living the life we're meant to. Why not seize what you want from life (not what others think you should want) and find your destiny now (if you haven't already!)? I know it sounds cheezy but you never know what will happen tomorrow, in the next minute or even the next second that might forever prevent you from getting to take that leap...

...don't let  your dreams, just be dreams (ie: magazine cover, check!)

Let yourself go.

"Stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone ought to be."
— Elizabeth Gilbert