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4 americanphotomag.com july/august 2014

July/AuGuST 2014

Features32 Beyond Guts and Glory making a great sports photo requires

patience and persistence. BY roB Tringali

38 The Spirit of Travelrising stars in travel photography share

fave spots and secrets. BY Travis marshall

50 The Photo ShopBehind the scenes with the photo team at

The New York Times Magazine.

BY scoTT alexander

38

50

8 EDITORS NOTE

Soth Spot When the Times calls, alec soth grabs his

camera. By MiriaM Leuchter

opposite, from top: justin m

ott; ryan m

cginley for

Th

e N

ew

York

Tim

es. this page, from top: shannon jensen, getty images; ryan heffernan; stacey Baker, courtesy of Kathy ryan.

Opposite, from top: Justin Motts travel photo

of a young monk in Myanmar; Ryan McGinleys

underwater study of Olympic swimmers for

The New York Times Magazine. Above, from

top: Shannon Jensens group shot of sandals

from her series The Long Walk; Ryan

Heffernans view of Ojo Caliente Mineral

Springs near Santa Fe, New Mexico.

july/august 2014 americanphotomag.com 5

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DepartmentsFocus11 ONE TO WATCH

Global Odysseyphotojournalist shannon jensen discovers her

career path on the roads less traveled.

By MicheLLe BOGre

16 WORK IN PROGRESS

Backyard Bonanzaa passion for portraiture in the wilderness fuels ryan

heffernans commercial success. By JacK craGer

20 BOOKS

Do-Over!reenactment art by irena Werning, the visual legacy

of chris hondros, transgender portraits in cuba, and

a new breed of forty-niners. By JacK craGer

24 ON THE WALL

Like, Awesomeon the look and meaning of cool, the timeless artistry

of minor White, the immigrant experience, latin

america, early punk, and more. By teMa StauFFer

28 DIGITAL DOMAIN

Whats Up DocsFive photo documentaries explore the relationship

between artist and audience. By JuDy GeLMaN MyerS

Gear61 EDITORS CHOICE

Look Sharpstyle meets substance in leicas new compact system.

By MiriaM Leuchter

62 NEW STUFF

The Goodsserious photographic tools of all shapes and sizes.

64 REVIEW

Modern ClassicWith its Df, nikon delivers 21st-century technology in

a rugged 1970s-style body. By rOGer hicKS

70 PARTING SHOT

Party of Onenadia lee cohen creates ctional, candy-colored

towns that hold dark secrets. By JiLL c. ShOMer

On the Cover Kathy ryan, head of the photo

department at The New York

Times Magazine, in a portrait

shot by stacey Baker for ryans

instagram feed (see page 50).

11

16

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF MIRIAM LEUCHTER

FEATURES EDITOR Debbie Grossman

TECHNICAL EDITOR Philip Ryan

MANAGING EDITOR Jill C. Shomer

PHOTO EDITOR Bifen Xu

ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR Linzee Lichtman

DESIGNER Wesley Fulghum

COPY EDITOR Meg Ryan Heery

FACT CHECKER Rebecca Geiger

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EDITORS NOTE

8 AMERICANPHOTOMAG.COM JULY/AUGUST 2014

hen Magnum photographer Alec

Soth got an assignment some 18

months ago from the photo de-

partment of The New York Times Magazine

to cover the new Oil Boom towns of North

Dakota for a week, he was stoked. They

know that I like Middle American subjects

and theyre very on top of whats happened

in my work over the past few years with

this project called The Dispatch, says the

Minneapolis-based shooter.

Ive been traveling all over America

with a writer, essentially self-publishing

our own newspaper. The whole idea is to

be lean and mean and to sell directly to

our customers. With his company, Little

Brown Mushroom, printing 2,000 copies

of each issue of The Dispatch, all but one

edition has sold out. (We covered the

project on AmericanPhotoMag.com last

year.) This interesting, peculiar experi-

ment will come to fruition in 2015 with

a book and exhibition.

Matching the styles and skills of parti-

cular photographers with apt subjects has

always been part of the alchemy of photo

editing. But the team of wizards at The

New York Times Magazine, led for 27 years

by Kathy Ryan, turns gold into platinum.

In The Photo Shop on page 50, we delve

into their collaborative process and demon-

strate why theyve made their in uence felt

throughout the world of photography.

And from a photographers perspective,

theyre a dream team. For Soths North

Dakota assignment, they said, Go make

pictures in this area, but not of particular

people. I think there was just one guy I had

to photograph, he recalls. The Times is

one of the rare places where I can work in

this waythe way I want toand still have

my pictures seen by a bajillion people.

SothSpot

From top:

Alec Soth/M

agnum for T

he N

ew

York

Tim

es; Patrick James Miller

MIRIAM LEUCHTER, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Alec Soths portrait

of Jeremy (Tex)

Loughran in Williston,

ND, made during a

weeklong assignment

covering this Oil Boom

town for The New

York Times Magazine

and published in the

Jan. 31, 2013, issue.

W

For a complete set of contest rules,

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The Readers Contest, sponsored by Popular

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READERS

PHOTOCONTEST21st Annual

Categories

Submissions

Credits (clockwise from top): Marcus Round, Henry Liu,

David Bosworth, Brian Frank, Linda Chick, Lilly Rosenthal

Shannon Jensen, Getty Images

or Shannon Jensen, work is a continual

process of searching and striving. I only

want to be a photographer if I can pro-

duce substantive work that makes a small contri-

butionnot just make a photo thats fve percent

better than the one made by the person standing

next to me, explains Jensen, a self-taught photo-

journalist who is doing just that.

At age 29, Jensens worldwide documentation of

such issues as poverty and displacement has shone

a light on the human conditionas well as on her

own talents. A featured photographer for Report-

age by Getty Images, she has earned honors from

Pictures of the Year International 2013, Amnesty

International, the National Press Photographers

Association, and Open Society as part of its presti-

gious 2014 Moving Walls exhibition.

None of this seemed likely when Jensen was an

economics major on her way to law school at the

University of Pennsylvania. She caught the photog-

raphy bug during a summer postgraduate research

fellowship on economic development in East Africa.

She was tapped to photograph the work of an NGO,

and the resulting images gained her acceptance into

the 2009 Eddie Adams Workshop. I dont think I

would be a photographer now if I hadnt gotten into

that workshop, Jensen says, because it was valida-

tion that I could become a photojournalist.

F

Shannon Jensen discovers her career path on the roads less traveled By Michelle Bogre

Global OdysseyOne TO WaTch

above: In an image from

Shannon Jensens series

Southwood, cheyenne

swims in her familys

outdoor pool next to the

small trailer she resides

in with her parents and

four siblings outside of

charlottesville, Va.

The peOple behInd The pIcS WOrk in PrOGress 16 bOOks 20 On the Wall 24 DiGital DOMain 28

JULY/AUGUSt 2014 AMERIcANPhOtOMAG.cOM 11

One tO Watch

12 AMERIcANPhOtOMAG.cOM JULY/AUGUSt 2014

above: a portrait from Jensens series Southwood shows charlotte with her mother,

peggy, who will help her care for her child. below: In the series Crossing the Border,

Gasim Muhammed rides a Un bus to his new home in Yusuf batil refugee camp.

She returned to East Africa in 2010, working

in Kenya, tanzania, and South Sudan. Small news

assignments further confrmed her career choice. I

was fnally feeling like a legitimate photojournalist,

she says, when my father was diagnosed with brain

cancer, so I returned to the States to help him.

Back home near Washington, D.c., Jensen faced

the same decision: law school or photojournalism?

While deciding, she signed up for a Look3 Festival of

the Photograph workshop led by Magnum shooter

christopher Anderson. With his encouragement,

her workshop projecton the transition of a char-

lottesville, Virginia, neighborhood, Southwood, from

mobile homes to a mixed-income housing develop-

mentbecame a long-term series on six families.

Ive done a lot of low-income housing research

at Penn, and the statistics show that most mixed-

income developments arent successful, she says.

My guess is that very few of these families will

end up in the new homes, and I wanted to docu-

ment that. She does it with an empathetic eye,

producing nuanced images that invite viewers into

the scenes rather than slanting the narrative POV;

she avoids wide-angle lenses and post-production

Shannon Jensen, Getty Images (2)

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Top: Jensens Crossing

the Border series depicts

halima atyp and her family,

who have been walking for

20 days from their home

village of Jam in blue nile

State, toward refuge in

South Sudan. bottom: From

A Long Walk, the sandals

of Saddam Omar, 25, who

walked for eight days from

pi (left), and Makka bala,

a woman in her thirties

from buk, who walked more

than two weeks to reach

the border after months of

displacement in blue nile. Shannon Jensen, Getty Images (4)

clOSe-Up

Shannon Jensenshannon-jensen.com

reportagebygettyimages.com

Lives In London, but is currently on

self-assignment in Seoul

Studied At University of Pennsylva-

nias Wharton School (Economics)

Clients Include Die Zeit, Entrepre-

neur, GEO France, The Guardian,

Le Monde, National Geographic

Society, The New York Times,

Saturday Telegraph Magazine,

Stern, Vanity Fair Italy

Honors Include Open Society

Moving Walls Exhibition 2014 (The

Long Walk); Award of Excellence,

Pictures of the Year Interna-

tional (POYi) 2013; Amnesty

International; National Press

Photographers Association;

Days Japan; Look3 Festival of the

Photograph screening

tricks, and even her color palette is subdued.

In 2012 Jensen returned to South Sudan

because she felt the refugee story theremore

than 70,000 crammed into a camp in the Blue

Nile Statewas not being told. She arrived just as

30,000 South Sudanese were crossing the bor-

der. It was almost biblical, she says. Endless

streams of people coming through the woods.

She produced documentary photos and sent

them to editors, thinking she had a great story.

Few were interested. She kept shooting. Watch-

ing the refugees stumble into camp, Jensen real-

ized their footwear told the story: however worn-

out, taped, or ragtag, the shoes were kept by the

refugees as precious objects. She shot hundreds of

pairs of shoes, most accompanied by captions with

only the owners names, ages, and number of miles

walked. these images function as fction does, she

says, helping to create the human connection.

Not resting long on the wide acclaim this series

received, Jensen headed to South Korea. I didnt

want to be the Africa photographer, she says.

Now shes learning Korean and fguring out how to

tell the story of a country transitioning from a poor,

agrarian, post-confict economy into one of unprec-

edented rapid growthbut also suffering high rates

of suicide, elder poverty, and consumer debt. this

is proving to be a diffcult country to photograph in

because people are so private, she says. But I am

trusting that I will fnd something unique here. AP

14 AMERIcANPhOtOMAG.cOM JULY/AUGUSt 2014

One tO Watch

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16 americanphotomag.com July/august 2014

hen ryan heffernan frst laid eyes on the

mountains of northern new mexico, he

came home to a place hed never been

before (cue John Denvers rocky mountain high).

i rolled into santa Fe two days after graduation,

and i was working at the workshops the following

day, he recalls of his 2005 stint in a work-study

program at the santa Fe photographic Workshops

after he earned his bachelors degree at Bates col-

lege in lewiston, maine. it was my grad school:

24-seven photography for eight weeks of that

summer. and i started falling in love with all these

best-kept-secret spots around the state.

soon after, heffernan took up part-time resi-

dence in santa Fe. and what began as a personal

photo projectshooting campers, fy fshermen,

kayakers, indigenous locals, and other nature lovers

in the areas undeveloped highlandshas morphed

into ongoing commercial work for clients including

Outside, Mens Journal, new mexico tourism, and

the areas premier ski resort, taos ski Valley.

after working at the workshops i assisted awhile,

maybe eight months or so, heffernan says, and

then i started to get enough assignment work to

keep me busy and pay the bills. he credits his as-

sisting stintsfor photo veterans including simon

puschmann and arthur meyersonwith rounding

out his education. i got to be a frst assistant to a lot

of different guys, which allowed me to jump around

and have a trial by fre: learning really quickly, get-

ting a diverse background, and working my way up.

it was a process hed begun as a kid, when he

tagged along on shoots and assisted his father, terry

heffernan, and his cousin, Dan goldberg, both

successful studio photographers. theyre great

mentors, and photography was always a big part of

my life, he says. Being surrounded by penn and

Weston prints had an osmosis effect. But i had to

come to the craft on my own terms. he quickly

gravitated toward environmental portraiture. i

linked up with amy toensing, a great National

Geographic shooter, and she really opened my eyes

to the non-studio world of photography, he says.

heffernans assignment work has taken him to

locales ranging from guatemala to Kenya, from

paris to shiraz, iran. he also operates part-time

out of the san Francisco Bay area, where his

W

Ryan Heffernans passion for portraiture in the wilderness fuels his commercial success By JACK CRAGER

Backyard

Bonanza

Clockwise from top: A shot of chante-

relles from Heffernans personal work

foraging in New Mexico; a future

cowboy portrait for Adobe Photoshop

Lightroom 5 near Lamy, NM; a life-

style image for Ojo Caliente Spa.

Work in progress

CLOSE-UP

Ryan Heffernanryanheffernan.com

Lives In Santa Fe, NM, and

San Francisco, CA

Studied At Bates College, Lewiston, ME

Clients Include Adobe Systems, GQ, Martha Stewart Living, The Martin Agency, Mens Journal, National Geo-graphic, New Mexico Tourism, The New York Times, Outside, Pentagram, Runners World, Taos Ski ValleyIn the Bag Two Canon EOS 5D Mark III

bodies; Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM

and EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lenses;

F-Stop Tilopa BC Pack; Canon EX II

Speed lite fash; Gary Fong Lightsphere;

PocketWizard Flex TT Transceiver and

Mini TT1 Radio Slave Transmitter

New Direction Im doing more and

more motion work: Ill direct a DP to

roll a clip on site while Im also shooting

stills, Heffernan says. You can set up

one photo shoot and effectively walk

away with both assets.

ryan h

effernan (4)

July/august 2014 americanphotomag.com 17

From top: Kenyan marathoner Caroline Rotich trains near Chimayo, NM; a white horse

on the range; an Acoma Pueblo elder in a portrait for a New Mexico True tourism shoot.

parents live and he enjoys free lodging, and where

one of his primary clients, adobe systems, is

based. But he considers santa Fe home.

i keep coming back, he notes. new mexico

has a lot of what colorado has, but without all the

peopleor the price tag. you can be on a trout

stream alone, which is increasingly a rarity.

heffernan specializes in what he calls quint-

essential lifestyle imagery with a sense of place.

his early new mexico portrait subjects included

world-class Kenyan marathoners training at

altitude on mountain trails. a mutual friend,

a serious runner, hooked me up with all these

guys, heffernan says. i was lucky to know

locals who showed me great locations off the bat,

and ive amassed a pretty great list of favorite

places throughout the state.

around 2007, after tirelessly shopping his

portfolio around, heffernan started landing

assignments for publications including Outside,

National Geographic, GQ, and The New York

Times. not long after, what he calls a hodge-

podge of personal work caught the attention of

the creative directors of a new campaign, new

mexico true, for the new mexico tourism

Department. it was kind of serendipitous, he

says, how the work that i was already shoot-

ing started to make sense for the direction they

were trying to take their campaign in.

his tourism work, along with assignments for

the website blistergearreview.com, led heffernan

to another key client, taos ski Valley, which is

poised to grow its operations under the new

ownership of environmentalist louis Bacon.

ive got a great working relationship with the

ski valley, heffernan says, and taos is often a

backdrop for the tourism stuffso i hope to be

shooting there for a few different clients.

in fact, thats his basic m.o. you dont really

need 50 people to hire you; you need fve people

who hire you all the time, heffernan says. i just

try to leverage what i know best. i can go any-

where anyone wants to send mebut i seem to

get the best stuff shooting in my backyard. AP

Work in progress

18 americanphotomag.com July/august 2014

ryan h

effernan (3)

Irena Werning shows the quirky funand sobering realityof going back to moments in time By jack crager

Do-Over!

Back to the future

By Irena Werning teNeues $50

This body of work by Argentinian artist Werning

is probably better known than she is: A few years

ago it went viral online and lit up e-mail boxes

around the world. Juxtaposing people in old photo-

graphs with their more recent reenactments, the

series has a goofy kind of one-note charmakin

to I-look-like-my-dog contest picturesbut for

Werning, its an ongoing sociological study. This

160-page volume includes works both familiar

and previously unseen, shot in the photographers

native Buenos Aires as well as London, New York,

Paris, Mumbai, Jerusalem, and points in between.

In each case, the artistic spur is the original

artifact. I know Im a nosy photographer,

Werning writes in her introduction. As soon

Top: Leanne, New York,

1982 and 2011. Cover:

Pancho, Buenos Aires,

Argentina, 1983 and 2010.

20 AMerIcANPhoToMAg.coM JuLY/AugusT 2014

BOOKS

Irena W

erning

as I step into someone elses house, I start sniffng

for those old photos.

Along with the vicissitudes of aging (lets just

say some faces weather the years more smoothly

than others), the collected work shows an incred-

ible attention to detail, from the recreated props

and locations to the meticulous photo research.

Werning explains that her process involves

studying the lighting, the angle, the type of

camera and lens [the artifact image] was shot

with, etc. Most crucial, though, is the enthusi-

asm of her subjects. once I get the light right,

I ask them to do that thing they were doing in

the original photo, Werning notes. I am always

amazed that they do it. Ditto here.

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From top: C

hris Hondros, 2014 Getty Images; 2013 M

ariette Pathy Allen;

2013 Sarina Finkelstein

TesTamenT By Chris Hondros

powerHouse $45

Before his death

in 2011 in Libya at

age 41, Hondros

was one of the most daring and prolifc

war photojournalists in the Getty Images

stable. Yet what permeates this collec-

tion of his work is its humanity. Hondros

depicts glimpses of heroism amid chaos

and hope among ruinsdramatic remind-

ers that people are people, whatever their

plight. His gift for storytelling matches

his deft eye. Great photography requires

steadiness of hand and heart, he writes.

Very often the window to take an impor-

tant picture is only open for a fraction of a

second. Time and time again, he fnds it.

TransCuba By Mariette Pathy Allen

Daylight $45

The transgender

subjects in Allens

portrait series blend bravery and beauty:

They defantly express their feminin-

ity in the macho society of Cuba, where,

until recently, their very existence was

outlawed, and many show remarkable

pulchritude and panache. In candid im-

ages and interviews, Allens subjects also

reveal domestic contentment with their

partners and families, livelihoods far

removed from the traditional sex trade,

and an openness that indicates chang-

ing times in the Ral Castro era. Going

beyond Cuba, writes Allen, I want the

rest of the world to end transphobia and

homophobia, to stop violence and dis-

crimination based on gender identity and

expression and sexual orientation.

The neW FOrTY-niners By Sarina Finkelstein Kehrer Verlag $50

More than 160 years after the Gold Rush of 1849, Finkelstein discovers a new

breed of gold prospectors in the hills of Californianot unlike the old one.

Rugged, determined, scraggly, and stoic, they camp in the woods and scour the

streams in search of elusive gold specimens. Its that frst

big nugget that creates the addiction, says a prospector

named Chris. Its all about the digging, the work, the

search, says Martin (pictured at far left). Finkelsteins

four-year study reveals the miners gorgeous surround-

ings, their tribal gathering sites, and their survivalism:

people on the edge, she writes, plunging into the wilds

to make their own way like the Niners of the past.

From top: Hondross shot of UN

workers helping a pregnant woman

in post-earthquake Haiti; Allens

Charito at home with one-week-

old piglet; Finkelsteins Martin,

Angeles National Forest, 2012.

22 AMeRICANPHoToMAG.CoM juLY/AuGuST 2014

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robert mapplethorpe Foundation

Whos really cool in American culture? A portrait show probes the matter By tema stauffer

Like, AwesomeAbove: Robert Mapple

thorpes 1978 portrait

of Deborah Harry, lead

singer and cofounder of

the band Blondie.

american cool

National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC, through Sept. 7

npg.si.edu

jazz saxophonist lester young coined the word cool

in the early 1940s to describe maintaining a state of

calm amid social and economic pressures and racial

oppression. it came to represent an attitude of sto-

icism and nonconformity that manifested in music,

flm, literature, and art. this photo survey of musi-

cians, actors, artists, writers, and rebels explores the

roots and defning characteristics of what it means

to be cool in american culture, tracing the cameras

role in shaping the legacies of these iconic fgures.

among the honorees: james Dean, Billie holiday,

jimi hendrix, madonna, audrey hepburn, miles

Davis, steve mcQueen, and jean-michel Basquiat.

on the wALL

Carl Zeiss SLR lenses

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between sharpness and harmonious bokeh. Free of inconsistent build quality, unnecessary flare

and mechanisms that focus precisely enough. Get to know the outstanding uniform characteristics

of the manual focus ZE and ZF.2 lenses and get back to making images that matter.

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The moment when you no longer

take pictures, you make them.

This is the moment we work for.

on the wALL

Also Showing

new Pictures 9: rinko Kawauchi Minneapolis Institute of Arts, MN, through Aug. 10 artsmia.org

Kawauchis frst solo museum exhibition in the United

States features 42 photographs selected from her series

Illuminance. One of Japans most prominent contemporary

photographers, Kawauchi transforms ordinary moments

into whimsical, vibrant, and lush visual poetry.

Phantoms in the Dirt Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, IL, July 25 Oct. 5

mocp.org

Curated by Karsten Lund, this group exhibition brings

together 10 contemporary artistsincluding Richard

Mosse, Arthur Ou, and Greg Stimacwhose enigmatic

photographic and sculptural works explore elements of

the earth and unseen forces that affect our surroundings.

lewis Hine George Eastman House, Rochester, NY, through Sept. 7

eastmanhouse.org

This retrospective, featuring more than 150 photos made

from 1905 to 1937 by documentary photographer and

reformer Lewis Hine, ends its international tour at East-

man House. The exhibition and accompanying monograph

include iconic images as well as work exhibited for the frst

time along with publications and posters of the period.

Hard art, Dc 1979 Duke Center for Documentary Studies, Durham, NC, June 2 Oct. 11

documentarystudies.duke.edu

An exhibition and book of the same title present Pulitzer

Prizewinning photojournalist Lucian Perkins documenta-

tion of the early punk rock music scene in Washington, D.C.

Perkins gritty, fash-lit, black-and-white photographs

capture performances by Bad Brains and other seminal

bands of the era and shots of their frenzied fans.

image search: Photography from the collection Prez Art Museum, Miami, FL, through July 27 pamm.org

The inaugural photo show at Miamis new contemporary

art museum draws from its own collection and features

more than 100 works by artists such as Diane Arbus, Henri

Cartier-Bresson, Cindy Sherman, and Joel-Peter Witkin.

invisiBle

migrations

Alice Austen House, Staten Island, NY,

through Aug. 31 aliceausten.org

at a time when immigration

is a hot-button political topic,

this is a showcase of work by

11 contemporary documentary

photographers alongside alice

austens historic images of

u.s. immigrants at the turn of

the 19th century. the collected

work considers themes of dislocation, danger, and the quest for freedom and

prosperityfrom seba Kurtiss survey of hispanic immigrants to jim gold-

bergs collaborations with refugees from war-torn and impoverished nations.

urBers mutantes:

latin american

PHotograPHy

International Center of Photography,

New York, NY, through Sept. 7 icp.org

this survey of photography

from 1944 through 2013

focuses on the street culture

and sociopolitical climate of

latin american urban areas.

Divided into sections refect-

ing different aspects of public

space such as poverty and pro-

test, the exhibition documents

decades of turbulence and

change. First shown in Bogot,

colombia, the collection re-

fects the depth and richness

of the regions art and docu-

mentary photography.

minor WHite:

manifestations

of tHe sPirit

The Getty Center, Los Angeles, CA,

July 8 Oct. 19 getty.edu

the frst major exhibition of

Whites work since 1989, this

overview salutes one of the

most infuential (yet often

overlooked) american photog-

raphers of the 20th century.

White sought spirituality and

simplicity in nature and every-

day objects: doorways, peeling

paint, and other commonplace

scenes elevated by his master-

ful use of light and exposure.

the show is accompanied by

paul martineaus lavish book

of the same title (getty, $40).

F

F

F

Clockwise from top left: Minor Whites Essence of Boat, Lanesville, MA, 1967;

an untitled image by Rinko Kawauchi; Alberto Kordas El Quixote of the Lamppost,

Cuba, 1959; a photo by Gabriele Stabile of a refugee at a camp in Burundi. clockwise from top left: By perm

ission of minor White archive, princeton university art m

useum, trustees of princeton

university; rinko Kawauchi;

alberto Korda and collection leticia and stanislas poniatowski;

gabriele stabile


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Five recent photography documentaries reveal the ups and downs in the relationship between artist and audience By Judy gelman myers

DIGITAL DOMAIN

28 americanphotomag.com JULY/aUgUst 2014

Whats Up Docs

Left: A street photograph

shot by Vivian Maier in

Chicago in 1961.

Finding ViVian MaiER

now hailed by many as one of

the great street photographers

of the 20th century, maier

made her living as a nanny.

While combing the streets of

chicago, new York, and other

cities with her young charges

in tow, she made more than

100,000 images, often stashing

away the undeveloped flm and

negatives in suitcases. after

her death in 2009, John maloof

unwittingly acquired a trove

of maiers negatives at auc-

tion. overwhelmed by what he

found, he has subsequently set

out to uncover maiers story

and publicize her work; this

brilliantly told chronicle is part

of that process. maloof nar-

rates and codirects (along with

charlie siskel) the docwhich

is by turns poignant, humorous,

and a bit disturbing as acquain-

tances recall maiers odd life

and experts evaluate her skills.

the flm explores both sides of

the debate over whether maier

meant for her work to remain

unseen. Visit vivianmaier.com

for theater listings.

EyE on

thE sixtiEs

Director chris

szwedo made

this flmic

tri bute to Life

magazine lens-

man roland

scherman, blending iconic

images (JFK, the march on

Washington, Bob Dylan) with

the 70-year-olds recent work

(much of it featured in a forth-

coming book). szwedo shows us

a changing world through the

gutsy eyes of a dedicated artist.

DVD: szwedo.com

EVERybody

stREEt

With breezy

footage of

the best

new York street photographers

at work and witty interviews

in which they expound on their

shooting philosophies, this is an

enlightening look at men and

women who continue to teach us

about life in the big city and

beyond. it features interviews

and images from Bruce David-

son, elliott erwitt, mary ellen

mark, Jill Freedman, and others.

DVD: everybodystreet.com

gEoRgE ticE

in order to

keep george

tice out of

trouble, his

high school

principal

suggested

he join the local camera club.

today tice is revered as a

master printer and fne-art

photographer. this flm reveals

tice at work in his darkroom,

teaching at workshops, and

using a view camera to capture

the eternal in everyday life.

DVD: georgeticeflm.com

in no gREat

huRRy

though saul

Leiter made

images of

rare delicacy

over fve

decades,

he worked in relative obscu-

rity until steidl published his

monograph Early Color in 2006.

In No Great Hurry: 13 Lessons in

Life with Saul Leiter is director

tomas Leachs homage to a man

who was content to search for

beauty without seeking fame.

DVD: innogreathurry.com Vivian m

aier, courtesy of the m

aloof collection

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From the modern streets of Dublin to the craggy coastline of County Clare,

the landscapes of Ireland are well preserved in history, art and literature.

The traditional pubs, old stone fences and rich pastoral countryside offer

only a glimpse, however, of the centuries-old customs, ancient structures

and extraordinary wonders that are hidden here. Join the Mentor Series

and Nikon professional photographers Reed Hoffmann and Bill Durrence

as we photograph the limitless beauty of Ireland. In Dublin City, tour

Merrion Square and the Georgian architecture that exemplifies early 18th

century Dublin, walk the quiet grounds of Trinity College; and photograph

the magnificent gardens of Malahide Castle, one of the oldest castles in

Ireland. With opportunities to photograph alongside your mentors we

will explore the relics of medieval life in the city of Galway, view ancient

castle ruins, traditional sheep farms and endless beaches along the Ring

of Kerry, and spend an afternoon taking in the stunning views from the

rugged Cliffs of Moher, all as we travel down the western coast of Ireland.

History, tradition and a good laughthese are all parts of a true Irish

experience, and there is so much beauty to behold along the way. This

in-depth Mentor Series photo workshop in Ireland is not to be missed.

Visit Montauk this fall with the Mentor Series and discover one of New

Yorks most picturesque oceanfront destinations. Capture Long Islands

natural beauty and unique attractions with instruction from Nikon

professional photographers David Tejada and Reed Hoffmann. Join us

at Ditch Plains Beach, Long Islands most notorious sur ng locale, to

photograph seasoned surfers in action alongside breathtaking cliffs and

crashing waves. Switch gears and follow nearby trails along the coast to

witness local mountain bikers navigating their way through rugged terrain.

Before departing for the evening, we will visit the Montauk Lighthouse.

Perched atop a rocky ledge on the easternmost point of Long Island,

the lighthouse is available for shooting from two aesthetically appealing

vantage points. We will continue inland to a local winery to experience

wine making and tasting while overlooking a landscape of rolling hills

and vines. Surround yourself with stunning scenery and rustic dcor as

you satisfy your own taste buds with refreshing wines. Just in time for

sunset, the Mentor Series will visit the Montauk Yacht Club to photograph

sailboats as the evening light settles upon the surrounding waters. Build

expertise and expand your photography skills while using Montauks

natural beauty as your backdrop.

With additional support from:

D

uan

e B

en

der

LONG ISLAND, NYSEPTEMBER 5-7, 2014

IRELANDAUGUST 8-15, 2014

V

icki Jau

ro

n

Follow us on

FOR THE PAST 17 YEARS, the Mentor Series has taken photo enthusiasts todestinations across the country and around the world. With top Nikon professional photographers accompanying participants every day and teaching them how and what to shoot, theres nothing like a Mentor Series trek. You and your photography will never be the same!

Prepare yourself for a trek unlike any other as you travel to Puerto Rico

with Nikon professional photographers Michael Schwarz and Reed

Hoffmann for a multimedia experience. On this trip you will not only

expand your knowledge of still photography, but also discover how to

use your camera to record sound and capture HD video using Nikons

latest HD-SLR equipment. Learning to combine still and video techniques

will prepare you to narrate a richer, fuller story. Walk the narrow streets

of Old San Juan and experience the influences of European, African

and island cultures that are on display. Photograph the cobblestone

streets, colonial-era architecture and colorful edifices of this historic

neighborhood. Spend the afternoon capturing video of traditional

dancers in costumes that express the cultures of Puerto Ricothe

colorful long skirts and white blouses worn by women of the indigenous

Jibaro tradition, and the white suit and Panama hat worn by men of the

African-influenced Bomba tradition. In Old San Juan, photograph the

locals, from cigar rollers to surfers on the bay, followed by an evening

sunset shoot alongside your mentors learning the time-lapse technique

to convey movement in your video. From the rich island history to the

exquisite natural wonders, you will not want to miss this opportunity.

Join the Mentor Series and Nikon Ambassador Dave Black and Nikon

professional photographers Paul Peregrine and David Tejada for an

introduction to the Nikon Speedlight system and historic Charleston.

Visit the pre-Revolutionary War era buildings, 18th century homes and

landmark churches of the antebellum South in Charlestons downtown

district. Browse the Old City Market where vendors peddle their

wares, and peek at private gardens tucked serenely behind iron gates.

Situated in the historic heart of Charleston, Gateway Walk provides

a quiet reprieve from the busy main streets, and a lovely setting for

our Nikon Speedlight lighting workshop. We will be joined by models

dressed as traditional Southern belles for a photo shoot set amidst the

moss-draped oaks, time-weathered gravestones and secluded gardens

of this hidden path. The USS Yorktown was the tenth aircraft carrier

to serve in the United States Navy, and earned eleven battle stars for

service in World War II. We will photograph models dressed in aviation

attire on the deck of this impressive naval ship. A historic city with

irresistible charm, you will not want to miss this lighting-intensive

workshop in beautiful Charleston, South Carolina.

Come on a Mentor Series trek and try out some

of the latest equipment that Nikon offers

including their high-performance HD-SLRs,

NIKKOR lenses, the Nikon 1 System and a variety

of COOLPIX compact digital cameras.

Special thanks to our premier

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PUERTO RICO VIDEOSEPTEMBER 11-14, 2014

CHARLESTON SPEEDLIGHTSEPTEMBER 19-21, 2014

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org

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D

avid

Ro

ma

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The patience and perspective behind great sports photography

By roB tringali as told to Meg ryan Heery

Rob Tringali

32 ameRicanphoTomag.com July/auguST 2014

On the Job

BEYOND

Guts Gloryand

A kayaker competes in the

Olympic Team trials for

Whitewater Slalom at the

U.S. National Whitewater

Center in Charlotte, NC,

April 25, 2008.

July/auguST 2014 ameRicanphoTomag.com 33

From left: Tringalis shot

of the White Turf horse

racing event, held on the

frozen surface of Lake St.

Moritz, Switzerland, Feb.

10, 2008. Right: Yoenis

Cspedes of the Oakland

As looks on during a

game against the New

York Yankees at Yankee

Stadium, May 4, 2013.

On the Job

aking sports photographs is a historical

act. its like slowly creating a time ma-

chine. When im shooting, i think about

which images will stand the test of time, and hope-

fully, if the world is still around hundreds of years

from now, someone can look back and get an idea

of what sports looked like. The Babe Ruths and

Joe Dimaggios of the 1930s and 50s are the Derek

Jeters and mariano Riveras of today.

So im always looking out for those historic

moments. you never know when theyre going to

happen, what will end up being important. i got a

great shot of Broncos quarterback peyton man-

ning with his dad, archie, one of the great QBs,

sharing a laugh in the locker room this year. i was

in the dugout with mariano Rivera last year when

he retired. hes sitting there kind of refecting on

his career, his last moment in a uniform. These are

rare moments that very few people get to see up

close. i realize that theres historical value to that.

i probably like photographing baseball more

than anything, because you spend time with these

people. Theyre more than gladiators on the feld.

They sign autographs before the games; you see

them in spring training. its a long season, so you

get close. pictures come from that.

Baseball is also good in that every stadium is dif-

ferent. at a game in 2012, oakland as left felder

yoenis cspedes was just coming up the stairs of

yankee Stadium and putting on his sunglasses, and

the light was perfect from this spot adjacent to

the visitors dugout (opposite). its later in the day,

when the light kind of swings around the stadium

m


and you get this farey look. This was his second

season after signing a big contract with the as.

he had defected from cuba and was getting a lot

of attention as a great all-around player. he won

the 2013 home Run Derby, so you never know,

he could end up being the next Babe Ruth. This

photo kind of captures the sense of him stepping

into his major league career.

ive been lucky enough to shoot two baseball

perfect games. one was may 1998: im at yankee

Stadium, its a typical day. next thing you know,

David Wells is looking really good. he might pitch

a perfect game. So i start going through in my

head: What do i want to do? i hid my credential

to get into the stands, which photographers were

forbidden to do at the time, and made this picture

with the scoreboard and the zeros behind him. it

was this simple day that all of a sudden turned

into ive got to producenow.

When i frst started 25 years ago, sports pho-

tography was really all about following the chaos.

Thats kind of the perception of a sports photog-

rapher: big lenses, sit back and wait for something

to happen. Thats what, to me, a sports photogra-

pher was supposed to do, so thats what i did.

about 10 years ago i started to really look at

what i had over the frst 15 years of shooting.

i realized the images i liked most had wider

perspective, a point of view that took in more

than just the obvious action. i started to make

pictures that had a little more scenery, more

ambience, or somehow caught what was going on.

its still about fnding important moments, but

Rob Tringali (3)


New York City native

Rob Tringali has spent

more than 20 years

traveling the world and

shooting sports events for

clients including Sports

Illustrated, ESPN the

Magazine, Golf Magazine,

Mens Journal, Major

League Baseball, HBO, and

New York Red Bull Soccer.

He lives and works in New

York (robtringali.com).


Rob Tringali (3)

Above: David Nalbandian

serves during a match

at the 2010 U.S. Open at

the USTA Billie Jean

King National Tennis

Center in Queens, NY,

Aug. 31, 2010. Opposite,

top: Jonny Steele of the

New York Red Bulls

in action against the

Philadelphia Union at

Red Bulls Arena, March

30, 2013.

those moments arent always game-winning shots.

i want to get a deeper look. i want to tell the story,

but i need to tell it in my own way.

The World cup is different. ill always rank the

2006 World cup as the number-one experience of

my career. The day of the fnal i walked through

the bowels of this ancient stadiumtalk about the

hair on your arms standing up. a billion people are

going to be watching this on TV and im on the feld.

again, this is history. im thinking about hitler,

all that went on there during the 1936 Summer

olympics. and its France and italy on the pitch. all

these italian fans, these French fans, all singing and

dancing. it was just an incredible day to be part of.

horse races, on the other hand, are very much

a crapshoot. you just never know whats going to

happen in those two minutes. When Street Sense

won the Kentucky Derby (may 5, 2007), with jockey

calvin Borel, i was positioned in turn four. as soon

as they pass me, i sprint to the fnish line. ive got

my big lens and im running. its a good quarter mile,

through dirt. They turn back to the Winners circle

and Borel takes a sponge and sprays it over the horse.

it made a beautiful imagedefnitely one of those

moments when it was worth the near heart attack.

as far as celebrations go, the most iconic of them

in sports has got to be the championship shot. in

the locker room, or on the sidelines, with the cham-

pagne fying. The art to a good champagne shot

(or gatorade shot, in the photo opposite) is actually

getting yourself right in there. you get wet and you

get hit, your eyes are irritated and its not fun, but

it does make good pictures. Sometimes players will

see a camera and challenge me: hey, can you get

a shot of this? Sometimes im lucky enough to

get a picture of the champagne coming right at me.

usually im just hoping to get a decent shot before

my camera gets shorted out. But its really a cool

thing to be part of. When i was a kid, id watch

this stuff on TV, and now im in the middle of it.

i do pinch myself at times. The idea of making

that good picture always beats out the potential for

harm to myself or my gear.

making an excellent sports photograph requires

a resourcefulness thats almost its own art. i know

the security people, what theyll let me do; i know

the angles of the various stadiums; i know which

pR guys i can ask for favors; i remember all the

little details of certain players. Theres a lot more

than the snapping of the shutter.


Above: Washington Nationals

celebrate after defeating

the Milwaukee Brewers,

Sept. 22, 2012.

a few years ago i was in miami for a tennis

tournament. it was a hot day, and the argentinean

David nalbandian was just sweatingi was like,

man, this guy sweats a lot! i made a couple of good

pictures, but they didnt have the impact i wanted.

But you remember people, their tendencies,

things that might come into a future use. Fast

forward to the 2010 u.S. open, and i see nalbandian

playing late in the day, on court 11, which is great

backlit just before sunset. its one of those heat-wave

days, like 95 degrees. and it registers: all right,

heres a chance to make that picture.

he plays the frst couple of games, and then he

starts serving from this particular side of the court.

hes sweating up a stormwaters just dripping

off him. its right on the edge of when the sun

would totally take over the court. i got a nice shot

(opposite). i know the sexy thing is the chaos of the

sports world, but i like to hit on those off moments,

those things that stand that test of time. With a lot

of historic images, when you really examine them,

you appreciate how the photographer worked. if im

still looking at a photo 50 years later, well, theres

a reason for that. i hope that in another 50 years,

someone else will be looking at mine. aP

Clo

ckw

ise f

rom

top left

:

Jake S

tangel;

Chris

topher T

est

ani;

Just

in M

ott

TravelThe oSpirit

Travel photography is a curious niche, one that defes defnitionor at least encompasses a dizzying array of styles. We sat down with fve of the genres rising stars to fnd out about their favorite shoots, how they got started, and what travel photography means to them. Their images and experiences range as far and wide as the planet itselffrom riding a bike out the back door in search of new perspectives to delving into exotic climes; from seeking out brilliant colors and favors through regional cuisines to exploring the effects of exploitation and political strife in remote cultures. Whatever fres your lens, theres a whole world out there. By Travis Marshall

JulY/AuGuST 2014 AmericAnphoTomAG.com 39

J

ake S

tangel (2

)

Jake Stangel

MontanaJake Stangel dabbles in myriad photographic realmsranging

from architecture to sports, documentary to commercialbut

hes increasingly gaining attention for travel work that has deep

roots in his own personal journeys. his passion for shooting grand

landscapes and back-road vignettes in the american West started

with a cross-country bike ride that he took while on summer

break from college at new york university. he subsequently made

that trek twice more, with images from all three rides contribut-

ing to his photo series Transamerica. i love throwing myself into

environments i have no prior relationship with, feeding off the en-

ergy of the place, Stangel says. i just go with the fow and shoot

whatever im getting vibes from at the time.

Stangel shoots almost entirely with medium- or large-format

flm cameras; a mamiya 7 is his nearly constant companion. Film

makes the assignments feel personal, he says. it lets me slow

down, focus, and develop a rapport with my subjects. and the

images have a light quality that you just cant get with digital.

When Travel + Leisures deputy photo editor assigned Stangel

to shoot the chico resort, in a secluded corner of montana

known as paradise Valley, he knew the job ft his particular

approach. im not an accommodations photographer, Stangel

explains. i prefer travel stories with narrative, and the magazine

really let me follow my nose on this one.

he describes the destination as an ethereal escape, where

yellowstones boiling river meets cooler waters to create

steaming-hot baths surrounded by rugged, snow-covered

mountains. its very much a blue-collar spot, and i tried to

just be a fy on the wall, he recalls. i took a three-hour soak

alongside a trucker and his wife before fnally foating over to

my cameras to take photographs of them enveloped by steam.

Below: Stangels view of Montanas Paradise Valley, nestled between

Bozeman and Wyomings Yellowstone National Park. Opposite: A shot

of a visitor in one of the energized pools at Chico Resort in Pray.

40 americanphotomag.com July/auguSt 2014

July/auguSt 2014 americanphotomag.com 41

42 americanphotomag.com

In Borneo, the largest island in Asia

and third largest island in the world, a

trio of local women prepare a meal.

A still life of a ginger fower from

Motts editorial coverage of Borneo.

emily m

ott (3)

The Spirit of Travel


emily mott spends a fair share of her time shoot-

ing chic hotels and exclusive cultural tours, but her

favorite travel assignments refect her penchant for

adventures on the fringe, where the ring of mobile

phones and the buzz of traffc give way to star-flled

skies and wide-open wilderness.

i love a quest for a certain tree or beach or

spicethe adventure is in the seeking, says mott,

whose primary residence is in the english country-

side of West Sussex. it is on these journeys that i

usually fnd the most striking images.

mott got her frst taste of the wild while study-

ing at art center college of Design in pasadena,

california. She recalls an assisting job that took her

to arnhem land, in australias northern territory.

We lived on the beach for a month with the

[aboriginal] Burarrwanga family, documenting all

aspects of their livesfrom hunting, fshing, and

gathering to ceremonies and storytelling, mott

says. it was a huge eye-opener for me. i learned a

lot about observation, documentation, and survival.

these lessons now inform her transcontinen-

tal work. During one choice journey in Borneo, on

assignment for Cond Nast Traveler and Telegraph

magazines, mott and writer Jonny Beardsall set

out to highlight environmental issues and promote

ecotourism as a sustainable practice.

We spent an amazing day trekking through

the spectacular virgin rainforest. the trees were

massivemonkeys chased each other in the high

canopies, wild scarlet rhododendrons blazed

amongst the greenery. it was a magical place,

mott recalls. But i will never forget the shock

of emerging from the forest, on the second day,

into a [man-made] clearing that stretched out for

miles. it was the most depressing, silent landscape

of felled trees and mud as far as the eye could see,

where the only wildlife was a dead snake in the

road and a few butterfies.

mott prefers to focus her lens on the unspoiled

beauty. im compelled by the wild places of the

world because i fear they are disappearing fast,

she says. i enjoy shooting positive stories about

conservation to increase awareness of what is hap-

pening to our wildlife and landscape.

emily mott

BorneoAbove: Motts photo of

a stream in the virgin

rainforest area of Borneo.


For christopher testani, the road to success in

travel photography has included many discursive

byways and years of paying dues. i worked as an

assistant in nearly every genre of photography

out there, says testani, who is based in San

Francisco. eventually i realized each carries with

it a particular lifestyle that you end up living as

the photographer. and i found that what i most

enjoyed was seeing things id never seen before

living slices of life id never lived and meeting people

id never have a chance to meet otherwise.

testanis career breakthrough came in 2011,

when Bon Apptit commissioned him for an assign-

ment in cartagena, colombia, that combined his

dual affections for food and travel. i have a real

passion for cooking, and ive always felt that one of

the best ways to experience a place and culture is

through its food, he says. the focus of the colom-

bia project was defnitely culinary, but i also had a

lot of freedom to explore the city and shoot what-

ever i was drawn to.

today testani continues this double-track visual

journey, shooting at the intersection of food and

travel for magazines like Afar, Travel + Leisure, Bon

Apptit, and Departures. my travel assignments are

generally focused on the culinary worldparticular

dishes or local specialties, restaurants, chefs, and

markets. it just feels like a natural ft.

on the last night of his appointed journey in

cartagena, testanis assistant, a local, took him

out for food and drinks with friends, a simple yet

serendipitous experience that brought the whole

project together. to get a glimpse into those

areassome of which you really wouldnt dare go

unless you were with locals, especially carrying a

camera aroundwas the best part of the job, he

says. it made me feel like, for a moment, i had a

genuine understanding of the place.

ChriStopher teStani

ColoMBia

From left: Testanis shot

of an old doorway at Hotel

Santa Clara, Cartagena,

Colombia; a scene on the

beach in Cartagena; a

serving of lobster at Islas

de Rosarios.



christopher testani (3)

J

ess

ica S

am

ple

(5)



Opposite and above:

Samples images from

the Andalusia region in

southern Spain, in and

around the village of

Zahara de la Sierra.

JeSSiCa Sample

Spainas a daughter of owners of a stock footage

company, Jessica Sample grew up traveling the

world with a camera. my parents would take

me and my sister to far-fung places like africa,

indonesia, tibet, and Bhutan, she recalls. i

would shoot roll after roll of 35-millimeter flm

and i loved the process of going to a new place and

capturing the experience through my photos.

Still, Sample says she felt a bit nervous on her

frst professional travel assignmentto parma,

italy, during her tenure as deputy photo editor

of Travel + Leisure. arriving and scouting the

town, i started to think about things like where i

wanted to shoot based on light, and which places

would be my night shots and my establishing

shot, she recalls. it taught me to always be

ready to catch those unexpected moments that

really give you an authentic feel of a place.

today Samples diverse work has appeared in

dozens of publications, including GQ, National

Geographic Traveler, Sunset, and Coastal Living.

Sample eschews committing to any particular

niche. i think its hard to have a single specialty

within travel photography, she says. one of the

things i love most about shooting travel stories is

they force you to work in many different kinds of

photographyportraits, landscapes, food, lifestyle,

interiorswhich always keeps things interesting.

on a recent assignment in the andalusia region

of Spain, Sample felt sure that the small town

of Zahara de la Sierra would make an inspiring

location. Driving up to it was like coming across a

town out of a fairy tale, with a castle-like fortress

rising over everything. i knew i wanted to maxi-

mize my time there with late afternoon and early

morning light, she says. i felt as if i had come

across a secret town, and its exciting to capture

and experience these undiscovered places, know-

ing theyll soon become discovered because of the

photographs i take.


Motts scenes in Myanmar

(clockwise from above):

A novice monk on his

way to collect offerings;

Burmese monks on a beach

near Bagan; Buddhist

nuns collect offerings at

Nyuaung Oo market near

the temples of Bagan.


american photographer Justin mott frst visited

Southeast asia to attend a photography workshop

in cambodia. he spent the following year splitting

his time between shooting a personal project about

agent orange victims there and studying at San

Francisco State university. then a travel assign-

ment for the French magazine LExpress sent him to

explore the emerging middle class of ho chi minh

city. Soon after, mott (no relation to emily mott)

decided to settle in hanoi, where he could nurture

a burgeoning relationship with The New York Times

as a documentary and assignment photographer for

its foreign and business desks. i started my career

working for the Times instead of fnishing school, he

explains. i was afraid of losing my in with the news-

paper, so i stayed here and never looked back.

motts nine-plus years of experience living and

working in the region gives him a singular insight

into the characters and cultures that surround

himas well as access to areas seldom visited

by Westerners, as evidenced by his 2011 Times

project behind the walls of military-ruled myan-

mar (formerly known as Burma). the story was

about myanmar opening its doors to tourism after

recent political unrest, mott recalls. this was at a

time when it was diffcult to enter the country as a

journalist, so i had to go in pretending i was part of

a tour group. i was a little paranoid about looking

like a photographer, so i only brought one scarf.

mott says that during this foray myanmar truly

felt like a place unknown to the outside world.

people were so welcoming, and beautiful light and

colors were everywhere, he says. its rare you get

to capture a place before the tourists arrive! it was

my favorite travel assignment ever. By the end of

the trip i had shed my paranoiai bought two gor-

geous Burmese lotus-weave scarves and wore them

proudly through immigration. aP

JuStin mott

MyanMar

49

J

usti

n M

ott

(3)

The

ShopPhotoThe creative chemistry of Kathy Ryan and the

photo team of The New York Times Magazine

By scott alexander

R

yan M

cG

inle

y f

or T

he N

ew

York

Tim

es

JULY/AUGUST 2014 AmericAnphoTomAG.com 51

Ryan McGinleys

underwater shot of Olympic

swimmer Jenny Thompson

in 2004, from The New

York Times Magazine.

52 AmericAnphoTomAG.com JULY/AUGUST 2014

The Photo Shop

nadav Kander/Trunk Archive for T

he N

ew

York

Tim

es

JULY/AUGUST 2014 AmericAnphoTomAG.com 53

Opposite: Nadav Kanders

portrait of Secretary of

StateDesignate Hillary

Clinton for The New

York Times Magazines

Special Inauguration Issue,

Obamas People, in 2009.

This page, left: Images

of the NYTMs photo

team from Kathy Ryans

Instagram feed (clockwise

from top left): Stacey

Baker, Joanna Milter,

Clinton Cargill, and Amy

Kellner. Below: Ryan,

photographed by Baker.

n a clear spring Friday at 10 a.m., I arrive

at The new York Times headquarters

and proceed to the sixth foor. Im here to

meet Kathy Ryan, director of photography at The

new York Times magazine. Ryan is a coiled spring,

all kinetic energy, her wiry frame topped by a shock of

unruly hair. This is my fourth attempt at an in-person

meeting. Naturally, it fails. Ryan must run to an emer-

gency conference with Gail Bichler, the magazines art

director. But Ryan urges me to join her at the staffs

weekly photo meeting in 45 minutes.

At precisely 10:45, approximately 20 people from

the magazines photo and design teams fle from the

Times sun-drenched open-plan offce into a dark

room where a laptop and monitor perch on a table.

Lets do it, says Deputy Editor Joel Lovell. All sound

in the room ceases. The meeting has begun.

The New York Times Magazines photo depart-

ment may be the worlds most fnely calibrated

machine for facilitating art. over the decades, it

has commissioned and published some of the most

cherished and infuential imagery in the history

of editorial photography. Spanning myriad genres

and topics, the NYTM serves up a weekly visual

smorgasbord whose generous proportions and

quality of reproduction often make it seem more

like a museum than a magazine.

For 27 years, the heart and soul of the photo

operation has been Kathy ryan. To her staff she is

an invaluable mentor, sounding board, taskmaster,

and intellect. To her counterparts at other maga-

zines, many of whom she trained, she is a constant

reminder to do better. She puts her blood into

everything she does, says Judith puckett-rinella,

who worked under ryan for more than seven

years and now runs limited-edition art and fashion

distributor Whisper editions.

of course, the success of a photo team within a

magazine that puts out 52 weekly issues of original

photography per year draws on more than one

person. Shes a true collaborator, puckett-rinella

says of ryan. She builds people up and gives them

confdence in what they do. current NYTM photo

editor Stacey Baker agrees. Shes incredibly in-

spiring, Baker says. She pushes people to believe

that anything is possible.

ot wasting any time, Baker launches into a

presentation of fresh work she has just gotten

in from Alec Soth. The photos are of a lockdown drill

at a public school in Minnesota designed to prepare

students in the event of a school shooting. Evidence of

the times we live in, the series is slated to run as the

magazines Look feature.

The photo department has already made some

selections, including a shot from above of more than

a dozen girls huddled together in a locker room. It

quietly evokes the claustrophobic and anxious realities

todays parents and teens live with. They were in gym

class, so this is where they went, Baker explains.

These are great pictures. Any chance we have con-

tact info for these kids? Lovell asks. Baker says they

can probably work that out. This symbiosis between

photo and editorial emerges again and again through-

out the meeting.

Looking at the fnished magazine, its easy to

underestimate how much work goes on behind the

scenes for every image the NYTM photo depart-

ment produces. its up to the individual photo

editors to tend to the details of their designated

N

o

courtesy of Kathy ryan (5)

projects. For the lockdown drill story, for example,

Baker called minnesota school districts for several

weeks before fnding a superintendent willing to

let Soth sit in. it takes a certain type of person to

persevere after the frst 100 phone calls dont pan

out, believing number 101 might yield a yes.

Judging from the background of those in her de-

partment, though, ryan seems to understand that

such qualities dont necessarily come from direct job

experience. her current team comprises a former

flm-industry script developer (Joanna milter) and

an exadministrative assistant (clinton cargill);

Baker was a lawyer, and the fourth, Amy Kellner,

was a managing editor at Vice magazine.

Former employee Jody Quon worked in fash-

ion pr before joining ryans team. After Quons

six-month freelance stint for the NYTMs fashion

editor, ryan offered her a job. Quon laughs as she

recalls trying to talk her out of it. i told her i

didnt think it was the right ft, that i knew noth-

ing about what her department did. i told her i

didnt know anything about photography and i had

no relationships. She said, Dont worry. Youre very

organized and you know how to get things done. i

ended up working for her for 11 yearssome of the

most extraordinary years of my career. Quon is

now photo director at New York magazine.

choosing photo editors comes down to two

aspects: the creative and the practical, ryan

explains. They have to understand great pictures,

and they need to be able to organize a lot of infor-

mation very quickly. i didnt set out to fnd people

who werent photo editors, but if theyre not photo

editors i dont consider it a hindrance.

Says cargill, Kathy has a track record of not

being afraid to hire someone who doesnt have the

direct set of experience that correlates to whatever

you think the job is. Shes very much about people

who arent afraid of the impossible.

ryans soft spot for the road-less-traveled set

may stem from the path she took to her current

post. Despite a lack of formal photographic train-

ing (she was an art and art history double major at

rutgers Douglass college), she landed a job as pho-

to researcher at Sygma. my initial intention had

been to be a painter, she says. But i quickly real-

ized i wanted to work with pictures in the world.

her main job at the agency consisted of licensing

and delivering Sygma photos to news outlets across

the country, including The New York Times.

As a result, she spoke to peter howe, then the

Right: A shot of the

Ceagesp market, a massive

retail and wholesaling

operation in So Paulo,

from the NYTMs 2013

photo essay Brazil

Through the Lens of

Massimo Vitali.


The Photo Shop

m

assim

o Vitali for T

he N

ew

York

Tim

es


NYTMs picture editor, every week. howe saw some-

thing in her, and when a deputy photo editor posi-

tion opened at the magazine, he urged her to apply.

it was ryans second job in the photo industry.

her third came two and a half years later, when

howe decamped for Life and ryan became the

NYTMs head of photography. more than a quarter-

century later, she has yet to move on. Some might

fnd this kind of career confned or lacking in

ambition. it is anything but.

ext on the agenda is a series of photos by Paolo

Pellegrin depicting the burial of identifed

victims of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, in which

more than 7,000 Bosnian Muslims were murdered and

dumped in mass graves. Many victims are identifed

and formally buried each year. To get the images,

Pellegrin journeyed to Bosnia three times over the

course of two years, once on his own dime.

This story has an unusually long shelf life, Ryan

says. Were going to show a tight edit of the work youve

seen and then the new work he just shot last week.

The room is completely silent as the screen shows the

anguished, staring faces of hijab-wearing women; the

N

only sound is Bakers spare narration. This one is a

ceremony for victims in Visoko, Bosnia, she says.

One surreal and exquisite photo looks like a series

of human bodies that have been turned to sand, their

features sheared away by time. Ryan explains that

these bodies were exceptionally well preserved due to

the high clay content of the soil in the mass grave. In

some cases they still have skin and fesh intact, she

notes. Forensic pathologists can use that to help in

DNA testing to match them to survivors.

God, these are incredible, Lovell whispers as photo

after photo ticks by. Paolo at his best, Ryan says.

Lets put this on the lineup for 10 pages, Lovell adds.

Thank you, thats great, Ryan says.

Since ryans tenure began in 1987, the NYTM has

consistently broken new artists and found new ways

to use established ones. its pages have given wide

creative license to rising art stars such as ryan

mcGinley and Taryn Simon early in their careers.

The whole point of a magazine is to be surpris-

ing and lively and cutting-edge, and the way to do

that is by using new photographers, ryan says. if

someone has a spark and we publish them and they

go on to build an impressive career, thats even bet-

ter. meanwhile, in both portraiture and photojour-

nalism, the NYTM regularly draws on the talents of

masters like nadav Kander, Dan Winters, massimo

Vitali, nan Goldin, and Alec Soth.

in 1993 ryan gained a powerful ally when Adam

moss was named the magazines editorial director

(he is now editor-in-chief of New York magazine).

moss brought to the title a modern magazine ap-

proach that included a more graphical style and a

signifcantly greater emphasis on photography.

in 1997 moss, ryan, and creative Direc

american photo - august 2014 usa

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