Bravo Greenlights Markus Klinko and Indrani Reality Show

They are extremely attractive. They make sizzling celebrity images. They used to be romantically involved but now they they simply argue about creative decisions.  And they may be televison's next big reality  stars.
   The Bravo cable channel announced today that the photo team of Markus Klinko and Indrani will  be the focus of a new series, called "Double Exposure," which is set to debut in January 2010. Here's how Bravo describes the show:

"Double Exposure (working title) follows photographers Markus Klinko and Indrani, along with high-end stylist GK Reid, giving viewers a taste of the fast-paced world of high fashion and celebrity photography. From album covers for David Bowie and Beyoncé to prize-winning photographs of celebrities like Lindsay Lohan and Kate Winslet, Markus and Indrani have shot virtually every contemporary boldface name and countless other iconic images for fashion campaigns and magazines. With two former lovers working together 18 hours a day in incredibly high-stress environments, filled with deadlines, stretched budgets, expensive locations and demanding talent, it's not unusual for sparks to fly both on camera and outside the frame. "Double Exposure" is produced by Juma Entertainment for Bravo. Bob Horowitz and Lewis Fenton serve as executive producers."

I happen to have already seen a short pilot of the series, and think  it's absolutely terrific. The two stars are charming, funny, and talented. Throw in some behind-the-scenes photo shoot material and a few superstar portrait subjects, and you're looking at something special.--David Schonauer

Fabulous Music Video Made From Still Photos

Have you seen this music video? According to reports I've seen, the director, Cesar Kuriyama, constructed it from  45,000 still photographs over a period of 14 months. Do you like it?--David Schonauer

What Photojournalism Sounds Like

President George Bush and First Lady Laura Bush greeted President-Elect Barack Obama and First-Lady-to-be Michelle Obama today at the White House. The moment was pure photo-op, and you can tell plenty of photographers were there if you look at this video clip. You won't see any photojournalists, but you'll here them. Imagine, this is what the world sounds like to Paris Hilton all the time. And imagine if all those shooters were still using film--the motor-drives would be thundering!--David Schonauer

Update: Klinko & Indrani Bravo Bound

Every so often photographers get to come out from behind their cameras and take center stage. The fashion and celebrity-photo team of Markus Klinko and Indrani are stepping out in front of the lens in a big way. Bravo, the network that brought you "Project Runway" and other reality TV shows, has announced that it is developing a new show that will feature the photo duo. Tentatively titled is "Double Exposure," the will follw Klinko and Indrani as they photograph celebrities and battle creatively with each other. You see, the pair used to really be a pair. After they broke up, they continued to collaborate. Drama will ensue. They're both colorful characters, and Indrani, a former model, does photograph well. One can't say that about all photographers, or photo editors. The pair are also featured on the new issue of Miami magazine for an exhibition they will have up in that city. We think photography on TV is a natural.--David Schonauer

Censorship and the Debate Over the Depiction of Smoking in Imagery

I get a newsletter from the National Coalition Against Censorship, and in the most recent edition there is an interesting editorial about an issue I wasn’t aware of. According to NCAC executive director Joan Bertin, anti-smoking advocates are arguing that movies depicting people smoking should get an “R” rating.
      Luckily, there is in photography no organization like the MPAA, which tags every movie with a rating. Otherwise, there would almost certainly be pressure to remove all images of smoking from photographic archives.

LaChapelle Disturbing New Rhianna Video

Photographer and director David LaChappelle's latest music video is for Rhianna's single "Disturbia." It's a visual kick--if you consider a dark journey through insanity a kick.--David Schonauer

More Fallout Over Fox News Photo Story

Last week I posted a little something on the controversy surrounding Fox News and it’s decision to doctor photos of a New York Times reporter and editor. The reporter, Jacques Steinberg, had written a piece about an apparent weakening in Fox News ratings. The doctored images made him and his editor, Steven Reddicliffe, look bad in a silly way—yellowed teeth, big noses, etc. 
     Among the comments the post elicited, several stressed that Fox News was simply having innocent fun. But was it innocent? In his column in today’s Times, media critic David Carr notes that Steinberg’s image was manipulated in a particular way:

    In a technique familiar to students of vintage German propaganda, his ears were pulled out, his teeth splayed apart, his forehead lowered and his nose was widened and enlarged in a way that made him look more like Fagin than the guy I work with.

     By the way, a Fox News spokesperson said that any suggestion that the news organization would do such a thing was “vile and untrue.”
    Carr’s piece is really interesting because he comes clean about the trepidation he feels when he writes about Fox. The angst comes from knowing that Fox’s punitive PR staff will coordinate a campaign against him—a campaign of ridicule and professional revenge. He quotes other reporters who have experienced the same treatment when they've published stories Fox doesn’t like. Who knows, maybe some of the vitriolic comments left on this blog after my earlier post were also part of this type of campaign. (I have no way of knowing.) Whatever you feel about Fox News, the real point here is very simple: news organizations have no business doctoring photos. If Fox News doesn't want to be considered a news organization, it should drop the news part.—David Schonauer

Fox News Alters Photos of Enemy Reporters

According to Media Matters, Fox News is getting even with its perceived enemies by altering their pictures to make them look rather monstrous, then airing the results.
     The website says the images were shown on Fox & Friends. The program’s host, Steve Doocy, was commenting on a recent article in the New York Times that said Fox News’s ratings were showing an “ominous” decline. Doocy called the story's writer, Jacques Steinberg, an “attack dog.” Also singled out was Times editor Steven Reddicliffe.
     During the commentary, the news channel showed photos of both men. The pictures (that's Steinberg above and Reddicliffe below) seem to have been altered from the original shots. Teeth were yellowed, noses made bigger, hairlines pushed back, dark circles added under the eyes—and not with a great deal of Photoshop craft, it seems to me.
     Don’t they have someone at Fox who could have done this with a little more skill?
      I happen to know Reddicliffe—he lives in the suburb I do, and I see him on my commuter train all the time. In real life, he doesn’t look like an opium eater at all. He’s a very nice guy.
     If you’ve seen Fox & Friends you know that Doocy is just a tool. The best-case scenario here is that Fox thought this was a clever joke. Clever? I don't think so. The only joke here is Fox News itself, the media home of Karl Rove. News organizations have no business messing with pictures.—David Schonauer

Who Killed the Gorillas of Virunga?

In the July/August issue of American Photo, we named Getty photographer Brett Stirton’s picture of a murdered silverback gorilla the “Photo of the Year.” Now there’s more to report about the image and its impact. In its July issue, National Geographic has an intriguing, absorbing feature tracing how Stirton and a writer returned to the scene of the crime, Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, to find out who killed the gorillas. The answers the pair came up with are shocking and disturbing. It’s a must-read. The National Geographic TV channel will also air a documentary on about the story on July 1.

Nigel Barker Document's 2008's Seal Hunt

On America’s Next Top Model, photographer Nigel Barker faces the fiercest fashion that Tyra Banks can throw at him. But Barker came face to face with real ferocity recently when he went to Canada on behalf of the American Human Society  Humane Society of the United States to photograph (and videotape) the annual hunt for seals hunt (Yes, it’s springtime, when the days grow balmy, blossoms appear, and men with spiked clubs kill baby seals.) Recently I went to see him at his Manhattan studio to look at his pictures and video clips, which were made on two separate trips to Prince Edward Island—one prior to hunt (see video clip here) and one during the hunt itself. Barker’s blog has some pretty dramatic images and tales about the two shoots. I think it’s brilliant of the Humane Society to enlist someone from the fashion world—the seals are killed for their desirable fur—who at the same time can document the practice.
     The seal hunt got lots of negative publicity a decade or so ago, and a lot of people kind of assumed it was stopped. But according to National Geographic Canada’s “harvest limit” for 2008 was set at 275,000 harp seals, which is 5,000 more than in 2007. About 800 seals were killed on March 28.
      Back to Barker: I don’t think I’ll spill too many beans by revealing that we are working on a story about him, which will appear in our September/October issue. (The whole issue will be focused on fashion.) He’s even shot an entire fashion story exclusively for AP. Those pictures, however, I will keep to myself for now. From his work on America’s Next Top Model, Barker has become one of the best-known photographer’s in the world. He also produced VH1’s reality show about up-and-coming photographers, called The Shot. I think our article will show him to be fairly fierce in his own right.—David Schonauer