State of the Art

Fab Four Reunion, Of Sorts

The photograph above is what I call "The One That Got Away." It's a rarely-seen picture of Beatle George Harrison with his first wife, Pattie Boyd, shot by Henry Grossman on the occasion of the couple's 1966 wedding. They both look young and fab. I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Pattie Boyd — photographer, former model, and rock-and-roll muse — for an article that will run in the July/August issue of American Photo. We just sent the piece to the printer. Alas, this picture didn't make the final mix — so I'm posting it here. (More about Pattie Boyd below.)

What's more remarkable is that in the photo world, nearly four decades after they disbanded, the Fabs — as Harrison sardonically called them — are still going strong. Never mind what John Lennon sang in 1970: For those of us who can't get enough of it, the dream still ain't over.

Recent reports  reveal that Christie's is to offer Lennon’s lyrics for "Give Peace a Chance" — plus never-published photos from the 1969 Montreal Bed-In staged by Lennon and wife Yoko Ono — for auction this summer, with early estimates between £200,000 and £300,000. The pictures, by UK-based comedy writer Gail Renard, had a unlikely beginning: Renard and a companion befriended John and Yoko after requesting an interview for their university magazine. This led to series of rare bed-in shots including the one at right. Lennon also signed and presented Renard the hand-written lyrics to his peace anthem, saying, "One day they will be worth something."

Meanwhile, the two surviving ex-Beatles, Paul and Ringo, recently showed up for the opening of an exhibit of platinum prints of Linda McCartney photographs at the James Hyman Gallery in London, on view until June 7. (Presumably McCartney is more pleased these days about revisiting memories with his first wife than with his second one.)

Moscow in May: Why So Serious?

Maybe the partying came later, I don't know. But the stage looked pretty dreary in this photo as Dmitri A. Medvedev spoke after being sworn in as Russia's new president. At left, of course, is Vladimir V. Putin, the former president, who has already been named prime minister by Medvedev. The two pale power brokers don't look like this arrangement is going to be much fun for either of them. The space between them is odd, at least to my eyes, suggesting some emotional if not political distance. (On the other hand, if Putin had been standing right next to Medvedev, it might have looked as if he were working a puppet.) As it is, both men seem to be striking identical rigid stances, which might be reassuring to Russians who prefer a strong and closely controlled state. Still, Putin's the man here--the darker coat and hands clenched for a fight. (Maybe it was just cold there.) Meanwhile, Medvedev has those furry microphone breasts. The press pool image, which ran on the front page of today's New York Times, was taken by Dmitri Astakhov. I suppose this is what they call red carpet photography in Russia.

This Day In Photographyy, 1937: The Hindenburg

On May 6, 1937, the German zeppelin Hindenberg exploded while attempting to moor in Lakehurst, New Jersey, killing 36 people. The disaster resulted in the death of the commercial trans-Atlantic zeppelin service and the rise of the mass news media. On this date, still photographers, filmmakers, and radio broadcasters put together a perfect storm of coverage that set the stage for the future of communications.
     At least it seems that way to me, but I’m no historian. Yet I can’t think of any event before the Hindenburg explosion that equaled it’s multi-media coverage.
     There are a couple of angles here that are interesting for photographers today.
     (And lots of interesting trivia: According to this article, the Hindenburg was to have been filled with non-flammable helium; however, the United States owned all the world’s helium and had placed an embargo against selling it to Nazi Germany. The Graf Zeppelin Company, which built the Hindenburg, turned to hydrogen as an lifting agent. Kapow!)

ICP Infinity Award Winners Announced

Award season continues apace, and the next big show will occur one week from tonight when the International Center of Photography presents its coveted Infinity Awards for 2008. But the word is already out about who’ll be receiving prizes this year.
     I’m happy to report that the Young Photographer award will go to Mikhael Subotzky, whose documentary work depicting life in South African prisons (below) also earned him an American Photo Emerging Photographer award in 2007. A portfolio of the work that appeared last year in Aperture was nominated for a National Magazine Award as well….so this has been a big year for Subotsky.
     The award for Art this year goes to Edward Burtynsky, whose large-format work explores the connections between landscape and industry. His pictures from China (above) have achieved a kind of cult status at this point.
     The photojournalism award will go to Anthony Suau, who has covered a number of important stories over the past 20 years, including the war in Chechnya. He has recently worked on a project documenting the US during the Iraq war. Suau won the Infinity Award for Young Photographer in 1986.
     The Applied Photography award this year will go to fashion photographer Craig McDean. Photographer Taryn Simon wins the Publication award for her book “An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar.” (Read an interview we did with Simon here.) The Writing award will go to Bill Jay for his 2007 book “Bill Jay’s Album.” The Trustees Award is going to actress Diane Keaton, who is also a longtime photography enthusiast. And the Lifetime Achievement Award will go to Malick Sidibe, the renowned Malian photographer.
     I’ll be at the awards show and post on all the goings-on from there.—David Schonauer

National Geographic Wins Big at Magazine Awards

The lead on almost every story about last night’s National Magazine Awards show in New York will focus on National Geographic and how it won three awards—two for photography (more on that in a second) and one for General Excellence.
    I was at the awards, and I was a judge in the Photojournalism category (won by Geographic). And I love that magazine, so it wasn’t a surprise for me that it won all those awards.
    What surprised me was how oddly funny former baseball player Lenny Dykstra was as a presenter last night. Dykstra was there because these days he’s also a magazine honcho, having launched a title called The Player’s Club, which is supposed to provide financial and lifestyle advice to pro athletes. (Do they really need that? Probably. According to this story, Dykstra’s magazine is having a difficult birth, in part because he spent $400,000 on a launch party.) At any rate, he enlivened the proceedings considerably, just as he once did the Mets locker room.
     Back to the awards: Go here for a complete list of the winners. As I noted, National Geographic picked up the award for Photojournalism, for a story about malaria in the July 2007 issue shot by John Stanmeyer. It was a great piece featuring true photojournalist story-telling, and I was glad it won.
      Here’s an observation for the American Society of Magazine Editors, which administers the awards through the Columbia University Journalism School: Since this was a photo category, you shouldn’t list the writer of the article ahead of the photographer in the official press releases you send out.
      National Geographic also won the National Magazine Award in the Photography category, which honors use of photography in three complete issues. Geographic won for its March, April, and June 2007 issues.
       In the Photo Portfolio category, Vanity Fair won for a story by Annie Leibovitz called “Killers Kill; Dead Men Die: A 2007 Hollywood Portfolio” in its March 2007 issue. Annie was in the audience, as editor in chief Graydon Carter accepted the award. She was smiling and didn’t seem any the worse for wear following the controversy over her Miley Cyrus pictures.—David Schonauer

Venessa Winship Named Sony's First Photographer of the Year

Clearly I should already have known who Vanessa Winship is. I mean, she won the first World Press Photo award ever given in the arts category; she's exhibited at Visa pour l'Image, Les Recontres d'Arles, and the Leica Gallery; oh, and did I mention...she makes beautiful, beautiful images.

But I didn't know about her until I was sent the press release about the first annual Sony World Photography Awards, the ceremony for which was held in Cannes recently, and by which Winship has been named Photographer of the Year (and awarded a $25,000 cash prize).

There are lots of other winners in both professional and amateur categories up at the awards' site, but I'm satisfied just that this main prize has done what all these new prizes popping up every year should: It publicizes someone too few people know about, and it gives them a bunch of money to keep making excellent art.

Definitely check out Winship's website...I promise you'll be blown away.

~Miki Johnson

Pictures in the News: A Perspective

1.    Austria’s House of Horrors
Some news photos are exploitive. Some simply feed our interest in the macabre and horrible. The shot above is a little of both, but also absolutely necessary. It shows the interior of the cellar pf the Austrian house in which Josef Fritzi, imprisoned his daughter Elisabeth for 24 years. During that time, as we know now, he fathered seven children by her. When I heard first heard the story I began to prepare myself for the photos that would inevitably follow. But I also needed to see this chamber of horrors. The photos provide evidence that is crucial to our ability to really understand the story. What seems impossible to believe can be believed after seeing this image. What contradicts our common understanding of human behavior is proven to in fact have happened. Fritzi’s acts are not fable or superstition—not simply evil—because we have seen the room where it really happened. We need the photo to give the story meaning.

2.    The Texas Polygamy Ranch
Photographer Tony Gutierrez of the Associated Press has been covering the story of the Zion Ranch in Eldorado, Texas, and his images have appeared in publications around the world. The ranch was home to a polygamist sect and was raided by state authorities after they received allegations of physical abuse by a 16-year-old girl. The authorities removed some 400 children and arrested leaders of the sect. Gutierrez has pictures of the aftermath of the raid, including aerials of the ranch’s compound and shots of members being loaded onto busses by child welfare officials. The shot below shows a member of the sect holding a picture of his family, now in state custody. I found it online today, along with the latest news to emerge from Texas—authorities announced that more than half of the teenage girls taken from the ranch have children or are pregnant. Here, the picture is given meaning by the context of the news. And the news isn’t good.--David Schonauer

Annie Griffiths Belt on Cameras and Diapers

If you missed hearing the interview with National Geographic Photographer Annie Griffiths Belt (above) on NRP  NPR last Sunday, you can go here to listen. It’s really a terrific insight into the working life of a photographer. And the whole thing is absolutely charming, since it’s about Annie.
    The interview coincides with the release of Belt’s new book, “A Camera, Two Kids, and a Camel: My Journey in Photographs.”  The book tells of how Belt, one of the first female photographers at National Geographic, managed to combine her professional life and her personal life. In the interview, she talks about how she learned to pack in order to take her two young children with on assignments. She found that diapers could fill dual uses—for her kids’ bottoms and to wrap about fragile photo gear. She says diapers are in fact the best cushioning material she’s ever found.
     That’s very practical advice. It got me to wondering what other everyday items people repurpose to make their photographic lives easier...let's start a list. —David Schonauer

And the Overseas Press Club Awards Go To….

Last night at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Manhattan, the Overseas Press Club handed out its awards for journalism from abroad. The OPC awards include four very coveted photojournalism prizes. (For a list of all the winners, go here.)  Photographers from Getty Images won three of them, leading the ceremony’s host, Ann Curry of NBC News, to comment that she saw “a pattern” at work.
     The Robert Capa Gold Medal Award (for reporting that requires exceptional courage and enterprise) went to John Moore of Getty Images for his images of the assassination of former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Accepting the award, Moore told the black-tie audience that he’d been adopted as a child, then went on discuss the role that luck, or perhaps fate, plays in photojournalism and in life. He recalled that on the day of the assassination “something” told him to move away from Bhutto’s car. He avoided being killed himself and was able to photography the chaos that followed.
     Paula Bronstein of Getty Images won the John Faber Award (for photographic reporting in newspapers or wire services) for her coverage of the Bhutto attack. The judges said her images “document human vulnerability in a world shattered by the now familiar deadly destruction of suicide bombing.” Bronstein is a well-traveled photojournalist who has often found herself in dangerous situations.
     Getty photographer Brent Stirton won the Feature Photography Award for his pictures of gorillas that had been slaughtered in the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The images, which appeared in Newsweek magazine, are absolute showstoppers (see above) and have been winning awards in a variety of photo competitions. Stirton was named as one of American Photo’s “Heroes of Photography” in 2007 for his coverage of environmental issues in Africa. (He is also the photographer asked by Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt to make the official photographs of their baby Shiloh in 2006.)
      The non-Getty winner of the evening was Cedric Gerbehaye of Agence Vu in France. He won the Olivier Rebbot Award (for photographic reporting in magazines or books) for images made in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where millions have died as a result of civil unrest. (See below.) Gerbehaye is a Belgian photographer who traveled to the DRC with the Doctors Without Borders organization.—David Schonauer

"I'm not a screamer"

Some news stories beg a photograph for verification. Such is the case with the alligator that strolled into Sandra Frosti's kitchen in Oldsmar, Florida. Fortunately someone had the presence of mind to snap several pictures of it before it was removed (our favorite shot is at left).

"I was in my bedroom and I heard a noise. And I walked in and he was in the kitchen," Frosti told ABC News. "How about that? But I'm not a screamer, so I just went 'Oh my God' and I ran to the telephone."

After reading this, what I'd really like to see is a picture of the unflappable, 69-year-old Frosti. But all Google Image searches of her name lead back to photos of the interloping gator. However, Frosti's voice has been immortalized in a clip of her 911 call about the gator's intrusion that has become a big internet hit.

During the call, the dispatcher asks Frosti if the animal might be an iguana. “Oh-no, no, no, no, no,” Frosti answered matter-of-factly. "It's huge." And the photos bear her out.

But on a much sadder note in the Animals Gone Wild department, the grizzly bear that appeared in the Will Ferrell film "Semi-Pro" reportedly lashed out and killed one of his trainers yesterday. Of course, this story also begs a photo — one of the bear's publicity stills is at right. — Jack Crager

Is This Any Way To Treat An Iconic Image?

I saw this week's Time magazine cover while getting coffee at our local newsstand, and I must tell you, I felt odd about it. As a visual device, the idea of using Joe Rosenthal's famous World War II image of the flag raising at Iwo Jima as the basis for a cover about global warming...well, it seemed just over-labored. I can't quite bring myself to equate the bitter fight for Mount Suribachi with the effort to control climate change. I think for me it's an aesthetic thing, however, not an emotional one.  According to this report, some war veterans also object to the cover, on very emotional grounds. (I don't agree with the guy who says Time's editors are going to hell for this. I just don't like the cover.) Who's right? Should iconic images be off limits to other uses? --David Schonauer

Photographer Released by U.S. Military

Bilal Hussein, the Associated Press reporter who was detained and held by the U.S. military in Iraq for two years, will be released, according to reports. The move by the military comes after Iraqi judges ruled last week that Hussein is covered by an amnesty law and should be released.
    The military detained Hussein in April 2006, on the grounds that he had bomb-making materials and had conspired with insurgents. An independent review of the matter by AP could not uncover evidence supported the military's assertion.--David Schonauer

AP Photographer Ordered Released in Iraq

According the news reports, Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein, seen here, has been released from custody by an Iraqi judicial committee, nearly two years the U.S. military detained Hussein on the grounds that he had been working with terrorists.
    The decision by the Iraqi panel seems to be based on a new amnesty law. For now, however, Hussein, 36, is said to remain in custody at Camp Cropper, a U.S. facility near Baghdad.
    As we reported last year, for much of the time during his detention, Hussein was simply hidden away from view without actually being charged with any crimes. Last September, the Associated Press publicly pleaded with the U.S. military to either charge him or set him free.
    The military says it captured Hussein with two insurgents in 2006, including Hamid Hamad Motib, an alleged leader of al-Qaida in Iraq. The military said he had “close relations” with terrorists. Associated Press said its own investigation produced no evidence that Hussein had done anything to cause his detention.
   “The amnesty committee took only a few days to determine what we have been saying for two years,” said AP president Tom Curley.--David Schonauer

Remembering Magnum’s Burt Glinn

The renowned Magnum photographer Burt Glinn died yesterday at his home in East Hampton, New York at age 82. The cause was kidney failure and pneumonia. Magnum has a memorial to Glinn up on its website, along with a portfolio of his images.
     Glinn worked for Life magazine from 1949 to 1950, but tt is impossible to discuss his career and impact on photography without considering Magnum. He joined the agency in 1951 as an associate member, among the first Americans—along with Eve Arnold and Dennis Stock—to do so. He became a full member in 1954. He was among the first (and the few) Magnum photographers to take on corporate work—pointing the way for the financial survival of the agency. He covered the war in the Middle East in 1956, covered the Cuban revolution in 1958, and later did color work for Life, Paris Match, and other magazines.
     One of the magazines he shot for was Holiday, the great travel magazine of the era. Holiday was just a little before my time, but I once found a box of old Holidays that someone was throwing out, and it was while looking through those mildewed copies I came to an appreciation of Glinn’s work. The standout was a color essay on Japan—beautiful, grand, and often haunting. Holiday employed the world’s finest photographers—the late Arnold Newman was also a regular contributor—and Glinn was certainly among that group.
     You would certainly have to say that his coverage of the Cuban revolution was a career highlight, and you get the impression that he understood clearly the historic importance of the event. The shot above shows Glinn caught up in the sweep of the moment. Here is how the tale according to the Magnum tribute:

Glinn was attending a black tie New Year’s Eve party when he was told that Batista had fled Cuba. The course of action became clear: trade the champagne for a late night ticket to Havana. By 7am the next morning, Glinn was chasing the revolution, making photographs as, “everybody got whatever weapon they could get their hands on…and they were all of a sudden brave revolutionaries.”

It’s not just a good story—it’s a description of the romantic life of a Magnum photojournalist. In Glinn’s case, the romance was real.

2008 Pulitzers For Photography Announced

The Pulitzer Prizes for 2008 were announced yesterday, including the awards for the two photo categories. The prize for Breaking News in Photography went to Adrees Latif of Reuters for his image of a wounded Japanese journalist lying in front of a Burmese soldier during riots in Myanmar last September (above). The Japanese  journalist, Kenji Nagai, later died.
    The Pulitzer for Feature Photography was awarded to Preston Gannaway of the Concord (New Hampshire) Monitor. Gannaway spent months photographing a local woman, Carolynne St. Pierre, who had terminal cancer (below). After the woman's death, Gannaway continued to photograph her family as grieved.
    Latif, 34, was born in Pakistan and lived with his family in Saudi Arabia being immigrating to Texas in 1980. He worked with the Houston Post before joining Reuters.
    Gannaway, 30, has worked for the Concord Monitor since 2003. A native of North Carolina, she began her career with the Coalfield Progress in rural southwest Virginia. She also interned at the Santa Fe New Mexican and the Bangor (Maine) Daily News.--David Schonauer

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

Here's How to Treat the Paparazzi

So many celebrities complain about the ill-mannered paparazzi who follow them around. But how many go out of their way to be courteous to the photographers who have to follow them through the dark, cold streets at night? NOT MANY is the answer. In this wonderful clip, however, none other than Amy Winehouse brings her personal photo corps nice hot cups of tea. Note to Sean Penn: you'd be better off serving hot beverages to the paparazzi than picking fights with them. Or is that just a guy thing?--David Schonauer

Killing Fields Photographer Dith Pran Dies

Dith Pran, a longtime photographer for the New York Times, died yesterday at age 65 The cause was pancreatic cancer. Dith came to the United States only after surviving the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. His experiences were immortalized in the 1984 film “The Killing Fields.” The Times has a wonderful obituary today, with audio and a portfolio of Dith's images. I also loved the audio report that National Public Radio aired this morning. Go here to hear it.—The photo above, showing Dith at a family reunion in 1989, was taken by Magnum photographer Steve McCurry.-- David Schonauer

New York Love Story Continues

Anyone have any great first-hand stories about John and Yoko? Now would be a great time to hear them...

That's because I could use the material. Not to tout my own horn, but I will be taking part in a panel discussion on the famous couple, and I've been asked to spread the word. The event will be held at 3 pm Saturday, April 5, at the Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Avenue at 104th Street.

The main speaker will be photographer Allan Tannenbaum, who published John & Yoko: A New York Love Story (Insight Editions, $45), a remarkable collection of his pictures of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. American Photo chose this book among last year's best in our Jan/Feb roundup, and we also ran a Web-exclusive interview between Tannenbaum and myself.

A veteran NYC photojournalist, Allan knew John & Yoko for several years but became especially close to them during the latter half of 1980, as they emerged from five years of seclusion to publicize their Double Fantasy album. Tannenbaum got rare access to their lives and made exceptionally intimate photos, among the last ones of Lennon before he was killed. He'll be showing and discussing these images in an illustrated lecture at the museum.

Iconic Decline

Photo © Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times

As an amateur guitarist and rock-and-roll fan, James Blake Miller may well marvel that he's made "the cover of the Rolling Stone." But he's probably not thrilled about the context.

Miller's picture is not on this week's RS cover — that honor goes to Chris Rock — but Miller is the subject of one of the main feature stories: "Home From War: Tragedy of the Marlboro Marine." The story recounts the sad journey that Miller's life has taken since his face became famous in an iconic photograph (above) — a shot of Miller in Falluja, Iraq, made in 2004 by imbedded photographer Luis Sinco for the Los Angeles Times.

The picture — which seemed to capture at once the steely resolve, grimy entanglement, and weary disillusionment of U.S. soldiers in Iraq — became widely known and emblematic of the war. "To my surprise, the image became iconic, capturing a sense of the front line in a young Marine's face," Sinco wrote later in the L.A. Times.

But after his return home, Miller's life began to unravel, and he became a different kind of symbol: a medically discharged former vet who suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, wartime flashbacks, and social isolation. Sinco continued to follow Miller's story and created a moving multimedia piece called "The Marlboro Marine" on the photojournalism website mediastorm.org (as we recounted in American Photo's March/April story on "The Photographer as Director").

National Magazine Award Nominees Announced

The nominations for the National Magazine Awards have been announced, and there are some interesting photography angles. I was a judge in the Photojournalism category, so I’m going to focus on that category in this post. For a complete list of all the NMA nominations, go here.
       In general, nominations in the three photo categories went to the same magazines that have been honored in the past. Aperture magazine received nominations not only in the Photojournalism category but also in the General Excellence category for magazines with circulations under 100,000. National Geographic was nominated in the Photography category and the Photojournalism category. New York magazine was nominated in both the Photography and Photo Portfolio categories (among many others).  But as I said, the interesting news, from my perspective, was in Photojournalism. I saw a glimpse of the future.

Flip Side of Fame

Back in the pre-digital days, we all kept batches of snapshots in shoe boxes, pulling them out occasionally to marvel at the memories, mainly interesting only to those involved. But when your shoe box has photos of someone wildly famous — and prematurely departed — it could be turn out to be revelatory.

Such is the case with May Pang's shoe box full of images of her 18-month companionship with John Lennon. In her new, splendidly titled book, Instamatic Karma ($30, St. Martin's Press), Pang (at right in 1974) shares pictures that had literally been closeted away since the mid-1970s. A recent piece in the New York Times pointed out Pang's intent — to show that Lennon was not all depressed and unproductive during his "Lost Weekend" months with her — but the book itself weaves a complex portrait of Lennon's time away from his wife Yoko, befitting a man of every-changing moods and contradictions.

The Political Image: Stand by Your Man

Day two of the Spitzer scandal has produced no imagery to help shape the story—mainly because the governor and his family are in seclusion. But regarding yesterday’s post about whether the innocent spouse should be included in the photo coverage, the comments were illuminating. One reader wrote:

It’s our responsibility to show the reality in what is portrayed right in front of us…even when cropping is allowed in the world of photojournalism, it’s still honorable to show the whole situation.

I tend to agree. When the spouse steps into the public spotlight, the public will expect to see it. And the journalist’s responsibility, finally, is with his or her audience. Those are ground rules. They are the rules that journalists, politicians, and the public are all well acquainted with by now. (NPR has a nice little portfolio of those moments on its website.)

The news guidelines don’t make these news events any less morally confusing for all involved, however. In today’s New York Times Dana Matos McGreevy, former wife of former New Jersey governor Jim McGreevy, explains why she stood holding his hand when he admitted to being a “gay American” and cheating on her. In doing so, however, she also urges the public (and the public’s representatives, journalists) to lay off.

Frankly, all I was thinking about was my daughter. If I had to do it over again, I’d do the same thing. I did it for my daughter’s father.
     I wasn’t the first such person in this situation, and Ms. Wall Spitzer won’t be the last. This will happen again, and when it does, let’s skip the psychoanalysis and judgments heaped on the wife. She’s not the elected official. Let him face the cameras on his own.

Reporters, photographers, and public figures know what to do, but that doesn’t necessarily make doing it easy.Photo above by Timothy A. Clary for AFP/Getty Images.—David Schonauer

Photo Editor for a Day: How Would You Play It?

You are the photo editor of a big city newspaper, and your state's governor has just been named as Client 9, the patron of a prostitution ring.  Said governor has just made a public statement. As usual in these cases, the guilty politician is accompanied by his innocent wife, who must stand in front of the cameras to share a disgrace she has nothing to do with. You are discussing with your news editor how to depict this moment on your newspaper's front page. Do you decently crop the women out of the image, allowing her to preserve a bit of dignity? Do you go full on with a photo that captures the woman's pain? Or do you split the difference?  Are you responsible for protecting the wife and the injured family of the erring husband? Or is your job to allow your readers to  see the full spectacle of this public humbling? Let's here some opinions.--David Schonauer 

Friday Photos in the News

Flooding the Grand Canyon:
In an effort to mimic the natural floods that once gushed through the Grand Canyon, water was unleashed from Glen Canyon Dam this week. This attempt at rejuvenating the ecosystem of the Grand Canyon at the very least provided a wonderful photo op. Are you picking up on any symbolism in the Associated Press picture here? Or did I simply have too much coffee after lunch?

Obama, On the Record—and How!
The day after Hillary Clinton defeated Barack Obama in the Ohio and Texas primaries, the New York Times ran this image, by Win McNamee for Getty Images, showing Obama talking to reporters on his campaign plane. The Times unfortunately cropped out the best part, which is the reporter at right holding a bunch of cell phones or tape recorders or something. Gawker happily showed the entire image. What in the world is she doing?

Rare Helen Keller Photo Found
This week the New England Historic Genealogy Society released this photographic of an eight-year-old Helen Keller with her teacher, Anne Sullivan. The rare image also shows Keller holding a doll. The word “doll” was the first that Keller ever spoke. The image, made 120 years ago at Cape Cod, was found in a photo album by Thaxter Spencer, 87, whose mother was a close friend of Keller.  Go here for more of the story.

The English Earthquake
How do you depict the violence of an earthquake in a still photo? David Moir of Reuters shot scientists with the British Geological Survey scanning a seismograph readout of the U.K.’s strongest earthquake in more the 20 years. The quake registered a 5.3 on the Richter scale.--David Schonauer

The Wonderful Theo Westenberger

Photographer Theo Westenberger  died last Thursday, February 28, and the news has been slowly filtering through the a photo community that mourns her loss. She passed away at her home in New York after a four-year battle with lung cancer. She was 57. According to Photo District News, she worked up until about  four months ago, when she shot her last story for Architectural Digest. Westenberger's website, which is still up, notes that over her career she shot three presidents and actors like Clint Eastwood, Meryl Streep, and Jennifer Aniston. Photo editor Laurie Kratochvil, who worked with Westenberger on several jobs at Rolling Stone, recalls Westenberger as one of photography's sunniest figures: "She always brought laughter, fun, and  energy into every place she ever worked. Her laugh made you laugh. Her work had a positive, uplifting quality to it, and people had a good time on her shoots."--David Schonauer

Must See TV: Photography on Sundance Channel

A quick programming reminder, for all photography enthusiasts who also happen to get the Sundance Channel on their cable packages: This week you can view a series of intriguing documentaries about photographers and photography. The series includes films about Tina  Barney; Henri Cartier-Bresson); Peter Beard; William Eggelston, Helmut Newton, and Tina Modotti. The series will also include an airing of James Crump’s great documentary on photo collector Sam Wagstaff. Go here to read about the series in the New York Times. And here for a great overview of all the documentaries to be presented, along with the times they will air. --David Schonauer

Giant Leap for Mankind (or, Why is This Man Jumping)?

Since it's Leap Day — that once-every-four-years phenomenon that lets people jokingly claim to age more slowly and stay newlyweds longer — we've been looking for the perfect photo event tied to this Gregorian intercalary anomaly. (We threw in that last $15 term in honor of the late Wlliam F. Buckley Jr.)

One cool contender is an homage to Philippe Halsman's Jump Book — including the classic shot of Richard Nixon at left — staged by Rich Janzaruk, photo editor of the Times-Mail in Bedford, Indiana, called "Leaping for Leap Day." Unfortunately, most of Janzaruk's shots of leaping local celebs are not posted online yet, but the story links to a great Owen Edwards piece recounting Halsman's original series published in 1959 (one of the most inspired leaps of imagination in modern portraiture, IOHO).

Then there is this Leap Day how-to article on adorama.com that tells you all about how to catch people in action (start with a cute and fearless model, as below).