Epitaph For Digital Railroad

The news that Digital Railroad has shut down its servers is sad if not unexpected. It was clear the business was in trouble when the Diablo Management Group took control and chief executive Charles Mauzy departed with other employees. Nonetheless, I was shocked to hear that a notice had been posted on the DRR site today saying that it was shutting down. That left a lot of photographers around the world in the lurch. Apparently competitor PhotoShelter is offering a special rate for former DRR subscribers. I am a friend of DRR founder Evan Nisselson, and he sent me a note this morning, which I share here:

It is a very sad day! I am very sorry for our members.
     There are many variables that have helped and challenged the success of DRR. There are many things that could have been done differently and I am sure we all have learned through the process – I know that I have.
     I evolved to chairman of the board almost a year ago and since then have had no control and limited input.
     After Diablo Management took over the board and operations of the company on Oct. 10th I tried to gather people to acquire the company back. I came very close but unfortunately it didn't happen. These
didn't materialize for several reasons including the very challenging financial times we are in.
     After these initiatives didn't materialize - Diablo wouldn't even return my emails or calls. We kept advising that the members needed and deserved advance notice if the company was going to turn off the
platform but after this advice from several people - Diablo Management only gave members 24 hours to transfer images.
     Unfortunately sharing this perspective doesn't change anything but I hope it helps clarify a bit.

Best,
Evan

The history of the Internet is filled with the names of products and companies that are no longer with us. The fact that new VC funding wasn't available now isn't surprising either, given the state of the economy and tight credit markets. Does anyone have thoughts about what went wrong here?--David Schonauer

Where to Go and What to See

To be honest, I'm pretty happy this week is light on openings. Everyone must be worn out after AIPAD last week — I know just how they feel. It's been a long week ... and it's only Wednesday. Luckily there are still some great openings to choose from. My picks are Humankind at Hasted Hunt in New York City (notice that although this show opens this week, the reception will be in May; I'll post again when it's approaching). The VII answer to Edward Steichen's legendary 1955 The Family of Man show at the MoMA, this show will explore  the place of the "humanistic" viewpoint in modern life through the lenses of the agency's photographers. And at M+B in Los Angeles, consummate Muhammed Ali chronicler Howard Bigham's Rumble In the Jungle documents the boxer's historic 1974 trip to Zaire.

~Miki Johnson

(Photo: "Zaire, 1974," © Howard L. Bingham)

Star of Lauren Greenfield Doc Dead of Apparent Suicide

Polly Ann Williams, one of the women featured in Lauren Greenfield's THIN, the HBO documentary about women battling eating disorders, died Friday, Feb. 8 in what media outlets are calling an apparent suicide. The 33-year-old Williams was an aspiring photographer and a lobbyist for the National Eating Disorders Association. Her family asks those who wish to make contributions in her memory to visit www.nationaleatingdisorders.org.

On her website, Greenfield remembers WIlliams as "an extraordinary woman with unforgettable gifts. ... In her short life, she touched more people than most people do in their lifetime and I know she was very proud of the contribution she made in the eating disorder community."

During the making of THIN, which was filmed at a Florida center for women with eating disorders, Williams opened up to Greenfield and her crew and took them and viewers along with her during her rollercoaster battle with anorexia and bulimia.

At one point, Williams contributes what could arguably be described as the emotional climax of the movie, when she allowed Greenfield and crew to film her purging after a meal. She was eventually kicked out of the center after giving pills to a fellow patient and getting a tattoo.

Greenfield has used the documentary's success to illustrate the plight of women with eating disorders. According to the THIN website, eating disorders affect five million people in the U.S., and more than 10% of those diagnosed with anorexia nervosa will die from the disease.

--Jay DeFoore

Photographer Greenfield Nominated for Emmy

There seems to be an ever-increasing number of photography awards to pay attention to these days...but the Emmy's is rarely one of them. Yet that is where VII photographer Lauren Greenfield was honored yesterday with a nomination for her documentary film (which ran on HBO), Thin. I was privy to a sneak-peak of the film back in November, and can say without hesitation that Greenfield absolutely deserves this recognition. The film is heart-wrenching (as you would expect a movie about eating disorders to be) but also fair and honest -- refusing to simplify her subjects into either victims or monsters. Greenfield spent an incredible amount of time with these women while she was filming, staying involved in their lives long afterward and going back only after shooting the film to record the Renfrew Center (where Thin was shot) in photographs. The resulting book, also titled Thin, allowed Greenfield to reassess the situation from a new angle, giving her the time and perspective to create haunting portraits of the women at Renfrew (like the one above, of Aiva on her first and last day at the treatment center) and to include pages from their own journals. I wouldn't be surprised to see more photographers being acknowledged for their film work in the future -- but they will have to work very hard to reach the bar set by Greenfield.

~Miki Johnson

(Photo: From Thin, © Lauren Greenfield / VII)

Your Chance To Be A VII Photographer

VII photo agency, whose A-list members include James Nachtwey, Lauren Greenfield, and Eugene Richards, has just issued a call to photographers interested in joining its ranks. Work by prospective members will be considered during its semi-annual meeting in California this November. The agency prides itself on being open to any and all photographers, but stresses that membership will only be bestowed upon those who its members "believe will enhance and strengthen" its current body of work, who can work with VII management, and who have "high standards of integrity."

These meetings are the only time the agency considers new photographers. Work must be submitted to the New York or Paris bureaus by September 30. Submissions should be on DVD or CD, no more than 40 images, with caption information embedded in the files. For more information, check the VII Website.

~Miki Johnson

Help for a VII Photographer

Most of you have probably already heard that Alexandra Boulat, one of the founding members of VII agency, had surgery a few weeks ago to stop bleeding in her brain, after which doctors placed her in a medically induced coma. I just wanted to make sure everyone also knew that VII is accepting contributions to help take care of her family's medical costs. Checks, made out to VII Photo with the words "Alex Boulat Fund" in the memo, can be sent to:

VII Photo
920 Abbott Kinney Blvd.
Venice, CA 90291

Contributions can also be sent to us via paypal to frank@viiphoto.com (again, indicating that the money is for the Alex Boulat Fund).

We'll let you know as soon as we hear anything new about her condition. But until then, a news brief on the VII site promises she is in good hands, and her family is grateful for everyone's support.

~Miki Johnson

Where to Go and What to See

I'm particularly intrigued this week by Travis Ruse's "Commuter's Journal," and not only because I serendipitously met Travis while interviewing him about his recent promotion to Photo Editor of Inc. Magazine. The 50 prints in this Redux show have been culled from more than 600 Ruse has posted over the last two years to his photoblog, which chronicles his daily commute from Brooklyn's Park Slope to Midtown Manhattan. The site draws more than 20,000 hits a week and has been profiled in The New York Times. This strikes me as an undeniable testament to the heights photoblogs can achieve when they are personal, thoughtful, and consistent—as well as the increasingly easy transition photographers are making from website to gallery space.

Follow the link for the details, plus other not-to-miss shows, like Jen Bekman's favorites from this year's Hey, Hot Shot! shows and not one, but two chances to see Misty Keasler's fascinating/disturbing Love Hotels images.

Nachtwey in Iraq

For months we've been eagerly awaiting James Nachtwey's National Geographic report on Iraq, and apparently we're not alone. In Perpignan, France this past September we overheard a couple of photographers discussing Nachtwey's big assignment, his first for the venerable publication in several years. I asked Jim about it earlier this month after running into him a PhotoPlus Expo in New York, but he said he couldn't discuss when it was coming out or any details about what it would contain.

According to National Geographic photo editor David Griffin, the piece is set to run in the magazine's December issue, which is hitting newsstands and subscribers now.

For a sneak peak take a look at "Military Medecine," a big multimedia piece currently running on the National Geographic website.

Abu Ghraib Revisited

Everyone remembers those harrowing snapshots of Iraqis being humiliated and tortured at Abu Ghraib prison. The photos were taken by the prison guards and were replayed around the world, helping to erode America's claim of moral authority in the Iraq war and the larger war on terror.

But since the issue boiled to a head in April 2004, the world has largely moved on. A few soldiers and low-level commanders were convicted and sentenced, but the matter has since been swept under the rug as the news cycle rolls onward.

But one photographer who is refusing to let the world forget about the horrors at Abu Ghraib is Antonin Kratochvil.

VII Joins MySpace

VII Photo is male, 35 years old, married, and lives in Venice, California -- at least according to the photojournalism agency's official MySpace profile. MySpace, the insanely popular social networking site (46 million unique visitors in July) owned by Rupert Murdoch's Fox Interactive Media, is increasingly being utilized by web-savvy marketers to drum up business, so kudos to VII for being one of the first photography firms to take advantage.