invited guest: Mike Peters - Coney Island 2007

Coney Island 2007
Photographs © by Mike Peters

For me, Coney Island in 2007 was an easy choice, in what was reportedly the final year of Astroland before being demolished to make way for something a bit more homogenized. Rubbing elbows with the hoi polloi of Coney Island is preferable to being in the presence of the hoity-toity of any other place.
I was well aware of the images created by the many photographers that preceded me to Coney Island over the past 100 years. I felt confident that I would simply work as usual and make myself ready to receive the images that presented themselves to me. In my days of shooting, I met many other photographers working this same small patch of ground. In the end we all put our own signature on what we do and make different images that will appeal to different people.
What you read into the images I present is based on who you are, where you came from, and the sum of every experience you have ever had up to the moment of viewing the image. What you bring to the experience matters a great deal.
As an observer of the scene, I can only photograph what I see. Expressions, body language, sartorial presentation, and a relationship to foreground and background are the raw materials that I have to work with. In the moment of pressing the shutter, I don't have time to judge or think, only to react to the geometry of the frame and the feelings that compel me to make the exposure.
Every image I make is a subjective impression of what I see. I choose a subject that I respond to on basic emotional level, and in the end by the choices I make at the moment of exposure and through the process of scanning, I’m really saying more about myself than I am about who I am photographing. I do not pretend that any of my images give any insight into the people or places that I photograph. There is always more going on than anyone can ever realize.

more pictures of Mike you may find at his web site.

invited by Marcin Górski

travellin'

Steam

General view of one of the yards of the Chicago and Northwestern railroad, Chicago, Ill.
Delano, Jack, photographer.
CREATED/PUBLISHED 1942 Dec.
See more color pictures by Jack Delano and others at Library of Congress

Journey

Picture by Darren Hepburn

invited guest: Terje Hellesø (part two)

Small Tortoiseshell (nässelfjäril)

Seagull

Malva alcea (rosenmalva)

"I find my personal landscape in nature. That is where I have to be. Whether in the forest, by the coast or in the mountains – I have to be in a real landscape to get a sense of not being there. Looking for interesting motifs is not important, my main object is to reflect my own being through the images I always carry with me. It is a process of transformation. I am looking for signs in nature, signs that I need in order to create my own, personal pictures."
/Terje Hellesø

weed

toilet on the mountain side

Arctic Tern (silvertärna)

Red-throated Diver landing (smålommen landar)

Terje Hellesø homepage (in Swedish)

gruppo F inbox - Bill Schmidt

literature and photography

A couple of weeks ago at the library I stumbled upon these books written by the Swedish author Ivar-Lo Johansson (1901-1990). I guess they are almost forgotten and unknown by the public in these days, but the books had a great impact when they were published, especially the book about old people´s homes (Old age,1949)

In the introduction to this volume containing all four books, the writer describes the cooperation with the photographers. Yes, these books could also be seen as books of photographs with text by Ivar Lo-Johansson. Many of the photographs are truly unforgettable and my guess is that they will be remembered even longer than the text. In any case, it was a brave and progressive project. The author tells about visiting over 1 000 old people´s homes in all of Sweden, travelling 3 000 km with the Swedish Romanies (gypsies) to Camargue in southern France or living with "les clochards" of Paris. The book about the landless peasants was part of his own life - he was brought up by parents that once were "statare".

Find out more about Ivar Lo-Johansson

Photographer: ©Gunnar Lund (from the book about the landless Swedish
peasants known as "statare") - 1949





Photographer:©Sven Järås (From the book "Old Age", 1949)





Photographer:©Tore Johnson, from the book "Unknown Paris"-1954- the picture
shows firemen carrying a young woman drowned in the river Seine.






Photographer: ©Anna Riwkin-Brick from the book "Road of the gypsies" -1955.

invited guest: Terje Hellesø (part one)

Swift

self portrait

Malin

Terje Hellesø has been working as a nature photographer since 1983. His wife, Malin Hellesø also works as a photographer. Terje has published several books with his photographs and thoughts about Nature photography. One of his latest projects is ”My Year” – containing 365 pictures – one picture each day of the year. The project has been presented in a major exhibition already visited by 70 000 people. Terje Hellesø has published over 5 000 pictures through the years in various magazines all around the world. Just one word from me: Respect! invited by ulf fågelhammar

Roe Deer

Mushroom

European Ash (Fraxinus excelsior)

More pictures by Terje Hellesø on www.helleso.com
and stay tuned for part two of the pictures Terje selected for the F Blog.

the secret life of plants

picture by: umma-urbano(F)

first snow

photographer: Ulla Larsson

Kamila Kulik's polaroids

Invited guest: Hin Chua

Hin Chua It's all about the trees

Hin Chua: I'm an Australian currently living in London. Recently I spent quite abit of time wandering round various parts of the world and noticedthat I was increasingly drawn to photographingtrees and ourrelationship with them and how they fit in (or don't fit in) with ourhuman environment. Sometimes, we almost seem to be at war withthem,it's certainly an interesting relationship.

Hin's website http://www.hinius.net/

and on flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/hinius/

Invited by Joanna Kinowska

measure

© Jeanne Wells
How many cups, how much snow, how much rain, how many days, how much love, how much like, how much ???

Coming exhibition: Holding by Anna Clarén

Photographer: © Anna Clarén

"Holding" a book with photographs by Anna Clarén was granted an award as
the best book of the year 2006 by The Association of Swedish Professional
Photographers. Now we will get a chance to see her pictures from the
book and other work as well at Kulturhuset, Stockholm.
The exhibition opens on 7 December and will be on until 13 February,
2008.

The Association of Swedish Professional Photographers (SFF) is Sweden's
oldest and largest organisation for professional photographers. SFF was
founded in 1895 and has nearly 2,000 members.

To be but on a pedestal

Colourbox scenery (VI)

Parklek

Babe Ruth

Photographer: Nickolas Muray
Year: ca 1927
Courtesy of Nickolas Muray Photo Archives, LLC

The Road II

T o m H o l m l u n d

matters of taste

We have told you earlier on about a beautiful project, a collaborative
translation of Encyclopedia of Diderot & d'Alembert. This quote is
from an article about "taste" written by Voltaire, Montesquieu,
d'Alembert and Diderot. This piece is by Voltaire.

"It is said that one should not argue about matters of taste. This is true as long as it is only a question of sensual taste, of the revulsion one experiences for a certain food and the preference one feels for another. This is not subject to argument because it is impossible to correct a flaw that is organic. The same is not true in the arts: since the arts have genuine beauty, there exists a good taste that discerns it and a bad taste that is unaware of it, and often the flaw of the mind that produces wrong taste can be corrected. There are also cold souls and men incapable of sound reasoning; these can neither be inspired with feeling nor corrected in their thinking; with them one should not argue about matters of taste since they have none."

I met her at the local rock club

I first met Charlotta at the local rock club.
I was in desperat need of someone that could play at a union meeting at my work and as I was talking about that with a friend Charlotta came as a rescuing angel and told me she could come and play and sing which she did in a really impressing way.

Quite some time passed and we didn' t really had that much contact then in the summer I needed someone to play at the opening on my exhibition.
So I called her up and planned the whole thing. A part of the exhibition was some portraits so we met on a cold and windy day in June and shot some portraits

Pictures and text Örjan Fredriksson

coocoo lunatic of the Surrealists

" ... I had to wait like an idiot till I met Marcel Duchamp (a marvelous painter) who is the only one who has his feet on the earth, among all this bunch of coocoo lunatic - of the Surrealists .... They are so damn "intelectual" [sic] and rotten that I can't stand them any more. It is really too much for my character - I rather sit on the floor in the market of Toluca and sell tortillas, than to have anything to do with those "artistic" --- of Paris."

Frida Kahlo to Nickolas Muray, 1939 Feb. 16. Letter. Nickolas Muray papers, 1911-1978. Archives of American Art.