A Photographer Meditates on His Craft—and What Shapes It

From a Washington Post story by Kenneth Dickerman headlined “A photographer meditates on his craft—and what shapes it”:

Stephen Shore’s photography has always been known for its ability to tease out the remarkable from the banal. His new book is no different.

In “Modern Instances: The Craft of Photography” (Mack, 2022), he shares his thoughts and experiences on his photographic practice or, more precisely, the things that have shaped that practice throughout more than four decades.

It would be easy to diminish the book through distillation. Instead, I’ll share some of the thoughts that surfaced while reading.

Inside the Times: Photographing the Reality of War

From a Times Insider column by Emmett Lindner headlined “Photographing the Reality of War”:

Last week, Lynsey Addario, a photojournalist on assignment for The New York Times in Ukraine, stood on a rooftop in Kyiv, which is currently under siege, to capture images of smoke wafting across the skyline. Then, an air raid siren went off.

She moved behind a wall “just so I don’t get blown out with chunks of glass if it does hit,” she said by phone as she took shelter. Despite the threat of an attack, she still wanted to share more about her experiences covering the war in an interview.

Mick Rock: “A Photographer Who Created Indelible Images of Rock Greats”

From a Washington Post obit by Matt Schudel headlined “Mick Rock, photographer who created indelible images of rock greats, dies at 72”:

Mick Rock, a British photographer who helped shape the visual identity of rock-and-roll in the 1970s, with indelible portraits of David Bowie, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, Debbie Harry and other stars of what became known as the glam-rock era, died Nov. 18 in New York City….

Mr. Rock, often called “the man who shot the ’70s,” became a photographer almost by accident while was a student at the University of Cambridge in England in the late 1960s.

The NYTimes Insider: “How to Photograph Annie Leibovitz”

From a Times Insider column by Megan DiTrolio headlined “How to Photograph Annie Leibovitz”:

An article published in The New York Times’s Arts section last week, “A ‘Conceptual Artist’ at Work,” explores the life, artistry and new book of the photographer Annie Leibovitz. The portraits of Ms. Leibovitz that accompany the article, shot by the photographer Gillian Laub, are just as illuminating: Intimate and inviting, the photos capture the vulnerable, often unseen side of a person who is normally behind the camera.

Ms. Laub shared her experience photographing Ms. Leibovitz — and what is so uniquely challenging, slightly intimidating and deeply rewarding about working with somebody renowned in their shared field….

A Photographer’s Story: What It Was Like Being Up in the Air Watching Mount St. Helens Explode

Posted by photographer Brad Zucroff, a member of the United Press International friends:

Forty years ago today, at exactly 08:32 a.m. PDT, Mount St. Helens exploded, directly killing 57 people, changing the lives of thousands, and changing the landscape of the Pacific Northwest forever. The volcano’s explosion has been estimated at the force of 24 million sticks of dynamite. Everything, natural or artificial, within an 8 mile radius was ether vaporized, obliterated or carried away. About 20 minutes after the initial explosion, this was the view through a 35mm f/2 lens on a motorized Nikon F out the missing door of the Bell 206 I was flying in as a staff photographer for United Press International, as we initially approached the volcano from the southwest.