Category: People

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 22, 20157:19 am

Flickr a Day 22: ‘How Not to Shoot Thor’s Well’

When is a bad photo really good? That’s the question today’s selection poses. During summer 2013, “whilst idling planless in San Francisco, I decided to try and replicate one of the epic shots of Oregon’s Thor’s Well that I see plastering the Internet”, Zach Dischner explains. “That was the extent of my planning. I had a smartphone to lead me there, and hope that I would get there in time for an epic sunset”. The Well wasn’t so well.

The story behind this epic disaster pic makes it today’s Flickr-a-Day pick. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but sometimes a few explaining the shot’s context make all the difference. This could be just another black-and-white sea shot—the wanderer looking out onto the raging sea. The pic is so much more.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 21, 20156:51 am

Flickr a Day 21: ‘Parallel Universe’

Sometimes street photography is as much about luck as skill. Diana Robinson explains about self-titled “Parallel Universe on Houston Street” that “while photographing this mural…in New York City, two young men walked by in opposite directions wearing […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 20, 20157:10 am

Flickr a Day 20: The Sitters

I found Greta Ceresini while searching for an image to illustrate “The Old Man“, one of my short stories, which posted eight days ago. Taken in Perugia, Italy (she lives in Piacenza), today’s selection sets great subject […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 19, 20157:16 am

Flickr a Day 19: Indian Street Food

Vibrant best describes the photograph’s of Ulf Bodin, who works magic with contrasting areas of brightness and shadows. My father taught me to favor overcast skies when shooting outdoors. Ulf’s photostream portfolio shows how to effectively use light, and even long shadows, to artistic advantage.

“I’m in love with dark, high contrast, colorful, clean, sharp images”, says the former archaeologist. His profession is all about stitching together the past—from the pieces recreating what was from what remains. His photographic style isn’t far removed. “I post-process my images to recreate the mode and feeling from the photo moment. I never add things to my pictures, but sometimes I merge several captures to one”.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 18, 20157:05 am

Flickr a Day 18: Painted

Student Satya Vrat Shukla should seriously consider just how good are his “outtakes”, which is how he describes this remarkable photograph. The colors and bokeh—painter and background—rivet my eyes.

“This is one of my really good friends, Ethi, who is an amazing painter”, Satya says. “She basically oil-painted this within a couple of minutes while I pestered her to ‘paint something good'”. Pester. I found the pic searching Flickr for the word—like yesterday’s selection, which shares something else: Camera choice. Satya shot with Canon EOS 550D and classic 50mm lens (f/1.8). Gotta love them Primes!

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 17, 20157:12 am

Flickr a Day 17: ‘Geisha Hunting’

Today’s selection, and the next one, come from search “pester”. Many photographers are reluctant to fully identify themselves, as is the case with Peter “monkeylikemind”, who lives in Shanghai, China, and joined Flickr in February 2013. Other shooters, like Thomas Hawk, use pseudonyms.

Flavor is the word that describes Peter’s street photography, which gives a Westerner’s non-tourist taste of China. Self-titled, “Geisha Hunting”, which he shot with the Canon EOS 550D and EF-S18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens, is delicacy. Same can be said of another, which I almost chose instead.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 15, 20157:04 am

Flickr a Day 15: ‘Cherry Pop’

Choosing a camera is as much about how it looks as how good the photos can look in the right hands. One reason I bought the Fujifilm X100T is the retro-design. But I made few compromises, given the compact’s benefits. Flickr member Janine, and that’s all the name she gives, confesses choosing fashion over photography.

She shot the selfie, on July 10, 2010, using her then new Sony NEX-3, which she mainly bought for the color. Janine explains: “Meet the new toy, Cherry Pop. In hindsight, I realize I should’ve just bought the NEX-5 cos it can function with a remote. But I really, really want a red one…I’m justifying”.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 14, 20156:57 am

Flickr a Day 14: Collonges la Rouge

Choosing a single Gwenael Piaser photo to feature is a painful exercise. So I left it to chance, by picking the one that lead me to his stream. Today’s Flickr-a-Day selection comes from search “red […]

People by Joe WilcoxJan 12, 20156:52 am

Flickr a Day 12: Tribos Bar

Tight describes the playing of great rock bands. It also applies to the photos Alvaro Sasaki takes of them—in Brazilian clubs, cafés, and bars, where getting the shot means close quarters, big crowds, and hostile lighting. His best photos pull you into the performance. You can taste the sweat in the room, breathe perfume and liquor, and tremble to the vibration of music and stomping of the crowd.

The image above isn’t my first choice but the second, and I started with an unusually large initial selection—about a dozen, which is the most for any photographer in the Flickr-a-Day series. Alvaro’s musician performance pics are that good. I chose the audience shot because of the entire album set—Mestre Ouriço @ Tribos bar; 26 photos.

Living by Joe WilcoxJan 10, 201510:48 am

Comic-Con Heroes: The Dark Knight

For San Diego Comic-Con 2015, I am required to reverify my press status—the second time since starting to attend as news media in 2009. I submitted the required documents and story links in early December 2014 and now anxiously await my SDCC fate. If denied, I will unlikely attend this year’s Con, having missed other opportunities to register. If that happens, the world won’t end. Life will go forward. But my birthday, which occurs during the July 9-12 dates, will be somewhat sorrowful this year.

I love Comic-Con for what it represents: Storytelling and attendees being or associating with the people they wish they could be. I laid out my thoughts on the latter concept in July 2010 post “The Roles We Play“, which I adapted as the introduction to my 2013 event project: Comic-Con Heroes: The Fans Who Make the Greatest Show on Earth. I had much hope for the ebook, when published about 18 months ago. But sales were never good—and as distance grows greater from the events told, time diminishes the content’s value.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 10, 20157:11 am

Flickr a Day 10: ‘Cold Wet Saturday’

Because I authenticate Flickr photo ownership before posting pics, each new find is an adventure. With Vancouver, British columbia-based fashion photographer Kris Krüg the journey is an archaeological dig into the social web’s iterations over a decade.

I started simply, by searching Flickr for “Saturday”—appropriate given that’s today. The photo above caught my attention, for its rich, vibrant color, contrast, and composition. The EXIF data revealed the camera to be the Fujifilm SP-2000. Huh, that one is new to me. Some Googling here and raw EXIF there, and I discovered the camera was a scanner. Oh la la! Kris shot film!

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 9, 20156:56 am

Flickr a Day 9: ‘Third Age of Man’

Choosing one Neil Moralee photo to profile is an exhausting act of indecision. His candid photos are masterpieces in portrait—the majority black and white, cropped close, and set against dark background and emphasizing shadows. His subjects tend to be older, which is refreshing departure from so much photographic art focused on the young and beautiful.

I wouldn’t call self-titled “Third Age of Man” Neil’s best street portrait, but it’s captivating nevertheless. I look at the geezer and wonder: He looks so out of breath, but he’s riding not walking! I picked this pic not for what it is, but what Neil says about it, and he quotes an organization’s spiel verbatim: