Burn My Eye : Developments

1/30: April, 2013

Fri, 10 May 2013 14:35:02 +0100

Jack Simon
San Francisco, USA, April 19, 2013

1/30: For every 30 days of shooting, BME selects from themselves 1 photograph that stands out.

Justin Sainsbury is leading a street photography workshop in Paris

Thu, 09 May 2013 13:21:00 +0100

Justin Sainsbury will be leading a street photography workshop on 15th June in Paris as part of a 2x 1 day event. Working alongside experienced tutor Andrew Newson- Day 1 (14th June), will be about transforming the familiar as well as discovering an alternative Paris.
Day 2 (15th), will be spent concentrating on taking interesting candid pictures of people with helpful direction on interpreting a scene, technique and editing.
More details and booking information can be found here:
andrewnewson.co.uk/special-events/paris-june-2013/

Collective Thinking: Dark Tales of Childhood

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 23:10:00 +0100

Collective Thinking is an ongoing series where BME members take turns curating group edits.

We enter the world vulnerable, weak, dependent, and seeing only in black and white. That vulnerability may continue as other aspects of our personality emerge, and our vision develops to seeing life in color.

Burn My Eye brings to you, Dark Tales of Childhood.

Jack Simon

Junichi Nishimura Exhibition in Nagoya, Japan

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 18:37:35 +0100

Venue:		Yamayamado (bar and gallery)
Address:		2-19 Kikuzaka-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya-city, Aichi-prefecture
Map:		www.spice.or.jp/~yamayamado/faccess.html
Telephone:		0527636262
Term:		April 20th - June, 2013

At Junichi Nishimura’s exhibit, “If I Had Wings,” he will have on display 25 panels of handmade 48cm x 32cm prints, 12 panels of contact sheets, and 4 large 1.5m x 1m, along with accompanying text.

Justin Vogel Interview on the LPV Podcast

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 19:19:00 +0100

Bryan Formals, founder of LPV Magazine (“la pura vida”) interviews BME’s Justin Vogel for the publication’s podcast instalment. Justin’s a great interview with his own take on life & photography but why don’t you give it a listen for yourself.

“In this episode, I visited Justin Vogel in his East Village apartment to discuss street photography, Flickr and Terry Richardson. I first came across Justin a few years while I was an Admin of the HCSP group on Flickr. I didn’t think much of his photographs at first but I started to follow some of the conversations on his Flickr stream and soon came to appreciate what he was doing with his photography. For the last couple of years, he’s been the primary Admin in HCSP and has garnered a reputation for his vocal, sometimes brash, sometimes acerbic commentary on the group and street photography.”

—Bryan Formhals

1/30: March, 2013

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 14:16:50 +0100

Junichi Nishimura
Osaka, Japan, March 2013

1/30: For every 30 days of shooting, BME selects from themselves 1 photograph that stands out.

Collective Thinking: Four Thousand Miles Down

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 17:06:00 +0000

Collective Thinking is an ongoing series where BME members take turns curating group edits.

“In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was going to get out again.”

—Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll, 1865

As photographers, we have already been here. This great change of circumstance isn’t something we can always put our finger on… but every once in a while it’s fun to look back and make-believe our transportation into a parallel world that, for everyone outside of our imagination, is one and the same.

I hope you enjoy Four Thousand Miles Down.

Jason Penner

Collective Thinking: True? Romance

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 20:02:11 +0000

It appears that we forgot to properly introduce our latest recurring feature here at BME. Collective Thinking is an ongoing series where BME members take turns curating group edits of each other’s work. This upcoming Monday (March 25th) a new edit by Jason Penner will go live… but let’s reflect back on February. The 14th to be precise…

Members of BME all share different perspectives on romance. From youth to old age. From lust to companionship. From first kisses to warming cuddles.

Charlie Kirk

Burn My Eye welcomes new member Simon Kossoff

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 18:08:00 +0000

I am especially pleased to have the privilege of introducing the newest member of the BME collective, Simon Kossoff. You should take notice of this. When I first ventured into the online photo community of Flickr four years ago Simon’s photographs were some of the first I encountered that made me sit up and take notice. These pictures were manifestations of a unique soul engaging his world, I thought. I was intrigued. Simon tells us that his work “…could be described as a collection of psychic co-ordinate points… both half truth and half fiction. A ‘mental geography’ filled with personal symbolism and tangled with influences I often did not know were there until I started writing and photographing them”. As Simon continues to construct his map I have learned to trust its vision, and use it as a reference in my own investigation into the relationship to the culture of America. I know I can speak on behalf of the group when I say that we are excited to have Simon join the caravan and become tangled in each others journey as we explore the destination.

Welcome my friend,

Don

1/30: February, 2013

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 07:00:46 +0000

Jack Simon
New Orleans, USA, February 2013

1/30: For every 30 days of shooting, BME selects from themselves 1 photograph that stands out.

Burn My Eye welcomes new member Junichi Nishimura

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 18:19:00 +0000

BME is honoured to annouce the second of its new members, Junku Nishimura. Junku is a photographer that we have all admired for a long time. We feel that his work complements the collective and are extremely happy that he has decided to join us. ようこそじゅんくさん！

1/30: January, 2013

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 14:16:15 +0000

Jason Penner
Winnipeg, Canada, January 2013

1/30: For every 30 days of shooting, BME selects from themselves 1 photograph that stands out.

Burn My Eye welcomes new member Don Hudson

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 14:53:00 +0000

BME is honoured to announce the first of its new members - Don Hudson. Don is a photographer that we all admire a great deal and we are very much looking forward to collaborating with him. Welcome aboard Don!

1/30: December, 2012

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 14:29:00 +0000

Zisis Kardianos
Zakynthos, Greece, December 2012

1/30: For every 30 days of shooting, BME selects from themselves 1 photograph that stands out.

Common Ground: New American Street Photography

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 18:52:00 +0000

January 26 to March 23, 2013
New Orleans Photo Alliance
1111 St. Mary Street, New Orleans, LA
Opening Night: Saturday, January 26 @ 19:00

BME’s Jack Simon will be a part of this group show, along with Blake Andrews, Richard Bram, Bryan Formhals and Chuck Patch.

The New Orleans Photo Alliance is pleased to announce the first exhibition of 2013, “Common Ground: New American Street Photography.” Curated by Stephen McLaren (co-author, Street Photography Now (Thames and Hudson, 2010), the exhibition will feature the work of 5 contemporary American photographers that are changing the nature of street photography and giving us yet another way to view the world.

Eye Burn #2: TC Lin on Justin Sainsbury

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 17:39:00 +0000

Eye Burn is an ongoing series where Burn My Eye members take turns investigating the thoughts and stories behind each other’s photography. In this instalment, TC Lin digs for a backstory on several of Justin Sainsbury’s photographs.

It would seem from his work that, in Justin Sainsbury’s world, fascinating people just seem to pop out of nowhere, flipping and whirling and gesturing and doing all sorts of strange things, often and long enough for him to capture them in well-composed shots that not only capture the thing and the person, but just enough of their environment, not too much nor too little, to make an excellent shot. In many of them, people’s backs are turned, but in a few they are facing the camera, and although I personally sometimes don’t even break stride to capture such shots, it seems that Justin, whom I know to be a tall, rather imposing man, manages to somehow convince the people around him that he does not exist for the vital fraction of time it takes not just to make these shots, but to do so with precise, emotive composition, seemingly considering every detail and arrangement. Especially the one of the man urinating in the bathroom: I’d think the fellow might have had a heart attack had he turned around to see Justin standing there with his camera.

I’ve chosen a few of Justin’s works that I’d like to hear more about, not just about how these came about, but how he works in general to notice and create such wonderful things, and Justin was nice enough to oblige with the following interview.

TCL: Justin, do you anticipate such scenes somehow, or do they just happen where you happen to be?

JS: I haven’t really given much thought to how I go about anticipating a scene before you mentioned these pictures, TC. After looking through them, I’m wondering if there was some action I took, a state of mind or trick that I could single out that would reveal some insight into how they came into being. What I discovered was that each picture’s circumstance was entirely different and there was no common denominator between the images in terms of the moments leading up to pressing the shutter. What is perhaps interesting was the degree of difference in terms of the circumstances about how they came about.

JS: In terms of the “quick take, spontaneously shooting whilst going about your everyday life”, perhaps these two shots best illustrate this particular end of the spectrum. The Gentleman in the “Gents” came about during a routine visit to the railway station toilets before boarding a train. I just thought it looked an interesting shot and took it without thinking too much (probably a good thing in hindsight).

JS: Again, not much of a story here either I’m afraid. I was just out in my local town and spotted this scene outside a cash point. I took one shot as was passing and was lucky to capture the girl’s expression. I think I must have been originally drawn to the dress patterns.

JS: At the other end of the spectrum perhaps, the chap with the flag took a little more in terms of anticipation. I had visited a local seaside resort one day during the season, and caught the tail end of a flag planting process by two holiday workers. They had just finished positioning about six flags on the top of the roof of these seaside tourist shops. I was disappointed I hadn’t arrived sooner as thought there may have been scope for a potential picture. As it was mid-morning, I assumed this was a daily ritual in preparation for the throng of visitors so decided to come back half an hour earlier the follow day in the hope of seeing them do it again from the beginning. As luck would have it, I caught the whole process and managed a number of shots including them passing the flags up a ladder, having a cigarette on the roof top, etc. This shot turned out to be the strongest.

JS: The shot above was taken in the same resort as the flag planter and followed a 100-yard run with my three-year-old son slung under one arm. I saw the lifeguard climb through the window (he was messing about with colleagues—it was a quiet day!) from along the beach promenade but was too far away to make a decent shot. It seemed like I had missed the opportunity, but something drove me to grab my son and run. Perhaps surprisingly, once I got in a decent position the guy decided to do it again. I shot six or so frames mainly of legs dangling out of the window, but the last one seemed to have the edge and won the day in the edit. I took this as a self-taught lesson in never giving up on a situation even if you think the moment has passed. It can sometimes be repeated.

JS: The big dog picture was again when I was out with the kids—this time at a play park that was on the other side of the road. I happened across this chap washing his dog, left the kids with my wife and went over to see what I might get. It just seemed an interesting dog, a decent backdrop and there was something about the dog being tethered to the bench. I shot off a few frames and he assumed this position which he must have thought was the best position to dry his dog. Great anticipation? Perhaps, but I hadn’t bothered to check the camera settings before shooting—I’d moved the compensation dial whilst pulling the camera out of its bag and over exposed 2 stops. Luckily, I pretty much saved this one via the power of software.

JS: I took this one on a family holiday visit to Blackpool Zoo (Northeast of England). I liked the feeling the misty rain gave to the Dinosaur Park so spent some time wandering around wearing the obligatory theme park plastic mac. I guess this shot was classically anticipated, in that I saw the couple moving around the exhibits and positioned myself just around a corner which I was expecting them to come around in order to get a decent backdrop.

JS: This parkour guy was testing the patience of the local police by climbing lampposts and back flipping over traffic bollards. I had heard about some rioting and people chaining themselves to the doors of corporate businesses that were managing to avoid taxes in Brighton (South Coast of England). As is usual with any newsworthy events, I was a day late and although there was a big police presence in the city centre there was no action by the time I arrived. The camera supplied some artificial anticipation on this I suppose as it was on burst mode. The previous frame caught the guy upside down right above the bollard—this seemed the best shot at the time. I actually think this would have made a better short film clip as the police were giving the guy score’s for his antics over the van’s PA system. If I remember rightly this one got a deadpan toned… “Not bad, artistic impression—6.5”.

JS: Again, another picture taken in Brighton although this was on a quiet weekday morning. I travelled the 15 miles from home and was a bit disappointed with the day’s pictures results as I headed back from the city centre to my car which was parked on the outskirts. I saw this man place the chair and climb up.

I shot about 15 frames. The first few attempt were angled and from distance. Fortunately, he continued shooting and checking his results on the camera screen. This gave me time to get up closer and place him in different parts of the frame. It was the central framing that worked best. When he climbed down from the chair he looked at me and laughed “I’ll do anything to get a decent photo!” He was an estate agent attempting to make a narrow apartment kitchen appear bigger in the promo details. I admired his effort and ingenuity.

Well, I hope I haven’t ruined the mystery of some of these shots, TC, thanks for your enthusiasm about them and asking me to outline some of the circumstance in which they were found. You asked how I found them and in hindsight what seems important is simply having the camera out of the bag and adapting a little to the situation.

TCL: Thanks for the stories; they are very educational…it seems that many so-called “street photographers” these days either complain endlessly about their gear, or that “there’s nothing to shoot” or “nothing going on” wherever they happen to be, or, from their photos, lots apparently going on, yet resulting in terribly boring photos. Your background stories are quite revealing, and the lack of some kind of exciting preamble to these wonderful shots just goes to show how much they rely on your imagination and vision rather than, as many people suppose, just “happening to be where some surreal, exciting thing is happening”. They are all ordinary situations, captured in an extraordinary fashion, which is, to me, the essence of good photography, i.e., it’s not about where you are, it’s about what you see, and what you get.

I am a bit surprised, still, that you managed to escape notice, as you’ve described “running up” to scenes, sometimes even carrying your children. I’d think many people would notice that, yet somehow you get your shots in before they do. I assume that you’re just very quick on the trigger and know what you want in your mind before shooting? Or do you just present a rather disarming aura? I often get asked the same questions, e.g. how do you get these shots, why does nobody notice you? etc. and I’m not quite sure how to answer other than “The less you worry about being noticed, the less other people will notice you” and stuff like that.

JS: Yes, I suppose I do shoot very quickly and I don’t stay in the same spot for too long. This means that perhaps I don’t get noticed or bring on any unwanted attention about my motives (although of course, you never know when the subject looking directly at you is going to make a picture work). The down side (especially this time of year with the poor winter light in the UK) is that when working too quickly it’s tricky to get a decent exposure. I’m regularly berating myself about blur from overly low shutter speeds.

TCL: Looking through your work much is concentrated in Worthing. Is this your local town or are you documenting this place as part of a project?

JS: Worthing is my home town. It’s a quiet seaside town on the South coast of England. In the past (from a photo perspective), I’ve struggled with personal circumstances (mainly family responsibilities) when comparing myself with others in terms of geographically mobility. Having said that, I seem to find enough subjects in my local town to keep motivation going and actually I often have difficulty finding inspiration in other places when I get a chance to venture further afield. As you’ve noticed a few of the more successful shots were actually taken whilst I was out on with the kids. I stopped beating myself up about not being able to jet off and get out locally as often as I can.

TCL: Thanks, Justin, for your insights as well as your wonderful photography. I look forward to seeing more of your work in the future.

Eric Kim Interviews Zisis Kardianos on his new book, “A Sense of Place”

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 13:16:00 +0000

Burn My Eye member Zisis Kardianos talks to Eric Kim on his new book “A sense of place” and shares his thoughts on his practice of photography, the unprecedented recent flourish of street photography in Greece, the creation of photobooks and his fascination with animals among other things.

Read the interview here

BME member JB Maher in Samsung's innovative Wifi Exhibition

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 08:14:00 +0000

Samsung Shoot Wow Share Now Live Wifi Exhibition

On Thursday 29 November and Friday 30 November, the first two days of the exhibition, Eric Kim from the US, JB Maher from Ireland, Jens Mollenvanger from Belgium, Nico Chiapperini from Italy, and Jesse Kraal from the Netherlands will hit the streets and take photographs in different cities at the same time. Each of them will be equipped with a Samsung NX camera with WiFi. They will be able to upload their best photographs directly to the exhibition via a wireless internet connection, where they will be displayed on special TV screens for each photographer. In this 2.0 exhibition, instead of pictures in frames, there are Samsung Smart TVs on the wall. The public will get to see the exhibition evolve in real time, one photograph after the other. Furthermore, they will be able see live images of the creative process as it happens. Each photographer will have a small video camera with them. The video images will be streamed directly to the Beurs van Berlage, so that the public will feel as if they are right in the middle of the action! The live video stream can also be followed on Samsung’s Facebook page.  The five photographers will have 48 hours to film their part of the exhibition. But the Shoot Wow, Share Now exhibition will also continue after these two days. Visitors will be able to admire the uploaded photographs and videos in the Beurs van Berlage until Sunday 9 December. In addition to just looking at the exhibition, the public will also be able to use a Samsung NX camera themselves: they will be able to make a special self-portrait that they can download and use as a profile photograph for Facebook, for example. The Samsung exhibition will be free so everyone who loves photography and street photography can get involved.

"A sense of place" a book by BME member Z. Kardianos

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 18:53:42 +0000

BME member Zisis Kardianos has self-published his first offset book “A sense of place” and is now available for sale from his website.

It’s a personal meandering in the island where he lives, Zakynthos, that aims to offer to the reader an emotional awareness of the place rather than a literal understanding.

The book is printed exquisitely in Offset Duotone, on a especially coated stock Tatami 150 gr.
The size is 17X26 cm, 96 pages, 87 b&w photographs.

Eye Burn #1: Zisis Kardianos on Charlie K

Tue, 16 Oct 2012 14:07:00 +0100

This piece will be back online shortly. Sorry for the inconvenience.