amanda rivkin, photographer

Slovensko
October 29, 2010

“Careful shots of civil society reveal small truths to an intent spectator… documenting the debris of transition.”

—
AND FOR THE ESSAY: SLOVENSKO

The election roster at the voting booth on election day in Turcianske Teplice, Slovakia on June 12, 2010.

Young visitors to Bojnice castle play with guns they just purchased outside the castle in Bojnice, Slovakia on June 22, 2010.

The V1 generating station at the Jaslovske Bohunice nuclear power plant in Jaslovske Bohunice, Slovakia on June 25, 2010.

Teenagers sneak a cigarette by the outhouse at a celebration for International Children’s Day in Jablonov nad Turnou, Slovkia on June 5, 2010.

Passengers on the number 71 trolley bus in Kosice, Slovakia on June 1, 2010.

A man hangs a French flag outside the main ethnographic museum in Brezno, Slovakia on May 24, 2010 in preparation for a visiting French delegation.

A fisherman under the bridge to the thermal spa island in Piestany, Slovakia on June 25, 2010.

Last week, the American media landscape was in an uproar over comments former (and now, recently fired) National Public Radio (NPR) analyst Juan Williams made during an appearance on “The O’Reilly Factor,” the Fox News Channel program of conservative, professional provacateur Bill O’Reilly. In a discussion over whether or not the United States has a “Muslim issue,” Juan Williams stated that he is:

…not a bigot. You know the kind of books I’ve written about the civil rights movement in this country. But when I get on the plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous.

Williams was subsequently fired from NPR and Fox News announced they were offering him a $2 million contract. The episode and how it was handled touched off a firestorm in the American media.

Similarly in French public life, legislation recently banned certain forms of Muslim women’s garb prompting two young female Parisiens to videotape themselves walking through the streets of Paris in hotpants, stilettos, and niqabs in an act of protest.

On this side of the Atlantic, one of the more comedic responses to the Williams episode and the encroachment of Islamophobia in American public life is a blog that invites submissions from readers entitled, “Muslims Wearing Things.” The site chronicles Muslims in all sorts of garb, such as Lebanese mega popstar Haifa Wehbe who, according to the site, “wears fishnets and just a few strands of pearls.”

From my own archive, some submissions of Muslim women wearing things:

Marie Sherzai, an Afghan immigrant, wears a pantsuit and turquoise shawl with a floral pattern to assist her grandson during a bowling tournament in northern Virginia.

Azeri popstar and former Azerbaijan Eurovision contestant Safura wears a sultry blue dress and long, flowing locks to perform her single and Eurovision song “Drip Drop” at an international wrestling tournament in her native Baku.

Aysel Teymurzadegi, another former Azerbaijan Eurovision contestant and popstar, wears a wife beater and black mini-shorts while hanging with industry friends on the roof of the Landmark Hotel in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Dr. Derya Karagelik and Dr. Demet Algay wear hoodies and cardigans in an examination room in their office in the remote Kurdish village of Haskoy in Turkey’s far northeast.

Finding Pictures When You’re Not Looking
By KERRI MACDONALD AND AMANDA RIVKIN
October 27, 2010, 3:39 pm

Kirsten Luce, a 28-year-old photographer living in Brooklyn, is a regular contributor to The New York Times. She spent two years photographing along the Mexican border and has freelanced in Mexico City and Atlanta. She is the coordinator for the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop, a nonprofit program for emerging photojournalists. Amanda Rivkin’s conversation with Ms. Luce has been edited.

Q. Where and how was this picture taken?
A. It was taken at a ranch in rural northeastern Mexico. I was living in McAllen, Tex., on the Mexican border, and I was invited to watch a bullfighting practice session. This young matador-in-training was suited up and anxious to begin, but the rest of the men involved were taking their time, socializing. I think it’s important to document everyday life along the border. With the violence occurring in the region, we see a steady stream of dramatic imagery. It is easy to forget that the border is home to millions of people, each one with his or her own story.

Q. How has this image changed the way you work?
A. A few days before it was taken, I resigned from a staff position at a small paper in McAllen. I was preparing to move to New York. For the first time in years, I was shooting without an assignment, deadline or particular format in mind. I was able to sit back, relax and wait for the quieter moments.

It was a turning point in my life, because I had just left a steady newspaper job to join the throngs of freelancers in New York. I was shooting for myself, not for anyone else. Now, when I’m on assignment and think that I’m done getting the obligatory coverage, I always go back and shoot a few extra frames for myself. Not surprisingly, these often end up being the ones that are published.

Inspiration: Ami Vitale
Image: Kashmir, 2004

Q. When did you first come upon this image? How?
A. I first saw this image when Ami gave a presentation at a photojournalism conference in Charlotte, N.C. I was still in school, studying art and anthropology, and I had just started taking classes in photojournalism.

Ami showed some recent work from Kashmir and I was floored. This photo in particular etched itself into my memory. At the same time, it has both a stillness and a sense of urgency. The tones reminded me of a painting of birch trees by Gustav Klimt, which was hanging on my bedroom wall at the time.

Q. How has it influenced you?
A. When I saw this work, I had just returned from a summer in Haiti, where I assisted an anthropology grad student with her doctoral fieldwork. In Ami’s photos, I saw a powerful combination of art, cultural anthropology and journalism. It was inspiring to see that I could use documentary photography to layer my interests.

—
“Turning Point” is an occasional series featuring images by young photographers. The column was conceived by the 26-year-old photographer Amanda Rivkin.

Previous Turning Point Columns:

Wednesday, Aug. 4
Amanda Rivkin, 26.
Inspired by Dorothea Lange.

Wednesday, Aug. 11
Aga Luczakowska, 29.
Inspired by Stanley Greene.

Wednesday, Aug. 18
Robert Caplin, 27.
Inspired by David Alan Harvey.

Wednesday, Aug. 25
Yana Paskova, 28.
Inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson.

Wednesday, Sept. 1
Ayman Oghanna, 25.
Inspired by Alex Webb.

Wednesday, Sept. 8
Newsha Tavakolian, 29.
Inspired by Naser al-Din, the shah of Iran (1848-96).

Wednesday, Sept. 15
Maja Hitij, 26.
Inspired by Kevin Carter.

Wednesday, Sept. 22
Ed Ou, 23.
Inspired by Finbarr O’Reilly.

Wednesday, Sept. 29
Mustafah Abdulaziz, 24.
Inspired by Richard Avedon.

Wednesday, Oct. 6
Justin Maxon, 27.
Inspired by Antoine d’Agata.

Wednesday Oct. 13
Matt Eich, 24.
Inspired by Rich-Joseph Facun.

Wednesday, Oct. 20
Peter van Agtmael, 29.
Inspired by Mark Steinmetz.

The life cycle of lust, an assignment to photograph one of the seven deadly sins (lust, greed, sloth, pride, wrath, gluttony, and envy) for the Ron Haviv/VII Gallery workshop.

Georgetown University Student Exhibit: Multiple Perspectives at FotoWeek DC, November 6-13, 2010
Georgetown University Walsh Building at 36th Street and Prospect Streets in Georgetown, Washington DC
featuring “Azerbaijan and the Second Oil Boom” by Amanda Rivkin

“Please come to our opening reception on Saturday, November 6th from 5-7″

“Azerbaijan and the Second Oil Boom” is part of a larger project on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline traversing Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey that is supported by a Young Explorers Grant from the National Geographic Society.

fotoweek dc
washington post going out guide

By campus e-mail:

Call for Digital Submissions for Fotoweek DC!
Sponsored by: GU Arts Aficionados
Details: Fotoweek DC is a city-wide festival of photography between November 6-13. Art Aficionados will host a Second Annual Student Exhibition in Walsh [located at 36th Street and Prospect in Georgetown]. There is not only the chance to be exhibited, but also to be published in The Anthem! Theme: “Multiple Perspectives” Whose perspective are you representing? We are challenging photographers to step out and not only represent their perspective. This is meant to be open-ended and interpretive. If you interpret it narratively or technically, all the better! We want a variety of submissions and are excited to see your creativity! Submissions must be digital and be the biggest possible pixel dimensions or in their original dimensions to make sure that they can be reproduced and printed. Email submissions to guartaficionados@gmail.com. Include in submission your name, school and graduation year, and title. Explanations about the work are optional. In the subject line, put your name and “Fotoweek DC Submission.”
For more info: guartaficionados@gmail.com
FotoWeek DC: www.fotoweekdc.org

—
I just submitted 16 images, “Azerbaijan and the Second Oil Boom,” from my work over the summer photographing along the 1,100-mile Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline route in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey with the support of a Young Explorers Grant from the National Geographic Society. National Geographic is among the sponsors of FotoWeek DC.

This week the world took to the streets. One third of gas stations across France were dry because of fuel blockades initiated by unions and executed by students and other rabble-rousers to protest Nicolas Sarkozy’s attempts to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62. In Greece, students objected to austerity measures in an effort to get Greece’s spiraling deficits and debts from becoming even more out of control. On the Western or American front, however, it was pretty quiet. A chance to reflect on the amendments history has made to our own demonstrations, police riots, anarchist takeovers, call it what you will.

As a native Chicagoan, no single event meets the category of this historical revisions than the 1968 Democratic National Convention, which depending on your perspective was a counterculture takeover or a police riot. In 2009, 41 years after the fact several law enforcement veterans of the collision decided to hold a reunion on the pretext of fundraising for the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police. They ordered pizza, they maybe drank a few beers, but they did so behind closed doors as a small conglomeration of 1968 protesters and left-wing protest regulars got together for a little song and dance that made light of the presence in scale and seriousness of 1968. A story by Monica Davey, “41 Years Later in Chicago, Police and Demonstrators Still Clash, but With Words,” appeared in The New York Times on June 28, 2009.

But there was one small problem. In fact, the problem warranted a correction, which bears reprinting:

A picture caption on Monday with an article about a reunion of police officers who clashed with demonstrators at the 1968 Democratic National Convention misidentified the scene shown in a photograph being held by a protester outside the reunion. The picture showed Chicago police officers after the killing of the Black Panther Fred Hampton in 1969, not police officers at the 1968 clashes.

The restated caption reads, “A demonstrator in Chicago on Friday showed a picture of city police from 1969.” Such are the distortions of history, imagery, and politics. It was my first and hopefully last correction that taught me a powerful lesson about trusting the word of demonstrators with regard to the imagery they staked their claims on – and the same can be said of governments, NGOs, corporations and others who effectively make use of photojournalistic work for the purposes of advertising. If I had been alive for the demonstrations and Fred Hampton’s assassination the following year at the hands of the Chicago police, perhaps I would have recalled as a New York Times reader no doubt did. The absence of this memory as living is regrettable, but there is nothing that can be done to change the fact that I was born more than a decade later in that famously Orwellian year. The image in question:

And it looks really amazing! Congrats to Samantha Hinds and Adam Whitney Nichols for pulling it off. Go on have a look at Fortnight Journal.

About the VII Gallery Workshops

The VII Gallery will be hosting a series of workshops this fall geared toward pro-am and pro photographers as well as videographers. All the workshops are free, thanks to the generous support of Canon USA.

Submission Guidelines

Fifteen participants will be selected to participate upon a portfolio review. To be considered, please submit a short bio (in the email) and a web link to your portfolio, or no more than 20 low-res images (1024@72 dpi), to: submissions@viiphoto.com, by the deadline provided below. Please include “Workshop Submission” in the subject line and specify which workshop you are applying for. Selected participants must be available for the full two days, from 10am-6pm.

The workshops will take place at the VII Gallery at 28 Jay Street, Brooklyn, New York (F-York).
www.viiphoto.com

RON HAVIV

Photojournalism Today

October 25 – 26, 2010

This intense two-day workshop will explore the multi-faceted approaches to photojournalism and help guide participants on their own path. Discussions will include what is required of a photojournalist, not just in the field but also organizing workflow, developing a marketing plan and publishing your images.

Developing a personal sensitivity and visual style will be discussed and Haviv will encourage participants to work using instinct rather than formula. These discussions will help develop each student’s individual narrative direction. The workshop will combine lectures, portfolio reviews, a thematic assignment, and editing sessions. Haviv will also share his own work and experience as a photojournalist.

In two short days, Haviv will help you understand the reality of photojournalism today and share his tips on what it takes to cover the world. You will leave with a clearer understanding of what it takes and be well along the way to defining your personal path forward in the world of photography.

A Large Worldview From Small Details
By KERRI MACDONALD AND AMANDA RIVKIN
October 20, 2010, 12:30 pm

Peter van Agtmael, who is represented by Magnum Photos, has spent the last four years documenting America at war. In 2006, his work from Iraq won second place in the general news category from World Press Photo. His book, “2nd Tour, Hope I Don’t Die,” was described on Lens (Nov. 3, 2009). His conversation with Amanda Rivkin has been edited and condensed.

Q. How was this picture taken? And how has it changed the way you work?
A. It was taken on my second trip to the Three Gorges Dam. It hasn’t really changed the way I work. It was just one of many different moments of happiness and satisfaction toward photography I’ve encountered along the way; just a particularly potent one at the time. I wouldn’t be very excited if I took that picture now, but that’s a good thing.

Inspiration: Mark Steinmetz
Image: “Knoxville, Tenn.” Early 1990s.

Q. When did you first come upon this image? How?
A. I came across this picture when it was linked to Steinmetz’s name by Jörg Colberg’s blog, Conscientious. I clicked on the link and looked through his portfolio. It didn’t strike me much at the time, necessarily, but the body of work prompted me to order the book. After looking through the book many times, the picture resonated.

Q. What do you like about this image?
A. I like its mystery; its specificity, yet timelessness; and its elements of universality. I like this picture on its own for how the confluence of seemingly meaningless details somehow make a hypnotic picture. The taut expression, the distracted dog, the patchy grass, the single cloud, the Anywheresville backdrop. I love pictures where easily overlooked mundanities create something magical. I also like this picture for what it represents. Steinmetz’s trilogy of books on America — “South East,” “South Central” and “Greater Atlanta” — is undoubtedly one of the most profound created on the subject of modern America.

Q. How has it influenced your work?
A. It hasn’t influenced the way I shoot. I’ve always enjoyed straight photography. For a while I wished it was in color, but now I can’t imagine it in color.

—
“Turning Point” is an occasional series featuring images by young photographers. The column was conceived by the 26-year-old photographer Amanda Rivkin.

Previous Turning Point Columns:

Wednesday, Aug. 4
Amanda Rivkin, 26.
Inspired by Dorothea Lange.

Wednesday, Aug. 11
Aga Luczakowska, 29.
Inspired by Stanley Greene.

Wednesday, Aug. 18
Robert Caplin, 27.
Inspired by David Alan Harvey.

Wednesday, Aug. 25
Yana Paskova, 28.
Inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson.

Wednesday, Sept. 1
Ayman Oghanna, 25.
Inspired by Alex Webb.

Wednesday, Sept. 8
Newsha Tavakolian, 29.
Inspired by Naser al-Din, the shah of Iran (1848-96).

Wednesday, Sept. 15
Maja Hitij, 26.
Inspired by Kevin Carter.

Wednesday, Sept. 22
Ed Ou, 23.
Inspired by Finbarr O’Reilly.

Wednesday, Sept. 29
Mustafah Abdulaziz, 24.
Inspired by Richard Avedon.

Wednesday, Oct. 6
Justin Maxon, 27.
Inspired by Antoine d’Agata.

Wednesday Oct. 13
Matt Eich, 24.
Inspired by Rich-Joseph Facun.