Good Reputation Sleeping

Wednesday Guilty Pleasure - Corinne Bailey Rae

The Voice of the Summer, today.

Check out Corinne Bailey Rae. The U.S. version of her debut out June 20, but catch up with her on iTunes; there is a free acoustic version of 'Put Your Records On' free this week.

Weekend Guilty Pleasure - Juana Molina

Memorial Day Weekend. Sit back, relax; the world going to hell can wait until Tuesday.

Listening this weekend to the new album from the trippy Argentinean folk songstress Juana Molina, 'Son'.

Its not out on CD for a couple of weeks, but iTunes has it now. Enjoy!

Voices in the Wilderness

The Dixie Chicks: America Catches Up With Them - New York Times.

"We have video footage of this lady at one of the shows protesting, holding her 2-year-old son," Ms. Maines said. The woman commanded her son to shout along with an angry chant. "And I was just like, that's it right there. That's the moment that it's taught. She just taught her 2-year-old how to hate. And that broke my heart." - Jon Pareles, NYT, Photograph by J. Emilio Flores

I am not a big Dixie Chicks fan, but I will be buying this album because, damn, somebody has to say something!

My Camera Bag, 2006

Pugwash Bag
Originally uploaded by Burnt Pixel.

I wish you could see my old bag from 1987; maybe I'll re-create it. Back then I had a Nikon FM, FE and a 'professional' F3 (I liked to travel light). I was working for The Boston Globe and covered the Red Sox, chased fires, followed politicians and, in between, hung out at the donut shop with the Boston P.D.
Photographic life was good.

Today's professional photographer is between a rock and a hard place. The business is changing.

More and more we are told about the need to do video; just a couple of years after we gave up film. Today, if W. Eugene Smith were still turning out essays, he would have to add nat sound. Cartier-Bresson would possibly be vlogging. Brassai definitely would be.

Photography has always been tied to technology. Knowledge of chemistry and physics was necessary if you wanted to come back with photographs from a glass plate expedition; available light photos with an Ermanox required more than just pushing the button. Today's professional, like those of the past, must look to the world of the amateur for the cutting edge; their tools will be our tools.

A look at this camera bag is a look into how we will be practicing the profession of photography in the very near future.

The Real Tomb Raider

Lara Logan, Rapid Riser.

"Two weeks ago, Logan was embedded with a U.S. military unit in Ramadi when the Marine walking just in front of her was shot by a sniper during an ambush. She did a stand-up moments later, even as the gun battle raged. "It was distressing," she says matter-of-factly, as if acknowledging fear might be viewed as a sign of weakness. "You have to be professional. You can't fall apart in front of the Marines." - Howard Kurtz, TWP, Photograph by Helayne Seidman