The Compelling Image

Shooting the Iditarod

danbaileyphoto — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 08:37:17 +0000

Last weekend I was hired to shoot the start of the 2010 Iditarod in Anchorage and Willow Alaska. Up here, the Iditarod is a pretty big deal. It’s kind of like our Super Bowl, especially since the nearest NFL stadium is a 2,400 mile drive from Anchorage.

Dog sled racing offers everything for the outdoor and sports photographer: fast action, cold, snow, great expressions (on the dogs, anyway), snow, famous names (at least here in Alaska), lots of waiting, and did I say snow?

It’s the kind of shooting that requires you to be on your toes, because in addition to concentrating on the shooting part and trying to capture action scenes as the dog teams race by, you also need keep you and your camera batteries warm. As I’m getting ready for the shoot, I’ll stick a couple of fully charged batteries in my jacket pocket along with my flash card holder, and if it’s really cold, I’ll throw in a chemical hand warmer pack. That way, spares remain handy, and I don’t have go fumbling around if I need to grab a new card or warm up my hands.

While I don’t teach a course on how to shoot dog sled racing, I do cover some of the applicable techniques and ideas in my “Step into Outdoor and Adventure Photography” course at The Compelling Image.

PDN Portrait Photo Competition

Gina Genis — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:20:45 +0000

Heads-up on a call for entries out from Photo District News for its “Faces” competition. If you’ve got a sensational portrait you think can blow the jurors away, go for it! Deadline is March 15th. See details here.

Gina Genis to Exhibit Photographs in Los Angeles

Gina Genis — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:29:13 +0000

The series “Window Peeping” was born when I had to move into my mother’s house in a retirement community to provide care as her dementia progressed. To get some peace of mind, I began taking walks at night. Open windows display lives in cubicles of warped time. I have become a fascinated voyeur of how these senior citizens spend their evenings. In many cases, you can actually see where time has stopped. Their homes are decorated in the style of the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s. Their TVs are tuned in to game shows of decades past. Some still have rotary dial phones. The most glaring factor is that they are so alone. In a large community of duplexes, three story apartments, and shared-wall condos, rarely did I see more than one person living in a home. Neighbors separated by just inches of drywall do not know each other.

Questions arise. When does a person stop living in the present? When do you start living on only your past memories? Are your memories interesting enough to carry you through your old age? What can we do now to make someone else’s life more pleasant? How will we be remembered, if we are remembered at all? And most important, how is America dealing with the challenges of an aging population?

Selected works from the Window Peeping series will be exhibited at Gallery 825 from March 20 – April 16th. Opening reception is March 20th from 6-9 pm. In addition, two pieces from the series are on display as part of the OsCene 2010 exhibit at the Laguna Art Museum through May 16th. See links below for details.

Los Angeles Art Association

Laguna Art Museum

by Gina Genis

TCI and LiveBooks – Creative Pair

TCI — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 09:52:43 +0000

Looking for the best in online and interactive photography, video production and multimedia instruction? And how about a creative web venue for displaying and even selling the creative work you’ve produced from it all?

Well, we’ve got it for you – and at a student discount! TCI, the most dynamic internet school for visual creativity on the net has joined talents with the designers at LiveBooks, where you’ll be able to realize the ideal “you” in website display and the full breadth of your creative endeavors. Stop by both LiveBooks and The Compelling Image and check it out!

World Press Photo of the Year ‘09 – Hmm…

TCI — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 09:47:18 +0000

“The World Press Photo of the Year is stunning for its lack of content or any other journalistic values. The jury’s selection is yet another setback for a profession that is already in deep trouble. If that was the best of the best, they should have made no selection at all, and I’m hoping next year will bring a more professional group of jurors.

“The photo shows the beginning of something, the beginning of a huge story,” jury chair Ayperi Karabuda Ecer said of the photo. Right. Well how about showing pictures of the story itself, and there were plenty of powerful images from the Iranian protests, if that was what they wanted to show.

A fellow photographer said it was like seeing a photo of Paul Revere putting on his shoes before his midnight ride. There are those of us who still want to see the ride, not the”haunting and eerily prescient” prelude.”

So writes world-renowned U.S. photographer, David Hume Kennerly, of the judges’ choice for this year’s prestigious World Press Photo of the Year award, an image made during the Tehran street demonstrations, by Italian freelance photographer, Pietro Masturzo.

Personally speaking, I too was taken aback when this winner was announced. My thoughts fell along the lines of – “Well, these women could simply be yelling to neighbors across the rooftops.” To me they don’t appear to be of the “activist” ilk, be it kinetic or passive. They appear to be fairly basic people who don’t really get involved.

“Context” and “content” is what this top judge’s choice lacks. Without a well-written caption, the image falls short by many a measure. That’s my take, what’s yours?

David Bathgate teaches “Photojournalism – Telling the Story with a Camera,” online and interactively at The Compelling Image.

Getty Names Judith Keller Senior Curator of Photographs

Gina Genis — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:48:15 +0000

The Getty Museum has announced that Judith Keller is the new Senior Curator of Photographs. Keller has been acting in this capacity since January of 2009 when Weston Naef resigned. You can read the full article here.

Improving Your Photographs – Dramatically!

TCI — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:38:49 +0000

As with many artistic pursuits, there is only so much one can learn on one’s own. Sooner or later a “plateau” is reached, blocking development to the next higher level.

Photography is no exception and even the most seasoned of shooters have at some time felt – well, “stagnation.”

Symptoms? Compositions look all the same, carry little emotion and lean toward “not-so-stunning.” From the photographer’s side of the viewfinder, there often doesn’t seem to be a way out. And no matter how intense the effort, nothing short of an unbiased, knowledgeable and critical eye can help. In short, it’s time for something more – perhaps even of the National Geographic variety.

Keen amateur / aspiring professional photographer Marco Ryan noticed this creeping into his own work recently and decided to do something constructive about it. He gave an online and Skype-interactive review of his portfolio with award-winning, NGS contract photographer and TCI instructor, Ami Vitale, a try.

NGS Photographer / TCI Instructor, Ami Vitale

His experience and the results it brought were nothing short of insightful and inspiring. So much so, in fact, he detailed his whole personal review process in a 4-part blog post. Take a look. Your own ascent from “Photographer’s Block Plateau” could very well start here too.

Check out Ami Vitale’s “Meet with a Pro – Photography Portfolio Review” for yourself at The Compelling Image.

New Exhibits by Gina Genis

Gina Genis — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:53:54 +0000

Here is a list my of upcoming exhibits for the first half of 2010:

1. LA Art Fair, with the Group LA project, Jan 21-24

2. Irvine Fine Arts Center, with the Photographers Exchange Group, Feb 19 – April 3

3. Laguna Art Museum, OsCene 2010, Feb 21 – May 16

4. Gallery 825, Solo Exhibit, March 20 – April 16

5. University of Wisconsin, Solo Exhibit, June 4 – September 14

I will have work from four different series in these exhibits. Hope to see you at one or all.

by Gina Genis

Successor to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

TCI — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 16:16:05 +0000

Just who, if any, will be the successor to the Dalai Lama has been a topic of debate for quite some time. Now, with the charismatic and controversial leader of the Tibetan people in his mid-70s, eyes are focusing increasingly on the Karmapa – a 24-year old Buddhist monk.

Award-winning, Bangladeshi freelance photographer and TCI instructor, “Akash,” traveled to Dharamsala in northern India, home of His Holiness and seat of the Tibet Government in Exile, to photograph the Karmapa – the young man who will most likely be the future spiritual and political leader of the Tibetan people. Akash’s coverage is featured in this month’s issue of German GEO magazine.

G.M.B Akash teaches the online-interactive course, Street Photography – Creative and Classic, at The Compelling Image.

Getty Researching Chemical Process Photography

Gina Genis — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 12:15:03 +0000

Check out this article from Alternative Photography online magazine, about a thorough account of the Getty Museum’s ambitious research project of chemical process photography.