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Learning from films: Gates of Heaven
There’s your dog; your dog’s dead. But where’s the thing that made it move? It had to be something, didn’t it?
On Netflix, you can now stream the classic 1978 Errol Morris film Gates of Heaven. I’ve seen a lot of Morris’ work, but somehow missed this one. Ostensibly, the film is a documentary about two pet cemetery businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area. But there are many layers going on here, and I have more questions than answers at this point. If you’re interested in people photography, Gates of Heaven is a must see. There were so many moments where I wanted to jump up and make a screen capture — the subjects, framing, and backgrounds are superb. And the stories — you couldn’t make this up. Morris has the complete trust of his interview subjects. But is Morris’ tongue located in his cheek, or is he sincere? Here’s a great review where Roger Ebert explores some of these issues. And a short clip from the film:
This was Errol Morris’ first film. Werner Herzog made a bet with Morris that if he could complete a feature film, Herzog would eat his shoe. Morris made Gates of Heaven, and Herzog fulfilled his promise by actually eating his shoe (cooked by Alice Waters). Below is a clip from the Les Blank film, Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe.
I hope you enjoy Gates of Heaven, and look forward to hearing what you think. If you dig this film, you can also stream some other great Morris titles on Netflix including: Vernon, Florida, The Thin Blue Line, and Fast, Cheap & Out of Control.
Big M Night Photography Workshop with Mike Hows and Aaron Siladi
Fellow night photographers and friends Mike Hows and Aaron Siladi are hosting a one-night workshop during the March full moon. The location is Big M Automotive, a classic car dismantler in Williams, California, about a 2 hour drive from San Francisco. The Big M specializes in 50’s and 60’s Mercurys and Plymouths. This workshop is a great opportunity to have a full night of legal shooting access in a cool location, with night photography and light painting assistance from 2 experienced night photographers. Have a look at Mike’s workshop page for more information.
Night photography from the archives: Caution/Peligro (Hodge)
Caution/Peligro (Hodge) — by Joe Reifer
From a 2006 trip to the desert with Troy Paiva. This junkyard no longer exists. 2 minute exposure.
From the archives: Exit Strategy Realty, Mojave Desert
Exit Strategy Realty, Mojave Desert — by Joe Reifer
Sprocket Holga: Van Diptych
Sprocket Holga van diptych — by Joe Reifer
Night Photography: Abandoned Gold Mill in the Mojave Desert
Waste pit, abandoned gold mill — by Joe Reifer
I’ve added a dozen images to the latest night photography gallery on my website, from an abandoned gold mill in the Mojave Desert. All of the images in this gallery now have captions, too. Two weeks to go until the next full moon!
Night Photography: Abandoned Mojave Desert Mining Area Gallery
A new gallery from an abandoned mining area in the Mojave Desert is now available on my website. Shot during the January full moon at elevations of up to 5000 feet, the mix of buildings, vehicles, joshua trees, and snow was incredible. A few of these images were featured on the blog over the last 2 weeks – now you can see them much bigger.
Huge thanks to photographer S.W. Walsh for being part of this journey. Have a look at his images from the trip.
I’ve got another gallery of approximately 10 images from a different desert mining location to process over the next week. I’m also working on a post-processing demo that shows how your high-ISO test shots can be used in exposure compositing for light painted images.
In addition to the photographs, I also learned quite a bit about the latest flavors in freeze dried camping food, the importance of having a GPS when there’s no cell phone coverage, and the limits of off-roading with a Honda Element AWD. If there are any readers who knowledgeable about wheelin’, I would seriously like to talk to you about getting a more capable off-road vehicle. Does a 4wd vehicle exist that performs well off-road (class III or mild class IV), rides nicely on the freeway, has excellent reliability, and still gets good fuel economy (20+ mpg highway)? Up until recently I might’ve said Toyota Tacoma. And no, unfortunately I can’t afford a Rally Fighter. But let’s talk locking rear differentials and bash guards over a Coors. There’s so many cool places to go in the desert that require 4wd.
Essential Reading: New Topographics: Photographs of a Man-Altered Landscape
Last year my favorite photography exhibit, and essential accompanying book purchase was Looking In: Robert Frank’s The Americans (Expanded Edition).
This year there will likely be no suspense in these matters. I’ve just received the Steidl publication of New Topographics, and it’s brilliant. The traveling exhibition opens next week at the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, and then comes to SFMOMA in July. The show is a restaging of the seminal 1975 exhibit that marked a major shift in modern photography, and continues to be an influence 35 years later.
….curated by William Jenkins, who brought together ten contemporary photographers: Robert Adams, Lewis Baltz, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Joe Deal, Frank Gohlke, Nicholas Nixon, John Schott, Stephen Shore and Henry Wessel, Jr. Signaling the emergence of a new approach to landscape, the show effectively gave a name to a movement or style, although even today, the term “New Topographics”– more a conceptual gist than a precise adjective — is used to characterize the work of artists not yet born when the exhibition was held. Although the exhibit’s ambitions were hardly so grand, New Topographics has since come to be understood as marking a paradigm shift, for the show occurred just as photography ceased to be an isolated, self-defined practice and took its place within the contemporary art world. Arguably the last traditionally photographic style, New Topographics was also the first Photoconceptual style. In different ways, the artists thoughtfully engaged with their medium and its history, while simultaneously absorbing such issues as environmentalism, capitalism and national identity. In this vital reassessment of the genre, essays by Britt Salvesen and Alison Nordstrom accompany illustrations of selected works from the 1975 exhibition, with installation views and contextual comparisons, to demonstrate both the historical significance of New Topographics and its continued relevance today.
If you buy one photography coffee table book this year, put this high on your list. The book is $36.50 at Amazon and currently in stock, and is also available at photo-eye, or perhaps even your local bookstore. And if you missed the expanded edition of the Robert Frank book, then clear some extra room on your coffee table.
Night photography: Burned school bus, abandoned desert mining area
Burned school bus, abandoned desert mining area — by Joe Reifer
