Reportage progress...

I met the family Im going to photograph regarding the Alzheimer reportage yesterday. It was a good meet, although the lady who is diagnosed with the disease was really distant and quiet, maybe because they were just back from a 4 hour card drive or then she just is like this. But still it was okay and we got along well, I didn't bring my camera because I just wanted to get to know the people, stayed there for about one and a half hour, we discussed everyday life, hobbies and planned the reportage.

I will photograph them or her for the first time this Friday, she lives two weeks at home and two weeks at a nursing home. So this week it will be at the nursing home. For our next two week leave we planned several meetups so I'll get material from different locations and situations.

Currently Im working at Östra Nyland newspaper, for three days, maybe will amout to something longer.

EMMAprize work delivered and Helsinki School exhibition

Delivered four portraits from my fresh Bybutiker series to the EMMAPrize 2010 competition today. Interestesting.

Saw the Photography and Video NOW Helsinki School exhibition at Meilahti art museum, some interesting series from Kalle Kaitala, Saana Wang, and Nelli Palomäki. Some works were too abstract in my taste, for example Ea Vaskos refletions did not do it for me.

The space was nice and the exhibition layout / mounting technique worked nicely, lots of Diasec and white / black frames.

In EMMA we saw The Power Of Africa and some videoinstallations by Candace Breitz. Good material there too, the video installations were fun to watch. Interesting country / style layout on the Africa exhib., art ranging from painting to photography and everything in between.

Reportage progress

I've been in contact with the family Im going to photograph here in Helsinki, but they are currentyl somewhere around Jyväskylä, so I will meet them for the first time on Sunday.

I have the beginning of next week booked for some work so hopefully I would be able to begin photographing later in the week.

Portfolio review and other things

On Thursday I took part in the first ever portfolio review at the Finnish Photography Museum. There were artist from different levels, already established ones and some, like me, still in school or at the benginning stage. The reviewers came from different museums, magazines or schools.

I had with me three series, Nuoruuteni vanhuus, Nature Pages and Bybutikerna. I good nice feedback in a very broad way. The newly started Bybutikerna projekt got unbelievebly good reviews so Im very happy about that.

Saw Henrik Malmströms On Borrowed Time exhibition and book yesterday at Luova, a good series of some twenty images in the exhibition, strong content with nice rythm. Good layout of the exhibition and book, with calm or still nature or softer content braking the strong and hard motive. Recommended to see.

The Alzheimer reportage

I sent out a mail to my Seinäjoki contact today. Hopefully some of her other groups would have families with interest for my project.

Called my Rauma contact but got no answer, left my contact info on their answering machine.

In Helsinki I have my contact whom I will meet next week when I travel down.

And now, a totally irrelevat COLOR picture (because I realized that my expression has been solely black and white for a half year now).

More portraits

Bybutiker

Last Thursday I called around for the possibilities of photographing the small country stores around the region. My route went from Esse to Lappfors to Purmo and then to the more distant stores in Monäs and Hirvlax.

The shopkeepers and personal was kind and willing to be photographed. The stores were not as interesting as I was hoping for, but still nice and mellow.

No further progress

There's been no progress on my reportage thus far. Im doing something completely different and documenting small village stores (bybutiker) that are somewhat common but surely less common than before in these modern times.

I started out in Munsala, but the storekeeper didin't wan't to participate, so I ended up with just the counter.





I would appreciate tips on locations for these kind of stores, I know there is one on the way to Vasa at least but Im sure there are some in other directions too, so if you know, feel free to comment.

Durrer: World Press Photo winner critique

Hans Durrer, our great guest lecturer from last spring, has written his comments on the World Press Photo contest winner from this year here.

My first thought, after seeing this years winner, was a sense of relief, since the picture wasn't a direct crisis / war / poverty / crime, thightly composed, violence showing image.
As Durrer, I had a hard time understanding the content without reading the text for the image, still, I liked the picture. It wasn't a "in-your-face-with-a-guideline-manual" type of image, instead it was a little bit gloomy, I directly got a different feeling than from previous winners or crisis photos in general.
I probably wouldn't have came up with the context, what's happening in the picture, unless I had read the byline.

But yet, good and powerful images can, and should, be possible to make without the help of text. This isn't an answer for that. The women are too far away, there's no Iranian flag placing them in Teheran, no election posters, nothing.

Still, I personally don't like the modern art way that of a picture series 30% of weight is in the simply made pictures and 70% is explained in the deep and strong statement.

Some progress again

Yesterday evening I was contacted by a husband of a Alzheimer diagnosed woman. He was very polite and forthcoming about my planned reportage and I tried to explain my knowledge and past about this disease and why I wan't to do this reportage.

The husband was born in '39 so I imagine the wife to be in the same age, so this won't be in the 'early-onset' stage I was hoping to be able to document.

But still, I am going to meet this couple and see how it goes. From the husband I understood that the wife is living partly at home and at a nursing home, they have young grandchildren who help the husband with taking care of here when she's home. So this promises some interesting photographs Im sure.

This felt good after a few weeks of hoping and waiting. I'll meet the couple on our first two week leave at the end of this month.

No go

I got information from Seinäjoki that there was no-one willing or able or interested to be a part of my reportage. My contact said earlier that she has more groups she will present my idea to, and she confirmed that now also, so hopefully someone will be positive about this.

Contacted from Helsinki

The curator from Helsinki memory group for working aged people contacted me today. They wanted to know more details about my planned reportage and thats what I tried to give them. They are going to discuss my plans today and call me tomorrow about what they think.

Saw Caj Bremers exhibition yesterday, it was nicey laid out with clear rooms marking reportage, fashion, court and family series.

Working further for the reportage

In addition to contacting the Helsinki contact for possible families in this region I also contacted my Seinäjoki contact again. She said she introduced my project last week, handed out a leaflet I made specially for them, so the demented people would remember it even after the meeting. She said the people were as "jörmy" as finns usually are, but she will bring it up again this Wednesday and see if there is intereset.

She said that there is one couple in their 50's or so who usually are up to different stuff so they might be up for this also.

Marcus Bleasdale: Rape of a nation

A strong documentary about the brutalities of Congo, contrasty images with powerful content. A mother who lost her arm defending her kids, child soldiers and workers, malnutrition and in general - hard living.

Starts of slow, gets intense.

Rape of a nation

Nothing new...but something on the horizon

No actual progress on getting closer to making pictures, but, contacted the Helsinki youth dementics association but they were not available. Left my contact there and it's left everywere now.

So, I will call the Seinäjoki contact to see if teople where interested last week there.