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Annie Leibovitz at Work
There are few well-known, Big Name, photographers I would say inspire or have influenced me. And when asked to name one I shy away from the question. I almost feel like it’s too scripted if I admit, yes, Annie Leibovitz has made an impression upon me at various stages of my life. I’m afraid people will think it too obvious and stock and thus not a genuine admiration. But it is. I get the impression (correct or not) that Leibovitz herself might feel the same when she answers Henri Cartier-Bresson.
I’ve been returning more and more to photography this year. Moving away from writing and back behind the lens. To do this I needed some serious regrouping and reassurance. And this wasn’t the first time. I’ve made the transition to and away from photography many times in the last 20 years since I first picked up my grandpa’s Canon AE-1 Pro and claimed it as my own (it’s sitting on my mantel right in fact). Each time leaving was shockingly easy, but returning can be painful. I think any photographer can say that’s true.
What is it that I love so much about Annie Leibovitz. Other than living my favourite city in the world during it’s arguably most exciting period, I can’t really say with any definitiveness. I was first introduced to her work through the fashion magazines I poured over as a (unfashionable, awkward) teen., but it was and always will be her raw work, free of production, that touches me. It’s this side of her I see in my own work from time to time. The simply being present.
Throughout this book, At Work, and the 2008 documentary Annie Leibovitz: Life Through a Lens (where most of the text in At Work comes from) everyone seems to mention how Lebovitz has the ability to take pictures of your intimate moments, often without you knowing she did it at all. As a person dealing with anxiety issues my entire life, reconciling the stress of that with needing to be “in the thick of it” to get the pictures I want/need has always been an incredible obstacle. But the best way I know how to deal with it is to make it seem to everyone around, myself included, that I’m not there at all.
At Work is beautifully compiled. It features some of my favourite Leibovitz images and stories. Beyond that comfort is a technical break down in the last pages of preferred equipment and techniques. While I’m not a very technical photographer (never have been, never will be — just ask my photography school profs!) it still satisfying to know.
Bonus fact: My darkroom mentor in photography school really liked/pushed upon us the work of Irving Penn and Richard Avedon. Which has subsequently made it hard to quit my high contrast addiction.
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Julie Morstad’s “The Wayside”
I don’t often enter contests or giveaways, but when I do I tend to win them. So maybe I should enter more often! As luck would have it I won a copy of Julie Morstad’s new book “The Wayside” c/o BOOOOOM and Drawn & Quarterly.
It arrived just after Boxing Day so it was a Christmas surprise. This book is both a feast for the eyes and mind. I can’t help but draw connections to Henry Darger. The imagery of children at play, plant life and use of the butterfly just really pays homage to Darger (intentional or not).
I was sad when I realized I’d missed the launch for “The Wayside” hosted by Type Books here in Toronto, especially so since Anabela Piersol hosted the Q & A. (Anabela, aka lady behind Fieldguided, is to me like that older sister or girl at your school you just really wish you could talk to one day. You know, just to tell her how neat she is, and you admire her. But I digress…)
Like me, you’ll probably recognize Morstad’s work from Neko Case’s Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, and the video for “People Got A Lot Of Nerve” from Middle Cyclone. Morstad has done so much more work than that though. From illustrating children’s books, to work for The Walrus and The Globe & Mail, not to mention designing wallpaper! (In the dream home I have in my head I have a library with this wallpaper.) Her work is tender and genuine while creating an incredible air of mystery. If there’s a narrative here, it’s lost on me. I’ve paged through the book several times now and each time I relive something from my childhood because a memory has been sparked. Pick it up & it will probably do the same to you.
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Going somewhere I’ve never gone before (and hopefully will never have to return to), Ama and I ventured deep into Mississauga to attend the Canadian Baking & Sweets Show. I took photos of 1,000,000 cupcakes and we left with a sugar high. So, it was a good day. Read all about it and see the photos over on Little Red Umbrella.
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High ResolutionI sat down with Industrial and Furniture designer Evan Bare to talk about making sustainable piece here in Toronto and how our innovations can be made accessible around the world. Read the interview over on Lossless Toronto.
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High ResolutionFor this week’s Lossless Toronto I take a look at maker culture and 3D printing in Toronto. Just how advanced is 3D printing, what is maker culture, and why is it important to step back into “the box”. Read it over on Pink Mafia.
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High ResolutionSome words on and pictures of the second annual Junction Design Crawl up now on Pink Mafia.
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High ResolutionMy favourite store in Canada (second in N. America only to Paxton Gate in San Franisco), Mjölk, hosted an awesome event recently. I put some words and photos together for this week’s Lossless Toronto.
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It’s funny to me that my most “popular” column to date is one I thought up hours before the deadline.
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High ResolutionI got to interview Interaction Designer Andrew Lovett-Barron for this week’s Lossless Toronto. Andrew is an incredibly interesting mind to pick and his passion for his work is infectious. Toronto is better for having him. Though we’ll be loosing him to NYU for a spell he plans to return.
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High ResolutionLossless Toronto: The Harold Kurschenska Touch
For this week’s Lossless Toronto I took a look back at print and type pioneer Harold Kurschenska.
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High ResolutionI did a little Q&A with my good friend Andreea for this week’s Lossless Toronto. Andreea is working on her masters in Medical Illustration and Animation at the University of Toronto. We talked about the intersections of science and art/design and how in her chosen profession she’s able to make the two marry to produce educational and beautiful images. I adore Andreea. She’s driven, talented and, like me, an advocate for science and education. Go read the Q&A already.
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i miss those nights we walked our bikes up to that cemetery on the edge of a bluff. we set off fire crackers bought from diamond jim.
two people who shared the same dna, never exchanging more than five words at a time. you’d light the roman candles, and i would photograph.
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Lossless Toronto
loss·less [ˈlôsləs] Adjective: refers to a data compression technique where the file quality is preserved and no data is lost
toronto [tuh-ron-toh] Noun: the city you know and loveI’m extra excited to tell you about a new design column I’ll be doing bi-weekly for the rad ladies over at Pink Mafia. I’m calling it Lossless Toronto and what I hope to do is showcase what I think is a world class city for design, and the people who are doing amazing work in it. From instructors to frontend designers, to curators and marketing managers. If it’s design related and at it’s core about Toronto I want to know about it and share it.That’s the plan friends. So watch out for Lossless Toronto every second Thursday. Today you can read up on the King of Brand Design, Don Watt. -
Introducing Central & Remote
I’m pretty excited to fill you in on something new I’m doing. Over at Provocative Penguin I’ll be writing a column called Central & Remote in an effort to share all the weird, under-promoted, and often free events Toronto has to offer every day. I’ve kicked it off with a weekend round up, and it’ll be very much in the nature of the Best Bets I did/do over at Movable Hype.
Head over to Provocative Penguin in general for the other writing and commentary, plus the ever expanding roster of artists profiled, such as the newest inductee Julienne Lottering.
Yuli Scheidt
all work © yuli scheidt 2001-2013
creative commons license
