Discovery in the Strand's Dollar Stacks

I had gone to the Strand in search of a book on esoteric symbols to use in a photo shoot with an artist colleague of mine. I knew what I wanted and was prepared to search it out, but the dollar stacks outside always call me, and the slight drizzle was wetting the books on the end, so with a slightly pumped up sense of alarm, I permitted myself a quick scan.
Almost immediately I found an unexpected treasure, lying on top of the stacks, probably rejected by another browser: photographer Jacques Lowe's document of the Shah of Iran's giant self-glorifying celebration at Persepolis in 1971, Celebration in Persepolis. I knew about this book, but I don’t remember seeing it. If I had seen I probably wouldn’t have bought it—certainly not for its original price of $20—since I viewed it as the histrionic gesture of a has-been. But the passage of time had placed it in a wholly new light.
I had met Lowe around 1995 when he came to New Orleans to do the "definitive" portrait book on jazz. Knowing nothing about the subject, he had consulted with Winton Marsalis, who had given him all his favorites. A pianist friend of mine directed him to me for the New Orleans scene, and I helped set up two shoots with local players, and got myself included in one of them, so I'm in the book.
I was fascinated with Lowe. He had been JFK's official photographer and had published the definitive book on him after his death. He knew and disliked Henri Cartier-Bresson, one of my idols, and told me why. He had been the official photographer for Britain’s financial district, the City of London. With a solid reputation as a court photographer, the Shah called on him and two other photographers to cover his immense party, celebrating 2500 years of Persian history. I remember when it unfolded. Though we were still in the depths of the Vietnam War, it assembled "more heads of state than had ever been gathered under one royal tent," presumably more dignitaries than came to DeGaulle's memorial the previous year. Of course it celebrates Iran, the country's ethnic diversity, longevity and significance in history, which the Shah, in reality a US puppet, who modernized the country but violently suppressed dissent with his infamous SAVAK secret police, presented himself as the culmination of. And the world's political notables had no compunction about adding to this dictator's glory—and being entertained in grand style. It's an incredible document of its time: Tito of Yugoslavia was there; Agnew (!) was there; the crown heads of Europe (Denmark, Holland, Belgium, Greece, even Juan Carlos before he ascended the Spanish throne at the death of Franco in 1974) were there; Imelda Marcos (the shoe addict) came, so did that tyrant Suharto of Indonesia; the USSR sent Podgorny; France sent Chalban Delmas. It was an amazing piece of self-glorification. He dressed his military in a wide range of historical costumes, so we can imagine what the Greeks confronted when Xerxes invaded, or what the Seljuks or Ottomans saw when they tried to annex Persia. And he made a grand gesture of serving "informal" meals to his guests—a regular guy after all, the Shah (who could pilot his own Boeing 707 out of Iran at the ignominious end of his reign).
Lowe had told me about his experience there, particularly one embarrassing moment when he was photographing the dignitaries' advance as he was backing up, and he stepped into a bucket of caviar. He kept right on backing up, and presumably no one noticed the somewhat odd taste of some of the caviar.
Lowe died in May of 2001 (he still has a website, presumably run by his daughter), and tragically, his trove of negatives was destroyed when the World Trade Towers collapsed.

But this book, which I bought for $1, is our contemporary version of Erich Solomon's invaluable chronicles of diplomatic life on the eve of the Second World War. This plucky Jewish photographer managed to insinuate himself everywhere diplomats gathered in their tuxedos and metals. His most famous photograph shows Aristde Briand, the French diplomat, smiling and pointing to him, saying "Le voilà, le roi des indiscrets!" I have the book, called Portrait of an Age. Solomon was killed by the Nazis.
Solomon's book chronicles the ineffectual negotiations of an elite that would soon be swept away by the tsunami of war. Lowe's portrays an equally smug set of notables before a series of crises replaced them and the various repressive orders they represented, sometimes by more repressive orders, sometimes by chaos, sometimes by democracy (as in the case of the Philippines).
Now, with the exciting events in Egypt and Tunisia, we seem to be on the eve of another cleansing shift in history (and my daughter tells me she's divesting herself of all her books, to replace them with Kindle downloads!), when hopefully the dictators, tyrants, and oppressors of the Middle East—all Mubarak boosters—will soon be a thing of the past.

Ice Storm Results

For all the inconvenience of not being able to get around, the ice storm here in northern New Jersey left some beauty behind. Of course, my daughter Molly in Cambridge, Massachusetts, tells me everything up there has been covered with ice for weeks. So I put on my boots, grabbed my photo equipment, including tripod and closeup lens, and set out, intending to reach the woods about 0.15 miles from my house.
I got as far as my back yard—there was already so much beauty. And here it is.

Lynn Barr's Amazing Choreography

Two weeks ago I had the privilege of photographing the amazing choreography of Lynn Barr and her fantastic dance troupe. Lynn had put together a series of pieces around the theme of walls, which she called (in Italian) "Muri" Walls. She has an outstanding capacity put forth ideas in gestural, iconic, condensed form combining dance and theater, featuring both dance pieces and spoken skits. One of the elements that makes her work so appealing to me as a photographer is her use of stationery lighting, rather than spotlights that follow her dancers. Her lighting creates a more sculptural effect, as the dancers are illuminated from the side and rear, in addition to the front. She also uses unconventional techniques, such as dancing with flashlights (subject: torture), blue backlit screens, and emphasizing the huge shadows behind the dancers. Check out her work at www.lynnbarr.com.

Mermaid Parade, Coney Island, June 19, 2010

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THE MERMAID PARADE in Coney Island on the Saturday closest to the start of summer, is a grand festival of joy in the body, in the sun, in friendship and good feeling. It draws crush crowds along the main drag of Coney Island from 2 to 4:30 pm, and ends up with most of the crowd moving up to the boardwalk and beach. There's a ribbon cutting ceremony featuring the celebrity king of the parade, who was Lou Reed this year, officially opening the summer season.
But the outstanding draw of the parade is the imagination of the home-made costumes (or lack thereof) by the marchers. All manner of sea creature is represented, with a definite tilt towards mermaids in all their sexiness, including a reliable cohort of pirates. There's always a political edge to the parade, which in years past has favored the preservation of Coney Island as a wide open playground. This year, however, the issue was much more serious: the BP oil spill. A number of people besmirched their costumes with oil-looking stains, and many carried signs reproaching BP for its arrogant carelessness.
Here's a selection of photos from the parade. You can find a more complete selection at www.printroom.com/pro/joelsimpsonphoto, where you can also order prints. And my collection from last year (when it rained) is still up.

After Dark, Minneapolis—Photo Super-Seminar

I just returned from After Dark, a fabulous three-day photographic event in Minneapolis, run by master photographer Dave Junion, from Wausau, Wisconsin (the first photo). Junion assembles 30 photographic experts, the mentors, and attracted 200 participants, all professional photographers, for three days of intensive learning, shooting, and discussing, using tons of high-end equipment supplied by Larsen lighting and Canon—which lends its cameras and lenses. The whole thing takes place at the Hyatt, Minneapolis, which offers 38,000 square feet in two humongous halls, one for seminars and seated demonstrations, the other containing nine complete photo studios for hands-on work. The participants are encouraged to practice what they learn on their own, and can even borrow equipment to take outside "after dark," using the streets, parks and alleyways of Minneapolis as the setting. There was a lot of emphasis placed on outdoor portraits with various types of lighting, above all off-camera flash, which was especially useful in photographing high school seniors and engagement couples. Other topics included pet and maternity photography, high-end weddings, boudoir photography, creating realistic-looking environments (like a beach) in the studio, children, families, posing, sales, and social media marketing.
The outstanding quality of the event was the accessibility of the mentors. Everyone was extremely friendly and approachable and seemed as though they couldn't do enough to help. It was wonderful having access to such productive and successful minds in this field. I came away inspired, feeling I had learned things that would save me enormous amounts of time and effort, but also that I could repeat the whole thing and learn an entirely different body of knowledge. There's much more than any one person can take in. Many participants attend more than one of them.
I may end up helping Dave to bring the program to New York. He's already done it in Miami, Nashville and Austin and plans them for Portland, Oregon, September 12-15 and New Orleans, November 7-10. For further information go to afterdarkedu.com.

More on the BBG's Tulips

Since I can only show five images at a time, here is the real meat of the tulip glories. Both sides of the flower bed was lined with photographers, speaking a wide range of languages. Note the searing beauty of the tiger tulips in their death throes.

Brooklyn Botanical Gardens: NYC's Horticultural Gem

I try to make it over the to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens in early spring before the leaves grow larger than the cherry blossoms. In years past the last week in April was plenty of time—even up until May 1. But a visit this past Saturday turned out to be about a week late! After a magnificent entrance, with wisteria in full bloom on the trellis paths perfuming the air, passing the spectrum of pansies, and looking over the lilac grove, I discovered that the cherry blossoms over the Japanese pond were all but gone, and the leaves on the other cherry trees were already quite large. The petals were snowing down. The magnolias were also finished and the daffodils were practically all gone. The tulips, however, the pride of the gardens, were in full bloom for the most part, which is breathtaking. Only the tiger tulips, those with the rough edges, were nearing their end, but they are at their most spectacular at this moment, with petals splayed and shapes contorted into floral death agonies, a riot of form.
The visit was certainly satisfying, but we had missed the peak. Spring had come at least two weeks earlier than two years ago—a very rapid change indeed.