Independence day

"4th of July," Tim Connor, All rights reserved

Scary girl

"Scary girl," Tim Connor, All rights reserved

This is the view from my office mate's window. I've been recording the succession of building-size movie poster murals that go up, then are painted over. Their time on the wall can be as short as a week, no more than 2 or 3. Incredibly, they appear to be painted free hand (no outlines or marks of any kind go up 1st), but that's impossible. Isn't it? My office mate, a designer, & I would really like to know how these scaffold guys do it. Anybody know?

See more murals here , here & here (I've shot hundreds but only processed a few).

By Etienne Frossard: Brooklyn's 'Virgin of Sorrows'

A few months ago I posted a few pictures of the Good Friday procession through the nighttime streets of Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. The procession -- with its dramatically grieving "Virgin of Sorrows," carried behind her dead son, Jesus -- was brought over from the Italian island of Bari , where many of the neighborhoods' residents come from.

My friend Etienne Frossard was also shooting in Carroll Garden that night. Here is a selection of his excellent coverage:











All photos by Etienne Frossard, 2009, All rights reserved

Jack Hammer

"Jackhammer man," Tim Connor, All rights reserved

The whole world is watching

"Iranian protestors, 6/13/09," No attribution

This & hundreds of other photos & videos of protests against the stolen election in Iran  went up today on sites like Huffington Post as the protests were happening. I know this is hardly news any more -- it's how we experience history. Still, I'm fascinated. I hope news uploaded to a global audience by ordinary citizens through the internet's million entryways continues to be a tool for unmasking government lies, as it has been so far. I hope it works for the Iranian opposition.

Here's an excellent slideshow of today's Iranian protests.

I'm troubled that no photographers are credited (in a few cases the big newsgathering organizations, AP & Getty, are). Maybe I should just get out of the way & celebrate the multiplying points of view. I do understand the excuses for ignoring credits, particularly the very real urgency of rushing the images to a worldwide audience. But in the end I think it's laziness, not deadlines or inability to ID the shooters. It has become accepted practice to ignore the credit-line step in photo editing, no doubt abetted by the desire of publishers to avoid payment. 

Save time, cut costs. Seemingly, no one in the world today can prevail against these imperatives. 

A window in Bensonhurst

"Madonna & child," Tim Connor, All rights reserved

John Rae wins international color prize

"Indian girl in hammock," John Rae, All rights reserved

My friend & colleague John Rae has traveled to more unpronounceable places than anyone I've ever met. He takes pictures all over the world for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria. A lot of this involves hard travel & rough living, not to mention daily immersion in the often grim realities of poverty & disease. But there is beauty too.

The picture above is a winner in the People category of the International Color Awards, a division of the 3rd annual Photography World Cup. It was chosen from thousands of entries from over 90 countries. Congratulations, John!

See the other winners here.
See my earlier post about John's show in Berlin.