livebooks blog

Miki Johnson: How did you fund BazanCuba?

Ernesto Bazan: The BazanCuba book is the result of 14 years of life on the island, not just my photography. I think it’s important to underscore this to understand the nature and the depth of the project. I feel very fortunate that I was able to spend so much time there and to stop being an outside observer as with, unfortunately, many photo essays that I see published these days.

I do know of many self-published books, but I only know of one (mine) that was edited with the great creative input of more than 40 of my students and friends. And as if that wasn’t enough, they also helped me raise the money needed to self-publish by pre-acquiring limited edition copies of the book, which come with a numbered and signed gelatin silver print. It was a true honor to be able to go to the printer knowing that I could get the best quality paper, printing, and expertise because of the money I was able to raise.

MJ: You decided to include your students not only in the funding of the book but in the editing. What was that editing process like?

EB: Usually when a photographer edits his or her book, at best he or she has the help of a few trusted friends and some editors working for the publishing house. I strongly felt that I wanted to democratize that process and to get a wider range of opinions. I wanted to put myself on the same level as my students because I felt that making this book was going to be a very educational and humbling experience.

Every workshop I taught, I’d bring a copy of the latest version of the book dummy (we made five different dummies during the whole editing process), and by the seventh day of the workshop, I knew that the time was ripe to get my students’ most creative feedback. It has been an extraordinary experience. We took many pictures out, moved the remaining ones around, tweaked the cover, and worked at the subtle art of sequencing a book.

Then when I went to press, seven of my students came with me, at their own expenses, to help in the different parts of the production process. We also shot some footage about the making of the book, which will be a part of a documentary film on this unique and special relationship that I’ve established with my students.

MJ: You said that this was a really important learning experience because now you know how to produce a book from A to Z. What lessons did you learn?

EB: Indeed, it was a great learning experience. My friend Juan de la Cruz decided that he was going to learn to use Indesign to help me lay out the book. Being at the printer in Verona during the printing was also very important. We finally understood so many of the different aspects of printing a book, including looking at the first signatures in day light while the wind was trying to blow them away. I’m very lucky that we got it all on digital HD video. More »

An image from Alan's coverage of the Sichuan Earthquake last year. Photo by Alan Chin for Newsweek

Making images for BAGnewsNotes is a unique way of working with an editor. Although it’s Michael’s site, we’re both pioneering a new format, so I have more of a stake. It’s more of a cooperative situation rather than me working for a boss.

Traditional media can be very hierarchical. I’ve had a lot of assignments when I felt like the editors were my bosses and I couldn’t offend them or differ from their conception of the story too much. Of course, when you trust them and they trust you, then you can really speak freely and there’s a give and take. That’s how I’ve felt with Michael. He’s comfortable criticizing what I’m doing, and I feel the same way talking to him. So we have more ability to do that than might be typical in our industry.

I do have to point out, though, that sometimes there are great people, with imagination and vision, like Jamie Wellford, international photo editor at Newsweek, with whom I also have that relationship, because fundamentally it’s just good people that really matters.

Also I know that we can screw up more more, because we’re still at the beginning of this. If we make mistakes, it’s not so horrible because we are trying to break new ground. It’s not going to be perfect; it’s just the two of us. We can’t be perfect in everything we do. And that’s OK in a way that it wouldn’t be for Time or Newsweek.

I also believe that the work I’ve been doing with Michael is indicative of changes in traditional media, where photographers are being seen more as reporters and analysts. Last year I was in China and I covered the Sichuan earthquake. Because I ended up being on the phone a lot with editors and reporters, they started giving me credit on print stories, in part because they have to be more accountable about giving credit than they used to be.

Increasingly, whoever is out there, if you can verbally report on a situation or figure out what’s going on, that’s going to go into the mix, because things happen so fast now. It’s not like the editors and reporters have the luxury they once had to wait until the end of the week to figure everything out. They have to have the story together very quickly. Even weekly magazines don’t have the long deadlines that they used to.

As a photographer, you’re out there seeing things. And the desk views your pictures relatively quickly, which is another source of information for them. In fact, not only are we becoming reporters, we’re also becoming our own technicians. A lot of photographers I know record audio to do multimedia as well as take still photos. We’re becoming this one-person multimedia insanity. You can’t possibly be at your very best trying to do three or four tasks at once. But I think in some ways it’s good, if it means photographers are being taken more seriously as observers and reporters.

On the other hand, nobody is paying us more for our increased responsibilities, and that’s true not only for photographers but for everyone in this era of bankrupt news organizations and newspapers closing down. And ultimately that is the bottom line: if there’s not enough money to pay us or our expenses, then the coverage simply won’t exist, whether in traditional or new media. Enthusiasm, volunteerism, and the sheer love of our craft can only take us so far. It is my hope that we figure this out sooner rather than later; it’s all over, otherwise.

• While claiming it is the antidote to copyright infringement, C-Registry, part of New York-based StockPhotoFinder.com, might be the poison itself. Our friend John Harrington did an in-depth investigative piece this week that raised red flags about the service. APA is also concerned about the misleading information on the C-Registry website, even issuing an official alert. C-Registry has edited the information on its website since.

• Bookmark this: ASMP just launched a new blog called Strictly Business, promising “to bring you business tips, thought provoking ideas, useful resources, videos and podcasts all focused on professional photography.” Contributors to the blog are all ASMP educators. Be sure to check out the video on copyright issues.

• White House photographer Pete Souza has named Alice Gabriner, former chief photography editor for Time magazine, the White House photography editor and deputy director of the White House Photography Office. Veteran photo editor Jennifer Poggi and Washington photojournalist Rick McKay will be joining Gabriner as White House deputy photo editors. For more details, see NPPA.

• Pixazza‘s innovative service that turns static images into income-generating content may be the future trend of advertising. It has already gotten a blessing (and investment) from Google and other Silicon Valley big shots, as reported by Photo Archive News. The “Product in the Picture” service enables consumers to mouse over images on websites to learn more and see related products.

Miki Johnson: Tell me about the project you submitted for the 2008 Emerging Photographer Grant.

Sean Gallagher: The project I submitted for the Emerging Photographer’s Grant, The Silent Wave: Desertification in Western China, developed as a result of an article I read online in the summer of 2007, highlighting increased desertification in the north and west of China. My educational background is in the biological sciences, and I’ve always been particularly interested in environmental issues. This article caught my interest and I started to think about ways to do a photo-essay on the subject.

Around this time, I was regularly reading David Alan Harvey’s ‘Road Trips’ blog where he announced in July 2007 that there would be a chance for one photographer to have him review their portfolio and be showcased on his new blog. There was no money involved at that point. I decided to seize the opportunity and headed to China’s western deserts for a couple of weeks to shoot the story I had been thinking about.

On my return, I put an edit of 20 images together and submitted them to David. A little later, David announced that he had secured funding to award a $5,000 grant to the chosen photographer and he increased the possible number of submitted images from 20 to 40. Although I was tempted to add more, I stuck with my original tight edit and resisted fleshing it out with possibly weaker images.

MJ: Why was the grant important to your work? Did you use the money to finish the desertification project or to work on other projects?

SG: The grant has been incredibly important to me, especially at this point in my career. There are so many great photographers, both established and emerging, all competing for work. The grant allowed me to free myself from that competition for a while and just focus on shooting. At the time I was awarded the grant, recent unrest in Tibet meant that many of the areas I had previously photographed were temporarily off-limits to non-Chinese. I therefore decided to concentrate on other environmental issue such as dropping water levels in the Yangtze River, the condition of animals in China’s zoos, and air pollution in Beijing. I have also since had the chance to return to the desertification work. I see this as quite a long-term project and hope to make repeat trips to various locations across China.

MJ: Did you get additional work from the exposure granted by the award?

SG: The increased exposure my work has received has definitely been one of the main benefits of receiving the Emerging Photographer’s Grant. David’s reputation precedes him, so being linked in this way has provided me with many opportunities. I also made the effort to travel in 2008 to Festival of the Photograph in the U.S. and Visa Pour l’Image in France, both for the first time. The Emerging Photographer’s Grant was officially announced at Festival of the Photograph, so being there in person was a great experience and an opportunity to meet many people who had just become aware of my work. I have also recently secured further funding from the Pulitzer Center On Crisis Reporting to continue my work on desertification. My application for this was based partly on my recent personal work, much of which was funded by David’s Emerging Photographers Grant.

MJ: Did you know David before the grant and did he talk about why he had selected your work?

SG: I had met David previously while taking one of his workshops in Lisbon, Portugal, in 2004. I traveled from Japan, where I was working as an English teacher at the time. On presenting my portfolio to him, I distinctly remember him being very critical of it and barely liking any pictures. It ended up being the most valuable workshop I have taken. Getting an honest, critical opinion really spurred me on, as well as David’s encouragement to approach photography in our own way. After that I was then independently selected for the one-year paid internship program at Magnum, in their London office — another invaluable experience.

For the 2009 Emerging Photographers Grant, a panel of judges, sans David, will choose the recipient. For the 2008 grant, however, it was David who made the decision as the whole concept of the grant was in its infancy. In January 2008, David announced I was the recipient of the grant and commented on his blog, “i saw this essay as stylistically powerful and journalistically relevant…” However, as can be seen from David’s new online magazine Burn, he has an eclectic taste in photography; for the grant, I think any style has an opportunity.