The Photojournalist

Paul Gero, a Wisconsin portrait photographer, was at one point a newspaper photojournalist.

You may remember that I featured Paul's work on this site here and here.

His journalism instincts are kicking in again. During the current COVID-19 pandemic, Paul has embarked on a neighborhood family portrait project.

And, yes, he is observing all relevant “social distancing” guidelines, as outlined by his state government.

Portrait Project

I had the honor of speaking with Paul last week about his project, “Portraits In The Time Of Corona.”

If you are wondering if the title echoes Gabriel Garcia Marquez' work of fiction, it does.

A Few Photographs

Here are a few images from Paul's project:

Other Portrait Projects

Several other photographers, across the country have either started to work on a similar idea or are about to embark on one as soon as it is safe to do so:

Sree Sripathy says she will be photographing the Indian community in the Bay Area.

Cara Soulia was featured on NBC for her project called and hashtagged #thefrontstepsproject

CBS News carried a segment about a Twin-Cities photographer who offers complimentary porch step portraits.

While most of the initiatives have been positively received, some feel photographers should wait till the “stay-at-home” guidance in most of the states are lifted before venturing outdoors and interacting with people again.

So, tell me, what would you do? Would you go outdoors and photograph families from a safe distance or would you rather hold off on any portrait sessions until everyone is safe to move about the country?

Update

Paul has wrapped up his project and launched a book of all the portraits he was able to create in his community.

With the state of current affairs, our individual and collective stress levels are running high.

Social distancing, remote learning, the “Stay Home” initiative sound catchy but bring on anxiety due to the unknown and the disruption of our daily lives.

To reduce stress, we need to feel a healthy level of control over our environment.

Unfortunately, we often default to trying to control our world without much clarity. Awareness is always step number one to managing stress. When we determine precisely the reason something is making us stressed, it is easier to find an area that we have some control over.

Are you stressed over being “stuck at home”? If so you can go for a walk or go for a drive. You can change your wording from being “stuck” to be “safe.” Being “safe at home” feels much better.

Maybe you are stressed because the kids are being schooled at home while you are working from home, and you feel the pressure of trying to be a parent and productive worker.

Set aside a designated place for school for the children and an office for you. You might need to rearrange furniture or rooms (even a closet will do), but remember it is temporary. This way, you can control when you are at work/school, and the boundaries between work and home are less ambiguous.

Perhaps you have the news going all day, trying to catch every tidbit of information about the virus.

Ask yourself what would happen if you weren't the first to know. You can control how much time you spend with the news. Set aside a time of day and a time limit to watching the news, say from 6-7 pm.

Reduce your social media because much information there gets passed around without being verified.

The best place to get the current information regarding the virus and ways to keep healthy is the Centers for Disease Control. The State of Connecticut's Governor's office is the best place to find information regarding mandates, and check your local town's website for updates on local news if you live in Connecticut as I do.

Last, one of the best stress-reducing activities in times like these is to help others.

Look for ways you can volunteer, find ways to support the small local businesses in your community, and don't be afraid to ask for help.

How do you cope with stress? Comment below, if you feel comfortable sharing. Please stay safe, and stay healthy.

For The Love Of The Photograph

Let me cut to the chase. Buy Chloe Lodge's book, “For The Love Of The Photograph” now. In fact, on February 29th, New Zealand time, you can buy the book and the accompanying journal for $29 each.

If you are still looking for that #1 reason, it's built into the title of the book! It's a strong buy from me because you, like me, absolutely LOVE creating photographs.

Other Reasons You Will Want Chloe Lodge's Book

Now that I have the most urgent matter out of the way, let me give you my perspective on the book called “For The Love Of The Photograph“.

Most photography books are pedantic and pedestrian. Lodge's book, within arm's reach on my desk, is conversational and convenient. As you read along, it's as if a dear friend was sitting next to you to explain everything they know about photography.

It's small form factor makes it supremely convenient to carry around town to a coffee shop. It's crisp printing and colorful photographs make the book very engaging. You turn the page and your are brought to a complete halt at Lodge's own gorgeous photography in and around her farm house in New Zealand.

My Takeaways From The Book

What did I take away from it? Be more present with light, to understand moment and gesture, to embrace color and to play to your heart's content with what and who you have right in front of you.

I assure you will be tickled by her observations and her insight. Having been in this business for about 20 years now, few things surprise me now. But Lodge's words reverberated within me, echoing as if I had said them myself at some point or another. It's a somewhat weird but welcome feeling.

Interview With Chloe Lodge

By now you know the drill. I look forward to speaking with photographers from around the world. It was quite easy to track Chloe Lodge down to see if she might be interested in talking about her book, “For The Love Of The Photograph.” So, give this chat between us a listen –

Buy The Book Today … Buy The Journal, Too

This book will inspire you for years to come. If you treat it as a “recipe book” you might just end up making one heckuva meal. There are 10 chapters in all. You are allowed to skip around if you wish. Come back and read something all over again, if you want. It's totally up to you.

What you will find, I suspect, is over time as your understanding and practice of photography grows, the words in the book will resonate within you even more. That's the beauty of this book. It's not a once-and-done type of book at all. It calls you back again and again, as it fills you up with a little different ingredient as you read it from a new perspective.

Yes, leap into photography with a book that will distinguish your work over time. I urge you to buy the book (no commissions being made here folks) and the journal that now accompanies it. Remember the special time limited flash sale on February 29th (it's New Zealand time and they are way ahead of us).

The Use of Off-Camera Flash

Off-camera flash and its use is often a challenge. And as I've said many times before, it was a mystery to me. My first flash was a Vivitar 285. I could use it only in manual mode and I didn't know where to begin, so I quickly and quietly yanked out the batteries from the unit and retired it.

That would have been the end of it if it wasn't a pesky assignment to photograph my first wedding. Wedding ceremonies are usually followed by receptions and this one kicked my butt. I was still shooting film at this time, and my TMax 3200 ISO didn't quite deliver. I was wide open at f/2.8, but shutter speed was barely 1/30th. Yep, dark, dark, dark cave for the reception.

I needed to learn to use my Vivitar. But the resistance continued because .. well, have any of you actually seen the manual that comes with a flash unit? Yeah, that's what I thought too. It gets pitched and buried next to the camera manual because of all the jargon.

Learning How Off-Camera Flash Works

The first person to ever talk to me, human-to-human about flash was Zack Arias. I attended his workshop in Boston. Then he generously invited me to his New York workshop a couple of years later. Then his OneLight DVD came out. Followed by the second version of that same workshop which I reviewed here. His off-camera-problem-solving-approach remains with me to this day.

Since then, however, there have been many other wonderful teachers who have introduced the topic of off-camera flash to the world. Vanessa Joy is a wedding and portrait photographer based in Freelhold, New Jersey. She is highly sought-after speaker and teacher. You should subscribe to her YouTube channel as she actively publishes videos there every week.

Vanessa Joy's New Book

I heard that she was working on a new book about off-camera flash. I asked if we could do a short interview about the book, “The Off-Camera Flash Handbook: 32 Scenarios for Creating Beautiful Light and Stunning Photographs“. So here it is:

While Vanessa walks us through the technical aspects of using an off-camera flash in the first section of the book, it is the second section that explores 32 different real-life scenarios that caught my eye. Turning day into night, photographing couples, warming up the sky, lighting a dark room (see, this would have come handy way back when) etc.

Take a look at the book on Amazon. However, now through February 15th (Saturday), you can order the book through Rocky Nook (the publisher) and save 40% when you used the code – OFCH40. Or, order it through Amazon before it launches on April 7th, as Amazon guarantees you the best price. In either event, you will own a book that you can refer to constantly as you go out and actively use (and make mistakes) with your off-camera flash.

You can also find Vanessa Joy on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

It is a small number of survivors of The Holocaust who remind us that we should never forget the atrocities committed in Europe. Today, January 27th, also happens to be International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Danny Weiss, a wedding and commercial photographer based in Manhattan, New York, just wrapped up a 3 year personal project photographing 18 survivors.

Within a few short minutes of discovering this series of portraits on his Facebook page, we had committed to a day and time to meet online to discuss the genesis of this project, how it took shape over time and what he hopes to do with it moving forward.

I invite you all to listen to this short podcast to learn a little bit about how Danny found his mission and approached photographing each of the survivors in his own style.

The Interview with Danny Weiss

The Survivors

Additional Resources

You can find Martin Schoeller's work in this New York Times article. His book, Survivors: Faces of Life After The Holocaust will be released on June 25th.

75 Years After Auschwitz Liberation, Survivors Urge World To Remember

Max Hirschfeld's book, Sweet Noise: Love In Wartime, is about his parents “who had a secret romance while they waited to be deported to Auschwitz.”

The Lonka Project is now at the United Nations in New York City. Access is limited, but please contact Jim Hollander (at jimpix@netvision.net.il), to arrange for an escorted visit to the show.