The story behind the image
BEHIND THE LENS, YOUR LENS
Photo exhibit: Sounds & Visions
3
May
Sounds & Visions is a collaborative exhibit of words and images by poet Jose M. Tirado and photographer Cyndi Vickers. The collection will be on display at Interior Motives gallery in St. Petersburg through May, with an opening reception on Saturday, May 12 from 6-9 pm.
We share a small selection of the exhibited photos and poems below.
Basket
Atop the table, the sawgrass found basket
held its sleeping promise silently, light
against the heavy chains of summer
awaiting another Fall and some monumental march toward history.
... Read more
BEHIND THE LENS | The story behind the image
Craig Walker: 2010 and 2012 Pulitzer Prize winner
3
May
Denver Post photojournalist Craig Walker won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for feature photography for his photo story "Welcome Home," a story about Scott Ostrom, who returned to the United States with a severe case of post-traumatic stress disorder after serving four years as a reconnaissance man in Iraq. Here is the Denver Post's story about Walker's 2012 Pulitzer win.
Walker also won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for his story, "Ian Fisher: American Soldier." He gave a presentation on his story about Fisher at the annual GeekFest photo conference, hosted by APAD, in Denver in 2011. We thought it would a good time to revisit Walker's presentation, which is presented below.
Craig Walker: Geekfest, 2011 from APhotoADay on Vimeo. ... Read more
BEHIND THE LENS | The story behind the image
Sol Neelman: Weird Sports
25
April
Recently, freelance photographer Sol Neelman published his first book, "Weird Sports." Some of the photos in the book were made right here in Florida, so we naturally wanted to know about his work. Times photojournalist Melissa Lyttle talked with him about photography, travel, and of course, weird sports. Read the interview below, and visit Sol's website.
Q: First off, Sol, congratulations on publishing your first book. I know the hard work and six years of commitment, passion and drive you put into this. Can you talk a little bit about where this book idea came from and what it means to you to see it come to fruition.
A: Thanks for the kind words. It has been a weird and wonderful journey, nothing what I had in mind and one that's better than I could ever have expected. It's also been very overwhelming and humbling.
The idea for "Weird Sports" came together when a colleague in 2005 asked me an innocent question: "What do you love to do?"
It's a stupid question because it's such an obvious question, but one I had lost track of while trying to advance my newspaper career.
What do I love? Travel, sports, photography and weird sh*t.
That question really rocked my world. Timed with several other events, like attending my first Geekfest (APAD, holla!) in Austin in 2005 and working with some top flight people at The Oregonian, I recalibrated my program. I started looking for excuses to make fun, weird sports photos around the world. I had such a blast, it quickly turned into an addiction.
Honestly, I never thought I'd have a book. It was more a dream, something to strive for, like working for National Geographic or SI. It could happen, but realistically it was unlikely.
I started telling people I was working on a book project just because it sounded legit. I was used to saying I worked for a newspaper. It gave me instant street cred with people I was photographing. As a freelancer, it's more complicated to explain why you're photographing things on your own time and dime. At a certain point, the idea of a book started to take hold with me and I went about seeing if I could make it happen. ... Read more
BEHIND THE LENS | The story behind the image
Commitment | North Carolina
18
April
In 2007 Justin Cook was an intern photojournalist at the Tampa Bay Times (then known as St. Petersburg Times). We talked with him about a portrait project he has been working recently on in his native state of North Carolina.
The Commitment North Carolina website describes the project:
On May 8, 2012 an amendment to the North Carolina constitution will be voted on that states: "Marriage between a man and a woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this state."
North Carolina is the last state in the Southeast to consider constitutionally defining marriage, and many feel AMENDMENT ONE, in a state where same-sex marriage is already illegal, will divide and distract voters from real issues and further marginalize an important segment of North Carolina's vibrant population. The amendment would ban legal recognition for all unmarried couples, regardless of sexual orientation, and strip protections already in place for thousands of North Carolinians and their children.
Within the greater marriage equality dialogue comes a slew of other issues for couples that will be exacerbated by this amendment. They include child custody, power of attorney over trusts/wills/end-of-life-decisions, hospital visitation, health care, domestic violence protections and even immigration.
The hope of the COMMITMENT | NC documentary project is that by discovering the stories and struggles of same-sex couples and others with real love and commitment to each other, North Carolinians will in turn vote to commit our state to protecting equal rights for all under the law, which is the function of all constitutions.
Family, Unfettered from Commitment | NC on Vimeo.
Video caption: Karen Wade and Kelli Evans of Durham, NC have been together for 17 years and always wanted a family. They waited until they were financially secure, with steady jobs and a comfortable home before they tried to have children. After trying to get pregnant for almost a decade via intrauterine insemination and other methods, they were blessed with triplets in 2008. Emma, Evan and Grady are their life, their joy and a rambunctious handful. ... Read more
BEHIND THE LENS, YOUR LENS
Terri Gross in Cuba
8
March
Tampa Bay area resident and avid photographer Terri Gross recently traveled to Cuba. We talked with her about her experiences there.
Q: What drew you to travel to Cuba?
A: Well it was actually my second time to Cuba. I was in Havana 57 years ago in my mother’s tummy. My parents and grandparents vacationed there often in the mid 1950s. Over the years I’ve heard many stories and seen many photos of glamorous times and I wanted to see for myself. So I guess the mystique about Cuba and the opportunity to go on a people-to-people cultural exchange program sponsored by Santa Fe Photographic Workshops and Cuba Cultural Travel lured me there.
BEHIND THE LENS | The story behind the image
National Geographic underwater photographer Flip Nicklin
1
March
Widely regarded as the world’s leading cetacean photographer, Flip Nicklin grew up around his father’s small dive shop on the California coast. He went on to become National Geographic’s premiere whale photographer and marine mammal specialist. Over the last quarter century Flip has photographed more than thirty species of whales and dolphins, some so endangered their very survival is in question.
In 2001 he co-founded Whale Trust, a non-profit organization dedicated to research and public education. The mission of Whale Trust is to promote, support, and conduct scientific research on whales and the marine environment and develop public education programs based directly on results of scientific research. Whale Trust is committed to promoting and fostering Maui as a unique living laboratory for whale research and the marine environment. For information, please visit www.whaletrust.org.
What: Flip Nicklin will present a lecture reflecting on his perspective as a photographer, his up-close experiences with the subjects of his images and the role his work has played in the study of whales and dolphins.
When: Wednesday, March 7, 7 pm.
Where: Bishop Planetarium Theater at South Florida Museum, 201 10th Street West, Bradenton.
Details: Reservations for Nicklin's lecture are $7/person for Museum members and $10/person for non-members. Reservations are required and space is limited. To make reservations for the event, call 941-746-4131, ext. 11
BEHIND THE LENS | The story behind the image
Green Card Stories
15
February
As the immigration debate roils America, Green Card Stories cuts through the rhetoric, presenting 50 recent U.S. immigrants in dramatic essays by nationally recognized journalist Saundra Amrhein & compelling portraits by award-winning photographer Ariana Lindquist, in collaboration with immigration lawyers and scholars Laura Danielson & Stephen Yale-Loehr. Several of the portraits were made in the Tampa Bay area. Read the Times story about the book and interview with the author. Visit the Green Card Stories website for more information or to buy a copy of the book. Upcoming local events are described below.
BEHIND THE LENS, YOUR LENS
Photo exhibit: Central Avenue
5
January
The Florida Photographic Collaborative (FPC), a group of ten Tampa Bay area photographers founded in 2009, has self-published a book titled "The Central Avenue Project," which documents the architecture and culture along Central Avenue in St. Petersburg. In the FPC's words: "Walk any stretch of Central Avenue and you will find richness and diversity, quirky characters, fantastic restaurants, eclectic architecture, tireless business owners, and just plain unique moments in the life of everyday St. Petersburg. These ingredients provide rich ground for any photographer. And so, the photographers of the FPC are eager to represent the many facets of Central Avenue through their lenses."
The FPC will present an exhibit of their photos at the St. Petersburg Museum of History, with an opening on Saturday, January 21, from 2-4 pm. The exhibit will run for about three months, but the closing date is yet to be determined. In the meantime, learn a bit about the participating photographers through their images and bios above. Visit the Museum of History website for more info.
BEHIND THE LENS, OUR LENS
2011: Times staff photographers' favorite photos
28
December
BEHIND THE LENS | The story behind the image
Photo exhibit: Conflict Zone
9
November
... Read more
