Friday, October 28, 2011

Chasing the Shot

Last weekend I saw a wonderful exhibit of Vivian Maier's street photography. You can see it, too, at the Stephen Cohen Gallery in Los Angeles, through November 12th. The fascinating story of Maier's life and the discovery of her photos has intrigued me since it came to light. I love how you can see her, or sense her presence, in her photos.

Street photography had been around for a long time before Maier shot in Chicago in the 1950s and 1960s. It'll be around for a long time to come. She was one of the greats.

Altadena's Ibarionex Perello is also a great street photographer, and photographer in general. Besides being my friend he's the producer and writer of The Candid Frame: A Photography Podcast and an adjunct professor at Art Center College of Design. (Plus there's a photo of Boz in Ibarionex's book, Chasing the Light.) Ibarionex will soon be teaching a Digital Camera Bootcamp for beginning and intermediate photographers. Small groups, instruction on how to use your DSLR, and personal attention from an expert. You can't beat it.

No two photographers are alike, nor should they be. I'm not comparing Ibarionex Perello and Vivian Maier. Their work is their own. What I'm saying is I would have liked to have met Vivian Maier and to have learned from her. That's never going to happen and I'm sorry about that. But Ibarionex is right here right now. Lucky us.

Update: readers of Pasadena Daily Photo will find a coupon for a generous discount on Ibarionex's workshop by reading the comments on this post. Thank you, Ibarionex and CP!

21 comments:

Shell Sherree said...

Anyone who includes a photo of Boz in their photography book is mighty fine in my book. I hope Ibarionex has a great roll-up to his bootcamp.

Steven said...

Street photography is a totally different animal. Especially if said photograhy includes a dog named Boz. I've heard the dog works for peanuts too. Better make that peanut- flavored dog bisquits.

Margaret said...

Well, there will be no living with Boz now.

Petrea Burchard said...

Ibarionex took the photo of Boz on the occasion of our first meeting, at a blogger picnic in Altadena about three years ago. I treasure the shot.

Steven, I like how you got the word "animal" in there. And you're right. When you see some of Ibarionex's street shots you wonder at how he sets them up. They're spontaneous yet so well composed.

Margaret, to Boz, photography is like music: he doesn't get it.

dive said...

Great stuff, Petrea. Some inspiring links. Now I'm itching to get out and about with my camera this weekend.

Petrea Burchard said...

Get us some good pics, Dive! Your castles are so much older than ours.

Bellis said...

Fascinating story about the discovery of so many of her photos. It makes me think about photography as art. she had the eye to take good photos, but did she choose which ones to display? Isn't the person who searched through all her images and chose the ones for the exhibition also an important part of the exhibition? I read that Ansel Adams took many photos but spend days selecting only the best and destroyed the others.

Ms M said...

I love Maier's work; it's great you could see the exhibit of her photos. Also, the workshop by Ibarionex Perello sounds excellent. Wish I could attend. Have fun!

Petrea Burchard said...

Bellis, you bring to light the importance of the curator's job. This exhibit was curated beautifully; photos came alive grouped with subtle themes. It was well done.

Ms. M, I wonder if the Maier exhibit is coming your way. I think it's getting around. See it if you can.

Virginia said...

Boz rocks my world. And Vivian Maier does too. I am so grateful to Kevin for tipping us off to this great exhibit and well, you know how I feel about Bozerino.

Your shot of the gallery makes me kick myself for not seeing what you saw. A wonderful post PB.

I love you and Boz and the time we shared.
V

Petrea Burchard said...

Me too, V.

Susan Campisi said...

I love street photography. I hope I can find time to see the Maier exhibit. I'd love to take Ibarionex's bootcamp, too. The Candid Frame is inspiring.

Anonymous said...

Hey everyone, to attend this awesome workshop please go to this link: https://thecandidframe.wufoo.com/forms/the-candid-frame-workshop-registration-form

It's going to be an awesome workshop lead by Ibarionex!!!

Anonymous said...

More info on the workshop:
http://thecandidframe.blogspot.com/p/workshops.html

Karen said...

Anyone know where to get a coupon for the class? Apparently it is worth $50 off, which I'd like to use if I can figure out where to get it!

Petrea Burchard said...

No! I'd love to know where that is because I could sure use it, too. I'm going to start clicking links right now.

Anonymous said...

Hey there, it's the Mrs. Tp register for Ibarionex's workshop to go: www.thecandidframe.blogspot.com/p/workshops.html

Normally he would charge $129.00 for this particular course, however it's $50.00. the Coupon Code:
" ilovetcf "
This is the code which needs to be entered on the registration/payment page so that you can get that special price of $79.00. Hope to see you all thee, it's going to be so much fun!!! (And so educational!)

Thanks a bunch!

CP

Anonymous said...

I meant to type, "It's $50 off the original price of $129.00, therefore reducing the workshop to $79.00

Petrea Burchard said...

Thank you, CP! (I thought that was you!)

Gunn said...

Lucky you!
I have seen youtube films about her and her work, and I am waiting for one of the books about her and her work.....

Petrea Burchard said...

I think you're going to like the book, Gunn. She's not here to decide but those who are curating the work seem sensitive to choosing the best pieces to show. Or maybe they were all that good!