February 5, 2012

Citizens We Community Portrait Project, Continues…

Filed under: Design,Media,Observations,Photography — Tags: Citizens We, Debra Weiss, Jarvis Grant, Joanne Henson, Terry deBardelaben — Jarvo @ 11:29 pm

Nancy, ©Jarvis Grant

A few month ago, I launch a proposal on USA Projects. I was seeking funding for, Citizens We. At that time I was looking to get $5000 for an upgrade to a new 24 inch Epson printer. Well, I didn’t make my goal and the USA Projects aspect of the project folded. With USA Projects it’s an All or Nothing deal. The odd thing is that while I got nothing from the USA Projects part of it, Citizens We actually began to pick up speed and developed a life of its own. People in the community bought into it, and it started to develop a life of its own.

The strange thing about the “Crowd Funding” model was that many of the people I actually knew, friends and family, didn’t support the project. They all wanted to write me a check! But, that’s not how this model works. With Crowd Funding, you “pledge” an amount to a 3rd party organization. Three folks I knew, my daughter, Maya, and two Howard University classmates, Clarissa Sligh and Dan Wade, along with a former student, which I believe was Chris Belcher (or Chris Smith) bought into the process. The rest were strangers! Now, as disheartening as this was, I came out of the experience feeling pretty good. A colleague of mine Debra Weiss gave me a call from LA to let me know she believed in the project and would add her support for it to continue. That call was HUGE to my ego and my sense that the Citizens We was an important project to keep pushing forward.

Back in December of 2011 another friend and colleague, Joanne Henson, offered me an opportunity to setup an impromptu studio at her Holiday Craft Bazaar. This afforded me the change to setup the studio, and solicited people to be a part of the project. Along with making the photographs was doing the paperwork for Citizens We. This would not have been accomplished without the help and encouragement of my friend and now Project Director, Terry deBardelaben. Terry was the one who gave me the idea of a community portrait project, and her support has been my most valuable asset. Photographers like to believe they can do everything by themselves. At least that’s what their PR hype will push forward. But now I see that all artists need someone to manage the details. Or if are not managing those details, to point them out to the photographer/artist, so their attention and action can be addressed.

Here are a few of the portraits I made at Joanne’s Holiday Craft Bazaar. There are some exciting things happening with the project that I’ll be sharing once we are underway. So for all of you that supported the project when it was on USA Projects thanks so very much! New aspects of the project are proceeding, and I’ll be informing you of the progress. Thanks a lot for your continuing and renewed support for Citizens We.

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February 1, 2012

New Photography Magazine: The PHOTO Paper

Filed under: Folio,Media,Observations,Photography — Tags: Brooks Jensen, Jarvis Grant, Lenswork, The PHOTO PAPER — Jarvo @ 4:54 pm

The PHOTO PAPER premire Issue cover

A couple of weeks ago I got an email notice from the Black & White Spider Awards. I was informed that my photographs were being included in the premier issue of a new photography magazine out of London, UK called The PHOTO Paper. This new magazine, “…spotlights the world’s finest photography and shares with its reader intelligent insights from the photographers of the published collections.” For their premiere issue they’ve showcase a amazing international black & white collection featuring 522 photographers from 46 countries. Hey that’s nice. Glad to be a part of it! The PHOTO Paper comes in two flavors, print edition and digital edition. The print edition of The PHOTO Paper includes editorial, stories and interviews. The digital issues have more pages and images than the print editions. The digital issues do not include editorial or interviews.

This approach is an interesting one, in that here in the US, there is a publication, Lenswork, that has been around for almost 20 years. With Lenswork, they have the opposite approach with their publication. The print edition is smaller and the digital edition is larger in both “pages” and scope. The digital editions takes advantage of being able to to show Black & White and Color photographs. It also has video and audio interviews. Plus it maintains a an archive of the podcast produced by the publisher Brooks Jensen. The digital edition also comes in a few flavors. There’s an iPad/Pod version, the DVD edition and a newly created online Lenswork digital hub, Daily Lenswork. Brooks Jensen has been able to keep his baby going fired by his passion for photography and the creative process. A few years ago, he made a very brave and bold decision. He took his print magazine off newsstand and offered it only through his Lenswork Virtual Newsstand web site. He was thinking green. Both for the environment and his bank account! In fact the whole Lenswork concept came about in part, to his reaction to the Fine Art Gallery System. Jensen believed this “System” was not in the best interest of the artist. Lenswork offered an alternative platform of expression for the artist photographer. It also provided an alternative for artist on how to think about how to control their careers. I also feel that Lenswork provided Jensen with the opportunity to make a substantial contribution to the photographic community/industry. Check him and his publication out.

Ok back to me! Well, when I downloaded the PHOTO Paper digital edition pdf, I was very surprised to se that I had a page for one photograph and a double spread for the other. Thanks The PHOTO Paper. What sensitivity and taste you folks have! But seriously, I’m honored to be part of the Photo Paper’s premier issue. Plus a special shout out to the Black & White Spider Awards for making it possible. Thanks guys.

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January 22, 2012

Technical Innovation and the Basics: Part 1

Filed under: Digital Tech,Innovation,Observations,Photography — Tags: FinePix X100, Fujifilm X-Pro1 — Jarvo @ 2:43 pm

I was recently reading about the new Fujifilm X-Pro1 camera. This camera looks to be the “professional” version of Fujifilm X100. I was very excited about the X100 even though I wasn’t in the market for a new camera. What excited me about the X100 was the fact that this camera looked great! Any camera with a shutter speed dial and the f/stops on the lens barrel has got my vote. At least for now. When I saw the first X100 reviews, the camera seemed wanting. Then I thought about the criticism. Beyond the usual bugs found in first generation technology, the reviewer spoke about the “handling” of the camera. The photos were “blurry”. Not out of focus, but blurry. In the days of film cameras, blurry pictures were not the fault of the camera. It was then I realized, “This guy is new to photography, and has only handled digital cameras.

A few years ago I heard a very interesting comment from a pro shooter. He said that, “All digital cameras are point & shoot.” The comment was referencing a statement made by another photographer about difference in “quality” (and probably more so, price) between pro cameras and amateur ones. The down play of cheaper/amateur cameras was that , “They to everything for you, not like a real (pricey/pro) camera. With the statement that “all” digital cameras are point and shoot cameras, this means that if a photographer actually understands the concepts of the photograph’s relationship to exposure and the situation, they can “program” the pricey camera to simply perform to the needs of any given situation. This allows the photographer to concentrate on getting the most compelling image, without concerning themselves with mundane technicalities of f/stops and shutter speeds.

The point of this little rant is that, when the reviewer said the camera produced blurry or soft photos, he blamed the camera, not his technique. Film cameras had no “Image stabilization”. That was your job as photographer. You had to practice handling your camera. What’s the slowest speed I can get away with and have a sharp image? How fast can my thumb advance the film? How quickly can I load the camera (with film!)? These were basic issues and skills, back in the day. You were carful, not carefree. You looked hard, immersed yourself in the scene or situation, and you took your time without wasting any. The innovations in digital photography addresses these issues by allowing you to perform these skills with greater ease. Hey it’s great to be able to carry the equivalent of a brick of film (20 rolls) in your pocket! Yet, when photographers do not address the basic elements of photography, then the cameras and Fotoshop are taking and making the pictures.

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December 22, 2011

Pledge Your Support for Citizens We

Filed under: Innovation,Inspiration,Observations,Photography,Video — Tags: Citizens We, USA Projects — Jarvo @ 3:53 pm

The Citizens We Project is a photographic portrait of the people in the neighborhoods of Adams Morgan & Mt. Pleasant in Washington, DC. The project consist of a collection of twenty to thirty 24 x 36 inch Black & White prints. These photographs will be exhibited throughout the neighborhood in storefronts and public places. They will also be exhibited as a collection of images in a traditional and online galleries. My project proposal request is for $5000.00. These funds will be used to acquire a 24 inch, wide format ink jet photographic printer and the exhibition support materials

The project is being hosted at United States Artist Projects website:

Citizens-We

The Citizens We Project goal of $5000 must be reached by January 9, 2012
Go there to learn more about the project and support the project by pledging a tax deductible donation in any amount. Also, for your pledge of support there are several wonderful gifts. They are my way of saying Thank You for supporting me and helping to keep art alive in our community. Your tax deductible contribution in support of Citizens We will go a long way in affirming the powerful role multiculturalism plays in fostering a stronger and more beneficial society for all its citizens.

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December 20, 2011

Eddie Tapp: Image Rescue Webinar

Filed under: Digital Tech,How-To,Photography,Photoshop,Video — Tags: Color Management, Eddie Tapp, Photoshop, x-rite — Jarvo @ 1:27 pm

This webinar is part of x-rite’s educational series of color management webinars. I found that this webinar was extremely informative, and clear approach to understanding how to correct image color problems. This video by Eddie Tapp is about one hour long, but moves quickly. Definitely worth a bookmark.

Webinar: Image Rescue for Problem Files with Eddie Tapp! from X-Rite Photo on Vimeo.

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September 21, 2011

Nikon 1 System: Has Nikon finally got small right?

Filed under: Digital Tech,Innovation,Observations,Photography — Tags: CX Sensor, Jarvis Grant, Leica, Nikon, Nikon 1, Olympus, Panasonic LX3, Ricoh, Sony — Jarvo @ 8:21 pm

The Nikon1 Series Family of Products

Nikon has introduced the Nikon 1 camera system. Not to be out done by Olympus, Panasonic, and Ricoh, Nikon has produced a small sensor, mirrorless, interchangeable lens camera system. These cameras are targeting photography enthusiast who want to actually learn photography and step-up from their point & shoot camera. The system is also trying to woo pro photographers who want a serious camera with interchangeable lens that don’t weigh a ton and are small & agile.

First there’s the Nikon J1. This 10 megapixel camera is design with the photo enthusiast in mind. It’s got a bunch of pro features, yet its interface is closer to the familiar point & shoot model this photographer may be used to. It also has a couple of “dangerous” features! I consider a feature dangerous when the camera ports to be smarter than the human being using it. One such feature is , Smart Photo Selector. If you’re too dumb to choose which shot is best, the camera will make the selection for you! The subject’s head is down or turned from the lens? Hmmm…that must be a mistake! Let’s (the camera) delete it. Nikon marketing experts say, “With a single touch using Smart Photo Selector there are no more imperfect photos.” Yeah, right. Well, if you want it comes in different colors, like pink, with lenses to match!

Nikon 1 J1 in Red

Ok, next is the big brother , the Nikon 1 V1. Again this is a 10 megapixel camera with a few extra “pro” features. It has an electronic viewfinder, a hot shoe, Nikon i-TTL flash metering utilizing the Nikon Creative Lighting System, with both an electronic & mechanical shutter with speeds as low as 30 seconds, and the option of adding an external mic when shooting HD video. It looks to be quite interesting. At least on paper. Only comes in black, thank God!

Both cameras have the new Nikon CX sensor. This sensor is smaller that the Nikon DX sensor and the four-thirds senor. Yet, it’s bigger than the normal point & shoot camera sensors. This should up the ante on image quality without packing in a bunch of false megapixel numbers. At least for the time being. Both cameras also shoot HD 1920 X 1080/60i video with a HDMI output, but no HDMI cable in the box. They also come with Nikon’s low end viewer software which can “edit” stills and video. Hey Nikon you could have done a little better here. Like offer Adobe Photoshop/Premier Elements. Or offer a stand alone computer capture module. Oh well!

Nikon 1 V1 in Basic Black

Still there’s one feature these cameras have that I think is really cool, The Motion Snapshot. With the Motion Snapshot, when you take a picture it captures a tiny video. It reminds of Star Trek Voyager, where they had digital picture frames that had just a little bit of motion to them. Pretty slick!

The orange rectangle is the Nikon CX Sensor

Now, I’m a Nikon shooter. I first real camera was a 1965 Nikon F. I’ve always bought Nikon, until my first point & shoot Nikon. It was a piece of junk. Than I bought a second one a bit higher on the food chain, it was a piece of crap too. Both cameras just simply fell apart From that I said “Never again!”. My final point & shoot 35mm camera was a Leica Mini-Lux Zoom. Now that was (and still is) a camera! Then I experimented. I bought some Nikon CoolPix for my school (Ellington School of the Arts in DC). Was not impressed. So now, I’m looking for an interchangeable small digital camera and this Nikon1 V1 could be it. But if Nikon has come up with this, Canon can not be far behind. Both Nikon and Canon, who are the traditional Camera Giants, are still playing technology catch-up with, the new kids on the block, Olympus (who’s not that new!), Panasonic, Sony and Ricoh. Hey, things are starting to get interesting!

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September 14, 2011

Amtrak Northeast Regional: Part 1

Filed under: Education,Folio,Gallery,How-To,Observations,Photography — Tags: Amtrak, Jarvis Grant, Leica, Maya Grant-Richardson, Mt. Vernon NY, New Rochelle NY, Panasonic LX3 — Jarvo @ 10:09 pm

My route from Washington, DC Union Station to New Rochelle, NY.

I’ve been traveling on Amtrak since I was in college in the early 1970s. During those days the train only stopped at New York Penn Station. Now Amtrak’s Northeast Regional, stops a little closer to my hometown of Mt. Vernon, NY at New Rochelle, NY. So, for the past three years I’ve been going up to New York on a more regular bases, about 5 times a year. Checking in on my Mom and my daughter, Maya. Now, Maya grew up in DC, but has recently moved up to New York to live her dream of being an artist and helping her Grandma. She’s really making a go of it and is doing better at it then in DC. I find that interesting because DC is a smaller creative market than New York, and a bit easier to break into. But New York is more progressive and a real art town.

Okay, now during all those years of riding the train, I would a photograph here and there, no big deal. Spent most of the ride sleeping. During the past three years I got a really nice point & shoot digital camera, the Panasonic Lumix LX3. The camera is small, fast and pocketable with a wide angle f/2.0 Leica zoom lens. This camera allows me to shoot more pictures, about the equivalent of 7 rolls of film, on a two gigabyte memory card. I love it. Very surprised with the images I’ve been producing with during my mini train journeys. I also carry an extra memory card and battery. That’s almost a brick of film, for those who remember film bricks!

Now a few things have been happening. The first is that I’ve been becoming more familiar with the scenic’s of the trip. Though I’ve become familiar with the views, I’m not familiar enough to setup and be ready to take a shot. A lot is still hit and miss. A little more miss than hit it turns out! Still I’m learning how to get better shots. After all, I can’t ask the conductor to stop the train or slow it down. So I’ve worked out a methodology for shooting. It goes something like this. I tend to anticipate a photo. As we approach the scene, I’ll ten decide to push the shutter or not. If not and I feel I should have, that composition I missed will go into my mental archive of possibilities. As this archive grows, the potential of making a good shot increases. So I’ll miss “that” shot, but the possibility of something similar appearing again down the track or during another trip increases.

Conductor on the Amtrak Northeast Regional, leaving New Rochelle, NY on to Boston. ©Jarvis Grant

The next thing that happens when photographing out the window is camera handling. When a stretch of scenery seems promising I turn the camera on so it will be ready to go. Hey the camera is fast, but it’s still a point & shoot. When I firat point the camera out the window, it takes the sensor/light meter about three seconds to adjust to the change of light and become operable, and another 2-3 seconds to focus (if I’m lucky). A lot can pass by in 6 seconds as the train speeds on. I also set the camera to “Burst Mode” so it can keep taking pictures and give be more options of a scene. The downside of Burst Mode, is the camera takes time to process those photos. During that processing time the camera can’t take any new images. Finally, if it’s bright, I put the camera on “Program” so I don’t have to think about exposure and other camera stuff. As it gets darker, I go to Manual Mode or Shutter Priority. More techno thinking and a little less esthetic thinking. Still, it’s all good fun, which is the bottom line along with having new photos.

Within this body of work there are a few thematic series. Below are a few sample images. I’m still working all these images out, sifting and sorting them out. So, in future post, I’ll share what I’ve been doing with these photos as I continue to ride the rails on the Northeast Regional.

Crossing the Bay between Philly and Wilmington. ©Jarvis Grant

Traveler checking the time board at Newark, NJ Penn Station. ©Jarvis Grant

New Rochelle Station at Twilight. ©Jarvis Grant

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August 24, 2011

The Jazz Photography of Francis Wolff

Filed under: Art History,Inspiration,Photography,Video — Tags: Blue Note Records, Francis Wolff, Jazz Photography, John Coltrane, Michael Cuscuna — Jarvo @ 1:07 pm

During the 1950’s and 60’s Francis Wolff was the “official” photographer of Blue Note Records. He was at every recording session making photographs. So as it turns out Wolff became the visual archivist of Blue Note Records. These sessions took place in the living room studio of Rudy Van Gelder. A fact that I find absolutely incredible! In a shot of Miles Davis between takes you can see some of the living room furniture and television. Amazing! You can check out the book, Blue Note Jazz Photography by Francis Wolff. This link is to the soft cover edition on Amazon.

To find out more, but not all, check out this video over at Mosaic Records were Michael Cuscuna speaks to the and about the Jazz Photographs of Francis Wolff.

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August 22, 2011

Red River Paper Pro: Jarvis Grant

Filed under: Design,Folio,Inspiration,Media,Observations,Photography — Tags: Drew Hendrix, Jarvis Grant, Red River Paper — Jarvo @ 12:56 am

This past week I officially became a Red River Paper Pro. I have been using Red River Paper for about 10 years. It’s a great inkjet paper that comes in many varieties of surfaces, and sizes. I first started using the Premium 37lb Matte in 17×22 sheets and 17 in rolls for projects at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington DC. As a member of the Museum Studies department faculty, I choose this paper as an alliterative to Epson’s Enhanced Matte paper. First, because it was a lot cheaper than the epson stuff, and then I started to notice that the Red River paper didn’t turn yellow at the same rate that the Epson paper did. Then as papers were getting harder to obtain at local photography dealers, I decided to switch totally to Red River products.

OK back to me! When I saw that Red River had this pro section, I sent them an email to see how to be a member of the club. Drew Hendrix responded and gave me the details of the procedure. I sent the info and samples, and it was a go. I was then put in touch with the editor, Arthur Bleich. He made the final selection on the image to be used. He choose the image from the intro of the the Botanical Gallery of my web site. I offered another option, Three Black-eye Susans, but he wanted the image, Blowin’ Flower, because of its “elaborate” lighting and “action”. He was surprised that the dandelion picture wasn’t as elaborate a setup as he thought. I used a scanner to take this action shot!

So, please stop by the Jarvis Grant Red River Pro page and check it out. Thanks!

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August 2, 2011

New Cityscapes, 2011

Filed under: Design,Folio,Observations,Photography — Tags: HDR Efex Pro, Jarvis Grant, Kogod Courtyard, National Museum of American Art, Nik Software, Southeast Washington DC — Jarvo @ 12:18 am

This summer I’ve been going to the Kogod Courtyard at the National Museum of American Art, here in Washington, DC.. I’ve been using it as a “getaway” now that Borders Books & Music is no longer around. The thing I really enjoy about the NMAA is that it stays open until 7:00 PM everyday, so most of the tourist have gone by around 5:00. Since I’m usually leaving around what Jay Maisel calls the Golden Hour or Golden Time. This normally means the there’s a golden color cast from the late afternoon sun. I think of it as that time of day when the sun is low in the sky and cast long shadows. At any rate it’s a nice light.

For the last few weeks I’ve been doing some casual shooting in the courtyard and during my walk from the museum to my bus stop. After awhile you start to come up with a series of images. Now I haven’t consciously thought of shooting a series, but since I have a camera with me, I shoot. There’s also some new construction happening on the corner of10th & G Streets NW. This new architecture (new in terms of its presence at the location, not its style) captures my attention in the way the glass walls & corner catch the sky’s light.

I’ve pulled a few of these images and started to play with them. I’ve also started experimenting with tonal mapping usinf Nik Software, HDR Efex Pro. for my own work, I’m not a big HDR fan. I guess I should really say I’m not a fan of the new classic” HDR look, but in terms of using the technique to dig a little deeper into the highlight and shadow detail of a scene and extending the tonal range, you can get some interesting results. While a can shoot multi exposure bracket with my Panasonic LX3, I can only make three exposures. When I do this I normally make the exposures that cover a range of 2 f/stops. The image from the Kogod Courtyard utilizes this technique. The rest are single exposure that have utilize HDR tone mapping.

So, okay, here are the photos.

Kogod Courtyard at the National Museum of American Art

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