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Ed Sievers
Untitled (Self portrait in mirror), Venice Beach, CA, 1976
Ed Sievers
Ed Sievers

Ed Sievers

Country: United States
Birth: 1932 | Death: 2002

Ed Sievers was born in 1932 in St. Louis, MO, the son of a family doctor that made house calls and an aspiring opera singer. He attended Grinnell College, graduating with a degree in Speech in 1954. His first job was as a creative writer for Hallmark Cards. The slogans he penned were notable for the wry wit and wisdom with which he commented on the human condition. At the same time, his interest in the arts was expanding from the literary to the visual, and would ultimately lead him in a new direction.

In 1966 he was accepted into the MFA program at the Rhode Island School of Design to study photography with Harry Callahan. Upon graduation in 1968 he joined the faculty of California State University, Northridge, as a specialist in fine art photography. He took up residence in the Carlton Hotel in Venice Beach and soon realized he had walked into a street photographer's dream.

Originally designed as a resort community modeled after its Italian namesake, Venice had fallen on hard times. Buildings were in disrepair and rents were cheap. Influenced by the Bohemian lifestyle of its poets, artists, students and a struggling lower class, the boardwalk suddenly sprang to life. There were musicians, dancers, jugglers, mimes, magicians, comedians, roller skaters, fortune tellers, gritty street people and colorful hippies. And, of course, there was the sprawling nude beach. Throngs of gapers flocked from throughout Southern California to enjoy the expressive spirit of the moment.

But that was only on weekends. A quieter, more sensitive mood prevailed during the week. The gentle gestures of holocaust survivors at the Israel Levin Center. The recovering alcoholics quietly heading home after Al-Anon meetings. The homeless searching for food and drink. The once cheerful cottages longing for attention. The iconic murals. The myopic murals. The motions of a people not sure of what lay ahead.

Within a decade the Venice that Ed knew had been swallowed up by rampant commercialism and the inexorable influx of the nouveau riche. Upon his death in 2002, the Edwin R. Sievers Memorial Award was established to share his vision with future students; "His approach to photography was straight forward: use the nuances of available light to enhance the subject, whatever that may be: ordinary, quirky, or sublime."

Source: Robert Mann Gallery

 

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More Great Photographers To Discover

Bruce Davidson
United States
1933
Bruce Davidson began taking photographs at the age of ten in Oak Park, Illinois. While attending Rochester Institute of Technology and Yale University, he continued to further his knowledge and develop his passion. He was later drafted into the army and stationed near Paris. There he met Henri Cartier-Bresson, one of the founders of the renowned cooperative photography agency, Magnum Photos. When he left military service in 1957, Davidson worked as a freelance photographer for LIFE magazine and in 1958 became a full member of Magnum. From 1958 to 1961 he created such seminal bodies of work as “The Dwarf,” Brooklyn Gang,” and “Freedom Rides.” He received a Guggenheim fellowship in 1962 and created a profound documentation of the civil rights movement in America. In 1963, the Museum of Modern Art in New York presented his early work in a solo show. In 1967, he received the first grant for photography from the National Endowment for the Arts, having spent two years witnessing the dire social conditions on one block in East Harlem. This work was published by Harvard University Press in 1970 under the title East 100th Street and was later republished and expanded by St. Ann’s Press. The work became an exhibition that same year at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In 1980, he captured the vitality of the New York Metro’s underworld that was later published in a book, Subway, and exhibited at the International Center for Photography in 1982. From 1991-95 he photographed the landscape and layers of life in Central Park. In 2006, he completed a series of photographs titled “The Nature of Paris,” many of which have been shown and acquired by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Davidson received an Open Society Institute Individual Fellowship in 1998 to return to East 100th Street His awards include the Lucie Award for Outstanding Achievement in Documentary Photography in 2004 and a Gold Medal Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Arts Club in 2007. Classic bodies of work from his 50-year career have been extensively published in monographs and are included in many major public and private fine art collections around the world. He continues to photograph and produce new bodies of work.Source: Magnum Photos
Ted Anderson
United States
I'm a photographer and designer (graphics and exhibitions) living in upstate New York, with a passion for photographing landscapes, interiors, and people. The pared down features in many of these photographs reflect my interest in natural history, and in the passage of time and the remnants of the past in the present. While the photographs were taken in places as diverse as the lakes and beaches in Maine, gardens in England, and the rural hills of central New York state, all of the images reveal my preference for the simplicity and a certain joyfulness that can exist with austerity. Is there a story behind each of these images? Always.Ted Anderson is presented by TBM Photography NetworkTBM Photography Network regularly presents the popular series: "Photographer Spotlight.” In this part of their newsletter and FaceBook page various fellow photographers are interviewed to learn more about what motivates them, what their goals are and what direction they wish to take with their art. In this segment they welcome the talents of photographer Ted Anderson. TBMPN: What best describes your particular style of photography? TA:I am drawn to austerity, simplicity and to capturing beauty in places that might seem lonely to some. I think a lot about the relationship between people and their environments, and sometimes I look for a figure or a remnant of the past in my exterior or interior photographs. I do not put elements together artificially, but try to present images as I find them. Sometimes I allow stories to arise from the moments captured with the camera. TBMPN: What equipment do you regularly use? TA:My main camera of choice is a Nikon D90 with an 18-100mm lens and a 50-200mm lens. When shooting landscapes, I often go with the wide angle settings. I use a small variety of filters that include neutral density and polarizing filters. Any processing is done on a Mac computer, and I work primarily in Photoshop’s Camera Raw and in Silver Efex. TBMPN: Who or what do you consider your major influences? TA:There are many photographers and painters whose work I admire, but right now I’d have to say that the photographs of Brett and Edward Westen, Julia Margaret Cameron and Walker Evans come to mind. I also love the paintings of Andrew Wyeth and Edward Hopper. Visually I am also inspired through music and words that include songs by Bill Callahan, novels by Marilynne Robinson, and the poems by W.S. Merwin. TBMPN: Why did you choose photography as your method of expression? TA:As a kid I loved to draw, and I’ve also composed songs on the guitar for years. Photography, however, is what brings to me the greatest level of creative satisfaction and that sense of connection to others. Just about anyone can take a photograph, but to create an image that might move another person emotionally or intellectually is a challenge that I enjoy. TBMPN: What do you wish to accomplish with your photography? TA:I wish to continue expressing myself both artistically and emotionally and to keep creating images with which people can connect. I recently heard from an old friend, someone I haven’t seen in years, who had requested a print that she’d seen online. That sort of thing does not happen every day, and when it does, it’s quite wonderful. TBMPN: What are your current projects? TA:This past year I have been photographing more portraits, and I’m in the process of setting up a few more portrait sessions. I will be having a solo exhibition in 2016 at the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, New York. This exhibition will include landscape and interior images from New York State as well as portraits. In the meantime I am always thinking about new locations to explore. TBMPN: What are your plans for future projects? TA:I’d like to see my photography business expand a bit over the next couple of years. I would like also to take on more portrait and interior photography projects. This next July (2014) I will be in England for two weeks and will have an opportunity for some informal wedding shots in the countryside. I’ll also have the chance to do some street photography in London. I can’t wait!
Humberto Ybarra
Humberto Ybarra, born in Seville and now based in El Puerto de Santa María (Cádiz), is a self-taught Spanish photographer whose quiet, evocative landscapes have become his signature. He began his photographic journey in the late 1990s, but it wasn't until 2010 that he fully embraced photography as a passion. Over the years, Ybarra explored a range of genres—from portraiture and still life to conceptual work—but it was in 2018 that he discovered his distinctive voice: minimalist landscapes rooted in the farmlands of southern Spain. His compositions are imbued with solitude, mystery, and a lyrical calm that borders on the metaphysical. Often featuring a single object—an isolated tree, a whitewashed farmhouse, a stretch of scorched earth—his images celebrate the poetry of the everyday and the quiet resonance of overlooked places. Inspired by his lifelong love of painting, Ybarra’s photographs have often been described as “pictorial” or even “cinematographic.” Critics draw parallels between his work and the poetry of Antonio Machado, pointing to a shared sensitivity to landscape, memory, and the silent passage of time. Gallery owner Eugenia Alcázar describes his work as revealing “a loneliness that pierces the bones,” while art critic Bea Maeztu sees in his images “a personal interpretation of nature… a lyrical solitude that departs from realism to insert a magical touch of dreaminess.” His photographs do not document; they suggest, evoke, and invite reflection. As journalist Álvaro Sánchez León writes, “Ybarra transforms everyday farmlands into a powerful magnet for eyes thirsty for discreet, extraordinary beauty… His work speaks of heat, mystery, and eloquent silence.” Ybarra’s images have been exhibited in Seville, El Puerto de Santa María, Gaucín, Barcelona, and Madrid. Whether capturing the golden desolation of a wheat field or the humble elegance of a dry thistle, he offers us not just landscapes, but inner worlds—meditative, timeless, and deeply rooted in the Andalusian soul. Awarded Photographer of the Week - Week 27
Alicia Moneva
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Little by little I found comfortable with the photographic image and the human figure to express the ideas that were emerging. I went through a very unproductive at work time, since I opposed the painting to photography, when they were actually for me very complementary. At this time that seemed to lost went back to College, first studying psychology and later philosophy. None of the two races ended them, as it was not so important to have an academic degree, but if you continue learning, similar of being alive. My exhibitions were photography, although in principle and respect for the world of photography, I thought that I was an intruder, had the desire and the security to do so, also the need. Self-portrait I submit for publication to reflect a state of confusion we all, from time to time we have suffered, when a mesh does not let you see clearly the reality. As if it were a necessary self-deception on occasions." -- Alicia Moneva - Madrid, October 2013 Interview with Alicia Moneva AAP: When did you realize you wanted to be a photographer?It was progressive. I needed to work with the human figure and I felt more comfortable with photography. AAP: Where did you study photography?I didn't study painting or photography. My teachers were architects who knew the method and had perception. AAP: How long have you been a photographer?I have been taking photographs for 20 years but, professionally, just 10. AAP: Do you remember your first shot? What was it?They were objects that I wanted to paint in my Studio and I couldn't move them from the place they were. And also black and white portraits, many portraits. AAP: What or who inspires you?I am inspired by philosophy, anthropology, biology... and now also particle physics. Science and arts basically. 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Ami Vitale
United States
1971
Nikon Ambassador and National Geographic magazine photographer Ami Vitale has traveled to more than 100 countries, bearing witness not only to violence and conflict, but also to surreal beauty and the enduring power of the human spirit. Throughout the years, Ami has lived in mud huts and war zones, contracted malaria, and donned a panda suit— keeping true to her belief in the importance of “living the story.” In 2009, after shooting a powerful story on the transport and release of one the world’s last white rhinos, Ami shifted her focus to today’s most compelling wildlife and environmental stories. Instyle Magazine named Ami one of fifty Badass Women, a series celebrating women who show up, speak up and get things done. She appeared alongside a group of incredible women including Jane Goodall, Christiane Amanpour and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She has been named Magazine photographer of the year in the International Photographer of the Year prize, received the Daniel Pearl Award for Outstanding Reporting and named Magazine Photographer of the Year by the National Press Photographers Association, among others. She is a five-time recipient of WorldPress Photos, including 1st Prize for her 2018 National Geographic magazine story about a community in Kenya protecting elephants. She published a best-selling book, Panda Love, on the secret lives of pandas. She is a featured speaker for the National Geographic LIVE series, and frequently gives talks and workshops throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Her photographs have been commissioned by nearly every international publication and exhibited around the world in museums and galleries. She is a founding member of Ripple Effect Images, an organization of renowned female scientists, writers, photographers and filmmakers working together to create powerful and persuasive stories that shed light on the hardships women in developing countries face and the programs that can help them. She is also on the Photojournalism Advisory Council for the Alexia Foundation. Currently based in Montana, Ami Vitale is a contract photographer with National Geographic magazine and frequently gives workshops throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Ami Vitale talks about Climate Change Awareness
Takuma Nakahira
Japan
1938 | † 2015
Takuma Nakahira was a Japanese photographer, critic, and theorist. He was a member of the seminal photography collective Provoke, played a central role in developing the theorization of landscape discourse, and was one of the most prominent voices in 1970s Japanese photography. Born in Tokyo, Nakahira attended the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, from which he graduated in 1963 with a degree in Spanish. After graduation, he began working as an editor at the art magazine Contemporary View (Gendai no me), during which time he published his work under the pseudonym of Akira Yuzuki. Two years later, he left the magazine in order to help organize the major 1968 exhibition One Hundred Years of Photography: The History of Japanese Photographic Expression at the invitation of Shōmei Tōmatsu, an effort to which photo critic Kōji Taki also contributed. In 1968, he and Taki teamed up with photographer Yutaka Takanashi, and critic Takahiko Okada, to found the magazine Provoke: Provocative documents for the sake of thought. By the second issue, Daidō Moriyama had joined the group, but Provoke ceased publication with its third issue, First discard the world of pseudo certainty: the thinking behind photography and language, in March 1970. Nakahira and the other Provoke members were well known for what was termed their "are, bure, boke" (rough, blurry, and out of focus) style, associated with spontaneity and thus supposedly a more direct confrontation with reality in that it would circumvent conscious control. While working on Provoke, Nakahira published his first photobook, For a Language to Come, which has been described as "a masterpiece of reductionism." Ryūichi Kaneko and Ivan Vartanian feature the book prominently in their book on seminal Japanese photobooks of the 1960s and 70s, and Martin Parr and Gerry Badger include it in the first volume of their international photobook history. Vartanian describes the volume as exemplary of Provoke's vision and concept of photography in Nakahira's use of the are, bure, boke style, but also for presenting full-bleed snapshots of anonymous corners of Tokyo that either cross over or abut each other at the book's gutter. Vartanian argues that "By erasing the conventional functionality of the photograph as document, memory, verification, emotion, and narrative, he revealed the illusory nature of photography as a conduit of information or portrayal of reality, while at the same time underscoring the only tangible reality available to the viewer—the printed image," eschewing documentation of social issues to instead present a personal, diaristic perspective. In 1977, at the age of 39, Nakahira suffered alcohol poisoning and fell into a coma. As a result of this trauma, he suffered permanent memory loss and aphasia, effectively ending his prolific writings. This event has also conventionally been understood as marking a change in his photographic practice since, after a hiatus from his image-making activities, he returned to the medium in a style quite distinct from that for which he was known. Curator and photo critic Kuraishi Shino and Masuda, however, argue that in spite of any stylistic differences with his earlier work, Nakahira's post-1977 practice should be understood as a conceptual continuation of the project he embarked on in 1973 with Why an Illustrated Botanical Dictionary. Nakahira's post-1977 photographs were collected in three photobooks: A New Gaze (1983), Adieu à X (1989), and Hysteric Six Nakahira Takuma (2002). While Nakahira was always an important figure within Japanese photographic circles, the upsurge in research and exhibitions on post-WWII Japanese photography since the 2000s has led to a reevaluation of Nakahira's contributions to Japanese photographic, media, and art discourses in recent years, especially outside of Japan. His work has been included in recent seminal exhibitions of Japanese post-WWII art including the Getty Research Institute's Art, Anti-Art, Non-Art: Experimentation in the Public Sphere in Postwar Japan, 1950-1970 (2007), the Museum of Modern Art's Tokyo: 1955-1970 (2012), the Museum of Fine Arts Houston's For a New World to Come: Experiments in Japanese Art and Photography 1968–1979 (2015), National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo's Things: Rethinking Japanese Photography and Art in the 1970s (2015), and the Art Institute of Chicago's Provoke: Photography in Japan between Protest and Performance, 1960-1975 (2017).Source: Wikipedia
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