I have a lot of books on photography and I keep on accumulating and accumulating them. I think about is as a path that I am building for myself. Since there is so much to learn about, I sometimes tend to get a bit overwhelmed by the amount of information that I want to absorb and I keep on going back to books I read in the past realizing that they make way more sense to me after that other book I just read. Despite my weird approach, I like sharing things that I find useful for myself and that have helped and still help me understand photography, its roots, its development, its most important figures. So here is a small list of books that I found particularly interesting. I will spare you the “obvious” ones, such as the must-have Sontag books, Benjamin and Barthes.

Lately I’ve been reading “Photography after Frank“: basically a collection of essays by Philip Gefter, who worked for the New York Times for more than fifteen years. It’s a good book and I recommend it (it would not have hurt to have more photographs in the “illustrative” section but it’s fine I guess). Among my favorite essays “The Imagist’s Eye – on Henry Wessel”.

“Long Life Cool White – Photographs and Essays by Moyra Davey“. There are many reasons why I love this book. It could be the reflective writing, the personal photographs or simply how it feels in my hands.

“Unmarked. The politics of performance” by Peggy Phelan. This was a happy discovery and I have to say it’s not the easiest of the books I have but it is fascinating and I keep on going back to it. It is a very sharp analysis of visibility through a feminist point of view, through the examination of works by Mapplethorpe and Sherman (to list some). A very good way of describing the focus of this book is, I think, a sentence on page 27:

“Umarked concentrates on the broken symmetry between the self and the other, and the possibilities this break affords for rehearsing the political consequences of an acknowledgment of a failed inward gaze. Precisely because the gaze is “not-all”, representation cannot be totalizing. Representation always shows more than it means: in the supplement one can see ways to intervene in its meaning”.

“Illuminations. Women writing on Photography from the 1850s to the Present” by Liz Heron and Val Williams is also a very interesting book that I bought a while back. The title is pretty self explanatory.

Also, a good reference book for those who are interested in Surrealism, “Photography and Surrealism. Sexuality, colonialism and social dissent” by David Bate. I have to say it is rather hard to find books on photography and surrealism without having to buy a big expensive ouvrage. This one is clear and with a rich bibliography (which is great if, like myself, you start reading a book by looking at the bibliography).

An all time favorite of mine, although it is not too much of a theory/analysis oriented book, is the Phaidon’s 5-book collection of Women photographers, “Five Great Women Photographers“. I bought it when I was still in university and that’s how I discovered Mary Ellen Mark, whose work I admire and respect so much.

Also a monograph, “L’Hôtel” by Sophie Calle, a book (in French) that was not so easy to find. If you are familiar with Calle’s work you will know about this series, for which she took a temporary job as a maid at a Venice hotel and then snapped photographs in guests’ rooms. The idea (or the “game” as Calle calls it), came while emulating the fictional character of Maria, a character in Léviathan, by Paul Auster, to whom the author imposes a rather rigid set of rituals (such as eating food of one separate color each day, living a day based on a letter of the alphabet). Calle did the same and then published it all in a series of books, of which “L’hôtel is number 5.

That’s it for now. I will dig in my library and see if I find more books I can suggest. Happy discovering!

After ruling out London as a potential dream place to live (though it’s still a great source for interesting shots), I am happily home, soon looking for a new apartment and trying to figure out my next move.

I have several ideas, a new project that is (too) slowly coming together, in which I will be cooperating with a great artist and very dear friend of mine, another project that is supposed to be in its final stages but somehow it’s not (?).
To make the story short, after “Structurally recyclable, basically disposable” I wanted some breathing time, however absurd that might sound.
Ideas come to me in the strangest moments of the day, and I am very excited about this new cooperative work I will be doing, of which I shall tell you nothing just yet.

If you want, however, here is my take on London.

I am in London for a couple weeks to attend two interesting courses on textile design and this chaotic city tends to be overwhelming, at least to someone who is used to relaxed, “take-your-time” Berlin. Not sure why, but whenever I am somewhere, for something I had been looking forward to for a long time, I can’t stop thinking about the place I left behind, even though it’s only very temporary.

But while in London, I also take advantage of the amount of things to do and to see. Case in point, the Sally Mann exhibition at the Photographers’ Gallery (she will be there on Saturday 24th from 3 to 4 pm for a book signing session). It’s hard to say anything about her work that does not involve the word fantastic. I had seen a couple of her photographs at a group exhibition in Vienna but the London retrospective offers a background and it’s organized in a way that allows you to unite the dots and fully appreciate how special her work is.

Besides this short report from London, I wanted to add a technical comment: some of the links to the exhibitions’ archives on the side column for “Structurally recyclable, basically disposable” have not been working correctly. Use the links from the Exhibitions page for now and I will try to fix everything as soon as possible.

Made with: Rollei Crossbird 35mm film ISO 200

A project description needs not be very long. As a matter of fact, it should probably be 3-4 pages maximum. However, as you apply to different funding institutions, you might be given a different page limit. The point of this post is not the project description that you will send out, rather the project description that you will write for yourself and that you will then adapt when applying. The sections might be in a different order in the official document or you might need to merge them if you are looking for brevity or if you have limited space. I have chosen to divide my project description in the following sections only to help you visualize the different phases of the project, but it does not need to be taken “à la lettre”.

The background
Every project starts from something. How did you come to this idea? Why are you interested in this topic? The answers can vary: it could come from personal experience, maybe you want to photograph a phenomenon that is happening in your community and that you want other people to see. Maybe it’s a personal research. You don’t need to explain everything down to the level of molecular science, but the people who will be reading your description will be interested in knowing how you came to this particular topic. As you write it down, keep in mind that in the end you might need to shorten this section of your project description or merge with the “Progress” section (see below).

The issue
Every project starts with research on the topic. As you delve into it, you might read a lot about it. All this knowledge has shaped your take on the issue. There will be a section in your project description about the generalities where you basically introduce the topic and make general considerations on it. This section helps you establish why the focus of your project can be of interest for the general public. Your public can be a limited one, a specialized one, but you have a public nonetheless.

The aim
This is a very difficult section. After all, photography itself has a social “function” and it creates a dialogue. But you will need to address your objectives in a way that makes sense for someone to help you realize your project. You probably think that the topic needs to be known by the public, that there needs to be a dialogue on this. It might not be too original, but it’s often what you will write. If the topic has been already addressed many times before, you will need to have a particular angle on it. If you are the first to talk about it, than it might be easier to get funding (and attention).
This section might not be there (or it might have a different “flavor”) if you are applying for an art grant from an art institution or university, as they will probably evaluate your artistic skills and the originality of the research. Maybe in that case, what makes your project special is the technique or materials you are using.

Means/Methods
If you are using photographs in this project than photography is your means to achieve your ends. Explain how exactly you will proceed, how many photographs you will take and where, with how many people for how long. Everything that has to do with the process itself applies. What will happen at the end? An exhibition? A book? You need to think this through and be as specific and detailed as possible.
This section will also include your timeline: each phase of your project will be restricted within a period of time and each phase needs to be identified.
How much time do you need for your project preparation? Let’s say you need two months to complete your research. Then there is the actual photographing (depending on your project, you might take from two weeks to a year ), followed by processing and editing (two-three weeks?). Then you will be exhibiting your work (for how long?). The final phase is when you compare your initial budget to your actual expenses and send everything in.

As you list these things, you will start recognizing where you need to act first:
- get in contact with galleries/venues,
- start looking for your subjects or investigate ways to find them (if this applies),
- start inquiring about prices for traveling/hotels (if applicable)
- start inquiring about prices for processing, printing, etc
You can’t commit to spending any money yet (as you can only do that when approved for funding), but you will need to be prepared to know how much money you will need in order to submit your budget with your application.

In preparation for that, reserve a specific folder (both “real” and in your computer) where you will file everything project-related and make sure you keep EVERY document that has to do with it. Make to-do lists and process sheets to keep track of the people you need to contact, the people you already contacted and are waiting a response from, and so on.
Finally, get someone whose judgment you can trust to read your document and see if he/she finds it clear and readable. It will help you get some initial feedback.

Made with: Rollei Crossbird 35mm film ISO 200

Writing proposals/descriptions/budgets for a photography project can be a drag. I am not sure I can teach a lot, but I can for sure share what I learned by working on “Structurally recyclable, basically disposable“. Even though I had some experience writing funding requests and project descriptions thanks to my prior job in the human rights NGO sector, I found myself a little lost at the beginning.
Hopefully through this “project planner” series, I can be of help (albeit small) to anyone who is frantically researching ways to get started.

First things first

Let’s first define what we’re talking about. You had an idea for an artistic project (mainly expressed through photography, in my case) and you think it could be interesting for a lot of people. However, you need funding to carry it out: to gather the supplies (films, props, etc), to pay for the rent (in case you’re renting a venue), to cover your own honorary and that of other people who might be working with you, to pay for electricity, postage costs, trips (if that is part of your project), printing costs (think of brochures, flyers, posters), advertisement, etc..
If you are working analog, you might need to get the films developed, processed and you will eventually have to pay to get the prints. If you are doing all of the above by yourself, you will need to have some sort of honorary for all these activities.
In the best case scenario, you will get all the funding you need to cover the costs and your honoraries. Otherwise, you will have to think on where to cut.
Now, depending on the kind of project you are working on, you will have to seek different types of funding options (but this is not the point of this post). However, regardless of the type of funding institution you are going to, you will need to provide a project description, a budget and a time plan. Some institutions provide you with a relatively strict list of documents you need to provide and some even post a questionnaire you have to fill out.
However, a plan and a project description are necessary, at least as a starting point that can be adapted to each potential donor. Also, you will need a plan for yourself, to keep track of your progress and to adjust should anything go wrong.

Planning ahead

The first thing to say is that writing a project description can be perceived as a distraction, as a waste of time, as an activity that does not allow you to fully focus on the artistic development of the project. At least, this is how I often see it.
However, I found that writing things down in the form of a structured text forced me to think things through, to see the loopholes in the concept, where possible problems could arise and eventually to come up with answers to these issues. It also helped me develop the concept, and I went back to the project description as I came up with a better way (or shorter way) of formulating things.

A project description is a text that explains your vision, your objectives and the means that you will be using to achieve them. All of this has to be restricted somewhat in time: a project starts and ends within a foreseeable period of time. This means that you will need to think ahead and give yourself a minute to figure out how long you want to commit yourself to this particular project.
Your own willingness to commit has to be calculated in the light of the time that it will take for the different phases to be complete. You will take a certain period of time to do the shootings, to process the images, to exhibit your work and none of these phases should be rushed. These phases depend on the kind of project you are woking on: do you need to travel to a particular place to do the shootings? If yes, how long are you planning to stay? Are you shooting in places for which you need a permit? How long does it take to obtain it? Do you need to find subjects? if yes, how many and how much time will it take for you to photograph them? do you have to travel to them? How long will it take you to process your images? How long will it take you to get your prints? Do you already have a trusted lab that does your printing or should you maybe start testing different places? How long do you plan on exhibiting your work? How many exhibitions are you planning? Have you already a specific place in mind? Do they have a long waiting period?
On top of all this, add a margin of maneuver to allow for problems and delays (even if you think you won’t, you will need it, believe me).

The questions above are only an indicator of the type of things you will need to take into account, but each specific project has its own needs.

This is only the first phase: brainstorming and jotting down things you will need to know. Hopefully with the next posts, I will be able to share what I learned in the different phases of the project.

It’s always nice to discover things you thought the world needed. Case in point, I recently stumbled upon the film photography podcast, which is something the world needed because, as the authors themselves recognize, the world is already filled with very technical, unfriendly (read=boring) film photography podcasts.
So, I guess my point is: if you’re interested in film photography and are frustrated by the unwillingness of many photographers to share their precious knowledge, listen to this podcast. It’s a breath of fresh air.

On a different note, here is a very useful website for large format photography, with plenty of articles with in-depth technical advice, such as on how to calculate bellows extension exposure compensation, an so on.

When I look at a beautiful photograph of a mountain I think that what I am looking at is inserted into a much broader environment. A city or a village must not be too far away from the mountain, there surely is someone skiing on its paths, climbing its walls. Is there a tunnel, a road, a passage nearby?

I’ve been looking at some of my photographs from the past and I have realized that I am moved by – literally, in that I function and work through – this contradiction. Although presence has been a topic in the past, I began exploring this more openly only very recently.

I mentioned that “Structurally recyclable, basically disposable” has been to Geneva for what it will probably be its last show.
Here are a couple of photographs showing the exhibition and the venue.

This is the wall outside of the university, in case the photograph is not clear enough.

Even though it wasn’t quite a piece of cake to get this exhibition up, I eventually prevailed and this is how the panels (grilles) were put together to channel people through the two installations.

Since the exhibition did not go on for a long time, I spent the entire week in Geneva and one of my favorite spots was the first floor, which allowed me to work, read and keep an eye on the exhibition all at the same time.

So the project is now officially over and I plan on writing a longer summary of my impressions in the following days.
By the way, you can now access all the exhibitions’ archives from one page.