The July edition of the Medium Format Magazine is now available for download. Inside, you will find exclusive editorials and carefully curated imagery from the best photographers in the world.
We start off with Michael E. Gordon’s editorial, “The Inner Landscape.” This time Michael raises the important, yet often poorly delineated dilemma of moving from photographic fundamentals, mostly in a technical sense, to the fine art sphere. He writes, “By my definition and for the purposes of this article, the fine art photographer synthesizes the external event (the thing worthy of having your camera pointed at it) with the internal event (the intuitive recognition of an idea or concept related to the thing). Credit is due to Ansel Adams….” I expect we will all be reading this piece over and over again. Did I mention stunning imagery?!
© Michael E. Gordon
I have to admit that introducing an interview with your own photographic idol is not the easiest endeavour. I must begin with Dan Winter’s insightful and beautifully written “Road to Seeing” book. After reading this book for the first time, a plethora of ideas and thoughts comingled in my head for weeks. My admiration of Dan’s imagery hastened my personal search for seeing and encouraged me to set my own course. It was an absolute pleasure to work with Kathryn and Dan on this interview. Indeed, the answers convey a great photographic mind, a genius and a peerless human being who cares deeply about the craft of seeing and is not afraid to share his craft with the world. Few people could examine and untangle often difficult photographic concepts at such a practical level. This may well be one of the best interviews we have done! And these iconic images…if you fast forward the pages now, we would not blame you for it.
© Dan Winters
Next, Andrew Latreille’s “Architectural Perspective” takes us into four of his photographic assignments. Andrew describes the backstory of four projects including the mechanics, client requirements and planning, including “the on-site pressures we must learn to embrace as forces of creativity.” Andrew’s objective is to make “meaningful photographs that resonate both with our clients and our own relationship with the piece of architecture.” Indeed, it is rare to have such an insight into the inner workings of a successful architectural photographer. What a gem!
In this month’s “HOW IT WAS SHOT” Steven Friedman reveals the story behind his “Last of the Sunflowers” photograph. Steven tells us how he prepares for his photographic trips, how he chooses the locations, and the technical and artistic thought process behind capturing the image. He doesn’t stop there. As a master printmaker, Steven also provides some insights into his file preparation and the printing process.
@ Steven Friedman
Jessica Wikström in her “Portrait Stories” showcases another stunning portrait and writes about one of the most important subjects in portrait photography, “That thing called connection.” Jessica says, “Connection with the subject in front of the camera can make or break an image – every photographer knows that. So getting the trust of the model and helping them to relax is one of the most important things to do before the shoot. I rarely meet my clients before D Day. So how can we make a connection in such a limited time?” A must read for everyone who strives to create more powerful portraits.
@ Jessica Winstrom
On the following pages, we head to the American West with Kyle McDougall. In his highly personal and thought-provoking article, “Discovery in the American West: How letting go of labels and expectations saved my photography” Kyle describes his photographic journey from a point in time when “I came close to putting the camera down for good” including a bold decision: “My wife and I sold our house and most of our belongings, left our jobs, bought a truck and trailer, and took off for ten months on the road, with the goal of living a nomadic lifestyle.” What happened next…well, read this fascinating piece and find out for yourself. Brace yourself for a true adventure illustrated with stunning photographs!
Each month we feature one photographer carefully selected from online submissions or from our Facebook Medium Format Magazine group. This month in our “IN THE SPOTLIGHT” column we feature one of our subscribers, David Hibbard. David is sharing his fascinating story and passion for seeing. We are confident you will enjoy his fabulous work.
There is no question that we “consume” a lot of photographs on social media, the activity which comes with a caveat: instead of spending time with each photograph, we scroll and scroll, almost maniacally. Our glance hovers on photos clustered between ads and political memos, photos as illustrations, and photos as eye-catchers. In the meantime, the effort put into crafting fine art photographs is enormous, over months and years of hard work and development. Well, that was one of the reasons we created this magazine. Now we are going even further. With many galleries closed all over the world, we thought we would like to bring you the gallery experience here. This new section we call THE GALLERY. This will be the place where we feature the best fine art photography with minimal distractions. This is where you sit in a comfortable chair, prepare your favourite drink and open each page slowly and carefully, as if you were walking from room to vast room in a prestigious gallery. We hope you enjoy and cherish the mastery of each image in this carefully chosen repertoire. It is our pleasure to present the work of Jan Töve in this first showing. Please let us know what you think.
@ Jan Tove
Last, Take Kayo in his “Did you know…” segment takes us back 20 years and puts on display the state of the camera industry back then, especially in terms of medium format. What you will find in his scrupulously researched piece might surprise you. Take not only shares his enormous knowledge of the industry but puts it in the right context for us. Did you know… actually I didn’t and I am glad I read Take’s piece.
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