Antennas on Top of the Rock.
What I did this summer: New York City
1
Faces of Battle
Faces of Battle, Afghanistan
Bill Putnam photojournalist
4/8/11
7-9pm
JVH Auditorium, 2nd Floor, Thayer Hall
Point Park University
201 Wood Street
Pittsburgh, PA.
15222
Northern Short Course and Strictly Business Recap
March is a travel month. I spend most of the weekends out of town at photography conferences learning business, philosophy and aesthetic.
First up was Philadelphia and the American Society of Media Photographers Strictly Business 3.
Next up was Providence and the National Press Photographers Association Northern Short Course.
Each conference brings it’s own unique perspective to photography, ASMP was all business. I networked like crazy and learned the latest theories about how build and keep business. The entire conference is build around developing a community of photographers and fostering good business practices to keep photography a viable way to make a living.
NPPA concentrates on the storytelling and educational aspects of photojournalism. Critiques and analysis of news images and multimedia play a big role at the confrence. I sought out to expand my network of fellow photojournalism educators through the education track of the program.
Coupling the two programs produces a powerful knowledge base that combines art and commerce. I’ve learned more about photography by regularly attending and listening to others smarter than me than I have learned by practicing in the field. It is at the professional conferences where you will have a chance to mix with others from all over the country who are working in the field. The exchange of ideas will elevate your work you return home and begin practicing what you learned.
The final travel occurs at the end of March, I accompany a group of eager students from Point Park University to Washington DC. There the students have opportunities to meet and experience the way media work in the nation’s capital. I am able to share the knowledge I gained at the conferences with the students in a real way by helping them network, develop relationships and practice their craft.
Photography is an ever evolving profession, as with any craft you have to stay in sync with the industry, from student to professional, to remain viable.
Bruce Mansfield Power Generating Station
PA 43 Denbo Bridge
Where Are We? from StartPoint Media on Vimeo.
This is the final stretch of PA Turnpike Route 43 in near Brownsville, Pa. I rode my bicycle from the road terminus in Redstone Twp. to the emmense Denbo Bridge across the Monongahela River. Original construction on the highway began at California, Pa. in the mid 1970′s. With the completion of the bridge, the road will run continuously from Jefferson Hills, Pa. To the West Virginia border. A portion of the road is nearing completion in West Virginia, while the most complicated section from Jefferson Hills to Pittsburgh is in the planning stages. It is unclear when or if that portion of the road will ever be completed. But in the meantime, here is a sneak peek of the highway and bridge your toll dollars funded to build. Visit the project website for more information.
Goodbye Kodachrome
Andy at the playground.
On Dec 30, 2010 Dwayne’s Photo in Parson, KS processed the final rolls of Kodachrome bringing an end to ‘all those nice bright colors’. Throughout my career I have been only an occasional Kodakchrome shooter, mostly for fun. Earlier this year, after being inspired by Steve McCurry and his final Kodachrome project, I embarked on a personal project to document a few ‘last things’ with Kodachrome. They include Denali National Park, Washington, DC, Prague, Bratislava, a family lobster boil, an MFA exhibit for a close friend and most importantly my children playing.
A reflection of the US Capitol.
I photographed many scenes and places which I am probably the last person ever to document with the classic film. But after looking at all of the slides the images that are the most important to me, not surprisingly, are the images of my friends and family. The other places I went and documented turned out just fine, but those images simply act as a snapshot document of places I have been. The images of my friends and family the images represent something much more special. They will for ever provide a special and unique memory of 2010 and will be by far the most important things I have ever documented with Kodachrome.
Billy Ritter, MFA, Kent State University.
Dulka Pass
We continued northward to visit a Soviet-German battlefield in which the Russians and a band of Czechoslovak soldiers defeated a battalion of German Panzer tanks in what is now known as the Valley of Death. The route is marked with roadside tributes to the allied fighters who fought during the Slovak uprising that helped secure the region from Nazi influence. At the Polish -Slovak border exists a communist era monument to the battle, symbolically and poetically describing the heroism displayed by the fighters involved. We continued across the border to Poland for a quick visit to the first village a few kilometers inside the nation. It was unclear until our return if the visit would be considered trespassing by entering Poland at a land crossing without a visa. It was a legal crossing.
More images from Dulka Pass.
Ruthenian Churches
Accompanied by Juraj, a professor of British and American studies, we headed to the Slovak version of the Andy Warhol Museum in Melizlaborce, about 80Km from Presov. Along the way he explained the Ruthenian, Orthodox, Greek and Roman Catholic forms of ritual and differentiated architecture between the churches. The Ruthenian people live within the Carpathian Mountains nestled in valleys and rolling hills above the flat farmlands along the river valleys that are mostly owned by Roman Catholics. The wooden Ruthenian churches take symbols from Russian culture indicating flame or light, the cross and the crescent. Each small wooden church near a village was surrounded by generations of headstones. Members of the village and church meticulously cared each for grave. Late Sunday afternoon the churches were vacant, no villagers were present. The cool November wind rustled the naked branches. The long autumn light illuminated the pitch colored wood in stark contrast to the blue and white-clouded sky high above the towers of the Ruthenian churches. There was a spiritual silence in the village and around the church. Each visit was a metaphysical experience.
High Tatras
We embarked upon a short hike at dusk in the High Tatras Mountains to a symbolic cemetery. A colorful cross and a plaque represent each person who has fallen victim to mountains by avalanche, accident or plane crash.
We continued hiking through the dark to Popradske Pleso, one of a number of glacial lakes in the mountainous region. The lake provides an enormous vista to the sunset and moonrise over the mountains. The rich ember red following the sunset and the rainbow hue swirling around the moon tucked just behind the back-light mountains provided a truly spiritual experience.
More images from the High Tatras
Presov
Presov is located in eastern Slovakia at the heart of the Ruthenian culture.
Mores images from Presov
Christ the Pontiff
The residents are victims of communism, those who could not adjust or adapt to the new capitalist system, leaving many homeless, destitute and drug addicted. The facility, which also serves as a local catholic parish office, is completely run by the residents. To maintain their stay at the facility they must remain free of drugs and alcohol and work to care for the facilities farms, animals, fields or handicapped people. Men and women who found themselves jobless or skill less after the fall of communism begin to have purpose by constructing the facility in which they live and work. All of the building materials used at the facility are either found or donated. They are used according to their shape and size, there are no rules, except that the materials must be used for a purpose to improve the facility. Many long-term members of the commune have, over time built a strong community in which they have decide to stay and raise families and be a support network for others. The home at the foot of the Tatras Mountains provides a vital social service that the government cannot.
Bratislava
Bratislava from StartPoint Media on Vimeo.
I woke at 630 to take advantage of the early light in the old city. In between photographs I stopped in on the local Catholic Church where the daily rosary was being prayed. I stayed for a few Slovak Hail Mary’s, made a personal offering and headed for the Danube River a few blocks away down narrow cobblestone streets passageways.
During communism the quaint town center was paved with asphalt and car traffic in the city center was allowed. What remains of Bratislava’s city center was once part of a much larger medieval city that was once the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. At the conclusion of World War II, the Soviet dictators ordered the demolition of a larger part of the city to make room for new communist style developments. During the communist period, the shops were not as diverse as they are now, ordinary and limited. The buildings were not colorful or well maintained. The economic system sucked the life out of the medieval town. I arrived at the main road adjacent to the Danube during rush hour. The good looking and hard working citizens of Bratislava were on their way to work on the unseasonably warm November day, just one day before the anniversary of the Velvet Revolution.
After breakfast, I met with Rastislav we headed to his attorneys office to put the finishing touches on a contract for a new photography studio venture. He is creating an atelier to rent to working photographers in the city. The attorney was a young and slender but pretty woman. She engaged Rastislav in a detailed conversation, just the same as an American attorney would. At natural pauses she would glance over and acknowledge me as if It were novel that I would even remotely be interested in the Slovak legal system. We left the attorney and headed to the campaign party headquarters to volunteer with more campaign work, stuffing envelopes. With the election less than two weeks away and the party needed to get there candidates elected. Frantic calls went out and minutes later several volunteers showed up.
Finally we gathered in a kayak shop to listen to a former representative from the Slovak embassy present videos, photographs and stories from his mountain climbing journey up Mt. Elbrus in the neighboring nation the Ukraine. There is debate as to whether the mountain is in Asia or Europe. If it is, in fact, in Europe it is the tallest mountain. From a transportation perspective it is much easier for Slovaks to travel west to Austria and Germany. So few Slovaks from the western half of the country travel to the Ukraine. Many consider it a backwards and exotic place. It is not connected to Slovakia like a neighboring state should be in terms of the broader culture and transportation. The purpose of the presentation was to promote interaction and travel between the two nations and to celebrate the goodwill trip to the top of Mt. Elbrus.
During the presentation Kvas was served, a traditional Russian soft drink, made from fermented bread. It is not alcoholic and is considered an essential part of the diet as it promotes smooth digestion. It is said to prevent bad alcoholic interactions, giving the Ukrainians the ability to drink copious amounts of vodka and a reputation for being heavy drinkers. In addition a traditional Ukrainian soup, solyanka, was served. The hearty soup consisted of beef broth; several smoked meats, fermented (pickled) cucumbers, mushrooms, cabbage, olives, spices and served with bread. The stories, food and beverage were designed to inspire curiosity and good favor between these two unfamiliar neighbors.
Rastislav took me to the dark and dingy communist era train station to catch a sleeper train back to Prague in time for the Velvet Revolution anniversary. He said that the poor economy stymied plans to modernize the train station. In its current condition, he says the depressing relic does nothing to promote the good will, good cheer and good economy that Bratislava offers to visitors.