The photo world has lost another great. I can only say that Bill was both an amazing photographer and an amazing person. I am honored to have photographed him and while his is no longer with us in person, his images will live on forever. Thanks for your inspiration Bill and for setting the bar so high.
Thanks to John Wilkens for the great write up and John Gastaldo for the portrait featured in the SDUT Sunday Edition. Here is a link to the article: http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/aug/25/capturing-the-faces-behind-famous-photos/
When my friend Graham Smith and I discussed the idea of him painting a portrait of me and us shooting a time-lapse of it, I really had no idea what to expect. When he showed up to the studio, he suggested finding something that had already been "Mantoani-onized" to paint on. I ended up pulling out a 20x24 Polaroid portrait of myself and he took the ball and ran with it. Here is the video. Thanks Graham, always an honor collaborating with you.
It has been a long year and long wait, but the books finally arrived last week, all 6 pallets of them! We have been busy moving the 4,500 pounds around the studio and getting books signed and shipped for the holidays. If you would like to order a signed book, you can purchase books direct from the studio at:
http://www.mantoani.bigcartel.com/
I have started an effort on Kickstarter to get some positive pre-sales rolling for my book which is due out soon. Please take a look. Books are priced with shipping at the same cost as retail + shipping, plus there are some other special offerings. This book has taken five years to shoot and get published. Thanks for taking a look. Click here to give me a "kickstart"!
I have been getting a bunch of calls about Ron and the HBO documentary "Smash His Camera". I photographed Ron in New York for my Behind Photographs Project a couple years back. After the shoot, Ron was kind enough to send me 4 different signed copies of his books. Like him or not, there are some amazing images in his library, he truly has documented a generation.
Ron Galella and his photo "Windblown Jackie" 10/4/1971
Here is a look at the HBO Trailer
Here is some additional press on my "Behind Photographs" project running on the CBS China website. The gallery features 37 images they selected. Please take a peek, http://image.fengniao.com/vision/content/1/138-1.html.
Check out this article from China's largest newspaper, The Beijing News. They ran a full page story on my project in the Sunday paper.
Behind Photographs show at Farmani Gallery
My 10 days in NY were a blur. A partial show of my photographer portraits opened at Farmani Gallery in Brooklyn. Elizabeth, Hossein and the Lucie Crew did an incredible job of getting the word out, thanks for your efforts and packing the house! The show featured 20x24 Polaroids of the Lucie Lifetime Award winners from my project and a wall of 8x10 images of the other photographers documented to date. I also took the 20x24 Polaroid Camera to Javits for the Photo Plus Expo and managed to shoot another 19 photographers for my Behind Photographs project. Mark Seliger, James Nachtwey, Michael Halsband, Bob Gruen, Joyce Tennison and Art Streiber were just a few who took the time to share their time and images. I will have their portraits up on my site in the next few weeks. Thanks to everyone that came out to Dumbo and Javits, your support and enthusiasm is appreciated.
The photograph of the photographer (Henry Grossman), photographing the photographer (Alfred Wertheimer), photographing the photographer (Tim Mantoani) that photographed the photographers.
[Over one hundred 8x10 portraits from the project on display at Farmani Gallery
Be sure to check out the 8 page story in the new issue of Rangefinder Magazine. They have done a wonderful feature on my Behind Photographs Project. Special thanks to Bill Hurter for the support. You can view the article as a PDF on their website http://www.rangefindermag.com/storage/articles/RF0709_Mantoani_Brownstein.pdf
I'm featured in San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles Magazine this month. Special thanks to the amazing Phyllis Van Doren for this opportunity. Phyllis was one of the first editors in San Diego to give me an assignment when I moved to town in 1991.
Wow! Thanks to everyone that made it out for the MOPLA show for the opening, what an amazing night. The show will be up all of April and I hope to be doing a lecture at the show on the 21st, so stay tuned for an update. Check the MOPLA website for hours for the Pacific Design Center gallery B210.
Nick Ut at opening night
Douglas Kirland and Tim Mantoani
Tim Mantoani and Gerd Ludwig
I had the chance to get Terenzo in the studio a few months ago for a cover shoot for Triathlete Magazine. We did a wide range of digital portraits to cover the bases. Once the art director was pleased that we "had it in the bag", I asked if we could do a shot with my 20x24 Wisner on Polaroid. We took two frames and they ended up loving it and used it as the cover. Not too much depth-of-field with this camera, even at f-32.
Here is a set shot of me shooting Terenzo and a snap of him holding the Polaroid. To learn a bit more about Terenzon check out his website, www.terenzo.com.
I was back in New York for the photo expo and took the 20x24 Polaroid to Javits to shoot. It was a great trip and I was able to record another 17 artists for my "Behind Photographs" project. Life Magazine legends, Henry Groskinsky and John Dominis came in along with Danny Clinch, Lauren Greenfield, Gary Knight, Lois Greenfield, John Iacono, Howard Schatz, Bob McNeely and several more. (Don't want of give it all away yet!) I could have never done it without the continued efforts of John Reuter and Jen Trausch from 20x24 Holdings LLC. Thanks for helping to bring this project to life. If you would like to shoot with this camera, you can rent one from John Reuter in New York or Tracy Storer in San Francisco. Expensive, but worth every penny. But watch out, it is addicting, you have been warned!
We had a small room to shoot in, about 12x12. Let's just say it was cozy by the time we got the camera, lights and background in place and if you miss the toxic smell of Polaroid, I got enough for myself and every other photographer in the country over the three days.
You can check out a video of the shoot at http://photobusinessforum.blogspot.com/2008/10/spotlight-tim-mantoanis-polaroid.html Special thanks to John Harrington for coming in and documenting a bit of the shoot.
And congratulations to Johnny Iacono (pictured here) for this Lucie Award this year for Achievement In Sports. Thanks for helping to pave the way for the rest of us! I know V.J. Lovero is looking down on you with a big smile John.
Here is the link to a radio interview with Scott Sheppard on Inside Analog Photo. Scott interviewed me for Rangefinder Magazine's radio show last month and was kind enough to invite me for another show about my "Behind Photographs" project where I am shooting portraits of photographers on 20x24 Polaroid. I will be back in New York shooting again during Photo Plus and will be back with an update. Thanks for reading.
http://www.insideanalogphoto.com/
