Archives65 years of photographing
Belated thanks to John Szarkowski: Reflections on the joy of teaching - by Harold Feinstein
A few weeks ago I published a post entitled Remembering Edward Steichen. My recollections were mainly about the important role of encouragement (his) on the one hand, and the folly of rigid ideas about art (mine) on the other! I received a lot of nice feedback and am grateful it was published in The Eye… Continue reading
Passover, Easter and the promise of new life! - by Harold Feinstein
Happy Passover and Happy Easter to those who celebrate. Or, I could say Happy Spring! Even though it’s been the longest winter I can remember and outside my window there’s still way too much snow on the ground, the promise of new life is there. And that seems to be the message of these two… Continue reading
Recently discovered photographs: A lifetime of editing (part two!) - by Harold Feinstein
Last year I published a post entitled Old “new” photographs: A lifetime of editing where I looked at the entire journey of photography as a series of creative choices. Each choice involves editing. So, photography is all about editing. It’s the moment you choose, the focus you choose, the camera and lens you choose, and… Continue reading
Remembering Edward Steichen - by Harold Feinstein
If I were to name the five most important people in my photography career, Edward Steichen would have to be on that list. I was only sixteen in 1947 when Steichen, then 68, became the Director of Photography at the Museum of Modern Art. Three years later, in 1950, I walked into the museum unannounced… Continue reading
A grateful heart on Valentine’s Day 2015 - by Harold Feinstein
We are all born gifted. The gift is life itself! The truth of these words, which I have often said to my students, has never been clearer to me than during this past year. A year ago on Valentine’s Day I was in the hospital recovering from a heart attack. A few weeks later I… Continue reading
1957 Greenwich Village: Barney Rosset, Evergreen Press and The Cedar Tavern - by Harold Feinstein
Two films recently got me thinking about Barney Rosset, the firebrand publisher of Grove Press and Evergreen Review. First, An American Journey: Revisiting Robert Frank’s The Americans by Philippe Séclier. I was not enamored of the film, which did not, in my opinion, do justice to Frank‘s photographic genius or the seminal book that forms… Continue reading
Thoughts of war on Veteran’s Day - by Harold Feinstein
If some things don’t make you crazy, then you aren’t very sane to begin with” Steven Bentley, Vietnam Veterans of America Today is Veteran’s Day and I salute all those men and women who have risked their lives in the various military pursuits throughout our country’s history. I am one of them. I was drafted… Continue reading
Up close and personal: Consistency and innovation in your work - by Harold Feinstein
Hardening of the categories causes art disease… W. Eugene Smith Coney Island. Flowers. City streets. Shells. Rodin sculptures. Abstract architecture. Draftees. Butterflies. Over the years I have allowed my creative appetite to taste many different subjects in both black and white and color and have employed diverse tools and methods in shooting and printing. I… Continue reading
Remembering Sid Grossman: Provincetown, 1955 - by Harold Feinstein
I don’t remember the very first time I met Sid Grossman, but it had to be at Photo League meetings, which I began attending when I was 17, in 1948. He was twice my age at that point and was about to get embroiled in the FBI’s investigation of him, which shadowed him for the… Continue reading
You can’t take Brooklyn out of the boy: Remembering the summer of ’49 - by Harold Feinstein
I’m not sure who came up with the expression: You can take the boy out of Brooklyn, but you can’t take Brooklyn out of the boy. but it’s one I often use. My wife cringes whenever she here’s me say this since I’m generally about to make some excuse for some old habit that is… Continue reading