underdogs issue 3

UNDERDOGS

photography magazine / issue_3

Apollo BancroftThomas GiörtzKeith HayesPiotr KaczmarekDan McNamaraJordane PrestrotMartín SánchezHervé SévénoKrystina Stimakovits

Designer/Editor: Isa Gelb

Cover & back cover: Thomas Giörtz

All images and text published in Underdogs are the sole property of the featured photographers.NO image can be reproduced, edited,copied or distributed without the expresswritten permission of its legal owner.NO part of the publication may bereproduced in any form without the written consent of the publisher.

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Welcome to the third issue of Underdogs. 

The starting point for this editorial is something every Flickr user is familiar with: Favorites. Flickr defines Favorites as “photos by other people that you want to bookmark... so they are easy

to find later.”I believe this definition is rather conservative.For the person who receives or gives “Favorites,” their meaning can be more loaded.

In his blog post, “How Many ‘Favorites’ Or ‘Likes’ Are Enough?,” Eric Kim found that receiving Favorites encouraged him to take and share more photos. However, his use of Favorites

as critical guidance inhibited his artistic growth. He ultimately gave up social media for a period of timeto focus on the photos he needed to take, instead of the photos other people wanted to see.

Eric’s blog post extensively reflects on what it means for a photographer to receive Favorites. A follow-up question I wish to pose is: what does it mean for a photographer to give Favorites?

I see an analogy between the act of giving a Favorite and taking a photo. Many of us take photos because they express meanings that are either difficult or impossible

to put into words. Favorites provide a similar mode of expression. By giving a Favorite, we may not be able to explain why we like a photo, but we can show that we do.

Both giving a Favorite and taking a photo allow for nearly instantaneous expression with the click of a button. When we give a Favorite, it is as if we are saying that if we stood in the shoes

of the photographer whose photo is shown, we would have pressed the shutter button ourselves. We more or less say: your effort was worth it.

This type of affirmation is valuable. However, the problem is that a click of the Favorite button can be the end of our contemplation of a photo, for both the giver and the recipient—when

it should be the very beginning. I wouldn’t say the contemplation of a photo requires an explicit discussion or verbal response.

In other words, I wouldn’t argue that comments are intrinsically better than Favorites. What I would recommend instead is simply mindfulness toward photography—both on the part

of the photographer and the viewer. Mindfulness doesn’t necessarily mean seriousness. For me, it can be as simple as going out with my camera or browsing a contact’s photos—and actively

enjoying what I am doing.

As you read Issue 3 of Underdogs, I invite you to consider what helps you to better appreciatephotography. I’d be interested to hear your responses.

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UNDERDOGS

Isa Gelbhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/91262356@N06/http://punkroyaltiger.tumblr.com/

Max Lindquisthttps://www.flickr.com/photos/10037165@N02/

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APOLLOBANCrOFT

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APOLLO BANCrOFT

Napa, CA/ USA

https://www.flickr.com/photos/gadfly73/

HIS CAMERASI use a Panasonic GX1 and LX5.

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THOMASGIörTz

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THOMAS GIörTz

Bremen / Germany

https://www.flickr.com/photos/unterwasserpfeife/

HIS CAMERASThe digital cameras I use are a Fujifilm FinePix X100 and a Sigma DP1S and morerecently again two older analogue cameras Lomo LCA and Leica Z2X

I am making pictures without any purpose. To me it’s like listening to my favourite music, reading a novel or even simpler like having an ice cold beer on a warm evening in a bar at some beach.It’s making me happy and I will never let it turn intosome kind of a grindstone. I don’t relate to my stuff in terms of whether it’s art or not or if I could make acouple of bucks out of it. Neither am I seeking anythingmeaningful in my pictures: I just don’t care. I am trulygrateful that I have something that excites me andgives me enjoyment in these shitty times. That’s why I go out and shoot – and at least sometimes feeling like a lucky man is a good point, isn’t it?

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KEITH HAyES

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KEITH HAyESNew York / USA

https://www.flickr.com/photos/55763538@N08/http://keithhayes.tumblr.com/

HIS CAMERAS Canon 5D MarklllYashica Mat 124GMinolta SRT201

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PIOTrKACzMArEK

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HIS CAMERAS My favorite set in last time : Contax G1 with 45mm f.2 Carl Zeiss Planar T* and EOS-M with 22mm Canon lens.

A few sentences about not only my photography. Perception depends on our upbringing,environment, experience and acquiredknowledge. For this reason some peopleperceive the surrounding reality differentlythan others. I like things ugly and beautiful at the same time, the best are those imagesthat move simultaneously multiple threadsbut without any lies and manipulation, topped with a touch of humour.I agree that a camera as a powerful medium of expression, associated with a feeling, in the face of volatile fact, offers a variety of perception, so that it is an extension of the mind.These photos characterized bysyncretism are much more interesting to me.

PIOTr KACzMArEK

Wrocław, Lower Silesia / Poland

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mamnaimie/

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DANMCNAMArA

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DAN MCNAMArANew York / USA

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dfmcnamara/http://dmcnamarajr.tumblr.com/

I don’t like to go out with a specific idea of what I wouldlike to photograph. Having a preconceived notion of what I want to do closes me off to other images that may be around me. I prefer to wander around my neighborhood and record anything I find personallyarresting. Mostly I enjoy hunting for color and form in objects that people seem to pass by everyday.

When I sort through it all I find that I have oftencaptured images of people that seem to be escaping city life; fragments of neglected city infrastructure and nature; or objects abandoned by their owners. I try not to assign any deeper meaning to it other than that I enjoy finding beauty in the matter of everyday life.

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HIS CAMERAS Pentax 67II and Fujifilm GF670.

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JOrDANE PrESTrOT

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JOrDANE PrESTrOT

Guebwiller / France

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jordanprestrot/http://www.prestrot.com

HIS CAMERASI mainly use a Pentax P30 for film and a Pentax K5-II for digital. Otherwise I use a Minolta SRT101b, a Canon Ftb and disposable cameras. Two of the following pictures were taken with that strange thing called HP PhotoSmart C945 which was my first digital camera and is now out of work.

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MArTíN SáNCHEz

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MArTíN SáNCHEzCórdoba / Argentine

https://www.flickr.com/photos/de-stijl/http://marvinchez.tumblr.com/

http://instagram.com/marvinchez

HIS CAMERANikon FG-20

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HErvéSévéNO

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HErvé SévéNO Grenoble / France

https://www.flickr.com/photos/103691075@N05/http://hreveseveno011110.tumblr.com/http://herve-seveno-photographie.blogspot.fr/

HIS CAMERAS GF1, Panasonic + 20mm f1.7 & 25mm f1.4 (Leica summilux)

Je suis née à Quimper le 11 octobre 1974.J'ai commencé par le dessin et la peinture, puis la photographie argentique en noir et blanc pendant mes études aux beaux-arts en 1995-1998 ...Je fais de la photographie couleur numérique depuis2009. Après avoirs fait beaucoup de photographieurbaine, je me suis mis au paysage...Mes principales préoccupations sont les couleurs de la mélancolie et l'émerveillement spontané. Je travaille un peu comme un «reporter» qui serait envacances et qui se préoccuperait surtout de l’esthétique et de l’atmosphère... Essayer de résister à l'image avec des images...

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KrySTINA STIMAKOvITS

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KRYSTINA STIMAKOvITS

London / England

https://www.flickr.com/photos/casualties/www.stima-images.com

The honeymoon hasbeen over for sometime now. I'm nolonger a flaneusedriven to photographdaily and almostanything that sings a catchy tune. It's jazz I am afternow, somethinglayered, multi-dimensional andrewarding to chew on,at least for a littlewhile. Structures to the visual planeremain important, butI am more consciouslyworking the potentialfor reverie andmnemic reflection that I know residessomewhere in thespaces betweenobjects, forms andtonal values. I am notsure yet into whichdirection I am headingprecisely, only that Iwish to take furtherthese attempts toestrange the familiar,to achieve harmony from incongruous or complex physicalenvironments.Perhaps I'll eventuallydare to step intodeeper watersfollowing a dream ofbarely audible sound.

I shall still wander the streets like Alicethough, through a looking glass.

HER CAMERASI've been mostly using the Fuji Xpro for the past two years, Before that Nikon D300, Olympus EP2. I also have a much loved but sadly underused Minolta Autocord twin lens medium format camera.

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MANy THANKS TO

APOLLO BANCROFThttps://www.flickr.com/photos/gadfly73/

THOMAS GIöRTZhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/unterwasserpfeife/

KEITH HAYEShttps://www.flickr.com/photos/55763538@N08/

http://keithhayes.tumblr.com/

PIOTR KACZMAREKhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/mamnaimie/

DAN MCNAMARAhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/dfmcnamara/

http://dmcnamarajr.tumblr.com/

JORDANE PRESTROThttps://www.flickr.com/photos/jordanprestrot/

MARTíN SáNCHEZhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/de-stijl/

http://marvinchez.tumblr.com/http://instagram.com/marvinchez

HERvé SévéNOhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/103691075@N05/

http://hreveseveno011110.tumblr.com/http://herve-seveno-photographie.blogspot.fr/

KRYSTINA STIMAKOvITShttps://www.flickr.com/photos/casualties/

www.stima-images.com

Special thanks to John Koch for his help on the editorialhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/orphotographer/

Next issueapril 2015

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UNDERDOGS

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