KEENPRESS Multimedia

Some of our archive photos from Berlin were recently published on AOL’s Pixcetera. Look NOW before the story goes away.

Here are links to the same story on other sites as well.

LIFE Magazine

One of the more interesting fine art photo agencies, Millennium Images, has just launched an online print gallery. Worthy of a look. We have some images with them, but clearly, not enough.

“Millennium Images is one of the UK’s leading creative image agencies supplying reproduction rights internationally for photographic imagery. Representing work by over 500 photographic artists, both established and emerging names, Millennium now launches it’s first ever print collection-a series of affordable limited edition prints by artists featured in Millennium’s new catalog”.

Here is a link to the gallery

One of the reoccurring themes in Keith Bellow’s presentation about Traveler’s Best Photos, 2009, was capturing a sense of place. Taking photos that gives a sense of where one is in the world, a foreign and exotic scene supported by textures and objects, all the things that we surround ourselves with everyday. We subscribe to this notion in a big way. In addition, we are also fascinated by the past. We love old photographs, they have had  great influence on our way of seeing.

We have been developing a series of images that connect us to the past, our own past through old photographs. These old photographs have changed how we think and approach composition. It’s not  just using the latest and greatest plug-in filters, but more about  creating  photographs that feel timeless, an object that has a life of its own, one that we would like to print and hang on the wall. In the end, that is why we create what we do.

Samson Fountain at Peterhof, St. Petersburg ©KEENPRESS 2009

Happy to report that KEENPRESS is featured in Keith Bellow’s Best Photos of 2009, National Geographic Traveler Magazine.  It’s worth talking a look and hear what he has to say about his selections. Some of the reoccurring themes I heard him speak about were “essence of the culture, whimsical, a sense of place,  strong character sketch, both of the person and the landscape.” Let me know what you think about his selection and comments.

"Good character sketch, both of the person and the landscape"

Just wanted to let you know that the new and improved MacCreate community has launched. This was once called, Aperture Users Network, owned by our good friend and Apple expert , David Schloss , and now the site has expanded to provide training, support, and education to all creative Mac users. This is the word I like to see, creative. Its not only about hardware and software, its focus is on the tools to be creative and make works of art. The Premium membership price has also been lowered to $39.99 a year, plus we get 17% discount on Apple and third party hardware and software.

Take a look for yourself at the Website: maccreate.com

I would suggest looking at the new Forums: community.maccreate.com

We are very happy to report that our work is featured as the cover story in the October, 2009 edition of Smithsonian Magazine. The story is about Hadrian’s Wall in Northern England. The piece was written by our good friend and great writer, Andrew Curry.

Take a look at the Smithsonian magazine’s website gallery of images.

Maybe its because of the change in seasons, or perhaps President Obama’s visit to Copenhagen, but we going through a lot of changes here in Denmark. Over the summer we received a request from one of our favorite photo editors to “go multimedia”. This was about 3 days before we were heading off on assignment for him. For us this was not a shock, but an opportunity.  Sisse and I have had already dipped our toes into the world of making films. Five years ago, we worked on a film called, “Seeds of Hope”, by Dorothy Fadiman. I was one of several cameraman, and Sisse helped with sound, and shot all the stills for the film.  Even back then, we  experienced the creative possibilities of integrating still photos with sound and moving images. It was a great learning experience for both of us. At the time I was put off by all the post-production work that was required. That was then.

Today, it’s clear that more and more of our creative projects, both personal and corporate, will allow us to come up with new ways for telling stories. Many of our best photos find their way onto magazines websites, after the page count has been filled. We now we have changed our tune, have learned how to create films using the best post-production tools available. I am pretty much shooting and thinking video all the time and Sisse is continuing to produce beautiful, singular images that we are merge into video packages. If you are interested in seeing a sample, please take a look here.

Baltic Sketches

These are some visual sketches we have made from our recent trip back to the Baltic States and Poland. They have changed a great deal since the days of Soviet Occupation, but the style of the footage is to remind us all that history often repeats itself.

Several months ago we had the pleasure of introducing you to a new magazine that celebrates the idea of artists directly participating in the formation of its content. Of course, you still need to be chosen to participate. Well a few weeks later, we were asked to participate, and the exhibit is now live on the site. We encourage you to take a look, not only at our exhibit, but all the others in this issue. Not sure what the business model is, but the magazine is a labor of love. All the people responsible should be given a big round of applause.

Adriana Teresa Publisher/Creative Director, Zöe Calman/Editor, Graham Letorney/Website & Design

Here is a link to the exhibit entitled,  The Space Between “Besmirch,” To Damage or Discolor

Here is a definition I found on Yahoo Answers today.

Deadpan refers to a plain lack of expression – applied to the sitter / subject

Wow, doesn’t that say it all. I just received my new issue of The New Yorker, and Jeff Minton has two pictures that really say it all. Nothing. Am I being too harsh? I am not so sure. Nothing  against his success in the industry, its more the entire genre that I have issues with.

I was raised in a different time, an era when I was introduced to beauty; paintings, music, and photography that moved me emotionally. I have always had such a low tolerance to art that subscribes to theories and preconceived concepts. Throughout my entire life I have been emotionally moved by so little. Perhaps that is why  I spend all of my time trying to create something that works for me. I love exploring with colors, shapes, balance, and depth. I have always had a connection to the Abstract Expressionists who lived in New York during the 40’s creating the New York School. My photographic mentor, who I apprenticed with before starting my first photographic career with National Geographic, was Jules Alexander. His studio was on East 69th Street, in the former Mark Rothko studio. I was very much aware of this connection. It meant a tremendous amount to me.

“Silence is so accurate,” Rothko would say, fearing that words would only paralyze the viewer’s mind and imagination. In their manifesto in the New York Times Rothko and Gottlieb had written: “We favor the simple expression of the complex thought. We are for the large shape because it has the impact of the unequivocal. We wish to reassert the picture plane. We are for flat forms because they destroy illusion and reveal truth.”

Let me know if I am the only person in the world that wuold like to say “Goodby” to this photographic fad. Let’s bring back emotion to the world of photography.

Our weekend just got better after reading a very complimentary article about our work on Doug Menuez’s new Blog, 2.0: go fast, don’t crash. Please read and let us know what you think. Doug’s blog is worth subscribing to, he has great insight on sustaining one’s creativity and making it big in the photographic world. He also happens to be one of the best photographers out there who knows how to merge story-telling, fine-art, and commercial success into a complete package.