Photoblogging As Fine Art

Jake Dobkin of Gothamist fame invited Kevin Walsh of Forgotten NY, Jay Parkinson, Photojojo, and Matt Weber to present slideshows as part of his series of "NYC Photobloggers" at the SoHo Apple Store on Friday, June 2. We at Prodigal were there. First up was Parkinson. He makes pleasantly unnerving, well composed portraits of wannabe fetish models. I really enjoyed his work and his insight into the world of fetish modeling. Afterall, I was a real fetish model a few years back but that is another story. The audience asked him some bizarre questions that didn't really focus on the fact that his work was quite good. One audience member asked him about model releases. When Parkinson stated that he did not have them but he could easily obtain them because he was friendly with these girls, the audience member rudely said, "My face is sardonic." Kevin Walsh showed some great slides, but I have pored over Forgotten NY for hours, and I know that he has thousands more he could have shown. He should do a longer presentation of a tour that spans all five boroughs. I did get to peek at his upcoming book which was exciting. Photojojo was funny. His site offers up unique tutorials such as how to turn your photos into edible sugar treats. Matt Weber's work had a handful of shots that are truly stunning. I recommend taking a look at his site if you like artfully taken documentary style photography. I direct a gallery in Manhattan and after seeing this presentation I feel like I should curate a show of some of the best photoblog pictures at CVB Space in the Meatpacking district.

One of Kevin Walsh's slides of the Meatpacking district.
Kevin Walsh holds up a galley copy of his forthcoming book.
Matt Weber with a slide of one of his photos where an old woman's cane looks like a "1" and a little girl's hoola hoop looks like a "0". Thus the photo is called "10".
Matt Weber's gripping black and white photo of the World Trade Center disaster.