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Sharing Success & Showing Promise by Mark Lapin Kodak’s One Gallery program builds careers while boosting brand Article rating: 8.50

For talented photographers who struggle with a lack of exposure, Kodak’s One Gallery program was a welcome innovation.  The program debuted during last year’s Christmas season with high-profile exhibitions in New York’s SoHo and San Francisco’s Union Square.  Each exhibit featured four photographers (one established pro and three emerging talents.)  Visitors to the galleries could also attend masters classes or get hands-on with Kodak’s EasyShare system for shooting, storing and sharing digital photos. 

In follow-up interviews with One Gallery participants, TGP encountered a group of creative and occasionally quirky shooters who were distinct in background, interests and professional standing but shared some common concerns.  The future of film in the digital era was one theme that kept emerging (no surprise given Kodak’s history as a driving force in both technologies).  More surprising was the consensus that digital photography was proving a special boon to women photographers, facilitating their entry into professional ranks and helping to reverse a long-standing gender imbalance.

Jock McDonald, featured photographer at San Francisco show (www.jockmcdonald.com)
Intending to create a local feeling at each venue, Kodak featured four San Francisco shooters in the West Coast exhibit and four New Yorkers in SoHo.  The premier professional photographer in San Francisco was Jock McDonald, a free-spirited Canadian who has worked in the City for decades, creating memorable portraits of many of its more colorful personalities.  According to one critic, “Jock has immortalized the famous, non-famous and infamous through his portraits using varying degrees of humor, exaggeration and pathos.”

“Audrey Jonckheer from Kodak went through my archives and picked 20 or 25 images to display,” said McDonald.  “It was scary because I didn’t know what she’d choose.  But I was really floored by how much work they put into the whole exhibit.  I was also terribly impressed by their EasyShare system.  It seems like someone has finally got it right.  They’ve integrated the whole digital process (of shooting, printing and sharing via the Net) in a way that not only works for pictures of the grandkids but could also have professional applications.  Scouting locations and uploading images for clients to preview might be one example.”

Since the exhibit, McDonald has been working on a pair of projects (one commercial, one personal) that illustrate his comfort level on both sides of the digital divide.  The commercial project was to create portraits for thousands of people hoping to hook up with that special someone via the Personal Ads on Yahoo.  McDonald calls it ‘a huge, out-of-control job,’ and believes it couldn’t have happened without digital. 

Yahoo paraded five different groups of real-life relationship seekers (20’s, 30’s, 40’s, gays and lesbians} past McDonald’s cameras.   He spent days shooting each group, starting with a welcome banquet at which he briefed the eager participants on what to expect.  ‘The next day,” he says, “we’d go out to Golden Gate Park on tandem bicycles or roller skates.  Or we’d go rowing on Stow Lake.  Then we’d go up to a mansion in Napa with a pool and gardens, tennis and basketball courts.  The shooting was very spontaneous, mainly available light.  They’d stay up late at night, and show up the next day hung over.  Probably some of them had probably slept together before the end of the shoot.  The moment of truth was when I’d pick out a couple of strangers and tell them to kiss for the camera.  Amazingly, nobody refused.  Part of my contract was to create a home movie for the farewell dinner.  So we’d finish shooting in Napa at 5 or 6 o’clock on the last day.  My assistants would cull through the images on laptops while we were racing back to San Francisco.  We’d add music and create an I-Movie in the studio, then race over to project it at the farewell dinner.”

McDonald’s current personal project involves shooting garbage dumps in the Third World.  “I’m very interested in our legacy, what we’re leaving behind for future generations.  I was just down in the Guadalajara dumps.  More than 600 people live there in hand-built shacks, shanties.  It was very difficult to get permission to shoot.  My personal work is all on film.  The big difference for me has to do with how I edit film, with the length of time that passes between pressing the shutter and looking at proof sheets back in the studio.  That time helps in the editing process.  I like looking at proof sheets, drawing on them to map out how the print will look.  I’m working on a platinum series now.  At the end of the day, there’s a difference between making a series of platinum prints where each one is different and pressing a button on a computer to make 30 identical inkjet prints.”

Frederic Lagrange, featured photographer at New York show, (www.fredericlagrange.com)
Kodak had a particular look in mind for the headline professional photographer at the New York gallery.  “We weren’t going for a traditional photojournalistic style,” says Audrey Jonckheer, Kodak’s Director of Worldwide Industry Relations.  “We wanted someone cutting edge, hip and refreshed.  I thought immediately of Frederick Lagrange.  He’s only 29 or 30 but already recognized as one of the top photographers in New York.  He does fabulous work in fashion, travel and portraits.  Very clean and strong.  He’s also incredibly erudite and speaks five or six languages but when you ask him to talk about himself, he’s incredibly modest.”

Lagrange is in demand everywhere these days, and was bouncing back and forth between continents while TGP was compiling this article so we never got a chance to try to overcome his reticence about discussing his own work.  The appeal of his photos, however, is clear from an incident that happened during the New York show.  According to Audrey Jonckheer of Kodak, “A movie person on the crew for The Devil Wears Prada (an inside look at cut-throat tactics in New York’s fashion industry) stopped by our Gallery and was speechless about an enlarged photo of Frederic’s.  Their script called for a scene at the headquarters of Vogue.  They were looking for a picture to hang on the editor’s wall, and the movie guy thought that Frederic’s image was absolutely IT.  I gave them Frederic’s number and they arranged to showcase the image in their upcoming movie.”

Women in Photography International played a key role in helping Kodak find promising young shooters (www.womeninphotography.org)
In selecting the emerging talents to feature at One Gallery shows, Kodak placed a special focus on women photographers, a group the company views as prime prospects for its EasyShare system.  “Women are a very important market for us,” said Jonckheer, “but when we introduced the first generation of EasyShare cameras five years ago, women still perceived digital cameras as too technical and shied away.  Now, on our fifth generation of EasyShare, that perception has changed dramatically.  Women are among our biggest customers.”

A professional organization called Women in Photography International helped Kodak track down promising female photographers in San Francisco and New York.  “We put out a call for portfolios,” said Jean Ferro, president of the organization, “and so many people responded.  It was a fabulous opportunity, a gallery show, top-of-the-line.  I can’t tell you how many women asked me, ‘Why aren’t they doing the same thing in Los Angeles?’”

Ferro, an editorial and fine art shooter with decades of professional experience, has a unique perspective on the digital revolution as it affects women photographers.  “The transition into digital has been very advantageous for women,” she said.  “I’m seeing women who were struggling for years and years, who tried to make these little darkrooms in their bathrooms, who couldn’t get their work out, and now, with digital, they’re suddenly making huge steps because they can have a website and a presence they never had access to before.  Even myself, while raising a child, I couldn’t work in the darkroom until after my son went to sleep.  I’d be up till three in the morning, trying to do prints and then making sure I washed down the whole kitchen so there wouldn’t be any chemical residues.  Now women can jump on computer after the babies go down.  If they’re on the go, they can shoot digital images and use a laptop to upload to and print via a digital sharing gallery, like KodakEasyShareGallery.com.  They can set up a Paypal account and accept payments online without having strangers come to their homes.   Sites like KodakEasyShareGallery.com handle the whole package.  They print and ship.  Digital is enabling many women to move to the next level in photography.  It’s just so much fun; I hope nobody pulls the plug.”

Natascha Unkart, rising talent in SF show (http://natascha.dehors.net)
Natascha Unkart is one of the up-and-coming photographers recommended by Women in Photography to exhibit in Kodak’s San Francisco gallery.   Like the other rising talents, she was given the new wi-fi-enabled Kodak EasyShare One camera and asked to spend a few days using it to shoot the city.  “Shooting with EasyShare is all about composition,” she said.  “I’m used to a Nikon D70, which gives much more control, so this was a different approach.  The challenge was to show what you could do with this camera, and as long as you have a good eye, you can do all sorts of things.  I have a bunch of photos I shot with EasyShare One that I love and think are great and would work on much more if they were in a higher resolution.”

Unkart grew up in Europe, and has an outstanding background in Art History, including a Masters Degree from Utrecht University on the representation of bodies and gender in digital photography and video.  “I have political concerns, a background in art history, an interest in feminist theory, and a purely aesthetic feeling about the power of images.  That makes it difficult to label myself.  I’m somewhere between art and commercial, between political and beautiful.  I like to let my eye wander and seek the moment but I also think images are most powerful in their message.  Coming from Europe, I feel it’s much more conservative here.  You have to speak to a broader audience.  The values are different.  There’s a different approach to nudity in the arts.  Religion is much bigger.  It’s interesting to see and analyze.  I think there’s a lot that can be explored in America.  I have hope.”

© 2006 Natascha Unkart

© 2006 Natascha Unkart

Natascha Unkart is currently engaged in launching a stock agency that will support women photographers. 

Dunja Dumanski, rising talent in SF show (http://www.dunjadumanski.com/)
That interest in the possibilities of stock is shared by Dunja Dumanski, another of the rising photographers who participated in the San Francisco show.   A graduate of the Art Center College of Design, Dumanski is currently working on fashion jobs for clients such as Nike and The Gap but enjoys shooting for stock because of the greater creative possibilities.  “Stock gives me the freedom to work on my private projects.  It makes me super-happy to have that kind of freedom.  I’m shooting for myself and hoping that the images will be marketable for stock agencies.  It would be ideal if I could combine the two things.”

Dumanski appreciated both the experience of shooting with Kodak’s EasyShare One camera and the exposure she gained from the show.  “I enjoyed the freedom that little camera gives you.  It was really liberating, really handy.   You could just pop it out and shoot.  I gave myself a theme-- people and their bikes.  When I first moved to San Francisco, I noticed that people’s bikes were so custom-made, so individualized.  The bike becomes part of their identity.  The way they dress suits the kind of bike they ride.  Then it was amazing to see my images at the show on their beautiful, large, flat-screen monitor with my name and the Kodak logo.  It was pretty impressive.  I don’t have much outside exposure except my website (www.dunjadumanski.com), so sitting in front of my images on a loop with other good photographers was a wonderful experience.”

© 2006 Dunja Dumanski

© 2006 Dunja Dumanski

Carrie Villines, rising talent in SoHo show (www.carrievillines.com)
At the SoHo show, the three promising professionals were Amy Postle, Carrie Villines and Ken Rowe.  Carrie Villines, a Brooklyn-based photographer and MFA candidate at Parsons School of Design, specializes in portraits, stock and fine art.  “Taking part in the Kodak One Gallery was an amazing experience,” she said. “Kodak was so supportive, allowing me and the other photographers total freedom in exploring and capturing New York City.” 

For the show, Villines focused on New York street and subway scenes, a choice influenced by that fact that she is relatively new to the city.  “Coming from Los Angeles where I was accustomed to being secluded in my car, I’m fascinated with the variety of people I encounter in New York. My photography has always been inspired by people and their stories, and New York is an amazing place to observe people. Using the compact and discreet EasyShare One allowed me to be relatively inconspicuous while taking photos.”

Villines is currently doing a photo series on text tattoos.  “I’m looking at how and why people tell their stories by permanently inscribing words on their bodies,” she said. The series was shown in two group shows in New York City this Spring, and in a solo show at the Trash Bar Gallery in Williamsburg, NY in May.

Amy Postle, rising talent in SoHo show (www.amypostle.com)
Amy Postle’s photography had been all on film until Kodak contacted her, via Women in Photography, about shooting for the show with their all digital EasyShare One.  “Although the camera was easy to use, being new to digital, it took me a couple of days to get comfortable and start being creative with it.  Once I did, I was thrilled with the results,” she said.  “I loved the spontaneity it enabled me to have while shooting around New York.  The B&W setting and speeds up to 1600 really allowed me to stay true to my personal vision as a photographer.  Since the EasyShare files were too low-res to print for a larger portfolio, I used them to have 4x5 negatives made, and they worked like a charm. The prints in my book from the Easy Share One project are silver gelatin, not digital.  A big thank you to Women in Photography and to Kodak for this opportunity.  Not only do I have a new, fun camera, but I also have an entirely new body of work. ...”

Postle has chosen women as her photographic subject of choice, and portrays them in many moods from alluring and erotic poses in black fishnet stockings to playful, introspective or dreamy moments.  Her images have been frequently published and exhibited in galleries.  “My work is both literal and fantasy,” she said.  “It is about fashion, beauty, sexuality and strength.  It is about the reaction of the waitress, the model or the housewife when she sees herself as something different.  It is about the beauty in every person, the natural beauty that can exist without starvation and conforming to the status quo.  It is about feeling comfortable, alive and on fire in your own skin.”

Kenneth Rowe, rising talent in  SoHo show (www.kennethrowe.com)
Rounding out the trio of rising talents in the SoHo Gallery was Ken Rowe, a New York photographer who shoots travel,  portraits, fashion and street scenes.  “I may be a little schizophrenic in terms of what I shoot,” Rowe said, “but it’s nice to go out and shoot street scenes one day, and the next do an elaborate still-life setup in the studio.  I also like to shoot graphically, emphasizing color and composition but staying a little abstract.”  Rowe began his career as first assistant/studio manager for famed advertising photographer Eric Meola, with whom he remains very close.  “He was one of the people who attended the Kodak opening and his work has definitely influenced the way I see things through the camera,” said Rowe.

Rowe majored in journalism, and has always felt drawn to story-telling. Commercial assignments led him away from that narrative impulse but the Kodak assignment helped him get back in touch with his journalistic roots. “On consumer cameras, you can’t just jump out and grab the decisive moment. There’s a little delay, which forces you to interact with your subjects and get to know a little about them, a rarity in our world of 10-frames-per-second, drive-by photography.  I did a lot of shooting out in Coney Island, photographing side shows and street performers.  My favorite was guy who had a couple of puppets lip-synching to music in front of this colorful brick wall. He took his love of performance art to the street and makes a living from it.   The drive and devotion he showed motivates me to accomplish my own artistic goals, which is not always the easiest endeavor.  Kodak provided an amazing opportunity to help emerging photographers gain much needed exposure.  They provided us with a great camera and a terrific assignment, then showcased the work in a top-notch venue.  It was an experience I will never forget.”

Recently, Rowe has been taking more time to go out and document stories unfolding on the street. On the Kodak assignment, he started shooting basketball players on one of New York’s most famous blacktop courts, located by the subway station at West 4th and Spring Streets. That scene continues to fascinate him.  “You can see some of the most amazing athletes on the court playing with guys who are 30 levels below them. It’s fascinating to watch the interaction over time.  I been going down on weekends, getting to know them better, and now they’re willing to let me go out on court to shoot.  I want to put it together as project, let them write the text. But time and business always interfere.” 

Showcasing EasyShare
The One Gallery exhibitions were highly successful for Kodak.  According Erin Foster, Kodak’s Worldwide Director of Public Relations, Communications and Events, the galleries attracted more than 13,000 visitors who made more than 30,000 prints at on-site kiosks.  More than 150 media types also attended the events.  From a product standpoint, the star of the show was Kodak’s  EasyShare-One digital camera.  The world’s first wireless consumer digital camera, EasyShare One has the ability to e-mail images directly from the camera and to browse photo albums stored online at the Kodak EasyShare Gallery. Kodak now holds top market share for digital cameras, snapshot printers, picture kiosks, and online picture services in the U.S. It also climbed to the #3 position for worldwide digital camera shipments, and is the fastest-growing brand of digital cameras in the world for the second straight year.

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