Last week, I was able to hang with my old friend and photo buddy Sol Neelman. Back in the Emerald City, Sol had a two-fold mission: to distribute his new “Weird Sports” photo books at Xtreme Pencil Fighting Championships and to participate in Chip Litherland’s FOCUSED project:
“Five fully manual 35mm cameras will be pre-loaded with a single roll of film and packed into five separate camera bags. The bags will be shipped across the world from one photojournalist to the next – one in a small town in the middle of the U.S., another among relief efforts in a natural disaster zone, or working the White House press pool. Each photojournalist will get only one click of the shutter.
Just one click.
Photojournalists will document their photos not only on film, but in hand-written journal entries with quotes and technical specs from each situation. Journal entries will be scanned and published alongside the images on the website along with any future gallery showings and publications.”
Chip’s idea is very cool. Slowing down the process of photography to a single image seems radical when most photographers (including myself) blow through hundreds of images on an assignment. His goal – for photographers to rely more on their senses than technology.
Sol wrote about the experience here, where other photographers will also be recording their happenings along the way. On the FOCUSED website, you can also donate to the project and track the cameras around the world.
Best of luck to all the photographers participating! It was a lot of fun to see Sol choose his decisive moment. Congrats to you! You’re one of my favorite friends and photographers. Honestly, who else is going to snag the www.decisivemotordrive.com?
Rat City Rollergirls’ Brandy Rettig (Rettig to Rumble) signs books with Sol at the Rendezvous Jewelbox Theatre in Belltown. Brandy, also a weird sports aficionado, wrote the forward to the book and is featured in it.
Switching back to digital.
Backstage.
