Decades before digital technology transformed how we make and see pictures, American photographer Garry Winogrand made hundreds of thousands of them with his 35mm Leica, creating an encyclopedic portrait of America from the late 1950s to the early 1980s. When he died suddenly at age 56 in 1984, Winogrand left behind more than 10,000 rolls of film; more than a quarter of a million pictures! These images, as well as hours of never before seen 8mm films, capture a bygone era: the New York of Mad Men and the early years of the Women’s Movement, the birth of American suburbs, and the glamour and alienation of Hollywood. He produced so many unseen images that it has taken until now for the full measure of his artistic legacy to emerge. Endorsed by his gallery and estate, Garry Winogrand: All Things are Photographable is the first cinematic survey of that legacy. The...

Above: Image by Gina Milicia “Your portrait style just isn’t strong enough…we’re looking for photographers with edgier work – but thanks anyway.” This was the 5th time in a row I had been told that my folio sucked. I was absolutely gutted. This last blow was delivered by Dave, an art director from one of Melbourne’s most well-known advertising agencies. Back then, I was 25 and had just spent the entire day schlepping my folio around in the hope that I would land my big break and pick up the Coca Cola account – and a couple of other big brands – before lunch.  All my appointments that day pretty much went the same way *flick, flick, flick* of the pages of my folio… Silence… Followed by “Thanks” with a tight smile. “Your work is not really what we are looking for… but… “ I can’t remember what else they said but...

Above: Image by Gina Milicia “When people look at my pictures I want them to feel the way they do when they want to read a line of a poem twice.” – Robert Frank

I’ve got a real blind spot when it comes to verticals and horizontals. It’s kind of like vertical dyslexia. I can never get my images completely square. This can be a problem particularly when I’m shooting portraits of people in a room or anywhere with vertical or horizontal features such as light poles, doorways etc. I get so involved with capturing facial expressions that I fail to see the image is completely on an angle.  The one way I’ve overcome this habit is to work with a tripod which is great but I still couldn’t get my shots completely square until now with the discovery of this nifty $5 device. It’s a cool little spirit level that fits in the hot shoe of my camera, and tells me exactly when my camera is level so my shots will always be square.

Above: Image by Gina Milicia Did you know that after you take a photo in JPEG, your camera will process that file according to an exact mathematical formulation determined by Hans at the camera factory? Hans (not his real name) is commissioned by all camera manufacturers to calculate the amount of contrast, sharpening and white balance that is added to your image when you select the “shoot in JPEG” option in-camera settings. Most entry-level DSLR cameras and beyond – and some point-and-shoot cameras – give you the option to shoot in JPEG or RAW or a combination of both. A RAW file is like a digital negative. It contains unprocessed data taken directly from the camera sensor. A JPEG is a RAW image that your camera has processed (according to Hans’ personal preferences). I once had two beautiful chickens, Marija and Consuela, who were prolific egg layers, forcing me to...

Above: Image by Gina Milicia Life is inherently risky. There is only one big risk you should avoid at all costs and that is the risk of doing nothing. – D. Waitley

Peter Lindbergh was the only German in the select group of photographers who have found international acclaim in the worlds of fashion and advertising. His black and white photographs are highly distinctive. His snapshot of models in white shirts was named the best photograph of the 1990s by Vogue magazine. But few people know who Peter Lindbergh actually was. Peter Lindbergh was inspired by expressionist German films of the 1920s and the free dance of that era. He combined avant-garde aesthetics and a down-to-earth stance to create something new and distinctive – what he called a “verité approach.” Peter Brobeck, as he was then, was born in today’s Poland in 1944 and grew up in the Ruhr region after being forcibly displaced. He started off working as a shop window dresser, but then – more than 40 years ago – he bought a cheap secondhand camera to take snaps of...

Above: Image by Gina Milicia “The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra” – Jimmy Johnson fluke [flo͞ok] noununlikely chance occurrence, especially a surprising piece of luck.“their triumph was no fluke” Some of my best images that I’ve shot over the last 30 years have been complete flukes. I happened to be in the right place at the right time. A portrait of a young boy peering out the back of a vintage Fiat 500 as he drove past me in a tiny village in Sicily was a complete fluke. So was the image I photographed of the city of Dubai breaking through the low cloud cover at dawn. Right place, right time. Two elderly ladies, walking in the rain, wearing matching outfits in the streets of Madrid was another fluke, a gift from the photo gods. #blessed Many photographers spend their lives relying on the photo gods to give them these...

“The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of a low price is forgotten.” – Benjamin Franklin Above: Image by Gina Milicia

Supermodel Helena Christensen and Documentary Photographer Mary Ellen Mark discuss their work, travels and inspirations with Mark Seliger.  From Johnny Depp to the circus performers of India and from the villages of Peru to the celebrities of Hollywood, Christensen and Mark talk about the challenges of finding the essence of their subjects and the thrill of taking a beautiful photograph.