The CJM Blog

Arnold Newman, Georgia O’Keeffe, painter, Ghost Ranch, New Mexico , 1968. Gelatin silver print © 1968, 22 5 / 8 x 28 1 / 8 in. Arnold Newman/Getty Images.  Considered one of the twentieth century’s major portrait photographers, Arnold Newman (1918–2006) took photographs that captured the artists, writers, celebrities, politicians, and businessmen that shaped the world during his long career. Well known for his perfectionism, he would meticulously craft his photographs both at the sitting and in the darkroom. However, this rigorous process often meant that in publications and exhibitions of his work, it was nearly impossible for a curator or editor to prevail against Newman’s strong opinions. Because he wanted to show work he felt was most impressive, figures who were no longer well known such as businessmen, as well as landscapes, cityscapes, and abstractions were often omitted from documentation of his work.

Every city has its history, which is easy to ignore when you live there. Cultural pilgrimages often end when the urban honeymoon is over, and you complete the transformation from starry-eyed visitor to jaded inhabitant. But there are stories everywhere, and few stories are as good as those from the Beat Generation, which came of age and influence in 1950s San Francisco.

100 people armed with cameras descended on Jessie Square Plaza in front of the Contemporary Jewish Museum, ready to hunt. They were searching for images inspired by the street photography exhibition The Radical Camera: New York's Photo League, 1919-1939 . Vince Donovan, proprietor of the shop/polaroid and tintype studio Photobooth and one of the judges of what we called #SFphotohunt, talked to a few of the pursuers about why they showed up on a crisp January morning to take photographs: Bill: "I'm just a point and shoot guy. I've always looked at life that way, I'm just into freezing time and capturing moments."

This profile is an interview with a San Francisco photographer, inspired by the exhibition The Radical Camera: New York's Photo League, 1936–1951 and the #SFphotohunt Instagram contest. This interview is with Kseniya Tuchinskaya , who won the #CityRitual challenge .   Kseniya Tuchinskaya's winning submission to the #CityRitual challenge of #SFphotohunt. Do you have a favorite place to photograph? Where is it and why? I don’t have one favorite place to take photos, or rather, I most love taking photos when I travel — it’s part of the way I experience the new place I’m in. Locally, I love to go to Briones Regional Park in the morning before the fog burns off — the landscape looks surreal and beautiful. I also love any old buildings, the rustier and peely-painted the better.

This profile is an interview with a San Francisco photographer, inspired by the exhibition The Radical Camera: New York's Photo League, 1936–1951 and the #SFphotohunt Instagram contest. This interview is with street photographer Troy Holden . An image from Troy's Instagram account. Do you have a favorite place to photograph? Where is it and why?  The city of San Francisco will always be my favorite place to photograph. I'm most interested in the downtown area because it has the highest concentration of foot traffic and architecturally dense backdrops. I frequently take walks along Mid-Market Street between 10th and 3rd street, alternating sides of the street depending on the time of day.

This profile is an interview with a San Francisco photographer, inspired by the exhibition The Radical Camera: New York's Photo League, 1936–1951 and the #SFphotohunt Instagram contest. This interview is with #SFphotohunt contest winner Rita Harowitz. Winner photograph of the "Kisser" challenge of #SFphotohunt.  Do you have a favorite place to photograph? Where is it and why? My favorite place to photograph is in my Mission neighborhood in San Francisco. The people are amazingly diverse, always interesting, and the streets are lined with murals which make for colorful backdrops. I've never felt as much of a connection to a place as I do in my present neighborhood. I photograph what I feel connected to and I feel a strong bond with the people and places of the Mission.