Posted on February 28th, 2009 in Education, Europe, Kristallnacht | Leave A Comment
I’ve watched a lot of films and read a lot of books about the Holocaust, or Shoah, over the years. However, I hadn’t seen, “Shoah” by Claude Lanzmann. I want to travel to some of these places, especially Auschwitz-Birkenau, Chełmno, Sorbibor and Treblinka, and do some work for my project.
If you haven’t seen it, you should - here’s an overview:
Claude Lanzmann directed this 9 1/2 hour documentary of the Holocaust without using a single frame of archive footage. He interviews survivors, witnesses, and ex-Nazis (whom he had to film secretly since though only agreed to be interviewed by audio). His style of interviewing by asking for the most minute details is effective at adding up these details to give a horrifying portrait of the events of Nazi genocide. He also shows, or rather lets some of his subjects themselves show, that the anti-Semitism that caused 6 million Jews to die in the Holocaust is still alive in well in many people that still live in Germany, Poland, and elsewhere.
Click to see this large - it’s a good perspective on the camps, locations and where I live.
Posted on February 23rd, 2009 in Collodion Images, Collodion Workshops, Education, Europe, travel | Leave A Comment
It’s always nice to return to a place where you’ve been. We just spent three days in Boerdonk, The Netherlands. I went back to do another wet plate collodion workshop. We were there last October doing a workshop. 
We stayed at “The Miracle” hotel/bb. Ger and Jan Coppens own it and run it. It’s not what you think - they don’t advertise, or have regular hours - you almost have to be invited by someone they know - not that it’s elite or exclusive, it’s just that they run their business in a different way. Jeroen, the workshop coordinator set us up with Ger and Jan. The rooms are nice, the Dutch breakfast, made by Ger is tasty and the little dog, Lennon, is cute and loving. We sat around in the evening and drank Westmalle (Trappist) beer from the tap and told stories - it’s too involved to go into here, but Ger told some very funny stories about people who had stayed in the hotel or came into the cafe to drink - “Dickemeat” and “Zombie” - my personal notes for future reference.
We did portraits of the Ger and Jan. They really liked the images and appreciated the process. I’m going to do a still life of a Westmalle bottle and glass and give to them for their bar/cafe. 
Jeroen and his parents had us over for dinner Saturday night at their house. They have a beautiful home and are wonderful people. They fixed Dutch mussels and Portuguese chicken. We drank three bottles of wine and talked about life, art and politics. Another wonderful time.
I had six great people in the workshop. As always, they did a terrific job. I’ve posted some photographs here they already emailed me - Sanne (from Belgium) and Willie Jan. I’ll post more (from the workshop) when I get them.
It’s a little bit frustrating trying to write about these experiences. I don’t know how they translate, but I know it doesn’t even come close to the experience.
Photo from Willie Jan.
Workshop students - Veghel, The Netherlands.
Posted on February 13th, 2009 in Europe | Leave A Comment
If you like Hunter S. Thompson, or even if you don’t, you should check out this documentary - Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson.
I agree with the sentiments that he could have influenced the discourse today and would have been very happy to see President Barack Obama.
The illustrations by Ralph Steadman have always been associated (for me) with Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas. They are incredible pieces of work that compliment Thompson’s writing and philosophy so well.
Posted on February 8th, 2009 in Collodion Images, Collodion Workshops, Education, Europe, travel | Leave A Comment
I did a demonstration/performance (that’s what I call them) for a group of photo artists, collectors and friends in Brussels, Belgium Saturday. My friend, Carl Fransman (lives in Brussels and organizes all things photo related), sent me some great photos from yesterday’s shoot/demo/performance - thanks Carl! All photos by Carl Fransman.
Quinn explains the “tastiness” of ripe collodion.
Inside the dark-box #1.
Inside the dark-box #2.
Inside the dark-box #3 - aka cleaning a plate.
Pouring a plate with aforementioned “tasty” collodion.
Quinn acting like a magician, trying to keep the tastiness on the plate.
Draining the tastiness. The gentleman behind me has one of the most exquisite 19th century camera/photo collections in Europe - he owns two, yes, two Dubronis. We’ve been invited to his home for dinner and to see his collection!
The first plate - 8×10 Black Glass Ambrotype - a group of photo artist/collectors from Brussels.
The second plate - a Whole Plate Alumitype - varnishing the plate.
The Belgian Artists (and Quinn) varnished!
The Belgian Artists (and Quinn)! Near the Grand Sablon, Brussels - February 7, 2009
