Mostly True

Americana

Kenneth Jarecke/Contact Press Images

I just cleaned out the flash card that's been sitting in my camera for a week or so and thought I'd share some of the America that is Montana.

Kenneth Jarecke/Contact Press Images

Yep, we still make a point of hitting the drive-in at least once each summer.

Kenneth Jarecke/Contact Press Images

Firecrackers to keep everyone on their toes!

Kenneth Jarecke/Contact Press Images

Our Fourth of July Parade in Joliet, Montana might not be the biggest one in the country, but they take two laps to make it last a little longer.

Kenneth Jarecke/Contact Press Images

A few more fireworks to finish up the evening.

Kenneth Jarecke/Contact Press Images

And a special visit from the Fifth of July Emu! I have no idea where this bird came from or how it ended up on our place. I just hope it leaves the cats alone.

The Hero Pose

You know that iconic hero pose where the sitter is looking slightly upward and to the side, gazing off into the distance?

I was helping my son do a report on Alexander the Great yesterday when I came across this...

Physical deformity and the cause of death

"More recently Alexander’s physical characteristics have been combined with the information of his final days to arrive at the cause of his death. Many descriptions and statues typically portray Alexander with a cervical neck deformity, typically with a gaze looking upward and outward (an image still used in modern day heroic photography). Both his father Philip II and his brother Philip Arridaeus also suffered from physical deformities, leading some to suggest a congenital scoliotic disorder (familial neck and spinal deformity).^[63] A familial scoliotic deformity has therefore been ascribed as the cause of his death by means of an ascending spinal infection (pyogenic spondylitis or meningitis),^[63] which would also explain the ascending spinal paralysis in his final days. Furthermore, such a condition has also been proposed as a potential cause for Alexander’s depictions with horns by way of a scoliosis associated neurocutaneous Epidermal Nevus Syndrome."

Yeah, that's from Wikipedia, so take that into consideration. But still, something to think about.

Orchard and Annie

This morning, along with much of the photo world, I got a little bit of interesting news.

First of all, let me say that once your personal financial situation is splashed across the NEW YORK TIMES, there's not much you can do about keeping things which should be personal... personal.

"It's very discreet," said Ian Peck, a co-owner of Art Capital.

Ummm, or not.

I remember a conversation with Eddie Adams about something like this. Eddie would often find himself in financial difficulties. This was a different time of course, not like our current economic situation. Anyway, shortly (the very next day) after complaining about this problem, Eddie went out and bought a brand new Range Rover.

What are you going to do? Creative people think differently. Their ways often don't make sense to those around them. It's just how it is.

How do you start out with a simple idea, brainstormed by a bunch of big-brained executives and somehow, spontaneously come up with an original or slightly brilliant photograph in the middle of a photo shoot, that no one expected? I don't know. It hasn't been explained, but that's how it often works.

Right now I'm listening to Charlie Parker. An artist who's life and work pretty much sums up the mystery of the creative process.

I don't really know Annie Leibovitz. I saw her last week in London. I can say that she was far too nice and way to polite for anyone who may be going through difficult times.

Which says a lot about her.

She's not only a bit of a genius, but she's fiercely loyal.

The editorial agency we share, Contact Press Images (her for 32 years, me for 22) is a exclusive, and somewhat eccentric little family that is also fiercely loyal. Obviously, Annie could have left this group years ago. There must have been plenty of big money offers during this time, but she has stayed.

Listen, Getty has a global reach. No other agency can compete with that. The idea here, from what I can gather, is to capitalize on Getty's dominate position and secure some international advertising gigs, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Meanwhile, Contact Press Images remains the place to license Annie's archive for editorial work, and Art+Commerce remains the classy place to commission Annie for commercial work.