Jeff Mermelstein Repost

[ebino]

Mermelstein and Gilden were published, working photographers long before YouTube. Gilden's been a member of Magnum for nearly a decade -- the most famous photo agency in the world! Magnum probably didn't bring him on because of an internet video.

I bet a lot of money that you could find hundreds or even thousands of videos on YouTube of unknown photographers talking about how they shoot and their deep thoughts about photography. A good chunk of them would have blogs and galleries too.

There is a Magnum member called Carl De Keyzer, how many amateurs know who he is, how many amateurs go about trying to shoot like him or quote him, but then go and check his portfolio at magnum website and see that the guy is a master, the same applies to most magnum mebers and lot of other great photographers out there in obscurity.

Gilden is a "character", a street performer, his so called technique is not original, it goes back to Mark Cohen and then all the way to William Klein and finally to Weegee... So, why on earth his suddenly like a God amongst photographers? Is it because he jumps old ladies on the street and gets into verbal arguments with some passerby? Or his simply a youtube celebrity and represents everything that is vulgar about youtube and its celebrities?

All those questions are a bit tricky if one delves deep.

 

[Andy Kibber]

So, why on earth his suddenly like a God amongst photographers?

I take your points, but I don't agree with the assumption in this statement. All you have to do is take a look at threads on RFF to conclude that many, many photographers don't consider Gilden to be anything special, let alone God. 🙂

The most you could say about him is that people often have strong opinions about him. Same goes for Parr.

 

[kermaier]

Back to Mermelstein, though: the video of him shooting on the street is very reminiscent, to my mind, to Winogrand's technique on the street. And I think Mermelstein's work builds more on Winogrand's style than any other of the "classic" street photographers.
::Ari

 

[sarniak]

I looked up his recent work and it seems to me he's switched to digital (could be wrong)

Oh, that would be sad news.

But then, does anyone know, what film he had been using before?

 

[surfer dude]

Thanks a lot for the link Wontonny, very interesting.

 

[Florian1234]

The featured text to his photographs in the "Street Photography Now" book is, by the way, the basic information from the video.