© Paolo Nobile • The Next Will Be Chemical

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On August 13th I came to know of a new song by Radiohead: Harry Patch (in memory of).

The song was written by Thom Yorke in memory of the last remaining WWI British veteran who died recently at the age of 111 (yes, one-hundred-eleven). The last verse reads: “The next [war] will be chemical but they will never learn”. I have thought of appropriating these words and made them the title of an image which had been in my mind for some time with regard to water contamination.

I do not know whether the next war will be chemical but – at the current pace – within few decades pollution and, consequently, water contamination will have the same effect.

Below a couple of pictures of the set and a few links for those interested in the subject.

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Great Pacific Garbage Path

Oceanic Preservation Society

The Cove Movie

Global Post : The coming war for water

Waterlife NSB

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The possibility of a lack of water has always been cause of a certain anxiety to me since I have come across the first news about water privatization years ago. Where “… one of the world’s great business opportunities” occurred has left a trail of high rates and bad service to say the least. In the words of CBC Radio’s special series on the privatization of water which dates back to 2003: “In the past ten years, three giant global corporations have quietly assumed control over the water supplied to almost 300 million people in every continent of the world. A 12-month investigation by journalists in Canada, the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America shows that the results range from questionable to disastrous. And it shows how well-meaning municipal governments in the U.S. and Canada can become vulnerable to the persuasive techniques of these high-powered corporate giants“.

6 years have passed and – from the average citizen’s point of view – it certainly did not get better.

Even though this has little or nothing to do with photography, I thought that collecting and sharing my bookmarks on the subject could be interesting for those of you who are keen to learn more about the business that “promises to be to the 21st century what oil was to the 20th“.

Unless your client is one of those giant global corporations … .

Here are my bookmarks:

Public Citizen: Water Privatization Overview

Public Citizen: Turning On The Tap

CBC News: Indepth – Water Privatization

Food & Water Watch: Private vs. Public

Food & Water Watch: Case Studies Of Failed Water Privatization

Food & Water Watch: Sign The “Protect America’s Water Pledge”

Wikipedia: Water Privatization

via Lens

Purpose is a beautiful, inspiring web-magazine I have come across recently when reading an old issue of GUP (Guide to Unique Photography), a Dutch photo magazine I discovered, this too, by chance. The latest issue of Purpose is dedicated to childhood. You can view Purpose for free but a donation through PayPal is possible – and worth it. Contributors to issue n.8 are a good number of photographers along with musicians who complete the experience of viewing the images. No articles, just photos, music and captions. That’s it. Check it out !

Photographers: Doug DuBois, Marisa Portolese, Alessandra Sanguinetti, Laura Pannack, Robert Knight, Gilles Raynaldy, Gérald Garbez, Todd Deutsch, Samantha Contis, Elizabeth Fleming, Chris Mottalini, Ahlam Shibli, Véronique Ellena, Beth Y. Edwards, Geoffroy Mathieu, Pascal Hausherr, Colin Pantall, Wolfram Hahn, Evan Baden, Raimond Wouda, Susana Raab, Tammy Mercure, Amy Stein, Alain Cornu, Robin Schwartz, François Debricon, Joakim Eskildsen, Marc Wendelski, Constant Anée, Yveline Loiseur, Thekla Ehling, Julien Magre documentation Céline Duval, Wilma Hurskaine, Kevin Romaniuk, Franck Gérard, Dulce Pinzón, Johanne Bouvier, Anton Zatzepine, Colleen Heslin, Maya de Forest, Paul Demare, Christian Demare, Musée Carnavalet.

Music: Stefano Pilia, Nickolai D. Nickolov, Caro & Edu (Panico), Rodolphe Alexis & Yoko Fukushima, Matthieu Safatly.

“Photography isn’t something you retire from,” said Annie Leibovitz accepting the Lifetime Achievement award at the ICP Infinity Awards last night. Leibovitz told the audience that when she first heard she was receiving the award, “I thought, I’m too young” (via PDN).

That’s exactly how I feel every time I wake up in the morning: still at the beginning of my career. 

© Paolo Nobile • props-stylist Ornella Rota

© Paolo Nobile • food stylist/writer Roberta Deiana

Website restyled, new works section added (this image: food stylist/writer Roberta Deiana).

Well, this has nothing to do with photography but it certainly is very interesting and worth seeing. You can see below the presentation by Prof. Hans Rosling and here the original interactive animation with which you can play. Enjoy.

Thanks, Alberto.

© Paolo Nobile • Armonia (II) • Polaroid transfer 4" x 5"

Again Milton Glaser, from the essay “Since then (AIGA 2005)“:

I think artists tend to be liberal because their view of the world has to include doubt and ambiguity as well as generosity and optimism. In recent years, I’ve come to believe that the world is divided between those who make things and those who control things.

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If we need a definition of Art, the Roman literary critic Horace provided an elegant one. “The role of art is to inform and delight”. Form and light are hidden in that definition. It’s an idea I enthusiastically embrace. Of course, informing is different than persuading. When one is informed, one is strengthened. Persuasion does not guarantee the same result.
Delight is the non-quantifiable part of the definition that speaks to the role of beauty. What artists make is a gift to humankind; a benign instrument that has the possibility of affecting our consciousness through empathy and shared symbolism.

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The most important function of art through history has been to work magic, to change the very nature of those who experience the work—in these cases beauty transforms as well as informs. Searching for the miraculous strikes me as being a good way to spend my time.

© Paolo Nobile • Il Dono Oscuro (I) • Polaroid transfer 4" x 5"

Thanks to Rob Haggart I had the chance to visit Milton Glaser’s website and discovered “10 things I have learned”, part of the AIGA talk Milton Glaser delivered in London, November 2001. I particularly liked the first one. Here it is:

1. You can only work for people that you like.
This is a curious rule and it took me a long time to learn because in fact at the beginning of my practice I felt the opposite. Professionalism required that you didn’t particularly like the people that you worked for or at least maintained an arms length relationship to them, which meant that I never had lunch with a client or saw them socially. Then some years ago I realised that the opposite was true. I discovered that all the work I had done that was meaningful and significant came out of an affectionate relationship with a client. And I am not talking about professionalism; I am talking about affection. I am talking about a client and you sharing some common ground. That in fact your view of life is someway congruent with the client, otherwise it is a bitter and hopeless struggle.

No, I didn’t turn to bricklaying (yet). This is just black rice flour resembling cement.

Black rice flour - © Paolo Nobile, food stylist Sandra Longinotti

© Paolo Nobile • Alterazione (III) • Gelatin Silver Print

World Press Photo winner struggling to find work. In case one needed confirmation about what’s happening in the media industry … . Via PDN.

And this not only in the US.

© Paolo Nobile • Crocifissione (trittico) • 3 gelatin silver contact prints from 8" x 10" film negatives

“Finally, I will say this about the future of magazines and photography. There is no future for magazines that don’t challenge and surprise their readers with original sophisticated imagery. The internet has set the ground floor and if you can’t rise above it, you will disappear” (Rob Haggart)

The financial crisis just acted as a catalyst in a line of business which was already getting through a big technological and cultural revolution. What a pity that people who lead the publishing industry seem to not understand it.

Just updated my websites with a bunch of new food images (click here).

More to come … .

I already posted an interview to DoP David Griffin by Rob Haggart but here you can watch a video I have come across today browsing the TED website.

I have come across this quotation about Christmas trees  by Charles N. Barnard by chance and I have immediately associated it with one of my assignments for Caffé Mauro.

Both have made for my e-greeting.

A honey glass jar was what remained from a Vanity Fair (Italian issue) assignment (food stylist: Sandra Longinotti). So I used this strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo) honey to prepare an easy dessert made of pears cooked in some water, sugarcane, little cinnamon and Porto wine. Excellent! I love the strawberry tree honey taste: bitterish and slightly resinous.

Arbutus unedo and honey on Wikipedia

I love baking bread, it’s gratifying. But when I started baking it for the first time I ran into trouble. And the trouble went on for weeks: although I did everything by the book the result was never good enough. I tried and tried and tried again. Temperature, yeast, water or milk, more salt – less salt, more sugar – less sugar.

At last one day it came out of the oven as if made by a real baker, a pro. I don’t know why because actually all the variations had been minimal from the actual recipe. Since that day the result has always been good, sometimes even excellent. Weird, uh ?

For this one I used all-purpose flour, water and fresh (compressed) yeast.

If by any chance you are looking for a real estate in the north west of Italy, Piedmont, this property of a friend of mine is on sale:

‘The site is a hill village located 400 m. above sea level overlooking the plain below. 8 km away is the Serravalle Scrivia castle on the Milano – Genova highway. The real estate comprises three buildings:

- 90 square m. manor with medieval tower dated 1400 in need of refurbishment

- 110 square m. house partially refurbished

- 110 square m. house in need of refurbishment

- 100 square m. courtyard

- 60 square m. garden

Both houses lack central heating and are used as summer holiday accommodations. Refurbishment will provide attractive outcomes. Asking price is Euro 200,000. For visits weekends only.

Contact: Mr. Fulvio Canepa, fulvio.canepa@studiogavio.it

Hard Times for Stock Continue: Corbis to Cut Royalty Rate by Daryl Lang, PDN website.

A company which makes about $200 million “has never turned a profit, though executives said the company’s financial shape is improving”.

This is amazing ! Most amazing is that photographers will see their rates chopped by Corbis mismanagement (if they accept this cut).

Cappuccino as a kickstarter at the usual bar. (Bad) news overview in the newspaper. Email check. Quick flip through my to do notes. Getting ready for the new assignment. Waiting for the food-stylist. Waiting for the props-stylist. Waiting for the client (Christ !, am I the only one who’s always on time ?). Staring at the monitor while I think. Making up my mind for a middle-morning coffee at the bar. Going back to my studio where I find everybody waiting for me … . Trying to interpret the mumblings of my client. Persuading all that having lunch in my little patio is just the case. Applause. Wearing sunglasses. Back on set: everything clear now. All happy! Toasting each other’s workmanship with a glass of Prosecco. Showing everybody out.