Berenice Abbott
Welcome to the future blog page about Berenice Abbott. Enter to see photos. Circa 1984
50-Years of Vision Quest
I have photographed thousands of people, most becoming life-long friends, all of them stand the separation of time, distance, choice, or in death because of the photograph. They are enshrined by the blink of a camera's eye, providing a reference, a road-map and a testament to Living Art.
It is a formidable task to edit over half-a-million pictures, scan the negatives or slides and then find words. This collection is just the beginning, a "friends in progress," to be continued and updated. Drop me a note if I've photographed you; click the "like" button or comment as a vote to expedite the completion of a specific friend.
Welcome to the future blog page about Berenice Abbott. Enter to see photos. Circa 1984
A future blog about Bill Abeel will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Circa 1995.
STAR MOTHER
Future blog page about Ryan Abeel will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Circa 1995.
RESORT DEVELOPER
Future page about Hubert Baudoin of the Moorings will be completed. Enter now to see photos. Since 1985.
PAINTER/LAWYER
Future blog about Laurie Balmuth will be completed. Enter now to see photos. Since 2001.
PHOTOGRAPHER
A future blog about White House photographer Susan Biddle will be completed. Enter now to see photos. Since 1978.
PHOTO EDITOR
A future blog about photo editor Elizabeth Biondi will be completed. Enter now to see photos. Since 1981.
BOTANIST/ARTIST
A future blog about Amanda Borel will be completed. Enter now to see photos. Since 2014.
PHOTOGRAPHER
Future blog about David Burnett will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 1985.
Is the mayor of a town almost obliterated by the derailment of an oil train on the shores of the Columbia River.
JEWISH MOTHER
A future blog about Edie Capa will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Circa 1974.
ART BROKER
A future blog about Ron Cayen will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 1974.
DALAI LAMA’S BROTHER
A future blog about Tendzin Choegyal will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 2014.
PHOTO AGENCY OWNER
A future blog about the late Woody Camp will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Circa 1982.
Welcome to the future page about Yvon Chouinard, environmentalist and founder of Patagonia clothing company. Enter to see photos. Since 1998
AIRLINE EXECUTIVE
Future blog page about Joel CHusid will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 1994.
PHOTOGRAPHER/EDITOR
A future blog about Rich Clarkson will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 1976.
FORMER PRESIDENT
A future blog about Bill Clinton will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 1979.
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE
A future blog about Hillary Clinton will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 1979.
WRITER/MARKETING
My future blog about the late Barry Coleman will be completed here soon. Enter now to see photos. Circa 2015
PHOTOJOURNALIST
A future blog about Rebecca Collette will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 1982.
ECONOMICS PROFESSOR
A future blog about Doug Crow will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 2009.
POLITICAL STRATEGIST
A future blog about Stephanie Cutter will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 1993.
FILMMAKER
Welcome to the future blog page about the amazing Charles Dasher. Enter to see pictures. Since 1992
PHOTOGRAPHER
A future blog about Carl Davas will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 2010.
EDITOR/PHOTOGRAPHER
A future blog about Dennis Dimick will be added here. Enter to see photos only. Since 1985.
PROGRAMER
A future blog about the late Jim Ealer will be completed here. Enter now to see photos. Circa 2004.
AUTHOR
A future blog about Valerie Elliot will be completed. Enter now to see photos. Since 1972.
PHOTOGRAPHER
A future blog about photographer James Forbes will be completed here. Enter now to see photos. Since 2010.
PHOTOGRAPHER
A future blog page about the late Magnum photographer Leonard Freed will be completed here. Enter to see photos. Circa 1985.
CONSULTANT
A future blog page will be complete here about Michael Friedline. Enter now to see photos. Since 1972.
FILM PRODUCER
A future blog page about Olympian Michael Gebhardt will be completed here. Enter now to see photos. Since 1983.
PHOTO EDITOR
My future blog page about Alice Rose George will be completed here. Enter now to see photos. Since 1978.
MAYOR
My future blog about Laurie Gere will be completed here. Enter now to see photos. Since 2014.
ARTIST: Welcome to the future blog page about Micheline Gingras. Enter to see photos. Circa 1978
EVENT ORGANIZER
A future blog about Gary Gorman will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 1989.
WINDSURFER
A future blog about Francisco Goya will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 1996.
DECADE OF ADVENTURE: Fresh and exciting, a decade of innocent encounters, whether temporal or spiritual, all powerful awakenings. A dance of light, faith, and form, converging in time, out of chaos into moments of delight and awe.
INDULGING DEFIANCE: Photography gave me wings but also a sense of boundless creativity. This was a decade of independence, anti-establishment. It was a decade that avoided entrapment, both stylistic and accomplishment,. an era of exploration and renaissance.
SINK OR SWIM: The ’90s were filled with risk and perils. A decade of demanding faith and vision. Jumping before knowing where to land. A decade filled with challenges, difficulties and yet breathtaking miracles.
HEAT’S ON: A decade of transformation. The dawning of the age of Aquarius. Water turning to steam. Fruition from the quest was liberating. It was a decade that exchanged ambition for the magic of the unknown.
GRATITUDE: A decade beyond expectation. I learned to live in the moment instead of capturing the moment. . . simply, being present to welcome the moment.
This work-in-progress is the unveiling of a fifty-year visual-journey by photographer John Chao. You’re signing up for future updates, events, and offerings. We guard your privacy and maintain your exclusive ad-free subscription. Unsubscribe at any time with a click of a button. Thank you!
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-Continued from Published
Bob Gilka, the Director of Photography at National Geographic Magazine seem to resent me for sleeping with the enemy. He was not about to further my career. He saw me as a rule-breaker. Someone unbefitting to his proven talents even though I graduated from the very top of his associated institutions. He never gave me a single assignment, voluntarily, that is. Thirty years later, his assistant sought me out at a gathering and told me he was near death.
I embraced her, asked her to wish him my best and to tell him how much I’ve admired and looked up to him. Her eyes glassed; in a tender, almost apologetic voice, she said. “Thank you, John, I know it will mean a lot to Mr. Gilka to hear this coming from you.”
Gilka was an ego-driven drill sergeant whose magazine was his oligarchy. The reputation and mystique behind the magazine suited him well. My first encounter with the man was in his office. Like all aspiring photographers, we made our way to be ordained. On his door, the sign said, Wipe Your Knees Before Entering.
“You need to work for a newspaper!” was his response after viewing my portfolio. Sheepishly told him I was offered a job in a Kansas newspaper but turned-it-down because I didn’t want to leave NYC. Before I could finish, he yelled: “Who Clarkson!?”
Surprised by the outburst, I timidly said, “Yes!” He stared at me for an eternity. I swear I saw smoke sputter out of his head. He hissed, “NOW, IF THAT IS TRUE! You have to be the dumbest jack-ass ever walked into my office!”
With his doubting eyes, he glared at me as if he’d caught me in a lie. “Do you know how many photographers would give their right arm to be at the Capital-Journal?!” My sheepishness must have confirmed his suspicions. Not being a student of journalism, I was unaware of the extensive network this drill-sergeant uses to gather his Geographic talents. Colleges, newspapers across the country, the bastion of the Missouri Workshop, were all part of his well-established web. That morning, I was utterly unaware; Topeka Capital-Journal was the pinnacle of his recruitment network. Anyone hired there would not have gone unnoticed, and anyone declining a job there is a liar. “Well, get the hell out there and come back after you have some newspaper experience.” (I swear I’ve got a bruise on my rear to prove it ;-).
So I called Rich Clarkson and asked if the job offer was still good.
A FEW YEARS LATER, I sat in the same office facing the same doubting face. Chief Editor, Bill Garrett insisted that he assign me to photograph an article I’d proposed on Taiwan. After weeks of delay, he reluctantly offered me a fraction of the day-rate compared to GEO and later made a stink about the Chinese receipts I submitted. I did not get more assignments from him even though the Taiwan article was credited to be “transformative.” I don’t know what that meant, but it was, the first time Geographic published blurred pictures. So when his assistant made the non-verbal apology, I was surprised and wished that I had the opportunity to sit and laugh with the old geezer some 30-years later.
I understand Bob Gilka; we had mutual friends. I will always be grateful to him. Firstly, in helping me realize what newspaper work means. Secondly, in affirming my conviction NOT to wear corporate success as a form of personal achievement. Throughout the years, I knew he was surprised to hear my name intertwined in conversations. I was the jack-ass that kept beating the drum but didn’t follow his path. I think, in the end, he would have applauded me for doing this. RIP
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