Interesting pictures of the NYC subway shot with an M6: www.nousyork.com Featured in the current issue of PDN.

-- David Enzel (dhenzel@vei.net), June 08, 2002

Answers

Too be honest the photos aren't that good, but it's nice to see that he uses a Leica.

-- David Enzel (dhenzel@vei.net), June 08, 2002.

God, the subway is such a tired subject, rather like tilted frame street photography in general. Like garage doors in the eighties or books of water towers whot in 8x10.

God only knows what there's left to photograph with commitment and a new eye nowadays.

-- rob (rob@robertappleby.com), June 08, 2002.

Gee, I thought Agou's subway pictures were full of life and revealing. I think there are things and people to photograph everywhere I am I welcome fresh perspectives. There is nothing new under the sun but every day is a new day. To me, that is the joy of life.

-- David Enzel (dhenzel@vei.net), June 08, 2002.

awesome.

-- Dexter Legaspi (dalegaspi@hotmail.com), June 08, 2002.

To Rob: Your right,EVERYTHING has been photographed before. SO, throw your cameras and film in the trash and stop reading this forum. Photography is at an end. Really

-- John Elder (celder2162@aol.com), June 08, 2002.

Believe me, John, I've been thinking about it.

-- rob (rob@robertappleby.com), June 08, 2002.

I never bought into that line that everything has been done, and every now and then it's confirmed, at least to me--last week I went to see an exhibit opening here in Milan by Tomas Muscionico that basically showed an Andes tradition of hand-capturing a real, live friggin' condor and strapping it to the back of a rampaging bull that runs through the streets for some kind of festival, then releasing it (the condor)... Don't know about the rest of y'all, but it was pretty damn new to me...

-- dave yoder (dave@daveyoder.com), June 09, 2002.

Dave, it's a new thing, but is it new photography? Agou's subway snaps look pretty much like everybody else's subway snaps, frankly.

The last new thing I saw was Winterreise, and that was a year or so ago. Admittedly I don't get around that much, but I see so much repetition, it's a bit disheartening.

-- rob (rob@robertappleby.com), June 09, 2002.

Hi Rob,

I didn't even see that was you I was responding to--I generally overlook the bylines of writers also...

Yes the condor show (also a book) is a new subject, as far as I know, though whether it's a new style I'd have to say not. Dunno about the Agou pictures, haven't looked at them, subways don't stir my interest at the moment... Maybe I brought a knife to a gun fight.

-- dave yoder (dave@daveyoder.com), June 09, 2002.

God, his work is good. What are some people talking here?

-- Lux (leica@sumicron.com), June 09, 2002.

Yes, it seems increasingly difficult to be original in a world where everything is becoming more homogeneous. The ubiquituos McDonalds on every corner. Cars looking like one another. People dressing alike all over the world. There are exceptions of course...which are photographed to death by the multitudes of camera carrying tourists until it's no longer a novel scene. Or, by photojournalists who transmit the novel image to appear in millions of homes the next morning, or on the evening news that very night. Welcome to the information age. Where turning your gaze outward is sure to yield redundant visions. It's probably safe to say that there's no new subject matter except late breaking news ( never saw the World Trade Center Towers go down before). However, it seems turning your vision inward can and repeatedly does yield extraordinary insight to ordinary things. That is IF you can intuitively tap into your own vision and opinion of things around you. If you are out of touch with this individualistic vision, then your photographs will most certainly be as homogeneous as your surroundings. Except for a few select photographers, I've stopped seeking inspiration from photo images. I still look for entertainment, but don't expect to be inspired. When I am inspired, it's an unexpected pleasure. Sarah Moons' book "COINCIDENCES" is my most recent surprize. Fresh as hell, and color work like I'd never seen before. Inspirational to be sure. Applying your own vision of things is even more difficult. I chose to focus on something done to death to see if I could bring something new to the party. My choice was weddings. Even with the new photojournalstic style popular today it's all so hackneyed. There is a real opportunity there, and a real outlet or reason to do it . So, I'm having fun, and hopefully making some progress....at the rate that artists, writers and other creative people are signing with me, I must be doing something fresh to their well informed and sometimes jaded eye. So, don't give up. There is always something in need of a fresh and eager eye.

-- Marc Williams (mwilliams111313MI@comcast.net), June 09, 2002.

God, I hate Flash websites.

-- Ken Geter (kgeter@yahoo.com), June 09, 2002.

OK I'll weigh in that I think he's actually rather good. Not original but quite good. I do think the shooting through window reflections is getting rather tired though.

Heartily disagree that everything is already done. Also that the best pictures are transmitted around the world--seems to me the best pictures are ignored these days because they aren't AP, AFP or Getty (as in, they cost a publication extra).

And if you can't come up with something new, you can always aspire to give it the best treatement yet... I was floored by Nachtwey's AIDS story, at least the one shown in Perpignan last year (considerably more gripping than what TIME ran). Talk about a story I previously thought was, sadly, done to saturation.

-- dave yoder (dave@daveyoder.com), June 09, 2002.

Yes, I hate flash web sites. So I couldn't look at the pictures. And, yes, I am a bit tired of the same subjects over and over again. I think there are still things to do with say subway themes but it's getting thin... But then I won't be able to tell about Agou's because he has everything in flash.

-- Russell Brooks (russell@ebrooks.org), June 10, 2002.

what is new web URL for the new site

-- unni (lee88@mindspring.com), June 10, 2002.