Picture Stories by Stephen Alvarez

Stanley Greene's Black Passport

 

Black Passport

Stanley Greene and Teun van der Heijden

Aperture 2010

Let me say two things right of the bat.

1, I’m no war photographer. I’ve worked in war zones and I’m no stranger to the thrill of photographing something that might well kill you. But as for shooting war for war? It is not my particular drug. It is, however, Stanley Greene’s drug of choice. He returns to it over and over, making his pictures but loosing a part of himself each time.

2, I don’t know Stanley Green.

But after spending some time with his new book Stanley Greene: Black Passport I feel like I do know Stanley. More than that, I feel like we’ve been out all night drinking and carousing and he has laid his soul bare in some late night/early morning booze and dope fueled intimacy.

That is what Greene and Tuen van der Heijden have done in this book, laid Stanley’s soul bare.

Meteor Crater, AZ a world away from here

I'm in the Harrisburg, PA airport right now headed to even more snow and cold, so I wanted to post a photo that is a world away from my current reality.

Meteor Crater Arizona, I was there on a story about astroid impact a couple years ago. My assistant John Burcham and I spent 3 consecutive nights at the bottom of the crater trying to photograph the Perseids meteor shower.

Waiting for a visa interview, Kampala

Duku John waiting for his US visa interview in Kampala. No matter how good his grades, how strong his ties to his community in Uganda and Sudan, it is nearly impossible for a young, unmarried African man to get a temporary visa to the US. His visa application was denied...

-Stephen Alvarez

Lewisburg, PA

 

West Virginia

I'm on assignment in West Virginia this weekend driving through the cold and snow... Here's a quick frame from the window of our rental car as we passed Strasburg last night. It is shot with my iphone, but like I always say, the camera in your hand beats the one packed in pelican boxes in the trunk...

-Stephen Alvarez

Seneca Rocks, WV

On assignment, Myo Lake, New Britian

Thanks to Robbie Shone for sending this photo of me along. I suspect that most other photographer are like me. I have few photographs of myself, and virtually none of me working. The reason is obvious, the photographer is always behind the camera. In the case of my cave work, photos are even rarer because almost everything underground must be lit and after making the real pictures, I don't really have the energy to set up an 'on assignment' picture.

Rob got this image by using the exposure from the picture I was shooting and a flash attached to his camera.

Snow, Sewanee

 As a follow up to yesterday, it did keep snowing...

-Stephen Alvarez

let it snow

It has been snowing in the south, a lot. Even though it gets in the way and even though it makes some of my neighbors think global warming is a myth, I like it. There is a peacefulness to a snow covered forest that can't be beat. 

This is the scene in my yard last night, snow in the trees, streetlights lighting up the overcast sky. A little ominous? Yeah, but still lovely.

It is lit with my new Brute 3 led light. Lot of daylight in a little package.

Let it snow...

-Stephen Alvarez

 

Lensblog: The Sorrow of Sectoin 60 by Larry Downing

 

Larry Downing's essay on Section 60 of Arlington where the dead from Afganistan and Iraq are buried. To quote Downing "Your eyes lie; you can actually "see" the pieces of shattered hearts and lost ambitions.."

-Stephen Alvarez

 

Siempre Jardim Edite by Noah Addis on Burn

Lovely essay by Noah Addis on Burn. If you don't already support Burn you should (here).

-Stephen Alvarez

 

Jason Lee Wilson, in the studio

Jason Lee Wilson is working on a new album (his last one is here) and he asked if I'd shoot a few photos for it. The song that he sent for me listen to is intensely honest and introspective. I wanted to make a photo that reflects it. 

Jason's voice and style is somewhere between Marty Robbins and Chris Isaak. 

I used a Canon 90mm Tilt Shift lens to limit the focus. And a simple set of studio lights. A 5 foot octagonal bank on camera right, a white reflector on left and a strobe with a 20°grid to light up the background. 

We are working on a video as well. I hope to have it wrapped up sometime next month.

-Stephen Alvarez