Life (2015) This movie chronicles the story behind the 1955 LIFE Magazine photo thread by Dennis Stock of then-rising star, James Dean, and gives us an inside look at some of Hollywood’s most iconic images and into the life of a gifted, but troubled man. Watch trailer. Annie Leibowitz: Life Through a Lens (2008) Photographer Annie Leibovitz has produced some of the most memorable and iconic images of the last 30 years, from her work with Rolling Stone magazine through to her Hollywood cover portraits at Vanity Fair. She has also recorded the horrors of war in Rwanda and Sarajevo and taken intimate shots her own friends and family, including Susan Sontag. This documentary, directed by her sister, is a fascinating portrait of a great talent, featuring vintage footage of Leibovitz in action during the 1960s and contributions from Arnold Schwarzenegger, Hillary Clinton, Mick Jagger and George Clooney. Watch trailer....
Above: Image by Gina Milicia “When fishermen can’t go to sea, they mend their nets.” During the first few years I was building my photography business, I worked as a cook in an Italian restaurant at night. When you train to become a cook, you master a task before you are allowed to move on to the next one. The first task each apprentice cook must master is peeling potatoes. Then they move on to the salads, entrees, pasta, steaks, and seafood. The last thing I was taught to cook was the most technically difficult dish, the souffle. Many photographers buy their first camera and then attempt complicated studio shoots. This is just like the apprentice cook who walks into a kitchen and insists on cooking a souffle on their first day. Taking a stepped approach to learning will take your photography to the next level much faster than trying...
Above: Image by Gina Milicia “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” – Henry Ford
Above: Image by Gina Milicia As more and more of us around the world are being asked to self-isolate, it feels like the world has given us a bucket of lemons to suck on and told us to sit in the corner for a while. There are many frontline workers, nurses, doctors, cleaners, drivers who must continue to work so that we are safe and healthy. Much respect and gratitude to these amazing people. “You may not be able to control every situation and its outcome, but you can control your attitude and how you deal with it.” Many of the rest of us now have some extra time on our hands. We may not be able to control the current situation but we can control our attitude about it. When the world gives you a bucket of lemons, it’s time to make: Lemon merangue pie Limoncello Lemon gelato And...
Above: Image by Gina Milicia “I began to realize how important it was to be an enthusiast in life. He taught me that if you are interested in something, no matter what it is, go at it at full speed ahead. Embrace it with both arms, hug it, love it and above all become passionate about it. Lukewarm is no good. Hot is no good either. White hot and passionate is the only thing to be.” – Roald Dahl
Above: Image by Gina Milicia “What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others.” – Confucious Seeking validation from others is an addiction that can never be satisfied. Roger J. Corless summed it up perfectly when he said: “It’s like trying to satisfy hunger by taping sandwiches all over my body.” I can remember the first time I shared a photo on Instagram. I had zero expectations and shared an image that I loved. It was probably shite, but three people liked it. Three people who I wasn’t related to and who didn’t know me from a bar of soap loved my picture! I felt like I’d just won a million bucks!, but then I felt the pressure to post again, and doubt and fear of failure had me second-guessing my next post. I scrutinised every pixel as my life depended on it and at...
Above: Image by Gina Milicia “There is the mud, and there is the lotus that grows out of the mud. We need the mud in order to make the lotus.” –Thich Nhat Hanh
George A. Tice, Tenth Avenue Diner, December, 1970. “The thing itself photographed becomes less interesting when you go back to it years later but I think the photograph becomes more important later when the reality has passed.” – George Tice George A. Tice (1938-) is an American photographer, best known for his meticulously crafted black and white prints in silver gelatin and platinum, as well as his books, which depict a broad range of American life, landscape, and urban environment, mostly photographed in his native New Jersey, where he has lived all his life.
Above: Image by Gina Milicia “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” –Confucious A few years ago, I photographed a woman named Karen Gatt, a busy mother of two toddlers. Karen had gained weight with each pregnancy and had grown depressed by the fact that the extra 150 pounds she was carrying made it difficult to walk. She could barely make it to her letterbox without needing to rest and catch her breath. Karen knew she needed to exercise more, but how could she do this when she could barely walk? One morning she made a decision that completely changed her life. Karen decided to walk to her clothesline and back. Just once. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” The next day Karen walked to the clothesline and back twice. She continued doing this each day and bit by...
