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OT-Platon...cool story
Alex Menendez, Photographer
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Jim Colburn, Photo Editor, Photographer
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McAllen | TX | USA | Posted: 11:20 AM on 01.07.11 |
| ->> Platon = Boring |
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Dominick Reuter, Photographer
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Cambridge | MA | USA | Posted: 11:58 AM on 01.07.11 |
| ->> Platon = Awesome |
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Butch Miller, Photographer
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Lock Haven | PA | USA | Posted: 1:08 PM on 01.07.11 |
| ->> Yes ... nothing like making the cover of Time to create boredom ... |
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Chris Wilson, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Bowling Green | Ky. | US | Posted: 1:12 PM on 01.07.11 |
| ->> Platon is awesome, dude. And he had film stashed in his socks. |
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Dave Prelosky, Photographer
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Lower Burrell | Pa | US | Posted: 1:25 PM on 01.07.11 |
->> Watching this gave me the impression that somehow the photo is more important then the story - that having evaded the police somehow made the result better.
Of course I could be wrong. |
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David A. Cantor, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Sam Morris, Photographer
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Henderson (Las Vegas) | NV | USA | Posted: 3:55 PM on 01.07.11 |
->> Seems a little arrogant, but he must have skills because he got through a metal detector with rolls of film stuck in his socks.
Here is a much more interesting video on the same page: http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,740585963001_2041137,00.html |
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Andrew Knapik, Photographer, Assistant
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Lincoln Park | MI | USA | Posted: 4:02 PM on 01.07.11 |
| ->> Film? Who shoots film anymore? |
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Willis Glassgow, Photo Editor, Photographer
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Florence | SC | USA | Posted: 4:07 PM on 01.07.11 |
->> Really interesting subject. I saw the video and read some of the negatives about the making of the image and of Platon himself and the whole thing is fascinating.
Someone remarked that he is an egomaniac, which is somewhat humorous. Of course he is an egomaniac. Most of us are. Did he exaggerate about how fast he was going and how they evaded police?, probably. Remember, by his own admission, he is a PORTRAIT photog, not a journalist. So, this is the most dangerous thing he has ever done and lets face, we all would be on edge being in Burma attempting to do this photo. Any one that says different is full of it......LOL. |
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Chuck Liddy, Photographer
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Durham | NC | USA | Posted: 4:10 PM on 01.07.11 |
| ->> damn jim and people think I'm a cranky old bastard. but on another note I watched the whole six minute video and I was somewhat confused about how after being in a purported high speed chase for three hours when they left the NLD office they just returned the next day with no problems? There is something that completely doesn't mesh there....I mean there are all kinds of buffoons in police departments everywhere but I find it somewhat incredulous that after making the cops look like monkeys for three hours they wouldn't have been camped out waiting for your return to those offices.....but I like the photo, it's a pretty simple yet strong portrait. |
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Juerg Schreiter, Photographer
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Fort Lauderdale | FL | USA | Posted: 4:15 PM on 01.07.11 |
->> 90 miles per hour chase in Burma, chase lasting 2-3 hours
what a load of BS |
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Dave Prelosky, Photographer
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Lower Burrell | Pa | US | Posted: 4:25 PM on 01.07.11 |
| ->> Sam - musta' been 220 film. Isn't that still wound on plastic spools? |
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Paul Hayes, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Littleton | NH | USA | Posted: 4:38 PM on 01.07.11 |
| ->> Cool photo. But Platon makes me appreciate the lack of pretension on this site. Here's to working class photographers and the images they make without embellished car chases and zen moments of soul revelation! |
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Steven E. Frischling, Photographer
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| | | Posted: 4:47 PM on 01.07.11 |
->> Chuck
I had the same though. If Platon went to the NLD Offices and the Secret Police was following them ... why the hell would they go back to the same location the next day?
I am curious how Platon got into Burma with all the gear without raising some suspicion. Burma no longer has a Visa On Arrival (well they technically do, but you need to apply for it prior to your departure), so Visas needed to be arranged first. Even with a visa in place your arrive, wait in line, get your visa approved, then have your photo taken by immigrations, then meet with clearance agent before you can exit the airport ... so they already had his photo. I just checked this with someone with an airline that flies to Burma.
Burma also has an exit process, in which he would have been questioned if the police were looking for him.
Also .. they just walked out of the NLD office and went to Yangon International Airport(RGN)? This means they knew when they'd be shooting the subject, because flights from RGN are fairly restricted, with any walk-up purchase requiring a secondary screening ... and there are no flights from RGN to any destination outside of Asia (except one odd non-daily flight to Milan). So either they knew when the shoot was, or they didn't and then from a travel perspective the rest of the story just doesn't add up with what I know of airline travel and airport security in this region.
Forget the police chance ... from a travel perspective I am perplexed by this. |
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Kent Nishimura, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Honolulu | HI | USA | Posted: 5:08 PM on 01.07.11 |
| ->> i like the portrait, but is Platon hoping they'll make an action flick out of his story? |
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Israel Shirk, Photographer, Assistant
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Boise | ID | US | Posted: 7:07 PM on 01.07.11 |
->> I mean, this fish was HUGE!
It happens to us all :) |
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Anthony Soufflé, Photographer
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Ogden | UT | USA | Posted: 7:29 PM on 01.07.11 |
| ->> If you haven't heard Vince Laforet's audio of Platon during the Eddie Adams Workshop a few years ago, go check it out. I remember being memorized by both Platon's photos and words during his presentation. Here's a link: http://blog.vincentlaforet.com/2008/11/26/platon-audio/ |
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Jim Colburn, Photo Editor, Photographer
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McAllen | TX | USA | Posted: 10:11 PM on 01.07.11 |
| ->> The scenario seems to be bullshit and Platon's photos struggle to reach even that level. They are consistently boring and technically poor. |
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Steven E. Frischling, Photographer
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| | | Posted: 11:10 PM on 01.07.11 |
->> Jim,
This may be one of the few times I agree with you. I have sat through a number of "Wow look at Platon's portrait" conversations usually thinking "I don't get it."
The Clinton shot is OK, to me its more of an awkward moment than a "Wow!" photo. This photo from Burma, I don't see it as the subject being raw and exposing her soul.
I was entertained by the 90mph 2hr chase that knocked over vendor stalls and fled through the highway followed by ... and we went back to the exact same place at the same time the next morning ... |
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Steven E. Frischling, Photographer
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| | | Posted: 11:17 PM on 01.07.11 |
->> Jim,
What cools the "wow" factor for me is how many of his photos look exactly the same. Colour or black-and-white, its the same photo, drop in a few face. There seems to be 2.5 styles of image and then a formula. That to me is a 2.5 trick pony and it gets boring quickly. |
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Robert Beck, Photographer
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Carlsbad | CA | USA | Posted: 12:42 AM on 01.08.11 |
| ->> The beauty of any art.....photography, film, music. Some people like certain works and some people don't. Platon is certainly an interesting character and you cannot deny (especially if you listen to his talk at the Eddie Adams Workshop) that he has a way of getting the image he is looking for. Portraiture is tricky work. Much of it is how you work with the subject. He does that well. |
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Chuck Liddy, Photographer
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Durham | NC | USA | Posted: 1:53 AM on 01.08.11 |
| ->> but robert, as much as I agree that portraiture is an art that some of us aren't as good as others....I don't think any of us are questioning platon's skills at that. I think we are calling in to question his obvious lack of.....shall I be kind and say..integrity...of the chain of events. I suck at portraits...plain and simple...but I can tell you the truth about ANY and ALL situations where I perceive my life to be in danger. I watched the video again...it certainly seems this guy has watched WAY too many James Bond movies...I have been in several high speed chases in my life.....and as much as I wish they were something to be categorized as "movie lore" they were not. damn, I think I should learn something from this.....maybe my credit line should read "the chuck". then I can embellish crazy shit about aliens chasing me across the desert to grab my film....oh crap....I DON'T shoot film anymore....but then again...I've never been graced with a Time magazine cover.... |
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Jim Colburn, Photo Editor, Photographer
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McAllen | TX | USA | Posted: 8:27 AM on 01.08.11 |
->> "What cools the "wow" factor for me is how many of his photos look exactly the same."
Agreed, and at least half of his stuff looks like it's taken under fluorescent lighting with no attempt at color correction. Just plain ugly. |
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Robert Longhitano, Photographer
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Philadelphia | PA | USA | Posted: 7:55 PM on 01.08.11 |
->> Wow, take a look at this guy. Plain white background same lighting and his photos look exactly the same too!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkLmu5dSE7o |
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Steven E. Frischling, Photographer
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| | | Posted: 9:15 PM on 01.08.11 |
->> Robert
Haven't been a fan of his work either ... I know that is almost sacrilegious to say in a photo forum ... but I've felt that way since the 10th grade when I was introduced to his work 20 years ago. |
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Bradly J. Boner, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Jackson | WY | USA | Posted: 9:46 AM on 01.09.11 |
| ->> Why is it that the photographers who go by one name are the most full of themselves? |
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Robert Beck, Photographer
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Carlsbad | CA | USA | Posted: 12:14 PM on 01.09.11 |
| ->> That's the point.....photography is an art. What one person enjoys may not be what you like. I can argue that Seliger is better than Platon and you may agree. Someone else may not. What you cannot contest is that Platon has a way of connecting with his subjects. That trait is important in working the portrait field. |
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Willis Glassgow, Photo Editor, Photographer
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Florence | SC | USA | Posted: 1:28 PM on 01.09.11 |
->> Absolutely agree with Robert on this, It is ART and some people like it and some people don't, plain and simple. Platon is there to sell his work, period. If that means embellishing some of his accomplishments to sell more images, then I'm sure he would do it. Maybe we all would. Who knows?
If his work is boring and all the same, some will like that and and some won't. When I was in college as an art student/photographer. My profs would not study Ansel Adams. We were not ALLOWED! Yes that's right.... not allowed!!! Ansel Adams was looked down upon because his work was popular in the masses. It was no longer considered art. Go figure. (I know the art world is not as open as we all think.)
The art world is so different than the world of photo journalism, most of us can't even imagine. Some of the work that we would NEVER consider good or even great, is worshiped in the art world. Go look at some of the so called greats of the art photography world and see which ones you think are truly great and which ones were not. I'll bet if 2000 people weigh in on this, you'd get 2000 different opinions on who is great and who is not.
Let's face ALL photography is subjective. A large part of it is self promotion. To me that is what Platon is doing. |
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Chuck Liddy, Photographer
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Durham | NC | USA | Posted: 2:07 PM on 01.09.11 |
| ->> I would have to agree that self-promotion is a big part of our business...but, let me tread carefully here....embellishing a situation beyond believe isn't what I would call self promotion....I am somewhat shocked Time magazine bought into this without at least checking the story out a little bit....there are just way too many holes in this yarn. I'm just saying why would a news magazine allow something like this to be associated with their article? just plain weird. |
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Israel Shirk, Photographer, Assistant
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Boise | ID | US | Posted: 3:07 PM on 01.09.11 |
->> The guy isn't a photojournalist. He's a portrait artist. Time doesn't ask him to act as a photojournalist, nor do they expect him to. His work is clearly that of a portrait artist.
He neither cares, nor is required to care, about the ethics that a photojournalist must ascribe to. It is irrelevant to him. His job is to make a portrait. |
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Nina Zhito, Photographer
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bay area | CA | | Posted: 3:56 AM on 01.13.11 |
| ->> "inappropriate" = inappropriate |
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David A. Cantor, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Toledo | OH | USA | Posted: 1:58 PM on 02.23.11 |
->> From POYi:
PORTRAIT
First Place, Platon Platon, TIME Magazine — AUNG SAN SUU KYI |
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Wesley R. Bush, Photographer
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Murfreesboro | TN | U.S. | Posted: 2:28 PM on 02.23.11 |
| ->> Is it possible that the story makes more sense when the video isn't chopped up and pieced together? Obviously there were sentences combined to continue the action. It could be the editor's version of the story isn't as believable as the original. Just a thought. |
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David Butler II, Photographer
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Somers | CT | USA | Posted: 3:15 PM on 02.23.11 |
| ->> I've heard Platon speak a few times... he has a great personality and uses it with much success with his subjects. He can also tell a great story. He can make you laugh one minute and bring you to tears the next. If you ever get a chance to hear him speak I would recommend seeing him. I think his work is wonderful. |
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