"A Photographic Heritage" by Benoît Boucherot

Yesterday afternoon I received a call from Jeanne. She told me I had a surprise in the mail and wanted me to guess what it was. I had no idea. As I rifled through my mind, trying to think what it could possibly be, she said, "It's the DVD from Benoît and it is amazing!" I couldn't wait to see it. 

The backstory goes something like this: When I was in Paris this year (March - June, 2010), I was approached by an artist/filmmaker named Benoît Boucherot. He asked if I would be interested in allowing him to make a documentary about my time in Paris and my photographic/artistic life. He explained to me what he would do and what his intentions were and I said, "Yes".

The result of his hard work and incredible talent is this, a 44 minute documentary about me, my family, my work and my time in Paris. I think he did an outstanding job capturing the feeling and the passion behind all of the hard work and incredible fun we had in Paris. 

When I get permission, I'll upload a clip or two from the DVD. I hope to offer this in my store at some point, too. The front and back of the DVD. It's in English and French, depending on who's talking.

Un documentaire non commenté de Benoît Boucherot
44 minutes - HD 16/9e PAL - VOSTFR
2010 - Les productions Rwann Hearn

" Photographe américain vivant en Allemagne, Quinn Jacobson a exposé ses ambrotypes et alumitypes au Collodion humide pendant 4 mois à Paris au Centre Iris pour la photographie. Depuis trois ans, son van bluesy parcourt toute l’Europe pour transmettre, lors de workshops, cette technique héritée de Frederick Scott Archer, l’inventeur du Collodion humide en 1847, contemporain de Daguerre et Talbot, disparu totalement oublié dans une immense pauvreté. Assisté de sa femme Jean et de leur fille Summer, il invite également régulièrement les chalands à être photographiés lors de séances de prises de vue réalisées avec ses chambres traditionnelles. Et la magie du procédé ancestral, et l’émotion de la révélation de l’image unique se rejouent ainsi sous nos yeux lors d’instants fugaces frappés d’une stupéfaction sans cesse renouvelée. Il a accueilli mes regards, ma caméra et mon Leica, dans son studio éphémère au mois de Juin. Cela peut bien se passer de commentaires... "

 

Shoah

I've watched a lot of films and read a lot of books about the Holocaust, or Shoah, over the years. However, I hadn't seen, "Shoah" by Claude Lanzmann. I want to travel to some of these places, especially Auschwitz-Birkenau, Chełmno, Sorbibor and Treblinka, and do some work for my project.

If you haven't seen it, you should - here's an overview:

Claude Lanzmann directed this 9 1/2 hour documentary of the Holocaust without using a single frame of archive footage. He interviews survivors, witnesses, and ex-Nazis (whom he had to film secretly since though only agreed to be interviewed by audio). His style of interviewing by asking for the most minute details is effective at adding up these details to give a horrifying portrait of the events of Nazi genocide. He also shows, or rather lets some of his subjects themselves show, that the anti-Semitism that caused 6 million Jews to die in the Holocaust is still alive in well in many people that still live in Germany, Poland, and elsewhere.

"Shoah" by Claude Lanzmann

A good perspective on the camps, locations and where I live (red box).