Speaking at the PDN PhotoPlus Expo

Posted on by Tim Gruber

We are thrilled to be speaking on a panel at the PDN PhotoPlus Expo this week with some incredible talent. We will be on the panel entitled: VII Presents: How To Make Reportage Projects Happen and speaking with Kira Pollack from TIME, Ed Kashi, Stephen Mayes, Marcus Bleasdale, and Karim Ben Khalifa.

Obviously the traditional methods of funding reportage projects are becoming harder to find so this should be an exciting discussion about what’s working and what’s not.

Register for our seminar or any of the seminars on the PhotoPlus website.

We hope to see you there!

Under the Drape of a 4×5

Posted on by Jenn Ackerman

This month I began my voyage into the world of large format photography and it’s changed how I work. In doing so I have introduced myself to a realm of photography I never knew and its exciting and exhilarating. The 4×5 has allowed me to slow down and get to know people’s faces better. By necessity the camera makes it ok to stare at my subjects and study them. It allows me to take in every detail of the person I am photographing.

When I am shooting a multimedia project with motion and sound, all of my senses are heightened. I take in every sound, watch every movement and observe everything that is going on around me.

But when I put the drape over me, everything shuts off except for the person in the frame. I am oblivious to sounds or the people around me  - all I see is the person in front of me. I am fully engaged in who they are like I never have before. I study their face, their expression and I am aware of every wrinkle, the shape of their eyes and the way they hold their hands.

Its much like putting on blinders. My attention is narrow and more focused. So while some of my senses are denied when I go under the drape, others are taken to all new levels.

Here are some photos from my first project with the 4×5 on sunbathers.



New Photo Project – The Island

Posted on by Tim Gruber

The Island is an on-going project documenting life on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The long and narrow string of barrier islands for many is a vacation destination.

For me it is much more. It is a place where I fell in love, married and am now trying to discover the peculiar qualities that make me so fascinated by this skinny strip of land sitting out in the Atlantic.

The Island is my connection to a place that like the tide has its highs and lows. Home to fishermen, surfers, beach bums, and retirees this is the beginning of what will be a life-long documentation of an ever changing island.

A few scans from the project. Look for a lot more in the near future.

Outer Banks Dinosaur
Outer Banks Treasure Hunter

Outer Banks Little Leaguer

Outer Banks Jesus

A letter from an inmate

Posted on by Jenn Ackerman

I received an email today from an inmate that was in the psychiatric unit at the time I photographed my project Trapped: Mental Illness in America’s Prisons. Often we forget that those we are photographing are honored to share their story. Here is the email:

Dear Jenn,
I was an inmate at the Kentucky State Reformatory in LaGrange, and I was in the CPTU when you were making the documentary. I wanted to express my appreciation for the great job you’ve done helping to inform people about mental illness in the prison system. I watched the video you have on your website, and it was excellently created and produced.

Things are getting better for those of us who suffer from mental illness, and a lot of it is thanks to the work of people like you.

Thanks again

An image from Trapped: Mental Illness in Prison

To see more from the project, click here.

Friends of the Class

Posted on by Tim Gruber

We spoke earlier last week via Skype to Kevin Miyazaki’s Professional Practices class at the Milwaukee Institue of Art and Design. Kevin posted a recap of our talk on their class blog and while you are on the class site be sure to check out The Big List; a growing list of over 600 interviews with photographers. Truly a great way to kill a lazy Sunday afternoon.

The class site is a great resource for students and professionals alike. Kevin’s students are lucky to have such a passionate professor at a pivotal point in their careers.

Link – Friends of The Class: Ackerman Gruber

Friends of the Class Ackerman Gruber

Minnesota – The Land of 10,000 Lakes

Posted on by Jenn Ackerman

The Land of 10,000 Lakes has been a way for me to connect with the water in Minnesota. Water makes up much of Minnesota. It’s coastline is more than that of the states of California, Florida and Hawaii combined.

Minnesota is my new home and this project has given me an opportunity to explore one of the reasons we chose to move to Minnesota – it’s vast number of lakes. Growing up in Virginia Beach, my life was always tied to water and deciding to move to the Midwest was one of the hardest decisions I have made. Minnesota’s lakes have allowed me to bridge my life on the East Coast with my new life in the Midwest.

This project is a way for me to explore what the water means to me and the people of Minnesota.




Miss Universe 2010 – The Short Film

Posted on by Tim Gruber

At the Miss Universe pageant this year we produced a short-film that captured the experience of the contestants and looked at how the pageant brings 83 countries together. We also produced it under the pressure of a deadline – within a hour of the pageant ending we had the edited film live online.

The short-film has had over 400k+ views since it went live.

Enjoy.

New Photo Project – Minnesota Part II

Posted on by Tim Gruber

A few more photos from my time reconnecting with my home state of Minnesota. After being in Vegas for the majority of August working and shooting digitally I am excited to be back home and shoot some more film for this project especially at the great Minnesota get-together next week.

You can read more about the project and see more photos in my earlier blog post.

Minnesota - Corner Office
Minnesota - Kids at Lake Superior
Minnesota Teen
The Green Giant
Future Farmer of America
Minnesota - Doll House

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