Love this Image

[nightfly]

This Antonin Kratochvil image accompanies an article in tomorrow's NY Times Magazine:

(copyrighted image)

For some reason I just love it. Looks like it was taken with a cheap compact or maybe an iPhone through and airplane window but somehow the noise and imperfectness of it just work.

[TennesseJones]

fascinating.. what's the article may i ask?

[sonofdanang]

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Kratochvil last November. What a warm human being, the more remarkable after all he has been through. Definitely not a voyeur. He allowed me to photograph him at length.
Following his work over the years was one of the things that made me realize that all the photographers whose work I like are usually from a fine arts background.

[nightfly]

It's an article about the drug trade in Africa. More images here (not included in the print version:

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/04/11/magazine/20100411-guinea-bissau-slideshow_index.html

[Brad Bireley]

I'm sorry but as far as photography goes it's pretty bad.

[retnull]

i was quite struck by this image as well. Very rough and Holga-ish for the NY Times, yet it's absolutely appropriate to the mood of the text. Hats off to the photo editor for going with this style.

[Ken Smith]

Think perhaps that in a country reported to be in the drug business, a camera around the neck might bring undue attention? Perhaps an automatic death sentence by the locals? Maybe the simple device used to record the photo might have been the safest way to document the comings and goings of a drug trade.

[peterm1]

I suppose it has its place. I was at a Rotary Club meeting last week and our guest speaker was a journalist who attended the scene of a recent crime scene - a killing. He did not have a photographer with him but his rival journalists did. So he whipped out his trusty mobile phone and took a photo. The photographers took out their Nikons and Canons and took their shots but the results were much to clear and graphic to publish so before they could be sent (via a laptop) they were digitally manipulated to hide the worst of the scene. But as his photo was so poor by comparison all he had to do was to press "send" on his mobile and the job was done. Guess which one got on the front pages? Still I do not have to worry about this and so prefer my way - with a Nikon and pro lens that captures as much as I wish.