Bruce Fraser Tribute Site and DVD Launched

I just received the announcement/press release below. I learned much from Bruce Fraser through his books and in-person workshops, and over the years I was fortunate to have had a number of opportunities to speak with him about photography, color management and printing. A Tribute DVD made during a tribute to Bruce Fraser at Macworld 2007 is described below, and a Tribute fund has been set up to help pay for medical expenses that his family incurred while he was undergoing cancer treatment.

San Francisco, CA
January 31, 2008

The stars of imaging came out en masse during Macworld 2007 to honor one of their own: digital imaging pioneer Bruce Fraser. Much like the way Bruce’s inspired and generous work moved many thousands to create superior imaging; so were the industry’s giants, both corporate and individual, moved to come together to share their unique perspective, anecdotes, and most of all – appreciation for Bruce’s enormous contributions to the arts.

Now, a year later, the Bruce Fraser Tribute organizing committee, with the support of Adobe Systems, Inc., Apple, Inc., Epson America, Inc., Hewlett Packard Company, Microsoft Corporation, Peachpit Press, and X-Rite, Incorporated; is offering a faithful record of last year’s remarkable event, captured on DVD and available at no charge (shipping and handling fees apply) via www.brucefrasertribute.com.

The Tribute committee, comprised of Larry Baca, R. Mac Holbert, Chris Murphy, Andrew Rodney and Jeff Schewe, are asking the graphic arts community to consider making a voluntary donation to help retire medical expenses left behind by the rare lung cancer that took Bruce away from us. The donations can be made directly on the Tribute website.

“If you were fortunate to attend the Tribute itself, you will find the DVD to be a treasured keepsake; if not, you will experience a program that will touch your heart, make you laugh and most of all demonstrate how one thoughtful individual can hold a unique place in an industry and in the lives of all whom he touched,” says Baca.

The DVD culminates with an extraordinarily moving gesture of gratitude expressed by Bruce’s wife, Angela; displayed over a synchronized and moving arrangement of “Scotland the Brave” written and performed by famed musician Ronan Hardiman, who personally authorized the use of his commercially-released recording for the Tribute DVD.

The “Industry Celebration and Tribute to Bruce Fraser” DVD

An Industry Celebration and Tribute to Bruce Fraser was a lively and engaging recollection of how digital imaging and desktop color has evolved over more than 20 years to become the everyday phenomenon it is. Hosted with grace and unrehearsed humor by Bruce’s friend and fellow musician and artist, Graham Nash, the Tribute was filled with striking still visuals, video clips and told by the geeks and non-geeks who knew Bruce along the way, (including famed landscape photographer and digital pioneer Stephen Johnson; Bill Atkinson, an Apple Fellow and now a photographer himself; and Adobe Photoshop engineers and friends, Thomas Knoll and Mark Hamburg, to name but a few). An Industry Celebration and Tribute to Bruce Fraser gave attendees a vivid, inside look at how one dedicated and focused person of extraordinary humility could shape an industry, from billion dollar manufacturers to home-based photo enthusiasts.

To learn more about Bruce’s life and contributions, go to www.brucefrasertribute.com/press.php

Stephen Johnson to give free lecture at the School of Visual Arts NYC 12/4/2007

The Master of Professional Studies Digital Photography department at the School of Visual Arts is hosting its first open to the public lecture on December 4, 2007 with renowned photographer, author, and educator Stephen Johnson. The lecture begins at 7:00 PM at the SVA Amphitheater, 209 East 23 Street, 3rd floor. The talk is sponsored by Canon’s Explorer of Light Program and is free and open to the public.

Before the lecture, the winners of the 2007 Real World Color Management Equipment Scholarship will be announced, and their winning prints will be shown. The scholarship is available to students enrolled in the Master of Professional Studies (MPS) in Digital Photography program at the School of Visual Arts (SVA). The scholarship is sponsored by Epson America and MPS faculty member and co-author of Real World Color Management, Chris Murphy. I’m also very honored to have been asked to judge the competition.

The lecture explores the state of digital photography today, from being a photographer in the 21st century, to cutting edge cameras and software techniques, to engaging discourse on the history and future of digital photography. Stephen Johnson has developed and spurred-on cutting-edge techniques for producing and reproducing images of the highest quality. This lecture is firmly based in his core belief that photography is fundamentally a light capture medium, rather than a pixel manipulation party.

Using his new book with O’Reilly Media: Stephen Johnson: On Digital Photography as his organizational structure for the talk, topics will include: making art, empowerment, ethics in the digital age, and some aspects of the digital darkroom. His lectures include very high quality digital image examples with which he can hone in on “uniquely digital” techniques and fundamental breakthroughs in photography that digital improvements have provided but which many have yet to realize. The talk includes a history of electronic imaging and details the transformation of the darkroom to the computer taking us all way up to the future trends in digital photography.

Stephen’s book and posters will also be available for sale and signing. I’ve had a number of opportunities to see Stephen Johnson’s pigment-based inkjet prints “up-close and personal” over the years and they are spectacular.

I look forward to seeing some of our readers there!

For more information about Stephen Johnson, visit his website here. For more information about this lecture, visit this page on SVA’s website, and for more information about the MPS in Digital Photography Program at SVA, visit this page.

Links to books mentioned in article on Amazon.com:

Stephen Johnson: On Digital Photography
Real World Color Management by Bruce Fraser, Chris Murphy and Fred Bunting

Live Broadcast of David Burnett Masterclass Thurs. 11/8, 11PM EST

I just read about the live broadcast of a class by David Burnett this evening (11PM EST, Thursday Nov. 8) on State of the Art, the group blog from the editors of American Photo magazine. I think the blog is fantastic, with a lot of information and opinions from the viewpoint of people who really know photography and media. Some of the posts are just fun to read, and of course, watch (in the case of those with photos and videos).

According to the website “Burnett’s presentation to the Joop Swart Masterclass students in Amsterdam will be streamed live online Thursday, 11/8 at 17:00 CET (11:00 p.m. EST)…Burnett’s presentation will last an hour and a half. The lecture will also be available on demand from Nov. 9-15 if you miss the live stream.”

For more information about this free learning event, visit this page.