New Sex Worker Series 2009 Photographs

Bla 21 Female Freelance Sex Worker, Thailand 2009

Jiji 28 Ladyboy Sex Worker, Thailand 2008

New 2003 Bargirl Series Photos

Finally got around to developing these Bargirl Series Photos from 2003.

Num 25

Nit 22

Naung 38

Excited

Been involved with photography for over 30 years now but the excitement continues to grow. Tonight I am working in the darkroom developing film and printing, my head full of photographs I want to make in the future, full of ideas. Photography is so exciting, so rewarding, fills me with so much purpose. There is nothing I would rather do with my life.

Prints For Sale on Ebay

Trying to sell some prints on ebay to help fund a return to Asia to make photographs for the "Khon Thai" project.

http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=p2769.m38.l1313&_nkw=gerry+yaum&_sacat=See-All-Categories

Bla 21 In Her Room

These photos of Bla were made in a room she shared with another lady, the room rented for around $7 USD a day. All the outside guests who visited also had to pay a fee to a man out front who ran the place. Bla brought her customers to this room for shortime sex, she told me sometimes the men left without paying her. I remember during the shoot a cockroach scurried across the floor and Bla pushed it out the door with a tissue. Shot this with a Contax G2 plus flash, Tri-x developed 1/50 in Rodinal for 10/11 minutes, 20c, with very little agitation. Not sure I like the heavy grain, have to think about this some more. I also shot some medium format and color photographs that I will post later.

Leica/Rodinal Tests

Been working with Leica Range-Finder cameras along with Tri-x and Rodinal. I am trying to get a certain grain and look to the negs/prints. The idea would be to work with this camera along with the Razzle camera making portraits in rural Thailand and Cambodia. Here are some first attempts.

Ladyboy Sex Worker Headshots 2008

Nit 2008 Color Contact

This contact strip is from 2009, the third time I photographed Nit. She is in a shortime sex room she has used many times with her customers.

Quote: Daisetz Suzuki-Zen Teacher

"If one really wishes to be master of an art, technical knowledge of it is not enough. One has to transcend technique so that the art becomes an 'artless art', growing out of the unconscious."

My Photographs Online At Cousin Corrine

Noah from the New York based site Cousin Corrine was nice enough to post some of my photos. The site is filled with diverse work from many compelling photographers. I especially like the work by Alec Soth and Pieter Hugo, stunning!

Cousin Corinne will also be publishing a magazine shortly.

http://www.cousincorinne.com/

Quote: Lisette Model

"Don't shoot till the subject hits you in the pit of your stomach."

Quote: Brian Wallis, Chief Curator ICP

...and really (that) is what art history or the history photography is all about: encouraging a way of reading images that helps people understand better their own lives and culture.

Oh Yeah I Can Use That Thing Afterall

Funny how you plan to use something in the future and then for years nothing happens, finally your very happy to have that thing that was in the way for all those years.

Years ago I bought a condenser enlarger from a school that was selling their stuff to go digital. The darn thing sat in in my darkroom taking up space for 5 years. I could never find a negative to print in the enlarger. The reason I bought it was so that I could do high contrast work with it if I had the need, I could go higher contrast with the condenser head than I could with my Saunders LPL enlargers.

Today I finally found some negs that it works with. I am printing the b/w ring flash heads of Bla and Da with this enlarger.

Now if I could just figure out how to make good photos with some of those odd camera purchases from the past, I'm set!

Mao Portrait-Portrait

Some portraits with Chairman Mao.

Da 6x6 Portrait

New Gallery

Set up a new gallery on the web page "Sex Worker Series 2009"

http://www.gerryyaum.com/sex%20worker09.html

Bla 6x6 Portrait

6x6 Sex Worker Portraits

Developed a few of the 6x6 sex worker b/w stuff. I shot the 6x6 photographs mostly in color but did a few b/w also.

Arts Deadline Link

Submission deadlines.

http://www.artdeadlineslist.com/

Quotes: Yousuf Karsh

"The size of the camera, of the film, must not enter into the question at all. Who cares whether a book is written standing or sitting, with pen or pencil, or on a typewriter? It is the result that is important. In whichever medium an artist feels more at ease, that is the medium he should use to express himself."

"The most important skill for a photographer to develop, is that of being able to see his subject through his eyes before he sees it through his camera."

Submitting Work

Well am doing my best to get a one man show somewhere, anywhere! I made 4 submissions to the VAAA and one to the Truck Contemporary Art Gallery (Calgary). I am also thinking of submitting some older images to the Milner gallery here in the city (lobby of the main library).

Sent out emails to 3 different places last night asking about submission requirements. I also got a book online (Photographers Market 2008) that gives me the names and addresses of many American galleries, hopefully that will lead to submissions and work being shown.

I have rooms filled with negatives, time to get a few of these photographs actually showing someplace.

Quotes: Elliot Erwit

Speaking about digital manipulation.
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"Obviously manipulation is totally unacceptable to me in photography. Photography has to do with what is, not what you manipulate or conjure up."

"A manipulated photograph is no longer a photograph, if someone wants to do that why don't they just learn how to paint or something?"

"If they do call it a photograph they should have in huge letters saying, this is not a photograph this is a manipulated image."

"The basic quality of photography is that it should be believable. People that take pictures and manipulate them would like you to believe these are real photographs and that's wrong."

Sebastiao and Ansel

Well I finally made to the Salgado exhibit in Berkeley, and was pleasantly surprised to get a “two-for”, as there was an Ansel Adams exhibit running too! I hit the Salgado exhibit first. What did I think? In a word, “Wow........”. I was stunned by the images. I did not bother to count them, but there must have been around 250 of Salgado’s images on display. There were several images where traditional rules of composition were broken; like feet cropped off at the bottom of the frame, building tips cropped at the top, and people posed with their faces centered in the image... And they were still incredible, powerful and moving images. All were printed to 16X or 20X, and the darkroom work was masterful. This is a “must see” exhibit in my book. I love the work of Ansel Adams too... And it hurts to say it, but I’ll add this comment at the risk of committing heresy: after Salgado’s work, the Adams images on display seemed like simple postcards...
Cheers,

-- Jack Flesher February 21, 2002