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Photos by Michael Muller.

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A couple of excerpts:

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“I always read the script beforehand, because I want to really know the characters I’m shooting,” Muller explains of this unique challenge. “And Wolverine’s got this dark side to him, this troubled beginning, so I tried to tap into that and convey it in a subconscious way.”

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And…

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“The bone-claw image was a serious contender for a long time, because it indicated the early evolution of Wolverine,” a rep [from the movie studio] says. “Being a prequel, that made sense. But ultimately, the straight-on single was chosen because it’s iconic of that character. Plus, print generally comes down to gut instinct, and that piercing stare was hard to beat.”

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There’s also a nifty info box on Michael:

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You can read the complete text of Lindsay’s article here.

For more on Michael’s Wolverine work, see “Michael Muller takes on the ‘Wolverine’  cast.”

For more on his movie posters, check out this 2008 American Photo feature, “Michael Muller, Photographic Superhero.”

And to see more of Michael’s movie and TV posters and promotional photos, such as…

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…go here.

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PDNPulse featured James Worrell’s slideshow on a typical day in his life, which Dan Havlik sardonically introduces thusly: “Yes, it all begins at 6:30 am on a dreary morning in New Jersey but gets brighter as it goes along. He is, after all, working, which these days is an accomplishment in itself.”
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RESOLVE kicked off a massive, crowd-sourced blog post on the future of photo books. Last month, they spotlighted some of their favorite publications mentioned by the bloggers who have participated in the discussion thus far. Among the photos pubs listed: Pictory, founded by Laura Brunow Miner of JPG fame (the current issue is on San Francisco), and the independent French webzine Purpose.
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Gallerist and blogger James Danziger posted a Top Ten List that focuses on photo shows he’s planning. One of them will be inspired by his blog. “Many of the year end summaries in newspapers talked about the growing influence of blogs and bloggers and their effect in the real world. Happy to hear this!” he writes. “And to do my part in taking it to the streets, opening on January 21, I will be putting on a full five week long show of selected photographers whose work I’ve featured on this blog.”

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American Photo magazine named the Nikon D3x the Camera of the Year. “This is a camera that is, in fact, revolutionary,” enthused senior editor Peter Kolonia. “It’s a medium-format camera in a 35mm DSLR body.”

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PDN‘s January 2010 issue looks at “Photography Now: After 10 Years of Revolutionary Change.” One spread notes how fine art, cinema, and snapshots have changed portraiture. “More visually sophisticated audiences spurred ad agencies and magazines to take refreshing creative chances,” the magazine observes. The examples they give include Nadav Kander’s “Obama’s People” portraits for The New York Times Magazine. (Update: I just heard from Zoe, Nadav’s studio manager, that the Nikolaj Copenhagen Contemporary Art Centre will be hosting an exhibition of “Obama’s People” January 22 through March 14.)
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Vincent Laforet, who on December 29 announced a film contest sponsored by Canon and Vimeo, offered two predictions for 2010: that it would be the “Year of the Tablet” and that advertising will see an “INCREDIBLE” shakeup. “Forget polished, predictable, packaged ads that have been cleared by 14 layers of creatives, executives, accountants, and lawyers -  EXPECT ads that are VIRAL, and EVOLVE on the internet/blogs/twitter etc.  that will come to redefine advertising as we know it.   I hope.”

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Do you keep a version of your portfolio on your cellphone? I can’t think of a reason not to. You never know who you’ll meet when you’re at an exhibition opening, on a plane, at a party, whatever, and while proffering a business card and mentioning who you’ve shot for can be effective, it seems like your actual work would be your best representative. And if you have an iPhone (or iPod Touch), you can get an app like Portfolio for $4.99 or download Flickr’s iPhone app for free. Having your portfolio with you at all times, in other words, costs a pittance.

Right about now, I’m feeling self-conscious about the fact that I only just got an iPhone and am in awe over it in a very 2007 way. Then again, I still see photographer websites that use Flash—new websites by established photographers—even though it’s well known by now that Flash makes it much harder for your site to be found by Web crawlers. (“Putting your entire website in Flash, or including captions and keywords in the image itself instead of as text below the image, is not advised if you expect search engine traffic,” notes PhotoShelter in an article on photographer websites.) So I’m operating on the premise that what’s old news to some people is a full-on discovery to others.

If you’re interested in exploring the possibilities of your iPhone for your photo business, pay a visit to this blog, where a photographer has posted her tips for using the iPhone as a “multipurpose tool,” like making albums of reference photos. And check out American Photo‘s recent feature “Photographers and Their iPhones.”

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“…Cameraphone photography has become more than just a visual notebook, a journalistic record of events or a way to send friends photos of your dog,” the article asserts. “While most photographers will claim that they simply fell into shooting with their cell phones, saying, “What the heck, I’ve always got my phone with me,” it has rapidly evolved into a legitimate tool for artistic expression and has even shown up in commercial outlets, such as Robert Clark’s commissioned book Image America, shot entirely with his cameraphone. Fullana landed a cover gig from Time Out New York for his urban iPhone images.”

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The American Photo story focuses on four specific photographers, and the magazine’s blog “State of the Art” offers perspective from an additional three who’ve made the iPhone part of their daily routine. Meanwhile, if you’d like to share your own experiences with or advice for using the iPhone in your photo biz, please do post a comment or send me an email (kristina at stocklandmartel.com).

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Grids, the Society of Publication Designers’ blog, is inviting the design community to comment on American Photo‘s redesign. This is what the magazine used to look like:

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And here’s the new look:

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What do you think?

The art director is Donna Reiss, and Larry Nighswander is serving as director of photography. Chelsea Stickel is the photo editor.

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Matthew Rolston's column in the May/June 2009 issue of American Photo.

Matthew Rolston recently wrote a column for American Photo magazine called “Digital Future,” but the title is somewhat misleading. Matthew’s piece is a sort of overview of the changes in the magazine industry, how publishers are responding, and what readers now expect from imagemakers. It’s both a wake-up call for his fellow photographers as well as a comforting shot of a reassurance.

“What about the seductive power of images?” he asks, after several dark paragraphs on the time of “tumultuous change” in which we live. “Thankfully,” he writes in the magazine’s May/June 2009 issue, “that’s going to stay as strong as ever.” And he goes on to assert that “the only way for magazines to be truly competitive is through the deeply satisfying emotional appeal of memorable imagery.”

In other words, publishers, if you want to keep going, now is the time to align yourselves with talented photographers. Scrimping on photos may save money in the short term, but the long-term risk is that you lose your audience and wind up joining the growing heap of magazines that have folded in the past year. “Power to the imagemaker,” Matthew concludes—and, I would add, to the photo editors bold enough to harness that power.

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