Archived Messages - February 2000
Well, nearly a month has gone by since the big shoot. With all the missed oppurtunities, one can only dream about what, where, when and how we missed the big shot. Although some of us had planned some fantastic shots, disappointment because of cancellations everywhere meant that we had to change our plans fast. As was my case. So I turned to the ocean and to Atlantic City with the casinos to see if I could come up with something. There were a lot of parties going on but even with the credentials I could not get in. They, however let me shoot around the floor but not in the casino itself. I took some shots of people partying when midnight came but nothing unusual or of special interest came up. I stayed up till 4 and tryed to relax a bit before at least catching the first light of the Millennium on the Atlantic ocean where appropriately enough Atlantic city reflected the perfect place. It was warmer than usual and there was mist on the ocean but I knew from having shot so many sunrises and from the light of dawn that it was going to be a gorgeous sunrise. The sun came up where and like I knew it would, through the mist. It was a dream-like instant. We were a handful of people on the beach at this time althoug it was around 7:30. One woman was standing next to me and I asked her if she would pose for me on the beach near the water and she did (for a print, which I've sent to her already) It made for some very nice shots. With the sun rising, so was I shooting and kept on shooting for about half an hour. I turned around and then saw these huge lamp post which are made to resemble a torch. I went up the stairs and then saw the sun which by this time had risen enough, framed the bottom of the post with the ocean with the sun placed on top of the torch and reflecting through the red glass that make up the torch. Voilˆ! Millennium Light. The shot made my day and was worth the 9 hour drive from my home. That shot made all the difference in the world and made me aware once again that the more you look, the less you find sometimes and the simpler thingw often produce the best results. I hope to do this type of shooting again. It made my adrenalin flow through my veins and made me once more realize why I've devoted my life to photography. Thanks to the Millennium Photo Project and Mr. Alx Klive for giving us the opportunity. P.S.: 50 words to describe a shoot and a shot is sometimes not enough. Also only three (3) shots is not enough. Think about all the shots on the editing table!!!
Ray Casbourn <casbourn@9bit.qc.ca>
L'Avenir, Canada - Monday, January 31, 2000 at 10:10:42 (EST)
Thank you Ray for your kind comments. It was a difficult decision to allow our photographers to only send in three shots and to limit descriptions to 50 words. As you can imagine however, the task of sorting so many entries from around the world (and in different languages!) is quite complex. As it is, our wonderful staff are working flat out to prepare all the images for judging in three weeks time. A bit of self-editing is a good thing!
Alx Klive <alx@millenniumphoto.com>
Project HQ, Toronto - Monday, January 31, 2000 at 17:42:19 (EST)
Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu! Were there any other photographers in Japan? I hadnât really planned to send in a written except of my New Year as itâs quite long but here goes anyway· New Year to the Japanese is more like Christmas to Christians. Itâs a time for family members to all come home from wherever with airline tickets, bought at inflated prices, in order to eat too much, watch television argue with other family members and, for young students, get your laundry done. Completely not heeding this fact, I gathered a crew of four to join me in ringing in the Millenium in Hiroshima, a bustling port city in South Western Japan. We figured that this was THE PLACE around here. The Millenium was low key in Japan, and reservations were not necessary, but a fat wallet was. The going rate was four to five thousand yen to get into the same mediocre clubs that usually have free admission. They were boasting nothing special in the way of party favours or even games. One club had such exorbitant entry fee that we expected, at least a game of naked twister, or a Doors concert. We looked at our wallets, looked at each other and headeded for Pacela Square where weâd seen a large video screen and preparations for something earlier. When we arrived, true to Japanese fashion, the revellers were all orderly sitting down around the screen watching a Îlive by satellite concertâ from Tokyo Some boisterous types were wearing costumes of various animals. The rabbit was a popular one with 1999 being the year of the rabbit, but mice, racoons and all sorts of critters seemed to be leaping in front of cameras, particularly mine. 10- 9- (they were got excited and stood up)· 3- 2- 1- Akemashite Omedeto Gozaimasu!!! We shouted, screamed and my friends and I hugged each other and sang Olde Aung Syne (could someone out there spell that for me?) then we noticed that the others seemed a little more introspect. Perhaps itâs a Japanese custom to bow your head, we thought. But, NO, they were looking at something. They were all pulling out their cell phones (70% of young Japanese have one) to ensure that the Millenium Bug was not playing any tricks. That confirmed, they all started to head home, and by 00:15 the square was almost empty. We lingered on in a coffee shop, went to the shrine to line up and wait for our new yearâs fortune, which we ended up having to tie to a tree anyway. Itâs supposed to be a guarantee that your good fortune will come true, altough it seems more of a guarantee that youâll forget what it was, and just assume it came true. Though I may forget my fortune, I wonât forget the experience and, ironically enough, my entries are not of the evening at all, but of the sunrise the next day. It IS a custom to climb a mountain, watch the sunrise and make a wish to the gods for more good fortune (in case the gods have also forgotten what youâve tied to the tree). It was shaping up to be a · OH NO· cloudy morning!!! Some of the hikers had already begun the descent, when OUT IT CAME in all itâs glory. The sunrise over Shimane was beautiful this year (lucky for me!) So after all night out, a long drive home and a hike, you may well imagine where the rest of Jan 1 was spent?! I had a lovely ãneshogatsuä (meaning ÎI slept through the new yearâ öwell sort of.
Renae Ivany <tinarenae@hotmail.com>
Masuda, Japan - Monday, January 31, 2000 at 22:27:25 (EST)
I got my entries off via Federal Express today. I was sick most of January so I was late getting my choices printed up but I am fortunate to have a master photographer friend who does my processing and was very helpful in my selection process. Not having a printer made it a challenge to get my entry forms done but a trip to my Sister's took care of that. Funny thing is that the shot I took just for my own amusement because I liked the lines is the one everyone said should go in. I am reading alot of the unexpected turned out to be the best shots amoung our group. I am still as excited as in the beginning and I am very hopeful that one of my shots is picked. That is of course, if I did not disqualify myself by doing the entries wrong. I three pages that had my information and the photo information for each one. I do hope that was correct and will be accepted. When all of this is complete, how will all keep our adreneline up to the levels we have become used to? :) Good luck to all of my fellow MPP colleagues!!
Sandra <FBTdra9@aol.com>
Seattle, USA - Monday, January 31, 2000 at 23:12:40 (EST)
Amigos, ˆ medida que as remessas forem recebidas, seu conteœdo ser‡ verificado e, se todos os requisitos foram atendidos, cada participante receber‡ um e-mail de confirma‹o. As fotos ser‹o submetidas ao jœri, entre 25 e 27 deste ms de fevereiro. Cada participante que tiver uma ou mais fotos selecionada(s), entre as vencedoras, ser‡ notificado por e-mail, atŽ 7 de maro de 2000. Aos vencedores, poder‡ ser solicitada uma c—pia impressa, em alta qualidade, da(s) foto(s) original(is) destinada(s) a atender a objetivos editoriais. Seria conveniente que tais amplia›es j‡ estivessem prontas para a eventualidade de serem solicitadas. Quaisquer dœvidas, por favor, contatem-nos por e-mail: portuguese@millenniumphoto.com ou orlando@millenniumphoto.com;
Orlando Discacciati <orlando@millenniumphoto.com>
Barbacena-MG, Brasil - Friday, February 04, 2000 at 01:59:05 (EST)
Beijing, China in December, January is not considered tourist season. Its damn cold. But the idea of welcoming a new millenium in a different culture and earlier by the equatorial clock than I woould have at open, grabbed me.So there we were in a city larger than Belgium with a population of 12 million - an amazing city. It may be 4987 by the Chinese calandar. It may be New Years was more than a month away. It may be the year of the rabbit and not yet the year of the dragon. But Beijing has discovered capitalism - and in a big way. From weeks before Christmas to a week after the January first New Years, its selling time. The stores are jammed with goods an shoppers. The show windows and light prancing marquies throb with come ons.Communism may be the rule, but capitalism is the reality. Oh, the millenium shoot, I did not forget. But what? there were fireworks and parties and street reveling etc. But these scenes were universal. What would be Beijing? Tianenman Square, the world's biggest public city square. As our guide quibbed, the Square can hold a million Chinnese or half a million Americans or two million Japanese. I won't touch that one. But, the Square is huge. What can I take in my lens? Shots of the fireworks, parades and milling crowds at New Years would only be shots of fireworks, parades and milling crowds at New Years. They would not be the Square. After these were gone and after the Square was cleaned, what weas left was only the Square and a few stagglers. And at 4 am, there it was, the Square with its huge "2" "0" "0" "0" signs in the red of good fortune. So I lined it up. The stagglers in front, the white lit obelisk memorial to the Heroes of the Revolution in mid plane and the orange yellow glowing building which holds Chairman Mau's remains. Oh, Great! A photographer's nightmare. Unlit figures on a dark concrete expanse in the foreground, a brilliantly lit white protrusion sticking up in mid plane and, in the background, a faintly glowing orange, yellow and black building against a jet black moonless, starless sky. Hooray for the tripod. Hooray for 400 ASA. Hooray for a 36 exposure roll. Hooray for my Nikon F3. Hooray for bracketing. Hooray for the few times my stragglers stood still long enough to not blur. Exposures taken from about 3 to 4:30 am were mostly F11 to 5.6. Exposures ranged from 5 to 10 seconds. The plan, scripted in our hotel room and prepared on two 3 x 5 cards was to record lens and exposure speeds of all 36 shots. At the Square the frozen fingers of reality - and mine - iced in. At 20 F., luckely I found the pen did not work. So, I could keep my hands in my pockets between shots. Of the 36 exposures, I threw away 34 - lots of moving stragglers. But, that's time exposure, catch as catch can photography. froze in speeds of each shot.
Hal Rosenthal <halsue@erols.com>
Philadelphia, Pennsyvania, USA - Friday, February 04, 2000 at 04:38:23 (EST)
HI, Cant wait to see some images that has been submitted. How do you get to the main page to access the "photo of the week?"
Diane Sumner <dsumner@datawise.net>
Allegan, USA - Friday, February 04, 2000 at 21:32:50 (EST)
Diane, Just go to www.millenniumphoto.com and click on the English flag. In the left hand column you will see "Photo of the Week". Just click that on and that's it. Be sure to bookmark www.millenniumphoto.com so you can easily return to it.
Tom <KC2ABP@aol.com>
Long Island, NY, USA - Saturday, February 05, 2000 at 23:27:23 (EST)
Don't you think that one photo a week is too long a wait.Can we see something like maybe a set of 4-6 photographs a week..maybe a collection.I am getting a little impatient..& very anxious to see the entries.
Reshma Kamat <reshmakamat@yahoo.com>
Goa, India - Monday, February 07, 2000 at 11:38:57 (EST)
Hi each and all! You can see my story
Valentin <vale@rusfoto.com >
Moscow, Russia - Monday, February 07, 2000 at 12:02:41 (EST)
It is my story: How I shot of millennium Go to -www.rusfoto.com
Valentin <vale@rusfoto.com >
Moscow, Russia - Monday, February 07, 2000 at 12:04:17 (EST)
Reshma, we fretted long and hard about the 'Photo of the Week' page. We had to weigh up the concerns of our publishers (namely if we show lots of photos before publication, it would probably affect sales of the book) against our own desire to share all these amazing pictures with you. The compromise we arrived at was 'Photo of the Week'. It's worth noting that the original idea was that no pictures would be shown until the book came out. This is obviously better. I have an idea though. If lots of people create pages like the one Valentin did (see posting above), we could put together a links page in the Crew Headquarters of everyone's personal experiences of that night. Any takers?
Alx Klive <alx@millenniumphoto.com>
Project HQ, Toronto - Monday, February 07, 2000 at 17:52:01 (EST)
Pessoal, todas as sextas-feiras, a partir do œltimo dia 4 de fevereiro, ser‡ escolhida e divulgada a melhor foto das recebidas pelo Projeto. Esta sele‹o Ž absolutamente desvinculada do jœri. A primeira j‡ est‡ dispon’vel, clicando-se sobre a bandeira inglesa, em www.millenniumphoto.com, e a seguir, em PHOTO OF THE WEEK. O fundador do Projeto, Sr. Alx Klive, baseando-se no exemplo de nosso colega, Valentin Gladishev, Coordenador Chefe Regional do MPP na Rœssia (www.rusphoto.com), sugere que, sendo-nos poss’vel, divulguemos, em p‡ginas individuais, as imagens que capturamos e das quais selecionamos as remetidas ao MPP. Vamos nessa!
Orlando Discacciati <orlando@millenniumphoto.com>
Barbacena-MG, Brazil - Tuesday, February 08, 2000 at 00:59:47 (EST)
Hi there, In the spirit of our international photo project, I thought some of you might be interested in translations of some of the messages posted here. If so, copy the text from a message you are interested in translating, then open the following web site: http://babelfish.altavista.digital.com/cgi-bin/translate. Paste the message into the text box then select the type of translation you desire. Some of the messages on this posting are in Portuguese, which looks a little like Spanish, so don't be fooled. ; ) This is a great way to connect with new friends in other parts of the world. Have fun! I can't wait to see which photos are selected!!!
Heather <hgibbs@interactive-media.com>
Orlando, FL, USA - Tuesday, February 08, 2000 at 16:12:02 (EST)
Great idea, Heather! I've been writting some messages in Portuguese because any of our photographers can't read in English. And this link is a good way to let them know what is going on and to connect with new friends. But take care with authomatical translations from Portuguese. Some times you have non-sense expressions. If I can help, please e-mail me.
Orlando Discacciati <orlando@millenniumphoto.com>
barbacena-MG, Brazil - Tuesday, February 08, 2000 at 20:37:40 (EST)
Alx... I've taken you up on your offer. I've started a web page that intergrates my personal and The Millennium Photo Project together. The URL is: www.tdphoto.homestead.com. It does download slowly because I'm new at this and I've made my jpg's too large. I am still in the stage of building it and have to still add links and so forth. Somewhat of a learning experience for me. I would like to recommend that new banners be made to add to websites. I am using the old ones, but New Years is over..lol...
Tom <KC2ABP@aol.com>
Long Island, NY, USA - Wednesday, February 09, 2000 at 12:37:13 (EST)
Hello from Moscow, all that you can see on page www.rusfoto.com/my_story.htm - reporting about mine participation in the project. But here there are no photos, which I have sent in jury of the Project. For jury I have sent OTHER photos. I say Thanks to all who is look at my story.
Valentin <vale@rusfoto.com >
Moscow, Russia - Thursday, February 10, 2000 at 11:40:45 (EST)
Valentin, Great job on the website. Nice photos. What a memory!!!!
Pat Desmarais <greatimpressionsphoto@mediaone.net>
Manchester, NH, USA - Thursday, February 10, 2000 at 21:48:46 (EST)
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ghsfdhsfd, fghsfdhgsgfdh - Wednesday, February 16, 2000 at 14:22:44 (EST)
Hi... I saw the latest 'Photo of the week'...Its kinda cute... I liked it a lot..Kids do make a great subject
Reshma <reshmakamat@yahoo.com>
Goa, India - Sunday, February 20, 2000 at 11:05:08 (EST)
Just a quick note to let you all know that the judging is going very well. All the judges are very impressed overall and they are now getting down to the final 'Award Collection' photos. The final selection is being made tomorrow (Sunday) and we will be following up with the winners just as soon as the results are processed. This is expected to take about ten days. Watch this space for more details. (We will also update the news page).
Alx Klive <alx@millenniumphoto.com>
Project HQ, Toronto - Saturday, February 26, 2000 at 19:12:57 (EST)
We are waiting....waiting....waiting......tell us something....
Pat <greatphoto>
nh, usa - Monday, February 28, 2000 at 22:19:15 (EST)
Hee hee hee Pat. That about says it all!!!
Sandra <FBTdra9>
Seattle, USA - Tuesday, February 29, 2000 at 02:19:57 (EST)
I have no idea why this is driving me CRAZY. Maybe it's because we WAITED so long and PLANNED so much for the project, it was over in a FLASH and now it seems like a CENTURY since we did our work. Can't wait to FOCUS on the final RESULTS. Good luck everyone.
PAT <greatimpressionsphoto@mediaone.net>
NH, USA - Tuesday, February 29, 2000 at 08:39:08 (EST)