Photo of the week: Virgin Katrina

Martin Fuchs

USA. New York. Virgins. Katrina, 25 years old. My initial reason for not wanting to have sex was totally a fear of not wanting to get pregnant before I got married. This was a cycle in my family. So, it was very real to me: You have sex, you get pregnant, and if you're not married, you can wind up alone or feeling obligated to marry somebody. But it's been interesting how it's changed as I've gone through different relationships, learning about myself and learning about commitment. © Lise Sarfati/Magnum Photos

You can look at more photographs from the Virgin New York series by Lise Sarfati here.

Northern Exposures

Chris Steele-Perkins

As I have another book out I thought I'd post again to follow up on my Tokyo Love Hello and Korean Comfort Women ones, and respond to your comments - sorry for the long delay if anyone is still out there - most were very positive, so thanks a lot for that feedback. (Rafal there is a Magnum book of new work on Korea coming out. Daniel and Alok, an interesting idea to photograph the perpetrators, but few are now alive and I am sure would not come forward.)

Front cover of Chris Steele-Perkins' new book Northern Exposures. © Chris Steele-Perkins/Magnum Photos

This is the cover of the new book, Northern Exposures. Its in B&W and about Rural Life in the North East of England; County Durham to be precise.

Why B&W? It was great to change modes - it is also in medium format, on Mamiya 7s mostly - and to adopt a slower more contemplative approach than towards the frenetic urban life of Tokyo. It was shot in some of the same time frame as Tokyo too. I like to keep plugging away at my own country, exploring England at the same time I am exploring foreign places. Maybe it keeps you rooted. But the answer to why it is B&W is nothing more complex than I wanted to. It just felt right.

What started it off? It all started from a small commission from Side Gallery in Newcastle who were working on a larger group project on Durham Coalfields, the onetime heartland of the defunct British coal-mining industry. Once I got started I found myself hooked into it, in Cartier-Bresson's phrase, it got between the shirt and skin, and I decided to continue working on it for my own interest.

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Photo of the week: Man at window

Martin Fuchs

USA. Illinois. Chicago. 1946. Man at window of shack. © Wayne Miller/Magnum Photos

Wayne Miller's "Chicago's South Side" reminds me of one of my favorite photography books: Bruce Davidsons "East 100th Street". Until now I haven't been aware of Miller's Chicago's South Side. Shame on me...

From 1946 to 1948, Wayne Miller documented the daily lives of African-Americans in the post-World War II era in Chicago. His photographs capture both a developing cultural renaissance and the grim economic realities that faced Chicago's largest black community.

In case you are in France, in Chalon-sur-Saône to be precise, you should not miss his "Chicago's South Side" exhibition which is up until September 30th.

Why I make books

Daniel Power

New York City, USA. 1989. Aerial view of Manhattan with the Statue of Liberty and the World Trade Center. © Hiroji Kubota/Magnum Photos

Some people ask me why I make books, in my case illustrated volumes of photography and the photographic image. To some, I say "We're stupid and don't know any better," and to others I lament it's the only thing we know how to do, and such is our lot. But then, truth be told, thinking about it, it's our native human desire to tell stories, or more precisely help others tell them, and our medium is the photographic image, and few have become literate in appreciating it (hence the minute audience), and even fewer in constructing it well, even among the highly regarded publishers.

So how do those of us with such limited practical aptitude or even intelligence about smarter things to do with our lives and scarce monies continue to persevere, both in surviving and in looking for ways to tell yet more illustrated stories, despite apparent lack of even token consumer appeal?

We get lucky.

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Before the Limit

Claudia Guadarrama

Migrants pray before continuing their journey north after their stay in a migrant shelter in Arriaga, Chiapas, Mexico, on Jan. 23, 2006. © Claudia Guadarrama

We have invited Claudia Guadarrama, 2004 winner of the Inge Morath Award to tell us about the project that she has been working on with the help of the award.
The Inge Morath Award is organized by The Inge Morath Foundation in cooperation with Magnum Photos and is awarded annually to a female documentary photographer or photojournalist under the age of 30.
In future blog articles we will continue to look at the work of the previous Inge Morath Award winners.

My project is about undocumented Central American migrants crossing the southern border of Mexico trying to eventually get to the United States looking for a better life. There are no official records about the number of people crossing the Mexican border illegally everyday; but in agreement with official counts along this border, they detain approximately 44 percent of the total number of migrants that cross illegally through Mexico.

This is one of the most critical stages of the journey to the United States. The harassment and extortion of migrants are common things. Only a few of them can get through successfully.

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Photo of the week: Homeless in Bucharest

Martin Fuchs

Romania. Bucharest. 1999. Bucharest has an estimated 3000 homeless people, representing 0,15% of the city's population. Many of the homeless resort to hiding themselves at the town channels of hot water communication. These places are dark and humid and extremely dangerous for the health. Unfortunately nothing has been done by the authorities, such as providing a night shelter or even opening a metro station during cold weather. © Chien-Chi Chang/Magnum Photos

Chien-Chi Chang's books "The Chain", "I Do I Do I Do" or "Double Happiness" are well known, his work on New York's Chinatown, that he worked on for many, many years and still works on, is extremely remarkable. When I think of Chien-Chi's photographs I almost exclusively think of his black and white work.
Occasionally however, Chien-Chi also shoots in color and I think his color photographs are less known. You should take a look at New York's Chinatown in color or at his story from 1999 on homeless people in Bucharest. The photograph above is from that story. Comments are as always appreciated.