David Alan Harvey's personal educational program

Martin Fuchs

USA. Brooklyn, NY. 2006. Photographer David Alan HARVEY at home. © Luis Montolio

When I started to work at Magnum in New York it took quite some time before I had my first "real" conversation with David Alan Harvey. Before that I only knew him from saying "Hello" when our paths crossed from time to time in the office. And frankly… I never really knew what to think about this man as a person. He often seemed to be one of the "untouchables" to me, a photographer who seemed to be very self-confident, a man who seemed to be very self-confident.
And because of my prejudices I made up my mind and looked at David as the "cool guy", as somebody who is a bit superficial.

But as I said already, these have been my prejudices and maybe my enviousness. One day David told me about the Hip-Hop story he has been working on for quite some time. He took me out for lunch and continued to tell me about the story. He was very open minded, generous with advice and simply a friendly guy that was good to hang out with.
And my new opinion about David Alan Harvey being a generous, inspiring, great and normal man to talk to continued to rise even more with time.

David has been a blogger since the beginning of 2007. Very, very quickly his blog - or better his four blogs (1, 2, 3, 4) - became some of the most popular photography blogs out there. Through his blogs he shares his thoughts, advice and his own insecurities with those of us who do not have the chance to hang out with him or attend one of the many workshops he teaches. To me, reading his blog on a regular basis, sitting on another continent, is almost like talking to him or like reading in a book about photography. But it's more than just reading on the web, his blog became a real communication platform, something I would like the Magnum Blog to become too.

In a post entitled "in flight magazines" from May 2007 David wrote in reference to the community building power of the net, "...those of you who are still reading now know exactly what i mean...look at us right here...pretty cool right??? how else could we be doing this?? nice for me because it helps me keep my thoughts "organized" and is becoming the same kind of "diary" of life i did as a 14 yr. old photographer....and hopefully, this is nice for you because i try to put myself "in here" only to the extent that it will be useful information for you...mostly to let you know that i have the same problems as you or have had the same problems as you or certainly will in the future have the same problems as you ....the only thing i really have to "offer" is my current experience in the publishing world... both magazines and books.... and my long term friendships with so so many people in this biz....and mostly with the shared experiences i live every time i teach a workshop....i believe my students will tell you...

if i can keep this audience, we can do some really amazing things....here i am dreaming again, but sometimes my dreams happen...actually, they usually happen!!! once i focus, i am on the case!!"

And he continues "...we use the net to "community build" and then take that to reality...to print..."

This was the first time David wrote about his idea to get his readers directly involved and to eventually lead this to "real life".

Your Assignment
Over the next months David concreted his idea and gave his readers an assignment to work on. An assignment where you are allowed to work on a project that you always wanted to work on. He challenged his readers to produce a body of work that will stand out, that he would want to randomly select and present it to his audience that consists of known and unknown photographers alike, of photo editors, industry professionals and so on.
I would suggest reading his posts "in flight magazines", "collaboration", "your work", "timing", "psyched", "your assignment", "flood gates" and last but not least "bold steps" to get a better understanding of what David Alan Harvey is asking and looking for.

Finally, on September 18th he made yet another big step. He writes: "i announce now, to the readers of this forum, the offering of a $5,000. (u.s. dollars) stipend/grant for one exceptional photographer to help support their personal work.....this will be based on the photographs being sent to me now....

the deadline for sending work will now be extended to november 15, 2007....this will be based entirely on work produced between july 15, 2007 and the closing date.....the stipend will be awarded by december 15, 2007...Merry Christmas!!"

The "David Alan Harvey Blog Grant" aside, reading his posts, taking part in the very active communication with him, working on "your assignment" and trying to give your best in this collaboration effort provides a great chance for you that you shouldn't miss.

David was selected by his Magnum colleagues to help and initiate a Magnum educational program that is in the working. Even if his blog activities are not directly related to the Magnum educational program, it shows that he was the right person to be selected for this. His effort in helping and supporting young photographers is a unselfish and noble thing. This one goes out to you David!

Links:
» Harvey's Road Trip Blog
» Harvey's Work in Progress Blog
» Harvey's Workshops Blog
» Harvey's Family and Friends Blog
» David Alan Harvey's Magnum portfolio

	Reader comments (12) Subscribe to this article's comments via RSS
	Great! Have been an admirer of David's color and have followed his books since he was voted in by Magnum. Bravo for Magnum to go into education! Many possibilities financially and otherwise. Best, Inge Bondi Comment posted by inge bondi on September 24, 2007
	Yes, harvey's blog is a treasure to be discovered. Thank you Mr. Harvey for all your efforts, there is much to learn from you. Comment posted by Lea Kast on September 25, 2007
	Dear David, I very much enjoyed this article. Very honest and funny. How Martin looked at you as the "cool dude". Hilarious. I find it is highly respectable what you do, I am new to your blog and just started to read through the articles that are linked here. Your passion is noticable right away. I hope you will keep it up and thank you. Peter Comment posted by Peter Kolschitz on September 25, 2007
	Great!!! A succes story based on work, reflexion, observation, listening... So, I guess there is still hope in this world:) Happy to have discovered David Alan's blogs! Comment posted by Alain RIO on September 25, 2007
	David Harvey's blog is an amazing thing. It is very personable, engaging, and outgoing. That this high-visibility photographer finds the time and energy to reach out to so many striving low-visibility photographers is commendable. Offering a $5,000 prize for an open, no-entry-fee, 20-image portfolio submission is astounding. David, you are a great photographer; but as a member of a community, you are a model citizen. Thanks from all of us. Comment posted by Terry Carroll on September 25, 2007
	David Alan Harvey does not only share his experience and reflections with generous enthusiasm. Among his many talents, is his ability to challenge and involve his readership with photography related questions at the end of his posts. He asks, and after just a few hours, there are 100 to 150 answers popping up, many of them highly readable. In one post he mentions Alec Soth, who has the same talent. This phenomenon, which of course is connected to the world wide web, is to some extent changing the role of the artists and his or her connections to a larger audience. You can not demand of every photographer, painter, musician, or poet to create blogs like D.A.H`s or A.S`s. But it is great to see it happen. Comment posted by Paul Norheim on September 26, 2007
	hello all.... thank you so much for the generous comments.....as i have said on my own forum many times, i would have never continued blogging if it were not for the incredible comments i receive....the readers write the magazine!!! the community building possibilities are endless...those of us at Magnum have to have our photographic work as our main avocation, but we also feel the "pay forward" benefits to helping emerging photographers... all of us at Magnum are very enthusiastic about the next generation of photographers....we will help you, you will help us to see who you are....there is nothing better than a symbiotic relationship..... cheers, david Comment posted by david alan harvey on September 27, 2007
	Much thanks to all the efforts of David and Magnum. Feels truely like the playing field in photography has been leveled for us (with the blogs and educational endeavors) who can't go to the workshops, live in NYC, etc. Comment posted by Kate on October 15, 2007
	Dear David, Wonderful to run through your blogs though I have been following your work through Nat Geo Mags and their publications for many years. I would like to know if the entry for Portfolio submission for the Grant is open to overseas applicants as well. I have recently started researching a project and have made some initial images, was wondering if I could send them for consideration. Look forward to hearing from you. Warm Regards. Alok Comment posted by ALOK JOHRI on October 16, 2007
	alok.. yes, this grant is open to photographers everywhere....i look forward to seeing your work... kate... i never had access to workshops and did not grow up living in new york...i have tried to create educational programs to fit photographers just like you.....i design every program as if i were an emerging photographer (which i remember well) and were taking the seminar or class myself... cheers, david Comment posted by david alan harvey on October 21, 2007
	Dear David, Thanks so much for your reply. I am almost done with the image selection for the submission. I know the submission rule also dictates that images should be shot betweem 15th July - to - closing date, some of my images are one year old since I had to stop work due to lack of funds, but then somehow I did manage to get back to it. In any case I would like to send my work for consideration for whatever its worth and look forward to your feedback. Regards, Alok Comment posted by ALOK JOHRI on October 22, 2007
	I AM EGARLY WAITING TO ENTER THE CONTEST WHICH IS CONDUCTED BY YOU. PLEASE SEND ME THE DETAILS-- NILANJAN RAY Comment posted by NILANJAN RAY on June 20, 2008

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