“In a single snapshot, during 40 seconds of silence, you could absorb the emotional arc of Bob Gainey's life because you knew ever detail, every epiphany and pain, behind that photo of a father and a daughter.”

That was written by Selena Roberts for The New York Times, describing the scene at Bell Center in Montreal, before the Canadiens played the Boston Bruins.

It is a terrific testament to what a photograph can evoke in all of us and a reminder to keep making images of our loved ones. This reminds me of a cheesy tag line that one of the Indian film companies (that existed back in the 70s, I believe) used: Memories Fade. Photographs Do Not.

As some of you may be wondering, I have been “gone” for a couple of weeks. Thanksgiving came and whizzed past me. And then I attended a terrific three-day photo workshop in Rhode Island, led by David Williams. It was just the right injection of art + photography that I have experienced in a long time. If I can paraphrase David, his message is essentially, “imbue your work as an art form and all glory will follow.”

If you are a working photographer – no matter what sub-genre your persuasion happens to be – treat yourself to one of David's workshops. You will come away a better photographer and perhaps even a more enlightened human being.

Clint Eastwood's epic drama about the lives of US soldiers who victoriously raised the American flag on Iwo Jima called Flags Of Our Fathers opens in theaters here today.

The story is about how these soldiers were iconized and subsequently exploited by the US government. The act of raising the flag was captured and memorialized in a single image by Joe Rosenthal, a photojournalist documenting the war. It was distributed widely to build morale and support the allied actions in the Pacific.

Do you know of other movies where an image or a photograph played such a pivotal part? List your choices here in the comments section. If you see your choice already listed, please do not list it again.

Here is my choice: Chris Nolan's Memento.

Now, it is your turn.

Aaron Johnson is the brains behind “What the Duck,” the funniest comic strip I have come across in a very long time. It's photo-centric, which makes it all the more funny for me [because I do like to laugh at myself sometimes].

Using a duck as his protagonist, Johnson goes about illustrating some very poignant moments that photographers experience, especially with their clients. Some photogs may not find it humorous as the punch lines can be acerbic like this one:

The RSS feed is here. The comic strip's archive is here. Listen to Aaron Johnson on October 21 at Photo Talk Radio.

[via Rob Galbraith]

Ok, I searched high and low, narrow and wide. I have finally found a new year's resoltuion that I can stick to this coming year. It's not that old promise of running 3 miles a day or buying my wife flowers every week [though, hey, that's another resolution I think I can keep]. No, this one involves my metiér – photography. And while I didn't have to find it through the Internet, I was inspried by this latest post on Photojojo about Project 365.

The concept is a simple one. Carry your camera everywhere and keep seeing. Why do it? Reason number three in the Photojojo post says it all: “Taking a photo a day will make you a better photographer. Using your camera every day will help you learn its limits. You will get better at composing your shots, you’ll start to care about lighting, and you’ll become more creative with your photography when you’re forced to come up with something new every single day.”

Fear not, this won't be an exercise in narcissism. There are already some very good examples of that here and here. This “project” will provoke me into carrying my camera and capturing what I see everyday. Rain, snow, sleet or shine, I am going to make images for one year starting January 1, 2007.

If you see me slipping, I hereby authorize you [all of you] to give me a whole of shit so that I can get back onto the photo wagon. If you start this project with me, send me your link. I'll be sure to share it with others here. And, good luck!