LAMPP Introduction

Seventeen years ago the Living American Master Photographers Project or LAMPP began as a continued visual and spoken document. Today LAMPP expands its mission to preserve and honor those individuals who render the history in which we see ourselves. On this evolving canvas our paths converge at the content created.

Today the photograph is an intimate member of virtually every environment. Our desire to see has become an inextricable companion. What we take of time is saved in the image. Where we are not, we place ourselves, extending our common individuality.

America's living master photographers are a national treasure. When participants pass away, their secrets and insights are lost. Few know their faces or stories. They bring our world to us, the world within, and the world beyond the fence; the world we love and sometimes the world we fear.

Participant experiences, wisdom, and light are the soul of LAMPP.

Paul Waldman
LAMPP Executive Director

Photo Industry Testimonials

Karen Smith-Pilkington: President, Kodak Professional, and Vice President, Eastman Kodak Company "LAMPP pays important tribute to professional photography while creating an historic body of work that will enrich future generations."

Gary Hershorn, News Editor of Pictures for Reuters America, "LAMPP provides us with a compelling glimpse of the photography heroes who have labored to bring us visually evocative stories that have and continue to define and shape American culture."

Alan Zimmerman: President, Hasselblad USA: ("Hasselblad USA Inc showcased a number of images from the LAMPP project at our booth during the Photo Plus East 2001 trade show. The print exhibit met with great success and generated considerable interest among the many photographers attending the show. The LAMPP concept and execution is testament to Mr. Waldman and the Hasselblad equipment he used to create the images.) "In the years to come, this body of work will become a legacy to modern photography and the masters who elevated the medium."

David Siefkin, US Consul for Press and Culture: "LAMPP is a fascinating project, designed to introduce leading masters of American 20th century photography to people around the world."

Nathan Benn: Director Magnum Photos, New York, NY: "I greatly appreciate your commitment to this worthy project and I have high regard for your portraits. I look forward to watching the scope continue to expand."

Terry Pitts: Former Director of The Center for Creative Photography: "It’s very important that people such as Paul Waldman create archives of portraits and interviews with living photographers. There are too many photographers working now to let any opportunity pass. The future will thank Paul for his efforts."

Carla Popenfus: InStyle Magazine Special Editions: "It is with great interest that I am following the LAMP Project. I believe it will be a valuable history for years to come." 

Leah Bendavid-Val: Senior Book Editor, National Geographic Books: "Your idealism and unflagging effort on behalf of the monumental project you have conceived (the LAMPP) is inspiring. I will watch with great interest as your important work unfolds."

Mary Panzer: Curator of Photography; The National Portrait Gallery: "As someone who spends a lot of time looking for portraits of important people, I can imagine that future students and historians will be very grateful to have this record. What a terrific opportunity!"

Phyllis Giarnese: Director of Content, Solus Images; New York: "You live up to the name of your project. Keep the LAMPP burning. As a historic document of American Photographic perspective, the LAMPP has proven itself as a significant body of work."

Pat Hunt: Stock Photography Consultant, Port Authority Consultants, Boston, MA: "I am impressed with the quality of the (LAMPP) photographs. They give a personality and a soul to the artists involved, and will offer lasting value to our photographic history."

LAMPP FAQ

Is LAMPP a 501(C)(3) nonprofit tax-exempt charitable organization?
Yes. The Living American Master Photographers Project [LAMPP] received its 501(C)(3)
nonprofit tax-exempt certification from the IRS on February 4th, 2004.

What is LAMPP's Mission?
Capturing a shared oral and visual history of American master photography 

How does LAMPP contribute to community life?
LAMPP enriches community life by providing programs that integrate the oral histories, images, and insights of participating master photographers. Understanding these insights and reflections help better society through a direct connection with the living artist. 

How can I support LAMPP?
You can support LAMPP with a tax-deductible donation payable to the Living American Master Photographers Project, Inc., create a matching grant challenge, plan estate bequests, gift in kind donations of goods and services, or volunteer your valuable time and professional expertise. It’s easy. Contact LAMPP directly at (602) 867-4116 or send an email to mygift@thelampp.org to find out more.

Why document LAMPP participants?
Photographers are on the spot historians. LAMPP documents participant's oral and visual histories to communicate the experiences and insights accumulated through direct social observation. LAMPP participants represent a cross section of photographic professionals as diverse as the media they create. Behind every photograph is a witness. LAMPP honors the witness.

How are LAMPP participants’ chosen?
An Artistic Advisory Committee appointed by the LAMPP board of directors select candidates. A list of these individuals is submitted to the LAMPP board for additional consideration. Older candidates are generally prioritized over younger ones. These candidates are then contacted by LAMPP and asked to become participants.

How does LAMPP document participants?
LAMPP documents participants using a portrait and interview process. LAMPP also collects additional historical content from each participant in an effort to make public interaction more meaningful.

What is LAMPP’s relation to our national perspective?
Our national perspective is America’s cumulative visual identity. LAMPP documents the evolution of this distinctiveness as it relates to still photography, cinematography, and videography; respectfully.

How is our national perspective shaped by photography?
American photographers create an enormous amount of content. Their images are a constant and dynamic reflection of our way of life. How we see and understand ourselves is relative to the content we consume. As photographs distribute, both domestically and internationally, the influence of American style, ideals, and aesthetic quality develop from our diverse photographic communities producing a unique national perspective. 

How do I become a LAMPP volunteer?
LAMPP is always looking for enthusiastic volunteers. Send your resume and a cover letter to: LAMPP Volunteers 3550 East Campbell Suite 421 Phoenix, AZ 85018. Share your light. Become a part of LAMPP

LAMPP Participant Testimonials

Arnold Newman: “I am pleased to be a part of such a distinguished group of
photographers. This project is important for now and especially for the future.”

Robert Farber: “A good number of years ago you started a project that was quite
ambitious. Your passion and dedication to the LAMPP project seems to have paid off. You have created something that will have historic value in world of Photography. I appreciate all that you are doing, and I am happy to be a part of it.”

Harry Benson: “As each photographer brings something different to the table, the LAMPP project will make it much easier to find out just what. It is an historic
documentation that will certainly become the 'who's who' of photography.”

Sally Mann: "I really do like them (her LAMPP portraits). You had such an engaging (and engaged) manner that I was immediately at ease... at ease because I felt at home... as if I was surely a creature of the temperament... Considering that I hate like nothing else to have my picture taken, the time with y Color ou was very rewarding. You've actually gotten a picture that the whole family agrees is pretty good."

Douglas Kirkland: "I am very impressed with the incentive you are showing in
bringing your "photographers" project together, and glad to be a part of it."

Andreas Feininger: "I know that I am a difficult subject to photograph. But you were able to overcome this shyness and produce two pictures which, I feel, caught the essence of my personality within the frame of good composition. And that, my friend, is quite an accomplishment."

Lynn Goldsmith: “What we see in Paul Waldman's diverse range of portraits of the
individuals behind the camera, is not only a composite visual record, but a profound portrait of the human family who comprise the new direction of photographic portraiture in the second half of the 20th century.”

Sheila Metzner: "I am happy to be considered a master and glad to be a 'living' one in the eyes of Paul Waldman."

Mary Ellen Mark: "I wish Paul Waldman the very best with his project. I'm pleased to be a part of it."

Lois Greenfield: "Paul Waldman has a very keen vision. When he first told me of his project, I never imagined the final result would be so captivating. He is generous, professional, and devoted to his craft. I am pleased to be a part of the Living American Master Photographers Project."

Donna Ferrato: "The most difficult challenge for any photographer is to free their
feelings of control, to let go in front of a stranger's camera. Paul Waldman has the right stuff to capture such strong willed people. He has a patient and persistent way with the camera and a gentle sense of humor. I wish him all the best with his ambitious document on living American master photographers."

Sid Avery: "It is truly an honor to have my name listed among many of the great master photographers of our time. Many thanks to the LAMPP for creating a living photographic history!"

Matthew Rolston: "Thank you for our photo session together and your generosity. The portrait you made of me and the other artists in the series show you to be talented and your belief in the project to be admirable. It was my pleasure to participate in the project and I look forward to seeing your Living American Master Photographers Project completed and I wish you much luck with the exhibition and book."

Allen Dutton: "Having embarked on the long overdue project of photographing
significant living photographers, Paul Waldman has in my opinion shouldered a
responsibility which has intimidated most documentarians."

Jack Mitchell: "Photographing another photographer is nearly always a tension
convention, but your non-threatening, loose and disarming manners produced some excellent portraiture. Besides the others, I also very much like the pictures you did of me."

Hans Neleman: (On The LAMPP) "Photographs of faces behind the photographs, a rare opportunity artfully revealed."

Jacques Lowe: "I am glad to hear that you have interest now in your book titled The Living American Master Photographers Project (The LAMPP). You have worked long and hard to make this book come to fruition. I certainly want to add my voice to those who believe that the book will be a fine addition to the current bibliography and history of photography. I wish you well, and I will be glad to stand by you if you need additional any help."

Robert Glen Ketchum: "Your Living American Master Photographers Project is a
great idea. I am especially impressed with the broad, eclectic selection of photographers you have chosen to include. The prints of the others you have photographed look great. I like the clean simple lines of your compositions and your fine sense of black and white. Since I have never seen a book in photography that so broadly explores the leaders of today's visual making, I look forward to your completion and publication of this material."

Chester Higgins (New York Times): “Your project has placed us all as lighthouses on the shores of visual possibilities. May we stand as sentinels for the many eyes in the photography world to behold and enjoy. Perhaps, our works will inspire others to find the harbor of their eyes.

Some posts on LAMPP...

The first posts I'm making in the LAMPP blog relate to the organization itself. Take a look. Let me know what you think.

Thanks,

Paul