The Big Picture: A Photo Blog by Brendan Hoffman

Prime Collective

2011-01-11T12:49:00.001-05:00

I'm over-the-top excited to announce that, after a good year of hard work, I'm part of an amazing group of photographers launching a collective today called Prime. The six of us - Dominic Bracco II, Melanie Burford, Charlie Mahoney, Lance Rosenfield, Max Whittaker, and myself - are eager to explore the possibilities of collaboration and the collective model. For now, head over to Prime's website and have a look around. If you like what you see, spread the word!

Best of 2010

2011-01-03T12:04:00.001-05:00

I thought I'd follow the trend and, as I begin the process of looking back at my year to prep contest entries, share some of my favorite images from 2010.

Tough Weekend

2010-12-14T14:46:00.003-05:00

This weekend I flew home to be with my family at a difficult time. My cousin's young son passed away last week at the age of 4 due to complications with an epilepsy-like condition, believed (but not conclusively) to perhaps be a form of leukodystrophy. The kid was a fighter but everybody has their limits, unfortunately. Being asked to take photographs during the wake and burial seriously tested my ability to photograph thoughtfully during intense situations, and the grief of his parents was only offset by the knowledge that he had the best care possible. You can get a sense of how much support he had by reading my cousin's blog, Letters to Jakey. I tell you all this mainly in the hopes someone will be moved, per the family's wishes, to send donations to the Massachusetts General Hospital Pediatric Epilepsy Program, c/o Dr. Elizabeth Thiele, 175 Cambridge Street, Suite 340, Boston, MA 02114.

Haiti Relief Auction

2010-12-10T09:17:00.000-05:00

Many months ago, I was approached by photographer Marc Baptiste to donate some pictures to a charity auction he was organizing to benefit a number of relief organizations working in Haiti. I jumped at the opportunity and am very pleased that the exhibition and auction will soon take place. The launch party for the exhibition is coming up on December 16 from 7-11pm in New York City (check out the invitation here), and you can see all the work available for purchase, including mine, over at CharityBuzz. For those who would like a bit of background information, here you go.

Go on over and bid on some art!

Back Again from Haiti

2010-12-09T12:02:00.004-05:00

I returned almost a week ago from another trip to Haiti, where I covered the presidential elections and expanded on my coverage of the cholera outbreak there.

Cholera in Haiti

2010-11-11T11:39:00.001-05:00

As reports begin coming in that Haiti's cholera outbreak has spread to Port-au-Prince, it seems like a good time to share some of the photos I took recently in the central Artibonite River valley, where it started. Here's a quick edit, and there's more in my archive. I'll be back in Haiti again in about 10 days.

Speakers, Past & Future

2010-11-04T16:48:00.000-04:00

I just returned from a very busy two weeks, during which I traveled to Iraq and Haiti, only to arrive home just in time to jump into the election fray. I spent yesterday chasing around the two most notable figures on Capitol Hill yesterday, the incoming Speaker John Boehner (top) and outgoing Nancy Pelosi.

Mary J. Blige

2010-10-07T00:31:00.000-04:00

Apparently Mary J. Blige is launching a line of sunglasses. I caught up with her, of all places, at a Nordstrom outside Baltimore.

Rainy Ride

2010-10-01T16:40:00.000-04:00

I had an assignment to cover President Obama yesterday, and with the rain that blew through the East Coast yesterday, it was a pretty soggy motorcade ride around town. Here are a few shots from Press 2 (and one from the buffer).

Cirque Du Soleil

2010-09-13T20:19:00.000-04:00

I recently had the chance to photograph Cirque Du Soleil's new production, Ovo, when it came to town. It was an incredible performance, but my favorite frame is probably this first one, which I snapped in the merchandising area (where they seem to make most of their money) before the performance began. Many thanks to that late afternoon beam of sunlight streaming in through the door of the tent.

More or Less Home Again

2010-09-08T15:45:00.001-04:00

I've just returned from Visa pour l'Image in Perpignan, France, which is always a great way to get inspired, meet a million great people, and completely exhaust yourself while spending more money than you should. I'm off to New York tomorrow for a few days, and after that I'll be home in DC for a little while before doing some mid-term election coverage and Haitian presidential election coverage. Busy fall ahead!

Featured on Verve Photo

2010-08-23T12:23:00.000-04:00

I'm happy to be featured today on Geoffrey Hiller's awesome website, Verve Photo. Check it out, there is some amazing work there.

Sexual Assault in Haiti

2010-07-29T15:00:00.000-04:00

There's a post up on the Huffington Post today by Michael Shaw of BAGnewsNotes on my photos of girls and women who have been raped in the camps in Haiti. So far the comments are rolling in and extremely positive. I posted the full gallery of pictures on my own website yesterday, so please visit that as well.

Back from Haiti

2010-07-22T10:12:00.000-04:00

I returned a few days ago from a very productive two weeks in Haiti. While I spent most of my time focusing on what precious little progress has been made since the earthquake (to be posted soon), I did venture out into some rural parts of the country and wanted to share a few of those images.

Back to Haiti

2010-07-04T22:00:00.001-04:00

I'll be back in Haiti for the next two weeks, until July 18. My local cell is +509 3880-6310.

Chicago Tribune

2010-06-29T09:47:00.000-04:00

There was some other front-page news in Washington yesterday besides the start of Elena Kagan's Supreme Court confirmation hearings. Photo of plaintiff Otis McDonald in front of the Supreme Court for Getty Images.

Bernanke

2010-06-23T10:29:00.000-04:00

I photograph the chairman of the Federal Reserve quite a bit - here are two of the more interesting shots of late.

Vince Sheehy for the Wall Street Journal

2010-06-08T12:30:00.001-04:00

I photographed Vince Sheehy, a local car dealer, for an article about people who stand to be affected by financial reform legislation.

Baseball in the DR for the Wall Street Journal

2010-05-23T10:51:00.000-04:00

This is from a month ago, but I don't believe I ever posted tearsheets here.

Rolling out the Red Carpet

2010-05-23T09:56:00.000-04:00

These are two shots from last month, when I was covering the arrival of foreign delegations at Andrews Air Force Base (or Joint Base Andrews, as it's now officially known) for President Obama's Nuclear Security Summit. One ran on TIME's White House Photo Blog.

Specter Goes Down

2010-05-20T08:39:00.000-04:00

Lieberman

2010-05-20T08:37:00.000-04:00

Nuclear Security Summit

2010-05-09T21:40:00.000-04:00

This blog has moved

2010-04-29T09:04:00.001-04:00

This blog is now located at http://blog.brendanhoffman.com/.
You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds, or you may click here.

For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to
http://blog.brendanhoffman.com/feeds/posts/default.

Biden Overexposed

2010-04-22T15:30:00.000-04:00

I was actually in the same room with the Vice President, but I preferred these images of the myriad TV screens.