All in the Family: @gideonmendel, @elimendel and...

http://bit.ly/1TqMpPA


http://bit.ly/1TqMse0


http://bit.ly/1TqMse1


http://bit.ly/1TqMse3


http://bit.ly/1TqMse4


http://bit.ly/1TqMpPE


http://bit.ly/1TqMse5


http://bit.ly/1TqMq5S


http://bit.ly/1TqMq5T

All in the Family: @gideonmendel, @elimendel and @mikhael_subotzky Are Triple Threat Photographers

To see these three photographers in action, follow @gideonmendel, @elimendel and @mikhael_subotzky on Instagram.

Gideon Mendel (@gideonmendel) remembers his son Eli (@elimendel) picking up a point-and-shoot camera when he was just six years old.

“He took really interesting pictures. Quite cool pictures,” the London-based photographer and activist says of his now 17-year-old son. “Mikhael (@mikhael_subotzky) is a natural photographer as well. He’s done amazing work. I’m not sure what the genetic component of photographic skill is, but my mother’s mother was actually a quite interesting photographer.”

The triple threat of Gideon, Eli and Gideon’s nephew Mikhael Subotzky, is strong evidence for there being such a thing as a “creative gene.” All three storytellers seem to have inherited a strong interest in incorporating social and political activism into their art. Gideon is a photographer who’s documented HIV/AIDS for 18 years and explored climate change for nine in his Drowning World series. Mikhael, who lives in Johannesburg, is a photographer and filmmaker whose work has studied the South African penal system and the history of apartheid. Eli is still a teenager, but he eschews selfies in favor of his own quiet brand of social consciousness, such as photos of a student protest.

“Understanding the world is easier now. All my friends are politically active. Through social media, people are a lot more eager to understand the world,” Eli says. Still, he had a head start. “My dad’s work around apartheid and HIV has a huge influence on my life. I’ve grown up knowing about these huge issues and it’s really affected me.”

Both Eli and Mikhael say Gideon is their toughest critic, but Gideon’s commentary comes from a place not only of love, but also of admiration. When Mikhael was 18, he took advantage of a post-graduation “gap year,” moved to London and picked up odd jobs to save money for travel. Purchasing a camera to document his trip, he snapped photos to test it out and showed Gideon.

“I sort of unleashed this monster on the world. I told him, ‘These aren’t bad. You should think about becoming a photographer,’” Gideon says. (“And that was probably the nicest thing he ever said about my work,” Mikhael says, laughing.)

But, Gideon continues, “In many ways, he has outstripped me as a photographer. He positioned himself in the art world. I’m blown away and so proud of what he’s doing. It’s been interesting — he learned a lot from me and I think he was quite inspired by me, but it’s almost gone the other way. I’ve learned a huge amount about the art world from him.”

And if you think the criticism doesn’t work both ways, rest assured that it does. “Eli’s incredibly scathing about my work,” Gideon says before chuckling.

by via Instagram Blog