The 2020 Cover Issue

Letter from the Editor

2020 is Dead. Long Live 2021.

Follow Confucius, slow down on Sisyphus. I’ve always had mixed feelings on New Years. On the one hand it’s a day or two to reflect on the past year, and it’s events and accomplishments, (although, with this past year who knows if you’ll really wish to reflect), followed by new year’s resolutions and actions which I abhor. So much pressure on the New Year. 2021, I’m gonna do this, build that, lose this weight, run that marathon, make a million dollars etc.

Confucius says, “To move a mountain start with the small stones first.” If 2020 has taught this polymath anything it’s that it’s a daily journey moment to moment. With a near year of lockdown, we’ve learned to overturn many stones, and for some create new creative outlets of expression, entertainment, sanity, productivity, fortune and the like. New ideas, feelings, thoughts springing forth from the well of obscurity, now not quite so obscure and dormant, bringing new light to what lays ahead.

My only wish for you in 2021, outside of the customary, is to watch out for Sisyphus. In short, growing powerful, Sisyphus deceives those around him and thusly his hubris casts him into a hell of his own doing. A journey of no end, pushing that boulder up a mountain, never to reach the summit. My wish, take more steps. Be better today more so than you were yesterday, and cherish that development with childlike wonder and awe.

On a more personal note, Thank YOU for your love & support of us at KARJAKA. Believe it or not, there are upwards of 30 of us here keeping Karjaka Iconic, but without you, there would be no us in 2021. 

Thank you from all of us as we wish you and yours a Safe, Happy and Picturesque 2021!

Aleksandr Karjaka
Aleksandr Karjakahttp://karjaka.com
Aleksandr Karjaka came to New York for the music, but stayed for the visuals. As a classically trained musician, he’s had the honor of performing with some of the greatest musicians, and artistic houses, in the world. Often quoted as "Listening through his eyes." he's photographed the lives and stories of thousands of artists of all fields over the years. Here are their KARJAKA portraits.

Check This Out

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: “You don’t take a photograph, you make it.”

It was the second to last image we created*. (Editors note - I actually hate the word shot/shoot in this instance. Puts up a bit of a barrier in the collaborative process, of which most photographers will opine. Most famously Ansel Adam's “You don't take a photograph, you make it." You get the idea.) The moment, a test shoot in my "studio youth" that was off the cuff. The tattoo was fresh and so was moment. It was the first of many iconic images to follow over the years, the moment when I knew I had realized something worth saying.

The Illusion of Knowledge

I'm sitting at the White Horse Tavern texting this post into my notepad. Anyone else would sit down at the bar with a brew,...

Where The Action Is…

It's programmed into our DNA. The fight or flight mechanism. We hear a loud thunderous bang outdoors, the squeal of tire and break pressure, or a child's cry and we start running. Our minds tell us something is happening, something imminent in the moment is occurring. Drama. A photograph captures that moment, drama in time. With 20+ years of looking at photographs and I'm still asking myself, "Where's the action? What's exciting? Where's the drama?" There's nothing worse than having a beautiful subject and moment marred but the overabundance of negative space or noise in the background.

All Categories

Blossoming – Paola Corradetti

From Issue 92 — Blossoming

The Family of Music – Maryam Arvnaghi

From Issue 95 — The Family of Music

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