This week, we wrestle with whether or not you can be an artist, without locking your own self worth/self image to your art. What does it mean to live a creative life anyway? We weigh in on the firing of the photo staff by the Chicago Sun Times. Plus, we look at two Civil War era photographers, Mathew Brady and Alexander Gardner as our Photographers of the Week.

Beauty is Embarrassing – The Wayne White Story
Wayne White
The Holstee Manifesto Poster
Chicago Tribune – Chicago Sun-Times lays off its photo staff
Portraits of Signhild: Emil Nyström on Faded + Blurred
Page One: Inside the New York Times
Help Save Podcasting! | Electronic Frontier Foundation
Asus’ $4,000 4K monitor goes on sale this month

This Week’s Sponsors
Squarespace – Use the coupon code ‘AIMFOCUSSHOOT’ at checkout to save 10% on your order and get a free domain name.

Photographer of the Week
Mathew Brady – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alexander Gardner (photographer) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Collection: Mathew Brady Civil War Photographs (Flickr)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art – Photography and the American Civil War

Books
Brady’s Civil War Journal: Photographing the War, 1861-65
On Alexander Gardner’s Photographic Sketch Book of the Civil War
Photography and the American Civil War (Metropolitan Museum of Art)