I forgot to mention that the fall semester has started up again at ICP, and once again, I'm assisting (TAing) photo I in Black and White. It's going ok so far, although I've been strangely tuckered out at the end of each class. I'm feeling like this is atypical, but who knows.
I'm also hopefully going to be branching out into the world of digital printing a bit more. Somehow the dayjob agreed to pay for a class in ink-jet printing, which I've always thought I needed to learn more about. The editions of the books I've made in the past have always been done with inkjet, but there's definitely more I need to learn about inks, papers, and... ok, inks and papers.
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Windows and Lazy Light; Trees Kill Telephone Pole
These are daylight pictures from a weird twilight in Ann Arbor. I started out with the thought of the Trees Fighting Zombie Trees (Telephone Poles) in my head, although, and unsurprisingly, that isn't doing a very good job of describing what I'm making with these projects. I guess it's more about how trees interact with the infrastructure of humanity, telephone poles, roads, roadsigns, cars.
The first two are of lights coming into windows, a specific kind of late afternoon suburban shadow, and that feeling of reading on a summer afternoon when things all of a sudden start to look black and white.
The first two are of lights coming into windows, a specific kind of late afternoon suburban shadow, and that feeling of reading on a summer afternoon when things all of a sudden start to look black and white.
Monday, October 17, 2005
Dark Rural Lights
The end of summer scan-athon continues. Here are the images from summer trips to North Carolina and back home to Michigan. I had some trouble with these weird cyan lights people seem to use a lot more not in New York, that seem to be recorded as immutably cyan, no matter what color filtration I'm using while I'm printing. My guess would be that it has something to do with full spectrum fluorescents or that my Fuji NPS 160 really isn't made for night photography, and the colors are shifting all over the place, but I'm not as much an expert on my film as I really should be.
I've also given up on trying to fix my scans beyond the barest of level correction, since my current set-up is so shitty and I don't have access to a 4x5 negative scanner. It just didn't seem like it was worth it trying to get rid of stuff like scratches that were on the contact printer glass, or dust, when I'm scanning prints on a cheap flatbed.
Otherwise, these pictures are a continuation of looking at the suburban nightscape. These are a little blacker than usual, which is something I've been looking at a little bit when I'm printing; just giving up on some shadows and aiming for a deep inky black. We'll see how I end up feeling about this.
I've also given up on trying to fix my scans beyond the barest of level correction, since my current set-up is so shitty and I don't have access to a 4x5 negative scanner. It just didn't seem like it was worth it trying to get rid of stuff like scratches that were on the contact printer glass, or dust, when I'm scanning prints on a cheap flatbed.
Otherwise, these pictures are a continuation of looking at the suburban nightscape. These are a little blacker than usual, which is something I've been looking at a little bit when I'm printing; just giving up on some shadows and aiming for a deep inky black. We'll see how I end up feeling about this.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Summer Work
Here are the beginnings of the huge stack of contact prints from over the summer. I think this isn't quite chronological, but they're from near the beginning. I'll probably scan the pictures from outside of New York first, and then get to those later.
I have quite a few more 4x5 prints to make, and then I'll need to start scanning the medium format car window pictures, which I'm feeling like are becoming something interesting, although there's still a lot of editing to do.
These pictures specifically are from weekend trips to the Jersey Shore, Vermont, and LA. Shooting on vacation isn't terribly disciplined, but sometimes the results are ok. In particular, I think the LA picture is going to be something I'll be able to use.
I have quite a few more 4x5 prints to make, and then I'll need to start scanning the medium format car window pictures, which I'm feeling like are becoming something interesting, although there's still a lot of editing to do.
These pictures specifically are from weekend trips to the Jersey Shore, Vermont, and LA. Shooting on vacation isn't terribly disciplined, but sometimes the results are ok. In particular, I think the LA picture is going to be something I'll be able to use.
Friday, August 26, 2005
Posting Hiatus
Sorry about the long, unannounced, summer posting hiatus. I sort of quietly decided that I'd try something this year, where I tried to work more frequently without printing things, sort of saving up negatives until winter when the shooting rate tends to slow, given the nature of this work.
That was a mistake.
Things sort of took a wrong turn somewhere in the middle of July, and I got on this really dumb track, where things just weren't looking good. So I guess I need to either pay more attention to how the negatives are coming back, even if I don't immediately make contact prints, or just print all the time.
Anyway, I've been trying to make up for lost time, will get to scanning when the weather cools, or when I find some time.
On another note, just got the new Broadcast 7".
That was a mistake.
Things sort of took a wrong turn somewhere in the middle of July, and I got on this really dumb track, where things just weren't looking good. So I guess I need to either pay more attention to how the negatives are coming back, even if I don't immediately make contact prints, or just print all the time.
Anyway, I've been trying to make up for lost time, will get to scanning when the weather cools, or when I find some time.
On another note, just got the new Broadcast 7".
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Office and Driving Shooting
I forgot to mention that I was able to shoot two weekends ago, quite a bit, although the jury's still out on how successfully.
On Saturday, I took the 4x5 into the office and tried an experiment shooting in low light there. This came out of the fact that three weeks ago, I had to work over the weekend and when I came in, I discovered that they turn most of the lights off outside of business hours, and since it's basically a big corporate office building, it's fairly dark in the hallways, with the occasional fluorescent light and bright red exit signs.
I still need to scan the contact prints from that shoot, but it looks like there are really only two that were any good. I think I ended up making nine exposures, using basically the same process as the night photography. I'm not totally satisfied with the results, but I might try visiting someone else's office and giving it another go.
I do think I want to try focusing on office plants, not necessarily in the dark, so the shoot wasn't a total loss.
Then, on Sunday, I did another round of driving around New Jersey with Akilesh. I was extremely hung over and by the end was pretty car sick, so thanks to him for putting up with that. I have lots of highway driving scans to make still, so maybe I'll devote some time this weekend to doing that.
On Saturday, I took the 4x5 into the office and tried an experiment shooting in low light there. This came out of the fact that three weeks ago, I had to work over the weekend and when I came in, I discovered that they turn most of the lights off outside of business hours, and since it's basically a big corporate office building, it's fairly dark in the hallways, with the occasional fluorescent light and bright red exit signs.
I still need to scan the contact prints from that shoot, but it looks like there are really only two that were any good. I think I ended up making nine exposures, using basically the same process as the night photography. I'm not totally satisfied with the results, but I might try visiting someone else's office and giving it another go.
I do think I want to try focusing on office plants, not necessarily in the dark, so the shoot wasn't a total loss.
Then, on Sunday, I did another round of driving around New Jersey with Akilesh. I was extremely hung over and by the end was pretty car sick, so thanks to him for putting up with that. I have lots of highway driving scans to make still, so maybe I'll devote some time this weekend to doing that.
Work Prints
I've been getting a little bit screwed by the weather lately, or rather the weather report, which swore up and down it was going to rain on Saturday night, and which I stupidly believed, even to the point that when it claimed it was raining in my area code when it was plainly cloudless.
I did manage to go to the darkroom on Sunday and make some work prints of a all the negatives from the last post, and one of the office images, which I still have to post contact prints of. It was a crazy day in ICP. I think there must have been at least 12 people printing, and everyone was super cranky. Also, it was a little hot in there. The prints look pretty good and I think they work together well.
I did manage to go to the darkroom on Sunday and make some work prints of a all the negatives from the last post, and one of the office images, which I still have to post contact prints of. It was a crazy day in ICP. I think there must have been at least 12 people printing, and everyone was super cranky. Also, it was a little hot in there. The prints look pretty good and I think they work together well.
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
A Possible Breakthrough
These are recent night pictures from the weird warm snap two weeks ago. I'm kind of sick this week and the day job has an impending deadline, so already my resolution of more discipline is crumbling. Once it gets warm I'll be much more serious, but this isn't feeling so good.
Anyway, I feel pretty good about this recent group. One of the things that happened with the end of the ICP classes is that Katie and I brought in work to show the Sunday class a little about what we were up to and where our criticism was coming from and it turned into a nice critique situation, where I had to talk about my work a little bit more rigorously than I've been accustomed to since school's been out. In a sort of round-about way, I think she was getting at the idea that some of the night pictures might be too direct and a little bit boring, so I've tried to be a little more elliptical and subtle with these new pictures and I like the results.
I think the main thing with this in the way I work is that it's hard both to hold my concentration when I'm out at night, and also the details that the camera records are always even visible at night, so they're easy to miss. Basically, it's easiest to see lights at night, so that's what I was focusing on, with more steady but less exciting results, I think. I'm trying to pay more attention to shadow detail and anticipate what's going to be in more of the picture, beyond the sort of otherworldly lights that are obviously the most attractive thing about photographing at night.
Anyway, I feel pretty good about this recent group. One of the things that happened with the end of the ICP classes is that Katie and I brought in work to show the Sunday class a little about what we were up to and where our criticism was coming from and it turned into a nice critique situation, where I had to talk about my work a little bit more rigorously than I've been accustomed to since school's been out. In a sort of round-about way, I think she was getting at the idea that some of the night pictures might be too direct and a little bit boring, so I've tried to be a little more elliptical and subtle with these new pictures and I like the results.
I think the main thing with this in the way I work is that it's hard both to hold my concentration when I'm out at night, and also the details that the camera records are always even visible at night, so they're easy to miss. Basically, it's easiest to see lights at night, so that's what I was focusing on, with more steady but less exciting results, I think. I'm trying to pay more attention to shadow detail and anticipate what's going to be in more of the picture, beyond the sort of otherworldly lights that are obviously the most attractive thing about photographing at night.
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
Sinister Images, Indeed
So here are the pictures I managed to get from Long Island the night the nice folks of Lynnbrook called the cops on me. I also have a few more prints from the turnpike that need to be printed.
More tomorrow. It's warmer now, so hopefully this weekend I'll start getting into a more disciplined shooting schedule that usually happens once it gets a little nicer.
More tomorrow. It's warmer now, so hopefully this weekend I'll start getting into a more disciplined shooting schedule that usually happens once it gets a little nicer.
Monday, March 28, 2005
Run-in with the Law
Light posting last week. I have contact prints from the day on the turnpike, and they look like they're going to be pretty good. Some editing and I'll get to a scanner this week.
Went to Long Island to shoot last night. Not a good idea. I'd forgotten the forecast was for rain and it was freezing. I'd planned to print yesterday, but stupidly, I didn't reserve lab time and thought I could just turn up. I'm guessing ICP must be gearing up for the student show, because as I sit here writing this now before class, the walls are almost totally stripped bare. So it'll probably be a bit hard to squeeze in for a while.
Anyway, I was shooting in the cold last night, not feeling so great about things. I'm staring at a house trying to figure out how I was going to try to shoot it, when a car pulls up in front of me. I'm kind of standing in the middle of the street, and I take a step back to get onto the sidewalk, and I'm kind of staring, when I realize there are three other cars around me, and two of them are marked police cars. The forth was a black Towncar with black tinted windows. You'd think the secret police would come up with something a little more subtle in this day and age, but I guess that's not the case.
Apparently they're received around a half dozen calls because I'd been photographing near the school. I was really nervous and I gave them my ID when they asked for it, something which I did fairly instinctively, although I feel a little bit like a wuss stooge for that today. I told them I was an artist and when they asked me what I was doing in Lynnbrook, I got uncomfortable in that self-conscious way I get when people ask me what my work is about. Really, it was completely absurd, trying to explain to three cops how I was interested in suburban alienation.
Absurd moment number 2: What kind of idiot do you have to be to imagine that someone shooting with a tripod and a Crown Graphic could be up to something sinister? You'd be hard pressed to find a more, ridiculous tool for someone up to any kind of illegal activity. Seriously, do these people not have cameras on their fucking phones? What kind of crook/rapist/terrorist is going to hang around a brightly lit street, middle of the night or no, with a huge camera and tripod and just sit there?
Anyway, thank god I'm not olive complective of any kind.
Went to Long Island to shoot last night. Not a good idea. I'd forgotten the forecast was for rain and it was freezing. I'd planned to print yesterday, but stupidly, I didn't reserve lab time and thought I could just turn up. I'm guessing ICP must be gearing up for the student show, because as I sit here writing this now before class, the walls are almost totally stripped bare. So it'll probably be a bit hard to squeeze in for a while.
Anyway, I was shooting in the cold last night, not feeling so great about things. I'm staring at a house trying to figure out how I was going to try to shoot it, when a car pulls up in front of me. I'm kind of standing in the middle of the street, and I take a step back to get onto the sidewalk, and I'm kind of staring, when I realize there are three other cars around me, and two of them are marked police cars. The forth was a black Towncar with black tinted windows. You'd think the secret police would come up with something a little more subtle in this day and age, but I guess that's not the case.
Apparently they're received around a half dozen calls because I'd been photographing near the school. I was really nervous and I gave them my ID when they asked for it, something which I did fairly instinctively, although I feel a little bit like a wuss stooge for that today. I told them I was an artist and when they asked me what I was doing in Lynnbrook, I got uncomfortable in that self-conscious way I get when people ask me what my work is about. Really, it was completely absurd, trying to explain to three cops how I was interested in suburban alienation.
Absurd moment number 2: What kind of idiot do you have to be to imagine that someone shooting with a tripod and a Crown Graphic could be up to something sinister? You'd be hard pressed to find a more, ridiculous tool for someone up to any kind of illegal activity. Seriously, do these people not have cameras on their fucking phones? What kind of crook/rapist/terrorist is going to hang around a brightly lit street, middle of the night or no, with a huge camera and tripod and just sit there?
Anyway, thank god I'm not olive complective of any kind.
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Seeing Art and Update
I didn't realize that in my last post that I'd forgotten to mention that the woman who I TA for at ICP on Monday nights, Marina Berio, has also been a big influence on helping me look at the blurry hand-held images in a different way. Not, directly, perhaps, but her art definitely looks in that direction.
Last weekend I saw a bunch of art and did a few art world things. First, I went to Chelsea on Saturday with the Sunday ICP class, where there wasn't much on offer, that I can think of, at least in terms of photography. I'm guessing this was mostly because of the Armory show, so what art there was up in Chelsea trended towards painting and higher end stuff. There was a fairly good if somewhat uneven Damien Hirst show at Gagosian (like that needs to be mentioned), and great Eric Fiscl paintings at Mary Boone. LFL had a great Jules De Balincourt show, and I found out my friend Cat works there, so we had a nice, if short, chat. But Chelsea was definitely all painting, which is also definitely how the art world seems to be trending.
Later that evening, I went to an excellent opening of a photo show at the Supreme Trading's Annex Gallery on 93 North 9th Street in Williamsburg. The Sunday ICP class teacher, Katie Murray is in it, and the show is incredibly strong, with good solid work and curated well. I went to a party at the Supreme Trading main gallery space a few weeks ago and I thought the art was much worse.
On Sunday I went to the Armory show, which was a thoroughly unpleasant experience. I know it's cliche to say that the commercialism of the big art fairs is disgusting, but let me add my voice to that chorus. What I do find enjoyable is finding work by people I know, which is always a little thrill and definitely says they're doing well, but I feel like that's a little wearing on who you're seeing the show with and makes me look like a huge bore.
I'm entering a contest at the Soho Photo Gallery. I don't usually do this sort of thing, but it's sponsored by K and M, which might not be totally meaningful, and the juror is Richard Woodward, who used to edit Doubletake and I believe spoke at my photo 3 class in college, and who seems like a person who might like my pictures, but again, who knows. Anyway, I need to shoot some slides, which I'm terrible at.
I also submitted images to the White Columns Gallery, which I guess is some kind of artist's registry. That I was able to do digitally, so I put together a submission from materials mostly found on this site.
So, fingers crossed, and maybe I'll try to get my ass in slightly higher gear in terms of getting work out there.
Last weekend I saw a bunch of art and did a few art world things. First, I went to Chelsea on Saturday with the Sunday ICP class, where there wasn't much on offer, that I can think of, at least in terms of photography. I'm guessing this was mostly because of the Armory show, so what art there was up in Chelsea trended towards painting and higher end stuff. There was a fairly good if somewhat uneven Damien Hirst show at Gagosian (like that needs to be mentioned), and great Eric Fiscl paintings at Mary Boone. LFL had a great Jules De Balincourt show, and I found out my friend Cat works there, so we had a nice, if short, chat. But Chelsea was definitely all painting, which is also definitely how the art world seems to be trending.
Later that evening, I went to an excellent opening of a photo show at the Supreme Trading's Annex Gallery on 93 North 9th Street in Williamsburg. The Sunday ICP class teacher, Katie Murray is in it, and the show is incredibly strong, with good solid work and curated well. I went to a party at the Supreme Trading main gallery space a few weeks ago and I thought the art was much worse.
On Sunday I went to the Armory show, which was a thoroughly unpleasant experience. I know it's cliche to say that the commercialism of the big art fairs is disgusting, but let me add my voice to that chorus. What I do find enjoyable is finding work by people I know, which is always a little thrill and definitely says they're doing well, but I feel like that's a little wearing on who you're seeing the show with and makes me look like a huge bore.
I'm entering a contest at the Soho Photo Gallery. I don't usually do this sort of thing, but it's sponsored by K and M, which might not be totally meaningful, and the juror is Richard Woodward, who used to edit Doubletake and I believe spoke at my photo 3 class in college, and who seems like a person who might like my pictures, but again, who knows. Anyway, I need to shoot some slides, which I'm terrible at.
I also submitted images to the White Columns Gallery, which I guess is some kind of artist's registry. That I was able to do digitally, so I put together a submission from materials mostly found on this site.
So, fingers crossed, and maybe I'll try to get my ass in slightly higher gear in terms of getting work out there.
Monday, March 14, 2005
Summer Driving
These pictures are from last spring and summer, taken with my 6x7, out of various car windows. Shooting with the 6x7 is very different than my large format, and I can also use the 400 speed film I used to shoot on. (Fuji NPH 400, by the way, which, I guess, is commonly held to be complete crap.) The advantage of the rangefinder is that obviously I can make a lot of pictures much more quickly and cheaply, and I can to a lot of things that aren't easy with the field camera, at the loss of picture detail. So these pictures are take from cars, which give them a bit of a blurry, impressionistic mood. I'm not completely into these pictures, but I'll be printing a few more of them while it's still cold out.
Yesterday, I went out with my friend Akilesh and shot along the New Jersey turnpike, at the factories and other highway things along the side of the road. We'll see how they turn out. New Jersey looks just about right, since for some reason the turnpike likes to put its industry right next to the road.
Oh, the reason I started picking these car window images out of the old 6x7 contact sheets are that recently I was given a copy of Raghubir Singh's A Way into India, which is a great book based on the Ambassador, the car that's sort of India's equivalent of the VW Beetle in Mexico or the Citroen in China, basically the cheapest and most easily repaired local car. Also, the recent Todd Hido book Roaming, was inspiring as well, with his use of dirty car windows to create an impressionistic picture that still does a great job of evoking that feeling of riding shotgun and staring out the window on a shitty midwest afternoon.
Yesterday, I went out with my friend Akilesh and shot along the New Jersey turnpike, at the factories and other highway things along the side of the road. We'll see how they turn out. New Jersey looks just about right, since for some reason the turnpike likes to put its industry right next to the road.
Oh, the reason I started picking these car window images out of the old 6x7 contact sheets are that recently I was given a copy of Raghubir Singh's A Way into India, which is a great book based on the Ambassador, the car that's sort of India's equivalent of the VW Beetle in Mexico or the Citroen in China, basically the cheapest and most easily repaired local car. Also, the recent Todd Hido book Roaming, was inspiring as well, with his use of dirty car windows to create an impressionistic picture that still does a great job of evoking that feeling of riding shotgun and staring out the window on a shitty midwest afternoon.
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