The "Little Things" Portfolio

While I'm just starting to make my final set of prints from Project Pond Scum on Michael Smith & Paula Chamlee's new silver chloride paper I'm also beginning a new series. I was fortunate enough to buy 1500 little sheets (2.5inches square) of vintage Kodak Azo silver chloride paper at a great price. I've fallen in love with having my new to me 6x6cm camera (tiny compared to my 8x10) on me most of the time and being ready to capture those little visual miracles we encounter so often if we're open to them. I've also fallen in the love with the way small contact prints draw the viewer in and the intimate nature of that experience. This particular photograph was exposed in the parking lot where I work... Unfortunately the tree shedding all the leaves was cut down a few days ago so this was the last such display I'll find when I park my car for the day.

This image is really a prime example of what I have in mind moving forward. I've decided to use the paper to create a portfolio called "Little Things", a reference to both the size of the prints as well as the subject matter. I'm more excited about my photography than ever and can't wait to see what else I discover on this journey. I'll be sure to post my ongoing results here as I did with my last series. I hope you enjoy viewing them, I sure love making them.

Little Squares

WARNING: there is a little equipment speak in this post... I promise it won't happen again!

If you're reading this you probably know I've been neglecting my blog for several months. My job has changed since February and I've gone from full time to consistent overtime. It's enjoyable but cuts into my free hours none the less. I make sure time for photography is at the top of my priority list so my writing fell victim... Tonight I'm setting a new precedent and giving up a little sleep instead as I feel this outlet is important enough to merit it.

I've also made another move to free up a little more time. I have been trading my 35mm equipment from the 70s (which has been made more valuable by it's compatibilty with current digital cameras) in on medium format equipment (which has been made less valuable by those same digital cameras). While I used the 35mm primarily at night, the larger size of the medium format negatives offers me the ability to make prints during the daylight that meet the high standards I've developed over the last 4 and half years of making 8x10 inch negs and contact prints. While I still prefer and use the big cameras I can now work in situations and time frames that I may otherwise have not...

I decided to go with a square format camera as both a means of expanding my compositional horizons and , quite simply, as a change of pace. Shape and size are not the only differences, I've also been exploring a look using subtle selective focus and softer, warmer tones. I've never been more excited about my work and look forward to using this new tool to caputure those fleeting moments that so often times escape me when armed only with my "Green Monster".

These accompanying images were exposed with the new camera last weekend at a gathering of artists near Cuyahoga Valley National Park (hosted by the ever so generous John Powers and his wife Dolly. THANK YOU!) It's a beautiful place I've managed to overlook for some time and can't recommend it enough if you live nearby.

New Special Edition Print: Mill Street Bridge

My newest Special Edition Print offering was made on Memorial Day in downtown New Castle, PA. I spent the morning with a friend photographing along Slippery Rock Creek and ended up near the town square on the way home. While waiting for Scott to make an exposure I began wandering around the back alleys and found my way to a parking area next to the river. I'd never really noticed the odd relationship between the Old Mill Street Bridge and the buildings on the far shore before. The river runs underneath the bridge at an angle allowing the old department store to sit just behind the iron framework and creating a rather unusual perspective. I made two negatives, one from farther back incorporating a windblown tree into the composition but I ultimately preferred this closer interpretation... Especially the position of the 'black' and 'BINGO' windows and they way the T in brother is replaced by a giant 'T' created by the ironwork. Prints will be available for a short time at the reduced price of $50. If you've ever wanted to see or own an 8x10 contact print, this is one of my finer examples from a technical standpoint and one of my favorite compositions of the moment. You can find out more information by visiting my website.

Pond Scum at The Butler

Three photographs from Project Pond Scum, #46, #56 and #64 have been juried into the 72nd National Midyear Exhibition at the Butler Museum of American Art in Yountstown, OH. This year's juror is New York based realist painter Don Eddy. The exhibition begins with a reception Sundy July 13, 2008 from 1 to 3pm and runs through Aug 24.

Night in Day

A friend and I traveled to Connecticut last weekend to visit a group of fellow photographers and, of course, make some images. On Saturday during a lighting workshop in an abandoned opera house (artificial lighting and portraits in general aren't my thing...) I spent time wandering around some long empty offices downstairs. There was an incredible sense of time and a haunting light about the place which would have kept me busy for hours had I not walked into one room in particular. The office in question was empty save for a solitary broom and a smattering of paint chips which had peeled off the wall and were strewn about the floor. The floor itself was some sort of hardwood that had been scratched and stained by god knows what over the years. Somehow this combination of elements came together in a way that transcended the objects themselves and, upon closer inspection, resembled images of deep space which have captivated me since I was a boy. Exploring on the ground glass I discovered everything from giant nebulae to the chaotic mess of our own Milky Way.

Now that the negatives are developed and printed I can clearly see a progression from the more celestial photographs in my Pond Scum series and can't help but feel I've made not only a connection with that work but taken a step forward. Five years ago I never would have have traveled 12 hours only to photograph a dirty floor and now I couldn't be more thankful that I did just that. I'm also quite thankful that whoever leaned the broom against the wall never finished the job.

More Scum... and Project Basho

Getting close to having everything worthwhile proofed. Here are a few from a printing session today... Project Basho has posted the images from their "Onward '08" show in an online gallery. If you didn't make the exhibit in person you can have a look HERE.

Rail and Bridges or A Bicycle Rode Through It

Enthusiasm for my newest work, made last week, has directed my attention away from Project Pond Scum... for the moment. This exposure was made along the Susquehanna River in Harrisburg on my way to the Onward '08 show at Project Basho. I had spent the night in a hotel a couple of miles away and woke up to rain and overcast skies. I made the best of the morning by visiting the local art museum, grabbing coffee and an apple scone at Starbucks, and photographing in a large 150 year old church downtown. I was lucky enough to be there while the organist was rehearsing, making two 9 minute exposures most enjoyable.

After observing the sun beginning to stream through the lovely and numerous stained glass windows I resolved to venture out. I made my way to the car and loaded my equipment with plans to drive to City Island. I decided I may as well take a look around the nearby riverfront area while I was there and walked about 50feet before noticing this incredibly still pool of water submerging the observation platform across the street. My view was from a far less interesting angle but I was already taken. I hurried back to grab my gear and returned to explore with the camera as quickly as I could, the sun was peeking through the clouds and rapidly burning moisture from the hazy afternoon air.

While I worked in the busy downtown area several people walked by, all avoiding the puddle. I couldn't help but wonder if they recognized what I did, or at least what I was trying to photograph, and took care not to disturb it... or whether they simply didn't want to get their feet wet. I was able to make two exposures long enough to smooth the glistening river before the sun permanently altered the scene. Still invigorated by this magical moment I hesitated to take down the camera. Moments later a bicyclist rode directly though the middle of the puddle, answering my question and motivating me to pack up. The resulting print fulfills all my expectations and further reflects my feelings for the ephemeral beauty we encounter everyday.

Starbucks Tour '08

I'm back from several days on the PA highway system, traveling primarily to attend the opening reception of the Project Basho: Onward '08 show in Philadelphia. The place was packed and the space looked great. I was impressed with the diversity of work selected by the juror, Andrea Modica; the hard work of Tsuyoshi Ito and company for putting everything together; and most of all the gorgeous weather!

My print was well placed and allowed the viewer to get his or her nose right on it as I intend. The work is scheduled to hang through February so if you're in the area I highly recommend stopping by for a look (and grabbing a few pints of Sly Dog Dry Stout at the Standard Tap a couple of blocks away).

For two days before the show I was able to spend time photographing in the riverfront area of downtown Harrisburg and will be posting some of the results in the near future. Rain forced me inside for a morning which I put to full advantage working in the 150 year old Presbyterian Church on Pine Street. Later that afternoon I was given the gift of sunlight which immediately began burning off the haze and I made several exposures along the river and City Island.

I was lucky to return with more than exposed film. I picked up a wonderful hand made print box from my buddy Joe Freeman when we met at the event in Philly. I gave him his choice of the prints I had brought with me and felt like I was stealing! It sure beats the hell out of carrying them haphazardly in the back of my car and offers considerably more protection.

I also picked up my copy of the new Brett Weston Portfolio series being published by Lodima Press from my friend Richard Boutwell. He was kind enough to show me around his area of Bucks County and we were able to photograph for a few hours in some wonderful light before I started the drive back and my race to beat Sunday night's snowstorm through the Poconos. I didn't but the roads were quite passable, at least until I made it home.

Friends and family had loaded me up with Starbucks' gift cards over the holidays so I fueled myself with coffee practically nonstop. The chain seems ubiquitous in Harrisburg and isn't far behind on the toll road to Philly. I needed the extra caffeine as I decided to bring only my 8x10 camera after a summer spent working primarily with the 4x5. I'd forgotten how freeing it is to compose a photograph on the large ground glass as well as how heavy my big ass tripod is! No complaining though, I've already developed two of the large negatives and can't wait to get printing...

New Special Edition Print: Hanging Tree

This exposure was made back in May of 2006 and for whatever reason I had not gotten around to printing it. The negative proved to be a good candidate for split grade printing and I was able to pull the tones I was looking for. The tree seems to share them with the stone... blending into one another in a second, purely visual way. I remember making the negative one morning in McConnells Mill State Park and being impressed with the display of graceful tenacity.

The contact print is approximately 4x5 inches; mounted and over mated with white, 4ply, 8x10 inch Alpharag Artcare museum board; signed and numbered on the front; stamped, dated and titled on the verso. The silver gelatin print is toned lightly in selenium and available for a limited time at the reduced price of $50. See my website for more info.

50 years ago today...

Photography lost one of it's brightest lights, Edward Weston. His photographs and Daybooks have been an inspiration to myself and countless others.

"It is classic, completely satisfying -- a pepper -- but more than a pepper: abstract, in that it is completely outside subject matter. it has no psychological attributes, no human emotions are aroused, this new pepper takes one beyond the world we know in the conscious mind. To be sure much of my work has this quality, many of my last year's peppers, but this one, and in fact all the new ones, take one into an inner reality -- the absolute --with clear understanding, a mystic revealment. This is the "significant presentation" that I mean, the presentation through one's intuitive self, seeing 'through one's eyes, not with them;' the visionary." EW 1930

"I never try to limit myself by theories. I do not question right or wrong approach when I am interested or amazed -- compelled to work. I do not fear logic, I dare to be irrational, or really never consider whether I am or not. This keeps me fluid, open to fresh impulse, free from formulae -- the public who know my work is often surprised, the critics, who all, or most of them, have their pet formula are disturbed, and my friends distressed." EW 1932

"I am the adventurer on a voyage of discovery, ready to receive fresh impressions, eager for fresh horizons, not in the spirit of a militant conquerer to impose myself or my ideas, but to identify myself in, and unify with, whatever I am able to recognize as significantly part of me: the 'me' of universal rhythms." EW 1932