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Monday, January 31, 2011

Just Because.

Nothing newsworthy or journalistic or groundbreaking. Just something that's keeping me cheerful during this supposed "Snowpocalypse" we're getting in Missouri.

Just Because

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Picture Story: Reading Reflections #1

Tao of Photography by Gross and Shapiro
One of the main points of this reading was letting go of preconceived notions and just letting the photos happen. I know when I am going into a situation, I always end up previsualizing the kind of shots I want to take. The idea of losing yourself behind the camera seems to be contrary to what we were discussing in class the other day about making a picture story. If you just take all of the shots you feel like taking, you're going to end up with a parking lot of photos and no story. On the other hand, if shoot according to a strict formula, your pictures aren't going to have any emotion or feeling to them! It's a tough balance.

Bird by Bird by Anne LaMott
I really enjoy the candid way LaMott addresses her readers because it makes me feel like I am conversing with an old friend of mine. Although the subject matter is about writing, I can see how the word "photographer" can easily replace the word "writer". One of the sections of the reading that stood out the most to me was LaMott's descriptions of the writing classes she teaches. Of those students in those classes, so many just want to be published and have no concern for the actual craft of writing. Those people will not succeed, just like the people that shoot for the sake of winning contests will not succeed. Maybe they'll make money, but I don't see any real fulfillment in that. Whether you use words or pictures, what matters is that you told the true story of something that matters to you. And it doesn't have to be perfect! Writers make "shitty rough drafts" and photographers make some terrible test frames. It's not the end of the world if you don't get it right the first time (because let's face it, you seldom will).

Lenswork: 10,000 Hours
How much time do I spend on my photography? It's nowhere near 10,000 hours, and I could stand to gain a few more. I spend a lot of time on my own images, but I need to spend more on others. I love times like CPOY or POYi when I can completely immerse myself in images, but it has a strange effect on me. I am inspired and discouraged all at the same time. Perhaps what I need to do is spend less time looking at images and more time making images.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Black and White Winter

For some reason I can only shoot black and white film during winter. I also haven't shot any black and white with my Holga since I was a freshman (the results were atrocious), so I decided to give it another chance. These are pretty much untouched in photoshop.

Winter Holga

Winter Holga

Winter Holga

Winter Holga

Winter Holga

Winter Holga

Winter Holga

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Picture Story: Inspiration

This photo is by Matt Slaby, not me...although I wish it was mine.

For my capstone class, Picture Story, I was assigned to comb the interwebs for inspiration. While I was perusing for picture stories, I looked through work at Luceo, a well-known photo collective comprised of young photographers, all of whom seem to be doing some pretty interesting work. I was particularly interested in Matt Slaby's essay "The Last Good Kiss: A Lovesong to the American West

I was drawn to this essay for a number of reasons. I took a class on western films last semester and the topic of discussion has always been about the myth of the frontier. There's such a mythos that surrounds the American West, even know. I still picture gunslingers and cowhands, even though I know that ideal was romanticized in the first place. The photos in Slaby's essay are a mix of the expected and the unexpected. There are expected shots of rugged men on horses, but they are interspersed with photos of pure surprises. In a way, each picture is its very own short story.

I also chose this piece because I'm intrigued by essays and knowing how make one that is interesting and cohesive. The structure of a picture story sometimes seems stifling to me: opener, portrait, transition, closer, what do I need, what am I missing?. The essay format seems to leave more room for breath and creativity, but I'm still struggling in how to execute this storytelling device in a successful way.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Pleasant Surprises.

I was pretty behind on dumping my cards from the end of last semester...when I was playing catch up, I found this stray image amongst my Missourian shoots. Surprise, surprise, it's Eve again.

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Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Not All Is Lost

I was in Macon, Missouri at the beginning of October volunteering for the Missouri Photo Workshop. It was was a wonderful week, but while I was there, I dropped my Holga and the back fell off. I've been nursing this film for a while and just shooting random things to finish out the roll because I thought I had exposed all of the film. 

But lo and behold, only two frames had been destroyed! The rest turned out! Here are a few favorites.

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We practically lived in the Elks Lodge during our time in Macon. 

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Calin and Beth (miss these people)

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The lovely Eve

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One little frame from the pinnacles with Ryan and Tim.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Cabin Fever

It's snowing. I'm stuck in my house. Save me. 

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Thursday, January 6, 2011

All the Leaves are Brown

I developed some film from my Ultra Wide Ultra Slim camera...aka the Slim Devil...aka this stupid camera needs a shorter name, and the photos were nice and golden and vignetted as always. Here are a few of my favorites.


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Last week we had a fall day at the end of December so we went on a day trip to the Pinnacles. It was maaaagical. 

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This is a photo of nothing. Just a jumble of chairs and a lens flare. It's kind of awful. But I like it. 

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My roommate and my friend Ryan at the Pinnacles.