John the Revelator

Quick sample of what I'm working on, still in process, so don't judge yet.

Also new paper is up.

Just click to the right.

This Life

I've been exploring melrose, and have found that I have an interesting perspective. Having grown up here, I see it differently than it wants to be viewed.

This city is becoming very expensive to live in. I currently live at home to save money while in school, but the will not be the case for too much longer. When I move out, I will not be able to afford to live here anymore. A whole swath of people are finding the same issue, and it seems that the city's push for a more upscale sort of image is forcing some of its long term residents from its borders.

I approach this with a mixture of feelings of loss and sadness, it's hard when one's home no longer has any place for them, and also relief, because it is certainly coming to a point in my life where I will want to be moving on.

These emotions have somewhat changed my approach, and the images that I am making have become more sort of alienated landscapes of places where I have specific attachments or memories. In the images I have been making, I have found things that are at once paths and obstructions. They urge you to move on, but also block the way.

Certainly Melrose is not the only place that this is happening, and it is serving both literally and less tangibly for me in other ways as well.

I am finishing up one paper now, and have already started working on the next, in which I will address photography and its links to memory.

Golden Age

As promised, though it took a few days longer than I thought.

I'm really having trouble finding my momentum again. I started the semester off guns blazing, but now I think I've stumbled a little bit. I find myself shooting alot, but not really having much that I feel is worth using. Maybe I just need some more time to work the stuff that won't pan out out of my system, but I feel a little discouraged.

Oh well, I'm hoping to break through this pretty soon, and start getting some more results that I'm really excited about.

Milo in the Doldrums

I have been shooting alot, but they're all things that require alot of processing, so not many examples yet. I should have something more in the next few days.

The places I have been shooting, I am using 100% available light, so I am prisoner to all of the normal things that go with it. Also, being public places many of them, it is hard to find a time where the light is right and the people are scarce. Seems everytime I have a perfect shot, someone parks in the middle of it, or a function gets out or something absolutely ridiculous happens, and by the time it clears up, my lighting is kaput. Oh well, the dangers of reality I suppose.

Anyway, My second paper is up, and more images will be up in the next few days.

Your Decision

I've been reading alot, and working on some of the ideas that have come up. Thinking about the deadpan aesthetic in my work lately, and wondering if that's a direction I want to go in.

I've also been spending more time processing my images, and trying to enhance some of the emotive qualities even a little bit more. While finishing up my residency summary, even more ideas occurred to me, and I really want to start venturing out into the community more.

Earlier today I was walking through a parking lot while running errands, and kicked a syringe that was on the ground. I've been going through the city without my camera to get a feel for where some things that I want to be shooting are, and trying to frame what I want to shoot before I even really start to shoot it. I don't know why, but this has been helping me slow down and be a little more deliberate about the work I want to create.

All the while I have also been documenting my backyard, and the conditions therin. I think everyone is on vacation, because there hasn't been much change or activity in the last week or so.

Also, first paper of the semester is up. Link to the right.

Black Days

These are just a few quick examples of what I've been working on since the residency ended. Trying to keep going without losing any momentum, and really thinking about all the ideas I need to figure out. This is all discussed at more length in my Residency Summary, though. That should be posted pretty soon.

Also...Waiting to hear back from mentors, and I'm still pretty hopeful.

Fell On...

Thinking about all of the things discussed during the residency, I came home and found a mess out behind my house. It was bizarre, and went a ways toward working on some issues I've been rolling in my head. It was quite appropriate, actually, and made some images of it. Kind of funny how some things just seem to fall right into place.

Need to hit the ground running and really start to hash out all of the things in my head. Starting my residency summary while its still fresh in my mind, and posted my Semester summary from last month (finally) on my other blog. Just click on "view my Papers".