Where We Were 2008

I came up with the idea quite some time ago to do an election-related project where people could document their experiences of the time surrounding the election results climax— when the results are announced, what will people see and feel, and then how will they choose to document those sights and feelings?  I got Steph on board and we created this website: WhereWeWere2008.com

We wanted things to be democratic and let it be open for anyone to participate.  I’m not sure if we have enough time to really get the numbers I’d like, but I couldn’t let this idea pass… this election is so important to the future of our country and our world— on November 4th, please vote, then if you have some sort of image-making device nearby, please make a picture and send it our way.

My PRC internship comes to an end

Saturday was the auction and it came and went in a blur of bidding and credit card transactions.  I had secretly hoped that no one would bid on Lissa Rivera’s Carve and that I could buy it at the very minimum bid (still more than I can afford, but I was willing to sacrifice for it!) but alas, a bidding war ensued and it sold for a higher price.  I’m going to miss working at the PRC but having a little more time to myself will be nice.

Speaking of PRC interns, a fellow intern is working on a project on people who are bi-racial/multi-racial and I promised her that I would pass along the info.  She’s a really sweet girl and I’m sure modeling for her would be a great experience.  If you or anyone you know would be interested, please send her an email:

Big Moves

So this isn’t explicitly photography-related, but it is about the local arts scene.

My very talented fiancee is in today’s Boston Metro — it’s a review of the latest and greatest Big Moves production, Hot Buffet. Dystopian? Dancing? Scantily-clad people of all shapes, sizes, and genders? Whipped Cream? You know *I* was there.

After you’re done reading the review, take a look at their blog for the latest group news and commentary on current body/size-related topics, and then head to the Cambridge YMCA (Central Square T Stop) tonight or tomorrow night for a feast for the eyes and the stomach.

© Caleb Cole 2008

update

Life is hectic as the PRC gears up for their annual benefit auction and I prepare for my solo show that opens on November 8th at the Artists Foundation Gallery.  I’ve selected my images (lots of new stuff, too!), bought frames, and now just need to do a ton more promotion and make my final prints.  I’ve been updating my website and shooting both for Other People’s Clothes and for other new projects.  Steph and I are also about to launch some special Election-related projects, too.  I’ll be writing more soon with lots of updates.

more moons

Just because.

Two nights ago:

Last night:

Yes, I’m still alive

Huge apologies for not posting at all for a couple weeks. I assumed I’d still find the time for Existing Light here and there admist the hectic scramble that was my first half of October, but it didn’t work out that way. I’ve really been busy all of a sudden, although I’m convinced I’m not that busy, it just feels like it because I was so not busy for a while.

Because my photography doesn’t financially support me yet, I’ve been not only looking for work in that realm, but also in completely different areas. In the last few weeks I’ve started a new regular job that I like, which has nothing to do with photography, but is part-time and flexible enough to accommodate photo-related work and my own personal projects. It’s exactly the kind of thing I was looking for. I’m still assisting a couple fine art photographers, although my availability for that has had to be cut drastically to accommodate the new job. At first it felt like a loss, but then I remembered what it was like when I desperately needed work over the summer to pay the bills, and they either didn’t need me or were on vacation. So I began to feel more comfortable with my decision. I have to keep paying the bills in order to make good work.  

I’ve also moved to a new apartment in the last couple weeks, which took days and a lot of energy. And I recently began as a teaching assistant in a weekly class at NESOP, which has been a lot of fun so far. Things have definitely been changing around here. I’m looking forward to unpacking the new place, printing what I’ve been shooting, and writing a lot more often in Existing Light.

Dad in Melissa’s Room, © Steph Plourde-Simard

Zoe Strauss

Out of all the blogs I’m reading (all 88 of them), one of the ones that as of late I’m enjoying the most is Zoe Strauss’ blog.  I think this is for a combination of reasons.  Besides really enjoying her work, I get to read about the process she goes through editing and preparing for the publication of her book, America.  I like reading about the tough editing decisions she makes and thinking about applying that kind of decision-making to my own work.  And then all of the issues that are tangled up in that book, the themes and feelings, are also reflected in her reactions to what’s happening in the electoral campaigns… it’s a combination of the personal, the artistic, the political.  And the entries don’t feel contrived or overthought, just from the heart.

Check out her blog, her website, and her wikipedia page. 

Just one of the images that has me completely transfixed:

© Zoe Strauss

the best laid plans

My October consists of working 7 days a week and sometimes up to 15-hour days, so I specifically planned a day off of work to drive to Newburyport and shoot the entire day for Other People’s Clothes.  The universe conspired to keep me from this task when my friend who was going to show me around was called into work and couldn’t shoot with me.  Then my fiancee’s car that I was going to use refused to start.  She took it into the shop at 7:30 this morning with the hopes that we could fix it quickly and get on the road, but with all the repairs we didn’t get up north until about 1pm.  The sun was scorching (I have a sunburn, actually) and nothing seemed to be going right.  My tiny flashes were no match for the sun.  I tried to make the best of it but I’m not sure I made anything usable.  My favorite shot I took is actually completely unrelated, late in the day at Salisbury Beach (below).

I feel like there’s an expiration date on this project and if I don’t hurry and make more images I will lose my chance.  I know that’s silly and that I have time, but it feels true.  I feel like I’m not living up to my own idea’s potential.

scanning old negs, strangers

I decided to scan some of the 35mm color negatives I shot my first semester in school— not much I really thought was worth scanning, but I found this shot interesting because it’s the only frame out of countless rolls of film I took that term that contains a stranger. I didn’t even ask to take his picture; he asked me. Begged me, actually.

I think I need to figure out a way of working with strangers that I feel ok about because there’s something in those quick encounters with people I don’t know that’s fascinating in ways that images I construct just aren’t. Not necessarily better, just different.

presidential candidates and the arts

This will clearly come as no surprise, but the candidates differ wildly on their plans for the arts— um, like one of them has a plan and the other doesn’t seem to care about the arts at all. See for yourself:

Obama/Biden: A Platform in Support of the Arts

vs.

McCain’s Anticipated Arts Platform Comes in at Four Sentences Long

reference and New Work Sunday

Saturday night I went to see my girl perform at Traniwreck (which by the way, was a blast— my entries in a benefit raffle yielded a gift certificate to my favorite vintage store AND tickets to some upcoming Theater Offensive shows) and something so simple and yet so strange happened to me.  I was waiting for the show to begin and was eyeing the crowd when I recognized someone.  It took a few seconds to realize that I knew him from an image in a series of street photographs that one of my former classmates had taken.  I felt immediately uncomfortable knowing that I and many others had seen a photograph of him that he presumably didn’t know existed.  Maybe it wouldn’t bother him, but I know that I would feel strange if someone had a picture of me walking down the street in my own little world and I didn’t know about it.  I think I’m momentarily able to put aside any issues I have with street photography, particularly issues of consent, when I view it because the people are anonymous (I’m not proud of this), but when a person is no longer reduced to a two-dimensional art object and is instead very real and in front of me I have a much harder time.  I still haven’t fully worked out how I feel about street photography, or for that matter how I feel about informed consent in image-making in general…

And then there’s the very strange feeling (in this case where I’d first seen the static picture of a stranger before seeing that stranger live and in person) of the photograph sort of functioning as the referent and the human person as the reference, but I suppose that’s another post altogether.

Now for the first New Work Sunday.  I know it doesn’t set a good precedent to be cheating already, but though the work isn’t new per se, the pairing is new.  I am in the process of completely updating my website and was searching through old images when I found these two.  I’d always liked them fine by themselves, but together I think they make up something more remarkable than either one alone.

© 2008 Caleb Cole

Next Sunday I hope to be able to announce my new website!

more advice

Last night I volunteered at the PRC’s Auction Exhibition Opening and had a great chat with the super-talented photojournalist/documentary photographer Dominic Chavez who gave me some great advice.

1) Make work every day.  Never stop.  Never stop.

2) Keep your creative fee high.  If you start out low you will stay low.  If you’re high, you can always negotiate down but you will never be able to negotiate up.  Remind potential clients that it’s not about the amount of time you spend or your expenses but it’s about your vision and skill and the product you’ll deliver.

Yes and yes.

And then I was listening to the latest Burns Auto Parts Creative Lube podcast about blogging on the way home and was reminded of the fact that people want to see PICTURES in a PHOTO blog.  Of course!  So simple and yet I apparently have forgotten to keep showing my work.  So in the future, I think I’m going to make a day for myself every week where I’ll have to post my new work.  New Work Sundays or something like that.  I’ll keep you all posted, with actual pictures for sure.

advice

First, before I write the post I’d planned on writing and before you read this post you’d (I hope) planned on reading, you should take a sec and look at Dan Winter’s portfolio of New York actors over at New York Magazine’s 40th Anniversary issue.  I love the light and the expressions are totally the kind of expressions that get me hook, line, and sinker in portraits.  Just—guh.

Ok, now about the photo career seminar I went to recently (aimed at college students).  It didn’t do much for me but I did come away with a few things to think about some more (even if I’d heard them before):

+ Follow the fun. I always try to remind myself to follow my heart when taking gigs and while shooting but sometimes it definitely slips my mind.  It frustrates me when I find myself doing work that I hate because I’ve managed to convince myself that it is somehow “good for me.”  It’s important to be conscious of your instincts to avoid what’s hard or what could result in embarrassing failure (you know, situations that could be the most rewarding), but forcing yourself to do work that makes you feel like you’re dying a little inside won’t benefit anyone.  Following the fun translates to doing your best work— if you’re into what you’re doing it will show in your work in the best of ways.

+ Always say yes.  The panelists made it clear that this doesn’t mean compromising yourself, but I think what it does mean is being open to trying new things and working hard and working often.  It means finding ways to make it happen, being polite, being helpful, being flexible.  The simplest things make the biggest difference and can be the deciding factor in who is selected for jobs or shows.

+ You’re only as good as your last job.  I hate this phrase because it’s the type of remark that’s likely to paralyze me if I take it too literally.  What I’m taking away from it is that I always have to try to do my best (I want to know what kind of person doesn’t) and I think this goes back to following the fun and doing what you love.  If you do that I assume that your last job should be one you’re proud to have represent you.