More found art

Well, found in that it was actually lost at first.  When searching through the far reaches of my laptop hard drive I discovered some backup raw files from an abandoned shoot earlier this year.  At the time I had decided that there was nothing worth saving and I thought I had deleted everything (I don’t normally do this sort of thing) but apparently I hadn’t actually deleted some of them.  Still not sure there’s anything worth saving there, but interesting to see these images after forgetting about this shoot for so long.

found art

Working at BC during a transition point in their photography services dept. means that a) I often get to keep sundry photography equipment that no one thinks is useful enough to keep around and b) I find the most random stuff that no one seems to know what it is. For instance, when cleaning out the studio, I found a single 4×5 slide that I took to scan— beautiful, but what is it? Anyone know?

Catching up to myself

I’ve taken some time off from posting to this blog over the last two months. I’ve had a lot to say, but not as much time to write it all down as I would have liked. But don’t worry, I’ve kept notes and I’m getting back on track! It’s been a good choice since I was able to use my free time to shoot and edit, which is obviously more important. Thankfully Caleb was able to entertain you all. If you’re in the Boston area, definitely stop by the Artist’s Foundation before December 20th to see his show. I went to the reception yesterday and it was a good time – plus the images are so unique and thought-provoking. I really enjoyed seeing a lot of new work mixed in.

I’ve been playing a lot of catch-up lately. I seem to go through phases often, and over the summer and early fall I shot a lot of film I didn’t manage to develop right away. Now I’m plugging along through editing that work as I continue to make new stuff. I’ve also been making sure I have a lot of FUN. I just blasted through a refrigerator drawer of expired film just to get rid of it, and am heading back up north to Twist of Fate Farm this week for some (pretty cold) days of shooting. As time passes on the farm project I’ve been reflecting a lot about how the images are changing for me, as well as my relationship to the subject. This just confirms for me how much I really enjoy long-term projects.

When I say FUN, I actually mean a lot by that. Sometimes I think I need to focus all my energy on my ongoing projects, and as a result I sometimes pass up one-shot opportunities that don’t seem as connected to my work. But I do believe that doing new things is crucial and creative and the only way to discover open doors, and so I’ve been making sure to relax a bit more and shoot what’s in front of me. I like surprising myself by what ends up feeling really great, often unexpectedly.

I accompanied a friend to his night class at a hair-styling school recently, and that’s where I made this image.

AF Show Reception

The show reception at the Artists Foundation went well and I got a lot of great feedback from gallery goers.  I got to meet the other two exhibiting artists, Yoshiko Suga and Julia Hechtman.  I didn’t realize I’d seen some of her work elsewhere before and I’m really interested in seeing more of it— lots to look at and think about.  More posting later, but for now, a picture of me in the main gallery:

photo taken by L. McKenney

Blog/Project Update

Steph and I have some really exciting ideas for the blog in the works, including a ton of thematic weeks/half-months to really get us posting more about the topics that matter to us.  Be looking out for those in the weeks to come… I have an amazing interview with Julia Staples that I’m dying to post, but you’ll have to wait for our Interviews week!

Also, Where We Were 2008 is nearing its launch date…  It should be up soon and I couldn’t be more excited.

that looks like something you would have shot

I feel like, moreso than someone’s comments that are directly about your work, when someone points out an image and says it “looks like something you would have shot” that this says so much more about how others perceive you as an artist and ultimately how successful you are at conveying what it is you’d like to convey in your work. I also think that there are some new insights to be gained through mentally gathering these images together and seeing what they might have in common.

I’ve had a few experiences recently where friends and acquaintances have pointed out other people’s images and said they reminded them in tone or style of my own.  Luckily, the images were really great ones, including one by a photographer I really admire.  But what interested me was some of these images’ prominent features: dramatic light, isolated subjects within an environment, subject’s unsettling eye contact with the viewer, and an overall tone that is arresting and difficult to pin down.  If this is how others’ view my work, I’m definitely not going to complain!  When people point out work and compare it to mine and I see what they see, when I agree, it’s a great feeling.  It makes me feel like I’m doing something right.

These are not at all an example of the above, but an attempt to put more pictures in my posts—from outside a very intense Halloween-decorated house in Newburyport mid-October.

Election Day Scans

A few quick scans from Election Day…

Barack Obama’s Flickr

Love looking through this.
All photos copyright David Katz/Obama for America.

Election

Submissions continue to roll in for Where We Were 2008— if you or anyone you know took pictures on election night, please feel free to submit.  The more the merrier.  This is already shaping up to be a great project.

I went out shooting on election day.  My original plan was to drive to New Hampshire to capture the action of a swing state (I had a very specific plan) but I needed to be at work at 5pm and didn’t want to waste a bunch of my day driving to and from a far away land.  Instead I used my day to wander and see what I could see around Boston and as far out as Wellesley.  I departed expecting something, for things to feel different or for there to be a different charge in the air, but I didn’t find what I was looking for.  Massachusetts seemed relatively calm.  I shot only film, so I guess we’ll see in a few days whether or not I captured anything worthwhile.  It’s times like those that I kind of wish I were back in Indiana, shooting during the day in one of the states where the votes were so close and driving to get to Chicago by night to be in a place where the energy and emotion is so strong you can’t help but feel it.

Today, while TAing for History class, this quote was on the board:  ”A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving.  A good artist lets his intuition lead him wherever it wants.” -Tao Te Ching #27  I felt like it was speaking to me about yesterday and telling me I made the right decision to stay here and wander.

Also, make sure to check out Zoe Strauss’ blog and her pictures of election day and night… just amazing.

Hung

I finished hanging my show this afternoon and seeing everything up in the wall was really amazing.  Even though there are times when I lose faith and feel like I’m not sure where I’m going with this, I can step back and appreciate how far I’ve come and the potential I have.

A quick sneak peek of the show (there will be lots of new stuff so you should come and see!):

The Girl Project

The Girl Project is “a national collection of photographs taken by teenage girls. The photographs represent teenage girlhood and life as seen through the eyes of young women in America. The strongest images will be edited into a book and a traveling exhibition on female adolescence.”  There is also a great blog, and today it has highlighted the Where We Were project!  I hope this means we’ll be showing a lot of amazing photos from young people with a unique perspective on this election and what it means for their lives.  Thank you so much, Kate.