Wandering…

I spent some more time wandering in the woods yesterday preparing for some upcoming workshops (I’m really enjoying leading these workshops).

And I started by an older building that had a large pile of logs cut for firewood (more of that winter coming stuff). There is such joy for me in finding something so beautiful in something so ordinary.

Even if the image is something of a cliché, At least it’s my cliché.

Autumn is here my friends and can winter be far behind? so much to do, so little time (especially when you spend your time wandering in the woods).

Mon voyage poursuit…

Yes, I’m still alive…

It’s been a while since I last wrote here. It’s been quite an interesting and energetic month. If you know me well, you know most of the details, if you don’t, I won’t bore you with personal stories (if you know me fairly well and want to know more, email me).

I sat up this morning searching through old images working on the presentation for an upcoming workshop and while wandering through the remote storage server, I ran across these two shots from a trip into western Nebraska.

They caught my attention for several reasons; one being that I’ve been seeing all the signs that winter is coming soon but also they remind me once again of how seasons and times and people change.

Things that seem so important and real at the time are like all things human; so fleeting and impermanent.

What is Life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night,
It is the breath of a buffalo in the winter time,
It is the little shadow which runs across the grass
and loses itself in the sunset.

-Crowfoot (Blackfeet), 1919

 

Mon voyage poursuit…

Back to Beauty

So obviously the studio is up and running and the deal for it’s long term is still pending but close enough that it’s time to start getting back to building business.

And what has been a strong part of my business has been Beauty Photography. Way back from the early days shooting for Sears:

to later work in Chicago:

And the more recent work:

It is work I enjoy (no, really), am good at, and really do feel I’m contributing to others with. So many of my clients have talked about the way that these photos give them a sense of “Empowerment”. And  I think they really do.

Whether the images are being used within a resume, for on-line dating or any other place these women feel they need to show themselves at their best. A beautiful photo adds a huge amount of confidence. 

 

Mon voyage poursuit…

Soft morning rain

I woke this morning just as it was getting light to the sound of a soft rain falling in the woods.

I laid there dozing and thinking about all the different times and places I’ve listened to the rain and different things it’s meant, very often alone but sometimes with others. Sometimes it summed up my frustration or sorrow, sometimes the beauty of new found love. Lying in bed or waiting under an overpass with my motorcycle ticking as it cooled.

Deep in a forest or in the heart of a city, it’s a wonderful time to be in the moment. Even if it is only a moment as you finally get a cab to stop and jump in like a near drowned rat. It is a beauty that I’ve never been able to capture in a single photo, probably because it’s so much more than just visual. The flood of memories and remembered feelings.

I woke this morning listening to a soft rain in the forest just outside my window…

Mon voyage poursuit…

Money is the best rule of commerce…

One of the rules of commercial photography is that it “Ain’t all art”.

And while I think every photographer working commercially will tell you that they do their best to make the most esthetically pleasing image they can working within the constraints of the subject and layout. It still comes down to being a matter of ultimately pleasing the client. “He who pays the piper, calls the tune”.

And sometimes it’s simply a matter of straight forward representation of a product the client is offering for sale.

So while there may not be much creative satisfaction in a specific job, there is still the satisfaction of a job well done. And  it certainly beats digging ditches.

It feels good to be rebuilding my business.

 

Mon voyage poursuit…

A busy week…

It kind of surprised me today when I sat down to write and realized it’s been week since my last entry.

The studio that I talk so much about and love working in has been (until recently) a  co-op arrangement that’s been run by the building owner and he’s decided that it simply isn’t working for him.

And to be honest, it’s really been treated more as a Frat House by the other members which has at times been pretty frustrating. So I’ve entered negotiations to lease (along with a couple other photographers I trust) myself. Big step in terms of price considering I’m so new here and am just beginning to bring in commercial work but I will not let this studio go. I’m sure one way or another, it will be my creative home for some time to come.

And part of what makes me so sure has been The work this week. These are my first 2 shots for my Art Prize series of the first 10 Heart Transplant Patients at the new Transplant Center here in GR (which is of course what in a circuitous route brought me here).

The space is just easy to work in and people seem to feel comfortable and at ease when they walk in.

I’m not certain exactly what will come to be but I know this is the space where I’m supposed to be. Wish me luck!

Mon voyage poursuit…

More Contemplative

There was a beautiful sunrise this morning and as I stood drinking coffee and looking into the woods outside I thought more about the quality of the light showing in the leaves.

And the beauty within the color and shape.

And suddenly the irritation of the mosquitos and the spider webs in the face, getting sand and bits of fallen leaves in my shoes. And the very fact that “the images wouldn’t be commercially viable” (Ding!) fell completely away.

And I was outside finding even more beauty than I’d already seen through the window.

I once heard the actress Jessica Lange (probably on NPR, don’t let them gut the funding) discuss how for her, her work was about the experience and not connected to it’s quality or how it affected the audience. And at the time I thought (in my very judgmental way) how incredibly self indulgent and hollow the thought was.

But maybe I’m catching on to something. BTW, I’m told that using the Active D lighting setting will help reduce the blow out on the highlights. I’m learning a little more on that too.

Mon voyage poursuit…

Stuck in Commercial-land

I’ve been feeling like I’ve been stuck in Commercialism forever.

I’m feeling like even my nature shots have a commercial quality to them and I’m really getting bored with the whole thing. So… I’ve started trying to re-trace some of my past and have been playing with the concept of “Contemplative Photography”.

Sort of a Buddhist / Mindful way that finds beauty in the mundane and close at hand with little interest in technical perfection.

And quite obviously it can’t and won’t be my only endeavor over the next few months. But I think it will be worth re-visiting on an ongoing basis over the next few months.

Let me know what you think, is this a valid use of energy or is it just an excuse to take snapshots?

Mon voyage poursuit…

Of course it’s raining…

There can be such beauty in a summer rain.

and such hope of what’s to come.

Mon voyage poursuit…

Long Distance Driving

(This shot is from last fall but I love it so I’m going to use it here)
I have a love/hate thing with long distance driving. There is the joy of the open road with the music playing loud and the time of quite thought but the absolute exhaustion upon completion.
I returned my sisters’ youngest boy to her yesterday after a week’s visit with my kids (More activity points than I care to count)
         
(Drag Race shot courtesy of Steven Chapman : http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=27703350#!/media/set/?set=a.148934395183421.39569.100002005838820
 by meeting her (roughly) half way between our home in GR and hers in St. Louis, MO. (No I don’t know which is more conservative but it makes me wonder why I’m not?), 12 hours round trip (with lots of road construction thrown in for fun). The ride there with my nephew (17) was all conversation and music, fun and high energy. The ride back alone was really quiet with a lot of introspective thought. And when I finally pulled my flat ass out of the seat and walked into the house I felt like my mind was clear of the last 6 month’s worth of questions.
Mon voyage poursuit…

Alex is Visiting

My Nephew Alex is in town and staying the week with us.

So we went for an hour or so in the studio (primarily to check out the stobe pack that had just come back from repair - It still isn't fixed!!!)

This time Alex got a chance to shoot,

And then, boys being boys they staged the shots they wanted to do:

 

The speedotron goes back again on Monday!!!!!

Giant Asparagus???

One of the joys of moving anywhere is in the finding of new things and phenomena. The most dead and boring place on the planet will provide you with at least some beauty if you will only take the time to find it.

And in that vein, the Giant Asparagus (At least that’s what it looks like and it’s now over 6 feet tall) growing in the woods and along the road

Is in Bloom:

Who-da Thunk?

Cooking with Pamela

I spent last evening doing cooking shots with Pamela Medford Conley for her cooking blog www.cookingnuggets.com .

It turns out she knows all of my Michigan cousins and we had a really good time talking about photography and family while she cooked and I shot.

Oh, and the food completely explained why she's doing a blog....

The woman can cook!!!





Writers write and Photographers photograph

So not everything is going to be wonderful but I've had my eye on the forest of flags in front of AMWAY headquarters.

I was wanting to work more with the flags backlight but I was over taken by events.

Happy day after the 4th...

Summer Time

This is Charley, or "the pinhead" as she is affectionately known within our family. She is a constant reminder to “Live in the Moment”. I’ve been asked about the manipulation of color in this shot. There is none, the colors appear as they were (although the bottom of the pool is a really deep blue).