I had a great end to the summer with a short dessert vacation through New England up to Vermont. I have a little sample of blur taken from my train from New York to Vermont. Obvious inspiration comes from Danny Ghitis, Daryl Preveto, and my favorite, Paul Fusco’s RFK funeral train pictures.
I got my first test roll back from the lab on Friday…I am very, very excited.
I see one of my photos from my Migrant Death and Identification project found its way into Newsweek International and Newsweek Japan issue. It is funny that the article has nothing to do with migrants, death, or identification. In fact, it has nothing to do with Mexico. The photo ran pretty small and there seems to be a color shift….but I like it!
Here is the clip and the original photo. This does seem to be a favorite select for many people.
It has been a few days. More assignments seem to be in hold mode unfortunately. A surprising amount of my recent unpublishable photos have come from industrial locales. I can’t complain of course, because what is cooler than industry (specifically the factories!) All obvious political and environmental views aside, I am consistently amazed at the engineering feats that go into creating these monstrous buildings. I’d like to have a free day…a hall pass if you will…to just roam the structures and photograph. I hope to be able to show more soon. I have another iPhone montage for you.
It is 2:18AM
I have been working since 8:00AM…yesterday.
My head is not quite as tired as my body…but getting close.
These are the trees I saw today. It matches my mood.
I’m bringing back the iPhone montage again. What can I say…I dig it.
I spent my summer in Tucson working in the desert. I am still sitting on the photos, but I do have this to show. I was amazed by the geography found in the Sonoran desert. While it is a desert, and it is dusty, there is far more green than I first guessed. This desert was certainly no Mojave. Animals roam and plants grow everywhere. We can thank the monsoons for that, although they didn’t come until late this year. It was hot.
Oh yeah. Everything had spikes and I mean EVERYTHING. I guess you have to when it is 105 degrees everyday.
Several years ago, I heard Jay Maisel speak about the power of gesture in photography. Specifically, he was talking about light as gesture and noticing how this relates to our perceptions of landscapes. These ideas have stuck with me over the years, as I strive to develop and define my style. While I continue to explore stylistically, recently, I am attempting to explore the subtle gestures of my subjects. It is easy to overlook the position of a foot or the placement of a hand. The simple extension of a foot or the intertwining of fingers are the details that define a photograph. I would like to begin using lights again to focus on the idea of shaping my subject’s subtle gestures with additional subtleties of light. I want to use light not to overpower, but to enhance the physical eccentricities of my subject. This goes hand in hand with the idea of realism and placing my subject in a natural setting. Natural in both a physical and a mental state of being.
The first two photos are Jay Jensen. I owe Jay a lot. Jay let me sleep on his floor for the entire summer while shooting my project on the border. If it were not for Jay I would not have afforded to spend so much time on my self-funded story. Thanks Jay.
The second set of photos are of psychiatrist Dr. Bharat Patel next to the garden he and his staff planted in front of their medical clinic. Dr. Patel feels the garden helps heal the mind and aids in relieving mental stress. I completely agree.
It’s been an amazing spring in Colorado. I’ve missed most of it, but still return every few weeks to visit. The rain continues to fall each afternoon leaving the foothills surprisingly green this late in the summer. It has been interesting to see the growth of the hills as spotty segments within my visits rather than the continual flow which comes with the seasonal change.
Most interesting has been the extraordinary growth of the wild grasses. I can’t remember the last time I saw grass this high back home.
I had to break out the iPhone montage again for this one. I wish I knew the names for the different varieties I photographed. I’ll have to update this post with the scientific names once I find a free moment to look them up. If you happen to know the name…do tell.
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