my new website is finally up & running.
business cards coming soon!
thanks for looking!
Friday, October 22, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
this whole blog thing...
...was NOT successful for me this quarter. i think due to lack of feedback from others, and my overwhelming class load, i neglected to check my blog regularly. it just began to lose my interest. to be totally honest, i get far more feedback on work that i have posted on facebook than here, which is slightly disappointing. i also only acquired roughly five followers, so i felt like no one was looking anyways. I intend to keep this blog up, and maybe if it gains interest in others, i'll continue to post. for now, i feel that its a lost cause.
good day!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
titles
in our visual exercise crit, we also discussed titles for the specific image we brought in that day. some people had some really bad ones, and some really good ones that i would have never thought about for my work. again...got me thinking!
here's the image i brought in:
- [year place was built] - [year closed]
- come in, make yourself comfortable
- white air disturbed
- we used to be a family
- home #1
- [un]welcome
- the blue room
- door to ____
- midwest abandon
- abandonment
- intruder
- open door
- lonely windows
Q & A [from the midterm]
i figured that i didnt talk much about the questions people asked about my work. i assure you, they are not being ignored!
i will now address them all here...
[q] should you focus on indoor, outdoor, or both?
[a] i have focused on both indoor and outdoor spaces, and have enjoyed images taken from both. i dont anticipate it being a problem to incorporate the two kinds of spaces together.
[q] do you like the vignette of the holga?
[a] very much so. but not to the extent that i would add vignetting to the digital images... noooo no.
[q] how do you plan to present/frame/print these?
[a] TBD...
[q] these spaces look more recently inhabited. are they also abandoned? or just dilapidated?
[a] all of these spaces are abandoned, some more recently than others, though some still have an owner besides the city somewhere. again, some are more dilapidated than others. you never know what you're going to get once you go INside...
[q] how do the domestic v. urban spaces relate?
[a] it's not so much how they relate, but how they both compare and contrast. i'm focusing on including human remnants, and going to these two types of spaces allows me to capture a wide array of "leftovers."
[q] singular object in isolation v. more of a "forgotten room" feel...
[a] hmm... let me sit on that one
[q] do you think having leftover human possessions makes the content stronger as compared to an abandoned stripped down factory or space?
[a] i DO think having leftover human possessions makes the content stronger. it takes my project from being just formally and aesthetically pleasing to a more meaningful and conceptual project.
[q] do you consider the different generations that these places have been abandoned during?
[a] i have considered this... it is really astonishing to see a child's toy from over 40 years ago and in the same structure see a newish appliance or whatnot. its a chaotic feeling.
[q] if you decide to use holga & digital, how would you present them?
[a] TBD...sorta... i have some ideas. see a post from a couple weeks ago where i posted some experiments.
[q] why center subject matter in majority of images? do you want to vignette all? some? mix it up?
[a] the placement choice of subject matter within the frame depends on several other elements existing within the space context. what is in the background becomes very important when deciding where to place your focus or subject matter. the camera i'm using often has to do with that as well [square v. rectangle]. i do not want to photoshop a vignette in any image. i only want it there if it was naturally taken that way [holga].
[q] do you have/need a human element/artifact in each image?
[a] my earlier images lack the human element, as i was in the beginning stages of this project and hadn't gotten that far yet. i gained a need for it though, and have including that in almost every image i have taken since then.
[q] have you tried to make everything in focus?
[a] i typically shoot on a wide aperture setting because i feel the shallow depth of field helps guide the eye to the focal resting point [subject]. the holga, however, doesn't have aperture settings, and therefore the focus points are dramatically different.
[q] have you moved objects?
[a] i have not moved any objects to date, though it has been suggested that i do. i liked the idea of just shooting the scene as i stumbled upon it, without interrupting someone else's intentional marks. it has always felt almost like a violation to me.
thanks for all the questions to get my mind movin'.
i will now address them all here...
[q] should you focus on indoor, outdoor, or both?
[a] i have focused on both indoor and outdoor spaces, and have enjoyed images taken from both. i dont anticipate it being a problem to incorporate the two kinds of spaces together.
[q] do you like the vignette of the holga?
[a] very much so. but not to the extent that i would add vignetting to the digital images... noooo no.
[q] how do you plan to present/frame/print these?
[a] TBD...
[q] these spaces look more recently inhabited. are they also abandoned? or just dilapidated?
[a] all of these spaces are abandoned, some more recently than others, though some still have an owner besides the city somewhere. again, some are more dilapidated than others. you never know what you're going to get once you go INside...
[q] how do the domestic v. urban spaces relate?
[a] it's not so much how they relate, but how they both compare and contrast. i'm focusing on including human remnants, and going to these two types of spaces allows me to capture a wide array of "leftovers."
[q] singular object in isolation v. more of a "forgotten room" feel...
[a] hmm... let me sit on that one
[q] do you think having leftover human possessions makes the content stronger as compared to an abandoned stripped down factory or space?
[a] i DO think having leftover human possessions makes the content stronger. it takes my project from being just formally and aesthetically pleasing to a more meaningful and conceptual project.
[q] do you consider the different generations that these places have been abandoned during?
[a] i have considered this... it is really astonishing to see a child's toy from over 40 years ago and in the same structure see a newish appliance or whatnot. its a chaotic feeling.
[q] if you decide to use holga & digital, how would you present them?
[a] TBD...sorta... i have some ideas. see a post from a couple weeks ago where i posted some experiments.
[q] why center subject matter in majority of images? do you want to vignette all? some? mix it up?
[a] the placement choice of subject matter within the frame depends on several other elements existing within the space context. what is in the background becomes very important when deciding where to place your focus or subject matter. the camera i'm using often has to do with that as well [square v. rectangle]. i do not want to photoshop a vignette in any image. i only want it there if it was naturally taken that way [holga].
[q] do you have/need a human element/artifact in each image?
[a] my earlier images lack the human element, as i was in the beginning stages of this project and hadn't gotten that far yet. i gained a need for it though, and have including that in almost every image i have taken since then.
[q] have you tried to make everything in focus?
[a] i typically shoot on a wide aperture setting because i feel the shallow depth of field helps guide the eye to the focal resting point [subject]. the holga, however, doesn't have aperture settings, and therefore the focus points are dramatically different.
[q] have you moved objects?
[a] i have not moved any objects to date, though it has been suggested that i do. i liked the idea of just shooting the scene as i stumbled upon it, without interrupting someone else's intentional marks. it has always felt almost like a violation to me.
thanks for all the questions to get my mind movin'.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
books!
the following are some books i've been buried in. they are relevant to mainly my project, but are still worth looking at otherwise!
ch-ch-check it:
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Van der Hoorn, Melanie. Indispensable Eyesores: An Anthropology of Undesired Buildings. Berghahn, 2009. Print.
Hollander, Justin B. Polluted and Dangerous: America's Worst Abandoned Properties and What Can Be Done About Them. UPNE, 2009. Print.
Eastman, Michael. Vanishing America The End of Main Street. New York: Rizzoli, 2008. Print.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
today's midterm crit
what i learned today:
- i don't need someone to tell me to stop shooting
- i don't need someone to tell me what camera to use
- i don't need someone to tell me how to present in daapworks
- i don't need someone to tell me [fill in blank]
- i need to tell myself these things
- i need to stop talking about what i want to do and just do it
- i need to stop avoiding the "light at the end of the tunnel" [presentation in daapworks]
- i am not alone in these thoughts
- my thesis committee is letting me down
- i need to look for feedback outside of class [and more often]
- i need to cut up my contact sheets
- i need to step back, but not too far
- art is hard
- decision making is not my forte
more new work
unfortunately, the majority of my holga film didn't turn out this time around. (i thought i was shooting on bulb when it was on normal)
here's what i got:
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
diptych ideas
trying to figure out a way to combine these very different camera formats successfully.
this is new-ish for me. be gentle.
more to come...
Saturday, January 16, 2010
newest work
at this point in my work, i am trying to show restraint and not be so obvious in including human references and things left behind. i am also still struggling with which camera to shoot with, so i have made sure to shoot similar scenes with both cameras to try and come to a conclusion.
these are some examples from my latest exploration:
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Senior thesis synopsis 2009-2010
Through exploration and research, I will bring new significance and purpose to things and places that are demolished, ruined, old, and forgotten. I want to show that nothing is useless, and even though it made have been done before, there is always another way to look at things. I know that the world has endless spaces containing these things and places, and that they are still important and have something to give. As the project evolves, I am discovering more and more physical remnants of a human presence that either occupied the space while it was still in use, or that occupy the space now. In exploring and photographing these places and things in this way, I will gain a knowledge of, and appreciation for, things that many take for granted. I hope to learn about new “old” places to research and wander through and all the potential for new significance they have. I want others to learn these things too, because I know that it is important to explore the world and environment we live in.
The research avenues I have taken so far range from simply looking at artists, books, and articles to asking strangers about their experiences with similar structures in and surrounding Cincinnati. A couple books I found most helpful, inspiring and motivating were Vanishing America, which includes works by Michael Eastman, Terra Incognita: Vacant Land and Urban Strategies, by Anne O'M. Bowman, and
Here are some examples of my thesis work so far:
The research avenues I have taken so far range from simply looking at artists, books, and articles to asking strangers about their experiences with similar structures in and surrounding Cincinnati. A couple books I found most helpful, inspiring and motivating were Vanishing America, which includes works by Michael Eastman, Terra Incognita: Vacant Land and Urban Strategies, by Anne O'M. Bowman, and
Bringing Buildings Back: From Abandoned Properties To Community Assets, by Alan Mallach.
I have been shooting on an almost weekly basis and have enjoyed the ritualistic quality it has taken on. I will continue this schedule of shooting, and at the same time begin to make important decisions regarding presentation. I also plan to schedule critiques outside of class to get all the feedback I can get.Here are some examples of my thesis work so far:
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