I thought I’d post a few new images that I’ve been working on down here in Tucson. I was somewhat reluctant to make them public without some sort of explanation, but my desire for feedback has overshadowed said reluctance. So I have decided to compromise and precede them with a brief explanation.
The prints are 30″ in the longest dimension, and range from 21″ to 24″ in the other. They are cyanotypes toned in tannic acid, varnished, and tiled together to make the whole image. I’m attempting to take a more meditative approach to capturing scenes that are often overlooked. I want to encourage a slow, intimate dialog between the audience and these spaces through the labor-intensive process of creating the collages. The images were broken up into pieces to provide a more interactive experience for the viewer.
I’ve been in Tucson for a couple days, driving all over town in search of a place to live next year. I turned in an application for an apartment this morning.
Having accomplished my mission with a day and a half to spare, I got into the rental car, chose a direction (which happened to be west) and went for a drive. A few miles out of town I suddenly found myself in the midst of one of the many saguaro sanctuaries in the area. Here are a few images from the drive.
I am very pleased to announce that the Bozeman Survey Project is now online!
The website is probably my final contribution to the project, seeing as I will be off to bigger and better things in Tucson next month. It’s unfortunate that we didn’t have this idea a year ago; I would have loved to stick with it for a longer period of time. Such is life, I suppose.
I’m very excited to see this project grow and evolve!
This month, not only am I selling inkjet prints, but I am also offering an edition of 10 cyanotype over platinum/palladium prints made from an 8×10 negative for $40 each!
Archival inkjet print
Cyanotype over platinum/palladium print made from 8×10 negative, $40
Or, click here to download the 4″x5″ @ 300 dpi TIFF.
It’s been a while since I’ve done a work of others post, so I thought I’d share City of Ambition by Ferit Kuyas (via EV+/-). These images seem to show an intersection of influence from Ed Burtynsky and Stephen Shore, which I love.
Kuyas’ other work is well worth browsing too, particularly aggloswiss and Archetypes.
I had some this last weekend fun with my latest acquisition, a Deardorff 5×7. I slapped a 4×5 back on it and cracked open a box of Polaroid Type 55. Here are a couple scans of the negatives.
Update – I should also mention that the bottom image was cropped in-camera, which allowed me to make two exposures on one sheet of film. I’m playing with a few ideas along these lines; this was the first attempt.
There’s been a discussion taking place between Ian Aleksander Adams, J.M. Colberg, and Bryan Formhals about the “photography-integrated-into-life method” and its relationship with the fine art world. It’s not a new topic of debate, but the contributions of everyone involved have been very interesting. I thought I’d jump into the ring with a response (expanded from a comment I left on Adams’ blog) to what has been discussed over the last few days. The following post won’t make much sense until you read the above posts so I’d suggest starting there.
I would argue that all photographic work, even that of the “non-project-based” variety is, in fact, project-based. Whether you’re intuitively responding to life or creating a witty satire, you’re still working on a preconceived idea, whether you want to or not. What seems to generate criticism about the integration methodology is an ambiguity of intent as a result of a longer timeline. The images span such a broad spectrum it becomes difficult to see a single coherent vision (this can be resolved in the oft-overlooked editing process).
Many who take on the “photography-as-lifestyle” approach feel discriminated against, but to me the reason is obvious. As it was mentioned by both Adams and Colberg, it’s often used as an excuse for poor editing (even Eggleston’s shows are heavily edited based on curators’ intent). Problems arise when the photographer is unable to effectively edit the body and explain the motivations behind the work. In the case of the visual diary photographer, one could create several cohesive bodies from his/her archives. I tend to agree with Colberg on this one in that this method isn’t all that problematic within the context of commercial ambition (Mikael Kennedy has managed to gain a lot of attention recently), oversimplified as it may be: if it’s good, coherent, and interesting, the intended audience will consume it. Otherwise, it will be ignored.
