Check out the article on New Docugraphics in Art News http://artnewsonline.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=2003

Gertrude Demo

Here is one of the more recent images that I have been working on from my portrait series.

Since no one else is posting anything, here's a photo I shot while sitting at my desk. Sorry about the dust (shoot film!)

HEY HOT SHOT (Ian)

LOOK, Ian is a HEY HOT SHOT contender. Jen Bekman's photo contest is one of the best/hottest on the net. Good luck! (click link and scroll down) http://heyhotshot.com/blog/

Clean the studio

I came in Friday morning to find the photo studio looking like a tornado hit it. Please clean up after yourself. This includes everyone using the studio; 264, 342, seniors. 342 students. Gather your outdoor objects, wood, etc and take it home or return it outside. -Studio stands and light stands go agains the wall between the cyc and cabinets in an orderly manner. -Tabletops go against the wall far wall on the north side of the cabinets. - Chairs and tables go against the north wall. -Large sheets of corregated plastic fit behind the south side of the cyc. -White reflectors, mirrors go behind the west edge of cyc. -softboxes should hang from the hooks on rails or lay on top of the cabinets. -The small rolls of background paper are the personal property of Dan Wise. Please return them to their boxes and place them to the left of the front door or your ability to borrow them will be revoked.

Jackson Lovejoy

Image two from the series. He has a twin that I am tweaking named Nelson Lovejoy.

Respect the Studio

This image was taken by Nick Krueger, concept by me and mordancage by Megan Thompson and me. If thats incorrect tell me.

Portraiture workshop update

Sorry folks, Kelly's workshop has been postponed until further notice. I'll send out another announcement when we figure out a new time for it.

Come to Kevin's presentation Tuesday Night! 7:30 in the Sub Ballroom. There will be a presentation followed by a reception. One night only, don't miss out.

I love this little one (but I don't get to see her enough!) She belongs to my best friends in Memphis. They're are a family of four redheads and they're so cute it's disgusting. Kidding! I can't decide if I like the original full color photo, or the muted version.

A Photo Montage Triptych

This is just some stuff I've been thinking about lately...I'm trying to find a balance between my intellectual and artistic sides. The 11x17 prints were printed on a roll. Go easy...it's my first post. Thanks!

Cale's Upcoming Show! Tell your friends!!

Hey everybody. Come and check out my show! There'll be snacks if you come on the right night.

repost and something fun

I just wanted to repost the janitor image because of the posterized colors, and post this portrait of Adam and Jenny because I thought it was fun. Aren't they just so cute

Photographer Websites

I was having a conversation with a photo editor at a very large magazine last night and she made a comment that I feel compelled to share. I was helping her track down a particular photographer in Montana and when she went to his website she remarked, "Great, another flash site." She then went on to complain about what a pain flash sites are and how she wished photographers would stick with html. She added that she's tired of photographers showing off fancy websites but the photos are weak. Keep in mind this is an international consumer magazine that works 100% with freelancers. They know this business inside and out. A few years back when I was a corporate photographer we routinely hired freelancers. If they didn't have a website we wouldn't hire them. If their website was a flash site, we couldn't view it because of our corporate firewalls, hence we wouldn't hire them. A recent study was conducted through ASMP where editors and art directors were polled on promotional items and websites. The majority said they didn't like flash sites. This is something to keep in mind for anyone in the process of building a website. Think about your audience and what they may be able to view or have the time to view. Remember it's about your photos, now about your web design skills.

Advanced portraiture workshop

November 12th. 7:00pm. Photo Studio. Juniors and seniors. Kelly has graciously volunteered to offer a lighting workshop for those of you who have already hit your junior level credit limit and can't take his studio class. The workshop will cover portraiture lighting techniques beyond the basic key/fill that was taught in previous studio classes here. Show up if you can, bring snacks to share...potluck type thing.

Bullet and the Boot still

a Zak Allen photo of my stunt this last weekend for Michael Brown's western film, Bullet and the Boot. Saturday was a day of carnage!

cement mixer

This image here represents the kind of photography I am most comfortable with. Just thought Id see what others think of it and what lines, shapes, and textures should be photographically...

New Project

This is an "installation view" of a 1/4 scale mock-up from a new project I'm working on (hanging in checkout for those interested). The full size prints were originally going to be 32"x40", but due to financial constraints I may shrink them down to 24"x30". We'll see. The series is kind of an exploration of written communication and its dominance in our culture. I'm intrigued by the idea that the act of reading text about an event or scene becomes more important than the experience itself. Each print will contain excerpts of journal entries written while taking the photographs within the white rectangles. The statement's still fairly abstract, but that's the basic idea. Here are a few more images from the series. Thoughts?

8x10 transparencies

I finally got them developed! I still have a couple of technical issues that I need to work out. But I think I found the beginnings of long term project. What do you guys think?

Not a bad way to spend the afternoon

I just got back from out shooting on the mountain, above Kirks hill. I have been grouse hunting it lately and saw some stuff to that I wanted to shoot. Referance image for where I was: Pretty dense, making it hard to see very far. After I was out for a bit I packed up my stuff and started working my way back to my truck parked on a logging road down below. As I was getting close I was looking ahead to see where my truck was, to see a cougar 100ft down the hill from me looking at me. I grew up in Idaho and spent most of my time in and around the hills hunting and training and I only once saw a cougar, and even then it was on a far hillside. So im standing there and all the hair on my body stood on end and I froze. It looked at me for a sec then started to move, very quickly I might add, down the hill. Cougars dont really go for humans often unless they are small. I had my camera backpack on which isnt small and im about 5'6", so I dont think it would have come after me, but when you get to see how big they are (twice as big as a good sized Lab or Golden Retriever) I think anyone would freak. It was then I remembered my camera, which was on my tripod over my shoulder, but by the time I got it down and on, it was gone. I looked around to see if I could still see it but they are fast. Maybe next time.

Stephen Shore Video (s)

Here is a brief (11 minutes) video of Stephen Shore discussing his large-format compositions and other things photographic. Very interesting. http://www.jaymovies.com/2006/05/stephen_shore.html and, here's another video with Shore discussing his photographs of Andy Warhol and the Factory years. http://www.dazeddigital.com/mediaplayer/default.aspx?m=watch&a=694

The Life of American Vagobonds

Ran across some images by and unknown photographer, so I spent some time digging around and found his website. His name is Mike Brodie but, he goes by the name The Polaroid Kidd. He has achieved his well know status at the age of 21. I'm really drawn to his images for how unique they are. He captures an interesting group of people and lifestyle unknown to me. The colors are great and images well composed, I wish that I had he time to just follow a group of people around and document their lives so. When I first saw the first few images I thought that it was a Vogue shoot. The way he shoots his images draws my attention to the clothes as much as the people.

His site

More info about him

Enjoy

The Color of our sins are saturated with passion

Once shock and horror was sought out as a tool for teaching and captivating by the early church, so is the purpose of this image. With the current culture becoming so desensitized by the media and propaganda, an image able to create the same shock once incurred by any god-fearing person has become a necessity in order to create any sort of lasting affect. While the opposing images create a familiar scene, as the bite of temptation is depicted, they are also meant as a satire on the view toward sin of modern culture. With the seven deadly sins being represented through color in order to draw focus and appeal, the severity of the sins themselves are no less horrific than when first conceived. The central image is placed as the shock appeal so often sought after in today’s society as well as shied away from. The discomfort of the pose and the lack of appeal of the image itself helps to solidify our general dissent from purity and morals. The image as a whole creates an entirely different person signifying the transformation as one commits a sin. “Commit the oldest sins the newest kind of ways” - Bill Shakespeare pride-voilet (toe nails, right) envy-green (apple) wrath-red (shoe) sloth-light blue (toe nails, left) greed-yellow (snake) gluttony-orange (snake) lust-blue (the bit in the apple) This was my 260 triptic project. I know its a little different and slightly out there but I want to know what you think.

An interesting discussion on Vernacular Creativity (one of my personal interests) on Henry Jenkins (MIT Prof who studies popular culture) site today. http://henryjenkins.org/

MSUfacultyShow

MSU Faculty Exhibit Views

Here are a few pictures from the MSU Photo Faculty show at the Helen E. Copeland Gallery.

Death as art?

I may find this more abhorrent because I'm a vegetarian, and strongly believe in Animal Rights, but seriously... come on. The above images are C-Prints by artist Nathalia Edenmont from the Former Soviet Union. She kills and dismembers mice, rabbits, house cats, and chickens for the sake of her art. I can enjoy the formal beauty of her images but simply can't get over the fact that it's the shock value that she depends on to make here photographs noteworthy. Organizations like PETA have broken into the only gallery which will showcase her work, and destroyed exhibits. Another artist that I have been reading about recently is Damien Hirst. He is being canonized as the UK's most famous living artist. He has been in the media lately because of his work "For the Love of God" in which he bedazzled a human skull with over 1,100 karats in diamonds set in platinum. It is in negotiations to be sold for $100,000,000, making it the highest selling piece of art in history. (I don't think he saw Blood Diamond). Anyway, the work of Hirst is often controversial. Second to his bling skull he is most famous for taking livestock, fish, and sharks and suspending them in formaldehyde, and plastic. His work reminds me of Bodyworlds which we've discussed a lot in past classes. But Bodyworlds isn't touted as and art exhibit, it is seen as scientific. What is so artistic about someone who takes a chainsaw to a calf and sticks it in a tank to compliment it's bisected mother? The strangest part is that there is far less controversy over Hirst's art than Edenmond. I believe this is because Hirst is not the killer of his subjects. It also goes to show you that the smaller and cuter the animal being disemboweled the greater the outrage. I am left to wonder if Edenmont had turned a calf's head into a hand puppet, would she have been left alone? Or had she plasticized her pet cat instead of putting it's head on a floral pedestal would the public have cared? Go forth and stick your dog in a tank of formaldehyde! It is art after all.

Exciting Day At Checkout!

Finished?

"Dorthea Lovejoy" My pronto plates came in the mail this week, so I'm hoping to start curving the image and printing this one by Tuesday.

Hatchfest

This is Phillip Van from NYU who was a ground breaker for hatchfest this year, i shot this portrait for the photojournalism lab for hatch and it was an awesome experience

The Lovejoy Family

I'm experimenting with facial manipulation similar to Loretta Lux. This is a super rough image, not quite right yet.

Show update!

Cale and I have an opening at Wild Joe's tonight from 5 to 8, not 6 to 8 like I was originally told. Come on down! Wild Joe's tonight (October 3rd) from 5 to 8 Good times and free wine.