July 2009
You are browsing the Sunday and Wednesday archive for July 2009.
Utensil Me:updated
Hello sun and wed its really been too long, last time I left you, I was in the throws of a five week crash course in advertising and I have to report that I think it went really well. I learned more about advertising and still life in those five weeks than the last 3 years. Im sorry ive been a lil apprehensive about posting my advertising still lives, since i have not been able to give them the photoshop love that they deserve. Ad xl was like five weeks of straight shooting, now i feel like i need five weeks of editing, but i havent been so dedicated. But for now I leave you with more utensils light paintings as per request. I used the hosemaster to light these, that awkward black thing wrapped around me in matt kelley’s post. His picture was taken at the end of xl, obviously i hadnt seen enough of the sun. Since the end of my course I effortlessly shook my serious work ethic to return to Maryland for my 21st birthday on july 2. Ethically trading my work for whiskey, ive been well and drunk ever since. I also made a few amazing images while I was there and sober enough to hold a camera, you ll see those later and I promise to be back this sunday with more complex edited still lifes. Cheers!
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ps. Okay so this is an updated look at one of the projects I started in the early days of my five week studio course. I like the idea of glorifying the mundane, the everyday, and the over looked. This was an exercise aimed to familiarize me with the lighting technique I would employ for the rest of the class.
I have never been so sweaty
I have been in a big slump. I’d like to apologize for my absence. I think I have made strong images this summer it has just been hard to feel good about the work, I think the pressure is getting to me. The thing is there really isn’t that much pressure. If it is substantial, it is mainly self induced. I am trying to figure how to work three projects, and to an extent, know they have to come to a conclusion by the end of the summer. Eddie asked me about my man portraits the other day while I was giving him feedback on his work. It was nice to have to define it, I get wrapped up in my own ideas of what it is, I don’t spend any time defending it. The following two images are developments in both my man portrait series titled Derrick Morrey, and my product portraits series which I don’t think has a title yet. The projects are about my relationships with men and with food. Toward the end of the summer I will certainly give my defenses of the projects.
The files aren’t worked up yet, I think the color is off, but I needed to feel like I wasn’t severely neglecting the site anymore. Thank you for your patience. I am going to be better about contributing, so Sunday I’ll have a bunch of new stuff.
Coney Island
Coney Island
Out of all the places I have photograped this summer, Coney Island is most definently the most popular place for people to gather. On most weekends, the beach is covered with a balnket of colorful umbrellas, beach towels, and a lot of people who should be wearing more clothing. But on this chilly overcast day, the beach was empty. Only a few people dared to enter the firged water which, on a warmer day, looks somewhat enticing. Two couples paly and flirt in the New York City water. I don’t think the girl being thrown was really enjoying the display of masculinity her mate was presenting in an attempt to receave any sign of approval. Right after I took this image, the other couple turned around and noticed me photographing them. They proceeded to throw up two fingers of peace which is much nicer than many reaction I have received in other similar situations.
Work in progress,
as in, I’m working on it right now. I’m writin this, waiting for parts of it to air dry. I would usually blow dry it, but I want to keep the shapes it takes when the ink dries by itself. Again, this piece is very intuitive. It’s being formed by random decisions I make as I go along. As I was/am making it, these words keep poppin up: Inside me, Inside you. So, I guess that will be the title, and it kinda fits, some of the patterning looks like cervical cells, which was not intentional until I recognized it and went with it.
Some of the artists I’m looking at while making this, (the books in the picture) are Marlene Dumas and Darren Waterston. Their work is so beautiful and it feels so organic and true to life. anyway, look them up, they’re definetly worth a damn good look.
Also something else that feeds this process is the music I listen to. I’ve been listening to ratatat, portishead, vampire weekend. I dunnoe, certain music is conductive to creativity, I think. it also depends on the mood I’m in.
Anyway, on a lighter note, hair pieces are great:
Listen, i’ve discovered a new band that I really like:
New Work – for real this time
I cant help but think this post is really fucking obnoxious with how long it is..but its either this or updating my website and that shits not happening cause it takes forever so sorry if Im taking up too much room.if you show me how to make the picture a link so I can make it smaller I will do that.
Anyway I shot this because Im about to leave NYC in around 3 weeks and I cant help but feel like im racing to the end. I will win the race if I make a body of work that I can feel proud of. I contacted Red models and Basic models and said this could be something they would be interested in. Contacted a hair stylist and said, I have no money do this for free. Basically When you test there is a lot of trading of skills going around. I will shoot his hair styles if he does hair for my shoot. Everyone is getting something.
I chose to shoot them without clothes because I like seeing the body and the form/skin. If I had them fully styled I think I would lose the innocent boyish quality that I wanted. it was easy because some of the guys are like 16 and I felt really old. Honestly these images might look better in B/W but Im just trying to do something different and that Im not used to. I can shoot natural series when I go back to rochester.
I want your honest input if you know me, then you know I can take it. So say whats up.
Disconnect
Lately I have been continually running into disconnections. disconnections between thought and action, between words and the interpretation of those words, between what i see and what the camera captures, between the ideas i have for images i create and the viewers perception of those ideas and thoughts behind those images, between my dialogue toward the viewer and they’re dialogue with the image etc… I certainly don’t think that I’m unique in feeling this. I’m sure that anyone who engages in the act of communication has and will understand this feeling that the symbols they use in their language, will not be received and understood in the way that it is meant to be perceived. Error: semantics. Even in the most widely practiced form of communitation(verbal language based communitcation) there is so much lost in translation. Thus the task of communicating visually is an especially gruesome task and one that leaves much to be desired. Therefore my concentration lately has been mainly focused on the attempt to come to grips with my own language and personal interpretation of visual language and understand the differences between my understanding and the understanding and interpretation of others.These are two images that I created recently.
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Gi-gi-gi-gina Turner
The infamous Gina Turner is in NYC for the summer. She is a LA based DJ and performs alone as Gina Turner and with Louisahhh as Stacatto.
It was basically one of those situations where, I knew many people she did, and she was friends with people I was friends with, so how are WE not friends. I met her at The Fader rooftop party and she was dancing crazy to some Major Lazer and I just fucking knew I wanted to photograph her. Luca, Drop The Lime, had told her he liked my work and so she was stoked on it.
Rain was against us man, the whole month of June here in NY was just fucked. It finally subsided and we did that shiiiiiiit and then we twittered the fuck out of it after. Hey girl hey @DJGINATURNER .
Tomorrow I am shooting Miss Carrriiiiie Willlllllds at Luca’s house because he has this fucking crazy wallpaper I need to hone in on before someone steals it. She’s gorgeous, she sings vocals and has for Drop The Lime and more recently Crookers, so I’d like to photograph her before she get’s huge and forgets us, ahem.
I haven’t shot in a while since Gina, and I’m moving soon so I really want to fit everything I can. However I am dead broke and will have to take only one roll of each person so each shot will have to be carefully orchestrated, as it usually is anyways when shooting film. I like that though, because I really am trying to live within the constraints of thinking of one picture and going with that and making that happen without aimlessly snapping away. Carrie has this crazy Dita Von Teese look that I don’t even know what to do with because I have never shot anyone who looks so dolled up, it’s usually just dudes. Check her out, super cute.
Valissa Yoe will be styling and Nadja Nebas doing make up so it’s nice this little Brooklyn crew we have here trying to achieve the same thing. Tell you how it goes. Bye Wednesday.
New Work | Washington Heights | Prospect Park South
Three weeks ago I began photographing the outskirts of New York City. I started this project because these were the places I wanted to go and because I needed somewhere to start; something to narrow down where I could go to photograph. So far it has been an incredibly liberating experience. With only geographic guidelines, I am free to photograph what ever I want, and I think because of that the images I have been making have been free and rewarding.
This first set of images are from early in the summer when I went up to Washington Heights to photograph an opera singer. I went a few hours before we were suppose to meet so that I could wander around in the rain an take pictures.
Hudson River
Opera Singer
Henry Hudson pkwy
Washington Heights
These next images were taken around my apartment in Prospect Park South, Brooklyn. I live in a run down apartment complex in a less than ideal neighborhood. But just one block south there is a large group of beautiful houses and one block north there is the park.
Argyle St.
Football Game
New Work – The Boys
New series Im working on. My boss told me “if youre going to shoot cute boys, shoot like 10 of them”
so I did. tell me what you think good bad…..good