David Ohl

              A while ago In my post “Slice of Uncivilization”  I introduced my Grandparents trailer. When I looked those Images I felt the need to continue to photograph That place. It’s always been an escape from the busy life for my grandparents, a place where the only thing they really have to worry about is how many cars go down the road each day which you can usually count on one hand. It has also been a place for my uncles and cousins to hunt and go four-wheeling and just enjoy being in the middle of nowhere. Until recently I have only been there a handful of times due to the fact that it’s about five hours away from my home and there is a general discomfort with hunting on my mothers part. However I’ve taken an interest in photographing this place in order to discover what makes it so special to my grandparents. When they are there they seem happy. they walk about completing their little tasks that may or may not actually need to be done but they enjoy filling their time with picking blueberries or tinkering with the tractor or cleaning out the birdhouses etc… last quarter I made a book of Pictures I took while participating in opening day of Rifle season for Deer. I was very happy with how It came out.  Alex Broderick helped me layout the book and she completed it by binding it into a beautiful hardcover book. we called it “Bryant Hollow”.

Since completeing the book I decided I want to do more so I’m making the trip down there whenever possible. This image is from the last trip. I’m hoping to create a series of books like volumes of a photo album.

I found this cow as I was hiking around, My guess is it just couldn’t last the winter and the farmer hadn’t found it yet.

My last trip down was my first time there alone. I was the first one to go since the fall when it had been winterized. In the process of turning on the electric and the well pump I flooded the bathroom. It was a half inch deep before I realized there was a cracked waterline.

I don’t know when my grandparents will make it back to the trailer. My grandfather doesn’t seem to be bouncing back from his latest cancer treatment. My grandmother is moving slow after her knee surgery.

As I photograph This place more and more I think I’m connecting with them more by gaining a strong appreciation this place that seems to represent exactly who they are. In many ways these photographs make the trailer look like more than it is but maybe that’s what’s so intruiging about it.

Let me know your thoughts…

On Thursday, Todd Hido came to speak at RIT and in the morning he held a critique session. I was lucky enough to participate in the critique session and hear him talk about my work as well as other student work. I showed him a series of images I’ve been compiling for a book, he had a lot of constructive things to say and he also made a tight edit of the work and sequenced a few images in a way that i had never thought of before.  This was something he did for most all of the work and it was great to see the way he worked with sequencing and was able to create a strong grouping of images from a series of work. Also all those who participated got a sneak peek of his book that will be published in a month or so, he brought with him a mock up of the book it was really amazing to flip through and experience it first hand.

Recently I have been making work that  is branching off of what i normally do. I started shooting more black and white which is a way of working that I am not used to, but it has offered me a way to look at things differently and be more involved in the process. Even though I often find myself short on time, my time spent in the darkroom has been rewarding. Here are a few Images taken while driving around to clear my head.