notes
Stars and Stripes
I couldn't imagine the pain and suffering that all of the families and loved ones of our military have had to endure in order for president Bush to have his war. I don't know anyone in the military. I don't know anyone in Iraq. This image came about when I tried to imagine...
Lough Gill
I traveled to Ireland to shoot footage for a film based in a village called Castle Gregory. Lough Gill is a lake located there, and just down the street from where I stayed. In Ireland it rains, alot. It is always either just before, during or after a storm. Perfect light. The only challenge to shooting in the rain is keeping my camera dry. I use a really large plastic bag with a hole cut out for the lens. A rubber band secures the opening tightly around the barrel of the lens - I love shooting in the rain - I loved Ireland.
Blue Heron
I almost had a heart attack when I saw this great blue heron so close to where I was shooting. I changed my lens to the longest telephoto I had. I took a shot, then I began "operation stealth". Every time he lowered his head to groom I crept towards him on my knees - When he looked up I froze, then slowly took his picture. Once he resumed grooming I proceeded foreword again. Eventually I ran out of film. My camera bag was now well behind me - so I reached into my side pocket and grabbed my digital point and shoot. I knew once I stood up he'd fly off... So I composed the shot, stood up and began moving towards him very slowly. This allowed the auto focus of the camera to keep up. Finally he felt I was too close and took to the air. I got one shot off -
Winter Dock
I love snow. Large amounts temporarily purify the world, masking all of the ugliness, if only for a short amount of time. Capturing this requires shooting either during or immediately following a storm as it doesn't’t take long for snow to lose it’s state of purity. The was shot right after sunset so the light is very even and the color palette very limited.
Snowdance
Diane was about to graduate from a college of dance. She needed a photo of herself to send out to perspective employers. This type of photography is best handled with digital equipment. Since I mainly shoot film I rely on my friend Eric for this type of shooting. It was snowing quite hard on the day of the shoot. Once the formal shots were completed Eric turned our attention to the falling snow outside. Diane didn’t hesitate for a second when asked if she’d consider going outside to play in the snow. She donned a pair of my boots and headed outside where she began to twirl and spin. The snowdance lasted about 5 minutes as it was quite cold to be out without a coat. This was shot digitally with available light.
November 2
My response.
Snowman
I built this snowman at the end of March in 2004. The winter had not produced much snow but as spring approached we suddenly began to receive daily snow squals. I chose the edge of the lake to construct him as the snow there was wet and sticky enough to hold together. I photographed him often as each day saw the temperature rise and my snowman shrink. Finally one day I looked down and he was gone. I find that it is not the details of photography that pose the greatest challege but rather that which I choose to photograph. As for the snowman I am convinced that instead of waiting for the inevitable he high taled it north, which is where he is now, along with my hat and scarf.
Fisherman
I spent a week down in Provincetown, MA just before the summer season started. I tooled around town, the beaches, and the neighborhoods looking for something to shoot. Landscapes tend to bore me - and it was while trying to photograph a landscape at Race Point that I happened across this fisherman. He reluctantly gave me permission to take his photo. I set up my tripod and took four quick shots before moving on. It was the evening of an overcast day. The film was E6 processed. These factors all contributed to the overall blue cast.
Ferrick
This was shot on July 9, 2004 at Jonathan's Restaurant - Ogunquit, ME. Melissa is currently on tour, having just released her new cd "The Other Side". On this night, she played for two and a half hours. As strong as her recorded music is, you can't fully appreciate her talent until you have seen her perform live.
Marina's Hands
The idea for this image came from seeing a cast of my niece's hands in plaster. I decided to document her hands with a photograph. I asked her to place her hands on the glass slider and I went on the opposite side to shoot her. She's three; when you tell a three year old to stay still what they consider still is quite different from an adults. If I had told an adult to stay still they would have become a statue. Marina's hands, face, in fact her entire body wiggled and moved constantly... but she never actually left the room, so in her mind she was frozen. This meant that each frame was completely different from the one prior. Because of her constant moving I needed a very fast shutter speed, something I didn't have the luxury of since I was using available light - so most of the images were soft - except this one. She put up with my "session" for 5 minutes, an absolute eternity for her.
Dock
I woke on this late fall morning in 2002 to an early season snowstorm, a precursor of what would become a record breaking year for snowfall. I hurried down to the lake to take this photo before setting off to work. It's a great feeling of satisfaction to create so early in the day. The early morning fog hanging over the water is a result of the water temperature being warmer then the air temperature; a daily reminder of a summer just past and a winter fast approaching.
Phinley
As an art student I was told to never take photos of pets or children. The concern that "cute" pictures instead of "art" photographs would be the result. On the evening I took this shot I was feeling burned out from having just completed a show of my work. I headed down to the lake with my dog, Phinley, to take a picture for me; not to show, not for anyone's approval, for me. This is my favorite photograph to date -
Sole
I drove by this tree every day on my way to and from work. One cold winter day I set off to photograph it. Getting to this spot required snowshoes and a heavy backpack to transport my photo equipment. The sky was overcast when I set out, but when I arrived the skies had mostly cleared. Although I don't usually like bright sun for taking landscapes it provided an interesting shadow of the tree, which would not have been present under cloudy conditions.
Not Myself
I have found most people, myself included, tend to take on the characteristics of a chameleon in that our appearance is constantly changing, depending upon the circumstances surrounding us. In the evolution of a person the constant struggle of deciding which "face" to put foreword, which "mask" to wear poses the question: does a person ever truly reveal their self, or do they merely replace one mask for another?
Stretch
My niece was required to submit a photograph of herself as part of her application to a college of dance. Although this was not the photograph submitted, this was the one I saw when she showed up with her well worn ballet slippers. She started dancing when she was three years old.