Saturday, August 29, 2009

New Photo of Jesse

I took this photo a couple of weeks ago when Jesse and I were making dinner. The light coming in through the lacy curtains made it impossible for me to let this moment slip away.


I ended up using two separate images to build a composite here, although you can't really tell. In one image Jesse had a great expression on his face, but I didn't like the body language nor the way I had cropped his hands. So I found another frame that had a simpler posture and combined the two. I'm pretty happy with the results. I love the way Photoshop allows photographers to layer and build images, working in a way that is much more like a painter, rather than the traditional "straight" photographer.

I think this image of Jesse would look great juxtaposed with the one of me in the same location and in similar light:

This would look amazing installed in a corner, so that the two photographs are facing each other, creating a dialog between them.

Even though both of these images were created out of "happy" moments in our marriage and daily life, I can't seem to stay away from creating dramatic tension in the photographs. Perhaps it is a way to introduce intrigue and drama into an otherwise copacetic life.

Thursday, August 13, 2009


More from the Westside

I went out yesterday and photographed some more for the Westside series. I started looking closer at the neighborhoods, found this quaint little lamp store:



An altar outside of a local church


Side view of backyards


Found this while walking through an an area where they were setting up for a neighborhood carnival.


"Creaciones Susy's" - advertisement for handmade crafts


Monday, August 10, 2009

More New Photos

Haven't started photographing people yet - still working up the nerve. Here's more photos from my new Westside series.

This building's exterior was constructed out of styrofoam. Bizarre building.


Love the golden light and blue sky in this one.

I don't know what the heck these metal structures are - are they silos? If you know, leave me a comment!

This wild prairie flower is called quinine - I learned that at the Nature Museum! :)

Nikki taking some photos. This was before we got chased away by a security guard.


While In Class

I will be jurying an upcoming exhibition at Woman Made Gallery, While in Class.
Here's the info:
Entry deadline is October 14, 2009, Exhibition dates: January 22 - February 25, 2009

Accepting submissions of up to three works in any medium by women artists from the international community, who are currently undergraduate or graduate students. Art schools are a major site of exploration and discovery for new artists. However, much of the work students produce is graded and stored away under the bed. This exhibition seeks to get these works out of storage and into the light, and thereby examine the process of becoming an artist. What kinds of innovations are being made “while in class?”

Click here to access online entry form: http://womanmade.org/entryform.html

Friday, August 07, 2009

Lots of new Photos!

I went out and photographed a couple times this week with a friend. Began working on a project loosely titled West-side - something I've been thinking about for awhile now. I started by just looking at some of the more industrial areas and sites of construction. I do hope to include people in my photographs, but for now the images are just places of visual interest.

Living on the west-side of Chicago is really a completely different experience than living on the north-side, as many young people of my ethnicity and class seem to do. Recently a friend mentioned that we are living in "the real chicago"... an interesting idea to explore.

I've been pretty productive on my first week of summer vacation, I only wish I had more time off!











On a side note, I also spent a lot of time learning Adobe Lightroom this week. I'm pretty impressed with all of the non-destructive editing that can be done, before you even open a file in Photoshop. It has really sped up my process for posting images on the web. Highly recommended!

Saturday, August 01, 2009

New Photo: Summer Self Portrait


A new(ish) photo - made this one in late June, on the one day we've had all summer when the temperature was in the 90's. I was taking a break from painting some boards on our back porch, waiting in between coats of white paint.

I think it will be interesting to examine the changes in the physical self, after years of doing these self portraits - like Rembrandt or even Nick Nixon's Brown Sisters.

I am now done with the summer class I was teaching, and I have 3 weeks off!!! My plan was to photograph in Florida and Costa Rica, but those plans fell through once Jesse lost his job. So I'm going to utilize these 3 weeks to photograph regularly, as I was planning to do when I went on my trips. So more photos will be posted soon!