Weekly Reflection: 5/23-5/28

This week I learned what it takes to put on an art show! It takes a significant amount of energy as I have learned this week. However, while it was difficult I thoroughly enjoyed what I was doing the whole time.

I began the week with printing all of the photos for the art exhibit. Once they were printed I began my advertising process. I sent out several flyers and sent out invites over facebook and email. I then began looking up recipes for my event. This is where it started getting really fun. On the morning of the exhibit I cooked cooked cooked and cooked some more. I made so much food. The food consisted of tomato bruschetta and roasted red pepper bruschetta. I also made a delicious assortment of meat, cheese and bread. For drinks I made some organic iced green tea with lemon verbena from the garden. It was delicious. The day of the exhibit was slightly crazy, but still fun. Many people came to the event to see some good pictures, eat yummy food, and enjoy the company of others. It was a real social seen, which I was happy about. People felt comfortable in the environment and really took the time to look at my pictures.

I had so much fun with the exhibit and have learned that I really like that energy of putting on a show. No matter what I end up doing in life, I have learned that I want to be surrounded by people, life, and art. Putting on a show has really taught me this.

Day Fourteen: Putting it all In front of me

Today I went over John's to pick up my pictures that I will use for the art show. I also picked up some cheap paper copies of my pictures. I will use these to see which pictures go well together and so I can bring them to the coffee house and visually look at them on the wall. While organizing the pictures I decided to name everyone of my pictures. The process of naming them was both fun and interesting. To name them I looked back to the moment when I took the picture and tried to visualize the scene in my head. I picked out names for the pictures that most represented the moments that lead up to the picture being taken.

I have also been looking up recipes for the food I'm going to be serving at the show. Tomorrow I will purchase food and begin cooking. I'm also going to finish a couple artist statements that I will be presenting with some of my photos.

Until tomorrow,

-Jax

Day Thirteen: A Jackson Day

Today was wonderful! I woke up and went for an hour-long run with my momma, had a delicious piece of left-over chicken and then went for a swim at Elbow pond with my dog. I then came home and worked on advertising for my exhibit this saturday from 5-7! I sent out invitations to every single person in the school and I'm now in the process of making flyers which I will put around campus and town. Tomorrow I plan to print out my pictures on normal paper and tack them up on the walls of the coffee house. I will do this to get an idea of where I want to put my pictures this saturday. Tomorrow I will begin looking up recipes for things I want to make as hors d'oeuvres. It is all coming together!

-Jax 

Day Twelve: I Can Hold it all in my Hands

I finished printing all of the photos I will be using for the exhibit this Saturday (changed date). It took a really long time to print them all and sort out the good ones, but I did it and now I can focus on advertising and setting up for my gig!

I printed on medium glossy paper and I'm really pleased how they all turned out. I'm currently in the process of figuring out which photos work the best with each other. I'm doing this to see which pictures should be hung together for the art exhibit.

I can pretty confidently say that I'm brain dead after today. I worked for about 6 hours just sorting through pictures, making final edits and printing them with John. Oh boy, it's good to get those pictures printed. Until tomorrow,

peace

Day Eleven: Getting Ready

Today marks the day that I stop taking pictures and start gearing up for my exhibit this friday!

I went over to John's today around 10:30 to narrow down the work I have been doing to my best pictures. It was difficult parting with some pictures, but I want my show to have work that I'm most proud of and I'm very excited to share my work with the Proctor and surrounding community. I talked to Adam Jones today about booking the coffee house for my exhibit. John and I then checked out the space and what we have to work with. The space is absolutely perfect for the occasion! The space great lighting, a warm and cozy coffee-house feel, plenty of wall space and a perfect counter to serve appetizers. This week I will be spending the entire time printing photos, advertising my show, cooking, arranging and matting photos. I have a lot of work ahead of me, but I'm really excited to put on this show.

I am meeting John tomorrow to begin the printing process!

peace,

-Jax

Weekly Reflection: 5/16-5/21

This week was an incredibly productive week. I week I established my groove and work ethic. I can say that I’m comfortable using Lightroom. I now feel comfortable in knowing how a picture is going to turn out as I begin to edit a photo in Lightroom. Due to this newly-found knowledge, I have been taking, sorting and editing up a storm this week. 

Another important thing I learned this week was how to back up my pictures onto an external hard drive. This gives me security in knowing that my pictures are backed up somewhere else. It was a difficult process, but now I know how to organize, sort, and back-up pictures that I will take in the future. 

A surprise that I encountered this week was that I began to get stressed out about taking pictures. I began struggling with the fact that I was no longer taking pictures for me, but for school. I began to realize that my pictures weren’t as good when I was forcing the mindset that I needed to take a good picture. This was the biggest road block in my week. I never thought that I would become so worked up over my performance in photography, but it happened. I began stressing myself out and doubting my ability to take good pictures. I have taking up meditation again to calm myself and open my mind. 

For all of Saturday I hardly brought my camera anywhere with me. I wanted to get my eye out from behind the camera and just live without thinking of shots I could take for my exhibit or the lighting on my friends’ faces. I had a wonderful day. It was beautiful. I went swimming, running, biking, listened to a music performance, went out to lunch, and laughed with my friends. I began to realize that I was reliving what made me want to take up photography. The whole day I couldn’t stop thinking about how beautiful my friend’s wet-hair looked in the rain, or the way two people embraced each other after crying, or the way her nose scrunches up when she is laughing. I wanted to record these moments. I wanted to hold onto them and show them to others. I wanted to go get my camera. 

The biggest lesson I learned this week was that sometimes I need to separate myself from the things that I love in order to get perspective so that I can appreciate them more and see them in a new light. That is how love grows. That is how an artist grows. That is how we grow.

Day Ten: Music

Today I took a trip to Vermont to go to an appointment. It felt really refreshing to get out of my Andover and New Hampshire bubble and just see the beautiful lush fields and sharp mountains of Vermont. In Vermont I took several stops along the way to photograph old barns and nice landscapes. This kind of photography was just for fun, for I'm mostly working with humans as the main subjects in my Photos.

I went to the student concert at Colby-Sawyer College to support some friends, get my dance on, and listen to some quality music. While the music was very fun and catchy, I couldn't seem to get my camera to do what I wanted it to. The lighting in there was too dark for not using a flash and I don't like the way a flash eliminates shading and what not. Thus I found myself fiddling with the camera and taking very blurry pictures. Oh well, I guess I won't be able to share my moments from tonight in a picture. However, tonight I learned that I do need to educate myself more in the potentials of my camera and how to work around lighting and still get what you want.

It's late and I must sleep...

-Jax

Day Nine: It's All Great

Today was an emotional roller coaster. I'm in this crazy period of my life at the moment where everything is about to change. College is just around the corner. I'm leaving home this summer for work. I'm about to leave Proctor Academy which has been my school, my home, my life, my playground and safe haven. It's just so sad that my younger years have flashed by before my eyes. On the other hand it's the most wonderful thing in the world. I have had so many great adventures and have so many to look forward to. This morning I cried. I cried and wept about how all things come to an end. Today I laughed at how much love I have in my life and tonight I cried at how much I'm going to miss this place.

I'm so thankful for everything and am also thankful that I have my camera with me to document the highs, the lows, the goods, the bads, and even the ugly.

It's the weighting moments that make life worth while...

peace

-Jax

Day Eight: Oh Feels Great

Today I went to John's and learned how to back up my pictures onto a hard drive. This felt good to do because now I don't have to worry too much if my computer falls off of a cliff. After I learned how to establish a safety net for my pictures I learned how to categorize them on my computer for organization.

Afterwords we looked on the big screen at the photos I have taken and edited recently.

I'm excited to start gearing up for my art exhibit, which I will begin work on next week.

Short blog today, but I'm tired and need to take care of me...

Day Seven: Editing

Today I was confronted twice with the question, "Isn't that Cheating?"
"Is what cheating?" I asked both times.
"Editing photos. Isn't that cheating?"

What are the objectives in the piece?
What constitutes art
What is the quality?
Its the intent behind the work.
If the artist does not have a foundation to work from, it can't be created from technology alone.
You can't create Dot and her house. You cannot create Zada running around in the rain. One needs to go out and get the raw image.

I had never really thought about this concept before, that editing or manipulating a photographic image could be cheating. I'm also frustrated that I wasn't able to give a good response to this question, which I took as more of an insult at the time. With time to think about it, here is what I came up with today...

One of the many great things about art is that there are virtually no rules. Sure, there are guidelines one can follow to achieve a certain style of artwork. Overall, art can be a scribble on a piece of paper or a coat hanger bent in half. Point being, art is whatever one makes of it and is open to interpretation. People have different artistic styles that they find appealing.  For instance a painter may paint a landscape and choose certain hues of paint and embellish certain elements within the scene to highlight what the artist feels is important in that work. The beauty is that no one needs to follow them in order to be right, because there is no right or wrong to art. Bringing it back to photography, if one believes that a picture should remain the way it was taken, than that is their personal choice that is neither right nor wrong. It is those choices that also bring zest and personality to an artist. The choices they make influence the piece and give it a style that is unique to any other piece of work.

Art is largely an interpretation of what the artist sees. In my editing process, which includes a bit of dodging and burning, I like to highlight and bring attention to what I see so that the observer can look at a picture through my artistic lens.

Above all, a prevailing theme in photography has always been to get the best image that one can. Going back to the origins of photography, different papers, grain, chemicals, lighting and shutter speeds were all taken into account when trying to produce photos for a desired effect. One might use Kodachrome to get deeper deeper reds and yellows, where Ektachrome gives more of a blue tone and Fugifilm gives a heavy purple influence in photographs. A photographer by nature will choose preferred materials in terms of producing the desired affect. This is part of the photography process. This is editing.

I'm glad I was confronted with these questions today, for it has helped me to define photography for myself and further strengthen my personal style in capturing the "Weight of the Moment."

Just something to think about...

-Jax

Day Six: Rain Drops

On Sundays I usually don't plan too much. I wake up around nine and will then usually put on a comfy sweater, a pair of jeans and some boots for my usual sunday trip to the Co-op. I brought my friend Zada with me for fun and so that she could pick up a few treats for herself.
As we drive down route 11 listening to the static radio I decided I needed to go to the bathroom. We drove into the parking lot of an old baseball field that I remember watching games at as a kid. It was pouring rain and I did not feel like getting out of the car. Zada turned her face towards mine while still looking out at the rainy field. "Want to go run around?"

All of the sudden, an incredible childlike and enthused sense of awakening came about me as I stepped out into the pouring rain. I took off my wool sweater and cotton shirt and began to run around. With every lunge a wave of mud would splash all over my jeans, but in another they would already be washed clean by the down-pour of rain. Zada was far ahead in the outfield. Her red hair was matted, soaked, and darkened by the water. The color complemented the bright spring grass on the field. It smelled like wet dandelions. It was beautiful. While running around, and doing handstands we couldn't help but fall over and burst into uninhibited fits of laughter. We were having so much fun being outside, feeling the rain and letting it soak us.

We weren't doing anything in particular, we were just having fun with whatever we were doing. It was so refreshing and was the perfect way to begin the week. I am lucky that I brought my camera...

peace,

-jax

Weekly Reflection: 5/9-5/13

I started off this week by researching other artists’ photos, who’s work was similar to the style of photography that I like. This style, which I have mentioned in other blog posts, is focused on capturing the raw emotion, psychology, feel and candidness to a moment. In doing so, I have also learned a variety on color and how it can either contribute or distract the observer from the true point and grit of a photo. Over the week I have been learning the functions in the editing program “Light Room,” which is used by many photographers to edit and manipulate photos. 

I have thoroughly enjoyed working on my project this week. I’m so fortunate that I’m allotted these three weeks to do what I love; photographing the weight of the moment. I’m one who prefers candid photography and trying to expose and bring focus to something in a photo that others might not see otherwise. This style allows me to go on adventures with my camera to record moments of beauty in my life that I can then share with others in a picture. 

Over this week I have surprised myself by how outgoing I have become with strangers in trying to hear their stories and educate myself on their lives. I have startled myself in my recent discovery of how attached I have become to each of my photos. Everyone of my photos contains a person who holds a story or a moment that they have shared with me. I’m reminded of these moments every time I look at the memories expressed in my photographs. 

I learned quite a bit and have grown significantly in my first week on senior project. This knowledge I have gained will benefit me in the weeks to come. I have become more focused and aware of the path I want to pursue in photography over the next two weeks and into my life. My comprehension in “Light Room” is growing as is my understanding in camera theory. With two weeks to continue my project I’m looking forward to assisting and taking pictures in an organized photo shoot, meeting and learning the stories about people I photograph, and beginning the process of finishing up photos to be printed and matted.

Tomorrow I will be attending my first photo shoot!

Until tomorrow,

-jax

Day Five: Stayin Alive

Tonight is one of those nights when you crawl into your bed and you think to yourself, "what a great day!" I have bruises on my knees, cuts on my toes form walking barefoot all day, wet matted hair from swimming in the river and a full stomach from the venison tenderloin I cooked today.

In regards to my last post, today I tried to not go looking for photographable moments. Instead, just bring my camera with me wherever I go. My intention going into today was to go with the flow and get lost in the moment. I believe I did just that and I have great pictures to prove it. Bleeding feet, grassy fields, games of wall ball, salad greens, cold river swimming and picking ticks off bare limbs. Good thing I had my camera with me!

Today was fun. It was very very fun. Tomorrow is going to be an incredibly long day of processing, uploading and editing pictures. It is time to look at these moments on the blown up screen and pick out the magic. It's there, I just have to expose it!

-Jax

Day Four: That Old House

I apologize that this blog is one day late due to technical difficulties. Anyways...

Today (as in yesterday) I found myself following my daily routine. Wake up around eight, go for a run, fry up some eggs, drive past that old house that I have been driving past for about thirteen years to head down the hill and go to John's. I don't know what caused me to stop at that house that could literally be pushed down with my pinky. The house is so dilapidated and rotted. The old woman who lives there was walking to her mailbox at the end of her driveway to get the newspaper. I drove by the house at about ten am on my way to "get away" in hopes of finding inspiration or a good story to capture on camera. I'm glad that in doing so I didn't miss the story of Dot.

Driving past the house and watching it grow smaller behind me I knew I would be late to John's yet again. Something in my gut told me I should go back and introduce myself to the stranger who has been my neighbor for thirteen some odd years. It's funny how easy it's to go on with the days, months and years without stopping to hear the stories of the ones you drive by every day. Turning around awkwardly in the skinny road, the old woman turned her head around to see this stranger in a pickup truck pull up beside the mailbox. I introduced myself and told her I'm the boy who lives in the shingled house with the stone wall out front. The older woman, wearing a heavy trench coat with the fur of an animal wrapped around her neck on the warmest day of the year, introduced herself as Dot. Dot has been living in this deteriorating red farm house since birth. She was born in the living room and has been watching the world go by through those warped kitchen windows for eighty-three years.

These days I have been bringing my camera with me wherever I go. Looking back at my truck with my camera resting in the front seat I asked if I could take her picture. I said she didn't have to smile or anything. "Good," she said. "I don't have any teeth left to smile." With those words she gave the cutest grin revealing the one remaining tooth in the right corner of her mouth. It was perfect.

On any given day I would have driven past that old house without giving it but a moment's worth of my time. Today I took a moment to stop. In doing so I took a risk, learned a story, made a connection, a friend, a moment and a memory. The next time I drive by the farmhouse I will continue to think of that beautiful woman with that ever-shining tooth. There are so many little possibilities and opportunities that are presented in a day. I'm glad I got to experience this one. Dot gives a hell of a smile.

-jax

Day Three: Piss in Soup

Today I headed over to my sponsors house around 10 o' clock. Upon arrival, we shared some un-photography related conversation as well as some sweet kava tea and spelt crackers. My homework from my last session with John was to compile my best edited pictures together so that we could analyze them together on the big screen. During our critique session I began to understand that the editing process, although important, isn't the sole determinant of what makes a picture good, great, or thought provoking. It's the raw picture, without the "bells and whistles" that editing these days allows one to do, that makes up the core value of a picture. In other words, editing helps, but it by no means makes the photo.

On the topic of editing, John and I began to talk about color and whether or not it should be used in my photos. John probed me with some though-provoking questions. "Does color make a photo?"
"Is color distracting from the purpose of a photo" and "Is color even necessary?"
With this in mind, we compared all of my colored pictures with copies in black and white. For me it was difficult to decide if a photo should be changed or not. I get attached to color. Color is fun. Color is around us all the time. Color catches the eye, but when it catches our eye are we missing something else, something more subtle, something more important? I was forced to ask myself these questions as I looked at every one of my photos. I came to find that color can do both, distract from a subject or enhance it. Color comes with finding a balance, "otherwise it's just like piss in a soup," said John in a humorous manner. "Sure there is more soup and it still looks good, but it is diluted and doesn't taste the way it should."

I left John's house around 2 o' clock today with two new books and a heightened understanding of color and composition. It's 6 o' clock and time for dinner. I made soup.

-jax

Day Two: Hitting the Books

Today consisted mostly of photo editing, hitting the books, creating an artistic nest, and eating dark chocolate.

I woke up today around eight o' clock, made myself a bowl of stale cheerios and sat down to a couple of photography books that John lent me to look over. I began with a book filled with photographs by Emmet Gowin. I admire Emmet's ability to capture the mood in a single, and usually candid, shot.

The second collection I looked at were the Lee Friedlander Photographs. In this collection, Friedlander aspired to capture the essence of America through candid photography. Friedlander traveled, as an outsider, to America to complete this goal. The photographs left me with a rather anxious, lonely and alienated impression. Opposed to Gowin's photography, where I felt a powerful connection and compassion for the subjects, I felt completely separated from the subjects as though I were an alien looking into an alternative universe. Friedlander's work and mine are completely different. It seems that Gowin is more of an observer of his subjects and is thus more removed from the moment. I like to be socializing, bonding, reacting, and feeding off of the energy of my guinea pigs when I am taking pictures. I'm interested to see if my exposure to Gowin's work will influence my photography in the future.

With breaks to take pictures, eat, exercise, and breath the fresh air, I looked at a couple more artists. Some of these photographers were Henri Cartier-Bresson, some dark images by W. Eugene Smith, and the absolutely disturbing works of Eugene Richards. The Knife and Gun Club by Eugene Richards involve the darker sides of candid moments. These moments that Richards decided to expose took place in the emergency rooms of hospitals. I wouldn't recommend these photos to anyone with a weak stomach or to an individual who is prone to sympathy pains. The pictures in this book do an excellent job of portraying human emotion in times of emergency, pain, misery, and hysteria. This book left me feeling incredibly provoked and perturbed. Although I may be too scared to pick this book up for a while, it did leave a strong impression on me that I have yet to process.

After reading, bookmarking and taking my dog for a walk, I sat down for several hours to edit and compose my best pictures. I plan to show John these pictures tomorrow on one of his big computer screens for a session of critiquing.

Until then...peace

-jax

Day One

I met with my sponsor this morning, Jon Teti, at 10 am this morning. Iced tea on the wicker coffee table, we began to outline my desired results for senior project in the next three weeks. They are as follows...

Desired Results:
1. Create an art exhibit with my favorite pictures that fit into the theme "Weighting moments."
2. I plan to become competent in the photo editing software, "Light Room," to the point where I can achieve a direction that I want in a photo.
3. Establish a Flickr account
4. Have a print portfolio to demonstrate my photography capabilities for the future.
5. Create a strong sense of direction for where I want to take photography in my life.

After coming up with my desired results I began to focus on my current reality...

1. I have iPhoto experience
2. I have access to online tutorials for Light Room
3. I'm in the process of setting up a time to meet with a successful photographer named Liz Linder in hopes of shadowing her through photo shoots and the artist process.
4. I have complete access to Jon's extensive library of photography books.
5. I have always been incredibly fascinated by taking pictures, but have never been formerly taught how to work a camera or take "The right picture."
6. I'm so incredibly excited to begin this project!

I feel like I'm at a very ideal place at the moment. I'm willing to mess up, learn, be criticized, make mistakes and carry on. Great first day and looking forward to 27 more!