It's the little pieces of the puzzle that get me the most excited.  Today I purchased a domain name for a new business venture.  A small purchase indeed, but it marks the beginning of what I hope is a lasting and successful project.  Funny that these milestones can occur when one is sitting in their living room dressed in yoga gear. 

While I will be focusing on this new venture (announcements to come soon), I am still always available for production and editing services!  A girl needs to pay the bills and I'm lucky that I am able to do so in the field that I am passionate about. 

It has been a while since I worked on a book project and I'm itching for the rush of deadlines, image management and the feeling of huge accomplishment when a book goes to print.  The last book I worked on, "Freshwater: The Essence of Life", recently won a silver IPPY award!

If you have a book project, need a portfolio face lift or just need help researching stock images for any project, contact me here and I'll be in touch!

It has been a busy month here at the studio!  Last semester ended and I took a much needed break from the weather in Chicago and headed to the East Coast for three weeks.

Coming in to the summer I find myself really obsessed with color theory.  Maybe because, as Victoria Finlay writes in her book Color,    "....in art, perhaps more obviously than anywhere else, its the shadows and the shit which make the light parts believable." My first Chicago winter was definitely the longest winter I've experienced, not only because of the length (and it really does last forever) but also, and I'm not normally too personal here, because the theme of my winter was never-ending transition combined with profound loss.  The weather is warmer now and things are looking up.

Visiting the East Coast was fantastic.  It was interesting to talk to all my friends in New York about their recent experiences with the photo industry.  The overwhelming attitude right now seems to be frustration regarding bidding on, estimating and negotiating fees for projects.  I celebrated my birthday in DC with my family and friends and saw some amazing exhibits at the museums.  You really can't beat the free museums in DC, I took my 4 year old niece to a Blinky Palermo retrospective and the ColorForms exhibit at the Hirshhorn, by far my favorite.

I'm not teaching any classes over the summer semester, instead taking this time to concentrate on getting settled again, freelancing more and working on the details of an exciting new project.

I have been very lucky to work with some great Chicago locals over the past few weeks: Stylist Courtney Rust; Photo reps Hennessy Represents and Kim Knight Represents; and Levinson Locations.

I also had the opportunity to work with non-local Martin Schoeller last week and I'm sure his crew will be discussing my amazing parallel parking job of the production van for weeks to come.

Lots of exciting new projects in the works so stay tuned!!

For the past couple of days I've been immersed in writing a lecture about the psychology of imagery.  It is a broad and extensive topic.  

Lewis Hine

 In the lecture I discuss the impact that photography and media have had on social awareness in the past: child-labor reform, the modern civil rights movement; the documentary style and structure of the Farm Securities Administration; war photography (from the censorship of WWI through current day usage and the dangers of "compassion fatigue"); how advertising plays on anxiety and offers palliates; the illusion of perfection in fashion; how paparazzi and the media culture we currently live in affect celebrity, and of course: the digital revolution.

Dorothea Lange

The lecture relies heavily on past examples.  My questions regarding the future of photography are, with the speed in which information is disseminated and images dispersed in this media culture, how, in the upcoming years, will we separate the craftsmen of the industry from the people with cameras? 

Colleges that teach photography are quickly getting rid of film and darkrooms (are there any left?) and the science of light is being replaced by the technology of capture.  Not to say that the technology isn't amazing, but is it enough?  Are students of photography making an image with subject and light, or with a computer?  The lessons learned through printing black and white are, in my mind, invaluable, but they may also be obsolete.

Richard Avedon

Are we creating a generation of 'pro-sumers' that sell images on Flickr to Getty and work for nothing, continually watering down the talent pool in the industry?  A bunch of one hit wonders?  I regard photography as a tool and an art form and have learned an incredible amount from those we refer to as the Masters.  There aren't many left and I'm not sure we are helping any along.  There is a gap in the industry and I only see it growing.

"To photograph is to appropriate the thing photographed. It means putting one’s self into a certain relation to the world that feels like knowledge, and therefore like power."

- Susan Sontag

 

This week of classes has been the best,  I love when I also learn something new and the subject matter I've been teaching is validated.  We are nearing the end of the semester and have had a couple of guest speakers/studio visits.  While nearly impossible to schedule they are so worth it for the students.  Had I been given this kind of information when I was in photography school I would have saved about 6 months of figuring it out on my own.

Last night we had the amazing Jacob Hand come in to class to discuss the protocols of being a photo assistant.  Jacob is an excellent speaker and a wealth of information.  He is also a very capable photographer who has left assisting and struck out on his own, look him up!

Today we visited the venerable Hedrich Blessing studio.  Dave Burk, one of the principle photographers, was kind enough to give the students a tour of their amazing (and HUGE) studio and talk to them about the business side of things. 

It is wonderful for the students to have access to these people while still in school and takes a little pressure off.  Leaving the resources and umbrella of school to begin your career can be quite intimidating but there are tips that more established photographers can give you on how to start out in the industry.  Have a question?  Just ask.

Angie & Wes!

This fantastic and oh so handsome couple was married February 19th in Portland, OR.  

We took a little stroll around the Pearl District for some portraits....

Congrats to the happy couple!

new work in progess!

My friend and old coworker Trevor is competing in Nat Geo's Expedition Granted. 

 

Vote for Trevor

And enter to win a trip to the Galapagos!

I took my class on a field trip today to see the Vivian Maier exhibit at the Chicago Cultural Center today.  I'm sure you have heard of her and the amazing story behind the discovery of her work already.  If not, here is a little background.  This is not my own critique, rather a shortened version of much of the information currently available.

Vivian Maier was born in New York in 1926 to French and Austrian parents and died in 2009.  She moved to Chicago in the 1950's and worked as a nanny for several wealthy families.  Technically untrained, she had a passion for photography that was kept secret.  She was not known to have made any attempts at exhibiting and was basically a loner.  As it is known, she had no intentions of an artistic career.

Maier's point of view is often influenced by her choice of camera - in particular her favored square format Rolleiflex.  Her approaches seem to digest the history of photography. Her observation of street life is layered with complexity of several private moments and formal sensibility.

My own discovery of her work could not have come at a better time.  Contemplating the past direction and future possibilities of my own career in photography I have been aching for the inspiration to go back to where I started.  I first began taking pictures while working with children in Israel and after returning to the States was a nanny while I took my first formal photography course.  I love the parallels between my life and hers, however that is where it ends.  I am entirely formally trained with a degree in commercial advertising photography.  As the years have gone on my own passion has diminished and I have almost entirely stopped shooting for myself.

Viewing the work of a photographer who made images solely for the purpose of her passion is awe-inspiring for many reasons and I suggest it for anyone looking to remember the why of getting into this rapidly changing industry.

"We have to make room for other people.  It's a wheel - you get on, you go to the end, and someone else has the same opportunity to go to the end, and so on, and somebody else take their place.  There's nothing new under the sun." - Vivian Maier

I have been taking screen-printing classes from the lovely and talented Zissou at Fugscreen Studios.  He offers private classes at a very affordable price and is a great teacher.  Here are some quick snaps of my first poster.  Want one?  Email me!

The finished product: 

It's important to have hobbies.  

Best interview I have read in a very long time.

I teach Photography as a Communication Tool at Harrington College of Design every Wednesday.  We've only recently started the semester and so far it's been great.  They have a great faculty and the chair of the Digital Photography department, Dirk Fletcher, couldn't be more amazing.  Dirk has created a terrific program for students who are serious about photography.

The purpose of this intro class is to introduce my students to the basic aspects of visual literacy and structure.   I do this through critiques, lectures, some technical demonstrations, gallery and studio visits.  Being able to critique and speak articulately about visual imagery is a huge part of this class and demonstrates the students knowledge of the building blocks of a strong image.  So far I have been very pleased with my students willingness to voice their opinions.  As many of you who have worked with me know, I love critiques. This is by far my favorite part of teaching.  Giving lectures is slowly catching up to critiques as my favorite part of class.  While sometimes hard to keep students attention during a lecture, it helps to be excited about the subject matter; and giving lectures to an intro class provides the opportunity to revisit old subjects and really stay on top of your game. 

For this past weeks class the lecture I gave was on Gestalt, a psychology term meaning "unified whole".  Gestalt theory relates to visual communication as the form-generating capability of our senses, particularly with respect to the visual recognition of figures and whole forms instead of just a collection of simple lines and curves.  Artists can use the principles of Gestalt to better present information, knowing how our brain organizes perceptually.

The four main visual ideas to add meaning to your photos are:

• Closure: The principle of closure applies when we tend to see complete figures even when part of the information is missing.
  
  
• Continuance: Continuation occurs when the eye is compelled to move through one object and continue to another object.     

 

• Similarity: Similarity occurs when objects look similar to one another. People often perceive them as a group or pattern. 

• Proximity: Proximity occurs when elements are placed close together. They tend to be perceived as a group. When the shapes are given close proximity, unity occurs. While they continue to be separate shapes, they are now perceived as one group.

The subject of Gestalt is rather large and I was only able to touch the surface during a one hour lecture, however I recommend that any visual artist research the principles.  The principles of Gestalt can help artists develop powerful compositions.   Things are always ‘more than the sum of their parts’.  As art is primarily about perception (for example; to see continuity or closure or even perceive movement in static objects), our perception of any art object would depend on these Gestalt principles. 

It is January 16th and I have been told that we have not even reached the middle of my first Chicago winter.  Here are some images of winters past, it is important to find the inspiration and beauty in this seemingly unending barrage of cold.