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!