New Pretty, Shiny Things

So, I'm getting a cup of tea at Panera, and there's a guy having a conversation about the Philadelphia Eagles - right in front of the sugar and creamer stand. He sees me there waiting for him to move, and keeps talking. And talking. AND TALKING! I reach behind him to grab some sugar and he doesn't move at all - just stands there. Now, the old me from about 10 years ago would have said "How about having that conversation in a place that isn't in everyone's way?" Or, if I was in a particularly bad mood, it might go something like this:

"Excuse me - how about MOVING THE HELL OUT OF THE WAY!"

My, how I've grown. BTW: he continued talking in that same spot for 10 more minutes after I sat down.

Ok, now that I've gotten that out of the way, time to get down to business. I had a dream last night, and though I can't remember what it was, the soundtrack appeared to be The Editors- so I figured I should throw in "An End Has A Start" as the music for today's session.

I got some film back yesterday - not too bad, but not sure how inspiring it is. I shot it of a scene I had passed a zillion times - but this time I waited and took the shot during a snowstorm. Not sure how evident it will be, but we'll see. Gonna wait for Tom A. to finish up the other scans before giving him a new batch I think.

The family and I are going to be in Chicago in April, and I'm thinking about what I want to shoot when I'm there. I find myself constantly heading back to the neighborhood I grew up in for inspiration- there is just something magical about it for me, even though the memories are both positive and negative. There's something about that place- it still looks virtually identical to what it looked like when I was growing up, which to me is special in and of itself - considering how neighborhoods are being destroyed across this country. I don't want to live in the past, but so much of what I do is derived from it - and this area is even more valuable to me now that I no longer live in Chicago. I just have to decide what to shoot- I've got a couple of ideas, but nothing really concrete yet. Usually, I just walk around for a while and ideas come to me when I'm in the moment. I shoot this way a lot in fact, which is interesting because I'm not the spontaneous type. So much of my work relies on the "happy accident" (as one of my old photo professors used to say) and I think that my shooting method has adapted to my work in a way, if that makes sense?

Speaking of inspired, my friend Sylvia gave me some feedback on Image # 6 from my website. Keep 'em coming guys! She also told me that I've inspired her to start doing some of her own work again - which flatters me greatly. That's what it's all about kids!

Sylvia also was gracious enough to mention some galleries for me to check out, which I hugely appreciate. Thanks Sylvia! If anyone else has any suggestions (either for my own work or just for the hell of it), please forward the info along. I'm always looking for new galleries and venues, and on a personal note, with Flatfile closing, I'm on the hunt now more than ever!

Ok, so back to image #6 on the site. Here is a b/w version and a toned version - right next to each other. Let the voting begin!

Starting today, I want to show more images on this blog. Reading nothing but words on these things gets a bit boring, so I'm going to try and post at least one image with every entry. Sometimes it might be my work, but usually it will be somebody else's - and it may or may not be photography and I may or may not even like it. Maybe it will stimulate some conversation though.

The two images above don't really count, since they are tied to my last entry, so, in the spirit of fair play, I've included an image below that I haven't been able to get out of my head. I think it's just beautiful. There is something that is both serene and desolate about it - and the textures and lines in it I think are just great. The photographer is a guy named Rolph Gobits:

Ok, well that's it for now. Hopefully I'll have some new images of my own for the next post. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

-Marc