News x 2

Hi everyone:

Got a couple updates to give y'all during a rare mid-week post.  First, and most importantly, I have a last-minute show coming up here in Washington, DC.  I'm pretty psyched...it's my first show in DC since moving here and I love the space and the other artists in the show.  It's a great little spot called Gallery Plan B; and Paula, David and crew are awesome.   The show is called Photography:  Process and Perspective, and as the title indicates, all of the artists in it use non-traditional photography processes to create their work.

So, those of you around the DC area on Thursday, June 20th, stop by the opening to give some love, and receive some back in the form of drinks, refreshments and undying gratitude from yours truly.  Here's the details:

If you can't make it, don't worry - the show is up for over a month and the gallery plans to carry this body of work on an ongoing basis.  So, now you Washingtonians have no excuse.

In other news, I'm still working on this vintage toy series and shot a new one over the holiday weekend. This one is a little different than the others, but when put next to them, it kinda works.  Tentative title is:  Girl With Her Blaster:

For this one, I wanted the ray gun to be prominent, since the series is about toys and all.  But, I also wanted a constructed scene that showcases playtime...but with an edge.  I'm sure that some folks might feel this was solely meant as an anti-gun statement, but in context with the other images from the group, that really does fade away quite a bit.  I can tell you that my oldest daughter Mia had a great time playing with that ray gun...she's normally not allowed to even touch the collection, much less play with it.

More to come as it happens...

-Marc




     

Still goin'!

Hi everyone:

As I sit here listening to my Futureheads channel on Pandora, I'm thinking how nice it is to share news with you on a more regular basis. Despite having a killer cold and sinus issues, I managed to add another image to my new photo series today.  It definitely took a little more experimentation and trial and error compared to the first two, but I'm pretty pleased with it.

I'm sure people thought I was nuts.  I went out to a field by my house with 2 toys - this one and my Hungarian Holdraketa Rocket.  The rocket is actually a really cool toy - it has this nifty piece of engineering that is activated when the nose of the rocket hits something.  At that moment, it has wheels that come down, pushing the rocket to a vertical position…and then a little ramp with an astronaut opens up.  But after a bunch of images with it, it became clear that object wasn't going to work.   As I'm switching to the Apollo 12 toy you see in the final image, a guy comes up to me asking for directions.  Then a guy comes by and gives me a weird look while walking his dog.  I see cars slow down near the entrance, the drivers looking over and then pulling away with mystified looks on their faces.  Move along people, nothing to see here!

The main issue with this shot was getting the perspective right.  I did a whole bunch very, very close-up…basically macro.  But, they just didn't feel right.  I had some showing sky, but those didn't have the eerie factor I was looking for.  Most of the shoot I was laying in the dirt on my stomach trying to get the light and angle exactly just so.  But soon it became clear that the way to accomplish this was to shoot slightly down on it - getting that rocky moonscape feel all around it.  The horizon line was eliminated on purpose so it gets yanked from its original context and feels like it's somewhere else.  This also allowed me to play with scale a little bit, which is quickly becoming a recurring element in this series.   From there, it was a question of composition, saturation/color, and very minor retouching.

Anyway, I hope you like it.  I have plans for more very soon, so stay tuned!

-Marc

Lots of New, Comin' Thru...

Hi everyone:

Well, so much for my stated goal of providing an update every week or two.  I guess that didn't last long.  But, I wanted to wait until I had something worthy of relaying to everyone, and, well, that time has finally come.

Blogging music today is Superchunk...a band I really only got into recently, but wow am I enjoying them.  Scored a hand-numbered 7 inch single on Record Store Day by these guys.

Anyway, I said I had news, and I do.  I've alluded to the fact on Facebook that I was on the cusp of a new photo project.  Well, things have officially begun, and I even have a couple of images to share with you.  Many of you likely saw these on Facebook and came here to find out more, and for that, I thank you.  First, some background:

As most of you know, much of my work centers around themes of childhood, memory and how we construct, contextualize and use those memories.  I've been working on these themes in one way or another for the past 13 years, and the two portfolios on my website address these issues in unique ways.  Each of those series' is a multi-layered, labor intensive process that takes a long time (sometimes months) to arrive at a final print.  And while I plan to continue developing those bodies of work, I started to yearn for a new project.  Several months ago, my iPhoneography started being represented in stock and honestly, part of me felt relieved.  I could just shoot with abandon, do my editing and send the image directly to the agency.  This is the way that most photographers work - and I know this first-hand in my career as a Photo Editor.  But, this method was completely different from the way I've always done my personal work.  Digital imaging for me has always been one of many, many steps in a very complicated process.  I needed a break, and my iPhoneography was providing that - but I decided I needed to develop a cohesive body of work above and beyond a single iPhone photograph here and there. And I knew I wanted these to be traditional photographs...iPhoneography wasn't the answer.

At the same time all of this was going on, I started rediscovering work by a lot of modernist influences - the Bauhaus, William Eggleston and contemporary screen printing to name a few.  And I realized that we all had one thing in common - the idea of "constructing" something that taps into something wider.  Up until now, my constructivism had been subtle...mostly bound up in layers and processes used to create the work.  I decided my next series would have that element right up front for the viewer.

So, a couple of weeks ago I was mulling this over and I started thinking about this vintage toy collection I've been amassing over the last few years.  It isn't a huge collection, but each piece in my mind has a very unique design aesthetic, use, or visual power that gives it an added element besides a fun toy.  And as I thought about those objects, I realized those were the key.  Those items represent something beyond themselves, and using them as a launching pad was where I was headed.

So, with that back story, here are the first two images, hot off the presses.  First off, we have what I am calling "Building Block Runway" - at least for now.

The items you see in the foreground are original blocks, designed by Kurt Naef of the Bauhaus in the 1940's.  Every side of each block has a different design, and the idea was that kids could use these to increase their fine motor skills and creativity by turning them to create different designs.  I always liked this concept, and for some reason, the idea of building a road or runway from these stuck out to me since the day I brought them home.

The second image I just shot today.  I'm calling it "Parked" (again, the title is tentative).

Who doesn't love a toy car?  I mean, really?  Exactly - everyone does! This one is obviously an oldie - a 1950's wind-up tin toy car by Marx.   I was playing with a lot of themes here: coming of age, feeling overwhelmed by your surroundings, and how an object functions very differently when separated from its normal context.  I'm pretty happy with this one...and hope you are too.

I'll keep everyone posted on how this work develops.  I'm excited about it and look forward to sharing it with you.

-Marc

See S.I.

Hi all:

I realized it had been a few weeks, so I thought I'd send a long a couple of recent images.  I have an image in my studio yet to print, but these two were shot on my most recent trip to NYC.  I hadn't been on the Staten Island Ferry in years - the whole dock area has been updated and is way nicer than the dump I remember from my visits during college.  But, the boat still has its old school charm, and I snapped a couple of pics on my way to Manhattan.  I'm particularly fond of this Statue of Liberty image that I shot out the window...

This portrait turned out ok too... I kinda like the contrast of the warmth of the image with his outfit and the technology he's holding.  Interesting that the guy is holding his cell phone but still looking directly forward....maybe he knew I was taking his picture, even though I tried the whole "I'm shooting out the window" fake-out.   Regardless, most of you know that I don't take portraits too often, so this is definitely an anomaly.

So, a couple of images to tide you over until I finish this next print.    In the meantime, enjoy what I'm hoping is the start of spring!

-Marc

The Other Side

Hi everyone:

I feel like every time I write a blog update, I'm apologizing for being away for so long.  I suppose there are 2 ways to fix this:  1) stop apologizing, or 2) write more often.  I'm going to try the second option - I know I've said this before, but as a New Year's resolution (albeit in February), I'm going to make a more concerted effort.  I reconnected with a friend this week that I haven't seen in 13 years, and it was during our chat that I realized I hadn't blogged since December!  To that friend:  thanks for the kick-in-the-ass.  You were always good at that, even if you didn't realize you were doing it.

I'm getting ready to make a new print in the next few days, but until then I thought I'd let everyone know that large chunk of my commercial work is now on Aurora Photos.  Until now, I've never though of my work as appropriate for stock photography.  Truth be told, most of my work still isn't - but I've known the folks at Aurora for over a decade and trust them implicitly. So, when they opened up their "myPhone" collection for submissions, I decided it was a great opportunity.  All of the images in the collection are shot with mobile devices and this freed me up to not only shoot with semi-reckless abandon, but also gave me the ability to submit images directly from my phone to the agency.  The work is very different from my regular portfolios, but there are some similarities in terms of subject matter and style.  Rather than describe it any further, how about I let you see for yourself?

http://www.auroraphotos.com/SwishSearch?xtrasql=&Keywords=sirinsky&submit.x=0&submit.y=0&submit=submit

(or simply go to www.auroraphotos.com and type "sirinsky" in the search field).

For a taste, I've attached an image below that they recently sent out to as part of a promo to all of their clients to highlight the collection.  A shot of my two wonderful girls reading a bedtime story:

Some of the other images you'll recognize from previous posts, and some will be completely new to you.  But, it's been a fun, even if not yet profitable endeavor.  


I hope to have a new print for you very soon.  In the meantime, check out the images I have posted on Aurora, and as always, feedback is appreciated.  Unless it's negative, and then I'll likely ignore it...

-Marc

New New, and Old New

Hi all:

Well, I hope everyone had a good holiday.  I figured I'd try and catch everyone in that sweet spot between Christmas and New Years.  You know, that week where everyone is still happy, full of food, and excited for the new year, but before the long countdown starts until the next major holiday?

To aid in your festivities, I present two new prints...freshly made within the last two days:


#1.  Radio Tower

This one was done on gold metallic paper...the same paper as "Water Tower," which some of you may recall from a couple of posts ago.  The feedback on this one has been very positive.  I even received a couple of comments asking me about the process...which is interesting because it is exactly the same process I've been doing for almost 6 years...with the exception of the paper.  It's almost like people are seeing my work again for the first time, which is kinda cool.


#2.  Big Top



Now this one I had some issues with.  The first couple of prints simply didn't translate...too much texture in the main part of the image and it was almost impossible to tell what it was.  Two prints from the whole session came out to my liking, and while it is still a little abstract, I like the look and feel of it and think it has merit (though I debated quite a bit and had to walk away from it for a day or two before making a decision).  This one was done on the masa rice paper I normally use.  I did try both gold and silver tone metallic, but the image was just too subtle on that kind of surface.

This body of work has now reached 15 images.  For many of you, it probably seems odd that it would take almost 6 years to create 15 images.  But, the photo editor side of me doesn't believe in filling out a portfolio for quantity's sake alone.  I can now look all the way back to 2007 and be happy with each and every image in the group. And that, for me, is a first...being the critic that I am.

I'm hoping to have some other news for you shortly.  In the meantime, enjoy the rest of your holiday season, stay warm and let's all hope for a creative and inspirational 2013!

-Marc

Images, and nothing but the images...

Hi all:

It's been a while - so I thought I'd keep it simple today.  Here's some new work from my recent trip to Iceland.  Hope you enjoy it!

More to come soon - happy belated Turkey Day to all!

-Marc