Artists In Jackson

Since June, I’ve been working away on a portrait project featuring artists from my hometown of Jackson, Michigan.

For one, it’s the second part in what I hope will be an annual project of highlighting interesting people in my community. And two, I love talking to people with interesting talents and hobbies. It was great to meet the 15 artists profiled and chat about artsy stuff with them, the artistic community in Jackson, and what their successes and roadblocks look like.

The project is now just about ready for primetime. You can see the particulars at artistsinjackson.com.

There’s lots more to do. I’m working on a printed book, the flagship end product of this project. Once that’s done and ready to print, I’ll publish the artist profiles on the website, and release an eBook version of the print book.

And from there, I hope to have a show of some sort in the Jackson community, and invite the community to meet the artists and see some of their work.

It’s been a lot of work, and a lot of fun. Artistically, it’s very different from the kind of photography I’ve focused on in the past. I feel different, too. It’s like all the portraits and images I’ve worked on before this have been overly amateurish.

With this project, I’m actually making photographs that matter.

I hope you join me for the ride in the next few weeks.

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Albion Circa 1995

Albion, circa 1995

One of the great parts about my day job is working with talented students on fun projects, like our recently-launched Albion 1995 throwback video.

The idea? What Albion College was like in 1995, told through music and technology.

The team did an amazing job starring in this thing, grabbing vintage (”vintage” – oy, I remember 1995!) clothing, and being good sports. For my part, it was all shot on an iPhone 5S, often using the VHS Camcorder app for the ‘95 scenes.

Check out the full video.

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It’s Harvest Time

Ah, late summer / early autumn in Michigan – when those roadside farm stands pop up.

I can’t resist. There’s something about a fresh-grown tomato or ear of corn I find irresistible. And with my commute through rural Michigan, I have lots of options.

Such good deals! I picked up a quart of cherry tomatoes for $1, perfect for snacking at work. And we eat a lot of corn on the cob during the summer and fall.

I usually tend my own garden, but this year it’s been tough going. So it’s nice to have a farm stand backup.

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Funeral In My Headphones

“Instead of slashing my wrists, I just write a bunch of really crummy songs.” – Peter Steele, Ink19 interview

I remember it like it was yesterday: Freshman year of college, walking to work at the local elementary, World Coming Down spinning on my portable CD player.

It was 1999, and Type O Negative had a new album out – a gloomy, doom-filled prophecy. It was hard to get in to it at first, especially after the glam-goth love songs of October Rust.

Take “World Coming Down.” It’s basically a dirge, in rock form. Very hard to listen to sometimes. It’s sonic depression.

I remember walking to my job at the school, shuffling through the leaves, trying to make heads or tails of this funeral in my headphones. Everything’s wilting around me, I’m having trouble adjusting to life at college, the weather sucks, and here’s Pete in my ears singing a suicide note.

But now, all these years later, I play this album every autumn, and those slow, death-march songs stick. If you survive eight minutes in, the payoff is just fantastic. Peter Steele really was a fabulous song writer.

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How I Use Instagram

How I Use Instagram

I’m coming up on my 2,000th Instagram photo, and it’s got me thinking about what is my favorite social media platform.

It’s really fun to experiment with mobile photo making, and see the work of other great Instagram photographers. Every day, I think about making good photos for Instagram, and sharing them for the world to see. It’s like a 365 project, even though there are days wen I don’t post (usually the weekend) – thought I post multiple times per day, which kind of makes up for it.

Instagram helps me experiment with photo styles, moods, and subjects. I was never really a landscape guy, until my commute inspired me to share the rural countryside I see every day. And going back and seeing my old stuff (I’ve been using Instagram since January 2011)? It’s rough, but you can see the growth.

What’s nice about Instagram is, there’s no social pressure. Yes, I follow some friends and family members. But the majority of photographers I follow are people I’ve never met. That’s the fun part. Like Twitter, I get to interact with people who are mostly strangers.

Jeffrey Kalmikoff figured this out in his “You’re Using Instagram Wrong” piece:

Inspiration through photos is a function of interests, not your social connections. Chase what inspires you. Be true to yourself, and inspire others with who you are.

His point: don’t feel bad about not following people you know in real life.

My own quick-read tips:

  1. If someone follows you, check out their profile. Like their photos? Follow them back. Don’t like their photos? Don’t.
  2. See if a photographer shares different stuff on his/her Instagram than, say, Flickr or Tumblr.
  3. I’m still a stickler for mobile-only photos (#iphoneonly!). Call me Old Fashioned.
  4. Hashtags are a good way to (a) be found and (b) find stuff you’re into. Follow your #furry or #abandoned passions. Just, for Pete’s sake, don’t inappropriately tag your photos (#sunset on a non-sunset photo, for instance)
  5. Comment on photos you really like. But say what you like about it. Be specific and generous.
  6. Don’t be afraid to experiment with styles. In time, you’ll develop your own signature style. It took me a long time to find my groove.
  7. HDR sucks.

And, of course, you should follow me on Instagram.

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