the workshop
Thoughts on remembering this day last year which was day two of a weekend workshop with Mary Ellen Mark at the Center for Photography in Woodstock.
Thoughts on remembering this day last year which was day two of a weekend workshop with Mary Ellen Mark at the Center for Photography in Woodstock.
I've reflected long and deep on the kaleidoscope of emotions ... moments of celebration and inspiration, others of anxiety and humility and a willingness to simply wilt and let the layers peel off inside for often times the wrath of less desired emotions permits a passage to the other side; it was these thoughts that surfaced during the ride through upstate New York heading to photograph at the Columbia County Fair. And the instant we arrived at the fairgrounds, my eye latched onto two little girls in cowboy hats and boots entering with their grandparents and a wish to bump into them that day to take their picture. In hindsight, it was this need to photograph that moved me forward.
After we'd entered and set up a home-base, Mary Ellen confirmed with each of us what we'd be focusing on for the day (for me this was portraits) and we were turned loose to create.
I started off in an area with a lineup of girls who were performing gymnastics and dance steps and was making my way to the midway; I'd just turned a corner when i came face to face with the two little girls i saw at the entrance who just happened to be getting off a ride next to a tent that featured the word 'America'. My heart lept with excitement and after an introduction and request from their grandparents, I took a few photographs of the two girls together, and then this one ...
america, august 2014
A picture which instantly became my favorite of the day, and one of the my most favorite photographs I've ever taken for the emotions of an elegant longing mixed with nostalgia and a subtle humor; an end result that Mary Ellen pointed out as my own little gift in the world. My experience at the fair was one of a deeply felt love of the people, the place, and the real gift of exchange; lost in the making of pictures that i felt in my heart and soul, learning from a woman who's conviction of being was a gift to us all.
While I had hoped to continue on in a workshop with Mary Ellen again this year, her sudden passing in late May (ironically at the beginning of summer) left me mute. And as the center for photography is honoring Mary Ellen with a remembrance on the weekend that she led workshops for so many years, I was asked to contribute a few words on what she gave me...what i took away from my brief little time with her. It was in the remembering that i revisited all those thoughts and emotions and feelings and impressions. She was a blessing and I'll treasure the experience I had with her for the rest of my life. I've included my remembrance below the picture she allowed me to take at the end of the day.
mary ellen mark, august 31, 2014
Mary Ellen’s impact on me in part was to expand my view with a strength of purpose and intent. She helped me see more of what I do naturally and how to push beyond my comfort zone. I was struck by the depth and breadth of her work and her discipline in the edit. In all, I took away the sincerity of her truths – a real love of the artform and a reverence for her subjects.
The photographs i took during my time at the fair have become etched into my DNA for all they represent to me - symbols of hope and persistence, of dusting oneself off and going forward or realizing that sometimes, you have to go through the agony within to see the beauty on the other side; to the people who trusted me and allowed me to glimpse into their presence of being, an exchange i felt so deeply I cried with gratitude on the long drive back home. For an experience that has taught me that photographing is in the exchange and the giving, here are the gifts i received.
projects & series - 2014
"All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
"All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
And so it has been. A year and a time when I felt/feel almost dizzy with the series of work ... some I've been at for some time like American Summer and the Little Witches; others which emerged this past year - Fair & Farms, Portraits and a welcome return to birds and trees (and clouds) ... a different kind of Avalon.
I also continued to work with organizations and causes I support and give to ... Creating Community and Drums for Funds were two from this past year. And then whenever I can ... I photograph in public. Not always successfully or willingly or without trepidation, but the more I do, the more I grow; the easier it is to go.
ignite ~ september
it was the beginning of the end of the beginning. a photograph taken the first day of the month at the end of a workshop and the beginning of what i think might be a long walk ahead. i'm thankful to have had a handful of pictures from this day that cut to the quick pretty deeply for me. this was one of those.
two hands in different poses speak to different sentiments, temperaments and personalities. hoping the boy would pull that bandana to the place he did. waiting for it to happen. seeing it all before it unfolded; realizing the space feels a bit crowded but knowing there was no other way to take it. i will leave you here at the end of a beginning and invite you forward ... to one who always surprises me with depth and grace - January Skye photography, Melbourne.
the fair
i had the opportunity to photograph at a county fair in upstate new york a few weeks ago and the experience is one that remains in my heart. the warmth, the openness, the trust, the gentle reciprocation. photography is not a one way street - particularly with portraits.
Boy with Spiderman Inflatable | 2014 Columbia County Fair
a portrait takes a certain kind of exchange - sometimes it's a lingering exchange, at other times like the one above, it occurs in a flash. i liked the connection here and the clean simple background of the tent fabric along with the little ruffle bits off to the right. here are three others i felt were successful.
Wells Blog
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