Photographs in certain light...
I got my first camera at five and took weird little pictures of my parents, garden, friends, and stuffed animals - much the same work I do today, only I no longer use a camera with flash cubes. I photograph what I find beautiful in the world around me - simple, homey, quiet scenes. Lately I've begun to see ties between my work and my favorite writing, and think my reading has influenced what I create visually. Photography and literature seem to conjure up imaginary worlds in the same way. Flannery O'Connor wrote about the "moment of grace" - the moment in a life (often a tortured, ugly life, in O'Connor's texts) when one acts with pure humanity, honesty, and compassion. I like to think I'm working towards this in my photographs - that my images, as tiny moments, express that sense of grace. The poets William Stafford, Mary Oliver, and Naomi Shihab Nye, and writers Flannery O'Connor, Annie Proulx, and Cormac McCarthy are all favorites. And, then there is music, too. I love folky, singer-songwriters: Patty Griffin, Iron and Wine, Sufjan Stevens - moving, emotional songwriting, that sort of thing.
It's interesting how many different reasons photographers have for doing what they do - some are fascinated by geometry, converging lines and shapes; some photograph to document or record; I photograph most often when I am inspired by beautiful light - dappled afternoon sunlight, slanted early evening light, rich and maple syrup-like. My photographs feel like home to me - they're a comfortable vision of the gentle, lovely world I am happiest in.
As for technique, I use a Yashica Mat 124G - an old twin lens reflex camera, and a Kowa Six - another Japanese camera - a Hasselblad copy, I think. For the last few years, I've been working predominantly in color, though I shot mostly black and white before that. I shoot Ilford HP5 and Fuji NHP primarily, and hand print my images. My black and white work is printed archivally on fiber paper and, in many cases, toned. All color images are traditional C-prints.
In my professional life, I am the Program Director of Newspace Center for Photography, a nonprofit school, community darkroom, studio, and gallery in Portland, OR. I teach photography at Newspace as well, and lead Portlanders on wacky photo field trips. I also serve on the board of Photolucida. My degree is from Reed College.
6th birthday party. Seoul, Korea 1983