Stout’s Island Digital Photography Class

I wrapped up teaching a week-long class on Stout’s Island about a month ago. Stout’s Island is a small 13 acre island in central WI. It has a great old lodge in the middle of it. I was there with 10 adult students as they learned about their digital cameras as well as ideas and techniques to make their photography better / stronger / more interesting.

Below are a few photos that Verna took of me. Verna is a professional photographer, and she took my class to take a break from what she was used to doing. These photos are from when her husband Paul taught me how to play croquet on the island:

Through the wickets, looking up to the main lodge.


Hitting through a wicket.


Taking a shot...


... and reacting to my horrible miss.

Thanks for the photos, Verna!

I made a number of photos as well (of course). But I found myself busier with the class than I thought I’d be, so I didn’t have as much time to wander the island and shoot. Below are a few images that I made. As I was going through them, I discovered that I must have a love for Adirondack chairs!

Note: these are quite different from my usual work - this was just a chance to make some fun / beautiful images on a small WI island.

Swimming area


At the end of the dock at the boathouse


Playing with an f/1.4 prime lens


Bell-tower at the lodge


The lodge on Stout’s Island


A 30 second exposure one night just after a storm


My students and I around the fire pit on our last night (also a 30 second exposure)


My students and I at the boathouse waiting to catch the ferry back to the mainland

Thinking...

You should never think without an image.

- Aristotle

Kernels Days Show

Two posts down, I mentioned a grant that I received to print, frame, and show work at “Kernels Days” in Wells, MN. Much of the work I’ve done over the last 8 years has been focused around that community, and it will be exciting to show the work to the people from that area.

The city of Wells obtained a Minnesota State Arts Board Grant that will go toward printing, matting, and framing costs associated with this mini- exhibition. These were the images I sent the city that they used in obtaining the grant:

So I’ll have that work plus some older and newer work to show everyone in and around Wells. I hope to have at least 20 pieces in the show, which should take place in late August. I’ll keep you all updated as I learn more.

Living on a Wisconsin Island...

...and teaching a digital photo class.

That’s my life for an upcoming 5 days. The College of Visual Arts is doing a series of summer classes on Stout Island in central WI. It’s a small island with quite the history. It contains a big lodge, an old boathouse on the lake, and a number of small cabins. Here’s the island from above on their website:

And here’s a bit about the class I’m teaching (also from their website):

Should be fun! I’ll make sure to post about it when I’m back.

So It’s Been A While...

Sorry. I’ve been away from here for a while. I haven’t been making too many new images, but I’ve got a few things in the works:

• I received a little grant to print, frame, and show a number of my images at “Kernels Days” in Wells, MN. I’ve shot many of my photos in or around Wells, so it will be interesting to show the images to the people from that community. It will mostly be images from my Faribault County series. More on this to come...

• I started a new mini-project last week just to keep me thinking about making photos everyday. It’s a daily photo log of what sort of triathlon training I did that day. It’s a way to combine my “triathlon world” with my “photo world.” We’ll see what happens with it. Right now, I’m just showing it to my friends on Facebook. Maybe I’ll post some here after another week or 2.

• I’m teaching a week-long digital photography workshop on Stout Island in WI in a few weeks. It’s a tiny island resort that I’ll be running around along with 10 adult students as I teach them about photography and digital imaging. Should be a blast! I’ll post about it afterwards.

• I’m currently teaching a summer Color Theory class at CVA. It’s just a long class 2 days a week, but it always takes more time than I think it will. Thankfully, it’s a good group of students!

So that’s about it. I hope to be updating more regularly again. Happy Summer!

Degas

Dorothea Lange: "Altering Life"

Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.

- Dorothea Lange

It's great to hear the photographer who made (what most people consider) the most famous "documentary" photo ever speak of photography "altering life." I love it. It makes me feel better for using Lange as a prime example in my MFA Thesis entitled "What's so Documentary About Photography?"

Photography Dream

No, no, no.... This isn't "my dream of what photography should be." I just had a dream that I was out making photos.

I was in my hometown near the swimming pool and golf course. I was making some great images of people working at the pool in the "front desk" area. Then I went outside where there were huge bleachers set up in the parking lot. There was some circus-like performance going on. I started making photos of the people watching the performance. Then I woke up.

It's still winter here in MN, and I make most of my photos during the summer. I think this is my mind's way of saying it's ready to go!