T-Minus 24 Hours and Counting!

One day from now, my residency will have begun. I’m getting all of the final items in line: model releases, cameras, clothing, liquor, etc. When I was informed of what the dates were of my residency, I thought that the end of August was going to be a great time! Summer classes were all complete, but the fall semester hadn’t started yet. I’m realizing that there is no perfect time for something like this. I had to try to weasel out of end-of-summer curriculum meetings, fall orientation at all 3 schools that I teach at, and other potential wastes of time (they’re not all worthless, but some of these meetings are – you folks that have sat in on some of these know what I’m talking about). I didn’t get out of all of them, but I’ll still have plenty of time to devote to shooting and working in Red Wing. By the looks of it, I’ll have to come back to the Cities twice during my stay. Once for an early morning meeting (I won’t miss much valuable shooting time), and once for the actual first class of the semester at a school that starts a week before Labor Day. Again, it won’t be a problem.

So when I need a “break” from shooting in Red Wing, I’ll sit with my computer and finalize all of my syllabi, work on assignment sheets, and brush up on the software that I’ll need to be teaching this upcoming semester.

And awayyyy we go!.....

New Images

Well, nothing’s changed - I still hate printing contact sheets. Anyway, here are some images from the past month. Comments are appreciated!

Next week Wednesday, I’ll be starting my residency at the Anderson Center. I’m not sure what I’ll have for internet access, but I hope to post updates every once and a while. Check back and see what I’m up to.

Scientific Proof That I am Meant to be an Artist

Sarah and I went to the Science Museum of Minnesota this past weekend to see Body Worlds. Is it science or is it art? We had a good discussion on that. Anyway, we spent some time at the machine that has 2 pendulums attached to a pen. You can adjust the weights on the pendulums to cause the pen to react in different ways. Sarah (the doctor) was able to make this in her first attempt:

I (the artist) was able to make this in my first attempt:

There you have it: scientific proof that Sarah is not an artist, and that I am an artist. Sarah can easily prove to you that she is a pharmacist, while I prove to you that I am not a pharmacist by giggling when anyone says “Levitra.”

The Calm Before the Storm

SES wrapped up last weekend. For those not in the know, SES (Summer Expression Series) at MCAD is a 2-week intensive for high-school students who want to know what it’s like to go to art school. I’m involved in the Digital Photo portion of the program. At the same time, there is a Music Video class, Sound class, Interactive class, and Documentary Video class all going on. We all work together with a local band to create all kinds of good stuff for them (music video, website, new recordings, etc.). It’s intense. I always make some new friends and have a great time! I’ve never figured out what my salary comes out when paid out hourly – I’ve been afraid to, because I know it would be around $5/hour. But it’s totally worth it to work with those students and the band.

We had final critique in my CVA Digital Design class this week, and I have 2 weeks left in my MCAD Photo 1 summer class. Once everything is done, I have less than 1 week before starting my residency at the Anderson Center in Red Wing, MN. As soon as that’s done, fall semester starts, and I’ll be teaching at least 4 classes in at least 3 schools. Ahh, the adjunct life is a good life!

If you’re interested, I hope to be posting fairly regularly during my residency from August 16th through the 31st. Check back and see how it’s going. Have a great weekend!

Current Teaching

So SES (Summer Expression Series) at MCAD has just started, and I’m freaking busy. I’m the head TA for the Digital Photo program.

My bowling buddies on the first day of SES

SES is an intense 2 week class for high school students. It’s a blast, but the pay isn’t much for the time that I put in (or the time that anyone puts in to SES for that matter). It comes out to about $5/hour once all is said and done. Also, I’m half way though teaching a Photo 1 class at MCAD. I’m ALSO wrapping up the Digital Design course at CVA. And recently, I wrapped up the Brown College Photoshop 1 course. So my teaching for the summer is winding down, and I’m gearing up for my residency at the Anderson Center in Red Wing, MN, in August.

I haven’t been making much work lately, but I have been going on some small shoots fairly consistently. Last summer I all but stopped for 3 months. So I’ll keep shooting and we’ll see what happens.

More About Winning the Golden Light Award!

About one week ago, I was informed that I had won the Maine Photographic Workshops Golden Light Award Grand Prize in the Photographic Project Award Program. A few days later, I was informed that I had also won their Annual Photographic Print Competition in the Social Document category. There will be a show in Rockport, Maine that will showcase 4 prints each from different photographers around the world. They asked me to send 7 images. And one of my images, Homecoming Queen, was chosen as the frontpiece for the show! (This was also the piece that won the award in the Social Document category.) Below are the 7 pieces that made it into the show:

Winning the GLA Grand Prize didn’t put any cash in my pocket (unfortunately), but I did win a spot in this great exhibition that will go up shortly. I also won some great prizes (many of which only fellow photo geeks will appreciate):

• $1,700.00 grant in tuition and fees to attend a Master Class at The Workshops
• Two-hour consultation with Photo Consultant Mary Virginia Swanson
• Leica C-LUX 1 digital camera (Black)
• Gitzo G1327 tripod & G1378M head from Bogen
• Gift certificate to Modern Postcard for 500 4 1/4 X 6 postcards
• Crumper photo bag
• Gift certificate to Archival Methods for $100.00
• One-year subscription to LensWork

I won a few more things for winning the Social Document category as well.

Check out the press release announcing the Award Winners (local Twin Cities photographer [and photo Rock Star] Alec Soth took home the Book of the Year Award for his book Niagara).

New Images

Here are some images from recent contact sheets. Comments are appreciated!

Comments are welcome and greatly appreciated! Thanks all ya’ll.

The Golden Light Awards Grand Prize!

This morning, I received an incredible phone call. About 2 weeks ago, I entered my work in a contest called the Golden Light Awards in Rockport Maine. I entered the project competition for a body of work. I had trouble deciding what one of 6 categories to enter. I wanted to enter in the “Documentary & Photojournalism” category, but my work is moving away from being documentary in nature. So, to be fair, I entered in the “Personal & Fine Art” category. There were some prizes listed, as well as awards for the top winner in each division.

But it turns out it didn’t matter what category I entered, because I was informed this morning that I was chosen as the overall Grand Prize Winner!! How spectacular is that?! The details are still coming in as to what all of this means, but I know that I’ll be showing some prints in Maine (possibly in New York as well), I’ll receive free tuition to a class at the Maine Photographic Workshops, and I’ve won a handful of photo-related prizes (digital camera, gift certificates to photo-related business, etc.). I’ll keep you posted!

P.S. Contact sheet images are coming soon...Stay tuned.