Beginnings (the start of a visual journey in 2010)

Many widely recognized yearly photographic efforts are made by the likes of Jim Brandenburg, among others, but I decided to undertake this series for many reasons. The first spark occurred when I came across a collaborative daily blog turned written documentation, A Year of Mornings, which appealed in a human way. It was a part of the photographers' daily lives, a document of the passage of time, as well as an aesthetic effort.

This project is designed to amass a series of related and unrelated images as they flow and feed off of each other, creating a vision of a whole year of experience.

A larger reason to shoot so much was to force myself to continue to push images. Some days I have projects in mind, other days I'm inspired with a flash of insight, and some days I think, "damn, what am I going to create tonight?" Either way, I've kept going.

When this series began I thought of it as a 365+ project because the goal was to have the equivalent of a year's worth of daily images that would follow and reveal twelve months. But, because I'm also working and a full-time graduate student as well as a human being with other interests, I gave myself the leeway of not photographing every day, so long as the final number of images surpasses 365. When I began posting on a social network site, I started by sharing an average of two photographs a day; by the end of January it looked as though the quantitative goal would be reached halfway through the year. I tend to work in series and like to show context, so a challenge has been paring down daily posts to just one or two images. With this blog I will try to be more particular and share no more than two photos per day.

Thus far, we're 1/12th of the way through and not a day has been missed. More importantly, though, I feel the tendrils of inspiration not previously imagined, and for that reason, this already feels like a success.

Please enjoy, contemplate, comment and share with your friends.

Quarterlings

March is drawing to a close, which marks the completion of 1/4 of the year and this project.

Reviewing the images I'm pleased by some and bored by others. Many photographs would not make the cut were it not a daily regimen. But, though I missed one day due to illness and, technically supplanted one day's picture amongst its vacation brethren during the week and a half of Alaska photos, the gears are still rolling.

The images I've been more pleased with have been the light/color compositions, although projects such as the water droplets, reverse lens macro, smoke and TTV photography were also highlights. Where I seem to grow stagnant are with images relating more directly to documenting me or my life, especially the mundane, but perhaps that's personal perception. April will be kicked off with a weekend in Chicago.

Keep on checking in as I keep on keepin' on. Recent layout goodies includes the ability for you, oh honored viewer, to rate posts and vote on imagery types.

Middlings

As June winds down, 365+ nears its crest. Counting back, however, just over one hundred images remain to be posted.

These past few months I've embraced the loose design of the project and shifted into a relaxed schedule of posts. In favor of sharing greater context and more consistently solid imagery while maintaining an eye on the year as a whole, I may not shoot or post every day, but continue to translate the spirit of the time. Early July marks the beginning of the descent and holds the promise of visual adventure as I head back to Alaska.

Please be aware of new links on the right column noting Artists, inspiration and intriguing ideas or commentary.
*Clicking on most photos will enlarge the image*

Thursday, March 25, 2010

March 24 ~ size really doesn't matter

Lately I've been feeling like I've gained a little weight and it's been on my mind a lot.

My friend, Biz Henry, is an artist who creates a lot of sculptural work relating to the body, and she recently put out a call for her acquaintance to send her our clothing tags. I'm not sure of her exact intentions, so I hope she doesn't feel as though I'm stepping too far into her territory with this derivative work. A few weeks ago as I cut out tags to send her, I was thinking a lot about the look of each piece as its own material, as well as the design of individual tags... some of my favorite were the ones that were washed out beyond readability. What I also noticed, though, was something that I've always been aware of but never paid much attention to. I'm probably an average sized woman based upon my demographics, however my clothing ranges in size from extra small to extra large, and all of these pieces are worn with enough regularity to suggest that it's not me that's fluctuating. Strangely, some of the "larger" sizes are the ones that feel tighter. It doesn't really bother me what the tags say. Of course my vanity appreciates the lower numbers although what matters more is feeling comfortable in my own skin as well as the clothes. But, it does seem rather odd to see such a range and lack of industry standard.



I didn't send Biz everything, but most of my wardrobe saw a once over as pieces were culled for simple care instruction and ease of tag-detachment. Though I sent her all of the extra smalls and a few of the more interesting tags, enough variety remained to make a collage of 25 tags representing my own closet, spreading from S-XL.

What I also noticed, though it wasn't the point of this particular project, was the scope of clothing sources. There were a few U.S. made items in the bunch, but not a majority.


Gear: Nikon D90, Nikkor AFD 60mm f/2.8 micro
Posted by

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)