Personal Projects

TheFlyingCamera · Dec 30, 2007

I was having an interesting conversation in the chatroom last night, and it gave me the idea to start this thread. Lots of us undertake personal projects from time to time, to go and shoot a coherent set of images for a specific reason. I have my Tarot card series I'm working on; I also have an ongoing background series of recreations of Renaissance paintings and sculpture.

Discuss what gives you the inspiration for a current series that you're working on, how and why you've chosen the media, format and presentation for it, and how do you determine the scope of the project?

In my case, the Tarot cards are a natural subject for someone who likes to photograph the human figure. They are rife with symbolic imagery, and serve to tell a story, something else I like to do with a series. They have been creatively interpreted and re-interpreted so many times now that there is always room for another take - the symbolism is not so rigid that you can't come up with your own way of conveying it.

Fortunately, the series has a nice tidy conclusion- I know it is done when I've illustrated all 22 cards of the Major Arcana (I could do the other 56 cards of the Lesser deck, but that would turn into an exercise in tedium). Of course I could turn it into an infinite exercise by re-photographing each card and refining the images over and over again, but I don't see that happening.

I'm shooting the series in 5x7, contact printing in platinum/palladium on 6.5 x 8.5 paper, printing over a design I apply via inkjet printer that has the card labels and fleur de lis insignia in the corners. I wanted the whole-plate format for the cards because it still feels like an actual Tarot card (albeit a rather large one).

colrehogan · Dec 30, 2007

Wish I could stay connected in the chat room long enough to share in some of these conversations.

I am working on a series of confluence park images which came about largely because I started doing a 'picture -a-day" project that couldn't be continued largely due to me having to spend so much extra time at work. I chose the whole plate format mostly because it was light and I wanted to try out a new to me camera and lenses. However, it has grown into quite a project. I have numerous negatives that I would like to print in pt/pd, but haven't gotten around to yet.

There are three different parks that have been set up at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, two in Missouri and one in IL. I don't know that the project has a 'conclusion' at this point, but I am enjoying doing it. In fact, I am going to go shooting in about 45 minutes to the IL park, so I have to get ready to go.

SuzanneR · Dec 30, 2007

In perhaps a vain attempt to slow my children's rapid growth, and as an expression of love for them, I have worked on a body of work devoted to images of them playing. Mostly in the summer. Last summer, I was given a chance to show the work at my local public library this summer. After all, hanging back, and watching them play is one of the more fun parts about being a parent. (Certainly beats doing the laundry !)

The gallery at my library is a good sized one, so I decided to make large prints, so I wouldn't have to fill the walls with more, smaller prints that may be a little weak as images, and my goal is to have 20 images ready for it by June. Knowing I had this opportunity really gave me the impetus to hone the work, give it a good edit, and really make me shoot so that I have a good variety of images.

It's a big project... a little expensive to get it all done, so I've been hustling the portrait work to pay for it. And I imagine it will continue as a project for the next several summers... or when the kids just flat out refuse me!!

I think it can be enormously challenging to commit yourself to a long term project, but deeply satisfying if you stick with it.

removed account4 · Dec 30, 2007

hi scott

i have been working on a portrait project since 1986 ?
i am not sure how or why i have been doing this, maybe to learn
about myself, or to try to be less shy (therapy) but i force myself
to speak to strangers, and make portraits of them. sometimes they are at work
sometimes they are not ... i used to use a 35mm camera and then a 6x6 but now i
set up a 4x5 or 5x7 camera up and use that ...
i like using a large camera because i can set it up and forget about it being there.
after a little while, chatting and learning a little bit of my subject's back story,
i make a few portraits.
i usually use available light, or a little fill flash, but for the most part things are just as they are ...
as for presentation ... i have everything enlarged a little bit onto 11x14 paper and put into
a (p)leather bound portfolio.

while the project seems to be the same as it started, i know i have changed as the years have passed.
i guess the therapy is working

Ian Leake · Dec 30, 2007

jnanian said:
... i force myself to speak to strangers, and make portraits of them. sometimes they are at work sometimes they are not ...

I did this once. I asked a waitress if I could make her portrait and she said yes; then a minute later she ran out the back door and didn't return! So no portrait that day

Videbaek · Dec 30, 2007

Today there was some nice light and I took another portrait of my daughter in the garden. Always in the same spot, more or less, with the same angle, more or less. This time with her friend Vilma. We've been doing this for a couple years now. It's wonderful, tracking the changes in seasons and her. Hope to be doing this "project" for many, many years.

jp80874 · Dec 30, 2007

Ian Leake said:
I did this once. I asked a waitress if I could make her portrait and she said yes; then a minute later she ran out the back door and didn't return! So no portrait that day

Ian, Having admired your work, I wondered if you asked her to remove her clothing for the picture?

John Powers

Ian Leake · Dec 30, 2007

jp80874 said:
Ian, Having admired your work, I wondered if you asked her to remove her clothing for the picture?

John Powers

That must have been my mistake Actually I think it was the opposite. She was wearing a classic French waiting uniform with a black skirt and a long white apron. I asked her to keep just as she was: slightly frazzled; slightly grubby and foody. I think she scooted off to tidy herself up and then lost her nerve.

But that's a digression. To answer Scott's original question... Inspiration for my current project came from a discussion I had with David Chow (Davec101). He showed me a small book of his flower prints he made a while ago and a light bulb went off in my head. Within a couple of hours I had the project clearly defined in my mind, Libby had agreed to do the modelling, and we haven't looked back.

The theme was a series of "glimpses" that were more than just pretty pictures: they are as much about Libby's character and personality (mine too I guess) as they are about anything else. Scope was easy - one person in my studio - which led directly to the number of pictures - 9 to 12 was our target - more would get repetitive, fewer would be shallow. The physical form is a portfolio of Pt/Pd prints from 10x8 negatives on Buxton paper dry mounted onto larger sheets of Chateau Vellum paper (both handmade by Ruscombe Mill in Margaux France; the later specially for me so each sheet is just the right size with four deckle edges). The creative work is done now, just the printing, production, etcetera to do: I can't wait to see the final thing! It's so exciting .

jp80874 · Dec 30, 2007

The Photography courses I take at University of Akron (Ohio USA) require a series of twenty matted images per term. For Spring 2007, I wanted to learn how to think and see in 7x17, a new format for me. To make it easier I picked a low wide subject, Entropy, the deterioration of the locks of the 200 year old Ohio Erie Canal. I limited the series to the fifteen locks within the Cuyahoga Valley National Park whose western border is a mile and a half from my house.

The series was well received, four images were juried into a three county show and three into another that required the subject be in the park. I felt that I learned so much from the work that I plan to continue and expand the series this Spring. Following is my Artist Statement for the series.

The Ohio & Erie Canal Series

This is a photographic study of the locks and structures of the Ohio & Erie Canal within the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. My impressions are directed by how I see. The formalism of how the angles relate, composition, black and white, abstraction, two dimensional design, the detail in a 7x17 inch negative. The intensity of the close up, glorified by the precise rendering of detail, when a large negative is contact printed. My impressions are influenced by what I feel: entropy the battle of age on materials, the heritage of my Irish ancestors who did the back breaking construction work, the devastating effects of nature, flood, neglect and cheap patch work to a beautifully constructed concept. Man tries to control nature by building a canal. When man develops a faster, cheaper, technology the canal which was a wish fulfilled becomes a dream forgotten. Then nature takes control of what man has built and the result is fascinating.

John Powers

Ian Leake · Dec 30, 2007

jp80874 said:
... Entropy, the deterioration of the locks of the 200 year old Ohio Erie Canal...

This sounds really interesting John. Do you have any examples you can post here?

Thomas Bertilsson · Dec 30, 2007

I am trying so hard to stay focused on a couple of things, but always seem to get sidetracked. Here is what I want to do:
1. Transportation - with my Holga camera for enlarging
2. Abstracts - started out as photographing buildings significant of Minnesota history, but I found that the more I photographed them the more interested I became in the architecture and the details of the buildings. So I made the best of it and changed approach. Medium format shooting for enlarging.
3. Portrait - I have been working with a couple of friends that have sat for me, and I've been feeling my way with it. I know now what I want to do with it and achieve. Will use my 5x7 and make contact prints on whatever Azo I have left. Perhaps pt/pd in the future.
4. Water - I love water and love to photograph it. I'm using medium format and large format cameras for this project, which is more like a theme really because I feel it will be ongoing. Once again for enlarging, but I may actually pursue evil digital techniques for enlarged negatives in the future with the goal of making pt/pd prints of them. To be able to afford a decent scanner and printer as well as the software I think that step may be 4-5 years in the future based on my current print sale frequency.

Those are the four things I want to develop, but I find it so hard to focus on them, and I always end up printing other things when I'm in the darkroom. I need to just make a schedule, a plan, and stick with it.

Interesting thread, Scott.

- Thomas

eddym · Dec 30, 2007

Pretty good artist's statement, better than most I have read. However, the following two sentences are fragments; they each need a verb.

jp80874 said:
The formalism of how the angles relate, composition, black and white, abstraction, two dimensional design, the detail in a 7x17 inch negative. The intensity of the close up, glorified by the precise rendering of detail, when a large negative is contact printed.

They sound like part of a list, and if they are, then you should indicate that in some way, perhaps with a "...such as:" in the preceding sentence.

colrehogan · Dec 30, 2007

Thanks for posting such a thought-provoking thread, Scott. I hope I am able to make prints of a lot of images that fall into this category sometime soon.

Mearns · Dec 30, 2007

Very interesting thread.

I'm not very grounded in my photography (yet). I seem to be out trying to get landscapes one day, wildlife the following, and then portrait work.
In saying that I have a very strong interest in Lanscape/wildlife photography. Landscapes that are uninviting to most people are the most inviting to me. Scenes with nothing happening are also very interesting to me, a bit like Sam Abel's work (Nat Geo).

I'm also currently struggling with shyness as a photographer so I'm trying to work on this by taking up street photography. The street photography I like the most and which I aspire to is the humorous type. A photographer that has given me inspiration in this area is Matt Stuart...

On top of all this I've also been inspired by Duane Michals and Joel Sternfeild.

So what are my projects specifically? I don't know, I don't have any right now and that kinda worries me. But I am relatively new to this and am still trying to find out what I want from photography.

jp80874 · Dec 30, 2007

Ian Leake said:
This sounds really interesting John. Do you have any examples you can post here?

Thank you Ian. I have never posted to the Galleries before, but the first one seemed to have worked.
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

John

Renato Tonelli · Dec 30, 2007

Trying to stay focused has been an issue for me over the years: 15-20 years ago I had given myself three distinct assignments, all in the same area (Tuscany, Italy). I began photographing a beautiful mountain (I half-jokingly refer to it as my mistress); rural fountains as found in trails and secondary country roads and little roadside sanctuaries. Little-by-little I abandoned them until two years ago when I came across a book of roadside sanctuaries ("Madonnina"?) by Paula Chamblee and rekindled my interest. So this past Summer I was at it again with my 4x5 and will hopefully continue. There is one subject though that I have been consistent with: a beautifully shaped oak tree on a hillside: I have photographed it every Summer since 1979: I am very happy with one of the images and happy with another 5. So it goes...

MurrayMinchin · Dec 30, 2007

I've been working on one project for years, as suitable subjects seem few and far between. It's to take diptych's, triptych's, and all the way up to seventych's (?!) to make up panoramic views with the 4x5 in B&W. To up the ante and make it tougher I've decided that each negative has to be a solid composition in its own right, able to stand on its own without its neighbours. Nobodies ever seen them yet, but one day they'll reach a point of critical mass where there's enough weight to them, and then I'll trot them out.

There's another project I'm working on that nobodies seen yet, but the day is coming soon. You see, I've never taken a photograph because I knew it would sell...well...until one day a few years ago. I was taking a photograph of some snow covered rocks in a creek bathed by reflected light from sunset clouds above, when I began wondering how much a pair of jeans would cost for our then 2 year old daughter by the time she hits high school. It was while I was reconfirming to myself that it's better to be happy and humble as a letter carrier, rather than get an immediate $6.00 per hour raise by getting a soul sucking job in the local aluminum smelter, when I glanced over my shoulder.

There, bathed in the sunsets glow was a snow covered Hirsch Creek bridge, with Mt. Elizabeth in the background (both money in the bank for local artists in any medium) and a full moon overhanging them all. Hmmmmm I thought to myself; all I need to do is spin the camera on the tripod and fire off a triptych of that puppy and that'll pay for a few pairs of jeans! So, that's what I did, and I keep my eyes peeled for that sort of thing still but I don't go looking for them...they have to fall in my lap!!!!! I call it my Local Interest Series.

Funny how kids change everything

Murray

TheFlyingCamera · Dec 30, 2007

jp80874 said:
Thank you Ian. I have never posted to the Galleries before, but the first one seemed to have worked.
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

John

John- those are both quite nice, and I can see you've got a good handle on working with the 7x17.

I'm glad this thread has gotten more people thinking about their own work. I think this is an un-explored strength of APUG - we can all be resources and inspirations for each other, and share in a positive, collaborative way that we wouldn't be able to to outside of a formal classroom environment under normal circumstances.

jp80874 · Dec 30, 2007

TheFlyingCamera said:
John- those are both quite nice, and I can see you've got a good handle on working with the 7x17.

Thank you for the kind words.

There was a delay or jam in the process. Here are two more.
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

John Powers

imazursky · Dec 30, 2007

I too really like the idea of this thread. I hope more people can post links to the work they have done.

I have been working on 3 projects.

1. Im am creating a family portrait album with my crown graphic 4x5. Starting with both sets of grandparents, aunts & uncles, great aunts and uncles, cousins...
The oldest relative, my great uncle Louis is 94 and he is in better shape than me! Now if i can get him to stand still long enough for me to take the picture

2. The rivers, falls and nature preserves in Westchester county NY and abroad.

3. Portions of the old NYW&BR right of way railroad route. This one has been fun, even in the snow. I have met some really interesting people who are involved with protecting and sharing the sites that still exist.

In shooting all of these projects on and off for the last 2-4 years, I have come to the realization that I dont want them to truly ever end. Its been too much fun.

waynecrider · Dec 31, 2007

Imazursky I bookmarked your site for perusal latter but I love that bottom left portrait of the girl. Very nice...Wayne

Brian Gatien · Dec 31, 2007

Scott;
Thanks for starting this thread. I have enjoyed reading about others. I took my first step on this path when I forced my kids to go to the Art Gallery of Ontario as part of the spring break ritual. It was pure serendipity. There was an exhibit of Eugene Atget photographs and I was completely captivated by B&W. After a "general interest" photography course at the local community college, I started to take pictures of old abandoned buildings all over the world. I moved from 35 mm to (now)5x7 and looking for larger.

To me these structures have stories which we will never know but which we can imagine. They are a past and what our "modern" buildings will be. And they do not move while I work slowly. I continue to add to my collection as I travel (I am currently in Bermuda with my co-vivant for New Year's Eve dinner).

I am a very reluctant to share my images; I don't think I have the creativity or skill to produce what I have seen from you and others. Mostly, the process is for me personally. Making an image requires me to think about what I am doing for the shot and the print and to forget about the rest of the world and my daily routine.

I am looking forward to Foto3, hoping the several pre-conference workshops for which I have registered will give me some confidence in my current work and will help me move to other series.

Brian

Alex Bishop-Thorpe · Dec 31, 2007

There are half a dozen ideas written in various notebooks, but the current running project is based from a friend's poem. We were sitting down playing hangman while we waited for someone, then she suddenly grabbed a new page and scrawled it out. I don't have it all memorised, but the title was, "Of Youth and Euphoria". So I'm working from that idea. And luckily, after 3 months in Alaska with my friends doing what can only be described as ridiculous youthful things, I think I'm off to a decent start.
I haven't given much thought to the printing method yet, but I'm thinking 16x20's with a decent amount of grain.

Other projects are more personal, like postraits of my grandparents, who've been cattle farmers in South Australia for the last 40-odd years.

imazursky · Dec 31, 2007

Hi Wayne,

Thanks. It was a fun shoot. They were a band that i was shooting on and off for a year or so.
I ended up with some great portfolio images and they got some free promo images.
I wish i could have done more with them but they dropped off the face of the earth.

Ian Leake · Dec 31, 2007

BRG said:
... I am a very reluctant to share my images; I don't think I have the creativity or skill to produce what I have seen from you and others...

Hi Brian,

If your photos are important to you then you should share them. Speaking personally, I find it very scary showing my photos to others. What if they don’t like what I’ve made? What if they see a flaw that I haven’t seen? What if they don’t see a flaw that I have seen? What if my favourite photo is actually rubbish! So much self doubt… But it’s hard to develop your photography without showing your work to others.

Sometimes feedback is hurtful, sometimes it’s unhelpful, but often it reveals something important. But all feedback helps develop your vision and craft - learning to recognise and dismiss unhelpful feedback is as important as learning to listen to constructive feedback.

APUG is one of the very few photography sites where people take the time to give really high quality critique of photos (if it’s asked for). So bare your soul, share your photos, and ask for feedback; feel the fear and do it anyway!

Happy New Year,

Ian.

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