A Bending of Its Own Kind
Oz Arts hosted FALL in June 2017 for “A Bending of Its Own Kind”, and here are some of my favorite photographs from that performance.
Oz Arts hosted FALL in June 2017 for “A Bending of Its Own Kind”, and here are some of my favorite photographs from that performance.
The last Nashville show of Those Darlins was late January at The Basement East. They played with Adia Victoria and Tristen, both of whom were beyond exceptional as well.
I’ve been going to Those Darlins shows for many years, well before living in Nashville, and they will be missed.
Thanks to the support of East of 8th, I’m able to photograph plenty of shows — which leads to hearing great new music! I’d heard Rayland Baxter before, but Ruby the Rabbitfoot was totally new to me. Both played a great set at 3rd and Lindsley in August as part of the Nashville Sunday Night Lightning100 series. A nice space with lots of viewing options (including bountiful balcony seating!) Be sure to check out both Rayland and Ruby if you ever get a chance!
When you leave some shows you know that it is going to be seared into the mind forever and I’d definitely count this one as one of them. Three great acts at one of my all-time favorite venues. Lots of superlatives, I know — but it truly was an outstanding evening of rock and roll.
Moving to a new town is fun. New people, new inspiration, new places. And, if you’re lucky, new photography opportunities. And Nashville has been quite kind with those opportunities.
But then you get the note. “Thank you for applying, but your work was not selected…” We’ve all received that message at various times. I’ve certainly gotten my share of them before, but last week was the first time I’d been honored with one since moving here. And it broke the hot streak, which really I had no control over any more than a MLB player’s socks have control over his batting average. There are just so many factors — the juror, the other submissions, the previous work the juror saw, the goal of the call, etc. It’s as if the actual work is just a small, small piece of the puzzle.
And so it’s easy to get a little frustrated, a little down. Why bother creating anything if it might as well sit in a drawer? No one dreams of being Vivian Maier!
Submitting work is a little like sending your child off to school. I’ve written about this before, and I still think it’s a workable metaphor. You believe your work is unique and incredible but now your child will be part of a group where everyone believes their offspring is special and has just so much to share with the world. And sometimes your child doesn’t get picked for the lead role in the play, or even picked for any role. Which hurts, right? It stings and you feel judged both as a parent and you feel your child’s perception of judgement.
But you pick them up, and you pick yourself up, and keep on with life. There are lessons in rejection. We can hone our craft when we don’t make a cut. Even though there may not have been much control over the selection process, it is still an opportunity to revisit and refine.
There will be future shows, and maybe even future shows where the same work is accepted. The time will come but only if we try again.
A bit of a throwback with some recently found scans. HP5+, 35mm. Standing in the middle of Biltmore Avenue.
It is true that if you walk around any populated area at night with a camera you will come away with something worthwhile. Yet, some places open themselves up for treasure more readily than others. And one of those places is New Orleans.
Let’s be clear — there is more to New Orleans than Bourbon St, more than the Quarter, more than the Saints and the beignets and Mardi Gras. But let’s also be honest — without that culture, New Orleans would more likely be a sweltering river port, one with tourism built more on fishing and bird watching than revelry and football. And while I love the rest of New Orleans (try the fries at The Delachaise), when I can walk to the Quarter camera in-hand I’ll always try to give it some time.
In September 2013 I was in the area presenting on Gluster with some fortunate hours to spare. I’d been wanting to test the Fuji x100’s lowlight color abilities so this was a perfect fit. If you’ve never been on Bourbon St at night, it is worth a trip at least once. There is the debauchery but there are also the restaurants and bars, the musicians and staff, and the lights that keep it all visible.
Before walking, I setup the camera for 1/125 second, f/2.8 at 3200 ISO. It seemed a good mix where it wasn’t a terribly slow shutter speed, and with the lens stopped down just a bit I could still get some good low light work. The 3200 ISO is a bit of a stretch, but shooting RAW gave me some quality results regardless of the high setting. With all of that preset, all that remained was to find the shots. You can see more of the work here.
Somewhere along the street is this store. Which is very similar to the one across the street, and one around the corner. And down the way. New Orleans has bead and shirt stores like the Coast has swimsuit and sunblock stores. Only you don’t have to walk into a plaster shark head. I’ve never understood how these places don’t get items stolen constantly — maybe there is someone watching the front at all times via CCTV? No idea. Regardless, they are guaranteed good shots for saturated color and throngs of items. I love the variety — where did the Arizona Cardinal banner come from? How many combinations of drinking puns are there in the world? Thing 1 & 2, Drunk 1 & 2, Trouble 1 & 2 side by side with lingerie and costumes. Beads galore. All of it mixed up like a dish of hoppin’ john.
But what really made the image for me is the figure walking by. I don’t think quite drunk, maybe not even tipsy. She walked more with a goal than a meander. Certainly dressed up enough to have gone out (or be going out) but I don’t think her destination had bar stools. A figure of calm, moving deliberately among the menagerie.