New Holland Images

Recent shots from my ongoing Holland Series – about Holland, Michigan and my family that resides there.

Tulip Festival, May 2009

Marching Band, May 2009

Windmill Island, May 2009

Grandma’s Grave Marker, May 2009

Still Life Champions

I generally find still lifes to be the most appealing photographs. Some of the female photographers I admire, Laura Letinsky and Sharon Core, are champions of the still life. Both of these artists are directly referencing 17th/18th century still life painting in their work: Letinsky replicates the foreshortening and spatial feel of old still life paintings while Core’s latest works are recreations of Raphaelle Peale paintings.

I also enjoy the art of the “accidental still life”.  These are images that are seemingly candid shots, usually in someone’s home or of one’s personal effects,  but are more than likely arranged just as meticulously as the work of Letinsky and Core. One of the best still life creators of this nature is Wolfgang Tillmans. It is safe to say that any student of photography in the last 10 years is familiar with Tillmans’ work and style (most of us are guilty of replicating his shots as well as his salon style of arranging works). Tillmans not only makes ordinary objects into works of art but also personifies them as well. Magnificent.

Here are some images from these artists whose works are a continuing inspiration to me. All following images are property of the creating artists and are only being used for praise and reference purposes.

Laura Letinsky, From the Hardly More Than Ever series

Laura Letinsky, From the To Say It Isn’t So series

Letinsky’s latest work utilizes disposable products and is fairly monochromatic, a change from her pastel and painterly earlier works.

Sharon Core: Early American, Cut Melon (Raphaelle Peale), 2007

I tried finding one of Peale’s paintings online to see how close Core had matched. The only one I found was the following:

Raphaelle Peale, Still Life with Cake, 1822

Sharon Core: Early American, Still Life with Cake (Raphaelle Peale), 2008

Core doesn’t match the painting exactly, but her photograph adds a haunting amount of depth and clarity to the objects.  Astounding.

Wolfgang Tillmans, Stipped, 2003

Tillmans tends to personify clothing in his still lifes, perhaps because they are the outer skin of a person. These skins, or empty shells, always look defeated.

 

Wolfgang Tillmans, Still Lifes

I love how he can always manage to make things look happenstance even if they are not. And perhaps they really are. Either way, beautiful images abound.

New Photography Sites of Interest

Recent finds, check ‘em out:

Feature Shoot – Feature Shoot is run by photographer and photo editor, Alison Zavos, and showcases work from up-and-coming photographers alongside work from established photographers, both commercial and fine-art. Submit your work here!

Women in Photography – Not new to me, but new to Humble Arts! The WIP Site features the work of some AMAZING female photographers. WIPNYC recently teamed up with HAFNY. What could be better? Submit your work here!

NYMPHOTO – A collective of female photographers has a great blog and a great roster of talented women. Check out their site. NOW!

We’re Good Together – A Blog featuring inspiring photography, by Christopher from Melbourne, Australia.

Perhaps I will be inspired to blog more often about work I like so that others can discover it too.

Marcy Robinson: half frame

I am incredibly privileged to know a very talented photographer named Marcy Robinson. We started working together about 8 months ago and soon after I found out she has a book published of her photographs called Half-Frame. It was published by SteidlDangin (Box’s sister book company), and is a beautiful collection of images.  When I first saw the book I was so inspired, not only because the images are beautiful, but because I felt as though I could relate to all of the images in the book: I felt as if I had or would have taken them. All of them. It is incredibly motivating to see work that is thoughtful and magnificent in such a precious volume, particularly if it in some way (however small) reminds one of their own work.  Perhaps one day I will also be the creator of such a beautiful book of photographs.

New Images Arriving Daily!

Does anyone else ever feel like their website is never good enough? I think it is one of those things that as soon as you’re comfortable with it, you find 100 design flaws and start to think a) you were insane to think it was awesome and b) how did my website come to feel so archaic so quickly? Either that, or I’m just experiencing the whole “you’re your own worst critic” thing. I digress and apologize for the disarray of my website. I am rehauling it…AGAIN. But am delighted to let you all know this means adding new images and probably removing some others. It seemed like a good time to rethink my work a bit.

With all of that said, here are a few new images (or newly discovered) that are my favorites of the past week. I hope you enjoy them as well.

Uncle Ken’s Office, 2009 – From the ongoing series “Holland”

Uncle Ken’s Garage, 2009 – From the ongoing series “Holland”

Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia 2006

Dog on Beach, Atlantic Ocean – Maine 2007

design milk

A couple of weeks ago a photograph of mine was featured on the Design Milk blog. Not only did that boost my website visits by 8000%, it also introduced me to a great new blog about art, design and architecture to keep an eye on. So allow me to return the favor and direct your attention to Design Milk:

http://design-milk.com/

Goodbye Grandma “G”

Noemi Guajardo – April 29, 1925 – March 23, 2009

My mother’s mother passed away last night. Goodbye Grandma “G”.

Grandma “G” in her chair at  home – Holland, MI, 2003

Time to get nerdy! I mean, wordy!

I haven’t been keeping my site up-to-date (not that anyone has noticed) partly because I am: lazy; incredibly busy with work; afraid my scanner and computer are about to explode; spending all my waking hours cramming for the 32nd American Crossword Tournament!

“What?”, you say? That’s right! This year I am, for fun only, entering the 32nd American Crossword Tournament! For the second year it will be held at the Brooklyn Marriott, and is yet another advantage to living in this great city of New York. If you are not familiar, check out the website for the tournament here!

This is the same famed tournament featured in the 2006 documentary, WordPlay. I will certainly be surrounded by not only geniuses and crossword whizzes, but also the fun-loving elderly. I cannot wait to take some portraits during this event! I also cannot wait to basically embarass myself by my lack of skill.

Anyways, the Tournament is the last weekend in February, so hopefully soon after I will have my very own photo with these two guys:

Homer and Lisa Simpson with Merl Reagle (Famed Crossword Constructor) and Will Shortz (NY Times Crossword Editor).

Thanks to the websites I stole these images from! Also, if you are down with SUDUKO, try this new puzzle KENKEN! ADDICTIVE!

Happy Birthday, Dad

Mom and Dad at our house, Circa ‘72-’74 (undated photograph)

Today is my father’s birthday. He would’ve been 64 today. He was just 60 when he passed away on October 31st, 2004. For a man that I barely knew, I miss him terribly. Not a single day goes by when I don’t think about all the other ways things could have turned out for him. And for me, too.

My father passed away on October 31, 2004. At the funeral home, we had a chance to spend time with his body and I took the opportunity to make some photographs. I thought it would be the only way for me to grasp the reality of the situation and keep myself from breaking down. Looking at the photos I took has weakened my actual memory of being there. I can’t decide if that is a good thing or not. A corpse is not a person; it is cold, lifeless, and almost shapeless. While the body on the stretcher was that of my father, it was not my father. I am still struggling to remember who he was.

I can tell you that Peter Michael Neola was born January 27, 1945. (But so can this website) I know he was born and raised in Shaker Heights, Ohio and had about 13 brothers and sisters. During my childhood I met only 3 of them. At the time of his death he was speaking to none of them. I know he was in the Armed Forces and that he met my mother at one of those dances where pretty girls come to dance with soldiers. They met in San Antonio, Texas, where my mother is from, and then moved to Cleveland. I know at one point he worked for a company called Quadex and he sold computer equipment to medical facilities. We always had pens and notepads with drug companies and drug names on them.

He once had a personalized license plate that said PDSE (Pete, Dora, Scott, Erika) and also purchased our family a brick at Jacob’s Field. He enjoyed golf, played every weekend, and watched it constantly. He also liked Star Trek, preferring the superior TNG to the older run. He also used to drive around in his new VW Beetle and blast ABBA. Loudly.

I cannot tell you his favorite food, color, or season. I cannot tell you if he had a favorite book or movie. I do not know if he died with any regrets, unfulfilled dreams, or dark secrets. I do not know if he ever felt lonely, and ever thought he had gone too far to come back. I cannot tell you if he is in a better place now, or if his suffering here was done in vain.

I wish I could tell you these things about him. I wish I knew more about the man who gave me life, but sadly, I  do not. Though he was a hard man to get along with, he was my father and I miss him terribly.

Happy Birthday, Dad.

Mom and Dad, Willowick, OH – October 31, 2004

Dad’s Chair, Mentor-on-the-Lake, 2004

Viewing Room, Monreal Funeral Home, 2004

Dad, Monreal Funeral Home, 2004

Funeral Lodge, Ohio Western Reserve Nat’l Cemetary, Rittman, OH, 2004

Dad’s hillside, Rittman, OH, 2004

new year, new images

Happy 2009!

TV and Map, Chicago, IL

Trimmed Tree Top, Brooklyn, NY

Chicago Intersection, Humboldt Park