This blog is now located at http://weblog.jrcphotography.com/.
You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds, or you may click here.

For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to
http://weblog.jrcphotography.com/feeds/posts/default.

Been really busy. Working on new prints, matting, framing and all that good stuff. Just about finished with the printing. Just in time for spring, so its time to get out and shoot some film. Hopefully I can get out next week. Im thinking Cape May.

Really happy with the new images from my trip cross-country in January. Dusk, San Simeon; Fog, Sonoma; Pasture and Bay, Paso Robles and Sunrise, Lone Pine are new prints I have made over the last month. I am looking for a new graphic designer, as soon as I find one, I'll get the new images up on the web.

Lots of new stuff going on, most of it good. I'll keep this updated as much as possible.

Had a great weekend. Friday had a really productive night. My least favorite part of the whole photography process is the finishing i.e. spotting, matting and framing. I spent the evening cutting matts. I have a bunch of unmounted prints that need to be matted, both new and old. Saturday We hosted a small gathering at our place, and then headed out to Vietnamese food. The Albertsons came up from Virginia and joined us. Sunday found us up in Doylestown at the Michener Museum. They had an Edward Weston exhibit. It was awesome. It was great to see so many prints I was familiar with in person. The obvious work was there; Pepper #30, Head Down Dude etc. but there was a lot of stuff I had never seen. There was also a bunch of great portraits. He didn't like to enlarge, and he shot small negatives for portraits, so he would present 2 1/2inch by 3 1/2 inch prints. It was weird because in books these prints are just as big as the others. It was kind of interesting.

This evening I was happy to find out I have been accepted to some new shows, including one in Montauk, NY. This looks to be the busiest show season I've had, I've already been accepted to seven shows.

This week I plan on accomplishing as much finishing as possible. Next week I am going to be doing an inventory, so I know what I have, and what I need.

Today's Listening: "Little Worlds" by Bela Fleck and the Flecktones

So I figured since we were getting another blizzard I would save all my paperwork and some show applications for yesterday and today so I had something to do. I think we got an inch of snow. Got my paperwork done, but I could have been more productive in the darkroom. I have made two prints from my trip, and I'm really satisfied. Sent 6 show applications in this week, including some applications for some major shows, including Saint Louis and Longs Park. Crossing my fingers.

We spent the past weekend in Chambersburg visiting friends. Had a great weekend, it was too short. Plans are being made for my friend Mark's wedding. We watched a Sally Mann documentary. It was about her work with her children, photographing them partially or fully nude. The work was highly controversial. Viewing the documentary was followed by several hours of discussion. Some thought that while beautiful, it wasn't appropriate. Others liked it, but said that they wouldn't want those photos floating around if they were their children. I thought the work was technically and esthetically beautiful. I really enjoy these discussions. Although we don't necessarily agree, our friendships foster good, honest opinions that are respectful and well-thought. I love to hear intelligent opinions that don't agree with mine. I like seeing things from others views.


Today's Listening: "Ghost of David" by Damien Jurado

So much going on. Started printing the negatives from my cross-country trip. Really happy with some of them. I will get some up as soon as I can, but it may be a while. Its great having new work to print. At times I wondered if I "lost it"'. Im feeling like I did well with the time I had.

Im starting to get some more shows scheduled for the summer, including a couple shows in Chicago. I will get a new show schedule up soon. Its exciting, but its kind of crazy. I have all this money due for booth fees that I won't make back until July or August.

Celeste is going to be heading to Haiti to help out with the earthquake relief, so we had to cancel the photo trip to the southwest in March, which is just as well. I need to find a time to use up the tickets, though. Im thinking of going to Oregon in April, or maybe just waiting till the summer and heading somewhere else. We are already going to be spending 3 weeks driving to Washington State in July, so maybe September? We shall see.

Today's Listening: Over the Rhine "Cutting Room Floor"

After returning from my trip I had (and still have) much to do. I had several meetings, and also made time to develop all my negatives I shot on the trip. I am very happy with them. I can't wait to start printing.

Celeste and I left last Thursday, driving for a day and a half straight through. It was only a blizzard in New Mexico and Arizona that slowed us down. Of course I run into a blizzard in the desert. It did cause me to miss my day in Monterey, so I wasn't able to make any photographs on the trip. We did enjoy ourselves very much, though.

We returned last night, and I am overwhelmed with work to be done. I hope next week to get back into the darkroom and get to work. I have so much I want to print.

I also got accepted to show in the Bethesda Fine Art Festival this May. I haven't done an outdoor festival in a couple of years. I am looking forward to it. I hope to run into some old friends.

Today's Listening: "Go When the Morning Shineth" by Don Peris

The road journal of my trip cross country with Tim Albertson. Thought some of you might find this interesting.

Saturday, Jan. 2nd we left New Brunswick, New Jersey(long story). We drove through the night, only stopping in Chambersburg, PA to have dinner with a friend. We drove in 4-5 hour shifts. By the time we reached Western Virginia, the temperature had dropped to 7 degrees, and there was a strong wind trying to blow us all over the highway.

By sun-up on Sunday we were in Tennessee, pushing forward as fast as we could so we had more time to Photograph. By early afternoon we made Arkansas. The highway was under construction, so we took a detour on a local road. We ended up going through an abandoned town. All the shoppes on the main road (Rt 70) were abandoned. The public school was up for public auction. It was a modern-day ghost town. We continued through Arkansas and Oklahoma. I wanted to stop and watch the Eagles game, but that part of the country is dry or doesn't serve booze on Sundays. There were no bars open. Once we got near Oklahoma City we were able to locate a bar, but they only served cheap beer. That night we made it to the Texas border.

Around 2AM we went through Amarillo, Texas. It was like a Vegas for truckers. All the car dealerships sell semi trucks, and its basically a well-lit town of cheap hotels, chain restaurants and strip clubs. By sunrise we had made it into New Mexico. I had never been before, and it was gorgeous. I can't wait to go back. It had gotten dark in Oklahoma the night before, and by the time light returned, we were in the desert, it could have been 2,000 miles away. The landscape just seemed to have changed so drastically so quickly. Mid-day found us in in western New Mexico. I imagine I may take a trip there for a week or so, just to photograph the rock formations in that area.

Just over the border into Arizona we made our first stop, an unscheduled drive through the painted desert and Petrified Forrest National Park. I made a few negatives, most of it was under snow. We then made our way back to I-40, stopping o the way to have a Navajo Taco. We drove past the Grand Canyon, deciding that 1/2 a day wasn't worth it, the park deserves more time than that. Around sundown we hit Rt 93 and took that North, crossing Hoover Dam. I had been there as a child, but never at night. It is like floating in blackness, high above the Colorado River. A few hours longer we made our first real stop of the trip, a Motel 6 in Beatty, Nevada. Just over the border from Death Valley. We did it in just over 2 days.

We awoke before the sun, and went to Rhyolite, one of the nations best preserved ghost towns, about 5 miles west of Beatty. It is known for many things, including being a breeding ground for rattlesnakes. Luckily for me it was January and the snakes are hibernating this time of year. I made a few negatives, and then we moved on to Death Valley. Death Valley is one of the most amazing places I have ever been. It is like being on another planet, yet one area in Death Valley is so different than the next. We decided to concentrate out time on a couple of areas; The Devils Golf Course and Badwater Salt Flat. The Golf Course is a field of salt deposits that are odd-shaped and about 1-2 feet high. Check out the link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Places_of_interest_in_the_Death_Valley_area

Badwater Basin is another place that is hard to describe. Its another field of salt, but a very different texture and not as high or as hard to navigate as the Golf Course. Its the lowest point in the U.S., being 212 feet below sea level. It is also the hottest.

We left the Golf Course at sunset, heading west out of the park towards Lone Pine. By the time we hit the Panamint Range, it was dark. A few years back I had driven up the eastern side, but the western side was one of the more stressful drives of my life. It felt as if we were heading straight down the side of the mountain. With the dark it seemed like we could fall off the side at any time. When we got to the bottom I knew there was one more range to get over. As we started up the next range, we couldn't tell if the lights above us were planes or cars coming down the mountain. They were cars. We had to get back up another 6000 feet over the Inyo Range. At a snail's pace we did, and then enjoyed the gradual descent into the town of Lone Pine, where I celebrated being alive with a steak dinner and a few glasses of wine.

We woke up the next morning to the view from our hotel of the Sierras. It was amazing. We rushed up Whitney Portal Road, through the Alabama Hills to one of the most beautiful sunrises I have ever seen. As the sun came over the Inyo Mountains it illuminated the snow-covered peaks of the Sierras, including Lone Pine Peak, that was right in front of me. I set up my camera in front of a group of boulders, and as soon as I was ready to meter the scene and make the exposure the sun illuminated the boulders in front of me. I was able to make an exposure within seconds of the sun hitting the rocks, getting them at the perfect time under perfect light. It was so satisfying (the negative looks perfect). We photographed the Sierras and the Alabama Hills for the next few hours, and then decided that instead of staying in the mountains we would head to the coast. I was at this point really sick with a head cold, and I thought the sea air might do me some good.

We drove south through the Owens Valley, through Bakersfield and into the Central Valley. There was humidity for the first time on the trip. Fog, rain and heavy cloud cover welcomed us, I was happy to see it. We made it through the hills around San Louis Obispo, stopping along the way to make photographs. We got to San Simeon just in time for sunset. We photographed until well after dark, and then got a hotel and ate mexican food for the 3rd time on the trip. We spent the evening doing what we did every night on the trip; cleaning gear and re-loading film holders.

We got up again before the dawn and headed up the Pacific Coast Highway to Big Sur. There were no gas stations open(they open at 9am, which is kind of weird) so we couldn't travel too far. We had to wait until 9 to really get going. We made our way to Big Sur around lunch time. We got a cabin for the night, and explored where we would go for sunrise the next morning. Then around 3pm we went to Pfieffer Beach. It is on an unmarked road in Big Sur, if you don't know its there, you won't find it. You take a one lane road through a little canyon that opens up to this incredible beach. Of course sunset there brings out a half-dozen photographers looking for the beautiful colors. I was happy making exposures of the rocks. We were there till well after sunset. I did manage to get wit by a wave, soaking my from the knees down. Which ended up bad for me since my only other pair of boots were not hiking boots.

The next morning we woke up way before the sun, about an hour. I wanted to get to Garrapata Beach. I had been told before not to go to the beach during high tide. I hadn't done my research, so I just figured I would risk it and go anyway. The waves were huge, crashing violently down on the beach. I got there and made my first exposure from the creek, so not to be in harm's way. I then proceeded to move south on the beach to a spot where I was up against the rocks, trapping me if a big wave came. I set up another shot, ad then was hit by a wave from nowhere, soaking me to my waste. Not sure what to do, another rouge wave came and hit me, soaking me up to my chest, and this time getting my camera bag. Mind you, the waves weren't even close to me before this. It soaked all the photographers on the beach, but it got me the worst. I spent the next two and a half hours cleaning and drying my gear. I think its all alright, but I wasn't able to photograph anymore that morning. From there we went to Monterey for Tim to get his ticket's home. We then stopped in Carmel Valley for lunch and to do a wine tasting and Bernardus. By 2:30 we were in Point Lobos, ready for for a great day of shooting. I made several images I am excited about. We photographed there until well after dark. We then drove up 101 to my sister Jeanie's in Petaluma where we would be staying for the next few days.

I spent almost the entire next day sick on the sofa, except for a few errands that included a trip to Whole Foods for some supplements. Sunday we headed out to try to make it to Point Reyes. We figured we would stop ad get gas on the way. We made several images on the way there. The fields were so emerald green, and there was fog everywhere. By the time we made it to Point Reyes we hadn't found a gas station, and it was going to be dark in an hour. We just drove around Marin County photographing. It was a good Day. It also ended the photographic part of the trip. The next day we went tasting in Napa, had lunch at Auberge de Soliel, and then hung out at Bouchon. Got a tour of Bouchon's kitchen, it is perfect; super clean, and well-lit. I wish I had worked as a chef in a kitchen like that.

I am excited to develop the negatives from the trip. I started last night and I am really happy with what I got so far. I haven't taken a trip out west to photograph in over two years, I feel like it was great to be out there working again. And of course I drive back out this week. I won't have time to take many photos, but I will be bringing a camera or two, just in case.