Making Use...

What Do You Have In Your Closet?

My parents have lived in the same home for 24 years this July. We moved in two months after my younger brother was born and my mom had the whole place unpacked in time for my third birthday party on the back porch two weeks later. It was the perfect home in which to raise four kids: nearly five acres in a nice neighborhood with a pool in the yard and the "athletic field" that my dad carved out of the woods so that my older brother would have a place to play lacrosse with his friends. But now all the kids have moved out and the family home feels more like a shell of its former self. As my brother aptly expressed it, the mood in the house is, "like the day after a party," when you remember the liveliness of the night before but can't quite recreate that warmth again come morning.

So in an effort to prepare for the inevitable move to a more suitable home for this phase in their lives, my parents are purging, painting, and making other necessary changes. That means they've had to take down The World.

I don't know how long The World has been collaged onto the walls of the one upstairs closet but it must have gone up sometime around when my brother first left home at 16. There are animals, mountain ranges, and a sky full of clouds overhead. The pièce de résistance is the map full of pins, indicating locales around the earth where my brother has lived... traveled... tracked wildlife.

Before my parents peeled the images off the wall, my mom sent me in to photograph the closet. And though we now have a photographic record of that space, I wouldn't be surprised if The World reappears in another closet in the near future.

RECAP: Garden Week in Virginia

UVA Beyond Measure

Last fall I worked with Jackson Smith on a ten-day shoot for a new campaign at UVA Health System. We worked on the "Changed My Life" portion of the campaign, in which community members whose lives were changed by a medical experience at UVA held posters of the faces of the medical staff who "changed their life." These prints now hang throughout the hospital as posters on walls and banners strung from the ceilings.

It was a particularly long shoot because each final picture required two photographs--the medical staff, which we shot within the hospital facilities, and the former patients, whom we shot on location around the area. Because we live and work in the digital age (!), these two images were seamlessly joined in post production to create the finished products.

Throughout the shoot we were followed by a video cameraman. The "Making of the Campaign" video is now available online, along with the various TV, print, and radio spots that were created. The whole first half of the "Making of" video shows scenes from our photo shoots. The video is a nice behind-the-scenes look at how the photographs came together, and it also reveals a peak at our "hurry up and wait" dance moves.

3 Shout-Outs for LOOK3.

1. Before my monthly subscription to PDN arrived in my post office box a couple of weeks ago, I received a text message from my friend Yvonne in New York informing me that LOOK3 had been listed in the magazine as one of the reasons to love photography now. The article, entitled, "46 Reasons to Love Photography Now," highlights artists, tools, and events that make photography especially exciting these days. Right there at #19 is our very own little festival. Check it out for yourself in the May 2008 issue.

2. I recently came across this amazing slideshow by David McGowan, a 2007 FOF (Friend of the Festival). David's combination of still photographs and ambient sound creates a beautiful, buzzing snap-shot of last year's event. He seems to have been present at all major moments and many more intimate ones as well. We strive to transform downtown Charlottesville into a living image during the festival and I think the overall mood of David's piece conveys this transformation well. His images, like the weather that weekend, start off warm and get hotter and every face is a portrait, every street scape a unique moment. And the sounds are pure summertime in Charlottesville (i.e. a melodic blend of warm-weather insects, amped street musicians, and old friends running into each other on the Mall). Pretty much pure peace, love, and photography!

3. As if you need one more reason to buy your Festival Pass: I'm having a show during the month of June and you will definitely want to check it out! It's at Java Java, on the east end of the Mall, and the images are from a project I'm calling Loci. So get yourself a cup of iced coffee and buy a print while you're at it.

Conner & Ben

Conner and Ben are getting married at the UVA Chapel in October. They brought their dog, Penelope, along for the shoot and though she was beautiful and well-behaved, she was not particularly interested in being a part of the photographs. Eventually, Penelope got picked up to go play in the country, which, for most dogs, is far more exciting thank posing, and we continued with our shoot around the Downtown Mall.

Earlier that week, I had driven down Market Street and noticed the gorgeous purple wisteria growing down one of the buildings. "THAT is where we will take some pictures!" I told myself. Luckily, Conner and Ben were into the idea.

Conner and Ben shared a few of their wedding details with me that afternoon and though I won't divulge what I learned before the actual event, I really look forward to documenting their day and photographing some of the unique elements they have planned...!