Lower Owens River Project Update - December, '07

I finally got around to scanning some of the photographs I made on my trip in September, and a few of the ones I have printed from my most recent trip in November.

Also, I just updated my website with some of these new photographs, as well as added captions with a more specific location for each individual picture (you will have to click to the right of the image where is says "show / hide caption").

I hope to have the remaining negatives printed from this last year by the end of the month, so keep checking back for more updates.

Postcard: Yucca Valley or Shopping Cart Demo-Derby

Back in Yucca after photographing up in the Owens Valley for a few days. I head back East in a few more days. I'm going to miss the sunshine, the stars, and the open space, but the dirt, not so much.

Return from Paris Photo, or My 18 Hour Layover . . .

Flew into Newark last night, returned home about 11PM, caught up with my house mates over half the Beaujolais Nouveau I was allowed to bring back to the US. Now, just finishing breakfast and a pot of coffee before running a few errands. Then, I'm flying out West this afternoon to spend Thanksgiving with my family, and continue photographing the Lower Owens River Project. It is almost enough time for a load of laundry and few hours sleep befroe my flight. Thank god I am still on GMT.

Paris Photo (and Transport Worker Strike) Countdown

I leave Monday evening for Paris Photo, and arrive Tuesday to set up the booth. Luckily, it is many hours before the expected transport worker strike that is sure to shut down the city. The VIP preview is Wednesday afternoon, and the show opens to the public Thursday. I wonder how the strike will effect attendance, and galleries' sales. I can't comment of the politics of the striking worker, but it is unquestionable where the real power lies in France.

Despite the possible problems and the exchange rate, here are some things worth looking forward to:

-The Tuileries in the morning -Vintage post cards sold along the Seine -The Month of Photography -Cheese

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnO6nDTMpqo&rel=1]

Post-POST Reception

Philadelphia Open Studio Tours 2007

Project Basho Artists

Richard Boutwell & Kara LaFleur

We would like to thank everyone who made it to the studio during POST, and to extend an invitation to a post-POST event.

Please join us for a Closing Reception Friday, November 2^nd from 6-9.

Project Basho

1305 Germantown Ave

Philadelphia PA 19122

Richard Boutwell

On View:

New Large Format Work and The Lower Owens River Project: Photographs from the First Year

The Lower Owens River Project is the largest riparian habitat management and revitalization program in the country. It's goal is to undo the ecological damage caused when Los Angeles developers diverted the river's waters in the early 20th century to support the city's explosive growth. The Lower Owens River was dry for nearly a century until a court mandated it be restored to its original state. Even though the Owens Valley is located in a relatively remote part Eastern California, it sets a precedent for other water rights and environmental mitigation efforts all over the West.

www.richardboutwell.com

Kara LaFleur

On View:

Work To Ride (a work in progress)

Work To Ride is a program for at risk and urban youth located in the Belmont section of Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park. Founded in 1994 by Lezlie Hiner, WTR started as a refuge for the youth of West Philly who were willing to put in a little work. In exchange for doing barn chores and caring for the horses, they were allowed to pursue an equestrian sport of their choosing. Following Lez’s passion, many of them chose Polo; and in 1997, they had the first African American Polo Team in America, ever. Over the years the program has evolved from a mere handful to over twenty and has seen the addition of Kate Simmer, Program Director. The kids still have to work with the horses and now undergo tutoring, to keep their grades up. Today, against all odds, these kids continue to prove themselves both on the field and off.

The images contained within Work To Ride (a work in progress) seek to explore the very heart and soul of this program. After volunteering with WTR for eight months, I began to photograph informally around the barn. The somewhat unorthodox combination of Color Holga Photography captures the surreal nature and inherent beauty of the subject matter while conveying a deeply touching truth. With this long term project I hope to impart the stories of these amazing children to the outside world, by exploring their lives as they interact within this unique environment.

www.karaslafleur.wordpress.com

. . .

Pre-POST Recap

Thursday: 7PM-1AM (Friday): 3rd coat of mud in new gallery space, discover that I am not all that comfortable on a 12" beam 8' off the deck, drive home with extremely sore shoulders and neck

2PM: Cutting overmats for prints, praying that 24x52" overmat doesn't get damaged in transit.

3PM: Sanding new gallery space, feeling slightly more comfortable at previously mentioned height.

7PM: Drive home to eat and shower. Pick, mat, and frame show- a certain all-nighter follows

Satruday:

10AM: Load show into car, and drive to Philadelphia (1Redbull, 1 Pot of Coffee, and 1/2 box of Pop'ems later)

11AM: arriving to find the gallery space smelling of fresh paint, and lights being hung.

11:15 AM: begin placing and hanging show. 2- 24x28s, 1-24x52, 8-16x18s double hung. Realize the floor rises 3"

3PM: Finish hanging show, remove scaffolding, and adjust lights. Realize the space and the show look amazing. Wish that someone has a digital camera.

6PM: finally sit down, drink a beer

7PM: begin drive home

7:30 PM: stop to sleep in parking lot

Project Basho and POST= . . .

WEEKEND ONE

:

STUDIOS EAST OF BROAD STREET OCTOBER 20 - 21, 2007

CfEVA had Melissa Potter—an artist and career consultant—in this evening for a talk that was part of the Direct Dialogue™ series. Her topic, "Making the Most of Opportunities Beyond the Gallery," really drove home the importance and possible benefits of community. I feel lucky to be part of that community in Philadelphia, where things like Inliquid and POST bring artists together and help them connect with the outside world. For POST alone there are nearly 300 participating artists and studios with over 10,000 people visiting studios during the two weekends' activities. Incredible.

Yesterday I mentioned just one reason for continuing to commute into the city to print at Project Basho, but it is really the sense of community that the place instills that keeps me coming back. The way Tsuyoshi has created a place that brings photographers together—despite differences in experience or personal vision—and the supportive, positive environment for his new students is truly amazing.

Please stop by on your studio tour this weekend, October 20 and 21 to experience this special place first hand. In addition to all the great work on display, there will be a tintype portrait session where, for a small fee, you can have your portrait made with one of the most beautiful photographic processes. Project Basho is convienently located just a few minutes from the Girard El stop, and there is ample FREE Parking for those who drive. There will be shuttles making the tour and leaving Johnny Brenda’s every half hour. The tour is sponsored by New Kensington CDC, the Center for Emerging Visual Artists, and Philly Car Share. This shuttle will take you to all the artists studios in the area.

– Re-introducing Photography to Philadelphia – 1305 Germantown Ave. (click for Google Map) Philadelphia, PA 19122 www.projectbasho.org/

215-238-0928

POST POST POST POST POST

The reason behind this severe lack of new blog posts is due to the enormous amount of work I've been doing to prepare for this weekend's Philadelphia Open Studio Tours. Between moving from Philadelphia to Bucks County, getting my new work printed, and helping with some work on Project Basho's new exhibition space, there has been little time for extra curricular activities and the blog has suffered immensely. There will be new regular blog posts post POST, so sit tight. I am excited to have the opportunity to show many more photographs than I can usually carry when I visit people, and have the wall space to show some of my newest work—20x24-inch enlargements from my 8x10-inch negatives. The first time anyone has seen this work was last week at POST's Preview Invitational at Freeman's auction house, and there was an incredibly good reaction to the print I had there on display. Until recently, I had not considered making prints larger than a contact print, but the information in the 8x10 negative and the increasing complexity of my work lends itself well to the process. One reason I will continue to drive to Philadelphia to print at Project Basho is because it allows me the capability of making enlargements from my negatives without having to construct a special darkroom or hire out the work. I look forward to when Tsuyoshi completes construction in his new building and has the facilities of making much larger mural-sized prints. Until then, 8x10 and 20x24 will have to do.

POST: From the Studio IV

I have a couple of pictures in a show curated by Shelly Spector opening October 4 at the Center for Emerging Visual Artists. Also in the show are photographs by Talia Greene (courtesy of Philagrafika), Kara LaFleur, Eugene Martin, Paul Rider, Wendy Wolf, John Woodin, and Rick Wright.

A Sign of the Times

Last week a former Kodak engineer sent this picture of the recent destruction of Kodak's black and white paper coating facilities. We all knew that day would come, but we never imagined it would be so soon I have a small stash of Azo—enough to keep me working for a short while. Thankfully there are several smaller companies committed to continuing producing these materials. I even switched to Ilford films to insure that they would continue being made, and that I could trust their excellent quality control. Here is the email and picture as it arrived last week. It is somewhat ironic that this picture was made with technologies that helped Kodak justify putting an end to their production of B&W paper.

Sending you a panorama of Kodak Bld 50 that was imploded at 7 AM this morning.  End of an era.  This building is where B&W papers were made.  The building to the right of this building is bld 57, currently under demolition, where B&W paper was sensitized.  To the left of bld 50 was where paper roll storage Bld 16 used to be.  Behind Bld 50 in this picture is where Bld 9 used to be, Paper Finishing, Bld 10 where I started at KP and Bld 36.  Looks like a war zone up close.  I photographed this about 3 hours after the destruction.  Many old Paper Manufacturing alumni were coming by and we talked.   Everyone had a glum face as they saw  where they spent much of their lives... gone...

SAD!

© 2007 Dave Valvo     www.Davevalvo.com

technical photo items:

Camera Canon 5D, 13MP digital SLR with Canon 24-105mm image stabilized L lens set at 50mm. A Jasper scanning head was used on a tripod Vertical images were collected Exposure was kept constant at 1/100 sec f/4.5 for all 7 images Panorama was stitched using Adobe Photoshop CS3 Original image is 90 MP.  reduced to less than 1MP for easy emailing.

The New Color Photography

© William Eggleston

The New New Color Photography has progressed little since 1981, when Sally Eauclaire wrote The New Color Photography. The banality that was beautified by Eggelston has now returned to being banal. Stephen Shore, even then, was pushing the limits of formalism, and realizing that, has now begun to re-explore his older photographs by cropping, cutting them into grids of every sort, and breaking down single pictures and published them as entire books. The ironies Joel Sternfeld began documenting continue to be documented by countless photographers, but the results seem to have lost their humor and charm. The deadpan of Struth that was once a refreshing look at the world is now simply dead.

          West Market St. & N. Eugene St., Greensboro, NC, January 23, 1976 © Stephen Shore

If there is a next step in the progression and complexity of color work, I think it will take some time, and much experimenting to discover what that is.

Of course there are exceptions, and I think the Starn brothers have proven that, but in general . . .

House Hunting or Why I Can't Stand Living in the City

There are some people who love living in the city, and there are some who, as much as they love all the city has to offer, can't. I am of the latter. Even though the city's diversity of people and culture is much more accessible than it is out in the country, the city is dirty, smelly, and unceasingly noisy. There are the small slivers and glimpses of beauty, but those are not enough to off-set what I feel is the inescapable chaos that greets me every waking moment. So, after weighing all the benefits of living in the city over the country, I decided my mental well-being is more important than having the Turkish place right around the corner, or the option of seeing a show any night of the week (and honestly, as an artist, I am usually working when everyone else is going out anyway). The train into the city is only 20 minutes away and it is only an hour's drive. Plus, going into the city with a purpose will make any visit worth while, rather than daunting feeling I currently have living there.

So, long-story-short, I spent the entire day looking at new places to live out Bucks County. I made a few digi-pics to show my future house-mate, which reminded me of the Real Estate Photographs of Henry Wessel. Here is a nice little NY Times article about him from last year.

Back from the West

Just back from ten days on the West Coast, and already hitting the ground running. First, saying goodbye to Summer, and a big hello to a busy Autumn is the Photo Review Garden Party—being held this year in Downingtown, PA. Next weekend is the Mike and Doug Starn opening at the Print Center in Philadelphia, Amy Stevens opening at CfEVA, and later are all the Fall submission deadlines, PhotoPlus Expo, POST, Paris Photo, another trip out West to continue photographing the Lower Owens River Project, and AIPAD Miami in December.

Postcard: Yosemite, or Why I am Scared of Bears—

The first time I drove into Yosemite, they handed me a flier about a not leaving food in your car while in the Park. Bears will smell it, and proceed to tear the doors off your car trying to get to the food. So, you could imagine my fear as I sit with my arms stuck in a film changing tent with a stack of 10 holders to change, and thinking about the remnants of a burrito on the front seat. I am not sure if I could effectively scare away a black bear by waving around a funny looking tent. Fortunately, there were no bears, and I continued photographing until the lightning started. For some reason, I am also scared to be photographing with a big metal camera in a lighting storm . . .

Postcard: Barstow, or Why I Love Truck Stops

While waiting to have dinner with some relatives before heading up to the Owens Valley to continue photographing the Lower Owens River Project, I made a few snaps with a digi, which might actually turn into something more substantial.

It has been a few years since I have driven clear across the county, but there have been several shorter trips over the last few years. On one such trip to Erie last year I had the idea of photographing truck stops—Pilots, Loves, Flying Js, and all the small little stops that seem to have so much character, like Mrs. B's in Barstow, California.

Knowing that everything consumed in this country travels, at some point, by truck, I want to look at the people and the way of live of the people are a major, and a much under-recognized, part of the way of life in this country.

Postcard: California, or Postcard: Global Warming

Part of the reason for the lack of posts over the last week was this trip to California. There are always ten million things to do before a trip, and it always seems like the amount of work is multiplied when traveling by air.

I got into the desert late Monday night—just in time to watch a full lunar eclipse. I was thinking, "this either means it is going to be one great trip, or a terrible one."

Before I could do any photographing, I needed to climb on the roof to fix my parents air conditioner to make sure there was a comfortable place to hide out during the worst of the heat. I am not one to complain about the heat—I even enjoy it to a point. Given enough water and burritos, I can work all day in the 90s, but anything over 100 is just swimming weather. I do remember September in the desert being hot, but not unbearably so. According to a highway sign, it was 105 today.

It seems ridiculous to not acknowledge that climate change is real. Just look at the drought in Florida in the Spring, the current heat wave and drought in the Southeast, drought in Australia, Northern Brazil, and, maybe the most extreme example at the moment, Greece. I think, for the most part, we have all agreed that climate change is real, but few people know what the global affects will be, how to reverse, or even stop our course.

Laundry Day

So, Sunday was laundry day, and needing something to read, I grabbed A.D. Coleman's Critical Focus. I bought it a few years ago, along with his Light Readings, and some other books on photo criticism. I have only read Coleman's books somewhat casually and infrequently, and I am not sure if I actually like his writing or not (though that could be due, in part, to what he was actually writing about). Although, I have realized that these two books are some of the few ways I can gain insight into what was happening in the photoworld of the Seventies through the early Nineties. That might simply be because his writing is more personal than some other criticisms I have read—maybe that reason alone should be a reason for liking him.

More New Color Work

Here are a few more from the new batch of film I just had processed. These are of the Delaware River flood last year. Luckily, the house I was living in on the Delaware Canal was high enough that the water was not a threat. The people living on the other side of the canal were not so lucky.

 

New Color Work

Here are some new things I have been working on. Some are from a few years ago, and I am just now getting them out there.

Centralia, Pennsylvania, the site of an underground coal fire that has been burning for over forty years.

I have been interested in the idea of making stereo views for some time now. Here is a sample of what I intend to do with them. I also want to explore the West with the stereo medium, and showing the work as a series of stereo viewers instead of traditionally framed and hung photographs. Note: the best way to view these is to focus your eyes into deep space until the two pictures come together as one. Some people preffer to cross their eyes to get the 3 dimensional effect. The cross-eyed technique, while it still works, is not as good for these pictures as the previous method I mentioned)

Impressive, Very Impressive

Note: After writing this, i felt that it sounded too much like a  paid infomercial. Please be assured that this is not the case. 

 ---

I was able to take a tour of Bob Tursack's Brilliant Studio, an exceptional print-making and offset lithography press. They have a beautiful new space with state of the art equipment, and are located in Chester County--  just west of Philadelphia.

I was so impressed that I plan on having him print my first book-- which should be out in 2009, and large prints from my 8x10-inch negatives. I encourage anyone planning to do a book of their art, or making large prints to consider Brilliant Studios.