These Are My Faces

I put these together like this...


to give you an idea of how overwhelmed I get...


when I have hundreds of these old photos...


spread out on my floor like tiling...


...and I can see my family as a whole.

New Directions, Inspiration, and The Family Circus

In case you haven't heard, the building that my Pioneer Square studio is in has been declared unsafe by the City of Seattle.

Earlier this year, we (the artist-tenants of 619 Western) were told by the Washington State Department of Transportation that we would have to be out of the building by March of 2012 in order for the tunnel (Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement option) to be dug and built right below the 101-year-old building. But two weeks ago, we were given notice to be out by October by the city. Also, "public assemblies" are no longer allowed in the building, either...effectively ending the largest artist concentration in the nation's oldest art walk. That's right - First Thursday Art Walks in Pioneer Square are all but finished - at least for the 100+ artists in the 619 Western Building.

Sad times, for sure. But it all seems to be out of our hands and I am going to move on. Nearly two years in the studio produced a bunch of great and memorable shoots, and quite the handful of amazing ark walks. I'll do my best to remember the good times.

In other news, I have begun working a contracted position at the Nordstrom photo studio. Those of you that know me can probably attest to my lack of fashion sense, not to mention my lack of interest in fashion in general. But working on the web catalog for the local upscale retailer? Bizarre, right? Right.

Still, it's nice working in a busy studio, regardless of what the subject matter is. But that got me thinking about fashion - mainly why I don't connect to it...and what it means to me. Searching for answers, I stumbled across an image by a photographer named Frances McLaughlin-Gill.

"Born in 1919, Frances McLaughlin-Gill became a fashion photographer and producer of television commercials. She studied at the Pratt Institure during the Depression and she was a staff photographer for Conde Nast publications 1944-1955 and went on to produce television commercials between 1964-1973. Frances built a successful career beginning in the 1940s at Vogue and she was the first woman under contract to Vogue."

I had never heard of her. But this shoot she did for Glamour magazine in 1952 grabbed me on so many levels. The colors, the staging, the set (yes, it's a set)...the fact that it was shot FIFTY-NINE years ago! I was able to find quite a few behind-the-scenes images, too. I always love those.

I try to have a sense of "deliberate intent" when I shoot and seeing this incredibly staged shoot reminds me exactly of what I love doing most with photography. Sure, you can see other shots where the models are in different poses or interacting with each other in various ways (or not at all), but the room for small adjustments like those are part of the deliberate intent when creating these scenes.

And it's a combination of the original vision and intended direction of a conceptualized shoot with the unexpected deviations that naturally occur within the framework that take the photos to the next level. I've never been able to shoot exactly what is in my head. And (regardless of what I say when I'm shooting or how frustrated I may look at the time), that's really my favorite part about staging large scenes...and photography in general. The magic really happens when the path is laid out before you (from hard work and plenty of preparation) and either by choice or by accident, you take a few steps off the path to get to your destination. Sometimes, you leave the path for good once you first step off. And sometimes you return - whether immediately or eventually. As much as I can't stand the Family Circus comic strip, I can't help but think of those stupid round-about dotted-line paths the kids take while going about their business. Sure, Bill Keane has used that exact same tired gag time and time again, but while the quickest way from A to B is the straight line, going in circles and zig-zags always makes for a far more interesting journey.

And, for me, usually a more interesting photo.

Hmmm, I just realized that none of the photos in this post are mine, so I think I should add one. Here is a mask I made with my friend and colleague, Clayton Ryan. It's part of a large project we are working on this year, so here's a sneak peak. Enjoy!