Ethan and I have been hard at work in Rochester, New York with Tom at New Ridge Bindery (585-271-6990) and Eric at Booksmart Studio.

Ethan cut bookboard and cover sheets for over 150 books, added glue to both pieces, and then I brought all the pieces together to make the physical cover. I returned to New Ridge Bindery again yesterday to begin and finish the stamping of the 150 books.  Ethan and I are thrilled at how-well the books are coming together and will ultimately be.  Thank you, Tom, for inviting us into your shop to work on the books. I highly recommend Tom for making portfolios, bookbinding, and book restoration work.  He’s simply the best and his level of craft is phenomenal.

We begin pre-sale soon! Stay tuned.

Ethan and I opened the first Pause, to Begin exhibition last Friday, January 2, 2009 at Booksmart Studio in Rochester, New York. It was an enormous success, and we were pleased with the turn out and response.

It was great to see many new and old faces. We both had the pleasure of meeting Tony Bannon, Director of the George Eastman House, whom commented on the high quality of work being shown.

Thank you to Andy Super, Gallery Manager at Booksmart Studio for all the work he did in bringing the exhibition together, and thank you to Eric Kunsman, our publisher at Booksmart Studio, for continuing to support and believe in our project.

Thank you to all our girlfriends and friends who willingly (I swear!) gave up their time to hang the exhibition: Katie, Hannah, and Eric.

Thank you to Shannon Johnstone and Sonja Thomsen. Shannon flew in from North Carolina and Sonja flew in from Milwaukee. It was wonderful to see and catch up with you both. We had a blast.

And a special thank you to my parents for making the drive all the way from Syracuse in a snowstorm AND staying the entire 3 hours. That’s love.

A few pictures from opening night…

Sonja made some pics and a post, too. 

On the left is myself talking to Shannon and on the right is Ethan talking to Sonja.

In January 2009 I leave Maine for Alebtong, Uganda, where I will spend two months volunteering and photographing for A River Blue, a non-profit arts empowerment project for the children of internally-displaced persons in Northern Uganda.

I will be using my large format camera to photograph the people and landscape for a traveling exhibition and book that will be used to raise funds for A River Blue. Details will be announced in the spring/summer of 2009.

To raise funds for the trip, I am offering a selection of my limited edition prints at substantially reduced prices.

Please visit www.davidwrightphoto.com/blog to support my trip, A River Blue, and Africa.

Thank you!

I am not speaking for Pause, to Begin.  I am speaking for myself.

Thoughtful posts regarding the election as of this morning:

A Photo Editor

The Year in Pictures

Although I have never met Zoe Strauss, she has been a long supporter of Pause, to Begin and we have long been a fan of what she creates and does, including her recently released USA Artist YouTube video. There are many notable quotes from the video but this hit a particular chord in my mind:

At 4 the show is done and that means that if people want to take the photographs, they can. It’s not a commodity in terms of, “I’m putting these up and then I’m going to take these down as if there’s some worth for that.” The worth is the moment in which they’re up – that 3 hour time period in which it’s all up and together.

This weekend the Camden International Film Festival presented midcoast Maine with the world’s finest non-fiction documentaries.

Although I was not able to see as many films as I would have liked, I did have the opportunity to see The Way We Get By, Full Battle Rattle, and Red Gold. All of the films were visually and emotionally compelling, but Red Gold hit home particularly hard.

Taking place in Bristol Bay, Alaska, aka the home of the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery, Red Gold focuses on how plans to construct the world’s largest mine, the Pebble Mine, threatens to forever negatively impact the fragile, 300 million dollar salmon industry and more importantly, the livelihoods of Alaskans and the future of Pacific Salmon as we know it.

If and when the mine is created, toxic mineral waste, also known as tailings, will be generated as copper and gold are mined from the earth. When this toxic waste ever enters the salmon watershed, the fish will immediately begin to die.

I say “when” and not “if” because there is no question that no matter how many precautions are set in place and environmental regulations established, the toxic waste will at one time or another enter this watershed and have an enormous, forever-negative impact on not only Bristol Bay, but also the world.

What can you do to stop the world’s largest open pit mine from being created and in turn protect the world’s salmon industry? Head over to Save Bristol Bay now.

The trailer for Red Gold:

The NYT Feature:

After graduating high school in June of 2006, I headed to Vermont to study biology at the University of Vermont. While at UVM, I found myself walking around campus with a profound interest in the world that surrounded in all directions. I was more interested in photographically smelling, feeling, and seeing the world than burying my head in a book. I spent 1 semester at UVM and then left to pursue these interests.

I was first introduced to the work of Harry Callahan by Kate Izor, good friend and Photography Program Manager at the Maine Media Workshops. Kate and I became companions through an intense, 11-week Photo II class at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Kate was my TA and I was her student.

A deep connection immediately began to emerge between the photographs Harry Callahan had made and how I viewed the world.

Since that day I have had a vested interest in Harry’s work and I often find myself searching for his photographs, books, quotes, interviews, and articles.

Tonight I stumbled across a New York Times interview regarding the photographs he made of his wife, Eleanor.

“I never refused when he wanted to take a picture,” said Eleanor Callahan, the 91-year-old widow of the photographer Harry Callahan. “I never complained, whatever I was doing. If he said: ‘Come quick, Eleanor — there’s a good light,’ I was right there.”

Read the rest of the interview here.

What other photographer’s have had photographic muses? I am curious. Post a comment.

I am pleased to announce that the Pause, to Begin trailer to be released on October 6th will feature the music of El Ten Eleven.

I was first introduced to El Ten Eleven’s music in the winter of 2006/2007 while at a friend’s house in Rockport Harbor, Maine. El Ten Eleven’s “My Only Swerving” was emanating from his upstairs speakers while we sat downstairs sipping Jameson and watching snow fall into the harbor.

From the El Ten Eleven Wikipedia:

El Ten Eleven formed in 2003 after bassist and composer Kristian Dunn and drummer Tim Fogarty had played experimental music together in an organic/electronic four-piece group.^[1] They released their first album, El Ten Eleven in 2004 on Fake Record Label, and through Bar/None Records on September 20, 2005. Stylistically, they have been described as atmospheric, putting a much more ethereal spin on the southwestern post-rock/Americana movement than bands like Calexico or The Court & Spark, though less electronic and more organic-sounding than Tortoise or most shoegazer bands.^{[citation needed]} Comparisons have also been drawn to Sigur Rós and The Mercury Program, and has, so far, remained a primarily instrumental act. Spin, which picked them for Band of the Day, September 29, 2005, describes their work as “experimental instrumental music that’s both highly skilled and deeply felt.”^[2] They continue to play live shows in their native Los Angeles, California home, and were a showcase artist at South By Southwest on March 17, 2006.^[3]

Ethan and I are co-teaching Intro. to Digital Photography at the Maine Media Workshops this week. Tomorrow morning we are making a presentation on moving beyond the printed image and will be speaking about multimedia. Three of the pieces we’ll present are:Matt and Melissa Eich’s “Love in the First Person”, produced by MediaStorm.Alec Soth’s “Niagara”, produced by Magnum in Motion.Olaf Otto Becker’s “Greenland”, produced by Daylight Magazine.