photo-eye magazine recently published George Slade’s review of the Pause, to Begin catalogue.

Read the review at photo-eye.

Purchase the catalogue at photo-eye and Booksmart Studio.

Order up a copy online at Booksmart Studio. Stay tuned for our partnership with photo-eye.

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

http://www.terryrichardson.com/

 http://www.terryrichardson.com/

 Resurfacing after little more than a year, Vibe Magazine’s September 2007 interview with Obama seems especially relevant this week.  Tuesday (October 7) marks the last day to register to vote for this year’s presidential election and it seems like almost everyone has something to say about it.

My opinion regarding celebrity endorsement of presidential candidates is a matter that I will keep to myself — but I am particularly interested in the the number of photographers who are choosing to endorse their candidate of choice.  Above are fashion photographer Terry Richardson’s images from the Vibe interview.  Falling in step with his characteristic flash-on-camera style, Richardson’s images are a welcome juxtaposition to the lack-luster stereotypical candidate portraiture:

http://en.wikipedia.org/

 An additional note, more than fifty photographers (including Elinor Carucci, Philip-Lorca DiCorcia, Mitch Epstein, Larry Fink, Todd Hido, Richard Misrach, Alec Soth and Joel Sternfled…et all!) have donated images to http://www.artforobama.net – an online auction benefit organized by five artists who “have come together to help the Obama campaign.  Because we cannot afford to make large donations ourselves, we want to bring together the leaders of our community to help create change.”

Larry Fink ‘The Candidate’ (2008)

Edition 13/25

Value: $4,000.00
Starting Bid: $2,000.00

Included in the bidding is this image by Larry Fink, another interesting take on the theme of Obama portraits I am exploring in this post.  The auction is open from October 3 to October 10 and all money earned will be donated to moveon.org.

Kenneth Josephson. New York State, 1970 (http://www.artic.edu/aic)

Culled from the permanent collection, the images that comprised the Art Institute of Chicago’s recent photography exhibition (on view from June 14 to September 7, 2008), “A Mind at Play,” celebrated the photographic medium’s inherent subjective experience.  Thematically, the exhibition sought to separate photographs that act as records of what is in front of the camera in order to highlight those that contain moments more contingent, witty, serendipitous and inspired.  The exhibition showcased the work of more than fifty artists whose influence spans the history of the medium.  Selected by a team of curators and employees at the museum, “A Mind at Play” boasted a comprehensive display of photographs –  everything from an image by Nadar made in 1863 to an inkjet print by contemporary Chicago photographer Suzette Bross (Blue, White and Red with Wheel, 2007).  Certainly not lacking breadth, “A Mind at Play” showcased some of the medium’s most prominent – Duane Michals, Robert Frank, Kenneth Josephson and Joel Sternfeld – to name a few.

At a time when the discussion regarding the photographic medium and the role of digital technology is making weekly headlines, “A Mind at Play” seemed appropriately poised as a retrospective of  the non-digital era.  Although there were a handful of digital inclusions, the gallery walls were filled almost entirely with silver gelatin prints.  Understandably, this bias lends itself to a conversation about contemporary photographic philosophy.  In speaking to the photographer’s ability to manipulate viewer perception, a question arises about the tools photographers are using today versus those used in decades prior.  Particularly when considering contemporary photographers such as Andreas Gursky, Gregory Crewdson or Jill Greenberg (all embrace computer based post-production techniques in order to reconstruct and redefine photographic reality), how should the manipulation of viewer perception be defined?    Raising this question, “A Mind at Play” ignored that subjectivity, curiosity and experimentation are all inherent qualities of photography regardless of the argument between digital versus analog image making.

Positioned to parade highlights from the collection and attract viewers with the promise of tongue-in-cheek images, “A Mind at Play” hit the mark.  The gallery was overflowing with funny and intelligent images.  Entertainment aside, the Art Institute failed to acknowledge changes in contemporary photographic practice, leaving viewers stuck with a Modern vernacular.  Philosophically this omission, albeit justifiable, seemed negligent – ultimately leaving the viewer asking for more.

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]