Anne Noggle

As I work on files alone in my dry darkroom/cave/pit/ I explore the web on my laptop checking up on other photographers and what they have in their lives that I don't have (that is topic for a post on another day. You see, I get a bit carried away spending too much alone time in the dark). I was thinking about Anne Noggle and one particular image she had of her mother. I discovered that I am 4 years behind; she died in August of 2005.

I first learned of Noggle at a SPE retreat/conference in 1981 held in Valle Crucis, NC. She was the guest lecturer that weekend. There was that one particular image she had of Agnes standing in a doorway in her nightgown waving goodbye (or was it hello) that captivated me. I have not found or seen this image since that weekend but was so moved by the feeling behind it that my first fine art photography book purchase was Silver Lining.

I fell in love with her mother and their relationship. What good friends they must have been and what fun that had together. In that book we watched her mother slowly age till no more and now Anne is gone too.

I have had difficulty finding much on her on the web but here are a couple of places such as her obit or MOCP .

Wonders in a Small Package

Genius vs Industry, Enough Is And Annie

Genius is a gift. Industry is earned. I fall within the second category.

When things come too easily I fear I've done something wrong.

Enough is difficult to accept.

With that said, I finally got the chance to watch the PBS 2008 documentary on Annie Leibovitz-Life Through A Lens. She epitomizes these concepts. Her perfectionism is a curse/a disease. I relate to her motivation of getting the right image rather than getting large sums of money. I love my work. It is what truly makes me happy. The money I get goes right back into my photography. After reading the article in the New York Magazine about her financial situation this morning (I became interested in reading more about her after seeing the documentary) I feel compassion rather than disgust. I'm not condoning it, but I get it. The documentary is aptly titled. She was only looking through the lens.

Pacific

Into Great Silence

Having spent so much of my time researching for my show, I've found it hard to just stop the search for religious similarities and, of course, I have to continue the search for that ever elusive serenity. So I am reading "The Joy of Living" written by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche while practicing to be more purposeful. I'm reading Thomas Merton "No Man Is An Island" and trying to let go of the ego. I am meditating a little each morning and I throw a little yoga in every once in a while for good measure. To top it all off, I just finished watching "Into Great Silence" , a documentary by Philip Groning. As my friend, Ginny, says, " living as if I'm hedging my bets."

After finishing these projects (DWTB and The Nashville's Soul) I found myself a bit depressed and lost. "Into Great Silence" wowed me. I expected an informative documentary but it became a meditative practice watching it. I don't know if I could have watched the whole 2 hours and 45 minutes in one sitting. Being a type A person I might have blown a fuse. If you choose to read this article it explains that the experience of seeing it in the theatre was like "floating." The point is that the documentary put a fine point on what I've learned in the process of the aforementioned projects. Interestingly it has given me an impetus to continue the soul project and explore new ways in sharing the experience.

Gallery Space

This is for those living out of town and unable to see the show in the gallery space. My work looks very sophisticated here. I am quite honored to be exhibited in a place as beautiful. And since it is in such a well known building in Nashville the show will be visited by many people. First day the show was hung, there were over 400 visitors.

Yesterday I spent time with a very supportive group of women photographers. It was safe for me to accompany them since I feel like I am out on a limb in my underwear.

Thank you for joining me in our quasi opening - Susan, Andrea, Angela, Mary Claire, Donna and Sheri (how the hell did I forget). You were all very kind and gracious.

Nashville's Soul: Images of the Sacred

Tomorrow my show opens to the public at the Parthenon East Gallery and it hangs till October 31st. I love that is closes on Halloween. How fitting a closing date for a photo exhibit on Spirituality.

Today it was announced in the Nashville Scene. More on my approach and more images to been seen are on my other Blog set up for the exhibit. I hope to post a movie clip of how it looks in the gallery space later. It is a wonderful space and I am quite honored to be invited by the curator Susan Shockley. I would love for many of those having received announcements that live out of town to see the wonderful gallery.

Susan and Brenna Cothran, Assistant Curator, are hanging it now and I have been banished from the procedure. Fine by me. They know best and I am looking forward to the surprise. After 3 years in the making/thinking/planning I am more than willing to let go of it.

My show was printed by Chromatics, framed by Ambiance by Parker and film was donated by Dury's. I am flattered by having been supported by these very successful, well known businesses. Thank you Mike, Ginny and Ron for your generosity, expertise and commitment.

The project has been a wonderful adventure that I will continue. There is so much more to explore visually, emotionally and psychologically in this subject and many topics can arise out of it. I plan to delve deeper into the project. Things are a brewing.

Don't Wake the Baby by Elvis Wilson

Elvis Wilson, DCFF award winner among other awards for his documentary Being Lincoln, is interviewed tonight by Kris Rommel at Derby City Film Fest. He came to me to be the DP of his new short, Don't Wake the Baby. I am excited and so very proud to be a part of his creation.

If you want to hear his interview, it starts about at 35 minutes into the recording. Around 45 minutes is Elvis talking about the Don't Wake the Baby. He is entertaining as always and so complimentary to me.

Thank you Elvis.

The beauty of the film was made possible by our Art Director, Chris Long. He could become an interior designer if ever he got the wild hair. I still think about the warm, cozy and believable bedroom he created with a very limited budget.

Above is a photo from the film that we hope tells a little bit about the story. We had the privilege of working with Teri Duchaine as our lead actress as you see here. Every time I watch the clips of her in emotionally packed scenes I get chill bumps. We will be seeing more of her, I am sure.

And our precious children...what can I say. They were fabulous; us adults could learn a little from their amazing patience.

July 4th Remembered

Summertime has proven to be a time of scarcity for diary entries and I guess it is true for my blogging too. I think once I have images processed and scanned from San Francisco I will have something to show and tell.

I treated myself to a west coast visit for my birthday. One thing I don't want to forget, that I was unable to photograph and my skills at drawing in my journal are lacking, is the bonfires on the beach at Carmel by the Sea. I have never seen this before - maybe I've seen it in movies and I've heard people talk about crab boils and such. This experience was special. There were so many. As we were climbing the dunes from a full moon walk on the beach, after watching dolphins and sea otters playing in the surf, heading for our cozy little beds, I glance down the beach towards the southern end of Carmel. Far off in the distance I see glowing yellow specks everywhere. Even though I was exhausted from a long day of driving, and walking, and playing I had to push on. So we returned to the beach and roamed among the parties of families and friends gathered around their respective fires. Each fire was unique. Some were buried in the sand with sand benches circling it, elaborately fashioned into a sort of lounge like setting and others simply thrown together to be blown about by the wind. Some families where either gathering things to head home, or eating or preparing dinner while the kids darted about playing tag. Some parties where quietly talking while they sipped their drinks. Others were not so quiet-laughing, teasing, yelling for something they needed. And then some groups just stared into their fires. I liked the simple and quiet ones the best.

I want to always remember the feeling I had as we meandered by. We were surrounded on all sides and it was magical. I had such a nostalgic feeling. It was perfect fireworks for this 4th of July. I like this holiday to be wholesome and simple. Hold the big bang and bring on the sparklers for me.

Swiss Miss

Found a new inspiration and a great place for chuckles.(swissmiss)

Living Young

This could be me.  I think my fascination of photographing children, particularly little towheaded girls, is my desire to recapture my youth.  Or is it my refusal to grow up? Or is it evidence of the dysfunctional family and my lost childhood?  Whatever it is, I am forever Living Young.

Living Old

As I work on the computer I watch different things via the internet. One show I entertain myself by are episodes of Frontline on PBS.  The "Living Old" I just finished and why I watched it for a second time is puzzling to me.  It is as if thinking hard enough and long enough I will change the outcome of  the inevitable-growing old.  The experience I had with Mom yesterday has got me suffering again with her aging.  I am so sad that there is nothing I can do to fix this part of her life.  I can't do this for her and it is not just a passing faze.  I can't carrying it; I can't take her away from it; we can't throw it away; we can't ignore it; the weather won't make it better.  It is the hard final agonizing lap; it is death coming;  it is the deterioration, pain, isolation, boredom.  Mom is going out slowly.  And somedays I just hate it.  Somedays I loose hope.  My biggest fear is she has lost hope too.

D-Day

Normandy 1944.  My father was a war hero from the WWII.  Each June 6th I like to spend some part of my day honoring his bravery and his simple acceptance of duty.  He hated the war and/but he loved it.  I grew up listening to his war stories.  So WWII photos, movies and stories are romantic to me.  Here is a link to Life Magazine Great War Photography in honor of one of the greatest plans, collaborations and duty of our countrymen.

I've recently discovered this photographer through Hey Hot Shot 2009 First Edition Announcements.  I thought Patrick Lyn's war reenactors would be appropriate for the day.

And tonight on CBS news with Katie I am so happy to learn that we have Witness to War.

The Concept

Amazingly I've been busy this past month.  Now I find myself without work for, well I guess as it is in the freelance world, the rest of my life.  I was across the board on all genres of photography this month from editorial, to private portraiture, to advertising.  It is the advertising work that seems so weird to me still.  After doing it for several years I am still stunned with the ending.  Depending on the job, there is so much of the work done before the actual photographing comes into play-the thing I went to school to learn, the thing I apprenticed for under countless photographers.  And then the thing I love to do is over in a matter of an hour or two.  

While discussing this very thing with my rep she shares comments from her other photographer who believes while in the estimating period of the job (mind you he hasn't even been awarded the job) he has shot the job in his mind over and over.  That is true;  you have to shoot it in your head to estimate it appropriately.  I get caught up though.   I have big ideas mostly that never seem to make it to film/file.  Art Directors are kind enough to let me have my pipe dream but in the end the concept from the illustration, focus group tested mock up, the agreed upon/client approved idea is what goes.  And if you have the time, the budget, the skilled talent,  the patient crew,  the willing AD,  the relaxed AE, and the stamina to carry forth that extra mile  you can get those wonderful, creative surprises and the reason for the excitement of the job.  Not that the concepts are uninspiring for me.  I just have a hard time feeling like the photo is mine when I'm not involved in the concept.  It seems to me I become a technician.  I know that is a lie I tell myself being the struggling optimist that I am.  Its just I have such big ideas and an ego to satisfy.  And maybe I'm not seeing what I do bring to the concept.  I am part of the concept.  Yes, yes....that's it.

burn magazine

David Alan Harvey is now showing the finalist of the Emerging Photographers Fund over at burn magazine.  What is so great is the artist statement is available.  Today there are five posted.  Look for the other five to be posted periodically.  

I love this blog because David is so open in sharing his feeling, fears and hopes.  It is educational as well as comforting in seeing the humanism of a great photographer.

The Business of Business or Not & American Photography 25

Sometimes I am forced to wear too many hats.  Whatever happened to taking pictures.  I struggle with this business of photography.  When I'm over extended and far from my reason for it all I feel like I am skating on thin ice.  Is it being a woman or being terribly codependent that I feel as if I must try to fix and try do everything. I can't do everything.  I can't remember everything.  I can't know what I don't know.  I can't squeeze blood out of a turnip.  I take pictures.  And the quality of those pictures depends largely on having time, money and team work.  And then sometimes it rains.  Well, a lot of times, it rains.  

On another note...while tic tic ticking through websites I came across the Selected images for American Photography 25.  The imagery this year seems amazingly fresh to me.  Take some time and enjoy.  You might be inspired.  Clemence de Limburg is who caught my eye and in particular her home page image of Gitty and her daughter Esther Miriam having tuna salad on toast.

Look3

Look3.  Limited time to blog, but must show.  If your looking for inspiration check out the Festival in Charlottesville.  Let's get a photg. group together for a road trip to support fellow photogs. and get much needed fun.

Hey Hot Shot

I know this is a bit late.  I meant to post this for those photographers who do drop by from time to time.  Hey Hot Shot is now accepting entries for an opportunity for emerging photographer artist to have their work reviewed by top curators, photo editors....have their work promoted online and  have an exhibition in a nyc gallery.  Good luck....it is an international competition and going on it's 5th year.

Bidding and Quoting and Communication

Being a home owner I am given a lot of opportunity to learn more about my business.  This week I have been getting quotes from gutter companies.  Each time it rains I cringe because I know the gutters I have now are lacking in the water distribution ability.  In the past I've gotten estimates/bids from driveway paving, exterior and interior painting, electrical rewiring, roofing. If it isn't one thing...  I've come to appreciate the position that Art Buyers are in when presented with an estimate.  Price is important  but what I've discovered was communication and personality make a huge difference to me.  I once hired a guy not only for the fact his price was good, his demeanor was comfortable,  he was respectful and he answered my questions with patience and thoroughness.  The money became secondary.  Most bids bounced around the same bottom line.  But the kicker was that as we were going over his approach to paving my drive a hawk flew just behind his head, low and slow.  That was my sign; a nod from my dad.  "Hire him, Sugar Face."   I suppose luck, timing and persistence could play a part too.  

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