this is almost embarrassing

One of my photographs has been selected as part of the online annex affiliated with the Photo Place Gallery.  The exhibit is titled Poetic Objects: Still Life as Subject.  The image selected is one I captured while passing through New Orleans in the summer of 2010.  As many of you know, I recently relocated to New Orleans and have been basking in its unique weirdness ever since.

It is only appropriate the the photo was taken in the city I know call home, and that the subject matter of said photo is one of my favorite inanimate objects of all time;  the infamous chair.

Let me just say that I submit at least five images for each of these calls for entry, all with very different content, yet somehow….

Chairs win.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Photo Place Gallery, it is located in Middlebury, Vermont and has a monthly calls for entry.  Submission is easy and inexpensive, so to all my fellow photographers, check it out HERE.

As for the Poetic Objects exhibition, you can take a look at the work HERE.

And some more…

Contrary to what the other pictures might imply, I did in fact explore London.  I even managed to squeeze in a day trip to Bath which lent itself to some picturesque views of the English countryside.

Then it got scary.

So I went to the pub.

Martin Parr, how do you do it?

I love shooting film.  I do not love scanning film.  Hence the four month gap between when these images were made and when I got to see what they look like.

I was in London in November and had every intention of hitting the streets like a Martin Parr wannabe; jaunting about the city like a giddy child, undaunted by the masses, humored by  the unexpected.

Needless to say that didn’t happen.

I was instantly overwhelmed by pretty much everything.  I could barely take a picture of Big Ben without having a minor panic attack.  I did manage to bridge the gap between paralyzed street photographer and lucid still life photographer  by   (for lack of a better word)  spying on people.  Our hotel was next door to the Lithuanian Embassy and we had a clear shot into what seemed to be a kitchen.  So, I remained hidden, stationary and comfortable while getting an intimate look into a window sized fraction of the city.

VOYEURISM!

Vermont Photography Workplace

One of my images was selected for the online gallery annex for the Direct Objects exhibition.

A chair.

Of course.

Have a look HERE!!!

there and back again

Funny how it has taken me longer to post pictures than it did to travel across the country and take them.  Anyhow…

From Yosemite, we traveled to the city of San Francisco.  It was a momentous occasion; the Pacific Oceans, the rolling fog, the golden gate bridge, and the steepest hills I have ever seen in a metropolitan area.  Olivia and I could barely walk to get coffee without having to stop at every curb and regain our composure.

It was a nice visit, and after a few days Olivia and I decided to start our journey back to Boston.  Our first stop was Lake Tahoe to meet up with a good friend of ours, Mr. Connell Burke.  Our encounter was short and sweet, and Olivia and I continued on our merry way.  Our next stop was Salt Lake City, home of my long lost friends Andrea Partridge and Will Risen.

From Salt Lake we made our way to Park City, then to our next major pit stop; Nederland, Colorado.  Nederland is nestled in the mountain just outside of Boulder.  It was an adorable little town…the kind of place where snow tires are a must and ATV’s are a staple in every home.  We went hiking, explored old mine shafts and of course went on a serious ATV adventure with the family we were staying with.   Everything about Colorado was beautiful and relaxing, except for the fact that you had to be ever conscious of bears and mountain lions coming out of the woods and eating you.  No lie.  The family we stayed with had two 90 pound dogs and a donkey to deter any lurking predators.

On one of our hikes, a groundskeeper let us into a building that once part of a small mining operation in the 1950′s.  Creepy.

We found more remains of old mine shafts and mining towns on an ATV adventure through the mountains.

Olivia and I basked in the glory of the Rockies for nearly an entire week before we embarked on the final leg of our trip.  Lots of red bull, lots of miles, lots of sleeping in the car….we made one last stop in Staunton, VA to visit my sister and get a good nights sleep on an actual bed.  To commemorate the last night of our  adventure, we went out for dinner at a place called the Mill Street Grill.  Our waiter took our I.D.’s and made a comment that he had gone to school in Boston.  When we asked where, he replied “The New England School of Photography, class of ’87″.  His work? http://christopherlmorris.com/Home.html

Funny how things come around full circle.

West Coast (almost)

Olivia, Pepe and I left Albuquerque with high hopes for our next few stops; the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas and Yosemite.

The Grand Canyon was bigger, more beautiful, and had more French tourists than I could have ever imagined.  The enormity of the canyon was indescribable.  Even now I look at my photos and think that they look fake, like some bizarre glamor shots background.  The entire experience was so surreal;  a giant hole in the Arizona landscape, the oppressive heat and the ridiculous amounts of ravens scavenging what could be found in an already barren landscape.  Nevermore.  Muahaha!!!

After our two night stay in Arizona, we headed to Las Vegas.

Vegas is Vegas is Vegas.  Moving on.

One night in sin city was enough for the three of us and we headed out for another beautiful national park, Yosemite.  On our way we drove through lots of old mining towns, both inhabited and abandoned.  We stopped to photograph one in particular, and didn’t realize until we were driving away that it was, in fact, and old abandoned brothel.  How nice.

After a hot and long day of driving, we finally made it to California.  Entering Yosemite was like entering a different world.  It was hard to believe that hours before we had been skirting Death Valley and counting how many sandstorms we could see from the safety of our car.  Everything went surprisingly cold and green, as if we had entered Narnia.  It was insanely beautiful.

A snow filled winter left Yosemite ripe with rapid melt off, which meant lots and lots of tourists.  Olivia, Pepe and I were fortunate enough to know someone on the Search and Rescue team in Tuolumne Meadows, and he offered us a spot on his campsite.  We were welcomed with a warm meal, hot totties and a lovely spot pitch a cozy tent for the cold nights.  Excuse me…cold, BEAR INFESTED, nights.  Olivia and I lay in silence, staring at each other wide eyed as we listened to the the curious black bear sniff out our temporary home, wondering why he could smell fresh meat but not find it (Pepe).

Houston and Albuquerque

After our stint in New Orleans, Olivia and I braced ourselves for the long, hot journey across Texas.  We stopped in Houston with plans to venture to Austin and Big Bend National Park.  Unfortunately, we hit our first major upset of the trip when I got bit in the face by a pit bull, and that put a halt on our big plans for the lone star state.  After the dog bite incident, we decided to get out of texas as fast as we could.  Even after speeding down the highway for 17 straight hours, we were still in the middle of an oil rigged texas landscape.  It took us 2 days and a humid, sleepless night at a gas station, but we finally made it to Albuquerque.  The dog troubles didn’t end there, however.  Olivia and I managed to find a stray puppy in a small mountain town.  Olivia, being the only person I know who would rather hang out with animals than people, was adamant on keeping the dog and bringing him on the rest of the trip with us.  I tried to object.  I was over ruled.  His name is Pepe.

The animal freak and her animal

Houston, Texas

Albuquerque, New Mexico

The Road to New Orleans

After a a night in Chicago, Olivia and I packed up shop and started heading south to New Orleans.  After a full day of driving, we set up camp at Mammoth Caves National Park in Kentucky.  Our next pit stop was at the Jack Daniel’s Distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee, and then we were ready to bomb it to the big easy.

Mammoth Caves, Kentucky

Jack Daniel’s Distillery

Lynchburg, Tennessee

When Olivia and I finally reached New Orleans, we instantly fell in love.  We were lucky enough to be able to experience a little bit of everything the city had to offer; night life, voodoo magic, the 9th ward, and some beautiful plantations nestled along the Mississippi River.  All in all, New Orleans was one of the most unique places I have ever had the pleasure of visiting.

The French Quarter

9th Ward

Plantations; Oak Alley and Laura

More on the way.

Boston to Chicago

On July 3rd, Olivia and found ourselves shoving pillows, sleeping bags, tents, shoes, clothes, cameras, tripods, flashes, film, wine, liquor, and copious amounts of non perishable foods into my car as we prepared to head out on a highly anticipated cross country road trip.  We left with no time limit, no expectations, no idea at all, really, about what the next few weeks had in store for us.

Here is what we saw…

Point Pleasant, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Hiram, Ohio

Then we drove to Chicago, but I was grumpy and tired and did not want to take pictures at all.  The only thing I wanted was a deep dish pizza and a bed.  I got both, but I only took a picture of the bed.

Deluxe.  More to come SOON!

8,129 miles

Home again after a 40 day, figure eight shaped adventure across the country.

So many pictures.

So many stories.

So many more pictures.  I will post them very soon.

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