Johnson City Area Arts Council

The East Tennessee State University Student Photography association currently has work up at the Johnson City Area Arts Council in downtown Johnson City.  The show consists of work by Mike Smith, Shawne Brown, Hayle Eaton, Joe Reynolds, Tammy Mercure, and other alumni.  The theme for the show is based on Appalachia and the relationship the people have with the region.  The Johnson City Arts Council cam be located at 300 East Maine Street, Suite 102 Johnson City, TN 37601.  

Carnival in Johnson City, Tennessee

Ever since I have started studying photography I have always wanted to photograph at a carnival and do what the other famous artists such as Picasso and Diane Arbus just to name a few had done. Believe it or not, I wanted to photograph this particular carnival at night but that failed to happen. Unfortunately the day I attended was their final day of operation. The mystical surprise the carnival has to offer has always fascinated me. From walking into a maze with nothing but mirrors on the wall or sitting on a coaster that does nothing but spin you around in circles at unbelievable speeds. Traveling carnivals have always left me questioning the stability of the rides. I mean, do you really trust a Ferris Wheel to send you up hundreds of feet into the air when just hours before a trucker was hauling it down the interstate from the previous town. On my first visit to the carnival, I decided to take the Holga to give the intentional out of focus and dark edges. The Holga is made with a plastic lens so I was limited on what exactly I wanted focus in the frame. The entire time I was thinking of Picasso and his work from his Rose period. This particular period of Picasso’s work was influenced by the different clowns and circus performers that traveled with the circus. While walking around, I kept on thinking of Diane Arbus and her work with the so called, “freaks” from the carnival. Her photograph of what looks to be a building in the middle of a hay field kept on pecking at my brain. Her use of flattening three-dimensional objects is what keeps me constantly motivated to photograph. This inspiration inspired me to take the photograph of the wall that looks to be self supported. Taking a three-dimensional object and flattening it to a two-dimensional object gives you an entire new perspective of looking at the ordinary.

2008 Student Honors Show

I have once again submitted work into the 2008 Student Honors Show. This year, the work was juried by Cliff McMahon, Dean of Undergraduate Affairs at Watson School of Art. There was a total of almost 200 works submitted for possible acceptance into the show. I submitted two sculpting works and a photograph titled, “Apex” from the nightime project. The work was made during the spring 2008 semester. “Apex” and “Destruction” were both accepted into the show. The show was up from April 21 to May 16 at the Slocumb Galleries located on the campus of East Tennessee State University.

Its been a while since I have posted any of my photography work so I figured I would give you an update. I shot my first wedding on February 23 for Jasmine and Dustin Roberts. It went really well. I took 3 batteries and by the first hour, I had drained my first battery. Thank goodness I brought 3 extras and a charger. I really hate staging people but it is kind of hard when photographing a wedding. Over all I thought it went very well, I have another wedding scheduled May 19th.

New Work

This work was constructed out of sheet metal and twigs. Sheet metal is made up of two elements iron and carbon. The atomic number for iron is 26 and the atomic number for carbon is 6 making a total of 32. I chose 32 twigs to relate to the atomic number of iron. One of the elements made by man and the other being all natural and created from nature. The dimensions on the steel rectangle are 21" x 4" x 4". This project came about through my frustration with how man kind is destroying this earth and it beauty. This work has nothing to do with my photography what so ever. Although, the photographs from Edward Burtynsky have influenced me heavily. The work of Andy Goldsworthy has taught me to take my work to a different dimension.

Branham Project

I am still working on the Branham Project but I have been too busy to scan my negatives. Now that school is back in session I will have access to the scanners in the DGM. Instead of shooting with Fujicolor 800NPZ, I have decided to start shooting with Fujicolor 400H and 160C. I am curious to see what's going to happen.