August 2006
— Members' Current & Upcoming Shows
— Members' Workshops
— IN FOCUS with Matthew Magruder
— Special Offers
This month’s IN FOCUS article provides a look at the work and workings of Guild member Matt Magruder. His haunting images bring to bear what Minor White said, “The artist has only one subject – himself.” Matt’s images are some of the best examples of meaningful work being done using a banquet camera.
Subject matter seems to trigger an inner response for the ‘sympathetic observation’ of things as a way for the photographer to explore his vision of himself. Successful presentation of this approach always seems to include the viewer, no matter what the camera was pointed at.
On August 3, 1930, Edward Weston made this entry in his daybook, “While experimenting with one of these (a pepper), which was so small that I used my 21-cm. Zeiss to fill the 8x10 size, I tried putting it in a tin funnel for background. It was a bright idea, a perfect relief for the pepper. Something kept me from taking it to the kitchen, the end of all good peppers. I have a great negative, by far the best.” And today, 76 years later, Pepper No. 30 still holds its place in the history of photography.
Large Format Journal: Guild member Linda Elvira Piedra will be one of the Featured Photographers in the autumn issue of this publication. Don’t miss the opportunity to see more of her moving images and to read about Elvira and what inspires her photography.
At left is "Callanish 1" by Andrew Frith, one of the images you’ll find in our store. Because we understand the difficulty of seeing the true beauty of a contact print from a scanned image on your computer, we offer an unconditional guarantee. If you are not satisfied with any photograph you have purchased from the online store, you can return it for a refund.
We currently have over 350 photographs available for your inspection; just click on the link below to quickly and easily view our catalog. The store is a secure site that allows you to purchase using your credit card or PayPal account.
The Camerawork Gallery in Portland, Oregon, is featuring an exhibit of Patrick Kolb’s Azo prints until August 18. The gallery is located on the Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital campus in Peterson Hall, 2255 NW Northrup Street in Portland. The gallery’s regular hours are 9AM-5PM Monday through Friday and 1-5 PM Saturday. At right is one of the images on display in this show, titled "Zabriskie Point #2."
To see more of Patrick's work, please click here.
John Wimberley’s work is included in a show of nudes by the on-line gallery Soulcatcher Studio. To see his image, please click here.
John Wimberley
"Sight and Insight—A Workshop on Seeing in Photography," is being offered by John Wimberley October 6-8, 2006. This workshop, sponsored by Portland Photographers Forum, is open to all photographers, regardless of format and whether film or digital.
Tuition is $250 and the class is limited to 10 students. To sign up, please contact Robert Brummitt at (503) 614-0161, or e-mail robert8x10@hotmail.com.
I don’t travel much. It’s been years since I took a vacation outside of my home state of Texas. I’m not big on air travel, honestly, plus there’s so much to explore within driving distance. Although I’ve tried to drive out of the state, for some reason I never make it outside the state line. One thing I have noticed in the four years since I started exploring the world through a camera is how much there is right outside my own door.
You can find so much photographic opportunity just by driving for an hour in any direction. Texas seems to have, for me at least, an endless supply of photographic gems. So much in this state has been built and then abandoned, from barns to factories to breweries. One less-than-wonderful aspect to all this abandonment is the frequency of “no trespassing” signs. In a state with an estimated 90-95% of its land privately owned, the chance of coming across “no trespassing” signs is pretty high.
I confess to a somewhat curious fascination with industrial decay. I think a lot of photographers would claim this. I see many photographs by many different photographers of similar locales. There is a lot to find fascinating in these locations, so much texture to explore. There is a superb sense of hard work invested in these industrial buildings, constant reminders all around you of the many people who once earned a living there. To me, this seems like proof of humanity. Perhaps that’s a little contradictory, but the state of abandonment, with tools strewn about, receipts and work orders blowing in the breeze, piles of supplies still waiting to be used, all seem to prove both the lack of present humanity and the abundance it once held there.
My ultimate goal is capturing this paradox, balancing the beauty of its present state with this past humanity. I can only hope this is communicated.
Technical info:
I shot this image recently while exploring the now-abandoned Longhorn Cement Factory, located between Austin and San Antonio. The location is a goldmine for my photography. It seems to have a lifetime’s worth of images to capture. Every time I leave there from shooting, I feel a deep sense of accomplishment, regardless of my success in capturing images. On this particular visit I managed to secure four good negatives. The print is a 7x17 platinum/palladium contact print on Arches Platine paper.
To see more of Matt's work, please click here.
John Wimberley near Lakeview, Oregon
John describes a photo excursion he undertook recently. “One of my highest priorities right now is coming up with new work, so I did an eight-day trip to southeast Oregon. In an area east of Lakeview, I photographed both rock art and landscape.
“Here’s a picture of me 'in the field,' courtesy of the self-timer device on my digital point-and-shoot. Note the things on my lower legs--they're snake gaiters. Light leaks and dust on the film aren't the only hazards faced by artists in our medium!”
Ray Bidegain and Gerhard Bock in Redwood National Park
Ray recounts for us a recent photo/camping trip he took to the Northern California redwoods with his family.
“I half expected to see a dinosaur go walking by.
“It was my first time in Redwood National Park and everything looked so ancient to me, like my Subaru had become some kind of time machine and we had gone way back in history. Even the campground we stayed in felt old. I think it was partly the scale of trees that was fooling with me. These trees are so big they make everything around them look smaller they normally would.
“It was a family camping trip, and we joined Guild member Gerhard Bock and his family for a few nights of summer camping. Though I didn’t have much time for photography, that was probably OK because I was constantly lost in amazement at the landscape. I was overwhelmed by the power of this place, with no idea of how I was going to make photographs that would convey the emotion I felt.
“Gerhard and I did spend one long morning photographing, and I’m including a photograph here that I am very happy with. “Redwood Trail” (on the left) is a 5x7 platinum palladium print. I used my Deardorff 5x7 camera with a Nikkor 210mm lens and TRI-X film processed in ABC pyro.”
Please click here to see Ray's temporary special price on this beautiful image.
Special-Offer Prints by Guild Members
Please have a look at this issue's special-offer prints on our website.