It took a while to limber up, but then I found a compelling layer to record...

Man, I have so enjoyed getting ready for the Uppercase Old School Show! I have not been on the circuit for so long, I was really stiff and formulaic for several weeks, taking lots of crappy pictures. Finally, it all started coming together when I was exploring as many playgrounds as I could find, coming to and from work. I love the painted instructional graphics on the pavement, those precursors to all the other graphic cues left us by the authorities that make things like crosswalks and the interstate system viable...

I love the palimpsests formed when recess areas are reformatted, perhaps reflecting a change in the educational model followed by that particular school. I love the ineffective covering of play spaces past, especially since the children who inhabit them will absolutely not be fooled.

So yeah. I am back, my fellow travelers. Join me or stay the hell out of the way.

Just casting about, warming up as it were...

Getting closer, maybe...

So yeah, I got into a show at the incredible Uppercase Gallery!

Right now, I am just running through a few ideas, playing it loose. I have been so out of my production mode, it was a little awkward at first. Here are some shots that I am not as sure about–don't want to give the goods away before I submit work next week!

Sometimes, I would kill for a zoom on my Polaroid camera.

To have a project at hand... Even with the house still in shambles and work being crazy, I feel amazing, I feel like I may cast a shadow again. No more of feeling disembodied, forever wandering the moors looking for a purpose...

I have 2 other shows to prepare for this summer and the ideas are just starting to roil around in my head... Better ideas than I have had in a few years.

The light was amazing this morning.

It's hot but then rainy but then steamy... The weather is shifting into full summer, and I haven't really slept in 2 days. I don't mind, but I am rather cotton-headed and would rather feel refreshed.

Sneaked a shot of people on the train this morning. I am trying to get a bit more comfortable with just taking photos of passersby and the like, but it is so hard. Hmm.

grey day, grey mood

Uhhgg.
There are days when I look at my current life, and just sort of despair. I have worked really hard and have tried to keep my expectations reasonable, but I haven't been able to change nearly as much about my situation as I had hoped. And I lose perspective on the fact that a lot has changed, progress has been made, with or without me.

Maybe it's the weather. All I can do is look again at the most important goals I have set for myself, break them all out into steps, and keep going.

Look at all the flavors of shadow blur! 

I got an email asking about the rough edge on my polaroids: I am a brisk puller, I tend to yank the shot from the camera with a little oom-pah-pah, as I like the glitches and glurts that can result from that. Also, the crystals in the developing chemical packet oxidize as they get older, making the developer a bit harder to spread evenly.

Mostly, though, it's me. I will modulate my pull for a day or two and see if I can eliminate the edge consistently... It isn't really necessary, and if the film is dying out, I can stand to at least polish my craft with it as part of my fond farewell.

ACTION ALERT!

By the way, there is a whole groundswell of people working to save Polaroid instant film: 

Save Polaroid

Save Polaroid's Flickr group

So go to the site, download the action pack, join the flickr group and start agitating! Come on, people! Shake it like a Polaroid protest sign! I will actually be buying some 600 film so I can shoot my self-portrait for the flickr group, just to have that iconic look and feel... It has been years since I used that film!