Halloween Show and Tell

Lately, this here blog has taken a back seat to the one I've been running for Photolucida. But today, I've got something running over there that anyone could/should contribute to: a Halloween Show and Tell. If people seem to care, and so far they seem to, this Show and Tell might become a regular feature. Check it out here and send in your favorite Halloween-themed photo.

maybe once the election's over, we can move on to other topics, but in the meantime...

"Ten things I recently learned from this box of stuff I brought back from my grandmother's garage, now that she's in a nursing home"

are posted over on Will Steacy's blog today. Honored by the invitation... Thanks Will.

Will Steacy, Prom #2, New Orleans, 2006, a post-Katrina found photograph, from series "the Human Stain"

pause to begin on Flak photo and Grant's stolen cat

Flak photo today

dandy periscope

I know, I know, I'm not alone... we're all a little strapped right now, aren't we?

© Raimond Wouda, Ridderkerk II, 2003
from Lay Flat

Well, yesterday after I posted about my clearance sale (I think I've covered the plane ticket so far, but not the burritos yet), I received emails about two more things I'd love to put money toward, if I had any in hand:

Lay Flat, the new publication/brainchild of Shane Lavalette is soliciting donations to try to get their first issue, co-curated with Karly Wildenhaus, up & rolling. In full disclosure, I will have a picture in that issue, assuming it does eventually make it into print, but that's not really why I care. Shane has long been one of the most consistently thoughtful and prolific writers out there. He's building it up with smarts and sweat, folks. I mean, come on, he's got Tim Davis and Mike Mandel involved in this first issue. I tell you, I'd put money into his magazine, whether my work was in it or not.

The other temptation this week is the release of Ron Jude's Other Nature, at the New York Art Book Fair. Looks like he'll be signing books Sunday at 2 pm. Stick around til 4 and you can have Michel Gondry sign a book as well.

print sale update: hmm... I had to suspend the print sale. Thanks for those who expressed interest and/or support, but it ends up that the art market's a little more complicated than I'd like. I'll just have to stick with making pictures and stay out of the business of selling them myself...

hey wait, yet another print sale update: if you want to buy something, just contact me directly and we'll figure it out. There are many options. I heart my gallerist.

I'm on my waaay... A clearance sale!

One of the defining moments of my life would have to be when I decided, at the age of thirteen, to sell my Motley Crue ticket two days before their "Theater of Pain" tour came through town. It's not that I didn't love the Crue. In fact, I had decorated my bedroom with a pentagram of Christmas lights that very year. But in the midst of my adolescent soul-searching, I developed an odd sense of self-sufficiency and responsibility. The week before the concert, the anticipated highlight of the school year, the rear brake broke on my bike. Not only was it my sole mode of transportation, but freestylin' was my other love at the time. The cost of the replacement brake was $16. The ticket was $18.

At the time, I comforted myself with the smug satisfaction of martyrdom. Unlike my irresponsible head-banging friends, I felt that I understood the necessity of suffering and that, in a sense, my sacrifice made me more responsible and mature than they were. Yes, they all experienced that amazing tour where Tommy Lee and his entire drum kit spun completely upside down, but I lived by my own means. Kind of like Rambo.

me, Billings, Montana, 1986

Today, when I look back, I can recognize the arrogance in my thinking and how really, what I should have done, was just figured out a way to do both. I don't remember the going rate for shoveling snow or mowing lawns (primarily because I never pursued them), but I bet I could have covered all my expenses over the course of a weekend or two. Truth is, while I don't necessarily feel the same passion for the Crue today, I do wish that I would have seen that show. Money comes along regularly, but an opportunity like that...

So here I am, 23 years later and I can't help but recognize that I'm in a similar situation. This week, the registration's past-due on one car, the gate latch and the transmission are broken on the other, the heating oil gets delivered tomorrow, and the property tax bill just came a couple days ago. But what also came in the midst of this financial turmoil, was the most significant Crue-like temptation I could possibly imagine: an email notifying me of this: an opportunity to have a day long portfolio review session with 11 other people and Alec Soth for $135. Well, the other complication of course is that it's in San Francisco.

Long story short, I didn't think, I just pulled out the Visa and signed up. Now I just need to figure out a way to pay for/justify the trip. Yesterday, while cleaning out the shop, I couldn't help but think that maybe I need to have a clearance sale.

Impressed with the direct online sales of folks like Will and Liz, I'm going to follow their lead. Ultimately, my goal is simply to make enough to justify this trip that I'm determined to make anyway.

So, here's the deal, and really, please share with whomever:


print sale update: hmm... I had to suspend the print sale. Thanks for those who expressed interest and/or support, but it ends up that the art market's a little more complicated than I'd like. I'll just have to stick with making pictures and stay out of the business of selling them myself...


hey wait, yet another print sale update: if you want to buy something, just contact me directly and we'll figure it out. There are many options. I heart my gallerist.

call and yet another response

© Mike Stimpson

call & response

What well-known photograph did I have in mind when making this picture? Would anyone besides this small group of photo geeks ever pick up on the reference? Actually, will anyone within this small group of photo geeks even pick up the reference? Maybe that just makes it a dumb picture?

There should be more contests in the blogosphere, shouldn't there? Forget those postcard books (though I've still got some if you're interested), I'll mail an 8x10 pigment print of practically any picture of your choice to whoever is the first to identify the "source" I had in mind.