stina's post

It's been quite some time since my last post, but for good reason. As I was coming off the winter blahs and debating what the "next step" would be it practically fell into my lap. I was sitting in the Flying Disc in early May…enjoying coffee, talk, and atmosphere…I learned (sadly) that the shop had abruptly decided to close its doors at the end of the month. With a new baby and another shop in the town where they live, the decision to consolidate is more than understandable! BUT, immediately the winter-frozen cogs of my brain started to turn. "How much is your rent?" I asked. And from there it has all snowballed. I remain working at my full-time gig at the Messenger, but have spent the last month planning, planning, and planning the opening of a photography studio/art gallery in the space. The landlord is currently painting and cleaning and I should be able to move in by the end of the month. I'll be able to start shooting right away…yippee! The gallery will take a little more time to come together but hopefully will be up and running by September. I plan to update more frequently on my progress so stay tuned…

I've always been fascinated by people's homes at night. When you start to think about consumption, it's even more interesting. So many lights that a long exposure begins to look like day. Check out more of these at my flickr account. I think it's the start of a longer project.

Charles Osgood's voice is as warm and soothing as my cup of coffee on a Sunday morning. I look forward to CBS Sunday Morning every weekend for a little culture. This weekend's art piece was about pop photog David LaChapelle. I've poured through the opened copies of his books at Barnes and Noble digesting all the color and innuendo. He's everything I've never tried to be…or had the energy to be. His website unfortunately seems to be down but I'd like to take a closer look at the most recent work featured on the show.

This is the time of year when we all get really sick of snow. I could really use a beach somewhere. But, when the temps warm up just a little, the snow sticks to the trees. Add a moon and viola, photo opp. See more at flickr.

The Danish Island Samsø provides a model for all of us. Couldn't every town do this? Read the article from Outside Magazine.

I want to start pointing out some of my favorite photographers. Check out Arno Minkkinen's website. I was introduced to Minkkinen's work while working at the Maine Photographic Workshops in Rockport Maine during the summer of 2000. They paid me in food, but the place was crawling with artists from all over the place who came to teach workshops and give artist's talks. We used to cram into this stuffy little theater where you could hardly breathe…it was great. It was so long ago, but I remember enjoying his work and appreciating his down to earth personality.

In my first blog, I said I have no social agenda. That's not entirely true. A while ago I started work on a series of photos of power lines. In my work at the newspaper, I shoot a lot of cliche landscapy type stuff and power lines are always getting in the way. Partly because of that, and partly because several Vermont towns have rejected wind turbine projects arguing aesthetics, I started collecting photos with the lines cutting right through. Here's a shot from today (while out working on yet another project). Lately, so many ideas, so little time.

I read and enjoyed the article in the recent NY Times Sunday Magazine about Jeff Wall today. My education in contemporary photography is ongoing - art school unfortunately focused mostly on the distant past - so I always enjoy catching up. His work is interesting but I mostly appreciated the discussion about his evolution and process. Last night I was reading my most recent issue of Aperture and the contrast of the Times article was refreshing. Aperture puts a lot of effort into being over our heads and making us feel small. Or is that just me?

As I read the story I listed the other artists referenced so that I could later check out their work too. Why don't these artists have websites? It's surprising how few have their own.

Growing up close to farm country doesn't mean I fully "get it". A neighbor recently plowed through 3+ feet of snow to move some hay bales… at night. It was kind of like watching a strange movie. Hoping to take more night shots…Two more of these on flickr.