This Party’s Over
Copyright © 2009 Matthew Ratajczak
My days of being a newspaper staff photographer with a regular paycheck, a regular schedule and an often regular dose of bullshit, officially came to a bittersweet end on Friday. Although I left with the burden of mixed emotions swirling around in my mind yesterday, I also felt an overwhelming weight being lifted from my soul as I walked out the door and drove off down the road. This was a weight that had been getting heavier and heavier over the years and one that started to get lighter and lighter in the last few weeks. Am I nervous and scared and stressed about the future? Hell yes, of course! But I’m also excited, free, optimistic and rejuvenated. Eyes wide open and open to any and all possibilities.
Although it has been good to me at times, allowed me to make a living making photographs everyday and provided many fantastic opportunities that I wouldn’t have otherwise had, it has been very clear to me for a long time that my days at the paper were numbered. It was the right time to leave years ago, but for different reasons I hung around, waiting for the perfect time to make my exit. I learned not too long ago though, that there was never going to be a perfect time to leave. An old friend of mine from college once said there comes a time when one must put off building ships and simply put to sea. Despite having a poor memory when it comes to quotes or lyrics or things people said to me almost 10 years ago, that has stuck with me. And now it seems very fitting. I’ve done a lot of building, a lot of preparing, put in a lot of hours. Now it’s time to set sail and find out if this ship is going to be seaworthy or sink to the bottom of the ocean. I don’t think It’ll sink. It might take on some water and encounter some rough seas, but this ship is solid. I hope.
However, you should know that I’m not a complete idiot. Although mentally it’s the perfect time to quit my job, leave Florida and begin the next chapter in my life, I do so with an amazing wife who does have a full-time job. The timing is what is because she has a career opportunity that’s taking us north, out of the sunshine and into a cold Pennsylvania winter for the next three months and then, if all goes according to plan, west to Nashville, TN. in the spring. Her career opportunity is the spark I needed.
The hardest part of all this though, is leaving behind an amazing, beautiful group of friends that have become like family over the years. They’re what makes this a bittersweet departure. You guys have no idea how sorely you will be missed. I won’t be missing the paper so much, but man, these wonderful people, my collective rock, what’s kept me sane and on somewhat solid footing all these years, they will be missed.
collect.give
collect.give
Got word of a great photography-based project from friend and inspirator John Loomis a few days ago and find it very worthy of sharing with my handful of loyal readers. The brainchild of photographer Kevin Miyazaki, collect.give lets lovers of great photography purchase very reasonably priced prints and donate to various causes at the same time. Every photographer featured on the site, some of my favorite image makers, gives 100% of the print sales to the cause of their choice. Featured photographers this time around are Emily Shur, Allison V. Smith, Dalton Rooney, Susana Raab, Kevin Miyazaki and John Loomis.
Any of these photographs would make for a stunning and unique gift for the holidays or for yourself. And knowing all the profits go to a good cause is just added gravy.
Botanical
I recently put together these collage/grids of close-up and macro photographs made at three area botanical gardens. The first one is from Tropical Ranch Botanical Gardens in Stuart, Fla., next is Heathcote Botanical Gardens in Fort Pierce, Fla., and the third is from McKee Botanical Garden in Vero Beach, Fla. Unfortunately, it’s hard to see all the intricate details and textures in the images on the screen in this format. But you get the idea. I’m Planning on making some big prints of a select few. I really like the top middle image in the first grid. Reminds me of fireworks. These flowers are about the size of a nickel. Enjoy.
Copyright © 2009 Matthew Ratajczak/Scripps Newspapers
Copyright © 2009 Matthew Ratajczak/Scripps Newspapers
Copyright © 2009 Matthew Ratajczak/Scripps Newspapers
Legendary
Copyright © 2009 Matthew Ratajczak/Scripps. All Rights Reserved.
Had the pleasure of spending a little time with the iconic Burt Reynolds recently at his museum (yes, of course he has his own museum) in Jupiter, Fla. He was a gracious gentleman, friendly, charming, funny and full of stories. Basically, an all around cool motherfucker. If you had to give a visual definition of masculinity, I think Burt would be in the mix. I grew up watching Reynolds in movies like Smokey and the Bandit, Cannonball Run, Deliverance, Sharkey’s Machine and later as Jack Horner in Boogie Nights. It’s hard to believe he’s 73-years-old. Long live the Bandit!
Kool Thing(s)
Here’s a couple things I’ve been looking at and want to share.
I’ve been reading Milwaukee-based photographer Kevin Miyazaki’s blog ever since I discovered there were photographers blogging. Although he seems to purposely let a lot of his fresh produce and other food items shrivel, become moldy, over ripen and rot all for the sake of photography (see the ordinary and detailed photographic gems he discovers and records throughout his home in his reoccurring “within reach” posts), his blog is on my short list of go-to sites I spend too much time with on a daily or weekly basis.
Now I have to add one more Miyazaki creation to the list. To compliment the junior-level photography course he is teaching at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD), he has established a blog called MIAD-FA382 primarily for his students, but available for all of us to glean over as well. Although I remember reading about the blog on Kevin’s site a while back, I’m only now discovering all it has to offer. There’s over 200 links, interviews with established photographers, student work and other forms of visual stimulation and inspiration. Good stuff.
MIAD-FA382
I’ve been a fan of The New York Times staff photographer and Pulitzer prize winner Damon Winter’s work for many years now. I first discovered his talent when he was at The Dallas Morning News and later with the Los Angeles Times. At the time I thought, here’s this super talented, young photojournalist who also makes fantastic portraits (newspaper photographers are not really known for creating quality portraits. In fact, they’re often very bad). How weird is that? Honestly, it kind of pissed me off sometimes how good he was and how young he was.
Well, I don’t get pissed off anymore, and he’s still really, really good and still churning out stellar photojournalistic work, portraits and everything in between for the Times. Check out this interview with Winter by Pete Brook over at too much chocolate.
too much chocolate
Interview with Stacia Spragg-Braude
Photograph Copyright © 2009 Stacia Spragg-Braude. All Rights Reserved.
I first discovered Stacia Spragg-Braude’s work back in 2000 or 2001 when she was just Stacia Spragg, no Braude, and working at the Albuquerque Tribune in New Mexico. I had just graduated from the University of Missouri and was starting my first job as a newspaper photojournalist at the Naples Daily News in southwest Florida. I don’t remember where exactly I saw her work, maybe in a newspaper, a magazine or maybe in the Pictures of the Year contest, but I saw enough of it here and there over the years for it to make an impression.
Years later, 2007 I believe, putting in some time as an editor at Blueeyes Magazine, the brainchild of friend and inspirator John Loomis, I had the privilege of working with Stacia and editing a version of her long-term project on the Begay’s, a Navajo family living on their reservation in Arizona, for the magazine.
Looking through Stacia’s initial submission and then later through a larger selection of her photographs, I remember being struck by the beauty, power, mystery and intimacy of the black and white images of a landscape, culture and people I was unfamiliar with. I recall feeling that she’s not only a fiercely dedicated and determined photojournalist, but must have an intense personal connection and relationship with this family to spend roughly a decade making these photographs and telling this family’s story.
Now, two years after working with her for that issue of Blueeyes, I discovered, through one of the weekly Photo-Eye “New Arrivals” email newsletters I receive, that Stacia’s “To Walk in Beauty: A Navajo Family’s Journey Home” has been published and is on sale (here and here and here) . I immediately sent her an email to congratulate her on the book, her success and good fortune and asked her if she would be OK with me posting a little something on my blog.
Below is a Q&A we had via email. Enjoy.
Photograph Copyright © 2009 Stacia Spragg-Braude. All Rights reserved.
MATTHEW: Tell me about yourself and how you got started with photography and why you chose the photojournalism/documentary path with your work?
STACIA SPRAGG-BRAUDE: I guess I’ve always had a camera with me, though growing up it was a disk camera (remember those, with really tiny negatives on a wheel that looks like a ViewMaster card)? I studied journalism as an undergraduate, but switched over in grad school to cultural geography. It was actually my Russian studies geography professor who told me I was in the wrong line of business when I tried to convince him to let me photograph my Master’s thesis on ethnic Turks in Bulgaria instead of compiling endless research and writing about them. That and I can’t read a map. So I switched to studying photojournalism at the University of Missouri in the early 1990s. In terms of deciding to specialize in photojournalism, to me that was what photography intuitively was. It wasn’t a conscious decision to specialize since that’s what I had been doing all along without having a name for it.
M: With the newspaper/magazine/media business being what it is, and with a lot of photographers losing their jobs either by taking buyouts, getting laid-off or deciding to leave by their own accord, I’m curious about your time at the newspaper and why you left?
SSB: I only had one internship with a newspaper while studying at Missouri, and that was with the Albuquerque Tribune. Right after that, I joined their staff and I spent about 8 or 9 years working with them. It was a fantastic place for photojournalists, since we had a great deal of autonomy, and creativity was encouraged and expected. There really wasn’t even a box to try to think out of, you know? I decided to leave in 2005 when I realized I had used up all my vacation and comp time and couldn’t take my honeymoon. That and I was really burned out…kept looking at the clock wondering when I could finish my assignments and go rock climbing instead. I had no idea what I would do next, but I knew then I needed to take a leap of faith (or stupidity) and find “next.”
M: Has it worked out the way you thought it would? Any regrets?
SSB: No, it hasn’t worked out the way I thought it would. And yes, it has worked out the way I thought it would. I left in 2005 when the photojournalism world was still fantastically different from now and I envisioned doing projects abroad and actually getting paid for it. But I got pregnant right away and basically spent the next 10 months eating Krispy Kremes and wondering how the hell I would salvage my professional life, or if I was doomed to trading a camera bag for a diaper bag. When Junior came, it wasn’t quite as dire as my imagination lead me to fear and I got inspired to turn the Navajo project into a book, because I felt I had come full-circle in the bigger picture of life, and more importantly, the Begay family I had photographed had come full circle as well. It was time. I stopped worrying about following a certain path that I had laid out in my mind and in so many dreams as we’re encouraged to do, and instead found the beauty in making things up as I went along, and accepting burn-out as a necessary weigh-station for the soul to find its next adventure. In other words, I followed the advice of my friend and fellow photographer, Scott Lewis, and stopped trying to force things like creativity, inspiration, project ideas, etc., and let things just come to me. It’s much harder than it sounds at first, but then it’s incredibly easy, like eating pancakes.
M: How did your long-term project on the Navajo family, the Begay’s begin? How many years have you been working on it? Is it complete or is this the kind of story you will keep coming back to?
SSB: I met the Begays rather by chance during my internship at the Tribune back in 1996. We became friends, and I spent weekends here and there with them, going to different Navajo ceremonies, herding sheep, eating lots of frybread and hanging out. As a photographer/story-teller, I was fascinated and inspired by how they were committed to passing down a legacy to their children, and how they were intent on saving their culture and identity. They lived several hours away, and most family members didn’t have phones then. So I’d get out as often as I could, and I missed a lot of stuff, to be sure.
Photograph Copyright © Stacia Spragg-Braude. All Rights Reserved.
When my internship ended, I didn’t want to leave New Mexico because I was captured by this project, so I took a job tutoring English that paid crap but gave loads of un-paid leave so I could spend chunks of time driving to the reservation. After being hired full-time at the Tribune in 2000, I continued working on the project, though not as frequently because of other assignments. I made it out there for special ceremonies, events, etc., and kept everything on my own time so I retained the copyright. Over the years the Tribune did publish some mini-stories, such as when Heather had her coming-of-age ceremony, and the editing/scanning and that sort of thing were done on company time since that particular article was for the paper. But otherwise I kept it separate (thank God I had enough sense for that…) This all unfolded over the course of 10 years.
The story is definitely not complete (is it ever?), but I felt in 2006 that the timing was right for a book when Makiyah was born. She was the fourth generation of the family that I had photographed. I had started photographing her mother, Heather, when she was maybe 10, and now she was having a child of her own, and wanting to have the same traditional ceremonies for her daughter. The journey I had witnessed with this family had come full-circle in my mind, and as I mentioned so had I when my son was born, and my inner voice told me it was time. I had to let go of it then, and with it, a piece of my life. All of my 30’s was connected to photographing this family.
M: You said all of your 30’s were connected to this family and telling their story. How did this project and the Begay family influence your own life?
SSB: Wow, now that’s a question. Hmmm, I don’t think I’m that much different from other photographers, perhaps photojournalists specifically, whose lives become so interwoven and twined together with the communities and individuals they are shooting that it starts to define them. I think that’s the great beauty of being a photographer, that you can enter into these other worlds and realities, spend some time there, and return to your own, but by doing so you have expanded your place on the earth, and you are never the same. In other words, there’s no boundary between your work and who you are; photography is not a job, it’s just how you pass through life. It’s not just the images that define you, or the portfolio, but it’s all those people and places and things that you experienced as a photographer who make you who you are. They will always be with you. To me that’s a great comfort. It’s kind of like a violin in the way the wood, and consequently the sound it makes, starts physically changing and forming in its own unique way over time based on who is playing it. So the past is always very much alive inside you. It creates your sound.
For me, I spent a lot of time traveling and shooting in my 20’s, and getting my heart broke, having many adventures, but always looking for a sense of home. While spending time with and photographing the Begay’s in my 30’s, I saw a family in their imperfect but beautiful and determined way trying to hold on and define who they were as a people and family and where they came from. In other words, their identity. And while photographing that, unbeknownst to me, I was forming my own identity and putting together all the things I had learned in life from my elders and my experiences. So actually most of the images in the book turn out to be very auto-biographical. It’s always a waltz between the photographer’s soul and that of the person or place they are photographing.
Photograph Copyright © Stacia Spragg-Braude. All Rights Reserved.
M: Can you talk about the process of working on a long-term project like this? I know it takes a lot of time, patience and determination to stick with it and not abandon it half-way through and move on to the next story. What drove you to keep going back and spending time with this particular family?
SSB: Oddly, I don’t consider myself a long-term project photographer. That just sort of happened with this project because it was a good counter-balance creatively to working for a newspaper. I had no expectations on the project (well, maybe a few), no editors, no deadline, no rules. So why quit? Besides, we were and continue to be friends, and part of each others’ lives, so all the time spent out there wasn’t just “work.” That being said, there were several times I felt like I was creatively burned out and not producing any meaningful pictures. When it started feeling like I was forcing myself to make pictures and to see, I backed off and said it was time to let go. At one point I spent 6 weeks living in a hogan with the family. It sounds dreamy for a photographer, and there were moments and time in there that were ethereal and magical. But many other days too when I was feeling creatively bored, seeing the same thing over and over, eating too many carbs, and feeling sleepy. I didn’t look at those negatives for at least a year afterwards, but eventually found that many of the images had incredible meaning and symbolism years later, but not then. Funny how that works. Don’t trash your negatives (or digital files).
M: Do you still keep in touch with them?
SSB: Yes, we are still friends. In fact, a couple of the family members married my husband Darren and me. But I no longer really photograph them. I just let go of that, at least for now.
Photograph Copyright © Stacia Spragg-Braude. All Rights Reserved.
M: As you’ve already mentioned, this same story is also the subject of your new book “To Walk in Beauty: A Navajo Family’s Journey Home.” Can you talk about how getting this project published came about and talk about your experience and the process? How much control did you have and did you ever consider self-publishing?
SSB: I had no idea what I was doing when I first sought a book publisher. I attended Review Santa Fe and met with a few book editors there, which was a big help in terms of really understanding what they’re looking for in a photo book proposal. I had advice that covered the spectrum, from showing a complete mock-up (whether an artist’s hand-done, one-of-a-kind book or an In-Design produced rough draft) of how I envisioned the book, to the more minimalist approach of just showing book publishers the photographs to see if they would be interested. I ended up designing a signature, which for me consisted of 6 or 7 pages I designed with the text and photographs in In-Design, printed on nice paper with my Epson printer and then simple-stitched together by a local book-binder. I sent the signature along with the book proposal, each publisher has a different proposal to fill out (you can usually find these on the publisher’s websites). Since it was time-consuming to do these proposals, I carefully made a hierarchy of publishers I would contact. I started with 4 or 5 university presses in the Southwest, since it was important for me to find a publisher that had a background and understanding of the Navajo culture.
I also really wanted to find a publisher that would be willing to allow me as the photographer to be involved in the whole process of editing, designing and proofing. After that initial round, I had plans to contact publishers who specialized in photo books like Nazraeli, Phaidon, etc., but I never made it to that round since the Museum of New Mexico Press contacted me and was interested in offering a contract. I felt like it would be a good match for this book.
Three publishers right off the bat were interested. So I had to figure out what my priorities were. For me, I wanted to avoid having to put up any of my own money or take the time to find grant money to fund the publishing. I’ve heard this is pretty common for photographers trying to publish photo books. Secondly, I wanted to have some involvement in the editing and design stages. And thirdly, I hoped to get the book published in a timely fashion, so it wouldn’t languish on some shelf and grow old. I knew going into this that I wouldn’t make any money off a photo book, so I didn’t have that expectation. The Museum of New Mexico Press had the money to publish the book, and had a small staff that I had a good feeling about. And they wanted to release it in a year, which is a relatively fast turn-around in the book world. I hired a photo consultant (Joanna Hurley) to look over the contract the Press was offering and make suggestions before I signed it.
Over the next several months, I worked with an editor at the Press on the written part of the book. The designer, David Skolkin, who just recently helped found Radius Books, liked my design approach and went with it, adding and modifying with his improvements and style. I did all the scanning and toning myself (the project was shot on film), despite reading advice to hire out for this and call in the professionals. I’m sure that would have been nice, but I didn’t have the money to do that, and I felt like well, the conditions weren’t perfect when I shot it, half the damn time I was shooting with expired film pushed too much, so why not just use my crappy scanner and see what happens. It will be good enough. And I’m happy with the end result, but it took a few aneurisms and melt-downs during the proof stages to get there (for the first proofing, the printer thought I really didn’t want the shadows so dark and decided to just… open them up! I really did have heart palpitations.
Another confounding aspect was when the designer instructed me to choose a duotone color. I felt like I was painting the Queen’s bathroom or something, with too many swatches in Photoshop spread out over the floor. I furiously made too many prints covering the whole damn color spectrum, and it all changed depending on my mood, what kind of light you were viewing them in, etc. Ultimately the designer and I came across a black and white photo book which had a duotone we loved and felt wonderful for my work. We sent that book to the printer (in Singapore) and asked them to match it. And no, I wasn’t on press when they printed it, though everyone will tell you to try and be there. It just wasn’t realistic for me since they didn’t have an exact run date, and the last-minute tix from here to there were like $3000. Wasn’t going to happen. I like to buy shoes and film and wine too much. So I burned effigies and wore the same socks and muttered spells under my breath the whole time they were printing in hopes that it would translate into a good press run with happy pressmen. It worked. The book looks better than I ever imagined.
One more note regarding control in the process. While the designer liked my approach and didn’t muck with the edit I presented them, and I felt that the book staff listened to my input and respected my opinions, ultimately He Who Pays For the Press Run, Owns the Press Run. So if the publisher put up the money, they have final say-so over everything. They also asked for my “thoughts” on the cover’s image, and I offered 3 or 4 photo “suggestions.” But it’s clear that the publishers do the final selection. Which I think is okay since they really wanna sell the damn book. But I think this is why self-publishing is a better route for some folks, and I would have considered that if I had not found a publisher whom I felt I could work with.
Photograph Copyright © Stacia Spragg-Braude. All Rights Reserved.
M: What was the experience like? Is there anything you would do different?
SSB: The experience was a bit nerve-racking since I had no idea what to expect. I was used to working with newspaper and magazine editors. After making the signatures, I muddled my way through the minimum one needs to know to create a document in In-Design and made a mock-up of the book so I could show publishers how I envisioned the book feeling, but also to help me with the photo editing and flow. I would definitely encourage photographers interested in doing a book to consider this step, intimidating as it may seem. I’m a minimalist (or maybe just lazy and hate using a computer), but you can’t just show a stack of photographs that have consumed you in the making and expect designers and editors to intuitively know exactly how you want a book to feel. I am definitely not a designer, but I definitely knew how I wanted the flow to go, the tone of the book, how it should feel in the readers’ hands. The more articulately you can discuss and present this, the better. Perhaps the publishers might have a better idea for the design, and hopefully you can arrive at that together, but at least they know where you are coming from up front. That’s just my opinion, but then again maybe I just have a control issue with a project that was a dominant force in my life for so many years.
M: How did you decide on the final edit of the book? Did you work with any editors or others to help finalize what was published.
SSB: I went back through the 6 or 7 binders full of negatives and did a very wide edit, maybe of at least three times the number of photos I thought I’d finally end up with. Hell, just about anything that was in focus I circled in red wax pencil. I made plain paper print-outs, rented a cabin in the mountains for a couple of days, and whiddled that down to 80 or 100 photographs. I didn’t just select the pictures that I felt were the best either, I also included pictures that I was irrationally attached to, and other images that went along well with the oral histories I excerpted throughout the book. The flow of the photographs had to be inter-woven with the flow of the stories the family was telling in the text, so it follows a story line, much like a long epic poem. It’s not chronological or subject-related. My friend and fellow photographer, Scott Lewis, helped at this point to make sure what I wanted to say as a photographer would make any sense to readers. That input is vital.
The next and final phase came after drinking much wine one night and realizing that the body of work paralleled a Navajo prayer which illustrates in words how the Navajos traditionally approach life. In the Navajo’s world, “beauty” embodies being centered, balanced, to have peace with yourself and with others around you, to walk this path of beauty. I structured the flow of photographs to follow the words of this prayer: to walk in beauty with beauty behind me (the world of the ancestors and the old ways), with beauty around me (traditions being passed to the younger generations), with beauty above me (the realities of 21st century life on the reservation and the death of the elders), and ending the book with beauty before me (the birth of the next generation).
M: What kind of advice can you pass along to other photographers who want to publish a book?
SSB: Besides the things I mentioned above, here are some other suggestions. The first and foremost I actually heard from Darius Himes, a founder of Radius Books who at the time was with Photo-Eye. He said to absolutely know why you are doing a book. It seems a simple question, one that is obvious, but I think it can be highly nuanced and will give you direction if you answer it honestly. For me, it was the chance to weave together my images with the Navajos’ words to create a narrative poem of their journey as I saw it. I liked the idea of putting that poem down permanently in a book, which has a very different feel than in other media such as the internet, magazines, newspapers, museum exhibits. And that mission statement dictated how I edited.
For instance, it wasn’t about necessarily assembling my best portfolio work to showcase, it wasn’t about trying to use the book as a springboard for getting future assignments or projects, it wasn’t about making money, it wasn’t about making a photo album for the family, it wasn’t about trying to impress editors or win awards. I think all of those motivations for doing a book are fine, as long as photographers are honest with themselves up front, because that is going to dictate the edit, who you decide to go with to publish it, whether you publish it yourself, whether you are willing and able to put up money to get it published, whether it’s paperback or hardcover, etc.
After that, look at photo books you like and who published them. See what other titles those publishers have released, and whether your work would be a good fit for them. Do as much research as you can to see if there are other photo books similar to the one you are proposing, and determine how yours will be different, better, complementary to the body of work already out there. In other words, you’re going to have to convince the publisher that your book is needed and desired. Really try to figure out your audience, that will not only help with your editing, but you need to know how and to whom you are going to market it, and you’ll have to provide fairly specific suggestions to the publisher.
Besides other photographers, who would want to buy your book? Are there specific organizations, clubs, schools, etc. that would be interested? Try to get as specific as you can. And find someone who knows your work whom you respect who can help you edit. I had the misconception that the publisher would want to sit down and edit the work with me. That wasn’t the case for me, though I’m sure every publisher is different. Mine just wanted the completed work. But regardless of that, before you approach any publisher, you should have a pretty clear idea of the edit you like, and work it out from there. There are so many more things I could suggest, but I guess this is a start!
M: I find it very interesting that you have been working as a farmer for the last coupe of years. How did this come about and how does it fit in with your photographic career? Do you see any similarities between working the land and growing food and being a photographer? Now that the book is published, what’s next? Are you working on a new project?
SSB: How the hell I got into farming. I live in the village of Corrales, along the Rio Grande, here in New Mexico. It’s one of the oldest continually farmed areas in the country, being farmed by Native Americans for centuries, then by the Spaniards after their arrival in the 1600s. I’ve been active for years with a group that tries to help preserve farmland by helping landowners put some of their land in a trust so that they retain ownership but that limits develop. A couple of years back, when I was really burned out on photography, another committee member said “Hey, let’s farm” and I couldn’t think of any reason not to. Some folks with land by the river allowed us to use their land (they can get a tax benefit) so we just planted a lot of things on a little over an acre, and somehow started specializing in various types of potatoes, white ones, blue ones, red ones, yellow ones. It’s sort of random, but not really, because it’s just another way of being connected into life’s deeper cycles and in the community, something that I feel photography has given me, especially at the newspaper. I love being covered in dirt, I love the hot sun on me, I love not being attached to a computer, I love feeling like I’m doing something real. And quite often in photography, I felt limited, like I wasn’t really doing something real, just photographing others doing something real. And I love doing something so intimate and vital, like growing food.
That being said, I’ve discovered I’m at heart a story-teller, and this year I’m helping an 80-year-old farmer with her farm and fruit orchard here in Corrales while I do a book about her. I’m just following the muses on this one, I’m definitely not driving, but playing around with writing more and shooting with an old Brownie 8mm movie camera. I hope to start writing a collection of essays with some images of her this winter, once the harvest is all done.
Photograph Copyright © Stacia Spragg-Braude. All Rights Reserved.
Sick For Profit
A new video and online campaign by Brave New Films called “Sick For Profit,” above, or at sickforprofit.com, features St. Petersburg Times photojournalist Steve Coddington who I wrote about in a September 7th post here on Eat the Darkness. Check out the video and learn more about Steve’s struggle to provide care for his wife here.
KD Prints For Sale
Photograph Copyright © 2009 Kenneth Dickerman, All Rights Reserved
New York-based freelance photographer Kenneth Dickerman, a friend of mine since our days together in the photo-j program at the University of Missouri, is offering a selection of prints for sale through his newly created blog “Due to a combination of people asking to buy prints and a lack of actual work these days.”
Photograph Copyright © 2009 Kenneth Dickerman, All Rights Reserved
Kenneth is a strong-minded, idealistic photojournalist who has always, as far as I can remember, done things his way and never wavered from his personal aesthetic and philosophy toward photography. Depending on how you look it at, this has been either a good thing or a bad thing. It might not be as lucrative, hence the print sale, but I tend to side with the former. He’s stayed true to himself, maybe to his own fault financially, but true nonetheless.
We all know the current state of the economy and publishing world have wrecked havoc on all freelance and staff photographers regardless of their area of speciality. In fact, it’s hurt almost everyone, no matter what line of work you’re in. Money is tight, and for some, not even there. But if you have a little chunk of change to spare and would like to help out Kenneth and receive a print of your choosing in return, go check out his work and decide if you like what you see. And remember, if one of his selected images don’t jump out at you, be sure to check out his website for more of his work. I’m sure he will work with you to make a purchase.
Photograph Copyright © 2009 Kenneth Dickerman, All Rights Reserved.
Simple gifts
Copyright © 2009 Matthew Ratajczak, All Rights Reserved
I pulled into my parking space, opened the door, stepped out and saw this on the ground. My day got a little better.
Help Steve Help His Family
St. Petersburg Times photojournalist Steve Coddington and his family need your help. I don’t know Steve, his wife Marian or his two children, but it doesn’t really matter, and it shouldn’t matter to you either.
Steve is in the battle of his life. Steve vs. CIGNA (his insurance provider). Steve’s wife Marian suffered a brain aneurysm last year. After spending months in various hospitals, Marian was transfered to an acute care hospital. Well, the insurance company eventually decided to not pay for the care and Steve took Marian home, taking on the full-time job of caring for his wife and their children. A lot of money has already been raised, but they could still use your help. Read more about it here, do the right thing and give what you can. Every little bit helps.
Health care reform NOW!
Random
Photograph Copyright © 2009 Matthew Ratajczak. All Rights Reserved
Photograph Copyright © 2009 Matthew Ratajczak. All Rights Reserved
Just a couple random photos I’ve been meaning to post for some time now.
How to Make Good Pictures
Ernest Hemingway House, Key West, Fla. Copyright © 2009 Matthew Ratajczak. All Rights Reserved.
Something I’ve been thinking about a lot. If I could just get my hands on this book all my problems would be solved.
Tasty Bits
In case you haven’t already seen these posts, here are a couple tasty bits to chew on today.
My good friend John Loomis gives us a peek inside his “bible,” a collection of lessons learned, tricks of the trade and other words of wisdom he’s gathered and recorded in his notebooks over the years.
Daniel Shea interviews Alec Soth over at Too Much Chocolate.
Enjoy!
Idolatry
American Idol host Ryan Seacrest.
Last Thursday I photographed the American Idol auditions in Orlando. Other than the disastrous planning on the back end, it was a good time. However, having to get up at 1:30 a.m. so I could leave my place at 2:15 a.m. so I could meet up with my crew at 3 a.m. so we could be in Orlando by 5 a.m. kinda sucked. But not surprising. Nothing like working on 4 hours of half-sleep. You know, that kind of sleep where you’re too worried about not waking up on time so you never really sleep. Fun. I guess it simply didn’t occur to anyone doing the logistical planning that it might be a good idea to arrange for hotel rooms for the night before the gig. If I hadn’t found out about it the afternoon before, I would have booked my own damn room!
Ryan Seacrest looks exactly like he does on the tube. He’s as tall as I expected him to be. Wears hip, trendy clothes and is put together. And he actually seems to be a decent, down to earth human. He was approachable and friendly with the hopeful singers waiting for their chance to be humiliated and made fun of on television and the web. He was accommodating and friendly with the press. He posed for a few pics and signed some autographs. He even seemed to be genuinely enthusiastic to be there doing his job. So, despite what Simon says, he’s not the complete dolt I thought he might be.
TF & AH
Another tasty gem from Ottawa-based photographer Tony Fouhse. Tony interviews WTJ author and editorial photographer Andrew Hetherington on his blog Drool.
I’m hoping to incorporate semi-regular interviews with photographers here at Eat the Darkness in the near future. So stay tuned.
The Making of PP
You’ve probably already seen this over at APE, but in case you haven’t, check out this great post by Scott Dadich, creative director at WIRED magazine, about the making of Dan Winters’ book “Periodical Photographs” on the Society of Publication Designers blog Grids.
Winters is a great inspiration and one of the best editorial/portrait photographers working today. See more of his amazing work here.
Make a Print
A nice post by Ottawa-based photographer Tony Fouhse over at his blog Drool about the printed photograph. It’s worth a few minutes of your time on this Sunday afternoon. Hope everyone here in the states had a fun and safe holiday weekend.
Kool Thing(s)
A few things I think are worth letting people know about.
1. First things first. I married the love of my life, Jessica, about a month ago in Key West, Fla.! It was a simple, kind of spontaneous wedding with good friends and some family. I’m a lucky man.
Photograph Copyright © Alex Boerner. All Rights Reserved.
Photograph Copyright © Romain Blanquart. All Rights Reserved.
Photograph Copyright © Romain Blanquart. All Rights Reserved.
2. Wilco, one of my all-time favorite bands, released their seventh proper LP, Wilco (The Album), on Tuesday. I don’t think it’s their best, but it’s slowly revealing little nuggets of beauty and greatness as I listen repeatedly.
Wilco (The Album)
3. Yet another great installment of Inside the Photographers_Studio over at What’s the Jackanory. This episode features Phillip Toledano. Check it out if you haven’t already done so.
4. This is so funny. Need an artist statement for your new project? Check out The Market-O-Matic (1.0) fine arts version here!
Five More Days
In desperate need of a long weekend away for some fun and relaxation, Jessica and I decided a few weeks ago to plan a short trip to Key West. It’s close enough for us to drive, not too expensive and fun. Perfect. As we were laying in bed discussing our getaway, we jokingly said we should just get married while we’re down there. We have been discussing the how, when and where ever since our engagement, but it kind of got put on the back burner for a while. So what started out as a half-serious conversation about getting married in the Keys changed course to a serious discussion about making it a reality in just a few weeks. Could we find someone to marry us, get rings, a license, a place to stay, time off, a dress for her, a beach wedding outfit and some new flip-flops for me ( I think it’s state law that I have to wear something like a linen shirt and pants) and more in such little time? The answer is yes.
So in five days, we will be married on a small section of beach at sunset, surrounded by the friends and family that are able to make the trip down. We drive down Thursday morning, get married Friday evening, play Saturday and Sunday and drive back home Monday morning. No honeymoon right away.
I never thought I would ever get married. Well, I guess I should say I never thought I would find a woman that would stick around long enough and love me enough to want to spend their life with me. Lucky for me, and I am truly lucky, I found Jessica. I remember clearly the first day we met in person two and a half years ago. We actually met over the internet, I know, crazy, but it worked out just fine for us. I suggested we just meet for coffee so each of us would have a safe out in case we decided it wasn’t quite right or weird (you never know with the whole online dating thing). She still gives me shit about Starbucks being our first date. But it wasn’t really our first date, it was our first meet, face-to-face. The first date came next. Anyway, it all worked out.
Jessica
It’s hard for me to put into words how important Jessica is to me, or how much I love and adore her, or how she makes me feel inside, or how she’s made me a better person. She is simply a beautiful person inside and out and my love for her is immeasurable. I am so looking forward to marrying this beautiful, beautiful woman. On May 29th, a little after 7 p.m., I will be the luckiest man on Earth.
I Fell Into A Burning Ring Of Fire…
Photograph Copyright © 2009 Matthew Ratajczak. All Rights Reserved.
Can you guess what this is?
Natty Dread
Photograph Copyright © 2009 Matthew Ratajczak. All Rights Reserved
I’ve been photographing the brush fires in Indiantown, Fla., for the last few days. Came across 67-year-old George James and his crazy dreads. I’ve never seen anyone wrap them around the forehead like this. Makes me feel itchy. Sitting in the shade under an Australian pine tree, George recalled watching the fires come just feet from his modest home on Lincoln Street Sunday evening, Mother’s Day, the day of his 67th birthday, keeping him from his birthday party across town. Thankfully, his home, and his dreads, both survived the flames. Jah bless.
One Bachelor, Five Friends, a Boat, the Ocean, Cold Beer, Six Dolphin Fish and One Hammerhead Shark. Good Times
A group of us took our good friend Alex Boerner out this past Saturday for a day of off-shore fishing, tons of beer and not so healthy food to celebrate his upcoming sentence, I mean marriage, to Deborah Silver. The weather was perfect, the seas were smooth and the beer was cold. Couldn’t ask for a better day. There’s something about drinking a cold beer and eating fried chicken at 8 a.m. 15 miles off-shore with a group of great guys.
Alex reeling in his dolphin fish, a.k.a. Mahi-mahi
That's me, reeling in my dolphin.
Landing my dolphin into the boat with help from the captain.
Me and my fish.
During a lull in the fishing, Some of us decided to jump overboard for a quick swim to cool off and refresh ourselves. It felt great until someone on the boat told us to get back in, that there was a shark. Of course Alex thought they were just playing around. But they weren’t. We all climbed back in and saw the 10 to 12-foot hammer head circling the boat. Pretty exciting. The photos below are not great, but show our friend looking for its next meal. Or maybe he was just curious about all the noise. I think he wanted to eat us. It makes for a better story.
Hammerhead looking for lunch.
Hammerhead shark near the surface.
After getting beat up by the salt and the sun and who knows how many cans of Coors Light and Heineken, we made it back to dry land, cleaned the six dolphin we caught, grilled some of it over at Steven Martine’s crib and ate probably the freshest, tastiest fish I’ve ever had, all washed down with cold Newcastles. Deliciousioso!!
Congratulations Alex! Sorry we never made it out to see those dancing girls. Another time my friend.
Neigh
Photograph Copyright © 2009, Matthew Ratajczak. All Rights Reserved.
Spent some time with some beautiful horses and some cool people today at the Equine Rescue & Adoption Foundation in Palm City, Florida. ERAF is a not-for-profit organization “devoted to the rescue, rehabilitation and re-education of abused, abandoned and neglected horses in south Florida.” This is Dana Earle and her draft Appalachian mix Attila the Hun practicing their natural horsemanship techniques. Can’t beat a beautiful day, nice people, incredible animals and making pictures.
Eat the Darkness Turns 1
Today is the one year anniversary of Eat the Darkness and I’m struggling to post anything right now as I try to get over what I think is the flu. My vision is slightly blurred, my body is weak, my head feels like a brick, and I’m slightly dazed from the nighttime cold medicine I’m taking during the day (it’s all I have left) that’s only making me drowsy. So this post will be brief.
I really just want to say thanks to anyone who has ever visited ETD, and even more thanks to those who visit on a regular basis. I’m still amazed that people stop by on a regular basis to see what’s new. I don’t think I would have even started this blog if it wasn’t for the encouragement of a few friends who convinced me to put myself out there and use this as another creative outlet. So thanks to all of you.
ETD has served many purposes over the last year and I hope to continue using it to share my thoughts and opinions, my work, and the work and ideas of other photographers, artists, musicians, and creative people that inspire and motivate me.
Ok, I’m going to go lay back down and have some fluids.
Cheers!
Kool Thing(s)
Some stuff I think is cool and worth checking out.
• My good buddy and inspirator John Loomis is currently honeymooning with his lovely wife Judyta on the Galapagos Island in the eastern Pacific. So it’s only fitting to turn you on to his new blog Pacific. His old blog, Drinking With a Dead Man is, well, dead.
• In addition to his own personal blog, photographer Kevin Miyazaki is also conducting short interview with his fellow Redux photographers over at the agency’s blog. So check it out and learn a little bit about Michael Rubenstein and Andrew Cutraro.
• One of my favorite bands, Wilco, has a new DVD coming out in a couple weeks. Ashes of American Flags will be released on April 18th. Pre-order it here!!
•
We’re All Searching For Something…
Photograph Copyright © 2009 Matthew Ratajczak. All Rights Reserved
… Just not sure if he’s going to find it in the sand.
Back to the Farm
“The first farmer was the first man. All historic nobility rests on the possession and use of land.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
A couple new portraits up on Matthew Ratajczak Photography. I’ve been photographing on a lot of small family owned and operated farms lately. When I’m out there with these farmers and their families in the early morning, it makes me want to put down my cameras and get my hands dirty, sweat and make something grow.
“Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens. They are the most vigorous, the most independent, the most virtuous and they are tied to their country and wedded to its liberty and interests by the most lasting bands.”
–Thomas Jefferson, Letter to John Jay (Aug. 23, 1785)
Copyright © 2009 Matthew Ratajczak. All Rights Reserved.
“An overcrowded chicken farm produce fewer eggs.”
- Chinese Proverb
Copyright © 2009 Matthew Ratajczak. All Rights Reserved.
“If you tickle the earth with a hoe she laughs with a harvest.”
- Douglas William Jerrold
Untitled
Copyright © 2009 Matthew Ratajczak/Scripps Newspapers. All Rights Reserved.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’m still here. Just been busy with life. I’ve been doing a little work to Matthew Ratajczak Photography, adding some new portraits and a story about alligator egg hunting on Lake Okeechobee, shooting almost every day for my real job, doing some freelance, dealing with brush fires and the smokey stank that won’t leave my truck or clothes, not sleeping very well and thinking a lot about the upcoming move to PA for Jessica’s new job and what it all means in the grand scheme of things for me professionally and personally.
But enough about me. Tomorrow’s the big day (shit I guess it’s already tomorrow, didn’t realize it’s after 2:00 a.m.) for my dear friends John and Judyta. This incredible couple will be saying “I do,” we hope, and tying the knot at the beautiful Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens in Delray Beach, Fla. Jessica and I couldn’t be happier for them. We wish them all the happiness and luck in the world as they begin this new chapter in their ever evolving story. We’re both looking forward to dressing up and sharing this special day with them. I still don’t understand what a beautiful, smart and lovely woman like Judyta sees in John, but what do I know. Just kidding buddy, I love you man!!
So for the few people that actually check this blog every now and then, sorry for the big gaps. There just seems to be chunks of time where I don’t have much to share or anything worth saying. I’ll get on it and try to be a better blogger.
R.I.P. Rocky
Final Edition: The Rocky Mountain News
It’s a sad day. My Company, E.W. Scripps, pounded the final nail into the Rocky Mountain News‘ coffin today. It’s very unfortunate and disappointing that hundreds of people are losing their jobs and that a newspaper that has been reporting and publishing since the Civil War is shutting down. They almost made it to 150 years. What’s scary though, is thinking about what might happen if the Denver Post crumbles as well. Even if you’re not a big reader of local news, or much of a reader at all, it’s hard to imagine a city without a newspaper covering your community, whether printed on paper or published on the web, and serving as a watch dog over those in power. In a video on the Rocky’s website today, a reader sums it up very well. He says “I tell you what, if you take out our paper, people will not be informed anymore. And an uninformed society breeds a lot of social evils.” These two proverbs come to mind as well: When the cat’s away, the mice will play and where there is no cat, the rat is king.
The Rocky is the first big city giant to fall. Many more are on the verge. When they fall, and they will, I hope it is not the end of quality, in-depth journalism and photojournalism, but rather the beginning of something fresh. We won’t get anything with teeth or in-depth from television news or local radio. News related blogs are interesting, but they are usually focussed on national and international topics and I have little faith in their accuracy. There is no oversight, no ethics. They can do and say whatever they want and get away with it. Don’t get me wrong, newspapers are not perfect and they don’t always get it right. But more times than not, they do. But if you fuck up and don’t triple check the information or you skew the facts to your liking at a newspaper, the readers take notice and respond. You’re held accountable and have to either stand by your work and defend yourself, or stand corrected and ashamed.
Even if you didn’t like the Rocky, their political slant, their style, their columnists, their editorial page etc… I still think it is a terrible loss to Denver and they will be missed. The question is, when our city’s papers disappear, will the void be filled or will the mice play.
Suau Talk About His World Press Photo of the Year
Copyright © 2009 Anthony Suau and Time Magazine. All Rights Reserved.
American photographer Anthony Suau talks about his photo essay for Time Magazine on our shit economy and its crippling effect on the U.S. and the city of Cleveland with the The British Journal of Photography. The above photo, from this story, has also won the World Press Photo of the Year, and the essay a second place prize in the daily life stories category. Congrats Mr. Suau.
Ask the Experts!
Just came across this piece, via Conscientious, written by photographer Simon Norfolk and this piece written by Oxfam Novib picture editor Evelien Schotsman, both for Enter, the online magazine of World Press Photo’s education department.
In the “Ask The Experts” section of the magazine under the subhead of Marketing 1 and Marketing 2, they address issues such as how photographers, primarily photojournalists, will market their work over the next several years and how they should approach their work (Schotsman says it’s not effective for photojournalists to simply try to “capture the facts of life or tell an untold story” and sees “a need for the photojournalist to become a photo artist of reality”). And Norfolk gives his depressing prediction for the future of all working photographers, “My advice? Get re-skilled. Keep your photographic aspirations but try to get a trade like film editing, web-design or accounting.” That’s encouraging.
Feel free to comment on this. Would be interested to hear what you think about what’s being said in these two articles.
Take Pictures
Copyright © 2009 Matthew Ratajczak. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © 2009 Matthew Ratajczak. All Rights Reserved
