Dance Party!!!

Dance parties have been an after-bar thing for me for about 4 years now. Honestly, on weekend nights, I go out with my friends and boyfriend, Dave. We usually go to bars and finish the night off at someones house. To be fair, I spend all weeknights at my house, hanging out with Dave, doing homework, watching tv, etc. So, on the weekends, I like to catch up with my friends, and hang out. When we first got this assignment, to photograph our "clan," or group of friends, after studying Nan Goldin, I immediately thought of using these photos that I have amassed of dance parties with my closest friends while we danced the night away after a night at the bar. I decided to only choose photos that were taken in my living room and only during the year 2008. If you happen to notice, all of these photos were taken after a night at either The Library or Dick's Den. This is due to simple geography. As a general rule, because we drink on these weekend nights, we don't drive when we leave the bar. So, we limit ourselves to places that we can walk to and home from. I happen to live near the 2 bars we went to before these dance parties, thus, we end up at my house afterwards.
2008 was kind of a changing year in my group of friends. I turned 24 in 2008, my boyfriend of almost 7 years turned 27 this past Janurary, and most of these great friends in these photos are between 22 and 30. Such a range of ages means life changes and seperation. You can tell through the progression of photos that some people aren't present in the later photos while some others remain close friends. You also see new people pop up in the later photos which represent new friendships. I felt that Nan Goldin's work benefitted from the idea to shoot the same people over time so that the viewer was able to understand how her life, and her friends lives changed throughout their friendships. This is what I want to achieve with these photos. There are so many more outside of what I chose to post here, so there are some nights where there were certain people there whose photos weren't selected (Guv!), but were present on these nights, just like they are in my life.

Dance Party!!!

After Dick's Den. 03-28-08

Dance Party!!!

After The Library. 07-13-08

Dance Party!!!

After Dick's Den. 11-22-08

Dance Party!!!

After The Library. 12-14-08.

Photos Inspired By Eggleston, Shore and Christenberry.

For this assignment, I decided to go back to the areas where I "shot" without a memory card. I like the drive we took, because it winds through newly developed areas, to middle class neighborhoods to deteriorating ghettos. Most of these shots were done directly from the car, and a few I actually ran out to shoot and ran back into the car. I think by the end, my boyfriend, Dave, was irritated by my "stop, now reverse, ok, ok, stop again," that was happening every other block. We drove around for about 2 1/2 hours and saw some cool places I haven't ever been to before, so It's something I'd like to continue doing. Anyway, here are the photos.

Photos Inspired By Eggleston, Shore and Christenberry.

More photos from the previous post.

Photos Inspired By Eggleston, Shore and Christenberry.

Here's the rest of the photos from the post above:

Taking Photos of Strangers. Part II.

So, this weekend it was time to try to take photos of strangers again. My boyfriend, brother and I were taking our own tour of historic areas of Columbus, this time with a memory card in my camera. We stopped by Buckeye Doughnuts to get some food before our journey, so I decided to take the photos there. We sat at the counter with 3 other guys who were watching a game, so I worked up the nerve to ask if I could take their picture. I asked the solo guy first, to which he replied "who, me?" He looked around like I was talking to someone else, and I was like, "no, you." So, I explained what I was doing and quickly shot a photo of him. Then I asked the 2 guys who were sitting on the other side, and they said sure. I didn't really talk to them much, and we left after that. I tried to see if there were any other people around, but it was so cold that there weren't many people out. So, here's what I took:

Taking Photos of Strangers.

So, I totally wussed out on this one, this weekend. I was supposed to take 3 photos of complete strangers that I met on the street. I thought about it for the 2 days leading up to the weekend, and thought to myself, how do I do this? I'm not particularly shy, but I guess I psyched myself out. I kept thinking about it, but when I did, I thought about how I would react if a stranger asked me if they could take my photo. Ironically, I hate having my picture taken, so I would say no. However, as I sit here writing this, I think to myself, that wouldn't be so bad, someone saying no, and me moving on. Whats really so scary about that? It's not that I put off the assignment, or that I didn't care. I was actually really stressed out about it all weekend. I even decided that since I couldn't work myself up to do it during the day, I figured that I would take my camera out to the bar with me and maybe talk to some people while smoking outside or something. That didn't happen. I think it was a mix between my nerves and not seeing anyone particularly interesting, like having a cool outfit or an interesting hairstyle I could compliment before asking to take their photo, which is what I figured my strategy would be. So, I still plan on doing this, next weekend, as I really want to get over this hurdle, because I know if I do it successfully once, it won't freak me out so much, and I'll look back at this blog and think about how I was stressed out about nothing.

What seperates me from other photographers/people with cameras.

I guess what sets me apart from other photographers is my passion for photography. I have been into photography for my whole life, but things really changed after being at CCAD and learning what I have learned in my time here. I remember when I first got my Nikon D50, which was a week after I broke my neck. I couldn't do much, so I spent days reading my camera manual and learning all the functions by taking about 4,000 photos of my cats, who I spent my time with, being that I couldn't do much else. I did the same when I traded up for my Nikon D80. I read the Nikon manual, and I read about what settings other photographers used to figure out what I liked the best. I feel that an important part of being a photographer is really knowing your camera/equipment, and it's possibilities and limitations. Another thing that may set me apart from photographers is that I can't not have a camera on me at all times. All the time, whether I'm walking/driving/riding/out and about, I look at everything around me and think of what would make a great photograph. I guess I just look at the everyday and see how it can translate through my camera. I can't go much longer that 4 days without using my camera, whether I shoot something far away and new or if I shoot my cats in my back yard, I just need to shoot. Which I guess brings me to my last point about what may seperate me from other photographers. Ohio. I love Ohio, and I love it's history, and it's back roads and small towns. I especially love Southeastern Ohio, and it's crumbling half empty towns. I spent all of last summer, every Sunday driving to these towns and photographing them. I guess it's to preserve some images of these towns that just seem to get worse and worse everytime I go to them, and with this economy, they are just going more downhill. But I need to be there, with my camera and document these places before they are totally forgotten. So, these things may make me a unique photographer, or they may not, but these are some of the things that do define me as a photographer.

Shooting Without A Memory Card.

On Sunday, I went out to shoot photos without the use of a memory card. It was one of the most frustrating experiences in my life. I'm the type of person who has to always have a camera on them. I even bought a crappy coolpix camera just so I could have a camera to throw in my purse and take with me everywhere, just in case I see something I want to shoot. I wasn't feeling very good, but it was a beautiful day, so I had my boyfriend drive me around to some areas of Columbus we have never been to. We checked out the west side by the river and made our way east driving down Champion Ave. all the way down to the Mt. Vernon area. It was so frustrating not to have any of the photos I "took." From the 10 cop cars searching a car on Mooberry St, to a beautiful old decrepit mansion on some unknown street that I may never find again, I only have my memories, and no photographic evidence. It was kind of like these dreams I have about often where I am somewhere beautiful, or weird, or in another country, and I have to get to my camera. When I get to my camera, it never works, or the photos never turn out right, but I just never am able to get the photos I want. Sunday was like these dreams. However, I suppose the success of this assignment was that I got to see more with my eyes, and that I found some fascinating places that I plan to go back to and shoot again.

Recreate a Photo.

Level 2 Snow Emergency.

Three photos I took on January 28, 2009.

Girl Talk Show.

Newport Music Hall, January 17, 2009.