Inspiration
Went to see my friend SAM aka Seattle Art Museum. Over the last year they’ve really stepped up their photography exhibits. I really miss quiet afternoons strolling the Smithsonian museums back in DC, I need to do that more here in the PNW.
The latest, Dawoud Bey and Carrie Mae Weems, In Dialogue did not disappoint. My words will do this exhibit no justice, go see for yourself if you’re in Seattle. Exhibit runs through January.
Going really meta here for National Camera Day with a photograph of my trusty Leica M6 made with my faithful but all too ignored Rolleiflex 3.5F on Ilford HP5. To be honest, I’m struggling to find a place for film in my life. Right now film doesn’t suit my lifestyle. Not to say that I’d walk away from analog completely, I could never do that. Film is how I fell in love with the medium of photography. Film requires work on my part, and it’s work that frankly I’m finding I don’t have the time to put in. We’ll see, film always has a way of coming back.
Long live film.
For anyone that needs to hear it, words of encouragement from NE Seattle.
Earlier this week I had the opportunity to host three young men now in high school at my gig. They came my way through a former co-worker Detective James Manning of the Seattle Police Department. James has been mentoring youth in the Seattle area for over a decade. Volunteering his time and just giving them a little push and steering them in the right direction. We need more James Manning’s in this world.
We generally chopped it up, talked about life, school and career. They were genuinely inquisitive and asked a lot of really great questions. At the end of the day it’s all about exposure. They had no clue that Facebook was right here in their own backyard. It’s so important to for them to see people that look like them workin’ at these tech giants in the city they call home.
These dudes weren’t asking for a hand out or hand up, they merely wanted to know how I got here. The world generally doesn’t see us, often discounts us. Thank god for people like James Manning for giving these dudes the exposure, access and inspiration to chase their dreams.
Rumble. Young men, rumble.
Pearls of wisdom from David Burnett.
Lately I’ve been harping about the importance of photographing what you love. For me it’s family. When I first started taking photography seriously as a creative outlet, I didn’t view my family as subject matter, so I rarely turned my lens toward them. This is something I regret every day. Fast forward to today, now I’m a dad with a family of my own. All I ever photograph it seems is my family, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
I have vivid memories of my mom always with a camera nearby taking photos of milestones. It seems like her Kodak Instamatic was never too far. School play, snap. Thanksgiving, snap. Graduation, snap. All those photos tucked away in albums. Then on August 24th 1992 Hurricane Andrew makes landfall. At that time, Hurricane Andrew was the most destructive storm to ever hit the United States. Before the storm, I remember my mother putting the family photo albums and countless envelopes of negatives in garbage bags then putting those garbage bags into big blue plastic Rubbermaid tubs. It didn’t dawn on me until a few years later that she was protecting family memories, our history, our record. While our home was destroyed, those blue plastic tubs full of photos survived and so did our family history in photos. This left an indelible mark on me, motivating me to document my own family and more importantly PRINT those photos.
I recently discovered a show on PBS called Family Pictures: USA, a new three-part PBS series created and hosted by filmmaker and photographer Thomas Allen Harris, explores American cities, towns and rural communities through the lens of the family photo album. When I was doing more research about the show I came across this Ted Talk from its creator and host. If you are at all interested in photographing your family, telling your family story, it’s worth the watch.
In the age of Facebook and digital photographs, Thomas Allen Harris explores the need for the traditional, physical family photograph. Using these mementos as a starting point, we can open our hearts and minds to memory and healing. Thomas Allen Harris is a filmmaker and artist whose work illuminates the human condition and the search for identity, family, and spirituality.
His hustle, I’ve always admired it. His creativity, always envied it. His style, always peeped it.
Chris Clayton aka Chris Cardi in NE Washington, D.C.
My younger brother continues to live on his own terms. One thing is certain, us Clayton men are stubborn. But please don’t mistake the stubbornness for arrogance, ya see the arrogance is in the DNA. In all seriousness my brother Chris has always lived a creative life, he’s actually the first “creative” I’ve ever known. Growing up I’d watch him make his own board games, fashion his own clothing, always heads down in his sketchbook, always creating.
Takes balls to leave a comfortable corporate gig to follow your creative pursuits. I wish I had that courage. Oh and I wish I had that hustle, that creativity, that style.
As his company motto says: Live Fresh. Die spoiled.
Stay hustlin’ young man.
Now enough about him, back to me. This is my blog so get that spotlight back on ya boy, moi, me. More and more I’m enjoying making photos like this. Little photo essays, snippets of of my life. I used to love walking the streets for hours chasing that “decisive moment.” Side note, check out Daniel Milnor’s piece on street photography. My photography has evolved and Milnor’s piece put into focus what I’ve been struggling with.
Nowadays I just let the photos come to me, organically. Perhaps one day I’ll get off my ass and pursue a long term photo project. But right now all my photos are personal and I’m enjoying this document your days approach. That approach is taking my camera everywhere and let come what may.
I’m not all photography. I get so much inspiration from books, music and other forms of art. But none more than classic hip-hop especially J-Dilla. I’ll shut up now and let the beats speak for themselves. R.I.P Dilla.
Every year I try to attend a workshop or dedicate a few consecutive days exclusively to photography. Last week, I was in Washington, DC where I attended Focus on the Story . All I can say is wow. I left the conference inspired just wanting to make stories with my camera, especially around my family.
Ruddy Roye onstage dropping knowledge with Ibarionex Perello.
What I really enjoyed about this conference was just like it’s name “Focus on the Story” did just that…focused on the story. There was no talk of gear, f-stops or megapixels, just photo makers talking about storytelling. What attracted me to this conference was the diversity of speakers, check ‘em out. If you’d let history tell it, only middle aged white dudes picked up the camera. It was so refreshing to hear diverse perspectives on what motivated these photographers to chose what stories to tell and how.
Patrick Brown discussing his project “No Place on Earth,” documenting the plight of the Rohingya.
The highlights for me were Ruddy Roye and Gulnara Samoilova both sharing deeply personal stories about how the camera became a companion rather then just a tool. As a fairly new father myself they really resonated with me because Ruddy spoke about the importance of being a father to his two boys and Gulnara talked about how she suffered a miscarriage days after 9/11 when she fell after running from the towers as they were coming down…camera in hand. Both were deeply moving talks where my eyes welled up more than once as their photos were projected on screen and the passion of their voices offering a narrative as if they were in a confessional. Thank you Ruddy and Gulnara for sharing. These two talks alone were worth the price of admission in my book.
Lucian Perkins formerly of the Washington Post discussing his favorite photo series over the years and how technology is changing visual story
It was surreal to see Ibarionex Perello moderating panels and sitting in the audience. I’ve been listening to his podcast The Candid Frame forever. I love his thoughtful analysis on photography and he really has a passion for education.
Ibarionex Perello moderates a panel on Mental Health - Behind and in front of the camera. Panelist included Ruddy Roye, Sheila Pree Bright and Michael McCoy.
Will I be attending Focus on the Story next year? Ya’ damn right, it’s already on my calendar.
Stay shootin’
Three days worth of notes for a lifetime of inspiration.
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Well said Blue Moon Camera.
