Photographium

Balloon Fiesta, 2007, Albuquerque

2007-10-14T17:54:00.000-07:00

As I continue my travel across the Southwest, Albuquerque has been a nice stop over for me. I recently took some photos with a new Nikon digital camera the size of a credit card. I'm wanting to push the limits of this low cost 7 pixel camera, and will post some results here as I go along.

Below are a few shots from the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque.

Edward S. Curtis: "Shadow Catcher"

2007-08-22T15:11:00.000-07:00

By accident I became reacquainted with Edward S. Curtis, entrepreneur, photographer, and writer. He published a 20-volume set of photographs and text called The American Indian, from 1907 to 1930. His mission was to record the life and images of the American Indian, whom he believed was vanishing into the landscape of history.

He began as a portrait photographer in Seattle, creating images of waterfront Indians. Following the photographic technique called "photogravure", his images were intended to promote photography as legitimate art. His methods were questioned by some, believing he perpetuated untruths and myths about the plight of the American Indian in the early 20th century.

In 1930, worn out and out of money, his work ended. However, he did complete 40,000 images from over 80 tribes.

His original goal was to sell 300 sets of his 20-volume work, but actually sold only 220. They were expensive, leather-bound, books produced for the serious collector. The photogravure process was a painstaking endeavor and expensive, but produced the highest quality of photograph that could be easily reproduced. Photogravure practitioners such as Peter Henry Emerson and others brought the art to a very high standard of expression in the late 19th century. This continued with the work of Alfred Stieglitz in the early 20th century.

Today, the photogravure process is flourishing in the hands of a few artisans practicing the art in dozens of studios around the world.

Here is a short list of links about Curtis and his work:

American Masters Documentary Resource Page

Northwestern University's Digital Library Collection

"The North American Indian" Photographic Images

Some samples of his work:

My Darkroom Collection: Politics and Misc.

2007-07-22T10:28:00.001-07:00

I began sifting through some old prints from my days as a student and freelance photojournalist. The dates and locations are unknown with some of them. I didn't do a very good job of writing on the back of the prints any information. I'm relying on my memory, which is never a good thing.

This photo was taken on Commerce Street in dowtown Dallas during a parade. Date and reason for the parade are lost in my memory. I love the expression on the child's face. I remember having to dodge and burn in the darkroom to highlight her face. In the "old days" prior to digital photography and fancy software, we had to do enhance our work by antiquated techniques like dodging and burning.

I remember taking this shot inside the Old Time String Shop in Nacogdoches, Texas. The old woman was a wonderful subject. But I didn't want her to know I was photographing her, so I remember dropping my camera on my lap and trying to shoot without her knowing it. I found this print in a box, and it was damaged somewhat. I still have the negative, however, somewhere.

This photo of former Governor Ann Richards and presidential candidate Bill Clinton was taken on the eve of the election in 1992. Clinton and his entourage were on a multi-state tour on the day before he was elected president, and he stopped by Meachem Airport in Fort Worth for a brief visit.

ABC Nightline broadcaster Ted Koppell was with Clinton on the trip. As you can see by this photo, Ted was having a good time (or he was drunk). I met him and Clinton along with the other local press who were covering the event.

Since we're talking politics, I thought I would include this photo of Governor Mark White. I was assigned to cover a prayer breakfast he was attending, so I thought it would appropriate to get a picture of the Governor praying. The date of this photo must have been the Spring of 1983. Governor White served one four-year term beginning in January of 1983. He lost to Bill Clements in 1986. I guess he should have prayed more.

July 2007 Slide Show

2007-07-22T10:24:00.000-07:00

I've compiled many of the photos posted here as a slide show at Photobucket. Click below to view the show.

July 2007 Photographium Album .

My Darkroom Collection: Children

2007-07-13T10:45:00.000-07:00

This is one of my personal favorites. I was on assignment at a picnic-like event, I can't remember what exactly (the published photo in the newspaper is in a box somewhere), but I do remember the moment I took this shot. I was walking through the park area and saw this old lady sitting in a lawn chair. This beautiful young girl sat on the arm of the chair and embraced her. Just as I lifted my camera, the girl looked back across the old woman's shoulders and I took the shot.

The contrasting features in this photo are obvious. I love the white hair of the old woman, the embrace, the look of innocense and peace on the young girl. Youth and old age, the beginning of a life with its hope for the future and the end of a life with its memories of other days.

I took this photo on assignment for Stephen F. Austin State University. It was 1988 or 1989, and the event was the Lumberjack Festival on campus. These kids were dressed up as beer bottles.

Boo, Mike, Wayne

2007-07-13T10:25:00.000-07:00

I really like these old photos of Boo and my two older brothers.

I'm not sure wear this photo of Mike and Wayne was taken. My memory is of a boys camp in the east Texas piney woods, a rustic camp setting for troubled teens. Mike and Wayne were asked to perform for the group by someone like the Baptist Student Union on campus at Stephen F. Austin State University, or perhaps by our father who was a volunteer music director at a small country church in the area. I have little memory of the event.

This photo of Boo was taken in New Orleans. She is holding Jaalam, my nephew. It really shows my mother in the prime of her life. All I remember of the trip to see Mike and his family at New Orlean Baptist Theological Seminary is that I got food poisoning and threw up most of the weekend. In fact, I believe the reason for the trip was Mike's graduation from the seminary.

I'm Coming Back.

2007-07-12T08:31:00.001-07:00

I studied photography in college, primarily photojournalism. I always loved the action of real life photography. For a degree I had to shoot fashion shots, spending time in the studio working with models that were recruited from among my friends on campus. I had to shoot product shots for print advertising. I must admit I hated the studio. And working for hours trying to adjust the lights on a bowl of cereal was not that exciting.

I wanted to be among people, on the street, in a football stadium, at a press conference, following a presidential campaign. I've shot photos of Presidents Bush Sr., Ford, and Clinton. I've covered high school football games, parades, political campaigns, and other forms of everyday life. For me, art is in the reality of people and the world in which we live. I want to shoot life as it happens, and look for the beauty that is there, in its simplicity.

I can walk down the street and see expressions of our existence in various forms: the golden chain hanging from the umbrella pole at a Starbucks, cigarette butts collecting near a drain pipe, a mother caressing her infant struggling with a grocery cart, flood victims clinging to their porches while watching their neighbors homes float down a swollen creek.

Life equals art.

But my photography career ended roughly around 1993. I began to do other things. I developed other interest like real estate, writing, church, family. My photography slowly became a memory, something I "used to do" when I was younger. But the love for it was always there.

So now, as I reach the time of my life where middle age is a reality and old age approaches like an uninvited guest, I desire to spend more time with a camera. I also want to post some of the photos I've taken from another time, another life.

So I guess I'm back.

Jaalam Aiken's Photo Creations

2007-07-12T08:25:00.000-07:00

My nephew has become an excellent photographer. Check out his work at JMAPhotoCreations. I especially like his work with photoshop enhancements and use of light and framing.

Jimmy, Jerry, Troy and Super Bowl XXVII

2007-07-12T07:24:00.000-07:00

This picture of Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson was taken backstage after the Cowboys Super Bowl parade in February of 1993. The Cowboys won Super Bowl XXVII, beating the Buffalo Bills 52-17. I was covering the parade freelance, selling some photos to local newspapers in north Texas. The photo is not that great, but I only had one shot. Jerry and Jimmy were bouncing around backstage and I quickly got them to stand still long enough for a pose.

Earlier the same day, during the parade, I was riding with Troy Aikman and Jason Garrett in an open car. The parade route wound its way through downtown Dallas with thousands of fans encroaching on the players. Although Troy is smiling in this shot, he and I and Jason were all nervous about the crowd. It was indeed a dangerous situation. At one point, policemen on horseback were called in to seperate the crowd from the open vehicles. Other journalists were packed in around us and were saying it was like being in a war zone.

The following year when the Cowboys won their second Super Bowl, the parade was held in downtown Dallas, but that year the players were on huge open flatbed trucks high above the crowd. Police barriers were also more established and security was increased. Troy would go on to become a member of NFL Hall of Fame and Jason Garrett is currently the Offensive Coordinator of the Cowboys.

Family Ties

2007-07-10T09:54:00.000-07:00

I've been scanning and storing digital images from old photos of the family. This photo was taken in 1961 (or 62?) when my mother remarried. The wedding was held in my grandmother's house. What a group of misfits. I'm the small one, front right, looking up at my new stepfather's mother.

I like the expression on my older brother's face. He seems to be saying, "I can't believe I'm having to spend an entire Saturday doing this." More than likely, my sainted mother standing behind him just pinched his rear end.