When the going gets weird . . .

New Blog Host

2009-08-03T13:58:00.000-07:00

After much consideration and tinkering, this blog has moved to a new address.

http://www.dlanderson.com/blog/

Please update your RSS feed if you have one and feel free to leave comments on the change.

Thanks for reading.

Madoff's New Home

2009-07-19T08:51:00.001-07:00

Tucker Milligan, 7, Central Auto Sales & Service, Butner, N.C., 2009.

This past Friday I traveled to Butner, NC, with a reporter from the Wall Street Journal. Ponzi scheme king Bernie Madoff is serving out his sentance at the federal prison North of town. The story focused on the Butner's origins as a POW camp for german soldiers and its current hard economic times - detailing a lack of sympathy for Madoff. Read the full article.

Pyrotechnical Institute

2009-07-15T09:22:00.000-07:00

Years of careful research in the pyrotechnical arts resulted in a stunning display for the fine folks of Olney, Illinois this past weekend. My esteemed colleagues, Prof. Haglund, and Mayor Lambird, set the night sky aglow and managed to walk away without injury, say for our deteariating eardrums. We would like to thank the fine folks at St. Pepper's across the Indiania state line for providing our artilery for the evening and to the Lambird family for hosting and funding our efforts to further the enjoyment of anyone within a five mile radius of the farm.

Boom Town

2009-06-30T07:24:00.001-07:00

Rocket City, South Of The Border, Dillon, S.C.

I've always lived in a state where the purchase of high-grade fireworks is illegal. This has made for some phenomenal road trips and big receipts, "because you never know when we'll make it back again."

Mt. Moriah

2009-06-29T19:47:00.000-07:00

A film negative really does posses magic. It can fill you with all sorts of doubt. Then it rewards your diligence and renews your faith in the original form. For a moment, this shoot with the righteous Mt. Moriah was unusually tense as the wayward leaning church pictured in the background sounded like it was going to collapse with all of us inside of it. I thought of photographer Richard Nickle and the moment before the Chicago Stock Exchange came crashing down upon him.

I found the stacks of simple river stones used to support the church fascinating. Surely they would not forsake us; though I did refrain from any outward expressions of blasphemy just to be sure.

Summer Fashion

2009-06-19T07:14:00.000-07:00

Summer in Durham means droves of modern dancers can be found skipping across intersections and riding around in brightly colored buses. A few donated their time to try on some interesting fashions for a recent shoot.

ADF | Summer Fashion 2009 - Images by Independent Weekly

TRKfest Music Festival

2009-06-15T04:25:00.000-07:00

TRKfest 2009

The fine folks at Trekky Records put on a delightful music festival with a line-up comprised of all local music. There was also free haircuts, musical chairs and a pants-off dance-off. Looking forward to next year's show.

Fishscenta

2009-06-09T09:39:00.001-07:00

The Queen of Durham's one and only Beaver Lodge #1504

Learn all about it.

Bones Are Beautiful

2009-05-28T10:21:00.000-07:00

Published in the Independent Weekly | 13 MAY 2009

This possum is perfect. This possum is also dead.

A succession of cars speeds by a stiff possum as Mary Mangum bends down for a closer look. "Just look at his teeth," Mangum says. "They're perfect."

This possum looks to have received a glancing blow and wound up on the side of this busy stretch of U.S. 15-501, halfway between Durham and Chapel Hill.

For Mangum's purposes, this possum is perfect: She will harvest its bones for her art.

But first Mangum believes she must free the possum's spirit. She pulls half a seashell from a purple Crown Royal bag slung around her shoulder, along with matches, a bird feather and some dried sage. The winds of passing cars extinguish each match's flame until Mangum finally ignites the sage. Its scent masks the smell of death as Mangum says a few silent prayers. Then she wraps its remains in three grocery bags, takes it home and buries it in her backyard.

To make room for this perfect possum, Mangum must dig up Jake, her old pet cat. several months dead. This is her least favorite part of the process. Insects and decay have stripped some flesh from his bones, but a bath of hydrogen peroxide will be necessary to clean the rest.

Jake will be crafted into an artifact, a memory more real than a photograph or a simple headstone.

"I think it's the same way for people who want to keep some of the ashes," says Mangum, 62, as she touches the skull of another cat, Whiskers. Whiskers was her first attempt at bone art; she tied his skull between the forks of a stick with red leather and colorful beads. It looks similar to a maraca.

"It was curiosity too. I wanted to see what he looked like without his clothes on," Mangum jokes.

In Mangum's cluttered studio, there are a few Ziploc bags with bones that have been loosely cataloged. Wire is wound around a small femur on the table. Nearby, there is a pair of cardinal wings, plus various coffee mugs filled with buttons, beads, teeth and acorn tops.

There are a few finished pieces, but most of Mangum's bone creations—many lost and scattered around her home—represent her impulse to honor what she believes is perfect. For her, the real purpose in collecting is the process of discovery and communing with nature.

Sitting on her back porch, Mangum rattles off the names of each bird singing outside, from Rhett the Finch to The Descending Dove. This is where she goes to find solace and friendship. Her spirituality, she says, is a blend of Native American teachings and Sufism—though mostly, it's a peace she has found on her own terms.

"Well, I didn't feel that important, no one had time for me," says Mangum, who grew up an only child in rural Durham County and now lives by herself. "I went outside and it was like Nature had time, it was just there. Anytime I wanted to go, there it was. Isn't that cool?"

Most people don't understand why she collects roadkill to make art of their bones. Mangum says she doesn't understand why trees are cut down for strip malls and subdivisions, flushing animals from their homes to be killed on busy roads. She considers the animals to be unique offerings from a natural world that still enchants her.

"If I talk to the trees and the birds enough and they know I care about them," Mangum says, pausing to gaze outside, "then I don't have to be worried about being alone or anything 'cause my friends are there. I kind of like that."

NOTES | Heading into my fourth year of employment with the Independent Weekly, I felt a strong desire to push the boundaries and demands on my output as a staff photographer. A consensus was reached with Jeremy Lange, who shares the position with me for six months out of a year, and we set out to publish an photo essay once a month. In addition to this, I also began studying film at the Center For Documentary Studies in the hopes of producing documentary shorts for the Indy; then I remembered Mary.

In mid-July of last year my former co-worker, Mosi Secret, told me about this woman he had met at the Scrap Exchange who makes art from bones. He was recording her for an audio piece and he wanted me to make some photographs to post online when it was finished. I was enthralled with Mary and her ways, but Mosi got called up to the big leagues to work for ProPublica in NYC and the story was never finished.

I'm glad to have taken the time to go back and visit with Mary to make this film and these photographs. Too often my journalistic endeavours are broad and issue based, with short exchanges between a wide array of subjects that I end up wishing to spend more time with. Working within the format of video/audio gave me conviction to stay on the story and follow it through.

J.P. + Ruth

2009-05-21T21:52:00.000-07:00

Poncho & Lefty, partners for life . . .

2009-05-20T09:34:00.001-07:00

Top of Sombrero Tower, South Of The Border, Dillon, S.C., Jan. 25, 2007

Looking out over the Interstate, was is possible to know then what I know now? In the time since we last ascended that great sombrero in the sky, my heart has said yes, you've always known. After all, there were signs, clear as her laugh moments later when she spun around and looked at me; a flash of light in my universe, rapidly expanding to infinity. Anything is possible.

So I knelt down and asked Kavanah to be my partner for life, atop that same towering sombrero we had visited long ago when we were unsure how this love would grow. My voice trembled with joy. She asked me if I was serious, then "Yes, of course." High above the CB chatter of truckers traversing the coast, we held one another and wondered, what now?

We've got a lifetime to find out. Anything is possible.

Kavanah & The Kiwi, Four Leaf Farm, Rougemont, N.C., May 19, 2009

Old In The Way

2009-05-15T18:00:00.000-07:00

Megafaun, Hillsborough, N.C., 2009

My dear amigos and marvelous beardos , Megafaun, will be releasing their second album, Gather, Form & Fly, on July 21st of 2009. You can download a track and learn more at their label Home Tapes. One of the photographs from our shoot in Hillsborough will be apearing in some form with the record - which you should buy. I hear it's going to be a double LP.

Hope Floats

2009-05-04T19:22:00.001-07:00

Former ad executive turned social activist Nancy Murray runs Builders of Hope, Raleigh, NC.

This row of homes was salvaged and relocated to Barrington Village, where Raevon Smith now lives.

View the full story on Builders for Hope

Spring Sheer

2009-04-28T21:12:00.001-07:00

As you can see, this is not his first buzz cut.

So long sweet locks.

The folks at The Royal Crown Pomade Co. won't be happy about this.
(photo by Shane O'Neil)

Killer No Filler

2009-04-27T20:23:00.001-07:00

Crispy Bess in his practice barn, Hillsborough, NC, April 2009

The Tribe Celebrates

2009-04-14T20:29:00.000-07:00

Ms. Kavanah's birthday proved to be a joyous celebration around the fire pit in our backyard.

Location Scouting

2009-04-14T15:51:00.001-07:00

Looks like Bill & Ted made it to the big time.

Best Summer Ever . . .

2009-04-14T08:38:00.001-07:00

If you enjoy stomp n' smile music created in close quarters, then give a listen to the latest installment of the Owl Sessions - featuring Midtown Dickens (above) and Embarrassing Fruits. Listen closely and you can hear a commotion halfway during the Dickens set when one of the plastic owls on the mantle caught fire. Accomplished entertainers that they are, they play right on through the potential disaster.

A Poem to Consider . . .

2009-04-09T05:46:00.000-07:00

Keep America Beautiful
by Kenneth Hart

Somebody hung out his red, white and blue
laundry on the highway overpass outside Providence,

a short distance from the prison crew picking up
our Cheetos bags and burger wrappers

and monster drink cups. We're stalled in traffic;
bumper stickers announce the price of freedom,

claim liberty is our right.
The guard in mirror sunglasses leans against

the correctional facility van, props a shotgun on his knee
like he's auditioning for a movie. He's protecting

our freedom to litter from the inmates' desire
to be free to litter. We inch along;

past the Budweiser billboards and the ad haiku,
brakes wheeze — some like an espresso machine,

some like an aging soprano with emphysema.
It looks like this is going to take awhile, here

beneath the soiled laundry of the republic
which clings to a chain link fence.

Maybe the seagull floating above us
sees a few things that we can't.

He's probably scavenging for something
we've left behind.

Coney Island Bird, NYC, March 2009

Moving Along . . .

2009-03-31T18:40:00.000-07:00

This short film was created for an video editing class at the Center For Documentary Studies, where I've been learning the language of Final Cut Pro for the past month. The assignment called for a meditation on the idea of home using "found sound" and still photographs.

In considering the idea of home, I headed off to a huge abandon tobacco factory in Durham that has been like a haunted home for me over the course of the the past three years as I worked on a photography project there. At the height of Big Tobacco, this factory complex was flush with thousands of toiling souls and it's impossible not to image their lives that playing out while walking through the corridors and wide open floors by yourself. Every sound carries an eerie echo, especially when you're navigating by flashlight in cowboy boots. There are lockers on every floor in the factory, some of them contain traces of their past occupants.

This film imagines a former employee returning for a lost memento.

Related Links
photographs from last days of operation inside the tobacco factory

Weird Science

2009-03-26T19:17:00.001-07:00

Megafaun, Research Laboratory, Durham, NC

Mermaid Avenue

2009-03-26T07:21:00.000-07:00

F Train to Coney Island, NYC, March 2009

Mainframe

2009-03-25T18:26:00.000-07:00

Mr. Robinson on Autoharp, Durham, NC, March 2009

Livin' for the Cit-tay

2009-03-25T10:18:00.000-07:00

Fast Money, NYC, March 2009

Street Whores, NYC, March 2009

So it's been said that 30% of the money that circulates throughout NYC originates from Wall Street bonuses, or at least it did before the hammer came down. It seemed like the public backlash related to the A.I.G. bonuses reached a fevered pitch while I was in the city visiting editors with a new portfolio book last week. I passed by a tabloid stand with headlines such as, "Not So Fast You Greedy Bastards!" and "A.I.G. - Awash In Greed."

This morning I read a letter of resignation written by a former A.I.G. executive and published in the NY Times that added some much needed nuance to my understanding of the situation. In New York, out on the street, signs of the crunch seemed to be everywhere. A chalkboard sign in a novelty shop window read, "You are my economic stimulus." My good friend Liz laughed when I asked her if there were any shoe sales that she knew about. "The whole city is 70% off these days." She might be right, I found some sweet Adidas kicks for a little more than the price of a marvelous creme brulee doughnut.

Creekside

2009-03-23T20:43:00.000-07:00

Mr. Robinson, Durham, NC, 3.20.2009

Big Men on Horses

2009-03-12T13:10:00.001-07:00

Megafaun, Hillsborough, NC, March, 2009

Tending to the Flame

2009-03-08T16:30:00.001-07:00

Will Hackney, Durham, 2009

Buck's Trucks

2009-03-08T07:59:00.001-07:00

Buck, Galva, Ill., 2007

Parade Halt

2009-03-07T16:56:00.000-08:00

Mardi Gras Parade, Durham, NC 2009

Blitzed

2009-03-03T19:46:00.001-08:00

Snowstorm, Durham, March, 2009

Monday was the first full day off from Independent Weekly work since January. Inspired by a late-season snowstorm, I spent several hours tromping around the old factory roof thinking linearly, experimenting with audio and wiggling my frozen toes. Much of my creative focus this month is for a course in video editing at the Center For Documentary Studies. The results will be posted on this here blog periodically. Stay tuned.

fire escapes = teeter-totters

2009-02-22T22:30:00.000-08:00

James Hawley, Poet, Durham, Feb. 2009

Laissez les bon temps roulez

2009-02-21T14:01:00.000-08:00

Mardi Gras with the Harts, Durham, 2008

Searching for a signal . . .

2009-02-18T17:30:00.001-08:00

It's always a challenge to conceptualize a photo to illustrate stories lacking in visual realities. This week at the Independent, it was the lack of internet access in a growing rural county. At one point I was set on using colored gels and having the county commissioner smashing computers out of frustration. Fortunately he happened to have a rather large antenna and a spacious pasture. We also made a couple of frames involving the computer equipment, but decided implied violence would be more effective; that and old computer monitors contain some mercury which might result in some apologies for a publicly elected environmentalist.

Link to the story

Staying Sharp

2009-02-02T15:10:00.001-08:00

Progress, Rancho Cucamonga, Durham, NC, 2009

So I needed to go analog for bit. What better medium than an Oak and an Axe?

The Elder Sisters of St. Joseph's

2009-01-26T20:27:00.000-08:00

The Elder Sisters of St. Joseph's, Jonestown, Miss., 2007

Boom Boom

2009-01-24T15:21:00.000-08:00

Earlier this afternoon I heard crazy bouts of screaming and explosions emanating from behind the pseudo frat house across the street. After a closer inspection, I decided that they were initiating young, impressionable boys into their little club. They were launching bottle rockets to mark the occasion, so naturally I wanted to fire some as well, right back at them. Bigger ones of course, the kind of boomers you can only find at Rocket City inside the marvelous world of South of The Border in Dillon, South Carolina.

Two Unlikely Things

2009-01-21T10:50:00.001-08:00

SnOBAMA, Durham, NC, Jan. 21st, 2009

Two unlikely and marvelous events occurred yesterday. Snow covered the ground up to six inches deep in Durham, North Carolina and Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of The United States.

Hecho En Mexico

2009-01-12T15:01:00.000-08:00

Mexico is madly in love with the Volkswagen Beetle. They seem to be on every street in any city.

Here's some interesting information about the last Beetle made in Mexico via Wikipedia:

By 2003 Beetle annual production had fallen to 30,000 from a peak of 1.3 million in 1971. On 30 July 2003, the final original VW Beetle (No. 21,529,464) was produced at Puebla, Mexico, some 65 years after its original launch, and an unprecedented 58-year production run since 1945, the year VW recognizes as the first year of non-Nazi funded production. VW announced this step in June, citing decreasing demand. The last car was immediately shipped off to the company's museum in Wolfsburg, Germany. In true Mexican fashion, a mariachi band serenaded the last car. There was also in Mexico an advertising campaign as a goodbye for the Beetle. For example, in one of the ads was a very small parking space on the street, and many big cars tried to park in it, but could not. After a while, a sign appears in that parking space saying: "Es increíble que un auto tan pequeño deje un vacío tan grande" (It is incredible that a car so small can leave such a large void). Another depicted the rear end of a 1954 Beetle (year in which Volkswagen first established in Mexico) in the left side of the ad, reading "Había una vez..." (Once upon a time...) and the last 2003 Beetle in the right side, reading "Fin" (The end).

Foreign Dogs

2009-01-10T21:33:00.000-08:00

"If dogs run free, then why not we?" - Bob Dylan

In 2008 I had the good fortune of visiting Mexico and Peru. In both places there was an abundance of dogs running free. They ran through the streets and crowded markets, even on the roofs. The smart ones, the ones still alive, knew enough to wait with everyone else on the sidewalk until the light changed before crossing the street. Some looked to be suffering from terrible mange. Others seemed ready to be taken home and spoiled. At the stunning summit of Monte Albán, there was dog that followed us around patiently (first photo). We considered the feasibility of taking it (we named it Monty) back home to the States. The thought of long quarantine hassles led us to believe it would be a bad idea, but by that time Monty had already slipped away to follow another group of tourists.

Sifting Through the Pile

2009-01-06T13:01:00.000-08:00

Hal Clark, Clark Tire Repair, Siler City, NC, 2008

Colors & Numbers

2009-01-02T15:34:00.001-08:00

Colors and numbers can speak a universal language. Consider this a study of the idea.
Clockwise from top-left, Pino Suarez, Oaxaca City, MX. A scene from the Friday market in Ocotlan, MX. Reconstructing the Zapotec ruins at Yagul, Oaxaca. MX, Mexico City street near the Zocalo.

Amigo, can you spare a peso?

2008-12-31T16:31:00.000-08:00

Music pours over the streets of central Oaxaca, Mexico. There are the marching bands of course; trumpets and snares for hire, chugging along with the Sousaphone, clogging the avenue in honor of a saint. One night there was a young girl playing the accordion and belting out beauties with a smoky voice while she kept watch over her younger brother. Their parents were somewhere else, perhaps further down the street selling something else. I wondered how she could posses such an old voice. She hardly took notice aa peso was dropped in the purple bowl before her.
Bring on the pan pipes, marimbas, and acoustic guitars; all of them became as common as the black iron shrouding the tall windows. The blind trio pictured above sang Spanish ballads karaoke style just two blocks away from another blind trio. I wondered how many of them could see.

Surge Babies

2008-12-15T21:41:00.000-08:00

Recently Fayetteville, NC, home of Fort Bragg and Pop Air Force Base, declared itself the first "sanctuary city" for soldiers and their families. On Nov. 15th the city organized a massive military baby shower, the biggest in the world, with over 1,000 pregnant women or new mothers attending. I was assigned the task of winding through the crowd at a huge convention center and seeking out other "sanctuary" images around Fayetteville for the Dec. 1 edition of TIME.

See more of the outakes.

From the Rooter to the Tooter

2008-12-14T16:40:00.000-08:00

Hog Killin' - Mebane, NC, Dec. 12, 2008

Outside the assignment . . .

2008-12-09T15:31:00.000-08:00

Derrick, Salvation Army, Raleigh, NC, 2008

Lately I've taken up the practice of making photographs outside of assignments, of listening to my intuition when it tells me to stop, turn around, look again. It's amazing how easily you can get out of practice when you're so focused on fulfilling assignments and making deadlines.

Gotta stay sharp though, keep sketching and stretching it out.

Enjoying The Off Season

2008-12-03T19:30:00.001-08:00

Selected snaps from a tour of the Outer Banks this past weekend. Starting out in Ocracoke and ending in Manteo.

Roxboro Road

2008-11-24T20:30:00.000-08:00

Recently I've begun work on what I hope will be a long term project about North Roxboro Road in Durham, a part of the city experiencing rapid growth in the Latino community. This building was a bank two years ago, now it's called El Vaquero, specializing in the latest cowboy fashions. Their boots are beyond. Simply beyond.

The County Clink

2008-11-20T19:16:00.000-08:00

Durham County Jail, Durham, NC, 2008

After listening to Tom Waits on an overcast day, I walked around the Durham County Jail and made some sketches for consideration in a multimedia piece about people who stand outside the jail and wave or hold up signs for significant others currently incarcerated.

Butt Stains

2008-11-18T20:18:00.001-08:00

Butt Stains #3, Durham, NC, 2008

As mentioned in the previous post, I've recently taken up the fine Art (note the capital A) of North Carolina barbecue - slow and low, smoked to pieces, tender as a mother's love, aw hell yeah. The preferred cut of pork for barbecue is called a Boston Butt, hence the title, though it actually comes from the shoulder region of a pig. Thanks to the generous donation of a Weber smoker by my former housemate Mr. Jason Alexander Bissey (Chef at Rue Cler), I'm able to spend upwards of 14 hours at a time devoted to craft of creating perfectly pulled pork to pile high on a bun and smother in cole slaw. Sweet Jesus is it good.

UNC Press recently published a facinating book on the subjet Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue if you'd like to learn more.

Chicken Shit Bingo

2008-11-16T18:08:00.001-08:00

Col. George O'Rudeboy, Durham, NC, 2008

Compton & Longbeach, Durham, NC, 2008

The first time I witnessed chicken shit bingo was at a sweet honky tonk called Ginny's Little Longhorn in Austin, TX (short film). I had just endured four long days of intense live music at SXSW and the three hours spent at Ginny's sippn' Lone Star far exceeded all of that. So when some funds needed to be raised for Ms. K's trip to Italy to attend Terra Madre - we thought this would be a delightful way to spend an afternoon - listening to fine bluegrass music by Rob and Mary D of the New River Rock Skippers while breaking several laws gambling with friends and eating some delightful BBQ made by yours truly.

Mr. George graciously loaned us two of his finest hens from his Lil' Farm out on Arthur Minus Rd., so if you happen to shop at the Durham Farmer's Market, do stop by his stand and show your appreciation.

Eva en la Kudzu

2008-11-09T17:17:00.000-08:00

Yes We Can

2008-11-05T19:46:00.001-08:00

"It's the answer that lead those who've been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day . . ."

Barack Obama
Senator from Illinois
President Elect
Acceptance Speech, Grant Park, Chicago, IL. Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008

Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2008

Ideally journalism is best practiced from close distance, yet removed of influence. As an American citizen. As a witness to the last eight years. I felt the influence of my actions as I cast my ballot one week ago. It was a powerful action, weighted with all the selfless courage and sacrifice given by others before me to preserve this precious right. It was not like past elections. Something was vastly different. On Tuesday, when the numbers returned, when Obama spoke, my spirits would not, remain distant. I made photographs, but I also hugged friends and strangers as we all sang out.

The protection of democracy and freedom should be journalism's highest aim. In my lifetime, I've never experienced a better example of a healthy, functioning democratic system than this election. The system has never been perfect, but this was a masterful revision.

But seriously, what the hell am I talking about? The liberal media has always loved an election; ref., http://stuffjournalistslike.com/

Here's what Mr. Lange and I found round the way on Tuesday.

The day after we pieced together a slideshow with the work of two other photographers, Eric Kaufman and Jenny Warburg.

D.F.'s election journey along I-85

Why This Election Matters

2008-10-29T19:38:00.000-07:00

A Generation of Difference, Halifax Mall, Raleigh, NC // 10.29.2008

It's a sign

2008-10-29T19:19:00.000-07:00

It's symbolic of something. That's for sure. Trouble is, exactly what? Take you're pick. Prove your point. We printed it with the following caption:

"Insert politically motivated cliché here: A former freight depot, Pettigrew Street, Durham."

P.S. If you're an big time editor from a big time publication and you would like to illustrate your point with this here photo. Give a big time shout.

Old Dreams

2008-10-27T11:45:00.001-07:00

This past Sunday I spent some time revisiting a body of work known as the Delta Dream Express. It's been a year since the opening of the gallery show featuring 21 prints from the project named after a oddly symbolic sight I came across in rough river city of Helena, Arkansas.

I added the recordings of Mr. Gates, pictured above, to portfolio site along with more content related to the project. Listening to the righteously profound sounds of the St. Paul congregation again helped me recover from a wicked bout of food poisoning. Guess I'll I've to cool it with the Taquerias.

Listening to Mr. Gates carry it all along on these marvelous gospel numbers educes the experience of being there all over again. I'd like nothing more than to drive down right tomorrow and hear him in person. Yes sir. I'd like to play one for em too, on one of those eight uprights in the shop. There's always November.

The update Delta Dream Express project site.

Red Shoe. Blue State.

2008-10-26T07:43:00.000-07:00

On the day we inked this here photo to press, news of the Gov. Palin's $150,000 wardrobe upgrade was breaking over the heads of pundits and voters getting their first salty licks of a depression. It would seem she came through on her promise of reform. Reformed the whole damn family in fact. Fashionably. Expensively. Americanaley. She even reformed my interpretation of "reform." Think I'll go out and reform myself a new pair of shoes.

Mr. Jeremy Lange, the deftly talented sure shot who shares the job with me at the Independent, was there to, working the "buffer" * - that's the part between the stage and crowd where cameras buff the candidate to give them the best looks. Shine em up all pretty. And Miss Wasilla did not disappoint as she declared her love for the pro-American parts of the country. Instinctively, the crowd called back,"U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A."

Now that's pro baby. That's pro.

We felt the need to eat steakburgers afterward, but declined the shakes. Which might of been something other than pro-American. Later on, I piled the snaps together, sorted them out, then mixed in a dash of ol' Hank Williams Jr. playing a sad remake of "Family Tradition" to create this here slideshow.

Watch. Reflect. Then go out and vote.

* So lately I've been brushing my teeth while watching the Daily Show on my laptop, which is on top of the toilet. And John Stewart, funny man that he his, made a joke about John McCain's excessive and vague use of air quotes while talking, "or as well call them, dick fingers." I tried to laugh, but I was brushing my teeth. I'd like to think it a fitting commentary on these high-strung times.

Almost There . . .

2008-10-10T22:50:00.000-07:00

In one week I'll finally have this show on the wall. Printed and done. Finally. In the run up to this point there has been a lot of out-of-stock and out-of-luck moments to work around. In fact, I'm not sure if everything will be ready to go come Oct. 17th, but we'll go on either way. I picked up the last of the big square prints (24x24") today and was quite pleased with the job J.W. Photo Labs did with them. Now I need to catch up on sleep and finish out the small print portfolio. For more information about the show go here.

Free At Last

2008-09-28T07:41:00.000-07:00

After spending seven years in prison falsely accused of an armed robbery, the charges against Erick Daniels were dropped and he was free to go home for the first time since eighth grade. Former Independent reporter Mosi Secret published a powerful investigative piece about Erick's case in May of 2007. I photographed many players in the story and created multimedia slideshow from a visit with Erick in prison. When the story was published we were expecting a public outcry for his release, but the recation was more mixed - in fact, many of the comments about the story were thinly vieled racists remarks about Erick and the enevitable trouble raised by young black males in America. News & Observer columnist Barry Saunders responded directly to these remarks with an excellent set of columns worth reading. There's no doubt Erick has a mountain of challenges before him, but for a man who has been bound and shackled for seven years, the sudden ability to choose his destiny must provide a sense of freedom that we will never know.

Moving on out . . .

2008-09-11T09:27:00.000-07:00

After two and half years of living along Buchanan Blvd. it's time to move on. Fortunately I've got some friends to help with the heavy lifting.

Goin' Back Home

2008-09-05T13:27:00.000-07:00

Landing in Moline, IL, Spet. 4, 2008. The remains of Gustav were blowing on through. It always seems to be raining when I head back home.

The Man Behind The Numbers

2008-09-05T13:23:00.000-07:00

Mr. Chris Ivey, scorekeeper for the Durham Bulls. He's a swell guy with a sweet job. I could imagine myself doing this one day. I wonder if you could enjoy a beer while you worked?

The First and Last Time

2008-08-14T21:06:00.001-07:00

This past weekend a good friend of mine, Mr. Aaron Kleidon, breezed through town, toting his 4x5 and a box of Type 55 Polaroid film. We spent some time at the old Liggett & Myers tobacco factory making photographs and he coached me through the process of making my first exposure on Type 55 - which will probably be my last since the company has decided to discontinue this unique line of positive / negative film. It was fun while it lasted.

Dress Up

2008-08-13T11:35:00.001-07:00

Bowerbirds Redux

2008-08-04T20:39:00.000-07:00

The Bowerbirds - (L to R) Phil Moore, Beth Tacular and Mark Paulson, circ. 2007.

Film takes it time.

Nearly two years ago I turned over three rolls of The Bowerbirds to be processed and scanned by a lab in Raleigh, JW Labs. The resulting image quality was so-so, but Burly Times needed to get out some mailers soon - so, as with most deadlines, it's done dirty, but at least it's done.

Scanning in film yourself can be cumbersome and slow, today it took almost two hours, All for this photo here. Even so, I appreciate a process that takes it's time and David Attenborough appreciates the bowerbird - a marvelous bird with a passion for interior decoration.

How could you not, right? Such color coordination . . . and those shiny beetle shells. Oh my.

Anydamnway, this here beautiful pile of horribly dismembered trees was just a small part of a vast swath of Carolina Pines felled not to far from Phil and Beth's home. It was a sad sight, but it also proved to be a suitable pseudo representation of a big ol' bower.

Farm Life . . .

2008-08-03T16:18:00.000-07:00

It's a beautiful way to live, if only for one week. To wake early and check for eggs. To work often and eat healthy. Farm life is a good life.

Strange Fruit . . .

2008-07-27T19:38:00.000-07:00

The American Dance Festival is the country's premier modern dance festival, held each year at Duke. This year we hosted a remarkable student from the Dominican Republic - Ms. Eva Martin. Along with sharing her endless curiosity for all things, melon smoothies and theories about the art of "flowing," Eva and I collaborated on a series of photographs revolving around the concept of Whole Essence. I shot a number of photographs on infrared film, but here is one digital capture that seems to get at the idea of being "one with your environment."

The old Bulls . . .

2008-07-25T08:12:00.001-07:00

I've been working on an essay about the 20th anniversary of Bull Durham - mainly photographing the old stadium where the film was shot and the new stadium where the Bulls play today.
More images here.

Brotherly Love . . .

2008-07-24T12:06:00.000-07:00

This week the Independent published a cover story about the Avett Brothers - expertly crafted by Mr. Grayson Currin. Using photographs of the band from past performances and a three night stretch of their tour in late June, I created a multimedia deal to accompany story.

Alongside The Allegheny

2008-07-14T15:22:00.000-07:00

A storm blew in during an Avett Brothers' show in Pittsburgh. This young lady was seeking out the heat of a steam vent downtown. The band played on through the rain. Naturally.

Tobacco Land . . .

2008-07-14T15:09:00.000-07:00

Through This Lens gallery in Durham will present an solo exhibition of my work about the Ligget & Myers tobacco factory complex as it was being converted into a massive residential and commercial development called West Village II. This is a project that I've been working on for the past two and a half years. The opening will be on Oct. 17th and there will be approximately 20 prints hung on the wall. There is a lot of work to be done between now and then, but then again I work best under a deadline.

First time out . . .

2008-05-27T17:20:00.000-07:00

It's time for me to leave the country.

Not for political asylum or unregulated gambling opportunities. Not yet. Often my desire for other continents leads me to seek out the world wonders on Google Earth at all hours of the night, perhaps slightly drunk. Other times I study the slick, curled surface of the world map vinyl shower curtain in my lady's bathroom. Usually in my boxers, brushing my teeth.

Spit. Rinse. Tibet is there, but it's the same color of China? Mmmm.

Have you ever played geosense? I love it. Pray you don't cross me in a match up. Sho nuff. I know the GDP of Tuvalu and the capital of Ethiopia and how fun it is to say. Beyond the maps and facts, there's that one personal experience. When I was 14 I canoed into Canada with a group of Boy Scouts. Nothing looked different and we didn't talk to anyone else before turning around. Actually, I do remember someone calling out to us from a bridge. "Aye there," is about all I could make out. This was my only foreign interaction before deciding on a trip to Peru - the South American country of and not the sister city of LaSalle.

The intrepid Ms. Kavanavelica, had only one week away from work in May, so we started planning. Sweden? Denmark? Senegal? The we were offered standby tickets to anywhere in the world where Delta jets go from my river rafting mate Aaron Kleidon. Wisely, beautifuly, my love lady K, with the help of Werer Hertzog, struck me right with the suggestions of South America. I've had dreams of the places there before. A culture and history similar to ours, intertwined, infected by colonial fever and the idea of Manifest Destiny. Of unknown lands, resources, riches. Pioneers and ancient warriors. Savagery. Slaves. Civil War. A political coup or two. Beastial acts. Amazing beauty.

"Who am I going to have to pay when you're kidnapped?" No one dad.

"You didn't get a yellow fever shot!" It'll be fine mom.

And with that, we flew up and over the equator to see about this place. A week later, we didn't want to come back.

Waiting for the bus in Rumichaca, Peru. Altitude: 11,90 ft. (-12.3833, -75.1333)