Content! Huzzah! Yes, that’s right, this is the first *real* entry of the new incarnation of Blood in the Snow. As you may or may not know, all that was the last version was lost when Interland screwed up my domain switch. Grrrr. BUt there’s always more words to be had where the old entries came from, so the best thing to do is to just start writing.
Life is getting interesting these days. It’s about 7:15 PM on Sunday night as I begin to write this entry and by lunch time on Friday I’ll be done with my undergraduate work FOREVER. BWAHAHAHAHAH! *ahem* But yeah, this will be the last undergraduate work I ever have to do, and will be the last of my formal education until grad school (I assume I’m going to go to grad school eventually, though don’t ask me when or what for). The enxt five days will be busy and stressful to say the least, but I’mm assumin they’re going to go by at such a rate as to make it painless, more or less.
And since I’m going to be out of college in some 112 hours or so (damn that sounds waaaaaay too close), I’m going to start having to figure out what to do next. Like actually figure something out and then *do* it. Unlike how things have been for the last few years at least, though, something has actually been set in motion in the last few days that should (hopefully) yield something set for me to do. What is it? I thought you’d never ask…
The AmeriCorps, that’s what. I submitted my application at about 3:30 AM on Friday morning and in the time since then I’ve only come to feel better and better about the decision. I almost joined up right after high school but decided to OU instead as I guses I was paranoid about falling behind. I guess I never really stopped wanting to do it, though admittedly I haven’t thought about it much for the last few years. On Thursday night I called my sister (who is in Mongolia, for those who do not know) and did a bunch of other things that all reminded me about the AmeriCorps for whatever reason. Ans so I looked around on the site, came to the conclusion that it was the right thing to do, and applied to start next fall. Though I can’t know now if I’ll get in, or what I’ll do in the event that I’m accepted (meaning what I’ll do while serving), I do have some things I’d prefer to do over others. Really, what I’d most like to do is environmental and disaster-relief activities, preferably in either the Pacific Northwest or Alaska. Could be anywhere, though. But then, I could end up doing just about anything, depending in what they deem me most suited to do.
In any case, if I get in, I’d leave next fall and work full-time for ten months. I really hope it all works out. Of course, if it works out, I’ll likely have to neglect my photographic site and blog (as well as email) for the duration, but that’s hardly the end of the world. And as for keeping up with my friends, I’ll be more than willing to sit down and write letters while I’m gone. I’ve gotten out of the habit of writing letters as it is, and this might be something that really gets me back into it. And I’m always in favor of something that allows me to justify use of my favorite fountain pen.
Which reminds me of something I’m working on designing at the moment rather than doing my Japanese homework. Over the last few years I’ve been slowly accumulating ideas and plans for various woodworking projects to undertake once I got back home to MO and had access to a workshop again. So far the list includes things like 3 view cameras (5×7 wide-angle, 7×17 pano, and 11×14), a small table, a tool chest, chair, and a bed (though that’ll wait until I have an apartment or house of my own). The newest idea, the one I am working on sketching out right now, is what amounts to a portable desk. It will be a box about the size of a briefcase and will have facility to hold paper, envelopes, a couple pens, stamps, ink, etc. One side would be removable and would act as both a lid and a writing surface. It’ll have a leather handle for carrying, too. It shouldn’t be terribly hard to construct once I get the design and dimensions worked out. Hardware costs will be minimal, and depending on the materials I choose it probably won’t cost an arm and a leg to build. I think the hardest part of it will just be figuring out how to configure it so it’ll hold what I want it to hold and be as compact as possible. This thing will be meant to travel with me, so I want to make it well suited to the task!
It really seems to me these days that, as much as I love NYC, I don’t think I want to live there. It’s just not me. I mean, if I eventually decide that I want to do straight-up commercial photography, it’s still where I’ll end up, but in any other case, I think I’d be more likely to go some place like Seattle if I go to a big city, or just out in the middle of nowhere, probably out west, if not. I need room to breathe. I’m a country boy, after all. :-p
I really feel like OU and Athens constitute a photographic dead end for me, and so it’ll be great to finally get out of here and find the inspiration to get going on some new (and hopefully significant) photo projects. I’ll get to shoot nothing but 4×5 and 8×10 again, hopefully mostly the latter. There’s just something about working with large format, particularly the 8×10 format that just feels right to me. Sure, it can be a huge pain in the ass, but the fact that I don’t mind it now and never have reinforces in my mind that it’s a good way for me to work. And the results are absolutely spectacular.
As much as I hate the art world, and those of you who know me know that I can get really pissed off at artists from time to time, I find myself gravitating towards more of a fine-art style in the projects I’m planning. I’ve gotten more than my fill of commercial-oriented work during the last 3 years, and I feel myself stagnating visually. Trying to make a salable photograph means that pure visual impact won’t always get the job done. Sure, the picture might be pretty, but if it doesn’t say something about what you’re photographing that makes it commercially relevant, then it’s fairly worthless. I want to get back to doing things that require me only to make a beautiful image. I’ve lost something over the last few years, and this feels like the way to get it back.
Along those liens, I’ve been looking at a lot of photographs by photographers that I like that fall more along the lines of fine art. In the last few days I’ve looked at a lot of images by the likes of Keith Carter, Jock Sturges, and Rolfe Horn. Keith Carter is known for his ethereal selective-focus images. There’s a surreal, dream-like quality to his images that I love. Some people seem to hate his work, saying it’s based on a gimmick, but having seen some of his prints in person, I can say that the visual impact of his photographs is genuine. You can see some of his images here.
