Glostrup, Denmark
I’m excited to be part of another group show with a photo that I took while visiting a good friend in Denmark. If you’re at the opening tonight, find me and say hello.
On Exhibit: May 10th through June 23rd, 2013
Opening Reception: May 10th, 6:30-9:30pm
Location: Minneapolis Photo Center Second Floor Gallery
I’m going to New York this weekend to attend a workshop by David Alan Harvey. While there, I’ll have about a day and a half free and I plan to go to the International Center of Photography, Dashwood Books to meet j carrier and Caroline’s on Broadway to see John Mulaney. I love stand-up comedy.
This is all icing on the cake, since the workshop alone should be pretty transformative for me and is the sole reason I’m going. However…
I was reminded that 6 years ago I took the photo that I was most nervous to take. While at Katz’s Deli (a famous New York deli that you probably have heard of), I was captivated by our waiter. I had a film camera with me and a few frames left on the roll, but I didn’t think I had the guts to take his photo.
I sat through the meal feeling nervous, knowing that I had to do it. When he was clearing our plates, I finally asked, claiming that I was a “photographer,” which I’m not sure I believed at the time.
He dragged me over to the meat counter and struck a pose. I took three frames and had to wait until I got home to develop the film. One of the photos worked, thankfully.
I’m going to bring a print of this photo back to Katz’s Deli to see if he still works there and give it to him. I’m still grateful for the inspiration he gave me on that day and want to say thanks. If he’s not there, I hope that someone remembers his name.
Here are the other two frames.
UPDATE (March 2013)
I made it to Katz’s Deli with my print in hand. Everyone lit up when they saw the photo and told me that his name is William, but he no longer works there. I was ushered to the back so I could show the photo to the manager, who told me more about William. I gave him the print and we talked for a little while before he insisted that I sit down for a free meal.
I’m really glad I followed through with this. It was a pretty rewarding experience and I still hope to track down William someday.
While in Europe and struggling to find inspiration, which you can read about in an earlier post about my Paris project, I started taking photos every time I saw the word “love” or something related to love. These are some of my favorites.
Ostend, Belgium
Paris
Antwerp, Belgium
Amsterdam
Paris
Antwerp, Belgium
Amsterdam
Paris
Amsterdam
Amsterdam
The opportunity to tag along with a friend on a trip to Europe came up last fall. For me, travel always means photography above all else and I was worried that I wouldn’t come home with anything I was satisfied with, mostly because I wasn’t going to be in any one place long enough to get comfortable.
To say I was anxious would be an understatement. There were sleepless nights and dreams of rushing around, desperate to find photographs. I had many talks with friends about feeling like I had lost my “eye” or even my passion for photography. I went so far as to consider not bringing a camera at all. Thankfully, I did.
Two days into the trip I woke up early to walk around Amsterdam with my camera. While I had fun taking photos and like that the camera gives me a reason to explore, I was taking boring photos. The best moments were when strangers stopped to talk to me. I realized that I wanted to do something more than snapshots or postcard style images. I wanted to find inspiration for a project to work on. I even wrote in my journal that day about being bored with single photos.
For the next couple of days I used my camera a lot, mostly documenting my trip and only occasionally feeling drawn to something I truly wanted to photograph. I had 100 gigabytes of CF cards with me, so there was no risk of overshooting. I kept at it, trying to find the inspiration to go deeper.
After another day in Amsterdam and a week of bouncing around Belgium (an amazing country, by the way), I was in Paris for the first time in my life and this is where things really changed.
From the archives: February 2006 was my last time in New York. There was a blizzard on the last night of my stay, which canceled my flight back to Minneapolis. I used the extra day to walk around with two film cameras.
