CRPA 2009 Reflections
Sat April 25, 2009 9:30 pm (UTC-5) by Nick Benson [Permalink] [5 Comments | Add]
I spent last weekend in Chicago at the 2009 Center for Railroad Photography and Art "Conversations about Photography" conference. I had a great time, and got to meet a lot of cool folks.
I arrived in Chicago around 5:00 PM and met my host, Sam Carlson, who was gracious enough to provide a place for me to shower and sleep, even though we hadn't ever met face to face. He showed me the accommodations (a couch in the middle of the train room - accessible only via a duck-under), and we quickly headed to Rondout Junction to shoot Metra for a few hours. At Roundout we ran into Steve Barry, Editor of Railfan & Railroad, his brother (whose name escapes me), Louis Capwell, and J. Alex Lang. Louis, Alex, Sam and myself stopped by Scooters (whose sign features a big clipart hotdog and slogan "Not Just a Hotdog Stand") for supper, and then went on to the official reception.
The reception on Friday evening was nice, and included a nice selection of black and white work by Jim Shaughnessy. I spent quite a bit of time yacking with Alex, Louis, Travis Dewitz, Darryl Bond, and Kent Staubus.
After the reception we headed to the Lantern, where I met Gordon Osmund (I think that was his name - he was working on a book on the Nevada Northern), along with another couple of guys, their names escape me at the moment now, although one was from Springfield, MO, the other from Midwest City, OK.
Saturday morning Sam and I were up bright and early for a gourmet value meal at McDonalds. I dropped off Sam at the Metra station on the way into town (he had to work, unfortunately) and I found a comfy place to sit and enjoy the presentations.
First up was Don Sims, an old timer who had some stunning shots and amusing anecdotes to go along with them. His talk was thoroughly enjoyable, and I probably could have listened to him for several hours. While there wasn't anything about his talk that would necessarily impact the process of my photography, he instilled the need to travel, build friendships, and have a sense of adventure.
Mark Hemhill, a professional train geek, was next to present. He spoke about his experience as the senior railway adviser in Iraq. While he went out of his way to explain the nature of his photos was to document his experience there, and weren't done for the sake of art, they greatly aided the narrative of his time there. His talk was also interesting, talking about what it took to get the job done, the wonderful people he worked with, and concluded with a bittersweet "where are they now," which included diverse fates ranging from demotion and murder to getting a visa and moving to the US.
During the various intermissions I got to meet the world famous Blaszczyk brothers (Andrew and Chris), Jim Thias, Janusz Mrozek, and Ray Peacock. I also got to pass along fleeting comments to Steve Crise and George Hamlin.
Kevin Scanlon's presentation was the highlight of the show. He presented stunning photography and showed the decline of the steel industry out east. He displayed the best photos of the show, and his narrative was also powerful. Lesson learned: shoot everything now, shoot it well, and hope that it looks a tenth as good as his stuff.
Jamie Allen presented an overview of train related objects in the George Eastman House collection. While it's my understanding that she was brought in to bring an "outsider" perspective to our attention, it was a waste of time to have someone explain the aesthetics of the 3/4 wedge (it turns out the track disappearing in the distance provides a sense of perspective - who knew?), nor was it necessary to listen to the 4 minute artists statement about a photo of an HO diorama, complete with overturned tank car, leaking harmful byproducts of man's progress into one of Earth Mother's precious ponds. I appreciate the need for an outsider perspective, but there was too much granola and too little insight for my tastes.
After a wonderful lunch, CRPA staff announced the winners of their 2009 Photo Contest. The theme was "light impressions," most of the photos selected were very nice. I was pleased that one of my shots was selected as a "Judges Also Liked," even though it was focused, sharp, and captured a train in "traditional" light.
I've got a 50 thousand dollar sheet of paper that certifies my expertise in geography, so when I heard the next presenter, Stuart Klipper, was a geographer my ears perked up. Unfortunately a good portion of his presentation was thoughtful reminiscence of his travels without any photos (meaning the big screen he was standing next to was blank). Once he started showing his work, which was exclusively panoramic, the pace became rushed. While it's an accomplishment to show photos from 40+ states in a presentation, and while it's difficult to classify which American region Oklahoma falls into (which has to be either midwest or southwest, but is most certainly not the south, as Klipper decided), his photographic aesthetic just didn't jive with me. I'm not sure if I just need some more time to wrap my noodle around the wide format, or if I need to gain more appreciation for train photos without trains, but I didn't get it.
Steve Barry was next up, and gave a spiel on capturing more of a story with your work. The gist, as I recall, was that the intersection between documenting and creating art is a large one, and that it's important to include structures, signs, and the like in your photos, to give them a sense of place, a sense of location, and a sense of character. As far as practical compositional advice is concerned, Steve did an excellent job. Some of his pointers may have been a bit obvious, but at least he didn't explain why wedgies are so fascinating to look at.
Kelly Lynch had the most polished presentation of the conference, and did an excellent job of showing great moments in train realated cinematography (the clip from "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" blew my mind). While some other attendees felt it had too little to do with train photography, I didn't have a problem with it. Lynch's message was to get out and do a better job of documenting the fact that railroads are still a relevant part of the American landscape was a good one, and perhaps the most inspiring of the entire event.
Kevin Keefe and John B. Corns also put on a good show, going old school and using a carousel projector to display Corns' excellent photography. While there wasn't a particular message to walk away with, the stories were well told, and neither of them explained why the wedgie is interesting to look at. John was gracious enough to put up with me for a few moments after the presentation to accept my praise and answer a few questions about equipment.
The evening reception was pleasant. I got to shake hands with some important folks and even spent time chatting with a few of them. The refreshments were delicious.
The round table with Matt Van Hattem, Steve Barry, and Mike Schafer on Sunday morning went by too quickly, but was extremely informative. It was cool to hear the publisher's side of the story, although it seems folks like me who have the interest in photography, but not in writing, don't have too many opportunities there (apparently they sell magazines because people like reading them, or something...). The two things I got out of the morning conversation were that if I want to get my name published, it'll be a lot easier if I write something, and two, that people need to focus on what's going on in their backyard (as opposed to Flagstaff, AZ).
After things wrapped up, I drove down to Evanston for a delicious lunch at Lou Malnati's with Jim, Janusz, and Darryl. Per Sam's advice, I drove home via Janesville so I could glance over the Wisconsin and Southern operations there. Conditions were unfavorable for photography, but I enjoyed driving around and seeing the relative maze of trackwork there.
I can't wait to go back next year - as far as I'm concerned this is a "must do" event.
My State of Mind Expressed Through Film
Thu February 19, 2009 9:59 pm (UTC-6) by Nick Benson [Permalink] [2 Comments | Add]
Hot Air Affair 2009
Sun February 08, 2009 1:17 pm (UTC-6) by Nick Benson [Permalink] [1 Comment | Add]
Today I had the pleasure of going on a hot air balloon ride, courtesy of my employer, PressEnter, who sponsored a balloon in this year's "Hot Air Affair."
Larger versions, complete with captions, can be found here.
An Actual Post
Sat January 31, 2009 5:59 pm (UTC-6) by Nick Benson [Permalink] [1 Comment | Add]
Holy crap, I haven't made a post with any real substance since July 22nd. You're more likely to get your timely Nick related news by following me on Twitter.
Sigh.
Things are both awesome and terrifying at the same time. On one hand, Emily and myself are doing pretty well. We've both got decent jobs that we don't mind doing, we've got our health, and we're back in the Twin Cities area closer to both of our immediate families. On the other hand, the economy seems to be in the crapper, things are tough and getting tougher for a lot of folks, and we still have a pile of credit card and student loan debt to take care of.
Quickly going over what's happened since July...
I've been learning a lot at work. It's so beneficial to be in a position where you can learn from other people who know what they're doing. I've learned a lot about web development and security. I'm leaning about the differences between a good client and a bad one. It's been a bit difficult adjusting to a for-profit environment, but I'm slowly getting to the point where I'm actually earning revenue. The coolest project I've worked on so far, which is publicly visible, is probably Cure CMD.
Howie was up from Hawaii and stayed with us for a night (or two or three?) around Thanksgiving. Many boardgames were played, many big meals were consumed.
Christmas was good. Our buddy Luke came up to visit from Oklahoma, stayed with us for several days, and tagged along to all of the family Christmas events. I obtained a nice new camera flash, other camera accessories, and a small pile of train books.
My birthday was nice. After combining left over gift cards from Christmas and birthday money, I sold off my Rebel XT and upgraded to a 40D (moved from an "entry level" consumer camera body to a "prosumer" model).
Our friend Kat visited a couple of weekends ago, it was good to see her again.
Today was the warmest day in the Twin Cities since November 6th, it made it to 45 degrees. It was the first day since December 29th where the high temperature made it above freezing.
Trains on Ice
Mon January 26, 2009 12:47 am (UTC-6) by Nick Benson [Permalink] [No Comments | Add]
I spent about 4 hours in single digit Minnesota / Wisconsin heat on Saturday. Here are the results:
Accessing the bluff in the second shot required a 90 minute hike / crawl up a rather steep pile of terrain... then it took an hour for a train to show up. Luckily it only took 20 minute to slide / scamper down.
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