Well, again – probably one of the most interesting people I’ve met this year is Theaster Gates. Art in America magazine requested to use an image I had from a previous shoot with him for their interview that covered his work and process, which I’d recommend you check out.

Sumner, New Zealand - 2004

I’m just over three weeks into the fundraising for this project and I’m really excited to see how far it’s come. I’ve still got just over $800 to raise, but we’re getting close. Thanks everyone who has helped out so far, whether it was with a few dollars or just spreading the word. If you haven’t heard about the project yet click the image to see the video and the pitch, and if you like the idea I’d love to send you a print from NZ if you contribute – and if not I’d love for you to share it with anyone that might be curious about it.

Christchurch, A Year after the Earthquake on Kickstarter

So, I’m trying something new, and this new thing is Kickstarter. Ever since my time living in NZ got me in to photography in 2004 I’ve wanted to go back terribly, but when the earthquakes over the past 18 month began it changed things, and now I feel like I need to go back to tell a story. Take a look at my project and please spread the word if you’re in to the idea. I’d love to make this thing happen, and I’d love to send some people prints from New Zealand in exchange for the help.

I won’t go long on the plea, but this is a big deal to me to see if I can make this happen, so any help, really just putting it out there is totally appreciated.

Some work of mine will be in the “Street Stories” group show at the Kiernan Gallery in Lexington, VA next month. The show runs from Nov. 8 through Dec. 3.

This summer I got the chance to spend some time in the Wilco loft photographing Jeff Tweedy for Nylon Guys. He was a great guy and let us try a few different things but ultimately the best location ended up being a little corner where they actually lay down their tracks. We talked about touring, kids playing video games and my favorite place in the world – New Zealand. Also, this has nothing to do with the shoot, but man I love this clip where he says “I think John Bon Jovi ruined music.”

This was probably one of my favorite assignments yet, probably due in part to the fact that while I’ve always been a casual listener of Wilco, for some reason the album “A Ghost is Born” became part of my spring soundtrack this year and one of my favorite new older albums (this before the shoot).

One recent assignment that I enjoyed was getting to meet and photograph Chicago artist Theaster Gates. To call him an artist is possibly a bit limiting when describing his work. Check out the story about him and his ladder, and check out his site to learn a bit more about him.

On a side note:

Sometimes I get comments from friends like “every time I go to your website it’s different.” Unfortunately I always feel like it is static for too long. I mean – I am making new photographs every week … whether or not I’m on commission it doesn’t really matter. I feel like if your website isn’t changing at least a few times a year then something must be amiss. How are you growing? What direction is your work going in? I mean, I hope that I’m not making the same images I was a year ago, even if it’s a small change I think one needs to constantly evolve. If you’re working on a big project that can’t see the light of day I understand that, but otherwise…staying still is just….meh. This page is called “Keep Moving” after all…..

Maybe things change once you are a bit older and you’ve settled on your aesthetic and on your vision for good, and you want your site just to be the 40 best images you’ve ever made, but that’s just not how I think right now, and so that’s not what my site reflects. I tend to think in photographic stories and short stories, so to me an image is only as good and as interesting as the ones that surround it. This is how I organize work for the time being…maybe it’s too much imagery or changes too often. But – at least I feel like the website is more accurate to my current work and mindset than a slick advertisement with no substance. I hate slick advertisements with no substance.

The Chicago run Yo Yo Magazine has a few images from my Fox River Derivatives in their second issue. The magazine is a mixture of art, poetry and narrative. Definitely excited to have work in mixed media and open minded venues such as this one.

Take a look at the work at http://www.yoyomagazine.org/

Still catching up on a backlog of work from the summer. I was fortunate enough to have had a few shoots for the New York Times here and here. The first story was about the woman who decides the names of different colors for household paints. This is a job I never even considered existing, but it’s pretty great. I love the things that photography exposes me to.

Just as I had gotten back from California last month, I awoke on a Tuesday morning to find assignment e-mail requests from two London based publications. Even better was that these were both publications that I really like and respect. The funny thing about the Monocle assignment was that they had me going into the offices of the Chicago Tribune, where I saw the walls plastered with photographs by folks I know. I was assigned to photograph all around media man (columnist, author, radio personality) Rick Kogan, who curiously enough I had seen speak with former Tribune photographer Charles Osgood some years ago when I was a student. Together they put out books based on their Tribune Sunday Magazine column “Sidewalks.” Rick is a great guy, and pretty much the embodiment of Chicago and Chicago culture. Check the July/August issue of Monocle if you want to see the images (part of “The Voice of the People” installment). If you haven’t checked out Monocle magazine before for any reason I’d recommend it – it’s one of my favorites – small print format like Foreign Affairs, it’s really dense with tons of information but so much of it good and interesting.

Alright – and so this image is an outtake … but it’s one of my favorites from the shoot.