10/3/09
This page has been replaced with a Wordpress backed blog. Please direct yourself there: http://www.michaelmeyerphoto.com/daily_up
7/5/09
Easy peasy ride back to NY yesterday. Watched the fireworks and knocked back a few brews on the roof of Cass and Sarah's place over on 4th Ave.
The opening reception went well. Good turn out, especially given that it was a holiday weekend. Many thanks for all those who came out and all the AFA folks' whose work made the opening happen.
Jessica Giacobbe, AFA's summer volunteer/intern, sent a few pics she took at the opening. They're below. Thanks Jessica!
7/3/09
Hanging out and finishing up all the details for tonight. Opening starts in just about an hour. I should probably stop by Camerawork to say hello to Ivana in the next few minutes and then change quickly. Gotta look at least a little cool for the opening. Or at least more so than at the moment.
7/2/09
Swimming in Nay Aug Park today with Nicole, Jess and Bo the dog. Don't tell the ranger; the brook felt great.
7/1/09
Whoa. Scranton knows how to have a good time. Thanks to Rich, Billy and Nicole for a fun evening. And The Moneynotes @ the Bog were great; realy good time. Pictures are all very blurry after Nicole's sangria.
Oh, and Billy Rogan knows his six string. Man might have a future.
7/1/09
Big thanks to Earl Lehman, Ward Roe and Barbara (I don't know your last name) for their help hanging Natural Construct. The show went up in only moments--blink and the hanging was over. Show looks great. Gallery with its re-finished walls and floor looks fabulous.
6/24/09
I'm reframing a bunch of work for my show down in Scranton, which is opening next week. When I was in school, one of the professors made an offhand comment about acquiring frames that would be used over and over again for shows. I've found that advice to be exactly right. Each of the series I've worked on haev a selection of frames so they're ready to go when a show happens. The frames I'm using in the Scranton show have all been used in at least four shows now. Unless the photographs all sell, totally welcome by the way, I'm sure they'll get used again.
6/24/09
Put this book macquette together for the Blurb Photo Book Now contest. For the past ten years or so I've been photographing Auburn and Lewiston, Maine where I grew up. The photographs are as much about my own state of mind and vantage as about any objective documentary truth. Please take a moment to check it out and maybe make a purchase. Price is totally recession friendly.
6/13/09
Time gets away from me. Been working on a couple of submissions, a July show and a last minute show in Brooklyn--announcements coming soon on the two opportunities to see my work.
Surfing the web today I came across PhotographyHomepages.com, a listing of photographers' and photography related websites. I submitted my site for inclusion. One more place to be seen is always good.
6/1/09
The month of May is over as of seven minutes ago. A couple of photos from recent shoots to go up soon.
In the meantime, check out some of the installation shots of Younhee Paik's show up at the Tenri Cultural Insitute. Pictures are here. The stand alone page is an outlier on the site. Initially it went up to show Younhee the digital pictures quickly before the 4x5 chromes were ready, but then Tenri linked to the page so it is going to stand alone for a while.
5/20/09
This past weekend I shot some installation shots for my friend Aurelio Del Muro. Ten of his sculptures are up at Le Petite Versailles. LPV is a quirky Green Thumb space in the East Village next to the gas station on the corner of Ridge, East Houston and1st Street. Next time you're down there, check them out. The garden is usually open and accessible.
These two photographs are of Aurelio's series of acrobat sculptures:
5/20/09
Scott Yeckes was at the Orange Oven show last week and sent me these pictures of me shooting:
Thanks for the pics Scott. Everyone else, take a moment to stop by Scott's site: scottyeckes.com.
5/19/09
Writing my last post I was worried I'd come off as harsh and toned down my opinions a little for public consumption. After reading some other peoples' reviews of NYPH '09 I think my feelings about this year's festival are close to the consensus.
I think this review sums up the thoughts I was putting forward in my last post: Horses Think.
5/17/09
NYPH is done. I actually didn't make it down to DUMBO for Saturday or Sunday, but did enjoy what I caught on Thursday and Friday. Much of the show left me feeling flat, but there were gems throughout.
On Thursday I took in the Tierney Fellows Exhibition. Will Steacy's work was the standout for me, but I'm probably biased. I don't think the work is perfect, I wish it showed more of the complexity of the urban issues that we face, but the photographs are beautiful and gutsy and thought provoking. Plus, the man's got balls to walk through the night where he has. Also in the satelite exhibition hall was a photograph of two birds, one flying into a puff of cloud. I didn't write down the photographer's name or the show's title, but that photograph for me anchored that show. It is one of the few photographs from the festival that sticks in my mind. I know I saw it on a blog somewhere. Can anyone point it out to me?
The two highlights of the festival for me were Tim Hetherington's three screen installation and Jacob Holdt's talk. Hetherington's installation was one of the most intense pieces of war reportage that I've seen recently (Tyler Hicks' recent slideshows on NYTimes.com are similarly powerful.) This description of war's environment of violence encompassed a more complex view of conflict than simply a greatest hits of war cliches such as soldiers peering down rifle barrels, people weeping, bloodied bodies or war wracked ruins. My response was physical.
Holdt's talk was engaging, funny, honest and heartfelt. Everything that poured our of him was love and he wanted to share that love with everyone in the room--everyone in the world. At times he felt a little too much so, even. It was also, to be honest, the only photographer's talk that I saw.
The Aperture panel on Thursday night on artists as publishers was interesting. In particular, Jason Fulford's enthusiasm for the book form and its possibilities was contagious. Jason, if you happen to come across this and are in Scranton for the 4th of July, I hope you'll stop by my opening at AFA Gallery on te 3rd. Richard Renaldi and Tim Barber both contributed thought provoking ideas to the discussion as well.
Big ups to Andrew Hetherington of Whats the Jackanory? for his coverage of the weekend's events. I know while I was in the area I saw him everywhere.
5/16/09
Went to shoot The Orange Oven at Parkside last night. A couple of photos from the show:
The band before them kicked ass. Didn't shoot any pictures of them. But you should check them out anyway: Heth and Jed.
5/12/09
NYPH is coming up this weekend, and I'm looking forward to blowing through it quickly on Friday. In particular, I'm looking forward to seeing Will Steacy's new project, Down These Mean Streets, in the Tierney Fellows Exhibit and one of the main exhibitions: Jon Levy's Home for Good. I have to teach both Saturday and Sunday, so I'm going to miss a couple of talks that look interesting. I will definitely be checking out the Aperture panel discussions on artist as publisher on Thursday night abstraction on Friday night. All the info is on the official site: nyphotofestival.com. For up to the minute updates, news and opinion, What's the Jackanory will be your go to source.
Hope to see you around.
5/12/09
It is amazing how quickly posting gets away from me. It's been almost two months. I feel like I've been busy, but looking at my calendar doesn't confirm this. After the deluge of work in February and March, April proved to be slower.
Not that I've been idle. Downtime has meant that my personal projects have gotten the attention they deserve. I spent about a week up in Maine shooting in Lewiston/Auburn and, while up there, stopped in to say hi to the Portland AIGI folks at their mixer. Likewise, Dreamlike Velocity has been on the back burner, but I shot some new stuff for that project and scanned the chromes I like. This work is definitely coming together. I'm thinking about including some of this new work in my AFA Gallery show in July.
Also, my classes at the Educational Alliance kept me moving as did a couple of small shoots here and there.
May is looking better. I'm up for a great project and keeping my fingers crossed that it comes through. I've got a couple of shoots scheduled this week and another at the end of the month.
3/19/09
Quick note: the Alphabet Project has concluded. Photographers' photographs responding to all 26 alphabetic project prompts are now up. You can see mine under the Responding Photographer's link. Please stop in and have a look.
http://www.alphabetproject.co.uk
3/18/09
The goal of daily posting is becoming monthly. The last couple of weeks I've been super busy with the bar project for The Bar Network and this past week I've been laid out with a head cold. But there's something to write about today:
It isn't good news; Totonno's had a fire. Their pizza was to die for. Among the best pizza in New York City. In fact, probably it was the best pizza I've eaten in New York City. I hope they'll be able to rebuild and return to making great pizza.
Back in December I went by to photograph the joint for the Onion's Decider.com entertainment/bar/restaurant/culture guide site. Here are a few photos from that day:
2/16/09
My cellphone is aging, and I've been looking to replacement options. It seems like such a silly thing to have to worry about. Maybe I won't; I'll probably just wait until the next generation of Android based phones come out.
In the meantime, I have to clear space on my phone's tiny memory so the photos are going. Here are a few:
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2/13/09
Just noticed that my friend Todd's updated his site with some new work I especially like his earlier series of trees, but his urban gardens projects is amazing too. Check it out: www.toddforsgren.com
This past week has picked up for me, which is nice after a couple of quiet months. The openings at CCCP Gallery and Gallery 5 both went well with good turnout. Both shows are up through March, I hope you'll all have a chance to see them.
2/11/09
I've been shooting bars for The Bar Network. It's been a lot of fun going into all of these random bars and photographing the scene at each. Primarily I'm there to show the location and placement of TBN's screens, but I find it the most fun to be interacting with and meeting all of the people out for an evening of merriment.
A couple of outtakes:
2/9/09
A couple of photographs of Diego from a shoot a couple of weeks back:
2/5/09
Been out of town the last several days. Went to Detroit as as an assistant for Ken Schles. Straightforward editorial shoot for People; I spent most of the job acting as a driver. Though, I did get to set up a light, too.
I'd not seen Detroit before and was curious to see it. It is much like I imagined it to be. Beautiful buildings in the city center surrounded by empty lots and general desolation. And then you get to the suburbs.
During some downtime on Tuesday, Ken and I went to a used book store. I love going to used bookstores. However, it is unnerving to go to a used bookstore with Ken because he has an uncanny ability to find a gem at a bargain no matter how weak the selection or how astute the bookseller. Partly it is because he just knows photography books and what is out there. Mostly though I think it is because he is lucky as all hell. This book store jaunt was no different. I found several books I liked and that fit in with my budget and collection whims. Ken found a steal. I don't want to blow his spot, so I won't give away any details. Suffice it to say, if I'd found it I'd have just flipped it to pay off my credit cards--all of them--and then take a chunk out of my student loans. In that sense, better that Ken found it and will value it for more than just its monetary value.
If you're in or passing through Detroit, you should check out John K. King Used and Rare Books. It is overwhelming, but there are deals to be had. I will definitely drop in on my next swing through, whenever that may be.
Here is Ken early on in our search:
1/20/09
What a magnificent day. What a wonderful moment in our nation's history. I was incredibly moved by Obama's inauguration.
A few pictures from Pacific Standard, the Brooklyn bar that I and many others celebrated the day at.
1/19/09
To counter the last post, I do have a couple of group shows upcoming. In addition to the previously mentioned show at Gallery 5, several of my Dreamlike Velocity photographs will be at CCCP Gallery in Williamsburg in February.
And, the show at Tribeca Beauty was extended two weeks.
1/19/09
I'm sick of hearing bad news! No, seriously. Heard just a moment ago from a friend of eight staff members laid off at one of NYC's museums. Not good.
1/18/09
Slow posting, still. Been busy with submissions and drumming up work. (If you've got it, send it my way!)
Spent the weekend eating. Friday night Ji and I went up to Williamsburg for Zenkichi's tasting menu with Marnei and Alex, Tim and Caroline. It was, well, tasty. The pork belly was fantastic, as was the uni. Service was a little slow, though. Caroline was snapping all the food--the pictures will eventually be up on her food blog: Meals I Have Eaten.
Sunday morning was brunch and babies. Patty cooked up a killer breakfast pizza and a zippy salad while Heidi provided mimosas. I enjoyed the fruit of their labor.
A few pics:
Zenkichi
Brunch and Babies:
1/8/09
It is a new year. Again. Week one has gone well:
The group show at Daniel Kany Gallery has been extended. My work has been moved to a more prominent location in the gallery (the first spot was pretty good as it was) and will be up through January 16th. If you're in Portland, stop by and check in.
My show at Tribeca Beauty will be up one additional week. If you haven't seen it yet, drop before in the next week. I'll be taking the show down either next Thursday or Friday.
Three pieces from Nature Studies, a new series, will be up at Gallery 5 in Lewiston, Maine as part of its first 2009 show: Up Close and Personal. Gallery 5 is L/A Arts' visual arts space. When I was in elementary, middle and high school in Auburn, L/A Arts provided arts enrichment and gave me an appreciation for the visual and performing arts. It is wonderful to be able to be able to be a part of that program and give back in a small way for all that the organization has given me.
Tomorrow I'll be doing a shoot for a tech company's website redisgn.
I'm in the process of redesigning my website, so you'll see some small changes as I test ideas before the full redesign is implemented. Most of the changes will be on the back end improving the ease of updates and additions. If you've got thoughts or suggestions, feel free to shoot me an e-mail.