7-23-09
8:15. I need to leave the house now. Baubles and trinkets need photographing.

7/21/09
I accidentally got a job. This isn’t a bad thing. Now I can pay off the credit cards that have been funding the creation and exhibition of my work the last couple of years (not to mention a couple of trips I shouldn’t have taken). However, it is just disorienting when one goes into a meeting expecting to talk about the logistics of a short term gig and it turns into a day job. Not that I’m complaining. I’ll be shooting every day, just not those things that most excite me. I’ll be shooting catalogue for a jewelry wholesaler/distributer.

Photography’s greatest lure for me is its ability to foster connections outside of my everyday routine. Meeting new people, seeing new places and encountering new ideas is what I find most engaging about creating and viewing photographs.

The day job is not a full time 9 – 5, though, so I’ll still be seeking and taking on freelance work. Right now I’m working on a new portfolio to be ready mid-September and thinking about a mailer to go out the first week of that month. I’ve been shooting a lot since my last portfolio and the new one is full of the new work. You’ll love it. Call it in.

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 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.

Between Appreh…

A Letter Home

By Michael Nathaniel …

Book Preview

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.

Check them out.