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a very shiny fire hydrant in front of The Alamo © kjm

Last week, I had the pleasure of presenting my Camp Home work at the American Studies Association annual conference in San Antonio. It was the first time I'd talked about the project in an academic setting, and it was really a great experience for me - both in thinking more about the project in preparation, and in the discussions and possibilities that resulted. Art historian Kate Palmer Albers invited me to be part of a panel addressing the Japanese internment and photography after learning about my work as a reviewer for Critical Mass. On the panel, she discussed the work of Andrew Freeman, who's photographed buildings near the former Manzanar internment camp site. Also on the panel were Elena Tajima Creef, author of Imaging Japanese America, and Dalia Habib Linssen, who spoke about the work of Life Magazine photographers Hansel Mieth and Otto Hagel.

While in San Antonio, I had great fun hanging out with photographer Mark Menjivar, who in turn introduced me to some great area photographers and artists, including photographers Jason Reed, Elizabeth Chiles, Sarah Sudhoff and her husband, Gary Schott and Dawn Roe, who was visiting from Florida, also for the ASA conference. A friendly, fun and talented bunch.

My hotel was right across the street from The Alamo, but I never got there.