of the times

W. Camelback Road Location, #2 © kjm

as seen: oceans

7:57 pm, Friday ©kjm

apart: Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea (Marilu); Seal Beach, Pacific Ocean (Kevin).

and then shade

S. Brea Boulevard Location, #2 © kjm

uv

W. Camelback Road Location, #1 © kjm

The sun in Phoenix is unrelenting. Which is nice when you're coming from Milwaukee in January, but not so nice when you'd like to photograph things without strong shadows. Often, I'll see interesting things that I'd like to photograph, and be frustrated by the quality of harsh sunlight. This morning I got up early to shoot a Taco Bell I found yesterday. I had planned to be there before the sun actually came up, but arrived a bit later. In the end, I like the way the light hits the building, adding a bit of depth and texture.

interview: katherine kiviat

© katherine kiviat

Katherine Kiviat is a photojournalist based in Islamabad. Her book, Women Of Courage: Intimate Stories from Afghanistan, contains beautiful portraits, paired with interviews by her husband, the journalist Scott Heidler. You can read my short interview with her on the Redux blog here.

within reach: sealed

(very) aged cheddar in ziploc © kjm

I live in Wisconsin, and this might actually be considered a misdemeanor.

[within reach is a series of photographs examining the environment of home in detail]

within reach: under water

snow globe © kjm

[within reach is a series of photographs examining the environment of home in detail]

within reach: to/from

packing peanuts © kjm

Things that landed on my doorstep in just three days:

1. Pina Zangaro portfolio books and pages
2. Red River Arctic Polar Satin inkjet paper
3. Epson inks from Calumet Photographic
4. Katherine Kiviat's book, Women of Courage
5. 16' firewire extension cords
6. C-prints from West Coast Imaging
7. Huey Pro monitor calibrator
8. Black & Decker one-cup coffeemaker

[within reach is a series of photographs examining the environment of home in detail]

within reach: portfolio

© kjm

Until Monday afternoon, I'll be working feverishly on a new editorial portfolio. I've been meaning to do it for some time, and Redux is now calling my bluff. And thankfully so, since I (possibly) work best when under scary deadlines. The 5-year-old plastic insulation over my front window sometimes creates striped shadows in the sunlight, and they happened to fall on a stack of portrait pages this morning. The subject on the left is Rivane Neuenschwander, an artist that Marilu has worked with in the past.

[within reach is a series of photographs examining the environment of home in detail]

interview: frank edwards

© peter frank edwards

Peter Frank Edwards' food photos make me hungry. Well actually, this one is probably the only picture on either his website or his blog that doesn't make me hungry - but I love it, nonetheless. I just finished an interview with Frank on the Redux blog - you can read it here.

within reach: lunar

the eyeball in it's new spot © kjm

I've recently found some energy to make some small, mostly cost-free changes around the house - moving and building some shelves in my small library/gallery area, attempting to rid myself of long-held flea market finds, and generally moving things around. I have a round, plastic light fixture that has been hanging over my desk, but now looks much better in the kitchen. Marilu was with me when we found it, and we've always called it "the eyeball." From where it hangs now, it sometimes resembles the Moon.

[within reach is a series of photographs examining the environment of home in detail]

53202

© jw lawson, left, sonja thomsen, center, mark brautigam, right

Some recent local inspiration: First, a long-overdue coffee with jw lawson in his War Room space - a studio with great art history, being the former workspace of painter Fred Stonehouse. jw has a new self-published book, Southeastern View, available on his blog. And a few nights later, there was a nice meeting of minds with Sonja Thomsen and Mark Brautigam. Mark brought new work from his amazing series On Wisconsin, and Sonja showed pictures for an installation at the Amoury gallery. And her Lacuna work is in a current show at the Haggerty Museum of Art, a wonderful survey of ten of Wisconsin's best contemporary artists.

as seen: horizon line

porthole, wake © kjm

I spent yesterday on Lake Michigan, photographing some very interesting and passionate researchers as they gathered water samples to study. The water was calm, I learned a lot about my enormous liquid neighbor, and I loved how the wake from the boat looked like clouds in the sky.

hatches battened

N. Cicero Avenue Location © kjm

A recent find in Chicago.

interview: andrew cutraro

© andrew cutraro

My second interview is now posted on the Redux blog, with the photographer Andrew Cutraro. Andrew is the newest photographer to join the agency and has and thoughtful things to say about his work.

within reach: burnt

cookie after microwave incident © kjm

[within reach is a series of photographs examining the environment of home in detail]

i love this photo, #28

© Douglas Adesko

I love this photo by the photographer Douglas Adesko. I've been a fan of his work for a long time, most recently his series Family Meal. When I saw this picture on his website recently, I laughed out loud.

"The picture was supposed to be for my family holiday card this year - that's my wife and me in the street, and our daughter was going to be jumping over us on a motorcycle. But she chickened out at the last minute, so we were left with what you see, which I realized is a much more interesting picture anyway. But we never did get a holiday card out this year..."

q/a

© michael rubenstein

I've started a series of short interviews with fellow Redux photographers, which will appear weekly on the agency's blog. The first victim/volunteer to my line of questioning is Michael Rubenstein, a photographer based in Mumbai, India. Michael's website and blog are really fun to browse through, and you can read our conversation here.

within reach: timely

linus piggy bank © kjm

I wish there was a dramatic story behind my broken childhood piggy bank - like desperately wanting a new baseball glove, a gift for a cute girl, or R.E.M. Murmur. But alas, I think it was simply dropped.

[within reach is a series of photographs examining the environment of home in detail]

collaboration

Extending Origins © Andrea Bartley/kjm

For the past month, I've been working on a collaborative project with Andrea Bartley, a talented and driven first-year photography student at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design. Andrea is fortunate to be in a class of select freshmen taught by Jason Yi and Lynn Tomaszewski. As part of the class, students were paired with local artists to create a collaborative piece, which was displayed Friday night during a one-night event at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

We were asked to address the idea, "Does the person define the space, or does the space define the person?" At our first meeting, Andrea talked about the dramatic change from her mostly rural hometown to living in downtown Milwaukee. So we chose to address those two places, and the people from her past and present. It was exciting to tread on new ground - neither of us had worked collaboratively, or worked on video. The 4:18 minute video contains photos that were shot both in Zionsville, Indiana and Milwaukee - Andrea made the portraits and I shot the skies.

within reach: thin

hole in hotel soap bar © kjm

This never happens with Dove.

[within reach is a series of photographs examining the environment of home in detail]

within reach: pairings

smooth © kjm

My mom just returned from Hawaii with a suitcase full of hard-to-get-in-the-Midwest goodies. I now have two jars of jabotacaba and guava jellies, thanks to my Auntie Lyn. Cue the peanut butter.

[within reach is a series of photographs examining the environment of home in detail]

within reach: condensation

the front windowshade © kjm

[within reach is a series of photographs examining the environment of home in detail]

american

© greg ruffing, left; kjm, right, from American Youth

A while back I mentioned a portrait series I was working on, photographing young Native Americans on the Oneida Nation reservation in northern Wisconsin. The photos were created for American Youth, a book produced by Redux Pictures, which will be available in May. The book numbers 240 pages, has work by 25 of the agency's photographers, and was edited by a group of accomplished magazine photo editors.

I don't talk too much about my editorial work here, but I couldn't do what I do without Redux - they're great people, and do a wonderful job of promoting my magazine work. And the truth is, I'm really a fan of many of the agency photographers, so to have work in a collective project makes me really proud.

For more info, check out the website and blog for the book.

within reach: blue

blueberries © kjm

I swear I had eaten these before leaving for Phoenix, but they were on the kitchen counter when I got home.

[within reach is a series of photographs examining the environment of home in detail]

within reach: folds

shower curtain in the morning sun © kjm

[within reach is a series of photographs examining the environment of home in detail]

exit 253

N. 82nd Avenue Location, #1 © kjm

A nice find this week in Merrillsville, Indiana - I've shot an empty Dairy Queen sign before, in Ajo, Arizona, but this was a newer version of the company's logo.

as seen: glory, faded

paint store sticker, chicago © kjm

fast again

W. Peterson Avenue Location, #2 © kjm

Sebastian, one of the brains behind the building blocks of my website, recently tipped me off to an old Arby's in Chicago. Turns out, I had been there before, and photographed just the sign. But I was able to get an interior shot this time, and for his effort, I'll be mailing Sebastian a 38 booklet and print. Anyone else know of any buildings I haven't already shot?

within reach: identity

paper shredder window © kjm

[within reach is a series of photographs examining the environment of home in detail]