portrait of a protest

© kjm

I shot a series of portraits yesterday in Madison, of protesters outside the state capital. My editorial rep, Redux Pictures is trying to find a good home for them, but here's a few of my favorites.

within reach: world wide

backlit cobwebs under the Ikea lamp © kjm

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

after

Black Locust Tree, Mount Williamson © kjm; Apple Blossums, Mount Williamson © Toya Miyatake

I really enjoyed my visit to Manzanar. They have a terrific visitors center there, operated by the National Park Service and staffed by a knowledgeable and engaging group of rangers. Manzanar is the most-visited of the former camp sites, both for the well-developed visitor experience, as well as it's proximity to cities in California. A driving tour of the site outlines the scale of the camp, but it was still hard to imagine 10,000 people living in this now very quiet, windblown landscape.

I didn't make many pictures on the site, but shot this tree and Mount Williamson at dusk. The next day, on a visit to the Eastern California Museum in the nearby town of Independence, I found the book Elusive Truth, Four Photographers at Manzanar. On page 104 was this photograph, Apple Blossums, Mount Williamson, by the great Japanese American photographer Toyo Miyatake.

road to manzanar

cactus on hwy 395, left, manju on the passenger seat, right © kjm

as seen: little tokyo

floating hashi © kjm

as seen: curbside

taco truck interior, Columbus, Ohio © kjm

Ten days later and 2,332 miles north.

as seen: roadside

Tequesquite, Mexico © kjm

ff in sf, sd

S. Minnesota Avenue Location, #1 © kjm

as seen: kings

Room 306 of the Lorraine Motel, left, Jungle Room at Graceland, right © kjm

as seen: sweet

sugar cane plant, New Iberia, LA © kjm

fast break

Highway 59 Location, #3 © kjm

Slammed on the brakes to stop for this one while driving through north Texas with Marilu.

as seen: dashed

storefront, Hope, Arkansas © kjm

as seen: voyage

Little Rock b&b © kjm

as seen: i am here

© kjm

i love this photo, #39

Oakland, California, 2010 © Noah Beil

I love this photo by Noah Beil, included in the Fraction Magazine Holiday Print Sale. It's sort of a perfect, crammed composition that reminds me of a contemporary version of a Stephen Shore photograph from Uncommon Places. Lots of great pictures to be had in the Fraction sale, including some items for sale to benefit CENTER, so be sure to pay a visit.

[See past 'i love this photo' entries here.]

as seen: mountain view

sign, Ashford, Washington © kjm

fastr

South 9th Street Location, #1 © kjm

one

Today is the one year anniversary of collect.give!

I'm thrilled that such a talented group of photographers have contributed their photographs and time to the project: Jane Fulton Alt, Jonathan Blaustein, Mark Brautigam, Barbara Ciurej, Amy Eckert, Matt Eich, Jon Feinstein, Sarina Finkelstein, Elizabeth Fleming, Max Gerber, Ben Huff, Dave Jordano, Stella Kalaw, Melissa Kaseman, David Leventi, Lindsay Lochman, John Loomis, Kerry Mansfield, Mark Menjivar, Annie Marie Musselman, Susana Raab, Ellen Rennard, Dalton Rooney, Kelly Shimoda, Emily Shur, Allison V. Smith, Aline Smithson, Brea Souders, Lacey Terrell, Sonja Thomsen and David Wright.

We have slowly, but surely raised over $17,000 for 30 different causes, all dear to the hearts of the contributing artists. And we're not slowing down: Yesterday, we had our second busiest day ever, with 1200 visits to the site. All this week, we're giving away great gifts to those who purchase prints - see the details here. And we have a list of talented artists who'll be contributing to the site in 2011.

Thanks to the photographers, the collectors, and to anyone who's simply stopped by and learned about the great organizations spotlighted.

family photographed

Sketch of Autumn © Yoichi Nagata

Aline Smithson has posted a terrific exhibition of photographs on the theme of Family on her Lenscratch blog, the first of a new series of democratic online group shows. It's lovely set of pictures, and this one, by Japanese photographer Yoichi Nagata, stopped me in my tracks. See the exhibition here.

remember the

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.

baby, it (was) cold outside

negative seven degrees © kjm

The third annual Fraction Magazine Holiday Print Sale is now live, and I've contributed this photograph from my series Within Reach. The picture is of my front window, as seen from my desk on a frigid morning last winter. For the sake of my heating bill (and all that is right in the world), I hope the same scene won't reveal itself again this year.

Don't miss seeing what's available on the Fraction site - some really lovely images by a terrific set of photographers.

Title: negative seven degrees
Date: 2009
Size: 8x10"
Media: Digital c-print on Fuji Crystal Archive matte paper
Edition size: 10
Price: $50
Shipping (U.S.): $3

To purchase via PayPal or your cc, click here.

3rd chance

Highway 61 Location, #1 © kjm

This one nearly got away. I've been past this closed Hardee's twice before, on an annual canoe trip in far Northern Minnesota. I intentionally leave my camera at home on this trip, making it a true vacation (students, shut your ears), with the exception of my phone. But I forget each year that this amazing restaurant exists. Luckily, my friend Steve was along on the trip, and he had his gear. Whew.

within reach: little hand

the big clock, down for dusting © kjm

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

within reach: jammy

old wine in a jam jar glass © kjm

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

voices of afghanistan

© Stephen Crowley

The latest issue of Visura Magazine has a wonderful series of portraits by New York Times photographer Stephen Crowley. His story and photographs are compelling on several levels: How journalists find themselves in specific places during specific times in history; the science of photography, which many of us have long forgotten; and fleeting but meaningful connections we make with our subjects. See Stephen's words and pictures here. (Be sure to hold your cursor over the captions for the expanded text)

as seen: ampersand

closed museum, highway 62 © kjm

as seen: 9:03am pst

guest bedroom © kjm

journeys

© John Mann, left; Fifteen Strange Seconds © Jon Horvath, right

I was struck recently by lovely work by photographers Jon Horvath and John Mann and the possible pathways between their work. Jon, who lives, teaches and makes pictures in Milwaukee, had new work in a recent faculty show at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design. In Passages, he uses the literary work of Jack Kerouac to lead him on GPS-assisted rambles, using the highway naming system to spell out phrases as he goes. The resulting images (his literal paths) are graphic in their presentation and reminded me of political gerrymandering maps.

And I recently received John Mann's terrific book Thinner Air in the mail. The limited edition book poetically depicts the creation and flight of a small handmade airplane. The images are delicate and buoyant.

Where are you headed?

ciurej & lochman on collect.give

The photographic team of Barb Ciurej and Lindsay Lochman have offered a print today on collect.give, with all proceeds pledged to The Voices and Faces Project.

Repercussions: Tides & Time

I'm proud to have work from Camp Home included in a group show at SOIL in Seattle, through the end of October. Repercussions: Tides & Time was curated by Alex Emmons and features work by Rebecca Cummins, Amze Emmons, Mark Klett, John Mann, Leslie Mutchler, M. Alexis Pike, Shawn Records, Margaret Stratton, Filippo Tagliati, Jason Urban, Ian van Coller, Angela Franks Wells, and Byron Wolfe. The show, in several variations, will travel to Central Washington University next and then closer to home at Grand Rapids Community College in Michigan.