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.