Remembering Paul

I met Paul Conlan in 2008 when I was in my first SlowExposures exhibit. He was a volunteer with the event as well as a photographer who had work in the show. I learned that he had work in the show consistently. I was thrilled to have two photos selected that year.

SlowExposures takes place over two weekends in September. We just completed the first weekend. Next weekend the show will close.

I remember the closing Sunday in 2008. I came late in the day so I could hang out for a little while and would take my work home with me at the end of the day. Paul was there. Paul was on hand a lot during the show. He and I had a chance to talk quite a bit that late afternoon. We talked about his photos in the show and my photos in the show. He was genuinely nice and encouraging to me to continue to show my photographs. He offered to come give a talk to my photo group.

This year at the show I miss seeing Paul. I keep thinking I will look around and he will be there making a funny remark about one of my photos. But Paul is not there. Paul passed away last spring. His absence is felt by all who knew him. He had been a mainstay for SlowExposures for years.  What has brought a bit of comfort to many of us who knew him is the Paul Conlan Retrospective exhibit. Last Friday, I had the opportunity to talk with Paul's wife for a few minutes. His daughter and grandson were also there. The exhibit of his photos are memories for all of us. We walk by photos and say, "there, that was first place the year I first entered the show," and "that photo won the year Strickland's was under renovation and the show was at the airport."

I am positive that Paul would be happy as a clam that he had such an exhibit, during SlowExposures, in the Strickland Building, side-by-side with the main SlowExposures show. People were buying his prints and framed images on Sunday and all of them spoke of him, his work, and how they remember him. This has been a great tribute to a great photographer and friend.

Next Sunday (September 29), at the close of the show, friends and family will gather to remember Paul. I will certainly remember the closing Sunday from 6 years ago. If anyone reading this remembers Paul or just loves his photography -- please come to SlowExposures at 5pm to be part of this celebration of a wonderful photographer.

Pilgrimage

I wrote a few months ago about my grandmother's property being sold. This land had been in the family a very long time. Part of the property was taken by the county in the 60's to create a reservoir. After that, my grandparents moved "up the hill." As a very young child, I remember going up that hill with my granddaddy a few times. We would walk to the old homeplace -- where my grandmother grew up. I saw the kitchen building from that old homeplace a couple weeks ago. 

My trip to Virginia was long overdue. Time was growing short this summer for my daughter to be out of college. I wanted her to go along with me so she could see my mother and other relatives for a short visit. It seemed like I always would head to Virginia near my and my grandmother's birthdays. I drove up just after hers and days before mine.

The first day back I decided to make the trip further north (the other end of the county) to the property. It was a very cool morning and very low humidity for July. That was welcome. Upon arrival, I met up with the man who had purchased my great uncle's home from my grandmother. He accompanied me on my hike.  

I walked down the path I had taken many, many times before. It was very familiar but also changed. The trees were taking over what had been open land. I saw ruins of the 'pig pen' and old well house near my granddaddy's garden. As I passed where the well had been, I remembered the bucket he and I would lower to the water to get a drink on a hot day. The garden was filled with sapling pines. We saw the stable and chicken coop. I pointed out to him where the fence was and the old pear tree. Beyond the tree was the homeplace spot -- the old kitchen still standing. Near there granddaddy had a patch of asparagus that would show up the same time as a wave of daffodils. Past this area had been an apple tree that I could no longer find, nor could I find the persimmon tree. In place of that is a patch of blackberry lilies that was full of blooms and butterflies. 

The field where my pony would roam was very overgrown as was the trail down to the water. We passed another shed where granddaddy would store his treasures. Here something bit my arm and a yellow jacket flew in my face. All I could think of was that I did not want a snake encounter this day. Moving down the hill, through all of the leaf litter, I kept my eyes on the ground most of the time searching for one. Along the hill were many redbud trees, dogwood, and mountain laurel growing well here. There were also many old, decaying tree trunks most likely victims of Hurricane Isabel (2003).

At the bottom I sat up my tripod and shot many images. I remembered the times I spent there with my granddaddy. One time I caught a really large fish there -- so big I walked up the hill to get it to the shore. There were mornings he and I would walk down there, being as quiet as we could, to catch the beaver out on the lake. When the beaver spied us, it would always slap the water with its tail and disappear. There in that spot I had seen turtles, snakes, deer, and more. One day we saw a black cloud in the water heading toward the shore. It was many tiny, black, baby catfish in a large group. That day, I still saw the pole sticking out of the water that was between my grandparent's home and that the house where my great grandfather lived. Both of those homes under the lake.

I took many photos with my regular cameras that day. The photo below, I shot with my iPhone, is so far my favorite. This is from the place I stood many times. I had this photo printed 20 inches square on aluminum and I framed it yesterday in a graphite metal frame. Tomorrow I will take this photo and a bunch of others featuring water, the beach, and Barbies to LaGrange. The reception for this show at Cochran Gallery, 4 E Lafayette Sq, is August 23 at 7pm. If you can, come see this in person.

Shoreline

Barbie Beach, LaGrange, and a Walking Dead Reunion

In 2011 a friend of mine had an idea to collaborate on a project about Barbie Beach. Barbie Beach is a local (Turin, GA) landmark on Highway 16. The beach has many fans, including the crew of The Walking Dead. In 2011, TWD crew gave the beach a batch of zombie Barbies. Recently the crew returned with more Barbies. My friend and I have been shooting this oasis for almost two years now. We are expanding our original exhibit for a show in LaGrange opening in August at Cochran Gallery. The reception is Friday August 23, time TBA.

I have tried to watch The Walking Dead and can't quite get into it. Sometimes I find it a bit too creepy; other times I find the walkers staggering around a bit comical -- like they have been hitting the bottle a little too much. Recently the TV show reunited me with a high school friend. My house is just minutes from one of the main shooting locations for the show. The little town of Senoia sees a LOT of tourist traffic. They have some of the signs used on the show up and in place for all to see and take souvenir photos standing along side. A few weeks ago, on a Sunday morning, while browsing on Facebook I see a photo of an old friend posted from Senoia. He was in Atlanta visiting family and happened to be a big fan of the show -- so he made the trip to see the places used to shoot the show. I hopped in the car and met him for a brief chat and to point him in the right direction to find the old feed mill in Haralson.

So save the date for the Barbie reception -- I promise a fun time will be had by all, including Barbie!

Percolator

I have a new app. If you follow me on Instagram (@donnarosser) you already know this. Oh, and I love it.

with Percolator

I have used this app on photos of the dogs, blueberries, and a macro of a yucca. I love them all. This one -- the lilies in my backyard pond is a favorite. There have been some attempts that did not turn out so well -- and you will never see those.

The images look nice printed -- I have a couple at my framer now and plan to show them later on this fall. I am cautious to not become dependent on the gimmick of the app. This is fun and looks wonderful to me -- my math background is loving the geometrics of this effect.  But (a big but here) I am afraid I have already over used it. So in thinking about how to make an app more personal to my own vision I am taking these images a step (or two) beyond the app. These images are lending themselves to wonderful mixed media and collage works. I will also show these end results later on this fall.

I am a big fan of Hipstamatic, Wood Camera, Snapseed, and Viewmatic. I think at last count I have over 25 photo apps on my iPhone. For anyone interested in the un-Percolated version of the Lilies -- it is below.

original image