mobile blogging

I'm on the train back from NYC. I just saw the new photography exhibit @ moma. My previous mentor, Tanyth Berkeley was in the show. I had seen her work at bellwither gallery last summer. The gallery show had a mix of very small 4x6 prints up to the large scale work shown at moma. The mix of large and small wa interesting to see together but I am drawn to her life-sized portraits. It is amazing how powerful they are when the scale of the viewer and the subject are the same. Watching the viewers interact with them became most unique when I saw a woman pose for a portrait with one of Tanyth's muses.I am thinking of people who are photographed with cardboard cutouts of famous people. These portraits at moma have now slipped into the tourist landscape of been there seen that. I'm curious to see how Tanyth feels about that. (Photo added later... if only I could do THAT from my phone)

Off the face of the Earth & Back

Yes, my wedding caused me to fall off of the face of the earth. I have now returned. There. I've done it. I was afraid to write a new post because the longer time between postings the more profound I thought the post needed to me. We'll I'm getting over it. I'm married. It was wonderful - truly beyond words. And now - I am working 40+ hours a week on school work to make-up for my time off. We'll see how it goes!
- Katie Ring

ipod, progress & commitment

Wedding in 22 days... sanity level surprisingly 3 (on a scale of just fine to bridezilla)

I felt at though I was the only 25 year old Bostonian without an ipod. Well no longer. Luckily my sister bought a new mac, got a free ipod, and passed her old one along to me. How did I live without this beautiful little box before? Storing my music is great... but I didn't know it would sync with iCal to organize my life for me! As soon as verizon no longer owns my soul (Feb 22nd) then I'm switching and getting myself an iphone.

Today I did mange to accomplish more than my wonderful discovery of the ipod (just 5 years later than all of my friends). I have been sending messages to my facebook friends and 2 have written back. My photo project "the people I used to know" may get off the ground after all! I also did some more photographs at the Ring's home. Meaning I am continuing my homes project as well. How committed of me! ;)

"People I used to know"

I'm starting a portrait photography project called "People I used to know." We have a natural curiosity about those they've known in their lives. Now all we have to do is turn to the virtual world to learn about people from our past. I can find out where my old friends work, live, and even see recent photos of them! In fact there are many people that I am now virtual friends with. The most interesting thing is that many of my facebook/myspace "friends" are not people I would have considered friends when I knew them. We were acquaintances at best. So what are we so interested in each others lives that we "re-connect" now? Or is it a popularity contest is virtually display who has the most friends? I can't decide. Thought I've collected these friends I haven't sent them messages, just added them to my list (or they added me). I find our curiosity paired with technology to have created an amazing virtual network. I want to explore this in my work. I am going to change the dynamic by actually contacting these people I used to know.

2 months later...

I haven't written in my blog in almost 2 months. This somehow reminds me of writing in a diary when I was in middle school. I would pick out the prettiest book, and find a nice pink pen to give it that extra "Katie" touch. Excited, I would write in it every day, or at least every few days. I was going to have the best diary ever. Maybe I'd even get to be one of those people who grew up and published their diaries! The ideas would start whirling around in my head. Then all the sudden the diary was at the bottom of a pile of things forgotten.

I tend to do this. It's not as if I never realized the tendency before, but no one has even pointed this out to me in such a matter-of-fact way. When I met with my mentor, Sandra, she said one thing that has continued to stick out in my mind. Something to the effect of "You have a idea and then start thinking of all the possibilities and soon it expands into something much bigger than it needs to be." This is so true. It's amazing that a woman I've met with just twice can see me so clearly. I DO do this! The problem is once the original thing has turned into the inflated idea with 500 possibilities then it becomes too daunting and impossible to continue. Often I abandon it all together.

So (also 2 months after meeting with my mentor) I am going to apply this self-realization to my everyday life. One step at a time. Walk before you run. Take a minute to breathe first. The thing that I do need to consider is that while I know this quality of mine can become negative it is this same aspect of my personality that has allowed me to do some of the things I have done. Start a wedding photography business right out of college, travel to India, begin planning a wedding and start work on my masters all in the same month...

Days until the wedding: 31
Days until my next paper is due: 5
Day I'm back from my honeymoon and need to re-focus: 11/5/07
Dates of upcoming wedding jobs: 12/1/07 & 12/31/07
Day of my next MFA residency: 1/5/08

Stop there - no more deadlines - even my lists start to inflate to more than I can handle. I have plans to write at least something in my blog again soon. See you tomorrow or next month - could be either!

New colors

Welcome to the new Pink and Orange look. :)

I went camping this weekend. It was nice to not have to work. I also made some "arty" photos of myself and my friends.


I am thinking of taking this "look" and using it to photograph families. Maybe for a project I had in mind "the people that live there now." Portraits of people who now live in places that were once my home.


I would like to do these in a suburban house setting of a family. It would need to be a creative bunch willing to work with me - and it's obviously very posed. Kids with an ability to hold still would be nice... am I asking for too much now? I'm trying to decide the best way to find these models. I might start with people I know. Also maybe craigslist? Families of friends?

Also I met with a photographer I used to intern for on Friday, Jeff Stevensen. (http://www.jeffstevensenphoto.com) We talked about what I was doing now and he said "you may not realize it, but being a working photographer after graduating is a major success itself. So many get discouraged and go into something else." This was helpful insight to keep things in perspective for myself.

I tend to focus on what else I could be doing and hot to be MORE successful. He also things that my focus as a portrait photographer is perfect to work in the commercial market because it's one of the few things that clients will always need - current photographs a specific people. And you can't just "use stock." Something I hadn't really thought of - but a good point. We also talked about my marketing & branding (right now just focused on wedding photography). It's nice to hear what things other people are doing, and are not doing. All in all it seems as though, according to Jeff anyway, I'm on the right track. This is a good thing. Especially coming from working commercial photographer! I'm not sure what my career plan will be - but I do thing that commercial work will be a part of it. Maybe teaching as well. Art would be nice too - but seems like such a difficult way to make a living. Right now I'm just going to keep shooting Art and Weddings and hope the puzzle pieces fall into place and I continue to "make a living" with my camera.

Another reason to love Maine...

I forgot to list one of my favorite things about Maine - the photo workshops!
http://theworkshops.com/photoworkshops

Brooke & I went there today so she could meet with her mentor. I visited a friend from college who is working there for the summer, John Barduhn. I also ran into Liz Schrenk, who is also in my program @ AIB. I also saw some friends from last summer that I didn't know were back. I had a great time just sitting at the lunch table talking to people. It's amazing how much you learn just sitting there & talking. For example I HATED aperture (the program) because it locks your photos up in the vault and I find that annoying. However - if I move the vault to a big external drive then I can use it without having it annoy me & take up all the hard drive space on my laptop. Simple fix suggested in a 2 minute chat on the program.

I also went to visit Tim Whelan's Bookstore.

(207) 236-4795

25 Main St

Rockport, ME 04856

If you find yourself in Rockport you MUST go! I bought a Harvey Stein book and Tim says "Isn't Harvey teaching here this summer?" And yes, of course he is! And yes, of course I'd like to take his workshop! Looks like I'm signing up again. After last summer how did I think I could stay away?

Other notes from Tim:
• Photographic Historical Society of New England
http://www.phsne.org (meetings & yearly photo show & sale Oct 6 & 7.)
• Look @ Vicky Goldberg's book: Light Matters