NYC Show? !

I have some exiciting news. Thanks to Eric, who purchased some of my super-discounted prints at our Holiday Open Studios, I will be showing a piece or two atg a gallery in New York City! Gallery One Twenty Eight.
This is a rather last minute happening, and I don't yet have all of the details, but will update this post when I do.

Check back soon.

Matt

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays to all! I hope your holidays are filled with peace and happiness.

Matt

Holiday Open Studios - Saturday Dec. 9, Sunday, Dec.10

Looking for that perfect gift? Art lovers on your list? Want something unique?
Look no further.

Join your three favorite DC photographers as we clear out our studios and reduce prices to give you amazing gifts, all under $100! We will have photos that usually sell for 3 times more, but we need to get them out the door to make room for other work! You can make them into a present like no other.

The photographers are:

Matt Achhammer - www.canyoupicturethat.com

Alexandra Silverthorne - www.alexandrasilverthorne.com

Robert Walton - www.teamwetdog.com

We'll have brunch snacks, mimosas, and the art work, and we hope to have you there with us to socialize and shop and talk about photography.

On Saturday, Join Alexandra and Matt at the Gallaerie in Mt. Pleasant on Saturday night at 8:30! 1644 Mt. Pleasant St. NW. We'll have photos on display and on discount, of course.

On Sunday, Join all three of us at Alexandra's place on Wisconsin ave. Email Matt or others for more information.

I hope to see you there!!!

In the Express online, and now, a video of the bridge demolition

So, to my surprise today, Alexandra sent me a link to http://www.readexpress.com/read_freeride/2006/11/local_blog_log_suckcessories_on_display_1.php, and in the "Local Blog Log," my Wilson Bridge photo was profiled. Thanks Alexandra and The Express.

Now, for a bit of background to the long exposure, I am posting the video of the demolition, as you'll see, it is very quick.

See the video here.

The Wilson Bridge

A while back, I went to see the wilson Bridge being demolished, and thanks to the prime location of my friend Jason's apartment, I was able to capture it perfectly on film. The following image is the first look at the results of a 5 second exposure with my 4x5 camera, which captured the whole event, all the flashed and explosions, on one negative. Enjoy! I plan to print this and do a limited edition for the Metro area in the future. You may not be able to see it all in the fairly small image, but if you look to the side of the standing portion of the bridge, you will see a series of lights that are explosions as they rippled up the old bridge to take it down.

Olbermann: Special Comment ( a Must SEE!)

On Election Day, I send you to this video from Election eve. Kaith Olbermann, in a "Special comment" session: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIua7n5131s

enjoy,

New Orleans

Again. I'm here for halloween and hopefully some follow up work on the photos of reconstruction, etc.

Had a hassle at the airport this am. Some genius TSA screener, even after I specifically told him not to open my boxes of 4x5 sheet film in light, opened and thus ruined a box of Provia 100 4x5 sheets! $75 TSA owes me, @#$%^&*.

But I'm in New Orleans, so it doesn't matter right now. :)

ooohhh....

dark room! I love it! love, love, love it!earlier today, I dropped a piece of paper in liquid and, Voila!, an image appeared before my eyes and took shape. ok, obviously I'm happy to have gotten back in the dark room today, getting some wedding shots ready for a potential client this week.

Currently working on the Young Artists Grant for the DCCAH. Grant writing? really fun...
really.

Back into web design

I've always played around with web design, on my own site, and the occasional other, and I'm currently working on one for real estate sales, condominiums specifically: www.victorianonbrown.com. Its pretty much done, just a few more tweaks needed. I'm enjoying getting back into it, so tell your realtor friends and anyone who needs a website to contact me!

Wiki, wiki, what?

Wikiality.com folks, a new site from Stephen Colbert. I encourage you to go there and use the power of your wikiness to edit things to make sure they are "correct." Go! Now! edit and set the "truthiness" free!!!

On restrictions, again...

For a few years now, mostly since 9/11, many photographers have encountered issues with law enforcement and other authorities when photographing public buildings, utilities, etc. It is tough to accept restrictions on one's work while in public space and photographing public buildings, and there seems to be a general confusion on both sides (photo professionals and law enforcement) as to where the line should be drawn. I personally am against the abuse of power by police and others and a seemingly unreasonable approach to security. In being reasonable, I always try to discuss this with both sides when the chance arises.

I happened to be speaking with an analyst at the Pentagon recently and discussing this, and he shed a little light on it, not making it easier to accept, but perhaps easier to understand where the other side is coming from. He mentioned that very specific photos of buildings and such are almost always present when terrorist and terrorist safe houses are searched, including such detailed images as exits and entrances to elementary schools, hospitals, etc.

Not that this makes all the restrictions right, but it sheds a little more light on why some photographers have been harassed, questioned, taken in, etc.

For more on this topic:
-Downloadable one page paper explaining your rights as a photographer: http://www.krages.com/phoright.htm
-Good NPR story on this topic: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4705698
-PhotoSig discussion: http://www.photosig.com/go/forums/read?id=206320
-http://www.photopermit.org/

Photography Restrictions

I've been meaning to post this for a while. Recently, friends and I went to see a friend's band, "No Second Troy," at Iota Cafe in Nova.

At the door, Steve, a fellow photographer, was informed he could not bring his camera in. He had an old 35mm manual camera, and it was on his shoulder. I respect the club's decision to not allow photography, and it is posted that no photography is allowed. The doorman said that he had to have permission, so I suggested our friend in the band say he was there to take photos. Well, that didn't work. By now, this was a pain in the ass, he just wanted to take photos of his friend's band.

What makes this particularly annoying is that at least 6, if not more, other people had small digital cameras, the type to fit in pockets easily, and they were snapping away like crazy throughout the night. So, if a club is realy going to have a no photo policy, they really need to be fair about it and enforce it, otherwise, this is a most pointless restriction.

Rant over. thoughts?

The Sandbox

I always enjoy reading Doonesbury, and now the strip and its creator have a new feature in "the Sandbox." It appears to be an unedited, untouched blog from military personnel here and abroad. Interesting so far, check it out here: http://gocomics.typepad.com/the_sandbox/

Not a photo

I subscribe to the betterphoto.com newsletter, I'm not sure why, but I've been on their list for a while. Every month, they have a newsletter with a winning photo and "new photos discussions." Here's where I'm annoyed. The current photo of the month, http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/dynoGallDetail.asp?photoID=2466928
IS NOT APHOTOGRAPH!!!! This is a digital image at best. I'm sorry for those digital fans out there who want to think they are producing photographs. You may shoot a photograph, but once your drop a cloud and whatever effects on it in photoshop, it is a digital image. there are many more examples of this type of things on http://www.betterphoto.com, which is mostly a site devoted to digital image capturing, so I guess I shuoldn't be too surprised.

Rant finished.

PA

Home in PA for a few days, helping my brother move into a new house.

while here, I may get out to do some more work on the Breaker project, seen in my black and white galleries, under the Blue Coal Breaker work.

Here are two images, yet unfinished, from my recent trip to and inside the breaker:

Beginning to catch up

So I was in Germany and Prague in the beginning of this year, and the photos from that still sit sleeved in storage, but are starting to be seen by my eyes, so I figured I would share one or two here as a teaser, and to get me posting a little more frequently.

On the darker side, this is from the Dachau Concentration Camp (Memorial Site). This will probalby be worked in with my series on Holocaust Memorials I've worked on for a few years, just two of which can be seen in my black and white galleries.

To lighten things up a bit, here's one from Prague, taken on my 6x6. this is in the central square, just one that I liked so far in my scanning.

Hotel Palomar - Art In Motion

Tonight, I was the guest artist at Hotel Palomar's Wine Hour. Palomar is the newest Kimpton Hotels property in town. I was given the "living room" section of the posh lobby, and displayed some of my Taos Pueblo work, as well as New Orleans work pre and post Katrina, among some other pieces. I also had my 4x5 camera with me, a light box with 4x5 transparencies, and some work in progress. It was great to have a few folks ask about film, and even for advice on going film or digital. (Pretty sure I convinced him to replace his old Pentax manual camera instead of going digital.) :)

If you didn't get to see Spike Lee's documentary, it will run again near the end of the month, it is very worthwhile, though damn depressing. I'll have more to write about that and Katrina later.

Spike Lee's Film on HBO :When the Levees Broke

Tonight and Tomorrow, watch it at 9pm each night:
http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/whentheleveesbroke/?ntrack_para1=feat_main_image

It's been a long time...an update.

This evening I attended a reception for the launch of Robert Walton's self-published book, "Twelve Dreams: a transcription." Robert reminded me that I need to post more on the blog, so with a little bit of fire lit beneath me, I' m back.

My last post was June 8th! And two months later I'm back to let you know where I've been, what I've been up to, etc. I am still in the midst of a job search, looking for that right position with the right organization, and spreading the net beyond the non-profit world into service learning education, photography and similar jobs, and about anything else that interests me.

I have spent some time with my family, at home in Sugar Notch, PA, as well as traveling with my friend and fellow photographer Jeremy to Yellowstone, grand Tetons, and Glacier National Parks. Traveling while unemployed? Yes, since I was able to continue the job search while on the road, since it is something that can be done from anywhere for the most part, unless an interview comes up, and then there is always the phone.

I'll eventually get the trip photos online, but for now, am still working on some other things to be put online, such as results from Germany and Prague, as well as a continuation of the Blue Coal Breaker series, after my tour of the breaker from the inside thanks to the Huber Preservation Society, of which I am a member.

While sending out resumes, cover letters, and job searching, I am also putting a lot of time into the business side of my photography, simple things that need to be updated like my resume, files, negative storage, etc. I'm also revamping my efforts to get into the DC Theatre scene doing lighting design. On this note, you will notice a new addition to the homepage, my logo in the upper right corner, designed by my friend and an amazing artist / illustrator, Emily. This logo will be on my business cards, letterhead, and also has been featured near my signature on prints and mattes.

Stay tuned for some updates on editioning of specific works.

Doubts again...digital encroaching

I shot an event today for the National Network for Domestic Violence, and had to share the time with another photographer, she of course was shooting digital. She was very friendly and it all worked out well to shoot together, but a first for me. As I get a few more jobs along the way, I realize the benefits of digital, of course, and she even mentioned its practical and its what is in demand, and of course, with digital, you get more jobs. All good points, and not too much new, but it got me thinking.

So I wandered to Penn, returned my rental Turbo battery, and browsed, priced, chatted about digital. I'm still looking at a $4,ooo investment at least, including lenses, new flashes, cards, etc. to get near the quality of an F100, SB-28, and roll of Portra. I don't have that kind of capital right now of course. Not to mention all the other issues with digital such as battery life, CCD cleanliness, etc., etc. So I'm ok for now. But I may rent one for a job in the near future and see how it goes.

In other news, I'm finally getting the photos from my Germany and Prague trip worked on, so they should be online soon, along with more work on the Coal Breaker Project.

Tomorrow night, I plan to check out the WVSA opening mentioned in the previous post, and then Friday to Bethesda for the art walk, perhaps. Saturday I may be attending the Fraser Gallery's "Artist Boot Camp." Hopefully will see some of you around (if any of you actually read this. )

Upcoming Show to Check Out

I recently wrote about the current show at WVSA / SAIL downtown, and there is a new one coming up that yo ushould look into. Details follow:

Taken from http://www.wvsarts.org/WVSA/gallery/events.html#1

Presenting the latest WVSA gallery show:

DISTRICT DIMENSIONS… a collection of paintings featuring captivating historic and contemporary local architecture including buildings, circles, statues and bridges.

Opening Night Reception
Thursday, June 8, 2006
5:30-7:30 pm
Show runs through July 5, 2006

Work will be available for post-event viewing and purchase Mon.-Fri. 10am-6pm.
This event was generously sponsored by Inscape Studio, for more info go to: www.inscapestudio.com.

WVSA Arts Connection
1100 16th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Gallery Contact: gallery@wvsarts.org or 202-296-9100 x204
Press Contact: communications@wvsarts.org or 202/296-9100 x305
Fax: 202/261-0200
www.wvsarts.org

Donate your used cell phone through our Eco Cell Program and get 5% off any purchase!

---------------------
(Matt says: Interesting addition to save some money on art, get rid of those old cell phones!)

Hope you get to see this one.

Matt

Free for All! Go see it.

This evening I was treated to the Shakespeare in the Park Free for All show of Pericles. I haven't missed a Free for All show in 4 years, and am glad I did not miss this one. It is early enough in the run (it goes until June 4th), that you should make plans now to go see it. It's free. And it's good.

The production is faced with a challenge, presenting Shakespeare to a modern audience not of the usual suspects. Sure, there are the regular playgoers and theatre folks there, but the one special thing about the Free for All is that you meet and hear many who would not otherwise go to a play, let alone a Shakespeare play not commonly know. "Pericles" added to the task this year, as it is not one that will draw by name along such as "Hamlet" or A"A Midsummer Night's Dream" might. At first, some of the directorial and production decisions kept me apprehensive and on edge, wondering if I would enjoy it. Let's breeze through these examples first, before getting to the better parts. As in last year's performance, there is a tendency for the production to be a bit campy or diminutive to the text and the work, and although somewhat necessary, it played out a little to harshly for me in the first few Acts and Scenes. The famine experienced by King Cleon and wife was somewhat over-embellished so to speak. In one of the first comic relief scenes, as Pericles washes ashore at Pentapolis, one actor playing a dumbfounded fool a fisherman was a bit overboard, as were the caricatures portrayed by the suitors of Princess Thaisa. And in some transitions the heavy "Eastern" Music played to an exotic, belly-dance feeling, and the dinner of Thaisa's suitors didn't suit me with modern balloons intruding. These were all minor compared to the overall production, however.

The effort at producing a seamless and enjoyable experience for the audience was bold and accomplished, in my opinion, and through a combination of competent acting, incredible direction and text interpretation, and skillful sound and lighting, the "modern" audience seemed enthralled and drawn in, not petering out as may be expected during a long, hot evening with the Bard. The beginning, a tough one to deal with because in a sense it is very small, even though setting the play's events, was well done and orchestrated with a tight fist, two onstage "maids" turning into a chorus to lead us into the rest of the journey, a tool involving other actors later on and used throughout to guide onlookers through what could be a very bumpy and disjointed ride. In a scene discounted above for its balloons, it should be noted that the dance which set the table for Princess Thaisa's wooing was fantastic, brining on many set pieces in an entertaining way in plain view. Scene changes throughout, in fact, were very nicely integrated. Another stands out, wherein the walls of the set turned a beautifully rich shade of lighter greenish-blue, and the floor a darker patterned green, the first time the set changed drastically enough to take you away from it in full. If only I could remember exactly what that was for, it was too dark at the point to take notes any longer. Overused perhaps, but very well done, were the scenes wherein Pericles traveled the sea, peacefully or not so much, when the long strips of blue materials, or one large strip for the goddess Diana, were the setting.

The Director, David Muse, and his assistants and staff should be applauded for some of the best directional choices I've seen for Shakespeare, especially for a modern audience's consumption. The simple act of filling in a dash or broken phrase with action and import was brilliantly done along the way, as well as the sparks of light in which actors expounded on the lines and underlying meanings. Lines where one speaker cut off another could easily be played as such, but many times in this production these were filled with dramatic pauses, or an action or sound or gesture that brought meaning to that pause or break in the text. The language was also as fluid as possible for the modern mind to hear, especially for any not used to listening to or reading and then listening to Shakespeare and his meter. Speaking of meter, when Pericles' men travel to find him, the tapping and military style of there marching and speaking to that meter was a moment of brilliance on the part of the direction, even if in this case the actors' lines did not keep up. I'll be looking back at the text again to refresh my memory and see how well it was adapted to our present day ears. And of course, the production played up the wonderful puns and wit in the text, as well as the sexual connotations found throughout.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the night, and left, as it seems many of my fellow audience members did, with a satisfied smile and brighter outlook for the walk home. As I was leaving, one man nearby was loudly conversing in his cellphone, explaining where he was coming from and such, and said something to the effect of "This was amazing! I actually understood it, even more than "Romeo and Juliet," and I've seen that move many times." Ah, there's the rub...;perhaps others will find the same, when you're seeing live theatre, there's nothing to be afraid of, and you may gain much more than the static silver screen. So, stop reading this and go see it.

Disclaimer: I am not a professional critic, I am simply a lover of theatre who has studied English Literature (including Shakespeare of course) and also done theatre work and lighting design professionally here and there. I hope you enjoy this review.)

A great opening...

Tonight I went to an opening at WVSA / SAIL, to see the DC YouthVision Arts Show, as described here: http://www.wvsarts.org/WVSA/gallery/events.html#3
My favorite part of the show, was a wall of photography done by the students at Community Preservation and Development Corporations’ Youth Gateway Program, who, under the instruction of photographer and educator Mr. Whipple, creates some beautiful portraits in and out of the studio. Each piece had a very telling story behind it, and the composition and lighting and execution for the images, given that the students were all from about 11 to 14 or so, was spectacular.

Also present were photograms, some hand colored as well, done by the students at The Latin American Youth Center’s Art & Media House. One piece, by Mohamed, was shown to me by the young artist himself, and he explained the process, working in the darkroom and putting objects on paper, using a light from a machine, and the amazing moment when the image appeared on the paper. Mohamed found the dark room a bit scary, but was amazed at the whole process. As a film purist, I must admit feeling a little glad that a 12 year old had seen the power of the dark room.

Wood pieces from the Covenant House Artisans' Program were also on display, and if I had a desk, I would have bought one of the intricate inalid business card holders. Each wood piece, box to table, had a very skilled finish as well as uniqe and ornamental inlaid decorations.

Read up on the exhibit and stop by to see it. You will be impressed by the quality and talented work that inspires from the minds of kids. We need to listen to them more often in this world.

Ballsy...

and pretty funny too. Stephen Colbert at the Correspondents' dinner. What the MSM isn't covering. (It's on YouTube, so split into three videos, 2 on the side screen to continue on.)

New

Ah, the first day of unemployment. Its somehwat of a nice feeling, not having to wake up and be somewhere right on time to slave away. I'll be hitting the protests later on today to do some shooting, but first, I have to go get some new equipment, namely my film scanner.

My trusty Minolta DualScan IV died on me, in the middle of an important job. Since Konica Minolta is pretty much defunct, and its 2 plus years old, its time for something new. I'm going to go with the Epson 4990 which will allow me to scan medium and large format negs, finally.

All for now. Posts should be much more frequent on the blog now.

The only thing constant...

...is change.

It has been a while since I've posted, and that time has been filled with travel to Germany and Prague, along with multiple trips home to PA. This was my first weekend out of 5 that I spent in DC, and I enjoyed the luxury of being lazy.

The biggest news in my life, and the change that is present now, is that I will be leaving my work as Campaign Organizer of the National Housing Trust Fund Campaign at the National Low Income Housing Coalition, effective Friday. I've known for over a week, and if you'd like to hear the details, let me know, rather than me broadcasting it all publicly. (Laid off due to reorganization.)

That said, if you know of positions open that would work for me, let me know. I am running the gamut in the search, from service learning and teaching at the college level for social awareness, to photojournalism positions, to teaching English abroad, to housing development work at a local level, to consulting and e-organizing work, and of course federal advocacy and activism. I feel fortunate to have a wide spectrum of choices, and I hope they will take me to the right place.

Expect an update and newsletter to come soon, and my photos from Germany and Prague will be up when things calm down a little.

m

Germany!

Germany has treated me well so far. Itäs been a whirlwind of days and I am leaving tonight for Prague. Some of the photos, from when it actually got to clear skies, should be good.
I've been meeting many wonderful Germans, and quite a few uglz Americans, the ones that get tourists from the US the badname. #But overall, thereäs not much better than stumbling from the Hofbrauhaus engaging in conversation with 4 languages, understanding two...German, Spanish, English, and Turkish.#

Timeäs out on my card.

Aufveiterschen! (I know thatäs spelled wrong)

A new show!

It looks very unlikely that the rest of the Gulf Coast project wil get wrapped up before I leave the country on Sunday.
For now, some good news. I will be showing 4 pieces, mostly new work in the following show:

Creative Community Connection
Featuring artwork from WVSA’s adult staff, friends and family.

Come see the talented work from the greater WVSA community on sale in the ARTiculate gallery: paintings, jewelry, photography.

Opening Night Reception
April 6, 2006 5:30 - 7:30 pm
Show runs through May 18th 2006.

Artists:
Mike Palmieri
Lauren P. Coker
Tatyana T Chambers
Ankhi Guhathakurta
Matt Achhammer
Kristian Whipple
Jeff Johnston
Mary Ann Medina
Donald McCray
Ziska West
Jennifer Verrier
Peter Guttmacher
Samar Modonpour
Tierra Buggs

ARTiculate is an arts-based program that develops vocational, social, and life-management skills for DC youth with special needs, special skills, and special talents between the ages of 14-24.

Gulf Coast...

It is sometimes tough to find the time to complete things, such as putting entries on this blog, or my work on the New Orleans and Gulf Coast photos. The first results can be seen on the homepage, though these are just a handful of the images, and do not include some that Iwould like. Work and life have kept me from getting to the rest, as well as a somewhat haunted feeling. These are tough images to go through. Each time, even when separated by a computer or loupe on the light table, the images evoke the moments when I took them, surrounded by that destruction I cannot describe, though I feel the photos do a good job of it, as it seems do many of the viewers. Thank you to those who have given me feedback so far.

A few have taken special interest. The photos were used for the Ecumenical Advoacy Days Conference last weekend, and now grace the pages of my employer's page at the National Low Income Housing Coalition, as well as the homepage of the National Policy and Advocacy Council on Homelessness. Also, James W. Bailey (who gave me some great advice while in New Orleans, has taken an interest and has my photos and thoughts on them on his blog. James also has a new project worth checking out, found through his blog, documenting a day each Lent in a destroyed house in New Orleans.

I leave for Germany in a week, and can't promise that I'll get to the rest of the Gulf Coast images, but perhaps, with the right amount of time, I can work to completion of this project, which will hopefully include a photo essay or something similar.

Oh, and for the two weeks I'll be gone to Germany, I'll miss out on 4 events to shoot and an opening including 4 of my photos..more on this soon.

Biking again! and new paths to and from downtown

For any of you who bike, I found some new ways to get to and from downtown that will keep me away from too much traffic and cars. On the ride home, the bike lane on R st. is a god send, especially during what is usually a hellish rush hour on other streets. And then connect to Rock Creek PArkway.

Its nice to ride in and out through "nature." I hope it will rejuvenate me a bit.

Now I've just got to figure out that whole shower thing. :)

Some shows and developments in the work, I'll post about them soon. Trying to relax right now, so there's a good chance I won't get to the Katrina photos and others again for a week. Keep an eye out for them.

End of week wrap-up

Friday!!!

For a few updates:

-Photos from my Gulf Coast travel are now up, see the homepage.

-Tomorrow I will have on piece in a Juried exhibition at the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, 545 7tth St. SE, www.chaw.org. Come on over and check it out. The show was juried by Lenny Campello.

-I've started a newsletter to be sent out once a month. If you'd like to receive it, email me. It has updates, special deals, etc., such as..Make $50 by referring wedding clients to me. When they hire me, I pay you $50!

Enjoy the weekend.
Matt

Gulf Coast (The beginnings)

I've finally had a chance to get to the images from Katrina that I took in New Orleans and Gulfport, Biloxi, Bay St. Louis. Its taken me a lot longer that I thought, and a certain camera store seems to have processed all the film (different speeds of 125 and 50) at the same specs, so about half of my rolls were a bit blown out. Arg! Here are ssome glimpses into what I've been pulling out so far, providing the blog finally puts up photos. These speak for themselves, I think:

Arty Gras

Tuesday night, after an exhausting few days at my organization's conference, nicely ended with an open bar of top shelf liquor and countless Scotch on the Rocks for me, I headed over to the Warehouse Gallery to check out and support Arty Gras. I'm glad I did.
Not only did I find incredible and evocative art work, but also great music in the form of a small quartet with a rockin bass player (a standing bass, not electric). This atmosphere helped get me into the spirit of Mardi Gras, since I was unable to attend this year. As you may have noticed, New Orleans has a special place in my heart, and Mardi Gras, first experienced last year, holds a place as well, an example of a holiday or celebration that I think we all need in our lives.
About the exhibit: The Warehouse was well packed even at 9:00 or so when I arrived, and from the raffle bowl, it looked like they had a lot of traffic at that point. The art was in every upstairs room, and in every possible space as well, tucked in recesses of the walls, behind the band, etc. I'm going to focus on a few pieces and what I thought of them:


Scapular
Delaina LeBlanc

Scapular is an intriguing piece. For those of you nor raised Catholic or religious, these items, scapulars, may not hold much meaning. These are usually given out with the image of a saint and perhaps a small prayer o them, for first communions, other events, or just because. These Scapulars as Delaina has created them, each contain a black and white image of Katrina life or destruction.
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Colorscape 4, 5, 6
Mimi Moncier

I love the way these pieces are very simple at first, but then as I stood in front of them, the immediate image was that of the hurricane as it appeared on the weather stations, even the colors tend to pull out some hot, cold, weather related emotions.
This is one that you should see, and one of many that I'll say go see to read the artists' statements which you may not get to see clearly here.

I can't seem to get images to upload to my blog, so for the time being, this is all I have to show. All I will say now is get out and see this show. These are some great pieces and a worthy cause as well. Had I the money, would buy a few, so you, yes, you with the money, go buy some art.

6 months later, 100 days away

I returned from my trip to New Orleans on Tuesday night, reluctantly of course, I wish I could stay for Mardi Gras.

This will be my first of many entries on the trip and my observations in Nola and the Gulf Coast. Its a bit surreal being back to functioning street lights and solid buildings. I have yet to find the exact words for the experience of seeing the destruction, but "unbelievable" has been the foremost choice thus far.

6 months after Katrina, I stood where the levees broke in the 9th ward, where the cities of Biloxi and Gulfport where smashed, where the 17th St. Canal levee broke, and overall, it seems that not much has changed.

In the lower 9th, one can see the path of the water, strewn with debris where houses should be, only foundations and concrete slabs remaining, some houses in the middle of streets, on top of others, on top of cars, some in a million pieces scattered who knows where. My film will be back next week, so until then I only have digital images to offer, along with video if I can make it work on the site. As I stood in the midst of what is hard to describe, I realized that all the photos in the world may not adequately express what it is like. I encourage anyone to go visit New Orleans, enjoy the functioning parts of the city and pump money back in, and see the destruction and the awesome force of nature, see a landscape that we as a culture cannot relate to, with no reference points for the immense destruction.

This post has now been sitting through a few revisions, I'm losing a sense of what I'd like to say. Having now seen the destruction and realized the enormous impact it has on our country, it seems to me that it would be very clear to all involved that rebuilding needs to happen and quickly. Hurricane season is 100 or so days away. There is no excuse whatsoever not to have our best and brightest working every day from now until then to rebuild the levees (not just to a pre-Katrina strength, but stronger), to clean up what is destroyed, and to begin the process of getting people back to their home. Unfortunately, I imagine the forces we can mobilize, such as the Navy Seabees and Army Corp of Engineers, are pretty busy with Iraq, not to mention that large companies that can handle mass reconstruction are also stuck in that quagmire. I propose we stop at nothing to rebuild this major American city, it is our responsibility as part of the grand project we are citizens of. If this were any other major city, it seems that we would not be sitting in the mud 6 months later and things would have been in place, money allocated, etc. America needs to not forget what has happened and what needs to happen to bring our fellow citizens back to an acceptable standard of life.

Here are a few digital stills to give an impression of the devastation. I'll post more in the coming week, with more commentary as I sort through it all.

Yet one more way to get here...

By going to canyoupicturethat.com, or canupicturethat.com, you can get to my site. and now, by going to http://www.mattachhammer.com, you can also get here.

PS Any readers know how to make this page show up in the frames of the homepage by a direct link? That is, by typing in http://www.blog.canyoupicturethat.com , it comes up with just the blog page...any ideas on how to make it come up nested in the homepage?

New Orleans...free photos of property or houses for Katrina Evacuees in DC

I am traveling to New Orleans this coming weekend to visit a friend and photograph the area, document what most of the country has forgotten about, etc.

I would like to offer up the service of taking digital photographs of houses or property of Katrina evacuees who have not yet had a chance for someone to do this. Free, of course. If you read this, and know evacuees in the DC area (preferably), let them know to contact me and I'll arrange it and do the best I can. If the response is too overwhelming, it may not be possible to get all, hence the preference for DC based evacuees, but I'm not about to turn anyone down because they're not in the DC area.

On fraud...

Many of us, including artists, are becoming more familiar with the Nigerian and other foreign country money scams. I played with one of them until I actually got sent a check! A clear forgery of course, but it shows a level of sophistication one would not think is there.Most of these scams have you cash a check with more money than needed, and then wire that money on. By the time the bank (I'll get to them later) figures out is fraud, your money is gone and so is your product or service, etc. and there's not much to do about it.

Here's my case to illustrate this, I hope it helps for those who are looking into these things and getting offers on websites or through email for sales:

-The original message was simple enough, it came through in email from the account linked on my site, here it is:
"Hello and gooday i would like to purchase your artwork because i am really interested in your works so please i need the following informations
1)would you accept a cashiers check drawn in us funds as means of payment alternatively it would be so nice if you could accept a mastercard or visa card charge directly other than paypal because i have tried paypal before and they do not have an account with my region
2)How much would shipping cost to Lagos Nigeria 3)what is your shipment method because i would prefer DHL so thanks a lot and look forward to hearing from you soonest
regards
danny (davison)"

ok. Sure, Danny wants to buy my photos, why not. So I email him, strictly saying I will accept only paypal or other upfront and legit money. This turns into a huge debate, him getting angry with me for not trusting him...really! Eventually, he places an order, and also wants me to get 5 razor phones for him and his family. right... so I play along. Send me the check, he says its on its way. Somehow, two months later, the check actually arrives, seen here, with the envelope it came in and the US address label on the back tracking it to Fitchburg Massachussetts with a name of Deschene which is cut off in my scan:

This looks real at first, but it is printed on thin paper and the watermark is nowhere near authentic. However, given the complete incompetence I encountered at PNC Bank when asking them if it was fraudulent...went something like this: After I had gone to Bank of America, my bank, they agreed, said it was most likely fake, take it to PNC right next door, the Corcoran branch, this is right across from the Treasury building. I go to PNC and say, "Hi, I want to see if this check is fraudulent, it was made out to me, I am not attempting to cash it." Teller: "What do you mean by fraudulent?" Ummm....yes ladies and gentlemen, she was serious, she, a bank teller, did not know what the word fraudulent meant! I had to define it for her, fake, false, forgery, etc. Unbelievable! So, the fiasco ensued, they had no clue what to do, PNC does not have a fraud team, they are a worthless institution if you ask me. Anyway, I left disgruntled and took them a copy back the next day. From what I have seen so far, the Secret Service is the only watchdog group or govt agency with their act together on fraud, so I will send them the original check and emails and all to see if it helps.

Anyway, this should be a lesson for any of us with things on the web. If someone wants to buy something from a foreign country, especially Nigeria, and the email fits the format of being poorly spelled, all caps, or the like, with an offer to pay by check or cashier's check, be extremely cautious. Delete it, or, for fun, as many people have, play with the person and keep telling them you sent the items to different post offices so they have to go find them. Waste their time and lead them on, they deserve it. The good news is I didn't get scammed and lose money, but many people do and the banks and such are not paying attention!
For more on this, and similar stories, etc.:
http://www.fraudaid.com/ScamSpeak/Nigerian/counterfeit_check_fraud/ (not sure about this org, but has info on it.
http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=009KXI&tag=
photo.net thread on this subject
http://artdc.org/forum/index.php?topic=1978.0
artdc.org thread

That's my photo!

Or maybe not, but its an interesting story...I was at the lab tonight picking up recent prints, and as the techs and I were looking at them, one of them says...that photo was on the magazine, won the contest! Oh...
She was referring to this:










Apparently, someone else found this door fascinating, though being humble, or not, I must admit I'm happier with my shots of it, seen below and on my New Mexico page:











What a coincidence. I wonder what the prize was, other than it being on the front cover of the magazine! Arg. I even had one framed up like that that didn't make my cut:

This is funny...

I've wanted to put these images on the web for so long, or send them to Comedy Central or something. Here's what happens..put a couple 20 something housemates in the same room and have the following image come up on the TV. No one really wants to laugh, it was before the space shuttle made it back safely, but you can't help but lok at this and feel sorry for the poor intern who got the model for the set and is now sitting in the audience in shame as he or she looks up and sees:














I don't think I need to say anymore.

Continuing a project...

The blog has seen little of me in the past few days, I've been out of town for some much needed fun, and also some shooting! Finally got out in the field (battlefields in Gettysburg, to be literal) and made use of the 4x5, also got my friend and fellow photographer Jeremy hooked on Medium and large format.

I head to New Orleans in 2 weeks to continue the shooting I started there the last few trips in the last 2 years. Most of my shooting in the pas focused in the French Quarter and various other areas of the city. This time I am hoping to document some of the destruction, while also searching for some signs of hope, though I'm a little worried I may have a hard time finding that. I am also planning a drive along the Gulf Coast to other affected areas. For some of this, the new large format is going to be an incredible asset. I will probably be the only, or perhaps one of a few photographers documenting what remains in film and more specifically large format...

New Gallery added tonight, well, new photos in the Butterflies gallery. Check it out.

You or U, it doesn't matter anymore

This weekend, I acquired www.canupicturethat.com and it directs you to this site. I had been asked many times in the past if you spell out the you in Canyoupicturethat, and now, it doesn't matter. if only I could get canyoupicturethis since some people can't seem to remember the site name.

Non-digital photography in a digital age..Tuesday night lecture

I encourage everyone to go to the following event at the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop tomorrow night. 545 7th St. SE. www.chaw.org

Tuesday, January 31st, 2006 : Andy Grundberg, art critic, speaks on the dynamics of non-digital photography in the digital age. 7:00-9:00 p.m.

I'll be there. anyone game to go, email me.

Many Celebrations!

I took a break from the blog for the weekend, since it was my birthday on Friday and that meant much celebrating, including an awesome surprise visit from my brother an ensuing night at the Brickskellar (try Dragon Stout and pine Elder Pale if you can get them), and then a sickish house party.
Today I found the slides I was looking for!!! I am incredibly relieved, and also inspired to reorganize my space to prevent such scares in the future. Pathetically, the slides were in an envelope that had been searched 3 times. ugh
I'm including them below. These are two of the shots I have been most happy with in the last 6 months or so, and also two of the most requested for orders. The one is of sickle-like weeds at the foothills of the Sandia Tramway Mountain in Albuquerque, NM, and the other is a reflection of something you'll have to guess...




And, check out Erin's blog at http://halophoto.blogspot.com/
Another DC area photographer with a blog! I'll start linking to them all in the sides soon when I figure it out.

Deep Linking...not a fan

Deep linking, as I've found out, is the practice of linking to an image on a website through a blog or elsewhere. I was looking through my site hits and referring pages yesterday and there was a large amount of hits from various livejournal users...trying to browse through them all, I couldn't find a link, so I went through my recent users, and there I found the one blog that had one of my images on it! The guy posting it had written a blog entry, and then had about 4 images following, in this case, mine was the one from my amusement park series of the old ride through a fence.

This brings up some concerns about security of images on the web. Its bad enough that every friggin image on my site is indexed by google. At the top of most of my gallery pages, I have the following: All images © protected under Copyright laws- Please do not reproduce in any form, digital or print, without permission. Now, I don't have any images that are much bigger than 500 pixels, so the printing or stealing in a hard form isn't that likely, but I would like to have my images floating around only with permission and with a by line or link to the site.

I emailed the livejournal user by contacting him through myspace, and it appears he removed it from the blog. I don't know what bothers me more here, the picture being used and seen without permission, which could happen a lot, or the fact that I found it because he was essentially using my hosting space and bandwidth as part of his blog...

anyone else experience this type of thing? What if I started to put watermarks on photos?Wouldd it ruin the feel?

Reasons to be more organized...

I have agonized over not being able to find 2 of my slides for the last 2 days. It's driving me nuts, and this isn't the first time. Time to invest in some more binders and mark everything clearly, and then, after having things printed, actually put them back where they belong! And these are two of my best slides. :(
In other news, check out http://www.artdc.org for a local arts discussion forum and community online.
And Then check out http://solarizethis.blogspot.com for Alexandra Silverthorne's Blog..excellent content and reviews and interviews too.
And then, Robert Walton's daily blog and homepage, http://www.teamwetdog.com , an excellent name and photos to match.
And then...NO AND THEN!

More new photos, and an everlasting car alarm

Check out the newest additions for photos in the galleries, some from New Mexico including Albuquerque, Taos, and Santa Fe. And a new gallery all to its own for photos from the Peace protests in 05.

So the car alarm was still going when I got home from work today, the cops were there, and all they could do was ticket it. It eventually stopped, thankfully.

Les Miserables, Car Alarms, and new photos

This weekend, I got to see Les Miserables for the 6th time in my life, the first time I haven't seen it on Broadway in NYC. You may say I'm a bit obsessed, and yes, that may be true...I've read the 1400 plus page book and am in love with the French Revolution era in general. Anyway, to the show... First, let me tell you about something that bothered me greatly. Each row of seats in the National Theatre has a small plaque on the end seat which reads who the row is dedicated to... In this case, George W. Bush! AGGHH!!! But I couldn't argue, it was row H, 7 rows back and able to hear every voice without amplification. The cast was overall incredible. Valjean and Javert were as a solid as any I've ever seen, and the supporting cast from Enjolras to Gavroche were also right on. The female leads left a bit to be desired, and Eponine, though well acted and a great voice, for the first time did not leave me falling in love with her. A round of applause after "Bring Him Home" rang for a minute or more, this surreal moment of holding everything while the audience appreciated an incredible performance capped by an ending high note which was perfect. I kept waiting to see Valjean crack and smile, but character was kept, of course. Overall, the magic is still there, even with a traveling cast and years since the last time I saw it.

On to car alarms...Some dipshit and their car...Last night from about 11PM until this morning, and it could be going now, this car alarm was going off. It would scream for a minute, take a 2 second reprieve, and then go again..ALL NIGHT LONG! Needless to say, not much sleep was had, and it filtered into my dreams somehow. I thought about calling the cops, but what would they have done, and I thought about going out to the car and trying to pry open the hood to remove the battery, but it was raining.

Anyway...
If you haven't noticed, I finally got some more work up on the page. I've added photos in two sections, the Huber Coal Breaker and the New Orleans, LA sections in Black and White. The Breaker pieces are part of a continuing project as you'll see described on the main page. The New Orleans photos may also be considered part of a continuing project, these most recent are from Mardi Gras of last year, some during the heights of it on Bourbon St. Check them out and wait for more to come this week from other recent work.

WOOHOO!!! It arrived!

It being my 4x5 camera. It is a Tower (Busch) Pressman. It is in great shape and I will be trying it out tomorrow. Loading film into the holders is a new experience, but I caught on to it. It looks like this photo:
Happy for now! Just gotta test it out. For more on Large Format photography, go to www.lfphoto.info if you are interested.

2 Weeks of Bad News for Film

In case you haven't heard, and unless you're a photographer, you may not have, Nikon announced last week that it would be stopping its production of Film Cameras, except for two, the F6 and the FM10, Pro and entry level. This, of course, lead to me scooping up a F100 body before it was too late and to get the $200 rebate. This is sad, very sad news...and it is strange that they discontinue the F100 really, one of the best and most revered film cameras for its feel, durability, etc. etc. Blah! Read all about it here.
And another giant fell this week, Konica Minolta, the part I care about being Minolta. I started photography using my Dad's Minolta Maxxum 7000, the first ever fully automatic / fully manual camera. I learned the ropes with this monster of a machine that survived many falls and dings and bangs off of rocks and tumbles down hills. Ever since Minolta merged with Konica, I haven't been happy with their cameras and lenses, but it is sad. They transferred DSLR to Sony and are pretty much leaving the photography business completely to focus more on their optical and business path. For their press release (in what seems like pidgeon English at times), go here.
And on to 4x5...

What month is it?

Just came inside from a lunch in Lafayette Park. I was sitting outside in January in a thin dress shirt and it was fine, felt like Spring! Something's weird about that. A Washington Post column on this topic this week is here.

One, but not the other!

I came home tonight expecting my new Tower (Bushman) Pressman 4x5 Camera to be awaiting me. Unfortunately, it is not here yet, but my new F100 body was! So not at all as bad a night as the day was. Can't wait to get the 4x5 though!

Painting..acrylic, watercolor, Chinese Brush painting

Many of you, if anyone is reading this yet, know that I recently began acrylic painting. I also am venturing into Chinese brush painting with an excellent kit bought for me for Christmas. I'll let you know how it goes. Its just one more new world.
For your amusement, if you haven't yet seen the most awesome cartoon on the internet, go here: End of the World

3 Photographers at CHAW

I attended a presentation as part of the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop's Photography Month tonight. It was a presentation of work by locally based photographers Chan Chao, Roberto Bocci, and Franz Janzen, presented inthe reverse order. I am sure I won't do them justice, but just a brief glimpse.
Franz showed work of his that was originally black and white in 4x5 Large format, and then some new work, very compelling, which was from a "looking down" series, and combined at some points some 1100 images shot looking at a floor to create the floor plan of a pub or building. Very intriguing work as a whole, done with a small digital camera.
Robert Bocci had some work which really inspired me, since I am about to get into 4x5. Some of the most intriguing work was large images captured on long, long exposures, wherein he "painted" the canvas of the negative by illuminating certain parts or subjects in the image, many times the body in different poses and forms. Some really dramatic spectral images emerged, in b/w and color.
Chan Chao showed work from Burma, Cypress, as well as nudes. His style was somewhat of an in your face realistic portraiture, which he explained he likes to "leave alone," in order to let the viewer get it. He would have a series of 4 or so images with subtle differences to draw attention to the message in a subconscious way, and it was effective. I initially though I wouldn't like the portraits due to their 3/4 and face front pose, but it works, quite well. He also proved that you can use a 4x5 field camera and carry it, a tripod, film holders, film, etc. with no assistant, though I'm sure that's not preferred.
That's all for tonight. Check out CHAW's other events this month.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

I hope this day is an inspiration for all. I felt that it is a good time to share photos relating to MLK and the Civil Rights Movement. Most of these are from my various trips to Alabama, Georgia, and elsewhere studying the movement and seeing the places and people involved. Enjoy:

(Left: Gravesite of Martin Luther King, Jr. At the King Center in Atlanta, GA.) (Below: Memorial plaque at Dexter Ave. Baptist Church, Montgomery, AL) (Justice Rolls Down: Fountain and Memorial at the Southern Poverty Law Center, Montgomery, AL)

Note: Another image can be seen on the page to my color galleries using the left link on www.canyoupicturethat.com. I guess I'm not that good at getting that image, and 3 others, on to this blog thing yet!

The first post...starting something new.

Greetings! I've finally caved in to the "blog" world. I wanted a space to discuss art and photography, and hopefully I will be able to integrate this into my site well and keep everyone updated (not to mention make me update the site more often).

Tune in soon for more, including reviews on this weekend's art shows and new site updates.