Stories in Images

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Townhalls

If you ever want a great way to see the vast array that IS the Upper Valley, I suggest visiting all 46 Townhalls. I really shouldn't make it out to sound that I personally paid my respects to them all, but as a photo staff, the Valley News captured the essence of each and every town gem, and placed them in the coveted "Almanac". Enjoy a sample...

Newbury

New London

Tunbridge

Copyright 2008 Valley News - May not be printed or reused without permission

Powwow dancers

This is an outtake from a shoot I did for the paper - these two children, who are Native American, have received the high honored of being asked to lead the dances at a Powwow in Maine. They were very cooperative with me, and posed for portraits while I fiddled around and tried some new lighting techniques (with minimal success, I must admit.) Of course, the "unlit" photo is the one that strikes me the most, in conjunction with the odd, formal, slightly tense posture and expression of the siblings here. It sort of seems like the kind of photograph that would be found in an old anthropology book, where white westerners try to depict "foreign" cultures by awkwardly dressing and posing their subjects....

the Governor speaks

I probably would have looked just like this kid, listening to the governor of New Hampshire speak at a ground-breaking ceremony, had I not been taking pictures. No disrespect to the governor...

the sky is falling!!...

oh no wait, just the trees. During a vicious storm that blew through Norwich, three trees came crashing down onto the side of the Swett's house. Luckily no one was hurt...too bad they had just finished repainting their house the day before...

seeing the circus

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Crickets

Not only was this trio of Dartmouth students hilarious in their method of capturing the noisy insects (notice the plastic Price Chopper bag) but their intentions post-hunt were even more intriguing. When we parted ways, they were headed back to campus to SAUTE the crickets for a perfect, mid-morning summer snack. Really makes you wonder about what we consider protein...

Redneck Lawnmower Racing

This fun-spirited and rather hilarious event of lawnmower racing was something that immediately grabbed my attention. I was lucky enough to have the Bednaz family (Zach, 15, and his father, Rob, who race, and his mother, seen below, who is the official score keeper) invite me more personally into their story. I tried to see the racing from their point of view, and in the meantime probably had too much fun for it to be considered work. In any event, here's a glimpse at what the self-proclaimed rednecks do for kicks on Saturdays in the summer in the Upper Valley.

green with envy

good people

Keith and Kit Van Winkle rode in this year's 27th annual Prouty Ride/Walk fundraiser event for cancer research and patient support. Keith, who is a survivor himself, rode an astounding 50 miles with incredible spirit. In all, the event hosted 4,100 participants and raised $2 million. Good people here in the Upper Valley...and incredibly inspiring...

dancing

i know this isn't the most effective use of this technique, but i'm trying it. really, i just like how the woman in the foreground is looking at her sultry husband...

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

the 4th

in the foreground, peter drinks. behind him, kim takes her best shot at a poker face. not the most patriotic of 4th of july celebrations, but a good time nonetheless.

night ride

Happy 4th Of July!!

George and Donna Butler were quite a duo - the two hosted the 7th annual 4th of July sing-a-long event this year. George, left, cheerful plays the organ, while Donna, being animated as she is, directs a church full of patriotic souls to sing along! Cheer-i-o...

Former Mayor of Lebanon

Raw Milk

Here's a little package that depicts a farm in Piermont, New Hampshire that produces and sells raw milk. For those of you who are currently not living in rural farming communities, here's the gist: the trend of drinking raw milk (unpasteurized...think cow, to glass, to mouth) is alive and growing. However, our government is not too thrilled with people voluntarily consuming products that may cause health issues (remember the tomatoes/salmonella fiasco of last month?). So, naturally, instead of spending time and money fighting things like drug abuse, authorities are after the people that are distributing the ever-so-corruptive raw milk. Needless to say, negotiations and amendments are in the works, and hopefully it won't be long until people can drink whatever kind of milk their hearts desire, without government approval.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

fly away

that's sort of what i feel like doing right now...

tuckerbox

A new cafe in White River Junction! I like that they use chalk...I will be back for many coffees to come. A prize for whoever can tell me where the word "tuckerbox" comes from (hint: it's Australian)

slow dancing

very intriguing art piece put on display in front of the HOP at Dartmouth. To summarize: David Michalek filmed someone executing five seconds of a choreographed dance routine at a speed of 1,000 frames per second. When played back at "average" speed (30 frames/sec, which is how most video cameras record, and how we see television) the choreographed bits turned into 10 minute clips. And everything was in super slow motion...A little freaky, especially when you start playing with car reflections...

Monday, June 23, 2008

jason and i play with light

Photographer extraordinaire and lighting master Jason Johns indulged me in a quick crash course in lighting this afternoon. We played around a bit with some different set up for portraits and whatnot, while I'd tried to take good mental notes before putting some of my newly acquired skills to use later in the day. It's an interesting exercise to look at the following two photographs next to one another (keeping in mind they were shot in the same exact location, about a minute and a half apart).

Before...

after...

Pretty amazing what an added light, a little gel, and an adjusted exposure can do to an image. This led us to an interesting conversation about pushing the envelope in terms of portraiture, and how much playing around is too much. The sky certainly did NOT look like this to our eyes (see above!) so are we lying if we show this image to a viewer, and they assume this was the natural setting? How much liberty are you given with an image if you call it a portrait? How much influence is assumed to have been exerted by the photographer when you use this label?? Interesting stuff...