Exploring Light

D.E.Todd

2010-08-16T18:10:00.000-04:00

D.E.Todd: "David Evan Todd, art, photography, writing, exploding cameras. Grad of Cornell and the School of Visual Arts."

Please find my new site here!!!!

LAST POST

2009-11-10T21:37:00.002-05:00

socks

2009-11-05T22:11:00.004-05:00

Injinji socks are made with toes to promote free movement, and prevent blisters for long distance runners. They take a little bit of time to get used to, but can become quite enjoyable even just to wear around the house. They play well with sandals too!

(Photo by D.E.Todd)

Born to Run

2009-11-05T22:11:00.001-05:00

I recently finished reading Born to Run, by Chris McDougall, and all I can say is “wow.” But not the out-loud kind of wow, more the say-it-in-your-head kind of “wow.” It left me silently determined to run farther and faster than ever before. I can’t remember the last time I was truly inspired by a book to go out and do something…and then actually went out and did it. The very next day I ran a 10K, and it was the fastest 10K I’ve ever run.

McDougall’s adventure starts on page 1 and doesn’t end until the last word. With such an outrageous cast of characters, and rollicking narrative, its hard to believe that its all true. But that’s the best part. It is. And not only does he tell a great story, McDougall also shares a pop-history, along with the science of how and why we really are born to run.

If you’re not a runner, that’s ok, by the time you’re done reading you will be.

(Photo by D.E.Todd)

Nike+

2009-11-05T22:09:00.001-05:00

I wouldn’t normally endorse a gigantic company with a background of questionable morals, but when Nike teamed up with Apple (whom I wholeheartedly love) they created something incredible.

Nike+ is a system that automatically tracks time, pace, mileage, and calories burned, all while the runner is in motion. A sensor placed in the sole of the shoe uses wireless bluetooth to connect to either an iPod, or a wristband receiver. I bought the updated wristband with my new shoes for a number of reasons.

I prefer to run in silence; oddly enough it somehow allows me to think and zone out at the same time. I also can’t imagine running with something in my ears and a cord flying all over the place. Going light has always been important to me no matter how I’m traveling and it doesn’t get any lighter than this. The rubber wristband also has other bonuses over the iPod option. It’s basically waterproof-I’ve even worn mine in the shower! Try that with an iPod and you won’t be happy. Plus, the receiver plugs directly into a USB slot in your computer to upload your run instantly.

This brings me to the other great benefit of being a Nike+ member (membership is free), you get a personal online account with Nike. When you upload your run it quickly graphs out all of your stats, along with the ability to set new goals, join group challenges, and get a personalized training coach. You even get a cool little mini runner to cheer you on. Then you’re ready to connect with the millions of other Nike+ runners all around the world.

New (O.K. slightly used) Shoes

2009-11-05T21:59:00.002-05:00

my new shoes!

(ok, I’ve used them a little)

I bought these Nike Free Everyday+ 2 the day before I ran the Pfalz Trail Challenge last month. Even though they’re not trail shoes in the slightest they performed really well through all the rain and mud, slick tree roots, up hill and down. I wasn’t too keen on the bubblegum color at first, but it’s really starting to grow on me. Besides, I can’t get rid of them now. They’ve helped me get two best times in two very different races!

There are also two main reasons I bought these shoes, and both explain why they’re unlike any other pair out there. First is that they’re part of the new “Free” series put out by Nike. The deep groves in the souls make them extremely flexible in all directions so that the shoes move with your foot naturally, mimicking a barefoot run while still protecting the foot. As a result you start using all of your tiny foot muscles that have become wimpy because of the previous generation of shoes that were extra cushy and overly concerned with controlling and stopping motion. The second reason is because the Free EveryDay+ 2 offers the benefit of Nike+, which is explained in another posting-just look for the little blue guy.

"Quote"

2009-11-05T21:57:00.001-05:00

"Whenever an art form loses its fire, when it gets weakened by intellectual inbreeding and first principles fade into stale tradition, a radical fringe eventually appears to blow it up and rebuild from the rubble."

-Christopher McDougall, Born to Run

The Superhero Solution, or Walead Beshty from 2008 Whitney Biennial

2009-11-05T18:35:00.002-05:00

Interesting how accidents can end up creating what was otherwise impossible. I like to call it the "Superhero Solution." You know, just like how all the superheros acquire their powers through some tragic event. Any way, this his work was some of my favorite at the show last year and I recently found this worth sharing. Some of it will be hung at MoMA's upcoming "New Photography" show.

The Human Race

2009-10-25T00:14:00.006-04:00

You've got to get out the door pretty early if you want to run in the human race.

The Nike+ sponsored 10K Human Race took place today with 24 races in 24 countries all around the world within 24 hours. Proceeds went to local charities. I ran the NYC event in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, and finished with an official time of 45:38. Not too shabby if I do say so myself.

Pfalz Point Trail Challenge

2009-10-06T02:14:00.005-04:00

10 miles,

in the rain,
up hill,
both ways.

100

2009-10-05T22:54:00.003-04:00

here are 100 stills from one of my exploding cameras. Let's call it a test run. The full piece will have 1024 frames, equal to 1 second in actual time.

The sky's the limit

2009-10-04T22:02:00.004-04:00

It happened a couple weeks ago. I fell into place. I don't know why or how, but everything was perfect. I climbed four 5.12s effortlessly and then went home to run 10 miles faster than ever before. It was real, more than real, and I needed it. And I felt it.

These days are spent pushing paper, trying to work the system, all while the system is failing. It is easy to lose sight in the darkness at the bottom.

Today I sat on the edge of a cliff. And I turned to my brother and said, "remember when..." and he did. I love sitting on cliffs. Yet ever since that day a couple of weeks ago I haven't climbed so high, nor run so far. I told him so. And he turned to me and said, "but I've never done that, and I don't know anyone who has."

It caught me off guard. And then he told me that I had surpassed him and that he couldn't keep up, which is of course not true at all, but perhaps in some small way I feared it was. After 27 years I was used to being the little brother. I'm good at it.

BOOK LAUNCH!!!

2009-09-25T20:55:00.003-04:00

Hi All,

I'm proud to announce that I've been published in this book about creating fine art with plastic cameras. Get a copy today!!!

How To...

2009-09-20T22:00:00.003-04:00

This image comes from a project that I haven't exactly started, but has been in the back of my mind for some time now, based on the democracy of photography. No other visual art is practiced as universally, nor with the comfort and ease, with which photography is. Much of this can be attributed to the "photography-for-dummies" approach often used by the manufacturers to gain consumers.

Me and Sergio are Ugly

2009-09-14T17:21:00.004-04:00

These shots are from a recent shoot I assisted on for John Gruen. Sergio Rodrigues is Brazil's most famous designer. Here he and I take turns sitting in a chair of his. Story has it that he originally made two for a client. One for his wife, the other for his lover. I remarked that it reminds me of a bull with horns, which is reflected in the name "Chifruda." While this particular piece is well known and appreciated, as Sergio walked around the gallery he would point to other pieces and say, "this is mine, it's not perfect." A humble man who has lived a life trying to make useful things beautiful. After looking at his portrait he whispered to John, "it's nice, but I'm ugly."

AUCTION!!! PLEASE BID!!!

2009-08-25T05:14:00.003-04:00

One of my exploding camera still frames from my MFA thesis is currently on auction at www.iGavel.com in connection with Daniel Cooney Fine Art gallery in New York.

For more from this series check out my updated website www.detodd.com.

Climbing in Acadia National Park, Maine

2009-08-25T03:14:00.013-04:00

The brothers relaxing on top of the sea cliff climbing in Acadia National Park, Maine.
Brian wiggles into the chimney.
Me climbing at Otter Cliffs.
Me again. The climbing is beautiful but a little backwards. Because the cliffs are quite literally on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, the only access is from the top. Thus you must first climb down to climb up again, and watch out for the tides!
Brian and I woke up at 4:30am to get to the top of Cadillac mountain where we could be first to see the sunrise in all of the USA. Unfortunately the sun didn't wake up and we were left in the clouds. It was still fun, but perhaps Russ was right to stay asleep in the car.
Brian flexes and hopes to improve his tan.
Russ climbing the cliff in yellow shorts at Great Head.
Brian climbs the arete at Great Head.
My turn!
Me again!
My last climb of the day, the arete during sunset on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean.
The brothers still looking cool after 200+ ft. at the Precipice.

Climbing in Red River Gorge WV, and New River Gorge KY

2009-07-20T15:53:00.014-04:00

Back from an exciting 10 day trip rock climbing in famous (to climbers) Red River Gorge, West Virginia, and New River Gorge, Kentucky. All I can say is it sure is different than the Gunks!!!

We're taking a short brake from climbing with Brian's stitched up thumb and my (maybe) broken toe, neither of which were climbing-related accidents, though both kind of dopey on our parts. What an adventure!!! enjoy the pics

2009-05-05T06:40:00.001-04:00

first day climbing back outside

2009-04-24T23:37:00.004-04:00

2009-04-20T19:50:00.001-04:00

Learn to Photograph

2009-04-20T18:28:00.000-04:00

See, it's easy. Anyone can be a photographer.

C.T. Approved

2009-04-17T05:04:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, I was talking about my work to new colleague in the office of the Chair of my program, Charles Traub, explaining that my work isn't so much photography in the traditional sense, as it is about photography. Charles walked in overhearing the conversation, grabbed my hand and signed it, "Charles Traub Approved," and said to me, "There, now you can graduate."

Now, while this was all in good fun, it brought up some thoughts. First, there is the idea that we (all of the students in my department, and all those students running around in departments all over the world) we all live for that signature of approval, at least in some small way. It is a vote of confidence that we are on the right track, that we know what we are doing, and that we are ready to go out on our own and do it by ourselves. I can now puff out my chest to show the others that I have reach the top of the mountain. But this is intimidating as well. Now is when we come to realize that we must go it alone, that I haven't reached the top of the mountain, only the peak of this foothill.

It also made me think of the way artists working on the Lord of the Rings were required to get director Peter Jackson's "P.j. Approved" stamp before moving on with their work.

Blastcaps

2009-03-31T04:49:00.001-04:00

proof of explosion, and why I may have trouble getting onto my next flight.

Newness

2009-03-30T04:38:00.002-04:00

Dear all,

There will be some changes coming soon.
With love,

det

Still Photography

2009-03-28T04:44:00.010-04:00

No more Nikon, cast off Canon, farewell Fuji. If this is the end of photography for me, at least I'm going out with a bang. I have surpassed all expectations in accomplishing what no one believed was possible. I have shown them all, "Look what I can do!" The only one left to convince is myself, because I don't feel it. Have I now destroyed everything that I have ever loved?

Boom goes the Camera

2009-03-23T02:23:00.006-04:00

These images are from my thesis adventure this weekend capturing exploding old cameras in high-speed with the help of special effects expert Peter Kunz (his website) and camera tech Jordan Seaman. The shots of the actual work are not yet ready, but both video and still images will be displayed on my full website (www.detodd.com) when they are. For now I wanted to share some moments from the making of it.

Photographs to be taken: The Last Camera Repair Shop

2009-03-12T05:03:00.005-04:00

Picture this:

The last camera repair shop in the world. Some time after midnight, a boy bent over the work table with magnifying glasses and lamps turned down, his fingers tarnished, weary-eyed, looking beyond his age. Surrounded by tools, parts, and boxes. Jars filled with tiny parts line the shelves, next to even smaller jars with even smaller parts, labels worn and unreadable. All of his calm and quiet concentration on the nimble task of the once-camera in his hands. This black magic picture box, obscura, lucida, this memory-maker, memory-taker will be no more.

Behind him in a dark corner an old leathered man sleeps, head rest against the tattered cloth of an old wingback. Stiffled snores from his greasy grey beard, he is tired. He spends his days repairing old cameras, tutoring his apprentice on the intricacies of dark and light. But every morning he awakes to find his work undone, his young assistant asleep on the work table, with no explanation.

P 7563

2009-03-10T07:12:00.002-04:00

Pareidolia is the psychological phenomenon that we experience when we see more than what is actually there, based on nondescript visual stimulus. You can't help seeing a face in the image above even if you are fully aware that it is really just a puff of fire, just like some people see Elvis on a piece of burnt toast, Jesus in a sweat stained t-shirt, or (my favorite) the Man on the Moon. There's nothing you can do about it.

The idea of uncontrollable imagery is something that I'd like to explore in the future. In some ways it has a much greater appeal than the idea of hidden imagery. Those of you who know me understand that I have a certain knack for puzzles. But this is something that happens randomly, and yet always seems to have a greater purpose and meaning. Here already we've addressed a number of interests of mine. What gives an image value? How or why do we value some imagery over other, especially in a world with ever increasing amounts? Are we really able to distinguish between what we see and what we believe we see? What happens when we choose to ignore the difference? Is there a difference? Is this Art with a capital A? Can Art be accidental? or incidental?

what do you think?

P 7564

2009-03-10T05:16:00.002-04:00

What do you think?

What if the universe turned inside out?

2009-03-10T04:59:00.003-04:00

I have this theory that today we see the world through the lens of a camera whether we want to or not. That we have now become so super-saturated with imagery, and only continue to bury ourselves deeper, that we can no longer see the difference between reality and an image of reality - simulacra, as it is described by Baudrillard.

This image is of the inverse of what a simple camera sees. This is what is not seen, but instead how it is recorded on film. Is it possible that the truer image of our reality lies in the negative?

Bad Action

2009-03-03T03:09:00.004-05:00

Well there's a first time for everything, and you can't expect it to always work out. So instead of having a finely tuned simulation of an artful explosion of a camera here, I've got a cheap action movie poster. I'm still holding out for the real thing and hope you all are too.

You may notice the flames are the same as below. Both are comprised of about 15-20 actual photographs of flames, that I did in fact take.

Burst into Blue

2009-03-02T05:23:00.003-05:00

I started exploring ways to fake my camera explosions by photographing fire tonight and then I fell into this. It's simple, just a negative, but it seemed to literally burst off of my screen when I made it. I swear it was in 3-D.

stairs

2009-02-28T05:25:00.001-05:00

This image hits me every night. I decided it was time to make it.

2009-02-28T03:02:00.001-05:00

this one i do remember.

swing

2009-02-25T04:10:00.007-05:00

Sometimes I get anxious because I can't remember what it was like, and then I realize that I'm looking at someone else's life. At least it makes for a beautiful photograph.

I think it's incredible. He's not looking at the camera, but through it from the other side. And his feet, they're barely touching the ground. It's as if he's floating there, and he pointed his toes down to make you think he's of this world, just another one of us.

Exloding Camera

2009-02-22T19:06:00.010-05:00

Many of you know by now my goal to blow up some cameras (and to record it too). This digital simulation was created with Cinema 4D, a digital 3-d modeling program, in which I was able to control the explosion's force, speed, and randomness. Of course if I ever get to do this in real life, I won't have this freedom. But it was important to at least try it out visually.

The equipment I hope to use is some of the most advanced technology available anywhere for capturing super high speed motion. The cameras I will be using shoot up to 12,000 frames per second, all in high definition quality. Not only will I be able to play back the explosions in slow motion with incredible detail, but I will also be able to make beautiful large still prints from any one of the thousands of frames.

There are a couple other artists out there working with high speed photography that I know of, but I believe my work will stand apart as I turn the camera upon itself. While my subject may appear to be the destruction, or even death, of photography, the viewer should keep in mind that it is only possible to create this imagery by using the most advanced technology available, thus perpetuating the art-technology life cycle of photography.

My Decisive Moment

2009-02-12T04:42:00.002-05:00

For those of you who do not know, I am referring to "The Decisive Moment" the words of one of the most famous photographers of all time, Henri Cartier Bresson. In a 1957 interview he described it:

“There is a creative fraction of a second when you are taking a picture. Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera. That is the moment the photographer is creative,” he said. “Oop! The Moment! Once you miss it, it is gone forever."

While Henri Cartier Bresson inspired generations of photographers, his decisive moment has passed. Some suggest never existed. Even Cartier Bresson himself was discovered to have often cropped his negatives. Though I remember being taught not to. Today when I shoot, if I shoot, I still almost never crop. And while I'm fairly skilled in Adobe Photoshop, I do very little to my images, let alone anything that couldn't be done in a regular darkroom. It is the magic moment, that Cartier Bresson refers to, when everything lines up perfectly:

“To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organization of forms which give that event its proper expression.”

Of course, he is not the only to acknowledge the "magical value" in photography. Reknowned art critic Walter Benjamin also had terms to discuss:

“All the artistic preparations of the photographer and all the design in the positioning of his model to the contrary, the viewer feels an irresistible compulsion to seek the tiny spark of accident, the here and now.”

Benjamin is more famous for a later phrase from his Short History of Photography, known as the "optical unconscious." Here Benjamin writes that through technology of photography are we able to see things we could never see before. In this way the camera is more like an instrument of science. But at the same time, in its ability to push our physical perception it also pushes our ability to judge/understand character (physiognomic). However through recognizing technology and the new power it gives us, we loose the earlier magical quality as a part of history:

“It is a different nature which speaks to the camera than speaks to the eye: so different that in place of a space consciously woven together by a man on the spot there enters a space held together unconsciously. While it is possible to give an account of how people walk, if only in the most inexact way, all the same we know nothing definite of the positions involved in the fraction of a second when the step is taken.
Photography, however, with its time lapses, enlargements, etc. make such knowledge possible. Through these methods one first learns of this optical unconscious, just as one learns of the drives of the unconscious through psychoanalysis. Concern with structure, cell forms, the improvement of medicine through these techniques: the camera is ultimately more closely related to these than to the moody landscape or the soulful portrait. At the same time, however, photography opens up in this material the physiognomic aspects of the world of images, which reside in the smallest details, clear and yet hidden enough to have found shelter in daydreams. Now, however, large and formulatable as they have grown, they are able to establish the difference between technology and magic as a thoroughly historical variable.”

So it is how I have come to feel that the magic of photography has escaped me. I went searching for it in the dark corners of black boxes whilst it crept away silently. Now I wait for the big bang to come along and take it all away, and when the dust settles, when there is nothing left but the traces of what once was, only then we I be able to start again. That will be my decisive moment.

A New View

2009-01-24T03:47:00.005-05:00

Here we are finally inside the magic black box. The shutter opens, the light enters, and it spreads across our face, warming us, becoming us. This is the idea of experiencing the impossible. We cannot see it happen, we cannot feel it. We can't experience what the film does, chemically changing with exposure in the dark. If we try to peak inside it is ruined, the magic disappears.

It reminds me of when I was a little boy, remembering the little light inside the refrigerator, always on when we open the door. What happens when the door is closed? Does it stay on? Does it go off? what happens? No matter how many times you open and close the door, no matter how fast you try, you cannot catch it in the act. And then one day you grow up and realize there is a little button that the door pushes and it controls the light and you can sit with the door open and push the button over and over again, in out in out in out, and the light goes on off on off on off, and that's it. It's over. You know everything, there is no more magic, no more wonder.

All in the Family

2009-01-24T03:38:00.003-05:00

As many of you know, some of my current photo projects investigate the historical relationship between photography and technology. In my research I stumbled across this incredible image of the camera family tree, originating with the camera lucida used by Talbot and Neipce in 1824 to create the very first permanent images, and continuing on until the 1970s when digital photography began. Yes, I said DIGITAL photography began in the 1970s. Just in case you're wondering, digital photography is the offspring of the traditional photographic processes above and early electronic computer image capturing techniques. So welcome to the family.

Feature in Popular Photography Magazine

2009-01-14T14:10:00.007-05:00

Last semester I taught a lesson in the Advanced Digital Studio class I was TA'ing here at the School of Visual Arts. My friend and peer, Debbie Grossman, was a student in the class and happens to work at Popular Photography magazine. She loved my lesson so much that she suggested it to her editor and Tilt Swift was published as the "Digital Toolbox" feature in the February 2009 issue. You can also find the full instructional lesson here on my blog for the digital class. Available at newsstands everywhere today!!!

Ice Climbing Pics in Color!!!

2009-01-13T23:02:00.012-05:00

I couldn't decide which was better color or b&w, so what do you think?

Ice Climbing Pics!!!!!

2009-01-13T02:50:00.004-05:00

Thanks for all being patient, now enjoy!

d

My First Photo

2009-01-10T16:01:00.006-05:00

A couple of years ago my mother went on a dangerous mission that is widely known in American folklore but seldom seen in reality: she wanted to clean out the attic. In the process she uncovered and rediscovered three decades worth of accumulated junk, family heirlooms, collectibles, and more junk. My father had been saying for years that ceiling was going to collapse on our heads, but was suspiciously guilty of never wanting to throw anything away. This is one gene I'm glad that I did not inherit. I much prefer to be an editor than a collector. I don't like the feeling of being weighed down with too much stuff. However as a result I admit I often take far too long to make seemingly inconsequential decisions when it comes to making purchases.

So when my mother unlocked the door and the upstairs exploded into the downstairs I went about editing my share of the mess. This consisted of sifting through every tangible piece of my childhood that ever existed. She had saved them all. This didn't really surprise me. Growing up it was customary that at the end of every school grade items were boxed up and hidden away to make room for next year. I'm sure even at a young age I'd give her a quizzical look silently asking, "why we would want to save all that junk?" with the reciprocal response, "someday you may want to look at again." One of those hopelessly nostalgic "look how far you've come" sort of things, I guess.

Well it was that "someday" and while I won't admit to feeling the noxious fumes of nostalgia it was interesting to see all the things that I had long forgotten, or never remembered. Of all the items I found this one to be the most promising. It is my first photograph. Well, really it is my first photogram, more specifically a cyanotype, but it certainly falls within the wide arena of photography. I'm not in any way claiming to have been a young Man Ray. But it's fun to think that maybe I fell in love with photography at an age just a bit younger than I remember, when I was three.

This entry and image of beginning is dedicated to my friend who has recently experienced an ending.

Someone Passed Away Today

2009-01-06T02:19:00.006-05:00

I heard today that the mother of an old friend of mine from high school passed away. She died. It's a hard thing to deal with, death. But in some ways I think those like myself, call us artists or not, have an advantage. Biologically we're the same. I know that my body, just like yours, will protect me in certain situations, call it fight or flight. But I believe that the subject has dwelt in my mind more than most and more importantly on my own terms. It pushes our emotions to limits we don't otherwise recognize. Perhaps, given the circumstances this might sound cruel, but I think maybe there are parts of life that are harder to live with than death. But I don't know because I've never died. I think death hurts the living more.

I made this image with one person in mind and when she saw it she told me she felt pain and sadness and I knew I succeeded.

Revisiting

2008-12-29T04:02:00.004-05:00

It has always been important for me to be able to go back and look at work again, months, years even after I was there. As I prepare for a new climbing shoot, I've been looking at this one again and again. It's one of the most simple, traditional even, climbing shots I've taken, but it works. The sense of scale, the texture of the rock, the silhouette of the climber hanging by a thread. This is the perspective of one climber looking at another. This is a "this is why we do it" shot, "because it was there." The lead climber is isolated against the sky, just him and the rock, but if we look closely we see that his partner is there on a ledge below him, suggesting that even in our times of greatest personal exploration, we are never truly all alone, that there is someone there if we need them. This is also what climbing is all about.

Visiting NYC

2008-12-25T03:24:00.004-05:00

Here are some favorite shots from this past week while my good friend Paola came to visit New York for the first time. It was chilly but we survived with smiles. It was so great to get to go back to some places that I haven't been to since I was very little, and even better to be able to share them with someone for the first time. Is it possible that NYC is growing on me?

From the top:

Rockefeller Center
Time Square
Grand Central Terminal
Light show at GCT
Snowy Central Park
View from Jz's on Roosevelt Island
Ferry view of Liberty Island
Statue of Liberty toy size
Paola and me and the green lady makes three
Ellis Island Sorting Hall
Site of the World Trade Center
Brooklyn Bridge

On the Audacity of Artists

2008-12-22T22:31:00.009-05:00

This thought came to me during a recent trip to both the Met and MoMA with a good friend who was visiting New York for the first time. As I wandered through the galleries, I wondered to myself, how is it that artists are so audacious as to believe that we can represent something in a more beautiful way than as it already exists in nature? What reckless narcissistic beings we must be to think ourselves so powerful as to out do the real. Of course, artists are and always have been egocentric. It is in our nature to be that way. Everything revolves around our unique view of the world, our need for others to understand and furthermore, to applaud our expression of that view.

Let us walk in fiction. Let's believe for a moment that what we have to say must be said. That the world at most, an individual at least, will be changed by something we create. Chances are that we will never know it. History tells us so. Stare star struck at a painting by van Gogh, but know that in his own time he didn't sell a thing. To some artists this is blasphemy, to even suggest that selling work equates success. But it is an easy measuring tool.

look, listen, and learn

2008-12-08T04:10:00.002-05:00

i think i could do more of it all

From the Other Side

2008-11-28T04:30:00.005-05:00

I doubt any of you who view this ever get a chance to look at the other blog that I write for the Advanced Digital Studio course that I'm TAing this semester. So I thought I'd bring a little piece of it over here to share.

This is an example of 3-D displacement mapping used to create a natural environment, with complete control over the land, water, atmosphere, and lighting. Once you've created your terrain you can move through it and render 2-D images of the space, allowing you then to edit it with Photoshop, blending the constructed with the real.

Parts 3: Nikon N55 SLR

2008-11-27T14:57:00.004-05:00

This Nikon N55 SLR has 459 pieces, and is the next step in my MFA thesis project. This is only a preview of the scans with minimal touch ups, not the final arrangement of pieces. But I think it gives a good insight to how different cameras can be when broken down and compared side by side, for example this SLR vs. the disposable FunSaver. It's in this investigative way that I begin to feel like an archeologist digging up the tools of our past, learning from them how we got to where we are. But isn't it amazing how advanced a tool can be today while it doesn't do all that much more than the original. A hammer today isn't really all that different or that much more effective than a rock tied to the end of a stick a thousand years ago.

Thanks to my classmate and friend Lissa for donating the camera to my project.

Parts 2: Tele-Instamatic 608

2008-11-27T14:55:00.003-05:00

This is a Kodak Tele-Instamatic 608 which used cartridge film, one of the many extinct photo technologies. This camera is only slightly more complex than the FunSaver, with a total of 73 pieces, including the packaging and original receipt. Although older the 608 has two zoom settings: norm and tele, created by switching the tiny lenses inside for a more or less magnified view. This is not a real zoom lens, but perhaps an example of a predecessor to zoom lenses being used in consumer cameras today.

Thanks go out to my Uncle Tom who gave me the camera years ago. I doubt he ever thought this would happen to it.

Fun Saver

2008-11-16T01:36:00.005-05:00

So it looks like I've finally got a thesis project. I'm back to camera parts with a new approach. I like the puzzle of all the pieces. I've always liked puzzles. This one has 27 pieces. The next one has 70 pieces. The one after that has a few hundred. This thing really is a fun saver.

Fair warning for all of you who'd like to try it at home: I got a electrocuted three times by the flash capacitor taking this one apart.

blue

2008-11-11T02:12:00.005-05:00

This is a cyanotype.

It took a long weekend in Boston for me to finally get some real cyanotypes made. Somehow I always end up staying longer than I'm supposed to. Forgiving roommates are a blessing. Thanks of course go out to Meghan without whom I couldn't have survived this battle.

emotionally homeless

2008-11-05T16:44:00.009-05:00

i've become emotionally homeless.

this thought just entered my mind and sat down for a while. as i struggle to create something satisfying i retreat to the battlefields of my old work, now overgrown, blades of grass stiff and heavy with frost under foot, i wander bare, hoping to cut myself on the sharp edge of a rusty memory, hoping to bend down and pick something up, anything to fill the emptiness in my pocket.

Sub Way

2008-11-02T22:24:00.003-05:00

Well I am living in the city, so I thought it was about time that I took the requisite subway photograph, though I much prefer to travel by foot, thus the meaning of the title to this entry. This is certainly a way to get around, but I consider it beneath walking on most days.

oh boy

2008-11-01T13:42:00.005-04:00

sometimes i wish i could forget everything that i've learned about photography so that i could take pictures like this again.

photo by Brian Todd, digitally processed by D.E.Todd

hat also by Brian Todd

Here

2008-11-01T05:59:00.003-04:00

Another new one. I'm not quite sure what the point is any more.

Just Another Click

2008-11-01T05:02:00.003-04:00

I have no idea what I'm doing. But I hope you like it.

Last night I didn't sleep, or maybe it was the night before, I can't remember because they're all the same, this particular night of not sleeping was spent searching through the websites of every professional rock climbing photographer I could find. All of the people who photograph every image you find in the ads for all of the climbing gear companies, and all of the magazines, all of them. And this is what I found. They're all the same. It's the same damn shot over and over and over again. And it hit me. Is this really what I want to do with my life? Sure I mean it's awesome right? You get to travel to cool places, hang out with good people, climb, take some photos, and get paid for it. But who cares? In the end what it is worth if you haven't done anything different than the guy next to you. You're just another click.

On Belay

2008-10-27T16:41:00.006-04:00

On belay
Belay on
Climbing
Climb away

These are the words heard on rocks around the world. They're about trust, knowing that you're safe to explore on your own, and that someone will catch you if you fall. You can't climb without trust. Trust in yourself, in your grip, in your footing and trust in those you climb with. You've got me. I've got you. I've turned to climbing now more than ever before. I think in large part because of a need to have something in life that I can trust, something that I can believe in and to get back into the habit of trusting and believing in others as well as myself.

Like climbing, this image is both a partnership and an individual pursuit. I rarely get photos of myself climbing, as I'm usually the one with the camera. But here my brother picked it up and pointed the lens at me. I've since cropped and digitally processed the image with my own vision.

Before the Lead

2008-10-27T15:20:00.005-04:00

Yesterday I did my first lead climb. Lead climbing is when you put in all the protection as you go. It's just you and the rock. I've been following my brother Brian for over 5 years now, taking out his gear, which has helped me learn the feel of a good piece. Thanks to Don for snapping this pic of me gathering gear before the lead.

Belldrop

2008-10-25T14:31:00.004-04:00

During the air raid bombings of the great war the church bells would vibrate sounding off a ringing cry until they fell crashing to the ground and silence was heard thereafter.

Thank You Millard Sheets Center for the Arts

2008-10-24T12:43:00.003-04:00

Many thanks to the Millard Sheets Center for the Arts for awarding me:

1st Place, Amateur Division - Movement Through Time category for my stereograph of an Early Church in Italy

and

2nd Place, Amateur Division - Movement Through Time category for my stereograph of a Greek Temple in Sicily.

Click here to learn more about the Millard Sheets Center for the Arts

What it's all about

2008-10-23T16:51:00.007-04:00

"Motivation is the ultimate clean energy. So fueled we try, and usually fail, to reach our summit goal. Bargaining for better conditions, a stronger self or a bluer sky. Trading success to live another day. But success, when achieved, is empty. By attaining the goal we lose it, and then we are lost again. Goals are the plotline to our lives."
- Steve House

I read this recently in an outdoor gear catalog and found that it near perfectly fits the idea that I've been trying to express in my own climbing photography. I worry sometimes about the fact that I must push myself harder, farther, and faster to feel anything at all. I'm not afraid of falling, but that I won't know how to stop.

Alphonse

2008-10-20T02:33:00.002-04:00

Another great weekend spent climbing in the Gunks and one full of surprises. Here we are atop Alphonse, a solid 3 pitches of 5.8 in the Nears. After a night of rolling stones but before spotting the largest smurf on earth. Remember, if you ever need a leg up just ask a friend.

Fighting Gravity

2008-10-18T02:16:00.004-04:00

climbing to something new

Bagel Theif Wins Boston 1/2 Marathon

2008-10-18T01:57:00.002-04:00

WANTED: Bagel Theif
REWARD: 1 Bagel

LAST SEEN: Boston 1/2 Marathon

Needless to say the run was fun.
Now I'm looking forward to the next one.

Boots on a Bus

2008-10-18T01:51:00.003-04:00

I don't know who she is but she sat down next to me on the bus. I liked her boots but didn't tell her.

Cyanotype Prototype

2008-10-14T03:31:00.002-04:00

Recently two thesis projects have been fighting for room in my head. This is a digital prototype of a cyanotype which would be a continuation of my camera parts project. Cyanotypes are of course the original "blue prints" making it a fitting photographic form to continue this exploration of pieces. Plus when made with care as art the prints can be incredibly beautiful. And blue is my favorite color.

Pecha Kucha Boston

2008-10-11T00:22:00.006-04:00

Here I am presenting some of my stereographs at Pecha Kucha Volume #5 in Boston, MA. Creative minds sharing ideas in the presentation format of 20 slides for 20 seconds each. Ready, set, go!!! It was a great experience to share my work with a new and unsuspecting audience.

For more info on Pecha Kucha click here.

Many thanks to Katy for snapping a pic of me walking and talking the crowd.

Alt. ending

2008-10-07T14:01:00.001-04:00

Hold On

2008-10-06T05:33:00.005-04:00

When I climb I don't think. I don't have to care. Hundreds of feet in the air and completely exposed. I'm there in that moment alone. Nothing else matters. All I have to do is hold on.

Today

2008-10-04T23:59:00.004-04:00

If only every weekend was like this.

Portrait.

2008-10-03T13:17:00.002-04:00

Here's another that I got from the same shoot. I like it too.

Portrait?

2008-10-03T04:26:00.002-04:00

I went to take a portrait but I got this instead. I think I like it.

Portrait too

2008-10-01T15:08:00.002-04:00

A portrait too, I think similar in contemplation to the previous one. This one was actually shot first and helped to stimulate the idea of a portrait series. I'm still developing what it's all about, but I'm sure it has to do with my relationship to the subject. I'm curiously quarreling with myself, questioning whether these are portraits in the sense that they are about the subject, or are they more about me looking at the subject. After all, can't all photography be reduced to perspective of the photographer?

Another new old

2008-09-28T15:28:00.003-04:00

This is just another old photo revisited. Ansel Adams was known to go back and reprint his images years later, to the effect that they looked completely new. The variations in the print most often reflect visually what was happening in his life at the time. I've gotten a bunch of flak at school for appreciating what Ansel Adams did for photography, whereas most contemporaries dismiss him because his images today are most widely spread through gift-shop calendars and mugs.

A portrait

2008-09-27T15:59:00.010-04:00

Portraits are by far the most popular subject since the beginning of photography, and arguably in all of the history of art. I've never had a problem creating self-portraits, something that I recommend everyone does whether you're an artist or not, but I've always been wary about creating portraits of others. Part of it is the idea of trying to represent someone else. And part of it is that I find it hard to share with others what is in my head.

In this photograph I believe I've finally found success, a portrait of the subject, while quietly about myself as well. The difficulty will now be to continue this project, to create more portraits in this manner. I'm afraid that I can't do it. I think this is possibly the best portrait I've ever made.

HDR imaging

2008-09-22T17:41:00.004-04:00

Here's a sample of an image using HDRi, or High Dynamic Range imaging. HDRi combines several exposures of the same image to create a final with greater range and detail in the highlights and shadows. This particular image is made up of 8 separate exposures. HDRi is also often used in combination with tone mapping, which allows for adjustments of the color data. As you can see, when pushed too far, HDR images look beyond photographic, showing us a sort of hyper-reality.

A Small World

2008-09-14T13:28:00.003-04:00

It's a small small world. You can bump into people anywhere, get on and get off, ride the toy trains from toy town to toy town, but somewhere in between stop to take a look around.

This image was created with a digital process that replicates the effect of a "tilt shift" done with a medium or large format camera. Traditionally the photographer would tilt the focal plane, which allows only a small and select area of the image to remain in focus. The visual result is the feeling that we are looking at a very detailed miniature scale model.

Here is not There

2008-09-07T00:29:00.002-04:00

This place does not exist. Don't you like it?

Black Tracking

2008-09-07T00:25:00.001-04:00

Sometimes we must look back to see where we are going, but what about looking forward? Up and down and all around, sometimes we must go without looking.

I want to believe you believe in me

2008-09-06T23:57:00.003-04:00

Maybe it is because I never went to church as a child, but it is impressive to see what so many others have put into their faith.

The idea of believing in something, of truly giving oneself up entirely, is hard for me now.

Paintography

2008-08-26T02:58:00.003-04:00

Here's another from my trip, taken from the train. It looked like a big painting to me, and brought to mind the enduring relationship between photography and painting.

Yours or Mine?

2008-08-25T13:43:00.006-04:00

Dear M,

I'm not sure if this photo is yours or mine. I created it, but yours was inside it. Do you remember that photo? There's something sad and beautiful about old churches and lost negatives.

D

HBF Lübeck

2008-08-25T13:28:00.001-04:00

Last Night in Town

2008-08-23T23:29:00.005-04:00

Notwist live in Hamburg on my last night in town.

Looking at the Sun

2008-08-19T18:32:00.004-04:00

Sometimes I feel the need to look at the sun for as long as I can. I know that each time I get closer to the last time. But I'm trying to understand things that I may never have been meant to.

More than sometimes there are images I find myself getting lost in. Whether it is in time or space, the place or memory, or lack thereof, I do not know. I just go.

"Sipy"

2008-08-17T18:10:00.002-04:00

There's a real art to happiness.

La Strada

2008-08-17T17:00:00.003-04:00

This post is dedicated to all the friends I have made in Germany over the past 3 years.

La Strada, the street circus, came to town this weekend and reminded me of all the things that I love about the cities I've visited on this side of the pond and wish we had more of back in New York. I'm not sure if it is because Europe is so much older and has thus experienced much more as a whole, or that every European country has suffered defeat (and admitted to it) and has learned something in the process, but there is something different in the foundations of the cities and the people in them. I'm not looking at Europe through rose colored glasses. I don't mean to suggest that all of Europe is one and the same, or even that I'd like to live here permanently. Of course, there are as many problems here as the U.S. But there is something different. It feels different when you walk down the street. The stones have been smoothed over with the hands and feet of time. I'm not sure, maybe I'm imaging it all. Maybe it's because I find myself now searching for a new place to call home. Anyway, I'm very grateful for all of the experiences I've had traveling recently and welcome you all to come travel with me again sometime soon. See you on the other side,

dave

Beautiful Chaos

2008-08-03T01:57:00.007-04:00

I'm not sure what to say about this one. I think it's sort of a beautiful chaos, the world speeding by beneath our feet. This is another revamping of an older photograph. I just worked until it just stopped me and this is where we ended up.

Rail Riding

2008-08-03T01:29:00.008-04:00

Every once in a while I find it necessary to go back to an older photograph of mine and try it on again, like a worn in pair of boots that already know your feet.

These images were taken from a project I was working on this past year documenting my daily commute on the train into Manhatten. I'd never seen them in b&w before, but I like it this way much better. Sometimes it just takes time.

Combo Meal Photography*

2008-07-31T04:01:00.009-04:00

While I have tried to avoid fast food for the past 8 years or so, here I have found great satisfaction in this combo meal photograph. This technique is not my own, and the pirate's code says that I cannot give away another man's treasure, but I will say this: like combo meals it's fast and there are lots of options to choose from. I digitally sculpted this version to mimic the lighting style of Jill Greenberg's now infamous portraits of monkeys. Anyway I was just happy to have my coffee.

The above image was a collaborative effort with my role being the exhausted model surviving only with help from the caffeine gods, and as post-processor (fancy terminology for "I did a whole bunch of Photoshop work"), and I set up most of the lighting, and the camera, and the computer sync, but I didn't push the button, in fact I have no idea who did. And I must say in my own defense that if I look at all strange upon close inspection of the image it is because of the ridiculous number of strobes that were fired at me, and the focus is off.

*the term "Combo Meal Photography" is the first thing that popped into my head.

Meeting John Szarkowski

2008-07-29T02:30:00.007-04:00

The day I met John Szarkowski I will try hard not to forget, though these days I sometimes wonder what I will remember, and more often still I come to the conclusion that I likely have really no control even on a daily basis, moment by moment, what thoughts, memories, or dreams will stick around, and which will cast off towards a horizon with no land that exists on any map of my mind.

He gave his life to photography as an artist but John Szarkowski was much more well known for his immense contributions as curator of the photography department at MoMA for nearly 30 years. Single handedly he drove the eyes of the world. That day he shared his love for photography through enchanting stories accompanied by his own images and images by others, leaving us with the message, "when in doubt...include a ladder." I was traversing my BFA photo thesis at the time. I felt humbled in his company. He looked me in the eye, shook my hand firmly and wished me, "all best luck in your life in photography." Well, I can't give up now, can I?

The Silent Treehugger

2008-07-28T00:06:00.005-04:00

Yesterday I had a fun conversation with my father, who will remain anonymous for his own protection, about whether or not he is in fact a treehugger in denial. The idea popped into my mind after yet another typically spent weekend working in the yard, something not as popular as it used to be in my neck of the woods. A nicely paced walk around the yard provided the statistics I needed to argue my case against his. He has, for as long as anyone can remember, been a self-proclaimed non-treehugger, making a living and providing for his family by working on the legal end of some of the largest real estate deals in America (and elsewhere). For this we are all grateful and proud. But somehow along the way he also helped produce three sons all naturally inclined toward saving the planet we have come to love through all of our outdoor adventures.

Getting back to the data collection, it soon became painfully obvious that this great man was in fact a treehugger in denial, having participated in the planting of nearly 50 trees, 15+ large shrubs, and innumerable small flora. He loudly protested this accusation by proclaiming a deep love for cutting firewood, an undeniable fact with the evidence presented behind the garage. He then tried to back this with claim of cutting some trees down too, though after further research it was found that 99.9% of these trees were in fact already dead, and most had fallen by their own terms. There was a single case in which he had been found guilty of removing a living tree, but this was excused as the tree had to be taken out to allow for an addition to be put onto the growing family's home.

So there lay the evidence of treehuggerdom, standing tall all around us, giving us shade, a pleasant view, and providing homes for the local fauna, and yet he cast down this title. Perhaps he is not a treehugger after all, but instead simply believes that he has taken no special action, this is what anyone would and should do. For whatever reason, we will let him win this argument, and instead name him the silent treehugger.

You Push, I Pull

2008-07-27T15:20:00.000-04:00

image coming soon

Switch

2008-07-19T17:09:00.008-04:00

Sometimes I feel like there's a switch on my back, and it's in that one place I can't reach by myself. It's like a fuse has been blown, and nothing will work until someone comes along to reset the circuit. The light is out. Everything is dark. If I could only flip the switch...

This image was created with the help of my first time assistant Erica, and some digital manipulation in Adobe Photoshop. Two images of me, with and without a switch on my back, were blended seemlessly to make it look as if the switch is actually embedded in my body. The lighting is the same bare bulb as always, and we were in a makeshift studio.

I'm pretty happy with this one as the beginning of my digital push with this series. It reassures my abilities with both the camera and post-production work.

Lost in the Garden

2008-07-17T13:27:00.005-04:00

I'm not sure if this is too Adam and Eve, but there's something about it I like. Following that line, it makes me think about the moment just after the fall from grace. It's the realization that something has just happened that will change the future forever. There's an immediate and hurried reaction, but it's unknown what will come next. Aesthetically I don't think it would work nearly as well without the motion in the flowers.

Part of me thinks it's a little Shakespeare-ish too. One character silently happening upon another, and in the darkness a plot is revealed.

For this shot I used the same bare bulb as in the other portraits, but this time I took it outside and included the flowers for a sense of environment. It'll be nice to continue pursuing outdoor portraits. I'm a little disappointed that the focus is not as sharp as I would like.

Some Body

2008-07-15T13:06:00.013-04:00

What is this body I run around in, this flesh suit I wear all day, this organic machine born to fulfill my mind's biddings, until all collapses and I strip myself of this thing, this body, and I float away into nothing, like a ghost who never was. Wouldn't it be easier that way.

Whose Dog are You?

2008-07-15T13:06:00.005-04:00

image coming soon