libberding photography

The best advice about photography that I’ve ever gotten happened in a small studio in Harvard Square, as part of my Photojournalism class at The Cambridge Center for Adult Education, with socially-engaged photographer Skip Schiel teaching.  Back in April of 2008.

We had finished our weekly rounds of looking at everyone’s work and discussion, and we were on to the ‘lecture’ part of the course, where Skip would share the wisdom he had gained in his years in the field.

What’s the trick to creating the greatest images?

Follow your gonads.

That’s what he told us.

Follow your gonads.

Now I realize that it sounds funny out of context, but it makes sense.  My passions lie in the arts, thus I have the most fun when I’m shooting at the theater or in the pit at a concert, or catching people engaged with any kind of art form.

Now I just need to figure out how to make this a life - not just a hobby.

As promised, here’s a couple shots I’ve done recently:

Truth Values:

The Caretaker:

I know, I know, bad blogging photographer - I haven’t given you samples of Truth Values.

They’re coming, I promise.  I’m working hard!

In the meantime, we had a rehearsal photo shoot (see last entry), and on Friday, the Boston Metro ran the preview!  Find the .pdf here.

And I promise, Truth Values and The Caretaker previews are coming soon.

That features my photo just happens to be the Boston Globe!  Excellent!

Tonight, I’m doing rehearsal photos for The Caretaker at Central Square Theater.  We do rehearsal photos now and then to pique the interest of the press and general public - cause what’s cooler than a behind-the-scenes look at what’s happening before the show opens?  Not much!

The official production photos won’t take place until the last rehearsal before we open (The Caretaker starts October 1).  But it’s nice to get a feel for what we’re doing before the BIGIMPORTANTPHOTOSHOOT!

Today, we went to Shanksville, PA, better known to most as the resting place of 9/11’s United Flight 93. They’re apparently going to break ground for the new, permanent memorial this fall, but the temporary one, I believe, is much more powerful.

I have not edited these photos at all, so I apologize if they’re wonky.  

You’ll see one that seems to be a flag on a fence from a great distance.  I jacked up my 75-300 lens to get it.  It’s the actual crash site, back by the woods.  The temporary memorial is on the other side of the field, across the road. 

I’ve finally had the time and frame of mind to add the rest of the wedding I did last month to my Redbubble site.  Check ‘em out.

In other news - theater season starts next week!  Finally, a medium I am completely comfortable with, because I can move around in the dark of the theater relatively uninterrupted and, truthfully, unnoticed.  Time to shine up the lenses and charge up the batteries!  Next week, I’m shooting for Truth Values (as I may have mentioned) for Central Square Theater.  It’s supposedly an awesome show about gender politics in academia. If you go see it, stop by the concessions stand and say hi - I’ll be your bartender for most of the shows.

In even more news, I’m in Pennsyltucky (my favored nickname for the state of my birth and upbringing) for the holiday weekend.  We drove down, and there were plenty of interesting shots along the way.  I’m going to work on processing some of those and maybe you’ll be seeing them here.  Life at 80 miles an hour.  If only I hadn’t fallen asleep around hour 7 of 11, haha!

It’s not really that, it’s just that I’ve been super busy and there hasn’t been a whole lot of photography going on.  I know, I know.  Shoot every day.  I know it will be good for me.

I’m trying.

Anyway, theater season is back in full swing, and I’ve got 8 assignments at Central Square Theater for 09-10. The first is coming up just next week - a show about the gender politics of being a woman studying mathematics at MIT.

One small question.  It’s been brought to my attention that there are certain stipulations when dealing with actors, specifically Actors Equity Association actors.  It’s not like I didn’t know this, but it didn’t occur to me the legality of it.

The theater has been incredibly gracious to me: they allow me to hold the copyright, while I give the theater rights to edit, distribute, and use my photos to publicize my work (and mainly because, since I’m in the marketing department, I do a lot of the editing and publicizing).  It’s mutually beneficial.  And I’m a member of the American Society of Media Photographers, which gives me some resources and standards and all that.

But then there’s Actors Equity.

Apparently, it’s not ok to display or sell my photos without somehow mentioning the show and/or the theater.  Which I do, but it makes me a little nervous - and understandably so.  I mean, this is AEA versus lil’ ol’ me.

Anybody have any experience, thoughts, input?