I found the slide photo above (taken by my father) during a recent visit with my parents. I asked my mom about it.
Photos die, unless we talk about them. Hello. My name is Todd Wemmer. Photosdie.com features audio interviews and field recordings related to photography. I use the term "related" loosely. I might say that everything is about photography. Or photography is about everything. I might also say that this site is really more about the talk that surrounds photography. Or the sounds that surround photography. So I am interested in the talk that surrounds the photograph more than the actual photograph itself. Or something like that. Half journalistic / half qualitative
When I talked to Lola Flash at SPE last March she gave a great plug for En Foco. I cut the En Foco part out of conversation to play on its own. For some reason I never posted it. I'm posting it now. You can hear my conversation with Lola Flash HERE. You can hear my conversation with Miriam Romais HERE. I'm going to PhotoExpo in New York (October) Hope to see En Foco (all of En Foco) there. I goal is to make 20 recordings over the 3 days I'm there.
Photo by Miriam Romais with cell phone!
Jason was in charge of a team of photographers documenting the building of the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. He talks about his experience in this short conversation. It's a great story. I recorded this conversation in Montana. Hear the other recording from that trip HERE.
portrait of jason, bozeman, mt by me.
I wanted to photograph Amy printing a photograph on a cake. Like maybe the banner for this site. . . See Amy's cakes HERE.
This is a short one. James Christianson is a friend of mine. We used to teach at the same high school. Jim asked me to come along and assist in photographing a wedding in Montana. I took that photo of him above off the side of a road in Bozeman In this short interview, he talks about the light (in the photos below) that appeared after a rain storm. Oh yea, and that rainbow. Another friend Jason was also there. His interview will be posted soon. There is some of that light below. . . See Jim's work HERE.
So I'm talking to Marilyn (Earth Mother Flower Essences and Vibrational Healing) and somehow the topic of flower essence came up. I can't remember how. I asked her if she ever used photography during her sessions. "Oh sure." I think she said. I said "WAIT!" and grabbed my recorder. Here is our conversation. Hear how she uses photographs in flower essence sessions. And why she believes people take photographs of flowers. And if you don't know what flower essence is (I didn't) she talks about that too. The photo above was taken in Orlando, FLA.
Last Fall, I interviewed Larry Volk about his A Story of Roses project. He told me about a trip he was taking to France to explore and document MORE for this project. I sent an audio recorder (the one in the picture) with him to record his thoughts. I will be talking more about sending people audio recorders to people later. Here is the short interview I did with him before he left.
(From our interview last Fall) This is a short conversation I had with photography professor Larry Volk (Endicott College) about his project, "A Story of Roses." I remember talking to Larry about this project when I started putting together my dissertation site and thinking this is ALL about lost (loss) and found (discovery). You can view "A Story of Roses" on his portfolio site: www.larryvolk.com. A quote about Larry's project from his site: "A Story of Roses" uses a digital process to combine historical family imagery, documents and text into a complex narrative, which explores the nature of identity."
The music on this recording is from Nine Inch Nails. (Track #9) The album: Ghosts I-IV has a Creative Commons License. So does their new album The Slip. Thanks Trent.
(At SPE) So I ask Lola Flash if I can interview her. She says YES. BUT, this isn't really an interview. She knew the kinds of questions I'd probably ask. . .and answered them all before I could even ask one. I actually broke this into two pieces. The second part is Lola talking about her relationship with En Foco & Nueva Luz (coming soon). Miriam from En Foco took a photo (with cell phone!) of me recording Lola (below). The photo above (Shigi) is from Lola's [SUR]PASSING project. She talks about the [SUR]PASSING project in this recording. You can see and read about Lola's work at Lolaflash.com
Ania had a number of large prints spread out against a wall (and the floor if I recall) on Friday night at SPE. She told me about her project. I recorded it. Well, I guess that's a bit false. We talked about her work. . .I asked her if I could record her talking about her work the next day. Yes. Here it is. She talks about the projects the photographs (above) are from.
I spoke to Miriam about En Foco and Nueva Luz. Miriam presented (with Hannah Frieser & Ariel Shanberg) at SPE. The panel: In the Mix: Opportunities for Artists of Color. I talked to her the next day about En Foco and Nueva Luz. What I DID NOT talk to her about was her own work. My mistake Miriam. Next time. See her work HERE.
From En Foco's website: "For over 30 years, it has been in the forefront of documenting the artistic journeys created by artists often overlooked by the mainstream art world. Through our visual arts programs, including Nueva Luz photographic journal, artists are free to explore or reinvent cultural traditions, challenge preconceived notions, and engage audiences in a manner that honors all."
