Welcome to My 8x10 Life, a journal about my life as a working photographer in Brooklyn, NY. The About and Bio sections of my website take care of the big questions of Who Am I? and Why Do I Make the Work I Make?, but I am often asked about the little things that go into my work: inspiration, research, and just the daily life of making things. The point of this blog is to flesh out some of these smaller details, hopefully without killing the magic.
Why this title? It makes sense to me for a couple of reasons. First off, I make my photographs with a traditional 8x10 camera. While a large number of photographers are moving to the digital realm, I continue to cling to this method. I love film! I love the look of it, the level of detail it provides, and the overall physicality of the process. It’s solid. It’s also in keeping with my method of working in that I do not alter my images once the final negative is created. I don’t use Photoshop or otherwise digitally enhance the images. Old school all the way. More on that in the future…
Secondly, the way I’ve chosen to work is incredibly time consuming. My photographs begin life as small dioramas (tabletop-ish and larger) that my partner Kathleen and I build in our living room. Our daily life consists of tiny tools and model supplies, glue, wire and paint. Some elements are purchased, but the majority is scratch built. It’s labor and time intensive, and after almost twelve years, it’s just what we do. But we really like it! Even if we are not actively working on a scene, it is never far from our minds, and eventually finds it’s way into whatever we are doing. Living where I work (or is it working where I live) just invites further integration.