Things i Forgot To Say...

Summer Daze

2009-07-07T21:43:00.007-04:00

So its been a while since my last update, but I feel I can blame my wife entirely for the lack of posts as this directly correlates with her school year ending in June (just kidding!).

The truth is I've been trying to figure out where the project goes from here. I wasn't sure whether I would continue the project through the summer because Meg is home, but I decided I would. I also have been trying to think about where I'd like this project to go and how I'd like it to evolve. I have some ideas on that, but I'm not quite there yet. Suggestions are welcome.

Just because Meg and I are both home now a good portion of the time, it doesn't mean that work on my end stops. We each take turns hanging with Loy while the other tries to get things done that we need or would like to get done. This time has allowed me the chance to do some work on my website and start shooting some other projects that I've wanted to get started. I've also been training for RAGBRAI, the bike ride which starts in 11 days (Ahhh!).

So these are some recent selections from the last few weeks. Keep on the lookout for (what I think at least) a fun twist to the blog starting Friday.

Distraction

2009-06-04T20:10:00.005-04:00

So Loy and I have been keeping ourselves busy the last couple weeks with yoga, sign language classes and trips to Central Park (with some other stay at home dad's). But here are some selects from today and recent.

Keeping Loy entertained is always fun: a few weeks ago I decided to teach him proper record player etiquette and now all he wants to do is listen to my 45's! He's also started walking which presents a whole other set of challenges, namely climbing the stairs and me worrying that he's going to fall flat on his face while making his way to put clothes in his hamper (another fave pastime). I've started to let him take control of the camera remote for some of the straight-on portraits of me alone and with him (see above), the results should be entertaining, at least.

With Summertime officially a few weeks away (which I think really starts when school is out), it means Meg will be home and I will start putting some more focus on putting up a proper page on my website with this work. That entails putting some serious editing time in and brushing up on some of my html skills. Until then, keep checking here for updates.

New

2009-05-26T17:37:00.007-04:00

Been awhile since my last post. Holidays and long weekends, but still shooting. Here's a bunch of selects from the last month of shooting. keep the comments coming. Love hearing everyone's thoughts on the work! Tell me what you like, what u don't.

Recent

2009-04-30T07:18:00.007-04:00

Its really amazing how quickly things changed once Loy hit one year old status: out with the breastfeeding and bottles in with the goat's milk and sippy cups. Gone are the mushed up veggies and fruit we were making and now its grilled cheese and bacon (woohoo BACON!)

These changes underscore the changes I see in Loy everyday and reminds me of times before Loy was in the picture, when other parents would say to us they grow up so fast and we would think 'what are you talking about?'.

But they do. One minute you're taking care of everything then the next they're using their own fork or playing on their own or going off to college.

Marinate

2009-04-22T00:10:00.003-04:00

My wife has been home from work over the last few weeks for holidays (school teacher) so I haven't been doing much shooting/posting lately. On top of that I've been dealing with some back problems, but hopefully that won't hinder me too much! But here's one I shot a couple weeks back that I like so far. Will see how it grows on me.

Hopefully I'll be back in the full swing of shooting soon enough...

One

2009-04-03T11:03:00.002-04:00

So its been a year since Meg and I were racing off to the hospital (well actually more like stuck in NY traffic) and two hours later we were welcoming little Mr. Loy Weston Saponara into the world.

So this morning, rather than Meg waking me @ 5 am in Labor it was Meg waking me because Loy was crying and it was my turn to go into his room.

Loy must've been just so excited to celebrate his first birthday today that he couldn't wait to be awake. What's funny is I went in to get him, I lied down on the sofa with him in his room, and he put his head down on my shoulder and slept. I really couldn't sleep, so I just watched him and I couldn't help but think that a year ago, just moments after he was born, I was holding him in that same shoulder, sitting by Meg's side. A year ago, he was so small and got lost in my arms, while now he takes up a lot more real estate.

It has been so fun to watch the changes that have occured. And every parent says it about their child, but its amazing to see a child grow and learn and learn a new skill from one day to the next. Something that I only thnk a parent can understand is that it has been the longest year that has gone by so quickly.

Here's one of the first pictures taken of Loy and I, but still my favorite.

Happy Birthday baby boy.

April showers...

2009-04-01T15:32:00.012-04:00

So I have been Super Swamped lately, with grant writing, editing, and not to mention trying to plan a (not so) small 1st birthday party for a little someone, in addition to taking care of that very mobile almost 1 year old, that I haven't had the chance to post to the blog.
(How do people find the time to blog everyday?)
That doesn't mean I haven't been busy shooting, though. Here's a sampling from the last few weeks. I'm hoping to post a larger selection from each day on my own website rather than overdoing the blog with too many images.

Also, for those who missed Loy and I on TV over the w/e, you can see it here:

http://www.foxnews.com/video2/video08.html?maven_referralObject=4059513&maven_
referralPlaylistId=&sRevUrl=http://www.foxnews.com/foxfriends/

SAHD Group

2009-03-18T23:13:00.007-04:00

UPDATE:
So I just realized that its not CBSNews that's filming our group but Fox News Channels "Fox and Friends". I'm not a huge fan as you might imagine, but I'll go along with it for the sake of the group.

Came across this interesting link tonight and thought I'd share. It's from the meetup group that I am a part of with Loy, for SAHD's and their kids. Tomorrow is my first time at one of our playgroups and it turns out were going to be filmed by a CBSNews crew for a weekend TV segment.

Should be fun. I'll share more when I know more.

Disappearing Act

2009-03-17T11:13:00.006-04:00

Brian Ulrich had an interesting discussion going on over at his blog last month about the lack of photography of the economic crisis and how no one seemed to be capturing one of the largest meltdowns our country has seen. I just came across some more of the work that Brian has been making recently via Conscientious, and you can see them here. Also you can see some interesting examples by Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre @ Time's Website here (via Brian's blog)

Part of the problem maybe that the work is out there, but the places where the worst of the economic downturn are outwardly visible are not the center of photo activity. Living in NY or Chicago or L.A. we may not see things changing as fast and as drastically as smaller cities and towns have. Another reason maybe that these economic hardships are also hitting us as a photographic community. Making work wasn't easy or cheap when times were "good". Many photographers are busting their butts at full time jobs, while also trying to squeeze in making their work in their spare time. All the while paying off huge college loans(to some of the same banks that helped caused this).

Not an excuse. Its just the reality of it.

Lastly, I think that while the depression (for lack of a better word) isn't easy to photograph. This isn't the 1930's and its not as easy as driving through the midwest and finding out of work farmers on bread lines. How do you photograph the greed and lack of good judgement that got us here?

All that said, I'd love to see more work that represents what's going on and how we got here.

Tuesday is the new Monday

2009-03-10T21:21:00.007-04:00

So my wife normally works late on Mondays and that tends to be the toughest day for me. Loy tends to get sick of me by about 300-330, and its another 3 hours til Meg gets home. So basically until she gets home, I can't get much accomplished. It doesn't help that while Loy loves to sleep thru the night, his nap skills are, shall we say, lacking.

So anyway, the point of this is that every once in awhile the late night switches from Monday to Tuesday's and it just so happens that will be the case this week and next.

Also, someone sent me a message asking why I was the stay at home parent, and so rather than repeat the answer 100 times, I'll post it here: My wife earned a higher salary than I do (did). My wife's job has health insurance; freelance photogs don't. Well that's the short story version, the epic version some other time.

Today's photo's were cut short by the aforementioned wacky Tuesday. The first half of shooting went well, but I definitely felt my energy drain during the second half of the day, and I didn't have the energy to drag the camera/tripod and Loy up and down 2 flights of stairs continuously.

I'm working for the next three days (I pick up the occasional assisting jobs - more for my sanity than for the money) so I probably won't have much to post as far as new images go, but I might drop in some surprises.

The Diaper Change

What I Know

2009-03-09T23:59:00.012-04:00

Part of why I started this blog was to share my thoughts on being a stay at home dad and a visual artist and trying to mesh those two worlds. I've been trying to think of the best way to use photography to represent my routine and to show how my days with Loy are spent.

So I toyed with a few different photographic ideas but realized in the end that they just weren't me. And over the last few months I've made a few snapshots here and there, trying to get a sense of how this could be something fruitful. Well today I really put my full effort towards it: dragged my camera on tripod with shutter release cable throughout the house, and I'm not sure how many very good pictures I made, but for the first time in awhile I feel excited about a project I'm working on.

Over the last few months at home with Loy, stuck mainly inside because of the cold weather, I've felt stuck photographically: writer's block for the visual artist. But I started thinking back to something I was told in art school, 'photograph what you know, what's around you'. Whether that's your bedroom or your 11 month old, you will eventually breakthrough.

So here's a small selection of images from my day(s) with Loy...(Time permitting I'll try to post a small selection everyday- no promises).

The Collector's Guide to Emerging Art Photography

2009-01-19T15:30:00.009-05:00

The Collector's Guide to Emerging Art Photography

Well the cat's out of the proverbial bag...My work was included in this, the Guide, and I am very excited to be a part of such a great collection of young photographers. I have the suspicion that this guide will become quite the collectors item (no pun intended); At $50 per copy (what a steal!) and with the fellow names included - its bound to be.

I can't wait to get my hands on my copy.

There aren't going to be many copies made available for sale so I would suggest if your interested to mosey on over to humble's website to read all about it and if you want to see for yourself, pre-order yourself a copy. If you're an art collector, or photo professional, you can email tcgeap@hafny.org to apply for a free copy.

Nice work Jon, Amani and the rest of the HAFNY Crew!!!

Welcome

2009-01-13T20:26:00.001-05:00

Hello. So yep I've decided to join what seems to be every other photographer in the world and start a blog. I've been on the fence about this for awhile, mostly because I didn't want to just be another drop of water in the ocean. I didn't want to create a blog just because someone thinks its a smart marketing tool. My thinking went, if I didn't feel I could add something useful to the discourse, why try. I also have tried to keep journals/diaries in the pen & paper world and they always seemed to peter out (i'm hoping to keep this blog going if not on a daily basis @ least weekly).

So I hope this to be a place where I share some new work and ideas, share some thoughts on whats going on, share some of what its like to be a Stay-at-home dad / photographer / and more. Maybe share some non-photo related things i'm working on too.

And don't quote me on any of this because it might be more or it might be less than what i'm saying here...Thanks.