Pageviews All Time Numbers By Country

Found these stats on the blog today. This is my all time pageview count history by country. Saudi seems like a strange one at number 4 all time. As does Indonesia at 8, I guess they have a huge population which helps. USA and Canada makes sense at 1 and 2 but Germany at 3? Guess lots of documentary photo fans (or maybe ladyboy fans) in those countries.

Pageviews by Countries Entry Pageviews United States 101307 Canada 38551 Germany 22049 Saudi Arabia 15476 United Kingdom 14923 France 11391 India 10710 Indonesia 7472 Russia 6780 Thailand 5081

Final Artist Statements

I was unhappy with bits and pieces of the statements I have mounted so far so am going to try again. I bough some dollar store ($1.25 a small sheet) foam core board and did up a few more photo paper quality print outs. Tonight I need finish up the "Families of the Dump" statement so I can put it up on the gallery wall tomorrow. I bought some reusable poster putty-tak stuff which should work well to hang the statement without damaging the wall. Learned of this stuff from some folks at an old club, thanks mono guild folks!

Update* I ended up doing 2 of each statement, with a new type of dry mount tissue that works better. My problem is that the cheaper foam core board I bought creates a bit of a ripple effect under the paper. I think thou I have 2 good versions of the statements now, 1 of each. I do not think I will have to do any more. The next time I do this for another show, I will be much better at the process. I have it figured out pretty well now. I could run these things off fairly quickly all day, and have them looking good.

Link: "Exposure Photography Festival" Exhibition Links Page

Here are the exhibitions that will be taking place during Exposure 2015. They include a nice little write up on the show, gallery, and one of Larry's photos. I wish they would have included one of my "Families of the Dump" pics, maybe in the catalog that is being printed up. Whenever I do not get the pictures shown, I feel like I let my subjects down (this time the families in the dump).  It is like I did not tell there story well enough and failed them. I did not live up to my responsibility. There is always a feeling of guilt of not fulfilling my debt. I guess they were only including one pic per exhibition, so I should not feel to bad about it. Larry's great basketball-cemetery shot is certainly better than anything I did.

Anyway it's a nice list of exhibitions, they seem to have some very good photography on display province wide. Hopefully we can get more stuff in Edmonton the next time round.

http://www.exposurephotofestival.com/exhibitions.html

Official "Living on the Margins" Exposure Photography Festival 2015 Invite

Here is a capture of the official Edmonton "Exposure Photography Festival" invitation Joanna, Larry's wife sent me it today (she did one for me and one for Larry I think). It was a surprise to me she was making these up, Joanna did a great job as usual.

Just learned we will be doing artists talks at the opening. We are doing one talk for the NAIT fine art students two days before the opening and one talk at the opening. I hope we can do more, I want to spread the word, tell the stories of the lives of my subjects (Mae Sot Project "Families of the Dump"). It is so important to get their information out.

I wrote a blog story about the woman in photo back in May 2013 when I made the picture. Here it is:

http://gerryyaum.blogspot.ca/2013/05/hairpins.html

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Hairpins

Saw something sweet and beautiful in the garbage dump today. There is one woman average looking with short hair and maybe 35 years old who I have seen 5 or 6 times, who never makes eye contact with me, she always looks away when I am near. This morning when I saw her with a group of children (hers I think) and said "Minga La Ba" to her she sort of just grunted a hello with distant eyes.

Later in the day I was photographing a group of workers digging through freshly dumped garbage (garbage trucks bring fresh garbage all day). This woman (got to learn her name) was working in the group of about 8 workers. She was looking away from me and not making eye contact as usual as I photographed away, one of the men, the father of the bride from yesterday found something in the garbage and tossed it to this woman. I went closer to see what it was, it was 2 hair pins with pretty plastic beads inside a small bag. The women excitedly opened the bag, she had big eyes as she did this, you could see she was happy. She then put the 2 hairpins directly into her dirty, sweaty hair and she looked quite nice, the hairpins made her a bit more feminine, a bit special in this dirty smelly place. I smiled and said something, she looked up at me and I gave here a thumbs up signal with my hand and a smile, and she smiled back shyly! It was the first time I ever saw her smile, it was a very sweet moment. Later on maybe 20 minutes later I was on top of some garbage shooting down on the group and this woman looked directly up at me, directly into my eyes and smiled, she had become a pretty woman.

There are beautiful moments here, you just have to look a bit harder to find them.

Posted by Gerry Yaum at Tuesday, May 07, 2013

Exposure Photo Festival Fundraiser

If any of you are in Calgary or visiting you might want to attend this fundraiser. It certainly is for a good cause, promoting photography in Alberta.

FREE Canada Shipping From B&H!!

B&H just got better, they already have the cheapest prices online and now they have an new feature on many of their items, free Canadian shipping!! You cannot beat that. I have ordered from B&H several times, they drop off everything right at the door via Purolator. I have it set up so they can scan a bar code on my screen door and just leave the package on my doorstep. Often with my night time work schedule the scan and drop off is the best and easiest option for me. So far I have never had anything stolen. Now to have free shipping on many items, just tops things for me. B&H all the way baby!

Because of the free shipping and cheaper pricing I decided to give Ilfords new cool tone multi grade paper a try. Ilford now has 3 fiber paper, the classic which is good, the warm tone which is my favourite paper and now this cool tone stuff.

I picked up a 50 sheet box of 11x14 Ilford cooltone, along with 1 lb of Potassium Ferricyanide (bleach) and some black mark spotting brushes for $154.94 USD. That price includes Canadian taxes and duty with free shipping all the way to Edmonton from New York. I wanted to get the 16x20 paper box but that was quite a bit more so decided to play it a bit safe and go 11x14 for now. Later on if I like this paper I will get 1 or 2 boxes of 16x20, maybe even a box of 20x24.

I am hoping the Ilford cool tone replaces the classic stuff in my darkroom. I plan to work with only 2 Ilford papers in the future, so I can really learn the product. I am trying to limit my drunken rabbit hopping from product to product and tool to tool thingy.

I hope this paper bleaches well. I am becoming a huge fan of bleaching. I feel it adds clarity and substance to a print, it gives it some sandpaper. A cool tone fb 16x20 print made with a 35mm Tri-x meg, bleached strong, could be very compelling looking. Add in a strong documentary subject with grain and emotion and you have a home run power work of art.

This paper is also available in 42 inch and 56 inch rolls. Pretty cool, I would have to rig up some kind of enlargement wall projection to print that big. Doubt I would ever do it but it is good to have that option.

Large Roll Paper

Link: EASTMAN KODAK CENTURY STUDIO CAMERA 8 11"x14"

This would be one hell of a lot of fun to use as a wet plate or film camera in studio. The price of this thing currently is $2100 USD on eBay, not to bad at all (will probably sell for more). The problem? It's in California and needs local pick up. Still its fun to dream about what you could make with a tool like this. Imagine what you could do with this camera and wet plate supplies in Thai, Burma, or Cambodia!!

eBay Link

Eastman Kodak studio 11x14 csmera.

Need That Selfish Good Feeling, Again!!

Check out the video we are going to show at the coming exhibition, at the 5 minute mark you can see a family cooking rice on an open fire.

"Families of the Dump" video for "Living on the Margins"

Everyday on two trips in 2013 when I visited the dump I would take a care package of rice, canned fish, soap and other things. The rice that's boiling in the pot on the fire in the video is rice I gave to the family. Immediately after I gave them the package they started cooking breakfast. It was only a small bag and there were upwards of 8 people in that area, possibly 10 or more including many children. Later on that day or the next the mother asked me for more so the next day I got them a second bag. The mother and I could not speak but she took some uncooked rice in the palm of her hand and pointed at it and said something I did not undestand. She got her message across, while the men were pointing at cans of beer and cafeine drinks, the mom was pointing at rice. Woman are often so much less selfish and concernted about putting the family first. The mother had such a plaintiff and pleading look to her eyes, I still remember it. At times that look sort of haunts me, I cannot forget it.

I only bring this up because to this day I feel good about helpoing the family with the rice. Sort of selfish on my part but knowing you helped feed people is a good feeling, one I want to repeat.That is why with the recent going it alone and making my own artist statement thingy and saving $40 has me thinking in that direction. I want to buy rice with that money, probably many smaller bags that I can try and distribute evenly. I want that selfish feeling again. $40 for rice seem so much smarter than $40 for 2 printed artist statements.

Maybe I can rent a motorbike for 2 or 3 weeks then next time I visit Mae Sot and deliver the rice to people all over that area. Plus of course make photos! Got to do that! Having a motorbike would give me access to wander and explore. I am already paying 200 baht ($6.70 CAD) a day for travel to and from the dump, why not pay a bit more and have a motorbike to myself 24/7. I would also have to pay for gas and damage if I had an accident (that has happened to me before in Thai). Still renting a motorbike for 2 or 3 weeks is probably a good idea, something that I need to look into.

2nd Attempt Artist Statement On Foam Core

Here is my second attempt at the artist statement. This time the word files were printed on photo quality paper. There is a seam between the 2 mounted sheets but it looks OK. I am quite happy with this 2nd version. I am making up a 3rd version now, printed on a different photo quality paper with the photo placed on the left side this time. I feel the photo adds a nice element, it should give a bit more diversity, interest and add some fun to the exhibition. I always like going to shows that have multiple points of interest, and ways of doing-seeing things.

This show is an improvement in several ways for me personally.

1) I feel the photos are better with a stronger theme
2) The video will add background context
3) 3 magazines allowing for photographic diversity (people can see some of my other work)
4) A better  more pro looking artist statements mounted to the wall instead of in a booklet (that no one reads).
5) The framed enlarged contact sheet will add a bit of interesting photo history for the viewer as well as the NAIT class.
6) The 2 poems might also add a bit. I like poetry because it allows you to interpret things in your own mind, based on your own experiences. It is more vague, more general but also can be much more powerful than straight written text. So I count the 2 beginner poems I wrote as a bonus.
7) The two personal colour photos on the artist statements add an important element. I think people will relate a bit more to the situations. They can imagine themselves in the same roles I played.

There will still be no title cards, but I am not sure the exhibit really needs them. I feel the photo should be able to stand on its own, the statement should offer enough info, let the viewer fill in the blanks themselves.

I owe Larry and Joanna a big thank you for allowing me into their gallery and this exhibition, it should be great! I am really looking forward to opening night!! I hope this leads to more general awareness about the lives of my subjects. If I could get some talks out of this I could even spread the word more. I need to concentrate on improving my public speaking.

Note* The picture in real life is a bit less dark and contrasty.

Mae Sot Project "Families of the Dump" Artist Statement version #2

Posters For "Living on the Margins" Exhibition And "Exposure Photography Festival 2015"

Larry is printing up 3 super large 48inch by 60inch foam core posters for the coming exhibition. He will place the posters in his windows to advertise our show"Living on the Margins" and the "Exposure Photoraphy Festival" My poster photo is much more grainy than Larry's as its from a cropped (40%?) 35mm Tri-x negative. I actually prefer my more centered wider composition (see bottom older version poster) of the scene. In the show you can see my original photo uncropped and printed lighter. Still all in all these advertisting posters are great to have, they should bring in people off the street and help raise awareness about the lives of our subjects. I owe the people who I photographed a great debt, I want as many people as possible to learn about their lives.

Come on down folks and check out the show, I am sure you will find it educational, maybe even emostionally moving.

Note* All the good work designing these posters from scratch was done by Larry's wife Joanna.

Posters being printed for the coming show.

Original version poster and my composition of the scene

Relief!!

Well a bit of relief here in Gerry gets ready for exhibition land. I managed to get a different type of photo quality paper working in my work printer. I now have the options to include photographs with the statements. I can print on the yellow paper which kind of looks cool or print on the bright white photo paper. I can add the color photos to the statements or just do the statements alone. I am happy for 2 reasons, 1 it will look good, and 2 it will cost me zero extra dollars. I should have the statements made up and ready to go before Monday.

When I hang the dump part of the show on Tuesday at the gallery. I will also try hanging different versions of the artist statement to see what looks best. Relief!!

Here is what the picture versions of the 2 statements should look like. I have to mount these to foam core yet which I will do when I get home before sleeping tomorrow. There will be a seam between the 2 pieces of photo paper, but it should look acceptable.

Update* I also got a 2nd type of photographic style paper working int he printer. I now have 3 different paper options for doing up statement. No more worries.

Acceptable Looking Artist Statement.

Did up the "Families of the Dump" artist statement on a off white higher quality paper mounted to some foam core board. It looks OK, not bad at all. Certainly better than having it in a booklet like I did last time at Larry's gallery. I will mount the statement at eye level on the wall with non damaging poster tack right next to the first print. People can read the short statement then move on to the pictures. As a bonus its saving me $40, I used all existing supplies to make the statement up, no extra costs. I can use that saved money to buy some rice for the families of the dump the next time I visit, $40 will buy lots of rice in Mae Sot.

I want to try to do up a version on photo paper that is larger with a colour picture of me in the dump along with the statement. I will try to get this printed up at Staples this weekend. If that does not work I will fall back to this non photo version. I also wanted to do a statement plus colour photo for the dad part of the exhibiton. I wanted everyone to see a pic of dad when he was younger (70), handsome and healthy.

If I cannot get the photo version statements made up, then I will settle for 2 statements like the one below. I like the professional look of this statement, this should work fine. I feel relieved to have something that will work for me.

Note* In the picture the paper seems to have more than one tonality, in real life its one nice solid colour.

Simple acceptable artist statement for coming exhibition.

Quote: Elie Wiesel

"I believe it important to emphasize how strongly I feel, that books, just like people, have a destiny. Some invite sorrow, others joy, some both."

Book Idea "The Life Of Doo-Aye"

While reading the great Elie Wiesel non fiction novel "Night" (about his life in the holocaust), I came up with a book idea of my own. Why not try a fiction or non fiction, or possibly a combination of the two types based on a first person perspective. I was thinking why not tell the story as if I was a young child growing up in the Mae Sot dump. Doo-Aye the young girl I met the first day at the dump springs to mind, I have thought of her life in the dump often. What if I played her, wrote from her perspective. Telling the dump story from a 12 year olds viewpoint, she could tell her story directly about herself. What she experiences on a daily basis. Or maybe I could tell it from a young boys point of view. Not sure how much I would invent, how much would be based on my observations, how much on stories I hear etc.

Something else to think about, this idea will probably go no where, but who knows, it could also lead to a strong book.

Update* I started working on this just for fun. Some of the writing seems to flow naturally when I do not analyze and correct-change-adjust to much. When I get into breaking everything down it grinds to a hault and is quite boring and difficult. I think I need to work at relaxing and letting the words come out in a flow, then change things out on the rewrite part of things. Kind of fun to do this. At least it helps me get my mind off dad.

Here is the first paragraph, do not expect too much, my first try at this sort of thing. : )

 The Life of Doo-Aye

I looked up, the small bird fluttered in and out of the hole above my face, its wings made a soft flapping sound. It was not a pretty bird, black, small but it had joy in its voice, it sang and smiled down at me. I watched as it jumped in and out of the leaves of the roof. Why can’t I sound sweet like that? My voice is hard, too much like a boy. Aung my little brother says I sound like Uncle Chit, maybe not the same as him but still too much like him for a 12 year old girl. I want to be more sweet sounding like my black bird, maybe she can teach me. I should tell you, my name is Doo-Aye and I like to draw.

Dad Losing Strength

I am having trouble concentrating these days, worried more and more about dad. Dad is getting weaker and weaker, sometimes he has troubles standing now. Yesterday when I visited we had a nice short talk, but today he was in his bedroom to week to go to the other room. He is still eating and fighting on but getting weaker and weaker. I need to spend more time with him next week not only to be with dad but to help mom move him about more easily. Now getting him off the sofa or bed and into his wheelchair has become difficult. I wish I could give dad some of my strength.

During yesterdays talk I got to tell dad yet again how he was a great father to me. Dads father, my grandfather was not a good man to his wife and children. It is something that has dmaged and hurt dad all his life, something he brought up often in conversation. I have a friend who has similar bad memories of his father. Yesterday I was able to tell dad that I will not have those same negatuve memories. Because he was so good to his family my memories of my father will be positive. I will not have have to suffer through the feeling dad lived with about his father or my friend now lives with about his.

Dad Print Framed

Am out of prints to frame. The "Families of the Dump" work is framed and ready to hang. I might make some minor adjustments, change out a print etc but for the most part its done. Tonight I am framing the one dad print I have left to frame. This print is number 2 of 7. This is a pretty dark print but I like the dark printing, I feel it adds to the mood of what my father is going throug. It is a subtle negative to work with, maybe I should have printed it on Ilford warm tone instead of Agfa Classic paper. I only printed it on Agfa as a money saving no paper wastage option. I hope to print this photograph many more times in my life. For my 3rd print of the dad part of the  who I will have to cut a mat  as it is a square format blad shot.

My next and last off week before the show I need to print 3 photos of dad and also do secondary printing on 2 more. Then in my final work week before the show I will frame and mat those photos. If the printing goes well next week I do not forsee any problems getting the show done in time.

Still need to work out the statement problem but that's for another day.

Framed "Dads Last Days" print for the coming exhibition.

Sale?

As I have been replacing some of the Klong Toey prints with dump photos over the last while a rather desperate thought has occurred. Why not try to sell these things at any cost? They are just going to be sitting in a box from now on, maybe if I put them on eBay I can get 1 or 2 hundred dollars for them. Any money I make goes back into my photograph and some of the Klong Toey photos are quite beautiful. Maybe someone somewhere will take pity on me and buy some work. It has been so long since I sold something I have forgotten the feeling. 3 years? 4 years? Something like that.

If I could get hundred bucks plus shipping for one of these large 16x20 prints that would pay for 5 nights hotel rent in Mae Sot. I could make a bunch of photos of the families and basically stay rent free. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I might try putting a print on eBay and see what happens. Hundred dollars is better than a forgotten print in a box.

Statement Issues

Things are going fairly well with show preparations, the only concern I really have now is getting the artist statements made up. I planned to print them up off word files here at work but the printer does not accept my thicker style photo paper. Not sure why it does not work, in the past it has. I do not have any other ways to print this out as I do not have a digital printer at home. I might have to resort to trying to get the files printed out at places like Staples or Costco. Will try asking around in the coming days. Of course I could go out and buy a printer but do not really want to go down that road as I am trying to save money to photograph in Asia. I made a vow to my father I want to keep and for that I need money, so I have been saving saving saving. Buying a printer and expensive inks for one time use is not really an option for me. I still have to print 3 of dads photos and do secondary printing on 5 prints, then the mounting and framing. I do not want to waste to much time running around town on this statement problem thingy.

I should be able to figure this out, still have 22 days until we speak to the NAIT students and 24 days until the opening night. If worse comes to worse I will just print out something and put it in booklets like I did for the last show at Larry's gallery. I can also try mounting more standard paper to foam core board and seeing how that looks.

And 5 More Makes 14 Dump Photos Done

Did up another 5 more prints, 5 more spotted and framed. Tonight I did 5 more dump photos which gives me a total of 15 (counting the contact print). The "Families of the Dump" exhibition prints are now completed. I still have many many negs I would like to show from this series, but because of limited room I must cut them out of the show. Overall I think this selection is a nice little sample of life there. I tried to do up a bit of photo essay on life there, showing a variety of things, the mothers taking care of their families, the working in the garbage, the home life and child portraits. Next time round I want to show 30 plus prints, maybe 40 or more. I need to find a venue that is interested in showing the photos first (only a minor problem!).

I have talked with Larry, and will hang the dump part of the show in his gallery early next week. I am about 2 weeks ahead of schedule on the dump work, but still behind on dads stuff, so need to work hard on that next week off. I will post photos and maybe a short video clip of the hanging "Families of the Dump" photographs when their ready. I need to keep my friends out in Internet land informed and up to date!

2 of tonights framed and spotted show prints

Dreams

Dreamt of my father, after a good nights sleep he was strong enough to walk on his own again. He went shopping and bought some stuff, after coming back in his truck I went out to meet him in my garage and help him back into the house. He gave me advise on how to make some things to protect my car.

Then I was in Los Angeles wandering the streets after meeting with a catholic priest and talking about his life. I walked into a shop where various poor African American males were being paid with coins for there daily work. I had my Nepal winter hat on, one man had created art work, work he made in Rwanda. It was a black and white RC photo print with various types of toque type winter hats knitted and attached to the print. I talked to the sales lady about why I was there.

Then I woke up. Dreams are strange! I will probably dream of my father the rest of my life. Dreams pull from your life, memories locked in that you might have forgotten. The coin part for example was from when I was in West Oakland back when I was 21 years old. This part of California is a African American ghetto, then a poor and violent part of the city. I remember photographing Dupree a black trumpet player I met on the streets of San Francisco as he counted his coins on the floor of an abandoned jazz club in West Oakland. It was the money he made on the street playing songs like "Misty" for tourists, he used the funds to buy heroin. I always remember how desperate that was, counting nickels and dimes on the floor. It is something that has always stuck with me, the importance and value of all money. Now almost 30 years later that memory is still in my dreams, still haunting my thoughts.

Link: Flip Through Mixed Photo Mag

Decided to upload a higher quality version of the latest flip through magazine to Vimeo.com. This flip through is for my mixed picture magazine I will have at the coming exhibition.

https://vimeo.com/116760328

More Bleaching Required

Looking at some of my show prints I find I like the ones that have more bleaching. I think in the future I will bleach my show work more strongly. As Larry says I need to play up the strengths of film based materials. Strong contrast, strong grain and strong bleach work well together. One old landscape photographer friend told me before that I used too much bleach, but I think he is wrong, his eye, his instinct for this type of work is very limited. I need to throw myself head first as Larry says, let the film look flow out. I need to follow the examples of great documentary photographers like W. Eugene Smith and Larry Clark. Bleach baby bleach!! The next prints I make will be even more bleach oriented, harsher, stronger, deeper.

A Photographers Fear To Commit

I have been thinking why some people test and test and never truly commit to their photography, I think its a form of fear. If you say your done with the testing then your more responsible for what work you do produce, you are shit out of excuses so to speak. You cannot say well this is only a test I am still working on it, maybe it will be better with this or that or the other thing. If you make your choices your forced to live with them and there results in your final print. But if your in forever test mode you have an out, you have a built excuse for any perceived failure.

I think back to something Jock Sturges told me. We were discussing people showing their work in public and how very few photographers could just put up a  work and remain silent. Even more difficult was the artist being able to discuss the heart-soul behind the pictures. They would almost always resort to tech talk, lens, shutter speeds, films and the like as soon as they would show work. Sturges felt this was a bit of insecurity on their part. The photographer was afraid to let his photograph stand on its own, they were afraid to let their true emotions come forth, they instead covered up that insecurity with tech talk. When you place your work on display for critiques your going out on a limb, your putting your inside thoughts on emotions on display, it is difficult. It is much easier to just put your head in a shell and bombard people with tech data, or to tell them, this is not the final work it's only a test. It is a built in excuse and insecurity system.

I think that's why some photo people continually test, they have a fear, they are afraid to commit to anything. If they commit they will be forced to produce work, real work. not tests. Many folks just feel safer producing tests. In a way its very sad, the photographers lack of commitment and faith in their own creations is so damaging and wasteful. It is like they never graduate, never get out of summer school classes, they never make choices or are truly committed to their art form.

Maybe this is an important step that many photographers cannot take, not taking that step holds them at the level they are at. Maybe only the folks that continue to progress make the difficult choices, maybe that is one of the things that separates them from the hobbyist amateur semi wannabe types.

I always felt it was all about commitment and hard work but it is also about putting your heart out their and taking the chance its going to get stepped on. Not being afraid to be ridiculed or made fun of, taking the chance to say what you have to say no matter the opinions, condemnation, punishment from your peers. Doing what you feel is most important, overcoming the fears of a photographer. I guess what it boils down to is not being afraid to take chances, show your heart, and go it alone.

I know many times personally in club settings I took ridicule because of my subject selections. I think thou that is part of finding your own voice, your own path. Most people follow the group thought thing, and do what's expected of them. Their subject choices are things like trees, mountains, traditional landscapes, old buildings, flowers, cute kid portraits, they never really step out of what is accepted by the majority. I think thou the only way you can get to another level, your own semi unique level is to disregard the group think acceptance mode and take chances on your own. Do not be another mindless lemming walking off the cliff with everyone else, find your own unique fun way to die : )).

I have to make a decision soon about spending more time making pictures and less time doing security and other things. Will I have the courage to proceed? Or will I play it safe like most everyone I know.

5 More "Families of the Dump" Prints Spotted, Matted And Framed

Well I got another 5 dump prints spotted, framed and matted tonight.That makes a total of 10 dump prints along with 1 dad print completed, plus the enlarged contact. By Thursday (or maybe tomorrow) night I should have the dump stuff ready to hang, I will do up 14 prints plus the contact for a total of 15, that will be more than enough. I have more prints done than room to hang them.

I will then throw all my energy into completing the dad photos. I need them all printed and flattened going into my last work week before the show. On the last work week I can do the framing, matting and spotting on that last batch. I will also have to cut 1 or 2 over at boards.

I need to make up the artist statements then drymount them to foam core board, facing some challenges there but hopefully can overcome them. I switched from brushes to the spotting pens (SpotPen) tonight and everything went much nicer, much neater. I sort of fell out of love with the pens, but now have rediscouvered these well thought out tools.

Finished Framed Print

Invitations Out

Sent out all my invitations last night, to work friends, a few relatives and photo friends. Now its up to them, to come or not to come, I have no more worries in that regard. Many photo people I know do not attend photography exhibitions, which I always found rather strange. How can you love photography and yet not attend photo exhibits? A few of those photo folks are angry and bitter types so I guess they have their reasons not to attend (at least in their own minds) but  the others who love photography and have no issues, why not attend exhibitions? I know that for me personally I attend everything all the time, that's the way you learn and grow as a person and artist.

I figure I must have invited around 40 people. I would be surprised if 10 of those show up. Heck it might only be 4 or 5. As the Thais say, "Up to you!" I did my part, I was polite and invited all those I thought might be interested. Now I can relax and just finish producing the show, no more PR worries, that part is done.

Update* Got 3 positive responses already, who knows we might be the 10 person acceptance and showing up mark!

Quote: Eddie Adams

When asked if there was any difference between male and female photographers.

"No. Absolutely not. No difference. On many occasions our photography reflects ourselves. It might have a compassionate quality, for example. It doesn't make a difference whether your a woman or a man to have tears in your eyes while you're reaching into somebody's heart with your camera. But as individuals we shoot differently, not as male or female."

4 "Families of the Dump" Photographs - 1 "Dads Last Days" Photograph Spotted and Framed

I did up my first 4 "Families of the Dump" pictures for the coming photo exhibition "Living in the Margins" tonight at work. The pics look quite good. This is a pretty easy job for me to do. I just bring the old Klong Toey slum framed/matted photos from the "The Train is Coming" exhibit of 2013 to work then just change out the prints after spotting. I use the same frames and the same cut out mats as the previous show. I think I will only have to cut 1 or 2 mats this time round, everything else is cut and paste from the last show. This will be the 5th or 6th time I am using some of these frames and maybe the 3rd and 4th time on the mats. I am getting my moneys worth out of these these things.

I have about 10 more "Families of the Dump" pics to go, and 6 night shifts to do them in. Did the first of the 7 dad photos as well. Including the contact print I did yesterday, I now have 6 of 21 exhibition pictures completed and ready to hang. The rest will follow in quick succession.

The 3 Mags

Here are the 3 mags I received from Blurb today. There are some printing errors on a few of the pics. They seem to have trouble printing when the background is white, then the inks seems to drop off or something and you get an off white background. I did not notice the problem until a third look through. Not sure if I should complain again like last time, the problem is not as pronounced as it was the first time round. This probably falls under the, "its good enough" category of things. These mags will work for the show, nuff said. Decided with the slight printing errors to go down in price on these items. They are listed at $20, $15 and $15 meaning they are being sold basically at cost, I might make $1 or $4 per mag.

Picture, Dad and Contact Sheet magazines for the "Living in the Margins" Exhibition

Dad 6th Exhibition Print Attempt

I am not sure I will be able to get a good print out of this negative. The neg is very dense not sure ifs its over development (stand) or exposure, probably exposure. The basic exposure is 450 seconds at max lens aperture and Agfa Classic 16x20 paper (trying to use the rest of this stuff up before it goes bad). This  might me the 6th print for the show, I want to do 8 total (so I can pull 1).

Here is this afternoons effort on this difficult to print negative, it is attempt number 2.

Print #2 attempt of difficult dad negative

Video: Flip Through Gerry Yaum Picture Magazine

Here is the picture magazine, I made the images a bit contrasty but I like the feel of this magazine, has a harshness to it I quite like. In real life I would probably print the photos less contrasty. Overall I am quite pleased, this thing has 36 pages in it so cost more to print, I will try charging $25 for the mag (have 3 of them). If I sold one I would be more than happy! Doubt I will sell any but what it does offer is free advertising to all the big wigs that might attend the show, plus it will be fun for just friends and family to browse through. Because I have these mags people can see a larger variety of my work, as it includes everything from shots done of nude ladyboys in short time sex rooms to the families in the Mae Sot garbage dump.

I could have made a better selection of images but I was limited to the larger sized files I had on my hard drives. In the future I might try like a 200 page retrospective mag of some kind. For that project I would have to do scanning specific to designing the book-mag.


Here is a video flip through of the mag.

Final Dad Printing

Working tonight but I have a few hours so I am going to put in some more time on the dad 6th print (6 of 8). Everything else is going very well, the dad printing thou still needs to be completed. Back to work after a quick meal, then my 12 hour nigh shift tonight. I will try to finish off this 6th print this work week, leaving me only 2 to do the final week off work before the opening. I will also have to do secondary printing on 5 dad photos. Things are lining up to flow nicely with no last minute panic printing. Hopefully that's the way it pans out.

Blurb Magazines Arrive

I received my package with 9 blurb mags today (3 different types x3 mags each). One less thing to worry about. I will place these out at the exhibition for everyone to browse through. Plan on putting $15-20 price tags on one of each of these, who knows might sell something, might help spread the word on the photography, might help tell these stories better.

Just opened up the mags, they look good. The best I have seen of self published reasonable price book-mag. I think I will try charing $25 for the picture mag and $15 a piece for the other 2. The picture magazine has 36 pages so is almost twice the size of the 20 page contact mag and 24 page dad mag.

Good Week!

I had a good weeks worth of darkroom work. Everyday this week I put in some time, maybe as much as 10 hours some days. I am now sitting comfortable for the show. By the end of next week I should have all the "Families of the Dump" pics matted and framed. I still have to print 3 dad photos and secondary processing on 5 dad pics but most everything else is done. The video for opening night is done, the magazines are completed. I have the artist statements written but need to print those and mount them to foam core board yet.

All in all things are moving along quite nicely, around 3 weeks and a bit till opening night.

Links: YouTube - Vimeo Page For "Living in the Margins - Families of the Dump" Exhibition Context Video

Here is a link to the Vimeo.com page for the "Living in the Margins - Families of the Dump" exhibition context video. I had to reduce the quality to fit in the the Vimeo free user restrictions. The YouTube channel version is HD quality, the Vimeo, so so quality. I also had to change the soundtrack to classical stuff to not break any copyright rules, not as good as the original but still OK and educational.

YouTube HD Link
Vimeo Link

First Framed Show Print Ready!!

Did up my first framed exhibition print today (kinda). It is actually not a show print but an enlarged RC contact sheet with markings. Because film is sort of becoming a rare freaky thing, many people have no ideas of the process behind the making of a darkroom print. I wanted to include a contact so that viewers could get an idea of the film process and also see the shots around the chosen frame (always of interest). Plus, it's cool looking and fun to show these thing!! I saw this done when I went to the Gordon Parks exhibition in New Orleans. I thought hey I want to try that, now I can!

When the NAIT fine art students come to see the show, it will be fun to explain what they are looking at, most will probably not know. I also like the fact that it is a different process than Larry's so everyone can learn how are working methods are similar but also quite different. Here is a shot of the framed matted contact that will be shown as a vertical in the gallery.

Framed enlarged contact sheet, the history of photography : )

Dad More Up

Visited dad last night, he was doing a bit better. I think mom and I have managed to cheer him up a bit, he seems less down now. He asked for his cinnamon apples to be heated in the microwave. I told him about the dream I had about him, where I found him with his face covered in dripping sweat after cooking all day downstairs in his home. In the dream I sat him down before he collapsed, called mom for help and got him a glass of water.

I think he was happy I visited, he said goodbye to me in such a sweet way when I kissed him on the forehead and left.

I did a google search of life expectancy for people with inoperable stage 3 pancreatic cancer. The average person lives between 3-6 months. Dad was diagnosed at 81, it is now almost 1 year later (February 2014 to January 2015). It is rather amazing that my father is still alive, he is a very strong man.

Tonights Second Print

Here is a darkroom capture of tonight's second white background photo I printed of dad for the coming exhibition. I like the shallow depth of field (even thou I was shooting at around f45) and the intensity of dads gaze in this shot. If this print works out (I think it will) I will have 5 of 7 dad exhibition photos printed. I might be able to fit in 8 in the space as my frames are slightly smaller than Larry's. It probably would be a good idea to print 8 photographs. Even if I do not show all 8 I will have the option to edit 1 photo out.

The photo below is the first version of the print, I made 4 prints and 4 different basic exposures. This one was at 51 seconds at F16 with a filtration of 20 magenta on the 8x10 Durst enlarger. I then went 47 seconds, 43 seconds and 39 sections with the next 3 prints. I also burned down the shoulders a touch in the later versions. Will wash the photos let them dry and see where I stand. I think tomorrow I can move on to a much more difficult to print 35mm negative. That photo will involve lots more testing plus masks etc.

Things are looking good, various parts of the exhibition are coming to completion. I feel happy and relatively satisfied. Am pretty exhausted, a quick bath to wash off the chemical smell and then I am off to bed. I have to print again tomorrow!

First version of 5th dad show print.