Best of....

Ransom and Holcomb, Illinois

Holcomb, Illinois 7-2-09

Holcomb, Illinois 7-2-09

Holcomb, Illinois 7-2-09

Ransom, Illinois 7-9-09

Ransom, Illinois 7-9-09

Ransom, Illinois 7-9-09

Best of....

Farina, Illinois

Best of....

Off the side of the road. Places in July 2009.

Illinois Route 16 East of Charleston, Illinois. 7-18-09

Illinois Route 49 and Illinois Route 133. 7-18-09.

Yard Sale- Illinois Route 50. 7-17-09


Ransom Road Underpass Lasalle County, Illinois. 7-9-09


Ransom Road Underpass Lasalle County, Illinois. 7-9-09

Best of....

I am going to do a Best of Rankin, Illinois here. I am going to try to do one for each town. These are the newest images to date so I will start here. I am using this for editing purposes.

Rankin was the last stop on my trip. Route 49 on the north edge of Vermillion County. The end of a training exercise always ends up with the house being burned to the ground. They had barns too. I shot 3 rolls of film. Obviously it ended up being more about the people watching.

Enjoy....

Nothing
To

Say
Right Now

The Bigger Picture

The artists process if filled with doubt and critical self reflection. Difficult to see the road ahead. Not satisfied yet. At some point the process will change for the better...... some point soon. Encorporating new projects is key. The goal is to make this more than what I had intended; what fun is that anyway? Work ethic, sympathy, understanding, willingness and an open mind will get me futher towards the goal. No idea what the goal is in practical terms but I'll know when I am on the right track. A rich life is fucused on the journey rather than the destination.
A document. Four blue tillers folded and stored at the curve of a gravel road near the train tracks on a cloudy day. The grass is green on either side of the gravel road. Not really sure why other than maybe the symmetry/anti-symmetry going on in the image... It is balanced yet unbalanced...... does it matter? Could just be because I think about it from time to time and that makes it stand out... If it sticks out in my mind; that may mean that it is important.. prolly not but,

Had to go back for this one. Located in Ashmore, Illinois. I had finished up and was about to move on when I walked by the window. Too bad bout the glare in the window... not there at the proper time of day. Still I think it might say something... Religious imagery in my work has been limited because of my hangups. Not anymore. Sometimes I set limits for myself without even realizing. Still squaring up too much but, sometimes it works well. Not saying that it does here...

Something that makes Ashmore unique. When I go to a town I will drive through the town for a few minutes. If something jumps out at me I will stop; if not, I will move on.

Places

I still have trouble working through the idea. That is why I make the images. Just another way to express my love for the places I get to explore. It is a radio station that only plays songs by Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Bob Seger, John Mellencamp and Van Morrison. These places are 'now' living then and 'then' living now. It is my childhood and my vision of what the place I live in is and was... if that makes sense. See these places....

The yardsale... and beyond. It is weird that it is a normal thing to put all of the stuff you own but don't want anymore out in your yard and invite anyone passing by to come in and buy it. It is almost a uniquely American thing. This was a great opportunity to get onto some ones property and see a part of their life on display.

The 'crossroads' holds a special place in American history and folklore. It is where the Devil taught us the blues. It is where we come to when we don't know what to do. It is where towns are born and people meet. There are many different ways to go but, if you don't pick the right direction you will not get where you want to go. As a child I saw the crossroads I came to as landmarks. They were always recognizable by the signs and advertising that they were marked with. Maybe this is something I need to look further into....

I took a lot of images of the buildings and the actual fire. The most successful ones were of the people watching the fire. It reminds me of WeeGee. He didn't make images of the crime scenes; he made images of the people looking at the crime scene. Vastly more interesting.

More Edits= More Pictures

The more I look at these images the more I see that this is a half started project and there needs to be more done at many different levels. I need to revisit these places often. I need to meet more people and get more in depth with the work. It feels like I am just pecking at the surface.....

This is Shane (23 years old) from Farina, Illinois. He and his father have a car interior buisness. I met him while he was doing some wiring in a car; he showed me his portfolio of work... a very talented artist. He was also kind enough to let me make a few photographs. This is my favorite. There are a couple more that might show up later.

I had a brief convo with this guy after making this image. He was not too happy to be up on that roof painting and we both shared our distaste for house painting. As we were talking some of his family came out the front door. I asked if I could photograph them too but, no dice. It may be my approach or, it may be that it is in fact difficult to photograph people when they aren't expecting it.

Who doesn't love baseball? All little towns have baseball fields. I definitely need to do more with them. I jsut love the pressbox and the stands. It reminds me of a Bruce Springsteen video from the 80's. To me this is nostalgia... true American nostalgia.

Jeans and a wood fence....... 'nuff said.