Zoom Shoot with Nick Fancher

Since meeting Nick Fancher, I’ve wanted to work with him. What I like about his work is he has a distinct style and he uses photography as a space for creative exploration.  For these reasons I decided to do a zoom shoot with him. The session was a lot of “what happens I do this?” which results in a lot of interesting and unique images.

He’s also a great teacher and writer. If you’d like to see more from the shoot and his work, check out his blog:

https://www.nickfancher.com/blog/2020/5/25/zoom-photo-shoot-with-roarie-yum.




Collab Project No. 2

The #collabproject has brought together both folks I have worked with and some that I have not, from all over the globe. This project has reminded me of why I pursue art in the first place, collaboration. In my experience this means, each person brings something to the table and uses it as a starting point to build from. Many times the materials are the same or at the least very similar, but each session has produced different results. All the collaborators were provided with the same series of 25 images and each created something uniquely different.


Release

This morning I decided to work on the Art Care Packages, before doing so I logged onto facebook to check in and noticed a message from a photographer I have only recently made acquaintance with. I’d came across his work when I served as judge for the Photo Shoot Awards. I immediately connected with the way his work uses the human form to evoke emotion  so I sent a facebook friend request and message. Strangely, (due to the timing) this morning he shared this video to  which I played in the background as I wrote out the notes portion of the Art Care Packages. Now, I am familiar with Maya Angelou and have read her book “I Know why the Cage Bird Sings.” but have not listened to this interview. Near the end of it she talks about her mother’s passing and how Maya granted her mother the ‘permission’ to pass on. It was an unexpected turn in the conversation and overtook me with emotion. It reminded me of the last conversation I’d had with my own mother. While I was not aware of what was to come, I now see that conversation in a whole new light. This project has given me a wonderful gift of making peace with the difficult feelings around the loss of a loved one through sharing. Thank you for sharing this with me.



“On the Road With Roarie” book project by Selina Mayer

Back in 2014 Selina Mayer & I took a cross country road trip from Boston MA to San Fran CA that had all sorts of adventures. Below is a link to some of the NSFW images Including some rather goofy ones I really adore.  Not often that side of me is shown.

Selina M also included this excerpt in the hand made book they created. i found it to be insightful about the community and endearing as a reflection of our time together <3

“With the rise social media, a small, vibrant community has formed of (predominantly) young Americans working as freelance, traveling, often nude models for artists and photographers. They use their online presences to showcase their work and connect with others in the community, in a way that wouldn’t have been possible only a few years ago.

However, due to a recent upswing in conservative legislation in the US and elsewhere, the very channels these models utilize to support themselves and each other are becoming increasingly restrictive, putting life of the community under threat.

In the summer of 2014 I was able to gain an insider’s view into this community when full time freelance model Roarie Yum and I spent six weeks together traveling the width of the USA, from Massachusetts to California. Along the way we stayed with other models, photographers, or slept in the car at truck stops or Walmart parking lots. I got to live her life with her for a short while.

I photographed Roarie at every stop, along with other models she introduced me to and intermittent self-portraits, as well as constantly shooting for what I called my ‘road diary’; behind the scenes and candid snapshots taken throughout the trip. I shot the series entirely on film as a means to translate those transitory, ephemeral experiences into something tangible. I ended up with hundreds of rolls, with thousands of images, which over time I eventually distilled into a handmade leporello photo book.

This journey and Roarie herself became pivotal to my development as an artist, at a time in my life and artistic practice when I was still finding my feet. She pushed me into taking more risks creatively, she introduced me to a wide network of fellow artists and models, she kept reminding me to take self portraits (at one point acting as a human tripod when I’d left mine in the car after hiking off trail in a national park), and at every step she fed my creativity with her own. ”

See more of the work on her website:

https://selinamayer.com/On-the-road-with-Roarie-1

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