Goleta

I’ve blogged before about wrestling with whether posting a photo a day (taken that same day) is still working for me. I started this blog in January partly to force myself to take pictures every day, and partly so that I could see the evolution of my own work and maybe even see some patterns emerging. Without doubt, I know I’ve accomplished both of those goals, and I’ve realized all kinds of fringe benefits of blogging that I hadn’t anticipated—mainly, developing friendships with other photographers whose work I admire. So then the question became: Is there a good reason for continuing in this same way?

As I considered that, I realized that the only reason I was still posting a photo a day was out of a fear that, if I stopped, my photography would stop. I know that sounds insane, and I also know that the fear isn’t rational. (My fears seldom are.) So I’ve decided that today is the last day of my photo-a-day routine. I’m not sure how things will evolve from here on out, but my plan is that I’ll still post several times a week, with more words to go along with the photos. I’m thinking the focus will be photography, but who knows? Stay tuned.

Copyright © 2007 Liz Kuball

Copyright © 2007 Liz Kuball

No Sally (or pants)

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Sally on floor

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Sally in hallway

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Carl and Denzel

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Copyright © 2007 Liz Kuball

Workshop

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Palm trees and umbrellas

Copyright © 2007 Liz Kuball

Photographer

Copyright © 2007 Liz Kuball

Produce

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Classroom

Continuing on my All Alec All the Time embedded media blitz this week, have a listen to this interview from today’s Leonard Lopate Show on WNYC.

Copyright © 2007 Liz Kuball

On portraiture

Whenever I think it might be hard to approach someone and ask if I can take his picture, I think of Alec Soth asking people to pose naked for him in Niagara Falls motel rooms.

These video interviews of Alec talking about portraiture are excellent. (For the background on them, click here.) The interviews offer some insight into how he works, and they make me think about my own reaction to photographing people, and why it terrifies me. (You’ll notice a serious dearth of portraits in my work.) I’ve always thought I was just shy, but I’m starting to think my fear of taking portraits has less to do with shyness and more to do with what I’m afraid I’ll reveal about myself in the process.

All the more reason to do it.

via jen bekman news

And here’s a photo from today. Not a portrait, but another photo for my In Store project (see my Web site).

Copyright © 2007 Liz Kuball

Tetherball

Copyright © 2007 Liz Kuball

Three slides

I’m working on a mini project on playgrounds. Not sure if it’ll turn into anything, but here’s a shot from today.

Copyright © 2007 Liz Kuball

RV

Copyright © 2007 Liz Kuball

In the driver’s seat

Copyright © 2007 Liz Kuball

On gimmickry

I’ve entered a photo for consideration in JPG magazine, in the category of “Family.” To check out the image (and vote for it, if you like!), click here.

I’ve been giving a lot of thought to my self-imposed routine of every day posting a photo I’ve taken that same day. Justin James Reed touched on a similar subject a few weeks ago, though he was raising the question in terms of the value (or lack thereof) of posting new work or work in progress. Justin’s blog, and the blogs of others whose work I admire (Ben Huff and Shawn Gust both come to mind), include recent photographs from ongoing projects. This sharing of work in progress seems, I think, to have a lot more value than the photo-a-day schtick I’ve been up to.

Why? Well, although posting a photo a day was a decent goal (and really the only one I had in mind when I started this blog on January 1), it’s also a bit of a gimmick. The experience of posting a photo a day becomes more important than the quality of the photographs. In fact, most of the photos I post here are not ones I’d want to use in any other context, and some of the photos have nearly caused me to cringe as I clicked the Publish Post button. The obvious follow-up is, “Why post anything you don’t like?” The answer: Some days I just don’t get a photo I like—some days I’ve been lucky to find the time to take any photo at all.

Which brings me to the questions I need to answer for myself: Have I accomplished what I set out to do at the first of the year? If so, has posting a photo a day run its course? Has my blog evolved into something other than what I thought it might be in the beginning? (Sometimes the photo-a-day thing feels, to me, a bit like CNN trying to fill those twenty-four hours. Some of what they report is relevant, but so much of it is just filler—and I often wish they would spend more time on one story instead of filling their airtime with crap because they’ve given the big stories such a cursory review.) Is it better to only talk or post when I have something to say or show—and then do that subject justice by spending the time it takes to get it right? Or is there value in forcing myself out there to shoot every day, and using the blog as the forum in which I hold myself accountable? Is it worth it to post photos I don’t like, photos without any real context or purpose? Or would I be better off posting less often, but posting photos that are part of something bigger? Are you able to discern which photos I like, which photos are part of a larger project, and which ones are just one-offs, sometimes even shots taken just because I had to find something to photograph that day? Does it even matter?

These are all questions I’m mulling. I don’t have any answers yet, but I’m open to comments or suggestions.

Copyright © 2007 Liz Kuball

Classroom door

Copyright © 2007 Liz Kuball

Tunnel

Copyright © 2007 Liz Kuball

New

I am very pleased to announce that my Web site has undergone a tremendous overhaul, and the end result is finally on display. (Click here to see it.) Super-loud shout out to Brad Phillips, my Web designer extraordinaire, who put up with my excruciating attention to detail (I’m sure he had choicer words for it than that!) and did it all with a good sense of humor. If you’re in the market for someone who knows photography, knows design, knows Flash, and has ideas (but listens to and incorporates the ideas you bring to the table), I can’t recommend Brad highly enough.

I’ll be sending out the official e-mail announcement along with some other exciting news in the next couple days. If you’d like to be added to the list of recipients (and maybe get other similar announcements down the road when I have news to report—don’t worry, I won’t flood your inbox), send me an e-mail. (You can find a link to my e-mail address under Contact on my Web site. Oh, and did I mention how excited I am that it’s brand-spankin’-new?)

Copyright © 2007 Liz Kuball

Worth a thousand words

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Stella

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Glasses at the P.O.

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Fosters Freeze

Copyright © 2007 Liz Kuball

Women will be paid

Last month, for my birthday, my boyfriend gave me a copy of Marc Joseph’s New and Used, and I haven’t been able to look at bookstores, libraries, or record stores the same way since. I wasn’t aware of Joseph’s work, so the birthday present was not just this lovely book, but also an introduction to the photographer. I highly recommend both. If you’re a fan of Alec Soth’s Friday Poem posts (as I am), you’ll enjoy the poetry mixed in with the photographs (not to mention the short stories and essays—Jonathan Lethem, anyone?). Makes me want to go out and buy American Pitbull, too.

Meanwhile, here’s a library shot from this afternoon.

Copyright © 2007 Liz Kuball

Mr. Clean

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Blue sky, yellow line

Copyright © 2007 Liz Kuball

Paws

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Picnic

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Old car II

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Swings

Copyright © 2007 Liz Kuball