C.R.I.T. at Evie Salon Studio

Saturday February 7th, from 6:00 till 9:00 pm, C.R.I.T. will be having an opening reception of photographic works at Evie Salon Studio in Somerville Massachusetts. Artwork will be on display from February 7th till February 28th.

Image: ©Traverse Day Robinette, Design: ©Nicole Elkins

Evie Salon Studio exhibition includes works by Traverse Day Robinette, Laura Miner, Hannah Bemelmans, Nicole Elkins, Dina Shaposhnikova, Kitty Ethridge, Hannah Engelson and Kate Trenerry.

Michael Powers: Memories

Caitlin © Michael Powers

Caitlin and I had to balance across the beams to reach the abandoned trunks. We almost fell through the insulation; luckily, we made the journey safely to the other side. It was October or November. It should have been cold in the attic but it was at least 85 degrees. I still can’t believe she stayed still for one second. Do you know how long a second is for a photographer? I thought this photograph was going to be an awful, blurry, under exposed image. Brian Fitzgibbons later commented about the image, “It looks very cinematic almost like it could be a film still.” The rest is history.

I was 15 years old when my Grandfather died. I wish I had spent more time with him and asked him more questions. He was a Doctor that enjoyed oil painting. I like to think that he if he saw my photographs of their Cape Cod home he would show me his crooked smile and give me that hug I don’t remember getting from him. I remember the glass bowl of Bulls-Eye candies on the kitchen cabinet. I liked that he knew I was always looking forward to them.

Grandma Dresser © Michael Powers

Madeline © Michael Powers

 This is the first time I met Madeline. She is the daughter of my cousin. I haven’t seen her in a few years. Her brother Harry and she were shy upon meeting me. Madeline saw my large camera and wanted to know what it did. I told her, “Stand still and I will show you.” 

Daydream © Michael Powers

  In my self-portrait I’m holding a silver boat in the bathtub. I also have a mustache to look more like my Father. This one is entitled, “daydream” because I tend to get lost in my imagination (something I did as a child playing in the tub and something I will continue to do forever). 

Telephone © Michael Powers

 It was my first time I went to Lake Sunapee. I’ve only been there three times but I know it’s one of the most magical places I will ever visit. Inside is preserved like a time capsule from the eighties.  I remember not knowing what was upstairs and to my delight I found an old telephone still being used.  I hope that one day I can go back to this wonderful place.

Traverse Day Robinette: For Whom the Bell Tolls

February 2011 I went for a long weekend in Hancock Vermont. I had planned on shooting black and white landscapes.  Somehow I forgot my film and only had 10 sheets of 4x5 instant film and a two sheets of slide and two sheets of black and white film in my film holders. Times like these one wonders why does anyone still shoot film.

Self Portrait; For Whom the Bell Tolls, 2011 © Traverse Day Robinette

I did some hiking and a bit of shooting. Mostly I froze my fingers off while trying to make images in the icy woods of Vermont. I made a few instant images at Texas Falls and they were technically off. I had intended to have the scene back lit but my cold hands took so long to set up the shot that the sun actually moved from behind the tree. It is a sad day when the sun moves faster than you. I had two choices, 1) Move my camera to another vantage point and start over or 2) Stay put and make the image shooting straight into the sun. As you have probably have guessed I was not interested in loosing another race to the sun. I must say it was hard for me to let go and make an image where I knew I had given up control.

Snowfall, 2011 © Traverse Day Robinette

Life is a funny thing and photography is no less strange. My photography professor Nick Nixon once said “Make pictures now and ask questions later”. Unfortunately at the time this was of little use, while in college everyone wanted questions answered “now”.  These words have been echoing in the back of my mind since graduation. I consistently find myself photographing without reason or direction of events pertaining to daily life. Answers to these questions seem to surface years later and bring a greater focus to works already made. This is something I had never anticipated to happen.

It Tolls for Thee, 2011 © Traverse Day Robinette

I put these images aside and did not think of them for some time. They represented the scene not as I had wanted them to, but in a totally different manner.   After a year or so I found myself drawn to the quiet beauty they held.  I started to form a story and to think how they were like scenes from “For Whom the Bell Tolls” by Ernest Hemingway. I had brought along this novel while on my trip and I found myself reading in the window. It was snowing outside and in the book. I look at these images from Texas Falls and they represent the snow fall and what was to come.  This sequence was also contrived with the purpose of representing my insecurities with what is before life and after death.

Nicole Elkins: The Window Series

“The Window Series” is a continuation in my exploration of suburbia. I find the marriage of natural and artificial light to be spellbinding as they mix in an overlap of the inside and outside view. Windows create a perfect frame for the scene that lies beyond. Changes in the seasons, development of landscape, and the passing of time are all elements of the environment morphing and evolving yet the frame remains the same.

Untitled © 2012 Nicole Elkins

Untitled © 2012 Nicole Elkins

Untitled © 2012 Nicole Elkins

Untitled © 2012 Nicole Elkins

Traverse Day Robinette: Somewhere Between Here and There

I use to find the best way for me to connect with nature was to hike as fast as I could. I had this idea if I travel a great distance I would experience nature better by seeing more. All this rushing proved to be, I was missing out on all the woods had to offer. I now take hours to travel the distance of a mile. I spend more time looking at and appreciating my surrounds. Being still is becoming part of the environment. Slowing myself down even more I journal about each image made. Thinking more about what I’m looking at and what the scene looks like before and after exposure, instead of capturing and moving on. Not only do I record the light and my settings, but also how I feel at that moment with all that is happening around me. It is a time for me to connect with nature and a time to disconnect from everyday life.

Noon Hill Reservation2011 © Traverse Day Robinette

I search for places close to Boston that make you feel miles away. Most of the reservations are quite small.  All of the woods I visited are second generation growth. These places were cleared for farming and now new growth has taken over. I think these small parcels of land are just as important as the grandeur of any mountain or ocean. The beauty in this ordinary landscape is overwhelmingly powerful. Every tree, rock, twig, puddle is special and important. A puddle deserves the same attention as an ocean. 

Rock Woods Reservation 2011 © Traverse Day Robinette

Cooks Canyon 2011 © Traverse Day Robinette

Underneath the canopy a complexity of layers unfolds and envelops me. I find my way through these layers by working out the patterns of the trees and undergrowth. Letting my gaze drift through this maze of layers I try to find spaces where there is an opening, looking for a way out at the same time finding enjoyment in being lost.

Cooks Canyon 2011 © Traverse Day Robinette

Middlesex Fells 2011 © Traverse Day Robinette