A shoot inspired by Matisse cut-outs and florals featuring hand-painted backgrounds and still-lifes I created, styled and shot for for a spring jewelry campaign.
It’s daunting to plan, launch and execute any event or event series, especially on a budget. You can feel confident that when choosing a collaborator for your documentation, I have it covered. My photography practice can scale up or down depending on your needs.
Take for instance, Common Field, hosted in Philadelphia in 2019. This yearly, multi-day, multi-location event connected thousands of attendees, supported, and advocated for the artist-centered field from 2015-2022.
To cover this ambitious project, I contracted with two other talented, like-minded photographers/videographers and together we produced dynamic photography + video content to cover all key events and locations, all while staying within budget.
Later in 2019, I took on a five-day long shoot for The School for Temporary Liveness, Vol. 1. Experiments in practice, performance, and pedagogy. Thankfully in one location, the Philadelphia Art Alliance/Rittenhouse Square, this programming centered mainly around visually-stunning, but at times very challenging to capture performances and workshops.
Featured above is a sampling from the series, including the haunting performance, Existing Otherwise by Isabel Lewis and #Punk by nora chipaumire. The School for Temporary Liveness was presented by University of the Arts School of Dance and supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.
Earlier this year, the experimental series returned for the first time in person since 2019, I was once again asked to cover it. Still ambitious, Vol.3 was three days and two locations, Slought Foundation and the Rotunda, across the street from each other in University City. This time around, I partnered with the excellent photographer Ricky Yanas to cover everything.
I relish the opportunity to capture the most intimate moments alongside dynamic, active and downright joyful moments of communities based on care, performance and art.
It's the album of the summer, but somehow, in the middle of a long, busy winter, I managed to make some art with a very special group of friends for the album Trouble Anyway by Rosali. Last week, we all watched excitedly as it made it's way out into the world via an incredible record-release show at Johnny Brenda's featuring many of the album's roster of special guests.
The Album Cover for Rosali's Trouble Anyway
Though it's been a while since I shot an album cover, I've never made a music video before. Shot and directed with fellow experienced-photographer-but-new-videographer, Kait Privitera, over the course of two evenings and a couple of our homes and neighborhood locations, the video is simple– yet not simplistic. Like the song itself and the stripped-down album art, the vibe is a both tough and vulnerable; revealing, but removed.
“It’s a pretty genius video considering how simple it is. Rosali got it right. She sheds an honest light on the discomfort of loneliness.”
The song and the album also just got some kind words from Pitchfork:
“Middleman’s calm doesn’t stem from indifference. Rather, it feels like she’s laying her cards on the table in order to narrate her own game of emotional solitaire. Instead of conveying her feelings through grand gestures, Middleman reveals her heart in the granular details of her songs: She sings the title of “I Wanna Know” with the familiar tension of carefully tempered disappointment, acknowledging the nagging feelings of futility that accompany heartbreak ”
We worked to craft visuals and narrative that also play with the idea of expression though the small details; a rich interior world told through an evening spent being alone, but not necessarily being lonely.
Scroll down to see more press images and album art.
I loved playing a small part in helping make Rosali's music and vision come to life. She's going on tour this summer - go see her and be sure to pick up a copy of Trouble Anyway.
Curiosity inspires our lives. The process of learning something new creates memories, evokes feelings, and yes, gets us to spend money. Digital Content Marketing sounds severe but essentially attempts to reproduce the effects discovery has on our minds– and then use it to stir us to action.
Read MoreThough my updates stopped last fall soon before I had my son, August, my work continues to focus on the arts. And on August, of course.
Read MoreA new Endless Boogie song "Back in 74" was just released on NPR's Songs We Love to make certain all the Public Radio heads know their new album Vibe Killer comes out soon.
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Happy Release Day to some of my favorite musicians and friends, Purling Hiss! Make sure to grab a copy of their latest album, High Bias, out now on Drag City.
These dudes are as fun to hang with as their music is to see & hear, so when shooting the promo images together, we had a good time getting weird and bloody.
I recently had the pleasure of teaming up again with musician Steve Gunn for a shoot to promote his newest album, Eyes on the Lines, out today on Matador Records.
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