Last Winter

From last winter when I was in Texas. Oh mama look at that sprawl.

Drink Coffee, Brush Teeth, Take Self Portrait

Here are the first five printed self portraits from my morning portraits WIP series. Each (most) are taken moments before I walk out the door for the first time. I am interested in seeing how I feel/look before I present myself to the hustle and bustle of Central Square and the changes of my expression, stance and clothing.
Its about the everyday.
I have been wanting to do a daily photo project for sometime but did not know what to shoot, this seems to be worth exploring for now.
All of these were taken in November or early December, and I am pretty sure the first one here was the first one i took.
I am hoping to have more printed and posted in a about month but they will have a different locations and people in them.

Merry X-mas, Eat some fucking pie!

©S.I.Watson 2009

Touch my (print) Box

This is where What November Was and Morning Portraits are living. I am becoming more obsessed with objects that surround photographs and photography itself such as film canisters, print envelopes, packaging for the film and paper, and receipts for processing. So i have started scanning in these objects as well because their presence is important to my process.
Oh and thanks for the paper Traverse, I finally printed on it after a year and a half.

What November Was (part two)

November was the last warm days, the last night wanderings and talks about the future.

Where are we going? Oh photos will you let me know?

Presently I am down in Texas, the sun is shining, and I want to photograph everything. While visiting friends and family, I keep coming across stacks of photos- snap shots with no time line or order - that make me drool. The randomness of people and places I don't know or haven't thought about in a while, different textures of paper, photos from the 1960s hanging out next to pictures from a few months ago, some fading and beat to shit, someone's history vibrating in my hands and eyeballs. Snapshots are one of (if not the) my greatest influences on my work, there is something just so beautiful and humble about them. I feel as if I have the same intentions as a families' photo album just on a larger scale.
Do people still do photo albums? Or are we locking them inside of digital cameras and computers?

Thanks for lookin' and reading.

©S.I. Watson

What November Was (part one)

Scanned 5x7 prints on lovely expired Ektacolor paper, printed this past week.

November was about post prime pumpkins, rainy NYC adventure and then a clear(stoned)melancholy Thanksgiving morning. More to come.

I wonder if I am wandering in circles, photographing in circles.

Heading down South to sunny sprawling Dallas later this week. A place that I hated so much as become a muse of sorts.

Thanks for looking.

Flash for you

I have taken to night wandering with a friend(s) an shooting with an on camera flash, and these are the product of such adventures. Last night it snowed here in Cambridge so I am not sure how much longer I will be able to go out and shoot this way. Ah well, seasonal seasons.

hm.... that is all.

Photograph to Remember

Contact sheet from November 14 and 15th 2009

Snapshots are my greatest influence. Thought I'd share.

Yellow Winter Juice

Three photos from my NESOP graduation portfolio that I also submitted to the Mariposa call. I heard back from Mariposa yesterday, saying they were interested but still needed to finish looking through the entries. Cool. A pretty fast turn around for a cafe, I have my fingers crossed.

Them Boys

Them Boys: Trav, John, Max, Sam. Here, there and everywhere.

Been digging through files for a submission that is due in a few days, figure I would toss these up.

SI WATSON ©2009

Where did it go?

Adam and Loafer, Hull Mass, August

Luke's SunRoom, Allston Mass, August

Garland Texas, July

DFW morning, Texas, July

Here are four images from the Summer of Sundays chapter that I am presently working on(with?); printing, editing, scanning and thinking abouts. Where did you go summer? It felt like all dog days with a bit of Texas heat.
Sorry about the lack of posts. About six weeks ago I started working a (terrible) retail job to pay the bills and live . (I shouldn't complain with the unemployment rate edging towards 10%.) So I am learning to balance working for $$$s and working for my art. Still shooting, printing once or twice a week and looking at work by other. It is just the digital work I have no attention for esp. when i get off of work. I am sure this will change in the winter when I will be more inclined to stay in and drink wine.
I also started TAing at Nesop for 2nd year color, the class is fabalous, they keep me excited about photography.
Alec Soth (rhymes with both) gave lecture "The Democratic Jungle" at Mass Art on Monday evening. I enjoyed that he gave stories behind some of his work/life and also talked about the present conditions of photograhy in the world of flickr and the dying print meduim. He was handsome and human and I should have taken notes.

All content ©2009 S.I. Watson

touch is required.

A photograph is only a photograph if I can touch it.
Anything else is a lesser form like an image or picture.

Tortilla Red Sweater

Click to make bigger.
1. Tortillas
2. Red
3. Sweater
Two from Cambridge one from Texas, can you guess which is from Texas?

I sent out a package of prints to Dallas yesterday. Hooray for selling work and living off of it. I actually haven't been shooting that much film since I got back from Texas. I'm kinda bored with the Cambridge/Boston area but that could just be the summer doldrums.
I did shoot a few rolls this weekend, its mainly of people/adventures with friends. And i have another two rolls to finish before I'll head back to the lab to make print.


p.s. I have developed recent summer flowers obsession. They are just so pretty. Here's another:

Green Times Three:

1: Green Bus (hello darling), Dallas
2: Honeysuckles, Cambridge
3: Mom's Old Passport, Dallas

This is long over due I am getting back on track. Its just the summer time.

is this going to be forever?

Schools out. Family is gone. I have time for my thoughts. Oh God.
Here are a few new photos from the last weeks of school and graduation:
The newly southern gentleman Luke Walen

William Grace at his opening in Jamaican Plain
NESOP 09 class photo
At the liquor store

Mr Adam Donnelly

And Miss Tibbetts

I need to buy a new scanner, the one I have was given to me for free maybe 4 or 5 years ago, before I knew anything about scanning. Drug store prints are getting too expensive for my tight budget. But I have to say that one of my favorite things to do is dig through boxes of old photographs. You know those photo album rejects that everyone's parents have hidden away in the closet. Mmmm.
I'm still working on my summer plans, I just wish it would stop raining.