Read the rest of this article by Blake Andrews HERE
FEATURE: The Journal of the British society for Geomorphology
Iʻm pleased to share the fourth magazine cover my images have been on this past year. As part of my residency at the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest, I created a series of images titled Old Growth Dialogue. The work uses a magical realism approach to share my joy, delight and wonder at being in a place that overwhelms the senses in so many different ways.
The article in the journal is titled Reflections on the history of research on large wood in rivers, by Frederick J. Swanson et.al, The HJ Andrews is nearly 16,000 acres covering all of the Lookout Creek watershed. Scientists have produced a lot of data from the creek/watershed going back to the 1970ʻs. In 1996 there was a very large flood event that altered the creek significantly. I was surprised to hear that the science community studying the creek was excited to witness the creek being disturbed in such a natural way. The flood event meant they could, for the first time, compare all the pre-flood research data to the post-flood data. As all inquiries go, more knowledge meant more questions.
It turns out having large wood from fallen trees in streams and rivers is a really good thing for fish and forest alike.
FEATURE: Commonweal Magazine
I am deeply honored to have my photographs from the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest accompany the essay by Vincent Miller in the January 2020 online and print issue of Commonweal Magazine.
Mr Miller’s essay so eloquently and compellingly makes the case for bringing science and spirituality together in his essay titled Laudato si’ in an Old-Growth Forest — A Cathedral not Made by Hands.
Follow the link to the essay. I promise your heart and your mind will be glad you did.
SAP IN THEIR VEINS: First Steps Toward my Second Book
Last month at a hip co-working space in Oakland, I spread out over a hundred proof prints from my project Sap in Their Veins and watched as Alyssa Coppelman (picture editor and researcher with Harpers, PBS, Oxford American and Adobe Create) went to work.
These portraits of loggers from the late 80’s are currently traveling as an exhibit; Alyssa is one of the very talented team members assisting me in bringing the series to book form.
So much has changed in the book publishing landscape since Urban Forest was published in 2003 ( Don’t have a copy? You can purchase here).
As she moved freely among the images on the tables, Alyssa asked insightful questions about the project’s history, the people and the oral histories that accompany some of the images. She pointed out new visual connections in this work that is so familiar to me.
By day’s end we were both excited about the shape and direction we were headed. We expect editing and sequencing to be complete by the end of January.
In early 2020 we’ll make the decision to self-publish or to shop the project to book publishers. This time around in my book process it’s exciting to have the options and these remarkable professionals helping me.
DPB GOES TO MOSCOW
The second stop for my traveling exhibition is the Prichard Gallery at the University of Idaho in the town of Moscow. It’s a big city gallery in a small town. If you are in the area this summer, go there for a fabulous exhibit by the Swiss installation artist Zimoun.
The gallery director, Roger Rowley, and I were talking about shipping the three crates to the gallery. During the conversation I got a commercial gig in Pullman, a town 8 miles away. We decided that it would be best for the crates if I rented a van and drove them to the gallery on the way to my commercial gig.
Along the way I made photographs with my pocket camera, jumping out sometimes in the middle of the road. The third time I stopped to make pictures is the top image in this collection. The mountain peak in the back is called Three Fingered Jack.
The triangular shadow at the bottom of the crate caught my eye as it rhymed with the mountain peak. It drew me in for a close up, and that’s when I decided to have some fun with the pictures. From then on I followed a format watching the land and the light change throughout the journey.
The fourth image down is the town where I was born, Kent Oregon. In 1952 the population was 20. I’m not sure that many folks live there today, but I can promise you the store-post office-gas station pictured here is no longer functioning.
Perhaps you’ve also noticed how beautiful the crates are. A big shout out to my long time friend Don McCall, a retired key grip from the big time Hollywood scene. The curator at the Benton County Museum said they were the best art crates he’d ever seen. Don had my logo laser cut as an added surprise. Thanks Don!
My exhibition will run from October 4 to December 7. Click here for more details on the exhibit.
Leaving the studio front door… Arriving at the gallery back door.
FEATURE: Terrain Magazine
Terrain is a fabulous art and literary magazine that you should subscribe to right away. I promise you will be glad that you did. Subscriptions are free, and they welcome donations which keeps the high quality content available for us all.
And while you are there check out the feature on my work in the Artterain Gallery
OLD GROWTH DIALOGUE Magical Realism Meets Real Time Data
Experiments begin by asking new questions or by asking old questions in new ways. The HJ Andrews Experimental Forest is a place of inquiry for scientists, writers, artists and musicians.
My artist in residency at The Andrews came at a perfect time for two reasons. I had been documenting the industrial tree plantations of this area for a few years and really wanted to see what this part of Oregon looked like before we so radically altered the landscape. I also wanted to shake up my own creative process.
When I entered the magnificent old growth forest at the center of the Andrews, I had the overwhelming feeling of being at home. Not a physical home, but a deeper more spiritual home. I realized quickly that my experiment would be to photograph what I felt. As a documentary photographer this was a departure that required me to ask old questions in new ways.
These thirteen photographs were made this spring using a very technical ‘Painting With Light’ technique to create images that dance at the edges of reality. During the time I was photographing I became intrigued by the technology employed by scientists to gather data.
The Andrews is an ancient forest wired for the future. It is dotted with highly sensitive instruments taking measurements every five minutes. Like a stream, the data flows down the mountain via a T1 line.
The first time I saw a set of plots generated from the micro climate data gathered, I was deeply moved. Immediately I saw the colorful lines and dots without the numbers and words. To me they were images being ‘drawn’ by the forest revealing its secrets.
Beside each photograph displayed in the exhibit is a set of ‘forest drawings’ that were made at the same time I made the photograph. Together they become an Old Growth Dialogue.
To view more images from the series click here.
Where: Joan Truckinbrod PopUp Gallery, 517 SW 2nd. Street, Corvallis, OR
PopUp Gallery hours: Every Saturday 1-6, and by appointment
Closing Reception: August 11, 4-6
During the closing reception there will be scientists, Fred Swanson, Julia Jones and others from the HJ Andrews giving brief talks about the important research being done in the forest as well as answering questions. We will have signed copies of books inspired by, and about, The Andrews. And we will debut a sound collage by Portland percussionist Lisa Schonberg from her environmental recordings made at the logjam on Lookout Creek (unfortunately this will not be live because she is currently working in Brazil).
STOOTS SHARES HISTORY VIA INSTAGRAM
The multi-talented Jennifer Stoots finds yet another voice as she shares the most savory secrets of photographic history through her Instagram page.
I can feel her passion in every expertly researched post. Like every good historian, she puts the image into context by weaving together general history, photographic history and the relevant details of the image maker's life. The art of what Stoots, as the photo world refers to her, does is to bring all this together in one Instagram post.
This is Instagram at its best. Click the link, go to her page and follow her. I promise you - it's a very healthy addiction.
REJECTION WITH GRACE
The Best Rejection Letter I’ve Ever Received
Recently I sent a few work prints and a copy of Urban Forest to a favorite writer of mine. On the backs of two of the prints I wrote a note asking if he would be interested in writing an essay to go with this new work.
We’ve never met or even spoken on the phone. Early in my photographic life his writing helped shape my ideas about our place, and my place, in the natural world. Writing to him was a brazen act of faith and hope.
Three days later I received a typewritten note on his personal stationery.
I hope you noticed the words ‘typewritten note’ because that alone was to me a treasure. Before I even read what he had to say, I felt rewarded with a measure of effort and time that is increasingly rare these days.
He told me he knew of Urban Forest and was really drawn to the new images and the stories they contained, but he regretted having to decline the invitation to write an essay. A person of his stature does not even need to give a reason. And yet his was eloquently woven into a short story that was deeply human and filled with warmth.
Even in his rejection he was teaching me about grace and kindness. A lesson I will embrace and do my best to emulate.
His name is Barry Lopez.
IN THE COLLECTION OF STOEL RIVES, LLP
Just before Christmas Lea and I were thrilled to visit the new installation of fifteen photographs from my Falling Trees and Sap in Their Veins collections acquired last year by the Portland offices of the international law firm of Stoel Rives LLP.
Last spring the art curator of Stoel Rives invited me to submit a proposal to their art acquisition committee. Touring the offices, I was wowed by the fabulous design concepts and happy to discover the luscious Columbia River Gorge photographs by the late Terry Toedtemeier are part of their corporate art collection.
Early last year Stoel Rives LLP moved into the top six floors of a gorgeous new building along the Willamette River. The top two floors were designed expressly to showcase their significant art collection of mostly northwest artists like Chad Buck, Terry Toedtemeier and others. The flooring was milled from a single Oregon White Oak and all the conference rooms are named after Portland neighborhoods. Turning toward the center of the building a visitor sees the artwork and, looking outward, floor to ceiling views of the river, all six bridges, Mount Hood and Mount Saint Helens.
It was an honor and a delight to see my work so beautifully presented. I am proud to be in this important Portland art collection.
THE BANCROFT LIBRARY
Raul Mora Avalos, Hook Tender, Fort Bragg, CA 2004
The David Paul Bayles Photographic Archive
at The Bancroft Library, UC Berkeley
One year ago, on Thanksgiving Day, I signed a contract with The Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley to create The David Paul Bayles Photographic Archive. It was a major moment in my life, and I was delighted to share it with family.
Last month I drove to Berkeley and placed more than a hundred photographs, oral history audio files, exhibition ephemera and some unique correspondence into the archive bearing my name. Eventually the archive will house my entire life's work. I am humbled and proud to be sharing this news with you.
The Bancroft Library is the third largest special collection library in the country with over 16,000 research visits a year. It has the largest collection of artifacts on the development of the United States west of the Rockies. There are eight million photographs in the collection, with works by significant photographers, Ansel Adams, Carleton Watkins, Dorothea Lange and many others.
It has been a pleasure to work with Jack Von Euw, Chief Pictorial Curator and Christine Hult-Lewis, Curatorial Assistant. Their guidance, expertise and support has been remarkable.
For more details read the Press Release Click Here
Viewing prints for the Archive. L to R, Julie Musson, Digital Assets Archivist, Christna Hult Lewis, Curatorial Assistant and Jack Von Euw, Chief Pictorial Curator.
The Bancroft Library, UC Berkeley, CA
Signing the contract in the studio with family on Thanksgiving Day, 2016. L to R, Jojo, Gabe, Emily, Lea, Juliana, Cliff, Ina, Felsha and Jon.
FEATURE: MUYBRIDGE'S HORSE
Emma Kisiel is an insightful photographer and the author of a rich blog experience titled Muybridge's Horse. She is a passionate voice for all things flora and fauna. Her blog features the work of other photographers addressing themes around human-nature connections.
Emma attended my presentation at SPE and has since featured images from my Working Forest project on her blog Muybridge's Horse.
PRESENTATION at SPE NW
From Chainsaw to Camera: A Life With Trees
Two weeks ago Oregon State University hosted the Northwest Chapter of the Society for Photographic Educators conference. Associate Professor Julia Bradshaw and her team did a fabulous job creating and organizing the event that drew educators from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Alaska and the Dakotas. Richard Misrach, one of my heroes and an early influence, was the Friday night keynote speaker.
I gave a 45 minute presentation on Saturday morning entitled From Chainsaw to Camera, A Life with Trees. It was a lot of fun, once I got over the stage anxiety. In two weeks I will be giving a longer version of the same presentation to ALL, the Academy for Lifelong Learning here in Corvallis.
Image courtesy of Greg Bal.