Flurry of Slideshows

spent some time making slideshows this past week.

the first was an idea i'd like to revisit when there's more time. missouri crowned its first poet laureate ever this year. walter bargen lives in ashland, just down the road from como. he's been inundated by media requests since the annoucement and has a heavy load of speaking engagements all over the midwest.

i checked out the previous media coverage and was underwhelmed by their portrayals. i was scheduled to make a portrait in his office (yawn) but rescheduled for a nearby park he visits. it's not perfect, but making this image made me much happier than a terrible photo in a cluttered, sterile office.



i took one of bargen's poems "to keep going" and shot photos to accompany his voice in an audio slideshow. i scrambled to find bird photos and spent a few sub-zero dawns and dusks driving dirt roads with a 400mm out the passenger window.



i'd like to try this again with a poem that's a bit more visually interpretive, and one that describes, i dunno, summer creek swimming instead of icy winters. mayybe once the hype dies down i can collaborate with bargen some more. it could also be an interesting video challenge a la richard koci-hernandez. you can see my thang here.

columbia had its first polar bear plunge. hard to believe a town with as much costumed weirdness as como hadn't had one before. but huzzah, one more reason to dress like an american gladiator in winter.



i had fun wandering around in waders. i didn't feel so weird looking once the people wearing diapers showed up. this is the same lake i swim in when it's above 80 degrees.



see the madness here. next year: underwater housing + dry-suit.