january 13, 2023 (sorry I skipped a day - I went skiing yesterday and then went on what I thought was a date but Was Not One)
there's a fairly decent chance I end up having an exhibition this year, specifically with an automotive theme at a car museum, and while I'm not fully resolved on the exact shape and sequencing the story will take, I decided to make friends with the junkyard guy. I wanted to start there because I don't want to shoot shiny "car photography". I want this to be an art installation with a message, and for me, that means depicting the automobile as a still life that naturally decays; a vehicle without a person is inert, dead, and it slowly progresses from a "statement" to a piece of litter. Ultimately, a car is only as interesting as the people that build and drive and maintain it, and the society it was born from and lives in.
I hope that in a car museum, displayed next to one of the cars I will shoot for this series, it will have the impact I'm aiming for. so far, I have set aside/taken some images I like, and added a debilitating case of imposter syndrome to the menu. I like my work, but also I still have it in my head that my photography as high art is above my abilities, and I am nervous. It's the same feeling I got halfway through making my book, though, so I'm hoping once I begin to hold some prints and shoot more for what I have in mind, I begin to rekindle some faith I can actually do this.
Right now, this is a shot of a junkyard. I think it's a good enough one. The hard part now will be to see if I can take a hundred more of these that will tell a story without me saying a word.
