In honor of all of the year-end retrospectives floating around, I thought that I would share a few images I made in New York this fall.

I was in town for a few meetings and happened to overlap with the Paper Route guys. They were playing a show at Webster Hall and I managed to make it over to hang out for the evening. It was great to catch up with the guys and hang out a bit in such a great city.

So, you might ask, why post this now? The Paper Route guys have been on two (!) tours since then, I have (still) five open, ongoing projects right now… We have all moved on. Well, the simple answer is that, as we all move into 2010 and start making our lists and plans, writing down our goals and posting about all the “exciting things coming this year,” I realized that I only have one (professional) goal. Only one thing on a list: To work even harder in 2010 than I did in 2009. I want to push farther, to be more creative, to be less fearful of progress. I can spend quite a bit of time pulling back those layers, but the simple truth is that all of my other “micro” goals stem from just this one. To work even harder this year than last. Part of doing that is being surrounded by friends and colleagues who embody this spirit. I am thankful to have these kinds of friends and colleagues in my every day life, in my inner and acquaintance circles. I am even thankful to have these kinds of friends and colleagues in my “only see each other a couple of times a year” circles. For me, that was what that one night in New York was…a reminder that these guys, some of my friends/colleagues who I only occasionally see, believe this as well.  And not just believe it, but put it into practice. I know, but know that they are going to work harder this upcoming year than last and I am encouraged to do the same. So here’s to working hard in 2010, right?

So, all that to say, the images and and short piece are less important than the reminder that it provides. Either way, here are a few images from one night that looked light a lot of nights for these guys.

Take a look:

Paper Route - A Night in Review from Ryan Booth on Vimeo.

Here are a few of the still images:

Best wishes as we all transition into 2010. I hope that we cross paths and can encourage each other to keep at it…

Thoughts? Comments? Send me an email: ryanwrites[at]gmail[dot]com or just click here.

I have been a big fan of Max Richter’s work for a while now and earlier this year, picked up his “24 Postcards in Full Color.”  The music is fantastic.  It has been on heavy rotation for me and in fact, this is a collection of short pieces that were intended for use as ringtones. I’ll just let him explain it himself:

Now I am not sure if you caught this specific line, but he says, “I’d expect people to find other ways to use the tracks…” Now, I know that I have mentioned before that one of the ways that I differentiate between good music and really great music is whether or not images play in my head while I listen… If I can see something while I am listening to a song, well, then, for me, it is destined to be a classic. Needless to say, I see entire short films play when I listen to Max Richter records.  (Which is probably why he scores films as well).

Well this “…find other ways to use the tracks…” phrase really got me thinking. Why not make a short film to accompany each of the 24 tracks? Kind of like a little visual companion piece. It will be a great way to practice, to shoot a little, to self-impose some deadlines, and to make a little art in the process.

So, that is the plan.  Make a piece to accompany each of the 24 “postcards.” I’ll cut the video so as to use the entire audio track, as is. Some might be abstract, some might be short scenes…whatever the song inspires. I will release roughly one per week. (Sometimes more, sometimes less depending on my work load).  Keep me honest.

Now, I am not making any money from this and hopefully a couple of you are inspired to purchase a record of his. Either way, you can check out Max’s site here or just go to iTunes.

So, here we go. First postcard for the first song. (see below)

Postcard One from Ryan Booth on Vimeo.

Remember, you can check out Max’s site here or just go toiTunes.

Feel free to email your comments to ryanwrites[at]gmail[dot]com or just click here.

Over the past couple of years, I have been meeting with a handful of guys nearly every thursday morning for breakfast.  We are all more or less involved in some aspect of media production and, not that infrequently, have each expressed a desire to have some kind of collective studio/production/work space… Well, last week, we finally made that happen. We kind of stumbled onto this great little space right in the middle of downtown, across from Minute Maid Park. We are really excited to see what kind of projects we can accomplish now that we are all able to have some dedicated production space and more importantly, now that we are able to all work in the same room…we are going to call it the Serial Box.

We will definitely be renting the space out from time to time (in fact, in the last week and a half since we moved in, it has been rented for video productions three times and twice for photo shoots). We definitely want the space to be a hub for some great media production and want other photographers and video producers to feel at home. We are pretty committed to the “I-don’t-really-have-full-budget-for-a-huge-studio-but-I-could-use-some-space” crowd. Because honestly, that is what we are using it for…

We already have a few music projects in the works that I’m excited to share (soon) and will have a full site with images and video and details shortly. Be looking for an invite to some kind of kick-off event/party.

All that to say, in the last 10 days, there have been probably 50-75 people in and out of the space and it hit me, near the end of one of the big video productions, that I should be doing Street|Portraits inside…I should make an image of every single person that comes through that door. Because, really, Street|Portraits is about exploring “place”…so if I set up at a random street corner or front porch or, in this case, a studio, it is all just a variation of the same question, “who will we find?” Of course, this was the tail-end of a bunch of people in and out, but hey, better late than never. Thus a small project was born. Let’s call it: StreetPortraits - SerialBox Edition.  Why not.

So, here are a few images of some of the folks working in/passing through the newly minted, yet to be fully built out, SerialBox.

And a few behind-the-scenes photos made during the rentals:

What do you think? Send me an email at ryanwrites[at]gmail[dot]com or just click here.

I spent some more time in New York a couple of weeks ago… I had planned on a formal, big lights, full on Street|Portraits set-up, but unfortunately things didn’t quite go according to plan… I wouldn’t say that it was a total and complete disaster because gear issues not withstanding, I did manage to get setup in SoHo to make a few images. During a normal Street|Portrait session I would say I generally average about a 5 to 1 rejection-acceptance rate when approaching people to make portraits.  That day was seriously about 25-1. At a minimum. Actually, I don’t think that I have ever been rejected so much in my life (and there were some surprisingly hostile rejections thrown in there).  It was kind of discouraging actually.  To this point my Street|Portrait sessions have been pretty smooth sailing.  Lots of interested and interesting people, lots of great interactions.  I really learned quite a bit from this flop of a session.  Better ways to approach, better ways to set-up, better ways to interact.  Anyways, live and learn, right?

A few of my favorite images from the setup:

I brought the little G10 again and kept it slung over my shoulder for most of the trip. My favorite street photography images are ones made in transition.  Images from planes, trains, street corners, sidewalks… Beyond that, I enjoy images that evoke a general feeling, a sense of place.  These kinds of images work best when viewed in tandem, collected and lumped together.  No one image has to be the greatest single photograph on the planet, but rather the hope is that each shot builds on the one before it, next to it, until you have a resonating, cohesive, emotive sense of place.  If you have been to New York, I would hope the images help you recall the sights and the sounds and the smells you have stored in your memory of the place.  Street photography works best when it sparks something already inside you.

So, in that context, here are a few images made in transition:

What do you think?  Send me an email at ryanwrites[at]gmail[dot]com or just click here

It seems that technology, perhaps more than anything, creates issues of scale… Global supply chains and communication networks and flight paths are causing our definitions of “neighbor” to flex to meet the reality of real-time, world-wide interactions.  I can talk to someone across the world, instantly. Hell, I can get nearly anywhere on this planet in 24-48 hours. Anywhere. Not to mention the fact that this computer that I am typing on is built with components that were manufactured all over the globe. Notwithstanding all of the political and economic ramifications of this connectivity, there is something, on a very personal level, that is both extremely compelling and incredibly unsettling about the realities of this world and they way that community and communication are constantly undergoing some sort of redefinition.

Earlier this summer I had the opportunity to spend some time with some friends up in the mountains in Colorado. This was a for real, carry-every-thing-on-your-back, hope-you-know-how-to-read-a-map, sleep in a tent, multi-mile per day hiking trip. We had a couple of guides and a map and some food. Well, one day we were out walking and it started to snow and then rain and then sleet. We were up walking along this ridge overlooking a large, snaking river. it was cold and it was wet and our rain jackets were, at best, merely taking the edge off. It got pretty intense and everyone scrambled for cover. I found an enormous fir tree on the ridge and ditched my pack and wedged myself up in the branches, pulling them around me for more shelter. The wind was whipping around us and everyone was just quiet as we looked out over the ridge…snow and sleet and rain moving silently in waves across the valley below. It was a stunning moment. Beautiful and still. I can tell you when you are wedged up in the lower branches of a thirty foot tall tree, when you are barely able to keep dry, when you are at the mercy of elemental things that are so far beyond your control that it is humorous…well, let’s just say your sense of scale begins to correct itself.  You begin to recognize that perhaps you occupy a smaller space in this world than we occasionally believe when we are back in our managed, manicured, wired little worlds…

Basically it comes down to this: when technology makes it so that we can long before we know if we should, I believe it will be increasingly important to make time for ourselves to step back and reflect. Make space to correct the issues of scale, make time to engage in some kind of analog, local interactions… Interactions where our “neighbor” really is in fact, our neighbor.

I don’t know, maybe we should just make some time to go outside. There is something very right-feeling about spending time outdoors.

I don’t mean to sound like and old man, but I seem to be having versions of this “ambient awareness”/”information overload” conversation with lots of my friends right now…

So, that said, here is a short film and a few images about a long walk in the woods…

Go Outside… from Ryan Booth on Vimeo.

So here is to making some space, right where we are now.  Maybe we could stop what we are doing and just go outside.

PS: I hesitated to bring my camera on this trip. So, I made a deal with myself that the very first time that I became obsessed with “missing a shot,” the first time that I disengaged with the people around me to make a photograph, that I would put the camera  in my bag for the rest of the trip. Thankfully that never came close to happening.

What do you think? Send me an email at ryanwrites[at]gmail[dot]com or just click here

I haven’t finished writing my NYC Street|Portrait post (it is coming!), but in the mean time, I must say, it was nice to be back shooting some portraits in Houston.  It was a quick set up and an even speedier turn around this evening, so I wanted to go ahead and get them up on the blog.

My friend Cody and I wrapped up an editorial shoot for a small magazine here in Houston and decided to go ahead and set up a Street|Portrait session with the little daylight we had left. We picked a section of Westheimer that actually attracts some foot traffic and, after getting permission from a clothing store owner, set up shop in the side alley of the store, right off the main drag.  Cody and I were joking around that as the project progresses, we are going to become very very good little salesmen.  When I get home, tired from a session, it is almost always as a result of having to convince people to stop to get a portrait made. Making that initial contact and pitching the “project” to strangers can be intimidating. I am always attempting to refine my approach…trying to find the best way to engage people to put them at ease (it is a strange proposition we are making) and to get them to open up.

Anyways, here is a rather typical Houston street corner on a late afternoon October day:

And here is my Street|Portraits partner in crime and occasional test subject:

Until next time, send me an email: ryanwrites[at]gmail[dot]com or just click here