Jon Edwards School House 2003

Thinking about teaching again, I have to toot the horn of a very great documentary photographer Jon Edwards.

I can humbly claim Jon as a former student, however I know he later studied with some heavy hitters such as the wonderful Andrea Modica and Keith Carter. His personal project "A Way of Being" has gotten so much recognition and praise and looking at his work you'll see why.

I was please to see his work in the final selection over at Photolucida's Critical Mass competition. Go Jon!

The South 1980's- Sandra-Lee Phipps

Well, despite my best intentions, it seems blogging takes a backseat to life, but I wanted to mention I was just in Atlanta presenting my work at the SCAD Atlanta campus. Getting the work together made me shuffle through old prints and I found many images like the one above to happily revisit. It can get tiring to tend to those old b/w prints and lug around the negs. and boxes but maybe there's something to having to do this.

Ode to a Maine Spring ©Sandra-Lee Phipps

Lucy Drifting-The Last Snow 2008 ©Sandra-Lee Phipps

Well, it appears even with the best intentions- I myself got stuck in the "mud" of everyday life- New England break week with kids etc. so my announcement of the "Mudseason" Friday give-back is late but- good news to Byron O'Neal - former student and winner of the print- thanks to all who wrote back -I'll have another print giveaway this Friday.

I entered the portrait above in APE's free promo-didn't get in. There's been some grumbling about the impartiality to his edit and I couldn't help wondering why I was looking at photos like -R.E.M.-from the 80s!- when he was only looking for "fresh" work. Well I held up my end- maybe next time.

Back to work, clearing off the scanner and thinking about how i'm constantly trying to combine motherhood and art making- professional and personal. While I tend to my stack of images waiting to be burped and fed I am always challenged to take this work seriously- to "show" it to others. I like the work of photographer Timothy Archibald who discusses this challenge quite often on his blog showing the work he makes with his son as a subject. Now to get going.......

Friday Give-Back (Mudseason)

Mudseason ©Sandra-Lee Phipps, All Rights Reserved.

An 8x10 will be mailed to the 7th person to email "mudseason" to slp (at) sandraleephipps.com
additional editions will be made available
I'll do editions of
200 8x10s for $20/each
20 13x19 for $200/each

hello to all in the blogosphere- i've been on the fence about this way of communicating and have sporadically posted but have decided to dip my toe- or feet really- into this space. thanks to my husband photographer Russell Kaye I've been added to his Friday Give-Back. this idea comes from the wonderful Jen Bekman 20X200- a great new tool for artists and in a way reinventing the way anyone can become an art collector.

please forgive the intrusion if i interfere with the work of life in the "real" world but I wanted to try out this way of getting the work out there. spread the word if you know anyone stuck in the proverbial mud who need a wonderful reminder that it's not all that bad-sometimes it actually feels, sounds, and looks pretty great!

Super Tuesday Notes

With the coming of Super Tuesday I thought it I would post my photo of Hillary from the New Hampshire Primaries 1992- I was sent by the Voice to find the Clintons and in this gym setting I found their relationship to be what I kept focusing on. These images caught my eye then and have layers of meaning now.

My Village Voice Years

click on image for bigger view

With the passing of that rapscallion Village Voice photo editor Fred McDarrah as well as Norman Mailer (co-founder of the Voice) in the space of a few days, I found my thoughts replaying some great moments of my years as a contributing photographer at the Voice - I've finally compiled a Greatest Hits sort of grouping of my tearsheets- please take a look here.

I was Fred's last photo intern at the Voice and I learned a lot about "how to proceed" in the world of NYC street photography from him. Fred cussed me out the first time I walked into the Voice with my portfolio and told me never to come back- And to think about what that meant. That was my first encounter as a transplant from Georgia looking for work in the City. I thought about it and decided to call him back to ask what that meant. He yelled something in to the phone and hung up. I decided to go back try to get back in to see him. When I finally walked back to his desk, he growled at me again, I replied with some expletive describing his bad behavior and he broke out in a wicked smile- "See, I needed to find out if you were tough enough to get pushed around, cussed out and still come back for more. Good work. You're Hired." From that moment on, Fred was my biggest fan and often when I had a good tearsheet published the phone would ring the next morning and it would be Fred purring his praises on the other line. My loyalist fan and cheerleader. Fred- you will be missed.

That's just one of many Fred stories I have and I know there's quite a few veteran Voice interns that have many more. NPR ran a great clip from photographer Marc Asnin, another Fred alumni. May the stories live on.

Portraits of Al Sharpton shot for Village Voice ad campaign:

"This is how politicians read the Voice"- Al Sharpton

Safe Series continued

Fear, safety, security, homeland, domestic

These words come up with a new body of work "safety series"-
i've begun to visually investigate these themes in my own life
this fall 2007- we're all looking for it but are we really safe.
and "safe" from what-
our thoughts, the prejudice of others?

we are all in the woods
pining for safety

The New Safe Series

this is safe?

Who has time for this?

Who really has time to Blog?