'Suspended Cords' at Cuppy's Coffee Shop

You may remember a ways back a post I did about photographing headphone cables during "Creativity Week" here on the blog. Well, as promised, here are more images from that series. I wanted to hold off posting anything further until I found a place to show the work. Now, thanks to Cuppy's Coffee Shop at 353 W. Drake here in Fort Collins, they have a home on the wall. So, if you're in the neighborhood, you can stop by and get your caffeine and art fix at the same time. And, if you were so inclined, you could probably even get in touch with me and I'd probably meet you down there.

These images are the result of hours of throwing cables into the air. Sometimes I'd get something interesting, though most times I'd get a mangled ball of cords or just a blank frame. There's no digital manipulation here. After photographing Goletaville, where everything in the frame became very purposeful, measured, and precise, I needed to do something completely different. I needed to delve into randomness. I don't remember why I started throwing cables into the air and photographing them, but the first time I did I was reminded of the beauty and expressiveness of a line. A feeling I hadn't had since my days in art school. In hindsight, it makes perfect sense that this would come about after Goletaville. It being a project where I returned, in a way, to high school. Art school followed quickly thereafter.

Line drawings and blind contour drawings were always my favorite things to do in class. I also love the line drawings of Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. Actually, I think I photograph because I can't draw or paint, so I'm always trying to emulate those guys in some manner. And let's not forget Joan Miro.

Lastly, these are for sale, so if you are interested in purchasing any please contact me at matt@mgravesphoto.com. These are inkjet prints available in 5x7, 8x10, or 13x19 personally printed by me on Ilford Galerie Smooth Pearl paper unless otherwise requested. The edition is open. Thanks!

Accordion with Case Study

The accordion I found at Foothills Flea Market while shooting the office commission was so great I had to post more.

Law Office Commission

A few weeks ago I finished a commission for the law office of a friend of mine in Oregon. It was a really great experience to create a personalized group of images to celebrate the start of her new practice. It's always interesting voyaging down the creative rabbit hole. The only direction she gave me was "vintage office" and "black and white." I stumbled around for a few days shooting this and that old thing, but then I stumbled into Foothills Flea Market in Fort Collins and it became clear what to do. All these themes started to arise. Themes of education, culture, travel, time and dedication, and communication. All things that go into making a great lawyer. And knowing my friend, I knew all those themes fit her well. Then, it was a matter of finding the right lighting. I chose to keep it low-key and stark to create an austere and contemplative mood. I wanted to make something that was individual to her and something she could appreciate for a very long time. In total I printed 9 13x19inch ink jet prints on smooth pearl paper. I can't wait to see them all hung up in her office! My thanks to Foothills Flea Market for allowing me to set up a small studio area and photograph whatever I wanted! It's a great way to spend a day.

Connecting Signs Grand Opening

 

Congratulations to everyone at Connecting Signs! The grand opening was a success as they have a wonderful start to their new business. They do great work. They even printed an image of mine on canvas which was big and beautiful! It's a very exciting time! The open house was great, the catering was amazing, and watching the vehicle wrap was awesome. If you ever get one done, I would definitely make it a point to stop by and watch them do it. Connecting Signs is actually located just down the road from the mgravesphoto studio. They're at 2643 Midpoint Dr. Ste. E Fort Collins phone #970-493-0133. Give them a call or stop on by if you need some signage!

Nate-Head Shots

Nate needed some head shots for a new business card. That wasn't a problem. Another great excuse to put the new home studio to work! So Nate stopped by for a short and sweet 30 minute session and we got a couple of nice shots out of it. In these shots I took advantage of our north facing garage doors. No fancy lighting set-up, just open the garage door and shoot. Even Buckwheat, my ever faithful assistant, got in on the act. He's going to make a fine assistant one day!

Alison-Senior Portraits

I recently did a senior portrait session with Alison. Alison likes to spend a lot of her time in the out of doors (that is if you can be "in" the outdoors?) so we ventured out to a canopy of trees as well as doing some indoor studio shots. This was the first shoot in the new garage studio. I say it was a success! Best of luck to Alison as she begins her endeavors out into this big wide woolly world! By the end of the  shoot, I think I pretty successfully convinced her to pursue a career as a Park Ranger Accountant Gorilla Wrangler in the Congo. I'm full of all sorts of good advice for our youth! Dream big.

Big Prints, Big Signs, and Big Ideas

Things have been a bit quiet lately here on the blog front, but that doesn't mean that exciting things aren't bubbling just below the surface. I don't want to say too much and jinx anything, so I will leave most things veiled in a cloudy veil of mystery for now. What I can say is I will be giving away this big guy (20"x31.5") at the Connecting Signs open house this Friday, June 27, from 3-5pm. So stop on by if you like signs, supporting local business, and free art! I can also say that this image is from a book I did a while back called "Aloha." And with that, all I can say is, "Aloha!"