I find that a key element to self-motivation is making lists. If I put something in writing, and keep it visible, I am more prone to get things done. By the looks of it, I'm setting myself up for a couple of busy months. I guess its like they say "Get busy living, or get busy dying." I'm looking forward to showing the fruits of my labor here as the summer progresses. Stay tuned.
Photo by Daniel Milnor
Shifter: Dispatches
Very excited to share a recorded conversation I recently had with Daniel Milnor for his photography / self-publishing website SHIFTER.MEDIA. Daniel is a great writer, photographer, and all-around creative evangelist. I am flattered that he invited me up to his Santa Fe outpost for a chat. If you want to spend an hour climbing into my brain, give this a listen. Special bonus, you get to hear my atrocious Werner Herzog imitation!
Here is the link: DISPATCHES: NICK TAURO JR.
Looking For America
I'll skip the pleasantries and the patriotic banter this year. "United We Stand, Divided We Fall"?
Words to Ponder
My photos, above. Not my words, below.
“Of all the means of expression, photography is the only one that fixes forever the precise and transitory instant. We photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing, and when they have vanished, there is no contrivance on earth which can make them come back again. We cannot develop and print a memory. The writer has time to reflect. He can accept and reject, accept again; and before committing his thoughts to paper he is able to tie the several relevant elements together. There is also a period when his brain “forgets,” and his subconscious works on classifying his thoughts. But for photographers, what has gone, has gone forever. From that fact stem the anxieties and strength of our profession.”
My own photo interpretation, taken from the book "Robert Frank Moving On" published by Scalo & the National Gallery of Art.
Robert Frank: Look Out For Hope
We live in desperate times. But haven't we always? Are we more aware of the world's problems now because we have this incessant, 24 hour a day internet torrent of bad news washing over us? Or are things really worse now than ever before? Global warming, terrorism, economic disparity, people being dragged out of their cars and beaten by the police, or shot at the slightest provocation for no reason at all, millions of war refugees, political leaders who don't represent the good of all their constituents, people on almost every street corner holding signs begging for some change (monetary or otherwise.) Some days it's just harder to keep going. And to look in the mirror and ask "what am I doing?" to make the world a better place. To help others. To have empathy. To give a shit. To keep my feet firmly on the side of the positive. To stay where I am and keep fighting. To put my art in the world. To not let negativity win. To not let the fuckers get me down. To not let the darkness of the evil doers win. My mind goes to the artists, the writers, the film makers, the poets, the singers, the comedians...those who are the light in the darkness. Like Robert Frank, who has been a creative inspiration for me for well over 30 years, and whose photograph I sat and pondered this morning. "Look Out For Hope." When I first saw that image in college, I didn't know exactly what it meant. Or what Frank's work really meant. I was still in school and thought that Ansel Adams was the pinnacle of photographic expression (oh, youth...) Little did I know that Frank's daughter had died in a plane crash. Or that years later, his son would suffer mental breakdowns and eventually die. Or that we all fucking suffer in our own way. As he said in another photograph "The wind will blow the fire of pain across everyone in time." Death, divorce, physical pain, loneliness, alienation, bankruptcy, homelessness, substance abuse and addiction, random violence. And various other losses both great and small. But what do we do? Give up? Or find a way to fight, every fucking day. To awaken, still breathing and still looking out for hope.
New publication available now sold exclusively via MagCloud.
Flaunt The Imperfections
I am pleased to announce the launch of a new 'zine series called "Flaunt The Imperfections." The premier issue features my work, shot over an extended period of time in early 2017, mostly in the area of Marfa, Texas and the environs of New Mexico. All photographs were shot on film, and the resulting images highlight the grain, textures, and "flaws" inherent in the medium. It is a 32 page, 8 inch square, perfect bound publication.
It is my intention for this 'zine to be published several times a year. I plan to retain the design and layout duties, but will use this as a platform for collaborations with other photographers shooting on film. The price of the new 'zine is $12.50 (plus shipping) and is ONLY available for purchase through MagCloud. Click the link below to make your purchase today.
Flaunt The Imperfections: Issue 1
The premier issue of a new 'zine series, featuring the work of Nick Tauro Jr. This publication celebrates the grain, textures and intrinsic imperfections found in film-based photography.
The allure of the city
I guess it doesn't really matter if it's Paris, New York, Los Angeles or Albuquerque, for that matter... if I'm in a city, I will invariably be visually overstimulated. I love to walk the streets with my camera, just looking for small bits of information, small clues to a mystery I'm trying to solve. This past weekend I found myself in Chicago, and here is a bit of what I saw.
My Back Pages
I've been on a creative jag lately. Don't know if it's the warm weather, or the pharmaceuticals, but something has gotten me motivated to express myself. I've also been inspired by Eric Kim and his attitude towards the use of social media, or lack thereof. Anyway, I've been making a concerted effort to utilize my website blog on a more regular basis. I like the control over my imagery and words that it affords, and I must admit, I do enjoy seeing some additional traffic to my website as a result.
To that end, I've been updating the "back pages" of my website, specifically the ARCHIVE section. Older work that I wanted to share, but also a rolling visual diary, as it were, which harkens back to my earlier days of photoblogging on Tumblr. "The Unguided Tour" section will be a place where I will continue to share images that would most likely have ended up on Instagram, but I really want to ween myself off of that platform as a primary source of image sharing.
I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the pros and cons of using social media to share your work. Let's talk about it!
New York City Reflections
Just returned from a week in The Big Apple. A place I know so well, and yet I am always surprised by when I return for a visit. I shot with one camera, and one lens for the entire week, and I am super excited by the results. A new zine or book project feels imminent. Stay tuned.
Beyond / Além featured on P3 Público website
Very excited to receive an incredibly nice feature in the Portuguese publication, P3 Publico today. The book project I completed with Fabio Miguel Roque earlier this year was a very rewarding collaboration. I thank Fabio for his friendship and ambition to bring this project to fruition. (Note: the text to the linked story is in Portuguese, but Chrome browser allows you to translate to English.)