JONATHAN CHERRY: What did you have for breakfast this morning? ERICA McDONALD: Oatmeal with banana, blueberries, sliced almonds with soy milk and maple syrup. And a dash of cinnamon. I really wanted eggs and toast, but I’m trying to eat fewer eggs since I have learned about some really nasty practices of the egg industry that even the ‘best’ commercial practices can’t sidestep. I may be on my way to raising my own chickens. JC: Any favourite emerging photographers these days? EM: I look at so much great work - emerging or otherwise - and honestly the line seems a bit blurred to me of when one is no longer in the emerging camp. I taught an intensive workshop last May to a group of students from Italy that you would call emerging. They had something of a different visual vocabulary than my own, so it was extra exciting to watch how they grew and chose to express themselves. Student Anna Gianfrate was working on a series of reflections that are quite painterly, and they have stayed in my mind. JC: What is your current project all about? EM: It’s not a shooting project, but the thing that consumes most of my time right now is an endeavor called DEVELOP. It’s something I’ve been working on to provide our documentary and pj photo community with a slew of educational resources. I’ll start my next long term photo project soon, but I’ve come to understand how much energy a longer piece can involve, so I want to choose carefully. I think it is important that I do something life affirming because the work really takes over for a period of time. It can be nice to be in that space where I have a few ideas and to just let them germinate a bit before raising the camera. JC: Has 2011 got some exciting happenings? EM: DEVELOP has been in the works for awhile and I am excited to see it launch and grow; I expect that will take a good deal of my time. I’ll be teaching workshops and doing some consulting, and I’ll be writing again for my ‘scribbling in the dark’ series, which are my musings on photographer talks. I also need to put some energy into making my last project, the dark light of this nothing, into a book. And of course I’ll keep shooting for assignments and for personal reasons. It might be something of a juggling act, but I think that is fairly normal these days for photographers. JC: What initially drew you to photography? EM: I found an album of photos of my older sister when I was really little. It was this whole album, chock full of photos of her over the course of one afternoon. She was about 3 years old in the photos, and I was maybe 5 when I first saw it. There wasn’t an album of me at 3, and the awareness of that made me understand temporality. Something in me saw the importance of documenting the moment, and perhaps more importantly the consequences of not; it was a life changing realization. JC: Any interesting stories from the road? EM: I went on a pilgrimage to the Black Madonna in Poland, but it was a last minute decision and I hadn’t made arrangements -  the only place to sleep was on the ground without any blankets. I was recovering from food poisoning and couldn’t eat anything but apples and had to walk the last legs of the pilgrimage with three heavy formats of film cameras on my back. It was gear I had with me for a job I did a couple of days before, and I couldn’t leave it anywhere. Everyone around me was praying loudly in Polish non-stop as we walked through the countryside in the dark of the early morning. I was in a weakened and receptive state, so the whole thing was sort of an out of body experience, and I walked like a famished pack mule and tried to photograph. JC: Any pearls of wisdom to recent photography students? EM: There will always be opportunities for talented, dedicated individuals to share their gifts with the world, but you may need to do some groundbreaking to make that place and to make it sustainable. Know that mediocre work or behavior is not going to be enough to carry you forward professionally or creatively. Shoot some film on occasion, and develop a print at least once in your life so you can be connected to the magic. Look at and read the photobook - it is one of the best forms of education. Be sincere and be helpful to others - there is no need to compete against anyone except yourself. Learn about lineage in the type of photography that moves you, but also look at work outside your own taste. Stay curious. JC: Other thoughts? EM: I think things will steadily improve for photographers in part because we are reinventing ourselves and renewal is always rich, despite the struggle. I see a lot of hope - but also real commitment and inspiration - all around me, and I think that those with the talent to back it up are going to be just fine. DEVELOP is on vimeo, youtube & twitter.

JONATHAN CHERRY: What did you have for breakfast this morning?

ERICA McDONALD: Oatmeal with banana, blueberries, sliced almonds with soy milk and maple syrup. And a dash of cinnamon. I really wanted eggs and toast, but I’m trying to eat fewer eggs since I have learned about some really nasty practices of the egg industry that even the ‘best’ commercial practices can’t sidestep. I may be on my way to raising my own chickens.

JC: Any favourite emerging photographers these days?

EM: I look at so much great work - emerging or otherwise - and honestly the line seems a bit blurred to me of when one is no longer in the emerging camp. I taught an intensive workshop last May to a group of students from Italy that you would call emerging. They had something of a different visual vocabulary than my own, so it was extra exciting to watch how they grew and chose to express themselves. Student Anna Gianfrate was working on a series of reflections that are quite painterly, and they have stayed in my mind.

JC: What is your current project all about?

EM: It’s not a shooting project, but the thing that consumes most of my time right now is an endeavor called DEVELOP. It’s something I’ve been working on to provide our documentary and pj photo community with a slew of educational resources. I’ll start my next long term photo project soon, but I’ve come to understand how much energy a longer piece can involve, so I want to choose carefully. I think it is important that I do something life affirming because the work really takes over for a period of time. It can be nice to be in that space where I have a few ideas and to just let them germinate a bit before raising the camera.

JC: Has 2011 got some exciting happenings?

EM: DEVELOP has been in the works for awhile and I am excited to see it launch and grow; I expect that will take a good deal of my time. I’ll be teaching workshops and doing some consulting, and I’ll be writing again for my ‘scribbling in the dark’ series, which are my musings on photographer talks. I also need to put some energy into making my last project, the dark light of this nothing, into a book. And of course I’ll keep shooting for assignments and for personal reasons. It might be something of a juggling act, but I think that is fairly normal these days for photographers.

JC: What initially drew you to photography?

EM: I found an album of photos of my older sister when I was really little. It was this whole album, chock full of photos of her over the course of one afternoon. She was about 3 years old in the photos, and I was maybe 5 when I first saw it. There wasn’t an album of me at 3, and the awareness of that made me understand temporality. Something in me saw the importance of documenting the moment, and perhaps more importantly the consequences of not; it was a life changing realization.

JC: Any interesting stories from the road?

EM: I went on a pilgrimage to the Black Madonna in Poland, but it was a last minute decision and I hadn’t made arrangements -  the only place to sleep was on the ground without any blankets. I was recovering from food poisoning and couldn’t eat anything but apples and had to walk the last legs of the pilgrimage with three heavy formats of film cameras on my back. It was gear I had with me for a job I did a couple of days before, and I couldn’t leave it anywhere. Everyone around me was praying loudly in Polish non-stop as we walked through the countryside in the dark of the early morning. I was in a weakened and receptive state, so the whole thing was sort of an out of body experience, and I walked like a famished pack mule and tried to photograph.

JC: Any pearls of wisdom to recent photography students?

EM: There will always be opportunities for talented, dedicated individuals to share their gifts with the world, but you may need to do some groundbreaking to make that place and to make it sustainable. Know that mediocre work or behavior is not going to be enough to carry you forward professionally or creatively. Shoot some film on occasion, and develop a print at least once in your life so you can be connected to the magic. Look at and read the photobook - it is one of the best forms of education. Be sincere and be helpful to others - there is no need to compete against anyone except yourself. Learn about lineage in the type of photography that moves you, but also look at work outside your own taste. Stay curious.

JC: Other thoughts?

EM: I think things will steadily improve for photographers in part because we are reinventing ourselves and renewal is always rich, despite the struggle. I see a lot of hope - but also real commitment and inspiration - all around me, and I think that those with the talent to back it up are going to be just fine.

DEVELOP is on vimeo, youtube & twitter.

Tags: Erica McDonald 13 notes | | Aug 20, 2011
  1. mullitover posted this