Greetings Citizens. Last night's varsity football game between Mountain Crest and Bountiful was the best game I've refereed in years. Bountiful won 15-14, scoring 9 points in the fourth quarter. Mountain Crest had their chances. In fact, they drove down the field to around the 30 yard line until their drive stalled with 35 seconds left to play. Part of the reason the game was so good was the lack of penalties. There was a total of six penalties for 60 yards. The Back Judge had the biggest call with a pass interference call on Mountain Crest's final possession that kept their drive alive. My only flag happened on the first pass play of the game--- a five-yard ineligible receiver down field.

After the game, a bunch of officials met at Chili's for dinner. The other two games in the valley were routs. We all traded "war stories" and had a great time.

Today I had five kiddie games starting at 0830. I'm working with two first-year officials, so things could get dicey since this is the last week of the regular season for the little kids. If we have a game with play-off ramifications, the parents, coaches & kids will all be worked up.

When I get home, I'm hoping to see a fair amount of the WSU-USC game. It'll probably be the only time this season that I'll be able to watch my beloved Cougars. I am hoping for an upset!

Greetings Citizens. Not much to say today. I've got a big football game in Cache Valley this Friday. I'm looking forward to that! And I still haven't made one image here which is starting to get under my skin. My Independent Projects students were supposed to show work last night. There was very little to look at which was a huge disappointment for me. But the basic students are doing very well and that makes me happy.

Greetings Citizens. Yesterday in my 19th Century Processes class, I showed some slides of famous (and not-so-famous) paintings along with some photographs for the students to critique using the Critical Response to Art Product (CRAP) handout. Hopefully, it eased a little tension some of the students have about talking about work. Afterwards, I "lectured" them on the value of giving (and receiving) criticism on their work while they are in school. Hopefully, some of them will come out of their shells a little at the next critique. Then, I cut them loose. Some of the kids went to Angie's, some went home, but most of them stayed and worked on their newly developed images.

After class, I went home and took a nap. Then I went back up to school to finish my grading. I'm almost done.

Greetings Citizens. Apparently I wasn't the only official to have problems with parents & coaches at Saturday's kiddie football games. My friend Hubba, who was working with two rookies, also ran into trouble. I'll spare you the details. But when it was all over with a coach packed up his team and left the game before it was over. Hubba was pretty down on himself, so I invited him over to watch the late game between New England and Denver. We had a pizza and talked through all the scenarios that happened.... or could have happened. I'm not sure if he left feeling much better but we did enjoy watching the game even though my TV is a little too small for his liking. Tonight we're having brats and watching MNF at his place on the BIG screen.

Since Hubba came over, I didn't get out and photograph like I wanted to. I won't have a chance to today, either. Maybe, if I'm lucky, I'll get out on Tuesday to make some images.

My basic kids are working on their last technical assignment. So, today, they will learn about using filters in the darkroom to control contrast. They are also going to learn how to mat a print after spotting it. That means I need to get my butt up to school to make some sample images. So off to school I go.

Greetings Citizens. Yesterday at the kiddie fields was interesting. I had a block in the back call that set the hometown fans on fire in the first game. Oh my, I didn't think Mormons talked like that way! But they still won the game, so maybe they'll forgive me by the time I show up for next week's games. One positive: last week I lost my official's scorecard, where I keep track of time-outs, who received the opening kickoff & stuff like that. It also had my check in it! Well, one of the coaches found it right where I thought I had dropped it and hung onto it. He said if he had known there was money in it, I might not have got it back.

Today, I'm folding clothes and watching football on TV. I'm also planning on doing a little photography later today. There are a couple of spots I've sighted that has some anti-graffiti. I'd like to make some images for alternative processes. Then, after the Seahawks game, I'm heading up to the school for a nice, long session of grading work & papers.

Greetings Citizens. Yesterday's football game went smooth as silk. It was a blowout. And, apparently, the coaches of the visiting team got into a fight at halftime. The ballboy (who was in his late 50's) told us the principal from the school had to break it up! Maybe that was why they weren't yelling so much in the second half. After we got back to Logan, me and Dave went and had some dinner and BS'd for a while.

I saw the results from the EI Test yesterday, too. Three kids will be doing it again but that's pretty good. I also handed out the "Motion/ Depth-of-Field" Assignment. We are almost done with the techie stuff. Yea! I'm never really sure who dislikes it more.... me or my students. But it must be done and it pays dividends later on.

Got to get ready for kiddie ball. Looks like it is nice outside. Cold, but nice. I think I'll ride Heidi!

Greetings Citizens. Yesterday I spent the morning helping the basic students print the "portraits" from the EI Test. Nothing to help inspire students to make quality negatives than to have them try and make some prints from some crappy ones! I remember having to do that at The Maine Photographic Workshops and learning my lesson: nothing makes life easier in the darkroom than starting with a good negative!

The advanced students were working on VDB's. They are expected to turn a handful of them in today. Chucky has figured out the digital negatives pretty well. Better than anyone, myself included. One thing that is bothering me is that the students aren't shooting new work. They continue to work with their old negatives made for silver prints. The results aren't pretty. So, I think I'll have the kids shoot film over the weekend. I also want them to re-visit cyanotypes... make some "normal" ones and some over-exposed ones for cyan-o-dykes.

I received my evaluations from PCC in the campus mail yesterday. It was a melancholy experience reading them. It's surprising to me, sometimes, to see how much of an affect a teacher can have on a student's life. Of course there were evaluations that said I was too hard, that the Zone System is stupid and that I played favorites. But the other ones... the ones that made me cry... spoke to how I hadn't given up on the student when they had given up on themselves, how the class was hard but they learned more about Photography (and themselves) than they ever thought possible, and that I helped them find their "passion"! Those kind of comments keep me moving forward as a teacher and keep me less concerned about my work as an artist. Tissue, please.

Greetings Citizens. Well, I finally got around to cooking a meal here in Logan. I made a tasty pork loin roast with vegetables. (I substituted sticky rice for the potatoes). And cantaloupe for dessert.

The 19th C. kids are getting ever so close to successful paper negatives. I expect to see positive results on Thursday when they're supposed to have the Van Dyke Brown assignment done. There were a few students missing on Tuesday. I had them read a paper on "seeing" by Annie Dillard. At the MPW we all had to read it and I found it to be an interesting chapter. Many of the kids didn't though.

I've been trying my hand at digital paper negatives, too. I made a couple last night that I am hoping to get an opportunity to expose today while my basic students work on the images from their EI Test. I also made a couple of images for Jason. He sewed a couple of American flags onto some official's shirts for me, so I made him one for that. The other one is because it's his birthday today.

Tonight is a gallery opening at the museum. That means free food, hobnobbing and (oh, yeah) Art.

Greetings Citizens. Well the Basic Students managed to get through the Exposure Index Test relatively unscathed. There were the usual problems though... one student had a dead battery (even after I implored them to change it three times!) and another student didn't load her film properly and ended up with a blank roll. (Ah, to be a basic student again)! But most did alright. Some of the kids had some goofy exposures but they were in the ballpark and should be fine. I saw a few negatives drying and they looked just as you'd expect.

One thing I forgot to mention to them (I'll remember tomorrow), was to congratulate them on the condition of the lab. It was in great shape. I'll give my kudos to the 19th Century kids today as well. When I first got here the lab was in a sad state... pathetic is probably a better word! Nobody seemed to care. But that is beginning to change for the better. I seriously believe that if the students take some ownership for the lab that they actually begin to make better work. Strange connection? Perhaps, but that's what I believe.

My 19th Century kids are working on VDB's again today. Problems persist with coating. But I am starting to see some images made with digital paper negatives that are looking pretty good in my mind. Most of the students are battling the process though. They keep trying to make prints with their negatives for silver printing instead of shooting new work and processing the film for the process that they are using. They'll learn (eventually... like I did) that it is easier to shoot new negatives than battle old ones.

There was a guest speaker last night. Her work was very interesting. Did she speak to the subject matter? No. Did she describe her working process? No. Did she tell us how big the images were? Over and over again. Yawn! It was horrible! The students were all squirming in their seats. And, quite frankly, so was I! Now I know a visual artist can't be expected to be a great orator but come on! Can't you talk to something more relevant to the work than the dimensions? (Hi, I'm Mark, my current work is 2 inches by 6 inches. Thank you very much).

Greetings Citizens. Yesterday I worked five kiddie football games. Three were in the rain, one was in hail & one the sun actually shone through. It was a good payday except for one minor detail. After the games I took off my wet shirt and my record card & check fell on the ground (I think). It wasn't with me when I got home and I couldn't find it on a return trip to the field. I called the woman who makes the checks out and she'll cancel that one but I have to wait until next week to get this week's pay.

I'm going to Hubba's house tonight to watch the Dallas vs Washington football game. He has a super sweet home entertainment set-up along with cozy chairs to watch the game in. I'm bringing dessert---banana creme pie. I thought of bringing rice krispie treats but the thought of marshmallows left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Greetings Citizens. Yesterday my basic students were going to do an exposure index test outside. Unfortunately, Mother Nature wasn't going to allow it! There were major thunderstorms throughout the day. So we went over apertures and shutter speeds indoors and ate toast. By default, they get the weekend off.

My football game at Layton Christian was exciting. They won 21-14. There was so much water on the field I could barely find a place to put the ball down. It must have rained three inches and the field had zero drainage. The kids were loving it but everyone else froze their arse off.

I've got five kiddie games today. It looks like rain outside and it's cold. Fun times coming.

Venting off a little steam

Greetings Citizens. Today I lost a friend. Here is his latest blog posting (which he plans to delete). It will remain here.

From The Blog with No Name:

Venting off a little steam

NOTE: This blog post will be deleted in approx. one week along with all comments sent in response.

Ok, Mark and Tyler.

First, Mark: The first time, it wasn’t that funny, the second time was just annoying, the third time was just plain stupid. So, what are we to now? 10-12? . . . give it up. Let the marshmallows die.

Tyler: Here is your history lesson. This all started because of some crack Mark made. He doesn't think much of my long exposure water shots. He (and others) feel they are just gimmicky and I guess they don't value them because they are what 'photo hacks' such as myself do, not people with MFAs. Some people feel doing long exposures of water are what amateur photographers do. You know, those that read popular photography and outdoor photographer magazines.

Don't mind the fact that this critical assessment of my water shots comes from somebody that recently bought a lens baby and also shoots holga. I'm not sure why using such tools are any less gimmicky then what I do.

Ok, so I may sound annoyed. I'm not really. Well, I guess actually I am. It is annoying. I enjoy what I do and I think I do a good job of it. And I think there are people that enjoy this kind of photography. I don't really care what others think. Just ask Darren. I ignore his opinion about my water photos (almost all the time) and just keep on taking them. But of course he doesn't make a comment about it every time I post a new image on my blog.

So I guess what I am saying is I wish others would stop beating the proverbial dead horse. It wasn't funny the first time. Now, Marshmallow comments on my fish photos? Do you feel the same way about those images? I guess my work is just all fluff.

So, (Darren, stop laughing now - he loves this kind of soap opera on blogs), its all pretty funny eh, Tyler? Ah the joys of blogs. I personally have tried to keep my blog somewhat professional. Not a sob fest. And that is why I will delete this post in the near future.

And by the way Mark, I'm not annoyed you got the job. I was annoyed long before I found out you got the job. Of course being led on by the dept for about 4 months . . . . that annoyance has nothing to do with you. Or does it?

I just got tired of reading your whining on your blog every other post. 'Whoa is Mark. Lets all feel sorry he is such a wonderful photo teacher but can't get a job.' So Mark, how much did you end up whining for them to throw you a bone? I noticed you said you got "bennies". They didn't offer those to me. I guess I was wrong when I thought a solid exhibition record mattered in academia.

So to finish off my tirade, here are some of my favorite quotes from the last 6 months or so . . . I'd write more but this is getting long enough as it is.

---------------

Pinholeman: "All I do is toss & turn trying to figure out what the hell am I going to do with my life. I'm $47K in debt because I knew I was a good teacher and wanted to share what I know about Photography. But that pipe dream has been dashed and I'm left to wonder what am I going to do to pay the bills? . . . Maybe I could sell my photographs. Yeah right. Maybe I'll luck out and get hit by a truck."

Pinholeman: "The last time I was at an SPE conference, I saw all sorts of young women talking about their new teaching positions at this or that university. I saw the writing on the wall then and there: Photography is becoming a chick-art and guys aren't being encouraged to participate.. . . But the days of teaching Photography to students as a serious pursuit will now be a task left to the girls."

Pinholeman: "For the second time in my life I've stopped believing in God. If I do still believe in Him, I hate Him!"

Pinholeman: "Greetings Citizens. Well, I am beginning to work my way through the seven stages of grief over losing my job. I don't plan on it being a pleasant experience."

Pinholeman: "I really don't know what I am going to do! I don't have any skills. I know how to teach. But nobody seems the least bit interested. It's terribly frustrating! . . . I suppose I can get some ridiculous "real job" that I'll hate everyday for the rest of my life. But the thought doesn't appeal to me. I'd rather jump off a bridge."

Pinholeman: "I am pretty much going to hang up my hat and give up on teaching. I know I'm good; my students know I'm good. But administrators think of me as trouble... and maybe I am."

---

In closing I guess I should just finish it all up by getting everything out on the table . . .

. . . is it that in the end, it is more important to have experience teaching then it is to have experience in the subject one teaches. You said it yourself, "I have no skills."

And by the way, (referring to your PCC interview you told me about), I was never one of your students. I let it slide back then because I didn't think it really mattered if you promoted to the dept. chair that I was one of your students in order to get the job. But maybe now the fact you beat me out for a job based on that experience, it is going to sting just a little bit.


I'm done. I promise. I'll never bring any of this up again. So I guess I am as guilty as Mark now. After all I'm just doing what he does, using my blog to vent the frustrations of life. (said with sarcasm considering this is far from keeping me up at night. The current stresses of my life are more centered around getting a project finished and going to China where I will put my photography skills into practice then around some continuously stupid marshmallow comment.)

So I'm off to bed. I am guessing I should have gone to bed two hours ago. I'd be more rested for a nice day of fishing tomorrow and I probably would not have lost a friend.

Some friend,eh? Like the saying goes: With friends like these, who needs enemies?

Greetings Citizens. The alt-kids are struggling a little with the VDB's. No shocker there. Learning to apply the chemistry onto the paper is a bit of an artform all to itself. I'm seeing lots of brushmarks! They are also beginning to see how important it is to have a "proper negative" for each process. They continue to try and use negatives they'd make a silver print from & then are unhappy with the results. Go figure. They need to read and reread this quotation:

In the end it all comes down to this: you have a choice (or more accurately a rolling tangle of choices) between giving your work your best shot and risking that it will not make you happy, or not giving it your best shot -- and thereby guaranteeing that it will not make you happy. It becomes a choice between certainty and uncertainty. And curiously, uncertainty is the comforting choice. -Ted Orland, Art & Fear - David Bales & Ted Orland.

My sophomore football game lasted over 2 1/2 hours yesterday! It was the game that refused to die. Hubba jinxed us by trying to get the teams on the field too early. (That's bad).

I also found out the other day that I have some lurkers out there who don't like my LensBaby images. Too bad. Until I get some of my Diana work scanned that is going to be the meal of the day. Of course, they probably won't like those images either. I'd like to discuss the finer points of image making with them but they choose to remain anonymous. I really hate that about people who leave comments on a blog and don't have the class to put their name (or even their nickname) to their posting. It's cowardice at best. And chickenshit otherwise.

Greetings Citizens. Today my 19th Century kids turn in their cyanotypes. I've seen some good ones and I have seen some less than good ones. Nevertheless, they are getting it done. I am hoping to show them how to make Van Dyke Browns today. I'm sure they will appreciate the shorted printing times though quite a few of the students have been enjoying printing outside and mingling amongst themselves. They'll still be able to do it... just for not as long.

My officials group had our last regular meeting last night. We all took a test together. I asked about my varsity assignments and lo & behold when I got home I had received two assignments. No "Big Game in the Sky," but Friday games just the same. I don't have an afternoon game today, so I should be able to catch up with a few things.

I need to pay off my US Bank account and move to Washington Mutual, send $40 to Steve's BMW & an undisclosed amount to Tim for some photo books. I need to order platinum & palladium (along with some chemistry for Kallitypes) and get some more paper. I have to load up Donna's 4x5 holders so I can get out and make a few images this weekend too.

Greetings Citizens. Hard to believe it has been five years. I, like most people, remember exactly where I was when the towers came down. I was here, in Utah. I had just woke up to get ready to teach. I was listening to NPR and they were talking about how an airplane had crashed into the World Trade Center. The thought of it was so outlandish I thought it was some part of a prank... maybe a redeux of Orson Well's War of the Worlds. So I went into the living room and turned on the TV moments before the second jet hit the other tower. I went to school but very few students showed up that day.

On a lighter note, I went and mixed Van Dyke Brown chemistry last night and made a print... just to see if I remembered how to do it. Everything worked fine. Unfortunately, I don't have my negatives with me. Along with my espresso machine, they were accidentally put into storage. Donna has loaned me some 4x5 holders and I expect my film to arrive from Calumet either today or tomorrow. When it does, I will be able to make some images for the class. As it is right now, I have one Polaroid negative that was being used for a bookmark in one of the few books that made the trip down here. It works for teaching purposes but doesn't quite have the density I need to make quality prints.

While I was working on my VBD demo, some of my basic students were in the lab working on their assignment that is due today. (They need to have processed a roll of film and have made a properly exposed contact sheet). So I am already privy to some of the mistakes that have been made: Light leaks, exposure errors, using non-DX coded film canisters in a camera that needs a coded canister, putting the fixer in first.... all sorts of things! I'm sure more stories will be exposed this morning.

The basic students did a good job on their pinhole images though. I collected them on Friday and, hopefully, me and Cole will get them up in the display case this afternoon.

The advanced kids have their cyanotypes due on Tuesday. They are also due for another lecture on keeping the lab clean! I am shocked on how sloppy they are about maintaining a clean lab. They leave stuff out & don't clean up after themselves like their Mom is coming in later to make things right. It's pathetic and will end soon.

Greetings Citizens. So last night was Friday and I didn't have a varsity football game. It was a strange feeling. This time of year I just expect to be working a game. Oh well, today I have five kiddie games. That's a nice payday! Good enough to get me some 4x5 film and other photo supplies I am beginning to notice that I don't have.

At school, we finally got permission from Facilities to hang up our cyanotype murals on the wall. First we had to talk to Mr. Fireman who, after giving his approval, had to talk to someone else. It took a week. But they're up and people seem to be enjoying them as they enter the art building.

We started working with "real cameras" in my basic class on Friday. One of my kids slept through three demos. She's taking four studio classes! That is completely nuts! The advanced students are doing a great job with the cyanotypes. They're struggling with exposure times and how to "read" whether the print is fully cooked but they're right on track. Tuesday we'll do Van Dyke Brown prints. They also need to learn to clean up after themselves. I think the advanced kids have been getting away with murder. as far as cleaning up the lab goes. Those days are over!

Greetings Citizens. Here's a portrait of my friend, Bart Parker. We met when he was a guest speaker at Utah State University while I was a graduate student there. I took him and his wife, Rita DeWitt, out to the north end of the Great Salt Lake. It was winter time and no one was out there but us. I was able to visit him and Rita on my last cross country motorcycle ride. And we were able to go shooting together too.

So today I has to take a crap. I could have done it at school but I thought I'd go home and enjoy a nice private dump. Imagine my surprise when I walk in the bathroom of my apartment and the toilet is gone! Yes, gone! Just a hole in the floor. So I raced to the local park and everything came out okay. Later, when I came home from refereeing a football game, a guy was there working on the place. "How long have you had a work order to work on my apartment, " I asked. Three weeks was the response. "Well, nobody told me." Yeah, A is kind of forgetful the guy says. Yeah.... forgetful. Maybe next time I'll shit in the corner.

Greetings Citizens. The thought of going to a Laundromat again was unbearable for me. So, I went and purchased a used washer & dryer. The dryer has just arrived and the guy is off to SLC to get the washer. In the meantime, I think I'll go get a couple of sheets of watercolor paper and make a couple of cyanotypes.

I talked to my referee about Fridays game today. he said he thought I did a good job and that the calls were there for the penalties that I had. We'll see what my evaluations produce.

Greetings Citizens. Well, I had my first varsity football game on Friday. I thought I did a pretty good job. It was a tough game to work in the middle. The teams were rivals and one squad was significantly better than the other. That leads to a lot of "talk" between opposing plays. And that usually means the Umpire has his work cut out for him... which was the case in Friday's game. I think I had about 70 yards in penalties! That's quite a bit. I'm certain my fellow officials thought I was flag-happy but every call was legitimate as far as I'm concerned.

Saturday's kiddie games were easy as pie. And the payoff was better. I worked with the "Dream Crew," (a name I coined for a group of the local officials who always work together), and we had a lot of fun. We made a digital image to send to another official on their crew to show him he has been replaced. He hasn't, of course, but he'll have a cow anyway.

Today, I finally got caught up on my sleep. I'm spending the day cleaning up the apartment. Later, I'm meeting with Barrett (a graduate student) to mix cyanotype chemistry and soak a couple of sheets in it for life-sized photograms. Then, later tonight, I may go and see a movie.