Backyard Days

January 12, 2014 • Leave a Comment

When I moved to Cambridge one of my favorite features of the apartment was the little back yard. As a child my father always kept a garden and to this day, every summer his garden is an oasis in my parent’s backyard. When I visit my father, he always takes me for a walk around his backyard upon my arrival. He shows me everything he has planted, telling me to taste this or smell this. I have many fond memories of my father and this is one of them.

Backyard Bike, 2010 © Traverse Day Robinette

With this new backyard it was now my turn to try my hand at gardening. My first summer I didn't have a whole lot of time to commit besides watering what was already growing. It was an interesting patch of land because tenets before me had planted a variety of flowering perennials. Throughout the summer each plant took its turn by becoming the center of attention in this backyard jungle.

Summer White Flower, 2010 © Traverse Day Robinette

A jungle is what I imagine my backyard to be every time I went out to water or till the soil. I never knew what I would find under the leaves of a plant or crawling in the soil. Coming home after work and spending time in the garden became a daily ritual for me. I quickly learned how relaxing it is to work with the earth and getting dirty as you watch your efforts grow.

Garden Worm, 2011 © Traverse Day Robinette

Needless to say by late summer, my overgrown garden was truly a jungle. I didn’t do much weeding this first summer because so many of the plants were new to me. If it started growing I gave it a chance and left it alone. Most of the plants growing I had no clue what their proper names were. Like most explorers, I called them by what the plant resembled. The Firework Weed grew in abundance. I'm sure it is a weed but it became one of my favorite plants in the jungle.

Firework Weed, 2010 © Traverse Day Robinette

Summer came and went, so did the jungle. Winter has a way clearing the canvas to my little piece of paradise. Of all the seasons’ winter is by far my favorite. Because of winter and its bone chilling cold, it makes warmer times that much more special. I love the crocus for the triumph it represents to winter’s end as a sign to spring’s arrival and the warmer days to follow. With this sign I know the jungle will soon return.

Crocus, 2011 © Traverse Day Robinette

For Whom the Bell Tolls

April 19, 2013 • Leave a Comment

February 2011 I went for a long weekend in Hancock Vermont. I had planned on shooting black and white landscapes. Somehow I forgot my film and only had 10 sheets of 4x5 instant film and a two sheets of slide and two sheets of black and white film in my film holders. Times like these one wonders why does anyone still shoot film.

Self Portrait; For Whom the Bell Tolls, 2011 © Traverse Day Robinette

I did some hiking and a bit of shooting. Mostly I froze my fingers off while trying to make images in the icy woods of Vermont. I made a few instant images at Texas Falls and they were technically off. I had intended to have the scene back lit but my cold hands took so long to set up the shot that the sun actually moved from behind the tree. It is a sad day when the sun moves faster than you. I had two choices, 1) Move my camera to another vantage point and start over or 2) Stay put and make the image shooting straight into the sun. As you have probably have guessed I was not interested in loosing another race to the sun. I must say it was hard for me to let go and make an image where I knew I had given up control.

Snowfall, 2011 © Traverse Day Robinette

Life is a funny thing and photography is no less strange. My photography professor Nick Nixon once said “Make pictures now and ask questions later”. Unfortunately at the time this was of little use, while in college everyone wanted questions answered “now”. These words have been echoing in the back of my mind since graduation. I consistently find myself photographing without reason or direction of events pertaining to daily life. Answers to these questions seem to surface years later and bring a greater focus to works already made. This is something I had never anticipated to happen.

It Tolls for Thee, 2011 © Traverse Day Robinette

I put these images aside and did not think of them for some time. They represented the scene not as I had wanted them to, but in a totally different manner. After a year or so I found myself drawn to the quiet beauty they held. I started to form a story and to think how they were like scenes from “For Whom the Bell Tolls” by Ernest Hemingway. I had brought along this novel while on my trip and I found myself reading in the window. It was snowing outside and in the book. I look at these images from Texas Falls and they represent the snow fall and what was to come. This sequence was also contrived with the purpose of representing my insecurities with what is before life and after death.

The Seven Seas

December 09, 2012 • Leave a Comment

In the spring of 2009 I signed up to take the 20”x24” Polaroid class at Mass Art. During my time at Mass Art everyone recommended that I take the class but I was very hard headed and cheap. In the class you only get to take 5 images and each shot costs $75. Plus the camera can only do verticals. I had thought that this class would be a waste of my time and money.

When it came time to register for classes, I had friends who strongly recommend that I try the class. Their reasoning was “when will you ever get the chance to work with this camera once you leave Mass Art”. Rita Lombardi and Caitlin Duennebier were the two biggest influences to attempt this course.

Artwork by Caitlin Duennebier

The 20x24 Polaroid class was very different from all the other photography classes taught at Mass Art. We met for about three weeks went over the camera, its history, lighting, and the business of photography. This was the only business training mass art taught and it was in a single class meeting. This knowledge alone was worth the tuition of the class. After our first 3 meetings were over, a shooting schedule was made and off we went.

My new dilemma was “what to shoot”. I had never worked in a studio environment before and was clueless on what I would work on for my shoot. I have always doodled and drawn silly cartoons and thought this would be a great opportunity to make them a reality with photography. I decided to combine real people with cartoon elements in themes revolving around and in the ocean. About the same time of my class I was reading “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” by Jules Verne. This novel along with the silliness of “The Life Aquatic” by Wes Anderson was great inspiration in developing each one of my shots.

Untitled, John 2009 © Traverse Day Robinette

Thus “The Seven Seas” was born. I worked in a sketch book drawing out each shot of how I wanted the model to stand and the positions for lighting. Again this was all very new and different from any form of portraiture I have done. I wanted the props to be made from white cardboard with the details drawn in with a black marker. I was not concerned with hiding the sticks supporting the props other than painting them black. The purpose of this was to keep the images looking as much like a cartoon as possible.

Untitled, Katrina 2009 © Traverse Day Robinette

As my shoot approached I worked on drawing and cutting out the props which turned out to be very time intensive. The night of my shoot was chaotic and amazing. It was like being on a movie set and I was the director. I told the models what to do and had many extras help with holding props into the frame. I honestly don’t remember everyone who was in the room that night, but many people helped and without their help the shoot would not have gone as smoothly as it did.

Untitled, Melissa 2009 © Traverse Day Robinette

I attempted two horizontals. The camera is built to only take verticals and is so large you can not lift and turn the camera on its side. This leaves only one option, you have to change the way your subject inters the frame. The toughest was a self-portrait where I laid half of my body on a box and had my feet held so I could be in the frame. The other was of Wole lying on his back with his legs up in the air and I turned the image after the shot was made.

Untitled, Self Portrait 2009 © Traverse Day Robinette

Untitled, Wole 2009 © Traverse Day Robinette

The shoot lasted about two hours and was over before I knew it. Once everything started rolling it went so fast. Months of planning coming together at last and it was over before I knew it. The photographs hung on the wall to dry, friends said their goodbyes and I was alone in an empty room with my five images. I was mentally and physically drained from the demand of the shoot. Yet I sat there on a high for what a rush it was to work with that gigantic camera!

Somewhere Between Here and There

October 28, 2012 • Leave a Comment

I use to find the best way for me to connect with nature was to hike as fast as I could. I had this idea if I travel a great distance I would experience nature better by seeing more. All this rushing proved to be, I was missing out on all the woods had to offer. I now take hours to travel the distance of a mile. I spend more time looking at and appreciating my surrounds. Being still is becoming part of the environment. Slowing myself down even more I journal about each image made. Thinking more about what I’m looking at and what the scene looks like before and after exposure, instead of capturing and moving on. Not only do I record the light and my settings, but also how I feel at that moment with all that is happening around me. It is a time for me to connect with nature and a time to disconnect from everyday life.

Noon Hill Reservation2011 © Traverse Day Robinette

I search for places close to Boston that make you feel miles away. Most of the reservations are quite small. All of the woods I visited are second generation growth. These places were cleared for farming and now new growth has taken over. I think these small parcels of land are just as important as the grandeur of any mountain or ocean. The beauty in this ordinary landscape is overwhelmingly powerful. Every tree, rock, twig, puddle is special and important. A puddle deserves the same attention as an ocean.

Rock Woods Reservation 2011 © Traverse Day Robinette

Underneath the canopy a complexity of layers unfolds and envelops me. I find my way through these layers by working out the patterns of the trees and undergrowth. Letting my gaze drift through this maze of layers I try to find spaces where there is an opening, looking for a way out at the same time finding enjoyment in being lost.

The Beautiful Ohio

June 15, 2012 • Leave a Comment

The last week in October of 2011 I traveled to Cave-In-Rock Illinois with my mother to visit my grandparents and great aunts. It has been at lease 20 years since I was last in southern Illinois. I had a vague idea of what to expect but my childhood memories are rusty at best. Upon my arrival it was like I was seeing this land and its people for the first time. The small town had not changed much, the population is only 350 and the river still flows in the same direction.

I primarily worked on photographing family, my grandparent’s house and the surrounding area which borders the Ohio River. Family and old friends would come over throughout the day to share stories and fish along the river’s edge. I found myself still, listening, and looking. Sunset sunrise, ladybugs hatch, looking, listening, being still. Only the river moves in this town with her friend the sun walking across the sky.

By the end of my stay I became more interested with objects within the house. Items my grandmother chose to collect or the way she has decided to decorate and furnish rooms. As my departure grew near, my stillness faded and a sense of urgency ran through me. I had thoughts of “what if I never make it back to this beautiful land?” “Will these wonderful people and their stories still be here?” I worked as if with a fever on my last shots down to the wire when I was forced into the car to be taken away. One day I will return, hopefully not before it’s too late.

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Backyard Days

For Whom the Bell Tolls

The Seven Seas

Somewhere Between Here and There

The Beautiful Ohio