Joe Reifer

I’ll have 4-5 night photos on display at Lightbox Photographic Gallery in Astoria, Oregon. The show is called Night Light, and runs  from May 8 – June 9. The images above are 12×18″ color darkroom prints made on a Lightjet printer using Fuji Crystal Archive matte paper. The prints are signed, and then matted to 18×24″ using 8-ply Alpharag matboard and archival materials. The 12×18″ matted prints are a numbered, open edition that is currently priced at $200.

Other night photographers in the show include: Troy Paiva, Noel Kerns, Scott Haefner, Aaron Siladi and Jody Miller. Many thanks to Jody for recommending me to the gallery, and to Michael at Lightbox for putting together a great show. If you live in Oregon, why not head out to the coast and take a look!

Q: How does the spectator fit in?

Ed Ruscha: That’s a good question, I don’t know. I’ll tell you, I don’t even think about it. It’s not my job to do that. It’s for other people to do that, maybe the critics. But I don’t think it’s all that necessary that the critics make the connections. Whether or not the work communicates anything to anyone is not important to me. The work is my indulgence. I don’t set out to get something across. I don’t think very many artists do. That’s where the trouble begins, when artists try to communicate.

From an interview with Ed Ruscha in: Leave Any Information at the Signal: Writings, Interviews, Bits, Pages
(originally published in Real Life Magazine, n. 14, summer 1985)

If you’re planning to attend next Friday’s night photography art show event in Alameda, you may have noticed the moon will be full. Well, pack the camera and tripod, because the nearby Alameda Naval Air Station has some interesting historic buildings to photograph. I’ve prepared a detailed Google Map of locations on the base, and many of the map points link to my Alameda Naval Air Station gallery.

Remember, the Bay Bridge will be closed on Friday. If you’re traveling to Alameda from San Francisco by car, you can go over Highway 92. Or take BART to 12th Street/Oakland City Center, and hop on the AC Transit #51 bus which drops you off right next to Lucky Ju Ju at Webster and Santa Clara (10 minute ride, $2). While the spread might not quite match up to the Alameda Naval Air Station Officers’ Club banquet below, it’ll still be a fun time. If you’re looking to get some food before the show, Calafia Taqueria is a block away, right next to the Fireside Lounge. Hope to see you at the show!

Untitled (Big M #21) — by Joe Reifer

Got any plans for Labor Day? Troy Paiva and I are hosting a Night Photography and Light Painting workshop on Saturday, September 5th!

The Workshop

Location: Big M Automotive, a classic car dismantling yard in Williams, CA, about a 2 hour drive North of San Francisco [Map]. Specializing in ’50s Mercurys, the yard is also packed with big finned Chryslers, DeSotos, Dodges and rare late 50s GM cars. The images linked below show how insanely cool this place is better than any words can.

• Some of Troy’s work at the Big M
• Some of Joe’s work at the Big M

There will be 2 hours of afternoon / evening shooting, light painting demos, and 5 1/2 hours of night shooting.

As always, we’ll be working with you, hands on, demonstrating techniques to make your images better. Because this workshop is only one night, without any classroom time, we recommend this workshop for photographers with some . . . even just a little . . . night shooting experience. And be prepared for a hot night with some bugs. There are numerous motels in town, including everyone’s favorite, Motel 6.

There will be only 7 students in this workshop. The workshop announcement went out to our email list this morning, and spaces are starting to fill up. Our Pearsonville workshop sold out in one day — so act fast to grab a spot!

The price is $200 (check or paypal). Email me for payment details.

Update 8/14/2009: The workshop is full — contact me if you’d like to be on the waiting list.

The Art Show and Full Moon Shoot

On Friday September 4th, Troy Paiva, Mike Hows, and I will be celebrating the opening of an art show devoted to night photographs of Big M Automotive. The art show is at the fabulous Lucky Ju Ju Pinball Art Gallery in Alameda, CA. Stop by the art opening between 7-10 p.m., and then go night shooting under the full moon at the nearby Alameda Naval Air Station. We’ll provide the art, snacks, and a map of where to shoot!

More information about the art show here. Hope to see you at the show, and the workshop!

Andy Goldsworthy Spire in the Presidio (quadruple ascending/descending sprocket Holga) — by Joe Reifer

In 2006, artist Andy Goldsworthy visited the Presidio and was inspired by the history and character of the forest. He saw an opportunity to create a sculpture with the felled mature trees. Constructed in October 2008, The Spire tells the story of the forest, celebrates its history and natural rhythms, and welcomes the next generation of trees. It is a poetic reference to the forest’s past; as new young trees grow up to meet the sculpture, it will eventually disappear into the forest.

Please visit the Presidio website for more information about this beautiful installation by the artist featured in the amazing documentary Rivers & Tides. The Spire is near the Arguello Gate to the Presidio — West of the Inspiration Point Overlook and just North of the Presidio Golf Course Clubhouse [Google Map]. The San Francisco Chronicle featured a short interview with Goldsworthy about the sculpture last Fall.

The image above is comprised of 4 exposures of The Spire using 35mm film loaded into a Holga, a medium format toy camera. The Spire was photographed from bottom-to-top / left-to-right on the same piece of film, only partially winding between exposures in order to overlap the four images into one panoramic multiple exposure. Another view of The Spire is available in the Strange Walks gallery from last week — that image is a 3 shot “vertorama” photographed with a point and shoot camera. I hope to photograph this sculpture at night later this Spring.