Tiny Zeigeist - Page 7 of 7 - Thoughts from Michael Champlin

My People Project

Posted on August 13, 2009March 16, 2012by Michael Champlin

New Years Resolutions

I’ve never been a big fan of New Years Resolutions. They’re always seemed kind of cliche and commercialized, and when I’ve made them they always seem to fall by the wayside, forgotten.

I am, however, rather fond of making lists. So this past January I made a list of things I wanted to achieve. Some items were short-term goals, to be completed in the year, and some were more long-term. Some were more practical (put $25 a paycheck in savings) and some were perhaps a little ambitious (work out 5 times a week? a nice concept, but I know myself better than that). The list can be viewed in full here (link).

One entry that falls squarely into the ambitious column: “Take a picture of everyone I know. Everyone.”

See, it’s underlined. That means it’s important.

The People Project

So I realize the full magnitude of the statement. It’s everyone, underlined, after all. And that’s undoubtedly going to be a lot of people. If we’re speaking in broad everyone terms here, then I could probably say that I know people I had classes with, the guy who seats us at our favorite restaurant, and people who work with my wife. So where does one draw the line?

The short answer is that I’m not. I’m embracing the true scope of the undertaking. Sure, I may never photograph everyone I know. For starters, there’s not enough time in the day. Then of course we factor in that some people simply don’t want to be photographed, some people would be inappropriate to ask, and some people I simply don’t want to (I just can’t get excited about taking a picture of former coworkers and managers, let’s be realistic). Those caveats aside, I’m just looking at this as an opportunity. Maybe I don’t have to meticulously document every single person I know, but it encourages me to look for subjects in the people I see every day. And there are no rules here. Some will be formal portraits, some will be snapshots (I’ve already got some of both). I’d love as many of them as possible to be quality photographs, because that’s just the kind of person I am, but I’m also a big fan of the fortuitous snapshot (like this one, after which she asked “did you just take a picture of me? to which I simply grinned sheepishly).

So maybe it will never be a coffee table book, a major motion picture, or a PBS documentary. But even if nobody ever sees it but me and the people I photograph, I feel like I’ve done something worth doing. I’m pointing something I love to do more than just about anything (making photographs) at the people who matter most in my life. And if nothing else, someday I’ll be able to look at the pictures and remember all the people who have touched my life.

You probably saw this coming

If you’re reading this blog post, it probably means you belong to that not-so-exclusive group, everyone. Which means I’d probably be giddy to take some shots at you. This doesn’t have to be a formal get-dressed-up kind of affair. If you’d be interested in taking part in the project, shoot me an email (spam filter don’t fail me now), I’d love to hear from you.

Travel

California Trip Part Two: San Francisco

Posted on July 12, 2009March 16, 2012by Michael Champlin

Golden Gate
I’ve been to some really touristy places in my life. Eureka Springs, Arkansas, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, Padre Island, Texas. And at the heart of all these places was something that really was worth seeing (thus the tourism) that was inevitably overstated by kitschy t-shirts, refrigerator magnets, and guided sightseeing tours. So when we set out for our first day in San Francisco, my inherent pessimism about overcrowded beaches, overpriced snack foods and streets lined with souvenir shops was always present: I was nervous. And in a lot of ways, it’s precisely what I expected: Little stands sold campy Alcatraz coffee mugs, Cokes cost $3, and our bay cruise was narrated by “Captain Nemo”; not to mention all the usual trappings of the travel destination, including overpriced parking and panhandlers (including this one, who was particularly entertaining).

Yet with San Fransisco, I couldn’t help but feel that all the flashy tourism on the waterfront was something different. It wasn’t exaggerating or playing up the excitement of the place, and once you get through the kitsch there is beauty and life right under the surface. The city’s rich history, culture, diversity…it has a life of its own, which defies touristy boat rides and Golden Gate Bridge shot glasses. The city is a force to be reckoned with.

We started with the most visitor-friendly destinations at the first of the week, and worked our way out into the city for the remaining time. Day one was Pier 39 and our bay cruise, which was predictably cheesy though enjoyable. I took a mid-afternoon trip with Seth in a ZipCar (well truck, actually) to pick up a futon they’d purchased from a girl in the Richmond district (who was apparently some kind of Mick Jagger fangirl). The futon served as our sleeping quarters for the remainder of the trip. That night we had some great Italian food in North Beach a few blocks from where we stayed.

The rest of the trip consisted of us hitting the sights, including (though not limited to): SFMOMA, the Legion of Honor, the deYoung Museum, the California Academy of Sciences, Haight-Ashbury, and the Castro. We spent Friday in the Marina district, where I took photos with the Medium Format (the first two of which are included in this post) and Lisa sketched the bridge and fishing boats. That night, we had a little photo shoot with Seth and Laura, which you can see here.

Other interesting highlights included:

Joe’s Cable Car (featured on the food network show “Guy’s Diners, Drive-ins and Dives”, and apparently really proud of it) which was, honestly, a really tasty burger, ground fresh on site daily, horrendously, almost pretentiously overpriced. Ten dollars for a four ounce burger?
Rickshaw Bagworks which was so fantastically awesome I’ve decided to do an entire blog post about it. Suffice it to say I got myself a moleskine folio and the misses got herself a nice messenger bag. The items are made to order (you heard me right) on site. Some fabrics are even made from 100% recycled materials. I could go on and on, but I’ll save that for another post.
Chinatown where we dined on incredible, ridiculously inexpensive Dim Sum (we both got stuffed for about $2.50 a piece) and yes, bought a Golden Gate Bridge shot glass.
Midnight showing of Pulp Fiction at the historic Clay Theater in Pacific Heights, which was just all kinds of awesome.
City Lights Bookstore which just made me sad how few independent book stores exist anymore.

Basically, the trip was amazing. Being able to stay with friends instead of paying for a hotel allowed us to slow down and really get a feel for the city, instead of trying to cram in as much as possible (which is what we did while visiting Chicago, DC, New York, and most recently St. Louis) and the change of pace was really enjoyable. I can’t wait to visit again, and there are some awesome side-trips we didn’t have time for that I’m excited to check out (Napa, Monterrey Bay, and generally any areas north of the Bay Area. Not to mention that Yosemite and I have unfinished business). The city by the bay, as it were, was all I hoped it would be.

Travel

California Trip Part One: Yosemite

Posted on July 6, 2009by Michael Champlin

We officially began our summer this year with a trip to California, partly to celebrate my recent college graduation, partly to see our good friends Seth and Laura in San Francisco, and partly because we both needed a vacation. We spent the first part of our trip at Yosemite National Park, which has to be the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen. Being a fan of Ansel Adams et al, I’ve been looking at pictures of Yosemite for years…but pictures just don’t do the place justice. You can’t truly appreciate the place until you’re standing there.

We spent two days at Yosemite, driving from San Francisco Friday night and returning Sunday evening. Our cabin in Coulterville was a scenic hour drive from the park itself, with plenty of great overlooks en route to keep us entertained. We drove through the Stanislaus National Forest (The Forest of Many Uses, or so the signs exclaimed), climbing from the Chaparral* of the foothills to the rich evergreen forests of the National Park itself, then back down again on Sunday. Much of the trip looked like something out of an old Western movie. I was really fascinated by the multitude of geography and climate we experienced, being accustomed to the rather predictable terrain and weather of Oklahoma. Nothing reminds me just how ugly Oklahoma can be like a trip to pretty much anywhere else. And speaking of things from Oklahoma, our good friends Seth and Laura were along for the ride, and graciously provided us with lodging for our week in San Francisco–and unlike many other things from Oklahoma, they’re not ugly at all! We couldn’t have asked for better travelling companions, and unless I’m mistaken, they had an awesome time (photographic proof on Laura’s flickr). They also love squirrels, as evidenced by the following photograph.

All in all, our trip to Yosemite was an astounding success. We were able to see a lot in the two days we were there–Yosemite Valley, two amazing waterfalls (Yosemite Falls and Bridal Veil Falls), giant Sequoias, and Glacier Point (where both the scenic shots in this post were taken), not to mention bears, lizards, chipmunks, all sorts of birds, and of course squirrels. I think a person could spend a year in Yosemite without growing tired of it, so two days was hardly even enough to whet my appetite. Needless to say, we’ll be back someday.

Notes

Both scenic shots in this post were taken with a medium-format Mamiya RB67, which got me the special pat-down treatment at the airport when they saw it in my carry-on…but here I am. For more shots from our Yosemite trip, check out my Yosemite set on flickr, which will be continually updated as I get stuff edited.

* I had to do a lot of research to find the name for this type of terrain/ecosystem. It’s really captivating, and I wish I’d pulled off to get some pictures of it. As the wikipedia article states, it seems that without roads it would be almost impassible by humans. It’s a really interesting terrain.

Random

This Looks Vaguely Familiar

Posted on July 2, 2009by Michael Champlin

I’m not much of a blogger, though it’s not for lack of trying. First it was Xanga, then Livejournal, WordPress, and even my own personal site (which was really more of a design experiment, and which still exists here, for purely aesthetic and nostalgic purposes). I always started so well, with so many thought-out posts and big dreams of readership and editorial quality, but always ended the same: a slow fade-out which ended with a “sorry I haven’t put anything up in a while” post…and then obscurity. They’re all still out there, as far as I know, but I don’t want to dig them up. They’re dead for a reason: They didn’t work. But it’s never too late to try again, right? So I’m going to. I have always felt as though I’m the kind of person who has quite a lot to say once I get a mind to, so let’s just hang on and see how that goes.