(Any hyperbole you find in this post may be credited to my growing passion for opera…)

Nothing pleases me more than when two distinct lines come together in a surprising way.  They could touch, cross, form a point or run parallel. Actually,  I am also quite pleased when shapes do the same thing – combine to create an entirely new shape.

Putting graphic elements together is extremely satisfying for me.  I don’t know why – but it is not new. As a kid, as I would stare out the window – daydreaming (perhaps that is why my report cards regularly said, “if only she would pay attention in class…”.) I would tilt my head this way and that, trying to line up the cross bars of the window with trees, poles, or buildings outside, until the alignment of the two would make crosses, or parallel lines, or even new shapes. 

Untitled #01-14-19-88, 2019
Untitled #01-14-19-88, 2019

After indulging in this quirky pleasure for 60+ years, I have gotten quite good at it.  Actually, I have made a career out of it.  My work has always utilized this “gift” (?) starting with putting layers of reflections together. My LATEST work takes this even farther.  Let me tell you how this goes in a typical shoot…

I have a large mirror held upright in my studio.  I tape some shards to it creating a graphic mess.  Then I put one model in front and another behind the mirror. This is the start. After fussing with lights for a bit I confront the chaotic mess – a jumble of lines, and fleshy shapes. At this point I often get irritated with myself – why do I put myself through this?  The pressure is to find some interesting relationships within this mess. This self-abuse and “monkey mind” go on for the first minutes, sometimes longer other times shorter.  It stops when I begin to see something – and my explorer self takes over. It is a very slow process organizing this visual chaos – luckily, I love doing it… once I stop the self-talk and just get into looking at the forms.

Why does this work?

Well, for one thing it gives me a different framework to begin exploring shapes.  I’ve been photographing the human form for so many years, in order to continue the challenge of seeing it in a new way I put up different mirror shards, redefining the familiar shapes.

As Gary Zukav writes in the Dancing WuLi Masters:

“True artists and true physicists know that nonsense is only that which, viewed from our present point of view, is unintelligible. Nonsense is only nonsense when we have not yet found that point of view from which it makes sense.”

Untitled #02-15-19-552
Untitled #02-15-19-552

When he says “the point of view” he is talking directly to us photographers.  Point of view is CAMERA ANGLE! The importance of exploring (or playing) cannot be overstated – it is the foundation of seeing in new and unexpected ways. This is particularly evident when working with reflections in the mirror shards, as the transformation from even the slightest shift in camera angle can be drastic.

This blog post can be summed up neatly and poetically by Nietzsche:

“One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.”

Untitled #07-02-18-486, 2018

2 new strobes,

2 new models,

and lots more opera

Last year was another productive journey in the course of my work as I continued to integrate more abstract forms within the mirrors. Perhaps my biggest area of growth in 2018 was my use of lighting in the studio, in primarily two ways:

  1. I significantly upgraded the lighting system in my studio. The impetus for this change had to do with safety – during a shoot my studio is dark – really, really dark – lit only from the modeling lights on the strobes [which provide not much more light than what you would have in a darkroom.] I do this so extraneous elements don’t show up in the various reflected materials. As a result of working in essentially a cave, I would often trip over the legs of the light stands. Since this is a working, creative space I could splat on a multitude of things on the floor such as broken plastic mirrors, scissors, lenses, black crates, models, etc. So I invested in a rail system where the lights are hanging from the ceiling. The result is much, much safer, instead of tripping over the lights I now bang my head into them – a significant improvement! The unintended benefit is that it is so incredibly easy to move the lights up and down, and side to side that I have been much more playful – always a good thing.
  2. The second reason for my growth in my use of light is that I started working with a new model, J., who is from Jamaica and has beautiful dark, dark skin. My other new model, R, is a lovely and expressive young woman of Filipino descent.
Untitled # 08-20-18-899

J.’s skin appears metallic – almost granite like in texture- with brilliant highlights dropping off to shadow very quickly, while R.’s lighter skin has a broader tonal range from highlights to shadows.

Untitled # 07-02-18-486

I have not had a regular female model for several years, so combining her with J. in a purely formal way has been a new direction this year.

Untitled #11-05-18-1079, 2018
Untitled #11-05-18-1079

Sometimes, like in the above image, Untitled #08-20-18-899, I get to work with two models, but when I only have one, the mannequins I began working with in 2016 continue to serve as superb stand-ins.

OPERA
Another area of growth for me in 2018 was my continuing love of opera and frequenting more productions. Opera is full of extreme emotions – jealousy, unrequited love, a love triangle and/or death, murder, sickness. There is nothing subtle in an opera plot. [BTW opera fans are just as enthusiastic as football fans, and almost as vocal!]
It seems that my devotion to opera manifests itself as RED in my work.

Untitled # 11-30-18-894

RED – seductive, visceral, angry and passionate, crept back into my work toward the end of 2018. RED can be both joy and agony, and passionate and visceral. More about RED in a later blog.

Untitled # 10-19-18-734
Untitled # 12-10-18-238

As with the last handful of years, 2018 included a significant amount of time spent in the studio and shooting on a consistent, regular basis. 77 shoots total, finding myself behind the camera an average of at least once a week. I have loved being able to devote so much time to looking through the lens, seeing new and exciting forms emerge from the same materials I’ve worked with for over 30 years, and I’m looking forward to what develops in 2019!

As always, I look forward to your thoughts and feedback!

In a recent blog post, I introduced some of my latest images, which include working with some brand new broken mirror shards. Over the years, the process of generating new and interesting shapes of these mirror fragments has evolved. My first attempt involved bending an 8′ plexiglass mirror back on itself until it exploded, dangerously blasting reflective projectiles across the studio in a thunderous CRACK. Since then, however, I’ve developed a much more elegant technique that is not only safer, but produces gorgeous fragments.

Without further ado, the refined process of creating interesting mirror shards:


Materials needed:

Large plexiglass mirror
One large, nicely shaped, preferably round rock
Thick blanket
Model/truck driver
Someone to direct the model/truck driver
One extremely handsome assistant to record the event on his iPhone

Optional materials:

A hat and gloves- if it happens to be 20 degrees in the middle of winter.

It’s as fact of life: $h!t happens.

Last week, while chasing my lovely little dog Lucy just outside my studio, I successfully found a particularly slippery section of the recently rained on deck. While I felt fine initially, even marveling at my dexterity in catching myself and the grace with which I fell, my wrist became increasingly sore and was gradually swelling.  The rise of my heart rate was proportional to my fading pride as my assistant drove me to Patient First 20 painful minutes later.

Navicular_bone

 

I’m not an expert, so I find it hard to judge from the x-ray, but I apparently fractured a bone in my wrist.  Major bummer, and unfortunate timing: I had arranged for another “binge – shooting” session with Carl, who was traveling up from New Orleans the very next day for a month long visit.  I couldn’t even efficiently tie a shoe lace – how was I supposed to get behind the camera?

Throughout both my personal life and my creative process, I have learned that challenges will continue to arise as time rolls by.  I’ve also learned that- after a suitable and acceptable period of self pity- it is important to meet these challenges head on.  I would not be deterred…THE SHOOT MUST GO ON! connie-broken-wrist-2

With a cast on my arm for the next 6 weeks (again, major bummer), pool shooting was out of the question, so it meant a return to the mirror work.  I met with my trusty consultant – Google – to determine what my options were, and found a variety of devices that could make photographing with a busted limb possible.  Novaflex makes a very simple monopod-type brace that can be worn around the neck to both support the weight of the camera and enable one handed shooting.  I eagerly ordered one and had it delivered the next day, conveniently coinciding with Carl’s arrival.

connie-broken-wrist-1

With the exception of a few limitations, this thing is perfect.  I’m forced to shoot horizontally, but I frequently find myself doing so with the mirror work anyway, so that’s not a huge loss.  I am more restricted in my movements however, which presents a bit of a challenge when I’m trying to really explore what I’m looking at.  I’m also forced to slow down while shooting – manually focusing and other simple camera operations require a little more effort when only using one hand.  This increased effort takes a lot out of me, and I find the shoots are a bit shorter in duration.  I get worn out sooner, and then the paranoia that the flesh under my cast is putrifying under the sweat and stress of it all causes me to wrap things up sooner rather than later.

– BUT –

The shoots so far have been FANTASTIC!  After only a few days worth of shooting, I’m already thrilled with a number of the images and have my ‘handful’ (get it??) with the early stages of editing.  I’m still working with the cool, drained-of-life blue tones illuminating one of the models, as well as continuing to incorporate more of the “Ruben’s Red” that seems to create a sense of atmosphere reminiscent of Renaissance imagery.  This time around, I’ve made some subtle adjustments – some by choice and some forced by the limitations of working one-handed – that have really made a dramatic impact.

I’m also finding that in many of the images, the limbs (particularly the left arm) appear either broken or putrified….COINCIDENCE?!  😉

While the binge shooting continues, I hope to get around to at least some editing to be able to share this work as soon as possible, so stay tuned!

Mom

Mom died October 19th, 2007 after suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for over fifteen years. Even though she had been gone to me for many years, her death has brought a new definition of “final” into my psyche. Her sense of adventure took her traveling to many exciting places including India, the Arctic, Siberia, Indonesia and many others. This is a picture of her at the age of 15. She learned to fly a plane before she could drive a car.


My dear father passed away on February 3rd 2008.  He had valiantly and successfully battled acute leukemia for two years, but the disease finally took him.  We all knew these last two years were a gift, and we made the most of them with wonderful visits and dinners full of conversations and stories.  We miss him every day.  

His death comes shortly after my dear mother’s death. 

With the new site up and running (www.ConnieImboden.com), I would like to use this blog site as a more informal way to share my process, experiences, recent developments, works in progress, and the latest news, both inside and outside the life of my work.

So, to kick off the new blog, I’d like to begin by introducing my very talented puppy, Lucy. She is the most recent addition to the family, and judging by this video, we think she’ll fit right in. Enjoy!