Seeing Rexburg
Rexburg is a small, and on the surface, ordinary town. Like many small towns it seems to offer little visually to students of photograpy. My students often complain about the lack of interesting subjects in this "hick" town. I tell my students that subject matter can be found anywhere. "If you can't find anything worth photographing in this area you aren't looking or thinking hard enough" I tell them. Then I would get in the car and drive three hours to an "interesting place" to make photographs.
Out of guilt or a sense of resonsiblity I started making photographs in Rexburg. I carried a small digital camera with me and made photographs almost every day. I would photograph on my way to work, while running errands, and anytime something of interest caught my attention. This was a very liberating way to photograph and a big departure from my regular routine of a large camera, on a tripod, loaded with black-and-white film and concise exposures. Instead, I was free to "see" compositions and solve visual problems. Most importantly, I have begun to believe my own propoganda.
2003