jeff amberg photography

The timing of the snow was perfect, right around rush-hour, with just enough time for everyone to get home before it began to stick.  As I pulled down our neighborhood street I saw my 18 year old son out in the yard beginning to build a snowman.  So we worked together for the next few minutes and then threw some snowballs at each other.

The next morning was beautiful and the sky was clear.  We had gotten about eight inches.  The temperature was hovering at 29 degrees so the snow would last, at least until afternoon.

It was plenty cold outside, but the temperature inside this steel rolling mill was hot and noisy.  Even though you can’t see all the ash and dust that covered the cameras, we managed to get through it without anything bad getting inside the lens chamber.  Inside the control room was more like a scene from a movie, and it was a whole lot cleaner and quieter.  For the control room shot we used somewhere between six and eight lights, external batteries to power the strobes on the floor and dirtied way more cables than I want to think about.  For the shot in the smelter we used only two lights and we covered everything as best we could to protect both us and the equipment from the little meteor-like sparks that were zinging past.  The shoot sure was fun, though.

The other morning, after a cold front moved in during the night, the sunrise was obscured by a shroud of surface fog because the ground temperature forced the dew point.  I’m glad I wake up early because these interesting events only happen a few times a year.

For several years, well actually since 2006, I wanted to develop a body of work, portraits specifically, of South Carolina women that have made a difference in people’s lives.  Wanting to include a wide range of backgrounds, it has taken me until now to assemble a growing list of personalities.  Some, many of us already know because of their public visibility, others are outside of the every day spotlight.  They are from all areas of the state and have contributed to a different aspect of our community at large.  Some are painters, authors, educators, business executives, lawyers, and more.

Over then next few years, hopefully, this project will be completed and it is my hope to present it as a large coffee table style book.

Jenn T. is one totally together woman.  She’s a business owner and single mom.  As we worked together, on her day off, her two and a half year old son Holland would wander in from another room, and like most children that age, wanted to be in on the action, too.  It’s hard to put into words their bond.
ja

The idea was to portray the workforce of one of the states larger manufacturing sites with individual portraits of the associates from as many aspects of the process without interrupting production ….

ja

I had the pleasure of photographing Roger several months ago for a magazine article.  This man paints with his hands, and any other non-art-type implements.  It isn’t beyond him to reach for whatever might be handy and drag it across the wet paint.

So I went to visit him at his home studio, today, to watch him work and make a few portraits in the process.

ja

It’s been a very busy two months since my last entry, and in that time I’ve finished several more personalities along with a slew of other work.

The best part of this project are people themselves, some are complex, some are powerful and some seem like old friends.  What’s especially nice is the moment the camera and my eye become one and that very special something happens.

What’s the Palmetto Portrait Project (PPP), anyway.. ? This wonderful idea sponsored by the Medical University of South Carolina, to portray its people in a collection of 240 photographs, by 24 South Carolina photographers. Six photographers each year for the past three years, and now, in the final year, the final six will complete the project. These portraits will be on display, permanently at MUSC and a duplicate set will be given to The Columbia Museum of Art for their collection.

The beauty of this project is that the only one criteria: portraits must be done in South Carolina, that’s it, no matter who or where….

This will be an on-going contribution to the blog from now until February 2009, with my progress ….

Thanks,

ja

http://jeffamberg.com

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This past weekend I wanted to take a different look at competitive swimming. I’ve long been fasinated with how liquids look when they are stopped in time, and adding in the swimmers made for some interesting looks when the two were combined. These are all spontaneous images and I expect there will be more experimenting in the future.

ja

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