Chapel Light

It's been quite a hiatus for the Church Project blog. I finally have my current group of favorites registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. For the rest of 2012 I'll be adding a new image two or three times a month.

Shooting for the project, however, has continued. By the end of 2011 I had logged more than 7,000 miles, visited close to 300 churches, and made over 2,600 exposures.

This blog has two purposes. First, comments from readers will help improve the photos I take in the future. Second, I'm very much hoping that readers will suggest their favorite churches and share stories and memories. I'd like to use these as part of the exhibition I'm working on and -- if I'm lucky -- for the book I'd like to do on this subject.

So please feel free to add your thoughts and comments, positive or negative. Both are valuable.

This window is in the Pieta Chapel behind the St. Donatus Catholic Church in Northeast Iowa. I was drawn by how the light highlighted the different planes of the wall.

Blog Start

I've been a little hesitant about starting a blog and for several reasons. The first is that there are a heck of a lot of them out there and I suspect the "signal to noise ratio" (sense vs. nonsense) is probably lopsided toward noise.

The second drawback about a blog is keeping it fresh. These things should be updated, if not daily, at least several times a week. And while I and my wife find my life interesting, no one in the film industry -- not even an "indie" producer -- has been pestering me about doing my life story.

But despite that, here I am writing my first entry. One reason I decided to create one is simply about connection. The best aspect of doing art shows the last six years is talking with those of you who have come into the booth. You've asked many interesting questions and have offered both praise and criticism. My hope is that this blog will create an ongoing connection between myself and those of you who have enjoyed my photography.

I'm going to try to write mostly about photography, but I may also comment on anything else that strikes my fancy. You may want to watch out for that. You could find yourself reading about "hidden" history one day to what I think the American character should be the next. Hopefully, we'll enjoy this blog together.

For my first picture, I decided to post "Heartland #1." It's a photo that conjures up my days of being raised -- along with corn and soy beans -- on a farm outside of Conrad, Iowa. If you have walked bean fields with a hoe in your hand, you may remember those hot summer days when a breeze blew just enough to keep things interesting and the cloud formations towering over the landscape were barely enough to contain your imagination and dreams.

It also illustrates an important point of photography; you have to be persistent. You may have to visit a spot many times to get a good photo. This farm is outside of Gladbrook, Iowa, and I drove by it every time I went to visit my dad. Every trip I'd think the same thing "some day there's going to be a photo here." But it took five years before I finally had the time, the camera, and the weather to make this photograph.

I get a lot of comments on this photo. But the one I shake my head at the most is when people say "It's too perfect." I'm not quite sure what to make of that!

Thanks for reading!

Larry