One of my resolutions is to mix it up a bit on The Napkin Dad Daily in 2013 and one way to do that is to add in more of my other work for you to see.
Here are some of my photographic portraits from 2012. Starting with the latest and going back to July. Let me know what you think of them, ok?
The Morrison Family, Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, OK, 12/12
Lauren Morrison, Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, OK, 12/12
Kathi Morrison and I met online. She lives in Florida but she used to live in Tulsa and we met because she saw a photo of Philbrook Museum of Art that I had taken. She particularly liked my Velveteen Women exhibition images and we made plans that if I ever made it to Florida, where she lives, we would do a photo shoot together for use in a similar type of photo collage image. I haven’t made it to Florida yet (I am open to a patron/sponsor who wants to pay my way, hint hint), but she made it up to Tulsa to visit with her family. We made arrangements to get together at her favorite place, Philbrook, and do a quick family portrait shoot.
_______________
Courtney in Profile, Tulsa, OK, 11/12
Courtney in the Fall, Tulsa, OK, 11/12
Courtney and I are running buddies. We help coach a 10k intermediate running group here in Tulsa. She is about the same age as my four daughters and we have a similar type relationship. That means I tell what she should do and she rolls her eyes at me. After this past fall running season I did a photo shoot with her that went from inside to outside at sunset among fall foliage. I absolutely love her profile so was really happy to capture it in such beautiful light. It took a little coaxing but once she got into it we had a great time capturing the fall feel in the outdoor portraits.
__________________
Caitlin in the Fall, Dallas Arboretum, Dallas, TX, 10/12
Caitlin in Orange, Dallas Arboretum, Dallas, TX, 10/12
This is my step-daughter, Caitlin. I first met her when she was 13 and I started dating her mother, my now wife, Linda. When she was 15 we did a secret photo shoot so we could make a gift of photos for her mother for Christmas, which she loved. Seven years later we did it again. I went down to Dallas to visit her for a fall weekend. Caitlin loves the fall and pumpkins so when we found out that the Dallas Arboretum had a huge pumpkin display going on we made that our photo destination. These are two of the images from that shoot. We gave the photos to Linda for Christmas this year and she was very happy.
_________________
Anna Kazmi as a Vampire, Oaklawn Cemetery, Tulsa, OK, 10/12
Meera Kazmi as Morticia, Oaklawn Cemetery, Tulsa, OK, 10/12
The Kazmi sisters are famous models in Oklahoma specializing in vintage clothing, accessories and photo shoots. They started wearing vintage clothing, in particular 1940s vintage, as young teenagers. They have an extensive collection of clothing now and are asked to participate in modeling gigs, exhibitions, fashion shows and the like all the time. Their mother, Karen, always accompanies them and the family is a complete delight to know and work with. I asked them to attend our Tulsa Digital Photography Group’s annual Halloween Cemetery shoot and the happily obliged. I stylized these images quite a bit to fit the theme, with Anna making a great vampire and Meera playing a perfect Morticia.
________________
In July I traveled to California to attend my ex-father-in-law, Dwight Johnson’s memorial service. Since I was driving down from Northern California after the service to visit my father in Southern California I took the opportunity to contact a number of old and new friends in California to see if I could rustle up some photo shoots to allay the cost of the unexpected expense of the trip.
Amy at the Water’s Edge, Morgan Hill, CA, 7/12
Amy with her Feet in the Water, Morgan Hill, CA, 7/12
I first met Amy when I was a High School leader in a church we attended in San Jose, CA back in the 80s and 90s. She was my favorite high schooler in the group, with a fierce intelligence and a very creative streak. We kept in touch all these years and she was on the route to Southern California so I stopped by for a quick shoot. We took off for a small lake she knew of and did some images in the dappled sunlight.
___________________
Kathy in Natural Light, Berkeley Hills, CA, 7/12
Kathy and I waited tables together 30+ years ago at Eulipia Restaurant in San Jose, CA. I had reconnected with her through Facebook and when I let her know I was coming to California she just happened to need some new business and business casual photos. We did a quick shoot at her Berkeley Hills home near where I was staying. The light was fantastic with the entire Bay Area reflecting in her incredible blue eyes.
______________________
Susan with Dog in the Window, Malibu Pier, Malibu, CA 7/12
Susan Looking Up, Malibu Pier, Malibu, CA, 7/12
Unlike the other two I photographed on the trip, Susan and I had only met once before. We met at Blog World New York in June of 2012 at a closing party. We hit it off and later when I was planning my trip she liked the idea of getting some new, more natural portraits done of her. We met at the Malibu Inn and spent several hours there, on the beach and on the pier taking photos. She has a TV and acting background so she was delight to work with.
__________________
That’s a fair amount for now, covering the second half of 2012. I will post first half of my 2012 portraits in the next few weeks. In the meanwhile, if you would like some photos done, you know who to contact! You can see a larger more extensive selection of my portraits and other work I do by going to my other website, http://www.martycoleman.com
In 2008 I helped found the Tulsa Digital Photography Group, later named ‘PHOTOG’. It now has close to 600 members, making it the largest in Oklahoma. We put on photo shoots once or twice a month and have a monthly library presentation that I lead. Sometimes I do the presentation other times we have guest photographers come in.
Here are some of the photos I have taken at our shoots over the years.
Rust
This was taken after a studio lighting seminar. The outdoor area had a lot of great locations as well and we continued taking portraits well after the seminar ended.
Look
This was also taken at a studio lighting session. She was the owner of the studio and it took a bit of convincing to get her to model for us.
Another Way of Seeing
This was taken at an equestrian competition shoot. I had to run fast when I saw this girl hanging upside down to get the shot.
Tulsa
This was taken at a ‘painting with Light’ session. I had my camera on a tripod with a long exposure and ran out into the field to draw the word ‘TULSA’ with a flashlight. It took me 7 tries to get the S facing the right way, it’s HARD!
Color Composition #3
This was taken at a Color Composition shoot I led at the Cherry Street Farmer’s Market. Who says red and pink don’t go together.
Tail #1
this was taken at a ‘How to Approach a Stranger’ shoot I led at Tulsa’s Blue Dome Festival. I had already taken photos of this woman’s face when I got attracted to the great color and textures of her scarf, hair and shirt.
Tail #2
This was taken at a Tulsa Zoo shoot. The tail said it all about this guy.
Candy Cane
This was taken at a Bokah Christmas Lights shoot at Rhema Bible College. Bokah is a technique using a very short depth of field where only a small area is in focus.
Ghost Walk
This was taken at a studio/model shoot. This window covering was meant to diffuse the light for portraits but I was drawn to it for how it created silhouettes and shadows in very compelling ways.
Halloween
This was taken at our annual Halloween Cemetery shoot. We have our models dress up in all sorts of fun halloween type costumes and just have a blast with a myriad of the techniques taught over the years.
I love road trips. When I was very small we moved from one side of the country to the other a number of times. We did it again when I was a teenager. I did it twice during undergraduate and graduate years and once again as an adult with a family. Those were just the moves. The road trips include journeys to the North, Northeast, Northwest, South, Southeast and Southwest all from Oklahoma, the middle coast of the USA.
Here are some of the photographs I have taken on those journeys.
Piranha Beef Jerky in NebraskaThe Old Church in The Badlands, South DakotaThe Vermeer Discovery, Plimoth Plantation, MassachusettsDunes – Cape Cod, MassachusettsOn The Other Side – Grand Canyon, ArizonaSunset among Friends – Del Mar, CaliforniaThe Stressed Mother, DisneyWorld, Orlando, FloridaSelf-Portrait while Tired, DisneyWorld, Orlando, FloridaThe Hot Cheerleader, Baylor University, Waco, TexasThe Grandson, Rural Oklahoma
Living in Oklahoma a photographer can either be cursed by the wind or blessed by it. I feel blessed by it. After many outdoor photo sessions I found I had a great collection of images with hair and expressions all over the place. I started to find an emotional aspect to the images that I liked and a series, Emotional Wind, came out of it.
The collages I showed last week were images that were collaged into pre-existing images. This week I am showing collage images that exist by themselves.
Postcards
This is a series called ‘Postcards’. They are images taken on vacation, collaged together and electronically sent out to give a feeling of where I am and what I am experiencing.
‘Our Fifth Day Was The Fourth’, photo-collageWe Saw Beautiful, photo-collage‘I Drove Through The Panhandle’, photo-collage
The Stranger Juxtaposition
The Stranger Juxtaposition series is similar in nature to the postcards in that the images are mostly taken on vacation, but the focus is on the person, not the place. They are sort of an imagined short story of this stranger I have come across.
The Stranger Juxtaposition #6, photo-collage
She had yet to understand how she could love too much. Not because it was bad but because people would be like lesser mortals and she would end up being like Jesus, without people who understood her and perhaps crucified.
The Stranger Juxtaposition #7, photo-collage
Her dream was to be a dancer from the time she saw her father enthralled by the flamenco troupe that came through her small town in Mexico when she was 7 and a half years old and her son had not even been seen in her far eye. And now her love is so deep and true that she sells her cakes at the mall and dances for him, not her father anymore.
The Stranger Juxtaposition #2, photo-collage
She had something she had seen while on the cruise affixed in her mind. It was in keeping with loneliness and she felt it was obvious to all around her as if it was an adornment atop her head. She wanted desperately to take off the accouterment but was unwilling in the end because she knew it would never be amongst her charms unless she let it shrink in place and migrate to her bracelet of its own accord. So, she let it exist, remaining slightly melancholy for the duration of the voyage.
In 1981 my art style moved towards photo-realistic drawings and paintings. As a result I started taking photos that I could use as reference for the drawings. After a while I realized I didn’t like the process of creating photo-realistic images – being in a dark studio with a slide projector wasn’t much fun – so I moved away from the use of photo references.
But in the meanwhile I had gotten hooked on photography and started seeing all the various bits and pieces of images I had been gathering as wonderful raw material for collage. I have been doing photo-collages as one of my main artistic avenues ever since.
The images today are from a number of series I did combining photo-collages into books, letters or over pre-existing images.
Rejection Suite
These two are from a series of rejection letters I received from colleges and universities to which I applied for teaching positions. I collaged rejected photographs on top of them. I left showing words and phrases I thought were particularly enlightening regarding the idea and reality of rejection.
‘Reconcile the Impersonal, photo-collage on paper, 1986
‘The Bearer of Sad Tidings / Whatever’, photo-collage on paper, 1992
The Body in Bondage
I took photos of parts of bodies that were ‘in bondage’ for one reason or another, then glued them into the book titled ‘Of Human Bondage’
‘Teeth in Bondage’, photo-collage in book titled ‘Of Human Bondage’‘Feet in Bondage’, photo-collage in book titled ‘Of Human Bondage’
Impressionist Compositions
I photographed the impressions left on the skin after things were taken off, such as bracelets, shoes, straps, etc. Then I collaged them on top of Impressionist paintings.
‘Impressionist Composition #8, photo-collage and painting, Claude Monet and Marty Coleman, 1891-1983
Impressionist Composition #6, photo-collage and painting, Vincent Van Gogh and Marty Coleman, 1890-1983
Flint Creek in Fog, New Life Ranch, Oklahoma, 1990s
My daughters went to camp here for many years. We also went to family camp a number of times as well. It was down in a valley so the fog would often settle in pretty thick in the mornings.
Cadillacs and Barbed Wire, Amarillo, Texas, 2009
The Cadillac Ranch is an art installation in an empty field west of Amarillo. We always try to stop there on our drives to California as sort of a pilgrimage.
Sunrise as if I Were on the Plains of Africa
Amazingly enough, this scene was out my back door in Glenpool, Oklahoma. But it was like nothing I had ever seen before and it led me to imagine it was on the savanna of Africa.
Infinity Marsh, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2009
It was a perfect day for a marsh visit; cool, overcast, misty, and humid.
The City and the Mountains, Seattle, Washington, 2011
We had a tourist pass to a number of sites in Seattle, including 2 trips up the Space Needle. The girls weren’t interested in going a second time so I went by myself with my camera at dusk.
Golden Gate Silhouette, San Francisco, California, 2007
My family has a long history in the San Francisco Bay Area. I first went across the bridge when I was perhaps 11 or 12 years old to visit my cousin who lived in Marin County just to the north of it. I lived in SF and San Jose for a number of years and went over the bridge many times, walking and driving. This was a new view for me though. We took a ferry to Sausalito and Angel Island. I was able to see the bridge in relationship to the shore, hills and homes along the route in ways I had not seen before.
Composition with Saguaro Skeleton, Saguaro National Park, Arizona
My daughter and I went to San Diego to pick up a car that my father was giving to us. On the drive home through Arizona we stopped at the National Park. Caitlin started her love affair with Cacti at that time.
Curve of the Earth with Dead Tree, Volcano National Monument, New Mexico, 2000s
A little known spot in the scheme of all the great national parks and monuments, Capulin Volcano is a perfect circular cone volcano that you can walk up. The view from the top, with nothing but flat land all around, was pretty spectacular.
Landscape with Birds, Trees and Horses, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, 2009
One doesn’t have to go far from home in Oklahoma to see scenes like this. This spot was just about a mile from my old house.
Starting back in the 1980s I developed a photographic fascination for backs. It started when a model I was photographing for a project got cold feet about doing the nudes we had planned. We were already the location, a beach with dramatic cliffs and incredible textures and colors. At first it seemed to be a bothersome restriction but I soon found unexpected creative opportunities spending the day photographing her and her back.Since then I have always looked for, and found, great backs everywhere I go. The broad, subtle landscape of the back, especially when combined with clothing that overlaps it with beautiful designs, textures and colors, or tanlines that create elegant layers, always offers beauty. In the last decade the prominence of tattoos has added another element of significance and interplay that keeps me interested.
Here is a slide show of a few of my ‘Backs and Straps’ over the years.
These black and white film portraits were taken in the late 80s and early 90s in and around San Jose, California.
Bob, Eulipia Restaurant, 1990s
He was an aspiring actor and a restauranteur. I took this photo for his actor head shot portfolio in the restaurant he co-owned.
Leslie, San Jose, California, 1990s
I met her through a mutual friend. She wanted some glamorous images of herself before she hit her 30th birthday. I was upstairs in her home changing lens while she went downstairs to get ready for the next set. I happen to see the last bit of sunlight come through a high window and fall on her couch. I quickly directed her to jump on the couch as is and get her face into the light. This is the result less than a minute before the sun sliver disappeared.
Sharon and Carol, Santa Clara County, 1990s
The woman on the left was a customer of mine when I waited tables. We became friends and eventually she hired me to do some family portraits of her and her sister. They were a bit competitive for the spotlight and it was fun to compose and direct them so they both could shine.
Ruth, Santa Cruz, California, 1990s
There is a fantastic beach north of Santa Cruz, California with caves, cliffs and sand in myriad textures and forms. This friend wanted to take some natural portraits in a beautiful light environment and this is the place we chose.
Julie, San Jose, California, 1990s
Sometimes simple and easy does the trick. We were behind a friend’s apartment trying to figure out some photo locations when I spotted her just sitting and waiting for something to happen. It was the best shot of the day.
Lauri, San Jose, California, 1990s
Symmetry can often be pretty boring but in this case the little bit of translucence to the outdoor wall gave enough difference between the sides to make a strong dynamic interplay with her pose.
