The blog of photographer Andrew Kemmis

On our walk home on Friday night, Erin and I randomly started talking about “it.” The “M” word. Rather assertively, she mentioned that if I ever popped the question in a crowd of people, she would kill me. My only response, “what if there is one other person there?” went basically unnoticed. Little did she know that less than 24 hours later, that one other person would be a helicopter pilot.

Saturday at 4 pm, while flying above a herd of elk in the Rattlesnake, I popped the question.

I think that hand sign is helicopter sign language for “yes!” It’s gotta be….right?

Lots of elk. I know, I know… It’s kind of like watching the Planet Earth series, huh?

Not sure who these awkward middle schoolers are. They look friendly though.

So I am a bit of a nut for magazines – can’t get enough of ‘em actually. That is to say, I love the idea of magazines and certainly have my favorites as well as those that I will never pick up, no matter how boring the dentist’s waiting room is. Being a photographer, I am mesmerized by my images on the pages, and even more so by the photography of others. I always make a point of reading the photo credits buried in the gutter to see if I recognize the photogs name. The writer in me loves to settle in to a heavy, well-researched, well-crafted chunk of good old-fashion journalism.

As embarrassing as it is, i’ve always had a short attention span when it comes to wading through an entire book. (Don’t get me wrong though – the feeling of finishing a good book is for real.) And on the other end of the spectrum, I kind of wish the quick, short, content-diarrhea phenomenon of Twitter would fade away. For me, a good magazine is the happy middle ground. They allow me to sink my teeth into an article on the life of Cream’s Ginger Baker one night and follow it up with an (over-my-head) essay on the challenges of closing Gitmo the next night. Perfect! I am sure that I am the customer the subscription departments of Sunset, National Geographic, National Geographic Adventure, Conde Nast Traveler, Time, Men’s Journal, Juxtzpoz, Rolling Stone, Ready Made, and Outside just dream of.

Why do I mention all of this, other than to waste precious space on the internet for an audience of (insert cricket sounds here). Well, as I have been following more and more blogs, I am watching the world of magazines (and printed material in general) change before my eyes and feel like sharing some things that have caught my eye lately.

Here they are:

As someone who works as a publications specialist at a photography school and occasional contributor to various magazines, I am keenly aware of the cost, effort, waste and impact of any publication. It’s obvious, magazines are F&%*ing expensive and wasteful. Recently, Conde Nast’s decision to give 3 titles the axe is a prime example of trying to stay afloat in tough times. Well today, another title gets to join them in the wooden box. Nat’l Geographic Adventure is gettin the boot. (Found the story on The Adventure Life blog). Bummer.

Aside from cost, a shitty economy, the convergence of still and video and everyone needing to have everything on a screen is also to blame.

Exhibit A:  Sports Illustrated tablet

Exhibit B: Love this parody from UK’s The Sun

Exhibit C: Esquire Magazine’s WEIRD* Augmented Reality issue

*I should note that when I say weird, I mean that the idea of holding a recently-purchased magazine up to your computer screen so that you can watch a video kind of defeats the purpose of the very magazine you are clinching in your mitts. Congratulations Esquire, you have tricked me into giving you $3.99 for smoke and mirrors.

Finally, all the happenings in the world of magazines has inspired me to do something with the mountains of mags that are currently turning my house into a bird cage. I am gonna take these dead trees and turn ‘em into a photo project of my own. Perhaps it will end up so good that you will see it in … a magazine.

As a lover of all things magazine (except the reader subscription cards. those kill me), i feel a bit compelled to comment on some happenings in the last 24 hours of the magazine world.

First the good news. I bought the new issue of Outside last night because it is a photo issue. The whole thing looks really interesting and I will probably keep it on the shelf for a while after I am done reading it 5 times. I read Rob Haggart’s article on Photo Fakery right off the bat. Really interesting perspectives from some of the photogs he quoted in there. Such a stark contrast on the subject of digital retouching or altering, as compared to the recent lecturers I have seen in conjunction with the Pullitzer Prize exhibition that is in town. Can’t wait to dig into the rest of the magazine.

The bad news.  Just read that Conde is dropping the axe on 4 magazines today. Cookie, Modern Bride, Gourmet and Elegant Bride are going the way of the dinosaur. I’d be more bummed if it were actually a magazine I actually read…ever…but it still is kind of a bummer. It’s completely possible that my favs could be taken out behind the barn at any minute.  Interesting times for the newspaper/magazine world…and the print world in general.

Apparently it’s wedding season. I attended 3 of the things in an 8-day span and have 3 more to go this summer, 1 of which I am shooting. Last weekend the wedding was in Joliet, Montana and was pretty much perfect. Some highlights from the trip include:

Bitchin’ sunsets
Espresso vodka.
Seeing moose, elk, bison, big horn sheep and a parrot (seriously) in Yellowstone Park.
Driving the Beartooth Pass.
Starry nights.
Watching lightning.
Experiencing the Charles Ringer gallery. Damn!

Here are a few shots from the weekend:

lots of old cars

some old jars.

and some of this

Chuck Ringer is a metal artist and one helluva creative mind. Gems like this are
all over his property.

Accommodations were great and offered nice views. I stayed in an old Traveleze trailer, but this teepee was another option…as was a school bus, an old airstream trailer and a refurbished cabin.

So what if I can’t help myself. It’s exciting stuff here. As I mentioned in my last post, the ON DECK 4 skate art auction is upon us. The online portion is happening now, and the live event is coming up on May 1. Since I showed the event postcard on my last post, I thought it only made sense to show the poster this time around. Both pieces were photographed and designed by yours truly. Check it out:

If you are wondering how you can get your mitts on one of these hot little items, they will be for sale at the show for a ridiculously cheap price, and afterwards at the Edge of the World skate shop at 618 S. Higgins in Missoula, MT.

Second to last day of the month of March. Officially it is spring here in Montana, but according to the weather, it still wants to be winter. Anyhow, with the inevitable change to spring, there are a few things on the horizon.

The MSA’s 4th annual ON DECK skate art auction, which I help to organize every year, is coming up. It will be held at Dauphine’s next to the Badlander on May 1 from 5-10 pm. The online portion of the auction will start on April 17. Check it out at www.montanaskatepark.org/ondeck. The show will feature over 50 skate decks customized by artists from across the country. I have been photographing all the decks as they come in and there are some beauties this year. You won’t want to miss this show. Check out the postcard below. Posters featuring a lot of the decks will be available at the show. I’m designing those too.

As a personal project that goes along with the show, I have been shootinig portraits of the artists with their completed decks. So far, so good, so fun. The world at large will be able to see some of the images on my…

New website. Yup. Bout damn time. Soon you will see.

2 days after the ON DECK show, I will be taking off for a weeklong float trip on the Smith River. Been wanting to do this every year when my friend Matt asks me to come along, but never seems to jive with my schedule. This year, things fell into place. Possible magazine story could come of it. Ideas are brewing.

My goal is to keep the focus of this blog on photography, but i can’t help myself today. I was just wandering around downtown after lunch and a question popped into my head: What would be a good team name and mascot for a home school sports team?

Interesting, aint it? I am going to spend the rest of the day pondering this. Hit me up if you have any clever ideas.

That’s right. That’s the theme of the day…or week I guess. It all started toward the end of last week when the forecasts started becoming big news. Depending on where you were looking, the temperature was expected to hit -14 or -19 or -10 and everywhere in between. Of course once you throw the wind chill in there, those numbers became -20, -30 and I think I even read a -40 somewhere. And wouldn’t you know, this was the weekend when a bunch of buddies and I had reserved a yurt in the Swan Mountains – as we do every year – to go do some backcountry snowboarding, rally around on the snowmobiles and complain about the cold despite holding cold beers. In hindsight, it’s rather silly how much we wrestled with the decision to call it off. Glad we all came to our senses and agreed that spending a night in an uninsulated yurt with a tiny stove in -40 degree weather was a bad idea. As soon as I learned that Syd’s dad (who has summitted Everest at least once) said he wouldn’t even go, I got on the couch, turned on the fireplace and got under a blanket with a huge, warm smile.

A bit of a late entry here, but still worth a mention. I spent some time last Sunday reviewing the portfolios of the senior Photojournalism students at the University of Montana. The opportunity came my way thanks to Kerri at Gallery Saintonge and I am darn thankful it fell into my lap.

This was my first time being on “that side of the table,” and the experience was really eye-opening and totally enjoyable for me. It felt good to be back in the J-school, as it has been (gulp) about 10 years since I spent every waking hour in the old darkroom scrambling to finish an assignment. Looking back, I have nothing but fond memories of that time. Of all the questionable decisions I have ever made (and will make!), the decision to change horses and enroll in Journalism school remains one of the best. I really like that I am able to keep a connection to the school and some of the people running the show over there.

The reviews were rapid-fire quick and I really hope that in all of my hurried chatter, at least one student was able to take something away from the time. I know the experience was totally eye-opening and helpful for me. I asked every student a few basic questions, including “why photojournalism?” and “what next.” Of course, there were a couple of “i don’t knows” and “ummmm’s,” but the vast majority of answers were specific, thought-out and took no time to say. I was really impressed by how many people seemed to know where they wanted to steer their photo efforts. My answer to every one of them was if they already have a good idea of what they want to do, then they are more than halfway there.

Anyhow, I look forward to being part of the next portfolio review…if I am lucky enough to be asked back.