The Long Way Home

Art Rock Outtakes

Lisa — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:23:27 +0000

So excited to see that Jeff’s guitar work is featured in this week’s Pittsburgh City Paper Music Guide. Read the article here. Here are some outtakes from the photo shoot in our tiny dining room:

Jeff with his guitar babies

guitar face

More beautiful guitars here.

The Mystery of Circus Town

Lisa — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:25:22 +0000

What was Circus Town? A coworker of Jeff’s said this abandoned theme park once housed a petting zoo and carnival rides. I didn’t realize until later that the photos I had taken this past Saturday in Butler County were all circus-related: Humpty Dumpty towering over the Country Kitchen on Route 8; a closed hot dog shop in Butler; and even the Book Nook sign is like a striped circus tent. The 4 o’clock sun cast long shadows across the Circus Town road entrance like fun house mirror images. My photo narrative is becoming more intuitive.

entrance to Circus Town

Humpty Dumpty watching over Route 8

Book Nook

The Hot Dog Shop

4:00 shadow

house skeleton on the Circus Town property

no longer served

final act

Blondie Mornings

Lisa — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 14:21:56 +0000

In honor of Women’s History Month, I give you Debbie Harry.

I was obsessed with her when I was a kid. I loved her t shirt dresses and heels, her white-blond hair fluffed around her head like a halo. And I can remember Saturday mornings with my mother playing Auto American on the stereo at top volume, the living room shaking because my sister and I were trying to keep up with her bouncing around the room. I’m sure our neighbors didn’t appreciate their hangovers being interrupted by Debbie’s high notes, but it was a great way to wake up in the morning.

I love these photos of her.

confidence

queen debbie

i love the color in this one

blondie

photo from i am le petite oiseau

Photo Booth Sunday

Lisa — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 17:58:24 +0000

Jeff and I spent this morning working on our photo booth project. We had 3 props which we smuggled into the Warhol Museum via our Pan Am flight bag: an old telephone; a bunch of plastic grapes; and a creepy clear mask that Jeff bought at a Halloween store for fifty cents. We orchestrated the photos from my journal notes. There are 10 seconds between each frame in a photo booth, so getting these shots was challenging at times.

hanging on the telephone

contemplating a beard shave

ghostly grapes

We tried to recreate the photo of my parents in Niagara Falls. I think we did a pretty good job.

mock parents

In Between Chapters and The Noise Upstairs

Lisa — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 15:03:50 +0000

Last month I had a photo featured in Strongbox Magazine. Check out page 59 and read how I got this shot:

In Between Chapters

This Stasia project photo made it to the Utata front page on January 13. I found the Utata site a few months ago via a search I did on Diane Arbus. I love how this organization incorporates fiction with photography.

The Noise Upstairs

It’s a boost to my confidence to see recognition for my work. It also motivates me to keep going with my photography, especially during winter, when it’s difficult to motivate to do anything except eat this amazing chocolate-drizzled popcorn from Pittsburgh Popcorn (as I’m doing right this very minute) in my pajamas while watching Netflix on Demand (as I’m about to do when I finish this post).

Nostalgic Snow Meltdown: My Vintage Photo Collection Project

Lisa — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:39:55 +0000

Snowbound most of the month and struck with cabin fever, I decided to start scanning my vintage photo collection and posting it for others to see. I could spend hours looking through vintage photos at flea markets and antique shops if Monster would let me — there is so much other “trash” to discover!

Strongbox Magazine is publishing an all-film issue this spring and the editor asked if Jeff and I would like to do a photo booth project. I’ve wanted to do a series of photo booth self-portraits, but brainstorming with Jeff has been so much more fun. I’ll post some of the pictures after we hit the Warhol photo booth this weekend.

The following photo of my parents is one of my favorites. It’s from a photo booth in Niagara Falls, where they honeymooned in November 1973, 35 years almost to the exact date that Jeff and I went on our own honeymoon (there goes the freaky date connections again with my family – my sister’s anniversary is in November). I scanned it and left it as-is – speckled with dust, torn in half and tattered at the edges. It makes me a bit sad, knowing they’d be divorced only a few years later. They are so young and for that moment, happy.

1973

Sweet Baby Weltaflex

Lisa — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 00:47:24 +0000

This year I’m going back to film and what better way to start than with this lovely Valentine’s gift from Monster? I’ve wanted a focusing twin lens reflex camera for awhile now, but we haven’t had the extra cash (I could still kick myself for not grabbing the Mamiya for $70 at Pottery City). Now I can experiment with medium format to my heart’s content. The viewfinder has a magenta tinge around the edge of the glass, making it a bit difficult to focus on the subject. As with any less-than-perfect piece of equipment, you just learn to work with it.

the latest addition to my growing camera family

Dead of Winter

Lisa — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:33:11 +0000

January 10 through February 10 marks the “dead of winter.” Today is my mother’s birthday. Today is also the day both my grandfather and my great-grandfather died, 9 years apart, the husband and the father of my grandmother (whose birthday was January 10). My grandfather had a heart attack after shoveling snow and I can barely remember how my great-grandfather passed away, most likely old age. The eerie significance of dates and time, the superstitious Hungarian in me wonders what is the connection for my family? I feel tied to this day. When I think of February, it’s usually dark and full of snow, no hints of warmer weather. Promises of spring still 6 weeks away.

1948

Yes, I Shoveled Snow in a Skirt

Lisa — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 22:23:34 +0000

We don’t have much luck with the snow, do we? Spent the morning watching Deranged, then ate leftover homemade mac and cheese, loaded up the Ansco, the lomo fish eye and documented with the Leica. I’m glad to be home for this snowstorm – it’s exciting to see our little corner of the world stop for the weekend.

last night's surprise

taking analog photos

graffiti in the snow

snow walk

snow-heavy lines

snowbound

handsome snow husband

snow street transformation

self portrait before shoveling snow

Friday, February 12: ‘Til Death Do Us Part

Lisa — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:03:50 +0000

DATE CHANGED TO NEXT FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, DUE TO SNOWSTORM. Just in time for Valentine’s weekend.

Our first date was at the Carnegie Museum of Pittsburgh. We strolled through the art wing, both of us quiet, but it wasn’t until we reached the dimly lit rooms of Taxidermy Hall that we began to see each other’s strange side. Our love blossomed as we stood admiring a wildlife diorama. We discovered that we both loved horror films, ghost stories, dark fairy tales and traveling off the beaten path. We married three years later on Halloween, our favorite holiday. And a creepy, surreal partnership was born.

Our work reflects our shared interest in the curious and the abandoned, along with our travels together. Part of being married to another artist is recognizing when one of us needs creative space, as well as supporting one another. Jeff often stops the car without question for Lisa when she sees the perfect photo opportunity, and Lisa walks with Jeff, picking through the neighborhood trash for future projects. Our art provides each of us the solace of working alone with the comfort of knowing that our partner in crime is on the other side of the house, waiting to vent or laugh or share the love of the process or a hug to keep each other going.

From the Trib-Review