I became familiar with Matt Eich’s work in 2006 when he was named the 61st College Photographer of the Year. Two years later Matt applied for Pause, to Begin with his “Carry Me Ohio” series and was selected as 1 of 15 Pause, to Begin photographers. Matt recently began making a series of photographs titled James River Blues.

A little bit about the work from Matt’s blog post:

“It explores the James River in Virginia, which starts in the mountains and cuts 410 miles through the state before emptying into the Chesapeake Bay. I have so many childhood memories linked to this river that I was instantly drawn to it when we moved back here in June. My eventual goal is to start at the headwaters and take a canoe trip to where it empties into the ocean. For practical reasons I began the project around Smithfield which is about 45 minutes to an hour from where we live in Norfolk.”

Matt pitched the project to a hospital being built near the river and was subsequently commissioned to create 27 images. We recently collaborated on printing his stunning images and chose a paper to Matt’s liking (Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Baryta — the same paper all of my exhibition prints are made on) and a comfortable print size for the images.

Here are a couple installation pictures of the stellar finished framed prints:

Matt Eich is a photojournalist and colleague based in Norfolk, Virginia where he lives with his wife and daughter. Matt is represented by Luceo Images.

I moved to Maine the day after I graduated college in May 2006. A good friend who was a year ahead of me in college, Kate Izor, went to Maine and liked it there. If it was good enough for her it was good enough for me, I thought. She and I were both right, but I give her all the credit. I’ll have to tell her next time I see her.

I started working at the Maine Photographs Workshops (now Maine Media Workshops) as the Digital Service Bureau Manager; fancy title. In reality I was responsible for running a usually flawless digital lab, making sure everything was as close to perfect as possible, and overseeing 3 wonderful employees, all of which became great friends.

The position was seasonal and I wanted to stay in Maine, so when John Paul Caponigro and his wife, Ardie, came to teach at the Workshops, I made sure everything was 100% flawless vs. the usual 99% flawless; gotta have the 1% to relax a little you know. I heard through a friend that they were looking for a part time employee and that they were great people, so he set up the interview which was really more of a “hey let’s meet you and make sure you mesh well with our team… and see if you can become acclimated to Angel, our enormous white German Shepard.” Usually I’m super allergic to dogs but somehow my body was able to tolerate Angel.

The day after I stopped working for the Workshops (10PM to be precise, but who’s counting..) in October 2006, it was at 3AM that I started working for JP! We braced for a wild ride up to Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park where he was teaching a Fall Foliage workshop and it was a big success, of course.

Fast forward two years to October 2008 after many Champagne Thursday’s, endless laughter mixed with (usually) mild debate over scotch (JP) and Jameson (me), photographs photography photographer, a million and one prints printed, snow storms, summer days, friends, family, and everything in between. It was at this time that I decided I wanted to leave the States, go to Africa, and help something, someone, anything. I said this to Ardie and what the hell she had a good friend, Chandler, who started and ran A River Blue, a non-profit based in Uganda. Well what the hell again, Chandler and I started emailing, and emails led to phone calls, and phone calls led to purchased tickets.

Rewind a little… it didn’t happen that fast but it sure felt like it.

Chandler and I started talking, and we both became serious about my going to Uganda. I sent countless emails a former volunteer, Beth, and asked her a million questions. Then I began a print sale and raised a good chunk of change (thank you to all who supported my journey — your kindness is unbelievable!) and two weeks before I left, I emailed Fujifilm USA to ask for a film donation. Times were tough (and still are) and I didn’t think I would get the donation, or at best not the amount I wanted.

A couple of days later I received an email back and all it said was, “LET ‘ER RIP!”. Are you serious? Exactly what I was thinking. Two days later I had the requested amount of instant color and b&w film for my students and I to use, and I packed it all into a Pelican case that Chandler gave me. Below is a picture I made of the students and I after using the film. Thank you, Fujifilm USA!

My coworker and seriously second mom, Diane, donated a Polaroid 100 Camera for the students to use and it’s a good thing she did because without it I would have been entirely screwed. I purchased a second camera off eBay but didn’t have time to test either before I left. No joke, Biggest mistake a photographer could make. Well, only Diane’s camera worked in Uganda!

I purchased my ticket two weeks before my departure, somehow lucked out and found a what I thought would be forever out-of-stock Canon 5D Mark II in-stock at RIT, bought a second battery which I thought would also be forever out-of-stock, borrowed JP’s Canon 45mm TS-E, and purchased (2) 8GB SanDisk cards and an extra tripod plate for my Gitzo. I literally finished packing right before my flight, boarded the airplane, and off I went.

Needless to say, I thought the journey ahead would be remarkable and life changing but I truly had no idea that it would be to the extent that it was.

It’s been awhile since I’ve made any photographs of my family but this afternoon I started photographing my mom again.  I like most of the photographs I make of my family.  There is a certain comfort and honesty I am able to create when I photograph them.  I believe it’s expressed during and through the created photographs.

Pictured is my mom floating in our pool.  Some days upon returning home from work she floats in the pool and either reads, naps, or does both.  I see the pool as a place of meditation for her; a place of peace.  If you think about it, we begin our lives in a water-filled sac, the womb, and maybe that’s why many of us like being in water so much.

She always looks so at ease when I photograph her in the pool.  I like seeing her at ease, relaxed, and restful.  She always looks youthful during these times.

It’s ironic, I suppose.  When I’m searching for my own peace I sometimes find and see it in others.

Mom in Pool, Syracuse, New York, 2009

While teaching 2 sessons at the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine, my 2 groups and I created skits that we performed in front of over 350 attending scholars. The first video is from the first session (June 14 – 23, 2009) and the second video is from the second sesson (June 28 – July 7, 2009).  Enjoy!

2009 NYLF Medicine – Washington, D.C. – Georgetown Curie Group #1! from djwright.

2009 NYLF Medicine – Washington, D.C. – Georgetown Curie Group #2! from djwright.

to work as a Faculty Advisor for the National Youth Leadership Forum in Medicine. See ya!

The above photograph was made by Octave Chanute during his visit to witness Wright gliding experiments at Kitty Hawk, August 4-11, 1901.

1901 Wright glider, photographed by Octave Chanute during his visit to witness Wright gliding experiments at Kitty Hawk, August 4-11, 1901].

“The first time I saw him was at like 6:30 in the morning,” Joe told me over the phone from a swing on his back porch. “It was raining. Raining hard. And we’re just across from the water here at the end piece of this little stretch of road, but this wolf was sitting at the top of the hill in the middle of the road, right on the yellow line, just laying there in the rain like a king. It was fucking beautiful. That kind of stuff… having the time, slowing down a little bit, it does something for the soul that doesn’t translate in the city.”

- Joe Purdy

One day I would like to photograph Joe Purdy.  I believe his music and my photography would resonate well with each other.

Ian MacLellan has compiled a great list of photo blogs to check out.

4×5 Pinhole © Ian MacLellan

Sand Beach, Acadia National Park, Maine, October 18, 2008

I made this photograph while driving through Vermont after skiing and visiting an old friend and his wife.

What is pictured is a nearby river beginning to overflow it’s banks due to rapid snow melt combined with heavy rainfall the previous night.

It brings to mind Reuben Cox’s photographs that were recently published in the New York Times Magazine. The photographs accompany an article and it is a must-read.  If you’re going to spend 20 minutes of your day reading something, do so here.

The article focuses on how severe the foreclosure crisis is and will continue to be, much like the river overflowing it’s bank and running through the landscape.

I have recently started putting down my 4×5 and using my newly purchased 5D Mark II. I like many things about it and the transition has been much easier and welcoming than I expected. I’m relieved because it was initially a very expensive transition!