Hwhup The Deans List? The Jason Dean here, bringing an end to the Weekend like I was a third E. I’m excited about this weeks newsletter- there’s lots of subjects, several cool photos and some exciting developments to tease!

Let’s get into it.

Art

Last month, I was in Washington D.C. for a conference on ending homelessness, before our president declared war on the homeless. I’m not here to talk about that though (although I hope if you’re reading this, you’re a descent human being and recognize that the forceful evacuation of vulnerable, impoverished people is awful in every way and deserves to be loudly condemned by people on all sides of all political aisles); I’m here to share a photo I took during that trip.

See, I’m not above taking normal, in-focus photos! After all, you can’t put me in a box! Unless it’s a really big box, I suppose.

But as I talked about in the last Weekender, I have found and am honing a style that feels like it’s my own. Admittedly, it’s not for everyone. But if you’re here, I suspect it’s for you and that makes me more happy than the happiest clam.

Check this one out:

While I do love when I’m able to isolate a single subject against a background of chaos, what started this whole journey for me was the thrill of chasing the semblance of form, which is what I did here. I want to make images that make you ask questions, even if that question is just ‘is that a painting of dew on grass?’.

Of course, I’m also quite comfortable with people asking the question “what in the world is that?”.

‘That’ is a clump of White Pine needles the morning after a much-needed rain storm in mid-Michigan that I took last week. I think everyone needs their very own White Pine tree- the long, soft needles make for wonderful photography subjects, especially in concert with the color of the needles, and they smell 🤌

Shameless self plug- if you like my work and want to see more of it, you can click on the link below to find my Ko-fi page. I’m still planning out what different subscriptions and tiers could look like, so for now it’s just for donations. Last week, I got my first donation!!! Thanks so much, Harro!

Drama

While my personal artistic style continues to come sharply into focus (pun hecka intended), I do enjoy other kinds of photography too. Perhaps my favorite kind of photograph to do, even more than abstract or waves or icicles or fall leaves, is live theatre. I love the challenge of simultaneously experiencing, interpreting, and capturing a story on the fly, all while shooting in the most difficult light conditions you can find.

The first production I was able to photograph this summer was Big Lake Theatre Company’s June production of Bonnie & Clyde: The Musical. I actually had a couple of photography opportunities with this show. The first was getting to shoot promotional photos, the first time I’ve ever done something like that. I had so much fun! We chose a downtown alley in Marquette as the setting, since the alleys in downtown Marquette look they were lifted straight from the 1930’s.

I took a lot of photos that I’m really proud of! My favorite shot from the session is below, and you can find more on Big Lake’s Facebook page.

I was also able to photograph the final dress rehearsal to capture the actual production. I can’t say enough about this show! The performers, the musicians, and the production team worked together seamlessly to tell one of the most compelling stories I’ve seen on the stage. You don’t need flashy strobe lights, fog machines, or sequin choreography to stir your heart through performance. Hats off to Big Lake Theatre Company for their incredible run of Bonnie & Clyde!

The second production I photographed was Superior Shakespeare Company’s late July production of Twelfth Night. Like all the best Shakespeare, the production took liberties with the setting to tell a timeless tale in a unique way. Playing at the iconic Boathouse Theatre, Twelfth Night was set in the 1980’s and featured costumes, props, and even some music from that wonderful, wonderful decade. There were many outstanding performances, but Logan Newcomb as Malvolio really stole every scene he was in.

I don’t know if the photos I took have been widely shared by the Company, but I feel like I can share this photo because it actually doubles as an abstract image that looks like something I would just do. I’m not 100% sure what happened here other than Lightroom’s AI Denoise update doesn’t like being batch applied, which totally wrecks my workflow.

Whatevs. I pay them every month, so clearly I’m a sucker for pain. And for mistakes that look like this:

I’m not sure when I’ll get to photograph the stage again, but I hope to do so sooner than later!

Field Trip

I do have a quick update on some of my work in the wild. During my respite, I shared on Instagram that I had a couple of pieces selected for the Sault Area Art Center’s August show. This is the exhibit highlighting the photographs taken during June’s Chippewa County in Photographs. Unfortunately, around the time I was supposed to ship the photos out to Sault Ste Marie, we had car trouble strike both of our vehicles. After sinking roughly a couple thousand dollars into repairs…let’s just say I was not able to get the pieces over to the Alberta House on time. Unfortunately, then, I will not be participating in the August show. I still encourage anyone who is able to check it out! There were many talented photographers who descended on Chippewa County that weekend, and I know many beautiful photographs were taken. This event is one of my favorite on my calendar, and I’m already making my plans for next year!

Economics

With that said, I have a couple of unframed prints for sale if you’re interested. Each print is 11×14 on polar luster metallic paper by the fine folks at Second Story Studio in Marquette. Each print is $60 shipped, or you can buy both for $100.

Lastly, I had teased a tease of exciting new developments. Of course, then I ended up gurgitating out over 1,000 words and almost 10 photos so I don’t have too much to say other than TUNE IN NEXT WEEK FOR THE THRILLING CONCLUSION OF (editors note: nothing is concluding what are you doing) THE JASON DEAN.

Thank you for reading, and for being a part of my story! I am excited to keep pressing on to the next page, the next chapter, the next volume…and I hope you keep your (metaphorical) library card up to date!

See you around,

Jason

P.S. You should also have a regular library card that is up to date. Support your local library!