Andrew Benson

Mind The Gap

Andrew Benson — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 20:04:11 +0000

A recent motherboard failure has prompted a switch new a new (to me) Mac. Unfortunately my original Lightroom database still lives on the boot drive of the failed machine. I don’t always present my images in chronological order but they do tend to follow rough timeline that now has a fairly wide gap. Until I’m able to find some time to extract the files from the drive, I’m moving forward with new photographs.

This is the last one made prior to the crash:

#5, Silver Spring, 2012

Ripley District Alley, Silver Spring, 2012

Andrew Benson — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 23:00:22 +0000

One my usual shortcuts to avoid walking down Georgia Avenue takes me down this alley behind the Pyramid Atlantic building. As I neared the end of the alley, the composition of the color fields punctuated by the radio antenna jumped out at me. This antenna sits on one of the older “high-rise” buildings in Silver Spring and is slowly becoming dwarfed by the renewal which started with the relocation of Discovery Channel and the construction of their headquarters a couple blocks north of here. I’ve made photographs that have included this antenna, but this one has caused me to seek it out and document its relationship to a rapidly changing landscape–at some point it will cease to be the dominant landmark.

Ripley District Alley, Silver Spring, 2012

Ce n’est pas une poubelle

Andrew Benson — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 13:17:26 +0000

This is Art, Triadelphia, 2012

Uncover/Discover

Andrew Benson — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 22:48:13 +0000

I just finished my portfolio for FotoDC’s Uncover/Discover.
You can find it here: http://goo.gl/UdJ94.

Bar, Elkins, 2012

Meet the Photographer

Andrew Benson — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 18:30:12 +0000

This evening (June 2nd) is “Meet the Artist” night at Artomatic, I’ll be at my space, 3rd floor #196, from 7pm-9pm. Please stop by and say hello!

Here’s a photograph from a recent trip through Eastern Pennsylvania:

Paradise, Pennsylvania, 2012

Prints Available for Purchase

Andrew Benson — Fri, 18 May 2012 12:56:26 +0000

I’ve set up a page for you to purchase prints. Right now the list of photographs is limited to those I’m exhibiting at Artomatic. Please contact me if you’d like a print that is not on the list.

Artomatic 2012

Andrew Benson — Wed, 16 May 2012 02:04:28 +0000

It’s been a hectic month, starting with registering (despite countless crashes of the Artomatic servers during the first hours of registration), selecting photographs to print, ordering framing supplies and other materials to ready my space, framing prints and finally installing the work. It was exhausting, but rewarding and there were definitely a few lessons learned. I’ll wait until after Artomatic is over to share the highlights.

My space will feature sixteen photographs made over the last two years.

Andrew Benson — Wed, 02 May 2012 16:21:31 +0000

I’ll be showing 16 photographs in Artomatic this year. Complete info on the show, including schedule and directions can be found at artomatic.org.

I’m on the third floor, space 196:

The opening day is May 18th and I should be there for most of the day/evening. I will try post updates with additional dates/times I plan on being at the show. If you’d like to schedule a time to meet me there send me a note.

An Analog Ethos in a Digital World

Andrew Benson — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 22:13:36 +0000

I try not to succumb to the virtually unlimited roll of “film” that is provided with digital photography. While there are certainly serendipitous moments that can occur using a shotgun approach (Winogrand pulled this off brilliantly and he was shooting with 36-exposure rolls of film!), for me making photographs is as much about pausing, framing a shot and taking a breath as the shutter is released. It seems like there is a misplaced emphasis on post-processing, and that somehow a bad photograph can be resurrected with fill light or noise reduction. To be clear, as someone who has used digital imaging software for more than 20 years, I’m not anti-Photoshop, but I consider it a secondary tool for my photography.

Campus Vista, Boulder, 2012

Alec Soth, Starting at The End

Andrew Benson — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 21:06:52 +0000

I’ve been reading through Alec Soth’s archived blog. I’d read the first three pages, starting with the last post and working backwards. It turns out this is an odd way to read a journal. Much like reading Time’s Arrow by Martin Amis, everything is happening in reverse and any growth observed feels more like regression. So I stopped. I’m now just 1 page into 33 pages which contains roughly 330 posts.

http://alecsothblog.wordpress.com/page/33/