Max Bittle Photography : New Hampshire Photographer : 618.727.0510

i don’t really know what to say.

my friend ryan died in a auto accident yesterday.

he was such a wonderful person and i’m glad i got to know him better over the past five months. we first met a couple of years ago when he was working as a reporter and we went to cover a wiener dog festival. he gave up reporting though once he found a love for photojournalism this past year. he was just starting to get his feet wet in photography and showed lots of enthusiasm and promise as a photojournalist.

we had the same taste in music and spent hours together these past few months playing guitar and listening to dylan (his favorite), neil young, the rolling stones, the beatles and introducing each other to new bands and artists.

we were in same place in life, both getting ready to graduate soon. this lead to many conversations about life and what the future holds. we took a great road trip to the ippa conference this year and just had wonderful conversations along way.

the last time i saw ryan was on sunday. we went out for dinner with my friend casey and talked about howard zinn while drinking becks. it was a nice evening and i’m so thankful for it.

ryan will be greatly missed and my thoughts are with his family right now. he was one of the most likable people i ever met.

npr’s weekend edition sunday did a piece on annie griffiths belt and her new book today.

she discusses how she has been able to raise her family while maintaining her career as a traveling photojournalist. it’s a really heartfelt take on balancing family with work.

click here to listen to the story.

perched alone
reflected in a watery black mirror

sometimes things really can’t be explained. well, maybe they can if you have poetic grasp on the language. but i don’t right now, at least when it comes to explaining this feeling.

(this scene really looked like this, it was the craziest sky i’ve ever looked up at)

nature relaxes me like nothing else.

i learned yesterday that i will be interning at the bellingham herald in washington state beginning in july and running through december.

i’m super excited about this. it’s going to be a great experience.

links:
the bellingham herald
the city of bellingham

morning. it’s such a relaxing time of the day for me. i love to get up hours before i need to be somewhere and just chill.

i get the coffee brewing, turn on my laptop, and tune into npr. i love mornings like this.

magnum photos is always a stop on my morning route through the internet and today i noticed a new piece by one of my favorite working photojournalists, jonas bendiksen. i had the pleasure of meeting him last year at the look 3 festival of the photograph in virginia. he was so nice and humble. his book satellites is one of my all-time favorites.

anyway, magnum in motion has produced a three piece series on his work in nepal’s maoist’s. it is really worth a look. view it here.

i saw a presentation put on tonight that discussed the idea of “art for empowerment.”

it’s a pretty interesting concept in which the artist expresses feelings in a creative sense. the theory is that by creating something it makes the artist feel for emotions that need to be let out.

so instead of punching a wall, paint a picture or create something. take anger and other feelings out in a creative way. this will help the artist emotionally and help the viewer understand the work of art as well as its creator.

i’m going to try it when i get some free time and a canvass. i’ve never painted anything, but it should be a satisfying and possibly relieving exercise.

sometimes i take myself way too seriously when i make pictures of my friends. i don’t know why i do it. maybe it’s simply because i want to have good pictures of them. but, in being all serious about it, i sometimes don’t enjoy the time i spend with them because i’m thinking about making pictures.

well, now i’ve decided to have more fun with the pictures of my friends. not worry too much about the pictures, but more about the experience.

so, with that in mind, i’ve got this idea floating around about making a short film. for the past couple of days i’ve taken some video with my old point and shoot. when i have enough clips, i’ll debut my ode to film noir. i think i’m going to call it scary faces and places. it’s going to be part horror too.

this is my first still from the project. it is my pal michael and this is probably the first picture of him not smiling. he’s seriously one of the most genuine people i’ve ever met, just one of those all around good fellows.

more to come, please stayed tuned. now i’m going to do some research on film noir. hopefully the maltese falcon can provide some inspiration. sam spade is just so cool.

sometimes i wish my dreams were real. other times that the reality were only a dream.

the reality can weigh too much on the mind. where as dreams simply navigate throughout the subconscious each and every night when we fall asleep. they are gone upon awakening, never to be had again. sometimes it can be disappointing to wake up and realize it’s just a dream. sometimes it’s a relief to realize that you aren’t falling.

do dreams matter though? and why? is it the mind trying to tell you what it is that you really think and feel? or, are they just fogged visions of things we can’t bring ourselves to do in reality?

the real question though, is whether you can make the reality a dream? those rare times in life when you can step back and realize that life is a never ending dream of good and bad. what a wonderful gift. the free will that life gives each and everyone is so astounding to think about. we have the ability to choose and make of ourselves what we want.