IconUnited Q&A

A huge thank you to Nate Abramowski for featuring my work and a Q&A on his blog! I met Nate a few weeks ago in Philadelphia during the Portfolio Walk-Through at the SPE conference. Look out for additional artist interviews on IconUnited and be sure to check out Nate's website, for his series quiet men.

Sugarbush Hollow Maple Syrup Festival

Sugarbush Hollow's Maple Syrup Festival was the perfect way to spend the official first day of Spring. I dropped off my film this morning, to be processed. But in the meantime, here are a few photos from my digital camera:



Chuck Winship explains the tapping process during a walking tour on Sugarbush Nature Trail:


Attendees enjoy sunny weather and full stomachs (from syrup and pancakes) on the porch of the sap house:


The hollow's friendly canine mascot:


In case you missed Saturday and Sunday's festivities, the fun continues next weekend: 3/27, 28, 10AM - 4pm. 8447 Pardee Hollow Road, Wayland, New York 14572

Sugarbush Hollow

During the last week of February, I had the delightful experience of photographing the process of maple syrup tapping at Sugarbush Hollow in East Springwater, NY. This was really exciting, because I first learned about the hollow back in the fall, when I met owner Chuck Winship at the Brighton Farmers Market. Since then, I've been patiently waiting for maple syrup season to begin!

Arriving at the hollow on a snowy day, I met Chuck at the syrup house:

The forest is located on an incline, so that the maple syrup can flow downhill, through pipelines. We took a snowmobile to the top of the hill and the tapping process began. Chuck drills a hole into the tree:

To maintain tree stability, a new hole is made about an inch to the right and slightly above the last year's hole. The tubing, connected to the new hole, declines to a tree further down the hill, allowing for the syrup to move downward, and eventually reach the syrup house. Outside temperatures must reach about 40 degrees Fahrenheit before the syrup starts flowing.

Pam Masterson, owner of Canadice Kitchens, poses after tapping a tree:

At the end of the day, we rode back down the hill on the snowmobile. Standing on a tow sled in the back (as if I were leading sled dogs), I took a few photos with my digital camera:

Sugarbush Hollow is hosting Maple Syrup Weekends this Saturday, 3/20, and Sunday, 3/21, and next weekend (3/27, 28). Each day, festivities will run from 10AM - 4PM.

Come join us for maple syrup demonstrations, a pancake breakfast by the Springwater Gala, taste the flavors of maple syrup & hike into the Sugarbush on our new Sugarbush Hollow Nature Trail. Great old fashion outdoor fun and education for families and friends! Free tours, demonstrations and tastings. Pancake Breakfast by Springwater Gala $5.00 adult $2.00 children. Culinary Breakfast prepared with local butter, eggs, pancake mix, apple juice and fresh maple syrup from Sugarbush Hollow.

Address: 8447 Pardee Hollow Road, Wayland, New York 14572

For those who can't make it to the event, their products can be purchased here.

SPE 2010

The past two weeks have been very busy due to my spring break travels home to DC briefly, then up to Philadelphia, PA, for the Society for Photographic Education (SPE) conference, then back to Rochester to begin the spring quarter at RIT. This was my second consecutive year attending SPE and oddly enough, my first trip to Philadelphia (it's a mere 3 hour drive from DC!). The conference was a wonderful time to reconnect with former photo professors and colleagues, to meet new people and to see a little bit of Philly (including the Liberty Bell, of course!).

In addition to socializing and sitting in on lectures, one of the highlights of the weekend is the opportunity for portfolio reviews. During the Friday student portfolio critique session, I had the great pleasure of meeting with four different reviewers: Anni Holm, Heather McClintock, Amie Potsic, and Walter Bodle. I was thrilled for the opportunity to meet with each of them.

Anni Holm is director and curator of People Made Visible, Inc., in West Chicago, which according to the organization's website, is a "non-for-profit with a mission to facilitate community while fulfilling the artistic, social, educational and cultural needs of the community through an innovative physical and web based presence." ...sounds amazing!

Heather McClintock is a documentary photographer, who according to her website bio, seeks "a deeper, more intimate connection to humanity" in her work.

Amie Potsic is an artist and current Director of Career Development at The Center for Emerging Visual Artists, in Philadelphia.

Walter Bodle is the founder of Youth in Focus, an organization with a mission "to empower urban teens, through photography, to experience their world in new ways and make positive changes in their lives."

In addition to the one-on-one portfolio critiques, Saturday night was the Curator Portfolio Walk-Through (see above photo), in which students and professionals cover the very crowded room with work, resulting in a delightful chaos of sorts. During this time, I displayed work prints from my current project Slow & Steady. A few people I met during this time: artist and contributor to the online magazines Fraction and photo-eye Melanie McWhorter, Photo Center NW Education Director Ashley Siple, and recent SCAD MFA grad Nate Abramowski. Toward the end, I walked around a bit to see what others were showing. Last year, I remember seeing a surprising amount of black and white photos, but this year color photography had a much more significant presence.

Because I spent most of Friday afternoon in portfolio reviews, I missed a lot of the lectures and panel discussions. Though I did sit in on "Seeing Beyond Dirt: The Language of Working-Class Photography," a lecture by RIT English professor Janet Zandy. I also caught RIT Photo professor Suz Szucs' presentation in the panel discussion for "Self as Object: Perspectives of Identity." On Saturday, I attended the graduate student presentations by Kelly Flynn, Garrett Hansen, Gazelle Samizay, Travis Shaffer and Leilani Wertens.

Friday night, while walking in Old City for First Friday gallery events, my RIT buddies and I stumbled upon what was for me a very exciting art space called Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, a namesake for Walter Benjamin's essay. The store/gallery is currently showing The Farm, a narrative exhibition documenting daily life and new initiatives at the Art in the Age Farm in Tamworth, NH, presented by artist Robin McDowell. The below photo shows the storefront window.

So that sums up my 2010 SPE experience. I look forward to next year's conference in Atlanta, GA!

Postcard!!

Okay, these are not the 'official' thesis show postcards, just a sort of practice run, so I'll have something to pass out this weekend at the Society for Photographic Education (SPE) conference.

Front:
Slow & Steady
MFA Thesis Exhibition by Christin Boggs

Back:
Slow & Steady
Photographs by Christin Boggs
MFA Thesis Exhibition

October 2010

This is the photograph on the front:

The show will be held at the Rochester Regional Community Design Center's Design Gallery, with an opening scheduled for Friday, October 1. Stay tuned for the official card, which will have specific information regarding the opening reception and thesis defense. In the meantime, feedback is welcome and appreciated!