John Nordell

Featured in F-Stop Magazine’s Black and White Issue

noreply@blogger.com (John Nordell) — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 23:37:00 +0000

Delighted to be in excellent company. View the full exhibition.

John Nordell blogs about the creative process at johnnordell.com Instagram: @john.nordell

Finding Something I Wasn't Looking For

noreply@blogger.com (John Nordell) — Thu, 18 Dec 2025 19:09:00 +0000

Brunswick, Maine - I approached a welcoming group of hard-hatted workers building a bridge over the Androscoggin River and explained that for a project I needed an image to portray trade unions. “Do you have anything that represents unions on your hard hats?” They explained that they were not union members. Oops.

Shifting gears, I thought of The Vermont Center for Photography’s call for entries and asked if I could just photograph them at work. (Deadline is 12/31/25 if you want to submit.)

We’re looking for images that grapple with the present: portraits about work, identity, and power; scenes at borders and in neighborhoods; landscapes marked by climate, extraction, or recovery; the built systems—water, housing, transit—that shape daily life; moments of protest and civic care; and conceptual work that questions evidence, authorship, or memory.

They all grabbed tools and pantomimed working.

Their boss, Tafarri Edwards, finished a phone call, joined the fun, and agreed to an impromptu portrait session.

I then headed upstream and walked across a pedestrian suspension bridge formerly used as a safe and convenient way for Topsham residents to get to work at the river-hugging Brunswick mills.

Love the way the swirling industrious ducks echo the motion of the tool-wielding workers.

I created this multiple exposure of shattered ice at the river’s frozen edge. When the image emerged on my camera’s screen, delight filled me as the creation evoked the multilayered abstractions of painter Kevin Xiques.

Now I need to find a union shop.

John Nordell blogs about the creative process at johnnordell.com Instagram: @john.nordell

Intentionally Delaying Gratification - Shooting Flm Defies Digital Immediacy

noreply@blogger.com (John Nordell) — Thu, 13 Nov 2025 23:07:00 +0000

Imagine taking pictures and not seeing them for two months. Really. Think about that.

I started this roll of film towards the end of August, shot the last frames in early October, and received the processed film and scans towards the end of October.

Pre-Sunrise

Compounding the anticipation was shooting with a cheap Holga film camera. The plastic lens and minimal setting controls make for uncertainty as to whether the images will even come out!

While the intentional sideways camera movement with a slow shutter created the pleasing scene above, unwanted blur with other frames rendered them unusable

Sunrise

I love the way the distortion and flare of the plastic lens creates an iris-like effect.

When snapping the shutter last August, I had no idea that my lo-fi gear would capture this magnificence.

Definitely worth the wait.

Dusting Off my Photojournalistic Skills by Documenting U.S. Senate Candidate Graham Platner's Town Hall in Brunswick, Maine

noreply@blogger.com (John Nordell) — Wed, 08 Oct 2025 00:39:00 +0000

Freed from the rigors of full-time teaching, I had time to cover an event as a photojournalist.

Democratic U.S. Senate Candidate Graham Platner waves to supporters as he arrives for a Town Hall on The Town Mall, in Brunswick, Maine, 10/2/25. Gesturing at far left is ASL interpreter Maegan Walden

Photojournalism formed the taproot of my photography career. However, the years since in academia led to experimentation which resulted in abstraction.

U.S. Senate Candidate Graham Platner speaks to his supporters.

I was delighted that my documentary muscle memory returned while covering the town hall as I endeavored to paint a complete picture of the goings-on.

Platner campaign volunteer Zelda Anesko hands out volunteer sign-up forms.

How do you make photographic sense out of a sprawling event like this?

For one thing, I noticed the setting sun glancing off volunteer Zelda Anesko's face and followed her progress through the crowd to capture this moment.

Waiting for the candidate to arrive.

Serendipity became beauty as randomly snapping the shutter to test a lens created this image, one of my favorites from the event.

Handing out lawn signs and buttons, along with collecting volunteer information.

I worked the angles and light capturing the story of activity, inspired by veteran journalist Pete Hamill's book, News is a Verb.

U.S. Senate Candidate Graham Platner reads his stump speech.

It was fun clambering around the stage like old times. My camera a passport to vantage points.

ASL interpreter Maegan Walden at Graham Platner's Town Hall. A freelancer hired by the campaign, she honors Platner for specifically requesting disability access for the event.

Working the light.

Platner kisses his wife Amy Gertner after completing his speech.

In regular life, I normally fear the judgment of others. Does the person tailgating my car actually dislike me for not going fast enough?

However, I felt totally comfortable sitting on the floor of the stage, waiting for a special moment.

Platner listens to a question from a supporter.

Platner reacts to a question from a supporter.

The event occurred early in Platner's quest to unseat Republican Susan Collins and thus the national media swarm was absent. Therefore, I could pick my perches without competition.

John Nordell blogs about the creative process at johnnordell.com Instagram: @john.nordell

"Steam and Birds", My Experimental Film Image, Selected for the Somerville Toy Camera Festival

noreply@blogger.com (John Nordell) — Tue, 02 Sep 2025 01:04:00 +0000

On view from September 6 - 27, 2025 at The Washington Street Gallery, 321-D Washington Street, Somerville, MA 02143 Parking details here.

Regular hours: Saturdays 12-4 pm

Opening reception: Saturday, September 6th from 7-9 pm

Steam and Birds

If you are curious about how I created this image, you can find the full story here.

John Nordell blogs about the creative process at johnnordell.com Instagram: @john.nordell

Words on Art on Words

noreply@blogger.com (John Nordell) — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 01:57:00 +0000

Participating in a weekly evolving call and response art exhibition at The Lava Center in Greenfield, MA spurred me to new creative heights.

From the exhibit's call for art and writing.

As artists, we are creatively stirred by the world around us. We create in response to what we experience, both our lived realities and the works of other artists. In the Words on Art on Words installation, we will observe this responsiveness in real time. Each week, at least 4 new visual or written pieces will be added to the installation wall. The only rule is that visual artists must create in response to an already-displayed piece of writing, and writers must create in response to an already-displayed piece of visual art.

Click to join the fun!

Delivering my piece Elements, created in response to Amie Hyson's poem Choose Not to be Moved

Elements

Choose Not to be Moved by Amie Hyson

Explaining to fellow exhibiting artist Collin Ricketts how the background image is a double exposure of clouds and sun overlaid with a masked image of plants and stone.

Showtime

John Nordell blogs about the creative process at johnnordell.com Instagram: @john.nordell

On Finding Raw Material: Feeding My Multiple Exposure Practice

noreply@blogger.com (John Nordell) — Thu, 22 May 2025 01:36:00 +0000

After a delightful dinner watching the world go by on a lovely spring evening from my front row seat on Newbury Street, I strolled around the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston.

The mysterious funk of this alley prompted me to retrieve my car-bound Nikon mirrorless camera. The view, devoid of nearby shiny modern buildings, felt pregnant with with old-time story and possibility.

Graphically complex scenes like this lure me to capture them with multiple exposures. I snap a frame to check exposure and start the mental calibration of how many exposures might look good.

Like a painter making a sketch before the squeezing paint, I capture a single image of the visual raw material to ready myself for multiple exposure show time.

Around the corner and down Boylston Street, the facade of Dick's House of Sport sported bands of color. I layered exposures of the strips, striving for a Piet Mondrian look and feel.

Satisfied with the above work, I after the fact captured the raw material.

Blaring sirens clued an approaching fire engine. I instinctively crouched down (safely between two parked cars), spun the dial for a slow shutter speed of 1.6 seconds and captured the blur of the passing light festooned vehicle. Hope all were safe.

These outdoor seating restaurant lights proved to be grist for my blending mill.

However, forgetting I had programmed in a slow shutter speed, when I turned my camera upside down for exposures four, five and six, I unintentionally and delightedly created dynamic blurs of light.

Earlier in my explorations, this epigraph that adorns The Boston Public Library's McKim building stopped me in my tracks.

THE COMMONWEALTH REQUIRES THE EDUCATION OF THE PEOPLE AS THE SAFEGUARD OF ORDER AND LIBERTY

Pondering cuts to education and the federally mandated narrowed scope of allowable classroom topics, I struggled to make the profound words legible in a single image.

I am not completely satisfied with this layering of library images as it feels repetitive and derivative of prior work. However, perhaps it clearly represents struggle and dissatisfaction. Order and Liberty indeed.

John Nordell is a photographer, educator and curator. He blogs about the creative process at johnnordell.com Instagram: @john.nordell

The Pictures Not Shown

noreply@blogger.com (John Nordell) — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 02:09:00 +0000

Speaking on the phone with a friend while driving to walk on Duxbury Beach I explained that despite the semester's end nearing, I had yet to tell students of my imminent retirement.

"I don't know how to tell them," I exclaimed.

"Make a sculpture that expresses your feelings and see if they can figure what you are trying to say."

His suggestion got me thinking. Since I had my camera with me, I wrote down a list of the feelings I wanted to express and the endeavored to create visual expressions of the ideas.

Let me know how I did.

I photographed at Duxbury Beach, in The North Hill Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary behind Duxbury's Town Hall and at The Old North Bridge in Concord, MA

It proved a healthy challenge to visual portray the concepts. I reflected that I always assigned my students this very task, to visually communicate ideas without words. It's hard!

While the process became a therapeutic method to grapple with the sadness of the ending and the excitement of a beginning, I ultimately decided that I would not show the images to my students.

1. I was concerned that if they did not figure out what I was trying to say it would be embarrassing for all of us.

2. More importantly, after students presented their final projects, I did not want to make the last moments of class all about me.

My friend Benjamin Swett recently published a book of his essays and photographs: The Picture Not Taken.

I am in the opposite position.

John Nordell is a photographer, educator and curator. He blogs about the creative process at johnnordell.com Instagram: @john.nordell

Archive Dipping - My 1977 Polaroid "The American West" Published in Pamplemousse Magazine

noreply@blogger.com (John Nordell) — Sun, 23 Mar 2025 22:46:00 +0000

So excited to be featured along with other Polaroid lovers in the latest issue of Pamplemousse Magazine.

Shot when I was teenager.

The American West, 1977

The Magazine

The Spread

Professor John Nordell teaches courses in the Arts, Media, and Design Program at American International College in Springfield, Mass. He blogs about the creative process at johnnordell.com Instagram: john.nordell

My Environmental Concerns Persist While My Modes of Photographic Expression Have Evolved

noreply@blogger.com (John Nordell) — Mon, 06 Jan 2025 13:11:00 +0000

My submission for The Vermont Center for Photography Of Land and Place exhibition:

Selling Produce Next to a Superfund Site - 1989

In 1989 I traversed the United States documenting environmental degradation, from injection wells pumping toxic waste deep into the earth to farmers selling produce adjacent to Superfund sites. Chronicling the wounds intensified my concern for our planet. I commenced using a hazardous waste disposal company to remove spent chemicals from my darkroom instead of pouring them down the drain.

Walden Pond - 2019

Thirty years later I created large scale Zentangle drawings by walking deliberately through sand. I then sent a drone aloft to capture the ephemeral works that are only fully viewable from the sky. I piloted the drone from the shores of Walden Pond near Henry David Thoreau’s cabin where he wrote Walden.

Horizons - 2023

While digital photography comes with its own set of negative environmental impacts, discovering that I could intentionally create in-camera multiple exposures with the medium led to a new way of seeing. Whether capturing the interconnected nature of clam harvesters at low tide or utilizing the minimal elements of sea and sky to render the magnificence of the ocean, I overlay multiple views simultaneously to render the essence of subjects.

Ocean Aperture - 2024

Though the environmental concerns persist thirty-five years after my initial reporting, my modes of photographic expression have evolved.

Sea and Sky - 2024

Abstraction Born from Elemental Shapes and Forms: Imprints of a Circuit Board

noreply@blogger.com (John Nordell) — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 01:40:00 +0000

I love learning. And experimenting with art tools. Perhaps playing is a better term. Found inspiration in a book bequeathed to me by my art loving and collecting parents: Abstract Art by Gerhard Gollwitzer

Abstract Art by Gerhard Gollwitzer

Spheres - Same Shape, Different Sizes

Cylinders - Same Shape, Different Forms

Squeeze in the Sides of a Sphere to Make a Cube

Circuit Board Imprinted on a Flat Piece of Clay Rolled into a Cylinder

Circuit Board - Making Good Use of an Obsolete Computer's Innards

Circuit Board Imprinted on a Flat Piece of Clay

Crayola Clay - Stale Yet Charming

My Image "Beam Me Up" Chosen for F-Stop Magazine's "Minimal" Themed Group Exhibition

noreply@blogger.com (John Nordell) — Mon, 02 Dec 2024 01:41:00 +0000

Beam Me Up

I am beaming that my image was included in F-Stop Magazine's Minimal issue. You can find my image if you scroll halfway down the group exhibit. Jazzed to have my work featured along with tightly composed work by photographers from around the world.

Online

Submitted images I love that were not published:

Shishito
I also grew this pepper - shot on iPhone

Intersecting Lives and Lines
DSLR in-camera multiple exposure

Enduring
Shot with a plastic toy film camera

A Day at the Beach

noreply@blogger.com (John Nordell) — Sun, 10 Nov 2024 03:06:00 +0000

The heat of the semester often leaves scant time for my own artistic pursuits. However, this holiday weekend opened up a free day for me. I started off at The Coastal Center at Milford Point, a Connecticut Audubon Society bird sanctuary, and finished a few miles down the road at Silver Sands State Park. My students and the content I teach were with me, inspiring and pushing my explorations. Aside from the horseshoe crab shot, the other images were digital in-camera multiple exposures, as I overlaid 2, 4, 6, 8 or 9 exposures into a single file.

Sea and Sky - After Mondrian

Ocean Aperture
A digital evocation of the Kodak Projection Print Scale I used years ago in my darkroom.

Older Than Dinosaurs (Deceased Horseshoe Crab)

Ocean Cosmos

Boardwalk and Park Place!

Do you see rabbits or rocks?

Declaring Independence From Corporate Food Chains By Eating Only From My Garden - July 4th, 2024

noreply@blogger.com (John Nordell) — Fri, 05 Jul 2024 00:47:00 +0000

I chose to experiment with snapping my dependance on corporate food chains by declaring that for the day, following the laws of nature, I would only eat food from my garden. I photographed the process.

I started with blueberries and snap peas.

I think, "Oh my God, there’s no way I’m going to make it through the day." It’s about 10 AM.

Then I had a salad of red leaf lettuce with garlic powder, ginger powder, brewers yeast, pepper, oregano, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It is satisfying and tastes so good, and I think maybe I’ll make it through the day with just food from the garden, along with seasonings from the pantry.

Around 1 o’clock I take more pictures. I pull out of the ground a carrot that has 2 1/2 foot tall green tops, but the root is only about 2 1/2 inches long. I pull out another one, and it’s even shorter. But they’re beautiful.

I harvest arugula, purslane, basil, Italian parsley, tatsoi, green leaf lettuce, and a few carrot greens. And, oh yeah, some dandelion leaves. Normally I add these greens to soymilk and frozen banana, along with garlic powder, ginger and cayenne pepper.

Instead, I blended the greens with just water. It was extraordinarily bitter.

Then I added spices, desperate for a palatable flavor. This served only to impossibly increase the bitterness.

There was a bunch of fibrous stuff that started coagulating on the top, so I tried to filter the coagulant out with my teeth and just suck the intense juice down my throat. I tried chasing it with the carrots hoping that they would be sweet, but they were no help. I thought to myself, "Why am I doing this?" I had a few more sips and then threw the rest away. Just looking at this image makes me gag.

* * * * * * * * * *

It’s a few minutes later and my mind feels pretty clear and there’s some powerful energy emanating from my stomach. I’m going try drinking some water, but might need to brush my teeth. Just brushed them. Heaven.

I’m cleaning the house and the vacuum cleaner stops working, and I’m trying to fix it, and I’m getting more and more frustrated. Wondering: "Am I fundamentally hungry?"

I harvest a not fully ripe cucumber, or should I say, not yet fully sized cucumber. Knowing my independence food day was upcoming, I had my eye on this cucumber, and was urging it to grow to be as big as possible for today. Thankfully, cucumbers grow fast,

Cucumbers emerge out of flowers. In the picture below, at the far right tip, you can see the remains of a once vibrant yellow flower.

I sprinkled olive oil, balsamic vinegar and pepper on the cucumber.

I also harvested the remaining snap peas, along with green Swisss chard, arugula and tatsoi.

Desperate for fat, I put in more olive oil than normal to stir fry the peas and the greens. Added soy sauce and black pepper. So freaking good. I could sometimes taste the individual greens, as opposed to the astringent dark green juice blend I had for lunch.

Both dishes were so good that I couldn’t eat mindfully, that is pausing and taking a breath between each bite, and striving to chew each mouthful until it liquifies.

* * * * * * * * * *

I made it through the day! Yet I fantasized about programming my rice cooker to be greeted in the morning by a huge pot of white rice.

I’m not sure if this was fun, or if I’d recommend it to anyone, or if it falls into the pursuit of happiness category.

However, imagine if you could only eat what was available in your garden on a particular day. Satisfying, for sure, to decouple from corporate food chains, but wildly restricted choices.

In case you are wondering, I did make the rice. Celestial!

Toads, Arks and Rocks

noreply@blogger.com (John Nordell) — Sat, 29 Jun 2024 02:27:00 +0000

It's hot and humid. I'm hiking uphill getting close to large rocks left by glaciers when suddenly noticing this toad prompts a reflex of surprised levitation. Feet back on earth, I crouch down, zoom in, and snap away.

Guardian - An American Toad

I'm on a Trustees of Reservations property in Manchester-by-the-Sea, recently renamed The Monoliths, a change from Agassiz Rock. According to the Trustees, "There is no doubt that Agassiz’s theories about the rocks dotting New England’s landscape being shaped and deposited by glaciers and not the biblical flood that floated Noah’s Ark, as believed at the time, were groundbreaking. However, Agassiz also vehemently promoted the theory of polygenism—the view that humans of varying skin color are of different origins and non-white races are inherently inferior—to a degree that was considered extreme even for his time." Click for their full explanation for the name change.

How Long
Has This Been Going On?

I'm shooting Little Rock with a contemporary Nikon Mirrorless Z6 II DSLR camera, using my 50-year-old 50mm f1.4 Nikkor lens acquired as a teenager.

Positively Pyramidal

Using a technique to create experimental images I learned when teaching at Hallmark Institute of Photography, I removed the lens from the camera and held it an angle a slight distance from the camera's sensor.

Balance

When not experimenting, my vintage lens renders super sharp images.

Same Scene Seen Differently

Like my unexpected toad spotting, I love the surprises that emerge when using equipment in a fashion it was not designed for. Perhaps the dreaminess captures the location's mythical aspects.

Life from Rock

The very large (f1.4) maximum aperture of the lens allows me to isolate subjects using shallow depth of field.

Big Rock

Down the hill from Little Rock near a swamp is the 30-foot-tall Big Rock. Nestled in trees, it was hard to photographically capture the majesty of the edifice. The process became even more challenging as a swarm of mosquitos attacked me and sweat streamed down my face.

Fern Fractal

Despite not being satisfied with my photos of Big Rock, the adverse conditions caused me to surrender and retreat back to my car.

Rock my World

On my way out, the markings on this rock evoked the toad that welcomed me to the property.

Fostering a Creative Mindset - Finding Mindfulness

noreply@blogger.com (John Nordell) — Tue, 21 May 2024 02:22:00 +0000

The last duties and tasks of the spring semester completed! So excited with the work my students created. Take a look.

Got Satisfaction

A few hours later, leaving a semester's end reception and walking to my car I spied an interesting looking water tower. It evoked the industrial era and subject matter favored for interpretation by two of my favorite artists, Lyonel Feininger and Charles Sheeler.

Jacob's Ladder

I drove a few blocks to get close and photograph. All the buildings were festooned with No Trespassing signs and surveillance cameras. Aware of possibly being watched, I did not linger, yet played the edge of confrontation. Well, you see, I am an artist...

The Three Sovereigns

When I got out a pen and piece of scrap paper to sketch my subject matter in order to understand it more clearly, I wondered if the process might enhance my chances of rousing security. Now he's taking notes...?

I Can See Clearly Now

As the water tower excursion proved fruitful, I circled back to the spot I originally spotted the edifice and snapped an image to fully tell the story.

Fully Present

Rather than a day of completion and celebration, I speculate that I had I just left a curriculum planning meeting and was heading home to lesson plan for the next day, I might not have noticed the water tower in the distance as my thoughts and my feet would not have been in the same place.

My Experimental Film Image Chosen for F-Stop Magazine's Group Exhibition on Cities, Plus: "What is the purpose of photographs?"

noreply@blogger.com (John Nordell) — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 02:43:00 +0000

Delighted that my image Steam and Birds, Manhattan was included in F-Stop Magazine's Cities issue. You can find my image if you scroll halfway down the group exhibit. Thrilled to have my work nestled amongst fascinating and varied views of metropolises.

Steam and Birds, Manhattan

This image is from a series shot using a 120mm lo-fi plastic toy camera called a Holga,

However, I modified the Holga so I could shoot using 35mm transparency film. This is why the image bleeds into the areas around the sprocket holes. These are actual transparencies. No Photoshop. The scans of the transparencies were worked on in Lightroom.

One frame of 35mm film is 24mm tall and 36 mm wide. One frame of 120mm film is a 56mm square. I researched how to actually make the modification. I learned at Lisa Shea's HolgaPhotography.com how to make these physical modifications, using foam and rubber bands. Nicolai Morrisson on his site PhotonDetector.com presented a chart of how many clicks of the knob you need to advance the film between exposures. As the thickness of the film on take up spool thickens, you need fewer and fewer clicks per advance. You can see my check marks after I advanced the proper number of clicks. I loved the absence of a visual indicator as the technique relied solely on audio

Life Will Not Be Denied, Brooklyn

(At the end of my day photographing in Brooklyn, I dictated this narrative into my phone.)

Arriving Brooklyn, driving under the railroad tracks with my daughter, the light was so beautiful, it was sunny, I saw pictures everywhere. After dropping her off, I set out in search of the rail line. Some areas around churches, the people seemed a little funky. But I’m looking down the street in the right direction, and there is the elevated rail line. I see where it goes underground, and I take a picture of the tracks through the fence, thinking of the picture that friend/photographer/collaborator Jaypix Belmer and I saw taken by the teens in Boston. I’m starting to do the 42 clicks or whatever, so I’m focused on that, and suddenly this guy in my face and says, “can you give me a buck for some fried chicken”? I said “no” and looking at my glasses he said “how about those Ray-Ban’s”? I almost started to say, “well they are prescription, and they won’t help you much", but he moved away. A little unnerving. And I lost track of how many knob clicks advancing film on the camera I had done. After this dollar fried chicken experience, I took a dollar out of my wallet and put it in my pocket so I could easily make a transaction without the vulnerability of opening my wallet.

Right On Time, Brooklyn

I kept looking for pictures, and there’s such a premium on the fact I have only 21 pictures on the roll of film. Kept having my friend/photographer/mentor Lou Jones’s voice in my head about needing access to people and their lives, or Jaypix talking about the importance of talking to strangers to get intimate photos. I went up on the Long Island Railroad platform, thinking of the Bernice Abbott photos taken from a train in Brooklyn that Jaypix and I recently saw at the Boston Atheneum.

I felt so much like I have to take a picture this way or I have to take a picture that way. It can’t just be a scene, there has to be action and people and shadows and complexity. I became angry and discouraged. And then I thought, “If it’s easy, everyone could do it”.

Stop, Look and Listen, Brooklyn
I took a picture of the back of a youth with cool hair and a shiny coat. But felt like a wimp. I came to the end of one street and there was a huge statue of General Grant on horseback, that added some liveliness. I was crouched down, waiting for six bicycles and 10 pedestrians with strollers to come by simultaneously. No such luck. People were scooting by on scooters and there were pretty good shadows. I needed to get to my next appointment, so I just decided, when this next scooter comes by, I’m going to get down low and snap a picture with the scooter in the shadow of the sculpture. So, I did that, but missed the scooter.

Ulysses S. Grant in Brooklyn
It was great then visiting friend/artist/photographer Keris Salmon and meeting her daughter and talking about our both having been stuck in a creative rut and the struggle of getting out of a rut. Seeing all of her art and all her books on art and hearing about the new project she doing, I left inspired and the light was getting even more gorgeous. I saw a tall thin building that was amazing, so I kept walking towards it. Tried to get a fire escape and a tree with the building, but again the very frugal with film, I didn’t take it. But then, looking up at the tree with a sliver of building, I think I burned the frame.

Light So Thick You Can Touch It, Brooklyn

Got closer to the tall building and it was kind of interesting, but there was a huge crane and the light on it was just fabulous. So, I think I took a picture of the tall building with the crane. I also remembered at one point, that I could do multiple exposures, so I think I did one at this point. Then I did a double exposure of the incredible crane overlapped wigs for sale.

Heavy Lifting, Brooklyn

I loosened up, had more fun. This was good because I realized I was so wrapped in what I should be shooting and how I should be shooting. It’s great to have a mentor and friends who are photographers, but I gotta be me.

Walk This Way, Brooklyn

That evening, during a massage I imagined building little boxes and having the film transparencies with images with the sprockets showing mounted in the boxes and there would be lights in the boxes making them glow. I first thought that it would be a standalone image, but then I thought of a larger piece of driftwood with maybe six panoramas in it.

Just before the massage I had gone into a branch of the New York Public library. There was an Aperture Magazine with an essay titled, “What is the purpose of photographs?” Any photograph is simply a record, it postulated, but are they art, as well? After my exciting day taking pictures in Brooklyn, I realize that the purpose of photographs is for the photographer to derive enjoyment from the act. Also, on the massage table I had affirmed to myself: I am a photographer. I am an artist. I can do whatever the f*ck I want.

Oh my God, the voices in my head.

"The Surveillance Camera at Plymouth Rock" featured in the 2024 MAEA Art Educators Exhibit

noreply@blogger.com (John Nordell) — Fri, 05 Apr 2024 02:43:00 +0000

Delighted that my image makes its public debut at the Massachusetts Art Education Association Art Educators Exhibit that runs March 14 - April 16, 2024 at The Gallery at Villageworks, 525 Massachusetts Ave, West Acton, MA 01720

A couple of weeks ago I helped hang the show and my colleagues' artworks are seriously inspiring!

Opening reception 7-8 pm on April 11th.

The Surveillance Camera at Plymouth Rock, 2023

I have been making a series of digital in-camera multiple exposures called Reality-Based Abstractions since 2008. This image was made technically possible by using a Nikon Mirrorless Z6 II DSLR camera. I had programmed the camera to layer three consecutive shots into a single image file (see below). However, unlike earlier digital Nikons I have used, the Z6, along with combining the three images, also keeps each individual image file. Thus, instead of the flag image used above being solely embedded in an unalterable layered file, it was available to combine in Photoshop with a close-up shot of the surveillance camera.

Mayflower, Columns and Flag

Rock and Camera

The monument in Plymouth, Mass., which purportedly marks the spot where the Pilgrims arrived, was vandalized twice in 2020, 400 years after the landing.

Hence, the surveillance camera.

Legendary History

An in-camera multiple exposure of the edifice:

Time's Grid

So many legends and falsehoods swirl around the Pilgrims arrival. Perhaps abstraction constitutes a more accurate portrayal.

Landing of the Pilgrims, 1825, by Samuel Bartoli

I recently came across this powerful juxtaposition of paintings at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Mass. The label clarifies some of the myths.

History Through Art

Pilgrim Point, 1947, by Karl Knaths

Near Plymouth Rock, a replica of the Mayflower, one of crafts that conveyed the Pilgrims, bobs in the harbor waters.

The multiple exposure below might look like reality unless you understand how the ship's rigging for the sails actually works.

Life Lines

I layered three views of a raptor that soared above The Mayflower into a single image.

Soaring Towards Clarity

Accurate history is elusive. I am intrigued by the power of belief; that you can believe in an idea that my not be true, yet it can give you purpose, direction and meaning.

What's your Plymouth Rock?

Chasing Berenice Abbott's Light in Boston's South End

noreply@blogger.com (John Nordell) — Sat, 02 Mar 2024 20:45:00 +0000

Planting inspirational seeds in advance of my students taking images on the topic of “Cities”, l showed them photographs of New York City, including “New York Stock Exchange, New York”, 1933, by Berenice Abbott.

Stepping Out - Or Was It In?

Today, l chased her light, taking pictures in Boston’s South End. These images are interspersed with photographs l shot in 1977, at age 18, living in the same South End, studying the city and its people.

Alley Tree

Back then I shot with a Nikomat, developed and printed the work myself, and then glued the images into a photo journal.

Contrails Can Suppress Daylight

Today, I used an iPhone from my pocket and posted here and on Instagram.

Shadowy Alley

It is so fun to still be exploring the world, chasing light and shadow, regardless of the capture device and method of presentation.

Echoes of Japan

They say the best way to learn is to teach.

Sunny Day

So glad that planting city seed images for my students reawakened an exploratory mindset for me.

"Dynamic Legacy Ladder" Chosen for F-Stop Magazine's Group Exhibition on Color

noreply@blogger.com (John Nordell) — Sat, 03 Feb 2024 21:54:00 +0000

So excited to be rubbing virtual shoulders with photographers from 33 countries as my image Dynamic Legacy Ladder was included in F-Stop Magazine's Color themed issue.

F-Stop Editor Christy Karpinski told me that there were probably 2500 images submitted from around 330 different photographers.

Dynamic Legacy Ladder

I strongly urge you to visit the exhibit and engage with the diverse approaches that employ a single medium to interpret the theme of color. It is a honor to join this legion of creatives.

You can find my image if you scroll halfway down the exhibit.

View the Exhibit

I have been working on a series of digital in-camera multiple exposures since 2007. See these Reality-Based Abstractions.

I broke new ground with Dynamic Legacy Ladder by choosing to make one exposure in color and the other in black and white. This new direction can be traced directly to my recent collaborations with photographer Jaypix Belmer. Big thanks to Jaypix for the inspiration!

Dynamic Legacy Ladder in F-Stop Magazine

Big thanks as well to F-Stop Magazine's Editor Christy Karpinski for providing a showcase that unifies humanity through art.

Moment of Focus Exhibit Curated by Jaypix Belmer - Celebrating the Past, Present and Future of Boston Hip-Hop

noreply@blogger.com (John Nordell) — Sun, 12 Nov 2023 02:13:00 +0000

Pacey Foster from the Massachusetts Hip-Hop Archive at UMass Boston connected me with Jaypix Belmer, as Belmer was curating an exhibit on Boston Hip-Hop at Black Market Nubian in Roxbury, MA.

During our initial phone conversation, Belmer and I hit it off. We discovered a mutual love of creating multiple exposure photographs. We also both find inspiration in the work of photographer Eugene Richards.

I was honored to have my 1980s images of the Boston Hip-Hop scene on view along with Belmer's contemporary images. The exhibit coincided with Hip-Hop's 50th anniversary.

Photo by Jaypix Belmer

The Boston Globe's James Sullivan attended Moment of Focus and wove vignettes from the event into his article: In the early days of hip-hop, Boston made its own history.

He made mention of me and my work:

"His photos from various venues around the city were a prominent feature of the recent “Moment of Focus” exhibit, and they made up the bulk of “Hip-Hop: Seen/Unseen,” an exhibit that ran from August until mid-November in Dewey Square on the Rose Kennedy Greenway.

“When I see my photos, it’s about the youth,” said Nordell, now a professor at American International College in Springfield. He recently donated his negatives to the Hip-Hop Archive."

My images were used to illustrate the article.

A history of Hip-Hop in Boston without acknowledging Rusti Pendleton, shown above scratching with his toes, would be woefully incomplete.

Photo by James Bynum

A scant few of my Boston Hip-Hop images were published in the 80s. The rest would still be unseen if record store owner and historian Brian Coleman had not tracked me down to find out if I had more. Thanks again Brian!

A big thank you as well to Jaypix Belmer for including my work in the Moment of Focus Hip-Hop Exhibit.

Creative Process: Striving to Enhance My Skills Photographing Soccer

noreply@blogger.com (John Nordell) — Mon, 25 Sep 2023 00:16:00 +0000

I infuse teaching the creative process into my Arts, Media, and Design courses at American International College.

As several of my students play on the men's soccer team, I set out to engage in the creative process myself, aiming to increase my chances of successfully capturing key moments from the game against New Haven.

Vying for corner kick (or maybe a free kick).

I researched tips and techniques for photographing soccer to build on my expertise of fifty years working as a photographer. (I am only 64, but was first published as a teenager.)

I found 11 Tips for Breathtaking Soccer Photography from Digital Photography School somewhat helpful in guiding my approach to the challenge. However, Sports Illustrated photographer Peter Read Miller's video Tips for Shooting Soccer proved to be an invaluable resource. His advice was clear, precise, encouraging and empowering. I knew what lens, aperture and shutter speed to use, optimum vantage points and angles, as well as key game moments to anticipate.

Shot List: includes the jersey numbers of my students.

After deepening my knowledge, I generated a shot list of types of images to focus my shooting. I also emailed Coordinator of Athletic Communications Seth Dussault, inquiring about the logistics of covering the game. He got back to me, "Basically, just don't cross the yellow lines. Other than that you're pretty free to do as you please."

A tackle.

I enjoyed the challenge of working to capture the types of images from my shot list.

A header.

This is as close as I came with a header. I wanted the moment of a head making contact with the ball. In many shots, the ball was 10 or more away from the point of contact.

Soaring.

At one point I noticed a hawk soaring above the field. I took a short break from the game and photographed in the majestic bird. I marveled and the apparent confidence and freedom of the bird, took a deep breath, and tried to infuse these qualities to my photographic efforts.

Manuel Schwarz shoots to score his 3rd goal of the day.

Read Miller's suggestions from the video informed my actions as I adjusted my camera settings and shooting locations based on changing light and conditions. Per Miller's advice, I shot mostly from a corner of the field.

Often near me was the linesman/assistant referee. I heard her giving advice via a headset to the head referee, who seemed close to losing the respect of the players and thus command over them.

Schwarz's teammates swarm to celebrate with him.

Though I watched Miller's video only once, it was as if he was coaching me via a headset as his voiced explanations lingered in my head.

The Professor at Work - Photo by AIC student Jalen Jordan

In the video, Miller demonstrated photographing from a lower angle to enhance the perceived stature of the players. I wish that I had the kneepads he was wearing!

Arty.

I experimented with using a slow shutter to create an impressionistic rendering of the game.

Pain.

Looking at the images later on my computer, I reveled in reaching the photographic goals outlined on my shot list. Not all the images are perfect examples, but it was exhilarating capturing what I could.

Ah... the power of the creative process.

Below is one of my first published images, shot when I was thirteen.

From The Harvard Bulletin

From Roxbury to Revere - Shooting Film and Living in History: How My Image Selected for the 2023 Somerville Toy Camera Festival Came to Be

noreply@blogger.com (John Nordell) — Sun, 03 Sep 2023 23:33:00 +0000

So excited that Fly Like a Tern, my image shot with a lo-fi plastic toy camera called a Holga, was selected for exhibition in the 10th Annual Somerville Toy Camera Festival. Culled from a pool of 500 submitted images, show juror Ann Jastrab chose 89 photos by 64 artists, who represent 18 US states, The Netherlands, and England. The work will be on display in three galleries across Somerville, MA from 9/7/23 to 10/7/23.

9/10/23 at 3pm marks the opening reception at The Nave Gallery where my image will be on view. Details for all the galleries here.

Fly Like a Tern

The Festival call for entries describes the toy camera aesthetic: "Celebrate the flaws, the quirks, the accidental genius that lousy lenses can create! Images of any subject matter, made with a “toy” camera (or any low-tech camera with no or very limited exposure control, such as pinhole, Holga, Diana/Diana clones, Brownie, Ansco, disposable cameras) are eligible. Key criteria are plastic lenses and lack of reliable exposure control."

My Holga 120 film camera, purchased used for 10 dollars and held together with tape.

With my college students, I constantly infuse teaching the creative process. Here is the story that led to me capturing Fly Like a Tern.

One evening, while playing drums in my basement, I took breaks and randomly pulled books off of shelves. I am blessed with a bounty of art-related books, many bequeathed to me by my art loving and art collecting parents. One title was Route 22, with photos and text by my friend Benjamin Swett. The book includes his contemporary photographs of buildings paired with historical images of the same structures. Another chanced upon tome was Drawn to Art, shown below. While I have not read much of this 1985 book, the images of historical buildings and scenes prompted me search out the contemporary locations. I bet that stumbling across Route 22 inspired this approach.

Drawn to Art - A Nineteenth-Century American Dream by Diana Korzenik
Blackboard 1877 by Winslow Homer

From the front flap: "In this moving narrative, Diana Korzenik tells how a group of largely rural, working-class people, both men and women, aspired to become artists in nineteenth-century America. The author uses her discovery of a rich collection of documents, including letters, journals, sketchbooks, and artwork, to give a unique human dimension to the educational developments of that time. The three children of the Cross family of New Hampshire, all of whom became professional artists and engravers, just happened to be touched by leading educators, printmakers, and publishers at the critical moment when America was learning to draw with a fervor akin to today's movement toward computer literacy. Like many others, they experienced the illusion of promise which the art of drawing held out to students and also the sense of disappointment when almost overnight their skills became obsolete as technology changed."

A 2022 view of the Prang Printing Company building shown in 1867.

At left are educational American Drawing Cards printed by the Prang Company.

Prang also printed chromolithographed art reproductions,

revolutionizing the distribution of art to the masses.

Location is Roxbury, a section of Boston, MA

l’m taking the above picture with my iPhone and a woman in the third-floor window of a building across from Prang, asked me if there’s a picture of the building in the book I am holding. I say, "Yes, they used to do color printing there." She says, "Oh yeah they used to do printing in this building. The neighborhood is really interesting. The old church up the street, Paul Revere rode his horse down here, and they built a mosque over there." I pointed Roxbury Community College and say, "This is new." And she says, "Yeah that’s all new since I’ve been here. I've been here 20 years."

The Prang building at right. You can see the "P" at top right.
In the background is the minaret from the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center's mosque.
Shot with my Holga.

And then I see a Muslim woman covered head to toe. I’m trying to get a shot of her silhouetted against the Prang building. She moves off to the side. And I realize she’s trying to get out of my picture. All I could see were her eyes; they were heavily made up and expressive. Her clothes are all black, save for a stitched pattern along the sleeves. She has a large phone in one hand and a water bottle on the other. She was apologetic about getting in my picture.

I asked her if I can take her picture, and she says OK, and I’m just trying to get the settings right, trying to pose her, trying to get the framing and a man comes out of a restaurant. They talk and then she says she doesn’t want her picture taken anymore. She says that she doesn't like being on the news and I say it won’t be on the news, just on my website, and she says no, she won’t do it. She doesn’t want to be out there. She said people will see her on the website and call her. I asked if we could just do something without showing her face, and I realize she’s uncomfortable, so I say don’t worry, don’t worry, and she says sorry, sorry, and I know there’s several people on the street watching and looking out for her.

Quadruple exposure of the Prang building taken with my Holga.

Normally while shooting film photography you want to avoid double or multiple exposures. The design of the Holga is missing a safety stop thereby allowing one to easily take unintentional multiple exposures, or, as in the case above, easily take intentional multiple exposures.

My series of intentional multiple exposures taken with a digital camera is called Reality-Based Abstraction.

I recently experimented with a mirrorless digital camera: Deconstructing Digital Precision and Predictability to Achieve Analog Uncertainty and Variability.

"Future is Our Focus" states the upper left banner for Roxbury Community College. You can see downtown Boston to the left of the minaret. The red brick building at right is once again the Prang Building. Panorama shot with iPhone. Click image to enlarge.

On my way to the next location featured in the book, I stopped by the studio of friend and mentor, photographer Lou Jones. I lamented "the one that got away" as I recounted just missing a photo of the Muslim woman. After briefly commiserating with me, Lou explained the in and outs of photographing women at a mosque, noting the layers of cultural norms he had to navigate to capture the assigned imagery.

Speaking of "the one that got away," I once photographed a fisherman with my Holga and we realized there are many connections between photography and fishing. Read more about this.

Aiming to find the location of this beach shanty where one of artists featured in Drawn to Art lived, I plugged Point of Pines into Waze and up popped the Point of Pines Yacht Club. The caption states the location as Point of Pines, Revere, MA. Probably mid 1870s. iPhone image.

The front door of the yacht club was locked. I walked around the side and found some workers on the pier waiting for access through a locked gate to work on a boat. One of them saw me struggling in the strong wind trying to hold the book while taking a picture with Point of Pines in the background. He volunteered to hold the book for me.

"The Pines Historian," self-proclaimed.
Looking East towards the point. Shot with my Holga.

I am out on the beach about where I think the beach shanty was located and meet Chris and his dog. He said he lives in his grandmother's house, at Point of Pines. He says he collects any kind of maps he can find, but didn’t have anything as old as the drawing I had in the book. I wondered if the shack had been right on the point, and he said a thing like that wouldn’t last long in a storm. I asked if those are the "pines" over there, as I saw a few pine trees, and he kind of laughed said something like, what’s left of them." We traded phone numbers. As a parting comment, Chris quipped, "I'm the 'Pines' historian – self-proclaimed!"

Chris texted me some images from his historical collection. He thinks we met just beyond the boat houses at top left. Looking North toward the point.

Looking East towards the point. Perhaps the location of the beach shanty.
Panorama shot with iPhone. Click image to enlarge.

"The Coney Island of The East" Another gem image from Chris's collection. 1890s.
We met at the point at the far right. Looking West.

After Chris texted me these amazing images, I replied, "Thanks again Chris! Maybe you are more than self-proclaimed! He replied, "Still self proclaimed. Just nice for someone to appreciate it."

Connecting to Spirit. Shot with my Holga.

After saying goodbye to Chris, I walk down the beach back to my car. It is blustery with a hint of thunderstorm in the air. I feel fully present in the moment, exhilaration coursing through my body.

Fly Like a Tern

A few feet from me terns are diving into the ocean to catch fish. I catch one of the terns flying in the sky with my Holga. This image is later accepted for the 2023 Somerville Toy Camera Festival.

***************************************************************************

In the 80s and 90s, I shot film as a professional photographer. These days, working as a professor, I shoot film to explore the intersection of art and technological change. Thanks to The Darkroom for their excellent processing and scanning of my film.

Part 1: Shooting Film After All These Years - Process

Part 2: Shooting Film After All These Years - Pick Hits

Go back to top of blog.

Hip-Hop: Seen/Unseen - My Archival Images Included in Boston Outdoor Exhibit

noreply@blogger.com (John Nordell) — Wed, 23 Aug 2023 21:56:00 +0000

Having my images from the 1980s included in the Hip-Hop: Seen/Unseen exhibit is a highlight of my creative life. I recently donated prints, negatives and writings to The Massachusetts Hip-Hop Archives at UMass Boston. My hope was that the community and scholars could benefit from access to my work. This Boston exhibit is near South Station, in Dewey Square Plaza on the Rose Kennedy Greenway. The following images and curatorial statement are from the opening reception. The exhibit runs through October.

FEATURING
The Massachusetts Hip-Hop Archive at Mass Boston, the personal collection of Chico Silvera, and select photography by John Nordell, John Brewer, Gabriel Ortiz, and more.

Curated by: Liza Quiñonez @streettheorygallery, Edo G @edogpics, Chico Silvera @chicosilvera77, and Pacey Foster @libraryofvinyl

Visitors examine my photographs on the left panel.

In honor of Hip-Hop's 50-year golden anniversary, Street Theory and The Greenway Conservancy are proud to present Hip Hop: Seen/Unseen, showcasing a carefully curated collection of early concert flyers and rare photographic archives from 1979 to the present. This mini-exhibition, nestled within the Dewey Square Plaza on The Greenway, is a tribute to the raw, captivating allure of Hip-Hop and its deeply embedded roots in Boston's social and cultural tapestry.

T. Nyne looks on as curator Chico Silvera points to T. Nyne's younger self in one of my images from The B-Town Rap Battle held in 1986 at The Institute of Contemporary Art.

Hip-Hop: Seen/Unseen explores the rich cultural heritage, historical journey, and pervasive influence of Hip- Hop in Boston, thereby exposing the vibrant yet often hidden heartbeat of the City.

So thrilled to be part of this historic event. Note the Boston Bruins logo manhole cover.

THE EXHIBIT
Illuminated by Problak's 2022 mural Breathe Life Together as the backdrop, the exhibition strives to create an authentic portrayal of Hip-Hop's far-reaching influence on Boston's culture. It aims to provoke conversations about music's role in everyday life, the power of grassroots art, and now such movements can redefine a city's identity.

A panel discussion was held at the base of Problack's mural: Breathe Life Together

The show flyers trace the roots of the movement by capturing the genesis of the New York and Boston Hip Hop scenes, while the photographs transcend mere portrayal of iconic figures. Instead, they spot daily life, jam sessions, and gatherings through the lens of the five core elements of Hip-Hop: MCing, DJing, breakdancing, graffiti, and knowledge. These artifacts reveal how Hip-Hop has been intricately woven into the fabric of Boston's everyday life, profoundly influencing its language, fashion, and communal spaces.

The event featured vendors, break dancing, an expert panel discussion, free food, graffiti artists at work and giveaways.

A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR SUPPORTERS
The Greenway Public Art Program is exclusively funded through grants and private sources, Hip-Hop Seen/Unseen, 2023 was made possible through the generous support of The Barr Foundation, The Greenway Business Improvement District, Goulston & Storrs, and G. Ortiz Photography.

Trailblazing Rusti Pendelton stands between me and curator Pacey Foster. He was known as Rusty the Toe Jammer as he scratched records with his feet. A set of my images documenting him performing was in offered in Sotheby's first ever Hip-Hop Auction in 2020. Click and scroll down to view.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT:
The Massachusetts Hip-Hop Archives at UMass Boston - www.masshiphoparchive.org

Located across from Boston's train station on busy thoroughfare, the exhibition garnered attention from passersby.

I had a chance to meet and connect with another featured photographer John Brewer. Of course, we were talking technique and cameras. Find him at @jbrewerphoto

Mad Mike of The Floor Lords poses with archival images (not mine). Curator Pacey Foster remarked, "It's magical seeing grown adults turning back to teenagers when they see themselves." The Floor Lords, a Hip-Hop Breakin Crew since 1981, performed at the event and posted a wonderful video collage. @floorlordsboston

Shawn Peete then and now. He poses in the middle of the lower photo that I captured during Maurice Starr's 1986 Hollywood Talent Night.

My Images Featured on One of the 4 X 5 Foot Panels at Outdoor Hip-Hop Exhibition

noreply@blogger.com (John Nordell) — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 15:44:00 +0000

I am so excited that my photographs are included in this celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop. My images documenting the 1980s Boston Hip-Hop scene are used on these two flyers and are showcased on one of the 4 by 5 foot panels at this outdoor exhibition.

Together with The Greenway Conservancy, Street Theory is proud to present Hip-Hop: Seen/Unseen, a mini-exhibition, nestled within Dewey Square Plaza on The Greenway.

Opening on Saturday, August 19, the exhibition showcases a carefully curated collection of early concert flyers and rare photographic archives from 1979 to the present as a tribute to the raw, captivating allure of Hip-Hop and its deeply embedded roots in Boston's social and cultural tapestry.

Curated by: Liza Quiñonez, Edo G, Chico Silvera, and Pacey Foster

Featuring: The Massachusetts Hip-Hop Archive at UMass Boston, the personal collection of Chico Silvera, and select photography by John Nordell, John Brewer, Gabriel Ortiz, and more.

Please join us for the Exhibition Opening and Exclusive Curators' Walkthrough on Saturday, August 19th from 4pm - 5pm

Location: Dewey Square Plaza on The Greenway Atlantic Ave & Summer St. Boston, MA 02110 (South Station T stop)

Be Part of Hip-Hop's Golden Anniversary: The first 50 guests will receive a Special Edition Exhibition Zine of Hip-Hop: Seen/Unseen.

The Curator's Walkthrough is followed by more Sound in the City events presented by @marleneboyette and hosted by @sidepresents on the Dewey Square lawn with panel talks, performances, food, and more until 8pm!

Professor John Nordell teaches courses in the Arts, Media and Design Program at American International College in Springfield, Mass. He blogs about the creative process at CreateLookEnjoy.com and teaches online Zentangle drawing workshops.