People

Mamiya, I miss you.

Posted by Jeff
Copyright Jeff Ball 2010

As an artist, I’ve always felt the pull of self portraits.  I get so comfortable behind the camera, it makes it easier to photograph myself when I’m holding one of my favorites.

I love my Mamiya 645. It’s a classic medium format camera with sturdy design and beautiful optics. I love the sound of the shutter with it’s very distinct “ker chunk”. Winding the film by hand is another sensation  you just can’t get with a digital camera.

I miss shooting with this beauty. I vow to shoot a roll with this camera in the next two weeks. Stay tuned for the results.

Environmental Portrait

Posted by Jeff
Copyright Jeff Ball 2005

An environmental portrait is a portrait of someone that tells a story of who they are. I.E. portraits of people in their own environments.

This Portrait of artist, Brighton Daugherty in his studio at The Other Side Arts was done in 2005 . Brighton is a painter who’s work is informed by different Asian cultures.

I love shooting other artists in their creative space. Let me know if you’d like for me to do a studio visit and take some shots!

Bound by Pride

Posted by Jeff
Copyright Jeff BAll 2006

I created this image during a period of my life where I felt the gay community and the gay world was suffocating me. As much as I tried to be a part of it, the more it rejected me or held me back.

This is something I struggle with often. I’m very much a community focused guy but there is so little I have in common with much of the gay world. How is it that we ask the world to accept us as we are but continue to judge, reject and outright ridicule those who are different within our own community?

Flower Bed

Posted by Jeff
Serigraph print on paper from Macho Sissy Series by Jeff Ball
Copyright Jeff Ball 2007

As I continue this year, committed to posting one new image each day for 365 days, I would like to begin introducing other aspects of my work.

I often use my photography as a starting place rather than an end. I merge the images into drawings, paintings and serigraph prints through a variety of techniques.

This serigraph print on paper measures approximately 16″x24″ and is part of my ongoing, Macho Sissy series.

The work  juxtaposes masculine and feminine imagery together representing the blurring of gender lines. The image of the muscular male form printed in deep brown is balanced by the bright blue flowers beneath him, creating a soft bed of petals.

I believe that we all have both masculine and feminine traits that should be celebrated, not suppressed by socially constructed gender roles.

Spontaneous

Posted by Jeff
Copyright Jeff Ball 2007

Here’s another shot of Julian from our shoot in 2007. The shirt was made just prior to the shoot by designer Armando Guerra with a shirt straight out of my closet and into the screen printing studio. One of the great things about living at The Other Side Arts was the ability to create spontaneously! At any moment I could paint, screen print, weld or take photos.

First Days

Posted by Jeff
Copyright Jeff Ball 2007

For many people, photography is a way to fill in the blanks of our memory. As a matter of fact, photos can often be the trigger that helps us remember past events. Some photos record events like birthdays, anniversaries and family Christmas’. Others are simply records of random moments.

This photo of Remy reminds me of our very first days of knowing each other. This is actually the very first photo I ever took of him. I’ve added some hand painted elements to express how beautiful I thought he was, and still is.