I walk
not passing negligently the things I love
but stopping to know them.
Admiring the imperfect, the impermanent and incomplete
Seeing beauty in things modest and humble.
Walking in fellowship with nature.
After Robert Henri
Images are from an in-process project titled Little Walks. I walk daily along the American River with my dog and my cell phone.
The Portrait
I chose to pursue deadpan portraiture for my portrait project spring 2020 at CSUS. Through Bernd and Hilla Bechers’ adherence to a strict set of rules in documenting the industrial world their work evolved beyond simply documentary purposes and crossed the threshold into conceptual artistic practice despite their insistence that what they were doing was not art or made for artistic purposes; Bechers’ work provided inspiration into the nature of deadpan portraiture. Part of my drive to photograph has come from wanting to understand more how we communicate; this has been a major part of what I have struggled with in my work. I keep coming back to the idea that no matter how hard we try to gain a common understanding of literally anything in the conceivable or even inconceivable universe there will always be a disconnect between individuals and what is agreed upon as ‘truth’. Keeping this in mind After viewing a room of deadpan portraits I couldn’t really understand why a picture of someone with the intent to show no emotion could cause a great stir of response within myself. Only after stumbling across a TEDtalk on Youtube that explained how humans evolved to use common types of expression to indicate friend or foe and that it still is something that lives within us today that I started to see why deadpan portraiture can be so powerful. I did some research into the area of deadpan aesthetics and as with anything I have tried didn’t accomplish exactly what has been done before. This is because I am not trying to exactly copy the work that precedes me, but, to add to the historical body of work that has already been done. I used a set of rules that I developed myself. I have reasoning for every aspect of what is in the frame, I chose to use a black backdrop because I am not attempting to simply document but straddle objectivity and subjectivity the plain expressions for objective purposes and the black background to demonstrate the depth of the human experience and how we really can’t see or understand fully what that is. I also chose to develop the photographs in black and white as well as color; this is because the camera sensor initially records the image in black and white and through complex algorithms translates the data into a color image. Do you sense any emotion in any of these photographs? If so, thinks about what you may be projecting onto the photograph with your own feelings and experiences. Share in the comments below your reaction to these photographs!
The Rules
I am a resident of the present and tourist of the past.
I lost my mother in a car accident when I was 10 years old, as a result there are few family photographs of me or the places I have been from that age on. Now, I recognize the importance of what it means to me to make images of the place I live. If I don’t take the time to make these images, who else will? When looking at photographs of the past I am reminded that I am the sum of my own experiences.
This work is about melancholy, loss and working through that to build a meaningful connection with the place I live.
One reason I hadn’t photographed any of the places I have lived with any real rigor is that I never felt quite at home. Part of this project is to push past that and recognize that “feeling at home” is just a state of mind. I am embracing the aesthetic of the environment I live in and how it influences me.
J. William Kraintz II
Resident-Tourist
One thing I have learned is that the early photo assignments I had during introductory photo courses have become indispensable tools to me as a photographer. A common exercise that instructors give photo students that are just starting out and looking for ideas about what to photograph is to take a picture of something during different times of the day.
The subject matter isn’t what is most important, the exercise is meant to encourage you to experiment with photographing something more than once and to learn how different lighting situations affect the scene.
The rapidity at which an image can be made with a camera can also create a false sense of what it takes to make an image, what you don’t see is curating, criticizing, and evaluating over time to end up with a series of photographs that communicate clearly and are aesthetically pleasing.
The photos below are from my current project Resident-Tourist. This project consists of making images as artifacts and producing postcards to send out to supporters of the project. Only one of these will make it into the final portfolio.
In some cases I am not happy with the first exposure that I take of a scene, so logically my next step is to return and photograph it again and again at different times of day. This can be tricky especially if it is in an area where you may not be able to get the exact field of view, for me it was the fact that the parking lot full of cars made it difficult to keep the framing the same, in the end I think that it didn’t matter anyway and being forced to try different compositions helped me refine what I was aiming for aesthetically.
So even though you may not be doing a photo assignment that you are enthusiastic about remember that it is a tool that you can use in the future like I am doing here.
Try it for yourself!
This exercise is easier with an object on a table next to a window. But this is meant to be done any way you like.
As an extra take all of the images to your friends and ask them what they think is their favorite then reveal what your favorite image is. This can lead to a great conversation and help you understand how everybody has a different and unique idea of what is a successful photograph.
Thank you for visiting.
J. William Kraintz II
The photos below are organized in the order that they were made over the course of a week.
Joe Millsap, the Communications Director at the Santa Rosa-based nonprofit Nation’s Finest, recently invited me for a tour of a site currently under construction in Windsor, CA. The name of the project is Windsor Veterans Village (WVV), and it’s one of several sites Nation’s Finest is building in Northern California to provide transitional and permanent supportive housing for low-income and disabled veterans and their families. Upon completion, WVV will have 59 one- and two-bedroom apartments where veterans who qualify can reside permanently while receiving case management and other onsite services.
Upon completion, WVV will have 59 one- and two-bedroom apartments where veterans who qualify can reside permanently while receiving case management and other onsite services.
When selecting a location for a new housing development, the staff at Nation’s Finest first make sure there’s a VA clinic within a reasonable driving distance and opportunities for integrating the veterans into the local community. The state-of-the-art WVV campus, which is located within walking distance of the Windsor Town Green and just four miles from the regional VA clinic, will feature a community center, laundry facilities, a kitchen, a computer room, a garden and walking trail, basketball and Pétanque courts, and covered parking.
Craig works tirelessly to keep the jobsite on schedule. He says the morale of everyone involved – from the tradesmen to the surrounding neighbors – is high…
Craig Jezycki is the senior project manager at WVV. He took Joe and me around the site and gave us insight into how the project is going in these final months as they prepare for a grand opening in August. Blood, sweat, and tears is a term that any veteran can identify with, and I think it is applicable to how the project has developed thus far (positively speaking). Craig works tirelessly to keep the jobsite on schedule. He says the morale of everyone involved – from the tradesmen to the surrounding neighbors – is high because they all know the property is going to provide an affordable, sustainable home and a sense of community for so many veterans, for so many years.
I have been working with Joe since the spring/summer of 2020. The CEO of Nation’s Finest had seen some of my work in Santa Cruz, and Joe contacted me and explained that they were in the process of rebranding from Veterans Resource Centers of America to Nation’s Finest. They were planning to launch the Nation’s Finest brand over the summer, and they were looking for a photographer to help them showcase the work they do. I jumped at the opportunity. I had been focusing on how best to orient myself as a photographer and knew that one area I wanted to work in was supporting non-profit organizations or social/humanitarian causes.
The pandemic, wildfires, and the general chaos of the last year has made for slow progress in being able to really get started photographing and sharing the story of this organization, but what I am working on is simple: I am going to be sharing the stories of veterans who are getting the help they need, and documenting the growth of Nation’s Finest through an intimate look at how they navigate the ups and downs and general uncertainty of the nonprofit world while continuing to thrive and help those who need it.
Thank you for taking the time to read this blog.
J. William Kraintz II
For more information about Nations Finest please click the button below.
I moved to Sacramento to start my career as an artist. After living here for two years I am moving to Rancho Cordova just a short distance away. This prompted me to think about what it means to be a transient in a place I call home. Although I have thought of myself as a resident of Sacramento I am ultimately a tourist. I am only here for just a bit longer than the average vacationer I have realized. I am making postcards of this place I have come to call home and share them with loved ones, colleagues, and professional acquaintances. I look forward to sharing this journey with you all.
J. William Kraintz II
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Today in my Senior Portfolio class we did what our teacher Nigel Poor called a Quick snap challenge. The rules for this exercise were simple; we had to go for a walk and collect things we found interesting, bring them back to our studio space and photograph them. Our time limit was ninety minutes, and then we shared one photo with the class for discussion. I thought this was an incredibly fun exercise, I got so carried away with re-arranging the objects that I almost didn’t get it done in time to share.
Exercises like this are helpful because I think that when you let loose and have fun with something like this you open yourself up to new creative possibilities.
I used this as a way to further practice some ideas I have had recently about how I document things I find interesting. Below are the results from what I made and a few from my classmates. Enjoy!
J. William Kraintz II
Try it yourself!!
02 January 2021
31 December 2020
Photographs from a fishing trip to Lake Berryessa 12/28/2020. We didn’t catch any fish.
Kraintz Photography 