Sean Duggan Blog

The Fine Art of Organization

Glasses  [Canon 5D]
September 26, 2007 -- Maine
(click in the image for a larger version)

This was taken a couple of days ago on a photo excursion my class made to one of the most amazing...no, probably the most amazing (and huge)... repositories of junk, curios, antiques, collectibles, and just plain weird stuff that I have ever visited. An old barn, three floors crammed chock full of stuff, not to mention extensive outdoor collections. I'll be going back tomorrow afternoon...

Welcome to Fabulous Maine

Angelique  [Canon 5D]
Camden, Maine Sept. 23, 2007
(click in the image for a larger version)

Greetings from Maine!  I took a stroll around the harbor in Camden today and this is a view of the Angelique, one of the windjammer sailing ships that tie up there.

I arrived here last night to teach my Real World Digital Photography II class at the Maine Photographic Workshops (this is their 34th year). The weather today was perfect and I hope that it continues throughout the week. We have a group of twelve in the class, including three almuni who have taken workshops with me before. I'm looking forward to the week!

Speaking of workshops, I've started posting classes for 2008 over on the workshop schedule page on my main web site. The next classes, still in 2007, are some short, weekend classes on Photoshop for Photographers coming up in November at UCSC Extension in Cupertino, California. My 2008 workshop season gets of to an early start with The Creative Digital Darkroom January 7 – 11 at the Palm Beach Photographic Centre in Delrey Beach, Florida. Then, in February I return to the Lepp Institute of Digital Imaging to teach Digital Black & White February 18 – 22.

It's an indicator of how busy I have been lately that it's been nearly two weeks since my last update. With two major projects (a new book and updating my online class) entering the final stretch, some things fall by the wayside and blog updates are one of them. No promises on the frequency of updates in the next few weeks as I'm still swamped, but I'll try to do better than once every two weeks!

Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas

Take One Home Today! [Canon 5D]
Las Vegas, September 5, 2007
(click in the image for a larger, more fabulous version)

Seen in the window display (and I am being very generous here with the term "display") of a pharmacy on Paradise Ave. I just got back from the Photoshop World conference in Las Vegas this weekend. A whirlwind three days of all things Photoshop. It was good to meet up with friends and colleagues that I only see at these events.

Las Vegas was, well...Las Vegas. Definitely a strange place. This was my fourth trip here in a year. I can't say that I would choose to go here if I did not have a conference to go to, but there's always something interesting to photograph.

Thirteen Years Ago

Pub Window  [Polaroid transfer from 35mm slide]
Clifden, Ireland - Summer 1994
(click in the image to see it larger)

My, my...eleven days since the last update here. That's what happens when two major deadlines collide all at once. Thankfully, there is a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.

In the course of looking for images for the book project that is finally nearing completion, I cam across this one, taken back in 1994 on a family trip to Ireland. The original was photographed on 35mm slide film and at some point later...perhaps even a few years later, the Polaroid transfer was made.

I've always liked this photo. The simplicity of it lends itself to the transfer process. And I really like the look of Polaroid transfers, and I used to do quite a lot of them. But after a while I was not comfortable with all the waste that was generated in the process. So much of the Polaroid product, everything, actually, ended up in the trash. And apart from the cardboard box and maybe the metal film case, nothing could be recycled. And much of what did get thrown out was gooey and toxic. This bothered me more and more until I finally stopped making them.