The Seven Seas

In the spring of 2009 I signed up to take the 20”x24” Polaroid class at Mass Art. During my time at Mass Art everyone recommended that I take the class but I was very hard headed and cheap. In the class you only get to take 5 images and each shot costs $75. Plus the camera can only do verticals. I had thought that this class would be a waste of my time and money.

When it came time to register for classes, I had friends who strongly recommend that I try the class. Their reasoning was “when will you ever get the chance to work with this camera once you leave Mass Art”. Rita Lombardi and Caitlin Duennebier were the two biggest influences to attempt this course.

Artwork by Caitlin Duennebier

The 20x24 Polaroid class was very different from all the other photography classes taught at Mass Art. We met for about three weeks went over the camera, its history, lighting, and the business of photography. This was the only business training mass art taught and it was in a single class meeting. This knowledge alone was worth the tuition of the class. After our first 3 meetings were over, a shooting schedule was made and off we went.

My new dilemma was “what to shoot”. I had never worked in a studio environment before and was clueless on what I would work on for my shoot. I have always doodled and drawn silly cartoons and thought this would be a great opportunity to make them a reality with photography. I decided to combine real people with cartoon elements in themes revolving around and in the ocean. About the same time of my class I was reading “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” by Jules Verne. This novel along with the silliness of “The Life Aquatic” by Wes Anderson was great inspiration in developing each one of my shots.

Untitled, John 2009 © Traverse Day Robinette

Thus “The Seven Seas” was born. I worked in a sketch book drawing out each shot of how I wanted the model to stand and the positions for lighting. Again this was all very new and different from any form of portraiture I have done. I wanted the props to be made from white cardboard with the details drawn in with a black marker. I was not concerned with hiding the sticks supporting the props other than painting them black. The purpose of this was to keep the images looking as much like a cartoon as possible.

Untitled, Katrina 2009 © Traverse Day Robinette

As my shoot approached I worked on drawing and cutting out the props which turned out to be very time intensive. The night of my shoot was chaotic and amazing. It was like being on a movie set and I was the director. I told the models what to do and had many extras help with holding props into the frame. I honestly don’t remember everyone who was in the room that night, but many people helped and without their help the shoot would not have gone as smoothly as it did.

Untitled, Melissa 2009 © Traverse Day Robinette

I attempted two horizontals. The camera is built to only take verticals and is so large you can not lift and turn the camera on its side. This leaves only one option, you have to change the way your subject inters the frame. The toughest was a self-portrait where I laid half of my body on a box and had my feet held so I could be in the frame. The other was of Wole lying on his back with his legs up in the air and I turned the image after the shot was made.

Untitled, Self Portrait 2009 © Traverse Day Robinette

Untitled, Wole 2009 © Traverse Day Robinette

  The shoot lasted about two hours and was over before I knew it. Once everything started rolling it went so fast. Months of planning coming together at last and it was over before I knew it. The photographs hung on the wall to dry, friends said their goodbyes and I was alone in an empty room with my five images. I was mentally and physically drained from the demand of the shoot. Yet I sat there on a high for what a rush it was to work with that gigantic camera!

Somewhere Between Here and There

I use to find the best way for me to connect with nature was to hike as fast as I could. I had this idea if I travel a great distance I would experience nature better by seeing more. All this rushing proved to be, I was missing out on all the woods had to offer. I now take hours to travel the distance of a mile. I spend more time looking at and appreciating my surrounds. Being still is becoming part of the environment. Slowing myself down even more I journal about each image made. Thinking more about what I’m looking at and what the scene looks like before and after exposure, instead of capturing and moving on. Not only do I record the light and my settings, but also how I feel at that moment with all that is happening around me. It is a time for me to connect with nature and a time to disconnect from everyday life. 

 Noon Hill Reservation2011 © Traverse Day Robinette

I search for places close to Boston that make you feel miles away. Most of the reservations are quite small.  All of the woods I visited are second generation growth. These places were cleared for farming and now new growth has taken over. I think these small parcels of land are just as important as the grandeur of any mountain or ocean. The beauty in this ordinary landscape is overwhelmingly powerful. Every tree, rock, twig, puddle is special and important. A puddle deserves the same attention as an ocean. 

 Rock Woods Reservation 2011 © Traverse Day Robinette

Cooks Canyon 2011 © Traverse Day Robinette

Underneath the canopy a complexity of layers unfolds and envelops me. I find my way through these layers by working out the patterns of the trees and undergrowth. Letting my gaze drift through this maze of layers I try to find spaces where there is an opening, looking for a way out at the same time finding enjoyment in being lost. 

Cooks Canyon 2011 © Traverse Day Robinette

Middlesex Fells 2011 © Traverse Day Robinette

The Beautiful Ohio

         The last week in October of 2011 I traveled to Cave-In-Rock Illinois with my mother to visit my grandparents and great aunts. It has been at lease 20 years since I was last in southern Illinois.  I had a vague idea of what to expect but my childhood memories are rusty at best. Upon my arrival it was like I was seeing this land and its people for the first time. The small town had not changed much, the population is only 350 and the river still flows in the same direction.

Cave-In-Rock State Park 2011 © Traverse Day Robinette

I primarily worked on photographing family, my grandparent’s house and the surrounding area which borders the Ohio River. Family and old friends would come over throughout the day to share stories and fish along the river’s edge. I found myself still, listening, and looking. Sunset sunrise, ladybugs hatch, looking, listening, being still. Only the river moves in this town with her friend the sun walking across the sky.

Densel, 2011 © Traverse Day Robinette

Garden of the Gods, 2011 © Traverse Day Robinette

Paige, 2011 © Traverse Day Robinette

By the end of my stay I became more interested with objects within the house. Items my grandmother chose to collect or the way she has decided to decorate and furnish rooms. As my departure grew near, my stillness faded and a sense of urgency ran through me. I had thoughts of “what if I never make it back to this beautiful land?”  “Will these wonderful people and their stories still be here?”  I worked as if with a fever on my last shots down to the wire when I was forced into the car to be taken away. One day I will return, hopefully not before it’s too late.

 Fake Fruit, 2011 © Traverse Day Robinette

Rooster, 2011 © Traverse Day Robinette

The Flood

Old TV, 2009 © Traverse Day Robinette

What Did You Say, 2009 © Traverse Day Robinette

 I Said There Is A Flood On The Way, 2009 © Traverse Day Robinette

 Sad Donkey, 2009 © Traverse Day Robinette

 Big Boat, 2009 © Traverse Day Robinette

 Rainbow, 2009 © Traverse Day Robinette

Spookyweird

Spookyweird is a working title to a project I started back in 2009 where I photograph places or objects where something, well spooky or weird happened. But there is more to it than that. I’m currently working on an artist statement and a proper title to explain it all.

The Sink, 2011 © Traverse Day Robinette

I traveled to Southern Illinois to visit my family and to photograph “The Sink” and “The Cave”. The Sink is an area where water fills up a valley and forms a small lake. The Sink is not made by flooding or is fed by a stream. The Ohio River is close by though The Sink is not made or affected by the water level of the river. Only bullhead catfish live in The Sink and they are cannibalistic, feeding only on themselves. Locals in the area will wait for the water level of The Sink to lower to the point where they can go out with buckets and pick up the fish with their hands. Densel, my 94 year old guide, showed me the way to the vantage point where I took this image. He said he knew the owners of the property but when we pulled up no one was home. The whole time I worked with my 4x5 I feared I would be gunned down. Lucky for me The Sink was full and Densel said that sometimes it would be dry for years and he hadn’t been up there in a while to see it. It was amazing to finally see this place that my grandmother so often spoke of.

The Cave, 2011 © Traverse Day Robinette

The Cave is located in Cave-In-Rock along the Ohio River. I have visited The Cave before when I was little but this visit was definitely like seeing it for the first time. The Cave has been used in different ways throughout the years. It has served as a church, general store, brothel, and a hide out for pirates. Its blackness is haunting; alone inside I herd sounds and my mind played tricks on me so I didn’t stay long.

Olivia, 2011 © Traverse Day Robinette

On the drive from the airport heading north through Kentucky I told my mom about my plan to photograph The Sink and The Cave. Detecting I was interested in capturing the oddities of where my grandparents live, she told me of Olivia. My great grandmother was a collector of everything. She always had a particular fancy for an old skeleton that the town doctor had in his office, so much so that when he retired he gave the skeleton to my grandmother. I first imagined that the skeleton was of the ordinary plastic variety found in any regular doctor’s office. My mother corrected me and told me matter of factly that in the old days they used real human bones, this skeleton was very old, and was definitely of the real bones type. She continued to tell me that skeletons used for medical purposes came from India during this time. My family first thought the skeleton was a man but later learned it was a woman changing its original name from Orville to more appropriately feminine name Olivia. Olivia was originally stored in a barn. A tornado hit the town and destroyed the barn but Olivia was lifted up and set back down unharmed. She is now stored in the kitchen of my great grandmother’s old house and sleeps in a pink velvet casket. My great aunts dress her up and take care of her and sometimes bring her out on the porch for Halloween which one year resulted in having the police called. I had never heard of Olivia until this trip to Illinois and was laughing like a nut as I drove my rental car on to the ferry smiling at the idea of the treasures that lie on the other side of this beautiful river.

Leap Year

Island Swimming, 2010 © Traverse Day Robinette

Snow Storms

Growing up in Texas snow was in short supply and snow days were non-existent. Upon my arrival to New England a Nor'easter delivered over a foot of snow. My dreams had come true. At the time I was in my early 20's, yet I would roll down my window while driving in a storm and yell at the top of my lungs "It's snowing!". Nine years later I still find myself getting excited for approaching storms that bring snow and allow for the chance to go sledding, build snow forts or make snow angles.

Snow Fall in Brookline, 2009 © Traverse Day Robinette

Braving the Storm, 2009 © Traverse Day Robinette

Val at Reservoir, 2009 © Traverse Day Robinette

Untitled, 2009 © Traverse Day Robinette