Maine Media Workshops | Student Portfolio
Yankee photo editor Heather Marcus collects some of the best photography from her class at Maine Media Workshops.
By Heather Marcus|Jun 13 2018|
"Three generations of Maine farmers had worked this pasture in Brooksville, Maine. Nearby, cultivated fields of traditional vegetables and grains, a crop of government-regulated cannabis, and a new bee colony reflected continuity and change from one generation to another. When the afternoon light shone on the woodpile and on the battered wheelbarrow resting among the wildflowers and grasses, the landscape spoke of ties between the wild and the tended, between work and rest, and of the presence of family on the land over time."
Credit: Lee Ann CafferataWALKER BANKSON
Student at Bard College, originally from Wilmington, North Carolina: “For the past two years I’ve spent most of the summer at Maine Media Workshops, and returning to Rockport is always an incredibly special experience. Maine is truly a place like no other, and having this workshop as an outlet to better understand its landscape was amazing…. This summer I’ll be driving across the country with Eliot Dudik, to assist him while he works on his project ‘Paradise Road.’ We’ll be driving throughout the West and making photographs as we stop at every road titled Paradise Road along the way. Afterward, I hope to serve as Eliot’s teaching assistant as he leads the ‘Sense of Place’ workshop again.”
Everette Knowlton’s Mini Village in Stonington, Maine. We’d hopped out of the van for around two hours of photographing. I was rushing around looking for the right shot before I lost the light when I happened upon this miniature village. The first thing that caught my eye was the church just left of the center of the image. I felt that its simplicity was reminiscent of Walker Evans’ early photographs of southern churches, which are some of my favorite images ever. I’m named after him and was inspired to make this photograph with the attempt of some sort of allusion to his work in the church’s similar architectures. As much of my work from Maine revolved around the embracement of my role as a tourist, I felt that this small village was symbolic of my experience getting to know its welcoming landscape and citizens in its accessibility and comfort. Maine feels like a sort of dreamlike and mythological place, separate from society in its entirety. By showcasing this miniature village with larger houses at its borders, I hoped to create feeling of smallness and comfort in separation that defines my experiences there.”
Credit: Walker BanksonCredit: Walker Bankson
“Gunner Lymburner, Brooksville, Maine. We spoke with Gunner for a few minutes and he showed us around the farm that he was soon to inherit from his father. I was struck by the land, particularly the tall grass with its small indentations where he had paved his own trail through the field. I wanted to place him within the transitional space that he was soon to receive from his family, and felt that the small holes in his shirt were reflective of a tumultuous time in his relationship to the land in conjunction with the grass’ indentations. I accidentally exposed one piece of film here; this image was the second of two tries, but I believe in making such a mistake he calmed down more in front of the camera, allowing for more of an accurately representational portrait of a time of unease and transition.”
Credit: Walker BanksonCredit: Walker Bankson
LEE ANN CAFFERATA
Retired historian living in Middleburg, Virginia, and Ås, Norway: “Most days, our group climbed into a 10-seater van and explored. None of us were from Maine. Most of us had never been there before. We looked for scenes, for photographic narratives that revealed that place to us. Truthfully, I’m still thinking about what [the class] meant to me — a lot, that’s for sure.”“Three generations of Maine farmers had worked this pasture in Brooksville, Maine. Nearby, cultivated fields of traditional vegetables and grains, a crop of government-regulated cannabis, and a new bee colony reflected continuity and change from one generation to another. When the afternoon light shone on the woodpile and on the battered wheelbarrow resting among the wildflowers and grasses, the landscape spoke of ties between the wild and the tended, between work and rest, and of the presence of family on the land over time.”
Credit: Lee Ann CafferataCredit: Lee Ann Cafferata HEATHER MARCUS Yankee photo editor living in New Hampshire: “The characters you meet and the scenes you capture are so fleeting, and this week was about challenging ourselves to really see and capture what was in front of us in different ways…. Sometimes you may work too hard to capture something that might not be there, but other times that magic moment just happens, and if you are skilled or lucky you capture the frame. I remembered Eliot’s advice to take a moment to feel the space, let it speak to you, and you will find your shots. We rush through life, and to slow down to take the time to really create and make images that you love is a gift.”
“Definitely plenty of interesting, charming characters to be found in this Maine landscape. This man of mystery we met in Castine was sporting a great Santa beard and an unassuming smile & I was lucky enough to capture a very loose portrait of him as he was leaving the town docks.”
Credit: Heather Marcus
