Midnight, by yours truly… For 20% off Purchase before Oct. 23rd with the code FANS at checkout.

Midnight…

Found…

keep calm…

comments…

“I don’t have to tell you things are bad, everybody knows things are bad… we know things are bad, worse than bad, they’re crazy.”

But tonight I watched a black president on television say that global warming is not a myth and we shouldn’t be afraid of gay people, which is both crazy and incredibly amazing all at the same time, and leaves me feeling that there is hope.

things are crazy…

Running away, traveling light…

ready…

midnight…

Some of my work is featured in the current issue of PH Magazine online. Have a look @ http://www.phmag.ca/

PH Magazine

The House Judiciary Committee will likely pass the Stop Online Piracy Act THIS Thursday. Once the bill moves out of committee, the House can pass it at any time.

Make sure people understand what the Internet could be like if SOPA passes…

Learn more here: http://americancensorship.org/

Stop Internet Censorship

This can’t happen… http://fightforthefuture.org/pipa/

Write Congress. Tell them this is bullshit… http://fightforthefuture.org/pipa/

PROTECT IP / SOPA Act Breaks the Internet

My apologies for the hiatus and lack of updates, my lung was on vacation…

I woke up last Saturday morning a little short of breath, which turned into “shit I really can’t breath and it feels like a truck is parked on my chest, I should probably see someone about that.”

This has happened before, my left lung spontaneously collapsed about five years ago, so I knew the drill. If you are interested in the mechanics, check out Wikipedia.

Took a cab to the ER, stumbled in, pulled up a chair to the admit window and slumped down. The woman behind the glass was amazing, big giant hair, obscenely long finger nails. She asked if she could help me.

“Yes ma’am, I have a spontaneous pneumothorax and it really hurts.”

Her response, and I quote “child you talkin’ crazy.”

So after 11 days in the hospital, 2 different chest tubes, and a small operation, my right lung has been re-inflated, at least for the time being. Recovering well so far, probably be be down and out for another week, but hope to get back to posting soon.

So again, my apologies for the hiatus, my lung was on vacation…

My Lung Was On Vacation

It’s long overdue, though I’ve finally gotten around to updating both the internal and external structure of the site, along with some cosmetic changes on the front end and the weblog section.

First and foremost, I’ve migrated to a new server with my web host. These guys are amazing, I’ve been working with them for years. If you ever need a solid web host with phenomenal tech support check these guys out. I think I’ve had about 8 minutes of down time in the last 5 years. http://www.smileglobal.com/ »

The majority of content is, for the most part, unchanged. The gallery section has been paired down and reorganized. All basic information about the site, the work, contact info etc., has been condensed into one page under information.

Most noticeably the fine art prints section has been removed. Frankly the return just isn’t worth the effort in keeping it updated. All relevant information about silver gelatin prints can now be found on the prints page. To inquire about prints and pricing, please contact me directly.

The blog side of the site has been moved to /dispatch. The RSS feed should redirect automatically, and all content from the previous blog / updates section should remain in place and redirect indefinitely. Additionally, I’ve added plugins for mobile devices and tablet browsers to display content in a manner more friendly to those platforms. If you have an iPad, check it out…

All that said, please bare with me, as I am sure there will be some bugs and missing pieces here and there. If you see anything blatantly wrong, please drop me a line.

a minor face lift…

The things we carry…

The Things We Carry…

The things we carry…

The Things We Carry…

The things we carry…

The Things We Carry…

I am now the proud proprietor of a Facebook Fan Page… sigh…
I suppose that it was bound to happen sooner or later. A few people suggested it, they thought it was a good idea, I didn’t. Eventually I caved, end of story. So go be a fan if you dig my work, or if the whole social networking thing is your bag. It’s a good way to keep tabs on what I’m up to. Not to mention that Facebook users apparently, according to the Daily Mail, are insecure, narcissistic and have low self-esteem.
It seems I need an ego boost. Go check out my page… http://www.facebook.com/pages/Joseph-Szymanski-Photography/129195750473750
On another note, the fine art prints gallery has been updated. Several new images are now available for purchase just in time for the holidays (wink, wink). So do yourself a favor and go buy a print with my personal, money back guarantee that it will last longer than the George Foreman Grill, the leopard print Snuggie or the “personal massager” that you were going to give to that special someone.View all silver gelatin prints »
Additionally, a small selection of my original drawings are available for purchase as fine art gicleé prints. All gicleé prints are reproduced to the same dimensions as the original drawing. Prints are made using Epson UltraChrome K3 archival pigment inks and printed on 100% acid free watercolor paper to ensure maximum longevity (doesn’t that sound just fancy?). And while in my own very humble opinion, nothing could ever compare to the original drawings, rest assured, these reproductions are of the highest quality.View all gicleé prints »

Notebook: Facebook and Other Self-Absorption

Radius SF – 1123 Folsom St. at 7th / Saturday June 12th 6:00pm – 12:00amRebus Project, San Francisco opening party at Radius in SOMA. Displaying works by John Agoncillo, Geoffrey Colburn, JD Maturen, Al McKee, Jasper Sanidad, Joseph Szymanski and Kevin Zamani.Join us for art, booze, beer and revelry. Bring your friends, family, enemies and lovers. All are welcome, the more the merrier…

Rebus @ Radius, Opening Party – Saturday June 12th 2010

re⋅bus [ree-buhs] Origins: 1595–1605; rēbus by things (abl. pl. of rēs), in phrase nōn verbīs sed rēbus not by words but by things.–noun, plural -bus⋅es.1. a representation of a word or phrase by pictures, symbols, etc., that suggest that word or phrase or its syllables.2. a piece of writing containing many such representations.The Rebus Project is a collective portrait of San Francisco assembled over a 30-month period by photographers and writers who live in the city. Conceived by Jasper Sanidad and hammered out over beers and shots with five other founding contributors at The Tempest Bar and Restaurant on Natoma Street, Rebus is a multi-dimensional urban documentary with the aim of defining San Francisco beyond its accepted pop-culture parameters.Dividing the city into 30 square quarter-mile grids, Rebus observers converge every month on a designated square to explore, photograph, study and document the life of that area over a one-month period. The project began in August 2009 with an exploration of the Mission, the Castro and parts of Upper Market—all of which fell within the first grid. In September, the grid encompassed areas of the Outer Sunset and Ocean Beach. In October the Financial District, Moscone Center and the Embarcadero. San Francisco is a city of small, but distinct neighborhoods in close proximity—thus each grid will reflect in microcosm the diversity of the city as a whole.When, in February 2012, the last quarter mile is documented, the project will present a classic rebus combining pictures and words to form a single, unifying narrative and a wide-angle mosaic of San Francisco.~ Text by Al McKeeTo learn more about the Rebus Project, San Francisco, please visit http://www.rebus-project.com/.

Notebook: Rebus Project, San Francisco

Notebook: For Jasper…

2nd Annual Fine Art Photography Auction

“Why don’t you let them see Othello instead?”"I’ve told you; it’s old. Besides, they couldn’t understand it.”Yes, that was true. He remembered how Helmholtz had laughed at Romeo and Juliet. “Well then,” he said, after a pause, “something new that’s like Othello, and that they could understand.”"That’s what we’ve all been wanting to write,” said Helmholtz, breaking a long silence.”And it’s what you never will write,” said the Controller. “Because, if it were really like Othello nobody could understand it, however new it might be. And if were new, it couldn’t possibly be like Othello.”"Why not?”"Yes, why not?” Helmholtz repeated. He too was forgetting the unpleasant realities of the situation. Green with anxiety and apprehension, only Bernard remembered them; the others ignored him. “Why not?”"Because our world is not the same as Othello’s world. You can’t make flivvers without steel–and you can’t make tragedies without social instability. The world’s stable now. People are happy; they get what they want, and they never want what they can’t get. They’re well off; they’re safe; they’re never ill; they’re not afraid of death; they’re blissfully ignorant of passion and old age; they’re plagued with no mothers or fathers; they’ve got no wives, or children, or lovers to feel strongly about; they’re so conditioned that they practically can’t help behaving as they ought to behave. And if anything should go wrong, there’s soma. Which you go and chuck out of the window in the name of liberty, Mr. Savage. Liberty!” He laughed. “Expecting Deltas to know what liberty is! And now expecting them to understand Othello! My good boy!”The Savage was silent for a little. “All the same,” he insisted obstinately, “Othello’s good, Othello’s better than those feelies.”"Of course it is,” the Controller agreed. “But that’s the price we have to pay for stability. You’ve got to choose between happiness and what people used to call high art. We’ve sacrificed the high art. We have the feelies and the scent organ instead.”"But they don’t mean anything.”"They mean themselves; they mean a lot of agreeable sensations to the audience.”"But they’re … they’re told by an idiot.”The Controller laughed. “You’re not being very polite to your friend, Mr. Watson. One of our most distinguished Emotional Engineers …”"But he’s right,” said Helmholtz gloomily. “Because it is idiotic. Writing when there’s nothing to say …”"Precisely. But that requires the most enormous ingenuity. You’re making flivvers out of the absolute minimum of steel–works of art out of practically nothing but pure sensation.”The Savage shook his head. “It all seems to me quite horrible.”"Of course it does. Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the over-compensations for misery. And, of course, stability isn’t nearly so spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happinessis never grand.”From “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley

Notebook: Happiness Is Never Grand…