Party Hopping

I'm retiring the Blog Party. But don't worry, the only thing changing is the venue.

This isn't the end, it's the beginning: www.channingjohnsonblog.com

Good Lord Willing and the Creek Don't Rise

I took a little trip down Appalachia way to visit my friend Brett in Whitesburg, KY. It had all the fixings for my favorite type of travel. Good food, good people, no itinerary, and a little bit of exploring.

We went over to Joel and Amelia's house the first night for a delicious home-cooked meal. Amelia is a wonderful cook. And it was great to listen to records, drink wine and chat with the other Appalshop affiliates. You'll have to guess who the impostors are in the beard picture Rebecca took below.

Over the four years I've known Brett, most of his stories have begun with "This one time me and my buddy Steve . . . ". Steve was also visiting Whitesburg for the first time, and it was great to finally meet him.

On Tuesday we went on a little 'splorin' trip over the mountain, through Cumberland and on into Lynch. Lynch was once the largest coal camp in the world. It was plotted as a company town and grew to 10,000 people in the 1940's. Coal production stopped more than 40 years ago, but the buildings and much of the machinery still remain. It was erie to walk along the quiet tipple that at one time moved 500 tons of coal an hour.

Transition

Wiqan, Suk, Kai, Erik and I went to Grendel's Den in Harvard Square to witness history yesterday. Strangers felt like friends as we clapped, cheered, drank champagne and listened to Aretha sing "My Country 'Tis of Thee".

It's enough to make someone feel patriotic.

Little Man

Work

I work from home. Brooke works from work. So each morning she heads off into the world, and I'm left to be productive with a variety of distractions and no one to keep an eye on me. I do my best. And I enjoy it. But one of the greatest parts of my day is when Brooke comes back home.

The New Yorker

Yoon grew up all over the world. But he spent enough formative years in New York City to make it a big deal to purchase a Red Sox hat this morning. There was a good amount of inner turmoil.

We had talked over breakfast at the Eastern Standard how much we've enjoyed living in Boston. Afterwards we walked to Fenway Park, and Yoon pulled the trigger.

He hopes his New York friends will still welcome him back.

Archive: Noah's Last Day

I think this is taken in 2003. It was Noah's last day in Columbia. He was the first one to leave.

Grand-baby

Intimacy

I Love You in the Wintertime

Cookies

My sister, brother-in-law, and nephew came over to bake and decorate cookies with Brooke and I. Our artistry quickly went morose with the sad snowmen. But it went too far with the frowning Christmas trees. I really underestimated how disturbing that might be.

Brooke took the one of me and the little one on my lap. This is his first Christmas, but you can tell he wasn't happy with my decorating.

Navin Holiday Party

Sean tries to quiet the mutineers during the Yankee-liquor swap as people debate the rules. Brian pays no mind to the rules and simply enjoys his new bottle of "French Kiss".

Fountain Soda

Brooke's favorite way to drink Coke is from a fountain machine. Her second favorite consumption method is from a can. Her third, but last, choice is Coke from a 2-liter bottle poured into a cup.

While we were snowed in on Saturday Brooke walked to the store to pick up some things. On the way back I caught her drinking a fountain soda.

Storm

Deep Ellum

Ashley, Connie and I met at Deep Ellum on Thursday to recap the wedding season. Or, that was our excuse to drink during the day.

Bon Iver

Brooke and I treated ourselves to Bon Iver at the Wilbur Theater on Sunday.

Chris Buck

Great Chris Buck interview over at APE.

"One of the main things is that most people don’t make it quickly. They think that If you are meant to be successful in photography it should just take a few years and the obvious stories are about Irving Penn, or David LaChappelle. Larry Fink is a great example of the alternate narrative and one of the things I really admire about his career is that in a way his name became known to most people 30 years into his career and that’s kind of amazing. The young photographers tend to know about the people who made it in 5 years but that’s really, really unusual. If you go look at the top 100 photographers working today most of them made it in 10 to 15 years not in under 5. I think that’s really important to know. People get into it and in 3 years they’re like “I’m getting good feedback but I’m not getting a ton of work.” It took me 12 years before people started saying to me “wow, you’ve made it.”

Chris Farley, Elvis Costello, and Billy Bob Thornton by Chris Buck . . .

Tears On My Pillow

A little piece of me died last night.

The new owner of my first car came and took my freedom away. From here on out Brooke and I will be sharing a car. I know this is the best thing financially and environmentally. It will probably even improve my quality of life. Over the past few months I could feel myself becoming an aggressive Boston driver. I was the inconsiderate, opportunistic driver you cursed at. There will be less of that now I've traded my car in for a bus pass.

I've always lived simply. Never attached to possessions. But my 2005 Corolla CE was more of a memory box. I've spent so much of the past 3 years in it. Like that time when Brooke flew out to Michigan to meet me for the second time ever and then drive to Vermont with me. And remember that time a rock punctured the AC condenser the morning before my sister, brother-in-law and Brooke drove to North Carolina in the sweltering summer heat? And each time I moved, from Michigan to Vermont and Vermont to Boston, it told me what to keep and what to give away: if it didn't fit in the Corolla it stayed.

And the worst part is my betrayal. The car was kind of like my "Giving Tree". Two months before I quit my job to freelance I was hit from behind in a minor accident that was just severe enough to warrant a $1200 cosmetic repair. I kept the money and turned it into a camera. As my car suffered, I profited. As the Corolla did so much for me I would openly talk about how I dreamed of one day not owning a car. I would say these things as the car labored for over 78,000 miles with no complaints. No repairs. And now that I've had my way with it I let some stranger come and drive off with it. Now that it's all over it doesn't feel like I thought it would.

I have nothing else to say . . . I'm sorry.

Francis

Thanksgiving

Tagged

I've been tagged by my friend Megan Tidd for a Kreative Blogger Award. I think the "award" part is a loose label, but I'm flattered Megan gave me a nod. She's one of the best blog writers out there.

This is what I have to do:

- List six things that I do for joy
- Pass the award on to 6 more creative bloggers
- Link back to the person who gave me the award
- Link to the people I am passing it on to

THINGS CHANNING DOES FOR JOY

1. I like to wash dishes for joy. It's less the dishes and more the distraction I enjoy. I work from home so anything I can do to procrastinate I like to do. Also, we keep our house cold so the hot water on my hands feels really good. Washing dishes gives me a sense of accomplishment. Everything else I do is on a computer so when I finish something my desk looks the same way it did when I started, maybe messier. But when I wash dishes I start with a pile of chaos and end with a shiny sink basin. That feels good. I'm also really into domesticity right now.

2. I like to suffer for joy. Deprivation also gives me a sense of accomplishment. This includes sitting in a cold house thinking about all the polar bears I'm saving or making myself go to the gym even though it's the last thing I want to do when I wake up. When I was about 10 my father made some joke about how he likes to catch bees in the palm of his hand because it feels so good when the pain from the sting subsides. I've taken that one a long way.

3. I like to take pictures for joy. It make me sad that "this" will never happen again, so I takes "its" picture and feel better about time moving on.

4. I like to watch movies for joy. All kinds of movies. I like the light-hearted, happy, romantic comedy ones, and I also like the dark, depressing ones. Have you ever seen "The River" ?

5. I like to spend time with family and friends for joy. I'm from North Carolina, but my sister introduced me to my fiance so I would move to Boston where my sister lives. This makes me happy because not only am I lucky to spend everyday with Brooke, I'm also near my sister and brother-in-law who produced a really cute nephew for me. Once my parents move north everything will be perfect.

6. I like to go to hotel bars for joy. I like the dingy ones and the ritzy ones. In Boston I like going to the ritzy ones because the drinks aren't usually more expensive than anywhere else, they aren't crowded on the weekend, they are impeccably designed, and you can hear not only your conversation, but you can eavesdrop effectively on others. And there's lots of good conversations going on in hotel bars.

Channing's nominations for great blog reads:
Elise
Ikuru
Kevin M.
Elizabeth
Myndi
Nina

Up North

Brooke closes the door behind her as we end a wonderful evening on Snow Pond. Thanks to Chelsea and Lori for great food and a wonderful time.

Birds

Inspiration

Yoon brought a little gift to the Boston photo community by organizing us into a (so far) monthly gathering where we can share work for feed back, or just because. For a profession of folks who usually thrive on being around people, it can sometimes be a little lonely out there. Thanks for bringing us together, Yoon.

Last week Mark, below, shared some deeply personal work that greatly inspired me.

If anyone else is interested in being notified of future photo nights, send me an e-mail.

Homeland

My nephew made his first trip to the homeland last week. It was a good time to introduce him to the South as Barack Obama swung through Charlotte the day we landed there. We later watched the country elect its 44th president.

I documented the trip on my iPhone. Thanks for the inspiration, Chris.