David Ondrik Photography (blog)

On the 13th I went to the Urban Garden sponsored by the Harwood Art Center:

This morning  I spent two hours walking around Los Poblanos’ farm in the South Valley of Albuquerque taking photos. Holy. Fucking. Shit. That farm is awesome. There were chickens. A horse. Two miniature equines. Really, really nice people. A couple dogs. An organic farm. Bees. Garlic. Spinach. A functional ecosystem. I didn’t initially intend to, but I shot 5 rolls of film (50 images with the 6×7). The people there, especially Emily, were really friendly and gracious. I think that this project is off to a good start. I’ll drop the film off for processing tomorrow morning, so may be able to post something by Wednesday.

Something to consider: they have a flock of peahens (I think) that don’t bother the vegetables, they just want to eat the bugs. So they’re a natural pesticide. Round Up isn’t needed. This is better for everyone. Including the peahens (if that’s what they are).

“When I was a younger man, art was a lonely thing. No galleries, no collectors, no critics, no money. Yet, it was a golden age, for we all had nothing to lose and a vision to gain. Today it is not quite the same. It is a time of tons of verbiage, activity, consumption. Which condition is better for the world at large I shall not venture to discuss. But I do know, that many of those who are driven to this life are desperately searching for those pockets of silence where we can root and grow. We must all hope we find them.” – Mark Rothko

Mark Rothko, Black on Maroon 1959, © 1998 Kate Rothko Prizel & Christopher Rothko ARS, NY and DACS, London, Oil on Canvas

Today I spent the better part of 3 hours in a color darkroom, trying to remember how to make chromogenic prints. It was a mixed bag. I certainly got better as the day grew longer and the stack of photographic paper smaller. I was even told by a good friend that knows about such things that my whites were dingy, and that this meant the chemistry was bad, which could be why the colors were so…strange. It was an interesting experience, that’s for sure. I’m hopeful that the next couple of hours will be even better. Then I can really throw that R2400 in a river.

I’m working on a new project that will take some time to complete. I’m very interested in food: where does it come from, who grows it, how much food can Albuquerque produce locally, etc. So I’m going to spend the next year (at least) going around to various Community Farms and Community Supported Agriculture sites to take photos. Here are some of the first photos from the project.

These are from the Rio Grande Community Farm. There’s a few CSAs, but there are also some Community Gardens. I’ll be visiting both to see what, um, develops.