I haven’t posted here in quite a while, but want to jot down a recent dream. Not only was it really amazing and worth sharing, but more so, I simply don’t want to forget it. It was set along a beach. According the narration of the dream, along the coast of Maine, but there was … More Dream Time
Almost exactly year ago, my son had a continuation/graduation ceremony when he finished elementary school and before heading to middle school. One of his teachers gave each student in the class a gold dollar coin, and told them all to hold onto it and keep it as a reminder. Ms. Scott, the teacher, told them … More When There is No Change
I can’t believe I am going to start this post quoting from Oprah Magazine. And I quote it for a very simple reason, when I googled the words second chance it was one of the first links to come up: Here’s the first truth about second chances: They rarely happen by chance. Oh, the first one, sure, is often concentrated pure luck, but first chances are notorious for fizzling out, derailing. At which point, everyone … More Second Chances
Since last June or July I have been photographing with a Fuji Instax camera, a plastic camera that is (probably) marketed towards teenage girls (mine is cobalt blue). I am using it as a sort of stop-gap tool, until my new studio really takes shape. The pictures are then used for larger collages, in which … More Toy Cameras and Hindu Scripture
This is a hard time for me. I can’t keep going anymore and don’t know where my next chance might be coming from, or even if there will ever be another chance for me. I have found myself praying multiple times a day, praying for a second chance, for forgiveness, for opportunity. Am I even … More How Deep Must I Pray?
All the world like a woolen lover once did seem on Henry’s side. Then came a departure. Thereafter nothing fell out as it might or ought. I don’t see how Henry, pried open for all the world to see, survived. John Berryman, Dream Song 1 When I left home for college, I knew I was an artist. … More So It Goes…
When I was about 13 together with some of my friends we’d soak tennis balls with lighter fluid, set them on fire, and then kick them around in a circle and watch them burn. It was pretty fun to watch the trails of fire as we kicked the ball around. And then the Crash Worship … More Voodoo Child
I am close to finalizing a book of my photographs from Indonesia made between 2011-2016, called Javan: Indonesian Landscapes. I don’t yet have a release date, but hope to get that soon. I am working with Afterhours Books, the great publisher in Jakarta that I did my first book. I am also working with the same … More Javan: Indonesian Landscapes
Darkroom work is slow and solitary. The privacy in my current lab in the far corner of a basement allows me to think without interruption. The room is painted a soothing medium gray from a Kodak test patch. I don’t bring a phone, and I can’t hear anything on the other side of the door. … More Safelights
I recently completed a small-edition, self-published book, Bright, Bright Day. The pictures in the book were all made in the fall of 2018 using a Fuji Instax camera. Bright, Bright Day also references The Dhammapada, the classic Buddhist text. The book quotes passages from The Dhammapada that view the world as illusion, and offer guidance for finding new sources for … More Bright, Bright Day
Brian Arnold 