Miss February

Spent some time in Kentucky this spring and met some really fun and cool people. One of them being Rachel Goldman. On a rainy day we found some dry climbs and I shot some images of her and sent them off to The Women of Climbing Calendar people. They nicknamed her "Twilight Girl", and soon enough she became Miss February! Be sure to keep your eyes out for the 2010 calendar later this year!

Blast From The Past

So we finally did it. We cleaned out our storage unit- AWESOME! And low and behold I was rummaging through my old boxes the other day, finding junk and treasures. It's all in the eye of the beholder, right? Well, I found some old work from my college days. It was an amazing time full of film, adventures, experimenting, and personal restoration. That's a lot in a nutshell, but it was a wonderful time. Not knowing exactly what I would get on my film when using my Holga, and also wondering what I would create with the images I did get. The darkroom was my canvas, and I started creating these collages- specifically by making contact prints with the negatives, torn out pieces from books, writings, flowers, old nails, and anything else I could get my hands on. I used toners, water colors, pencils, and even tore and picked at the papers in certain sections. No single one was ever the same, as I was constantly playing and readjusting the collages when I was printing. Below are a few from back in the day, and I just busted out my old Holga the other day. I realized I have missed the process, the mystery, beauty and the unknown with the Holga. Everything is so instant and in the "now". I'm ready to slow down and give this one another go. I'm excited for this, the energy the images will have compared to these, and I guess we'll see what happens.


These images were shot in the Alvord Desert in Oregon, and then created back in my darkroom in New Hampshire.

My Two Cents

Katelyn Dolan sending "Lonesome Dove", classic 5.10a, Rumney, NH.


I love my job. I love brainstorming with others, creating ideas, working with magazines, athletes, writers, people, being outside and such. We all work together, and help each other out in many ways. That I dig and appreciate very much!

I got an e-mail the other day from a well known magazine in the outdoor sports industry, and I couldn't believe it. Went something like this: "Hi Anne, we really love your photo of "Joe Shmoe" and want to use it. It is only for a bio picture and it's really small, so we can't pay you, but we will give you photo credit of course!"

Wow, does anyone work for free? Maybe for a wonderful non-profit or to give back to a community or cause, sure those are select circumstances. I just want to clear the record and say- a photograph, is a photograph, is a photograph. No matter how big or small, an artists images are to not be given away. I would like to hook up the person who is in the image, and say, "Use the image in any way and form, and let anyone use it. I want you to get yourself out there." I inherently love to help people out, but, I cannot afford to work for free. With the way print is going out of style and web is becoming the mainstream for us photographers it's becoming an interesting transition period. Not to mention how equipment costs keep going up, and need constant upgrading.

I know budgets are tight, people are spending less. But please know that I do not and can not give my work away, and you should never ask anyone that. We're all in a similar boat working with the system here.

All I want to say is if you're a pro photographer, you obviously know not to give your away your work. Sure in the beginning, we've all made our mistakes and perhaps low-balled ourselves. For those who are new to the industry make sure you value your work, or you bring the rest of us down.

On this note, I encourage all to get in touch with me to discuss their budgets, ideas, what you're looking for, and see if we can work something out. I'm an open and casual person, so don't let this post defer you away- let it be an invite to see if there are any other options and possibilities.

For the most part, all I'm saying is I would like to see photographers and photography valued now, and for many years to come. Make sense?

Giving Back

Oh, once again things got quite busy for me but it's been a ton of fun! I received a phone call about two months ago, and at first I thought it was a solicitor. However, it wasn't and the Bartlett Elementary School decided to give me a ring to see if I would be interested in teaching a small workshop to 5th and 6th graders. I thought about it for about 5 seconds, and said, yes. The idea of giving back to the kids in the community has been something I had been thinking about. It was a blast. Kids just make you see things you don't, and their imagination and creativity surpasses mine by a long shot. The kids studied the artist Andy Goldsworthy with their art teacher (and artist), June Mcleavey, made their own interpretations, and then we figured out the best way to photograph their creations. Their interest, talent, and enthusiasm was more that I ever expected. I just want to send a big "thank you" to all the kids that were in the elective and I can't wait to do it again.

A Few Good Men

Ted (left) and "Shim" (right) giving him some bunny ears.

I had a fun afternoon last week with Jim Shimberg and Ted Hammond out at Rumney, NH. These guys are awesome. They are so fun and full of good energy, and of course lots of sarcasm. Here are a few shots of them hangin' out at the base of the cliff. My favorite part being when Ted was lightly telling stories about the first ascent of the beautiful and well known climb there, Flyin' Hawaiian. They aided up it, with pitons all the way up the corner, classic. Hopefully everyone gets a chance to meet these guys, as they easily bring a good time with them wherever they go.

Ted Hammond

Jim Shimberg

Mixin' It Up

I've been meeting a lot of really cool people this year. Something I joke about is that I'm not that cool, but all the people I come across are. Well, one of those people is Cody Harriman. Cody is super amped on skate skiing and is a model here in the northeast. He called me up to get some shots of him skiing and then also get a few head shots for his portfolio. The shoot was a blast despite the cold temps that day. Sure I cranked the shutter speed and got some of him "in the moment" or "frozen in time", but I also wanted to show the speed and motion skate skiing has. Then we just goofed around with the other images. Check em' out.