DECADE PROJECT – REMAINING WORK

2019: 59 rolls of film remain. Everything else from last year has been processed, scanned, re-sized and loaded onto a drive. Once these final rolls are processed and the task is complete, the drive will go to Germany so Mario’s machine can crunch data and perform whatever magic it will perform. (Clearing out thIs 2019 film is my focus right now.)

2013: The black and white film from 2013 was processed, and contact sheets were made. These were delivered to Sarah for editing. But, the color film (of which there is significantly more – maybe a 3-to-1 ratio) has been processed, but no contact sheets have been made yet. Sarah’s edit is on hold because I still need to deliver those contact sheets to her. Once 2019 is out of the way, I’ll take care of it.

2016: All the film from 2016 was processed after it was shot, but no contact sheets have been printed yet. Once 2013 is fully delivered, that’s next on the list. Then those prints will be shipped to Matsuki and Yumiko in Japan.

2020: Processing has been happening mostly on a rolling basis this year, to the extent Covid permitted it. That work continues so I don’t end up with another backlog.

2021: The final year of the Decade Project is imminent. Incredible. I’m confident I’m going to shoot the final year of the project simply, limiting myself to using the Leica M4, a 35mm Summicron, and IIlford HP5. In 2010/11 I shot 365 days with nothing but an M7 and Tri-X, and it was a joy. Every year since 2012 I’ve considered doing it again, and now that the final year of the project is here, it’s time to do it. (I will change my mind about this 25 times before the end of the year.)

16MM FILM

STILLS

BACKGROUND

I shot two of these films in 2005 when the Bolex was given to me by a supporter of the Walt Mink project. I carried those two exposed films from New York to LA when I moved and kept them stored, unprocessed in a drawer. I shot the third film in Malibu in 2013 and had some issues with that reel. A jam. All three films came back to New York in 2016, and sat for a few more years. Processed the film finally in 2020. This is it. Three hundred imperfect feet of movie film. No sound. I love it.

VIDEO

The first reel begins with Konstantin’s surprise party in Brooklyn and includes some personal footage and some shots from Chris Verene’s Self Esteem Salon. The second reel features my friend Joe who was the first person I filmed for a motion portrait, which was a series I was very excited about doing (then I learned about Warhol’s screen tests and never made another one). The third film is Sarah in Malibu.

These brief films cobbled together from hand-cranked shots, unedited and without sound, are some of my favorite things ever. Imperfect, shaky, and all-over-the-place at times, but so much more enjoyable than anything I ever shot on an iPhone. I have to do more of this.