I’ve gone large format!!!

Purchased a 4×5 graphic view camera. Gotta deal as the owner leaving town. and I’m very excited and looking forward to the adventure of learning the large format.  Have always admired Mary-Ellen Mark, Ansel Adams etc., now I’ll try to follow in their footsteps.  I’ll practice here and take it out to Arizona and shoot my mother………………..not really.

Latest idea, my mother will dress me for a change and style me and we’ll take pictures and see what comes out………..I’m thinking I’ll be a princess.  That’ll be a first.

Pasadena Horse Expo – WOW!

Last Friday, December 30, I was in Pasadena for the Rose Bowl’s Horse Exposition featuring the breeds and mounted groups appearing in the Parade of Roses on Monday. New York could use something this educational, and, ultimately, GORGEOUS. Peruvian Pasos, miniature horses pulling sulkies, and mounted cavalry firing rifles were interspersed with four painted saddlebreds pulling a calliope, American Indian tribes in costumes and horse trappings loaded with beadwork and a group of trick riders called “Cowgirl Chicks” who rescue horses and ride for breast cancer awareness. One Cowgirl Chick stood astride two albino horses as they took a three-foot jump in the packed arena. The finale was a parade of “100 Palominos” – just imagine 50 Roy Rogers and 50 Dale Evans’ in red white and blue glittering outfits – go Pasadena!

RODEO BAR BOOK PARTY A SUCCESS

Friends and colleagues joined me at the famous Rodeo Bar on Third avenue and 27th Street here in Manhattan last Sunday for free rodeo chow, beer and margaritas. A slide show of my work (the first time I’ve ever seen these photos projected to a height of eight feet tall) covered one wall. We ordered drinks from a bar in a double horse trailer, parked within what must have been log cabin walls – could the place have been more perfect for this? I had signed copies of the book on sale for holiday giving.

People from different avenues of my life met and mingled, and one asked me to get up and say a few words (like at the Strand bookstore on the third floor). I told the story of the project, and the story of this small town rodeo. People sat and talked, and ate, and sat and talked longer. We had enough great food left over to make goodie bags for those who stayed, and it felt right to sent friends out into Sunday’s cold weather with “vittles” for later on.

Thank you to all who came on Sunday, and all who bought copies of the book for friends and relatives. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Book party for, “An American Rodeo”

“New York City-based photojournalist, Patricia Sullivan, is not the likeliest person to chronicle the world of horse wranglers, bull riders and rodeo queens — but that’s exactly what she’s done for her recently released, heartfelt book, An American Rodeo. Sullivan, whose fine work has appeared in PAPER, among other publications, documents the cowboy legacy through a selection of action photos and compelling portraits she’s taken over the years in Buena Vista, Colorado. The high-risk sport grew out of everyday ranch tasks and this particular small town rodeo began as a harvest celebration called “Head Lettuce Day.” The book commemorates its 90th rough-and-tumble year. Through the stories she tells alongside the photos, Sullivan’s lens offers a window into the past as well as showing how the modern American West is still very much alive.” – papermag.com

Come celebrate at Rodeo Bar. 375 3rd Ave. at 27th St. 212-683-6500

Sunday, December 11 from 2:00 pm -4:00 pm
Special holiday prices on book and refreshments.

Good books inspire….

I’ve just finished reading “Flannery O’Connor’s Complete Short Stories.” If I could shoot portraits equal to her prose I’d consider myself a genius. The details in the dialogue transport me back to the south of the 50′s. I can feel the perspiration and smell the mildew. After reading the book I’m inspired to take more photos of my mother and include her friends and more of the objects she comes into contact with daily. It should make the work richer.
Religion plays a big part in O”Connor’s writing, as does anti-religious sentiment. While my Mom wasn’t religious, she though about cost and waste constantly…. and, ultimately, “What is the right thing to do?” She was a saver and appreciated the smallest of things. I need to find ways of fitting that into the work.

Tried and true and new to me.

Very excited to say I recently purchased a 4 x 5 “Graphic View” camera from someone who’s taking a break from New York. Instead of going faster, I’ll be slowing down the process and doing a lot of portraits.  This makes possible something I’ve always wanted to do, take better portraits. The detail will be fantastic. My husband Tom has been my first victim, but others have offered to put their heads on the block.

RODEO BOOK SALE A SUCCESS

Dozens of rodeo people: local people, and residents of Texas and New Mexico came to my booth at the 90th Collegiate Peaks Stampede and bought copies of
“An American Rodeo,” in hard and soft covers. Some ordered multiple copies. I heard many wonderful comments on the book, and votes of thanks from many parents and friends of rodeo participants. It was beautiful weather for both days, with the rain managing to come down outside of rodeo hours.

I am so glad folks were happy with my efforts. Copies of the book are currently available at Book Nook in BV (719-395-6868). Happy Trails, Everyone! Patricia