Revisited (Again)

Today was a great day to get out and photograph, the first such day off I've had in quite awhile. There is still a lot of snow on the ground. Along with the gray skies, it really makes the whole countryside seem incredibly bleak and lonesome.

I rephotographed a few places that have now become very familiar, just trying to get exactly what I want while the snow is still around and the mood is right. The image above is one I've taken before but had never quite been happy with. It's a farmstead along old Linwood Road, halfway between Morse Bluff and Linwood in northwest Saunders County.

Three months...

The Hot Shops show is just a little more than three months from now. Everything is coming together nicely thanks to the help of William Hess. I am not sure if I'm more excited for everyone to see the work or to see how it's going to look on display.

I will be offering a print sale in the next few weeks to help pay for the exhibition. The prints will be available at a lower price for a limited time. I'll have more details soon.

Don't forget to become a fan on Facebook. And put Friday night, April 30th on your calendars.

January

Omaha is (was?) starting to thaw out after a rough month or so of consecutive blizzards. There were two snowfalls of over a foot along with numerous smaller storms along with temperatures that bottomed out around fifteen below zero. My day job finds me in the business of selling snow throwers. After five weeks of nonstop phone calls and emergency shipments of product, everything is finally settling down and things are getting back to normal. All in all, they say it may be the worst winter in 60 years. And, unfortunately, it's not over yet.

Above is a photograph of the ten plus foot snow pile that has become a (semi-)permanent resident of our cul-de-sac.

This is a biography...

I (Joseph Vavak) am a photographer from Omaha, Nebraska that has a somewhat puzzling obsession with the mundane and the everyday. My photography is the result of what happens when someone cursed with a photographic memory and the mind of an engineer becomes wrapped up in the freedom of creating something unique to his existence.

2010 marks the completion and unveiling of ninety-three, a photographic record of the state of Nebraska. ninety-three features one photograph for every one of Nebraska's counties, the result of countless miles spent wandering my home state. It is a random collection of memories and places unlike most any portrait of Nebraska that you might have seen. ninety-three is about getting to know exactly where it is I come from and recording everything that I encountered along the way.

ninety-three will be on display at the Hot Shops Art Center in Omaha, Nebraska in May of 2010. The show will be opening during the Hot Shops' spring open house weekend.



Exhibitions
May 2006
Corning Center For The Fine Arts in Corning, Iowa
Miniseries

October 2006
W. Dale Clark Library in Omaha, Nebraska
One MWPSE Student Exhibition

November 2006
Hillmer Art Gallery in Omaha, Nebraska
Artist and Mentor Show

April 2007
The Art Of Music in Nebraska City, Nebraska
inexterior

January 2008
Hot Shops Art Center in Omaha, Nebraska
Miniseries 2.0

May 2010
Hot Shops Art Center in Omaha, Nebraska
selections from ninety-three

May 2012
Hot Shops Art Center in Omaha, Nebraska
selections from The Magic City


For references, inquiries or any other questions that you might have, please contact me at josephvavak at gmail.com.