Joseph Vavak 2/9/11 Joseph Vavak 2/9/11

A second look: 93 in 2010

February finds Nebraska still stuck in the midst of the winter doldrums. Tuesday was the coldest day of the winter with daytime temperatures barely climbing above zero. While I enjoy winter, it's nice to know that the end is in sight. Just a few more weeks until spring break and (hopefully) some warmer temperatures.

Just another evening spent occupying my time by looking back at last year and making plans for the coming one. I'm anxious to hit the road.

near Bassett, Nebraska

State Fair Park in Lincoln, Nebraska

near Long Pine, Nebraska

near Fordyce, Nebraska

Joseph Vavak 1/11/11 Joseph Vavak 1/11/11

A second look: The Platte

While I've been busy with school and hiding from the cold, there hasn't been a much to report on this blog about my activities. January, as it tends to do, finds me looking through photographs I've made during the last year.

The following details were created along the Platte River near Louisville, Nebraska in July. It was an incredibly hot day and, with all the flooding we had received, the river was running higher than it usually would in the heat of summer. At one point, I stepped into the thickest mud I may have ever seen. My shoe very nearly disappeared and I spent a good half an hour trying to get the dark mud off before I dragged it into the car.

I need to get out on a fan boat one of these days.

Joseph Vavak 12/23/10 Joseph Vavak 12/23/10

The Ol' Subaru

As most everyone I know can attest, I have a strange obsession with everything Subaru. I've had a handful of them over the years. The '99 Impreza pictured above was with me for nearly ten years before I passed it on and was my companion for much of my travels throughout the state of Nebraska. I drove confidently on gravel and dirt, sometimes in areas without any people around for many miles and it never let me down. Unfortunately, the car died an early death this year, the victim of a timing belt failure at 160,000 some odd miles.

The photograph above was submitted to a Subaru photo contest. It was taken in the summer of 2007 on Panorama Point, the highest point in the state of Nebraska. As you can see, the Point isn't all that much taller than its surroundings. It's not all that easy to get to, either. The only way to get there involves many miles of gravel roads and a pasture path.

Since the photograph never was published by Subaru, I thought I'd put it here in honor of all of our travels together.

Joseph Vavak 12/15/10 Joseph Vavak 12/15/10

Another year gone by...

2010 has been a good year, all in all. My first solo exhibition was a success and I am finally able to call ninety-three completely finished. There were some ups and downs, as there are with every year, but I'm closer to earning my degree and am happy to say that I'm convinced 2011 will be even better.

As for my current projects, I'm in roughly the same place I was a year ago. Still undecided on what direction to go with the yet-untitled family project, with a couple other ideas in the earliest stages of development. I'm hoping an idea will reach out and grab me like Nebraska did.

To make up for the lack of photographs of late, here are a few yet-unseen images from the family project...