"Night News" - an occasional missive from the darkness
Vol.5 No.3
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"I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree.
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for a honeybee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

"And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow.
And evening full of the linnet's wings."

-"The Lake Isle of Innisfree" (1892)
William Butler Yeats
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Friends of The Nocturnes,

Well, here we are edging into summer already! With the Solstice (June 21) upon us, we find ourselves "slipping into darkness" as the hours of darkness available to us increases until December 21, when the reverse takes place. Life and light-cycles, patterns, rituals - all around us. Now on to news of upcoming rituals of note.

EXHIBITS NOTED
"Reflections on the West of Ireland" - a series of images by Tim Baskerville from his many trips to Ireland, now graces the lobby of the Magic Theatre, here in San Francisco, for their production of "The Lonesome West," a play by Martin McDonagh, Tony-Award winning author of "The Beauty Queen of Leenane." Set in the West of Ireland, the play has been hailed as "ebullient, intimate and hugely entertaining . . . one is immediately reminded of Sam Shephard's 'True West,' albeit channeled through the sardonic post-modern gestalt of Quentin Tarantino" (Chicago Tribune). The show runs thru July 6, 2003; visit www.magictheatre.org for show times, hours, etc.

Three images from the Dream Date Series by Tim Baskerville continue to be shown as part of "Selections 2003" at the Mills Building, 220 Bush, in San Francisco. The exhibit continues thru June 27, 2003. Also, "Dream Date #2, Death Valley" recently sold at the auction supporting ArtSpan and San Francisco Open Studios, finding a good home for the work!

The twenty artists participating in "Studio Nocturne" at Fort Mason, as part of SF Open Studios in October, held their first meeting recently. Looks like a good, dedicated group of photographers and painters taking part in this event. Go to: www.thenocturnes.com/studionocturne.htm - for more info and a list of participating artists, with links to their Web sites. And look out for a lot of 'tie-in' events as we approach the October 18-19 dates of Open Studios at Fort Mason!

WORKSHOP NEWS
Lance Keimig and Christian Weber have just now finished up their first Mono Lake Workshop - www.monophoto.org - attended by an appropriate number of The Nocturnes Workshop Series alumni. Word is that the night sky was "to die for" - well, we expect to see some work posted to the site soon, lads!

Advance bookings for September's Full Moon Night Photography Workshop in San Francisco, with Tom Paiva and Tim Baskerville (and special guest speakers) have been brisk, this far out from the actual registration deadline! There are still a number of spaces available, but if you're interested (or know someone who is) we would suggest registering as early as you can.

Also, it's none too early (in fact, it's just about right) to sign up for our return to Death Valley in November. The last two trips (Nov. 2002 and March 2003) were great - Tom Paiva (www.tompaiva.com) was along with us on both trips, and will be there this November, as well. Visit http://www.thenocturnes.com/deathvalley2.htm to register. Also, why not have a look at - http://www.thenocturnes.com/deathvalley2002/index.htm - for some work done on those trips?

Soon, we will be announcing dates and other info for our newest offering - "Dark Pixels: The Digital Nocturne" This symposium will investigate the latest trends, equipment, software, and best practices of the digital realm, as they apply to Night Photography. Spearheaded by The Nocturnes founder, Tim Baskerville, with special guest presenters, all helping decode the landscape of Digital Night Photography. Scheduled for November, 2003 (dates TBA) proposed topics will include: digital and hybrid workflows, scanning issues, black and white digital, the grain/noise comparison, and more! The symposium will benefit those new to night photography and the digital realm, as they investigate the nocturne as an avenue of artistic expression. It will also appeal to more advanced night 'shooters' who are undertaking their first foray into the digital realm ("coming over to the dark side" as one Nocturnist refers to it!). Look for more information re: this event on the Web site in the next few weeks - www.thenocturnes.com/darkpixels.htm

BOOKS AND ARTICLES NOTED
The May issue of Outdoor Photographer featured the Bay Area's own Rolfe Horn. Entitled: "Behind the Sunset," written by William Sawalich, it included seven images on six pages.

There is a new O.Winston Link monograph out! Entitled "The Last Steam Railroad in America, " it includes 24 examples of Link's color work, as well as night photographs. Check out PhotoEye - http://www.photoeye.com/OpenSearchEmail.cfm?Catalog=ab148 - for more info.

And, more Good News! Lost America, the book, is now available. Authored by our own Troy Paiva (with an introduction by Stan Ridgway of Wall of Voodoo fame), it is available at Amazon and other fine online (and off) outlets. Troy is also selling a limited number of signed copies through his website. Check out the site - www.lostamerica.com - for more information. So . . . get 'lost!'

German photographer Berthold Steinhilber's new book, "Ghost Towns of the American West" is now out. Many of you are familiar with this work, as it appeared in the Smithsonian Magazine a few years back. Imagine if you will, a continuation of that work. A beautiful glossy ode to the night, dramatic lighting, and derelict architecture and artifacts. (See LIBRARY NOTES below, and Steinhilber's Web site - http://www.bertholdsteinhilber.com)

More book news - Tim will be ensconced in a study room at the Univeristy of San Francisco for the next week or so, writing the foreward to Matthew Lennert's (www.matthewdonovanlennert.com) book of black and white night photography, to be published late this summer. Look for more details as we near the shipping date.

There is a nice piece about Michael Kenna (a tie-in to the upcoming Photo San Francisco 2003 - see RELATED NEWS below) in the July issue of the Fort Mason Center calendar/newsletter. Available at all fine art venues in the Fort Mason Center (http://www.fortmason.org).

ALUMNI NEWS
Our semi-annual AlumNight event will be held on Saturday, July 12, from 2-5pm at the San Francisco Photography Center in the Harvey Milk Recreation Arts Building at 50 Scott Street (at Duboce). RSVP to us - workshop@thenocturnes.com - as soon as you can - we'll need an accurate count. Small donations will be encouraged/accepted at the event - to help offset the space rental.

Marc Babsin seems to always have some work up somewhere - good work Marc! His latest card, coming via USPS has a beautiful 5x7 Color image of the Lisbon Train Station - you should see this image! - have a look http://www.marcbabsin.com - the announcement is for a show that runs thru June 30th, with a closing reception on June 26 (5-7pm) at Infusion, 555 2nd street, here in San Francisco.

March saw Howie Spielman show his "Night Trails" work at Castro Photo - fascinating stuff, exploring the effects of photographing car and street lights at night - but with a new twist! Howie has put a lot of thought into this, separating this work into two groups - one in which the car itself is moving (the effect is not so obvious) and in the other, a more traditional approach and a static camera position. See http://tristesse.com/~howie/Photos/NightTrails/index.html for examples.

JP Andrews shows work from her "Redeye: Night Trips" series at Green Bean, 5557 Claremont Avenue, in Oakland, thru June 30. Presented as part of Pro Arts (http://www.proartsgallery.org) East Bay Open Studios 2003.

Don't forget, friends - the annual Angel Island Photo Camp event is coming up in October. Open to Alumni only, email us for the specifics as they become available. This special event has a limited number of slots, and will fill up fast again this year, so you need to make your interest known . . .

Updated AlumniLinks:
Candice Kollar / http://www.kollardesign.com
Howie Spielman / http://tristesse.com/~howie/Photos/NightTrails/index.html
(Let us know if we missed your site!)

CALL FOR ENTRIES
Note, that in the next few days we will be posting the Prospectus for "Surrealistic Nocturne," the latest in our series of online Exhibitions of Night Photography! Tim has many times pointed out the strong connection between surrealism and night photography (as evidenced by his often-quoted statement on our home page) so we thought it about time to devote a show to the study of that idea. "Surrealistic Nocturne" will explore the linkage between the Surrealists (with their various manifestos) and the natural inclination of night photographers to transform the everyday, the 'ever-seen,' the mundane, the industrial sites ('readymades') into works of art. Be sure to visit - http://www.thenocturnes.com/entries.htm - for a full Prospectus for the show, in the next week or so.

Preliminary work continues in the planning of the "Embarcadero Nocturne" exhibit to take place in Winter 2003-2004 at venues along the Embarcadero (from Pier 35, southward to China Basin and the Ball Park). To date we have a number of dedicated nocturnists with work to show, but we need to start looking at locations to show this work. We will more than likely be approaching the newly-reopened Ferry Building, Houstons (the restaurant), South Beach CafÈ, and the Embarcadero Center. Any suggestions, contacts can be emailed directly to us at the address below.

IN RELATED NEWS
Tim and I "tabled" for The Nocturnes at the recent Expo for the Artist (Sunday, May 4), an annual event that brings individual artists together with galleries, nonprofits, arts service groups and other members of the community. Held at Cellspace, The Expo for the Artist typically has more than 75 organizations tabling, and brings in 800 or more walk-up attendees. We saw a lot of old friends and made a lot of new ones.

More news of Fort Mason - Michael Kenna and Todd Hido are part of a Photographer's Panel, "Landscape: The View From Here" at Photo San Francisco 2003, the 4th San Francisco Photographic Print Exposition, July 24-27 - www.photosanfrancisco.net - held at the Herbst Pavilion, Ft. Mason Center. Michael again has donated two limited edition photographs taken at the Fort for the Fort Mason Center Historic Preservation Fund.

Also at Photo San Francisco 2003, Keith F. Davis, Fine Art Programs Director, Hallmark Cards, Inc., participates in a Collecting Panel: "Collecting and Connoisseurship: A Field Guide to the Most Important Places." Some of you may know Mr. Davis as the Chief Curator of "Night Light, A survey of 20th Night Photography," a traveling exhibit (1989-1991), and author of the catalog for that exhibit. Looks like Fort Mason is once again, the place to be in late July!

LIBRARY NOTES
Marin Revealed, Bev Schneir and Glynis Mariani, with a preface by Michael Kenna. Skylight Editions, 2002. ISBN 0-9721452-0-6
Weegee's World, Miles Barth. Bulfinch Press, 2000. ISBN 0-8212-2649-5
Ghost Towns of the American West, Berthold Steinhilber, with a forward by Wim Wenders. Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, 2003. ISBN 0-8109-4508-8
City by the Bay, San Francisco in Art & Literature, SFMOMA. Universe Publishing, 2002. ISBN 0-7893-0675-1
Readymades, American Roadside Artifacts, Jeff Brouws. Chronicle Books, 2003. ISBN 0-8118-3677-0
Itlaian Dreams, Photographs by Steve Rothfeld. Collins Publishers San Francisco, 1995. ISBN 0-00-225066-7
The World of the Druids, Miranda J. Green. Thames & Hudson Ltd, 1997. ISBN 0-500-05083-x
The Tree, John Fowles & Frank Horvat. Little Brown & Co, 1979. ISBN 79-89975
Magritte, Siegfried Gohr. SFMOMA, 2000. ISBN 0-8109-6700-6
One Hundred Aspects of the Moon, Japanese Woodblock prints by Yoshitoshi, Tamara Tjardes. Museum of New Mexico Press, 2003. ISBN 0-89013-413-8
The Land, Twentieth Century Landscape Photographs, selected by Bill Brandt. DaCapo, 1976. ISBN 0-306-80026-8
Surrealist Art, Sarane Alexanrian. Thames & Hudson Ltd, 1970, 1997. ISBN 0-500-20097-1
Twilight, Photographs by Gregory Crewdson. Harry N. Abrams Inc, Publishers, 2002. ISBN 0-8109-1003-9

MUSICAL NOTES
Counterfeit 2, Martin Gore, 2003 Mute/Reprise Records #48469-2
Penguin, Fleetwood Mac (pre-L.Buckingham/S.Nicks era), 1973 Reprise Records #2138-2
Punk Jazz, The Jaco Pastorius Anthology, 2003 Warner Bros/Rhino Records #R2-73779
The Phoneix Concerts-Live, John Stewart (pre-L.Buckingham era), 1974 RCA/One Way Records #OW34505
One Quiet Night, Pat Methany, 2003 Warner Bros #48473-2 (Check out the Night photography on this one!)
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This concludes this edition of "Night News." As always, this and past issues of "Night News" are accessible at http://www.thenocturnes.com/nitenews.htm And, even if you must "go now . . . to Innisfree," try and remember: ". . . let's be careful out there."

Susan Nichols
nichols@thenocturnes.com
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"It's been ages since you visited any of us . . . "

The Nocturnes family of Web sites:
http://www.thenocturnes.com
http://www.timbaskerville.com
http://www.meersfamily.org