Mound City Chronicle

STL250 Celebration, from the roof of Saint Louis Art Museum, 2014.

Since moving back to St. Louis (my birthplace) in 2009, my creative focus has been the city itself. I photographed to reorient myself with a place I’d lost familiarity with in an effort to find myself somewhere within it. Over time, this exploration matured into a cohesive body of work that is a testament to this search, but also a chronicle of the forces of change that are ever present in St. Louis–a process exuded by human inhabitants of the region for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

With this process in mind, of emergence and evanescence, Mound City Chronicle was born.

Moonlighting

The more you walk down the worn path of art, the more you realize that what’s required of you often goes beyond whatever discipline you’ve elected to pursue. The most successful working artists are their own marketers, social media managers, graphic designers, web developers, business managers, and so much more, in addition to being excellent at their craft.

For me, as someone managing my own art trajectory, acting as the Founding Director of Photo Flood Saint Louis, and as a small business owner, I’ve worn a lot of hats. One of the roles that I’ve assumed increasingly, and rather enjoyed, is that of (an incredibly amateur) Graphic Designer. This post is to show off some of my favorite designs created over the years.

My Best of 2017 (part one)

1. former JC Penny Building in Wells Goodfellow for Photo Flood Saint Louis (PFSTL)

As mentioned in my “Best of” post for last year, 2016 pretty much wrecked my life, so it should come as no surprise that 2017 was a year of contemplation, reassessment and rebuilding. As 2018 dawns, I am concluding or have concluded several projects, some positive/some negative, some personal/some public, and am ready to welcome the start of what’s next. Enjoy this numbered list of my favorite images from last year, with some anecdotes sprinkled in between (this is a two-parter for the first time; look for the second one later in the month).

Photo Flood 59: Tiffany*

Photo Flood Saint Louis is an organization that I created almost five years ago for photographers in St. Louis.  PFSTL offers great opportunities to network, share images, learn from more experienced shooters, and more, but mostly, it tells the story of the city, neighborhood by neighborhood.  In fact, every month we visit a new neighborhood, meet new people, visit new businesses, and show the world (or at least the internet) what makes St. Louis a dynamic place to live, warts and all.

As organizer, I rarely miss an event, but it has happened.  Over the years, I missed out on covering the southside neighborhoods of Mt. Pleasant and Tiffany.  This post is about me finally getting a chance to walk around one of them.

Photo Flood 18*: Mt. Pleasant

Photo Flood Saint Louis is an organization that I created almost five years ago for photographers in St. Louis.  PFSTL offers great opportunities to network, share images, learn from more experienced shooters, and more, but mostly, it tells the story of the city, neighborhood by neighborhood.  In fact, every month we visit a new neighborhood, meet new people, visit new businesses, and show the world (or at least the internet) what makes St. Louis a dynamic place to live, warts and all.

As organizer, I rarely miss an event, but it has happened.  Over the years, I missed out on covering the southside neighborhoods of Mt. Pleasant and Tiffany.  This post is about me finally getting a chance to walk around one of them.

My Best of 2016

1. reveler at St. Louis Mardi Gras for PFSTL (Photo Flood Saint Louis)

Time again for my annual post of my favorite images (24 this time) and personal accomplishments.  To my recollection, very few years of my 36 or so in the world rival 2016 in terms of sheer awfulness.  I mean, the year was literally ushered in with a devastating flood for the record books….

Interlude: PFSTL Top Ten, #1. Dutchtown

Photo Flood Saint Louis turns four this August.  This post is a continuation of a countdown to commemorate this exciting milestone.

Dutchtown, named after a mispronunciation of “deutsch”, is St. Louis’ most populated neighborhood, and equally one of the city’s most threatened and potential-rich.

Interlude: PFSTL Top Ten, #2. Forest Park Southeast

Photo Flood Saint Louis turns four this August.  This post is a continuation of a countdown to commemorate this exciting milestone.

Forest Park Southeast is a neighborhood of contrasts.  The blocks north of Manchester look and feel very different from those south of it.  The area’s central business district, sort of an alternative to South Grand and Cherokee Street, seems perpetually half-revitalized (one of the street’s best known businesses, Sweetie Pie’s, just announced its closure).

To summarize why this is is a difficult thing to do, but I’d wager that the neighborhood will only remain this way for a short time longer.  As Central West End and Midtown to its north continue to attract new start-up investment, and Botanical Heights further matures to its east, FPSE has a good future outlook.

Interlude: PFSTL Top Ten, #3. Bevo Mill

Photo Flood Saint Louis turns four this August.  This post is a continuation of a countdown to commemorate this exciting milestone.

It is perhaps unsurprising that the south side’s most recognizable architectural feature would make it onto this list.  However, namesake aside, the Bevo Mill neighborhood is distinctive due to its cultural richness.  After all, the St. Louis area features the largest population of former Yugoslavic peoples outside of the Balkans, and this neighborhood is the local epicenter.

Interlude: PFSTL Top Ten, #4. The Hill

Photo Flood Saint Louis turns four this August.  This post is a continuation of a countdown to commemorate this exciting milestone.

There are many things that draw visitors to the city of St. Louis, baseball, Forest Park, The Arch, but probably, the neighborhood most popular with out-of-towners (for what it uniquely offers as a neighborhood) is The Hill.