Ajay Malghan

Since I’ve spent the last week looking through old work I’ve found shots that I totally forgotten about, this one was a pleasant surprise since it has all my favorite colors.  I took it walking back to the BART after shooting TVOTR at Treasure Island.  I’m pretty sure I used a parking meter for stabilization.

My cousin Ravi took this shot during the ceremony.  The little guy was past his bedtime but there was no way he was going to miss out on the fun. I think he was yawning in all the family portraits.

I just pulled up this song on Itunes, if this song doesn’t make you feel something you’ve probably lost the will to live.  Richard Ashcroft may have his moments of pure insanity but his voice is as pure as they come.

Aside from however long I was under today I’ve slept four hours in the past two days.  This new project has given me a whole new eye on how to to approach my work.  Usually surgery days are hectic and a blur of nonsensical rambling but it was the most uneventful surgery day ever; its safe to say I have it down to a science.   You know you have the world’s greatest mom when upon arriving home from the hospital she tells you she got you ice cream, Ben+Jerry’s Pistachio to be exact.  That’s when you know everything is going to be alright.  The best part of my day?  Seeing Autolux at the Black Cat with Demetri.  The  bar stage left was closed so we had perfect views from the stools and I was off my feet.

This shot fits the tones and feel of”Horizon” perfectly but I couldn’t replicate the tones on a 4×5.  I’ll try again tomorrow but I have a feeling the tones are drawing off the wide cropping, without half of the negative space it loses its impact.

In my handful of years as an artist, no project has come together so easily as this one.  I think its due to numerous factors but the main one is either patience or purpose.  Sticking close to the story line cuts out all the guess work as well as disengaging the ego.

Tomorrow I’m going to upload The Long Way Home to my website so everyone can see it.  My reason for keeping it hidden this long is I wanted to leave some element of mystery but its irrelevant when no one is even looking for it.  I submitted it as my portfolio for Grad school and it got me a scholarship.  All I wanted was to sell 100 copies of it so I could break even, I guess I came out on top.

I took this shot on the side of the road somewhere in Arizona.  I was driving to the Grand Canyon and a snowstorm came out of nowhere….in May.

On Wednesday I’m getting my 16th surgery, a core decompression and scope of my left knee.  They drill holes in the knee where the AVN has taken over then clear out any debris from the drilling.  I had the same procedure less than two years ago and in 2001 as well; that batch of surgeries is why I had to leave Santa Barbara.  This surgery has convinced me that this body is just a vessel and I’m just occupying it while I carve out a life for myself this time around.  We know so little about this disease, it makes no sense why its come back 10 years after the prednisone brought it around.  If anything its taught me to let go and take whatever life gives you, I can control nearly everything in my life other than this disease.  Six surgeries in the last 2 1/2 years is nuts, I remember thinking I was going to die during my 10th surgery.  Now I’m so desensitized that surgery has become a regular part of my life like making records. The reality of the situation is the world doesn’t give a fuck what you’ve been through.  You have to create a great piece of art regardless of your circumstances, great art stands on its own legs over time.

I’m putting together a new collection called Lost on the Horizon.  Its a different set than the one I mentioned of a couple days ago.  The theme came to me today while sitting on the Beltway.  Apparently Black Sabbath and 100 degree heat can instigate some great ideas.  Instead of going solo like I did while creating The Long Way Home I’m using Demetri and Benj’s feedback.

If you’re thinking about Tommy Lee Jones driving across the plains looking for Javier Bardem then my job is complete.

Something in the new National Geographic made me think of the drive on the way to Moab.  I think this shot is portfolio worthy.

I’m putting together a new collection of work that’s focused on landscapes shot in film.  They won’t be similar to my previous work like The Long Way Home which was conceptualized and had a broad selection of shots.   These shots will be focused on the moment, time,place and the vagueness of it all.  Nearly every shot was taken two summers ago as I barreled across the Midwest to get to California.  I figured if I can’t create any new work that stimulates my interest than I should find that intangible missing element in my previous work.  If I take away anything from this collection, its to never stop shooting film.

I never tried the soul food when I lived in Oakland but I got hooked on it this past week.  I’m pretty sure the recipe for sweet tea in the South is a cup of sugar and half a cup of water, it makes soda a healthy alternative. Sugar is just as bad any drug, its probably worse because American culture has become used to having it in everything.

A perfect wedding for two people that were made for each other.  I didn’t take my camera either day, some days its good just to be a brother.  Its even better to be an uncle to this kid.