Oregon Arts District Book

I was charged with creating this book at the beginning of the summer. I have finally finished it, and would like to share it with all of you. Thanks to those who stuck with me through the process! Let me know what you think.

Pieces of The ...

In Photographs

By Amanda Baker

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Not From Here

Has-Beens

I have done a lot of traveling in the past year to places that may not be the hottest spots for a vacation. These two towns by no means are many people's destinations. Nevertheless, I've ended up there. In both Forks, Washington and Salem, Massachusettes, there is a strange kind of simplicity that I find very inviting. Both towns prosper largely due to tourism and not much else. Over the years it seems they have lost their significance as important places. While Salem still holds a much larger population than Forks, both seem to exist for people who are merely passing through. I personally feel that they have much more to offer than this. In any case, these are two of my favorite places in the US. They are both beautiful and strange, and indeed beautifully strange.

Taking Flight

A Common Thread--Dancers & Paint

No matter where my photography takes me, it always seems to circle back to the beginning of my creative development. Growing up, I was a dancer. I spent 16 years of my life dedicated to the craft, half of which were spent in a company in Columbus. This summer I have had multiple opportunities to photograph the collaboration between local dancers and painters. These images are some of my favorite to come out of the summer thus far. Photographing dance allows me to, once again, enjoy the anticipation of movement and fleeting moments of synchronicity, only this time from a different perspective.

The End of an Era

Summer Projects

For the summer, I will be living and working in Dayton as part of Summer Space, a program for emerging artists in the Oregon Arts District. As part of this program, I will be sponsored to make my own, new body of work that I will be posting periodically on this site, as well as photographing events around Dayton and the Oregon Arts Disrtict. I have also been sponsored to make a coffee table for the District that will eventually be sold in galleries. For now, I have been asked to keep a blog for the program, so please feel free to keep up with the goings on of Summer Space, as well as see my documentary photographs of these events by going, here. Above are some photos of the Excelsior building, where our studio space is held.