thomas bacon photography

I’m happy to announce that a new company, Austin Handmade, is featuring my photography.  As you can probably infer, they carry locally made art, clothing, cards, and other items.  I also photographed most of the model and product photography for the site, which was fun because they feature some great local work.

If you’d like to visit my page on the site directly, click here.

They are having a launch party on Thursday 10/16.  Should be fun.  Many of the artists will be there.

10/16/08    7PM
Gallery Lombardi
602 West Seventh St. Suite A, Austin, TX 78701 US
Map

Since my friends first started having kids, and especially since I found out I was having my own, I’ve become increasingly interested in pregnancy photography.  Since then, I have photographed a few women(and their partners) who are expecting children.  I’ve tried to get away from many of the pitfall clichés of much of the pregnancy photography I’ve seen, and experimented with different techniques, including the Diana+ camera.  I would love to expand my portfolio in this direction, so please let me know if you know anyone who might be interested.

To view the new gallery, click here.

I’ve recently done some work for two non-profit magazines, one local and one national. Farfelu Magazine is a Texas-based publication that

“exists to give voice to writers and artists in all places - especially Austin - and to celebrate their diversity and their skills.”

The theme of the issue was “motherhood” and one of the editors, Elisabeth, contacted me after seeing some photographs at Clementine and asked if they could run some. They ended up running four, and I was very happy with the outcome. You can see tear sheets from the issue here, here, and here. You can order an issue here.

ColorLines Magazine, a national non-profit that covers issues of race and class, also hired me to take some photos of houses in East Austin for an article on immigrant housing. Click on the thumbnail to the left to see the tear sheet, or even better order an issue.

I’m excited to be showing about 30 or so images at a local coffee shop here in Austin during the month of April. Karinne, the owner, is an old friend and is allowing me the run of the place, so to speak, so it will be filled exclusively with my work. Please check it out if you’re in Austin. We’ll be hanging them this Sunday, April 6, and it will probably run for the rest of the month. The website for Clementine is at clementinecoffeebar.com, and the map below will help you get there… Lots of thanks to Karinne, as well as Kymberlie and Billy Wood for helping me with the framing and hanging.

Thematically, this show will be all over the map. I’m hoping that it won’t be too visually disconcerting. Everything from my documentary style work from Latin America, the Middle East, and the US, to more fine-art prints and even some architectural work.

And of course, please get a cup of coffee and something to eat while you’re there. Clementine is one of my favorite local spots, as anyone who has seen the 10 half-filled coffee cards in my wallet can attest to. The staff are all very cool (the morning shift knows me as “Elliot’s dad”), and the coffee is very good.

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I just finished a new site for a local Austin Filmmaker and photographer John Fiege. I’m really happy with it, it is an ultra simple design that highlights his excellent visual work. I did another site for a film he’s worked on, and his documentary Mississippi Chicken is being received really well. Please check out his site at http://fiegefilms.com.

I recently made a triptych of my son Elliot. To see a larger version click on the thumbnail below. (Warning it’s about 800 pixels wide so it may take some time to open). It was made with a Diana+ camera, a replica of a popular toy camera made in Hong Kong in the early 60’s.

I’ve been working on a project for MPOWER, a Workers’ Center in Morton, MS. According to their site, they are:

…a membership-based workers’ center that works to build healthy communities by promoting economic and social justice in the state’s poultry producing region and workplaces. We are a collaboration of poultry workers of diverse backgrounds, civil rights and immigrants’ rights organizations, religious leaders, labor unions, employment justice groups, and other community partners.

They had an old, hand-coded website that was difficult for them to maintain and update. Not to mention a stingy web host. They also wanted to consolidate and organize their data in a more useful way (Five excel sheets floating around causes problems). So, I redesigned their site, installed a new content management system (Drupal), and a new “Constituent Relationship Management” system, CiviCRM. Hosting was provided free by Higher Media (Thanks Neil! Check out his new documentary Our Bombs).

Please visit their site at http://mpowercenter.org and consider making a donation to support the important work that they do!

I’ve been working for while now on a documentary short website, Children in Jail. It’s about the Hutto prison in Taylor, Texas, that holds families, including children. I recommend y’all check out the website (and give me feedback on the design): http://childreninjail.com.

Also I just did a bit of work for another documentary that is already out, Inside the Circle. I haven’t seen it, but it looks great, and is getting very good reviews. From the website:

Capturing the raw power of a grassroots hip-hop movement in the heart of Texas, INSIDE THE CIRCLE tells the story of two strikingly talented b-boys, Josh and Omar, former best friends who become rivals when they join competing dance crews. Immersed in the b-boy culture of defiant creativity, Omar rises to international renown while Josh tangles with the Texas criminal justice system. Both of them struggle to keep dance at the center of their lives, and the “B-Boy City” competitive events thrown by visionary street dancer Romeo Navarro serve as emotional milestones in their journey to adulthood. Facing off in intense dance battles that mirror the larger events in their lives, Josh and Omar seek redemption, identity and respect “inside the circle.” As Romeo aptly observes: “If you can hold yourself down in battle, you can hold yourself down in life.”

Check out the website at www.insidethecircle.com.

Last weekend I shot the 2007 “Stitch Fashion Show and Guerrilla Craft Bazaar“, put on every year by the ladies of the Austin Craft Mafia. This is a pretty amazing event. They’ve grown so quickly that in the five years they’ve been putting it on they’ve progressively outgrown each venue. This year they sold out the Austin Convention Center.

I was assigned to shoot documentary-style images, and given free-reign to shoot what I wanted, which was cool since some photographers had very specific roles. I shot a lot of the backstage preparations, as well as the vendors, crowds, and events happening in the main exhibition hall area.

Thanks so much to Tina Sparkles and Jesse for the opportunity.

You can view a Flickr set of the photos here.

I was honored to be asked to photograph my dear friends wedding on the 6th. It was an amazing, beautiful event, although it’s always hard to take it in when you’re working hard at the same time. It was also the first gay wedding i’ve attended. Shockingly, they don’t seem to be that common in Texas (some wedding attendees had trouble convincing their bosses that they weren’t lying).


To learn more about gay marriage you can visit Atticus Circle, the organization that Marti works for.