Jenn LeBlanc

I am passionate about photography and I fell into photojournalism quite by accident, but when I fell, I fell hard. Since my graduation with a BA in photojournalism I have worked on the staff of a small community driven group of papers that I fell in love with and was offered two separate staff positions at local papers which I turned down. Turning those positions down was the hardest thing I had ever done, and I was convinced it was career suicide at the time, but I was making a fortune shooting prep sports for an agency and really could not afford to take a huge paycut to go back to a newsroom. I would have gone back to the newsroom, just because I LOVE the newsroom, but I also knew the other shooters up for the positions, so it all worked out for the better in the end and I haven’t looked back for one second. I now freelance for both of the papers, no hard feelings, and I love the little bit of newspaper work that I do get to do, but I am definitely not paying the bills with it. I do it, because I love it.

Lately I have gotten back into the art of photography, where I started, making artful images with the driving forces being color and composition as opposed to content. Now don’t get your panties in a bind. I know the best of photojournalism also uses color and composition, I am only saying that for PJism the drive of the image is content, for art the drive is the other. Inevitably they all work together, just from opposite ends of the spectrum.

When shooting on assignment the goal is to get the image that tells the story, so you look for the decisive moment and you compose, frame and use the surroundings to create a moving and powerful statement that says exactly what it needs to say. When shooting for art you generally pick a subject by color, contrast, texture, light, movement or some other intangible offering that catches your eye and you focus and frame and work to translate what you see to film, or whatever medium you are using. So the basic approach is different. While PJism may be considered linear, art can be considered circular. PJism has a clear beginning, middle and end where art moves and grows and comes back then fades away again.

At least that is how I see it. For right now I have two shows hanging and a third on the way. The basis for the big show on Larimer is COLOR. The flow, movement, texture and bleed of different tones and hues as told by diptychs and triptychs that are seemingly unrelated. I love color. My first color class was working with chrome and I shot medium format Velvia and the color was so rich your mouth watered. Blatant, bold, powerful, juicy, color.

So stop by and see it at

Violet

1439 Larimer Square, Denver CO.

Or come to the official “Not First Friday!” Opening Celebration October 16th at 5pm

we will have treats, champagne and masterful singing from the master Mr. Adam Goldstein.

The other show is a group work from the Iris Photo Agency. Four of us put together a small collection of work which is currently displayed at

Cafe 13,

1301 Arapahoe Golden, CO.

See what this group of beautiful, brazen women has put together for you.

For today, after talking about art, I leave you with PJism, just to balance it out. Because I LOVE shooting Friday Night Lights. Even in available darkness.

These images were made two years ago as I followed the Douglas County Huskies through their season to the championship game which they ultimately lost. You could see their drive and spirit all year and knew from watching them they were destined for greatness, which made the heartache that much more powerful at the end.