Tim Gruber and Jenn Ackerman use both photography and video to tell stories for editorial and commercial clients. 
The last time we were in Stillwater we were Christmas tree shopping with Tim’s parents and enjoying a bowl of chili at Leo’s. It was great to get back to the quaint little river town of Stillwater even if it was on a tight deadline. Here is the story for The New York Times.
One of the most visually stimulating things I have photographed since moving to Minnesota was the Eelpout Festival in Walker, MN.
The festival that celebrates ice fishing is 3 hours north of Minneapolis in Walker, MN. People have called it Mardi Gras on Ice. About 14,000 people crowd on a lake, build ice houses, bars, dance clubs and fish for Minnesota’s version of spring break. Even though the numbers were way down this year, this town’s Spring Break on Ice lived up to its name.
I am so excited that two of my images have been chosen for an upcoming exhibit, Woman as Photographer: Documenting Life as a Woman, at the Minneapolis Photo Center. Curated by Christina Chang of the Weisman Art Museum, the exhibition focuses on female representation and photography from a female perspective.
Here is a review in Mlps St. Paul Magazine:
Billed as “a smart, critical take on women with cameras,” Woman as Photographer: Picturing Life as a Woman follows a line of discourse that has been going on for decades. In the 1970s, questions about the lack of female photographers in the history of the field arose, as well as concerns about equal access to training and work. As more women got behind the lens, the discussion gradually shifted to questions about female representation in photography, gender issues, and identity. That’s where Woman as Photographer picks up the thread.
“The beauty of art,” says Chang, “is that it calls perceptions into question.”
This is also the first time I have printed any of my 4×5 images large and I was blown away at the detail and quality of the print. Seeing the 24×30 print is simply breathtaking. I am so glad I decided to work on these last two projects with my 4×5 and look forward to printing them all this large or larger one day soon.
DETAILS:
Woman as Photographer: Documenting Life as a Woman
Minneapolis Photo Center
2400 North Second Street, Minneapolis, MN 55411
Exhibit Opening Reception: March 11, 7-10 PM
Exhibition: March 11- April 17, 2011
Before we moved to Minneapolis, we were given an enormous amount of survival tips. Some people told us to escape winter altogether and go to warm Arizona like our Snowbird friends. Others said to buy woolly socks and hunker down. And a lot of people told us that the only way to survive winter in the Upper Midwest is to just enjoy it. We took that to heart.
Since moving here, we have learned how to ice skate, bought a closet full of winter clothes and a 10 pound box of hand warmers, and have throughly enjoyed the winter. In fact, as the snow begins to melt we are already mourning our outings to the rink near our house.
I say this now that it is a little warmer. I wasn’t singing the same tune when it was -20 degrees windchill and I couldn’t focus my camera because my fingers had frozen. I now have a greater appreciation for large format photography. Almost every weekend Tim and I ventured out in the coldest weather of the year in the coldest part of the country and made photos. Here are some photos from my first winter in Minnesota.
A couple of weeks ago we were commissioned by The New York Times to document a winter wedding we will never forget.
Dorothy and Charlie, both of whom are in their 80s, fell in love after losing both their spouses. The two had met through their involvement with the Winter Carnival in St. Paul, a two-week festival celebrating winter. Dorothy had been queen when she was in her 20s and Charlie, a king when he was younger. The two remained involved in the royal festivities for the last 50 years. When Charlie and Dorothy started talking about getting married, fellow kings and queens mentioned getting married at the carnival itself.
And so it was. A beautiful winter wedding for a king and queen. Hundreds of carnival goers and decades of Winter Carnival royalty witnessed their wedding right in the middle of the park.
South Dakota has been a state that has intrigued me since I drove across the country five years ago and spent some time exploring the area. So I was excited when we were sent there on an assignment for The New York Times to make images that spoke to the impact of the numerous storms the state had throughout the year. We took off on a Sunday morning and drove 300 miles to the small town of Davis, South Dakota.
Its always hard to illustrate a story that happened months ago and given the four hours that we had to shoot, we were pleased to find a variety of situations. For most of the afternoon, we focused on a farmer who had lost acres of crops due to the floods throughout the spring and summer. But one of my favorite images from our time there was an image we took as twilight approached of a barn in a flooded soybean field. We had seen the field as we drove in earlier that afternoon and knew it was an image that spoke to the damage that the farmers still felt – their fields under water months after the storms.
I was recently named a finalist for the Magnum Expression Award along with a great roster of photographers. The entries are extremely diverse and beautifully shot.
The same day I found out I was a finalist for the award, I also received two emails from people working with mentally ill inmates. This is what they wrote:
I just spent a few hours reading everything and watching the videos on your site. I just want to say you have done amazing work – I am sure you hear this a lot, but thank you.
…Granted, I know they are incarcerated for a reason that is not good but they still deserve to be heard. I have done so many searches on the net to try and find a way for the inmates to be heard. I watched and read your story on Trapped and it was amazing. I have worked in corrections and actually dealt with E.W. and he was in the documentary beating himself up and the work you did does display exactly what corrections staff are faced with on a daily basis. Thank you for your time,
While I am extremely thankful for the recognition that I received from my peers and awards I have received for my project on mental illness in prison, some of the best recognition has been from former inmates, those with mental illness or those working with people with mental illness. Those emails and letters encourage me to continue the project and tell other stories like this one.
This month I began my voyage into the world of large format photography and it’s changed how I work. In doing so I have introduced myself to a realm of photography I never knew and its exciting and exhilarating. The 4×5 has allowed me to slow down and get to know people’s faces better. By necessity the camera makes it ok to stare at my subjects and study them. It allows me to take in every detail of the person I am photographing.
When I am shooting a multimedia project with motion and sound, all of my senses are heightened. I take in every sound, watch every movement and observe everything that is going on around me.
But when I put the drape over me, everything shuts off except for the person in the frame. I am oblivious to sounds or the people around me - all I see is the person in front of me. I am fully engaged in who they are like I never have before. I study their face, their expression and I am aware of every wrinkle, the shape of their eyes and the way they hold their hands.
Its much like putting on blinders. My attention is narrow and more focused. So while some of my senses are denied when I go under the drape, others are taken to all new levels.
Here are some photos from my first project with the 4×5 on sunbathers.
I received an email today from an inmate that was in the psychiatric unit at the time I photographed my project Trapped: Mental Illness in America’s Prisons. Often we forget that those we are photographing are honored to share their story. Here is the email:
Dear Jenn,
I was an inmate at the Kentucky State Reformatory in LaGrange, and I was in the CPTU when you were making the documentary. I wanted to express my appreciation for the great job you’ve done helping to inform people about mental illness in the prison system. I watched the video you have on your website, and it was excellently created and produced.Things are getting better for those of us who suffer from mental illness, and a lot of it is thanks to the work of people like you.
Thanks again
An image from Trapped: Mental Illness in Prison
To see more from the project, click here.
The Land of 10,000 Lakes has been a way for me to connect with the water in Minnesota. Water makes up much of Minnesota. It’s coastline is more than that of the states of California, Florida and Hawaii combined.
Minnesota is my new home and this project has given me an opportunity to explore one of the reasons we chose to move to Minnesota – it’s vast number of lakes. Growing up in Virginia Beach, my life was always tied to water and deciding to move to the Midwest was one of the hardest decisions I have made. Minnesota’s lakes have allowed me to bridge my life on the East Coast with my new life in the Midwest.
This project is a way for me to explore what the water means to me and the people of Minnesota.
