gallery flyer

catalog photos

Photos of my lightroom catalog to show how many photos i've taken. I'm currently at 625 and will be taking a few more to finish up my show. 

my artist statement

In the two years I have lived in Commerce, Texas, I never thought I would come to find that the community functions now as it once did. If you would have asked me last year, I would have said the town's greatest asset is the University. After my research I found this to be quite the opposite. For the last few months I have gained knowledge of not only the history of Commerce but also its current state as a community. As Commerce once relied on the downtown businesses and restaurants, etc to be the epicenter of the community. While it continues to grow, the town has shifted away from the path of the railroad and instead follows the flow of the highways where there are more eyes to see it.
It has been a fascinating journey and has opened my eyes to the glory of the town, and taught me to respect the community more for its present day involvement. Participating in Bois d’Arc Bash, as an official resident, allowed me to take ownership of a place that I once considered to be lifeless. Now I see it to be growing and thriving in society. Through my photography I hope that you are able to appreciate the charm and livelihood of this small community as much as I have. 

Gallery Space

my gallery showing will be on the evening of Saturday December 1st at the Odd-fellow's lodge on the square.The lodge is known to be the oldest building in Commerce. I will have the showing in the meeting room on the 2nd floor and plan on putting up some sort of lighting. I will be serving old recipes of homemade cookies with tea and lemonade. I also want to have a game of commerceopoly set up in the center of the room for people to sit down and play. I hope to create a lively and comfortable environment to go along with my purpose of the project.

Old Photos

This collection of photos are from the archives of the commerce city library. They are examples of the town square being full of life. My overall goal for this project is to show that the city of Commerce is still a lively community, it is just no longer centered around the town square.

contacts

I first emailed my favorite photographers Esther Havens and Jeremy Cowart. I asked them questions about how they got started in the business and how they gained the clients and contacts they now have. I also asked if they had any contacts in the Dallas region that I could speak with or possibly even shadow with. Next, I started contacting several different non profits about job opportunities. I've emailed Voice of Hope in West Dallas and iGo Global in Wiley.


http://jeremycowart.com/
http://estherhavens.com/

my video trail run

I had the opportunity to interview a world traveler. so here is my first try at video.

new work.

Just a few shots of the campus which is a the biggest business in town. I also plan to shoot some night shots of the businesses around town like the spot, the drunken mule, and the pub. 

Give honest and sincere appreciation.

Dr. Dewey said that the deepest urge in the human race is "the desire to be important."
this chapter taught me a lot on the best way to deal with difficult people. I realized it's all about how you approach the person and situation. The book talks about leaving a friendly trail wherever you go. It's just a great reminder you should love your neighbor as yourself. Chapter 1 talked in depth about not complaining and chapter 2 teaches you how important appreciation is. People will respect you more and be a happier person if you continually give them honest and sincere appreciation.

gallery opportunity! :)

On Wednesday morning at 10 i will be meeting a man to check out the Longfellow's Lodge in downtown commerce. The building is the oldest building in town, which would be perfect for my project. They have a meeting room where the mason's use to meet often, and that is the room that is a possibility.

mrs. kelley

At the beginning of the project i was told about this lady that has lived her whole life on bonham st. so last week i set out to find and meet this lady. i knocked on her door and there was this sweet lady named margaret kelley. she was born in a house a house on the street and has lived in 5 different houses all on the same street. she is currently 94, born in 1918, and lives alone in the first house on the left. after sitting down and talking with her i have learned much more than doing any type of research. I have asked her numerous questions dealing with her opinion on what the town of commerce once was and what is has become. She informed me that it has always been a college town in her sight, which surprised me because i only viewed it as becoming a college town in the last century or two. I gained a lot of insight after talking to her and her words really encouraged me to continue with the project. In the beginning i viewed the project as i wanted to show how sad and uninviting the town has become but her words proved me wrong. she stated in many different answers that, yes downtown has closed a lot of businesses but that doesn't mean the town is unsuccessful it just means the all the stores have moved towards the highways and university. so all along i feel like i've set out with the wrong intentions, i know see that there are successful businesses in commerce they are just no longer in downtown. the next step in this project is to start photographing where the businesses have moved and are growing. i want to compare the old downtown photos to current ones with the closed signs but i also want to include where the business have moved.

i've started contacting people about a gallery space. my first option is to go with the oldest building in commerce. i've contacted the owners and just waiting on a response back. my 2nd option is to go with the old telephone building. i have the contact info but i'm waiting to hear back from the 1st people. i also have the owner info for another vacant building downtown located on the corner of alamo and washington.

interesting side note number 1: there once were KKK march's around the square in commerce.

new work

What downtown Commerce looked like in the 60's compared to what it looks like today. 

Leigh Merrill

artist statement, bio and resume

We live in an era that is fast paced, an era that normally does not take the time to slow down to enjoy the details of life. I believe as a society we must learn how to connect with our surroundings and embrace life at a slower pace. I have found the best way i connect with my environment is through documenting it. Capturing moments in time allows me to express my opinions and show the emotions that i keep locked inside. I hope to one day share life changing stories that challenge people and have the potential to change people’s lives. I know there is no stability or security in photography, but I do know that this is what I’m supposed to do. I do this because because God has called me to do it. I do this because I love people and I want to serve them.  

Rebecca Haskell is a Senior at Texas A&M University-Commerce working towards her BFA in Visual Communications with an emphasis in Photography. Upon graduation she plans to pursue her passions of traveling and photography through world missions. 

Rebecca Haskell

PO BOX 446, Commerce, TX 75429

beccahaskell@gmail.com

beccahaskell.weebly.com

903.658.4637

Education 

· Texas A&M University- Commerce

                Spring 2011 - Present

                      Bachelors of Fine Arts in Visual Communications with an emphasis in Photography

· Kilgore College

                 Fall 2008 - fall 2010

                    Worked towards an Associates in Commercial Photography

                         The Flare Newspaper, Staff Photographer

                         The Ranger Yearbook, Editor   

            While a student at KC my work was shown in the Anne Dean Turk Fine Arts Gallery and the Mathew Dean Johnson Gallery.

· Tatum High School 

                  Fall 2004 – Spring 2008

                         Honors Graduate 

Employment

· Kilgore College Police Department 

                    January 2009 – December 2010

                    Student Worker    

                    Job Details: dispatch, office secretary, printed student ID’s, and issued parking permits. 

· Shannon Oaks Church 

                    May 2011- July 2011

                    Summer Youth Intern

                    Job Details: built relationships with the teens, Organized/planned trips, and a camp counselor. 

· Texas A&M University – Commerce, College of Business

                   August 2011 – Present 

                   Student Worker

                   Job Details: creating spreadsheets, running errands, decorating display boards, and  scanning/shredding   documents.

Skills

         Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, Illustrator, and Indesign; Microsoft Office; 

research on top of more research

shock value

Can art still shock? That's a great question that i find hard to answer. i personally think art should be more about connecting emotionally rather than that initial bizarre shock factor. This particular piece is a very controversy piece that has even got the government included in the past. I do believe some work is unnecessary and makes you question what the artist was thinking but i don't think the government has a right to over power the art world. It's a world of it's own and is a way people express themselves. We were given freedom of speech which i think should include all art as well. So yes to freedom of speech but i think reaching for a shock factor is just too much. 
As Carlin once put it: “It’s the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately." why must a comedian cross that line, isn't his duty is just to entertain the audience? 

Chapter 1 Reviews

How to Win Friends and Influence People: Principal number1: don't criticize, condemn or complain. When starting this book i was a little hesitant about reading it because i saw that is was written around 70 years ago. Once i started reading i found the information to be enjoyable and very helpful. The author talks about how criticism is dangerous because it causes resentment but in most cases it also comes back to you. This chapter taught me a lot, most of the time i'm quick to criticize. It taught that criticism isn't always the best approach. learning how to accept peoples faults and not condemn them for their mistakes but instead helping them in a selfless and generous way will not only teach you patience but will grow your relationship. the author stated," Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving." This was a great lesson for some of the though relationships that i have going on in my own life at this time. It has taught me to be patient with people and show love to them no matter the situation.

I've only read half of part one...
The 7 habits of highly effective people: inside out part 1 is a great lesson on how to work on your behavior and attitude, as in you can try harder and be more positive.

fun photo for the day

anything is possible with creativity.

national geographic photo contest

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/
 this website is a great source to find amazing and current photography. several collections of great work that have been taken within the past few months. the image to the right is from the collection of 50 states in 50 photos. i chose to focus on this particular image because it was taken with an iphone 4 and was given a vintage filter. this goes to show that even national geographic is now accepting of iphones as a medium of photography.

The Approach by John Stezaker

I just don't get it at all. I understand that he takes movie stills and postcards and arranges them to give the images a new meaning and context but it's just not visually interesting to me. This particular image is one that i don't find appealing at all, though i somewhat understand the context that he is portraying by arranging the images the way he did. this body of work is interesting in its own way and i'm truly surprised that it was awarded such a large award with prize money. How can one be awarded a photography award if he isn't even a photographer?

I personally preferred the style of the 2nd place winner, Pieter Hugo from South Africa. His work on a technology dump is Ghana has such deep emotion and connects with the viewer more. This photographer actually had to go and take the images and become part of the community to capture such great photos. 

commerce documentary

Parade and events throughout the bash to add to the collection on the history of commerce. 

Copying Avedon's Westbook

 Attendee's to the Commerce 2012 Bois D'Ark Bash

photographer find

Cory White is a photographer i discovered through the whole larder love blog. He is the photographer for whole larder love cook book. his images amazed me so i checked out his website and found some pretty neat stuff.  you can find his projects at http://mrblanc.com/ or his website is http://www.corywhite.com/home/

richard avedon

These images are taken from Richard Avedons' series 'In The American West': 

Avedon traveled with a portable studio with him in order to shoot his subjects against a clean white background and in there own environment (as you can see from the bottom image). This weekend, as in tomorrow, i will be shooting the Bois D'Arc Bash in downtown commerce. My intentions in shooting is to take shots of people attending the Bash. I think the people within the community are a very important part of the history of the town so i plan to add the portraits to my project.