Why your cell phone photos aren't art

 My mini-rant over at The Austin Chronicle:

"Caroline was at the hospital waiting for word on her daughter. At 77, Caroline's face was distinctive and beautiful. I approached from across the room, took a knee, and asked if I could take her portrait. I was testing out a medium format film camera I'd bought on eBay for cheap, I explained. From her purse, Caroline pulled out a photo of her with her husband in 1955 and held it in her lap. Snap. Then I took a digital pic. Snap again. Email to Caroline's family. Post on Facebook.

Here's the deal you already know: That film camera is a relic. It takes beautiful photographs, but I haven't had a home darkroom since the Nineties, so the film will go into the mail (once I get around to it) to a processing house which will snail mail it back to me. The pink of Caroline's cheeks will likely be more vibrant, the soul reflected in her eyes more soulful, but time will have marched forward."

Read the rest here.

Fear drove Hitckcock, author says

My conversation with Michael Wood about his new Alfred Hitchcock bio for  Kirkus Reviews:


The famed director Alfred Hitchcock’s secret to success? He was afraid.
 
That’s Michael Wood’s take in Alfred Hitchcock: The Man Who Knew Too Much, a thoughtful peek into the director’s work and psyche released as part of the Icons series, which has in previous volumes delved into everyone from Jesus to Stalin to Edgar Allan Poe. Hitchcock is most famed as the master of suspense, and the book submits that it points back to his youth when Hitchcock was consumed by the fear of being stopped by a policeman.

Read the rest here.

North Texas Book Festival coming to Denton

Winning the North Texas Book Festival Award was a big moment as I was getting the word out on my novel-in-stories Evacuation Plan. It's tough work writing,
and perhaps even tougher to promote your work in a world that is increasingly segmented. Check out this list of writers. They're all working it. If you're in North Texas, go say hello to them and buy a book! Here are the details:

North Texas Book Festival, which celebrates all genres of writing, is 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 11, at Patterson-Appleton Center for the Visual Arts in Denton. More than 50 authors from Texas and Oklahoma will sign and sell their books. The festival is open to the public, and there’s no admission charge. In addition, several authors will speak to readers in small sessions. The center is at 400 E. Hickory St.

SXSW 2015 in photos and words

 

I've been remiss is posting here lately, so here are some random images from South by Southwest that give a bit of the feel of the combo music, film and interactive fest. The images are all  ©Joe O'Connell.

I once again covered the film fest for The Austin Chronicle. I interviewed Alan Berg, the head of Austin's very cool Arts & Labor film cooperative about his new doc The Jones Family Will Make a Way. I also got an inside look into the moment the punk rock scene exploded in Austin. I reviewed the films Steve Jobs: Man in the Machine, The Goob and Sailing a Sinking Sea.