Bringing Art To Life
The Collection
JASON THRASHER | CRAIG GUM | JORDAN BLYDEN
Featuring the Artist
Jason Thrasher
Jason Thrasher lives in Athens, Georgia, where he’s been working as an artist and professional photographer for nearly 20 years. His coverage of the Southeast’s rich and varied music scene includes published portraits of the Drive-By Truckers, of Montreal, R.E.M. and the Elephant Six collective, to name a few. He’s also captured rare images of OutKast at Stankonia and Rico Wade at his infamous hip-hop “Dungeon” in Atlanta, and images of Ty Segall, The Whigs, Widespread Panic, Cracker, Drive-By Truckers and Against Me! on tour. His ties to Athens and the world-famous 40 Watt Club and Georgia Theatre have also given him access to photograph nationally touring musicians on a regular basis.
Thrasher’s photography has been published in Rolling Stone, Billboard, New York Magazine, New York Times, The Bitter Southerner, Entertainment Weekly, Paste, The AV Club, Salon, Pitchfork, Garden & Gun, USA Today and SPIN. His work is featured in the album designs of the Drive-By Truckers, Patterson Hood, Booker T., Randall Bramblett, Cracker, David Lowery, Macha and Bad Religion. His promotional photography for New West Records, ATO Records, Anti Records, Warner Brothers, Total Treble, Razor & Tie, and Polyvinyl has produced many iconic images.
His fine art photography has been exhibited at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, ICA in London, Yerba Buena Arts Center in San Francisco, Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans, Corcoran School of Fine Art in Washington, DC, and the Atlanta Contemporary Arts Center. His new body of work based on the Athens music scene, Athens Potluck, is currently on view at the Georgia Theatre Gallery in downtown Athens, and his new book Athens Potluck was Published on November 1st 2017.
Matt Wake’s Perspective
Who would he leave out? Who would he pick? Where would he start? The questions were daunting as Jason Thrasher kicked around ideas for a photography book about the Athens. music scene, a dense web of bands and artists containing era-defining acts and underground heroes. Thrasher, who grew up in Huntsville and later attended college in Birmingham, had been calling Athens home for around 20 years. During that time, he’d photographed many Athens groups, including R.E.M., Drive-By Truckers, of Montreal, Widespread Panic and on and on, further complicating decisions about the book he wanted to do.
Then, like many problems, this one was solved by a good idea from a woman.
One morning while they were in the downstairs studio of their Athens home, Thrasher’s wife Beth Hall Thrasher suggested: “Why don’t you just shoot the first person that you want to shoot and have that person pick the next person? And that will create hopefully some sort of story. And it will take the pressure off you from having to choose your friends or leave somebody out. It would just be more interesting.”
Thrasher had a photo shoot scheduled for later that day, with psychedelic folk-rockers Elf Power. After the shoot, he told the band’s multi-instrumentalist Laura Carter about the book’s concept and asked if she’d be willing to be its first subject. The next thing he knew, he was at Carter’s house photographing a portrait of her holding a leafy branch like some mystic scepter, in front of a large wooden gate.
Thus began “Athens Potlock.” Published October 31, Thrasher’s 424-page, four-and-a-half pound book took him around six years to make, starting in early 2011. “Athens Potluck” finds Thrasher depicting 33 Athens artists (including R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe, Pylon’s Vanessa Briscoe Hay and Drive-By Trucker’s Patterson Hood) in 400 or so total portraits, with about 12 pages devoted to each subject. “At the time, I was doing a lot of band photos and music videos, but I didn’t want to do a book just of like band photos,” Thrasher says. “It just didn’t feel right. I was kind of getting sick of photographing four or five guys lined up against some cool wall, so I was gravitating more towards individual portraiture. But I was still enthralled and into the music scene here. Obviously, we’ve got something special and these are my friends.”
Jason Thrasher: Q & A
What has been your greatest accomplishment so far in
your nearly 20-year career?
Wow, Starting off with a tough question! Other than raising two smart, talented and wonderful daughters, and being married to an awesome woman for 18 years… I’m proud of my photo project Athens Potluck, and the book of the same name that came out last Fall on the Deeds imprint. I’d also have to say that my involvement in the Skate Park of Athens and getting a world-class skate park built here in Athens, Georgia by Grindline—the national experts– is also a lifelong personal highlight.
What inspired Athens Potluck?
I have always photographed musicians and bands. Mostly over the years they were my friends’ bands, but I was lucky to be in Athens, and a lot of those friends just happened to be in some of my all-time favorite bands. As an artist I always try to make work that’s personal so Athens Potluck was the first music related project to meet in the middle. It’s truly a personal project about the Athens Music Scene.
In your book you only choose one person to document; everyone else was chosen by the person before them. This is a pretty unique idea. What made you do it?
I knew that I wanted to make a book about Athens and the musicians but I didn’t want to make my first book about bands. I wanted it to be more personal and about the individual. I wanted to go into their homes and make intimate photos about them and the things in their homes that related to Athens. It was my wife Beth Hall Thrasher who suggested that once I pick the first person that I should have that person choose the next. That way it would take me out of the mix, and it would be like an unplanned journey through Athens, not just my personal favorites. This book is in no way about the whole scene. It truly is just a little slice, but in that slice I tried to tell my Athens story.
What brought you to Athens? There are so many cities with an amazing music scene; what made Athens special?
I came to Athens in 1994 for the art scene. I knew that Jim Herbert, Stephen Scheer, Mary Ruth Moore and Ben Reynolds were in the Art Department at Lamar Dodd. I literally snuck into UGA through the back door of the photo department. On my first trip to Athens I ordered a Golden Bowl at the Grit, a pint at the Globe and visited Wuxtry Records. It was an easy decision. I don’t even remember applying to UGA.
What mood or story are you trying to relay through Athens Potluck?
When people on the outside ask me what the book is about I say, “It’s about our community.” There is a mood that hit me when I first visited. It’s the same mood that R.E.M. captured on their early records. I guess I haven’t thought about it until just now, but that would be the mood that I’d wanted to capture.
Most people would say compiling a book of images and a story told by the people featured is simple. Why did it take you nearly six years to finish?
Ha. It was seven years. There were lots of obstacles, first of all, I’m a working professional photographer, and it can get overwhelmingly busy for long stretches of time. Then, I have two kids, who were young when I started the project, so between work and family there’s not a ton of free time. Then on top of that, a lot of these musicians tour, and some would be gone for months at a time. There were other issues but mostly I feel that it played out exactly as it was supposed too. When Vanessa Briscoe Hay of Pylon was chosen to be the last person in the book I realized it lasted just the right amount of time. I wouldn’t change anything about how it came together. I’d also have to say that Deeds Publishing coming to me when they did was also perfectly timed. It was a 7-year project, and the last two years Mark Babcock and Matt King at Deeds had to put up with me designing and working on the book literally every day. It took as long as it took.
Most artists like to have control over their work. With Athens Potluck you gave up that control; why? Was it hard?
Oh no. It was so great to let the musicians of Athens drive the content of the book. I am a control freak but with photography and art I have always believed that the journey was the destination and that played out better than ever on this project.
If your camera was taken away what other passion would you follow?
SKATEBOARDING. Well, at this point in my life, probably should be full-time Yoga.
What made you choose photography?
It found me. Other than skateboarding it was the only other passion I’ve every really had. I remember taking my first photographs when I was seven and taking my first good photos at 16. I knew at 20 that photography was my path and received some great early support from photographers who I viewed as heroes.
What advice would you give a current college student who is struggling between pursuing their passion or the “safe” option?
That’s a tough one. I’ve been blessed to be lucky enough to travel the world with my camera and meet amazing people. It’s a different world now and there are millions of photographers. I’d say that if you can’t not do it, if it’s all you think about and all you do, you’d better be good at it and throw yourself into your work 120 percent. It’s not easy choosing the path of an artist.
Is there a connection in your heart between your photography and skateboarding? Will you blend them or will you keep those talents separate?
My earliest photos are all skate photos. I believe that skateboarding is truly one of the most creative sports and that skaters are physical artists. I haven’t really been on my board in about five years, but when I would skate every day, the creative itch was scratched. I was one of the founders of a skateboard film festival called Skatement with Dave Franklin in San Francisco. It was all about the creativity around skateboarding.
What is your single favorite image that you or someone else has created?
I’d have to say that the films of James Herbert are my favorites. There’s not a single image but his films are very photo-based His movie “Automan” might be the one single thing that led me to Athens beyond the music scene and photography school.
Why do you do what you do?
Truly, it’s because I can’t not do it. Once I lock in on something I’m in. You can ask my wife more about that…and she even talks about it in the introduction to my book. I’m pretty obsessive.
What’s your favorite food?
I call it The Golden Staple at the Grit. It’s a commination of the Golden Bowl and The Staple. Basically ,it’s rice, beans, tofu, and veggies. NO CHEESE but lots of green hot sauce.
What motto do you live by?
I don’t have any mottos, but I am known to repeat a dumb joke over and over.
If you could go anywhere in the next two weeks, where would you go and what would you do once you go there?
Benares, India. I’d go to a small barbershop on a street corner just around from the famous burning Ghat. The Manikarnika Ghat is one of the holiest places in India. When I was there 20 years ago I spent two weeks hanging out with the locals at that street corner. I fell in love with the people and really bonded with a few I met along the way. I photographed a young barber there—a lot of people in Athens have his photograph on their wall. I wonder if he’s there today cutting hair.
What famous person do you think you are most similar to?
I have no idea. I’d hope that he was a funny person, whoever he is. I do love Chevy Chase in Vacation.
You’re a new addition to the crayon box. What color would you be and why?
Turquoise, because it’s just become my new favorite color.
What would your autobiography be called?
I’ll have to let my agent (Beth) get back to you on that one.
Featuring the Studio
Athens Photography Collective
formerly Craig Gum Photography Studio
Some of us are just drawn to photography for reasons we might not fully understand. Perhaps we are artists that want to paint with light. Maybe we want to stop time, if only for a moment, and preserve it for eternity. Some of us enjoy that touch of sadness, the melancholy of a moment that can never be again. We are all attracted to different subjects and different methods of taking pictures.
There are those of us that like to freeze the motion of fast-moving athletes in the bright sunlight or in a gymnasium. There are those that like to shoot hummingbirds in a garden or a grasshopper on a blade of grass. There are street photographers and landscape photographers and those that like pictures of the stars. Let us not forget the photographers who take beautiful and descriptive pictures of people: the kids, the families, and beautiful models. Some of us shoot with natural light, some with artificial, and some with both.
No matter how or what we shoot, we all have a few things in common. All photographers want to improve their craft; we all like our work to be appreciated, and we all like to talk shop with others who share our passion for photography.
For all of these reasons and more, I opened up my private studio three years ago to allow other photographers to come and practice their craft. Today we have 13 photographers and a big new studio in the Chase Street industrial complex. Every month we offer classes and organized shootouts for our members and for the public. Our members enjoy 24/7 access to the studio and a place to practice and learn from myself and from our other advanced photographers. We offer instruction on everything from getting to know your camera for beginners to very advanced Lightroom and Photoshop instruction. The studio is open to beginners who want to get competent with their equipment quickly, to the advanced photographer who wants access to the space, and to models from all over the Southeast. My space gives everyone a professional studio where they can bring clients to shoot or take advantage of the viewing room. The point is, we all get to enjoy being together, working together and feeding off of each other’s creativity.
The studio itself features a 12-foot tall cyclorama wall, six different colored backgrounds on easy-to-use rollers, a 10-by-10 movable wall, a client changing area with a full wardrobe, nine strobes on light stands with a dozen different light modifiers, a boudoir area, and even a viewing room with a computer and 50-inch monitor so photographers can bring their clients into a comfortable setting to view and purchase prints.
For any photographers out there who are intimidated by studio lighting or might be thinking that they don’t want to limit themselves to studio style photography, please rest assured that my guest photographers and I spend as much time outdoors and at remarkable locations as we do inside the studio. We travel together around Athens and further as we learn to use reflectors, off-camera flash, and portable strobes with available light. We have a great group of photographers here at all levels. Maybe you want to join us?
If you would like to take a tour of the studio or just come and talk shop for a little while please feel free to email me at Craig@CraigGum.com or text 706-247-9719.
Craig Gum: Q & A
What advice would you give others aspiring to be photographers?
Learn as much as you can from as many people and places as you can. Then practice all the time. Pretty soon the camera starts to make sense to you and how it works. Before long you can know how to set the camera as you are walking into an area that you want to shoot.
What do you consider to be your best quality as a photographer?
I shoot mostly people and to do that you have to put them at ease. You also need to coach them or guide them into looks and poses that will look good on them. Doing these things effectively and efficiently takes just as much practice as learning to use your camera on Manual mode.
How do you prepare for a photoshoot?
If I’m going into an unknown area I ask a lot of questions about what is around. What type of lighting/shade/shadows are around. Inside or out. Is there a place to run an extension cord. If I am shooting a model or family in the studio I tend to listen to music that fits the theme of what we will be shooting. The music and lyrics can be great inspiration.
When did photography become a job rather than a hobby for you?
It’s both really. I became a full-time photographer 8 years ago. However, I still shoot for myself as a hobby and to create art.
If you could work with any other photographer or artist who would it be?
One of my favorite photographers is Andre Govia, who works and lives in Europe. I have worked with him online by creating a composite of one of my shots and one of his backgrounds. I’d love to be able to go on location with him to shoot together.
Other than a camera, what would be the next most important tool you would use?
Probably tape. LOL. I use tape to hold up equipment or to fit clothing better to the client/model.
How does your art affect other areas of your life?
I’m always looking at locations and areas for interesting backgrounds or fantastic lighting. I take 100’s of pictures a day, in my mind without a camera, just driving or walking around.
Is your art related to any other aspects of your life?
Yes, very much so. Whatever I am ruminating on becomes a picture or theme for a photoshoot. Sometimes my shoots are bright and happy based on my mood. Sometimes they can be darker or introspective. Sadness, anger, love, regret, loss, all have been themes I’ve done and they were directly reflecting where I was personally at that moment in time.
Where do your ideas come/resonate from?
I get a lot of my shoot ideas from song lyrics. I’m one of those people who will listen to a song on repeat until it drags me in. I usually isolate in on a specific verse or line in a song and create it visually.
What advice would you give people to increase the influence of art on their lives?
To slow down. There is some amazing work on Instagram and Facebook and 500px and many other places but you can’t truly appreciate what the art is trying to say to you if you just swipe it away a second after it appears on your screen.
What do you want to complete on your bucket list?
I’ve had this project in mind for over a year now that involves the elderly and nostalgia for the past. I want to get to work on this project ASAP because it speaks to me right now and I believe it will speak to a lot of others when they see it. My favorite work always seems to involve a touch of sadness, or maybe melancholy is a better word. To express that a moment will never return but was captured in a picture to preserve for eternity will be the theme of this project.
Has your work ever been dangerous? If so, could you describe that experience?
Yes, sometimes, but usually not for me. Sometimes the models are in precarious positions or want to do something on the dangerous side. The one that stands out most involved a rope swing and a model that wasn’t able to hold onto it and fell into the water just missing the rocks below. A close second was an underwater shoot and a model losing her composure while breathing on a scuba regulator.
What is an experience you’ve had where you’ve had to make a sacrifice for your work?
I have sacrificed the last 8 years, not just one experience. To grow this business and to provide a first-rate studio meant living very cheaply. Everything I have goes into this and not much is left over.
What are the top three emotions you would like to evoke from your audience through your photography?
Melancholy is my favorite, followed closely by longing and nostalgia.
What is the hardest part of owning a studio?
Any place that has more than one person at it involves working with people in a group. It is impossible to please everyone all the time, but we try.
What is your favorite environment to photograph in?
Definitely my studio. Without backgrounds, it’s up to me to create art with just the person I’m shooting. It’s pure and it’s uncluttered and it is beautiful when it gets done correctly.
What is your passion outside of the studio?
The Cleveland Browns and playing this game called pickleball.
What is the most gratifying part of your photography?
Delivering images to my clients and getting to hear their excitement and their comments about the work.
Featuring the Artist
Jordan Blyden
I am a self-taught professional photographer based in Atlanta, providing services throughout Georgia, the U.S. and globally. I was born in 1985 on the Caribbean island of St. Thomas. I lived in St. Thomas and later St. Croix before leaving the Caribbean for Brooklyn, New York in the early 90s. After a short time there I ended up in Georgia, the state I have called home ever since.
My upbringing in such a diverse culture and environments has given me a heavy appreciation for both natural and urban landscapes. I discovered my passion for photography in 2010 after graduating from the University of Georgia and launched my full-service photography company Aura Exposures Photography.
Much of what I do is heart driven. Being in the moment, every moment is what my art is all about. There is always something to capture, something to expose. I gain daily inspiration from a few of my favorite things: independent artists, music, travel, nature, society and poetry.
I photograph everything from newborn portraits, weddings, and family portraits to real estate, fashion, and commercial images and everything in between. If art is what you fancy, I also create custom commissions on demand.
As a professional, I believe it is my responsibility to deliver. As an artist, it is my obligation to create. My wish is that the quality of my work, paired with the beautiful and interesting things in the world, will inspire and will serve my clients, affiliates, and fans in a special way.
Jeanelle “Jae R” Joseph’s Vision & Inspiration for the “Red” Shoot
The inspiration behind the “Red Story” was a mixture of what the color stands for and the emotions that it evokes. Red is such an intense emotional color; as soon as you see it, you instantly feel or think of something. It is the only color babies can recognize and can set people into a trancelike state.
Red stands for passion, energy, strength, power, love, war and much more. The color can cause your heart rate to spike and blood pressure to rise. We live in a world that is so desensitized I wanted to evoke some of these emotions with this story and make people feel something as soon as they see it, whatever that feeling may be.
Jordan Blyden: Q & A
What other individuals or other artists have been the most influential/inspirational for you and your style of photography?
Martin Machaj.
Describe how photography has affected other areas of your life or how other areas of your life have affected your photography?
A. I no longer see the world as on a linear plane; to me, the whole world and life, in general, is a beautiful 3-dimensional tapestry of light, energy, emotion, and mystery.
B. When I first started photographing weddings I was not married so the stories that I told through my imagery, I had to imagine in my head. Once I married my wife, I began to really understand the ceremony and the importance of the moments on wedding day more deeply and began to shoot from my heart.
Describe the most memorable photo shoot of your career?
I had the opportunity to shoot an event on the island of Aruba for a very large corporate company and while I was on the island, a local tourism and events company asked me to return the next year to photograph the images for their new marketing campaign.
What is another one of your defining characteristics as an individual?
I am very flexible and calm under pressure.
What legacy would you like to leave the art world?
To create images that tie and each person to another person’s life story.
What is your favorite compliment you have received on your work?
“You can find beauty in the most ordinary things.”
In what way has your environment and traveling affected your photography?
We are more alike then people believe. I have been everywhere from Honduras, Philippines, Canada, and Aruba to New York, California, Washington, and Florida and people are just people. Love is love, sadness is sadness, poverty is real, and nature is always humbling.
What has been your favorite place to live over the years?
To be determined.
What is the most important thing you would look for in other aspiring photographers/artists?
Work ethic and self motivation.
What is a major passion of yours outside of the studio?
Evangelism and spreading the “3 Angels Message” of the Bible and more specifically Revelation.
Is there a link between your travel and your photography?
Absolutely. My traveling opportunities help me to learn what the concept of the human family is all about. The welcome that I receive from individuals from other ethnic backgrounds and cultures shows me that we are all truly one family.
If you could travel anyplace in the world to have a dream photoshoot where would it be?
Tibet.
What was the first camera you ever used?
A 2001 model Canon Cybershot point and shoot camera.
Describe your most embarrassing moment during a photoshoot?
I still forget to take my lens cap off at the beginning, because of all of the other things I am focusing on before taking my first photograph.
How would you describe your work to someone who has never seen it?
Heartfelt.
If you could use one famous quote to describe your work, what would it be?
“Go to the ant thou sluggard, consider her ways and be wise”
~ the Book of Proverbs
What is the greatest compliment you’ve been given about your work?
I was told by many a client that they can tell that I am passionate about my work and that I love what I do, by the energy I bring to every shoot.
If you could have any other day job, what would it be?
Pastor.
Would you say your ideas come more from you or your environment and why?
My ideas are a mixture of both. The environment shapes my mood and my mood shapes the stories that I tell. If I am at a wedding, I become a romantic; if I am on a landscape or lifestyle shoot, I become an explorer etc.
