11.24.09
Moisture Festival Photo Show & Book!
Its first year, 2004, the Moisture Festival was in a circus tent in a parking lot in the middle of Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood. I went to one show, and mostly remember dancing to the band afterward, the cold air blowing in under the tent flaps. What a long way the festival has come since then, and I’m so happy that I’ve gotten to be a part of it! Since 2005, Moisture Fest’s home has been Hale’s Palladium, a warehouse that’s part of Hale’s Brewery on the west edge of Fremont. It’s grown to 40 shows over 4 weeks, at several venues, including ACT Theatre, with partners such as SIFF Cinema (with more venues and partners coming up for 2010).
I’ve been there with my camera since 2005, as have John Cornicello & Mark Gardiner, as the official festival photographers. It takes over our lives during the weeks of the festival, getting to as many shows as we can, hanging out with all the performers, and reveling in the fun atmosphere it creates, and for weeks and months afterward, editing the photos. After all these years, but the time has come for the Moisture Festival Book!!
Working in fits and starts throughout this year, we’ve had a fun and crazy process of collecting the best images from all three of us; for the last few weeks we’ve spent days at a time camped out in front of several computers and screens laying out the photos, making sure we have everyone included, doing the layout, captions, and editing.
Ron W Bailey has been our inspiration, cheerleader, visionary and sponsorship genius, and his infectious laugh has kept us going even after our eyes started to cross from looking at way too many images. Since the idea first came up, we all have had good intentions toward this project, but it probably never would have actually happened if Corey Scheerer hadn’t stepped up to the plate to do the real work of putting it together. It’s been a fun (and OK, sometimes frustrating) collaborative process, and I am profoundly grateful to Corey for making it real! The book is in its last editing phases, and ready to be born next week, November 25th, with a celebratory exhibition and reception at Hale’s, from 7-9pm (the night before Thanksgiving). Please join us! The show will be up for a while afterwards too, so stop in to Hale’s and check it out.
The first printing of the book (100 copies) is $30, and will be available at the reception, the Moisture Festival New Year’s Eve party at Hale’s, at Fremont Place Books, and at the festival in 2010!
Here is the cover and a sneak preview sample spread from my section.
