The Opportunity of Time – Part Three [Jody Forster]

In this “interesting” time of Pause and Pandemic, the rhythm of our daily lives has been altered.  For some, this is annoying and frustrating, but for others, it presents an opportunity . . . to take a deep breath and pursue what you never had time to do before.  This Pause is fueling creativity and learning.  Sure, socializing with friends and colleagues is severely restricted, and many of us are getting tired of ZOOM, but we are learning to look on the bright side.

Members of AZPA are right in the groove on this.

I talked to four of our members about their response to the current state-of-affairs, and it was fascinating.  Each is coping in his or her own way, but there are similarities in that lots of creativity is being unleashed.  Perhaps this sort of pause allows us the luxury to re-imagine, explore and poke around in new directions.

Jody Forster, Cyd Peroni, Larry Golsh and Emily Matyas generously spent some time talking about what they’re up to and their response to the pandemic’s restrictions.  None of them expressed extreme frustration – in fact the general observation was that while things are different, they’re not all that different.  Many photographer/artists work individually rather than in groups, so the Pause has been a time to work unhindered by meetings, extraneous driving around and obligations.  This is a time of opportunity.

We visit with Jody in this third installment and spend some time with  Emily in Part One, Cyd in Part Two and Larry in Part Four. It was an inspiration to talk with these four photographers. I’m sure that every Alliance member has a story to tell. Hopefully this blog will help us get to know one another better. This is a chance to look toward the rest of our lives and take stock. 

Jody Forster

Jody Forster is mainly frustrated . . . not by the Virus . . . but by the lack of clouds.  He just returned from a couple days’ storm-chasing in southern California but came up empty.  To be sure, there was a deluge – “tons of rain,” he notes – although we got nothing here.  He likes photographing storms as they start to clear out – when there are broken clouds and dramatic skies – but in this case the storm cleared out during the night and he was left with nothing but bald, blue, absolutely boring skies.

Jody lives out near the Superstitions and he’s gone up the Apache Trail a few times lately when the weather looked promising.  He admits the whole shelter-at-home thing is easy duty.  “I’ve got a good-sized house and I’m kind of a recluse anyway. I don’t care about eating out or partying.  I can drive up the Apache Trail, be in the desert and feel satisfied. I do like being in the desert with friends though.”

While Jody likes the solitude, he also regrets not being able to develop his 8 x 10 negatives at Art Intersection. He’s got 30 or 40 of them waiting in line but can’t do much with them right now.

For now, Jody is basically holed up waiting for the drama of the monsoon to start in mid-July, with the promise of some good storms August through September.  Jody notes a difference between storms in July / August and later months; there are changes in the quality of light as the sun moves south in the sky.  As the monsoon progresses, the sun is lower and cloud shapes tend to change, which affects the way they reflect light.

Main Image Above: Alto Alto, Sierra Blanca, Mexico 1979 © Jody Forster