Jenna/Sass I

Jenna is one of my high school friends who ended up working at camp this past summer. During high school we were very close but we have grown apart since going off to college. She is a writer who also draws comics. You can see some of her comics here at her blog, sassyfrasscircus. She is a huge activist and she always seems to be involved in something and to know anyone worth knowing. 

She offered me a drawing done specifically for me in exchange for a print. I offered her another print is she would also give me some of her zines that she produces. We had originally arranged to meet up this past weekend because her school is near where I was traveling but it didn't end up working out. So this exchange will have to be done by mail. 

Elphie I

Elphie is the first person who solicited me for a trade after hearing about it via facebook. She is another camp person and we have worked together for two summers. She offered to crochet me a hat and scarf set in exchange for the paper cranes image. She too, like Chica, was reminded of the song "Fireflies" by Owl City.

Elphie gave me lots of choices in the production of my new winter wear- what color scheme, how thick, brim or no brim, tassels or no tassels? I chose blue, looser stitch, yes brim and no thank you to the tassels. I too make hats and scarves but rarely keep them for myself. I usually give them as gifts. Even though I could make myself a hat or scarf, I accepted Elphie's offer because it would not be the same product. There is also the meaning that I will create for these objects. They will mean more because she made them for me.

I met up with Elphie yesterday for lunch because I happened to be near her school while visiting family. I gave her the print and she had already completed the hat. I had not expected it to be ready in time because she only had 5 days to make it and she has plenty of other things to do. She told me that the scarf would take a bit longer but that it would be in the mail as soon as it was done.

Chica I

Chica is another friend who I worked with during the summer at camp. We both attended this camp growing up but never at the same time.  I contacted her via facebook for a trade and she offered me the DVD "Twister" in exchange for a print of this image.  She said that it reminded her of the song "Fireflies" by Owl City. I asked her why she offered me the DVD and she said that she really enjoyed the movie, so much that she had recently purchased it, and wanted to share it with me. I have never seen the film but would like to, so I agreed to the trade.

I sent her an 8"x 10" print in the mail and now wait for a DVD in return.

Andrew S. III

Although the deal with Andrew was an 8"x 10" c-print for a car wash, I decided to mail him a 16"x 20" print instead. I did this for a couple reasons. Firstly, I already had a 16"x 20" print that is a duplicate of my portfolio copy. It would have been more labor intensive to print a new one. Secondly, I think that Andrew will like the larger print more. Hopefully he will be more apt to frame and display it due to it's size.

Edward III

Edward and I had tentatively agreed upon a visit for this past weekend. However, he never contacted me to confirm or to say that his plans had changed. I did not call him to press the matter because in hindsight, I made a poor deal. History has shown Edward's visits to be more of a burden than a gift so I am more than willing to let this particular deal wait and be resolved at a later date.

Flint I

This is the first entry dealing with interactions with people I know from summer camp. I have attended the same summer camp for 8 years as a camper and for 3 years as a staff member. It is a sleepover camp which means that I spend 9-10 weeks working closely with the rest of the staff and develop close relationships with many of my co-workers.

One such person is Flint, with whom I have worked the past 3 summers. I must mention that at this camp the counselors do not go by their birth names but rather, a name that they have chosen for themselves. Flint recently graduated from Pratt Institute in New York for photography and now works at Delaware College of Art and Design in Admissions but will soon be teaching in their continuing education department.

Although we are close at camp, we have limited contact during the academic year. We mostly communicate via facebook and text messaging. I contacted Flint via facebook and he responded with a voice mail. In the voice mail he said that he would trade something that was not only dear to him, but also iconic of his point of view and representative of his body of work. He went on to say:

"If it was just a flat out trade what would I give you for a photograph? It would depend on what the photograph looked like. If it was something that I enjoyed, I would give you something of equal value.

My point of view of changed when you told me that it was for your thesis. I remember you speaking about it but when you asked me, I had forgotten. So, I think I'd be more apt to trade you almost anything for the progression of your thesis. I think that our friendship also speaks for a lot more. I'd be willing to trade you almost anything because I know you and I respect you and you're one of my friends as compared to if I had just met you and then traded you something. So, if you physically would like to trade, my favorite way to trade is a postcard of my work..."

I called him back and we arranged to do an exchange in person for this coming weekend. He would pick something that he feels is iconic of his work and I would do the same with no size constraints. I haven't seen his work in a few years so I'm really interested to see what he has been working on as well as talking more in depth about the value he assigns to photography.

Sandy I

I was looking on craigslist and underneath the For Sale section there is the subcategory of Barter. I found a woman offering tarot readings who lives in the same area as me. I e-mailed her offering prints. She responded by saying that she was interested and wanted to look at my website. She introduced herself as Sandy and mentioned that she recently graduated from the University that I am attending. Sandy also wanted to know if I would consider bartering my services as a photographer by shooting a head shot. I said that I would consider it but that we could talk more after she took a look at my website.

Andrew S. II

I have made my second deal but again as with Edward, it is in the form of an IOU. Andrew looked at my website and at first picked this image:

When I asked him why he picked the image he said "It's weird. I don't know quite what it is." His tone didn't seem too enthusiastic so I asked him if he was picking an image just to appease me or if he actually liked it. He said that he liked it but that he liked an image from an earlier portfolio more. So, we proceeded with negotiating an exchange based upon that image. (See rough scan below)

He first offered me a print of his saying that he would have to find a way to share it with me, since he doesn't have a website. I did not want to wait that long to negotiate an exchange so I asked what else he could offer. He offered me his pet mouse which I promptly turned down. When I visited Andrew last weekend he explained to me that it was bred as a feeder mouse meant for snakes which means that it is inbred and unintelligent. It also bites people who try to hold it. Aside from the mouse being an undesirable pet for its personality, I don't want a pet mouse for the responsibility. We settled upon a car wash in exchange for my print. However, I won't be receiving the car wash until winter break when we are both in Baltimore and he is not washing my car himself, but taking it to an automated car wash. I am going to mail him an 8"x 10" c-print next week.

Website

I'm still working on the website portion of this project but as to not delay things any further I am beginning to negotiate based upon what is up there. I decided that for my friends and family, my entire body of work is open. I did this for a few reasons. Firstly, since they are the people I am closest to, I want to be the most generous with them. Secondly, I want to use them as my test group and see which images they respond to in order to help me form my suite. Lastly, and most logistically, there are only four images in the exchange section of the website at this moment and I want them to have options.

Edward II

Edward did not return my call so I called him again yesterday (9/25/09). He claimed to have never received the voicemail. I presented my project to him and immediately he said "It's already been done." I asked him to give me specifics and he said "that guy who traded a paperclip for things until he got a house". He was referring to Kyle MacDonald and the one red paperclip project. I was beginning to get a bit frustrated since this was not the way I had anticipated the conversation going. So I said that I had not called for a critique but to see if he was interested in my project. Edward then said, "Well then, that is what I'm trading you. My critique for a print". 

He did not seem to be taking it seriously. I declined the offer as well as some other subsequent offers such as a banana (I do not care for bananas) and love. A much longer explanation would have to be given for why I declined love but the short version is that I already have Edward's love. We finally came to the agreement that I would exchange one 15"x 15" C-Print of this image for a visit from him next weekend. Along with the visit he would bring his portfolio and let me choose a print to keep from it.

He said that he chose the image because it was a good picture of me and that the tied string reminded him of our connection with one another.

allmylifeforsale

The project allmylifeforsale was suggested to me during class. The first paragraph of The Project section reads:

"Welcome to Allmylifeforsale, an online project that explored our relationship to the objects around us, their role in the concept of identity, as well as the emerging commercial systems of the Internet. Using the public/commercial space of the online trading community Ebay in conjunction with his online catalogue Allmylifeforsale.com, John Freyer catalogued and sold nearly everything that he owned, from his kitchen cutlery to his personal hygiene products, his Star Wars sheets and finally even the domain name Allmylifeforsale.com itself. (Now owned by the University of Iowa, Museum of Art)"

Freyer's project investigated ideas that I am interested in with this project. He was asking people, bidders on ebay, to place a monetary value on his possessions that supposedly constituted his life. I am planning on exploring systems of exchange that have emerged on the internet such as ebay or craigslist that replace traditional bartering systems. More details to follow on the specifics.

I personally prefer looking at tangible objects to online content so I ordered the book that was produced in relation to the project. I have not received it yet but am looking forward to its arrival.

Edward I

Edward is another one of my friends and a former boyfriend from high school. He goes to Parsons in New York for photography. We were best friends throughout high school and for the first year or so of college. Then we drifted apart but still somewhat remain in contact. I called him this evening and left a message so hopefully I'll hear back soon.

Andrew S. I

Andrew S. is one of my friends and a former boyfriend from high school. We are on good terms and I would consider us pretty close friends since he is one of the few people I have remained in contact with from high school. We do not talk a lot during the school year but we always manage to get together over breaks. He goes to school for film in Orlando and this past weekend I happened to be there for a rugby game. He came to my game and we met up afterwards to catch up. (9/19/09)

I briefly presented my idea to him and immediately he said that he knew which picture he wanted. He wanted a picture from my sophomore portfolio that he remembered me showing him about a year and a half ago. I asked him what he was willing to offer me for that image and he said a flashlight and a green screen. Specifically, the proposed items were a Maglite brand flashlight and an 8'x9' green screen backdrop. I declined the offer since I have no need for either of those items and then explained my project proposal in more detail. When he found out that there were other options, the suite of images, he said that he would be willing to exchange after seeing them.

Kerry I

I am a bit nervous about approaching strangers to engage in the exchange but I know that it is a necessary step. In order to work up to that point, I am starting out by contacting friends and family. I am not only contacting friends and family to avoid other interactions but because this category will be an important data set. Will people who are close to me be more receptive to the idea and thus more generous with their offers?

The first person who I presented the idea to is my godmother, Kerry. We do not talk often but she never forgets to send me a card on my birthday or Christmas. Sometimes she has business in Boston and get together. Occasionally we talk over e-mail, mostly topical updates on our lives. I was responding to one such e-mail and the end of updating her on my life I included:

"I am doing my senior thesis on the exchange value of photography and it occurs to me that maybe you (or you and Jerry) would like to be involved. In short, I am seeing what I can get by trading my photographs in the "real world". Would you be interested in me sending you some prints and then sending me something back that you think is of equal value? Or I am thinking about making an online gallery of the photographs offered and you could pick one and then again, send me something that you think is of equal value? Whatever you send back is up to you- just whatever you think that photograph is worth. Let me know if you are interested."(9/16/09)

She wrote back and the second line of the e-mail read:

" I am VERY interested in the photography exchange project … and thrilled at the chance to see some of your photographs."

She went on to respond to the other updates on my life and at the end wrote:

"Let me know how you want to manage the photography exchange … and send me a link to some of your photos if you can."(9/22/09)

As soon as I get the images online, I will be writing her back to move forward with the exchange.

Inception

I'm starting this blog primarily to help me keep track of my ideas and work for my senior project. As someone who identifies as a photographer, I am interested in the exchange value of photography, what photography (or more specifically- photographs) are worth.

The structure so far involves the investigation of what I can get, either goods or services, for my photographs. In short, I, the first party, will offer a selection of a small suite of imagery for the second party to choose from. If interested in a trade, the second party will offer me something that they think is of equal value. I will then decide to accept or decline the offer.

I'm not sure yet if the suite will be the same for each second party. What I do know is that the quality of the images in the suite will have to meet non quantitative standards set forth by me. I will only offer images that I am proud of, that I value.