The Long Way Home - Teaser 2

The second teaser for The Long Way Home, a documentary about my father, the photographer John Stember.

While the first teaser was largely my attempt to enter into the experience and perspective of my father, it was impossible to ignore that despite the film being about my father, it was being told from the perspective of his daughter, aka me. It is from my perspective then, that I share this teaser.

To give a little background, I should mention that I set out to make this film for entirely selfish reasons. I was in pain after a difficult year and hoped that in making a film about my father- in coming to terms with him and his journey- I might come to better understand myself and my own. The result of that pursuit is what's being worked into the feature-length documentary, The Long Way Home.

Both this and the first teaser are comprised of personal footage taken not for the film itself, but for keepsake purposes, with my Pentax K7 dSLR. The actual film is currently in post but updates and the official teaser are to follow, along with an inevitable request for your help and support.

Thanks for staying tuned.

Music: Tahiti by Bat for Lashes

The Long Way Home - Teaser 1

I recently wrapped the shooting of a little project that's near and dear to my heart: a documentary about my father, John Stember. I'm not going to say much about it, and neither will this teaser, but the lyrics, courtesy of Tom Waits, might offer some elucidation. Many thanks for all the love and support I've received in endeavoring to do this. A long post schedule lies ahead but I promise there is light at the end of the tunnel. And that light, unlike this one, will be color graded. Stay tuned....

Southern Exposure

One of the things I cherish about my apartment is the light that it gets in the early to late afternoon as the sun is going down. I shot this today at a moment when the light was bouncing off the floors and creating an isolated shaft of passing illumination. The light in the shot vaguely reminds me of the light in my father's work from the early 1980s, which brings a smile of joy and recognition to my face, even if I'm not showing it here. Tomorrow I leave to work in Miami for a few days, where I hope I will have time to capture a few photos full of warm southern light to share on my return. Until then....

John Stember at Work in Tahiti

Check out my papa at work on this French TV show! Skip to 1 minute and 45 seconds in the clip. You can hear his English peeking through the French dubbed translation. I heart my dad.

Tahiti - La Vahiné ( Thalassa - John & Tumata ) sélectionné dans Arts & Talents et Danse

http://www.wat.tv/video/tahiti-vahine-thalassa-john-2eevf_288en_.html

Quiet American

I was speaking with my father about sound and music today and felt compelled to recommend a site, or a couple of sites, that I find really wonderful for anyone interested in nature as music and sound as art. The first site that comes to mind is Quiet American. As stated on the website,"Quiet American is the manipulation of sounds I hear and record.... My goal with Quiet American is to sketch in sound the experience of being in an unfamiliar place." I particularly like the one-minute vacations you can download from the site. It's a wonderful way to momentarily escape the realities we face everyday with a lack of freshness or perspective.

A few other sites I love and recommend.:
FreeSound Project: Community of Sound Gatherers
Re:Sound: Stories and Experimental Sound Art
Transom.Org: Site Full of Interviews, Equipment Reviews, Etc.
Public Radio Exchange: Fairly Self Explanatory
Story Corps: Oral History Site