ASMP & CREATIVITY
Ten years ago today I was giving a talk with the ever-friendly ASMP (American Society of Media Photographers) Mountain West Chapter. With free pizza, yum. Mike Shipman invited me to speak at what became a nice social gathering while discussing the creative process.
Check out the cool typewriter which still chugs along with my writing. Sometimes I like doing journal entries on it, you know, just to keep myself honest. Each letter has an authoritative clack and it sounds very much like one knows what they’re doing. There’s a thermometer for keeping the Rodinal precisely at 68º (not 67, not 69). Canned air for clean negs and a sharp loupe for checking those “iffy negs.” A red flashlight for the darkroom is great for checking aperture settings on enlarger lenses.
ASMP is a great organization and I was a member of the Alaska & San Francisco Chapters. ASMP is a most excellent “equalizer organization” for everyone, and the camaraderie is heartfelt and down to earth. As a past member I got good feedback about works in progress and talked about my philosophy of light with it having a distinctive vibe, but also keeping the techie stuff simple.
Women and people of color were offered the same level of help as everyone else as ASMP members. ASMP meetings were fun and nearly always had challenging discussions about professional practices too. It helped photographers make a living! ASMP has a distinguished record of winning critical copyright court cases which benefits all creatives, not just photographers. For anyone making a living as a photographer, ASMP is a fine organization to join. Some chapters have student memberships. ASMP are the good guys.
ASMP asked to use the “Tonto’s Earthen House” composition for the flyer, which turned out nice. The print was made for a public art project with the Boise City Dept of Arts & History. It was a fun and challenging project where the art resides across the street from a downtown theater, which makes it very fitting. The final size is somewhere around ten feet wide, wrapped around a traffic box. I like that aspect because home in the Northwest Coast, our clan boxes were ornately carved, and my box follows that Tlingit and Nisgaá ethos.
And the world spins on. Cheers, buddies.
https://www.boiseartsandhistory.org/explore/collections/traffic-box-art/tontos-earthen-house/
Copyright Larry McNeil 2025, all rights reserved (not just some of them, eh?)