Chris Wage Photography 

Second avenue, Nashville, TN. It’s around this time of year that downtown gets very photogenic.. hoping to get out there for some quality time with my tripod this year.

So, over the past few years, I’ve had a lot of people ask to buy prints of my photos. It’s incredibly flattering to know that people appreciate my photos enough to want to hang them on their walls at all, much less pay me for it. As such, I’ve always felt compelled to do my best to fulfill these requests, despite the fact that I know very little about the actual printing industry, much less matting, framing and decorating. To be honest, though, it’s become a hassle. The industry is changing daily due to the digital revolution, and the frequency of people asking me for prints is relatively rare. Thus, every time it happens, I have to re-evaluate the vendors, and then negotiate a price (read: pull one out of my ass), which always felt a bit disingenuous (more below). Plus, again, I’m often asked to provide expertise in an area (printing, framing and decoratin) that I know nothing about. I actually once had someone ask me which of my photos would work best in their living room, and gave me a rundown of the furniture and color scheme. At the end of the day, I’m a photographer, not an interior decorator.

To that end, I’ve decided to start offering prints for free. Of course, I don’t mind if people want to compensate me for them, naturally, but it’s easier for me to just handle that via donations. (Seriously, if you want to donate $2,000 or so, there’s this lens I could really use.) This gives people the flexibility to get whatever they want, and frees me to focus on what I do best: taking pictures. I’ve put up instructions and details, but I felt like some elaboration was necessary — hence this post:

A spring stormfront rolls in over the cumberland river and the gateway bridge. May, 2008.

The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway — one of the longest bridges in the world.

Downtown Nashville, 2007. 1984 Oldsmobile Delta 88 with a .. uhm.. “special” trim package. Heeeeell yeah.

This year, I had the honor of photographing the Nashville Roller Girls through their 2010 season. I skulked around in the background through practices, scrimmages, bouts, and, begrudgingly, afterparties, where I was forced, against my will, to cavort and socialize with all of my subjects. It was hard work, but in the interest of journalistic integrity, I felt it was necessary, to give you, dear readers, the real deal. Seriously, though: I met a lot of truly, truly amazing people, and made lots of great friends. I also, surprisingly, found myself the fan of a sport. No, really! I know the rules and everything! I’ve even found myself yelling alongside other belligerent individuals at other sporting events. Roller derby is apparently the true gateway drug.

I witnessed a team of young, raw recruits training their asses off, while a tireless group of individuals worked behind the scenes to keep things running. I witnessed that team face the uncertainty of their entire league’s future, with their former home at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds uncertain. I saw the team bent low by injury and relocation, but not broken. I watched the same team rise to the challenge and emerge victorious — eventually heading to the national championships. A true accomplishment. I understand Atlanta wanted to be there, but they couldn’t make it.

So, I’ll probably be featuring a lot of the 8 brazillion photos I’ve taken over the last year on this blog, but I have actually made an effort to edit all those photos into a coherent set, which you can find here. See you all at the next bout!

Dr. Gonzo. Filmmaker, photographer, and announcer for the Nashville Rollergirls.

Downtown, Murfreesboro, TN. I might be working on Black & White photography, but some things beg to be shot in color.

Cait and I took a train out to Cookeville this weekend. It was a fall foliage ride held every year by the Tennessee Central Railway Museum. It was lovely. Like most everyone these days, I’m enamored with train travel. — a relaxing and sentimental alternative to car or plane travel. The landscape whizzing by and the sedating white noise of the tracks provide the perfect background for quiet contemplation and casual conversation. Cait commented that the next time we’re on a train, we should be crossing the China/Mongolia border on the trans-Siberian railway. I couldn’t agree more.