JANUARY IN MCGREGOR

The month of January has afforded some great images for my McGregor project. Some of these photographs are featured in this entry. As I reflect upon the month of shooting, I am primarily struck by a couple of things.

First, I appreciate those who support this project by visiting the gallery, buying prints and paying compliments in person or by mail. Your support is encouraging and keeps me motivated. I am grateful to have it.

Secondly, I am amazed by my new discoveries. As I continue to pay attention to McGregor I continue to uncover a larger community than I realized. Perhaps we do not recognize how narrow our pathways are. Even in a community as manageable as McGregor, we live amid strangers. Perhaps we recognize the faces, the signs and buildings in the photographs, but do we really know them? We become so accustomed to seeing the same things, places and faces that we become immune to their influence. It is as if we never saw them at all. Through this project, I am working to shake off that sense of complacency and to become more awake to each moment. I have found that the camera also has the ability to connect me with people.

Now faced with a new month, I will remove the collection from the McGregor Gallery and start it all over from scratch. It is a living, organic gallery in the respect that—although the moments are preserved photographically—they are still transient. Thus, the gallery itself has become transient, each image exhibiting only during the month it was taken. I urge you to view each group before they are removed.

I am ever eager to make new photographs. Indeed, things are aking place in McGregor, every day and every night. I am just offering up a small portion of the rich and varied happenings in this town. It truly is an adventure to capture these events and post them daily. Thank you for taking this adventure with me.

—William Gentry

Enjoy this sampling of January's images.

You can purchase prints at the Gentry Joint Store.

PRINTS NOW AVAILABLE

Due to popular demand, we've just added the option to purchase prints of McGregor Gallery photos to the Gentry Joint Store. These archival, matte finish, 8x10 inch prints are now just $10.

Simply chose the number of the photo you'd like, listed beneath the photo at the gallery, and fill it into the blank by the Paypal button at the store. It's that simple. Take advantage of the low introductory price and start your collection of Gentry prints today.

ELECTION EGGPLANTS & MORE

At long last, I have completed a batch of 100 Stray Eggplants and shipped them off to Art*o*mat. This is my 10th edition of eggplants—a project that began back in 2004. I have now created in excess of 900 eggplant sculptures, no two with the same quote.

Since we've just been through a presidential election that dominated the media and obsessed most of us for nearly 2 years, I decided to design 50 special edition "election plants" with quotes from the historic election including campaign slogans, media sound bytes, memorable Saturday Night Live lines from election skits and so forth. Below is a slideshow with a few of them.

If you are the host of an Art*o*mat machine, these unique eggplants will soon be available so be sure to request them.

If you'd like to buy an eggplant, visit the Gentry Joint Store.  There are a few in stock at the moment.

—Laura Gentry

MCGREGOR, IOWA

In November 2008, Laura and I visited Japan. It was truly an incredible journey. Japan is a camera culture and that was something novel for me—to be surrounded by tourists and locals alike capturing moments with their cameras, taking bits of their experiences home for later reflection.

Whenever we travel abroad, the camera is constantly by my side. On tour, everything is important, every moment sacred and time is best served documenting everything that one does—no detail seems insignificant or inconsequential. As a traveler and observer I don the attitude that these things will never happen this way again, so preservation is paramount.

When we returned home from Japan, I began to think about my relationship with my own place of residence. I have lived in the small, river town of McGregor, nestled in the hills northeast Iowa since 2001. I have always been making photos here, yet after our trip, I suddenly recognized that photographing McGregor is every bit as special as photographing foreign lands, perhaps more so. It infused me with a new energy to document my daily experiences, to use the same approach with my hometown as I would my vacation travels.

Every community has atmosphere, an energy that drives events and captures the hearts and minds of the residents. I have renewed my fascination with McGregor, and now I am setting forth with my camera to capture as many moments of life in this town as I can. Obviously, these photos will hold a special place in the lives of those who call McGregor home, but I believe that these images will also be of interest to those unfamiliar with McGregor.

The purpose of this documentary project is to demonstrate that every event in life, every moment is unique and special. No aspect of this little town is unworthy of attention—from the turn of the century buildings to the eclectic assortment of signs, to the locals about their daily business. Though the population is only about 800 people, there is an abundance of activity in McGregor. I am coming to realize that I can never exhaust the images that I will find in this town. Every day is an exciting adventure.

Thus, I have challenged myself to stray off my usual paths to investigate, to nose about, and to meet new people. These are images that need preserving. In the past month of dedicated shooting with this notion firmly in mind, I have discovered the hidden jewels of McGregor and I am pleased to exhibit them at my on-line gallery. Come share the journey and experience my perspective of McGregor, Iowa.

—William F. Gentry II

LINKS TO EACH MONTH

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December