One of the best things about moving back to Cleveland from NYC is the ease with which I can connect with nature, and with nearby farms. I love the direct contact with the source of the food that sustains my body. As much as I love cities, the cycles of life, the ebbs and flows apparent in nature, are grounding to me.
When I was in New York this past fall, I paid a visit to the Lomography store in the Village, and decided to reincorporate an oldie but goodie into my repertoire. Remember 110 film from the ’80s? The first camera I ever used as a child was a plastic point-and-shoot 110 camera, and my parents would take the film cartridge to the now defunct Revco Pharmacy for developing.
I got a call with only a few days’ notice about a potential newborn shoot on Long Island, New York. As it turned out, I wasn’t booked in Cleveland that weekend, and was able to arrange an impromptu trip.
LinkedIn is like, huge, now. Although I’ve had an account for years, I didn’t even realize, until recently, what a powerful tool it has grown into. People are frequently telling me they have been recruited via their profile, and that many prospective employers peruse LinkedIn for viable candidates. And, in a recent newsletter, Daily Worth reported that profiles with a photo are seven times more likely to be viewed than profiles without one.
It’s actually been quite awhile since I photographed a rock band. But at one point in my life, it was the only thing I shot.
“Stopper Rod Man” was the actual job title of the guy who pulled the rod to control the pouring of the molten metal inside of a steel plant. As a native Clevelander, I am fascinated with this industry. I also love the term as a way of harkening back to other out-dated job titles, like “typist.”
People often ask me, “Why Cleveland?” It seems that there is a strong polarity in people’s thoughts about this city — either they remember that many decades ago its river caught on fire (though, from what I understand, this was not entirely uncommon for industrial cities at the time) and that it’s been in decline for awhile, or they are die-hard Cleveland fans and paint an oh-so-sweet picture of it as a small town with a great work ethic. I’m not saying that either of those things is totally inaccurate, but I do think an apt picture of present-day Cleveland has yet to be painted. Perhaps that’s because it’s still morphing into what it will be.
Métier from Sarah Sloboda on Vimeo.
In 2003, I created my first short film project in New York, in collaboration with some very talented people. The film is about a young woman writer, and her obsessive dedication to her craft, as it alternates with the beautiful creative world within her craft itself. As I have embraced myself as a writer again in recent weeks, I thought it was appropriate to share this piece again now.
I deactivated my facebook account a couple weeks ago. Not my photography page — that’s still alive and well. But my personal account is turned off. I have been thinking about this for awhile — in fact, since 2009. It wasn’t until I saw Beyoncé’s film, Life is But a Dream, that it finally landed for me why I was ready to do it.
