Books & Zines
Abstract Sky ‘21 Book
The 56-page softcover edition with 54 full-page photographs printed on the highest quality pearl photo paper is available on Blurb.
This project is about fireworks. Specifically, the fireworks displays at the City of Whitewater, Wisconsin 4th of July Celebration 2021, on the nights of July 3rd and 4th, 2021. A selection of the images appear in the Abstract Sky ‘21 gallery.
Fireworks displays are popular because they are beautiful and often quite spectacular. As humans, we see them unfold instant by instant, millisecond by millisecond, in real-time.
My approach to photographing fireworks is to step out of real-time and to distill multiple-second segments of the performance into individual still photographs, images that could not have been witnessed directly by a human. The images here record multiple bursts of fireworks over 2- to 18-second time intervals.
This project has been great fun to produce. I hope you enjoy the result.
Available on Blurb - but I usually have a few on hand. If you are interested in price and availability please contact me.
Interpretations Book
Available on Blurb as a 44-page softcover edition, or a 90-page deluxe hardcover edition. Both editions are printed on the same highest quality pearl photo paper. Individual fine art prints, personally printed and signed by me, are also available.
These are creative interpretations of some of my favorite landscape and travel photographs from over the years. My goal in developing this collection has been to explore alternative methods of storytelling through photography. Some images from the Interpretations gallery appear in the book.
Taking inspiration from the subject and composition of photography, the sharpness and precision of illustration, the soft focus of mild abstraction, and the rich textures and washes of color found in painting, in this case mainly watercolor painting, I set off to crystallize a vision, practice techniques to use in realizing that vision, and, ultimately, to create a body of work centered on that vision.
The photographs in the collection come from different times and locations and they depict various subjects. What brings them together is how well they lent themselves to this approach.
Available on Blurb - but I usually have a few of each on hand. If you are interested in price and availability please contact me.
Race Day Zine
A Weekend In Chicago Zine
The Weekend in Chicago project was hatched from a weekend I spent in downtown Chicago in June 2019 just for photography. The photographs were all made by me from noon on Friday, June 28 until noon on Sunday, June 30. It was quite a whirlwind of shutter cycles…and a lot of walking. Did I mention a lot of walking? After returning home, reviewing, and post-processing, I chose what I thought to be the top 60 images that best represented my trip. These were made into a 76 page zine which is now available here.
Chicago...wow, what a place!
Not only does it have more than its fair share of destination locations, it is nearly impossible to walk down the street without seeing something memorable -- and photographable.
It is a smorgasbord of photo opportunities and the selection here barely scratches the surface. Still, I am pleased with what I saw and captured during my short stay in this impressive city.
Available on Blurb - but I usually have a few on hand. If you are interested in price and availability please contact me.
Race Day: Tour of America’s Dairyland: East Troy Cycling Classic: June 17, 2022
Photographs and Photo Illustrations by Jeff McDonald
Since its start in 2009, the 11-day Tour of America’s Dairyland has grown into the largest competitive road cycling series in the United States. Held on consecutive days throughout southeastern Wisconsin, day 2 is hosted by East Troy. Nearly 1,000 men and women, professionals and amateurs, some as young as 9 years old, from about 40 states and 15 countries compete each year. My goals for this collection are twofold. First, to convey the energy, speed, competition, determination, grit, intensity, heat, challenge, joy, and chaos that were so abundant on the day. Second, to creatively add dimension, variety, and a little spice to the mixture.
All the images were shot by me as color digital photographs at the live event. Various camera settings and physical movements were used to achieve, in-camera, the blending of detail and motion blur that are apparent. All were processed as standard color and black and white, representational and abstract, photographs with Adobe Photoshop and other software. Some of the images were set aside for further creative processing as photo illustrations. This used parts of Photoshop and other tools more often seen by illustrators and digital painters than by photographers.
I have a few copies left @ $10/each plus postage. Please contact me if you are interested.
