LifeStory by Rick Doble
An online illustrated autobiography and life story of an
Internet and multimedia artist, digital photographer and writer
which includes artistic growth and development.

Portrait
at ages 5, 16, 23, 50.

1997 - FIRST INTERNET SITES.

I put the Muybridge pictures on the Internet (See previous chapter 1990 - Muybridge). That is all I plan to display. But then I get the bug and realize that everything I have been doing will work on the Internet. I design all my sites by hand. Eventually I put up over 250 digital images, animations plus poems, stories, a play, monologues and numerous essays. I have learned not to make assumptions about what people will like. I never expect, for example, that my essay about digital photography will be read by many people. Instead it is reprinted at six different sites around world and seen by thousands of people.

SEE: Woman in Motion
An online display of computer photography -- 
based partially on the work of Eadweard Muybridge.
../exhibit/default.htm

Building on my previous work of Muybridge, I modify the snowflake photographs of W.A. Bentley. I had worked with a well known scientist at the University in Chapel Hill, NC who taught me that to reveal a structure "stain is the name of the game," that is use color to bring out the structure. This image is from my first annual snowflake exhibit on the Internet. I put up new snowflakes after Thanksgiving.

SEE: See my First Annual Snowflake Exhibit - Snowflake Splendor at:
../snow/default.htm

From my second annual snowflake exhibit on the Internet. This annual show is one of my most popular exhibits. The first and second annual snowflake exhibit have been seen by over 12,000 people on the Internet.

SEE: See my First Annual Snowflake Exhibit - Snowflake Splendor at:
../newsnow/index.html

1997 - COMPUTER REVELATION.

I am disappointed with the response that I get from the Internet. I receive no email and it seems that no one is looking at my work. Then almost in an artistic flash, I use my imagination and my experience with computers to imagine what kind of software could be available to help me publish, promote, track, and publicize my sites. I want to automate most repetitive tasks. I imagine that there must be software that will search multiple search engines and list a combined result, counters that keep track of traffic at my sites, email programs that send multiple emails, software that checks the validity of links on my sites, programs that submit my sites to multiple search engines and indexes, etc. It takes me four months to look for all this software, understand how it will fit together, and try out several programs for each task before buying one. It takes another two months to fully implement all the combined software. But it leads to success. See 1998 - Success.

Like a gift from the Gods, like a bolt out of the blue, I find a Casio QV-100 camera for sale at a local office supply store for $50. It is under warranty but needs to be sent in for repairs (the office supply store tells me that they will give me a refund if it can't be repaired). It turns out that the repair is simple, a blown fuse. After almost ten years of being unable to do traditional photography due to a back injury, I can take photographs again. And what photographs! I feel like I have been reborn as a digital photographer and I realize that I will never use traditional film, paper or darkrooms again. (Over the past 30 years I probably spent the equivalent of five solid years in darkrooms and am glad to find an alternative. I have designed and built over 10 darkrooms.)

One of my first digital photographs with my new Casio. It is actually based on an idea from a Jackson Pollock painting. He did one of his dripped paintings and then cut out a figure in the middle. This photograph has been reprinted at numerous Internet sites around the world.

SEE: The Digital Rambler:
An ongoing exhibit of unmanipulated photographs
taken with a new digital camera.
../photos/default.htm

1998 - I HEAR MY FIRST RAVE MUSIC.

At a club in Wilmington, NC I hear my first full blown Rave performance by a disk jockey. It is mesmerizing. I could have stayed for ten hours except they shut down the place at 4 AM.

In May I submit my site to numerous "e-zines." This turns out to be the key. I am swamped with requests for articles and images. I devise a way to count my traffic. Since May 1998 I receive over 40,000 unique hits at my combined sites. I have an email list of about 300 zines and people who want regular notices about my work. I devise a way to find out who has listed my site and reviewed it. Now over 100 sites feature and link to my sites (not including search engines). My sites are in most search engines.

SEE: Neon Dreams
../neon/index.html

From the Neon series of digital photographs. This is the OO in the word "SEAFOOD." When I took this I thought of the large Miro murals that he did late in his life.

I am forever experimenting. This unexpected photograph is of a ferris wheel with extreme camera movement. See my essay: THE DIGITAL WAY TO EXPERIMENT
http://www.digigallery.com/1999/articles/thedigitalwaytoexperiment.html

SEE: "I see those carny lights!"
experimental digital photography at a fall carnival
../experiment/index.html

Folk art in the yard. This wonderful and under-appreciated art of the people with lights appears all over the country at Christmas time. This display is in Morehead City. After I put these pictures on the Internet, they are seen by over a 1000 people all over the world.

SEE: Exhibit of Christmas Lights
../christmas/index.html

1998 - MORE MUSEUM EXHIBITS.

The Orlando Museum of Art sees my work on the Internet and includes it in their Art + Technology '98 Exhibit. The Perth Foundation for Contemporary Arts (Australia) prints and frames a screen dump from my work and includes it as part of a computer exhibit.

Three of my digital photographs are accepted for the show "Dementia 99" based on Duchamp and Dada at the Omaha Center for Contemporary Art in Omaha Nebraska.

1999 - I BEGIN TO EXPLORE DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY AS AN EXPRESSIVE ART FORM

As I experiment with the camera, I realize that for a variety of reasons, digital photography is quite different from traditional photography and can be an expressive art medium. I write an essay illustrated with photographs that I have taken and then add a full exhibit.

SEE: Is digital photography the new expressive visual art?
../photoexpress.htm

SEE: Xtreme Xpressions I
Street lamp shadows
An online exhibit of photo-expressionism.
../shadows/index.html

1999 - BLAIR WITCH PROJECT MOVIE

I see the Blair Witch Project twice which is a dazzling movie, simple in concept and very moving.

I buy a Casio QV-770 camera which has amazing low light and animation capabilities. Casio has stopped making cameras so I find one eBay with a full one year warranty from Casio. I also buy a Sony because it has a zoom lens and unlimited storage. I believe the two cameras will compliment each other.

Marquis Who'sWho (the original Who'sWho since 1899) will include me in their millenium edition. This honor is for my combined work in all areas including my artistic work and also my work in the community. It seems to make the struggle worth while.

A happy camper; I am ready to create new work. This is me with my new Casio QV-770 camera. I took this animation under a street lamp in the wide angle mirror of a van that happened to be parked next to me.