I worked at school on Saturday, New Year’s Eve. All quarter I walked around Logan Center – to and from the office to pick up copies, up and down the stairs to get from one location to another. I wanted to photograph these spaces in solitude. But people are always walking around the building, even on the weekends. And because I work in solitude, the winter break would be the perfect time to photograph.

I received some beautiful hanji paper from some friends who returned from Korea. I knew I wanted to do something with these, but I wasn’t sure. I tried to use these photo backdrops in a stairwell. Originally I had planned to use the bottom stairwell, but the architectural space didn’t quite fit what I had in mind.

I happened to walk up half a flight between the second and third floors, and the corner was just enough space to make an environmental portrait. (It was one of the critiques I received to make new work during my first critique.) But I worked through the images, they were not working. Perhaps part of the reason was due to the lack of an outlet. I needed an outlet to plug my studio lights, but I had no luck unless I could magically find a 50-foot extension cord.

I ended up making tighter framed portraits and was pleased to be able to make a vertical image. (I recently acquired a proper tripod after years of using a basic tripod that could never hold the weight of my heavy camera and lens.)