Who Is J.R. Blackwell?

Date: Author: Category: Meta
Women of the Empire

Women of the Empire, a recent short story published in the Tales from the Archives Vol. 2

Every so often I like to introduce myself for the folks who just arrived, or who aren’t sure what the heck is going on over here or who this J.R. Blackwell person is. So, if you are new here: Hello!  If you’ve been here before: Welcome Back!

I am J.R. Blackwell, and I’m a writer and a photographer, a fact I know to be true because I do those things regularly, sometimes people pay me for them, which is always very nice.

I write here regularly, posting photos and taking about the games, fiction, and photography projects I’m involved in. I’ve started a series of photography wish-lists, where I talk about projects I’d like to do, but have some challenge in the way of me accomplishing them. I’m also working on a series of posts about photographers who inspire me. I collaborate a lot. Last year I put out a book called Shelter in Place which is a game about zombies that a lot of people assisted in the production of, and this year, I’m working with an amazingly cool team on a card/board game called Velociraptor! Cannibalism!

Recently I’ve felt drawn to do more project that are just about my artwork and my vision, which has led me to start work on a photo-project called Baby Shoes. I’m also working on some Dr. Mercury short fiction, which is fun, but hard, but, again, fun.

I like to answer questions with these posts, just to see what you are curious about and what items I might have left unanswered, so here they are! I hope they are informative.

Question: We’ve seen the recent lovely hair. How does it feel to sport the different hair styles/colors even just for a shoot? -Mainframe

It’s fun! Having pink hair is lots of fun. It’s also lots of upkeep, which is why it isn’t usually permanent because eventually my desire to do other things than maintain my hair take over. Having different hairstyles is crazy-fun though. I am lucky enough to know the owner of The Five Wits, a wig company, who hooks me up with awesome wigs for shoots.

Question: How did you get into art photography? Does music influence your artistic mood? Why zombies and other crawly things? -Monica
I started taking photographs because my friends all said they were ugly, and I picked up a camera to prove them wrong. I don’t know if I succeeded, but I know they stopped calling themselves ugly around me.
Music does influence my mood, so much so that I have a hard time writing with music on. I find that I work best in silence. But I do love music. Sometimes my clients ask to play music during their shoot, which is totally fine with me, as I don’t find it distracting there, but yeah, it has a huge effect on me.
I incorporate whatever scares me into my art. So if you see something scary in my photography or written work, it’s because I find it personally terrifying. Taking control of that thing, using it in my art, that’s my way of getting over my fears. It’s tremendously effective.

Question: Why are you so great? -Daniel

If I achieve any greatness whatsoever, it is because I am in the company of genius.

3 thoughts on “Who Is J.R. Blackwell?”

  1. It was a pleasure to meet you at Balticon, and I’m here now. Hee hee hee… Okay, cool to hear about the photography. That is a fun way to get into it. I’ve got a camera and want to get to taking the pictures again. But I really don’t do much to get creative with the pics. I do want to though. I’m planning on setting time aside here, maybe next month when things calm, to read your Dr. Mercury shorts. I heard people mention them at Balticon, and need to get to them. 🙂

    Take care!

  2. Pingback: Let’s All Introduce Ourselves | J.R. Blackwell

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