SOLD!

 I am very glad that I submitted my photo to Munson's art show for three reasons. 

• First, as I mentioned in the previous post, I hadn't been doing much photo-wise and so it was nice to get back into things: take a photo, do the post-processing to get the results I wanted, prep it for submission by printing and framing it, and seeing it / having it be seen in the show. 
• Second, and I just gave this one way, I was grateful just to have it accepted into the show. There were many great photographs in the show by some really good photographers that I know and admire.  I was pleased to have my work shown along with theirs.

• Third, as is indicated by the email below, the photo sold! I am appreciative and humbled that other people presumably enjoyed my work, and especially that someone felt strongly enough about the photo to spend their money on it. Many thanks to that person!!

What's even more amazing to me is that this is the second year in a row that my photos have been purchased at the Munson art show! (That one was also of birds... note to self: more bird photos!) I guess the pressure is on for next year. And I believe that this makes the third photo I have sold through the Sidewalk show over the years. 

Time to get back to it.

Trying to loosen up a bit

 Really?... I haven't posted anything here in 7 years? Really? 

That doesn't seem possible. 

As I said in the last post (7 freaking years ago), I haven't been doing a whole lot of photography recently, or at least not consistently. I've certainly had some intense photo projects (Chemo Characters - more on that in a later post; sister-in-law's wedding, etc.), and have had the occasional fun day of shooting, but I haven't been consistent. The usual combinations of weak excuses and valid reasons... been busy, conflicting commitments, dire health issues (hopefully resolved now!), other interests, and generally not photo-motivated. Also, I was running into the same issues that I described before... getting caught up in and/or discouraged by the technical issues and not focusing on the artsy and fun sides of why I got into it.

So, I will try to focus on 'good' art instead of the 'perfect' photograph - that seems more fun. (That doesn't mean I intend to take bad photos... I still want them to be really good.)

In this spirit, today I submitted a photo to the 2024 Munson Arts Festival. The original photo admittedly wasn't great... technically speaking, it was even pretty bad. I took it with my phone instead of my regular camera, through a dirty window and screen, with only a few seconds to get the shot before the bird flew away. But I got it. In the moment, I was struck by how spectacularly vivid the colors of the goldfinch had been amongst the pink apple blossoms, with dark green tones of the sprouting leaves within the tree. I took the photo for the colors and the simplicity of the subject, so I knew immediately what I planned to do in post-processing - accentuate the colors and abstract composition, giving it the feel of a painting, without worrying about having tack-sharp detail. Details weren't the point.

Here is this year's submission.

I'm back.

I can't believe that it has been so long since I last posted here... three years!?!?!? I suppose it is not a coincidence that I assumed my current role at work - you guessed it - three years ago. It has not left me a lot of time to do much photography, at least certainly not at the level that I would like to do it. Additionally, there was a good stretch of time where I was not super inspired. As I learned more, I was getting more (too?) caught up in and frustrated by the technicals for a photo rather than thinking about composition and shooting for fun. Rather than enjoying the process, I have wanted every photo I take to be great, and became discouraged when they weren't great, the composition was blah, and I wasn't having a great time doing it.

The pendulum began to swing back toward fun over the last few months. I went to some workshops where I learned some new techniques, was reminded of others, and witnessed the processes of other photographers. That was liberating in a way because it showed me (again) that getting a really good photo often takes a lot of work, and that the first one you take might not be a winner. In fact, it might be really bad. By itself, that doesn't sound inspirational. But... you adjust and fix what is wrong and eventually end up with a photograph that you can be satisfied with. It reminded me that photographers show you their best work - the images that show what they envisioned; they don't show you all the crappy shots they took. My frustration stemmed from the fact that I was only taking the first few shots and not working through the problems. I just figured I could fix things in post-production on the computer. While you can do some pretty miraculous things on the computer, you can't fix everything. Anyway, now that I have been reminded that you can't squeeze magic out of muck, I am more excited about taking photos again.

So, I entered photos into the Utica Public Library photography show earlier this month, and the Munson Williams Proctor Arts Institute (MWPAI) sidewalk show. Below is the entry to MWPAI.
I went to the show this evening, and I was surprised, delighted and honored to see that my photo had a "SOLD" sticker on the tag!! This is becoming fun again, and other people like the results enough to give up their hard-earned money for it. I am humbled.

More shroom zoom

Here is another shot of the mushrooms.  I like the tones and textures of this one, and the details are pretty sharp through most of the photo. As always, feel free to let me know what you think.

And in case you are wondering, these are oyster mushrooms grown from a kit I bought at a home improvement store.

Variations and Repetitions

Transitions

It has certainly been a while since I have posted anything, and truthfully, for a variety of reasons (super busy, not super inspired, and seemingly unable to take a decent photo when I did try) I haven't been doing much photography recently.  That's the way it goes sometimes I guess.  But I like this one and wanted to share.  I think that it makes a pretty cool abstract.  I like how the lines come in together in parallel, get a little turbulent for a bit, and then fan out very symmetrically.

I hope you like it.

Transitions

Way too long!

OK, so it has been many, many months since I posted anything.  Not good!  So I will now begin to rectify this situation.  Here is a photo.  More will follow in the coming days...

So, the mastodon walked into the church...

Another one to file this under the 'questions it never occurred to me that I might ask' category. "A mastodon skeleton?... in an old church?"

The answer: artists. It’s always the stinking artists! It is a sculpture of a mastodon skeleton, and the old church is now ‘converted’ (hmm.. sorry) into the Remsen Arts Center. But still, the juxtaposition is rather striking. If you need something to do this weekend, check out the Remsen Family Weekend and go to the Arts Center. And while you are there, look for my photos in the art show. Enjoy.