Love, Lust, and Desire

Can't get enough of my "Love in the Digital Age" binary code series? Two of the graphic design images will be shown and made available for sale as hand-signed small works at McGowan Fine Art (Concord, NH), as part of the gallery's annual "Love, Lust and Desire" juried community show.

The show runs from January 31 – February 14, 2017. There's an opening reception on February 3, 2017 from 5 – 7 PM and I'm planning on being there. (And trust me: you'll ***really*** like the prices.)

I typically make my photography and design work available for sale through online galleries these days. So I'm really looking forward to being displayed in a bricks-and-mortar gallery again for a change and meeting area arts lovers at the reception. I hope to see you there!

Japanese-Influenced Icicle Images

This past weekend, I shot some outdoor pix, focusing on icicle formations. Some of them reminded me of traditional Japanese landscapes paintings, like this one:

So even though I hardly ever use the Photoshop filters any more, I though this particular photo would look interesting with the Sumi-E filter applied:

I liked it so much that I did a few more:

Takeaway points: it's your art and no one else's. Be inventive. Play with your software's tools. Create works that please yourself first and foremost. The joy that you get from creating pieces you love will attract the kinds of patrons to whom you want to entrust your "babies."

New Work: Nature's Tinsel

Just couldn't resist:

It's available to purchase via Janusian Gallery at Crated.

New Work: Concrete Wall Abstracts

We just spent a weekend in the Jamestown, RI Area. The typical "place" pictures (lighthouses, beaches, etc.) didn't interest me at all, but the wall details did:

They're available to purchase via Janusian Gallery at Crated.

New Work: Day Lilies

I had the pleasure to shoot day lilies yesterday at Liliana Flower Farm in Louden, NH. Here are a few of my favorite shots:

Please feel free to share on Pinterest or other social media.

New Work: Cape Cod

My husband and I spent New Year's weekend in Cape Cod, touring the sites and working on my landscape photography skills. However, all my favorite shots so far are more like this:

I'll be using this image and more on the Janusian Gallery web site refresh.

Happy New Year!

A Photographer's Journey

The first time I remember being ***really*** excited about taking pictures was during a trip to Disney World with my family in 1975. I had a pocket camera that could be personalized with puffy stickers. Of course, I chose the flower sticker.

I impatiently waited for the film to be developed, saving up my allowance money to pay for developing costs. When I'd finally earned enough money to pick up the pictures, my father drove me to the pharmacy to pick up the photos. The clerk apologized to us and explained that most of the film had been ruined during processing. He gave me twice the amount of film, so I could "shoot something else instead." I wanted to ask him for a plane ticket back to Disney World, but bit my tongue. Even though the memories of the trip were still fresh in my mind and I had postcards of the most scenic spots, it just wasn't the same without prints of the images I'd shot. I wanted something that expressed ***my*** perspective of the trip, not Walt Disney's. People often ask me why I don't do wedding / event photography: I guess it's in part because I never want to make someone feel the way I did that day if something went wrong with the shoot or digital files.

I've Been on Both Sides of the Lens

I worked for several years as a magazine art director, commissioning and selecting images for publication. During that time, I began shooting my own pictures as a hobby. Once I started consistently producing work that was as good or better than that of the photographers I was hiring, I began to display and promote my own work. Shortly after that, I began receiving recognition and awards for my photography, which was great incentive to keep shooting, learning, and growing. Because of my background, I still edit my pictures ruthlessly today. (Something which I think is just as necessary as technical skill.) I'm fascinated by the sensuous quality of flowers and return to them again and again as a subject matter, no matter how much I try to branch out in other areas.

In 2009, one of my floral photographs was selected to be displayed in the Smithsonian Castle in Washington, DC. Of course, my husband and I flew down to see it, because we thought it was kind of a big deal. I had high hopes of becoming the Georgia O'Keeffe of photography. A quick Google or Pinterest search shows that I have an awful lot of competition. Today, my goals are different, but jsut as ambitious: create photographs that people are proud to display in their homes and workplaces and which they think bring value and pleasure to their lives.

I've also studied certain types of image-taking that strive to take the photographer out of the picture, so to speak, "to create an immediate sensory experience." While I think this foray was an interesting intellectual exercise, it made me recognize and reaffirm that photography is a conversation between the artist and the viewer. No meaningful dialogue can occur when one party vanishes. It's the interaction that helps brings humanity to one of the most mechanical art forms.

It's All Good

Unlike many other photographers, I don't see the ubiquity of digital cameras and smartphones as a death knoll for photographic artists. Rather, photography is becoming a part of everyday life (as it should be.) It's a medium that's easy to relate to. Also, most people know when it's time to call in the pros: for an important event, for large-scale wall art, etc.