Photo Trek

For FUN Category~

Spring is here & so is the color!!!  So Our Challenge this week is easy.....
LANDSCAPES in COLOR!

Through The Countryside

With the current community challenge focusing on landscapes again, I can't help but want to be a part of things.  The one that I've chosen for this challenge is from the same Trek that my last challenge entry came from.  I think that the Blue Ridge Parkway is the quintessential landscape to photograph.

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Some of my frequent readers might have noticed that my most recent Photographer Spotlight was done a few days early.  There is a very good reason for that, and for those of you who subscribe to my newsletter, A Polarized Life, you already know that reason.  I will be nowhere near my computer when the 15th rolls around.  I will be almost 4,400 miles away in Anchorage, AK.  This will be a fairly long term Trek that will cover not only Anchorage, but the Kenai Peninsula as well.

This Trek will span about a week and a half.  I don't fully know what to expect photographywise, but I do intend on bringing back enough new images that I need to create a new room in the Gallery.  At any rate, Photo Trek will not see many updates unless I can find a computer with internet in the hotels.  If I can, I will probably do several entries about how things are going.  Otherwise, expect a full report in a couple of weeks when I get everything caught up and added to the gallery.

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It is a little earlier in the month than is normal for this feature.  The reason for that is simple, I will not be anywhere near home on the 15th when this feature normally is published.  Instead of  waiting till later in the month, I figured I would go ahead and introduce this month's featured photographer a little early.  The subject of this month's Photographer Spotlight does a little bit of everything from landscapes, to racing, and even a bit of wedding photography thrown in for good measure.  I'm happy to introduce Greg Davis of G S  Davis Photography.

Photo Copyright © 2004 G S Davis Photography

Greg has resided in Cincinnati, OH, for pretty much all of his 30-some years.  From early on in his life..."almost before I could talk", Greg had a love of drawing and art.  He owes this in no small part to his Dad.  After graduating high school, Greg went on to pursue art in college where he received an art degree.  Greg puts it best...."the art degree, however, pretty much qualified me to drive a truck."  He put aside his love for art for the sake of making a living, which I think we can all understand on some level.  Greg has worked for several of the more well known carriers over his life.

About four years ago, Greg decided it was time to chase another one of his dreams to become a teacher...specifically middle school.  He is currently in the last stages of the teaching program with under two months left of student teaching before he is a full fledged teacher.  He says the best part about this is that his student teaching will be in Australia.  As if this assignment isn't enough, he is excited about the photography potential as well.  So...how and when did photography come into his life?

Photo Copyright © 2007 G S Davis Photography

He got started with photography in a round about sort of way.  He used to race bicycle motocross at the national level.  Apparently he was pretty good on a bike as he made it into the top ten experts in his age bracket for the country.  He actually traveled the country racing bikes which prompted him to rediscover his love of art through the medium of photography.  He cut his teeth on a Pentax K1000 SLR camera, and even spent some time in the darkroom at his school.

As he continued with the sport of motocross, he gradually upgraded his equipment and began shooting many of the races.  He made an impression on his circle because in no time at all, his pictures were being featured in a BMX magazine as well as several websites on a regular basis.  He participated in two different contests where he ended up being featured in Photographic (now Shutterbug), and almost landed a feature in Cowboys and Indians Magazine in their special photographic issue.

Its funny how things develop in photography some times.  It was Greg's work with the BMX circuit that opened the doors to another type of photography....weddings.  Greg's work was noticed by a fellow racer who asked him to photograph his wedding.  Even after shooting BMX races and dealing with the very fast paced tempo, he has found that weddings can actually be harder to photograph.

Photo Copyright © 2007 G S Davis Photography

Greg has realized something when comparing wedding photography to sports photography, and quite frankly, I had not ever thought of this.  "And get this, whereas my BMX photos are dated from almost the moment I download my memory card, wedding shots might be so loved as to outlive me..."  he goes on to tell about a picture that can be point to and described as "This is my grandparents wedding.  This is where we come from."  He makes a very strong point here, and he is very privileged to be able to capture those moments for the family to share for generations.

Greg has been fully into photography now since May, 2003, when he landed his first magazine job.  In 2004 he began focusing on another type of photography...travel photography.  It was during a trip to Europe that he captured the image that was eventually to be featured in Photographic.  Greg found that travel photography was a type of photography that he absolutely loved after this trip.

His affection for travel photography could possibly be traced back to seeing photographs in National Geographic which arguably employees some of the best photographers around.  Greg finds that he is drawn to photographs of people "doing what they do when they're not being photographed."  He recalls the infamous picture of the Afghan girl with the "mesmerizing eyes" as being one of those images permanently burned into his memory.  It is these candid, and not posed shots that he likes the best, and tries his best to incorporate that into his own wedding photography.  He is trying to capture the emotion of the event so that it can be "re-feeled" at a later time.  That is when he knows that he has done his job.

While Greg has received some formal training in photography, he believes (as do I) that passion is major player in this art form.  He sums it up quite nicely in this one interview answer..."Paul McCartney doesn't have a master's degree in music, but pretty much everyone would agree that he has a mastery of music."  Greg feels that photography is the same way in that you can still be a great photographer without any formal training.  However, he bets that you can become even better with masters in the field guiding you along the way.

Photo Copyright © 2006 G S Davis Photography

Greg currently shoots both film and digital cameras.  He keeps the film cameras around for his infrared  work as seen above.  He is a little miffed at Kodak for discontinuing their infrared B&W film that he has come to love over the years.  However, he plans to keep his "brick of a camera", the Nikon F5 and an F100 as he has found that brides still prefer film shots.  Since he works with candids so much, a medium format camera is out of the question for him.

Greg is far from a film holdout though.  He sees the place that digital will have in the future of photography, and carries both a Nikon D200 and a D2H (which he loves despite being a lower resolution camera at only 4MP).  The D2H comes in handy when it comes to shooting fast moving sports as it is very quick.  As a backup he uses an older Fuji S2 which also fits the Nikon lenses.

Photo Copyright © 2006 G S Davis Photography

Greg's photography is only part-time at present.  He earns very little from his photography, and would like to do a bit more weddings.  However, he doesn't quite have the time to do the marketing necessary for a success in this field.  Right now, his business has been solely word of mouth.  So, with that being said, take a minute and drop by his website at G S Davis Photography.  While he does not promote selling his images on the website, he would not be opposed to selling prints.

As mentioned above, Greg has been influenced by National Geographic and the photographers that fill the pages.  In addition, he finds inspiration from the great masters of photography such as: Ansel Adams, Anne Leibovitz, Dorothea Lange, Robert Capa, and Edward Curtis.  He also mentions two wedding photographers that stand out in his mind: Joe Buissink, and Jeff Ascough who works with a film Leica rangefinder camera.

As far as goals, Greg has a pretty realistic view of where photography can take him.  With his recent career change, he will be taking a pay cut, so he is hoping to build on his wedding photography to supplement his income.  Travel photography also comes into play, and he hopes to have many more of his travel based photographs published, and possibly do some freelance work for some magazines.  His dream job, however, would be a gig with National Geographic, which he refers to as the "elite of the elite."

While the first time getting published was great, his highlight in photography so far has been the reaction of brides to his photographs.  On once occasion, the bride said "that shot was exactly how I was feeling all day that day."  Reactions like that make him feel like "a million bucks."

Greg would like to share with other photographers a fairly simple concept that has helped him to become a better photographer.  He says  you shouldn't be afraid to try new techniques.  By pushing yourself and your equipment, you will become much more familiar with yourself and your camera.  It will become an extension of your eye and arm.  Along this same line, play around with lighting and don't be afraid to experiment with a scene.

The biggest piece of advice is to look around you.  While he has always had 20/20 vision, the time between  art school and his rediscovery of photography is referred to as a black hole of vision.  He didn't "see" things and certainly didn't appreciate things like sunsets, budding flowers and the delicate smile lines on a grandmother's face.  Photography has been like having cataracts removed from his eyes.  He can now see again brilliantly, because he is once again looking....noticing his surroundings.  He is now able to look for that perfect opportunity to tell the thousand words that his pictures tell.

 

Written by Greg A. Kiser

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FUN Category!

Take a Landscape photo in B & W or transform a photo into B & W.

The Fence That Once Was

I hadn't intended on entering this particular challenge since I am not a B&W photographer by nature.  However, as I was setting up my display at the DRAM which happens to include one B&W print that I created last year, I thought I might give it a try.  It is good practice for me to occasionally pick out a picture to convert to B&W and play with it a bit until it looks right.  B&W requires very close attention to contrast and tonality which requires the right image to start with and the right set of tweaks to finish it.  The picture that I have selected here is a popular one from one of my recent Treks that I thought would make a good B&W study.  It does show that any of my pictures can be converted to black and white if the client so desires.

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As of 4pm Friday afternoon my display at the Dan River Art Market was up and running.  This is most definitely a new page in the story that is unfolding around my photography.  I have been toying with the idea of getting into a local art gallery for some time now, but haven't found the right one for my needs.  The DRAM really seems to fit those needs, and I have to say I have had nothing but positive experiences with them so far.

From the time that I arrived to set up my framed pictures until I left for the day, I was made to feel quite special.  Of course, room had to be made for the new additions to their Art Market, which they were quick to make happen.  I can't believe how lucky I was in the space that they gave me.  It is one of the first things you see when entering the market, and is on a very pronounced wall directly in your line of sight.

Please pardon the quality of this picture.  It was done with my phone.  Kind of embarrassed to say this, but I didn't have a camera with me since I wasn't even thinking about photographing the display.  Anyway, you can see that there is a nice table at the base of the wall which has some other crafts, and is home to my bio information as well as my business cards.  There is plenty of room on the wall for five or more framed pictures.  I think my goal will be to eventually have eight to ten pictures on display at a time depending on how the turnover is.

The other page that is new because of this new venture can be found in the Four Forty-Six Photography Galleries.  If you look at the navigation bar at the top of each page, you will see a brand new heading entitled DRAM.  This will take you to a brand new page that was created today where I will keep track of the current photographs that are on display.  They will be updated as items are purchased and replaced.  As I work out a volunteer schedule, I plan on sharing what days I will be at the store volunteering.

Thank you to all that have commented and shared your well wishes and encouragement.  I'm really looking forward to seeing how this turns out.  I am quite optimistic about the future of the DRAM, and am very honored to be a part of their growth.

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Good news on the Dan River Art Market front.  After meeting them for the first time a little less than a month ago, and ultimately making the decision to submit my work for the jury process, I have finally received word on their decision.  Funny thing is, this word comes several days before the jury was actually supposed to meet (scheduled for the 5th).  I can only assume that my work has been on site long enough for all of the jury members to have had a look at it and make a behind closed doors agreement on it.  At any rate, I just received the call to inform me that I have been voted in, and am now a member of the DRAM.

So, what does this mean?  Well, it means that my framed photography will be hung and on display for sale next door to the Stokes County Arts Council in the Dan River Art Market in Danbury, NC.  For the first time since beginning in 2005, my clients can actually go to an actual physical store and select one of my photographs to be delivered and taken home on that day.  This may or may not seem like a big deal, but trust me it is.

The problem with selling photography on the internet, there is no guarantee that what you are seeing on the screen is going to look like what you are actually purchasing.  Everyone's monitors are a bit different so you might see different colors, or shading when you are looking at your monitor compared to how they look printed out on my end.  This takes all of the guess work out of the equation and allows the client to see exactly what they are purchasing.

As a recent client of mine said after receiving her photos..."[Your] pictures are stunningly beautiful, your website does not do your work justice..."  This is not the first time that I have heard this from a client, so being able to display the actual print is a wonderful benefit for the buyer.

So, for those of you located in NC, you can now view my printsin person by visiting the DRAM located at 502 North Main St in Danbury, NC 27016.  Keep in mind that from time to time I will be volunteering there, so you might have the opportunity to stop and chat with me for a little while.  Hope to see you there!!

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Its the end of another month, and time once again to head into the virtual classroom and learn about another trick or two of the photographic trade.  As you will remember, I held a poll not too long ago asking what topic you would like covered.  For the first time, I got a three way tie.  That is both good and bad.  On one hand, I must be picking interesting topics, on the other, there is no clear cut favorite for the month.  So, what I have decided to do is cover a topic that I have toyed with for some time now...Previsualization.

 

Alright, I've used this term from time to time when dealing with certain pictures of mine.  I've touched on what it means, but it is time to really share the true meaning of the word and the concept behind it.  Without sounding too much like an English teacher (I'm far from it), we can start by looking at the word itself. 

Pre(Before the fact)visualization(mental image of the subject)

Now you are starting to get the idea of where I'm going with this Tips and Tricks.  Do great photos just happen?  Of course they do...but not nearly often enough to count on.  When you are wanting to photograph a certain subject, you need to think about it before the fact.  This could mean thinking about a potential photograph days, or weeks, or even months before you even go to the location with camera in hand.  It could also mean simply taking some time to examine what you intend to photograph before letting luck take over the picture making process.

The next step is to form a mental image of the subject....essentially you are planning on how you want the picture to look.  Most of you do this to some extent already.  Think about it, you see something you would like to photograph, and you pull your camera out and press the button.  You have made a decision that the scene you are seeing would make a good photograph, and you have developed a mental image of how you would like that to look.  The problem is, too many photographers stop there.  they don't play with the image in their mind.  Thoughts are free...even cheaper than digital pictures.  Use your mind as the first step and survey what you are wanting to photograph.  Think about the light, what angle you want to shoot from, and what settings you want to use.

Can you previsualize a photograph if you are shooting in an automatic mode?  Sure, but you will be limited in your creative control.  However, some of the most important decisions about a photograph deal with composition and environmental factors (ie: lighting, seasons, and time of day).  These choices can be made whether you are using a camera phone or the latest and greatest medium format camera. 

Dealing with environmental factors is probably the cornerstone to previsualization...at least for me.  How many times have you read in my entries about Treks that started out with a look at the weather.  This is not for my benefit....noooooo....this is working to get specific lighting conditions for the subject I intend to photograph.  This stage only happens after the seasonal concerns are addressed.  Is the dead of winter (with no snow) the best time to photograph rolling landscapes?  Not really, there needs to be the color from any of the other seasons to really make the mountains "pop".  Conversely, is the middle of summer a good time to photograph a remote waterfall?  Not really, because the brush is often so thick that the views are obscured.  You see how this works out?

The trick here is to find your subject and then ask when would be the best time to make this photograph.  Sometimes you will have no option but to take the shot and hope for the best, but if you have the ability to return...why not do so when everything is working in your favor?  A really good illustration of this phase of previsualization can be found in a comparison of two photographs taken on two different occasions of the same subject.

Spilling Over the Rocks   Created January '08

 

Liquid Lace  Created April '08

When you look at these pictures you will see the similarities between them immediately.  However, in the first one, I was very disappointed in the flow of the water.  This was because at that time, we were still way behind on rainfall.  The second picture was made possible by several days of good soaking rains which raised the water levels significantly.  This was an environmental concern, and one that fit into my previsualization of how I wanted this waterfall to look.

 

As you can see, there is a good deal of thought that should be a part of the creation of your pictures.  Does the previsualization end when all the conditions are met and you are on your way to your destination?  Not hardly.  You have invested a lot of time in this picture so far...and haven't even pulled out your camera.  Now is the time to create the picture that you have in your head, taking advantage of the light, season, and all the other factors that you figured into the equation.

Now you have arrived, and everything is just like you pictured it.  Now you must let your camera in on your plans.  Remember, the camera is but a tool in the photographic process, it is the photographer that makes the picture.  This is where you really need to take control of your camera and switch it away from the auto modes.  Instead of the camera making random choices about aperture, shutter speed, and metering, you tell it what it needs to do to capture the image you have in mind.

Choosing your aperture

Some pictures require sharpness from near to far, while others do better with a small area in sharp focus.  This is depth of field, and is a product of aperture.  You will be able to read much more about depth of field by clicking the previous link, but essentially, as the aperture is opened up (smaller f-number) your area of focus gets smaller.  If you want a larger area of sharp focus, you need to close the aperture down (larger f-number).  This is probably the single most important tool at the photographer's disposal.  It will show relative distance, as well as tell the viewer's eyes where to look in the image.

How does this relate to previsualization?  Well, you have this image in your mind.  Look at it...is everything sharp, or is there one element that really stands out forcing you to look at it?  This is where the aperture, or depth of field comes in.

Needles and Cone

 

Winston Skyline

As you can see from the above photographs, depth of field is an important choice to make.  With the pine cone, the background is blurred causing the attention to be drawn directly to the branch and the pine cone.  This was achieved with the aperture wide open to f/4.  In the city scene it was important for everything to be in sharp focus to draw the eyes into the scene.  This was accomplished by using a smaller aperture, maybe around f/16.

 

Choosing your Shutter Speed

Nearly as important as aperture is the shutter speed you use.  This will show motion as a blur, or freeze any movement within the frame.  Different subjects call for different approaches.  Of course the shutter speed works in direct correlation to the aperture and as one changes the other has to change in the opposite direction to allow the same amount of light to enter the lens.  When you previsualized your picture, think about how you want things to appear in terms of motion (if there is any motion in your subject).  You might want to blur the image to show the wind, or water flowing by.  You might want to hide the fact that there was a breeze and use a very fast shutter speed to freeze the motion in the grass and trees.  Whatever your choice, make it a conscious decision, don't rely on the camera to "see" what you "see".

Carefree Days

A Sea of Blue and Pink

As you can see, the shutter speed is a very powerful tool.  In the first picture, a slower shutter speed showed the motion of the hammock relative to the woods and the tent.  In the second one, a drop of water is frozen in time above the rippled water.  Neither of these shots would have been possible if the camera was making all of the choices.

 

How Does Metering Fit Into Previsualization?

Metering is where you determine how dark or light the scene will be captured.  You might want to make it darker than it actually is to saturate the colors, or possibly you will want to lighten it up to give it a dreamy feel.  Maybe, you just want to photograph it as it appears in front of you.  These are decisions that the camera can't make.  It will meter everything and try to make it all a mid tone.  You can tell the camera what to do in these circumstances and really take control of the picture.

Unmanned Post

Sunrises and sunsets are great examples of a time when you want to underexpose a tad to really saturate the colors.  This image was underexposed about a full stop from the meter reading which introduced a good amount of color in the sky which was very faint when I was looking at it in real time.  However, This was exactly how I previsualized this image that morning.  This was how I wanted the colors to appear.

 

As you see, actually creating, or making a picture is quite a bit more involved than just taking a picture.  The more time you spend on previsualization the better you will find you pictures turning out...and more like you had envisioned them.  This is a technique that is worth some time and thought.  It applies to all levels of photographers and can work with any camera...for the most part.

Until next time, happy shooting!

Written by Greg A. Kiser

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Each month about this time, I choose one of my own photographs to share in a slightly more personal light than in other entries.  I try to share a bit about how the photograph was made, as well as a little bit about why I like the picture.

Scattered Showers

It will come as no surprise to anyone that waterfalls are one of my favorite subjects to photograph.  I like pretty much everything about them, and absolutely love how the moving water photographs.  Scattered Showers actually embodies just about everything that I love about waterfalls in one (surprisingly) simple photograph.  Because of the close in nature of this photograph, you probably won't recognize which waterfall you are looking at.  For those that are interested, this is a section of Tory's Falls in Hanging Rock State Park.

This picture was created earlier in the month of April after several good rains in the area.  Tory's Falls is usually not very active because of a very small water source.  However, with the rains that had fallen recently, the falls were quite spectacular to look at.  In fact, this was the best I had ever seen them.  This is actually one of the tallest waterfalls in the state and is impossible to capture the whole thing in one shot, or even from one single location.  There is a main section that can be photographed well from a rock outcropping across a small gorge.  However, this is one of those waterfalls where it almost a better idea to focus your attention on smaller sections of the falls.  This is especially the case when the water flow is down.

Considering the distance between where the waterfall is, and where you can actually get to safely (about 250-300 feet away), being able to pick sections out to photograph can be a bit of a challenge.  My previous camera rig was not able to pick small portions out with a zoom limited to 200mm.  With my new telezoom that equates to 320mm, I have much greater reach than before and can really work some details.  For this shot, I was nearly at the end of that available zoom range.

On the end of the lens was the prerequisite polarizing filter to remove the glare from the wet rocks, and to provide a 2-stop reduction in shutter speed.  Of course the whole thing was mounted to my tripod to keep things perfectly still for the long exposure of about 2 seconds.  At this focal length, the slightest jiggle would have created enough vibration to make this look like an earthquake was happening.  In fact, to further reduce any chance of vibration, I used my mirror lockup and waited about 2 full seconds before finally releasing the shutter.

Alright, enough about the technical stuff on this photograph.  As I said before, this photo represents just about everything that I like about waterfalls.  Of course, the main element is the silky water as it flows gently over the rocks.  There is just something about how the speed and intensity of the water will create various densities of white over the dark rocks.  Some of the sections are nearly solid white, while others are just wisps of cotton.  This aspect was the inspiration behind the name of the photograph.  When you look at a waterfall in real time, this part doesn't show up nearly as well as when photographed.  The path that the water takes over the rocks is very easily seen and followed which makes for a great visual path for your eyes to follow.

There is more than just the way water photographs that stands out in this picture.  The different lines that move through and across the picture are just great.  The rocks provide their own diagonal and horizontal lines, while the water either follows those lines, or creates its own vertical line right on top of the rocks.  The interplay of that many lines should be confusing, but with waterfalls, it adds visual excitement and drama.  The lines all work together in harmony.

The last big element that I see in this picture is the wet and saturated rocks.  With the polarizer attached, all glare is removed, just leaving the wonderful warm tones of the sediment encrusted rocks.  This supplies all the needed color, while the other rocks are forced into the shadows providing a very nicely contrasting backdrop for the white water that flows over them.

When all of these elements come together in a picture, I can look at it for hours upon hours.  After reading all of this, maybe you can get a glimpse of how I look at this particular picture, and why I chose this particular composition to photograph.

 

If you would like to learn more about one of my pictures, even if it is an old one, just let me know.  Every picture of mine has a story to share, and I am always up to sharing the stories that want to be heard.  Also, I have been thinking about doing a dual entry for this feature...at least once to see how it goes.  The idea is to not only share my take on a picture, but also have somebody else tell me how they view the same picture.  Everyone will view the same picture a bit differently, and over the years I've gotten some interesting reactions from my pictures.  This would be the chance to let everyone else know what you see in my pictures.  If you are interested, just let me know.

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Photo Trek: 04-25-2008, The Blue Ridge Parkway

The All American Drive

It has been too long since I took a nice trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Sure, I have been several times in the past year, but the Parkway was more of a route to my destination than anything else.  As it had turned out, the weather, and seasons just had not made things very favorable for photography.  While I was working last week, I made the decision that I was going to get out to the Parkway for the day just for the sake of the Parkway.

The weather was a bit tricky to figure out over the past few days, but after two solid days of the complete opposite of what was forecasted, I decided to make a leap of faith and trust what I was reading about Friday's forecast.  Partly cloudy skies with a chance of an afternoon thunderstorm seemed to be just what I had in mind for the Trek (thinking previsualization here).  I was hoping that spring had at least gotten started in the higher elevations as I was wanting some nice rich greens to go with the blue skies.  While things weren't quite what I had hoped for in terms of vegetation, there was more than enough to work with.

The day actually started much too early to tell what conditions were awaiting me.  The clock rang at 3:30am so I could be on the road by 4am.  I was hoping for a nice sunrise to start the day.  I arrived about an hour before sunrise and had my spot all picked out, in plenty of time to see a whole bunch of nothing.  That was fine, as I had alternate plans with this location.  I was going to wait for the sun to clear the mountain range to my left, providing some very directional sunlight on the valley below.  For this particular shot, I found it necessary to use my hard edge split ND filter in the 3 stop variety to keep the exposure in the sky under control.

Appalachian Spring

From the Grandview Overlook it was time to head North to see what else I could find.  It has been a while since I have trekked North so I was excited about what lay ahead for me.  I found some old stomping grounds where I have spent a good amount of time with a camera.  The conditions were right to spend some time at these locations.  One of which was my favorite red, rusty gate along with a barbed wire fence.  In fact, it seemed that fences became a theme of sorts for me.  I found many of the old fences that I have photographed in the past.  Some of them were a bit worse for the wear though...but that added a good deal of interest.

The Fence That Once Was

As you can see, just because something is broken, or is torn down, doesn't mean that it doesn't have a good deal of beauty left.  It took me about 45 minutes to figure out what to do with this section of the fence.  It intrigued me, but confused me at the same time.  Breaking out of my normal thought process, I looked at it as a geometric shape, and the composition just fell right into place.

It wasn't long before the clouds started to roll in and obscure the sky that I wanted so badly.  Shortly after lunch, it was time to head home.  With nearly 200 pictures saved to the memory card I knew I had a lot of work to do.  It actually didn't take me very long to go through the days photographs and pick out the ones that I liked.  You can view my new additions in the Blue Ridge Parkway Room of the Four Forty-Six Photography Gallery.

radar446 at 8:55:12 PM EDT Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 21 comments: Show Recent | Add your own

Many of you have been following my progress with the Dan River Art Market from my first contacts with them, to my decision to display my work with them.  I am writing now to let you know that the DRAM and the Stokes County Arts Council is in possession of five of my framed prints.  You will recall that I had selected three prints especially for this venture.

     

Jagged Precipice                New Life               Liquid Lace

These were all printed as 8x10" prints and matted and framed in 11x14" frames.  While these were selected due to the area interest in Hanging Rock State Park, I thought I would go ahead and add a couple of more prints that I already had mounted and framed.  While these have nothing to do with Hanging Rock, they are indicative of my other work, and might do well despite the subject matter.

Just Another Day in the Park   This is print number 1 of 10 in this limited series

 

Atlanta Avenue in black and white

 

I'm not sure how these will do sales wise in the DRAM, but I would rather them be on display than gathering dust in my closet waiting for somebody to pick these exact prints from the online gallery.

After speaking with a representative from both the DRAM and the Stokes County Arts Council, I think that the jury process will be an easy hurdle to overcome.  However, I won't know officially until Monday May 5th the results of that jury process.  My hope is to have my display up and running in the early days of May in what will officially be my first actual retail showing of my prints.  This will be a whole new chapter in the story that is Four Forty-Six Photography.

In time, I am hoping to have ten or more prints onsite and available for sale at any given time.  With my volunteer status at the DRAM, I will also be making appearances at the market, and getting to know the other craftsmen in the area.  There is also the possibility that I will be taking part in a gallery showing of photographers in the future that is held by the Stokes County Arts Council, and might possibly be a speaker at this function.  Right now, the possibilities are many, and the doors that are about to be opened up are very exciting.

radar446 at 2:28:48 PM EDT Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 16 comments: Show Recent | Add your own