PierceLaw Art Exhibit Opens This Weekend

I'll be both curating and participating in the show. Second day of dropoff is tomorrow; receiving has been slow to date. Three of the four of the pix I submitted will be displayed in public for the first time, including this one:



Show hours are M-F during normal business hours. Franklin Pierce Law Center is located at 2 White St., Concord, NH.

Some Days, I Can't Shoot the Broad Side of a Barn

I dropped by the Concord, NH Borders today for a book discussion/signing by Lama Surya Das. Let's just say I didn't approach the shoot very "mindfully": I didn't take the time to adjust the white balance (critical for this type of shoot) and the background was very busy. (All those darned books in the way!)Needless to say, most of the resultant images were junk..... and I have no one but myself to blame for it.


I am not a portrait/event photographer, so it took me a while to capture a moment that I thought was both unguarded and (I hope he agrees) fairly flattering:

After that -- since I was shooting just for fun -- I tried to record the details that people tend to miss while photographing these types of events:

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Sometimes the best memories are not those captured in a photographic print, but those you keep in your heart and mind. I had the opportunity to ask (and have answered) questions related to my volunteer work at the prison and I will always remember how Lama Surya Das took the time to make each and every person who came to hear him today feel special as he signed books for them.

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

Some new snaps on a quiet day away from studying (definitely worth the ride up to the Boothbay Harbor area):

When we weren't snapping pix in DC...

...the partner and I made time to lounge by the hotel pool.

(We took mercy on blog readers and stayed covered up for the snapshots, even though it was nearly 100 degrees out....)

At the Castle

Last weekend, my partner and I embarked on a 5-day "pilgrimage" to DC to see a photo of mine that is currently hanging in the Smithsonian Castle. I was very fortunate that my photo was placed in a high-traffic area, right next to another compelling image.

Notable: (1) the photo was reproduced at a meager 6 x 8", but as I was reminded, "But look where it's hanging!!!!!!"; (2) it was hanging right across from the "pile of Smithsonian stuff" movie prop (including Faux Dorothy's Ruby Slippers and a fake Hope Diamond) from the movie "Night at the Museum II."

You've already seen the pic in this blog, but did you see the ***sign*** for the show?

Eastern Market

A few of the images I snapped last Saturday at the ongoing street fair / flea market in Washington, DC:






Above: The world's most delicious crepe was made with Oreos, strawberries, white chocolate... need I go on?







Above: Someone filming something. The boyfriend swears he saw Will Smith there, but I'm not convinced....

The difference is in the details...

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to tour Portmouth Harbor on a Coast Guard boat and visit the (supposedly-haunted) lighthouse at nearby Fort Constitution State Park.

Although I took obligatory snapshots of my fellow passengers taking turns driving the boat and the temptation is great to take panoramic pictures of the surrounding area (I succumbed: see edited shoot at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=90218&id=542304560&l=3e3bda073d), I'm happiest with the pix that will never make it onto a postcard, the snaps that show what happened to catch my attention that particular day:




Above: Note the wear and tear on the railing outside the top of the lighthouse

Above: Unusual angle of the lighthouse light

Above: Cannon goes here (or the Batmobile)

Above: Textures of the walkway and the water

Above: Layered Coast Guard apparel

In summary: if you can buy it on a postcard, don't feel compelled to reshoot it. Spend the bulk of your time creating your own vision....

Getting published again......

Today, I learned that I have been selected as a finalist in the 29th Annual Spring Photography Contest, co-sponsored by Photographer's Forum Magazine and Canon. This is the fourth time that I have been recognized by the publication: I was also named a finalist in its 2002 and 2005 contests, as well as in its 2008 student contest. (Yes, as a law student, I technically qualify for the student publication.)

Below is a copy of the image they selected. If it looks a bit familiar, it's because it's an alternate version of an image I shot last December in a nearby graveyard and published here in black-and-white format. It's also the weakest of the three images I submitted, which just goes to show how hard it is to outguess jurors:

Where's the story?

I don't usually shoot events, because I like to decide for myself whom/what/whether to shoot. However, every once in a while, I do take the camera out to a function and try to see things through the eyes of a photojournalist.

Once I get home, the art director in me takes over. First, I delete the out-of-focus, poorly composed, unflattering, ordinary, and/or duplicate shots. After that, I weed out anything that wouldn't be published or hung on my walls. Finally, I look at what's left, figure out a theme, and remove anything that doesn't fit the theme. (If there's a great photo that I just can't make work this time, I slide it into a "miscellaneous" folder for future consideration.)

I then view the images as a slide show on my PC, several times. Anything that doesn't "wow" me by this time is removed or deleted. The goal is to get down to about 10-15 "signature" shots. I keep asking myself, "What's this person's story and how does it fit into an overall theme?" Once that's done, I Photoshop the remaining images and have 4x6" prints made of my favorites.

When I got back from the PowWow in Warner, NH last weekend, I had about 150 images of the event. I have a higher than average throw-away rate when I am trying to shoot dancers/performers until I understand their moves: where they go, when they pause, etc. After I whittled the selection down to 40-50 images, I further reduced the number to about 20 and Photoshopped the survivors. After a final edit, I had 13 images, five of which are reproduced below:

Butterflies!

Snaps taken at The Butterfly Place (Westford, MA):

More Flowers

Taken a few days ago at Karme Choling (Barnet, VT):

Nancy's Garden

This evening after work, I was invited to the home of one of my colleagues at the NH Attorney General's office. She has an amazing garden.

Here are a few of my favorite shots. (No preachy commentary: just eye candy.)

Ferris Wheel Study

More Bread and Puppet Photos

Return trip to Glover, VT over Memorial Day weekend 2009. I first visited Bread and Puppet back in 1998, when they still had their annual festival.

The nice thing about documenting the place exhaustively last summer is that I got to have fun experimenting this time around.

The following pix show that sometimes your subject matter is so compelling that all you have to do is focus and crop!















The museum is photographer friendly and the staff is very knowledgable about the hsitory of the organization. It's definitely worth the road trip.