I’m not doing many shows this summer – in fact only one. I’ve had to narrow them down, but the one I’ve managed to keep is Folk Fest, which I’m super excited about! It’s always a great time, with lots of amazing music and friendly people. And I’ve got lots of new stuff this year. So if you’re one of the lucky ones who managed to get tickets, I’ll see you there!
I will be at the Stanley Milner Library this Saturday the 21st, from 2:00 to 4:00pm. I’d love to see you all there. Everything there is for sale (both on the walls and in the display cases), but has to stay up until the end of the month. Looking forward to it!
I’m finally back! With pictures! Happy New Year!
December was (as always) too busy, with far too little time for hiking and shooting. Thankfully I’m starting to recover, and last week I was able to go out to Jasper for a couple days, camp in the freezing weather, and completely enjoy it.
I also have some pendants back in stock after almost completely selling out at Christmas. I have many plans of updating websites and galleries, of taking lots of photos, of enabling online stores, and far too many more ideas to list here or ever complete. But I’ll work on stuff, and try to keep everyone updated.
Here’s a photo of a dry and dusty Jasper Lake from last week just after sunrise. I was getting blasted with a super cold wind, and even bundled up I had to run back to the shelter of the van after a few minutes.
I’m planning to start adding these technical details below my photos. I know people are interested, and I’ve resisted for a long time because I believe they’re not really important. I think people place way too much emphasis on what the right settings are and way too little on getting a good composition. But to do photography well, you do have to at least know what all the settings do, and which are important in any particular instance. So for those learning, I hope this extra information helps, but know that the photo is the important part — the settings just help you get there. For example, I took this photo at f8. Would f5.6 have worked? Pretty well. Would f11 have worked. Yup, even a little better than f8. Did it ruin the photo that the aperture wasn’t as high as ideal to get everything perfectly in focus? Not at all, this will print beautifully at 20×30, and I’m really happy with it. Photography is about creating a feeling, not about an aperture. It would have mattered far more if I had angled my camera up or down a degree or two, or if I’d taken the photo from a foot lower or higher — those things could have easily turned it into something I wouldn’t look at twice.
At this point I think I’m rambling, and I’m impressed if anyone actually read this far. Cheers.
Today’s post is brought to you by a cute and surprised mink (Neovison vison).
On Thursday, December 15th, I’ll be at the Daffodil Gallery for a few hours in the middle of the day. I may bring some small prints with me to augment the lovely gallery wraps and pendants they already have there. This is part of their 12 days of Christmas where artists will be in attendance.
Edit 1:
Camrose is done and was a great success! Thanks to everyone who came out. I hope you all enjoy your prints and pendants!
Camrose Spirits of Christmas
November 25th – 27th
At the Camrose Regional Exhibition
Edit 2:
This year I’m doing two one more all done craft sales.
Lethbridge is also done. It was good to meet some of you southerners! The show went well and we had a great time!
Lethbridge Big X-mas Trade Show
December 2nd – 3rd
At Exhibition Park
This year I will be selling photos and pendants at the Ermineskin Craft Fair at 10717 – 32A Avenue Saturday, November 5, 10am to 4pm. Admission is $2.00.
Looking forward to seeing you there!
I get to meet a lot of photographers. I know photographers who shoot weddings for $400, and I know photographers who shoot weddings for $4000. I know people who only shoot one kind of event or subject, and I know people who will shoot anything. There are a lot of people out there clamoring for any shoot they can get.
I often describe myself as a photographer. I don’t make my entire income from photography, but it is a significant portion. I’ve worked hard to get where I am, and there’s a lot of hard work ahead of me. It might seem strange that this month I’ve been turning down paid shoots.
Shoots are bragging rights. Shoots are proof that you really are a photographer. If you have a client, you are a professional. There are a lot of people who want to be a Photographer with a capital P. Photographers, by definition, take photographs for a living. This is so general that it hardly describes any successful photographer I know, but some people seem to want to do anything that involves clicking that shutter. More often, photographers like interacting with people and making them feel good about themselves. Some photographers want to help people remember important events. Some photographers want to travel and share their discoveries with others. Some photographers want to be well known as artists, and photography is their way in. There might be some photographers who just love turning those dials and pressing that button, but that’s not me, and it’s probably not you.
It’s a lot of work figuring out what you love. It takes a lot of experimenting, and a lot of going down the wrong path. Once you find what you love, it takes a lot of work to articulate it. Once you’ve done that, it takes a lot of work and courage to pursue it. I’ve tried a lot of things over the years and a few things have become clear. I love being outdoors. I love playing one color off another, finding a line that curves just the right amount, that leads into the just the right amount of confusion. Creating beauty and adding to the beauty in the world, these are things I care about. (my constantly changing definition of beauty could be another blog post entirely, and I suppose it’s hinted at in every photo I post) I want to find natural scenes that abstractly resonate with our human condition. These goals change over time as I discover more about myself and the world, but they don’t change dramatically. And by knowing these few things, I can continue to enjoy life and photography. And I don’t go chasing after every shoot – I leave them to people who want to make a living doing what they love.
A willow leaf, still green in October, when only the last few yellow poplar leaves are left.
In addition to the Daffodil Gallery, you can now find my cards, pendants, and some smaller prints at the Tix on the Square store in Churchill Square!
More posts coming soon…
This Saturday, August 13 from noon to 4pm is the opening for “Blooming“, a new show at the Daffodil Gallery. I’ve got two pieces in this show — one you’ve seen before if you’ve been to the gallery, and the other is new for this show. Unfortunately, I’m not going to be there for the opening, but even without me the gallery is a relaxing and enjoyable place to go and see new art.
Also coming up soon is the VAAA Open Photo Exhibition. The opening will be Thursday, August 25th from 6 to 8pm at the Kasaa Gallery in the Northern Jubilee Auditorium. I am excited to have two pieces in this show, which is a juried show open to all Alberta photographers. There should be quite a variety of photo styles there.
I may have to get a calendar up on the site to keep track of exhibitions and shows for those interested.
I’m getting there slowly. Everything else is pretty crazy right now, so they’ll start trickling out over the next week or two. To get started, here are some cracked rocks in Medicine Lake in Jasper National Park. This was taken after my first day on the road, which is always a very liberating experience.
First of all, I want to say how awesome folk fest was because of all of you — customers, fans, friends, family, and some amazing musicians who entertained me on my lunch breaks. This was by far my best sale ever.
Thanks to Leah for being there to cheerfully cover breaks for me and Anna, thanks to Liz and Nicole for being around and ready to lend a hand. Thanks to Aran for being a great new patron. Thanks to C. from Manitoba who was super excited about photography, and good luck with the underwater photography.
I enjoyed talking with so many of you, and it was interesting to see the sets of photos that people picked out. I might do a blog post yet showing some of these sets.
I’m looking forward to seeing whoever can make it out to Folk Fest this year. Last year we had a great time, met some wonderful people, and heard some amazing musicians. This year we’re adding the pendants (see one at our Artfire store) to our booth! Anna and I just finished making another batch, so we’ll have a few, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we sell out. If you’re looking to buy one, come early! As always, we’ll have lots of prints and cards as well. We’ll be in the crafter’s tent between August 5th and 7th. We also have someone helping with the booth this year (hi Leah!), so we can have lunch breaks and maybe even catch a show or two.
Until then, I’m driving out to BC to go camping with a good friend, so this will be my last blog post for at least a week. But I promise to come back with lots of photos to share.
Here’s a photo to tide you over — a small creek near Camrose, which flows into the Battle River.
