Tag Archives: Themes

Contests, Film Photography Projects, Personal Vision, The Story, Themes

Rethinking the “Now Showing” Page, Does it Really Matter?

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A quote from Linda Ronstadt:

“You do it for the work.  If you are doing it for the prizes, you are in big trouble”

and a Quote from Cole Thompson:

“In the past I’ve considered those accolades as the evidence of my success, but I now think differently. My success is no longer measured by the length of my resume, but rather by how I feel about the art that I create. While I do enjoy exhibiting, seeing my work published and meeting people who appreciate my art, this is an extra benefit of creating, but not success itself.”

I’ve been through this thought process before.  But this time a different twist.  Now showing will be going dark for a while.  I haven’t deleted it.  Just hidden. As I mentioned before, I always get the sam level of award.  They know I’m good enough to deserve some attention, but my personal style and personal vision are obviously NOT in vogue right now.  So do I stick with what I enjoy or literally ‘shoot for the hip and trendy’?

My husband recently found an interesting blog post on this very subject by Ellen Borggreve. From “Photography is not a Competition”:

“Even though there are photographic competitions, photography itself and art in general is not a competition. In the creative process there is no finish line, no competitors, no comparison. All creative endeavours are in their essence subjective, personal and incomparable. Yet the modern digital reality has created this sense of urgency and competition which I feel is hugely detrimental to art.”

Honestly I wouldn’t know how to shoot for the ‘hip and trendy’ because I do photography to make myself happy.  As Comfort and a personal creative outlet.   I find online activities like the recent #camerachallenge add some spice and allow me to interact with more like-minded photographers.  I will be keeping my Publications Page, because that actually does matter.

If I enter a contest I will still post the results here.  But no more “Now Showing”  because I don’t want THAT to be my focus……..And what people on Twitter, Instagram, Blogspot or WordPress find interesting, may not be what’s interesting TO ME.

Botanicals_Datura

Sacred Datura from my Garden; Kodak T-MAX 400; cropped from a Mamiya 645 frame with 80 mm Macro Lens.

 

Inspired By Series, Intersections, Personal Vision, The Story, Themes

Inspired By: Don Anderson

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You won’t find my Don Anderson listed online.  He died recently and his website has been taken down.  Too Bad, because as my Instructor for Experimental Methods and Alternative Processes at Monterey Peninsula College, He was a huge influence.  I was introduce to photographic concepts I would never have tried on my own.

So let me show some examples of techniques I never would have tried without Don Anderson:

Cyanotypes & Van Dykes:

Memorial_Day

Experimental Developing Methods:

Shrove_Tuesday

Liquid Emulsions:

Anniversary_New

Crappy Cameras,  Holga & Diana:

HolgaAtHome

Pinholes:

Fall_River_Road

The most important thing that I learned was, that even if these are not methods you will focus on, the exposure to these methods will have a positive influence on your Mainstream Photography.

Intersections, Portraits, The Story, Uncategorized

Through the Glass: Rounding 3rd and Heading for Home….

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I Rang Out on Wednesday using the Solari Bell.  By the time you see this I will be on my way Home:

 

And Yes, I am taking my ‘friend’ the Mask.  More Scenes from my life over the past 2 Months:

 

I still have tons of images to post from my Arizona Experience.  Those will appear from time to time throughout the Summer.