Submission Season

It's submission season...!!!  My friend Rob Michiel and I have re-worked and expanded on our Procession West project.  We had great success with it a couple of years ago as it showed at The Art Gallery of Regina, McMullen Gallery here in Edmonton, and the Spruce Grove Art Gallery.  We have removed a couple of the images that we felt were slightly weaker and perhaps somewhat repetitive. And, we have added some fresh new work to bring our total image count up to 45 pieces.  The last week or two I have begun sending out our updated submission packages to galleries across Western Canada.  We have already had some positive responses.  It will be at least a couple of months before we start the get some rejection letters, but hopefully a couple of acceptances as well.  Stay tuned for more in the coming weeks.

Printing for Others

A friend of a friend recently asked me what I would charge to print some of his negatives for him. And of course I recently made the 16"x20" print for my friend Peter.  I didn't really mind doing it for Peter, but I don't want to get into the habit of printing for others.  After all, I owed Peter a favor for the zoom viewfinder that he recently gave me, and for some film he gave me several years ago.  But, I find it very challenging to print someone else's negative.  The manner in which I print my own negatives is a direct reflection of the way I feel about the subject.  I elaborated on this in some detail in a recent blog post.  My emotional response to the subject is what is brought out in the printing of the negative.  I have no direct personal emotion to call upon when I print someone else's work.  This makes it particularly challenging, and not particularly enjoyable.  My friend Peter was so happy with the print that I made for him that he is going to invest in the paper and the trays to print this size himself.  Seems I am off the hook as far as is concerned with respect to his stuff....   And, I will politely decline printing anything for anyone else.  I have an accumulated archive of well over 6000 4" x 5" negatives, the vast majority of which I have never printed.  This does not include my medium format or 35mm negatives.  Its not like I need something to do...!!

In Focus YEG - Exposure Photography Festival 2015

The In FocusYEG Exhibition took place this weekend.  The exhibition opened on Saturday morning, with the main event being the curators talk and opening party on Saturday night.  It continued through the afternoon today.  Many thanks to curator Alexis Marie Chute and her husband Aaron for all their hard work organizing this.  I have put together several exhibitions in the past, and understand full well how much work it is.  I dropped off my finished print last week.  I headed down to the gallery on Saturday afternoon to help out as much as I could.  It was a great show, with 30 local photographers represented...

Margarit and the girls stopped by later in the evening, as did a lot of other friends.  By my count there were about 150 people that went through the gallery during the time that I was there... Saturday from about 4:00 in the afternoon until about 8:00 in the evening.  People were still coming and going when I left.  I understand that a second wave of about 25 people came through later in the evening.  Through the day on Sunday I'm told that at least 30 more people came through.  So... by an unofficial count... there were over 200 people.  Here are a few snapshots of the festivities that I took during the evening on Saturday.

I returned to the gallery on Sunday afternoon to pick up my print.  I stayed for a while... together with a handful of others, to help Alexis and Aaron clean up.  Turns out we needed to spot fill the nail holes in the walls and do some touch up painting, in addition to the usual take down and clean up.  Having a bunch of extra hands to help out makes it a lot quicker and easier to deal with.  

I really look forward to this event next year.  I understand that Alexis will be curating another show next year, in a larger space, and next time it will run for a full month, rather than just one weekend.  Sure hope to be a part of that one...!

Why Make Photographs...?

For me it is all about personal satisfaction.  It is relaxing, enjoyable and therapeutic to me.  It is not about fame or about wealth or some warped need for attention...

In this digital age there are hundreds of millions of cameras out there.  Digital photography has made the process very cheap and very easy.  Photographers are everywhere.  Every cell phone has a camera and many of the newer ones are pretty good.  George Orwell's 1984 prediction has come true... Big Brother is watching you!  Video cameras are everywhere.  Security cameras, weather cameras, traffic cameras, body cameras, dash cameras, the list goes on and on.  There are probably millions of images being captured every second, somewhere in the world.

I would be pretty naive to think that my photographs are the exception, that they are better, and that they will command more attention than any others.  I like to think I put a lot more thought and skill and experience into my work than the average photographer.  But I guess that's what I am... better than average.  I am not seeking that moment in the sun when I can be the "flash in the pan" or the "flavor of the week".  No matter how important my images are to me, to the rest of the world, who are bombarded by countless images every day, it is unlikely that I will be remembered.  And that's fine, because I don't make photographs for anyone else... I do it for me.

I could quit my day job and become a full time professional artist.  But, I would probably end up becoming yet another starving artist.  So many artists live from hand to mouth, barely able to support themselves and their families.  They have to take on odd jobs to make ends meet, or undertake artistic endeavors that they really have no passion for... they just need the money.  It might be noble, but to me it is not realistic.  Their work sometimes gains value after they die, but they are often not recognized or rewarded while they are alive.  Photography is even worse than other more traditional artforms such as painting or scuplting, as many don't consider it a true art.  Why give up my career, which provides me and my family with a good standard of living?  My job provides me with the resources and the opportunities to go out and make photographs of things that I enjoy and get satisfaction out of.  I actually enjoy many aspects of my career, and a lot of the challenges.  But like any job, it gets boring and repetitive after nearly 35 years.  There are certainly aspects of my job that I don't enjoy, but I think this can be said about any career, including that of a professional photographer.  The time is coming for me to slow down and retire, not to make a career change.  I have no desire to become a professional photographer, and much prefer to remain an amateur.  If you look up amateur in the dictionary the definition is... "a person who engages in some art, science, sport, etc. for the pleasure and the love of it, rather than for money" 

I get great pleasure and satisfaction from being out exploring the world.  There are so many wonderful things to see and experience, particularly in nature.  My photographs are a side effect of these experiences.  When I print them and view them it brings back my memories of times and places that I have experienced.  I enjoy the artistic aspect of creating a pleasing composition and recording it on film.  I also really enjoy the technical aspect of tinkering with the chemistry and the processes that are part of the darkroom experience.  If I am able, to a limited degree, to share my experiences with others, either on line, or in a gallery exhibition, or just by providing others with prints of my work, that is a bonus and a fringe benefit.  It is not my purpose in taking the photograph.  Don't get me wrong, its nice to get a compliment for something you've done..., it's just that this is not my primary objective.  Hopefully some of my images will invoke an emotional response in the viewer, but no doubt it will be a very different response from my own.  Mine is based on a recollection of the experience, while the viewer simply sees the image for what it is.

People have a tendency to ruin my experiences for me and I much prefer to by out on my own, or with a select few close friends or family.  I hate crowds, and congestion, and being trapped in the artificial world that we have created.  This is the main reason that most of my images are of the natural world.  I do like to make historic images that show the things left behind by people, but I rarely take photographs of people.  The primary exception would be some of the personal portraits that I take of my family, but these are very private and are taken for very different reasons.

The world is becoming over populated and we are destroying the planet.  I feel no desire to document that, or the wars, the poverty, the disease, the social injustices and all the bad things that man brings upon ourselves and the world around us.  Considered in geological time, the total history of mankind is equivalent to the blink of an eye.  Think about that and try to wrap your head around it.  The world has been around for billions of years.  Countless species have come and gone before us, and the planet has seen vast and extensive changes, and will continue to do so.  In that context how much importance can be placed on human beings in general, not to mention a collection of photographs...?

I'm very selfish... I make photographs for me!

Family Day Long Weekend

Its great to have an extra day off at this time of year... even if it's not quite as good as a summer long weekend.  Friday evening was just a time to relax and unwind after a busy week.  I have been surprisingly busy at the office the last little while, particularly in consideration of the time of year.  The girls had dance class on Friday evening, like usual, and like usual, Margarit took them, giving me some time to work on some of my projects.

On Saturday we woke up to a dump of about 5 inches of loose fluffy snow.  I waited till the sun came out and things warmed up a little, before heading out for a day trip.  No one was interested in coming along with me this time so I went out on a solo trip.  It was very snowy, and quite a bit colder outside of the city.  The roads were not great but I managed to bomb around for a few hours in the afternoon.  I didn't come across anything that really caught my eye, but I did manage to take a few shots with my big view camera, that I will experiment with in some of the various developers that I continue to test.

On Sunday morning I played an early hockey game.  In the afternoon my three girls each had a friend over for a play date, so the house was totally overrun with six girls.  In the evening we had a big holiday dinner, and invited my Mom to come over and help eat the big roast chicken that we made, with all the fixings.

Today, the Family Day Holiday Monday, has been a busy day of catching up on chores.  Lots of dishes and cleanup to do from the big meal yesterday.  Eventually I found my way downstairs to my darkroom where I worked on framing some prints.  This included the negative belonging to my friend Peter, that I recently printed for him.  Peter shoots with a medium format 645 and was curious whether or not his smallish negatives [1-3/4" x 2-1/4"] would stand up to being enlarged to 16" x 20".  Peter doesn't have the materials or the equipment necessary to enlarge to this size, so asked me to print this one for him.  If he is happy with the result... and I think he will be... then he will invest in the stuff needed to print this size himself in the future.

I also finished up framing a print of my own.  This is the one that will be exhibited as part of the Exposure 2015 Photo Festival.  This exhibition originated in Calgary and Canmore, and has recently expanded provice wide.  Many of the exhibits are on for the full month of February.  Unfortunately the show that I am involved in only has exhibit space available to us for one weekend.  The show is on next weekend... February 21 and 22.  I will be in attendance at the show for most of the day on Saturday the 21st.  Not sure yet about Sunday the 22nd.

Winter Hockey - Game 24

The Renegades played a hockey game on Sunday morning at 8:45AM.  We faced off against Los Banditos, the team that is just 2 points behind us in the standings, for the last playoff spot, with a game in hand.  The night before I got a message from my goalie informing me that he was in the hospital passing kidney stones, and could not play.  It was a mad scramble of phone calls, e-mails and messages in an attempt to find a backup.  Finally one of the guys put me in touch with Trevor, a guy that used to play with our team several years ago.  He usually plays as a forward, but has his own goalie equipment and plays in net from time to time.  It has been a while since he played, but he stepped in and bailed us out.  Trevor played a solid game and despite being outshot 40 to 29, we won the game by a 7-5 score.  It started out well as on my first shift I set up the first goal with a pass up the wall to our left wing.  We scored a second time on that first shift and were up with an early 2-0 lead.  We never fell behind during the rest of the game and just kept building on that total.  Six games remain in the regular season as we make a push for the playoffs.
I have already registered our team for the Summer Season, which starts at the beginning of May, and started filling my roster and collecting league fees.  Nearly $5000 for the team to play the 15 game Summer Season that runs from May to July.

February Day Trip

I went out for a drive today with my cameras...  I didn't have any great expectations... mostly it was just a chance to get ourdoors and go for a drive.  Last night there was freezing rain here in the city.  When I woke up this morning it was obvious that the temperature had dropped and it had turned to snow over night.  There was about 4 inches of loose fluffy snow when I woke up this morning.  I didn't head out right away, as I waited till around lunch time for the temperature to rise. 

I headed out to the northeast of the city... my usual direction.  Much to the dismay of some of my fellow photographers, it was my intention to continue testing some of the film and developer combinations that I have been experimenting with.  The day was spent driving around on snowy roads, with a couple of opportunities to take some photographs.  I don't think I captured anything spectacular, but I did shoot three different setups with my big camera.  I shot mutliple sheets at these three setups which will allow me to experiment with some of the different developers that I am working with, and establish which is best for the various lighting situations that I tend to encounter.  In my opinion it is best to experiment with this under controlled conditions, and with subject matter that is not overly important.  This way, once I gain some experience, I will be in a better position to make deicions as to my choice of film and developer, when I do eventually encounter some subject that is really important to me, and that I want to be able to capture and print to the best of my ability.  Here are a few snapshots that I took during the course of the day today....

Scanning old Negatives

I've spent the last couple of evenings scanning some old negatives as I work on putting together a couple of submission packages.  I came across a bunch of old film from 2007, when we took a Christmas vacation over to Austria.  Hailey was just 5 years old, Annelise was only 2, and Margarit was pregnant with Helena at the time.  We visited and spent Christmas with some of Margarit's relatives.  Here are a few of the better images...

Winter Hockey - Game 23

The Renegades played a game at mid-day last Sunday against the first place Trojans.  This team does not seem to play at a level much different than all the other teams in our Division yet for some reason we are unable to beat them.  This game was no exception as we fell behind by 5 goals and then rallied a bit in the third period to make the final score a little more respectable at a 6-2 defeat.  There are seven games left in the regular season and we are clinging to one of the final playoff spots.  Sure hope we can turn things around to close out the season.

Busy Days

This time of year is typically very slow in the skylight industry.  Just getting onto some roofs during winter months is a challenge that can prove impossible.  Even if we are able to get onto them often there is nothing that we can do in the way of repairs or installations with skylights.  I usually expect that I am going to have to "feed" my staff for the winter months so that we are available and ready in the spring when we can start working on some of our projects.  We are not busy by any means, but in consideration of the season, things are not too bad.  Particularly with the current climate of low oil prices and all the gloom and doom in the local economy.  

In the fall I put the update and refreshing of my corporate website on the backburner, thinking I would be better able to focus on it over the winter, when things are typically quite slow.  This past week or two has been a pleasant surprise.  I have numerous projects to bid on and to prepare proposals for.  It seems that as soon as I finish one and submit it, one or two more opportunities are presented to me.  I have had no time whatsoever to update my website, and my days are full.

This has carried over into my personal life as I have been putting in extra hours to keep up.  I have not been able to get into the darkroom much in recent days, and have a number of projects that I have just not had the energy to attack.  I guess this is a good thing because the alternative would not be very pallatable... particularly in light of the big kitchen renovation that Margarit and I are planning.  It's always a good thing when income is secure and there is no shortage of work.  Dinosaur Valley Studios down in Drumheller seems to be in a similar situation.
I am trying to find time to frame some of the prints that I have been working on in recent weeks.  I also have negatives that I'm anxious to process, including some of the test ones that I have been accummulating.  And, if we ever get back into a pattern of milder weather, I'd sure like to get out and do some shooting again.  It would sure be nice to retire and not have to waste so much time working, and have more time for all the things that really interest me!
This past weekend my younger brother turned 50...  Yikes, a not so gentle reminder of how old I am!!

Winter Blues

I find this time of year particularly challenging.  These cold winter days, with limited daylight are a struggle to say the least.  I really have no desire to retire and sit on the beach somewhere, but at the same time, being stuck here in the Great White North in February has limited appeal.  We just went through a mild spell and I didn't take advantage and get outside as much as I should have.  Now we are into a cold snap, and I can't get outside.  It is only about -17C today, but with the elevated humidity levels and a bit of a breeze it feels like -26C.  Yesterday I had to go out to a jobsite to look at some problematic skylights that need replacement.  My winter hat and my warm gloves were in the back seat of my truck... which was in the shop for service.  So when I was up on that open roof with the northwest wind sweeping in on me, it was very cold.  I could feel my ears and my fingers beginning to solidify, and in very short order I needed to get back inside and warm up.  The winter months provide ample opportunity for me to get into the darkroom, and to catch up on some submission projects, as well as various other chores and obligations...  But by this time of year I have had enough, and I'm beginning to look forward to getting back outside again.  Bring on global warming... I can't wait for SPRING!!!!

Print Session

With the weather being a bit on the cold side this past weekend, getting outdoors with the big camera wasn't really an option.  Instead I went down to the darkroom and worked on a print.  In need to create an exhibition print for the upcoming Exposure 2015 show.  I have one that I made back in the fall, and displayed at the Monochrome Guild Show, but I am not 100% happy with it.  It was made at the time that I was having printing issues, which I have since resolved.  On Saturday evening I made a new unsharp mask, along with masks of a few other negatives that I intend to attempt to print in the next little while.  On Sunday I went back down into the darkroom and began my printing session.  I was working with a fresh batch of developer and this time around I think the print turned out much better.  I printed it quite a bit darker than I did in the past, particularly the sky.  This mood is much more fitting of the way I recall this place.  We spent a night in our trailer here and the wind howled all night long and there was very heavy rain, with lots of thunder and lightning.  I was a little nervous about being able to get out with the truck and trailer the next day.  But, by morning the rain had quit and the wind began to quickly dry things off to the point that we were able to hike in the hills by afternoon.  The lighter unsharp mask that I used really seemed to pop things up too.  So far I am much happier with this version, but I will reserve my final decision based on what it looks like when it dries down.

While I was at it I also printed a second negative.  This one is not mine, rather it belongs to my friend Peter from The Monochrome Guild.  He wants to see how his smaller [at least by my standards] 645 negative [approx. 1-3/4" x 2-1/4"] stands up being enlarged to 16x20.  I must say it held up pretty well.  The grain of the film is evident in the uniform toned areas of the water, but I don't find this offensive at all.  Peter does not have the paper, the trays, or the washer to make prints this large but now that he knows his negatives yield an acceptable result he will probably invest in the materials needed to make them on his own.

Winter Hockey - Game 22

The losing streak finally comes to an end!!  The Renegades played a game on Sunday morning against the 5th place Tighthawks.  It was a very close game and the lead changed hands a couple times during the game.  With the scored tied 6-6 late in the third period, one of our guys took a double minor penalty for an accidental high stick.  But, despite being short handed we managed to move the play down into their end and scored a short handed goal with about 45 seconds remaining in the game.  We hung on for a 7-6 victory.  This puts us back into third place in the division, at least for now, and more importantly puts an end to our recent losing skid.  A challenge coming up next week as we play the first place Trojans on Sunday.