Photography Labels

My family left yesterday morning and it's back to a quiet house and normal routine.  What a whirlwind visit, but then it's always like that!

Yesterday was the baby shower that I was taking photos for.  It turned out great, everything went smoothly and I got the photos taken.  I think after I work on them I will head over to Walgreens (week after next most likely) to see what kind of DVD layout they have for baby showers.  I used Walgreens Wedding DVD for this same friend and it came out pretty awesome I must say.

Making more cards this morning to take over to High Hand Gallery later today, as well as delivering my four gelatin silver prints from Venice and Burano for the re-hang for the next two months.  Last night I realized I hadn't typed up my inventory list, let alone the labels for each of the photos for the back of each image, and then there's the label for the walls too.  Just those little things alone took me an hour and a half.  My normal format for the labeling on the back of images is this, which also includes an image of myself:

Maria Soto Photography

B&W and Color Landscape Photography

"Title of Piece"

Name of 'Series'

Copyright:  2011   Year Printed 2012

Gelatin Silver Print

Website:  www.mariasotophotography.com

Email:  ArtisticEye@MSN.com

Phone Number

Heard from Blue Moon Gallery on what images they selected for the August group members' show.  I'm just waiting to hear what size they want.  I heard from High Hand Gallery last week that I had sold a large print too!! Lucky me!  This is one of the images selected for the Blue Moon August show.

Portrait Photography

Sunday I was down at High Hand Gallery for Artful Sunday, but also had scheduled four artists for their portrait sittings.  I had made this offer as a free portrait sitting so the artists would have an image of themselves they could put up on the High Hand Gallery web page, and were also free to use it otherwise.

It was basically a really hot day in the sheds, let me tell you!!  There isn't any air conditioning for starters.  What they do have are six foot wide or so water cooler fans but they are located out in the sheds, not in the gallery!  There were several places I could take the photos against rustic back drops and that is what I used. I generally prefer natural lighting and even that was a little risky when it came to 3:00 in the afternoon.  But it all worked out fine.  I was able to get some fairly good shots in and most importantly, the artists were pretty much pleased with what they saw on my camera's LCD monitor.  Here is one of Patricia, who agreed to let me post it here!

Yesterday I spent the majority of the morning and early afternoon uploading the portrait images from this shoot, to the computer, working on them, and copying them to disk for each artist.  I will drop those off at the gallery tomorrow.

I also have my gelatin silver prints from Europe ready to deliver to High Hand tomorrow for the new re-hang  for July and August.  And I will drop off my one image to KVIE on my way to the airport to pick up my sisters!  We'll be having fun this week!

Photography Competitions

I've had a couple of hectic days getting ready to submit gelatin silver prints into various art auctions and competitions.  I finally got in to the KVIE Art Auction this year and submitted White House, Canyon de Chelly.  The last couple of years I didn't find out about this event soon enough.  Just made the deadline on this one.  It will now be juried to see if it makes it into the live auction or the silent auction.  That event isn't until September and I need to deliver my framed image before July 1st.

Then my photographer friend Jim happened to mention on Thursday that the deadline for the Placer Arts League deadline for their open juried art show was Friday.  I had received an email for that event, but got so wrapped up in the State Fair competition I totally blew it off.  I picked two gelatin silver prints I had printed last year from my Gladding McBean series and turned those in yesterday.

Thursday night my granddaughter and I went to the Auburn Art Walk.  That was pretty exciting.  First of all we went to City Hall where the Mountain Quarries RR Bridge photography show was.  There were quite a few entries.  My images did not receive any recognition!  Then we headed down to Lincoln Street and I ran into several of my fellow High Hand Gallery artists.  One of them was showing at the Club Car and he had already sold three paintings!!  Good for him.  The showing at the Placer Arts Building was "Under 30" and there were many great pieces of art work.  Young people are so imaginable and ingenious!  Loved it.

On Thursday morning I did cut those mats for the four gelatin silver prints I'm taking to the High Hand Gallery next week and framed them.   I'm completely out of white 4-ply mat board and will need to purchase more.  But right now, I am so done! ; )

"It is so much harder to make a good black and white photograph than a color one."

Gelatin Silver Prints

I was back in the darkroom yesterday and my day wasn't as great as the day before!  I got stuck on three of the last images on that first roll of film.  I think I only printed one that came out half-way decent.  The streets of most European towns as some of you may already know, are narrow and the buildings are tall.  In most instances it's very limited or subdued lighting even in the middle of the day.  I guess I could have brought out the flash, but it's really not my style, not that I can't do it - I actually didn't think I needed it. Well, as my husband says, "It is what it is!"  I guess I can say I'm done with that roll and I'll move on to better images of Dubrovnik, Croatia in roll #2.  If I compressed the time spent on developing that first roll, I would have to say it took me 30 hours total (or six days in the darkroom).

However, today I am taking a break and will need to cut some mats specifically for the darkroom prints as I'm taking in four new images to High Hand Gallery that I've developed from this European series.  This will probably be one of the only days I can devote to just cutting mats. I'm thinking of bringing home the two gallery wraps and maybe some of the photo transfers.  I mean I say I specialize in gelatin silver prints, however, I currently don't even have ONE hanging!!

Tonight is Auburn's ArtWalk and I would like to go into town and see the Mountain Quarries RR Bridge photography display that I have two images hanging in there. I think I'll take my granddaughter with me.

"If you find, while reviewing a proof sheet, that you do not remember taking a particular photograph, print that one first.  It will be the best photograph on the roll."

Burano, Italy in Black and White

Busy weekend with family and friends.  However, I did manage to finagle my husband into cutting out that one last drawer for me so I could staple in some plastic screen and voila! I now have three racks for drying my FB prints!! I also had some down time and went to YouTube to check out any videos they might have on the darkroom - just to see how everyone else is doing it!  Let me tell you, there are some real sloppy photographers in the darkroom out there!  I mean there is no reason for any one to have dirty, filthy, black trays!  They make cleaners for just that purpose!  Anyhoo, the videos erased any of my own doubts of knowing the process, that's for sure!

Today I headed into town and picked up some more chemicals and paper and storage boxes for 8x10 and 11x14 prints.  When I got home, I mixed up the chemicals and headed into the darkroom.  I have one more image on this first roll of film that includes Venice, Murano, and Burano, and a couple images of Croatia then I'll have finished the first roll from Europe.  Then I'll only have 12 more rolls to go!!!!!!  LOL!  But my favorite print today was one from Burano.  That's the town where the houses are painted bright vivid colors - and here I was taking images in black and white (as well as color).  The picture is the front of a house with two windows with flower pots in each window on either side of the doorway.  The doorways on Burano isle are somewhat left open, however, they cover them with a curtain, and it's the curtain that is so elegant looking.  It's brilliant white with folds in the drapes and it just looks elegant! Again, you can't see the whole image, like all of the windows or the bottom of the drape that has scallops on it, but here it is:

I almost didn't print this one out as I thought it looked overexposed.  Well, I was there in the middle of the day and everything was so dang bright!  But, as it was, it came out faboo!

Yesterday was the day I went and picked up all 18 framed images from the Latitude's Restaurant from their two month hang for Auburn Art Walk.  Then I headed across the street to City Hall and dropped off my two images of No Hands Bridge for the next two month Auburn Art Walk!

I wanted to mention that my friend Chris Buckley who works at the camera store I go to, and a fellow digital photographer, are giving a "Beginning Digital Photography" class on Sunday June 17, 2012.  If you'd like more information you can visit www.MirthToEarth.com/PhotoClasses  That's my 'share' of the day!

Venice in Black and White

The prints pressed well last night - I must have gotten them when they were not so wet and yet not so dry!  So, basically at the right time!  Unfortunately, I keep forgetting that my scanner is only 10x12" so I can't capture the whole 11x14 for you, but it gets most of it.  Here is one I took early in the morning in Venice and the Teddy bear holding the wine bottle really got me!  Someone was having fun the night before.

What you can't see is the doorway to the right is where I did some dodging so you could still see a little something of what was inside the doorway.  But I liked the whole scenario with the barrels and the vine and leaves, and the texture of the brick wall staircase.  Out of the six prints, I used eight sheets of paper and that was just about enough with the chemicals.  They were just starting to get spent.  Because of the larger size, you have more silver halide particles left in the chemicals than you would if you were developing at 8x10 size  I probably could have gotten twelve 8x10 prints with the same amount of chemicals.  And then there are others who would argue that scenario too! ; )  So be it!

Today I have other things on the agenda, but hopefully back in the darkroom on Saturday!

Gelatin Silver Prints

I'm not even bothering with the 8x10s on my European images - I'm going for the 11x14s!!  Currently I do not have any gelatin silver prints, which is what I say I do the most of, hanging in the High Hand Gallery and I really want some new black and white images there!  It's just that it seems hard to get the attention or appreciation of a good darkroom print from the public.  I'm just saying it doesn't happen very often.  I'm considering taking down all the color prints and color photo transfers and just leaving in the gelatin silver prints.

Today I printed six 11x14s from Venice.  I just moved on to Murano, of which I really didn't have anything spectacular from that island.  I only have one more to print from Murano and then I'll move on to Burano, which again I didn't have a lot of film images because I have to admit it was so colorful, I whipped out the Canon T2i more often than the film camera for those two islands in Venice.  Once those few images are completed, then it's on to Dubrovnik, Croatia.  Those really look interesting.  The ones I printed out from Venice have a lot of texture in that I captured images that included the old buildings, well, heck, they're all old!!  I seem to be getting the hang of being in the darkroom.  As I've mentioned before, I don't normally do test strips.  I did early on, but once you start printing your work you start to have an understanding (or feeling) of what and where to start at f-stop/aperture-wise and seconds-wise.  I can tell by where I was, when I was there (time of day), when the time of day started to change, etc.  Some people will say it really is technical from the mixing of the chemicals to the agitation of the tanks/trays, and on and on.  I'm not technical, and I'm not going to get hung up on it. And that's why when people ask me, "Oh, do you give lessons??"  No.  I don't.  I can give you general information, but I don't plan on giving lessons.

However, I do have another request from my girlfriend Janie to come in the darkroom with me!  I like it!  My second and third guests (her and her mom).  I'll let you know how that goes after they've been here.  Right now I'm thinking that I need another drying rack, because I had to stop developing this afternoon only because I ran out of drying rack space.  They're not drying fast enough for me.  I could make one more rack since I have the space.  I would just have to get my husband to cut out the tray bottom so I can staple in the screen.  Tomorrow I'll be able to post an image once they dry and I've pressed them overnight.

Ilford FB IV Matte

I think I'm really loving the Ilford FB Matt paper.  For one thing it dries fairly flat and not as much pressing is required as in the FB glossy paper.  For my historical images, the matt is the way to go.  I'm posting another image from Bodie Ghost Town that I developed this past week.  It took four tries, as the sun was shining on the gears in the middle of the image and was washing out the gear.  I ended up with exposing it at 8 f stop for 20 seconds, plus another 30 seconds of burn just on the gear.  Whew!

I have this idea of going to the local iron works place and order some photo presses.  I was thinking of getting say a 12x9 and 12x15 piece of metal with a handle soldered on the top of each for easy pick up, and that way I could put it on top of my dried images and inside the photo boxes.  Well, I'm thinking it's a good idea.  Now I'm headed back in the darkroom for Venice!  I am going to use the glossy FB for these images for starters.  Who knows when you'll hear from me again!??  Just kidding!

Darkroom Daze

I've been in the darkroom this week for several days!!  I could live in there and have my husband just slip me food under the door from time to time - maybe some crackers and cheese! ; )  I finally completed that last roll of film from Bodie Ghost Town that I took last year.  There were so many intriguing images on that roll, I just had to find out what they looked like in print.  I have to say there were about three images that looked great, but really weren't focused properly and that was my mistake - I'm getting older and my eyesight at times isn't the greatest!  When you're clicking off your shots in subdued lighting sometimes it's hard (for me) to get it focused perfectly, whereas, with digital you don't have that worry, however, the results are so drastically different.

I had a really big surprise in that my granddaughter, Victoria, came up and we finally made it into the darkroom together!!  My first visitor!  It was so much fun, and she asked such great questions.  She's into digital, but has seen and learned the difference in the resulting images from both.  With digital, in her case, she manipulates and makes the image something totally different - and she's good at it.  She wanted to know the ways to make that same difference with film in the darkroom.  I told her there are ways to manipulate with dodging and burning in that you can make it look surreal, or you can use toners, and/or different types of paper, and there's much more.  For me, this little session that lasted less than a half an hour was over the top!  I loved it - so 'thank you' Victoria!

I was not coming out of the darkroom until I finished off this latest Bodie series.  Again I used the matte fiber based paper on all of these.  I'm posting one of the images that I liked which was from inside the silver mining processing plant.  Now I will start on my European images.

It's also time for me to go pick up my France images (in another week) from the Latitudes Restaurant.  Unfortunately, I heard there were no sales.  However, I plan on using a couple of the larger prints for High Hand Gallery's Large Format show later this summer.  And on the same day, I will be dropping off my two Mountain Quarries Railroad Bridge images to the Auburn Arts Commission for Auburn's Second Thursday Art Walk!