Artful Bra IV Show

This morning, or maybe some other time today, I will head over to High Hand Gallery to take photos for the Artful Bra IV Show poster which is due today!  I need to text Joan to see if we're still meeting in this 'storm' that's raging right now!  Yikes!  After the photos are taken, I'll have to come home and put the poster together on the computer, put it on disk, and then go back in town probably to Kinko's and have them printed and drop off to Joan.  She's heading up the event.

I received a call back from the camera store!  Another good business with excellent customer service.  They will more than gladly cancel my order and they apologized for the delay, but understood.  Epson was a little slow on shipping this for some reason.  I should be getting my ink today from Freestyle!  At least I can start printing some of my color digital images.

I want to get back in the darkroom and print another of the No Hands Bridge so that I will have two copies to work with.  I'm thinking it might look nice with a copper toning on it.  I'll just do the minimum time to get that warm antique look.



 

Gallery Wraps

Yesterday I was on the computer and telephone all day until 4:00 p.m.!  But I got a lot done for sure.  After researching several gallery wrap sites, I ended up going with Big Canvas Prints out of Madison, Wisconsin!  I liked the fact that they offered mirror image wrap v. stretching the photo to cover the edges.  With the mirror wrap you don't lose any of the photographic image.  The really hard part was selecting the images to have done.  That took about an hour.  But now I've selected numerous and put them in a separate file labeled Gallery Wraps for future use.  I had also checked out Mpix and Simply Color Lab that I originally figured I would be using one of them.  Simply Color wanted too much personal info as though I was a BIG business.  Mpix's prices were comparable to the other two.  But again, I liked the fact that Big Canvas offered the mirror wrap, AND I was able to talk to a 'live' person who was very polite and shared information without making me feel inadequate, as I'm not even close to a truly knowledgeable digital photographer.  I ordered two wraps at the 16x24 size, glossy finish.  She thought I would be able to receive them by next Monday, which is good since that's when they hang the new art work in the gallery.  I hope I can reserve the space!

Talk about good customer service, I had also ordered my Epson ink from Freestyle and went for the 2-day delivery.  They called me and said they wouldn't be charging me the 'extra' fee since I'm already in the 2-day delivery area!!  Now that was really great customer service.  They could have kept the fee and I wouldn't have known any difference!  Good job Freestyle!  Thank you!

When I got done with all the ordering, I was on the Internet adding the High Hand Gallery's Artful Sundays calendar for the year on the TheLoomisNews website.  I'm not done though, as I got kind of tired.  I got up to July and quit.  I also made numerous phone calls to musicians trying to book them for our events for the year.

Re-reading the contest rules for the No Hands Bridge 100 year event, only two entries per person.  So I won't have to worry about the color digital one I was considering.  I'm just going to enter my darkroom print at 11x14, and my photo transfer at 8x10.  Done!

Photography Special Orders

Back to work in the studio today.  Taking care of some business via telephone and online.  First of all I still haven't received my Epson inks and I have artwork due next Monday.  I called the camera store - no information.  I told them I wanted to cancel my order as I've waited two weeks already.  I mean, come on!  I don't have money to throw around like that.  I ordered from Freestyle and paid the extra bucks and even a little more for two day delivery.  Whether or not my original order will get cancelled, I don't know yet.  I noticed on the bottom of the receipt it said, 'No Refunds on Special Orders'.  I don't think it was a special order - they were just out of stock!  Well, we'll see how that one goes.

So just finished with that order and am going to order - hopefully - two gallery wraps.  I'm going online to compare prices with Mpix, and Simply Color Lab who is having a 30% off sale right now on wraps 16x20 or larger.

Yesterday I purchased a 'pink' flash drive. 'Pink' you ask?  Well, the Artful Bra IV Show is coming up and I wanted to put last year's photos of all 61 entries on a flash drive so we could display them on the digital photo frame that we have at the gallery.  Then when we talk about the Artful Bra Show to gallery visitors they can get a visual idea of what was done last year and help inspire them to make an artful bra themselves to enter for auction.  All the proceeds go to the American Cancer Society.

After I finish my ordering I have more internet business to conduct for the High Hand Gallery.  I'll be posting the Artful Sundays schedule on the local Loomis online newspaper.  Busy day!

Bodie Ghost Town Series

Yesterday, all day until 6:00 p.m. I was in the darkroom!  The time goes by really fast when I'm in there and I'm having so much fun. I fixed my portable stereo by moving it closer to the darkroom, just outside the door, then placing one of the removable speakers inside the darkroom.  Now I won't have to turn up the volume so high to hear it anymore.  It's right inside and I can sing to my heart's content!

I sent my NYC photographer friend, Dave Beckerman, an email with a copy of yesterday morning's blog about The World's Most Obnoxious Photographer.  We used to share stories back and forth in our early careers, well, his early career mostly.  I was just getting off the ground with mine.  He's been developing film since he was a little boy about 8 or 9 years old.  How lucky is he?  Anyhoo, he got such a big kick out of the story, that he put a link from his blog to mine.  In his email back to me, he just couldn't believe this had happened to me and wondered if the guy would do it to another man.  I didn't look at it that way.  But he might be on to something there, who knows.  Dave said if the guy had done it to him, that that guy would surely find out what a DSLR could do when he hit him over the head with it!!  Aah, if I just had some testosterone! ; )  But the incident still bothers me.  I mean in a way, it's just as though the guy had taken my purse and gone thru it, you know??  My camera is almost like my purse!  Okay, I'll give it a rest.  No more.

So I developed about 6 more images, all 8x10s.  All of them were Bodie Ghost Town, with the exception of the last one being No Hands Bridge.  It took three tries and I think I have the timing down and the dodging - it needed just a little on the face of the arches.  Now I will develop it at 11x14.  One of these days I'll have to try a 16x20.  However, that would involve unscrewing the enlarger head from the base, turning it around,  then exposing the image down to the floor!  And I'd have to get larger trays...hhmmm, I don't know if I have enough room actually.  It would get pretty tight in there.  Well, maybe I'd just have to scan in the negative and print it out digitally.  That's another day.

I'm sharing with you today a print from Bodie Series:  Rustic Bodie Door.  It's not quite the same as the print - almost.  The actual print is a little more subdued with warm tones.  I think I'm working outside today - lots of weeding to do.  We'll see how it goes.

World's Most Obnoxious Photographer

It finally happened!  Yesterday I met the world's most obnoxious photographer.  We took the grand kids to the local zoo, but first they wanted to ride the train.  So we head over to the train and wait for it to come back from its trip around the park.  The people pile out, the Engineer comes over and the first thing out of his mouth is, I have a B.A. degree in Photography from such-n-such college, and immediately grabs my camera and commences to change all my programmed settings!!  He further tells me how to carry my camera the 'right way', and that if I ever drop it that it will bend my lens and they can't be fixed you know!  You ask, what am I saying?  I am freakin' SPEECHLESS!!  What an @#$#%@!!!  He leaves to go help another 'helpless' victim with her little point and shoot.  I thanked my husband for not telling him I am a professional photographer.  I thought it was over, but NO, he comes back.  He says, and by the way, that is a very nice camera. He offers to take a photo of us with the grand kids and says, 'see how rich the colors are?'   I am fuming, and I'm thinking if he says anything more to me I will have to let out with some expletives in front of my grandchildren!!
What an !@#$%#%#!!  Did I say that already??  My God, I would never grab someone else's camera and start changing their settings.  I'm still flabbergasted over it.  All I can say is, that  is WHY he is a children's miniature train engineer and NOT a practicing photographer!!  That was 'obnoxious' at its best!

Alright, back to business.  Yesterday morning I did get back in the darkroom and worked on developing two more prints from the Bodie Ghost Town Series.  I got two done, not so sure if I am totally pleased.  However, I will look at them again and go from there.  Last night I took them out of the drying racks and placed them in the Ansel Adam's Biography book to get pressed! ; )  I'm in the darkroom again today and very happy about that.  I might do a couple more of Bodie, and then try to develop the No Hands Bridge print for the upcoming 100 year anniversary contest.

On our way home from the zoo, I got a call from the Auburn gallery and someone was interested in my Eiffel Tower acrylic painting.  How crazy is that??  I hope they buy it!!

Darkroom

I just finished mixing some fresh chemicals and am going back into the darkroom this morning for a few hours before we go babysit the grand kids!  I didn't get in the darkroom last night.  After making dinner, I was just too tired.  Sometimes that fresh air wipes you out!

When I had finished my website galleries, I had found another 75 photographic images from Santorini.  I liked this photo just because of it's total starkness in the bright sunlight.  I would love to go back to that island and get some sunset shots.  Maybe someday...maybe I already had my chance.  As you can see it probably would have been a more dramatic image if it was later in the afternoon and the sun would have cast some long shadows.  But as you can see, it was in the middle of the day - sun straight up - but still not too bad.  Nothing was altered in the image.

Okay, I've got to get going if I'm to have some time in the darkroom this morning!!  Manana!

No Hands Bridge Centennial

Today's already Wednesday!!  Egads!  I've been busy - and unfortunately not in the darkroom since Saturday. I've had other pressing business to take care of.  You know, tax time, and other personal business matters.  But that's done now.  I'm going to mix up some fresh chemicals and head back in there tonite.  Can hardly wait.  I have several missions to accomplish:  1) new artwork for High Hand Gallery; 2) need to develop the No Hands Bridge negative for the Auburn Arts Commission celebration/contest for the 100 years old Mountain Quarries Railroad Bridge centennial event; 3) which I can't do anything about until I get my Epson ink order!!!  I called and it still hasn't shipped.  I don't know what's up with that, but I can't print off my Epson 2400 as I am completely out of Lite Magenta.  Bummer.  I usually do some printing when I'm in the darkroom which is a time saver.

As an aside, my son and granddaughter came up to visit us on Monday and I showed them my Bodie prints that I had just finished on Saturday.  My granddaughter is looking at them and says, this is film, right?  I said, 'yes'.  She said, 'You're right!  There IS a difference!'  She commented that they were so clear, and it's like you're right there.  There is definitely mystery to film and that is what I love about it.  You have to see it for yourself to believe it.

I also attended a meeting this morning at High Hand Gallery.  I think we got the budget and entertainment issues resolved for this year.  That always takes a chunk out of my day as it's a 45 minute drive to Loomis and then back again.  That's my life.

Here's one of the prints I developed from Bodie Ghost Town Series 2011 - 'Bodie Stove'.

What can I say!?  Fabulous day in the darkroom yesterday, all day.  I started out big:  11x14 prints with some of the Yosemite series.  There was really only one good one of Half Dome, took some time to get it almost right.  I could probably do it again and it would be finished.  I found that one of the negatives that I really liked had some scratches on it, so that wasn't going to work.

I moved on to Bodie!!  And went down in size to a full 8x10.  No borders.  There are a lot of good ones in this series of two rolls of 36 exposure that I took in summer last year.  It was our second visit.  I developed three different scenes so far.  Plus I moved over to Matt fiber based paper.  It seems to work with this series of decay and dilapidated buildings.  I don't do test strips.  I know, bad girl.  But I kind of have an idea where to start and I can go from there without a lot of frustration.  I'm usually very close to what the development time should be.  Then I just go back and do another and then dodge or burn where it might need to be done. I was having a blast.  Then my husband came in and checked out the prints and said, Wow, these are awesome.  Now let's see what you can do with dinner! ; )

Today I'm out and on my way to work at High Hand Gallery.  It's our Artful Sunday with refreshments and entertainment.  We have The Steve Homan Jazz Band playing Brazilian jazz for a couple of hours from 2 - 4 p.m..  That should be entertaining while one peruses and contemplates purchasing the art works!!  If you're not doing anything, come on by.  We're at 3750 Taylor Road, Loomis.  Take the Horseshoe Bar exit west, turn left on Taylor Road, and we're about the third block down!

Black and White Photography

I had./have a lot of catching up to do with my other 'chores'.  So I'm still behind on photography.  Plus the weather is so gorgeous outside I can almost stand being inside!!

Still haven't received my Epson ink order!!  It has to come today, that's all there is too it.  I've got everything ready - now I need the ink.  I'm also going into town to pick up my framed gelatin silver prints from the Auburn gallery.  They really don't get good exposure where they are and there's too much time and money involved in each one to just leave them 'hanging'.  I'd rather have them here with me.

This morning I've spent almost two hours just working on postings for the High Hand Gallery.  I do the photography for the gallery, the High Hand Gallery's Facebook page, my personal page, my website, my blog, and then on top of that doing their stuff.  Plus I started posting on a local newspaper Events Page for the Gallery.  There's so many media outlets available to advertise on.  I don't mind it but it takes some time to get everything done as I'm sure some of you out there have your own blogs and websites too.

I'm still not dressed and I need to get going here!  I do want to thank everyone who has been posting on my website after looking at my photos.  I'm glad you are enjoying them.  I'm not THAT proud of most of them I guess because they're digital.  My heart is in film and the 'mystery' of it all.  With that said, I really am thinking of just going back to my film images.  I have so many negatives I would never have to take another photo and they would last the rest of my lifetime!  Black and White film is my inspiration.  I'm longing for those shadows - the real ones - the ones that give life it's depth and reality and truism of it all.   Of all of 'us'.  Digital is bothering me...

Getting Back in the Studio!

This is my first day out of bed for the whole day!  I don't get sick hardly ever, but this flu really got me.  So much for my flu shot helping me out!

I don't have much to report photography-wise other than I am waiting for my shipment of Epson inks so I can do some major printing.  I did receive a phone call early this afternoon from a gentleman who purchase some of my works from the High Hand Gallery.  He said he had purchased some other prints last year.  He was specifically looking for some B&W images of Italy or European streets.  I referred him to my website and then to call me back.  I can also refer him to the gallery in Auburn that I still have numerous pieces of my France photos.  I do hope he finds something!!

Since my next project is to get back in the darkroom I will be spending some time this afternoon looking at my Mediterranean negatives to note the ones I want to start printing; that always takes some time.  So I'm just looking through my Santorini images as I thought I would post another one today.  I can't believe I just found another 75 images that weren't converted to jpeg!!  No more big trips like this one again!  That is just too crazy!

We had stopped for lunch that hot afternoon and across the walkway on the opposite building was this artwork attached to the side of the building!  Pretty cool actually.

 

Website Galleries Up!!

I finished the 12 new galleries on my website on Friday afternoon!!  Woo hoo!  I sent it out to family first to get their input and possible punctuation corrections.  I just finished sending out an email to all the others on my emailing lists.  So with that behind me now, I should be able to get in the darkroom!  Well, as soon as I get well!  I got the flu Friday night, was in bed all day yesterday, and am barely functioning today.  I'm ready to go back and lay down again.

So I'll keep this short, but would like any of my readers' comments.  Please feel free to sign my guestbook of the website, or at ArtisticEye@MSN.com .

When I was working on the individual images, some of them didn't make it to the web gallery.  Here's one of them.  I took several photos that included bicycles mainly because there were a lot of them.  Wouldn't our lives be more simplistic if we did the same?  I thought it was interesting that the sign read, "Ristorante Cinese,  Hong Kong".  Chinese from Hong Kong?  I didn't get it!

Website Addition Continues

Today I WILL finish, come you know what or high water!  I made a mistake the other day and said updating my website was not being done on the internet!  Wrong.  I AM on the internet.  I get dyslexic sometimes.  And with that said, because I am on the internet, we have satellite, and we don't always get a steady stream.  So I complete the dialogue, hit save, and then there's this pause and I'm kicked off the program.  I log in again, and no dialogue.  At the least the photos are still there!

I have to go pick up some supplies, but will come back to the web update later this morning.  Then when it's all finished I will send out emails to my email lists, put an update on Facebook, and of course a notice on my Blog.

I received my monthly email from Freestyle Photographic Supplies.  They put out a blurb about Eastman Kodak and their current status of filing for bankruptcy  I had just read a similar story in the paper yesterday.  Bottom line is they are basically giving up their digital camera line, but will continue in other areas.  Citicorp Group just gave Kodak $950 million to help fund their restructuring efforts which will continue for 18 months.  So Citicorp must have enough faith in Kodak and feel that they will get their loan back.  Kodak's sales in their film division increased 20% last year and continues to be profitable for Kodak.  Freestyle assures us in their email that they will continue to make a sizable investment in Kodak product to keep important products available for years to come.  Plus, they also carry several other film manufacturer's film products available.  Whew!  That was good news.

Did I ever mention that I am also known as "Sister Mary-Maria"?  So needless to say I just had to click off this quick shot of a Florence Nun walking briskly down the street.  Her white apparel was in sharp contrast with the rest of the world that day.

Il Duomo - Florence, Italy

Still working very hard and have finished uploading all the new galleries onto my website.  Now I'm going back to enter the dialogue and titles.  Since it's just writing and typing it should go faster.  I REALLY want to finish these up today or at least by the end of the week.  (I'm working tomorrow at the gallery, so there's one day I can't work on them.)  Even though I had picked numerous photographic images for each gallery, when I was uploading them to the website, I also made decisions again as to which ones I really didn't think were THAT great.  I didn't even do a gallery for our stop at Cephalonia, Greece as I really didn't have anything good that would give anyone a good representation of that area.  It was pretty much hodgepodge.

Here's a little something to keep your interest up until they are done!  I liked this digital B&W image, even with the people in it, as it shows so much depth-of-field.  What you are looking at is the Il Duomo (cathedral) in the background in Florence, Italy.

Website Galleries

Just a quick note today, as I have been diligently working on uploading my new galleries to my website.  When I'm done with that, then I will go back and add the 'words of wonder' to each gallery.  I enjoy writing about the pictures, the history, and/or whatever transpired when I took each image.  I'm just starting on the seventh gallery and I will have eleven when I am finished!  Eesh!

I have to say though that working with the Google Chrome is a lot faster with my website update.  I'm not really working on the internet to do this, but it just seems that this route is a lot faster.  I know, I was fighting the change...but it is working for me after all!  Wonders never cease.

More manana!

MariaSotoPhotography website

Yesterday was such a beautiful, sunny day outside - and to think I spent most of it in my studio working on the computer!!  Such is life.  However, I FINALLY finished selecting and re-sizing photographic images for my website to upload.  I thought I had finished that task but when I went to the Venice folder there wasn't anything in it!!  So I had to work on Venice which also meant Burano.  Now I'm ready to upload my photos to my website.  My website was created in 2001.  So it is an older version and I have been tempted to create a new one on my  own, I just haven't made that move.  What I have to do is upload each picture individually to my website files, then from there add them to my galleries.  That is going to take me a long $#% time!  We'll see how it goes.  If it's too frustrating, then I may have to do something about it.  All I want to do is get in the darkroom!!!  I made a list for myself in January and it had 10 items to check off and now I'm down to the last three hardest items!  Of course!

Today is the unofficial national holiday known as 'Super Bowl'.  I honestly don't follow it except for watching the last quarter of the playoff game, and then on to the Super Bowl.  So there's an interference right there! ; )
After working on my photos all day yesterday I came out of my studio and told my husband, '...I don't think any of my pictures are very good, really. There's nothing what I would consider breath taking.'  He said, you've just been looking at them for too long! Well, I do like Venice, Burano, and Santorini, and okay, Taormina the best!

High Hand Gallery is increasing their art classes this year.  They have quite a few coming up.  They have asked me several times to do one, but photography is performed in a dust-free work space.  You're either in the darkroom, on the computer or printing, at a work station cutting mats (which is just a small task of making the photographic image 'pretty').  This all needs to be performed in a dust free area - and the sheds do not meet that criteria.  I'd have to lug a laptop, printer, definitely no transportable darkroom, etc.  'But you could teach them how to take pictures!'  Seriously I don't want to teach anyone.  Even trying to do a class on photo transfers, I would need my computer and printer - so that's not going to work.  So that's a moot subject for me.  However, if you're interested in taking any other classes at High Hand, just go to HighHandGallery.com.

Here's a photo of Burano.  Just your basic, simple backyard, with the laundry hanging out on the line to dry. Nothing to be shy about here!  Life is friendly and cozy!  The only thing missing is the grass.

Digital Black and White

First of all I'm going to wish my hubby Ron, 'Happy 5th Anniversary!"

Yesterday I spent the afternoon attempting to finish my oil paintings.  I don't want to have any unfinished products laying around before I get in the darkroom.  I know painting doesn't have anything to do with photography other than I am painting some of my own photographic images.  So there.

I received an email about NVAL (North Valley Art League's) Carter House Gallery 2012 International Juried Photography Show in Redding, California.  Photographers can enter as many times as they wish, there are three prizes.  I haven't read the whole prospectus yet, but if you are interested in this one just go to:  http://nval.org/Photography show.html.  Then this morning I saw that the Auburn Arts Commission is also having a juried art competition for The Mountain Quarries Railroad Bridge (aka, No Hands Bridge) which is celebrating its 100 year anniversary this March.  Artists can submit up to two entries.  Now that one I already have half of it done!  I have the bridge done as a photo transfer and I have a B&W film image I can print!  Perfect!

Digital black and white photography:  I can of like it but I do have to say there isn't any 'mystery' involved there, unless you go back into Photo Shop and add it!  But I still take 'em!  Here is the photo I mentioned earlier of my sister-in-law's granddaughter.  The background really caught my eye when I looked down at her.  It was perfect actually.  Of course, children are always a great subject.  One, being they are cute, sweet, and innocent looking.  Two, they're definitely not afraid of the camera, thus making them relaxed and natural looking, unlike adults who worry about how they look and ultimately stiffen up.

Artist Portfolio

I have had a couple of artists contact me about how to 'get into a gallery' and/or how to 'create an artist portfolio'.  When I first started testing the waters with my photography I had several artists help me and I did a lot of research online (and that was when the Internet was just beginning).  That's what I love about the Internet is that it's like a 'magic genie' or 'swamee'.  Basically, I am paying it forward with this information.

In regards to the portfolio, I found a great website that lays it all out for you.  The website is:
http://art-support.com.  I'm sure there are others out there too.  This one provides samples and forms - everything an artist might need:  Artist Information Sheet, Resume, Artist Statement, Certificate of Authenticity, sales forms, gallery forms, exhibition forms, release forms, and much more.  In fact, I printed out their outline and samples that I needed and put them in my Artist Business Info/Resources binder that I could easily access.  It's helped me tremendously.

As far as a portfolio goes, here again, you can do a search online and get many answers to create your own.  What you need to include would be information about your past one-person exhibitions, bio on yourself including education and background.  For example, a one sheet Artist Information Sheet would include the following subject lines:  Artist, Philosophy, Style, Technique, Background, Publications or Exhibits, and Prices. You can change the titles to fit your own personal specialties.

You would also include in your portfolio, professional, quality photos of your original artworks, and photos of other variations that you may apply your artwork in (i.e., cards, coasters, wall hangings, etc.).  If you were in previous 'shows/exhibits' include the cards from those shows.  Your portfolio changes as you branch out and should be kept up to date with your current work.  Now that reminds me, I need to update mine very soon!