Perils of a Photographer

When I worked on Sunday I got all my updated prices on my photography.  It was storming that day so we did have some traffic in and out, and sales weren't bad either.  It was one of those days that most of the folks already knew what they wanted.  Either they had been in before, or were looking for gifts.  I took my oils and painting in with me, so Paula and I both worked on our paintings that afternoon.  There is a new retail shop located in the sheds now, called "The Vintage Bricoleur".  They re-purpose items and one side of the shop has re-purposed antique silverware made into necklaces, bracelets with added beading and such.  Very nice stuff I must say.  A lot of other antique items.  I saw a set of four Colonial small frames that had pictures of Thomas Jefferson's home in them -  I believe it's Monticello.  However, what I saw were four small darkroom prints in them!  ; )  That would look really cool!

Unfortunately for me, I woke up today with vertigo!!  Ugh!  It seems like I tend to get this from time to time.  I hate it.  So I won't be doing a lot of stuff today except maybe scanning in some old family photos for my husband.  Yesterday I worked on photography paperwork - it's that time of year, and also cleaning up my desk area.  Looks neater in here now.

I was looking through my European cruise photos and saw a photo that reminded me of a near mishap!  Ahh, the perils of an intense photographer!  I was so involved with the beautiful scenery at this monastery that we stopped at in Paleokastritska, Greece.  It was up at the top of a mountain, overlooking the ocean, and the monastery was pristine white, and I'm looking thru my viewfinder as I'm climbing up the stairs, oblivious to anyone and anything, and ... I trip on the uneven flagstone flooring!!  Then I'm taking off, bent over, almost running, but not wanting to fall with my two cameras (yeah, let's save the cameras and forget about our body!), and luckily for me I actually stop when I come up to the group of people in front of me!  A young girl says to me, "wow, you could've gotten hurt!"  No @#$! Sherlock! ; )

Printing on the Epson

Got some color prints done on the Epson. I have kind of a stash of frames from Aaron Bros. However, you have to be picky on their frames as a lot of the frames are made with soft wood which makes it tougher to keep from getting damaged with dents (which you would have to re-frame later down the road). I also buy metal frames from Delta Mat & Moulding - which can be pricey, but they are top notch. I also buy the non-glare glass from Delta. Gallery owners have commented to me that I'm one of the few who pay the extra money for the non-glare, but they appreciate it and it's to my favor if I want to show off my photos. There's nothing worse than not being able to see the full impact of a picture when you're struggling with the bright led lights at galleries. So today I will have to purchase at least the one frame in my travels today. I need to get this show on the road!!

Here's a photo from my Bodie Series that I haven't presented to the public yet. A color digital shot of old bottles and one filled with marbles.

Matting & Framing

Today I went out and purchased the necessary frames for this current art project I am working on for a local coffee shop. Luckily I took advantage of Aaron Brothers' Penny Sale: buy one get one for a penny! I decided to keep it simple and went with a wide black frame for both the B&W and color photos of which there are six. So that'll keep me busy for a day or so. I want to get them hung up by early next week.

Speaking of frames, a common frustration for artists is damage to frames. One would think that gallery owners would be more careful when handling and hanging artwork, but that's where I get my most damage. (I'm sure museums, i.e., MOMAs are extremely careful.) When hanging artwork, for starters, remove all rings and heavy jewelry. I always wrap my framed artwork and take extreme care in transporting them, wrapping them in bubble wrap and then in between blankets. From now on, I am making a concerted effort to mention to the gallery owners to please take care when handling. No one wants to buy a piece of artwork with dents or marks on the frame. I actually had to change a frame out because of this exact thing happening! I started out with wood frames, but because of the 'loss' suffered from damages, I changed to metal frames. That worked good too for a while since the anodized frames don't get too marked up and if they do it rubs off, but even these can get scratches. I try to keep it simple in selecting the frames, because most people really do want to make their own selection to go with the style of their homes. There really isn't an easy fix on this subject - it's kind of on a case-by-case basis. It's basically frustrating and I just wanted to get it off my chest.