Kutztown Festival 2008 – Day 3

Nicer weather brought about a large early crowd. Several previous customers came out today and selected new pieces. That is always gratifying. I love hearing I’ll see you again next year as well. I had time to walk through the fairgrounds a bit this morning and all I can say is, if you like to eat, this is the show to be at. I mean the variety and quantity of food is staggering. This is also a show where people bring their dogs and here too the variety is amazing. I could do an great photo essay just on the dogs that are brought to the show. Day 4 tomorrow will be strange as I’m not used to shows longer than 3 days. One at a time though is the way I approach it.

It is typical during shows to be invited to do other shows or events. I was asked to consider participating in an interesting show in upstate PA as well as go on a cruise which sounding very enticing. I always take the information and see what my calendar will allow. Sometimes someone will make me an offer for my work that is unusual as well. I received a barter offer from a gentlemen today who liked my seascape images. He offered me a trade of my work for a week stay in his beachfront house in North Carolina. I gave him my card.

The first sale I made today was of the image Winter Reds, a 5×7 print matted to 11×14. This is a newer image made this past winter during what was probably the nicest snow we had during the season. It is an image I blogged about previously as well.

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Kutztown Festival 2008 – Day 2

Another hot day at Kutztown but no real rain. The crowd seemed larger today. I met several folks who live near me in Quakertown (Q-town to us) who added a piece of my work for their home or office. I also had conversations with nice people who shared my enthusiasm for birds and Colonial Williamsburg. It was not so crowded today that I couldn’t afford a bit of talk.

Today’s first sale was of my newer image – L’il Bugger. I’ve recently blogged about this image which seems to have been enjoyed by many at the festival this past weekend. The weather for the rest of the week looks pretty darn nice!

 

 

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Kutztown Festival 2008 – Day 1

Day 1 went smoothly enough. It was hot however and I think that may have resulted in a thinner crowd. A bit of passing rain too meant quickly closing the barn doors (Building A pretty much is a barn). The plus side to a smaller crowd is more time to spend with each customer, which I enjoy. Another plus is smaller lines for food and drink! I am set up again across from my Canadian friend Karen and her assistant Sandy. Sandy has a great Canadian accent.

Last year I blogged on which of my images represented my first sale and I will do that again this year. So, today’s first sale was an 8×10 print matted to 11×14 of White-throated Sparrow.  This is a winter image made early morning. The sparrow is puffed up to trap heat within its feathers, giving it a very plump look. The morning light is warm in color and emphasizes the red in the berries. I was able to find an opening in the brush to get a clear view of the bird’s eye while allowing the surrounding brush to frame the bird in soft reds. This is a film-based image made with a Nikon camera and a Nikkor 400mm f3.5 with 2x teleconverter (a very sharp 800mm equivalent focal length).

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If I Only Knew Then …..

I often read artists assert that their best work is yet to be made and if they knew then what they know now, their work would have been better. Maybe photography is a different medium in this respect from others. I’ve never felt that I was waiting for my best work to be created. In fact much of my favorite work and many of my more popular pieces are ones that represent my earlier visions and efforts. That is not to say that I have stopped growing as a photographer and artist, it’s just that I feel much of my growth is lateral. That is, I believe my style has changed over time and will continue to do so as I change in interests, and discoveries, and personality. But, is this work necessarily better than work I’ve already created? Or is it different and new.

Certainly I learn new things about the medium and what I can do with it all the time. In this way my growth is definitely vertical. But again, I’m not sure that knowledge of the medium equates to better images. If that were true, wouldn’t we all be the best photographers who ever lived because we would have more knowledge and experience than any of our predecessors. The fact that we are not necessarily better image makers because of increased knowledge, expereince, and better tools is because photography is still and primarily so – an art form.

This is an image I made some ten years ago and has found it’s way into over 100 homes, an Audubon calendar, and a book project. It’s one of my earlier pieces. Had I made this image last week, I’d be equally pleased with it.

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The Kutztown Festival – Last Prep

I set up on Friday and the festival starts this Saturday (June 28). This is the longest show I do at 9 days and will pull in over 100,000 visitors. I am in a building, though it’s not much to look at, it does offer protection from the elements. I am grateful for it. This is my third year at the festival and have enjoyed being there, it is quite an event.

Here is a link to the festival web site which also offers a $2 off coupon – Kutztown Festival Web Site.

Donna, Hannah and I went to the Festival in 2005 and had a fine time. Here is a picture from then of Hannah enjoying a lemon through a peppermint straw.

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Summer, Summer, Summer

Summer is here and everything changes. What I really enjoy about this part of the world is 4 distinct seasons. Summer always brings back great memories for me. Being free (re. out of school) to be outside all day, and well into the evening was a great feeling. Now my daughter Hannah is out of school and my schedule changes quite a bit. I can work as late as I like and sleep in, or get up early and work for hours before breakfast. With the warmer weather, I can read with my coffee outside and not have to worry about Hannah missing the school bus. Of course I also can’t just leave the house, Hannah needs to be with me all the time (she’s still too young to be left alone). I do get one day a week without daddy-duty to get out and do some photography. And there is always the late afternoon and evening option to get out once my wife Donna gets home. So all-in-all, I have more options during the summer than other times of year.

Also, summer is a busy show time and no more so than this year. Next up is the marathon show – Kutztown Folk Festival right here in PA. It starts on June 28 and goes nine long days. I do get to sleep in my own bed though, that’s a real plus. Then, there are two more shows in July, one in August, and one in September. I’m not ready to even think about the fall!

Oh, and we do get to head down to the Outer Banks of North Carolina during this summer as well. There’s a location that I’ve been working almost every summer since 1990. It’s a great change of scenery from the wooded areas close to home here. This image of shells found on the beach in NC is one of my favorites.

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3-D

A question I am sometimes asked at shows is “Why does this image have the look of being 3-dimensional?” The image that receives this question most is Blue Bird, an image of a bluebird on fall arrowwood.  The explanation is that there are two elements of this image that lend it a sense of being 3-dimensional. The first is the limited depth-of-field. That is, the foreground (including the bluebird) are perfectly in focus while the background (distant trees) are rendered only as impressionistic form and color. This situation implies distance and the mind interprets the scene as having something close and something far away. The other element contributing to the 3-d effect is the colors in the image. Warm colors (some of the leaves and stems of the plant) appear to the eye as advancing, while cool tones (the bluebird here) appear to recede. That combination of advancing and receding color right next to each other are interpreted as subjects being close and more distant.

There are other ways that a two-dimensional image can have a three-dimensional look. But of the ones that I place in my booth, this particular piece receives the most remarks.

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An Eye to the Abstract

As part of a series of imagery I hope to continue with, this piece emphasizes the beauty of those incredible eyes of the horse. I am actually focusing on the reflection of the white fence that you can see in the eye. The eyes of this horse are so perfect – deep, black, and mysterious. The eye lashes are almost decorative. I used a sharp, fast lens often used for people photography to allow a shallow focus on just the eye and the lashes – a Canon EF 135mm f2.0 L. It is a tricky lens to use as the depth of field is so shallow that if my focus is off even a little, or the horse moves, the image is lost.

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Horse Hair

In a recent visit to a friend’s farm I had several goals for making new images. One of those goals was to work the texture and form of the horse’s mane and markings. The horses at the farm were beautiful but rarely stayed still.  This made fine-tuning the composition challenging, especially since I wanted to be very parallel to the subject in order to keep everything in focus. It helped to know exactly what kind of image I wanted to make so that I could work quickly and precisely. If I could keep from having one of the other horses knocking me as I worked, I seemed to be alright. I will need to got back though as is often the case, each outing gives me new ideas for the next outing.

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This Show was Hot Hot Hot

Yea, Peddler’s Village Fine Art and Contemporary Craft Show was hot, not because of a large crowd, but because the temperatures reached mid 90’s both days. Luckily my new space had a nearby shade tree and a nice breeze at times, but otherwise it was a physical challenge. Even with constant water and/or Gatorade, breakdown Sunday evening was a drain. At 8:20 as I drove out of Peddler’s Village, it was still in the low 90’s.

Enough complaining. I did add some new folks to my collector’s list and had a purchase from devoted customers from New Jersey. Thanks to all who came out in the heat and supported me. Plus I was awarded an Honorable Mention this year in the Photography category. The monetary award almost covers the show fee.

It is of course important for me to have people purchase my work (I’m always grateful). Art is a business but being an artist is more than that. Being an artist is an identity and a way of life. Part of that life includes meeting new people, which is something I enjoy. I would like to begin to talk more about these people who purchase my work.

This past weekend I sold pieces to some wonderful folks. The couple from NJ I mentioned have come to Peddler’s Village for years and have acquired a number of my pieces for themselves and as gifts. It is always a pleasure to see them and they are always upbeat and engaging. I also met a woman who graduated from my high school who purchased a couple pieces, one for herself and another as a gift.

I benefit from people sharing their own insights and helpful information. A teacher who I’ve had several sales to came by and after finding one of my hummingbird images, suggested I read Emily Dickinson’s poem 1463. I had a nice conversation with two young ladies that purchased Wall Flowers (below). They told me a secret I can use when visiting Washington DC during cherry blossum time.

Shows are a business, but when things get slow, I can benefit from more conversation than I typically could.

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