Paul Grecian - Photography

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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This coming weekend - June 7-8, I will be at Peddler’s Village in Lahaska , PA for this fine outdoor show. I will also be in a new location from all the other years in which I’ve participated. This year I’ll be on the Village Green instead of near the Shady Lamp store. Here’s a link to the show - Peddler’s Village Show.

Tonight I will be at Churchville’s Photography Club in Churchville, PA as juror for a club competition - “Making Art of Family and Friends”. Should be interesting.

I mentioned in a previous post that I have had recent sales of prints for children where the child selects my work and the parents or the child themselves make the purchase. One such image is of pink tulips which was selected by a young girl at the Mayfair (Allentown, PA) event. It is an image I made in a garden in Colonial Williamsburg, VA.

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For the second year in a row, I made an excursion to Longwood Gardens in Kennet Square, PA for their annual tulip display. We actually had a frost that same morning and that may have effected their condition. As a result, I took a different approach to the popular subject. I still need to develop these new images so here is a piece from last year which I like. I’ve now achieved a nice small body of work of tulips, a subject which I am increasingly growing fond.

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1. Allergy pills have become part of my night time routine
2. Donna (my wife) and I drink coffee on the back deck
3. I sit on the front step just bacause it’s reminds me of springs gone by
4. The UPS guy is wearing shorts (I get a lot of packages)
5. I’ve started preparing for outdoor shows (I’ve got 4 in a row)
6. I’ve mowed the lawn
7. Windows are finally open
8. I listen to 70’s music more (don’t ask)
9. Hannah (my daughter) wants only to go to Rita’s (water ice)
10. All I want is to be outdoors with a camera

This is an image I made in Colonial Williamsburg during our April 2006 visit. The wisteria was growing well and draped nicely over the white-picket fences. I used a shallow depth-of-field to show that there was a large tree in the background.

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This will be my first spring back at this fine show in a few years. The Holiday show is great and crazy, this spring show will be a bit more easy going. Here’s a link to some info - North Penn Select Craft Show.

This past Tuesday I made the drive over to Reading to the Goggleworks. I was invited to submit my work to achieve Juried status with the Reading-Berks Guild of Craftsmen. My work was well received and so I am now a Juried member of this chapter of the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen. The Goggleworks is really a neat place. As I walked through the maze of halls looking for my meeting place, I passed ballet dancers and belly dancers. Throughout the Goggleworks there are studios devoted to a large variety of crafts and big windows allow you to see the craftspeople at work.

Yesterday I took another drive (I’m keeping better track of this stuff for next year’s taxes), this time to Longwood Gardens. I met a friend there and we worked the conservatory for several hours and then had lunch (which is quite good at Longwood). There were actually quite a number of photographers there with us, all very serious in their pursuits.

Photography, like any other endeavor, requires practice. So even if I leave a location not feeling particularly successful, working with my camera and exercising my vision is a must for future success. What I need to do is spend an entire day at Longwood.

This image of orchids is both graphic and colorful and represents well the type of imagery I was looking to achieve. The color in the center (negative space) is of flowers in the distance that I have out-of-focus. I was working handheld with a Canon 70-300mm IS DO lens at 300mm. My depth-of-field is very shallow due to the long focal length and my close focusing of the subject.

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Maybe this current ice theme I’m working on is my subconscious telling me to chill. This is a transition month and a busy one at that. I’m finishing show applications, I have an exhibit application on my desk, I need to work on my tax returns, and I’m in heavy production mode to print, mat, mount and frame work for next month. Not to mention all of the creative ……….well, I said I wouldn’t mention them.

In any case, I did still get out again this past weekend to make some more ice images. There was a heavy rain the nigh before and a lot of melting. I was out for a few hours and worked pretty hard to create but found less to work with because of the general lack of ice.  

It’s interesting that this image below almost has a marble texture and color. I like it.

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Yesterday morning I spent 5 hours working frozen ponds trying to create new images along the theme of ice patterns. It was cold, but very pleasant. My greatest challenge when photographing during winter is focusing as my eyes water easily in the cold. Physically, the kind of macro work I did yesterday is very straining and I am feeling the effects of long periods of squatting and bending over a tripod while standing on ice. I do regular weight training because show set-up and tear-down can be gruelling. However, I’m thinking I need a different routine for macro work, especially now that I’ve discovered this ice theme. Things will not get any better in the spring when flowers begin to bloom. Where is the book - A Photographer’s Guide to Physical Training?

At least I feel there was a gain. I really enjoyed myself working outdoors yesterday and I am happy with the quality and variety of images I made. The more I explore this ice theme, the more I like it. It seems that the fluctuating temperatures around these parts may actually make the ice patterns more interesting and varied. The cycle of thaw and freeze allows me to go back to the same locations and work new ideas and new images. This small group represents a series that has more complex lines than many of the others I made yesterday.

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Yesterday I shoveled our corner property of a good deal of slush. We had a continual mixed precipitation event of sleet, snow, and freezing rain. My daughter got out of school early and I watched for a break in the wintry mix to get out and photograph. It didn’t happen. The freezing stuff kept falling.

This morning was a different matter. I knew it was going to warm up and that time was not on my side. I got out before my wife scrapped the car to get to work (the frost on her car window was interesting) and then again after taking my daughter to school. The ice that was still clinging to everything was beginning to melt. I knew my only opportunity to make any images was to walk around the neighborhood. The only place where it was raining was under the trees I was working. I walked around for about an hour and a half until the warming began to cause too much dripping to work with. Just as I was ready to quit, a woman walking her dog saw me with my camera and started giving me pointers on composing an image of our pine tree. She pointed out where the light was hitting it and exactly which angle I should approach it from. She seemed a bit frustrated that I wasn’t catching on to what she was saying. Oh well, at least I got out today.

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I knew this would be a rough week cause I’m between two long weekend shows. I set up this Thursday at the Garden State Exhibit Center in Somerset, NJ for the fall Sugarloaf Festival. This is a very big indoor show that many in these parts attended when also at the Fort Washington Expo Center in Montgomery Co., PA.

So I have three days to prepare for this weekend. In reality, I’m preparing for the weekend following primarily, trying to stay one show ahead. I’ve also been communicating with a couple magazine editors today and preparing packages for shipping from this past weekend’s PA Guild show at Tyler. I’m going to have to let the grass grow another week. It’s multi-tasking to an extreme.

Dialing the XM Radio to Audio Visions keeps me chilled and a well timed mug of joe keeps me moving.

Here’s a peaceful image from work I did last week at Longwood Gardens. A bit of meditation would do me good maybe.

This is a big weekend! The Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen will be holding their State Show at Tyler State Park near Newtown, PA. This big outdoor show is a long time favorite in the area and well attended. I will be set up in space 168 (corner of first row).

With so much work to do preparing for my fall show schedule, it was a real thrill to get out today and create some new images. Fall is nowhere near showing any real color, but I found motivation while on a trip today to Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA. My friend Jim and I spend several hours exploring early fall transitions and wildflowers. It was good to be outdoors. What was really hard to think about was Spring, but I was reminded of it when passing Longwood Gardens staff placing tulip bulbs for next year.

This is an image I made today at Longwood Gardens. Late season asters growing near a huge pine tree made for some nice serendipity. My mind is always conscious of color contrasts.

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