The National Apple Harvest Festival

It’s more than just about the apples, but that’s certainly a good reason to go! This will be my second year at this very fun event. It runs for two weekends (Oct. 2-3 and Oct. 9-10). The festival is out in the Gettysburg area in the center of apple country here in Pennsylvania. It’s beautiful country out that way as well, full of apple orchards and farm land. The weather this first weekend looks to be ideal and I am excited to get out there. Check out the festival’s website here for more information – National Apple Harvest Festival

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On the Wing

I had a great discussion with a couple visitors to Artist’s Gallery today. They came to see my work not knowing I’d be there today. As they were attracted to my image Flight Unfurled, I explained that it was part of a theme I was developing of images with wildlife in motion. That theme seems to be what I’ve been doing lately in the field as well. I had an exciting outing working with an Osprey last week and perfect conditions for working with Canada Geese in flight this past Friday.

I really enjoy the visual challenge of creating an image that conveys a sense of motion. I also like the painterly backgrounds that I can create by panning the camera during the exposure. This image below of Canada Geese in flight is a perfect example. The slower shutter speed allows me to render the background into streaks of color and allow for the vertical movement of the wings to become evident. I used a Canon EOS 1D Mark III camera with a Canon EF 500mm f4.0 L IS lens with a 1.4x teleconverter on a tripod and a Side Kick mount on the ballhead. The overcast conditions were perfect lighting for this kind of image.

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Back to Gettysburg …

I’ll be leaving for Gettysburg this weekend for the second half of the National Apple Harvest Festival in Biglerville, PA. This show has been a good experience with several pleasant surprises. I have not however taken advantage of the variety of apple-related foods and so hope to rectify that this weekend. I have found this to be a well-managed show and hope to make it a yearly event on my schedule.

A couple visiting the show wanted my print Misty Woods in a larger size which I offered to ship to them in Florida. I had previously only offered it as an 11×14 matted and framed to 16×20. With this new order, I will be offering Misty Woods as a 13×20 matted to 22×28. This new size is priced at $169.00 matted and $329.00 framed. It is an image I made at Hawk Mountain in Pennsylvania on a very foggy morning that I remember quite well. It is a quiet piece with nice contrasts. The repetitive vertical lines of the trees gives the image great harmony and I believe it will be a wonderful larger print.

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First Fall Images

With a 3-day show this weekend in Delaware and a very busy schedule through Thanksgiving, I felt the need to get out yesterday. It also happened to be the first full day of fall, my favorite image-making season. I’m hoping to get out once a week even with a full fall show schedule, but reality may dictate otherwise.

So where did I go for this first day of fall outing, well I stayed right here in Bucks County of course – Peace Valley Park in Doylestown. Just as I approached the bridge, I saw this Great Egret off to my left. These birds usually spook easily, so I walked past it then slowly returned. I had more glass with me than I needed (Canon 500mm w/ TC1.4x), so as the bird worked its way away from the shore, I was better able to compose. During a brief preening bout, the egret lifted a wing and lowered its head under to get at a tricky spot. Of course if I’m near water I think reflection and symmetry so this composition was my first thought.

In such an image, I still prefer to have some part of the eye visible and in this case it is just (more so in the reflection). There is an elegance to the picture that I like, these birds being so angelic.

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PA Guild State Show – Lancaster, PA 2008

The Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen will be holding our annual holiday Fine Craft Show at Manheim Township High School in Lancaster, PA this weekend (Nov. 8-9). I am looking forward to this show, it is the Guild’s main event of the year and it’s at a great new location.

The hard part about this November for me is not getting out to create new works. I have scheduled four shows in four weeks. By the end of the month I will be eager to get out. And after four straight weekends of not eating so well, Thanksgiving is sounding really, really good!

Maple Path - (c) Paul Grecian

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Guild’s Fall Show – Good First

The Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen held their fall craft show this past weekend at Montgomery County Community College in Blue Bell, PA. It was our first time at this new venue after many years of holding it at Tyler State Park near Newtown, PA. Most of the patrons I spoke with liked this new location for its open layout, attractive grounds, and excellent parking. It was a fun event and consisted of some very talented artists, craftsmen and craftswomen.

One of the great things about a new venue is meeting new people. Every show has new patrons, but a new venue increases that number. I enjoyed seeing previous patrons and meeting more that have added my work to their homes for the first time. I am in the process of filling custom orders from this show and preparing for a very full November (4 shows in 4 weeks). I also plan to get out some more in this fine fall weather we’re having and work favorite haunts near home.

Geese Leaving Roost - (c) Paul Grecian 2008

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Fall Classic – Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen 2008

As a Phillies fan, I’d like to see my team get to the Fall Classic (World Series). But before that, I’ll be at a different kind of fall classic – the  Fine Craft Show presented by the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen. This show, which has been held at Tyler State Park in Bucks County, is now at Montgomery County Community College. This weekend (Oct. 18-19) will be our first time at this new and great location.

More colors to show from this past weekend’s work in the Delaware Water Gap. This scene just stunned me through the viewfinder as I turned the polarizer. A small girl throwing stones in the water gave me some ripples to add texture and a sense of movement.

Pond and Fall Colors, Delaware Water Gap, PA

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Pumpkins and Belly Dancers

If there was any doubt that photography is a life style, this weekend put that to rest. Yesterday I was able to make images both in a pumpkin patch and a Moroccan restaurant. It was actually a beautiful day yesterday and so a local pumpkin festival here in Bucks County, PA was the place to be to pick a wheel barrel of pumpkins. And so we did. My wife, daughter and I walked through the pumpkin fields to find and pull from the ground, pumpkins both large and small. This also gave the opportunity to photograph the field with a sunny, blue sky. The contrast between the orange pumpkins and blue sky was wonderful. With the help of a polarizer, the color all came through.

That evening we all went to a Moroccan restaurant to take in a feast and some belly dancing. My sister-in-law is part of the troupe and they put on a great show. The place was packed and the music and dancing were brilliant. Of course this too gave me an opportunity to do some image making quite different than my norm. I went prepared for low light and a bit of action. Working with a digital SLR allowed me to see how I was doing and try different approaches. It was a lot of fun and I expect I will try it again.

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