Tuesday, January 26, 2010

2010 Resolutions

I always welcome the new year. Cleaning the slate and setting new resolutions. Only to be broken yet another year, more than likely, but it still feels good to start fresh with a positive outlook.

One of my resolutions is to scan, scan, scan. I bought the latest and greatest dedicated film scanner...I won't divulge how long ago...and 2010 is the year I will make a considerable dent in the thousands of slides and negatives I have amassed over the years. Some of these images will be subsequently printed, most will be safely stored away. You can't find a lot about scanning online (believe it or not) so last year I ventured up to New York and took a scanning workshop at B&H to learn basics from the pros.

Another of my resolutions is to travel more. I hope to be able to visit family in the usual places (California, Oregon, Vermont, British Columbia), but my plan is to include a couple of exotic trips as well - Belize for one. Good friends of ours recently bought a newly-built condo in Belize. They live part-time there and part-time in DC. We haven't been yet, but hope to take them up on an invitation later this year. It is surely a photographer's paradise with its history and wildlife...so I'm told. And the diving is some of the best!

A couple of years ago I purchased a display tent for showing my photography in art shows. However, once I was juried into the Workhouse Arts Center I stored the tent away in the attic for the time being while I learned the ins-and-outs of our newly-formed photography cooperative. I think it's time, however, try my hand at the show circuit. Time will tell, but I'm not so sure I'm cut out for this type of venue. I will start with baby steps - close to home.


In January my photograph "Weathered Strength" was juried into the Art League's All-Media Show at the Torpedo Factory. Out of a total of 608 works submitted, 182 were chosen to be displayed for the month. The juror, Stephen Munoz, studied at the American University in DC with a concentration in printmaking. He is currently the Director of the Lee Arts Center in Arlington. Prior to this position he was the Grants Officer for Arlington Cultural Affairs, managing the grant program for the arts in Arlington County. My chosen submission was taken in 2008 while my husband and I visited one of our favorite Caribbean islands, Harbour Island, in the Bahamas. This is a rather famous, dead stump of a tree that has been the set for many a fashion shoot. It refuses to be uprooted or washed away. Juror's comments and works on display can be viewed by following this link.


One of my photos will also be on display as part of a larger grouping of works chosen by the Workhouse Arts Center. This display will take place at the 2010 Art Works for Virginia Conference at the Richmond Marriott on January 27. The Workhouse was invited by the Virginia Commission for the Arts to display at the conference. The image's title is "Afternoon Shadows" and was taken while on a trip to New Mexico last year.


Finally, from January 23 to sometime in April two of my photos are on display at the McLean branch of Sonabank located at 6830 Old Dominion Drive. This opportunity is in connection with my membership in the Vienna Photographic Society, and my two images are among the 15+- images we are exhibiting. The first photograph titled "Iron Lace" (left) was taken in Cancun in 2005. The second image follows the same them of shadows/iron-work and is titled "Romeo, Romeo" (right). It was taken while visiting Santa Barbara in 2006. The Juliet-style balcony caught my eye with its delicate shadows. I am also very much a fan of anything decorative or utilitarian made out of iron. These works are also offered for sale.