OK, so fame is relative, and this time, it’s my relative’s fault!

Once Mom heard about the 1st place award at Framations, she contacted the local paper in Chattanooga to let them know of the feat. A reporter from the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Karen Nazor Hill, does a “Talk of the Town” column in the paper, and Mom reached out to her with some quick facts about the show and my placing in it.

Well, as I would expect from a reporter, Karen had a whole list of questions, which I responded to, including a sorta-recent photo of me, and an image of “Crystal”. This was Monday night after our electricity was functional again. I hadn’t heard a peep since.

Tonight in my e-mail, I found a copy of the article as it appeared in the paper today! And it was a full article, just focused on your humble author. Mom was just busting with pride and truthfully, so am I. It’s just plain cool to see your work in print, and recognized. Believe me, the financial rewards are yet to come from this bold venture, but the non-pecuniary benefits are wonderful!

Unfortunately, due to copyright restrictions, I don’t believe I can include the clip from the paper here. However, here is the link to the text-only version of the article. Dunno if that’s a permalink, so it might disappear at some point. Anyway, take a few minutes to read it — it’s a fun read.

Your humble author has indeed won his first prize in a photography exhibit — and first place to boot!

“Crystal”, a piece I shot in the aftermath of our ice storm in December, took first place in the show, although not Best in Show. However, first place gives me a ribbon, a cash prize, and a little toehold on some notoriety.

Each of the photographers that received an award also had a note from the jurist in their envelope. To me, she wrote:

“What an incredible moment. It must have arose as quickly as it melted. Nice use of form, line, quality of light, etc. It is the ordinary as extraordinary. Great job.”

To say I am thrilled is a HUGE understatement — I’m on cloud nine!

I got a great birthday present tonight. I got a call from Framations to let me know that two of my three pieces were juried into the competition!!! The piece that didn’t make it was “Ready for Action”. I’m not highly surprised at that. It’s a piece that could sell well, but is not “artsy”, and I guess that’s what they were looking for.

I don’t know the results of the judging yet, and don’t anticipate I will until Saturday night at the Opening Reception for the exhibit. Yes, there’s an exhibit, and my two pieces will be hung as part of that show. Woo-hoo!

Here’s the particulars on the exhibit:

I am absolutely THRILLED about this opportunity!!! C’mon down to Framations on Saturday night — I’ll definitely be there!!!!

I got my pieces done for the photo contest at Framations. This is for an exhibit called Beyond the Lens, and will be juried and judged tomorrow. I submitted three 18×24 frames, that got sequence numbered 48-50 by the shop. That tells me that there’s not a huge number of folks entered in this competition. I’ve got to look at that fact as helping me out. I think in a field of less than 100 images, I can hold my own.

If I do have one or more images juried into the competition, I’ll publish the info on the show here and at Colin Wright Photography.

Here’s what I submitted…

Fall’s Dance

Crystal

Ready for Action

Too quiet for me this week! I’ve spent most of the week working on finishing three new pieces that I’m entering into a photo contest this weekend. Grand prize is a month-long exhibit at a local gallery, so I’m trying to burn as much time as I can on these images to get them shaped up for not only this opportunity, but for future sales. I’ll post ’em later tonight or tomorrow, and let my faithful audience weigh in on what I’ve done.

Aside from that, the week has passed slowly, despite being a four-day work-week. I’ve been swamped at work, and that has really impacted my being able to focus on the new images, but I have been able to snatch some time to read a new (to me) Photoshop book, Photoshop LAB Color by Dan Margulis. This is rumored to be one of the best books on color out there, and I can see why. With only one good chapter under my belt, I’m already finding cool new techniques to use on my images. Verra cool!

Being a fan of black and white photography — and I am — I found a site I enjoyed mucho. It’s called New York Changing, and is chock full of old photos of Gotham alongside re-shootings of the same area now.

I’ve not yet scolled through all the photos, but they are wonderful, and really tell a great deal about the growth of New York. In some photo pairings, there’s little change. In others, the change is so dramatic that it’s easy to question if the photos are of the same place.

Cool stuff, and well worth looking at.

A couple of weeks ago, I ordered some paper samplers from Red River Paper. They have some papers specifically designed to work with the UltraChrome inks my shiny new Epson R1800, and the test papers worked very well.

So, I picked up some 4×6, 8×11 and 13×19 semi-gloss (lustre) papers to start moving forward with for my prints. For the first time, I’ll be able to print using the same media (printer, ink and paper) from small to large sizes. That should give me a great deal of control over the print quality across those sizes.

BTW, 13×19 paper is HUGE. I can’t wait to get some pieces printed on these big sheets, and see how they look framed. Between the terrific quality of the paper and the brilliance of the inks in the R1800, I’m expecting truly wonderful prints!

My next door neighbor, Joe, is a huge Nektar fan. Who is Nektar? Well, they are a little unfamiliar to me as well, but they are a prog-rock band from the way-back machine who are still touring, and still have an incredibly loyal fan base. (You can find out more about them here.) What’s amazing to me is that I never heard of these guys before Joe started talking to me about them. How’d I miss them? I loved prog-rock in the 70s, and still do.

Anyway, they’re coming to St. Louis on December 1st, and Joe’s been hounding me to go. In fact, he’s such a big fan that he is planning to go the extra buck, and buy an all-access package. And, in preparation for twisting my arm to go with him, he bought an extra. He’s a mean, mean man. 🙂 Here’s the skinny on that package (from the Nektar tour site):

VINP tickets are Very Important Nektar Person tickets. They are a premium price, high-value ticket that entitle the purchaser to a range of privledges.

VINP gives you the following:

Best tickets in the house, always in the front two rows and central.

Entry into the Load in / Sound-check for the show at 15.00 pm onwards

Permission to take photos and video during this period.

Tour of the stage area and discussion with all band mambers about equipment, the show and whatever takes your fancy during a set 30 minute period.

Photo taken with the band as a group and as individuals on stage, with photo supplied at the Merchandise Desk at the end of the show signed

Special Nektar goodie bag with exclusive VINP only items:
Exclusive Version of the Tour Program – more detailed
Postcards
Nektar Photos
Special VINP NEKTAR badge
Special VINP NEKTAR CD of rare audio
Book of Days T-Shirt Deluxe Ed.
Nektar Cap
Nektar Sticker
Leisurely access prior to doors of the Merchandising Stand
Book of Days Poster

This is all in a Nektar bag

You will be able to pick up your exclusive Nektar Laminate at the Box office on the day of the show. This will give you access as described. You will be met by Roy Clay – nektars manager who will look after you and ensure all your needs are addressed. You will be required to exit the venue about 18.00 pm but allowed back into the Foyer area when doors open. You will be able to pick up your photo after the show from the Merchandise desk, or have it mailed onto you.

This is pretty cool access, and the whole thing sounds great, but for me (you guessed it), it’s an opportunity to shoot unfettered during the sound check and warmup for three hours. That will be an amazing opportunity, and a kind of photography I’ve never practiced before. So, fast lenses are the order of the day, along with some cross-filters, and all the memory I can muster. I think I’ve got about 12Gb of CF, along with my 40Gb P-2000. That should do it for 3hrs of photo fun.

The e-mail Joe got back from the registration indicates the band would like copies of the photos. Who knows… maybe I’ll be allowed to shoot during the show, and perhaps make a little bit of a name for myself in that circle!