April 2011 – Page 2 – JWNPhoto.com

Monthly Archives: April 2011

Two New Beach Prints Available

As I was choosing prints I wanted to show for this weekend’s Kulture Klash Arts Festival, I was going through my library of photos to find water themed images. I found two that stuck out for me, but they didn’t work for the triptych idea I ended up going with. I’ve decided to put them up in the store and offer them to you!

The first one, which is shown above, was made in Freeport last summer. It’s entitled “Reef Rafters” because there is a silhouette of to people on a raft out by the reef. I originally processed this photo as a color image (shown here), but decided to crop it down a little bit and convert it to black & white. I love the way the clouds and the water work together and the monotone version really makes that feature stand out.

The other photo was made on Sullivans Island in South Carolina in August of 2010. The lone beach-goer sitting on the shore reading made for a serene subject. It’s nice to get a single subject against a vast backdrop like this – I find it quite peaceful. I’m getting ready to spend some quality time at the beaches again as the weather gets warmer, and these images make me want Summer to be here already!

Kudos To Miller’s Professional Imaging

I wanted to write a post just to share with you the work that I’m contributing to Kulture Klash 7, but I need to first share with you my account of the great service I received from Miller’s Professional Imaging (who are the people behind Zenfolio/MPIX which is who I use for all of my prints).

I’m quite the busy guy, with a family to support (I’m writing this post as I tend to my daughter who’s home sick from school today) and another business to run. Although I knew that this weekend’s KK7 Arts Festival was this coming up quickly, I failed to note that the artwork drop off date was today (April 5th)! I had ordered my prints over the weekend and when I got a reminder email from the organizers of the festival about the drop off date yesterday, I had a mini panic attack because I wouldn’t have my work ready in time. I quickly sent an email to Zenfolio’s support people and explained my screw-up and asked if I could bump up the shipping to overnight. Not only did they get back to me quickly, they rushed the processing of the prints and upgraded my shipping at no extra cost! I was prepared to pay whatever it takes and they just took care of me at their expense – In my opinion that is simply amazing customer service that goes above and beyond. I’m so proud to have them as my printing partner for JWNPhoto.

The work I’m showing at Kulture Klash was really not what I had originally planned on showing this time around. I had planned on keeping a musical theme with my photos and to have a relationship between them all. When the organizers announced that the theme of the festival for KK7 was going to be water, I threw out my original idea and started thinking about water themed photos. I have a lot of shoreline photos but I didn’t want to come off as kitschy, especially in this festival’s environment which tends to cater to a more underground art scene. Don’t get me wrong, I love a classic sunset photo and I truly love trying to differentiate myself from the crowd while still creating a photo of the same sand, water, and sky. I thought of some of the common traits in my favorite shoreline photos that I’ve created recently – bold color, portrait orientation, & negative space. I remembered that unlike a photo competition – there are no rules to an art show. I could present a triptych of three different images that share a common theme and make an even stronger presentation.

The images at the top of the post are three 20″x30″ prints arranged intentionally in order and placement by the time of day and horizon. The first image was made from the Pitt Street Bridge of the Charleston Peninsula at sunset. I love the crimson color of the sky and the two cranes that look almost like they’re worshiping the falling sun. I remember a seemingly intoxicated lady who walked by while I was making this shot and she commented that the sunset was not very nice. I guess that’s why they say opinions are like asses… everybody has one. The second photo was made at Shem Creek from the bridge. I zoomed in tightly to capture a very golden sky – I love the contrast of the blue shrimping boat and the reflections of the boardwalk lights in the water. This shot also has a diagonal line formed by the dock and boardwalk that is something I tend to look for in a lot of my landscape photos. Finally, the third photo is of the recent Supermoon. I wanted a simple and bold graphical image of the water and the color and shape of the unusually bright moon. It’s very interesting to note that local photographer Robert Donovan (and a host of other local photogs) were all in the same area taking pictures of the same moon, but with very different results. Robert’s image is very similar in composition, but his focus on the detail of the moon made for a completely different image! He’s exposure is very different, so the colors are radically different as well. It just goes to prove that there is a lot of artistic interpretation going on when you get behind the camera and develop the finished product.

Another piece that I’m showing is this diptych that I made for a Gizmodo.com photo challenge. I wanted to show a picture featuring a person, because I don’t want to be typecast as a landscape photographer. I love the feeling of this photo – The saturation and contrast are very expressive and the Elmo T-Shirt is begging for your eye’s attention, much like the subject’s (my daughter) body language is longing for the attention of the waitress.

I hope to see a lot of friends at the festival this weekend – don’t forget to get your tickets early and save a few bucks!

Cooper River Bridge Kids Run

There was no river and no bridge, but there sure were a lot of running kids! A day before the infamous Charleston Cooper River Bridge Run, the kids get their shot at racing glory over at Hampton Park in Charleston, SC.

The day wasn’t only about the big races – there were games, pony rides, snacks, and weird people dressed up as fruit!

But of course, the real attraction was hundreds of running children…

Every kid got a medal, and as far as I know, every kid finished their respective race. They did a great job, and you can see the looks of determination in their faces (even if they were painted).

Check out the full set of 38 photos on my Flickr stream.

Postcard Portfolio

Front of Postcards

Just in time for Kulture Klash 7, I put together what I’m calling a “Postcard Portfolio”. Inspired by my wife’s need for “Just Sold” postcards that she’s had me designing for her real estate business. I was so impressed with the print quality of the postcards for the price I was paying that I decided to make some for myself.

Back of Postcards

The most difficult thing was to pick a handful of photos that represent what I’m currently doing with my photography. From the mysterious trolly cars in an open field, a simple, yet alternative perspective of a sunflower, to an abstract photo of my guitar, the photos featured on the front sides of the cards are ones that I chose to represent the fine art side of my photography.

On the flip side of the cards I wanted to show people in order to showcase my love for candid, portraiture, and event photography. The award winning shot of kids playing in a fountain in North Charleston, a live performance photo of Less Than Jake, and a recent portrait of these newlyweds.

I decided to keep the printed text on these to a bare minimum – Just my logo and the address of this website. I want the photos to speak for themselves and not to be overly commercialized. Look for these at Kulture Klash as well as any other events I attend – just ask and hopefully I’ll have some on me!