Saturday, September 29, 2012

Another Exhibition

My photo Lady of Antigua will be one of 38 featured photographs by 36 different artist to be exhibited at the Mitchell Museum in Mt. Vernon, Illinois at part of the 2012 Shrode Photography Competition.  The judge of the competition is well-known photographer, writer, and educator William Sawalich.

Lady of Antigua.  Click for a larger image Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
If you're in the area, here's the information for the show:

The top award winners will be announced at the Opening Reception, Saturday, October 27, 2012, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Everyone is invited to attend! Cedarhurst members are admitted for free, non-members $5 admission. Exhibiting photographers will receive free admission plus one additional ticket for their spouse or friend. Tickets will arrive in the mail in the following weeks. The evening will begin with a live glass blowing demonstration outside the Mitchell Museum by students and faculty from SIU-C! This special event is in conjunction with the opening of The Joy Thorton-Walter and John Walter Collection of Contemporary Glass Art in the Main Gallery at Cedarhurst. The photography awards will be announced in the Mitchell Museum at 7:00 p.m. We will gather at the Shrode Art Center shortly thereafter to present the checks and certificates. Complimentary hor’devours are provided; alcoholic beverages are available for purchase.

You might also be interested in Mr. Sawalich's judge's statement:


JUDGE’S STATEMENT
FOR SHRODE ART CENTER PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION
BY WILLIAM SAWALICH

Great photographs frequently make the common appear uncommon, and that is certainly the case with my selections for this exhibition. I’m especially drawn to simplicity, graphic strength, and a clear, concise visual statement. But I’m also particularly drawn to photographs that are uniquely about the medium itself; motion blurs, time lapses, patterns of light and shadow… compositions that are inherently “photographic” in nature are sure to impress me.

This also means that I give preference to images that are primarily made “in camera” rather than via a peculiar post-processing effect. That said, clicking the shutter is only part of the challenge, and good post-production refinements—processing, retouching, contrast, color correction—are integral to a photograph’s success. When these simple technical elements come together with a strong composition, at the perfect moment and with just the right light, it’s the perfect storm that creates a tremendous photograph. Add to that a bit of artistic vision and the results become truly special.  

Because of the democratization of photography (easy access to improved tools has spawned tremendous growth in the medium) it’s no longer enough to simply create a technically correct photograph. To stand out in the sea of images we encounter every day, aesthetics, composition and vision matter more than ever. And with so many great photographs in the world—and in the entries to this competition—technical perfection becomes a relative baseline.

In the end, I found the photographs that elicited my strongest response drew some connection—intentional or not—to the masters of the medium. Whether it’s the cinematic drama of Gregory Crewdson, the documentary portraiture of Steve McCurry, or the simple beauty of an Aaron Siskind abstraction, the standout photographs in this exhibition are directly connected to the larger history of photography. These photographers are clearly working deliberately, and their photographs are exciting, inspiring and simply very well done. 

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 You can view my website at:  http://www.tombellart.com

Sunday, September 16, 2012

A Video of Fine Art Photography from Guatemala

I did a presentation last year for which I created a video of my fine art photography of Guatemalan people and places.  Click on the little triangle in the video screen to watch.  If you enjoy it, please let your friends know.




Art Prints


You can view my website at:  http://www.tombellart.com

Also you can use this code for a 25% discount on artwork from my website:  VCMYEX
The discount is for photographs and artwork only, and does not apply to framing, mats, etc.
The code is good until October 1.