Antigua Cathedral - Another One from the Files

When I haven't been doing much photography, I sometimes go back through my archives to see if there's a photo I missed, one that I never processed to bring it to its full potential.  Here's one that I shot back in 2005.  It sat on a hard drive until today.

Antigua Cathedral, across from the Central Plaza.  Antigua, Guatemala.

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

The Fair is Good for Fine Art Photos

State and local fairs are going on around the country this time of year.  The local DuQuoin State Fair starts this weekend.

Fairs are a great place for a photographer.  If you like the fast and furious nature of the rides and roller coasters or the depth of people photography, there's bound to be something there at which you can point a lens.

Here are a couple of photos from my last trip to the fair.  They stayed on my hard drive unprocessed until I was looking through my files recently.

The little guy who takes your quarters is always an excellent subject for a portrait.

People and their fascination with the weird and wacky are great subjects.

If you get to the Fair, bring your camera and see if you can find a shot worthy of fine art.  I bet you can.

You can see my website at:  www.tombellart.com

Shooting Close to Home

I live in rural southern Illinois, only two hours away from St. Louis, Missouri.

Usually, I take the city for granted.  I pass through going to the airport several times each year, or attend an event.  I seldom think of it as a photographic opportunity -- not because it has nothing to offer, but rather because I've seen it thousands of times.  However, with my children's teenage cousin visiting from Spain, we viewed the city through the eyes of tourists a couple of weeks ago. We went to the top of the Arch and toured the museum.  We walked along Laclede's Landing and took in the sights.  We searched for a good restaurant and did lots of tourist things.  But this time I brought my camera and took a few moments to look for something more than a snapshot.

Here's a shot of the Jefferson National Expansion Monument (better known as the Gateway Arch) from one of the cobblestone streets at Laclede's Landing.

The Arch from Lacledes Landing

 It just goes to show that we shouldn't take what we already know for granted.  There's good photography everywhere, even in your own backyard.

Magic

I'm a member of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP).  I was surprised to receive an email yesterday morning from the NAPP saying that my photo Magic was chosen as the Image of the Week.  It depicts a Mayan Indian woman performing an arcane ritual in Chichicastenango, Guatemala.  She is surrounded by misty, white smoke from others also performing magic rituals on the steps of the cathedral only a few feet away.  Chichicastenango is indeed a very mysterious place and avery special place for photographers.

I was also contacted by the editor of Photoshop User magazine about the possible inclusion of the photograph in an upcoming issue.

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

Bottle in a Window

This weekend, my family and I drove to Kentucky to visit my Mom.

The spring is early this year, and as usual, I brought my camera.

Soon after crossing over from Illinois, we stopped at the Whitehaven rest stop in Paducah.  Whitehaven is a majestic old mansion, originally built in the 1860s and converted into the mansion it is now in the first decade of the 20th century.  At some point, it fell into disrepair and then into ruins.  However, in the 1980's there was a concerted effort to restore the building, and it is now a beautiful structure maintained by the state as a rest stop and tourist attraction.

While the building looks like something out of Gone with the Wind, we were running late and I didn't have much time.  Instead of running  around the building doing architectural photography, I found a frosted window right outside the men's restroom with a bottle of spring flowers.  I made that my subject.

I was blocking the entrance to the restroom and had to move out of the way several times to allow people through.  But after a few dozen shots, I was satisfied that I had the shot I wanted.

The lesson in the story:  look for the shots wherever they are.  Just because you have a big, beautiful, historic building to shoot doesn't mean you have to do it.  Maybe the shot is sitting in a window, waiting to be discovered!

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

From my Website to Bauhaus and Back!

Last week, I totally redesigned my website.  The idea was to provide an attractive, user-friendly gallery.  The site skipped the homepage altogether and went directly to the gallery.

My original homepage design is back!

After multiple questions about what happened to my old homepage, it's back!  The gallery is still new and far more user-friendly than the previous one, but the classic look of the original homepage is back.  I agree with the complainers:  the old homepage still works best as a gateway to the new gallery.

Let me know what you think.

http://www.tombellart.com/

From My Website to Bauhaus

I'll keep this post short.

I've totally redesigned my website. 

Please check it out and let me know what you think.

My website is at: http://www.tombellart.com