Beyond the equipment changes, I have been traveling a bit, starting with a trip to Cambria, California, to attend the annual Cambria Art and Wine Festival. It's a beautiful little community and the wine is very nice. If you visit, make sure you stop by the Lions Peak Wine Company in Cambria and try the Verignon wine with the stilton cheese and mango.
Last March, I had the privilege of visiting Jay Maisel in his Bowery building that serves as a gallery, workshop, storage facility and home. He was gracious as always and took my wife, Kathy, and I, as well as our good friends, Les and Emy Phillips, on a guided tour of this five-story converted bank building. I reciprocated by taking him and his delightful wife to dinner at one of his favorite restaurants. We also managed to take in "Wicked" on Broadway. New York City has to be one of my favorite places. It is vibrant, exciting, and full of surprises.
Next stop was Idaho for my brother's wedding. At his request, I acted as the official wedding photographer. This was my fifth wedding as a photographer and something that I now do only for close friends. Most brides and grooms seem to want the same set of stock group shots and for a photographer used to shooting what he finds interesting, it can be a stifling experience.
During May, I participated in a three-person exhibit of photographs entitled "Sense of Place" at the Viewpoint Photographic Art Center in Sacramento, California. My contribution was of images captured during my trip to the Brazilian Amazon during April 2007. The other two photographers provided images of Venice and of Antarctica.
By the way, I am still waiting for the video promised by Michael Reichmann as part of the workshop. Each year around March, I send another e-mail to him, asking when we will receive the video, and each year, including this year, he says it will be soon. According to his most recent communication, it just hasn't risen to the top of his list of priorities, and he is surprised that it is an issue to me. He's probably right. It has only been three years since the workshop occurred. Of course, attending another of his workshops has not risen to the top of my priorities either, and likely never will, especially with so many other excellent providers out there from whom to choose.
July took me to Bandon Dunes in Oregon for golf and very little photography. Another beautiful area that I need to revisit when I can focus on photography, rather than a small white ball that has a mind of its own.
September brought a trip to Avila Beach with the family for our annual Labor Day weekend. I was able to both enjoy the scenery and capture it on this visit.
In October, I returned to Washington, D.C., where I attended law school over thirty years earlier, and also where I lived for six years in nearby Gaithersburg, Maryland. As much had stayed the same as had changed. It felt comfortable after only a couple of days, walking the streets and riding Metro.
I used 2009 as a year to work on my photography skills and become proficient in Lightroom. Toward that end, I presented numerous workshops on the various modules within Lightroom, as well as a workshop on digital fine art printing. These workshops are being presented by me again this year during April, May and June at the Viewpoint Photographic Art Center, and my goal is to become an Adobe Certified Expert in Lightroom this year.
I just finished framing thirteen prints for a joint exhibit with a very fine photographer, Chris Schiller, wherein we are pairing images based upon their graphic similarities, mine in color and his in black and white. This exhibit opens on April 17 at the Blue Line Gallery in Roseville, California, and continues for two months. It is entitled "Brilliant Earth" and is in conjunction with Earth Day celebrations. Two sculptors and a videographer are also part of the exhibit. I will also be exhibiting in the 2010 Kellicut International Juried Photo Show at the Coastal Arts League's gallery in Half Moon Bay this June. Unlike 2009, I have been accepted into five juried shows so far in 2010 and have high hopes that this will be the year that I am accepted into the Art of Photography Show at the Lyceum in San Diego, California.
I recently returned from my third Barefoot Contessa Photo Adventures workshop, this one in Belize. In December, I will attend my fourth workshop with the Barefoot Contessa, Margo Pinkerton and her husband, Arnie Zann, in Yosemite National Park. They continue to maintain their high standards and commitment to participants. This month, I am also returning to take an intermediate fine art printing workshop from Stephen Johnson at his Pacifica studio, by far the finest printmaker I have ever met, as well as an amazing photographer and teacher of Photoshop techniques. He also happens to be an extremely warm and giving person. I have been very lucky to meet people like Steve, Margo, Arnie and Jay, as a result of my passion for photography.
Now that we are caught up, future blogs will concentrate on technical issues, current debates in the photography field, workshops, and recent photography trips. I hope you will come back each month and see what's new.
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