photo52

How many people out there dream of just doing their own thing? Being your own boss. Make the photographs you want to make. Wouldn’t that be nice? Well, in an effort to make that happen I’ve decided to give this a try. I will be selling my archival photographic prints at the Portland Art Festival on August 28 from 9-4 along with about 300 local and regional artists. I’ve enjoyed printing my work and I’m excited to show it. The goal here is to have some fun, see if this could be another outlet for my work and of course, another source of income. Here’s a preview of the prints that will be on display. All of the photographs will be from my personal project on Water.

Images from Maine, Virginia and Mexico.

If you’re in the area on the 28th, stop by and see me!

My childhood cat, Fred.

After attending the dpBestFlow ASMP seminar with Peter Krogh and Richard Anderson last week, I decided to take another look through my archive. One of the many challenges for photographers in the digital age is organizing and maintaining their archive. This really goes for everyone with a camera. I would encourage anyone who cherishes their photographs to check out the website for dpBestFlow. ASMP (American Society of Media Photographers) and the Library of Congress have put together a book and a website that delves deep into archivng images. It’s an amazing amount of information to go through, but you’ll be glad you did when your hard drive crashes and all is “lost.”

Take this image of my cat. Say 10-15 years from now when I’m reminiscing about my past pets, I find out all the images I had of them are corrupt, or I simply can’t remember which hard drive/computer/iPhone/folder I had them on? That’s where good practices in archiving come into play. Using keywords embedded in the images make finding images a breeze. For this image, I just had to search the following keywords in my image catalog: Cat; Fred. And there he was. Cool, huh? (Mom and Dad, are you listening???)

Need more info? Check my links section for more resources on this subject…

Heading out on the ice...

I was in Maine this past weekend for the Emerging Exhibition opening, which went really well! After all of the indoor socializing, I was feeling the need for some winter fun. Luckily, the wind and ice conditions were pretty good for some ice-boating craziness with my dad. Basically you sit in a little canvas seat 6 inches off the cold ice, “steer” with your feet, catch the wind by pulling a rope over your shoulder that attaches to the sail, and basically, hope for the best.  It was some serious fun, you know, that kind of fun you have when you’re close to injuring yourself in a very serious way.

Checking the wind direction..

In really good conditions (smooth ice & high winds) you can get the boat going 40-50mph. Next Olympic sport? I think so.

Speeding pass the summer camps...

Dad. In his element..

Looking for a good spot to go again...

Don't worry, the ice was definitely thick enough...

Headed home with froze fingers and toes...

And yes, I gave it a try. It was definitely a situation where the boat was in control, not me. I screamed like a little girl…but loved every minute of it.

The following photos by Eric Lahti.

That's me, literally flying over the ice toward an ice fishing shack. I thought I might die. Seriously.

Me again, after I managed to get the boat stuck in some shell ice. Nice helmet, huh?

Rock formations at Schoodic Point, Maine.

In preparation for my trip north this weekend, I went back into my Maine archives and pulled these rock formation photos from March 2008. These were all taken at Schoodic Point in Acadia National Park; one of my absolute favorite places on earth. I spent so much time here as a child, climbing on the rocks and looking into tidal pools that finding these close ups bring back so many great memories. If you ever visit Acadia National Park, be sure to take a day and drive over to the less-visited Schoodic Peninsula for a picnic and play.  If you don’t want to picnic, there’s always a multitude of lobster shacks in the area!

Salt residue on the rocks in Acadia National Park.

A close up of the rocks at Schoodic Point, Maine.

Salt residue on the rocks.

If you’re in Maine this weekend, I hope you can make it to the Emerging Exhibition opening! See you there!

Press Release:

“EMERGING”

Exciting new works by seven Maine women will be presented at the CENTRAL MAINE ARTIST GALLERY in Skowhegan located on 72 W. Front Street.  The opening reception will be held in February on Friday the 5^th from 4-7PM and Saturday the 6^th from 2-6PM.

The theme “Emerging” will be interpreted and explored by each individual artist and expressed through her chosen medium for this show.  The participating artists are, Kathleen Perelka, pastels;  Mary Burr, mixed media;  Hannele Lathi, photography;  Pam Ellis, watercolor;  Neiley Harris, oil painting;  Penny Hall, sculptures; and Jan Royall, glassworks. The show will run from February 5^th to March 27^th.  The winter gallery hours are Wednesday thru Friday 9-5 and Saturday 9-2.

To continue on the “favorites” theme, here are some of my people photographs from 2009.

Samba dancers at Artomatic in DC

Bonfire in Takoma Park, MD

Demolition derby driver: Michael Howe

Horse caravan in the Grand Canyon, AZ

Ice cream social

Summertime in Maine

Demolition Derby driver: Christopher Knight

A waiter on a New Orleans street

A rainy night and the demolition derby, Maine

Walking the dog

Girls fishing on the boardwalk

Donald Robertson showing off his home-made shotgun

Well, I can not believe 2009 is over. The year went by so fast it’s hard to remember everything that happened. So, in an effort to remind myself what I did this year, I decided to go through everything and pick out some of my favorite photos.  I’ll post several for the next few days so be sure to check back and let me know which one is your favorite!

Here we go:

President Obama's Inauguration

On the canal in Georgetown

The Red Rocks of Sedona, AZ

Prescott National Forest Park, Arizona

A rusty, antique car in Jerome, AZ

Meditation maze in Georgetown

Gold King Mine owner, Donald Robertson

Dog fight in a Cleator, AZ bar

Street light in Arlington, VA

The outlet to Lake Wesserunsett, Maine.

Everyone needs a little inspiration now and then. I find mine when I travel back to my roots, my Maine. This is where I found photography and my passion for it.  Where do you find your inspiration?

The photographs posted here, taken during my Thanksgiving break, represent little pieces of me and my past.

My Grandfather's house reflected in the water.

The town cemetery and beaver damage.

The wood pile drying out for next winter.

An abandoned jack o' lantern.

The camp road that I used to ride my horse and bike on.