2022 Mid-Year Update
Hello everyone! Most of us are baking in the summer heat by now. This is the time of the year where my photography gets put on hold as my family’s summer activities pick up. I see it as a welcomed break from the crowds that tend to gravitate to the trails and lakes in the Colorado mountains. I much prefer photographing those places in the autumn and winter where the crowds are less. So aside from being busy with dad life, what I have been up to from a photography standpoint at this mid-point in the year 2022? Well, I have kept myself busy writing, reading, and much more. Although I have taken a break from making images, photography is still a daily part of my life.
Articles
I had the privilege to write an article for Nature Photographers Network (NPN) on how Intentional Camera Movement (ICM) affects my creativity. The article was recently published (June 2022), and it appears the NPN community really enjoyed it.
Also, Matt Payne, host of the popular Fstop Collaborate and Listen podcast, wrote an article on me for On Landscape for his “Portrait of a Photographer” series. You can find the article in issue #253. Note that a subscription is required to read the full article.
I want to thank David Kingham and Cody Shultz for their support in publishing my ICM article on NPN. I also want to thank Charlotte Parkin and Matt Payne for publishing the artist bio in On Landscape digital magazine. I have some additional articles that I plan to write so stay tuned for more.
Books and Magazines
As a way to support photographers whose work I greatly admire, I started to purchase photo books this year. I do not have tons of room to purchase prints from photographers so I figured photo books would be a great option and boy I have not been disappointed with my decision. There is something inspiring about holding a photo book in your hands and exploring beautifully printed images and reading essays in this format. It is a wonderful way to relax as well. Releasing a high quality photo book is a great achievement and I am proud to have these books in my growing collection. Some of these are even signed by the photographer. I will try to publish a separate article on my impressions of these fine books at a later date.
“Conversations with Nature” – Eric Bennett
“Intimations of Paradise” – Christopher Burkett
“Light on The Landscape” – William Neill
“Between the Wind” – Ben Horne
“Gathering Time” – Simon Baxter
“Heal” – Andrew Baruffi
“Shoreline” – David Southern
“Quiet Light” – Adam Gibbs
“Get Intimate” – Charlotte Gibb
“More Than A Rock” – Guy Tal
“Another Day Not Wasted” – Guy Tal
In addition to collecting the above books, I also subscribed to several photography digital magazines as a way to grow and be inspired. These include Elements Photography Magazine and On Landscape. I highly recommend subscribing to these digital publications. Both publications are highly curated and feature articles and images from some of the best nature and landscape photographers. I also plan to subscribe to the print version of LensWork which looks to be an incredible photography related printed magazine.
Photo contests
In 2021 I entered some images to the Natural Landscape Photography Award (NLPA) photo competition in its first year. I did not do well and deservedly so since up to that point, the majority of my images were just of pretty things or cool moments. They did not really reveal much about me. In other words, they were not expressive at all. I have learned so much since last year and believe that the quality of my images has improved. More importantly my newer work is introspective with more meaning and better communicates my artistic voice. With the help of two photography friends with choosing final selections, I submitted 18 new images to the 2022 NLPA competition. We shall see how the judges respond to them although I have no high expectations. I am happy to support a great competition like NLPA whose values on realistic images, natural editing, and creative vision reflect my own beliefs.
Two additional photo competitions that I decided to enter were the Close-up Photographer Of The Year (CUPOTY) and LensCulture Critics’ Choice 2022 contests. I will admit that I had never heard of these photo contests before but saw that Rachael Talibart was a judge for the CUPOTY contest so I decided to submit some images into the Intimate Landscape category. I admire Rachael’s expressive photography a great deal so having her as a judge was enough to convince me to enter my work to the competition.
For the LensCulture contest, I submitted five experimental images. Again, no expectations. My motivations were to see how my experimental work would be received by a panel of international judges.
Another publication that I plan to submit my work to this summer is LensWork Magazine. They recently announced their new book project with the theme of Trilogies. Up to 125 photographers will be featured, each with a three-image spread on two pages. If you are not familiar with LensWork, in my view, it is one of the most highly respected publications in production today. Here is an excerpt from their mission statement from their website:
LensWork is an exploration of the path of creative photography. Through an exchange of ideas, insight, personal experience, and opinions, it is hoped LensWork will inspire photographic artists to create work which truly bears their signature.
The focus of LensWork is ideas/images rather than gear/techniques; imagination rather than imitation; and an understanding of photography beyond craft. Images are published as portfolios of art or to illustrate the creative concepts expressed in the articles.
Website
Another project that I am constantly working on is my website which serves as my online gallery. I am in the process of reworking my portfolio and image collections. Currently, my portfolio is organized into states and regions but soon I will publish my best work grouped by year. The current Collections galleries will be completely reworked and be more thematic in nature. I have not finalized the new collections galleries yet so please stay tuned.
The other focus of my website will be on selling prints. I am working on a new integrated print store that I am excited to share when it is done. Ideally, I want to start printing my own work at home to have full control over the process but for now, I will continue working with my local Denver print lab for any orders that come in. You can learn more about my print offerings here.
My profile page was also updated. It now includes a listing of publications and photography associations. I am pleased to announce that I am an affiliate with NPN. Please click on the logo on my profile page to learn more about NPN. I hope you consider joining! I am active on the site providing image critiques and helping other photographers refine their photography.
Finally SEO optimization is always a project in itself that requires careful planning and implementation. My goal with SEO is to help connect potential print buyers with my print offerings. I have a long way to go to achieve better ranking in Google but I am learning a great deal in the process.
Thank you taking the time to catch up with my current mid year activities. It has been a busy first half already! Soon the colder temps will arrive. As my son returns to school, I will have more opportunities to hit the trails and make more images. Let me know if you have any questions or comments below. Thanks!