Me: What do you want to do?

Her: I want to throw paint everywhere.

This is how fun ideas are born : P

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You can see the chaos and creativity unfold here.

I generally tell people that my main work is black and white portraiture. But sometimes there’s some element of color that makes it better to leave it colorized. Kayla’s hair was brilliant, especially against the black, and it seemed a good idea to leave these in color.

And for those who like black and white…

I didn’t have the gear to get a good picture of the Convergence, but the moon was ripe for the taking, so I took.

You’ve been mooned : P

Well maybe not the top but…let me explain…

Despite my successes this year there are STILL a gallery or two that I’d submitted to multiple times where my work wasn’t accepted (I KNOW, right?? : P  )  But today I received notice that one more bastion has been cracked.

The Black Box Gallery in Portland, OR accepted my black and white Mt Fuji landscape.

Landscapes are not my usual fare other than when I travel, but there are a few nice little gems from my various journeys and this was quite a sight on our last full day of that most excellent trip to the Far East (even though we traveled west…)

The exhibition will be virtual but I printed up a copy on 17 x 22 paper and it looks great.

…just in case anyone wants one : P

A handful of shots approved by my collaborator from a recent session.

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Actually we’d never met in person, but I had Rocky Horror Picture Show on the brain. Janet was fun to work with and I think we made some nice photos.

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Need to get my blog on more often, but November was my most shooting-est month ever.
So…time to start sharing : )

A few pieces from an informal session with Caitlyn last month.

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I’d entered this contest months ago and largely forgotten about it, but I received (one of many) “nominee” statuses from the contest. I will say they’re quite fancy with their media; neat little badge above and a fancy “fill in the blank” press release below. But I suppose being 1 of 919 photos selected out of 6378 entries isn’t all bad.

Pre-written Fill-in-the-blank press release from the site:

15TH ANNUAL BLACK AND WHITE SPIDER AWARDS HONORS PHOTOGRAPHER Michael Potts FROM the USA.

LOS ANGELES (Date) – Amateur photographer Michael Potts of the USA was presented with the 15th Annual Black and White Spider Awards Nominee title in the category of Fine Art at a prestigious Nomination & Winners PhotoShow streamed Sunday, November 1, 2020.

The live online gala was attended by industry leaders and the photography community from around the globe who logged on to watch the climax of the world’s premier event for black and white photography. 15th Annual Jury members included captains of the industry from Musee de l’Elysee, Lausanne; Sotheby’s, London; Travel/Discovery Channel, New York; Kunsthaus Zurich, Switzerland; Portuguese Center of Photography, Porto; Aeroplastics Contemporary, Brussels; The Guardian, London; Contrasto Galleria, Milan; ADK Creative One Inc., Tokyo; Hiroshima MOCA, Japan; MACBA, Barcelona; and Pereira O’Dell in New York who honored Spider Fellows with 610 coveted title awards and 919 nominees in 32 categories.

“Simply Stunning.” Justine Gruser, Specialist at Sotheby’s commented. Bernardino Castro, Director at Portuguese Center of Photography (CPF), Porto said “The amazing quality of the images in the competition made it very difficult to select the winners. I would like to reinforce the relevance and impact of Black & White Spider Awards as a mobilizing agent in promoting the production and dissemination of excellent photography at an international level.” Christopher Doyle, Creative Director at Travel Channel/Discovery, New York added, “Always look forward to the way in which these photographers see the world in a unique and curious way.”

“It’s an incredible achievement to be selected among the best from the 6,378 entries from 69 countries we received this year” said Basil O’Brien, the awards Creative Director. “(Name)’s “(Title of Photograph),” an exceptional image entered in the (Category) category, represents black and white photography at its finest, and we’re pleased to present (her/him) with the title of Nominee.”

BLACK AND WHITE SPIDER AWARDS is the leading international award honoring excellence in black and white photography. This celebrated event shines a spotlight on the best professional and amateur photographers worldwide and honors the finest images with the highest achievements in black and white photography. http://www.thespiderawards.com

 

This is the followup to a post from last week where I shared some photos from an evening last month when Heidi and I went out to trade portraits. I’d shared the ones she shot that I edited of myself, and now I have the ones I shot and edited of her.  

: )

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It’s been a while since I added to the book list, but I found a beast worthy of attention. This three-volume slipcover set contains a massive collection of MEM’s work from her decades-long career. She traveled, she met and befriended people, and she told their stories in photos. It’s not a cheap collection (what good photo book is) but it’s a real treasure of great photos from a Great American Photographer.