One of the usual suspects is currently on fstoppers.com

https://fstoppers.com/contests/best-images-gurushots-world-water-challenge-501565

(It’s the one of the woman by the river on the right side).

 

Opposite ends anyway. Two more digital appearances in far away (from me) lands.

Lexi will appear in Vietnam and the model in Burano will appear in Austria.

Off to Spain again, at least digitally. I hope they like Japanese…

Big day for this picture…

It also appears on Shutterbug thanks to Gurushots.

https://www.shutterbug.com/content/these-are-beautiful-winning-images-humans-nature-photo-challenge

One of my photos is currently on display in a digital collection on ThePhotoBlographer.com (link below) from participating in a Gurushots competition.

See it and all the other amazing shots here:

The Inspiring Winners of the “Only the Best” Challenge by GuruShots

Clearly I’ve been submitting to too many contests; I keep losing track.

Members’ Exhibition 2020

At some point a few months ago I submitted some images to the AZ Photo Alliance for an online exhibition. I didn’t place in the viewer-liking system, but two of my images are still on display at the above site.

Go have a look and see what the other artists have done : )

This book was recommended to me by Jock, so naturally I jumped right on it and I’m glad I did. The cover image is the most striking for me, but there are many more images within that appeal to me due to their high-contrast, their fragment of life look (a “street photo” appearance) but they tell a story.

There was one image in particular of a man who appears to be weeping at the bottom of a long flight of stairs. I don’t know what his story is, but one aspect of art is we all see what we want to see, or there’s a connection our mind makes based on experiences. I won’t go into the details, but the image spoke me and re-enforced this truth that art means something to each person. My image “Into Dreamtime” has been my most successful image, but someone recently told me it didn’t stand out for him.

But I beheld this book and and glad I did.

I was checking up on various submissions I made in the last couple of months, and there’s a page called “Shoot the Frame” where each month they have a contest for pictures for land, wild, and faces. I submitted a photo of Mt. Fuji and received a “finalist” listing for it.

It’s always pleasing to have one’s work selected, but I’m doubly pleased because I don’t shoot big colorful composites; I shoot what I see and don’t dress it up. My landscapes are “as shot,” and while I will enhance by making it black and white or if it’s in color I’ll bring the colors out, but it’s ONE photo, not many layered photos. Consequently my landscapes can’t usually compete with those who dedicate themselves to collecting different pieces to create their (undeniably beautiful) version of the world.

You can see some of those beautiful landscapes here.

https://shoottheframe.com

along with the categories for “The Wild” and “The Face.”

“Trust me” has become a phrase with negative implications, often two words used to coerce or convince someone into doing something they may not be inclined to do. Yet those are unspoken words in many human interactions. There are unspoken trusts with people we barely know, like the person who cuts your hair. You are trusting a stranger (in many cases) not to screw up your appearance, something that’s very deeply tied to our sense of self and self worth.

In good photography there is a similar trust. I have photographed people who hadn’t met me before our session, or who knew me but hadn’t seen my work, or who had seen my work but thought that there was no way they would look as good.

“I like your work; I don’t like how I look,” to paraphrase a friend of mine.

People ask me if I’m going to go pro. My answer is always a firm “No.” I have a job. This is a talent I have, a creative outlet, a way to satisfy the insatiable need to MAKE something. It has been far more gratifying than writing novels, but to do the kind of work I mainly do I need partners. I need co-creators.

I need people to trust me.

I need them to trust that I won’t laugh at them for looking goofy for a moment if they try a pose that doesn’t work. I need them to trust me not to make them feel less than they are. I need them to trust that I won’t put out images that they don’t find flattering or empowering. And I need them to trust me with their vulnerabilities, be it their physical nudity or their (clothed) emotional nakedness.

The photo below was made during a maternity setting where my creative partner agreed to bare all. Before we finished I asked if we could make this photo for a contest with the theme “Trust.” The contest had called for at least 5 pieces and I had only the one, so I’m sharing it here.

I am grateful to everyone who has trusted me with their time and themselves. I have been blessed to have made many beautiful pictures in the last 5 years, but having had (and I hope earned) the trust of the people I’ve worked with is far more beautiful than any photo they’ve helped me make.

I was going through my photos from Italy (2018) for my family album, and I came across this little gem. It’s a very blue field broken up by the bright red ship. I just liked it so here it is : P