MEG Favorites, Part II

Last week, we shared several MEG members' favorite images from among the thousands they captured in 2011. In our second post in this series, this week we see favorites from MEG members Colleen Henderson, Michael Borek and Janet Matthews and learn why they chose them.

Colleen Henderson

                                                     (c) Colleen Henderson

There are several reasons this image rose above the others. First, for the second year in a row, for about half the year (beginning in early spring and running thru late summer), I committed to creating a visual "Daily Journal," (my shortened version of a 365 project).  This involves creating images daily and then selecting only one image each day to post to the web.  Both years I have found the process demanding and challenging, but also very rewarding. Not only does it provide a visual window into my daily life, it greatly increases my awareness of the world around me, sparks my creativity, encourages me to make images of scenes I might ignore, and often leaves me with unexpected gifts from the "photo gods." Cathedral Gate is one such gift. 

Second, Cathedral Gate surprised me a bit when I returned home from shooting and began post-processing.  What I'd thought was a detail shot of a wooden gate and its locking mechanism, turned into a semi-abstract image made up of squares, rectangles and circles with varying degrees of tone, color and texture.  I enjoy the arrangement of shapes and the interplay of tones.  The overall balance of the image leaves me with a calm and peaceful feeling.

Michael Borek

                                                          (c) Michael Borek

I took this picture in Montana last summer. The combination of a typical landscape with  common traffic signs created a reality that felt familiar, yet strange. It feels like there's a metaphorical context to the image:  You need to stop because you cannot continue in the same direction and get where you are headed if you continue on this road.

Janet Matthews 

                                                         (c) Janet Matthews

I'm not sure that I have a single favorite image from 2011. But I do have a project from the past year that I am excited about. Last spring, I was en route to pick up my morning latte and I saw a truck carrying ticket booths traveling in the opposite direction. The carnival was back in town. I had been shooting carnival images with a toy camera for several years and thought I was done, but that day I decided I still wanted to continue this work. I decided to take a completely different approach: to try to capture images of the carnival culture, the people who set it up and take it down, control the rides, work the booths and live with the show for the season. This approach was way out of my comfort zone of creating work in a studio, by myself at my own pace. This image is one of several favorites from that experience. It shares my interest in structure and composition as well as documenting one of the workers in his environment. I followed these folks to several locations and am looking forward to meeting up with them again in the coming year.

 

Five Tips For A Better Website

If you have your own website, you know how challenging it can be to make it pleasing to the eye, informative and accurately reflect you and your work. At MEG, we're incredibly lucky to have design guru Blake Stenning as part of our membership. Co-founder of Pittny Creative, a full-service design and branding firm, Blake brought his many talents to bear on MEG's recently revamped website. He shares some wisdom on web design below: 

 
1. Start with a cohesive identity. The look & feel of MEG's new website grew out of the visual identity we established in 2010 as part of MEG's new branding efforts. Multiple Exposures Gallery has been a fixture in the DC region for years, but until recently, its communications and marketing efforts had little cohesiveness. While some individual pieces were well designed, MEG itself had no real recognizable identity and we needed to establish a graphic language unique to MEG. In fact, one of the first things my firm did was to streamline the name. Since many people were already referring to Multiple Exposures Gallery by its acronym, it seemed natural to formalize the MEG abbreviation as part of a bold, yet elegant logo. The mark's simple, classic styling serves as the foundation for all of MEG's communications components, from business cards to the new website.

2. Articulate your goals.  From a practical standpoint, our goal for the MEG site was to make it simple and flexible enough to be updated on a regular basis -- without huge time investments or programming expertise – to ensure content remains current. For the viewer, we wanted the site to be simple and intuitive to navigate. And from a technical standpoint, our goal was to incorporate best practices for HTML markup and coding.

3. Help your content shine. The biggest challenge for the MEG website was presenting the work of 15 photographers and not favoring one format over another, such as portraits over landscapes or color over black-and-white. And because each MEG photographer has a unique vision, it was crucial that the website's design did not compete with their work. Ultimately, we decided on a JavaScript image viewer that allowed us to design a uniform thumbnail gallery for all members. When you click on an individual thumbnail image, the entire background goes dark and the photo is enlarged to allow for an unencumbered viewing environment.

4. Think through the navigation. The other important consideration was that access to any MEG member's thumbnail gallery has to be easy from anywhere within the website. We achieved this by featuring a right column sidebar listing that is a duplicate of the Artists' pulldown menu in the top navigation. The only time the sidebar is unavailable is from within an individual member's gallery, where the listing is replaced with the artist's bio.

5. Keep it simple. My advice to any photographer who wants to create their own photo website is to keep it simple and think through how you want a visitor to experience your work. It's much easier to make changes before you've invested hours in HTML coding. For those opting to use blogging templates, the principles are basically the same – plan ahead. Know what you want to say and then try and find a template that's flexible enough to accommodate your content, but keep in mind that it may sometimes be necessary to adapt your content to fit within the constraints of the template.

MEG Favorites - Part I

Every member of MEG takes thousands of photographs each year. While many are "keepers," a few images always take up residence in our hearts and minds as favorites. We're drawn to these images for any number of reasons: they might fit perfectly in a series we've developed, they might be the start of a new creative direction or they might capture a scene or a moment that's personal and meaningful, if only to us. In the first of a series of posts, MEG members Alan Sislen, Eric Johnson, and Grace Taylor share images from 2011 that they consider "favorites." 

Alan Sislen

"Built in the mid-1700's, the Old Sheldon Church, north of Beaufort, South
Carolina, was burned by the British during the Revolutionary War in 1779. This photograph is among my 2011 favorites because of the mood and sense of emptiness the old ruins conveyed to me and that I feel I captured.  I have many photographs of intimate details of the church, but this wide-angle shot, taken with an infrared converted camera, captured what I saw and felt, even better than my recollection that was in color.  This composition appealed to me because of the dark tree limbs and tree trunk on the right side of the frame, the dark shadow along the ground in the foreground, the mighty columns that still remain, and the infrared interpretation of the sky and leaves." 

Eric Johnson

"This is an image I keep coming back to.  It was shot as part of my "Off Season" project that I showed at MEG last summer.  The scene was an unseasonably warm Easter Sunday at Coney Island, NY.  It had been sunny most of the afternoon, but a late afternoon thunderstorm was on its way when I took this shot.  The approaching clouds softened the light on the water and the buildings in the background, and made the wet rocks on the jetties and the people strolling on the beach really stand out.  I also like the sense of depth that the parallel jetties receding toward the horizon give the image.  And finally, since it is snowing outside as I write this, the image is a nice reminder of spring!

Grace Taylor

Grace retired from MEG in 2011 and became a Member Emeritus. She says her favorite image from the year reflects her new perspective: "I call it SIMPLICITY. It is compelling to me because my new life motto is Keep It Simple." Words we all should strive to live by! 
 




 

Janet Matthews Talks Vignettes

MEG member Janet Matthews' new show, Vignettes, sparks your imagination and encourages you to tap your inner child. Intuitively arranging miniature objects into individual vignettes, Matthews has given us a stage to imagine our own moments and stories. Matthews provides some insights into the exhibit and the processes behind it:

1. How did this project begin? Did you know you wanted to create these vignettes or did you start with individual photographs that began to coalesce as a series? While working on a previous series, I had acquired and borrowed a number of vintage objects that included some toys. These toys did not seem to work well for that series, but had a special quality that made me want to photograph them. I played with some ideas and after a number of experiments, ultimately decided to create formal, staged portraits of the toys. It was at this point that the work coalesced into a series, but the concept continued to evolve as I worked (played) with the objects. I found that I was reminded of childhood imaginative play. I tried to tap into that sensibility - find my inner child you might say.

2. There is a strong narrative element associated with the images. Is there a specific story you wanted to tell with each image and/or the series or did you construct them to encourage viewers to develop their own interpretations? While staging these shots, I found that an occasional narrative sensibility crept into some set-ups. In creating the arrangements, I tried to work on an intuitive level. Rather than attempting to illustrate a specific story, I was more interested in how the toys played off each other. I tried to suggest possibilities instead of specific outcomes.  I like to view work that does not explain everything to the viewer but instead initiates a dialog with the viewer. So yes, I do want the viewers to develop their own interpretations within this framework that I have presented.

3. Some have described the images as humorous; others see an edge and a bit of creepiness. Where did you obtain the toys you incorporated and decide on the stages you used for the vignettes? Some of the toys are recent acquisitions, found at estate sales or borrowed. Others are items that I have collected over time. I’m fascinated by miniatures and went through a dollhouse phase. I never finished the dollhouse, in fact it’s still sitting in my basement, patiently waiting for me to return. I am drawn to objects that do not suggest a specific time or place. I particularly like items that have evidence of wear and tear, that have obviously been used by others. And I guess I like slightly creepy miniature figures – people as well as animals. I think the edgy quality in some of the images creates a sense of uncertainty, while the humor reassures.

As for the “stage sets”, I used what I had at hand. I have quite a few old wooden boxes and they served as most of the stages and structures. If I wanted a backdrop or curtain, I would try a scarf or other bit of fabric. The goal was to suggest an environment rather than create a realistic setting.

4. You chose to make these palladium prints. What about the palladium process did you think made it the right choice for this project? I am actually quite enamored with 19th century photography processes. Coming from a studio art background of drawing and painting, I attach some importance to the hand of the artist being within the image, whether or not it’s obvious to the viewer. Palladium is a process that involves hand-coating a light-sensitive emulsion onto the paper. Another aspect of a palladium print is the way the image sits within the paper rather than on top of the paper. This characteristic along with palladium’s long tonal scale creates an image with a quiet presence that I felt was appropriate for the work.

5. Would you share some thoughts on why you chose to present your images as small images in large frames rather than as large prints. What impact does a small image in a larger frame have on a viewer? I initially thought I would make large prints from these images of tiny objects, to play with the idea of scale. But I found that the larger size did not add to the image, in fact seemed to detract from it, seeming to remove any sense of mystery. As I develop a project, I often make proof prints for myself on 5x7 paper. The proof prints of these images, printed at 4x5” just felt right. They were much more intimate and quiet and almost object-like in and of themselves, than were the large scale prints. I chose to use large mats as a method of encouraging the viewer to move in close and spend a bit more time with each image.

6. Will we see more of this type of work from you? I do not see this series as complete. I am planning to continue making images that, hopefully, will pick up where I left off and continue to evolve. I am not done playing. 

Vignettes can be seen daily through February 12, 2012 at Multiple Exposures Gallery in Studio 312 at the Torpedo Factory Art Center. A reception will take place on Saturday, January 14th from 3-5 pm.

New Exhibit: Janet Matthews - Vignettes

ISO Two Fantastic Photographers

"Multiple Exposures is the best photography gallery in the DC area. I tell all of the photographers that attend my "Success as an Artist" seminar, "If you want to be in a gallery, this is the one you want to be in.” -- Catriona Fraser, owner and director of the Fraser Gallery.

Catriona Fraser is a well-respected representative of local, national and international artists and if you want to take her words to heart, now's your chance. Due to a move and a retirement, Multiple Exposures Gallery (MEG) is looking for two new photographers to join us. 

Applications and full information about our call for portfolios are available on the MEG website. In addition, two information and orientation sessions will be held on the following dates:

        *  Sunday, January 8, 10am-12noon

        *  Thursday, January 19, 7pm-9pm

The information offered at both sessions will the same. Topics to be covered include: the benefits of MEG membership; roles and responsibilities of a MEG member; expectations for sales; displaying your work at MEG; the application and portfolio submission process and timeline; and “best practices” for submitting a portfolio for membership consideration. We’ll also answer any and all questions you might have.

The portfolio submission deadline is February 20, 2012. 

If you would like more information or want to RSVP for an information session, please contact Alan Sislen.

Small Works, Big Advice

MEG’s December show, Small Works, was juried by Catriona Fraser, owner and director of the Fraser Gallery. Fraser represents the work of local, national and international artists with an emphasis on contemporary realism and photography. She spent some time at MEG last week sharing her thoughts on both the Small Works show and submitting to juried exhibitions. Some excerpts include:

Do you view works differently when you view .jpgs vs. physical prints when you are making selections for an exhibit? No. Photographers worry the most about this, but they shouldn't. The elements of a good photograph are visible whether it’s a .jpg or a print. Experienced jurors realize that there may be slight differences in color or tone because of the monitors they're using to view the work, so those issues don’t have much of an impact.

(c) Eric Johnson

One of Eric Johnson’s images in the Small Works show is a good example. I loved his photograph “Collection of Baskets.” It reflects a wonderful use of light and shadow, and has great composition...all of these elements come through whether it’s a .jpg or a print.

Are you ever surprised when you see an exhibit after you’ve selected images via .jpg? The images themselves never surprise me because I know they are going to be good. The presentation of the artwork is another story. Poor printing, unprofessional matting and framing, use of acidic materials, poorly cut mats, dirty frames, scratched plexiglass, metallic signatures on prints, the copyright symbol after the artist’s name...all of these things will have a negative impact on the work.

Typically, the only downside between the submitted .jpg and the finished print is when the image has been printed too large for the file size, so the print looks soft and pixelated.

Are there any common mistakes photographers make when submitting work to jurors? A big one is submitting too many similar images. If the juror doesn’t like the first one, the odds are high he or she isn’t going to like any of the others either if they are in the same vein. If you’re submitting a portfolio for consideration, you absolutely want consistency; if you’re submitting 3 or 4 images to a juror for an exhibit, you want variety in subject matter/theme.

For more insight from Fraser, consider attending one of her “Success As An Artist” seminars, held throughout the year. A number of MEG members have attended in the past and found them very useful.

Small Works can be seen through December 31, 2011 at Multiple Exposures Gallery, Studio 312, Torpedo Factory Art Center, Alexandria, VA.