Big Red - Holland State Park

It was a perfect summer evening at Holland State Park last night. After enjoying some ice cream (free ice cream- I might add! Coldstone Creamery gives you a coupon for a free one on your birthday!), Lucas and I headed out to stroll around and play for a bit. The yellow flag was out - so I didn't let him go in the water - but he had a blast burying his little toes in the sand.

This new image is available with or without the title, and up to a 16x20 poster print (click to enlarge):

The Broad Side of a Barn...

This week, I've been on a barn photography binge! I keep seeing interesting ones as I'm driving around. I almost always and end up having to stop in a driveway, do a U-turn, and go back to it. I'm just waiting for someone to come out and ask me what the heck I'm doing...

To enjoy these images a bit larger, just click on the smaller images show here. I decided to take some artistic license with the one above and made it into painterly effect on a canvas texture.

If you know of a barn you find interesting or inspiring - drop me a quick email and tell me where you saw it!

Just Say NO!

After looking through many requests posted online for businesses looking for graphic design work - FOR FREE - something occurred to me.

Designers, no matter what level in their career, deserve to be paid for their services, their abilities and their expertise! Other professions get paid for their time and services. Why shouldn't we?

And then I came across this very informative website: www.no-spec.com.

It's long overdue that this practice was brought to the attention of the public. So as of today, I'm taking a personal stand. Don't ask me to design something "just to see what I can come up" with in order to be possibly hired for the job. I will politely decline your request. My jobs require a contract and a mutually-agreed upon down payment before I will begin to work.

There is a great amount of expertise necessary to put forth the creation of successful design project. Asking someone to work for "free" will not bring you the most qualified or capable designers or agencies to work on your project anyway.

I've encountered several instances where a prospective client has told me they'd just go get a high school student to work on their project for free. What happens when that student graduates? Who will maintain your "free" website at that point? Will you get the same professional results from a teenager as from someone who has 25+ years experience if you don't pay for that knowledge? Absolutely not. You will get what you don't pay for. If you want to give a young designer some experience, then go ahead and ask. But you better be prepared to pay them as well.

I realize the economy is pretty awful right now. We've all got a lot of expenses associated with running our business and personal lives. However, I've also been asked to do a lot of bartering lately (as in, for example only - a haircut for a family portrait session). Bartering isn't always terrible, but it really has to be something agreed upon in advance, and an "apples-to-apples" trade. I do not make it a practice to use bartering as a form of payment, either.

These articles were found on the No! Spec website:

• The title of this article is "I Wish I Had Written This" and - yeah - I wish I had written it: http://www.no-spec.com/archives/i-wish-i-had-written-this
  
  
• This piece explains why all designers should just say NO! to spec work: Just say NO! to Spec Work (Why Spec is Bad and other stories…) by Tamar Wallace of TAMAR Graphics

Please join me in promoting professional, ethical business practices by saying NO! to Spec.

Late October Gallery Event

I was just asked to hang a show in late October 2007 at the First United Methodist Church in Grand Rapids.

The Church considers art a form of praise and worship, and they rotate the art exhibit in order to highlight different artists and artist organizations in western Michigan. You can view the schedule of their gallery here. Right now, there is a wonderful Great Lakes photography exhibit by Steven Huyser-Honig (his work is amazing! Go check out his exhibit and website!)

The details of my exhibit haven't been worked out yet, but it will be right on the heels of returning from my Glen Arbor Artist Residency program. The show will hang approximately six weeks, and I will be hosting a reception during that time - so please keep your eye out for the exact date and time!

First United Methodist Church is located on 227 E. Fulton St, Grand Rapids. The hours are 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Sundays.

The church also holds an annual juried art exhibition - “Celebration of the Arts” - in which I had two pieces selected for display this past February 2007.

I've Got an Idea!

And the week leading up to my birthday continued to be fun. For example - I opened up my mailbox Friday to discover the rubber duck I purchased at the Lowell Riverwalk had crossed the finish line - and I won $100!

However, that money went directly to the Secretary of State to pay for my license plate renewal. Don't you think the least the Secretary of State could do is give you a slice of birthday cake or a Little Debbie or a Twinkie when you go in there and pay for your plates? If I hand someone $108 for a license plate - I'd like something more fun than a sticker handed to me by a disgruntled State employee.

They KNOW it's your birthday when you go in there. I think it would help improve customer relations! They could at LEAST say, "Happy Birthday!" to you...

The Big 4-0

Yup, today I hit the proverbial "spot on the hill" where it's supposed to be downhill the rest of the way. Heck, no! I'm just getting started!

Russ and I celebrated the "milestone" with a trip to the Palace of Auburn Hills last week to see The Police in concert. It was a GREAT show, and despite the insane price for concert tickets, worth every penny. Even the opening act, Fiction Plane (Fiction Plane, featuring Joe Sumner, Sting's 30-year-old son), was pretty decent.

Here's the amazing set list:

• Message in a Bottle
• Synchronicity 2
• Walking on the Moon
• Voices Inside My Head
• When the World Is Running Down
• Don't Stand So Close To Me
• Driven To Tears
• Truth Hits Everybody
• Bed's Too Big Without You
  
• Every Little Thing She Does is Magic
• Wrapped Around Your Finger
• De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
• Invisible Sun
• Walking in Your Footsteps
• Can't Stand Losing You
• Roxanne

(Encores)

• King Of Pain
• So Lonely
• Every Breath You Take
• Next To You

For those of us who are um...thirty-to-forty-something... it was a complete nostalgia trip down the path of happy music memories.

A Real Honor!

Whisper in the Woods Nature Journal has been honored by Governor Granholm of Michigan!

A special edition of Whisper in the Woods has been published celebrating the natural beauty of Pure Michigan. It comprises beautiful images from the past five years.

The subscriber version, Autumn issue, celebrating five years of Whisper in the Woods, will be out in September 2007.

I am thrilled to announce four of my images are featured in these publications!

How exciting to be featured alongside some of the best photographers in the Midwest - Steven Petrides, Dean Pennala, Carl R. Sams, Bruce Montagne, Tom Haxby, Carl Ray, Mark Graf, Mike Moats, Linda Henderson, Robert Domm, Rich Kelly, Rod Lawrence, Cindy Mead, Todd & Brad Reed and the editor and publisher of Whisper herself - Kimberli Bindschatel. Writers include Denise Baker, and Pam McCormick. Congratulations to everyone who represented Michigan so beautifully!

Be sure to pick up a copy of Whisper at these retail stores.

Not a subscriber yet? Click here to get your Whisper in the Woods Nature Journal today!

You Really Need to See This...

I feel like everyone should have a chance to view this video and know more about the Project Compassion project. A friend of mine initially e-mailed it to me, and now I'm posting it here in the hopes my friends will see it too.

What an amazing artist Kaziah is - but even MORE amazing at being a human being. Check out the link below for a touching story - you'll really love it! Have a box of tissues handy, however.

Kaziah Hancock Portraits Video

What if the world had more folks who gave from the heart like this woman? Can you imagine? In this case, it really doesn't matter what side of the fence you are on concerning the war. It's about human compassion.

What can YOU do for someone else to make a difference for another person?

More about this project and how you can help: http://www.heropaintings.com/kzindex.aspx

Upcoming Shows - Mark Your Calendars!

Stop by my booth and say hello! Mention you saw this blog, and you'll be in a special drawing for one free 8x10 matted print of your choice!

Friday, July 13 & Saturday, July 14, 2007
Lowell Riverwalk Festival
Friday: 6 - 9 pm | Saturday: 9 am - 10 pm

This two-day event includes many activities where you and your family will enjoy Friday and Saturday night concerts, arts and crafts, parade, pet parade, Brian Mead Memorial Riverwalk Cruise-in, Rumble the Riverwalk, children’s area, historic riding tours and river tours, pontoon rides, kayak and canoe race, kayak fun, food booths, downtown merchants sidewalk sales and open house, health & fitness fair, street musicians, $1500 duck race, fireworks and much more.

Lowell is located on State Highway M-21, just 18 miles east of Grand Rapids - or 20 miles west of Ionia. You may access Lowell at exits 39 (M-21) and 52 (M-50) from Interstate 96.

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Saturday, September 8, 2007
Rockford Art in the Park
9 am - 5 pm

You gotta have art! The annual Rockford Art in the Park exhibition takes place the Saturday after Labor Day in the Garden Club Park between the Rogue River Dam and the White Pines Trail in downtown Rockford. Artists from across the state of Michigan compete in this juried art exhibition, featuring works in pottery, stoneware, sculpture, jewelry. glass works, painting, fiber arts and more.

Artists are on hand to showcase their works, which are available for purchase by arts patrons at the event. A “Best of Show” award as well as five “Best of Category” awards (in Jewelry, Pottery/Stoneware/Sculpture, Glassworks, Painting, Fiber Arts) are presented. With the Rogue River as a backdrop, Garden Club Park is an idyllic spot for a fine arts celebration.

Rockford is located 10 miles northeast of Grand Rapids. From US-131, take the 10 Mile Road exit east.

A Very Valid Point...

I found the following quote from Art Wolfe very interesting...

BetterPhoto.com's Jim Miotke had a fascinating discussion with the world-renowned photographer and host of the TV series Travels to the Edge with Art Wolfe.

Art Wolfe is known for combining journalistic and artistic styles into an eye-catching style, and for his passionate wildlife advocacy. "His unique approach to nature photography," it's been said, "is based on his training in the arts and his love of the environment". He has published numerous books and has received many awards over a career spanning more than 25 years.

Jim Miotke: Do you find that people are surprised to learn that you've set up a shot? For example, that there is something wrong with it - that it's not as valuable because you didn't just happen upon an incredible event?

Art Wolfe: Yes, I get really tired of people who use words like "cheating" or "manipulate" or whatever. They use these negative terms to describe what should be a free art form. Now if you're a photojournalist and you're creating a false reality, I can see and they do hold themselves up because if you're a journalist, you have to be pretty true to what it is.

For myself, I'm taking the elements that are there and I'm just giving it a little more stylized look ... otherwise, I'm just photographing something that people have already shot.

And I want always to have a slightly different look. That's how I make a reputation. That's how I move myself forward and push the art form forward.

I don't think I could have summed this thought up any better than Art Wolfe just did. Once in awhile, I will have people say digital photography isn't really art. Or that I must have an amazing camera (imagine that! It takes these images all by itself!) At a recent show, someone asked me what "credentials" I had to even call myself a photographer! Does creating art and images from the heart require "credentials" to be valid?

Absolutely NOT!

Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay...

...Grand Traverse Bay, that is!

Last Saturday was a summer day that was about as perfect as they come. Click on the images below to enjoy larger...