Wish Me a Lot of Luck!

I'm headed out in mid-April for an event called Shoot the Hills held on April 18, 19 & 20, 2008 at Hocking Hills State Park near Logan, Ohio.

What is Shoot the Hills ? It's an annual photography weekend and competition in the Hocking Hills State Park. Organized by Friends of the Hocking Hills State Park, this exciting three-day thriller features a 24-hour photo contest (for film and digital photographers), photography exhibits, and a variety of outdoor and photography-related vendors. A line-up of photography and/or nature programs, and various demonstrations, are open to the public with no admission fee.

Photographers in three divisions (film, digital and junior) compete in five categories in each division: abstract, flora, human interest, landscape and wildlife. Competitors can enter up to six images total in their choice of categories. All photographers have from 1:00pm Friday, April 18 to 1:00pm Saturday, April 19 to shoot their images.

This is the ultimate scavenger hunt - using a camera - to collect the most wonderful images! Shoot the Hills awards over $5,000 in cash and prizes to more than fifty winners. Monies raised from the event are used to build and maintain permanent wildlife viewing and photo blinds in designated areas of the Park. For more information, visit www.ShootTheHills.com.

This is my first time trying this type of event, and I'm very much looking forward to the challenges of coming up with a fantastic shot in only a 24-hour time period. There are so many factors involved - the weather, the lighting conditions, navigating through the enormous park (that I've only visited once before), and a bit of sheer luck if a photographer is seeking wildlife images.

Stay tuned for the outcome of this adventure!

Would you like to help support my trip? Gift certificates for the Hocking Hills region are available online through the Tourism Association.

Photography in the Digital Age - Is it Fair?

Glen Haven General Store
Originally uploaded by SNiedzwiecki

I just read such an interesting comment posted online at PC World Digital Focus. It was a response to complaints received when digitally manipulated photos are allowed in photo competitions, and whether they are "honest," "fair," or "real."

A reader commented:

"I'm one of those people who have complained about how unfair it is to accept photo entries [that have been] manipulated by editing programs. Folks with money and computer skills will win every time."
--Mark Kline, Fort Worth, Texas

Another photographer's response was:

"Perhaps these folks folks should have been around in the good old days, when photography was more than just pushing a button and then going to the drug store to have your photos printed. I wonder what these critics would think of an old photographer like me who used filters, "souped" the negative, retouched the negative, put the negative into a photo enlarger, focused and cropped the image, exposed the paper, and then, finally, saw the results of the exposure. Not to mention the arts of dodging, burning, hand rubbing, and more."
--Stan Silvers, Shelton, Washington

Just to give some discussion on the subject - what do you think, dear blog readers?

What are your thoughts on skillful use of photo editing tools? Please - no flames or bad mouthing in your responses... (I will not publish them if they are derogatory in any way) - but I'd like to hear your genuine, honest thoughts on this much-debated topic.

Sleeping Bear Posters

I'm just now working on a new series of 11x17 poster prints (at least I think this will be the final size...). The images were all captured during my artist residency with the Glen Arbor Art Assocation.

If you are interested in a print, please contact me, as I'm working on the details of how these will be printed shortly. Click on the thumbnails below to see the images in my Flickr account.

www.flickr.com

Inspired by a Friend...

I have been going back the last few nights and working through more images captured during my artist-in-residence experience with the Glen Arbor Art Association last October. This print is now available in several sizes - please feel free to contact me if you are interested in one. You can click on the image above to see it in greater detail.

The night before I took this shot, I had an email conversation with a friend who knew he had terminal cancer. He told me fond memories and stories of fishing with his father in Glen Lake, fun summers of swimming and hiking around on the Sleeping Bear Dunes under the full moon. That next morning, I drove up the Pierce Stocking Drive which was shrouded in heavy, thick fog. As I drove up towards the Lake Michigan overlook - I wondered why I was even bothering to do so , knowing full well the fog was too thick to burn off. I figured my trip would be probably be nothing more than a pleasant morning drive.

I stopped at one of the first overlooks that allows visitors to see Little Glen Lake and what the locals call "The Narrows" - the bridge on popular M-22 road dividing Little Glen and Big Glen lakes. When I stepped out of the car (without my camera in hand), suddenly the rising sun made an appearance from between the thick clouds. The sky and water became an amazing swirl of gold and purple hues. I quickly ran back to car, grabbed my camera and started shooting. The sun was only there for less than a minute - tops.

And just like that - it was gone. It never came out again the rest of the day.

I emailed back to my friend that night and told him God wanted me to take a picture of his beloved lake for him. This one's for you, Wayne...

Holy Cow Again!

Holy Cow does it again! My little cow in front of the St. Patrick's Church in Parnell was just accepted into the Newaygo County Council of the Arts 2008 Statewide Photography Competition!

The show runs from March 22 through April 26, 2008 with a Reception & Award Ceremony on Saturday, April 12, from 10:00 am - noon.

This year, I will not be attending the Reception - but if you feel like a little road trip - go on over to Fremont to check out their show. Their facility and gallery are top-rate. Click HERE for a map to the Artsplace.

Click on the image at left to see the detail...

In honor of another award for Holy Cow! - I'm offering prints at a reduced rate through the end of March 2008.

• Save $10.00 on the purchase of an 8x10 print
  (normally $35.00 - now $25.00)
  
• Save $15.00 on 11x14 prints
  (normally $55.00 - now $40.00).
  

8x10 Holy Cow! Print - $25.00

11x14 Holy Cow! Print - $45.00

US Airborne Gymnastics Event

Two weeks ago, I had my first opportunity to photography a sports event - the U.S. Airborne Gymnastics Invitational at Cornerstone University's Bernice Hansen Athletic Center on March 1-2.

It was certainly interesting and in fact - downright amazing to watch these young girls work so hard on their routines!

And very challenging as far as photography is concerned, because flash photography is not allowed for the safety's sake. I discovered I needed to apply some of the same techniques I use for flying birds to capture these images!

If you'd like to see or purchase images from this event, please visit my sales and proofing gallery at Photoreflect.com.

Here are the two events I covered:

• Saturday, March 1 - Level 3
• Sunday, March 2 - Level 4

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Hit the "Play" button below!

Festival 2008 - I'm In!

I just received word on Friday that I was accepted to have a sales booth again in the Art Sales Tent at Festival of the Arts 2008.

Festival is the largest all-volunteer arts event in the nation! It's a three-day arts celebration, held the first full weekend in June in downtown Grand Rapids.

It encompasses almost all of downtown Grand Rapids with six performance stages; lots and lots of food booths offering ethnic delights of all kinds; singers, dancers, thespians, visual artists, and performers from all over West Michigan; more than 20,000 hard-working volunteers; and over half a million people in attendance.

Visit the Festival website for more information

Art Tents on Calder Plaza - June 6, 7 & 8

- Friday	Noon - 9 pm
- Saturday	10 am - 9 pm
- Sunday	10 am - 5 pm

West Michigan's finest artists and craftspeople sell their wares, including pottery, jewelry, folk art, photography, handmade paper, metal sculpture, wood sculpture, fiber art, glass sculpture, watercolors, acrylics, and oils.

I will be offering greeting cards, boxed gift card sets, matted prints in a variety of sizes and new framed pieces. Check back - I will make a few more posts related to this event as the date draws near.

Be sure to stop by and say hello - and be sure you bring an extra shish-ka-bob with you...

A Budding Photographer!

A proud Mom needs to brag a bit...

My 8-year old son came on a photo outing with me last February (so he was actually seven when he took this photo). It was a snow day from school, so we took a ride in the country in search of photo opportunities with his new digital camera he received for Christmas. He captured this image of St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Parnell (near Cannonsburg), Michigan.

Our own church (Our Lady of Consolation) had a children's photo contest last month, and Alex won first prize! He earned a $50.00 gift certificate (which he promptly purchased an iPod Shuffle with). Congratulations, Alex!

Click on the image below to see it in detail:

Bird Watching...

If you like to see bird images - take a look at my larger collection of bird images at Amvona.com, photo sharing service where I occasionally post some of my work.

Here's a sample of an image you will find there. This is a little reddish-colored Eastern Screech Owl.

Beautiful Birds Collection