Paradise Found

I've decided to share my thoughts about some of our limited edition fine art photographs one post at a time. Starting with "Paradise Found" which is not an underwater photograph, but certainly showcases the beautiful Carribbean waters of Belize.

When I first saw English Key I thought of a Disney set. Too perfect to be real. But, it's a real working light house. The only one in the vicinity of Ambergris Caye which in and of itself is amazing because of the shallow waters off the coast of Belize.

And, not only are these waters beautiful, they are home to gorgeous large coral heads and awesome sea creatures. If I were the lighthouse keeper I would spend all my time in snorkling gear with camera in hand.

Everytime I look at this photo I'm transported back to our week sailing with Tradewinds Cruise Club in the vicinity of Ambergris Caye. And, dream of the day I can return.

If you'd like to be transported too, limited edition prints of this photo are available at Rtist.com.

Who to please

I'm starting to think that I should have used a different title for this blog. I haven't had a chance to do any snorkeling lately, so no new photos to discuss. Did find out about a feature (content aware fill) of Photoshop CS5 I can't wait to try. Just need to find the bucks to purchase the upgrade!

So, on to the title of this post. I've been taking a lot of "above ground" photos lately. Living on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, this seems to be what sells. I'm currently shooting pics to enter in Easton Plein Air's photo contest. And, I'm starting to wonder if I'm taking these pictures because it's what I want to do or because I'm trying to please other people.

I hope I'm doing this because I enjoy it or else this is going to turn into a second job...

My Friend's blog

Terry White is one of the Wednesday Morning Artist's in Cambridge Maryland. She has made me feel very welcome in my new home. This is her blog about her books and music. Check it out!

Terry L. White's Book Blog: Ancient Memories#links#links#links

Back to Photography!

Just finished my refresher course on Lightroom including the updates of LR3 and I'm wondering if I'll ever need CS4 again. LR3 adds overall sharpening for printing and the ability to do basic contrast curves, which are pretty much the only things I was still doing in Photoshop. So, if I can master printing from Lightroom I think my CS4 may start collecting dust (can software do that?).

Unfortunately, my camera was at Nikon being fixed while we were on vacation in Missouri, so I don't have any pics from that trip that were shot in RAW format. But, Terry's taken a few around our condo in Cambridge. The one above is the one I worked with in class. If only we could have rearranged the nest so that branch wasn't in front of the Osprey's face!

Westward Ho!

Just got back from a family trip to Osage Beach, Missouri. Not good for underwater photography, but great for fishing (my husband's first love). Unfortunately, we were there during a heat wave (heat index of 110 most of the days we were there). So, to get a break from the heat we toured several of the caves in the area. Our first cave was Meramec Caverns. Meramec has several unusual formations: the third largest stalagmite in the world, the largest ragonite formation in the world (see pic) and a "theater" curtain in a room large enough for concerts. The next cavern we toured was Bridal Cave which is advertised as one of the most scenic caves in the country. I'd have to agree. There were stunning formations around every turn. The cave got its name from the native wedding ceremonies that were performed there long before Europeans ventured into the cave. The final cave we toured was Ozark Caverns. This cave is run by the state of Missouri. All of the electric lights have been removed in order to protect the formation, so we toured by lantern light and I'm hooked on this type of lighting. The difficulies of taking photos under sporadic artificial light are completely eliminated.

I think I got some good shots and if they're good enough I'll be posting them on Rtist.com.

After Glow

We survived our first gallery opening! Which is pretty good if you know what social butterflies Terry and I are not!!!

It's more nerve racking than I thought it would be to have our work on display and receive immediate feedback on it. At least it is for me, it doesn't seem to phase Terry, but then again, not much does.

We're now working on finalizing our photos for Chair-ity, a fundraising party in Cambridge, MD at the Main Street Gallery that benefits local art programs (particularly for children). I've been having a great time photoshopping a picture of one of my dolphin chairs (left) into underwater scenes and trying to think of iconic chair related things (like musical chairs) to photograph.

I recruited my grandnephews and grandnieces for a musical chairs picture, but my camera was on the fritz so I didn't get a good enough shot. But, my stepson somehow caught a star-nosed mole and managed to get it to stay on a small chair long enough for me to get a picture of it. My husband took a picture of a conference room table, so next on the agenda is creating our "Chair-mole of the Board" picture. Hope it turns out!

FYI - The opening for "Chair-ity" is July 9th and tickets for the opening are $25. I think they can be purchased from the Main Street Gallery, the Dorchester Center for the Arts or at the door.

So many things to report

Well after what seems like endless unpacking, we are finally moved and I'm getting back into working with and promoting our photography. I'm very excited to announce that HSWT Photography will be one of the artists featured at Easton, MD's newest art gallery, The Little Yellow Paint Brush, 10 West Dover St. Some of our latest Limited Edition photos will be on display and for sale.

We will also be displaying/selling some of our Limited Edition prints at the Cambridge Yacht Club in Cambridge MD starting next Monday. And, we've shut down our Etsy store and moved our on-line retail of Limited Edition prints to Rtist.com, where our work can be found by searching HSWT Photography (of coarse!) :).

And, we joined a great artist group called the Wednesday Morning Artists in Cambridge, MD. So, I guess I have a little bit of an excuse for not posting lately. I promise to keep up with this better now that we're settled in.