Decisions, Decisions, Decisions…

Photographing an event is great. In fact, all photography is great! I love it. I love the challenge of trying new things and trying to record the events as they happen and preserve the precious memories. This love for photography keeps me going, trying new things, and helps me keep a fresh approach to an event or photographic subject.

One problem with photography that I find is when it comes time to pick and best photos for prints or for a book there are just too many to pick from and I have to make difficult decisions. I suppose this is the struggle for any photo editor. I only taste it once in a while, but the taste is sometimes bitter for me.

I am currently working on a project of baseball photographs. I have to narrow the selection down to only seven photographs from this past year. I like to call these the best of the best. Once they are printed, these photographs will hang on a public wall for everyone to see for years to come.  So making these decisions does not come easy for me.

What makes for a good photograph?

Of course, I closely study the focus to be sure it’s clear. I also pay particular attention to the background of the photograph, which can be extremely distracting to the main subject. But what else makes a good photograph?

Here are three photos of the many I am currently looking at for this project. Which of these three is the best? Why? How would you choose the best of these three?

Holiday Boutique on Saturday, November 6th

The 3rd Annual Holiday Boutique is being held on Saturday. For the 3rd straight year I will be displaying some of my photographs and other photo items at this craft fair.

It is a really great event to buy some wonderful Christmas gifts and the food is awesome! There will be crafts of all kinds.

I will have several photographs on display–mostly elk and some other wildlife. I will have my postcards for sale, some photo books, and my newly published book, “How I Photograph the Elk of Pennsylvania.” I will also have a slideshow of my sports photos running along with some other photographs. As always, I will enjoy talking about photography with whomever is willing to talk or has questions.

You can join us at Stroudsburg United Methodist Church, which is located at 547 Main Street, Stroudsbug, PA 18360. I will be there from 9am to 3pm. Join us to get started on your Christmas shopping. There will be plenty of crafts to choose from!

Getting Ready for the Craft Fair

I will be displaying some of my photographs this Saturday at the Holiday Boutique. This is a craft fair held at Stroudsburg United Methodist Church and features a variety of craft vendors. It is a great place to see crafters displaying their beautiful work and do a little early Christmas shopping.

This week I am making last-minute preparations for my display. Just today I received a shipment of my Pennsylvania Elk Calendars and a Photo Flip Book. Last week I received a photo mug and holiday greeting cards. These items will be on display so orders can be placed with any of my photographs. I will have 4 elk calendars for sale and they turned out beautifully if I do say so myself.

I also have to print some price lists, frame some photographs, and refine my tri-fold plywood display so everything will be ready to be set up on Friday. It is an exciting time and I always enjoy seeing what the other crafters will be displaying.

If you are in the Poconos on Saturday, stop in to look around. I will be there and I’d love to see you!

Sharing Photos

How do you share your photographs?

Years ago we used albums, carousels, shoeboxes, and picture cubes (do you remember those?) to share our photos. Now that the digital era has arrived we are faced with finding good ways to share our photos. Instead of photos being stashed away in shoeboxes, now they are stashed away in hard drives.

I like to share my photos on web galleries. This way people can view them at their convenience. Baseball players and parents can see the sports photographs after a weekend tournament. Wildlife enthusiasts can similarly view photos when they get a chance. Galleries are convenient, easy to set up, and one great way to share photos.

There are plenty of other ways, too. PowerPoint presentations, iPods, PDAs, Flicker, and picture frames are just a few.

How do you share your photos?

Big Print Action

Today I picked up some 12″ x 18″ photographs that I had printed. They are baseball action shots, most with the ball frozen in place. These larger prints sure are nice! They allow some details to be seen with incredible clarity. The larger size allows for proper hanging on a wall so that passers-by can enjoy viewing the photographs.

Action shots are some of my most favorite subjects. There is one of a base runner attempting to steal a base, while the fielder is catching the ball and about to put the tag on. Portraying action in a flat photograph is not an easy proposition. This challenge is one I enjoy very much. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it. Many just don’t have the patience to work a subject or wait long enough in a game to capture these kinds of shots. I am learning more and more all the time and seeing these larger prints was a great step in this learning process.

I am liking larger prints more and more. Bigger is sometimes better and I think prints fit this category nicely.

These prints will be on display at The Lehigh Valley Baseball Academy walls where many players and parents will be able to enjoy them. I am hoping that they are received well and enjoyed by all those who take the time to look at them.

In the meantime, I will keep going out to the field and try to hone my action photography skills. I have so much more to learn!

Vacation & Photo Display

Our family has been away on vacation for the last week. It was an excellent time to be away and relax for a while. It’s amazing how fast a week of vacation goes by so quickly.

I did have plenty of opportunities to use my camera, so this was not a vacation away from photography even though I didn’t blog for the week. That was the result of an extremely slow internet connection at our hotel. It was brutal and since I was on vacation I decided not to blog. Sorry for the hiatus.

Today I put my photo display up at the Northeast Pennsylvania Credit Union. Bill Weitzmann was the expert hanger and my son, James, and I assisted. Bill’s experience and eye for photo displays was invaluable and we had all 12 photographs hung in less than an hour and a half.

This display can be viewed in the main lobby, which is located at the NEPA Credit Union on 935 Clay Avenue, Stroudsburg, PA 18360. It is just across the side street from the Monroe County Library. Visitors are welcome to come and see the photo display there in the lobby. I have a brief introduction to myself and a description of the photo display, which is located just after the main entrance and then to the right. The photos hang on three walls and can be viewed within the lobby.

If you get a chance, visit the Credit Union and view my photographs. They will be on display during the months of August and September.

And if you haven’t taken a vacation this summer yet, you only have a month before summer is over!

Photo Display

I am gearing up and getting ready for my first official photo display. The photos  will be hung on August 1st and will be on display for two months. This is an exciting opportunity for me to share some of my photographic work with others in a public setting. I have Bill Weitzman to thank for this. Thank you very much Bill!

The process of printing larger photos, 11×14 in this case, and framing them is a good project. I like the look and feel of these larger photos and once assembled in the frames, they look great!

Narrowing down the final number of photographs to 12 was not easy for me. I did settle on a display topic of “wildlife” in a general sense, so the photos include the Pennsylvania Elk, Birds of Chincoteague, and a Pocono Deer.

I have displayed my photos on my website, but having them appear in a gallery is an exciting new venture for me. I hope others enjoy my work!

Big Prints

Today I just picked up some 11″ x 14″ prints that I had ordered plexiglass face mount prints for a photo exhibit. I have had plenty of digital photos printed before, but only one or two of this size. 11″ x 14″ prints show a lot of detail and make for beautiful prints. The photos I had printed are all wildlife subjects: elk, deer, and birds. To see the hairs of the hides and the plume of the feathers on these photographs is absolutely amazing!

If you haven’t printed a large print, you really need to give it a try. Take a few of  your favorite photos and print them or have them printed by a professional photo lab. See how larger photographs look and then share them with others.

I am looking forward to getting my photos into frames and seeing the finished product. There just something about a physical print that is unlike anything else. Computer images and digital frames are okay and easy to share, but large physical prints are something else. I believe that photos were meant to hang on walls and be seen by people. I am eager to share these prints with others. What about you? Do you have photos to share? How do your large prints look?

Gallery

Have you seen a photo gallery lately?

Years ago this meant you had to go somewhere physically to see a gallery of prints. This option is still available to be sure, but additional options are now available. Online galleries are not nearly the same, but they do provide another way to view photos. I still prefer actual prints and will be entering 12 of my photos into a gallery NEPA Community Federal Credit Union in August.

I do put some of my photos online, mostly so others can see them and then picks ones they would like to have printed. But online galleries do have their place. Far too many people stick hundreds and even thousands of photographs onto their computer’s hard drives never to be seen again. This is not good.

The object is to get your photographs seen by other people. Do you have any of your photos in a gallery? Maybe it’s time you create an online gallery to share with others. It is easy and fun to do. And once you have them up, send me a link so I can check them out!

Albums

The other day I mentioned that printing photographs is a good thing to do. It sure beats leaving digital photos in a hard drive never to be seen again.

So, what do you do once your photograph is printed?

There are several options. First, you could frame the print and hang it on a wall. Or you could take the prints and display them in an album. Prints are made to be seen. Hanging a print on a wall is a good way to keep it visible and in front of people’s eyes; even your own. When you are proud of a photograph doesn’t it make sense to keep it visible and have a constant reminder of your creative efforts?

I am currently assembling a proof album for a family. The album will display the photographs in an attractive way so the family can view the memories whenever they choose. The album will be a good way to re-live the memories that are on the printed photographs.

Assembling albums and framing photographs might seem like a laborious task sometimes, but the effort is definitely worth it. Give it a try yourself. Print some photographs and assemble them into an album. Or, frame some prints and hang them on a wall where they can be displayed for everyone to see. After all, photographs are meant to be seen!