Ramblings...#7 This last Friday night I attended a meet and greet with photographers and models from the region of Albuquerque to Santa Fe. It was quite a night and went way beyond my expectations. It started, subtly enough, with a phone call from a local photographer who wanted to rent a studio for a day for a model shoot. Prior to our recent move, Pat Berrett and I had plenty of room to rent, but with the move to a smaller, more efficient studio/office setup, that space has been cut in half. So, I had to tell the photographer we couldn’t do it at this time. He then proceeded to tell me that he was working on getting a few photographers together for an informal get-together. As I had experienced in the past, these desires are usually greeted with not much more than a fizzle. About five years ago I was invited to meet with a few local photogs who wanted to put together some type of loose organization that would enable each of us to work in tandem to further our financial and creative pursuits. A couple of meetings followed, then… nothing. This has happened several times over the years. So you can imagine my lack of over-zealous emotion at the announcement of yet another do-gooder trying to go where many others have failed. A couple of weeks passed, however, and I began to get emails informing me of a meet and greet with local photographers and models. I replied to my contact, David Moreno, and told him that I was interested in attending, and to keep me posted. I continued to receive updates, and began to actually think that something may come of this, and that Moreno might actually pull this off. Granted, one event does not guarantee continued success. I was, in spite of a little skepticism, at this time willing to fork out some bucks for a ticket, and twisted Pat’s arm to get him to grab a ticket as well. Although, even up to the night of the event I still wasn’t locked in to going. I decided to contact another photographer I knew who was setting up a slide show for the event. He told me that almost 200 tickets had been sold, and that Moreno was expecting 150-200 attendees. I figured (since there was nothing else on my calendar) I might as well make the effort and attend, especially since I had made the point to Moreno to keep me informed about the event. Pat and I got there about 15-20 minutes after it started, and figured there were about 50 or so people in attendance. I began to talk to a few other photographers and models, and the next time I looked up to survey the crowd, I was very surprised at how many had began to fill the meeting room. We had only intended to stay for an hour or so, but discovered that we were actually having (dare I say it!) fun. When we left, several hours after we arrived, I noticed the room was still fairly quite full. As it turned out, more than 200 came to the event, and it was considered a great success. Congratulations are in order for Moreno and rest of his group who tackled the project. Kudos, David! I don’t know what you do in your area to regenerate yourself, and “leave the closet” for that occasional breath of fresh air, but I recommend trying to do something like this. It isn’t anything I would suggest happen every month, or even every few months, but maybe an annual event would enable some of the cobwebs to be removed from our collective creative juices. Let me know if you have done something similar in your area, and whether or not it was successful. ------- As I mentioned in the introduction to Issue 13 of Red Dog News, we have been very busy in the last couple of months working with artists and others to create PhotoArts Collector, a program designed to promote and market photographers whose work deserves to be seen and appreciated. We offer selected open-edition prints of their work at a reasonable price. If you are interested in participating, click on the “PhotoArts” button on the left. If you are interested in seeing our first print in this program, it was done by Julie Meridian, and you can click on the “PhotoArts Collector” button on the left. ------- I also mentioned in the introduction that I have been working with an artist on a set (4) of poster-prints from his series, “The Color of Ireland.” The images are collages of paintings that the artist, Michael Downes, has done in the past and recent photographs. The resulting prints are compelling and depict the landscapes of Ireland in a very refreshing manner. We are offering this initial group at great introductory prices, including USPS priority mail and applicable taxes. Click here to see the images. ------- Don’t forget to take our quick, two-question survey on social networking and promotion of your work. Click here to take the survey. ------- While you're at it, don't forget to click on the Think Tank Photo button on the left for an opportunity to get a free bag! Off we go! |
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