Last week, I wrote with pride about having two images selected to show in the State of the Art Gallery’s  21st Annual Juried Photography show, in Ithaca, NY. Photographers entering the contest were limited to entering two images. So, obviously I was pleased with having both of mine selected. On Friday evening a reception was held to kick-off the month long show. Besides the exhibition of the selected photographs (the show actually opened two days earlier) the night’s draw was the announcement of images that were recognized as “winners” by the gallery.

Photos selected for the show were juried by gallery members. Winners from among those selected were chosen by an art teacher at Ithaca College, who selected five pieces for recognition. Unfortunately, I didn’t catch his name or we could thank him here. At the outset of the awards announcement it was also noted that throughout the month, visitors would be encouraged to vote for their favorite work. This, in response to people questioning the judges’ selections in prior years.

I guess we should not expect everyone to agree with the judge(s) in any contest, especially one that is a subjective as a photography contest. It’s difficult under any circumstances. However, when you have a show like this one, with photos that range from grand landscapes, to abstracts, to portraits and more, the judge’s decision becomes even more challenging.

I have to wonder what people are thinking, especially any contest entrant who might complain about which images were recognized. I’d bet that virtually everyone in attendance (and there was barely room to walk in the packed gallery) selected his or her favorite within minutes of arriving. There was work designed to make a political statement, a photo created with a pinhole camera, a brilliantly colorful abstract (one of the winners), photos printed on metallic paper, on canvas, framed, unframed and gallery wrapped. I really loved some and wondered about others. But, as the saying goes “one man’s meat is another man’s poison.” No where is this adage more apt than when the subject is considered art.

I think, when we photographers enter contests of any type we ought to take time to understand our audience first. Now, that’s not all that different than the way those of us who sell our work proceed every time we select a final destination for any of our images. Unless specifically requested, we wouldn’t send landscape images to the National Wildlife Federation for possible use in its calendar. We wouldn’t deliver photographs of Alaska to a gift store that specialized in work depicting the Finger Lakes region. Who would suggest macro flower images for an industrial trade magazine? We always need to consider our audience and an art gallery contest is no exception.

I am one of the photographers who did not take time to know his audience at the State of the Art Gallery. Only two days before the entry deadline, a friend has encourage me to enter the contest and I barely had time to prepare two images. What I selected were both images that had been favorites at other venues last year.

When I arrived at the gallery on Friday evening, within minutes I told my wife there was “no way I’d be one of the winners.” That was in part because of what I saw on the walls that evening. Most images presented were much larger than mine. When it comes to photography, big is often better. That said, I think all the winners were smaller than mine, so there goes my credibility in this case.  Few images were landscapes. Many were a genre I couldn’t even describe. A few, in my opinion, were either accidental or outright poor quality. One of the “winning” images fit the former category . . . again, in my opinion, though obviously not in the judge’s.

But, all the images had one thing in common. They expressed something for, or about, their creators. How well they did that job is part of what a contest of this type is about, I think.

Next time, for this show or any other, I’ll be doing some homework first. I’d bet many other photographers will do likewise. If that’s all we take away from this year’s State of the Art Gallery photography show, we win.

In case you’re reading this and didn’t read yesterday’s post, let me recap briefly. I wrote about my wife’s and my day playing tourist, by visiting a local art gallery and museum. The bottom line to the day was that it had inspired me to get out with my camera.

Well, today was my first chance to put this new found inspiration to work. It would have been nice if we could have gotten a fresh snowfall overnight, of it would have just dusted Baltimore Woods for me during the day today. But that wasn’t to be the case. Instead we had a warm mid-January day on top of a couple this past week that left the woods somewhat dreary. What snow there was looking like dirty, crumpled bed linen.

Still, I wanted to get out and I was motivated to try and get something I could be pleased with. Though the day was warm by Central New York January standards, it wasn’t sunny. So any hope I might have had of getting something with bright snow and blue skies was out of the picture. Instead, I found myself looking for a close-up or an extract that would let me eliminate the dirty snow and not have to include the gray sky.What I ended up with, besides an enjoyable afternoon in the woods, is different for me. I owe credit to the Delevan Art Gallery and the Emerson Museum for the inspiration. I like what I came home with and I’m already anxious to get out again.

To begin with I looked at some crystalline ice along a small stream. Much of the ice was littered with natural debris, dead leave, fragment of browned pine needles and the like. So I had to look around to find something that would work. I couldn’t help but recall the advise that been common to so many nature photography workshops . . . keep it simple and change your perspective. The keeping it simple part would help me eliminate the litter but changing perspective was more problematic.

What I was seeing didn’t work from high on the banks of the stream because of background clutter as well as low hanging branches that were confusingly out of focus as I search for my image. The ice at water’s edge was often softened by the warm weather, making it all the more treacherous and I wasn’t at all interested in going swimming.

Finally, on one knee, one booted foot in the water and my tripod as low as I could get I began filling the frame with images I liked. Now the challenge was to manage depth of field, find the right exposure to keep the ice and surrounding snow from looking old and gray.

Before I was don’t I’d gotten to “play” with my Singh Ray polarizer, my 70-200 mm Nikkor lens with a 2x tele-converter. It was fun.

I didn’t set out to get inspired. I actually had only one idea in mind as my wife and I readied for a day playing tourist in our hometown, Syracuse, NY. Relaxation. No business. No clients consideration. No photography. No bundling up against the cold. No computer. The only thought was enjoying each other and relaxing.

Now, those familiar with my recent weeks might say, “You just came back from a ‘vacation’ in North Carolina and South Carolina.” And, they’d be right. But even on our vacations of recent, I have still typically stayed in touch with clients, tried to blog most days, taken photos every day, responded to e-mails and kept the ubiquitous cell phone close at hand. Even though we were on “vacation” we weren’t fully relaxing.

So, yesterday, was intended to just relax for a day.

It was a warm January day, with temperatures getting into the mid-30s and the sun making it feel even warmer. The city streets and sidewalks were pretty much dry and snow free, so walking around was easy. We really didn’t do anything particularly exciting, but everything was relaxing and enjoyable.

We had never visited the Delevan Art Gallery so it became our first stop.

I really don’t know what I was expecting. My only picture of the Delevan came from visits a few years ago to the old factory turned office, studio, warehouse complex. Back then, it still had the old factory feel and that of a place you could get “cheap” as opposed to “inexpensive” space to operate your business.  Beyond the gallery, it may still be that way. I don’t know because we didn’t venture past the gallery.

The gallery, though, was delightful. It’s about a 3500 square-foot gallery that is wide-open, clean and brightly lit.  Caroline Szozda-McGowan, gallery manager, cheerfully greeted us as we entered the gallery, her manner reflecting the atmosphere of the gallery itself. She was inviting, ready with information about the gallery and obviously enthusiastic about the current exhibit.

She should be. The current exhibit was two-pronged. Most of the professionally displayed art is showcased against bright white walls or on similar white pedestals. Easily 85 percent of the gallery is presenting the work of artists aligned with the gallery since its inception over six years ago in a show titled “Art: 2003-2009.” Both McGowan and Gallery Directory Bill Delevan, believe that” a look back serves important dual purposes: an opportunity for further public awareness of these artists, while also giving a nod of thanks to them for their continued support of the art gallery and their contribution to the visual arts in Central New York.”

My wife and I spent almost two hours meandering through the art – everything from oil/acrylic/watercolor paintings, to a variety of photographic presentations, to fabric arts and much more. The remaining space is dedicate to the gallery’s current main exhibit which McGowan referred to as the Wild Card Show. “Serious Art for Children” features  acrylic paintings by Connie Carroll.

We stopped briefly for lunch in Armory Square, despite the large crowds fueling up for the SU game at the dome (Go SU). Then we decided to leave the car parked and walk across downtown to the Everson Museum. We had been to the Everson before, but it had been awhile. In fact, I had intended to find time to visit the museum during the recent run of Turner to Cezanne, but never made it. My loss. We spent the rest of the afternoon here, wowed by old and new alike.

As I stood in front of Albert Bierstadt’s Nevada Falls, as well as others, I couldn’t help but marvel at the beauty all around us. As the day went by I found myself inspired by the art from two centuries ago as well as very contemporary work.  Now I feel reinvigorated and ready to get out again with my camera. Who knows, maybe some of the artistic genius we enjoyed Saturday, playing tourist in our hometown, will rub off when I click the shutter next time.