I posted a short while ago, right after I learned that one of my images had been selected for the NANPA Daily Showcase. Now, and it’s still morning, I’m pleased to note that two of my images (seen here) have been selected to show in the State of the Art Gallery 21st Annual Juried Photography Show. State of the Art Gallery is a popular gallery in Ithaca, NY, home of Cornell University. The show runs from tomorrow night (March 3) through March 28. On Friday, March 5, the gallery will host an opening reception from 5-8 p.m. at the gallery. At 6:30 pm awards will be announced, from among those images selected for the show.

Canada Geese over Otisco Lake

First Snow - Otisco Lake

I’d be remiss if I didn’t take a moment to thank fellow photographer and friend Chris Sanford. It was Chris who told me about the show/contest and encouraged me to enter. I’m very glad he did. Thanks Chris.

Now that I’ve closed the Marcellus Gallery the natural question is what’s next. Actually the answer to that question came months before I shut the doors at the gallery when Jessica Wiers opened the doors at First Cup, an inviting and comfortable coffee shop in the Village of Marcellus, NY,  just down the street from the where my gallery was. Shortly after she opened I suggested helping out with the cafe’s decorations by displaying some images from the gallery. They’re still there. Well, actually not the same ones I originally hung for Jessica, but eight or nine others that we change periodically. You can see these images when you visit the First Cup at 24 West Main St. in Marcellus. It’s open daily from 6 am to 2 pm and even some evening for “Open Mic Nites.” The next open mic-nite is May 9. You can always check in at the First Cup to see what else is going on.

It may be serendipitous but shortly after closing the gallery a good friend was responsible for the next showcase. One Sunday morning we stopped by her house to drop off a whiteboard I no longer needed and that she and her husband could use in their business. While there she suggested I visit a quaint art gallery in nearby Little York, NY – a gallery names “the Crawl Space.” So, now we have a second home from several of my natural images. The lady who operates the gallery, Sylvia, seems to really know her stuff and has some interesting plans for the future. I’ll try to keep you posted.

Albany Tulip Festival

My wife and I just got back from “reconnoitering the area” where the festival will be tomorrow. You don’t often get to use that word, reconnoiter,” do you? At any rate, we just got back from a quick trip from campground at Thompson Lake State Park to the Tulip Festival site at Washington Park in downtown Albany. We wanted to see how long it will take to get there in the morning. We need to be there before 7:30 am so we can be set up by 10 am. We also wanted to see the site, so we’d have a better idea of what to be prepared for in the morning.

Good thing, too, because it looks like we’ll be setting up on a paved area, so we won’t be able to use tent stakes to hold the canopy down if it should get windy. Since thunderstorms are forecast, winds could be a factor. So, on the way back to the camper we made a quick stop at Home Depot to pick up some cinder blocks.  Let’s hope we don’t need them.

The park, all decked out in tulips and lilac in bloom as well as pathways bordered by cherry blossoms. With the wind blowing, it almost look like it was snowing as the blossoms blew off the trees. I doubt I’ll have time to take any photos tomorrow, but hopefully I’ll be able to get a few Sunday evening after the show closes or Monday.