City Views at Fogle Fine Art

Work from my Jacksonville 400 project is now part of my "City Views" body of work displaying at Fogle Fine Art. It is great to see these images printed large and framed in a gallery setting. Fogle made excellent choices for the frames and I am thrilled at the results. I am curious to see the success of these images in the marketplace. So far the reaction has been very positive.

 

If you are in the area, please stop by to take a look. The gallery is open Tuesday through Friday, 10a-6p and located at 3312 Beach Boulevard (in the St. Nicholas area). Here is a selection of images on display:

  

  

  

Face Mount Acrylic

I just examined the most amazing mount of one of my prints at Raven Image on Beach Blvd. This is a 24"x72" image mounted to an aluminum backing and then face mounted to 1/2" acrylic, then polished. The result is amazing. Cher Sailer and Tracy Jacobs at Raven are the best at what they do. They transformed this image into something really special. I'll soon let everyone know where they can view this piece.

Ft. George Live Oaks

Yesterday the weather continued to cooperate with drizzly overcast skies so I headed back out to Ft George Island to visit some of my favorite live oak trees on Edgewood Drive near the Kingsley Plantation. The mosquitoes were out in full force and got to me through my clothes...geesh they must have been hungry. I saw about 3 people out there and had a perfect time. I left my lens cloth at home and had an issue with the drizzle, especially while trying to take a series of the tree canopy looking straight up. Water droplets on the lens are not very flattering to the final image. Need to go back for another round.

Power plants and wetlands

It's interesting to me to see the coexistence of power plants and industrial facilities in natural places. The contrast of function and the effect that each has on the senses is both similar and dissimilar. Many industrial facilities end up being constructed in remote areas. In most cases the structures are large and the impact on the environment both physically and visually is significant. As I was driving out to the Pumpkin Hill Creek Preserve, I passed our JEA coal plant and the cooling towers. These kinds of structures always strike me emotionally, in a way similar to a giant sequoia or redwood. To see a towering structure of such size and presence is ominous. You can feel the energy contained within. I know I will be returning to these structures for further study. Access is somewhat limited but there is a road that allows you to drive by fairly closely. Avoiding the dumptrucks and other large vehicles is a bit of a challenge...just keep your eyes open.

 

Pumpkin Hill Creek Preserve is a state park which I had never visited before. When I arrived there was one person setting up his kayak. After about 15 minutes of quiet, another group arrived with their coolers, lawn chairs, fishing poles and crab traps. They were wondering what I was doing. I guess everyone has a right to enjoy the park. It was time for me to find another spot.

 

Cloud Gazing

Yesterday I spent most of the afternoon downtown, first meeting with a group from the organization Docomomo for a tour of the Police Headquaters and the former Daniels Building (both by William Morgan) and then heading out to the Springfield neighborhood to scope out some shots. It was incredibly hot and miserable (don't we all love to complain about the weather?). I decided not to wait for the sunset and as I was driving home I remembered that we were going to take my mom out to dinner at the Blue Bamboo. Seems like my memory is being challenged these days. As I drove into the driveway I was eyeing this incredible set of clouds overhead. The sun was beginning to set and these clouds began to light up. Dorian was in the yard with a neighbor. I parked the car, said a quick hello and grabbed the camera out of the trunk. For the next 20 minutes I was entertained, while Dorian contained her annoyance (thank you dear!) at our late dinner engagement. Funny how the most interesting shots of the day come when you least expect them.

      

Southlight Gallery

I'm a member of a small group of visual artists who have taken up residence downtown in a deserted Gold's Gym. We call ourselves the Southlight Gallery, and we enjoyed a "soft" opening at Jacksonville's Art Walk last night. The space is incredible with 20 ft ceilings and plenty of space (over 4000 sf). The interior needs some TLC as the previous tenant seemed to have gone out of their way to leave a mess, ripping out the doorframes, wrecking the tile floor, and tearing out all the baseboards. We hope to have things ready for a grand opening for the November Art Walk on November 4. With the glut of unused retail space downtown, there is a movement to allow artists to take up temporary residence for the cost of electricity and insurance. This is a real boom to all of us who would love to have prime downtown locations, but until now had no way to afford it. Oh the advantages of the recession!

I'm hoping to use the gallery as a place to install work and to receive comments from the general public. I think we all need that kind of feedback, as it is someone out there in the public that hopefully will end up purchasing art for their office or home. I'm looking forward to working with the other artists on making the gallery a success.

   

We should be here for a few months (at least) so come by and see us at the next Art Walk on November 4th. We are located at 100 N. Laura St in the Jacksonville Bank building.

Treaty Oak study

Most residents in Jacksonville are familiar with the Treaty Oak, a massive tree situated in a small park on the South bank.  It's a wonderful tree and there are always people there enjoying the shade from the overhanging branches. Today I was trying to catch the Harvest Moon from the Acosta Bridge and the clouds rolled in and blanketed the sky. So I spent some time with this beautiful tree. I realized that many of the forms were human-like, and upon careful study you could find arms, legs, hands , and entwined appendages. I lost the light quickly and will return on an overcast day to discover more about this magnificent creation.

This was officially Day 10 of my Jacksonville 400 project.

Bill Yates opening at the Jacksonville Public Library

My friend and photography mentor Bill Yates opened his exhibit "The Year of the River" last night at the Jacksonville Art Walk in the gallery at the Main Public Library. The exhibit is part of the Jacksonville  Community Foundation Individual Artist grant Bill received this summer. Bill's exquisite and compelling images of the river reminds us of the grandeur and beauty of the St. Johns, and of the ever changing weather conditions that provide a constant feast for our senses. Of special interest is a series of 9 water abstracts, arranged in a 3x3 grid on the east wall. Yes, this is Yates exercising some of his creative muscle. The rain kept many of the Art Walk regulars away, so I was fortunate enough to have Bill all to myself for our photo session. Come view this exhibit if you want to see some examples of a master photographer who knows and loves the St. Johns River. And visit his gallery, Flat File, in Five Points.

Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge

A little off the beaten path between Jacksonville and Savannah is the Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge converted from a WWII Army airstrip. It includes about 2600 acres and a paved road from which numerous hiking trails are connected. Of course I was after some interesting trees. As soon as I arrived the drizzle started, and increased to a light rain soon after. At a certain point the rain begins to interfere with the sharpness of an image, so I drove in and basically waited for about an hour. One thing to remember when the humidity is hovering around 90%, taking a camera from a cold air conditioned car to the outside is like having a glass of iced tea at the pool -  instant condensation on the lenses. It took another 15 minutes to stabilize the moisture. It's also handy to have your lens hoods on as it keeps the water droplets off the lens. Nothing like discovering that your last 20 shots have nice round globs all over them (been there, done that).

    

It was easy to just pull off the road and hike in to catch a great tree. But standing there for just a minute must have sounded the dinner bell for the mosquitoes. At the marsh near the entry to the park were thousands of white ibis off in the trees. At one point they all took off and filled the sky...camera was in the car. This is a great birding area and listed on the Colonial Coast Birding Trail.

More images of the Harris Neck NWR can be viewed here.

The magical trees at Wormsloe

Today I drove to Savannah to meet with my friend Jeremy Woodhouse who was taking a southern city tour for stock images. While researching great places to shoot I came upon the Wormsloe Plantation, which is the colonial estate of Noble Jones, one of the original English settlers who came with James Oglethorpe. What attracted me about the site was the avenue of trees at the entry which is 1.5 miles long. The overgrown and ancient live oaks provide an impressive presence as you approach the property. The long tangled branches reach out overhead forming a tunnel. The weather was hot and humid and luckily overcast, as the intermittent rain fell throughout the day. The mosquitoes and yellow flies were in full force. The place was virtually empty, I saw maybe 4 other people there in 3 hours. I had a perfect time, Jeremy was there all of 5 minutes as he shot the obligatory view of the avenue and was off for downtown.

PS: I give credit for the recommendation of this site to Robert Hitchman whose excellent publication, Photograph America, is my first source for great shooting locations.

More Wormsloe images can be viewed here.

Poster printing at Costco

I've always used Costco for my 4x6 family shots and for our Photographers for Freedom project. They were always fast, good, and CHEAP. Last week I decided to try some 12x36 panoramas and to also develop a poster print that I could use as promotions. Our Costco here in Jacksonville uses a Noritsu 3411 digital printer which is a $200,000 beast that cranks out 2000 4x6's per hour. To get some decent prints you need to use the printer profiles on the Costco Photo Center web site. Go to the bottom of the page and click on Printer Profiles, and this should take you to some pages by Dry Creek Photo (the profile providers). On these pages you can locate the Costco store in your area and what profiles you will need. Follow the instructions to download the profiles and then do the softproofing in Photoshop. Before you upload you need to convert the image to the profile while saving your JPG. All of this is described in detail on the site, but if you have any questions let me know. When ordering online there is no option for the larger sizes, so I just upload as a 4x6 and then give the boys a call to tell them what's coming. Make sure you specify NO auto corrections. Steve and Allen at the Jacksonville store keep their Noritsu tuned up everyday, and I've never gotten a bad print. Oh yes, the cost of a 12x36 is $4.90.

Warning: one time I exported a set of 4x6's from Lightroom with a ProPhoto color space assigned. The colors on the prints were awful. I took my laptop down to the Costco store to determine that this was a problem. If you are not going to use the supplied profiles, be sure to use either Adobe RGB or sRGB color space when exporting images.

Our Costco is expecting a new printer in September that can produce 20x30's for $8. I can't wait!

For more information on preparing your files for printing at Costco please visit this excellent blog post by photographer Philippe Cailloux http://photsy.com/blog/?p=457.

Zipcar Rentals - Why didn't I think of that?

Just when you think that no one can come up with any more creative solutions to transportation in the city, enter the Zipcar rental system. We were just in Boston to help my son move and he arranged for us to get a Zipcar for the day, and then two other times for runs to a picnic and to Costco. The cost? $7 and hour, which includes gas. How does it work? You apply for an account. As an MIT student you get a discount. This has all your pertinent info. Everything is done online. Zipcars are parked at most major parking garages, near the dorms, etc. Just a few cars per spot. Reserve online and pick up at the designated time. Key entry is with your card through a sensor on the front windshield. This unlocks the car, the key is always inside. Drive your car for the time you reserved. If you are running late you can call the reservation system and increase the time if there is no one waiting for the car. If you are late...major penalties, like on the order of $75. Need gas, there is a gas card included, just return the car with at least 1/4 tank. Problem with the car, just call in, to report a dent in the door at pickup or to report that your car is not available. Whoever came up with this is brilliant. Sorta like FedEx, a change in the paradigm of how we think of a service like car rental. I can see that this is the future of rentals in the city. Instead of a 6 day rental at Avis ($465) plus all the associated gas and parking fees (say $150), the Zipcar ended up costing less than $200.  Ok, enough of the advertisement...try to rent one if you can. Boston is also home for the Institute of Contemporary Art. We found the exhibits to be excellent and were surprised to see the entire works of Shepard Fairey (the creator of the Obama Hope poster). The building is also quite unique and we enjoyed the quality of the interior spaces and the views of the waterfront from within. There were also very nice public spaces on the exterior facing the water. Worth a visit.

      

     

The nature of Acadia

 

There is something about Acadia National Park that draws you in. It isn't the throngs of tourists crowding the roads and beaches, the screaming kids at the visitor's center, the ravenous mosquitoes, or the rainy summer days (I do happen to really love crummy weather!). There is something that connects you to the rocky coastline and deep forests, crystal clear lakes, and breathtaking vistas. Two days is not enough to take this in, but we do with what we have. When planning these trips it's always hard to anticipate what the "mood" will be when the end of the week approaches. We always feel rushed to return home, to tend to "things", to handle business. Why? I wish I had reserved a few more days of my life to enjoy this place. Will there be another time? I hope so.

      

Acadia image gallery

"High season" in Acadia (July 4 - Labor Day) means you will have to deal with people, kids, and high prices. There are a few decent places to stay that won't break the bank. I found a nice clean room at the Sunnyside Motel and Cottages just at the turn when you enter Mt Desert Island on Hiway 3. It's about 10 miles from the park entrance.

Penobscot Narrows Bridge

My love affair with bridges comes with my background as a structural engineer. I just can't resist a beautiful bridge. Heading north US1 on the way to Bucksport ME, this bridge suddenly appeared. There was no question about getting off the road. I got off at the observation point, then crossed the bridge to the north bank, and went down the service road to the base. After about an hour it was time to go, but next time the plan is to arrive near sunset to capture some night shots.

Penobscot Narrows Bridge gallery.

A transformative week in Maine

How would you define personal transformation? Fundamental change? Enlightenment? Increased understanding of self? A new direction? All of the above? Last week I attended a workshop at John Paul Caponigro's studio in Cushing ME. It was a gathering of JP's alumni group called Next Step. As the newest member in attendance I really didn't know what to expect. I had meet many of the members online through Facebook and our Yahoo Group. It's amazing how well we can get to know someone through an online experience. The group was also there to attend an opening for their work at the Maine Media Workshops. This was a project all had been working on for almost 2 years, and included generation of a body of work, an artist statement, a book, a website, and 2 framed pieces sent to the show.

 

Through 5 days of discussion, review of work, creative exercises, and plenty of Q&A with JP, I learned a lot about my work, where I was with respect to my growth as an artist, the areas I need to work in, and the questions I need to constantly ask myself so that I can be effective in attaining my goals. My BIG suggestion to all of you who are reaching out to grow and progress in any endeavor - find a group, find a mentor, find resources, find support. There is power in the collective thoughts of like minded people. Ideas, encouragement, constructive criticism, advice, etc., etc. The most profound aspect is the power of your own contributions to your group, by contributing you get more. It's the universal law of giving and receiving, the more you give, the more you receive.

One of the highlights of the week was a visit to the home and studio of Paul Caponigro (JPs dad). Paul lives deep in the woods in an ideal creative environment. Paul presented to us several of his original prints included in his Megaliths monograph. It was an amazing experience. We watched in anticipation as each print was pulled from boxes of archived prints. And then we received the full explanation of when, where, and why each image was taken. Paul is deeply connected spiritually to his work. I gained a new appreciation and insight to this dimension of art...the relation of the work to the artist. Typically this is the part that I begin to glaze over. For the first time I began to see how fundamental and important this connection is.

Jaffe Center for Book Arts

On the FAU campus in Boca Raton, FL is a hidden secret among book artists - the Jaffe Center for Book Arts. It houses a collection of over 6,000 artists' books, selected for their artistic expression, aesthetics, and unique book structures. Truly a one-of-a-kind collection. It occurred to me that as I attempt to assemble folios of my own prints, that the container should reflect the spirit and craftsmanship of the images, as opposed to some manufactured stamped out folder from Office Depot. In fact, a collection of prints bound or loose, is in every sense an "artist book". Just as a mat and frame enhance a larger print for display, a folio should serve a similar purpose when carrying a group of prints. My next project is to design and create a folio product with the artist book in mind. It's amazing how creative and beautiful some of these handmade books are. Many are produced as limited editions, and sought after by collectors and museums. Combining the medium of artist book and photographic folio does not seem to be a common practice. Perhaps one does not want to be distracted by the other. Are you a photograph or are you a book? I saw a few very beautiful photographic books in the Jaffe collection, some with minimal text, others with loose prints and pages. Anything is possible.

 

We were very honored to have time with both Arthur Jaffe, original donor of the collection, and John Cutrone, Program Director. Their love of books is evident. Thank you gentlemen for sharing your passion with us.

For Everglades Exhibition

Today Dorian and I drove to Gainesville to see an exhibit at the Florida Museum of Natural History titled: For Everglades - photos by Clyde Butcher and Jeff Ripple. Extraordinary. I've been to Butcher's Big Cypress gallery and have to say that viewing the large prints in the museum/gallery setting enhanced the viewing experience by providing the space required to view prints of this size. These images are simply unbelievable. Adjacent to this museum is the Harn Museum of Art, where we viewed the exhibition: Landscape Perspectives: Highlights from the Photography Collection. These museums are associated with the University of Florida and offer a superb resource to anyone who can get there. Admission is free. Whenever you can, check out local museums and galleries to seek out inspiration and view works of exceptional quality. It's all there, you just have to find it.

Inspiration from Jim Henson

"I don't know exactly where ideas come from...it's just a matter of us figuring out how to receive the ideas waiting to be heard."  - Jim Henson

Today we drove to Orlando to view the Jim Henson Smithsonian exhibition at the Orlando History Center. I'm a great fan of the Muppets and it was very enlightening to see how Henson's career developed and how prolific he was as creative genius. From early starts in TV commercials, to Sesame Street, to the Muppets, to movies like the Dark Crystal...the list goes on. I also realized that as a businessman, Henson was very aware of not only what the market needed, but how to build an organization that enabled him to enlist the talents of others and to leave a legacy of accomplishment. They don't make them like Jim Henson very often. Try to catch this exhibit if it comes close to you.

"I've always been in awe of the incredible beauty of every last bit of design in nature." - Jim Henson

After the museum closed we walked to the Church Street Marketplace and to my surprise it was largely abandoned. This used to be a happening place. Very sad. A huge condo was in the main square and the security guard said it was in foreclosure. Rough times everywhere.

 

 

Riverside Arts Market

Jacksonville has a new venue for artists, The Riverside Arts Market. It's been in the making for years, and surprisingly came to fruition a few weeks ago. This is a weekly, Saturday only market complete with food vendors, bands, and other fun activities. Attendence has exceeded all expectations. It's nice to see the arts being supported in Jacksonville. I met several photographers, the most noteable was a guy named Bill Yates of Cypix. Bill is a Jacksonville native and specializes in aerial photography. His abstracts from the air really caught my eye.

I settled down for a pulled pork BBQ sandwich and fries...just what the body needed! Couldn't resist some bridge abstracts either.

 

My new website - dougengphoto.com

Finally I can say that my new website is ready. Websites are never complete, they just move into different states of "readiness." I've been working on this thing for a month, and each day I think to myself about the Livebooks ad that says, "I became a photographer so I can manage my website." HA! How true and how right it can be for some people. But they weren't going to get my $1700. I can honestly say that this has been a rewarding milestone for me. It's not for everyone, but I derive a sense of accomplishment and freedom knowing that I can control a piece of my business. Sorta like growing your own food or fixing your car. All of us have grown so dependent on services, that we have lost the art of doing things ourselves. Maybe that's why the DIY movement is so popular these days. It certainly helps counter the otherwise oppressive news we seem to be bombarded with by the media. I admit the site is not perfect and I am not really happy with the navigation in the Portfolio, but that fact that I have everything in Wordpress is great for me. One big happy place. Fully maintainable anytime, anyplace. I didn't pay a cent for any of the programs, all of them are Open Source and freely available. All tutorials and forums, freely available. Lots of helpful people to work out problems...people helping each other and passing it along. That is what is so remarkable about the web. I can't say enough about it. It's wonderful.

Over the next few days I will be documenting what I did to get this site up and running. I am not a web programmer, in fact my former employees would probably say I'm not really a programmer either...but if you have time and some masochistic tendencies, you can do this. Or you can have a good read about how some of us spend our free time.

Now to let the world know...