CMAs, Music and Art

The Country Music Awards event brings together an amazing collection of professionals to celebrate their music. More and more as I listen to country music I think about about each song as a product. Each single is carefully designed to make a point and take the listener somewhere special.

Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood's "Remind Me" is a great example of a song that takes you to the early days of a relationship. The song makes a picture without a camera.

But there is a lesson in their lyrics, notes, and presentation. Each single has a life of its own and affects people. The goal here is to do the same with each photograph.

Slow Exposures Exhibit Closes on Saturday - Don't Miss It!

There aren't a lot of photography shows that benefit a county, public buildings or the land. But http://www.slowexposures.org/ does! This was the most fun photography show I have participated in. They had a soiree, a ball and a book of the images all as part of the fundraiser for a neighborhood in need. This year's show benefited the Whiskey Bonding Barn in Pike County, Georgia.



Show Book $50 and name tags

 Even though I had another art festival this past weekend, I attended the show. I hope you take the drive down south and explore the art and the city before it's over on September 25th. Here are a few photographs from the Ball and Exhibit. My image titled Slow Dance was juried into the show. P.S. These photographs were taken with my iPhone... so they are lacking a bit, but you can get the idea. This was definitely a first class event!

September's Slow Dance

Slow Dance

This month is jam packed. I have four art festivals: Marietta Art in the Park, Birmingham Artwalk, Roswell Arts Festival, and Charlotte's Art in the Park. All of these festivals are new to me. See my show schedule here.

On the 3rd, I opened my exhibit of 12 images titled Georgia's State Parks at REI Perimeter in Atlanta.

Slow Exposures is opening on the 16th... I dropped off my photograph titled Slow Dance and 3 prints yesterday.

Women In Focus' juried photography show is opening on the 16th at Mason Murer art gallery in Atlanta. My hydrangea image titled Twist-n-Shout was selected for this exhibit. You can see it on my webpage.

I remember thinking when I read Gary Vaynerchuk's book Crush It that there was no way I would work every minute. I thought, "I won't have time for that with three kids." But I have found time. This past spring I remember packing for my trip to Colorado, and running outside with my camera and snapping  up the neighbor's dogwoods. (I knew they wouldn't be blooming when I returned.) In those few minutes I captured many beautiful photographs like the one above.

Yes, I did attend to my children's open house last night. We had two home-cooked meals this week. In a lot of ways this September seems surreal. I am very lucky that all these events have fallen into place.

This morning many areas in the Northeast are flooding, the fires are burning in Texas, much of California is without power, and September 11 is almost upon us, but take my image with you. It reminds me to dance slowly. Enjoy each activity like it's your first slow dance in high school.

High Museum Presents Cartier-Bresson on a Grand Scale

Have you ever studied 295 photographs by one photographer that you didn't personally shoot and download on to your computer? Imagine them all printed and framed. What an undertaking! I was lucky to view the Henri Cartier Bresson exhibit at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta prior to its opening Saturday, Feb. 19.
This super show of Bresson's work is on view until May 29, 2011. The collection was created at MOMA by Peter Galassi. The High's new photography curator, Brett Abbott organized the show on blue walls on the second floor of the museum in Atlanta. Abbott officially begins his job on April 1, 2011. He shines as an energetic new staff member with lots of ideas percolating.

Bresson is one of my personal favorite photographers. I teach about his art as part of my journalism camp and photography classes because he coined the expression "decisive moment." This moment as portrayed in a sunset, expression or event is what we are looking for to tell the story of our art. It is particularly exemplified in the image in the upper left. Here Bresson presses the shutter just before the man lands in the water. After the landing this image would be much different. His work is about taking the shot at just the moment when people are aligned in the scene.

The exhibit at the High museum is vast also in that it includes scenes from all over the United States and world. Bresson was born in France to a wealthy family and pursued photography interests at an early age. He developed a style  of capturing the ordinary and achieved fame as a street photographer.  Study these images at the High Museum to develop your own style of photography.

Take your Kids to the Booth Museum During the Holiday Break

Ansel Adams never looked so good. The Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville, Georgia is hosting an exhibit of 131 photographs printed by Adams himself until Feb. 20, 2011. Both these book cover photographs pictured here are included in the show. (I did not see the books in the museum shop though.) His images are all black and white photographs framed in a light wood frame. The photograph to the left is of aspens and one of my favorites from the show.
I enjoyed the presentation by John Mariana a few weeks ago at the Roswell Photographic Society. He is presenting Ansel Adams again at the Southeastern Photographic Society on Jan. 7. It was a nice slide show/history of the man and his work.

As a special bonus... the museum hosts a presidential room, which includes photographs, a letter, the translation and four facts on each President of the United States. My children enjoyed this room and read all of the materials and asked questions. This was a really nice family outing to the Booth Museum. This museum is in the north eastern section of Georgia off highway 75 and exit 288, not too far from Tennessee and Alabama, well worth the drive.

Pictured to the left here is a photography platform that Adams created for the top of his car. Wouldn't I love one of those on top of my Highlander! Would other photographers buy one of these? Maybe my luggage carrier could be converted into a platform.