I can listen to a piece of music, watch a sunset, recall a distant memory and suddenly the first four acts of a five act play are written in my mind. I can see the whole world, the characters, the flow of the story and I sit transfixed watching my own private imagination Netflix.
This is the world that I bring with me as a photographer. This is the world that I see when I create with Photoshop.
And this is the world that I share with you, now.
Happy birthday Allie and thank you for helping me tell another story.
Cosplayer: Allie Kali Photography and Photoshop art: Reality Reimagined
I don’t know what was said to get this combo of looks, but I think there must be some sort of AMAZING story here. 😉
I do however know what the story was for the second image – I told the ladies, “you look like you three are being held for questioning, standing outside of an actively burning night club that you all happily started the fire at.”
I am proud to share that my image “The Angel of Justice” has been nominated for a Grand Imaging Award by Professional Photographers of America.
I read a quote long ago, “the only thing that separates the life that we live and the life we dream of, is fear.” I have many dreams and many fears; both I live with equally and endeavor to understand them. Today is a day for dreams.
This is one of the highest achievements you can attain from PPA (in regard to image competition and recognition) and in this part of the photography industry. I am still quite in shock, given the circumstances of this image and its performance in the print competition. However the overwhelming emotion is not fear, but gratitude.
The top three finalists will be announced at Imaging USA in January of 2020 and I am thrilled to be a part of that collective of art and creatives. You can see the other fourteen amazing pieces of art in my category, as well as the other artists and categories being nominated by visiting the PPA site: https://ppmag.com/gallery/2020-grand-imaging-awards-finalists-creative-open
Getting the Greek myth vibe going again for my future projects and decided to turn back to some images captured with one of the best humans I know – my dear friend Lauren.
She is incredibly talented, both as a model and her primary profession as a hair and make-up artist. We’ve worked together on so many projects and I’ve come to trust every-single-idea that comes out of her beautiful mind and always enjoy a chance to laugh with her about life and the shenanigans found therein.
Persephone is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter and is described by Homer as the formidable, venerable, majestic queen of the underworld, who carries into effect the curses of men upon the souls of the dead.
So definitely a lot more story to explore there… 🙂
This piece is called “The Angel of Justice” and scored my highest score of 81 in the recent image competition, through Professional Photographers of America.
This is the only piece that I purposefully created (from starting image, to final art) with the competition in mind. And it is a wonderful reflection of the challenges of image competition and my strong feelings about them. Some may take joy in every aspect of creating an entry into a competition. I did not. I found myself with the anxiety of second-guessing every step. “Should the light be this dramatic?” “Should I go more simplistic with the design?” “They say to have details in the shadows, but don’t have too many shadows, make sure the highlights aren’t blown out, but don’t have too many highlights…”
It’s maddening.
A powerful voice in this industry once said, “don’t give the judges anything to think about” in regard to the complexity of design. Implying that the more simple, the more impactful of the artwork, the better your chances are of scoring higher.
I retorted, “then why make art at all and compete with it?”
Another powerful voice in the industry told me recently, “they are judging from a place of tech first and art second in most cases. An artist like you creates from the heart, not with rules.” They gave me the wisdom of creating the art first, then altering it to fit the unknown variables a judge would put on top of it.
Art is subjective; it can not be judged. The value we place in it, is solely our own. Competing is folly, but there are benefits to it. What benefits and what truths are real or not?
That opinion I will share tomorrow with my last piece from the competition.
Models: Liza Davis and Mary L. Poll MUA: Luna Wise Location: Parkwood Photography Studios Photography and Photoshop art: Reality Reimagined
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