Changing My Mind Is Better Than Losing It

In a panic, last week, I reached out to the organizer of next month's Photo Synthesis exhibit. I had submitted the photos that I wanted to include but I had second thoughts on four of them.

By saying that I had submitted the photos, I meant that I had given them 13 low-resolution copies of the image files, of which the promoter of the exhibit would use in advertising for the event, which runs from July 6 to the end of the month. My panic came from the thought that promotional material may have already been printed.

I didn't like four of my submissions. They were a series of similar shots, produced as 4" x 6" prints in matted, 5" x 7" frames. Two vertical images and two horizontal images that would be arranged to occupy a square space.

I thought the photos were okay when I considered submitting them. I had them printed and mounted years ago and they had actually been hanging on a wall at work, along with more of my photos and those from other photographers in the company.

But almost immediately after submitting these four photos, among my others, I decided that I really didn't like the images. In fact, I hated them.

And now I was going to lose my mind if it was too late to do anything about them.

I have a photo hanging on a wall in my home that I like better than any of the series of four. It's a sunset shot of the Grand Canyon, in Arizona, that I shot at sunset, seconds before I lost my hat to the wind.

(I always wonder if anyone has found it and is now wearing it. I hate to think it's gone to waste, far down the canyon.)

I created a low-res copy of the photo and sent it to the organizer, hopeful that I wasn't too late. And as luck would have it, I wasn't. And she said that she loved the new submission.

So, I have 10 photos that will be on display and for sale at the Photo Synthesis exhibit, at the Arbor Gallery, in Vankleek Hill. I know that the venue is a fair distance from Ottawa and that coming out is a big commitment, but the town is lovely and is worth the drive. The event's vernissage is on Saturday, July 8, from 1 to 4, and you'll get to meet all of the photographers and admire their work.

Please consider coming out.