Shorts on a Line

Now that the Photo Synthesis exhibit has wrapped up, I'm already thinking about the photos that I would want to show at the next show.

If I ever have another exhibit, that is.

I learned a lot from Photo Synthesis. I learned what size of photo seems to be more popular. Though one of my larger pictures did sell, neither of my largest, 24 x 36 canvas prints, sold. Most of the framed prints that were most successful were 8 x 10, or smaller.

Nature subjects sold better than did subjects of city scenes or candid people shots. Though I did sell my closeup of the waterfront buildings in Porto, Portugal, most photos that had people in the frame did not sell.

I think that if I were to select photos again, I'd go for some of my bird photos and some of my flower shots. I'd offer some of my landscape nature images. While I've learned that a good photo should tell a story, many photos in the exhibit that screamed storytelling remained unsold at the end of the last day.

Photo Synthesis was a good first show. Given that the Arbor Gallery is in a remote town, I'm surprised I sold any of my works. I did speak to a lot of people who were interested in my photos and asked me about the stories behind them, or how I came upon the photo opportunity, but in the end those curious folks didn't make any purchases.

That's okay.

I learned a lot and will have a new understanding if I'm ever to do this again.

When the doors closed on the gallery and my remaining prints were loaded in my car, one of the other photographers (who's also an old friend) and the exhibit's curator (a new friend), both who live in Vankleek Hill, invited me for a pint at the town's tavern. We sat at a table on the patio, out behind the tavern.

My friend, Greg, noticed a clothes line, beyond the patio and high above, with two pairs of shorts hanging. He pointed it out to me and said that it was too bad that we didn't have our cameras with us. The shorts would make for an interesting shot.

I pulled out my smartphone and captured a quick shot. I then ran the image through my phone's photo-editing software, Snapseed, and in less than a minute showed my work.

"Should I have it printed?" I asked.

Well, should I?

(No. The answer is no.)

Happy Monday!

Weekend Plans

Another weekend is fast upon us. Is it me or does 2023 seem to be going by so quickly? It's hard to believe that we're approaching the end of July.

I hope the coming weekend brings you a good balance of productivity and relaxation. I truly hope you find joy over the next few days (and always, of course).

If you don't have any plans for the weekend and you live somewhere between Ottawa and Montreal, might I suggest that you take a day trip to Vankleek Hill, a short detour off the highway that joins these two major Canadian cities?

My Photo Synthesis exhibit is still running strong. Photographs from three Vankleek Hill artists and me show a unique perspective of the world around us, from a cat sitting on a bicycle, a statue blended into waves on water, flowers and birds, to a lone woman walking on a New York City subway platform, the exhibit at the Arbor Gallery is a great collection of eclectic images.

If you're up for a road trip, get to Vankleek Hill for lunch time and stop at The Broken Kettle for delicious sandwiches, lovely pastries and treats, and tasty coffee. From there, drive or even walk (it's less than five minutes on foot) to the gallery, on Home Avenue.

Next to the gallery is the Higginson Tower, an historical landmark that you can climb to gain a unique perspective of your own.

After your visit to Arbor Gallery, head over to Beau's Brewery and pick up a pint or six pack. If you're up for a scenic drive back to Ottawa, take some of the county roads that head west, passing by farms where their silos are painted with various artwork. Take highway 17 through Alfred, Plantagenet, Clarence-Rockland, and follow the Ottawa River back to the city.

If you're heading back to Montreal, head north to Hawkesbury (it's a pretty little town, too) and then take county road 4, following the river toward Voyageur Provincial Park, and then hook back up with the 417.

Photo Synthesis runs until Sunday, July 30. On the last day, the photographers will be there to close out the exhibit.

So... what are your weekend plans?

Happy Friday!

Never Simple

I like to think of myself as a simple man, neither dull nor extraordinary, getting through life as best as I can, trying to avoid adding chaos while still trying to bring joy to me and those around me.

When I felt a bit ill, on Sunday evening, I hoped it was a symptom of fatigue from the weekend's activities, mixed with a bit of stress over this coming weekend's Photo Synthesis art exhibit vernissage, where three Eastern Ontario photographers and I will be showing some of our work and meeting patrons of Arbor Gallery, in Vankleek Hill.

A good night's rest, I told myself, is all I needed. Simple.

However, when I woke up on Monday, I had a cramping pain in my abdomen and had a headache. It almost felt like a major hangover from a night of binging, even though I hadn't consumed more than a half pint of beer on Sunday afternoon. I had eaten well and healthily, and had gone to bed at a decent hour.

Apart from having felt a little off, the night before, there was no foreseeing that I'd feel so rough the next morning.

I called in sick, and confined myself to bed. Eventually, the headache subsided but the pain in my abdomen grew worse. I hadn't eaten for the entire day, until dinner, when DW convinced me to eat a bit of the pasta she had prepared.

After dinner, I went back to bed.

That's right: I look JUST like that!

On Tuesday, I felt even worse, with the pain in my belly changing from a generalized ache to an acute sensation in one place, in my lower-right abdomen. Worried that I might have appendicitis, I called my doctor and made an appointment, and was seen just after lunch.

My temperature was taken (normal), blood pressure tested (normal), and poked in the belly (not normal). It was suggested that I might, indeed, have appendicitis, and an appointment was made for me to have an ultrasound.

Simple, straight to the heart of the matter.

My ultrasound was first thing on Wednesday morning. The technician was highly trained and was able to detect an inflammation of my appendix.

"What's the next step?" I asked.

"Hospital," was the response. "Today. Now." I was assured that the appendix hadn't ruptured, that I might have a day or two, but that I shouldn't wait until it's too late. "If it stops hurting," I was told, "it's because it has burst. You want to be able to feel it."

I took the time to go home and collect DW, and to let my coworkers know that I'd be off for the rest of the week.

The emergency room was packed. I have to say that I have such a high respect for our healthcare workers. Even in the face of such chaos, where patients were screaming at them and voicing their impatience, the nurses and doctors never wavered from the task at hand, triaging those in need of urgent care and telling the others to wait their turn.

A sign at the entrance warned patients that there was a minimum wait time of eight hours just to see a doctor.

My doctor had called the hospital ahead of time. The imaging clinic had already sent the scan results but had sent me a CD with the results as well. And while I still had to submit myself to the triage nurse and register, I was quickly processed with blood and urine samples.

Within two hours, I was given a CT scan. It confirmed, in clearer detail, that indeed I had appendicitis. Surgery was required and I was passed on to a surgeon.

It sounds like I had a simple case that was caught and easily treatable. After all, I'm a simple man—or at least I like to consider myself simple.

But when it comes to my physical health, things are rarely simple.

I used to have extraordinary vision until my early 40s. I could do that Bugs Bunny trick of reading every line on an eye chart, including the copyright statement at the bottom.

My feet had a rare disease that rarely affects both. I had it in both.

And now, with my appendicitis, just before I was to be scheduled for surgery, the new doctor found a complication.

It seems that there's an infection that has not only inflamed my appendix but the intestine tract connected to it. A thick mucus has enveloped the area, making it hard to see whether the issue is confined to my appendix.

The surgeon said that if she were to operate today, she would have to remove all of the inflamed area, which would include half of my colon.

Not so simple.

She suggested, instead, that we treat the infection around the appendix with strong antibiotics and see what's left. In a couple of weeks, we'd perform the appendectomy.

Assuming it doesn't burst, first.

I was given the option of being admitted to a room for 24-hour observation. I could also receive the first dose of antibiotics and pain meds, intravenously, and then sent home with prescriptions. I would report back if things didn't improve.

If I developed a fever or the pain increased, I was to get back to the hospital immediately. The surgeon also gave me her number.

That's what I did. I don't like spending more time in a hospital than need be. There are too many sick folks there.

There are only two more days until the Photo Synthesis vernissage and I'm going to do everything I can to be there.

Plain and simple. Wish me luck.

BTW: Beer O'Clock is postponed until my appendix is fixed and I'm able to resume beer consumption.

Fraud Syndrome

Yesterday, I drove out to Vankleek Hill to drop off my work for the Photo Synthesis art exhibit, which open this Thursday. The next time I drive to the Arbor Gallery, 10 of my photos will be hung on the walls to be displayed to the curious public.

Hanok Home (12" x 15.5" print
in a 17" x 21" matted frame)

That's when I'll be exposed for the fraud that I am.

I've already withdrawn four photographs from my initial submission, replaced with a single print that I like for the colours but the longer that I look at it, the more I think it shouldn't belong on a wall. The memory surrounding that photo has significance to me but I doubt anyone else will find it appealing.

What makes me think that I have any right to show my work to people in such a fashion? I'm not an artist. Some of my photos, in my opinion, are good, but I can't help but think that someone will come to the exhibit, look at one of my photos, sneer, and say, "You're actually asking money for someone to buy that and... what? Hang it on their wall? Who do you think you are?"

I'm gradually getting into the headspace where I think of this exhibit as an exercise in humility. Each of the photos that I've submitted have some meaning to me, take me to a time where I noticed something, it held my interest, and I captured it on either 35mm film or digitally.

Some of the subjects in the images were fleeting and can never be reproduced. Other subjects are still where I left them but I'll never be back to where I captured them. These are moments in time that came about simply because I noticed them.

Most of these photographs will never be printed again, so those who decide to buy them will own the only printed copy. Perhaps, that will make the images special to someone.

Photo Synthesis runs from July 6 to 30, with a vernissage on July 8 from 1 to 3. If you want to make a special trip to Vankleek Hill, come and say hello. Come and meet three other local photographers who will also be sharing their work. I've seen a few of their photos and they are worth the trip.

Hopefully, a strong presence of art lovers will dispel the fraud syndrome I'm feeling. (Either that, or they'll validate my fear.

Wish me luck.

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.

My Collection

The hardest thing I think that I've had to do, of late, was to select what I thought were 10 to 12 of my personal-best photos to show and sell at the upcoming Photo Synthesis exhibit, in Vankleek Hill.

I'm highly critical of my own photos, even when someone tells me that a particular photo is very good. For me to select a bunch of my photos that I feel that people would actually want to buy was a daunting task.

Even now, when I've submitted the photos to the Arbor Gallery, I have my doubts that any of them will sell. And if nothing sells, I'll have the evidence that tells me that I really am an amateur, and to call myself "a photographer" is nothing short of fraud.

Next month will tell.

This post is to remind you that you should come out to Vankleek Hill, a little over an hour east of Ottawa, next month and check out the photography of some local photographers. Photo Synthesis starts on July 6 and runs to the end of the month, with a vernissage (meet-and-greet) on July 8 from 1 until 4.

To give you a taste of what I've submitted, here are just a few:

I hope to see you there, if for nothing other than moral support.

Photo Synthesis

A while back, I mentioned that I will be participating in an art gallery, where I'll be showcasing some of my best photos with other photographers from the Ottawa area. I now have a date.

July 6 to 30.

The theme of the exhibit is Photo Synthesis—four photographers sharing their vision. For me, my photos represent an instant in time where I saw something that was fleeting: either I was going somewhere and couldn't linger or the subject was moving and would soon be gone. In most cases, it was I who was on the move but for my main piece, it was an instant that was never going to repeat itself and if I hadn't captured it, the moment would be lost forever.

Choosing the photos was the greatest challenge. I do like a lot of my photos but when it comes to printing them to a certain size and looking them in a frame, my whole perception of the photo changes. I sent one photo to be enlarged to an 8 x 12 print, and as soon as it was in a matted frame, I didn't like the shot.

My mom was visiting shortly after I put the photo in the frame, and she loved it so I let her take it home. (Funny: on the wall upon which she's hung it at her place, it actually looks pretty good, though I still don't think I could sell it.)

The Photo Synthesis exhibit is out of the way, as far as galleries are concerned. The event is taking place at Arbor Gallery, in Vankleek Hill, which is more than an hour away from my home. But I guess I've got to start some place, yes?

There's a vernissage that will take place on Saturday, July 8, from 1 to 4 pm, and Vankleek Hill is an interesting town, near Hawkesbury. Heck, even Beau's All Natural Brewery is here, for all you beer lovers. I'll be there to meet and greet so I invite you to make the trip and see what the gallery and the town have to offer.

I'll be reminding you about the exhibit from now until it wraps up. Fair warning!

Wordless Wednesday: Art of the Brick

Photo Friday: Catching Air

They had no wings but they could fly.

What more can I say?

Happy Friday!