Collections by Carol/ summervp

Collections by Carol/ summervp
a/k/a Prints As Art

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Is Your Camera Really Important?

Is Your Camera Really Important?

As a photographer and artist I get asked this all the time?  I had one guy say to me..."sure you can take nice images...you have a fancy camera!"
  I have a Sony A33.  Which by no means is a bad camera, but it isn't one of the cameras that everyone touts is the best camera for shooting anything or everything I shoot.  And I do shoot across the gamut from macros to landscapes, wildlife to portraits, still life to events and festivals; and I need to adjust to every environment.  I'm the one that needs to adjust to the situation or the lighting or the subject matter.  And yes lenses, filters and camera do make a difference but they are not the most important element in the formula for a great image.  As a photographer I need to know not only how to adjust to my subject matter and the environment I'm shooting, but also I need to know how to download my images,  save them, back them up, chose the ones I judge as good enough to make the cut to post process.  And choosing a form of  post processing, because of the digital age, can be very technical, daunting, and time consuming.  Then I need to get my images "out there".  They need to be available.  They need to be seen.  They need viewers and followers.  My images are not just "a picture" or a "photo" they are hand picked, lovingly processed and shared with my followers and clients and chosen with a particular purpose in mind.  Yes, my camera recorded what I wanted it to.  But,  I'm the person behind the lens. I'm the person who created the image you see before you. So finally, is my camera important?  My camera is only as important as any other tool I use to create my art.  It was Ansel Adams, who famously said “You don’t take a photograph, you make it”.




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Monday, April 8, 2013

What Motivates Someone to Buy Photography?



In reading an article posted on Linkedin under Photography News by Peter Johnson, I in turn am asking my friends and clients the same question...

What Motivates Someone to Buy Photography?

I'm curious to know how we might rethink the way photography is perceived and transacted as a collectable art form. Sure, you buy art because you like it. Or, if you're buying at the top of the pyramid - for investment. But for those of us who simply appreciate art and collect it for the personal enjoyment that it brings - what is the motivator, the call to action? The image, the photographer, the story, price, size, edition size, print size are all variables, that for the most part, don't exist in other forms of contemporary art. And because photography is a reproducible art form, does that mean that collectors interpret the value differently? Would I be more likely to buy someone's work because they were involved with a non-profit that I liked, or helped kids or because I want to be a part of a community of other people that buy their work?   What you think?  What would make you buy a photograph over any other type of 2 dimensional art?

Link can be found at:  http://www.linkedin.com/groupAnswers?viewQuestionAndAnswers=&discussionID=223458326&gid=3503915&commentID=125542645&goback=.amf_3503915_84655800&trk=NUS_DISC_Q-subject#commentID_125542645

Feel free to post your comments here or on my Facebook Page:

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Tuesday, April 2, 2013

What Inspires You?




I've been asked "What Inspires You".  I guess to be honest, I'd have to say:  the day and the opportunity.  I get up and it's beautiful outside: I go out and shoot.  I get up and the weather is not so good:  I  post process the images I shot yesterday.  I get up and I have 9 errands to run that day:  I grab my list and my camera (because you never know when the opportunity will arise) and I head out the door crossing things off the list as a go. 

What inspires me is that you never know what the day holds in store for you unless you seize the day. I believe opportunity creates action and inversely, action creates opportunity.  If I don't act; I simply don't create.  So I just get out there and....do it!

In addition, this past year has taught me not to question or to negate a photo shoot opportunity based simply on whether I think someone will like the art I produce..or that they will buy it.  I simply produce the art and let others decide if they like it or not. I like it, I like the process of what I do, I refuse to get hung up on whether someone else likes it or will buy it.

I found this great quote by a very controversial yet successful artist:

     " Don't just think about making art...get it done.  Let everyone else decide if its good or bad,
       whether they love it or hate it.  While deciding, make even more art."
                                                                                                        -Andy Warhol-

And like Warhol...I'm too busy creating to worry about my 15 minutes of fame...I might miss something.


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Monday, April 1, 2013

How to Buy Art

How to Buy Art - Tom Delvan
 
You know how it is when your sitting in a waiting room just passing the time flipping through the magazines strewn all over the tables. Well this past month I came across an article from one of my favorite magazines "Real Simple" where Designer and Art Buyer, Tom Delvan shares his advice on how to buy affordable art and make it look like a million bucks.  Since creating and making affordable art is my business I'l like to share Tom's pointers on "How to Buy Art". 
 
 I'd love to hear your view and opinions about the article.




 
 
 
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