Two weeks, a lot to do and balance must be found...

Behind I Go - Door Pass @ Badlands National Park

So, for those who follow me on Twitter, I've been rather quiet over there for the past week+.  As time is moving forward and it is getting closer and closer to my leaving, I'm focusing more and more on getting myself prepared to leave and my posting is falling back.  It also doesn't help that I had enough pain to drive me to the ER due to gallstones so I'm working on getting some balance back into my body.  Can't have surgery right now, nor do I ever want it!  So working on some alternative treatment, but that takes time.  Even the rare drugs doctors prescribe take a long time to dissolve the stones.  So, here's a brief rundown of what I need to accomplish in the next two weeks:

1. Improve my nutrition and get my body into a better state.
2. I still need to raise around $2,500 to fund the trip without having to borrow the money, granted, this probably didn't help with the initial attack or getting the balance back that I need.
3. I need to setup my office computers so that I can log in via the internet in case I need to debug any problems and to work on the financials at work while I am gone.
4. I am needing to move my studio so I need to pack everything up, clean up the suite I've been in and move it to the new place.
5. Need to do some construction in the new place to put everything.
6. Still need to make sure someone can run all the payroll and other functions I can't do while gone.
7. Need to plan out the part of the trip with my son and when my residency is done, which is April 27th.  I need to be in Dallas before May 7th and we need to be home around May 15th so he can make it to a job that is already arranged.  None of that is planned out as I'm not sure if what funds I'll have for it.  That $2,500 needed is only covering me through April 27th. :/
8. I still need to mat around 2 dozen prints and deliver them to the Arts Council of White Lake.
9. Need to truly finish my 2 leather/photo combination prints and get them hung at the Arts Council of White Lake.
10. Taxes for 2 businesses and the FAFSA turned in for my son.
11. Dehydrating food and making jerky to eat on the trip.
12. Inspecting all of my equipment (camera and camping) to make sure I get no surprises.
13. I have several modifications to do to my website that MUST be done before I leave so those who have done a business sponsorship get what I have promised them.
14. Order some new equipment (if I can find the funds) so I can accomplish everything I am trying to do.
15. Make a new panoramic head instead of spending several hundred on one.

And the list goes on and I have 14 days...

Why do this? Why put myself through such stress? Because in the end, I know it will be worth it! I love being in nature and shooting, it is what I want to be able to do for a living.  I'll need to arrange to have a booth at some different art shows and to sell some more pieces to help fund everything, but even then I will want to sell sponsorships to help fund some of these trips.  I like this idea of letting people who sponsor me to help pick out the piece they receive as the limited edition print. How often does that happen? If you want to be a part of that, visit my Kickstarter campaign and make the $50 pledge.  It gives you a voice in the limited edition piece you will receive.

Back to the beginning

"Sometimes you gotta go back to the beginning to learn" - 

Krs One

This is so true in photography, at least in my opinion.  There are concepts of digital photography that I wouldn't really understand without the darkroom experience that I have.  Dodging and burning are great examples.  In the darkroom, dodging is where you block light from hitting an area on the paper making the image lighter there and burning is where you allow more light to an area to make it darker.  The words make so much sense with that viewpoint.  When I first learned to print, I didn't learn the words, just the techniques.  I never understood what these tools were in Photoshop until I did some formal darkroom study, then it clicked.

So excited about my Artist in Residence position at Badlands National Park because I'll be spending some time back at my beginnings as a photographer.  I'll be shooting some film, between the Badlands and the trip home I plan on shooting 100' of film (20 rolls or so) Some of these are geared towards a book or other articles that I have planned on writing.  Some of them will be for the coffee table book I am going to self publish as well as a small collection of limited edition prints.

Shot through an 80mm Meade Telescope, non HDR

I'm also able to get back to one of my original inspirations for getting into photography, astrophotography.  I will have access to both of the parks telescopes, which I'll make sure I can hook up both my digital and film cameras to.  This way I can do some b/w shots on film and some color with the digital.  I might do some of the same objects to use as a comparison so people can see the difference between standard b/w print, standard digital image and an HDR image using the same area of the Moon as the subject.  One day, when I'm selling more prints, I'll but my own bigger telescope that I can use, has been a goal of mine for a very long time now.

So, it's back to the beginning to understand more about my art.  I'm looking forward to it and I hope you are too!

-Steven

You get what you pay for...

"Peaceful Turmoil"

 I know this doesn't have to do with my upcoming trip, but this is something I've been thinking about writing for awhile and more so as I see some 'specials' from various companies and artists.

First off, I have mentioned before one lab I had worked with in the past would use different quality of paper for different price points. The paper they used for school and sport pictures wasn't designed to last a lifetime, let alone more than one.  It was a cheaper paper that allowed them to offer a lower price.

I know when I look for paper for my prints I can find it ranging from around $45 for a 17" x 100' roll, which will allow me to print around 180 8x10 pictures so the paper would come to about $0.25 per print.  I can get a higher quality paper, standard glossy which I like to use, for around $100 for the same size roll which comes closer to $0.53 per 8x10 print.  All of my art pictures are printed on metallic paper, which is about $230 for the same size, which comes to $1.28 for, just the paper, for the same 8x10 print.

Now ink, because I do make giclee prints and run them through a printer that costs several thousands so I have a professional looking product.  I could get off brand inks for them, but the printer and print drivers aren't designed for them.  The color management I do isn't designed for the off brand inks either.  It just isn't worth cutting the costs to give a product I'm not 100% confident is the best that I can produce.

"Admire Me"

I can't recall who said that "An artist isn't paid for his time, he's paid for his concept.", but I don't fully agree with this.  Artists SHOULD be paid for their time.  Why is my time worth less than someone working at a fast food restaurant?!?! It isn't, in my book, and never will be.  So let's look at this upcoming trip for a minute.  I will be bringing around $6,000 of equipment with me, yes, $6,000  It is a lot.  Now, I'm gone for 2 months so when you consider expenses and loss of pay, there is another $4-5,000.  That's a lot of money, especially if I only get a couple great shots.  So let me say I put $6,500 into this one trip with equipment, expenses and loss of pay. and get 20 good shots, that is $325 per shot. O.o  If I was selling 8x10 pictures for $5.00 each that means I would need to sell 2,000 pictures to break even. 

Now, to add a little more.  Let's say I work 8hrs a day while there, and no I doubt I'll take any days off as I want to maximize my time, that is 448 hours and doesn't count any editing time.  At 2,000 pictures, $5. each, I've made NOTHING!  Would you work for 448 hours to receive no pay for your finished work? I don't think so.

An artists time is valuable and if you don't think their time is at least as valuable as  you, that is your choice, but I hope they will value your time just as much.  Honestly, I think $30 for a matted 8x10 print that has a UV coating on it is cheap.  I've had other people say that it is cheap as well.  If I didn't make any limited edition pieces, I would still need to sell 260 at $30 each to break even. 

Next time you are looking at an artists work, think about the time they put into it before deciding if it isn't worth the price and think how much is that time worth to you!

What possessed you to go without pay for two months?

Whitelake Lightstation

I have been asked that question, or something similar, more than once lately.  Often times, yes they do really ask "What possessed you..." For me, it's a no brainer, it's a challenge and can be a big hardship, but if I turned it down I would wonder why I was such an idiot.

So here is some data on why, for me, this is a no brainer.

1) I love the outdoors.  Camping, hiking, taking pictures, looking at the stars, etc.  I love it.  I feel at piece while outdoors.  I feel the most refreshed falling asleep to rain falling on my tent and waking to the birds singing in the morning.  Yes, some might think I'm nuts, but that's fine, it is who I am.

2) As a photographer and artist, this is a fantastic opportunity to create a solid portfolio of work I get to spend 6 weeks at a single park as an official volunteer.  I get to explore the park like few others can because of the position and the length of time that I'll be there.  Who wouldn't want that opportunity?

3) Adventures like this are a part of who I am, simply put!

4) It is a challenge and I sometimes need challenges to help move me forward, well a different challenge.  Trying to make it as an artist is getting harder, more so for photographers because so many people think they can buy a nice digital camera now and get a great shot.  Might take them 10, 20, 40+ tries to get that shot because they really don't know what they are doing, but they think they can.  Doesn't matter how many years I've put into studying and working with cameras, both digital and film.... anyways, that's another article.  This is a short term challenge to work on.  I have a definite list of goals to accomplish which helps to keep me focused. I need to come up with $4,000 to cover my bills and expenses, I need to prepare where I work so I can handle many computer and finance issues remotely, I need to work on the concept of leather and photography more, etc.  Each of these are short term goals that I can solve.

Want to know something?  Just comment with the question :D

Steven

Why not SmugMug (or other online sites for printing) for me?

First off, I know that there are a lot of photographers who love SmugMug, it allows them to remove themselves from worrying about printing and shipping needs.  BayPhoto, the lab they use for printing, also has a good reputation for quality.  This blog is more about ME and MY ART not an attack on anyone else.  For ME, this is the right path as it lets me tell my stories through prints that I want to tell.

I started off working in a darkroom.  I plan on shooting some b/w film while at the Badlands National Park during my residency.  It is a process from beginning to end with film as I do it all myself.  I load up the cartridges from a bulk loader. I shoot the film.  I process the film to give me negatives.  I develop the final prints in a wet darkroom and I do all the finish work after that, including the selenium toning to help preserve the pictures making them an archival quality print.  I get to know my images intimately during this process, they are mine entirely, including how that final product looks.

Piece of canvas coming out of my printer.

I think a lot of that is lost in this modern age.  I used to use a lab for my digital portrait work.  I sent some images to a professional lab, one with a national reputation.  I paid to have them to do the final color correction and one print I got back from a shoot was yellow, really yellow.  I called them  up, they said they would reprint it and it came back just as yellow.  Supposedly their computer did everything it could to correct the color and it made it yellow.  I told them to print it again without correction and it came back almost perfect. It really made it clear how little the human element is a part of the printing process, another large change from the past.  Printmakers would do everything by hand and visually inspect the print along the way.

Texturing a canvas print, image from a video.

Personally, I like the hands on process. I like having the control of every step of the process to the final output. Yes, this takes more of my time, but then again, I can't get a textured print from a lab, I need to do it myself.  With my limited edition textured canvas prints I couldn't list them on SmugMug as the print would need to come to me to texture by hand, like above. There are a few labs that do the aluminum and acrylic prints, but again, I don't seem to get what I want unless I greatly raise my prices.  My finished pieces, right now, don't cost a lot more than the print from the places I know would do the 16bit quality I insist on using. To find a place that does the wood veneer, copper, brass, leather, etc. I might have to go over seas, if I can even find them.  These are rare processes, but I use them as they help me tell my stories.

Rolling on UV coating, image from video

So, for me, to get the quality I want for my pieces, to use the materials I want and to reduce prices I do the work all myself.  I know right away during the process if something has gone wrong so I need to start again. I can add a UV protective coating to all my prints.  I know perfection doesn't exist, but I can evaluate everything as I work to decide if a flaw or mistake is acceptable or not.  Everything is created by me, it truly is MY ART.

What causes someone to support you?

"Behind I Go"

This is something that I think about often, sadly.  I know that people buy art due to emotions, usually, but that is only a partial answer I think.  I was looking at some of the other projects on Kickstarter, where I have one at the moment.  I saw a couple other projects for people who have received an Artist in Residence program and they are asking for around $4,000, which is really closer to what I need to raise, but since I am doing my program whether or not I can get the funding via Kickstarter I decided to just do the smallest amount figuring anything will help. The two I looked at have raised thousands of dollars for their projects.  Maybe I should have gone for a larger amount? Maybe they are more known? Ah well, so far I have $215 of the $500 goal, though I really do hope I can get over $1,000 from it, but I'll take what I can get...

It's amusing, I've had a few people ask me "What possesses someone to take a volunteer position where you won't get a  paycheck for two months?" Well, there are a couple answers to this question. There is the fact that this is allowing me to pursue my dreams.  My dream of enjoying long times in nature.  My dream of photographing some of the most beautiful places in the country. My dream to learn more about me by putting myself into new situations.

There is also that this is a great opportunity.  I have been selected from I don't know how many applicants for this honor.  It wasn't a simple choice from what I've heard.  Lots of good artists and lots of great proposals, yet mine was selected.  It is an honor and it is one more step, a really good step, towards getting recognized as an artist.  With this honor, and getting accepted into my first national exhibition that I entered, it gives hope, yes.  It let's me think there may be a time I can demand more for my pieces than what I do now.

"Hold Me"

So yes, feeling a little on the stressed side today.  I have around $600 of the $4,000 that I need.  I get a lot of compliments about my work.  Odd Side Ales, a small brewery in Grand Haven, MI, has some of my works on display.  The day I was there hanging them up a piece sold and when I stopped by today the bar manager told me he gets a lot of compliments on my pieces. The Arts Council of White Lake has offered to hold a solo show for me to help raise some of the funds before I go and I've had a couple other businesses say they will be doing a sponsorship, but didn't know how much yet.

This is the fun, for me, of being an artist.  Well, part of the fun at least.  Yes, it is stressful, not I wouldn't wish it on just anyone, it takes unique people to live this life.  To be an artist and not independently wealthy isn't an easy life, but if no one did it, if no one tried to help make our planet more beautiful, life more beautiful for others, then life just would not be fun for anyone. We, the artists, have a responsibility to create works of beauty and you, just as much as any artist, has the responsibility to admire it openly and contribute to it however we can, even if it's just sharing it with other people.

Mixed Media - Photography & Leather

Been reading what I am up to and wondering what the heck is he talking about combining leather and photography?  Well, the picture above is a prototype that is unfinished, but I wanted to give people an idea on what I am talking about.  There is 4 inches of leather on each side of the 8x12 print in the middle.  No, it isn't an exact representation of the scenery into the leather, it is an interpretation of it.It is fun playing with the style, but this is also a time consuming style, which why there will only be 10 of each image made (So when I finish this one I will make up to 9 more) The really neat thing is, that each piece will be one of a kind.  They will be similar to each other, but each on is carved and dyed/painted by hand they are not the same.

So this is what is available (well, not this exact one, but this style) at the $500 reward on my Kickstarter Campaign. While the exact image is unknown (that one will be determined by the park) it gives you an idea.

Your support is greatly appreciated and needed.  While I put an amount of $500 on the campaign, it will be closer to $4,000 that I need.  I am going whether I raise the money via Kickstarter or not so even $500 will be a great help to me!  If you haven't checked it out, please do so.  I will be posting a video to it soon, but I need to render it again to make it a little smaller and I want to add a finished piece to the end of the video, like the one above.  My goal is to finish this piece tonight.

Thanks
Steven