UNM Digital Photography Exhibit

UNM Digital Photography Exhibit, Now Through the End of July

UNM Digital Photography Exhibit, arranged by the Digital Arts Program on the Continuing Education Campus, is up and open to the public from now through the end of July. It is in the Conference Center, the North Building.

Participants in the UNM Digital Photography Exhibit include the digital photography instructors, advanced students in the program, and graduates of the program (that would be me, 2009).

The UNM Digital Photography Exhibit is not a juried exhibit. Participants were invited to bring whatever pieces of their work they wanted to show.

The three pieces of mine that I chose have all been in juried shows. Although not intentional at the time of selection, I realized later the pieces represent a sort of developmental scheme.

‘Lily’

UNM digital photography exhibit
Lily; printed on fine art water color paper

This image was made in 2009 with a Canon G9, a somewhat advanced but still a point-and-shoot camera. To date, this is my most awarded image. It was juried into the International Biennial Exhibition of Fine Art and Documentary Photography at The Borges Cultural Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from January 19th through February 27th, 2010. It was also juried into the Corrales Fine Arts Show here in New Mexico. It was awarded “1st Place – Outstanding Achievement” in Still Life at the 8th Annual Black and White Spider Awards. It was awarded the Bronze Medal, 3rd Place in Nature-Flowers at the 2012 Paris Photo Prize, along with 3rd place for People’s Choice Award. Again, this was an early piece done with a point-and-shoot camera. The piece has special meaning because my mother grew the lily, and held a white background for me as the light was quickly fading in her garden.

‘Gathering Storm’

UNM Digital Photography Exhibit
‘Gathering Storm,’ printed on true Black and White paper

This image is from a trip to the Jemez Mountains here in New Mexico over Autumnal Equinox weekend in 2013. Everything about that entire weekend was full of the magic for which New Mexico is known. This was at the very beginning of the trip. I had planned to photograph this church before I even left home. My traveling companions could not understand why I would even bother to stop to photograph it! I just wanted to! By this time I had moved up to a Canon full frame dSLR. This image was juried into the Corrales Fine Arts Show as well as the Annual New Mexico Photographic Art Show.

‘The Observer/The Observed’

UNM Digital Photography Exhibit
‘The Observer/The Observed,’ giclee print on fine art canvas

This image was created this year, and of the ones in this post, has the most meaning to me. Many of you know my son was diagnosed with leukemia over Thanksgiving weekend (he is now in remission and doing quite well, I’m happy to say), and this was done as I was trying to make sense of all that was happening. In mythology of some Native Americans, Crow is a messenger between worlds, as well as a trickster who can steal light from the sky (the sun) and carry it to people who need it. I rarely see crows in my yard, and this one stayed just long enough for this image. Editing it to show what I wanted to show took a long time; it also took my mind off a lot of things; and was the most creative thing I had done after my son was diagnosed. I had not intended to show it; I did the work strictly for me. But Jim Stallings, fellow anthropologist, writer, and friend wrote a poem about it as a gift to me and my family in those dark days of winter:

Spontaneous Poem from a Treetop Crow

In the lofty life of a wise old crow
Swaying in the topmost backyard branches
Like a magical clock counting down mortality’s coil,
May it not be in some secret way
We the awed observers
Have all along been honored by a wiser watcher?

– Jim Stallings

Jim’s poem encouraged me to enter the image, and it was juried into the 2015 InSight New Mexico show, “Through Her Eyes,” held in April. (It has also been juried into another show, to be held in July – more about that in a different post).

I invite my friends in the Albuquerque area, as well as friends who will be passing through Albuquerque between now and the end of July, to stop by the Conference Center on the UNM CE campus (Indian School and University) and see the UNM Digital Photography Exhibit, with works by the digital photography instructors, advanced students, and graduates of the digital photography program.

Floral Photography

floral photography lily
Floral Photography: Some Awarded Non-Rose Images

Floral photography has become one of my major photographic interests in the years I have been doing digital photography. Over the next several weeks, I will be introducing images from a new floral series. Before introducing the new floral series, and before the opening of the 2014 Annual New Mexico Photographic Arts Show (ANMPAS) next weekend, I would like to show (once again for some of you, but new to some readers here) some awarded floral images from the past.

This month (November 2014) you have seen a range of my rose photographs from this year. The rose photographs tend to be done differently from the way I do other floral images. For our rose shows, the images need to combine the important aspects used to judge a rose presented in some artistic way. Sometimes combining two such different approaches is about as easy as mixing oil and water. It is what it is. I enjoy the challenge and the opportunity to show roses in their best light as viewed by ARS Accredited Judges.

In this post, you will see floral images done somewhat differently from most of the rose images.

“Lily” is my most awarded floral image to date. It was awarded 1st place – Outstanding Achievement in Still Life in the 8th Annual Spider Black and White Awards.

floral photography lily
Lily, multiply awarded floral photograph

It appeared in the Winners Issue of the Black and White Spider Awards Journal, Volume 3.

This image was also awarded Bronze (Third Place) in the 2012 Prix de la Photographie, Paris (Px3), Paris Photo Competition.

Additionally, the image received Third Place in the People’s Choice Award at the 2012 Prix de la Photographie, Paris (Px3).

The image “Lily” was also shown at the 2012 Corrales Fine Arts Show, a juried exhibition.

Of note, this floral photography image was created with a point-and-shoot digital camera, albeit with some good manual controls and RAW capabilities, the Canon G9, in 2009. My mother grew the lily. I was trying to photograph it one evening in rapidly fading light, and the background was quite cluttered. My mom ran into the house and got a background she used in her floral arrangements, and held it so I could create an uncluttered image. One of my few images with an assistant. 🙂 The point of this paragraph is that it is not the camera, but what you do with it.

Back to Blue is a series of floral images I created late summer and early fall of 2013, and called “The Blues.” Done in shades of blue, the reference was as much to emotion and mood as to color.

Two images from that series of floral photography have been recognized.

back to blue
Starting Over – Bud of Sacred Datura

“The Blues: Starting Over” was selected by Juror Stephen Perloff as Third Place Winner in the New York Center for Photographic Art “Primary Colors” competition.

This image was exhibited in New York City from May 6 – 17, 2014. I was pleased to have this image shown in New York City. Many thanks to the New York Center for Photographic Art and to Stephen Perloff!

Another image from the series, “The Blues,” Ephemeral, was chosen as a Nominee in the 7th Annual Photography Masters Cup:

back to blue
Ephemeral – Fully open datura flower

This is a fully open datura flower. These open at sunset, and began to fade at the first light of morning. The plants themselves are quite hardy, but the flowers truly are fleeting – and very beautiful.

These were my two favorite images from the series, and having them recognized in two very different venues brings me a great deal of pleasure. I am happy for the opportunity to share them again, although my current work seems to be dominated by bright colors and bold designs.

In the 2013 Px3 competition, my series “Flowers of Early Spring” was awarded Second Place in the People’s Choice Awards in Nature-Seasons.

floral photography
Flowers of Early Spring – Iris
Floral photography
Flowers of Early Spring – Redbud
floral photography
Flowers of Early Spring
floral photography
Flowers of Early Spring – Apple Blossoms
Floral Photography
Flowers of Early Spring – Pansy

Floral photography – always a challenge, and often quite rewarding.

Welcome to Susan Brandt Graham Photography!

Welcome to Susan Brandt Photography News. Over the years I have had a variety of blogs on different subjects, but nearly all involved photography to some extent. It seems time to put the photographs and news about them in one place.

Susan Brandt Graham Photography is the site at which I now make photographic prints available for sale.

Those of you who have followed my work will recognize this first image, ‘Lily.’

Lily, photography
Bronze Medal, 2012 PX3 Prix de la Photographie, Paris

This image was a Bronze Medal winner at the 2012 PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris, as well as People’s Choice Third Place winner in the same competition. It was juried into the 2012 Corrales Fine Arts Show and was shown at the Old San Ysidro Church in October 2012.

Px3-2012-Bronze
Px3-2012-Bronze

Prints of this award-winning image may be purchased here.

Thank you for your interest!

Continue reading “Welcome to Susan Brandt Graham Photography!”

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