Featured Artist of the Month!

One of the trials of modern life are Spam calls! So back in January, my phone rang and displayed a local 304 number, but I’m well aware that Auto Warranty experts can change the displayed number at will! But something made me answer the call with a non-committal “Hello…”

I’m glad I did! Julie from the Morgantown Arts Association was calling to let me know that I had been selected as the Featured Artist of the Month and would I like to create ten framed prints for the Gallery window for March! Of course, I could choose 10 of my favorite images!

Choosing just ten images

This is actually one the hardest tasks! My Lightroom catalog now contains just 115,756 images. Of course, there are many old and unwelcome photos in there, choosing 10 out of my personal favorites is always a challenge. I do have a project to create a gallery on this site of just my absolute best, but that is still a work in progress!

I started with a “Signature” print that would draw attention and my 36 inch metal print of the small waterfall on the North Coast of Kauai was such an item. Sometimes called “Gone Fishing”, it is definitely a favorite and I wrote about creating this one in this story about Queens Bath.

Then I did really like another metal print hanging on my wall – the wide panorama of Cheat Lake in the fall:

As this view is just down the hill from my home, it is a favorite spot whenever the weather is perfect and the colors are on the leaves! I’ve written more about Cheat Lake here and there is also a video showing some of my best images of the lake in that story.

Printing some new images

I wanted to also print some of my newer images for display and so this one, again from Kauai, was one chosen. I had worked on this particular image recently, even though I took it back in 2017. I have a collection of images showing on a small digital screen in my kitchen (yes, Alexa at work!) and my current set includes this trip to Hawaii. This image appears from time to time, but when I processed in back then, it seemed a bit washed out. Hence the rework. I’ve also written about the process I follow in this story about striving for perfection.

I also thought that Valley Falls would be worth memorializing! This local state park near Fairmont was particularly lovely last Autumn and I captured this sunrise over the misty falls view from my drone over the waterfall.

A little bit of Nature Photography

I recently wrote about how to tackle tricky subjects where you really want everything to be in focus and so I printed both of the images used in that article – the Swamp Milkweed Seed Pods!

Then a little of the beaten track with an image I took on the evening before Independence Day in Pittsburgh. I was up there for the fireworks and spent the previous evening walking along the river looking for interesting views of the city. This particular one between the bridges is a personal favorite!

And, to finish up, a new print of the aerial shot of Cheat Lake Park taken a couple of months back:

I went to the gallery yesterday to see the window – perfectly organized as I would have expected. However, this is one of the trickiest shots I have taken recently. The window panes are flat, but arranged at multiple angles, the exterior is a mall corridor with ceiling lights and so every position I took, had reflections of those lights in the glass. I did manage one shot in the end (actually a composite of two separate shots!) and here is the result.

Please visit the gallery in Mountaineer Mall if you get a chance. I do have other photos available just as matted 20x16inch prints so that you can choose your own frame. They are always happy to see visitors!