Congratulations to Members Scott McRae & Christer Berg!

Congratulations go out to our own Scott McRae for his photograph "Inner Light 2" which won first place in the 2014 Cary Photographic Artists annual juried exhibition! He also has another image which has been juried into the online gallery for the Center for Photographic Arts in Carmel, CA. This is the second year in a row that an image of his has been accepted.

Inner Light 2 (c) Scott McRae

And another shout out to Christer Berg who received an honorable mention for one of his entries into the Cary Photographic Artists show as well. In case you may have forgotten, Christer took both top prizes at this years NC State Fair. Way to go!!!

For those of us who get to preview so many amazing images month after month, it's no surprise to hear when one of our members receives an award. One of the great benefits of our group is not just the feedback you receive on your work when it's presented, but also what you learn seeing and hearing other members discuss their work.

To be a part of the forum, join the VAE and get involved! Stay tuned for more updates on meetings and events...

Bar-B-Q at Big Al's!

Thanks to all who braved the lousy weather tonight to enjoy everyone's company and the Bar-B-Q at Big Al's. A wonderful time was had by all! We may need to make this a tradition. Thanks to John for setting it up. It was a great way to wind down another eventful year. Stay tuned for more to come!

First Friday & Other News and Notes

Tonight is the last First Friday of the year! Be sure to get out, check out the great art and support your peers. One item of note: there will be an exhibit opening and book signing at 311 West Martin Gallery (immediately next to the Visual Art Exchange) from 6-9pm of the retrospective on Ben Williams. http://www.311westmartinstreetgallery.com/ In true Friday Art Walk form, beer, wine and snacks will be served. If the art can't entice you, the snacks surely will!

The exhibit at 311 West Martin Gallery features Ben’s work as an artist as well as works by some of his most well-known students. It also features a large version of the portrait of him created by our own Christer Berg. (If you've been attending recently you've seen it!) It's also the image that won Best in Show at this years State Fair.

Finally, also a quick reminder about the 6:30 get-together we have this coming Monday evening 12/8 at the Gregg Museum’s temporary space at the Historic Chancellor’s Residence on Hillsborough Street (just east of the bell Tower) to see the exhibit on John Menapace’s work. And afterwards, for those who may also be inclined, we can grab a beer/wine or a beverage of your choice across the street somewhere. Yay!

If you have any questions, just let me know. I hope to see many of you there!

 

Meeting News & Notes

Thanks to everyone who came out to make our (last) official meeting of 2014 a success! We had a great turnout and some terrific images presented as always. Thanks also to everyone who brought refreshment. If you missed it, you missed out! So don't miss the next one on Wednesday January 7th, 2015, 7:00pm at the VAE (309 West Martin Street, Raleigh). Make it a resolution to start the new year on a positive note. Come down, see some great work, join the conversation and get inspired!

Also, we finalized plans for a holiday meeting at Al's Bar-B-Q to celebrate the season as well as our accomplishments this year. We decided on December 9th (this Tuesday!) at 6:30pm. If you could not make the meeting tonight, but would like to join the group at Al's, email me to let me know that you can attend. For directions, and to learn more about Al's, go to: http://bigalsbbqandcatering.com

Now that our blog seems to be functioning more smoothly, this will be the place to keep up with all our goings on. If you have any events, notices, thoughts, suggestions, upcoming exhibits, or any other items of note, Please be sure to pass them along so that they may be posted here. Our hope is that it will turn into a great resource for the group. Be sure to stop back here often.

Once again, thanks to everyone who made this past year so successful! If you attended regularly, you saw some of the best photography in the triangle and got feedback from a great group of terrific artists. There is nothing like this group anywhere! Hopefully we'll see all of you sometime in the year ahead.

Enjoy the holidays and I look forward to seeing you all next year!

Welcome To The Forum!

Welcome to the downtown photographers forum! The Photographers Forum is a peer-led critique and support group for photographers working in any process. We have a great mix of photographers that work in either film or digital formats.

The forum meets the first Wednesday of each month at the Visual Art Exchange (309 W. Martin Street, Raleigh). Meetings begin at 7:00pm. Meetings are free for members of the VAE and only $5 for non-members. Check out the VAE at http://visualartexchange.org/

This will be the space for updates and information on the group, it's members, and the photography world in general. Stop back often and see what's new!

Celebrate World Photo Day!

Don't let inclement weather keep you in!

Today is World Photo Day! It marks the date when the first practical photographic process was released from it's patent. The process was the Daguerreotype, invented by Louis Daguerre in 1837. Two years later, on August 19, 1839, the French government purchased the patent and made it freely available to the world as a gift.

So, take a moment today to create an image to honor that gift to the world and bring it to our next meeting on September 10. We'll take a couple of the most popular and post them here. But, the image must have been taken today only!

Don't wait, get up and away from your computer, grab your camera and get busy!

"Baptême, Rose Calmethene: a retrospective exhibition"

Image (c) 2014 J.D. Horwitz

Do not miss our own J.D. Horwitz with his retrospective exhibition" "Bapteme, Rose Calmethene opening this First Friday, August 1st at Litmus Gallery, 312 West Cabarrus St. Raleigh, NC 27601.

The opening reception will be from 6:00pm to 9:00pm. If you can't make it Friday, the exhibit is open for viewing on Saturdays, 10:00am to 2:00pm or by appointment. (919-571-3605 or email artvision@bellsouth.net). Check out their website: http://www.litmusgallery.com/  Don't wait too long because the exhibit will close on August 30th at 2:00pm.

This will be the last opportunity to see John's work exhibited for some time as after the show closes he will be sending it off to Perdue University to become part of their permanent photography collection.

Don't say you were never told. Don't miss this one!!!

 
 

 

 

Welcome to Holga Week July 21-27, 2014!

Today starts the first day of the first annual Holga Week. What's a Holga you ask? For the uninitiated in all that is film photography, the Holga is the ultimate in low-tech image creating. The camera has many quirks which is what gives it so much charm. It is the embodiment of wabi-sabi. It's imperfections are what makes it so perfect.

Made almost entirely of plastic (including the lens!) the Holga lacks all the bells and whistles that are features of todays modern cameras and instead places the emphasis on the photographers vision. No agonizing over what function to select or dial to turn, there aren't any!

To learn more about the Holga camera, go here.

To learn more about Holga week, go here.

In the triangle area stop in at Peace Camera, your local resource for all that is Holga.

For those that may have an aversion to anything having to do with film, there are digital accessories that will replicate the look of the film version, but they aren't nearly as much fun...

June Meeting of the Photographers Forum

Don't forget to mark your calendars for our next meeting which will be Wednesday June 11th at 7:00pm at VAE (309 W. Martin Street, Raleigh).

I know now that the weather is getting better we're all enthused about getting out and creating images! So let's begin thinking about all those photo projects you've put on hold for the winter, bring some images, and come to the VAE to join the conversation and get inspired!

If you have any questions, or need any more information, please let me know.

I look forward to seeing you all at our next meeting!

Ray

919-783-9173

rpstudioart@gmail.com

Congratualtions to Forum Member John Horowitz!

Congratulations are in order for our friend and Forum member John Horwitz who has been asked by Perdue University to donate his life's work to their photo archive. This is an incredible honor for an absolutely gifted photographer. Those of us who have had the pleasure of John's association and discussing his work know that it is truly deserved.
 
For anyone who might not be familiar with his work, John will have an exhibit opening August 1st at Litmus Gallery (312 West Cabarrus Street in Raleigh). This will be a great opportunity to meet John and talk about his work. (The next best opportunity would be to attend a Forum meeting! John attends regularly and is always ready to hold forth on almost any topic.)
 
So don't miss it!