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art
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Cyclone
Newest Nifty Certificate
My photo was selected as a Finalist in the Annual Spring Photography Contest staged by Photographer’s Forum Magazine. Out of about 10,000 entries (if I remember correctly) my photograph was chosen as one of 1,500 finalists. My entry didn’t get beyond that level in the judging process but was published in the magazine’s Best of Photography 2016 book. I received a nifty certificate proclaiming my achievement – I also got to this level in the 2015 contest. Here’s my entry (below) and here’s a link to the story behind the photo. In the actual entry and in future copies of this photo I have cropped out the rocks and trees seen on the left-hand side.
Time To Come In
November: Looking East. This is a view of the sky from our back yard. That little smudge just below and left of center is the Pleiades star cluster.
After months of searching and work (a story unto itself) we located and purchased an older ranch-style house on a large lot in Medina, Ohio. We had been living in the house for one week and I decided it was high time I take a look at the night sky! The weather was clear and cold Friday night — about 40 degrees when I ventured outdoors — so I had a look around.
The house is situated one mile from the old town square of this small city on a street lit by two orange, low-pressure sodium lights. A big-box shopping district is located about two miles north of the house with a neighboring city beyond. There’s plenty of light pollution and, to the unaided eye, the clear night sky is gray. I could make out the brightest stars of some constellations, however, and easily spotted the Pleiades star cluster rising in the east. I believe I also made out a wisp of Milky Way, as well! I set up my camera on its tripod and did some test shots to assess the photographic sky.
Stars Struggle to be Seen. Regional light pollution drowns out most of the night sky’s glory.
As you can see by the photos here, the camera easily detects stars we can’t visually pull out of the urban nighttime glow. As expected, more stars can be seen overhead — through less atmosphere and less illumination — than near the horizons. While this isn’t a very good spot for astronomy, it’s not impossible. And while the nighttime conditions may not support stargazing, they do offer some artistic potential.
Firetree. Light-polluted night sky, a neighbor’s bonfire, and a small pond combine to make a pretty scene with a touch of mystery. You work with what you’ve got! Photo by James Guilford.
In any event, you work with what you’ve got!
Sunset Towers – A storm builds in the light of the late-day sun.
UPDATE: A small giclée canvas print of this image was contributed to the annual “In the Pink” show and raffle hosted by Hudson Fine Art & Framing Company in Hudson, Ohio. Proceeds from the sale benefit The Gathering Place, a local organization; their mission is to support, educate, and empower individuals and families touched by cancers through programs and services provided free of charge. I am pleased to have been a part of the show and fundraising effort! For more information on The Gathering Place please visit www.TouchedByCancer.org.
This started out to be an excellent year for photography. In addition to my still work, I was preparing to make my first nature film. Then we decided to buy a house and move. I look back at this blog now and fully realize how fully I dropped my artistic efforts. Finding, buying, and preparing a poorly-maintained house took the balance of summer and, now, the best of autumn. I hope it will be worth it. I do want to share here a photo I have come to love: it is both realistic and dreamlike; it is my remembrance of the seasons passed.
The Last Holdouts
The others have gone, given up their grip. Time to let go for the season is over. Others will follow but first must come winter. Departures witnessed by the last holdouts.
No Fishing or Wading
Visiting Deer Creek Reservoir in the Eastern area of Ohio, I came across a water level monitoring crib. The structure was heavily built, made of reinforced concrete, secured with a steel door, and accessed via a steel walkway suspended above the reservoir waters. The concrete was stained with time and rust. The deeply-colored door had been scratched and even shot a few times. A sign warning visitors not to wade or swim from the shore below was faded, rusted, and bent. I’d been drawn to the structure by its alien appearance, projecting straight up from the water’s surface. Ultimately, the door and sign captured my interest. Prints available: http://www.guilfordphoto.com/p813419571/e2a75370a
Hard Times. Rise Above. The scene on a gloomy day in Delphos, Ohio.
Water Wheel
Water Wheel: It wasn’t supposed to be there — that discarded and rusty piece-of-junk automobile wheel — in the middle of a shallow, quiet-running stream. Still, there the thing was, and it turned out to be beautiful from a pictorial viewpoint, at least. In fact, the “water wheel” was my shot of the day! Prints of this image are available at: http://www.guilfordphoto.com
Vision at Entry: Tableaux of Three Statues in Altar Setting
While I am not Catholic, I do appreciate the illustrative and evocative art created for the Church and particularly the statuary. Many years ago now, when I worked for a newspaper, I shot a photo feature headlined “Portraits of Mary” showing statuary within a number of area Catholic churches. In the Cleveland, Ohio suburb of Lakewood a restoration artist shares that appreciation.
Museum Gallery, Western Wall
The artist saw a need to not only restore those religious artifacts but to save them. Over the years a good number of churches have closed, their furnishings and decoration either destroyed or scattered to the winds. Artist Lou McClung made it his mission to save and restore those displaced works and created a museum within which to preserve and display them.
St. Joseph: Detail from Holy Family Sculpture
We visited the Museum of Divine Statues for the first time this past Sunday. Appropriately, the museum, which opened April 10, 2011, is housed within the former home of St. Hedwig’s Church. The interior of the church has been repaired and re-purposed from that of a place of worship to a fine art / historical gallery. Enthusiastic guides and McClung himself are present to answer questions and tell the stories of the many statues and smaller artifacts.
Christ Child
Here are a few of my photos from our recent visit. I won’t attempt to fully-describe the pieces shown and that’s not my purpose here. Nor will I try and tell the story of the museum and its creator; that is done well on the museum’s Web site. I hope you can see what I see when I gaze at the statues and what I attempted to capture with my camera and that you can appreciate the great skill and love the restorer has bestowed upon the pieces.
Jesu – Resurrection
PhotonStopper 