LARRY BLACKWOOD
L A R R Y B L A C K W O O D
P H O T O G R A P H Y
NEWSLETTER
NOVEMBER 2009
IN THIS ISSUE:
We are well into winter here in Montana. In fact it seems like we have been since early October when we received a couple feet of snow and some temperatures near zero. Although we had a few days of Indian Summer, Fall was a no show for the most part. I like winter but am always hoping for a late start, as the season lasts so long here it becomes too much of a good thing before it's over. But, with my art shows, receptions, openings, etc. over for the year, I've been enjoying the slow time and have been using the inclement weather as an excuse to stay in my studio out of the cold working on new projects and generally getting caught up after what seemed to be a hectic travel year this year. Of course I still make regular forays out into the weather to photograph. One of the nice things about shooting in the winter is that you can sleep late and still catch the early morning light for photography!
In no particular order, below is what's been going on with my photography in the last few months. And if you haven't already, be sure to check out my new
internet store where you will find some good choices for holiday gifts, from limited edition prints to economically priced mini-portfolios of prints that make great stocking stuffers.
Artist-Wilderness-Connection Residency Exhibition
A year ago last summer I participated in an artist's residency, called the Artist-Wilderness-Connection, in the backcountry on the edge of the Bob Marshall Wilderness in northwest Montana. I stayed at the Spotted Bear Ranger Station for eight days and spent my time photographing in the area. Typically I spent all day out photographing then returning to the ranger station and working on the photographs on my computer all evening. With no phone, no TV, and no internet access it was very easy to be able to get into a work rhythm uninterrupted by the typical day-to-day distractions.
This Fall an exhibition of triptych photographs that resulted from last year's residency was on display in Kalispel, MT at the Flathead Valley Community College. I gave a presentation about my experience at a reception for the exhibition in late September. The residency and the exhibition were sponsored by the Hockaday Museum of Art, the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation, the Flathead National Forest and the Swan Ecosystem Center. After the exhibition, the Hockaday Museum of Art selected one of the triptychs for their permanent collection and another was donated to the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation's annual fund raising auction. One of the triptychs from the exhibition appears below. You can see the rest of the collection
here.
Shadow Puppets
Northwest Montana
2008
Ghosts and Empties, my series of photos from an abandoned amusement park was on display at the Daily Northside in Bozeman, MT during the month of October. I entered a few of the images from that collection into
B&W magazine's annual Single Image Contest and
Waiting on the Flightline was selected for a Merit Award and appears in the
contest issue, which is on the newsstand now.
Waiting on the Flightline
Western Oklahoma
2008
I recently completed an interview with writer Richard Pitnick for the upcoming Spotlight article in
Color magazine. I'm told the article will appear in the next issue, the first of 2010. Whether that issue will appear on newsstands before its publication date, as is typically the case with magazines, is unclear to me. But it will be stocked at Borders and Barnes and Noble bookstores, so keep an eye out for it. One of the images to appear in the magazine is shown below.
Un
Butte, Montana
2003
Yellowstone Art Museum 42nd Annual Art Auction and Exhibition
Last year I attended the annual juried exhibition the Yellowstone Art Museum sponsors as part of their annual fundraising auction. I was quite impressed with the diverse nature of interesting art on display. According to their website "the artwork featured in the exhibition showcases the eclectic and pleasing mix of styles that has come to characterize the culture of Montana. Artwork ranges from 'cutting edge' contemporary to traditional landscape to Western and includes painting, sculpture, ceramics, furniture, and jewelry. The annual auction is a premier showcase of regional art that draws collectors from across the country and helps launch emerging artists' careers. The exhibition features a diverse selection of works by some of the region's most prominent artists."
Impressed by the show, I decided to submit a few photographs for the 2010 event. True to the eclectic nature of the exhibit, the jury chose two quite diverse images of mine for inclusion, as shown below. They say that to become a well-recognized artist, it is best to develop a consistent body of work. With images like these, I guess I am trying to buck that trend. That may not be best approach for furthering my art career but my feeling is that I should have fun and do what I want first, and worry about all that career stuff later-- if at all--only when I can't help myself.
New Beginnings
Bozeman, Montana
2008
Venice Evening
Venice, Italy
2008
Social Networking Websites
I am very skeptical about the value of social networking web sites such as Facebook and Twitter. While in theory these sites have the potential for significant "socially redeeming value," that potential is rarely utilized or at least grossly offset by the incredible waste of time that people expend posting inane information about themselves. Maybe I'm just too old and too introverted to appreciate that kind of interaction, but should I really care when someone I know but rarely interact with is hungry, standing in line at the store, or trimming their toenails? (O.K., I admit I am awfully old and introverted but I think the point is still valid.)
Some time ago I tried Facebook for a bit, and also signed up for Twitter--all because there are so many art career advisors out there who seem to think you have to do that to promote yourself. I didn't like the experience and didn't keep up with it. But, recently I decided to try and curb my social networking curmudgeoness and try again. So I started a
Larry Blackwood Photography page on Facebook. If you are a Facebook user, you can become a "fan" of my photography page and get notified whenever I post to the page.
I am using my Facebook page for the occasional brief commentary, but primarily to link to photos I've been posting on account I set up on
Flickr. Flickr, if you do not know, is a social networking site designed specifically for posting photographs. I generate way more photos than I want to post formally on my own web site or even on my
Picture of the Day page that some of you subscribe to. So I've been using Flickr to display these other photos that might be of interest to people. So if you're not getting enough of my photography already you can tune into my Flickr page from time to time to see what I've been up to. If you are
POTD subscriber, be warned that some photos will appear on Flikr before they appear as POTDs. This may spoil the surprise of the new photo every day that I know some of you enjoy. However, Flickr will not contain the commentary that the POTD page has.
Since this is the last issue of my newsletter before the first of the year, I'd like to wish everyone happy holidays ( including Thanksgiving this week) and peace for the new year. I'll close with this wintery image I took at our house during the big dump of snow we got a couple of weeks ago. The effect the camera flash had on the falling snow gives the image the look of an old-fashioned snow globe.
Hawkline Winter
Bozeman, Montana
2009
