May 11th, 2007 - Mark your calendars!

This is a very important date because I will be having my very own show in Colonial Beach, VA at the Margarita Restaurant. This will be my first "solo" show! I'm so excited about this. I've got lots to prepare! And I'm lucky enough that I have such a good friend (and a terrific cook) to help with the catering. She's already planning the menu (including dark chocolate cameras!) and it's still a few months away. So much to do... I need to get that camera out there and make some pictures! I'll be posting more as the event gets closer!

I am a Judge!!!

I am SO excited. I just received an e-mail from Arts Chair from the Northern District of General Federation of Women's Clubs of VA. It seems they are having a small arts & crafts show at the Fredericksburg Country Club and want me (ME!!!) to judge the photography section. WOW! Here is the email I received:

"Ms. Pastore,
I am the Arts chairman for the Northern VA District General Federated Woman's Clubs. We will be having a small arts & crafts contest on March 10 at the Fredericksburg Country Club. Would you consider being a judge for the photography section? We usually have around 40 entries total divided into regular, digital and enhanced digital categories. We pay a small stipend of $25. The judging time would be 10:30am-Noon, although it probably wouldn't take but 30-45 minutes. I have looked at your photography on line and it is beautiful! I am hoping you will agree to be a judge. Please let me know if you have any questions."

Isn't this great? I just might make it in this little arts town after all! I'll be sure to let you know how it all goes!!!

Thomas Kellner - Photographer

A while back I was doing the next best thing to actually making photographs; I was looking at photographs. Actually, I was trolling the web looking for photographers that inspired me. And it didn't take me long to discover Thomas Kellner, a German photographer. What I love most about his work are the "deconstructed" portfolios. These consist of architecture as well as portraits and are shot entirely on film (check out the negative info on the prints). This technique consists of taking many images of a subject, with each image being just a part of the whole. Each image is carefully composed moving the camera as if it were a typewriter (left to right, return, next line, left to right) and twisting the camera to create a dynamic view on each negative. Then the negatives are placed in rows and contact printed (which becomes the finished product) so that when viewed together, they create a brand new vision of the original whole. Needless to say, I am impressed by the mere determination it must take to execute the whole process. Each row contains the same number of negatives and every negative is perfectly composed as to fit the whole image. It almost seems as if you could straighten each negative and have a complete image with no missing pieces. I hope to have the patience one day to actually attempt a Thomas Kellner "deconstruction".

Photographer George Barr

I have been slowly trying to catch up on 3 years of LensWork magazines that I have been unable to read until recently. In the Mar/Apr 2005 (no. 57) edition, they featured a portfolio of a Canadian photographer, George Barr. Although, he was "brought up" using classic large format cameras in black and white, he is now using digital and shooting more color. He tends to shoot mostly industrial and abstract type of work, which is some of my favorite subjects. I just love the lines and the large range of values in his photographs. Check out the portfolio that was published in LensWork. And if you haven't yet...Go get yourself a subscription to LensWork!

Pam Allen - Artist

Wow. I just returned from First Friday in Fredericksburg, VA, where I take pictures for the FCCA. Well, I just discovered this wonderful artist who paints with watercolor on yupo paper, which is a synthetic waterproof paper. This allows her watercolors, inks, and acrylic mediums to pool and bead on the surface of the paper before drying. One benefit, however, is that if a mistake is made, you can easily run the yupo under water and wipe it off with a towel even after the paint has dried. Please visit Pam Allen at her website and see some of the beautiful images she creates. Unfortunately, the computer screen cannot begin to capture the depth of color and emotion of one of her large 20"x30" paintings.

Lomographic Society International

If you are one of the photographers that always shoot by the book. You know who you are... Exact meter readings, perfect focus, perfect compositions, just the right amount of contrast, lock up that mirror and use that cable release. Sound like you? Then you need to head to the Lomographic Society International 2007. There you will learn how to take pictures with no rules. Get yourself a lomohome, go shopping, and "Don't think, Just shoot."

Oh, and while you are there, say hi to me!

"Itchy Dinah" shot with a SuperSampler.