Kathy's Photo Notes

Notes of March, 2008

[These photos of the meeting are in no particular order.]

Meeting, Thursday, March 20, 2008, at Colourworks

In attendance: Stephanie Kirk, Jeff Steen, Kerry Harrison, Alan Nilsen, Beth Trepper, Carson Zullinger, Gerry Piotrowski, Eric Russell, Ken Francis, Jon Foltz, DeVere Patton, Bill Pepper, and Danny Schweers.

Discussion:

DAVID McCLINTOCK HONORABLE MENTION

David McCllintock recently received an honorable mention in his application for a Delaware Division of the Arts fellowship.

TWO POSSIBLE EXHIBITS

Carson Zullinger discussed two Brandywine Photo Collective exhibition opportunities. One exhibit may take place in 2009 at Gallery 919 in Wilmington, a downtown location with lots of space and good lighting. Another possibility is in 2010 at the community galleries at the Delaware Art Museum (DAM), less space but even better lighting. In general, we were in agreement that these should be themed shows. If possible, the theme of the DAM show would tie in with other shows scheduled for that time period. Also, we agreed these should be juried shows; DAM would probably require it.

DELAWARE INCORPORATION

Danny Schweers reported that the Brandywine Photo Collective is now a registered Delaware non-profit corporation, thanks to the work of Susan Rosedale Smith, MBA. The next step is to create bylaws to be submitted for federal incorporation.

INCREASED MEMBERSHIP?

With incorporation and exhibitions, perhaps our organization will, can or should grow. Carson didn't want to lose the intimacy of our small meetings. Danny suggested these could continue, even if the membership became huge, if the sharing of work continued in small groups rather than trying to share work at meetings open to the entire membership.

UPCOMING MEMBER EXHIBITS

See our Calendar page for news of Beth Trepper, Danny Schweers, Stephanie Kirk, and John Foltz.

AM I DUMB?

Eric Russell hopes to bring work by a recognized photographer to our next meeting for us to critique, someone whose work challenges him. Several others wondered about photos celebrated with big exhibits such as the Whitney Biennial, work we don't perceive as wonderful except that it makes us wonder: "Am I dumb?" Along these lines, Bill Pepper confessed his difficulty when called upon to judge work in a competition, not so much what criteria to use to judge as what to say to those whose work says nothing. Alan Nilsen talked of working for newspapers and getting critiqued four times a day - not always a pleasant experience.

Review of Work:

Alan Nilsen, someone new to many of us, has a background at the Art Institute of Philadelphia, a stint in the U.S. Air Force, and then work with ad agencies, ten years of work with newspapers, corporate work. He now freelances. Using his laptop, he showed excellent work, much of it photo-journalistic.

Danny Schweers showed work from the past year, work he recently presented in a slide show at Crosslands Community in Chadds Ford, PA, including candid photos of people, some shot from the hip of passers-by in New York City and Paris.

Kerry Harrison, someone else new to many of us, has a background in art but just recently picked up the camera again, giving up regular exercise to sit in front of the computer instead, working on photographs. She showed us three: a nude modeled on 19th century paintings and two detailed nature shots. By day, she is a scientist at duPont. Our next meeting will be at her studio at the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts. To learn more about Kerry's work, click here to visit her website.

DeVere Patton showed several images. He continues with his playful experimentation in Photoshop.

Bill Pepper shared a large photo of a just-hatched praying mantis, some 40 times larger than life.

Beth Trepper wowed us with photos of women modeling vintage garments on an island beach in the Carribean Sea. Our hope is that some fashion designer will pay her way back to the island just to play with the latest fashions.

Ken Francis, using his laptop, showed us much of his recent work, including a photo of a bridge with some interesting Photoshop effects.

Carson Zullinger showed us several very large (to us) prints of nudes (but not quite life-size). His compositions and techniques continue to evolve. Some of these recent nudes were lit only with a small flashlight.

Next meeting:

Wednesday, April 16, 6:00 p.m.
at Kerry Harrison's Studio
Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts
200 S Madison, Wilmington Riverfront, Studio 2R, second floor.
(302) 494-4141.

Kathy's Notes:

2008: January | March - the latest!