Do Professional Photographers Ever Photograph for Fun?

This is a good question (as opposed to a bad question).  First things first – I do not know if professional photographers ever photograph for fun – but I imagine they do.  I am, technically, not a professional photographer, yet, as I do not earn my living as a photographer or photographic artist.  I am continuously working on becoming a photographic artist though.  Once my ecommerce site is operational, it will play a key role in me achieving that goal.  That being said, I do photograph for fun.  Besides the fact that I have fun every time I do a shoot, I make images that I have no plans for except to look at for my own enjoyment.  I really like photography and I hope you do too.

(Designation, Self Portraits - not named at this time.)

Why I Create Motion Blur Art

 

(Designation, Kinetic Ambiguity Project 2616 - not named at this time.)

You are in your car and you are driving down the road. The radio is on, music is playing, you are talking with someone, you are deep in thought — whatever the case, your eyes are never really focused on what is passing you by. Your eyes face towards your destination, but there is a secret world out there that you are missing.  I would like to share that secret world with you.  I call it my Kinetic Ambiguity Project. Why do I do this? This motion blur photographic art project helps me improve myself and manage my inner demons. And I believe I have something to share with fellow art enthusiast.

 

Though I have been absent from my blog for a while (I have spent a lot of time on Instagram trying to figure it out), I’m getting back to blogging. Partially because I’ll be fielding a new website for my artwork. And partially because I like blogging. As soon as the new site is operational, I will let you know.

MOCA Los Angeles

I am the new director of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Los Angeles!  Ok, not yet but I should be.  Let me tell you why.  I have leadership experience (over 20 years in the Army – I was a platoon sergeant for crying out loud!); I can handle pressure and stress (did I mention the Army thing – tours to Iraq); I’m educated (a BA in studio art and a minor in business – and I graduated with honors); I love art (see the BA in studio art thing); museums like to have older folks running things – I’ll be 56 within weeks; diversity – I’m black; need to show some love to America – I’m a #vet and you know this (from above sentence); I support the #metoo movement (I’m married to my beautiful wife who is a college professor and we have 4 daughters between us and my mama lives with us – I’m no position not to support women in all of their struggles – and again, I can handle pressure and stress); management potential (see everything above); and I really want to work in the art world – really, really want to.

So, please contact MOCA Los Angeles and let them know I’m the perfect candidate.  Really.

Sentinels

They look like sentinels guarding something.  Or maybe they look like large cranes in the shipyards.  Then again, it could be robots waiting for the menacing dark robot that is advancing on their position.  They are just #mustard and mayo dispensers unless you let your imagination go.

I:Empire, a photographic countenance of the Inland Empire

Time:               Show opening and reception 6pm to 9pm on August 9th, Saturday.

Location:         Space Gallery, 250 West Second Street, Pomona, CA 91766

More Info:       The show runs from August 9th until September 6th.

Normally, I put stuff up here after an event that I took photos at.  Well, this is an upcoming event and I hope you can come have a look.  It is a group show featuring the work of:

Alexis Beltran

Allison Linder

Andrew K. Thompson

Carlos A. Garcia

Cesia Ortiz

Charles Dalton

Diana Prince

Diana Hernandez

Edward Lance Montgomery

Manny Tovey

Frederick J. Brashear Jr.

Jose Carreno

Kathy Miller Stewart

Kimberly Aguirre

La Mark Milan

Mayte Escobar

Michael Vollmer

Nancy Perry

Samuel Ramirez

Steve Beswick           

Tim Hicks

Victoria Banegas

Wendy Arreola

There is a Facebook event page that has more information.  The two prints that I have in the show are the following images below.  If you can make it, please do.  I think you’ll enjoy it.

“Katie’s Temperament was Obvious”

“Sialainie was Difficult to Read”

Thoughts on my Kinetic Ambiguity Project

Regarding the work, the easy answer is that I like it.  Others have told me the same.  But “like” does not make it art.  I am not trying to follow in the footsteps of Jackson Pollock with some sort of abstract expressionist photography.  It is just that I am very intrigued by visible light – especially freezing that moving light in order to observe it for one moment in a sort of stasis.  What you see in a photograph is visible moving light halted forever in that capture.  This Kinetic Ambiguity Project really emphasizes that.  And it has its own certain beauty in doing so with its texture, color and repetition.  The work here is new.  Older examples are on my web site.  I think I will continue to work on this project.  Enjoy.

Poohstock 2011, The Day After

Wow, I am having an insane time of keeping this blog up (among other things).  I think there is an interal conflict going on between what I want to show and what I am showing.  But you’re not Dr. Phil so let me finish up this 2011 Poohstock trip.  Because I can’t help myself, table shots of the morning after.  Enjoy.

Poohstock 2011, My Cousin’s Yard, Part 3

This is just a continuation from part 1 and 2 so I’ll spare you the chatter again.  I “chatted” a lot in part 1.  These shots are vehicles again but shot with my SLR.  Enjoy.

Poohstock 2011, My Cousin’s Yard, Part 2

This is just a continuation from part 1 so I’ll spare you the chatter.  If you’re interested in the chatter, check out part 1.  Oh, these are some of the flowers I found in my cousins yard.  Enjoy.

Poohstock 2011, My Cousin’s Yard, Part 1

Poohstock.  I had to miss it this year and will have to miss it next year only because I will be in Hawaii.  But these photos are cool from last year.  This group was shot with my Powershot.  This was taken in my cousin Shawn’s yard.  He’s a contractor.  This was before anything got started save for setting up.  I was just roaming and taking pictures.  What I did with the post production was play around with shadows and highlights then put a cross processed effect layer over that.  It was done in Photoshop.

Oregon, wow – what a place.  There were so many trees I just knew a pack of werewolves and were-bears were going to jump out of the vegetation and have us for dinner.  Again, this was the summer of 2011 in Grants Pass, Oregon.  It was a lot of fun.  Enjoy.

Rainbow

I was working on Poohstock last time but did this shot with my cell phone – A Blackberry Torch.  Why do I plug the corporations?  Who knows because they definitely do pay me.  Anyway, we were riding from Lancaster back to Victorville when I spotted this rainbow southbound on 90^th East.  No, I was not texting and driving – I was drive-by shooting!  A technique I developed in Iraq in 2003/04.  No, not with my M16 – with my camera.  Just the same, cool rainbow.

Poohstock 2011, The Ride There

Last summer my brothers and I took a ride from southern California to southern Oregon.  We were going to our cousin’s event – Poohstock.  It was a lot of fun.  These are just some shot from my point and shoot of the trip up.  I did some Photoshop work on them a bit too.  Enjoy.

Flowers and a Sunrise

Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve been here.  The end of the school year coupled with various vacation and visits – crazy busy.  I should really think about doing this by phone.  Anyway, I’m still behind – even more so now.  You know I never stop photographing stuff.  I better streamline my processing though.  So, here’s a couple of shots from June last year.  Some flowers and a sunrise.

Burnt out in Apple Valley

On June 17, 2011, I was back at this burnt out place for another look.  I wanted to do a model shoot here.  A wanted a kind of contrast with beautiful (the model) and ugly.  But this place held more than that.  It represented yet again lost dreams and hopes of a family or of a person.  And it was also a testament to the people who inhabit the Victor Valley – people who maintain a ‘no matter what, we’re going to keep on moving forward’ attitude.  Well, that’s at least how I felt seeing this place.  I took some liberties with Photoshop on some of these too.  I just wanted to render a different feel.  I shot it all with my Canon PowerShot S5 IS.  For a “point and shoot”, that’s an awesome camera.  So, have a look.