Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label art. Show all posts

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Inspiration From One of the Best

Nadav Kander has been a photographer that I have admired for some time. He may be known best for his portrait work, but this project titled "Yangtze, The Long River" is absolutely stunning. Kander traveled from the mouth of the Yangtze 4100 miles to its source . . . a journey of epic proportions.

Both beautiful and haunting, these images compel me to search for more. This work inspires me in a way that few other photographer's projects have. These photographs are both contemplative and in your face, lonely and oppressive, critical and objective.

The scale of these landscapes is daunting. The geographic transformation of China and this mighty river are hard to believe in words, but Kander's photographs show the real transformation. What we are looking at here is a country in turmoil with itself. It's a country trying to learn how to grow without imploding. In Kander's photos we get a glimpse into this world and how this turmoil is affecting millions of people that have been displaced during the transformation of the Yangtze.

I urge you to take 10 minutes to watch this slideshow with commentary by Mr. Kander. I hope it will inspire you as it has me.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

America Through the Eyes of the Artist


(posted by Ryan)

I am proud to announce that I have my first shared photography exhibition opening this month. I will be exhibiting 8 photographs from our Creative Highways project for this exhibit titled "America Through the Eyes of the Artist" with photographers, Staci Grimes and Stacey Ferree.

I was thrilled when the Chambersburg Council for the Arts contacted me about this show because I immediately thought of our Creative Highways project. I had been looking for a way to showcase this work so the timing was perfect.

I am hopeful that people who come to see this show will walk away with a renewed sense of wonder and curiosity for the American landscape. These pictures mean a lot to me and each one tells a story about our country, about the open highway and about the way we, as humans, interact with our environment.

I have poured my heart and soul into these photographs. I remember the temperature, the smell, the exact location and how I was feeling whenever I took these photographs. I meticulously worked through the printing process, burning through too much paper and ink until I had the print as I thought it should be. I even matted and framed these images wearing my winter jacket in the drafty attic space where I keep my matte cutter. It has taken months to get to this point and it feels good to know that from January 15 through February 20 these images will hang in a space meant to share artwork.

Please join me for the opening of this show on Friday, January 15 from 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM. I would love to have you there.

Here is the press release:
“America Through the Eyes of the Artist” will be on display at the Kaleidoscope Gallery from January 15th through February 20th at 159 South Main Street, Chambersburg. The exhibit will feature photography by Stacey Ferree of Waynesboro, Staci Grimes of Shippensburg and Ryan Smith of Mercersburg. The opening reception will be held on Friday January 15th from 4:30-6:30 PM and will be an opportunity for Gallery patrons to meet the artists.


Friday, November 6, 2009

Inspiration and the Shape of Things to Come in Wedding Coverage

Posted by Larissa

© Stillmotion Photo + Cinema

Sometimes something comes along that causes one to stir in one's desk chair with an energy outside the daily trudge through the to-do list. You suddenly see that there is something to all of this endless searching, social networking, brainstorming, organizing, perfectionistic tendencies, and questioning that you do in the business of creativity. You see an artist's work that inspires you beyond voyeurism and envy - that inspires you to keep molding and refining your art and how you represent your art in doing business.

A friend passed along a link to Stillmotion Photo + Cinema, a wedding photography and videography team based in Canada whose work has inspired me today. While we are not solely a wedding photography enterprise, we do enjoy shooting weddings from time to time. Watching the videos on the Stillmotion site reminded me of why so many professionals are drawn to the wedding industry. I got so much joy from looking at the photos and videos on their site, not just because of the intrinsic bliss of a couple's wedding day, but because of the sheer level of craftsmanship that goes into each of Stillmotion's pieces of work.

I only hope that people can glean the same level of inspiration from our work, wedding or not. And stay tuned! The integration of video and still photography is certainly the shape of things to come here at Chace + Smith Photography and Ryan Smith Photography.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Lessons in Patience and Mindfulness

(Posted by Ryan)

"So my theory is simple: there is something really important, perhaps magical, about the fact that film is so unforgiving that it creates a special mindfulness in the photographer, which in turn increases the chances of making great pictures."

I was reading the Chase Jarvis blog today when I came across this post about something Doug Menuez said.  Doug has a very interesting post on his blog about "The Zen of Film vs. Digital Gratification." 

He talks about the days when digital was something that few photographers ever thought they would be using and how the advancement of digital technologies has changed the scope of photography forever.  The quote above is something that I feel is very important yet often overlooked by many photographers, myself included.  

Film forces us to be more mindful as photographers.  Don't get me wrong, I love my digital cameras and am grateful for these image making tools.  I shoot digitally 98 percent of the time, with that tiny little 2 percent being my occasional inclination to shoot film for personal work.  Within that 98 percent of digital shooting time I have been working hard to be more mindful of the process.  Sometimes I turn off the LCD screen and focus on shooting more deliberately.  Without having that instant gratification that comes from immediately seeing what I just shot some of the mystery of photography is reborn.

I have also been working to shoot less to create more.  With digital cameras it is so easy to rattle off thousands of images without any concern for film costs.  Just put the camera on continuous shooting mode and fire away.  You're bound to get something . . . it's a simple matter of probability.  But by shooting more slowly and more deliberately I can open myself up to alternative possibilities.  

I remember when I was at Colorado Mountain College being forced by my professors to keep detailed exposure statistics for every single image I made.  This was with film so there was no metadata attached with each shot upon exposure.  I had to keep a written record of every single shot and this forced me to slow down and learn.  The thought of recording every exposure by hand now seems ludicrous, but the lesson is there.  Slow down, think, compose and create a strong image.

When I shoot digitally I sometimes pretend that I am shooting film.  I only have 24 frames to make something interesting so I better take my time and think through each exposure.  LCD screens don't exist so I'll have to wait to see the results until I develop my film.  Oh, the anxiety of wondering if I got the shot or completely messed it up is almost too much for me to handle.  But I hold off and that excitement and sense of wonder is returned to the process allowing creativity to flow naturally and freely.  

I shoot a lot of personal work with a Holga.  It has got to be one of the crappiest cameras out there but I have created some of my favorite pictures with it.  I use 120 film so I only have 12 exposures with each roll and it gives me the opportunity to be patient with my compositions.  The Holga has the added value of only having 2 exposure options . . . sunny or cloudy.  Pretty simple.  

When I get a roll back from the lab I always experience a tiny bit of nervousness before looking at the negatives.  Sometimes these fears are realized and the entire roll is underexposed, but more often something magical happens.  The subjects I photographed were transformed inside the camera and visually come to life.   

The mystery and wonder of photography is fully evident with the Holga and I try to bring this philosophy to my digital shooting by being mindful of the process while utilizing sophisticated tools and technologies.  

I urge all of you to go out with your camera (whatever it may be) and limit yourself to only shooting 12 frames.  Shoot 12 frames and enjoy the process.  Allow the mystery and magic to take over for a while and most importantly, have fun.



'Fred and his Eagle'
Shot with my Holga

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Exhibition

(Posted by Ryan)



We have a small landscape exhibition at Integrative Medicine in Hagerstown, Maryland.  Rob Bastress, the owner, suggested I hang some of my prints during a recent acupuncture appointment.  I seldom matte and frame my prints, but it's something I am interested in doing more of, so I thought, what better opportunity to put together a fine art portfolio? 

Integrative Medicine offers a unique atmosphere for artwork and I decided my landscape photography would fit into the environment well.  My landscape work is very serene and is based around the idea of finding beauty everywhere in the natural world.  This turned out to be a great collaboration between a place of healing and some of my favorite landscape photographs.  

If you've ever considered acupuncture, I strongly recommend Rob at Integrative Medicine.  Go in for a consultation and take a look at some prints.  If you're already a patient, let me know what you think of the new artwork in the hallways.  
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