“Vortex” at the Ice House

•June 30, 2009 • 1 Comment

One of the new images I am currently showing at the Ice House Artists’ Co-op is called “Vortex”. The Ice House Gallery is at Independence and Mercer Streets in Berkeley Springs, WV.

052309-DC-121

"Vortex"

No, this is not a Photoshop creation. It is an actual digital photograph captured with my Nikon D300 and post processed only minimally. So what is it?

At the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, there is a tunnel that goes under the street from the original gallery building to the new east building. Along the wall is an incredible light display of moving lights. I captured a number of shots of this but I was waiting for the display to fill out into this view.

Posted in Photography

Juried Show at VisArts in Rockville

•June 26, 2009 • 1 Comment

The Metropolitan Center for the Visual Arts (VisArts) in Rockville, Maryland is the evolution of the Rockville Arts Place, which was where I first showed work in a juried photography exhibit back in the early 1990s. I discovered the latest incarnation of this organization in March when I was in the Rockville area and decided to drop in to see what it was doing. If you look at their web site using the link above, you’ll see that it is a fabulous facility with a wide range of programs.

On that trip, I met John Hoover, the Director of Photography, who told me of their plans to further expand the Photography Program into a real center of creative photography learning and activity. This was very exciting to me since I have bemoaned the lack of such an organization in the DC area, or at least within a reasonable drive from home in Martinsburg, WV.

I was delighted to receive an email yesterday that two images had been accepted in the 2009 VisArts (Rockville, MD) Members Exhibition. One of the images is “Ghost in the Machine”, which was shown in my previous post.

The other image for VisArts is called “View from the Court”.

"View From the Court"

"View From the Court"

This was a high dynamic range capture during one of my recent trips to DC. I did an HDR merge of five exposures and then converted to black and white using Nik Silver EFX Pro.

The VisArts exhibit opens August 2 and the reception will be Friday, August 7, 6:30-8:30pm.

Posted in Photography, Upcoming Events

More From 2008

•June 25, 2009 • 1 Comment

In the effort to get caught up with the highlights of last year and get into more current activities, here is another my favorite images from 2008. It was captured in Cass, WV, the home of the Cass Scenic Railroad Park, a West Virginia State Park.

The park has a collection of old Shay locomotives, which were designed specifically for pulling train-loads of lumber up and down the hills of West Virginia timber country. This shot is a detail of one of the engines that was being prepared for the excursion up the mountain. The steam escaping from various places reminded me of ghosts.

"Ghost in the Machine"

"Ghost in the Machine"

Posted in Photography

First HDRI Efforts

•June 24, 2009 • Comments Off on First HDRI Efforts

A am planning to try to get caught up with the blog, which has been mostly idle for a year.

For starters, I have two images from a shoot at the old Interwoven Sock Mill complex in Martinsburg. Interwoven was at one time one of the largest (if not the largest) manufacturer of socks in the country and was one of the major employers in West Virginia. The buildings have been empty for quite some time but are generally structurally solid even if they are pretty messy at the moment.

Having been studying and experimenting with High Dynamic Range Imaging (HDRI) for a few months, I wanted to try the technique on a real subject. The end result was quite satisfying:

Interwoven Mills Martinsburg WV February 2008

Interwoven Mills Martinsburg WV February 2008

The Second image is one of my favorites, and was very successful having earned an “Award of Distinction” from the 2008-2009 West Virginia Arts and Crafts Guild Biennial Competition, and also was selected for exhibit in the 2009 Cumberland Valley Photographic Salon at the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts in Hagerstown, MD.

"September 1970"

"September 1970"

I’ve been doing more HDRI and as I learn more about it, I my appreciation of the power of the technique grows. I’ll be writing more about this in the future.

Posted in Photography

New Image June 16, 2009

•June 16, 2009 • Comments Off on New Image June 16, 2009

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted here. I am going to try again to update on some regular basis, at least posting a new image.

I’ve been traveling to DC this spring and last Sunday I made my fifth trip to photograph the monuments and other architecture from Capitol Hill to the Lincoln Memorial and in between. Although it is a bit of a trek to get there and back, there are many good photo opportunities there.

Here’s one of the images from last Sunday:

Jefferson Memorial

Jefferson Memorial

Posted in Photography

Trigger Image

•July 20, 2008 • Comments Off on Trigger Image

I have established a gallery on Trigger Image, based in the United Kingdom, which bills itself as “The Creative Alternative for Stock Photography.” Trigger Image provides a platform for world-wide rights-managed licensing in a creative environment that rejects the commonplace stock images that are so common.

This is experimental for me since I have been hesitant to put my best work out there in the stock arena. Since this is a rights-managed system rather royalty-free “microstock” I am hopeful that if someone licenses my work it will provide a reasonable payday.


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Art in Architecture at the Ice House

•March 29, 2008 • Comments Off on Art in Architecture at the Ice House

One of the oldest forms of art is architecture. Artistic design of living, working, and ceremonial spaces enhances all of our life’s activities. The Morgan Arts Council presents “Art in Architecture”, an exhibit to explore how architecture is depicted in art and how artistic design of architectural elements can enhance a living or working space. The exhibit will be in the Special Events Gallery at the Ice House in Berkeley Springs, WV.

Art in Architecture Postcard

The exhibit will feature a wide range of work from painting and photography to fine wood and metal work, stained glass, and jewelry.

I will be exhibiting several prints from my “Cityscapes” series and the “Interwoven Mills” series. I am also the curator for the exhibit.

The exhibit will feature a total of 16 artists. Here is the full list:

Rip Smith (Photography)
Alice Webb (Digital photo art)
Judy Rand (Cabinetry)
Becca Jones (Wood sculpture)
Lee Badger (Metal sculpture)
John Fisher (Torii jewelry)
Jerry Smith (Stick furniture)
South Mountain Creations (Carved sink)
Peter Wood (Metal sculpture)
Steve Adams (Wood bench)
Mary-Jo Bennett Photography)
Ralph Gonzalez (Stained Glass)
Doug Ritenburg (Photography)
Kat Cimaglio (Acrylic painting)
Wilson Webb (Painting)

There will be an opening reception Friday, April 4 from 7:30-9:00pm at the Ice House Gallery.

Directions here.

Hope to see you there!

Posted in Photography, Upcoming Events, Various Random Commentary

Stanford in Washington Exhibit

•February 27, 2008 • Comments Off on Stanford in Washington Exhibit

I am am very pleased and excited to announce the opening of my solo exhibit in Washington, DC at the The Stanford in Washington Gallery. The exhibit consists of 33 black and white images that trace my evolution as a photographer over a 45 year period from 1962 through 2007.

The exhibit is presented in three segments. The first group features selected images from my “Foundations” portfolio, which covers my earliest work from about 1962 through 1992.

I am also introducing a limited edition portfolio of prints from this group. The portfolio consists of fifteen fine prints on Hahnemuhle bamboo fibre paper. The prints are individually numbered and signed and are housed in an archival print folio.

Copies of the portfolio are available at the Stanford in Washington Gallery or by email request to rsmith (at) sterlingimages (dot) com.

The second group is from the “Transitions” portfolio, which covers the period of transition from film to digital capture and my development in the area of digital imaging 2003 to 2007.

The third and final grouping highlights selections of recent work from my “Cityscapes” portfolio.

Here is one of the “Cityscapes” images from the exhibit:

US Capitol

All of the prints were made with an Epson Stylus Pro 3800 printer with Epson Ultrachrome “K3” archival pigment inks on Crane Museo Silver Rag paper.

There will be a reception on Sunday, March 9 from 1pm to 4pm at the Gallery located at 2655 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC. The gallery is located directly across Connecticut Avenue from the Woodley Park/National Zoo stop on the Metro Red Line. For my friends in West Virginia, the easiest way to get there would be to go to the Shady Grove Metro station in Gaithersburg and ride the train down to Woodley Park.

The Gallery hours are Monday-Friday 9am-5pm, Saturday 11am-6pm. The exhibit will be on display through mid-April.

Stanford in Washington has sent out this press release: siw-press-release.pdf

Here is a view of the gallery:

galleryshot.jpg

The Stanford in Washington (SIW) Program, part of the Stanford University Public Policy Program, offers qualified undergraduate students an opportunity to study and learn in a rigorous program in the nation’s capital.

Posted in Photography, Upcoming Events

Cumberland Valley Photographic Salon

•January 19, 2008 • Comments Off on Cumberland Valley Photographic Salon

More good news!

I received the news yesterday that I have two images selected for the Cumberland Valley Photographic Salon at the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts.

My image, “Majestic Old 734″ was awarded First Prize in the black and white ‘Still Life” category.

Majestic Old 734

I am very pleased for the recognition of this image that I consider one of my 2 or 3 best of 2006.

The second image juried for exhibit was “Curved Corridor”, which has also been exhibited at the Center for Fine Art Photography in Fort Collins, Colorado. (UPDATE – 1/30/08 – I learned two days ago by way of the Main ARTery newsletter that “Curved Corridor”was awarded second prize in the Architecture/Landscape category.)

Curved Corridor

The reception for the show will be at the museum in Hagerstown on Sunday, February 10 from 2:30-4:00 PM. Drop by and say ‘hello’ if you can. Here are directions if you need them: https://www.wcmfa.org/directions.htm

Posted in Photography, Upcoming Events

Image in Rangefinder Magazine

•January 10, 2008 • Comments Off on Image in Rangefinder Magazine

The January, 2008 issue of Rangerfinder Magazine highlights “The Power of Black and White”.

One of my images is included in the article, ‘Reflections on an Exhibition‘ by Alice B. Miller about the 2007 Center for Fine Art Photography Black and White exhibit. Ms Miller was the juror for that exhibition and chose two of my images for the show. In the article, she highlights several images from that exhibit, including my ‘Going Up’ image from my ‘Foundations‘ portfolio.

Posted in Photography

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