Printer For Sale-- Very Good Deal

Epson Stylus Pro R 2400

On offer: An Epson Stylus Pro R2400 Inkjet Printer. Priced for fast results! Best offer over $99. This printer is working flawlessly. I will throw in a roll (unused) of 13 inch Epson Premium Luster Paper. This was my primary printer for a couple of years but has been idle since I purchased an Epson Stylus 3800-- only in order to make larger (17x22 inch) prints. I'd be happy to arrange an inspection and demo. If interested call me at 788-1812.
Byron

New Photo on the Masthead

The image you see in the masthead was submitted for the November Topic of the Month (photos about fall) by WWIG stalwart Larry Lindesmith. One of the aspects that really appeals to me is that this photo is an excellent depiction of one of the foundational principles that guided me during my intense gardening days, namely to arrange landscape and hardscape so as to interrelate color, texture, scale and shape. Another of Larry's submissions is also very appealing to me, primarily because of the wonder quality of the light.

I've returned from my very excellent phototour in Cuba having had a thought provoking and photographically rewarding experience. I will be posting some of the images on my personal blog, Seeing America One Back Road at a Time.

Byron

Ansel Adams exhibition in Chicago area

If anyone will be traveling to the Chicago area in the next month, you may want to check out the exhibit at the Wauconda museum displaying work by Ansel Adams.

Here is a link to the article from the Chicago Tribune:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-ent-1201-museums-ansel-adams-20111201,0,4699048.story

Phyllis Olson

To Cuba on Tuesday

I doubt that I will be blogging during my trip. Back on December 9th. All good wishes,
Byron

PS: There were many outstanding images submitted for our November meeting.   I will be using them in the header over the next few months. The one placed today is from Marti Sullivan. Thanks to everyone who has participated.

Happy Thanksgiving... a day late

I spent quite a lot of time on the Internet searching for a photo that says something about Thanksgiving that isn't maudlin or hackneyed. I saw hundreds of images of food, people at table-- every last one looking deleriously happy, lots of turkeys-- both in their natural state (ie. alive) or cooked, but nothing that I found the least bit interesting or meaningful. There were 2 paintings scattered among the images, this one by an artist named Farley, and another by I can't remember who.

Thanksgiving has always been a favorite holiday for our family, just not one that has any particular profound meaning. I don't want to seem cynical, but the commericial aspects and the forced and phony sentimentality do annoy me.

About the images I posted last week: The first is part of a series taken at the Los Angeles Airport by a renowned "street photographer" Gary Winogrand. The photo was seen in a NY Times slide show about the wonderful Arts scene in LA-- this image was used to hype the permanent photo collection at the Getty Museum. Hmm... I thought,  I bet that if it is the the Getty's permanent collection it must be very valuable and although I didn't see a dollar value when, on the Internet, it is obviously a well known and highly regarded picture. I certainly have no idea why. To my untutored eye it is a not very well composed snapshot and it really doesn't say anything about the Los Angeles Airport that I'd like to know. I suspect that there are plenty of similar pictures taken by regular folks with the Kodak Hawkeye cameras that were predominant during the 1950s.

The 2nd image is Rhine II by Andreas Gursky. It has the distinction of selling at auction for the highest amount ever paid for a photograph: $4,338,500! This image is from a video made by Gursky admirer (sycophant) and was made at the site where the 4+million dollar photo was taken. Gursky mentioned that he did a bit of cleanup with Photoshop.

Finally I want to thank Phyllis and Jamie for commenting. I really do appreciate knowing that this blog  is being read.
Byron

Images For Contemplation and Discussion

I had planned to post images that I find captivation this month, but decided to take a break when this last weekend I came across these 2. They, each in their own way, are very thought provoking and I hope that members of our group will find them interesting and be willing to comment about them. Today, I'll simply post the images but tomorrow I will make my comments about them. Please do respond by posting or commenting on the blog.

More tomorrow, including complete attribution. In the meantime, I'm eager to see what you think.

Byron

Web Gallery

At our recent meeting I did mention that my web gallery is more or less done and gave a shout out to Ben Stern who helped convert what was for quite some time an embarrassing mess into something I am quite proud of.  I am doing some shameless self-promotion here and formally inviting you to visit. It is still a work in progress but all of the important elements are finished. I will be adding more slide show presentations and plan to add a large number of photos to the family snapshot gallery but will make it available only to family members (as soon as I learn how).

If you do visit,  any feedback you care to share will be appreciated-- especially suggestions about what can be improved. 
Byron