Weekend Openings: Beacon and Millbrook NY

I have two big events going on this weekend.  Artist Galina Krasskova and I are renting a truck to show our work during Beacon Open Studios.  We are part of Truck City - a pop up art venue in the parking lot of Spire Studios.  Maps are available at my gallery, RiverWinds, at 172 Main Street.  In the truck I'll be selling my paintings and in a bin, photographs for $20 each - any size. Galina also be selling her paintings and travel photos.  The truck will be there May 3-4, open from noon to 6 pm.

The Orbs: Undiscovered Planets, acrylic on canvas, each 12x12

Also this month I'm part of a fabulous group photography show - Many Visions - at the Millbrook Free Library, Millbrook. NY.  The opening reception is Friday, May 2, from 6-7:30 pm, and the show is up all month.  I've been part of this group - the Advanced Photography Seminar at Barrett Art Center - for a number of years.  It consists currently of about a dozen very talented photographers, each with his or her own point of view.  The show will be awesome!  If you are interested in photography, you should take the time to see it.

View From Boscobel, at the Millbrook Library this month

Early Spring the Bronx Botanical Gardens

I found myself at the Bronx Botanical Gardens in New York City yesterday because I needed a parking space and to pass some time!  The day was perfect - in the 60s, with the first bloom of spring flowers and trees.  I love the early spring buds on the trees, before the leaves unfurl.  So this is how I spent my time (ok, I did a little shopping in the gift store too).

All these images were taken with my iPhone and brought into Snapseed photo app for fun adjustments.

Tulips etc at the Bronx Botanical Gardens

Buds just beginning to appear.  Bronx Botanical Gardens

Gorgeous yellow magnolia tree.  Bronx Botanical Gardens

Magnificent flowering pink tree echoed in the reflecting pool

One Photo: Two Treatments

Below is one photo,  treated with two different iPhone photo apps.  I'll be teaching how to use these cool apps next Thursday, April 24, from 6-8 pm at RiverWinds Gallery in Beacon, NY.  It's a fun class - the apps are inexpensive, easy-to-use.  I'll show you the best of the lot!  This class is good with iPhones or iPads.  Contact me if you are interested.

Hudson River view, with cool tones

Hudson River view, with warm tones

One image capture - two different images!

Spring!

I am printing up some spring photos for my gallery, RiverWinds Gallery, in Beacon.  These were taken in previous years with my Nikon, and then I used Glamour Glow in the Nik Filter series to soften and, well, make them glow.

Early Spring - trees just budding

Magnolias have just bloomed!

Beacon, NY - looking towards Mt. Beacon

Before & After with the iPhone

The iPhone has become my camera of choice.  It's always with me, and I love the photo apps - so cheap, so easy-to-use, so fun.  And I've enjoyed teaching these tools to iPhone users.  My next workshop is April 24, from 6-8 pm, at RiverWinds Gallery in Beacon, NY.  If you're interested in learning how to bring your iPhone shots up to the next level, contact me for more details.  I promise--you will learn a lot and have fun!

Before iPhone photo apps:

2 charming girls, looking at the Hudson River, taken with my Nikon D7000

After running the image through some phone apps:

For me, this treatment adds a universal element - it's not Jennie and Alice, but the essence of 2 young girls.

Before:

Overlooking the Hudson River: photo taken with my Nikon

After:

I like the feeling of age and time in this image

The iPhone apps enable me to express the history of photography - they throw back in time.  I was a history major in college, so I guess this kind of time travel has always appealed to me!

Image of the Day: Simple Summer Bouquet

From my garden.  Roses.  Bee balm.  Echinacea.  Old bottle.  On my porch.

Summer bouquet: roses, bee balm, echincacea

Images of the Day: Beacon NY Waterfront

When Rita Pignato, a wonderful photographer, visits me, we always go out and photograph around the Hudson River.  We were running a bit late - no time to drive too far -- light wasn't wonderful -  so we went down to the Beacon waterfront to see what we could see.  We didn't walk more than 50 yards in all -- we found plenty to compose - water/trees/logs/rocks/clouds.  The basics. 

The color at mid-afternoon was subdued -- definitely not the golden hour. So as I worked on this, I kept to a neutral palette, except for the bottom photo, which I'm not sure I like...

Hudson River, looking at Hudson Highlands, Beacon, NY

Hudson River, Beacon NY waterfront.

Hudson River, Beacon NY waterfront