Pearwood Designs: Images of light and life

update time

2011-12-02T17:03:00.001-05:00

Time for me to start updating this thing. :)

We're in the process of selling our house and moving into something wonderfully smaller. I am planning a 365 project once things are finalized. The theme will be "our place", with all photos taken within walking distance.

Show opening at Northeastern Seminary

2009-01-26T23:11:00.006-05:00

I am just back from the opening reception at my show at Northeastern Seminary at Roberts Wesleyan College. It was fun. Son Rob came along. He was only moderately disgusted with me for getting him back to the group home so late.

Here is the artist's talk I had prepared.

Psalm 117, A Photography Exhibit by Steven Tryon
Opening Reception, January 26, 2009

O praise the Lord, all you nations,
acclaim him, all you peoples.
Strong is his love for us;
he is faithful forever.
(Psalm 117, Grail translation)

How shall I praise God with photography?

For a start, perhaps I can see the raucous, cackling gulls for the marvelous creatures they are.

When Kathrine Page asked me for a title for my photography show, I told her "Psalm 117". Psalm 117 and its much longer neighbor, Psalm 119, have become two of my favorite psalms. Psalm 119 celebrates in many-faceted delight the wonders of the law of God. In the law, God has given us a love letter to be read and re-read and savored with all our heart. In its 22 stanzas and 176 verses, Psalm 119 does just that.

Psalm 117 takes a different approach; short and sweet, straight to the point, it proclaims the essence of our faith and hope. It takes the shema and sings it to creation. All nations and all peoples are to praise God precisely because of his love and faithfulness to Israel, to the church, if you will, that extends from the beginning of the world to its its end. Like our father Abraham we have been blessed to be a blessing. In God's love for and faithfulness to us his people, the whole world has reason to rejoice.

O praise the Lord, all you nations,
acclaim him, all you peoples.
Strong is his love for us;
he is faithful forever.

So what does all of this have to do with photography and, in particular, Steven Tryon's photography?

In the autobiographical blurb I post with my photos at shows I say,

Many have commented on the peace I capture in my images. To seek and see the beauty of all things and all people is not to deny the evil and ugliness in the world and people – including myself – but to see evil for what it is and combat it by seeing through it and beyond it.

There are others whose skill and task and art it is to open eyes to the ugliness and evil that exist. Such is a high art and a noble task, for not to see evil is to be defeated by it. Yet my skill and task and art is to open eyes to hope and the reality of the beauty and wholeness that can be.

But is there any hope to be seen? Can there be any true beauty and wholeness? Or is it all an exercise in wishful thinking, wish projection doomed to vanish as surely as our bodies are doomed to return to the dust? Psalm 117 answers succinctly and emphatically: the hope we cling to and the beauty we see are anchored securely in the strong love and faithfulness of God.

My photography has gravitated toward two emphases. On the one hand is the celebration of the beauty and wholeness that flow from the love and faithfulness of God. When I am on the trail or on the water, it is not just any beauty that I try to capture with the camera, but the beauty of God and his creation. The peace I find in paddling the canoe is the peace of God. On the other hand is the celebration of the means by which we come to know the love and faithfulness of God. This is where you will see my more explicitly religiously-themed photography. My event shooting falls somewhere in the middle, or maybe even bridges the two.

I got started in photography a long time ago. Dad got me a little box camera. It was black, cubical, used 620 film and had no adjustments whatsoever. I couldn't tell you what the make was. It took reasonably good pictures if one took some thought about what he was doing. It did much better in black and white, as I remember, than in color. I know I took a lot of perfectly uninspiring photos along Hiram Road in Framingham, Massachusetts with it. I would have been in first or second grade at the time.

Somewhere along the line, Dad taught me to think about what I was doing when I looked through the viewfinder. Set the picture up, balance it, pay attention framing and composition. That's pretty much what I still try to do. There are a lot of technical considerations that go into taking a good photograph, but if I can help someone else see what I saw, then I have at least a reasonably successful shot.

I didn't do much photography in high school and college. It wasn't until I graduated and went on active duty in the Army and had a real income for the first time in my life that I started taking pictures again. We have boxes and boxes full of 110 slides waiting to be gone through and selectively scanned. I flew Army helicopters in Alaska, and we did a lot of cross-country driving back and forth in that orange and white VW Bus. Then number one son came along and he was even cuter than the cats. Lots of pictures.

Life got a lot more complicated in Nome, where I worked for the FAA, and I didn't take nearly as many photographs, which is a shame, because it really was beautiful. Then it was on to Calvin Seminary, where money went for books instead of film. When I graduated from Calvin in 1985 I did not get a call to serve a local congregation, so I went back to my "other first love"; I've made my living in information system for the last twenty some odd years. But I didn't do a lot of photography until about ten years ago when I started getting back outside more.

Then in 2001 I bought a canoe. That changed my life in a lot of ways. Paddling is another art form I learned early on, as a camper at Deerfoot Lodge, a Christian wilderness camp for boys, about six miles north of Speculator in the Adirondacks. They treated canoes with a love and respect that approached their reverence for the Bible. The first thing we youngsters had to learn was how to get the canoe from the rack and launch it with without having the hull touch anything but air and water. Forty years later, when I first took that Curtis Solo Tripper out on Irondequoit Creek I could tell I was back into somethings special. I told folks, "This is what the good Lord had in mind when he said, 'Let there be canoe.'"

Canoes and cameras are a marriage made in heaven. I love the artistry of the single paddle, and the opportunities for photography are endless. Paddling is also a marvelous opportunity for quiet and solitude. I highly recommend it to any of you who are in or headed for the pastorate. I had shortly before that gotten hooked up with the local chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club, thinking I would do more hiking, and maybe even climb some mountains. Well, the canoe rather took care of that. I became an active member of the waterways group, and even chaired it for a couple years. I did a lot of paddling. I took over the web page for the group and started posting my and other's paddling photographs along with our trip reports.

About the same time I developed or renewed an interest in fantasy art. (You have to realize that I first read the Lord of the Rings while I was in high school; I have long since lost track of the number of times I have reread it.) I eventually ended up in 2005 getting an account on deviantArt, a huge, global artists' community, so I could some of the artists whose work I had come to enjoy. Just for the fun of it, I uploaded a few of my paddling photos, and found, to my great surprise, that I could hold my own as a photographer. Mind you, I was still shooting with single-use, disposable cameras at the time. But I was careful how I used them. I would get a photo-CD along with my prints, do some minimal editing and cleanup, and upload my photos. I have learned a lot since then, and gotten much better equipment, but my number one, most-faved photograph on deviantArt, by far and away, is a shot of the Veterans Bridge taken with a single-use camera from the deck of my kayak in the middle of the Genesee River. There is a lot to be said for good equipment, but the most important lens is still the one behind the camera.

When my job of twelve years vaporized a year ago last October, my good friend Kelly, who is also my financial advisor, no less, stood me up, looked me in the eye, and said, "Get the camera." She also told me, "Sure you know what you want to do when you grow up; you just don't know how to get there yet." Rather than take my life in my hands by trying to argue with Kelly, I went out and bought the Canon Rebel XTi that I used to take most of the photographs you see here. Also about that time I had a photograph accepted for a juried show, "Elsewhere", at the Image City Photography Gallery. I have exhibited there as a guest photographer three time since then. I just retrieved yesterday my "Genesee Bridges" photograph that hung in their just-concluded "Magic of Light" juried show. This show at Northeastern Seminary is my first solo show. A lot has happened this year.

A couple notes on the placement of photographs here at the seminary.

On the first floor is a collection of my color photography. My muse may dress in black and white, but I like my color, too. There is also a selection of what I call my "square deal" photographs. I do as little cropping as possible after the fact, so most of my shots are in the same 2:3 aspect ratio as came from the camera. Some shots, however, demand to be cropped square. Sometimes I know that when I take the photo, sometimes I figure it out when I am looking at the shot on-screen.

On the second floor I have black and white photographs. I like to play with lights and clouds. Sometimes I just like to play. "Three in the garage" and "Interpreter" are two of my favorite people shots, in the latter case because the person is invisible. I have often thought that sign interpreters and photographers share a common calling of becoming transparent. There is also a set of black and white "square deals".

On the third floor is more playing with light in black and white, with a couple color shots thrown in for good measure. If the "No paddling today" photo looks cold, I can assure you that it was.

On the fourth floor is sequence of black and white photographs of a somewhat more contemplative nature, on a worship and redemption theme. Across the hall from the prayer room seemed an appropriate place for a quieter collection.

Also on the fourth(?) floor are a pair of my photo boards, one from Flower City Work Camp last April, and one from last month at church. I am pretty much useless as a formal portrait photographer, but I do pretty well with event shoots and spontaneous portraits. I take it as high praise that some of the young folks at church use my photos for the Facebook IDs. And I must say that putting photo boards together is great fun.

Thank you all for coming.

Steve

Images of Christmas

2008-12-25T20:30:00.002-05:00

The angel wore a cross

2008-11-30T22:36:00.001-05:00

Two stories.

Back in the mid-70's while we were living in Anchorage, our pastor preached an Advent sermon entitled, "Blood on the Christmas tree". It stuck with me. Christmas introduces the story that Good Friday and Easter complete.

This Advent season our pastor is preaching on the messages of the various Christmas angels. We had a dramatic reading this morning of the angel announcing to Zachariah that a son, John, would be born to Zachariah and his wife in their old age. I read the part of the angel (shaggy white mane and all).

I routinely wear a cross pendant. After some thought, I decided to go ahead and wear it this morning. Even though it was a tad anachronistic, it fit the dark undertone of the angel's announcement.

Think of the arrival of the commandos to break in and free the hostages. It is cause for celebration, but with a dark edge to it. We know this isn't going to be without cost.

So the angel wore a cross.

Blessings,
Steve

Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T01:02:00.002-05:00

To give thanks is a simple and beautiful thing.

Thanksgiving Eve

2008-11-26T22:38:00.003-05:00

O praise the Lord, all you nations,
acclaim him, all you peoples.
Strong is his love for us;
he is faithful forever.

It is good to give thanks.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
Praise him, all creatures here below.
Praise him above, you heavenly hosts.
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!

Sentences

2008-11-24T22:12:00.004-05:00

Out for a walk this evening in the fresh, wet snow.

Sometimes I am take photographs of everything that catches my eye; other times I am content with letting scenes pass through my eyes into my memory. I have been going back through the shots from a few months ago, finding old images that catch my eye again, such as these night leaves.

It was good to be out and about, even without the camera.

Blessings,
Steve

2008-11-23T21:54:00.002-05:00

I was intending to take some photos of the front of the sanctuary this evening, but I got sidetracked by the pastor's daughters. Life could be worse.

Sentences

2008-11-19T22:37:00.002-05:00

Choir practice this evening, and some trying out ways to take interior shots on the Psalm 117 theme. I got some interesting shots, but nothing astounding.

Sentences

2008-11-18T21:27:00.002-05:00

O praise the Lord, all you nations,
acclaim him, all you peoples.

How shall I praise God with photography? For a start, perhaps I can see the raucous, cackling gulls for the marvelous creatures they are.

Sentences

2008-11-17T23:36:00.003-05:00

O praise the Lord, all you nations,
acclaim him, all you peoples.
Strong is his love for us;
he is faithful forever.

Yesterday I asked, "But is there any hope to be seen? Can there be any true beauty and wholeness? Or is it all an exercise in wishful thinking, wish projection doomed to vanish as surely as our bodies are doomed to return to the dust? Psalm 117 answers succinctly and emphatically: the hope we cling to and the beauty we see are anchored securely in the strong love and faithfulness of God."

My photography has gravitated toward two emphases. On the one hand is the celebration of the beauty and wholeness that flow from the love and faithfulness of God. When I am on the trail or on the water, it is not just any beauty that I try to capture with the camera, but the beauty of God and his creation. The peace I find in paddling the canoe is the peace of God. On the other hand is the celebration of the means by which we come to know the love and faithfulness of God. This is where you will see my more explicitly religiously-themed photography.

And now to bed.
Blessings,
Steve

Sentence a day

2008-11-16T21:21:00.002-05:00

Photographers often have a "picture a day" gallery. This will be my "sentence a day" journal to make sure I keep on writing. (Taking lots of photographs I have no trouble with.) If anyone else chooses to read my ruminations, that's fine. If not, that's fine, too. This is my sketchbook; I just happen to keep it on line.

Kathrine Page asked me for a title for my photography show next January at Northeastern Seminary. I told her "Psalm 117". Here are my thoughts on why.

O praise the Lord, all you nations,
acclaim him, all you peoples.
Strong is his love for us;
he is faithful forever. (Grail translation)

Psalm 117 and its much longer neighbor, Psalm 119, have become two of my favorite psalms. Psalm 119 celebrates in many-faceted delight the wonders of the law of God. In the law, God has given us a love to be read and re-read and savored with all our heart. In in 22 stanzas and 176 verses, Psalm 119 does just that.

Psalm 117 takes a different approach; short and sweet, straight to the point, it proclaims the essence of our faith and hope. It takes the shema and sings it to creation. All nations and all peoples are to praise God precisely because of his love and faithfulness to Israel, to the church, if you will, that extends from the beginning of the world to its its end. Like our father Abraham we have been blessed to be a blessing. In God's love for and faithfulness to us his people, the whole world has reason to rejoice.

O praise the Lord, all you nations,
acclaim him, all you peoples.
Strong is his love for us;
he is faithful forever.

So what does all of this have to do with photography and, in particular, Steven Tryon's photography?

In the autobiographical blurb I post with my photos at shows I say,

Many have commented on the peace I capture in my images. To seek and see the beauty of all things and all people is not to deny the evil and ugliness in the world and people – including myself – but to see evil for what it is and combat it by seeing through it and beyond it.

There are others whose skill and task and art it is to open eyes to the ugliness and evil that exist. Such is a high art and a noble task, for not to see evil is to be defeated by it. Yet my skill and task and art is to open eyes to hope and the reality of the beauty and wholeness that can be.

Bees in the bedroom

2008-09-26T22:25:00.002-04:00

The bees in the attic decided to break into the bedroom. It's in the process of being fumigated. Fun.

Fun with blogging

2008-09-11T07:33:00.002-04:00

I switched my PearwoodDesigns.com home page from here over to my PBase account so it can focus more on my photography. I'll use this page for more miscellaneous ramblings.

But now I need to get ready for work. I'll be out in the canoe again this evening.

Blessings,
Steve

A Square Deal

2008-07-23T20:22:00.001-04:00

A Square Deal

I don't know why I sometimes choose a square format,
so I decided to collect all my square shots in one gallery
and see what I could see.

That's all.

:)

2008-07-22T20:26:00.001-04:00

I have a collection of photos on display at the Image City Photography Gallery. I am one of several guest photographers along with the main exhibitor. In addition to the hung prints, I put together a book with a collection of my favorite opening night photos.

The show runs July 16 through August 10. I would be delighted to have any of you Rochester folks stop by.

The images are all matted and framed at 16x20. At that size I could fit six on each of two panels.

While I was setting up, and stopped by to say hello.

Steve

Panel 1

Panel 2

For next time

ADK Outdoor Expo

2008-06-15T16:57:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was the 11th annual ADK Outdoor Expo, put on by the Genesee Valley Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club. And, yea verily, the heavens opened. We've had much hotter and we've had much colder, but I think this is the most rain we've ever had at Expo. But we still had a good turnout and lots of fun.

My photographs are posted on my PBase account.

Blessings,
Steve

Flowers in the garden

2008-05-13T10:48:00.003-04:00

Flower photography is a fascinating challenge. To do it well, I must take the photos that are possible with the equipment I have rather than the equipment that someone else has. The kit lens on my Canon Rebel XTi does not do macros. But if I back off the distance just a bit, it does beautifully with flowers in their settings. It feels a lot like photographing individual people within a group rather than trying to take the person out of the group.
Blessings,
Steve

Flower City Work Camp

2008-04-14T22:39:00.003-04:00

I have been asked to document the Rochester Christian Reformed Church team participation in this year's Flower City Work Camp.

You can view my photographs on my PBase gallery.

Blessings,
Steve

Opening nights and flowers

2008-03-31T13:03:00.002-04:00

The tooth is put back together, which is good. The paperwork for a crown is in process. Dr. Bryant says I might want to favor this tooth for really hard chewing in the meantime. For joy.

Friday was opening night at the Image City Photography Gallery. My opening night photos are posted on their website. We had lots of fun. We even had music.

Then I wandered over to see Bob *nico37 and Allie *tankgirl3366 at the Stephen Carpenter Studio/gallery show opening.

I gave Allie *tankgirl3366 a framed print of

Allie's Place, so named in her honor.

I finished out the weekend with Sunday vespers and flowers.

Fun with portraits and teeth

2008-03-26T17:22:00.004-04:00

My brother Chuck and wife Suzy met me at the Lamberton Conservatory this morning for a portrait shoot.

Being fine folks, they then took me out to lunch. While I was munching on my bagel part of a lower molar gave way. I stopped at the dentist office on the way home and set up an appointment for 4:00 this afternoon. They warned me they were likely to be running late.

I arrived just before 4:00, book in hand. They apologized again that they were running late. I read for five minutes or so before getting called into the examining room. The doc ground down a couple rough edges and set me up for an appointment tomorrow to do a proper filling. (Thankfully it was not a major break.)

I was out on the road at 4:30. Dr. Bryant runs a tight ship. I don't think I've ever seen anyone in the office rush, but they don't waste any steps either.

I'm on for 4:30 tomorrow unless they get an early cancellation. This one won't even require Novocaine as he will be able to dovetail existing filling which is recent and still sound. More fun.

Back to work

2008-03-14T21:37:00.002-04:00

The Hillrise group home has some of Heritage Christian Services' older residents, three men and three women of varying abilities. They have been together in one home for about six years. What a crew. They do have fun together.

The camera is welcome in the house -- thoroughly enjoyed for that matter. I won't be uploading any photos from there without specific permission. They -- residents and staff -- were rather hamming it up for the camera yesterday evening.

All day Monday and Tuesday morning I had initial orientation. Tuesday afternoon and Thursday afternoon and evening I was at the home, meeting people and starting to figure out which end is up. Since my son RobertTryon has been in an HCS group home for two and a half years, I know the processes from that side; now I'm learning how they work from this side of the operation. It's all a bit dizzying.

Speaking of Robert, I ordered business cards for him today. We talked about it las weekend. He was quite taken with the idea, so I uploaded my Photog Rob photo and built the card around it.

Blessings,
Steve

Heritage Christian Services

2008-03-09T21:00:00.003-04:00

I have my orientation tomorrow with Heritage Christian Services. As part of the process, I had to write a short introduction for them to send to the families of the residents I will be supporting. I've read lots of these from the staff at son Rob's group home.

You've seen most of this in other forms.

Steven Tryon
Start date: March 10, 2008
Hillrise Home relief

Education/Experience:

I have done a variety of things in my life. I grew up in Rochester and flew Army helicopters in Alaska. I have skied on the Norton Sound at forty below. I have preached and prayed. I have been a “senior technical generalist” and run global web sites. I have paddled a canoe – I love the artistry of the single paddle. (I manage the web site of the Genesee Valley Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club – www.gvc-adk.org.)

Talents/Interests:

And I've taken photographs. It was my dad who first taught me to think about what I was seeing as I looked through the viewfinder of the camera. I even spilled some developer in his basement darkroom.

It is only in the past few years, however, that I have taken to photography more seriously. Three years ago I opened my pearwood.deviantart.com account so I could comment on the artwork of others. I uploaded a couple of my paddling photographs and found to my surprise that I could hold my own.

Why have you chosen Heritage?

I'm 57. I'm tired of being the generic Information Technology guy in the big company. It's time to do something different, where people come first. I have a decades-long association with Heritage Christian Services, having grown up with some of the people for whom it was founded. My 29-year-old son calls Wall Road home. (I'm in the process of turning him and his housemates into photographers.) I believe in Heritage Christian Services and, especially, the people it serves. I'm glad to be coming on board.
________
Adapted from the bio I used for my display at the Image City Photography Gallery.

Creek and Abbey

2008-03-07T15:39:00.002-05:00

It has been a beautiful, quiet week with lots of photography.

Monday morning was far to nice to stay inside, so I headed out on the creek.

Then it was off to the Abbey of the Genesee for the rest of the week.

Blessings,
Steve

Show time!

2008-02-28T20:13:00.001-05:00

I have two panels of photographs on display at the Image City Photography Gallery. They assigned me the panels facing the street; I was quite pleased.

The show opened yesterday; the Artists' Reception is tomorrow evening, Friday, from 5:00 - 8:30. I would be delighted to have you Rochester folks drop by and say hello.

Blessings,
Steve

Gallery Reflections

2008-02-26T15:43:00.005-05:00

I have two panels of photographs on display at the Image City Photography Gallery. They assigned me the panels facing the street; I was quite pleased. Setup was Sunday afternoon.

Blessings,
Steve

On the job front

2008-02-22T15:48:00.000-05:00

I don't have anything full time yet, but I do have a pair of part-time jobs lined up.

Baycreek Paddling Center -- I will be working at Baycreek doing a variety of things as they ramp up for warmer weather in April or thereabouts. It's part time and seasonal, but it is also long term as they like to bring the same people back year after year. I have lost track of the number of boats I have purchased there. Let's just say that we are old friends and accomplices.
Heritage Christian Services -- I will be working as a relief "Residence Counselor" (group home staff) starting next month. I am scheduled for initial training the second week of March. Working relief doesn't give me a lot of hours (or pay very much) but it should grow into a full-time job as positions come open. Full-time pay isn't a lot, but it's a lot more reasonable.

I'm tired of being the generic Information Technology guy in the big corporation. Both the Baycreek and Heritage jobs give me an opportunity to do what I love and make a difference for people and organizations that I care about.

And it doesn't threaten my masculinity one bit to let Corky take a turn as primary wage-earner for the family.

Blessings,
Steve

Images of peace

2008-02-16T20:25:00.005-05:00

The following is the bio that will appear with my photographs at the upcoming Image City Photography Gallery show. (The photo of me is by my son, Robert.)

I have done a variety of things in my life. I grew up in Rochester and flew Army helicopters in Alaska. I have skied on the Norton Sound at forty below. I have preached and prayed. I have been a “senior technical generalist” and run global web sites. I have paddled a canoe – I love the artistry of the single paddle.

And I've taken photographs. It was my dad who first taught me to think about what I was seeing as I looked through the viewfinder of the camera. I even spilled some developer in his basement darkroom.

It is only in the past few years, however, that I have taken to photography more seriously. Three years ago I opened my pearwood.deviantart.com account so I could comment on the artwork of others. I uploaded a couple of my paddling photographs and found to my surprise that I could hold my own.

Many have commented on the peace I capture in my images. To seek and see the beauty of all things and all people is not to deny the evil and ugliness in the world and people – including myself – but to see evil for what it is and combat it by seeing through it and beyond it.

There are others whose skill and task and art it is to open eyes to the ugliness and evil that exist. Such is a high art and a noble task, for not to see evil is to be defeated by it. Yet my skill and task and art is to open eyes to hope and the reality of the beauty and wholeness that can be.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

Soli Deo Gloria

Saint Valentine's Day 2008

2008-02-14T20:12:00.003-05:00

Lamberton Conservatory

2008-02-12T17:11:00.000-05:00

The Rochester Outdoor Photography Club held its monthly group shoot Sunday afternoon at the Lamberton Conservatory in Rochester's Highland Park.

My son, Robert, came along. He also managed to take a few pictures before deciding it was time to be back at the group home.

Blessings,
Steve

Creek and Abbey

2008-02-08T13:22:00.000-05:00

I took lots of photos yesterday. I revisited Channing Philbrick Park after lunch to take advantage of the brighter light and snow on the ground, then drove down to the Genesee Abbey for vespers and night prayer.

I was going to get into the car and come straight home, but the light hitting the ice on the trees made me get the camera out again. I pulled out of the parking lot around 7:25PM, at which point the monks were long since asleep. They rise at 2:00AM. (If I didn't have evening commitments I would put myself on that schedule.)

Opening day photography

2008-02-04T14:44:00.000-05:00

Friday evening was the opening reception for the February show at the Image City Photography Gallery. I spent the evening taking opening night photographs.

A good time was had by all.

Steve

On from Elsewhere

2008-01-28T20:06:00.000-05:00

I retrieved my Quiet Saturday print this afternoon from the Image City Photo Gallery as they are setting up for their February show. I will be there for the artists' reception on Friday to take another round of opening day photos for them.

I did not, however, retrieve the Elsewhere opening print I had taken over. They decided they wanted to keep that one, so they paid my framing costs and I happily traded the print for publicity.

I took with me a pair of 18x24 framed prints of Home port and Winter crossings so they could cast their curatorial eyes upon them. Both were taken after I put together the original portfolio for the March show. They liked both and had helpful suggestions for next time around. (The prints, by the way, came from deviantArt. I was quite pleased with the quality.)

Blessings
Steve

"Elsewhere" opening photos on display

2008-01-17T09:14:00.000-05:00

The Image City Photography Gallery posted a collection of my photographs from the opening reception of the "Elsewhere" show.

Blessings,
Steve

Pearwood on PBase

2008-01-16T08:50:00.000-05:00

My cohorts in the Rochester Outdoor Photography Club tend to use PBase galleries. I joined in with http://www.pbase.com/pearwood.

I will continue to use http://pearwood.deviantart.com as my primary portfolio gallery. Where PBase comes into its own is when I want to batch upload, for example, all my photographs from a photo shoot, such as the Powder Mill Park shoot last Sunday afternoon. On PBase it's a matter of uploading a single tar or zip archive. Only a small fraction of those shots will make it to dA.

Blessings,
Steve

Opening Day at the Gallery

2008-01-15T17:07:00.000-05:00

I now have a second print on display at the Image City Photography Gallery "Elsewhere" show.

I took over a framed copy of my Gallery window from last Saturday afternoon. They liked it well enough that they hung it right inside the entrance.

While I was there we went over details for my March exhibit. We went through my portfolio and discussed strengths and weaknesses of the various photos. It was very helpful.

Steve

Image City Photo Gallery Show

2008-01-10T17:19:00.000-05:00

The curators of the Image City Photography Gallery have invited me to do an exhibit at the gallery. I am scheduled for February 27 - March 22.

Color me happy.

A special thank to Kiki and Kelly for bugging me to get more involved in my photography -- and to get a portfolio put together. There's nothing quite like having a personal cheerleader squad!.

Steve

Opening Day at the Gallery

2008-01-07T21:00:00.000-05:00

The Artists' Reception on Saturday was a lot of fun. You can learn a lot by looking carefully at other photographers' work.

Thanks to all for your encouraging words.

Steve

Our 1^st Juried Show
"Elsewhere"

images by 113 Photographers

January 2 - January 27, 2008

Artists Reception: Saturday, January 5, 1 - 7 pm

Quiet Saturday

Cafe Press Shop

2008-01-04T09:05:00.000-05:00

I just opened a Cafe Press shop. It's still pretty rudimentary, but it's a start.

For those who enjoyed my Genesee Abbey photographs, I have a 2008 "Called to Prayer" calendar for sale there.

Steve

Abbey evening

2007-12-31T11:40:00.000-05:00

I spent yesterday evening at the Abbey of the Genesee.

It's hard to think that this is the same place I was wishing I had brought snowshoes earlier in the month.

My intent was simply to take a picture of the cross in front of the Abbey of the Genesee with the lights of Geneseo, NY in the background.
These two vehicles came along River Road as the shutter opened and met just as it closed.

The Abbey is a place of warmth and beauty.
This crèche was in the entryway to the Abbey church.

A blessed New Year to you all.

Steve

Home port

2007-12-27T13:38:00.000-05:00

Late yesterday afternoon on Irondequoit Creek.

The sun peeked through the clouds as I was heading back to the dock at Baycreek Paddling Center.

Blessings,

Steve

My dear thistle

2007-12-26T09:04:00.000-05:00

An image of resilience and hope for a somewhat prickly friend.

But aren't we all rather like thistles?

Blessings,

Steve

A light in our darkness

2007-12-25T19:36:00.000-05:00

It has been quite a year, my friends.

Riikka and Päivi lost their fathers, Kimberly lost her grandfather. Dee Dee and Andy each lost their marriages. Rachel and Ohno are dealing with cancer, with varying degrees of success. Both of my brothers and I and my son lost our jobs. Liz lost her tree and her dining room. You have suffered loss or pain of your own, or maybe you just wished that somebody cared.

In the giddiness of Christmas it is good to remember that Jesus whose birth we celebrate walked our steps and knows our pain. The one who brings us joy was himself a man of sorrows.

He is the light in our darkness.

He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
Isaiah 53:3-5 NIV

A blessed Christmas to you all from Steve and Corky.

Snowy hat

2007-12-21T08:55:00.000-05:00

Out in the woods yesterday afternoon on a solidly overcast day. I was exploring a town park I had never been in before. The hat kept getting tossed in the snow when I needed to look through the camera eyepiece.

(It's Persimmon Park off Clinton Avenue in Brighton for any Rochestarians.)

Steve

Supergeek

2007-12-19T18:37:00.000-05:00

Brother Chuck, six years my junior. He was a Unix geek before I even knew what the word meant. I took the photo this noon at our monthly "Dream Team" gathering. We are now working (or not working) for a variety of outfits. Back when we were all working together for Kiki we built some pretty amazing software systems. It was beautiful while it lasted.

"Two of the most famous products of Berkeley are LSD and Unix. I don't think that this is a coincidence." (Anonymous quote from The UNIX-HATERS Handbook.)

Steve

Warm and comfy

2007-12-17T13:52:00.000-05:00

After I finished shoveling my driveway, I went wandering around with camera and tripod taking picture of the neighbors' lights. (I did ask permission before poking my camera at their living room window.) You will need to click for the full view to see much detail.

I decided to take one of my house, too, admiring my work and all that. Of, course, I had to clean off another six inches this morning.

If you look carefully, you can see three canoes and one kayak hanging in the garage. I really need to put on the neoprene and get the canoe back in the water.

Steve

Cuteness break

2007-12-16T18:38:00.000-05:00

The neighbor's dog was perturbed that I didn't come over and say hello while I was out there shoveling the drive. I relented.

"Elsewhere" Juried Theme Show

2007-12-14T13:24:00.000-05:00

The Image City Photography Gallery just posted the show announcement. I'm stoked.

Our 1^st Juried Show
"Elsewhere"

images by 113 Photographers

January 2 - January 27, 2008

Artists Reception: Saturday, January 5, 1 - 7 pm

Quiet Saturday

Blogging by Treo

2007-12-13T15:57:00.000-05:00

I am sitting at Barnes & Noble making a blog entry from my Treo 700p, just to see whether I can do it. This is where I come to read, think and write.

That's all. :)

Blessings,
Steve

Cookie Social

2007-12-13T11:08:00.000-05:00

We had a "cookie social" last night at the Adirondack Mountain Club chapter meeting in place of the usual 6:30 workshop.

This was taken hand held, no flash, and with everyone moving, but I like the way it captured the moment. It is my favorite shot of the evening.

Sometimes the happy accidents are the most fun.

Contemplation: Autumn and Winter

2007-12-11T09:20:00.000-05:00

The Abbey of the Genesee is a place of quiet beauty throughout the year.

Follow the links to view the full-size images in the Genesee Abbey album on pearwood.deviantART.com.

Cold, snowy and, especially, warm

2007-12-09T18:37:00.000-05:00

I returned from the Abbey of the Genesee Friday morning. The weather was cold and snowy; the reception was warm.

I have a few of the 430 photos I took posted in my Genesee Abbey album on pearwood.deviantArt.com. I have been adding a couple each day.

To the Abbey

2007-12-03T04:44:00.001-05:00

I am off to the Abbey of the Genesee later today through Friday for a retreat. I am looking forward to soaking up the blessed silence.

I got up at 3:00 this morning to start switching my system over to the monks' 2:00 AM - 7:00 PM routine. (I put myself to bed at 7:30 last night.)

Blessings,
Steve

Top Hat

2007-11-29T14:57:00.000-05:00

I am not first of all a portrait photographer, but every once in a while I get a keeper. Kelly Olczak's young lady was clowning for me last night at her mom's holiday reception.

Setting up the show

2007-11-28T11:46:00.000-05:00

Kelly Olczak is my Edward Jones financial advisor. She is also one of the chief people pushing me to do more with my photography. I spent a couple hours at her office yesterday hanging photographs in her conference room in preparation for her holiday reception this evening. Her office has pretty much become my personal gallery.

Quiet Saturday accepted for show

2007-11-24T15:44:00.000-05:00

Quiet Saturday - Aug 2006 has been accepted for "Elsewhere" juried theme show at the Image City Photography Gallery to be held January 2-27, 2008.

The acceptance letter said they had over 450 photographs submitted from 120 individuals. "The overall quality of these submissions was very high."

Color me excited.

Steve

Buy this print

Playing with Perspective

2007-11-17T19:31:00.000-05:00

Son Nick, aka Dhraakellian, decided to check out the eye-protection capabilities of my new Rebel XTi. I rather like the results.

Canon Rebel XTi

2007-11-13T22:18:00.000-05:00

My brand, spanking new Canon RebelXTi, with its EFS 18-55 lens, as seen by my Canon PowerShot SD600.

"Elsewhere" juried theme show

2007-11-10T11:46:00.000-05:00

I took the plunge and submitted four photographs for the "Elsewhere" juried theme show to be held January 2-27 at the Image City Photography Gallery in Rochester.

The "Elsewhere" theme made me think of the way black and white photos can take me out of the day to day and into the realm of wonder.

The acceptance notifications will be mailed November 26. I'll let you know how it goes.

Steve

A Year on Irondequoit Creek - 2008

2007-11-09T15:56:00.000-05:00

"My photographic studio is a solo canoe. That changes some things."

Paddling gives me a chance to see the beauty of nature from a perspective that non-paddlers don't often see. I paddle Irondequoit Creek year 'round. I love to watch the roll of the seasons. I created a "Year on Irondequoit Creek" calendar so you can share the view. Enjoy.

Steve

Click here to purchase the calendar.

Morning commute

2007-11-01T11:53:00.000-04:00

I am fascinated with the idea of presenting the ordinary in ways that let us see the simple beauty we pass by day after day.

(And, yes, I like having a little camera that I can pull out of the belt pouch, turn on, and shoot with one hand and no adjustments.)

Dream Team

2007-10-31T13:29:00.000-04:00

Three of my cohorts from work treated me to dinner this evening on the occasion of the fourth member of the team being in Rochester from Lewisville, Texas.

This is one of the finest teams I have ever had the privilege of being part of.

While waiting for the other to arrive at the restaurant, I walked across to the bay side of the road and out onto dock for this shot of the sunset across Irondequoit Bay.

Jim, Greg, Brian, this one's for you.

Steve

Buy this print

Pearwood Designs: Images of your life

2007-10-27T16:32:00.000-04:00

Kelly has been after me to get more into -- and out of -- my photography. Registering a domain name and setting up this blog are two small steps in that direction. We shall see.

Blessings,
Steve
www.PearwoodDesigns.com