Old Becomes New Again

"There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept." ~Ansel Adams

First, I want to say thank you to Stephen Haynes for his commentary on my last blog post regarding copyrights. Posting a link on his blog, Magic Flute Fine Art Nudes was definitely a kind enough gesture and I appreciate that. His own blog link has been on my blog roll for some time as a resource to all of you and I honestly hope that you visit it often, first to admire the artwork of a master, but second to be privy to the issues that face photographers and what you can do about it. As I mentioned in the last post, Mr. Haynes is on hiatus from the blog, but he has not taken it down or denied anyone access to it. You can most definitely learn a great deal from heeding the words of this professional. I've had to address with two models issues regarding 2257 and you can guess who's book I am referencing again before I speak on the matter. I'm afraid it might be prudent for many of us who have an affinity for the artistic nude to become  a little more familiar with this issue as it presently stands. Having the means to protect yourself with due diligence cannot be outside the scope of wisdom. A defense of ignorance will be no aid to anyone who's work is challenged on the matter. A model I met with this very day puts that issue to practice and I also just mentioned today as well, in a message with Brittany II, that I need to change my current policies to more, and better, reflect the newly amended regulation.

Its been interesting to go back over images I've taken in the past. Some of which are shots that I've taken during modeling sessions that I either overlooked or didn't bother to edit for one reason or another. On those images, its been interesting to take a second look and peruse the gallery for possible compositions with potential. Some are also a few shots that I'd taken on a CF card of one subject and then filled the card up with a model shoot or another event. I discovered some old barns that I had taken while in Kentucky, maybe two years ago, in the same gallery of a model shoot. I shot the barns while on the way to see the models, but had forgotten them. I wish I had gotten more, but there were only a few. Other images were "in-between" images, I shot while I was shooting something else. For instance, during another model shoot, I took some shots of flowers and rocks, but I never reviewed them again. So, I've spent the majority of this weekend doing just that and its been rewarding. The best of this past week's results have been model shoots I did not long after I began shooting digital. I shot film before this and I've very much progressed in my skill in Photoshop since those shoots. Granted, I wish I still had a darkroom...if only for the option, but I could not help but laugh at my original attempts at photo editing using PS7! So yes, there has been a dire need to re-edit many of these images. Presently, I am reviewing some of my galleries of images that were shot in film. Of these, almost every digital scan is very poor in quality. I'm contemplating rescanning them for better results in the future as the expense is not presently necessary.

“...Frankly, I don’t know if anyone thought we’d go from among the nation’s lowest for unemployment to its highest...."
 -Jeremy Aguero, a principal in local research and consulting firm Applied Analysis, Las Vegas Review Journal

On another note, I'm sad that I have elected to finally let go of my Las Vegas Art Models Group. Too many current concerns demand my more immediate attention. I haven't held a workshop in some time due to a lack of participation, mainly. For about two years, these workshops were central in my priorities, but at some point last year, the people just stopped coming. Part of it, I would imagine might be economic concerns. For the longest time, Las Vegas was No. 2 behind Detroit as the worst hit metropolitan in America. As of this past May, Vegas went over 14.1% unemployment and now lead the nation. And despite this, Congress, namely Republicans, kill the Jobless bill that would have extended unemployment benefits for all of these Nevadans across the state who are out of work. So that's one issue facing my workshop participants. The other is competition. My vision for the LVAMG is one that was never a function of profit. I charged money to pay the model and supplement my expenses to organize an effective workshop. It was nothing I could plan on living off of or pay bills with for sure. However, other organizers popped up who were able to provide better facilities, multiple glamour models, and have credentials of 20 or more years of photographic experience that they were willing to impart upon any and all who were willing to fork over the bucks. I paid the models out of pocket when participants stopped showing. And to be honest, my group was called the "art models" group...not photographer's group. The group was started as an effort to help art models get more work outside of the classrooms in art departments. Maybe I'll revisit this venture again, when my focus can come back to it and my resources can more effectively acquaint such an endeavor.