May the ghost of Tom Petty forgive me for the title of this post.
Photography is a lot of work. Maintaining my camera, caring for the lenses, keeping track of UV filters, hot-shoes, and other photography ephemera takes time, money, and elbow grease. The act of photographing itself -- while for me, is a sacred experience -- can be mentally and physically draining. Composing shots, worrying about lighting and depth of field, clicking the shutter at just the right moment -- all this takes time and energy. Then there's photo editing. I try to keep it to a minimum and let my craftsmanship speak for itself, but I still sometimes spend hours slaving before a screen, fiddling with Lightroom until it does what I want.
Marketing photography is another way of eating up time and money. Submitting to juried exhibitions, contacting galleries, trying to get someone, anyone, to look at my physical or online portfolio... There's an emotional toll, too. Any artist has to get used to receiving many more rejections than accepted photos. You eventually develop a thick skin and learn to persist.
But the worst part? The part that I loathe?
Framing the damned prints.
I hate it, I hate it, I hate it! But unfortunately, being the daughter of an artist, I'm all too familiar with the art of cutting matte boards, measuring wire, and centering anchors perfectly. And I'm good at it. Also? I'm a cheapskate.
Here we see me framing "Rise" for an upcoming exhibition of nature photography at the Westbury Memorial Public Library. I was surprised and grateful that my work was accepted, as I've never considered nature photography to be my strong suit. I love nature, but I prefer photographing people.
Anyway, I dislike the process of framing so much that I put it off until the night before I'm supposed to deliver the framed artwork. Because that's what responsible adults do, right? Right?
*crickets*
Wait, you say. Why not go to a professional frame shop to get it done? I refer you to the "cheapskate" comment above.
I took these photos with my iPhone in low light, which isn't conducive to the crisp contrasts you may be used to in my photography, but you get the idea. Here's the finished framed photo (reflections in the bottom of the glass, sorry):
And here we see the finished, framed print in my big, soft Elfa tote bag, ready for delivery in the morning:
So the worst part is over. Time to relax and kick back...
Until the next frame job comes along.
In the meantime, "Rise" will be up from June through (I think) September, so stop by the Westbury Memorial Library to see it, along with five other nature photographs. Westbury Arts is publishing a program with the artists' statements, and I wouldn't be surprised if there's an opening party at some point. I'll keep you posted.
Thanks for reading my rant. My next post should be pretty exciting.
