8.7.08

things to make and do

Tonight was the first public showing of my photography.

Kind of.

Some friends of mine host an event called Mars Hill Cafe. This event, held every other Tuesday, is designed to feature local musicians and artists with an emphasis on social consciousness. Fair Trade coffee is served, and performing acts are encouraged to speak about philanthropic or charitable organizations they support*.

This is the same event that I was brushing up on my guitar skills for, and while that didn't exactly pan out (I was way rustier than I had anticipated), I decided it was time to get some real public feedback on my photos.

Through Flickr and Facebook, all of the pictures I exhibited tonight have been readily available for public view and, in fact, many of my comments about each picture were pulled from this very blog. It was not a traditional showing in that sense, but it was the first time I had presented my work to a group made up of largely strangers.

The popularity of and comments about certain pictures has surprised me at times, and tonight was no exception.

This picture, far and away, elicited the most positive reaction from the crowd. I can understand it: a good portion of the crowd was my parent's age (a demographic I presume to enjoy bridges and greenery), and it is admitedly a decent picture. But it seems like low art, something you again might see on the wall in a guest bathroom. Not the aesthetic niche I'm really looking for.

This is one of my favorite pictures, taken on my trip to Toronto. I love the characters, the pose, the setting, the significance, the aesthetic...THIS is what I what I want to shoot. It is new, unusual, interesting and unique.

It also didn't really capture the audience who had fawned over the previous photo.

Except for the cute blonde that told me that she L-O-V-E-D this picture. And that was enough for me.

12.4.08. Cropped to 3X5.
8.4.08. Cropped to 3X5.

*The organization I chose to speak about is To Write Love On Her Arms, which I have previously mentioned. I am planning to detail this organization in a future post, thus decided to not include it here. Stay tuned.

2 comments:

Another Joan said...

Did you show them the boats?

rhys said...

I didn't...from my first choice of 35 pictures, I pared it down to 12, and the boats was one of the last ones I cut. Having seen the audience, it's certain that picture would have been a hit, so I will definitely include it if I am asked to come back.