Tonight’s topic:  Critique the masters

Please bring a few images from a photographer you admire (famous or not famous). We will critique these images the same way as our own work. We might ask:

• What makes the image work?

• Where is it weak?

• Does the cropping work?

• Presented with the same setting what might you do differently?

• If an older image, would it be more or less powerful if created today?

Please bring electronic files of each image (not web links) to keep the same flow of the critique as we normally have. You can get these files by saving the image from a web page*, or using one of the sites listed under the “Resources” link at the top of this page.

– Jere {jere[dot]williams(at]yahoo[dot)com}

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* Before saving from a web page keep clicking on the image until it reaches its maximum size, then “Save image as” (right click mouse on PC, click and hold on Mac). Rename to something sensible, as names of these files tend to be garbage.

Optional theme:  Sepia

Please join us for our monthly image review night. This is a great opportunity to share your work with other artists and receive useful feedback. Feel free to ask for our thoughts in specific areas, or to seek general impressions of your artwork. Some of our artists bring more than one variation of a piece, or several stages of a work-in-progress. Let us know what you’re seeking, and we’ll do our best to provide it.

The “optional theme” for each meeting is just that … optional. Some of our members enjoy finding or creating images that fit the theme, while other members have specific images or projects that they would like feedback on. Whatever works for you is fine.

Our general guideline is that each artist may bring up to 8 images for a typical review. Prints are encouraged, as this is the best way to see an artwork as its maker envisions it. Digital images are (of course) welcome, on USB memory sticks and a variety of other digital media. If you bring more than eight images, we’ll need to go through them quickly. If you want to spend more time discussing an image, just bring fewer. We want to make sure everyone has time to present their work.

Our digital display is 1920 x 1080 resolution. You may want to optimize your image for this size, though our display software will scale your image if it is larger or smaller. The JPG file format is preferred, to keep file size down and ensure compatibility with our software.

If you are new to the group or have any questions, please let me know. We look forward to seeing you and your photographs.

– David   {artphotos(at]davidlkahn[dot)com}

Tonight’s topic: Movie Night

Please join us for our annual Movie Night—we’ll be streaming a movie via Netflix or Amazon.  You’re welcome to bring some refreshments to share with the group – just let me know what you’re bringing so I don’t duplicate.  I’ll provide cups and paper goods.  You’re also welcome to bring your dinner with you if you wish.

The following movies and documentaries feature the theme of photography in some way.  I’ve added some new titles that I recently became aware of, and removed ones that are no longer available.  Feel free to bring any other suggestions to the meeting, or bring a DVD/Blu Ray disc if you have one you’d like to share.  We’ll choose one of the available options, based on a consensus of those who are attending.

Movies

• Closer (2004)  [A]
• City of God (2002)  [N]
• High Art (1998)  [A]
• Rear Window (1954)  [A]

Documentaries

• Chasing Coral (2017)  [N]
• The Art of Photography Artist Series (2016-17)  [A]
• Chasing The Light (2016)  [A]
• The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography (2016)  [N]
• Bending The Light (2016)  [A]
• Finding Vivian Maier (2013)  [A]

FYI – There’s an interesting list of 40 movies featuring photography here.

On previous Movie Nights we’ve watched Monk with a Camera,  Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus and Public Eye.  Please join us for an enjoyable evening.

Optional theme:  Inspiration

Please join us for our monthly image review night. This is a great opportunity to share your work with other artists and receive useful feedback. Feel free to ask for our thoughts in specific areas, or to seek general impressions of your artwork. Some of our artists bring more than one variation of a piece, or several stages of a work-in-progress. Let us know what you’re seeking, and we’ll do our best to provide it.

The “optional theme” for each meeting is just that … optional. Some of our members enjoy finding or creating images that fit the theme, while other members have specific images or projects that they would like feedback on. Whatever works for you is fine.

Our general guideline is that each artist may bring up to 8 images for a typical review. Prints are encouraged, as this is the best way to see an artwork as its maker envisions it. Digital images are (of course) welcome, on USB memory sticks and a variety of other digital media. If you bring more than eight images, we’ll need to go through them quickly. If you want to spend more time discussing an image, just bring fewer. We want to make sure everyone has time to present their work.

Our digital display is 1920 x 1080 resolution. You may want to optimize your image for this size, though our display software will scale your image if it is larger or smaller. The JPG file format is preferred, to keep file size down and ensure compatibility with our software.

If you are new to the group or have any questions, please let me know. We look forward to seeing you and your photographs.

– David   {artphotos(at]davidlkahn[dot)com}

Tonight’s topic: Visit Boston Museum of Fine Arts

For the April Education Night, we’re visiting the MFA!  For anyone who is not familiar with it, this is the largest art museum in the Boston area and it is recognized as one of the best art museums in the US.  The museum’s collection currently includes nearly 450,000 works of art!  See more information on the museum here.  This special Education Night will be held at a special date/time: Sunday, April 29 @ 2:00 pm.

There is a photography exhibit titled (un)expected families in Gallery 169/170.  You can see a preview of these photos here.  There is also an exhibit of drawings by M. C. Escher, in Gallery 155, as described here.  Both of these exhibits are on the first floor of the museum, per this map.  You are, of course, welcome to take a look at any of the other exhibits that interest you.  (I’ve always enjoyed the Asia exhibits.)

We’ll meet at the Huntington Street Entrance at 2:00 pm.  If you happen to arrive a bit late – not a problem – just join us in one of the above galleries.

Please join us for an enjoyable afternoon at the MFA.

Optional theme:  Ten

Please join us for our monthly image review night. This is a great opportunity to share your work with other artists and receive useful feedback. Feel free to ask for our thoughts in specific areas, or to seek general impressions of your artwork. Some of our artists bring more than one variation of a piece, or several stages of a work-in-progress. Let us know what you’re seeking, and we’ll do our best to provide it.

The “optional theme” for each meeting is just that … optional. Some of our members enjoy finding or creating images that fit the theme, while other members have specific images or projects that they would like feedback on. Whatever works for you is fine.

Our general guideline is that each artist may bring up to 8 images for a typical review. Prints are encouraged, as this is the best way to see an artwork as its maker envisions it. Digital images are (of course) welcome, on USB memory sticks and a variety of other digital media. If you bring more than eight images, we’ll need to go through them quickly. If you want to spend more time discussing an image, just bring fewer. We want to make sure everyone has time to present their work.

Our digital display is 1920 x 1080 resolution. You may want to optimize your image for this size, though our display software will scale your image if it is larger or smaller. The JPG file format is preferred, to keep file size down and ensure compatibility with our software.

If you are new to the group or have any questions, please let me know. We look forward to seeing you and your photographs.

– David   {artphotos(at]davidlkahn[dot)com}

Optional theme:  Hair

Please join us for our monthly image review night. This is a great opportunity to share your work with other artists and receive useful feedback. Feel free to ask for our thoughts in specific areas, or to seek general impressions of your artwork. Some of our artists bring more than one variation of a piece, or several stages of a work-in-progress. Let us know what you’re seeking, and we’ll do our best to provide it.

The “optional theme” for each meeting is just that … optional. Some of our members enjoy finding or creating images that fit the theme, while other members have specific images or projects that they would like feedback on. Whatever works for you is fine.

Our general guideline is that each artist may bring up to 8 images for a typical review. Prints are encouraged, as this is the best way to see an artwork as its maker envisions it. Digital images are (of course) welcome, on USB memory sticks and a variety of other digital media. If you bring more than eight images, we’ll need to go through them quickly. If you want to spend more time discussing an image, just bring fewer. We want to make sure everyone has time to present their work.

Our digital display is 1920 x 1080 resolution. You may want to optimize your image for this size, though our display software will scale your image if it is larger or smaller. The JPG file format is preferred, to keep file size down and ensure compatibility with our software.

If you are new to the group or have any questions, please let me know. We look forward to seeing you and your photographs.

– David   {artphotos(at]davidlkahn[dot)com}

Tonight’s topic:  Images from Cuba by Conrad Gees

Conrad showed us a few of his images from recent trips to Cuba at a recent Image Review night.  For this month’s Education Night, Conrad will talk about this interesting project. Here’s a summary of this presentation, from Conrad …

Havana is in the midst of dramatic change. There is some truth in the statement, it is a city frozen in time. This is clearly evident in the American cars from the 50’s, & the storefronts with their limited consumer goods, but it is a characterization which can lead one to a false sense of sentimentality or condescension.

The 1961 US embargo of goods going to Cuba has clearly limited its economic development, but Havana today is not the Havana of 1961. Rather it is the outgrowth of the 1959 Revolution & Cold War which forced it’s inhabitants to develop in ways they can speak of with pride as well as longing for more.

I concentrated on the sections known as “Habana Vieja,” & “Centro Habana” now UN World Heritage Sites, deciding to document not only the buildings but the people. Their homes, the means by which they get food, electricity & water, & even the newly sanctioned private entrepeneurs left me, an American with many privileges, awed & humbled by the resilience & ingenuity of the “Habaneros”

I will bring images of the city and it’s people as aids to talk about some the experiences I had while there. In particular I’ll focus on the last bit of work I’ve been developing; Cuba: Person to Person (Snap Encounters on the Streets of Havana. Following is the artist’s statement for that work.

“People to People Exchange,” check. This was the box I marked when asked by U.S. Customs for the reason I was traveling to Cuba. Although it allowed me to travel from the U.S. to Cuba it was a half-truth.

People to People as defined by the U.S. Customs regulations implies organized tours by groups of Americans planning cultural exchanges with groups of Cubans to foster better understanding between our two countries. I was traveling by myself with no planned agenda other than to wander the streets of Havana and experience what I could. Was I representative of my country? Yes, but certainly not the “People” and I make no claims that these images represent the “People” of Cuba.

These photographs are simply a record of chance encounters I had with individuals on the streets of Habana Vieja and Centro Habana. Written down are the exchanges I had, along with thoughts, questions and insights gained from these encounters, and in that is a universality that we as humans share whenever we meet “Person to Person.”

Optional theme:  Alone

Please join us for our monthly image review night. This is a great opportunity to share your work with other artists and receive useful feedback. Feel free to ask for our thoughts in specific areas, or to seek general impressions of your artwork. Some of our artists bring more than one variation of a piece, or several stages of a work-in-progress. Let us know what you’re seeking, and we’ll do our best to provide it.

The “optional theme” for each meeting is just that … optional. Some of our members enjoy finding or creating images that fit the theme, while other members have specific images or projects that they would like feedback on. Whatever works for you is fine.

Our general guideline is that each artist may bring up to 8 images for a typical review. Prints are encouraged, as this is the best way to see an artwork as its maker envisions it. Digital images are (of course) welcome, on USB memory sticks and a variety of other digital media. If you bring more than eight images, we’ll need to go through them quickly. If you want to spend more time discussing an image, just bring fewer. We want to make sure everyone has time to present their work.

Our digital display is 1920 x 1080 resolution. You may want to optimize your image for this size, though our display software will scale your image if it is larger or smaller. The JPG file format is preferred, to keep file size down and ensure compatibility with our software.

If you are new to the group or have any questions, please let me know. We look forward to seeing you and your photographs.

– David   {artphotos(at]davidlkahn[dot)com}

Optional theme:  Wire(s)

Please join us for our monthly image review night. This is a great opportunity to share your work with other artists and receive useful feedback. Feel free to ask for our thoughts in specific areas, or to seek general impressions of your artwork. Some of our artists bring more than one variation of a piece, or several stages of a work-in-progress. Let us know what you’re seeking, and we’ll do our best to provide it.

The “optional theme” for each meeting is just that … optional. Some of our members enjoy finding or creating images that fit the theme, while other members have specific images or projects that they would like feedback on. Whatever works for you is fine.

Our general guideline is that each artist may bring up to 8 images for a typical review. Prints are encouraged, as this is the best way to see an artwork as its maker envisions it. Digital images are (of course) welcome, on USB memory sticks and a variety of other digital media. If you bring more than eight images, we’ll need to go through them quickly. If you want to spend more time discussing an image, just bring fewer. We want to make sure everyone has time to present their work.

Our digital display is 1920 x 1080 resolution. You may want to optimize your image for this size, though our display software will scale your image if it is larger or smaller. The JPG file format is preferred, to keep file size down and ensure compatibility with our software.

If you are new to the group or have any questions, please let me know. We look forward to seeing you and your photographs.

– David   {artphotos(at]davidlkahn[dot)com}