On this page I will share some stories behind the images, thoughts on upcoming trips and art fairs, as well as some trip reports, and random thoughts. If you are interested in more details about the things on this page, feel free to contact me.
I have to admit that I stole the title of this page from George R. R. Martin. If you don’t know who that is, all I can say “Drakharis”.
Drinking from a Hose and Playing the World’s Tiniest Violin
Life has been very busy for me this fall (hence part of the title of this “definitely not a blog”). In fact, I got so busy with things ranging from business travel to participating in multiple art fairs that I barely had time to take new images and edit older ones (yes, I am still severely behind in my editing process, and that’s all I am going to say about that).
The second part of the title, is just to remind myself that despite being so busy, I am also very lucky to be able to do all these things, and I shouldn’t complain. In fact, I had a pretty good fair season so far, and also managed to combine some business travel with capturing some great images (more on that later).
All that being said, I finally got a little breather now, and am able to get ready for new art fairs and photographic adventures.
Hi, everyone
First, I would like to welcome all the new subscribers. I appreciate you joining our little community (at least, I would like to think of it as one).
Life has been very busy for me this fall (hence the first part of the title of this “definitely not a blog”). In fact, I got so busy with things ranging from business travel to participating in multiple art fairs that I barely had time to take new images and edit older ones (yes, I am still severely behind in my editing process, and that’s all I am going to say about that).
The second part of the title, is just to remind myself that despite being so busy, I am also very lucky to be able to do all these things, and I shouldn’t complain. In fact, I had a pretty good fair season so far, and also managed to combine some business travel with capturing some great images (more on that later).
All that being said, I finally got a little breather now, and am able to get ready for new art fairs and photographic adventures.
Let’s start with a few updates:
Art Fairs
I will be participating in the Paradise City Marlborough November 22-24, and then in the Annual Castleberry Fair in Wilmington November 29th-December 2nd (yes, right after Thanksgiving). I am also waiting for an answer from another fair that would happen December 8th, but that is not yet confirmed. If you are in the mood of visiting a great art fair for the holidays, and maybe get some amazing gifts, come and stop by my booth.
Exhibits
Two of my images were juried into the Fall National exhibit at the Cape Cod Art Center. The exhibit is currently on and will run through November 8th. It is an amazing exhibit, and if you are in the area, do check it out. Both images look amazing framed and are also available for sale, and if you are interested, drop me a line.
Rising from the Morning Mists. Juried into the Fall National exhibit at the Cape Cod Art Center.
The Path to the Sveti (Saint) Jacob Church. Juried into the Fall National exhibit at the Cape Cod Art Center.
Two of my images also made it into the Small Stones Arts Festival that will start in January 2025. Since they haven’t yet put out an official announcement (I got the notice this week), I will hold off on posting the images here for now. If you have been following me for a while, you would know that I participated in the festival for the last two years. It is an amazing event co-sponsored by the Worcester County Camera Club (of which I am a member). Do check out both the online exhibit, which would include significantly more images, and the physical exhibit when it runs. It always looks great, and has some additional programming like lectures by the jury for you to enjoy.
Epson Pano Awards 2024
This was the second year I participated in the Epson Pano Awards competition. It is a unique competition where all images need to have at least 2:1 aspect ratio. As always, the winners and the shortlisted images are absolutely stunning. For those of us who enjoy landscape and travel photography, perusing them is an absolutely awe inspiring experience, and I am just imagining what it would be like seeing these printed large on the wall…
Although I didn’t make it into the shortlist (wouldn’t that be an absolute cherry on top), I did improve over my last year’s submissions. I improved my scores across the board. Two of my images made it into the silver tier, and two into the bronze tier. Given the intense competition, I consider that to be a pretty good achievement.
Interestingly, the images that got the silver certificate were taken a while back (before I got really serious with my photography). A few months ago I was going over some older shots and decided to reedit these. I wonder what I would have been able to do now in those conditions.
After the Storm. Silver badge at the “professional” Epson Pano Awards for 2024
After the Storm at the Dead Horse Point. Silver badge at the “open” Epson Pano Awards for 2024
One of the images that got a bronze badge was also a reedited version of an older image. The second one is from a newer shot taken close to home. All of this just goes to show that you can create amazing images anywhere and with virtually any equipment.
Morning Light. Bronze badge at the “professional” Epson Pano Awards for 2024.
Breakers at Cannon Beach. Bronze badge at the “open” Epson Pano Awards for 2024.
Some Photography Updates
As I mentioned at the beginning, I didn’t have a lot of time to focus on my photography recently. However, I did manage a few things :-)
In early October I went to Virginia for a business trip. Initially, I was planning to spend a few days after I was done there in the Asheville area in North Carolina. It is an amazing area which I visited before, but haven’t yet fully explored. However, the devastation left by hurricane Helene made this impossible. I hope the area is able to recover quickly from the damage.
Instead, I spent a couple of days in the Blue Ridge Parkway area in Virginia, and then headed for a couple more days in the New River Gorge National Park in West Virginia. The park is amazing, and I hope to go there again in not so distant future. I was a little early for the peak fall colors (by probably a week or so), but it couldn’t be helped, and I tried to take full advantage of the conditions I had.
I enjoyed some of the craziest foggy conditions I have ever seen. One morning I hiked one of the trails for a sunrise shoot, but there was so much fog, that I was not able to see anything more than a few feet away. Not really ideal conditions for a sunrise shoot, unless you have a drone (maybe). As a result, I had to change my plans, and go to plan B (always have a plan B when you only have a short time in the area :-) ).
I am still working on editing most of the images from the trip, but here are a couple to give you a taste.
Dunloup Creek Falls
Glade Creek Grist Mill
In addition to the trip, I was also able to shoot a little locally.
While I was participating in the Paradise City Northampton festival, I was treated in the morning to some absolutely stunning conditions on my way. Mostly, I didn’t have time to stop and go exploring (in places where stopping was even an option), but I did manage to capture this beautiful barn on a misty morning not five minutes away from the art fair.
Falling Apart
On another morning, I took my camera with me as I went to work. I was planning to maybe go explore in the evening, but was treated to some interesting conditions along the way. As I was driving, there were pockets of heavy fog. As I got closer, I stopped at one of my favorite spots. The pond in that area always looks amazing in the morning (especially in fall), but I always struggled to create a good composition there as the image always looked too busy to me (this just goes to show that not everything that looks great in real life can be translated to a good photograph). This time, because of the heavy fog, I was able to simplify the composition and got something unique (in my view) with a very oil-painting feel.
Misty Morning at the Pond
This, again, goes to show that you can create beautiful images everywhere.
Well, I think I have rambled enough for one time. I hope you enjoyed this “definitely not a blog” post.
Thank you for being a subscriber
Have a great rest of your weekend
Dimitry
Autumn Updates
Hi, everyone
It’s been a while since I posted. Life interferes it seems.
First of all, I wanted to welcome any new subscribers. As we are heading into Fall, I also wanted to share a few updates regarding some new products as well as upcoming Art Fairs and exhibits. Hopefully, I will be able to post a bit more regularly.
Hi, everyone
It’s been a while since I posted. Life interferes it seems.
First of all, I wanted to welcome any new subscribers. As we are heading into Fall, I also wanted to share a few updates regarding some new things as well as upcoming Art Fairs and exhibits. Hopefully, I will be able to post a bit more regularly.
Let’s start with the exhibits and Art Fairs.
Exhibits
Generally speaking, I am trying to keep my “Upcoming Events” tab updated. So, if you don’t hear from but would like to know what I am up to, visit that page. That being said, here we go…
Cape Cod Art Center is currently running an exhibit for the juried artists (of which I am one), called Inspirations. I have two pieces in the exhibit, and one of them won second place in Photography.
Misty Morning in the Julian Alps. Taken in Slovenia. The image won second place in Photography in the Inspiration exhibit at the Cape Cod Art Center
My “Fire and Ice” piece was juried into the 57th Annual Juried Art Show, running September 21st-October 20th at the Plymouth Center for The Arts. The reception with some food and music is going to be on September 21st 6-9pm.
Fire and Ice. Image juried into the 57th Annual Juried Art Show at the Plymouth Center for the Arts
Art Fairs
You can check out the list of all the Art Fairs I will be at this Fall in the Upcoming Events tab. Here, I will only mention those coming up in September.
This Saturday (September 7th) I will be at the Codman Estate Fine Arts and Crafts Festival in Lincoln, MA. This will be the third year I participate in this charming small fair. All the events organized by the Historic New England society enjoy beautiful locations for their fairs, and Codman Estate is not exception. Come visit!
On Sunday (September 15th) I will be at the stArt on the Street festival in Worcester. It is a beautiful show with live music and a multitude of vendors in downtown Worcester. Unfortunately, this will be the last year this festival will be held due to insufficient number of volunteers. It is really a shame, as it has been a great event. Hopefully, they will at least be able to continue with the stArt at the Station festival.
Finally, on September 28-29th, I will participate in the Eustis Estate Arts Market in Milton, MA. This is another event organized by the Historic New England society. It is also the first time this event will run two days late September (it used to be one day in late October/early November).
2025 Calendars Are Here
It is that time of year again, when I put together some of my favorite images to create calendars. This year I decided to make two different calendars. One of New England Lighthouses, and another of more general New England images. Let me know if you fancy one!
New Products
I also decided to offer two new products. One is metal or acrylic groupings. At the moment I am only offering two, but I plan to expand the selection over time. Let me know if you have any specific image/images you would like to see offered as a grouping. In the meantime, check out the two groupings I am offering!
Misty Mountains Triptych. Three Image Metal or Acrylic Grouping
The other new product is a themed print set of five 11”X14” prints. I still haven’t decided whether I will offer these throughout the year or just for the holidays. I currently have five print sets (New England Farms and Barns, New England Lighthouses, Nubble Light, Chasing Waterfalls, and Misty Mountains). Check these out at the link! As with the groupings, if you would like to have a different set, let me know, which images you would like to include in the set.
I guess, this is it for the update. I hope to see you at one of the upcoming exhibits or Art Fairs!
Thank you for being a valued patron
Have a great rest of your week
Dimitry