Drinking from a Hose and Playing the World’s Tiniest Violin

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

So, I Want to Purchase a Print, Which One Should I choose?

So, you’ve decided to purchase a Fine Art Photographic Print. First of all, welcome! You’ve come to the right place.

Here is the problem. With so many options, how do you decide? Each case is, obviously a highly personal one and depends on what else is going on in your home. I am here to work with you on the best print type and size that would work for your home and make you happy.

For a brief explanation of the different print types I offer, please, check out the “What I Offer” page. To make a long story short, there is no one “correct” answer. Or more like the usual non-commital “it depends” answer. It really does depend, though.

If you are going for a more traditional feel, framed art prints are the way to go. The frames I offer are more clean and modern, but if you want a heavy Renaissance — style frame, we can work on that too. Metal prints are very sleek and modern, and they really bring the image to life. Canvas is somewhere in the middle. I personally love the framed canvas images I offer. That textured surface and the warm wood tone of the frame just give it that relaxed, homey feeling. My wife, on the other hand, is a metal print person. In the end, you as a family need to decide what type of print would work for you long term.

Some images work better with some printing surfaces. This isn’t to say that the others would not work, just that some substrates bring out the best out of the image. For example, high contrast images with reflections just call for a metal surface. On the other hand, warm woodland tones would work great on canvas or on the textured surface of my Fine Art Prints.

One additional thing to remember is the lighting in the room. Metal prints are pretty reflective and so are the standard framed prints (if you need an anti-reflective glazing or a more matte option of a metal print, please, contact me). On the other hand, canvas is almost completely matte.

The second question is what size of print should you choose? You might have guessed my answer to that. It depends. To help you choose, you can see some mock-ups in this post. Do remember that if you choose a framed print, you need to take into account the matting and frame size as well. On the other hand, metal and canvas prints come ready to hang with the image taking the entire visible surface. In case of a framed canvas, you need to add ~1.5'“ on each side of the image.

Generally speaking, for maximum impact the art size should take up 2/3-3/4 of the empty area intended for it. Leave 6”-12” between the artwork and any furniture you have underneath it. Aim for a width of 2/3-3/4 of the furniture.

If you intend to hang the artwork above a fireplace, leave 3” - 6” above the mantle. The width of the art should be wider than the firebox, but smaller than the width of the mantle.

Don't be afraid to go big! If you have a large open wall space, a large print filling the space makes a bigger visual impact.

If you are still unsure, feel free to contact me. Did I mention yet that I am here to help you?