Calm Photos

A new gallery of fine art photographs has been added to my storefront at ImageKind.com. Titled “Hallowed Ground” this gallery of photographic images represents my work at capturing the haunted light of consecrated land where so many fought and fell in a conflict that perhaps had more to do with our identity as a country than any other event throughout American history. The first images added to this gallery include April in Gettysburg and May in Appomattax. More will be added as I continue to prepare and upload select digital files, including autumn in Gettysburg and spring at Antietam, The Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Brandy Station and New Market. Through the ImageKind storefront visitors have the option of purchasing the highest quality prints possible of all these photographs, with a wide selection of sizes, papers, mats and frames. ImageKind also recently added the option of purchasing greeting cards.

Once again I’m re-evaluating my selection of printing vendors regarding online print sales of my fine art nature and landscape photographs. My current storefront with Printroom.com is pretty good, but I’ve been more impressed with the quality of printing, selections in papers, frames and matting and user friendly interface provided over at ImageKind.com.

Fine art prints purchased at my ImageKind storefront come with a refund policy - satisfaction guarantee, safe online shopping guarantee and careful attention and care in the packaging of prints, both framed and unframed. These are also Giclees prints crafted from the largest possible TIFF file, carefully edited by me, from the original raw digital capture. This results in the best, museum-quality print versus those that are produced from compressed JPEG’s. I can personally attest to this fact because I’ve conducted my own print-and-compare quality testing process from these same file sizes and formats here in my studio using an Epson 7600 wide format printer.

Giclees prints from ImageKind have a longevity of over 125 years when framed under UV-protective glass. Also, you will be impressed with the variety of framing options offered through ImageKind. Their selection of frames, mats and coating options is perhaps the best you can find with an online art store and of course you can preview exactly how each print will look with your choice in paper, mat and frame.

I’ve started to populate my ImageKind storefront gallery, titled “High Dynamic Vision,” with some of my most recent nature, landscape and cityscape photographs captured this past September and October in locations such as the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the Hocking Hills of Ohio. I will be adding more selections to this storefront over the next several days. I also maintain another storefront/gallery of old favorites on ImageKind titled “Serenity Images.” The best seller there has been my famous Dayton skyline.

Last night I dreamed - blessed illusion -

that I had a beehive here

in my heart

and that

the golden bees were making

white combs and sweet honey

from my old failures.

- From Antonio Machado, Translated by Robert Bly

The screen grab image above will take you to a flickr slide show of a  few of my favorite photographs. These are the images that carry a special meaning for me due to the fact that I can instantly place myself back in the particular light, location and frame of mind when I first released the shutter at the moment I captured each image.

In these places I found nothing but the beauty and truth that was presented before me.

There are no lies, deceit, manipulation or false pretenses. There is no anger, resentment or malice.

The light, subject and moment simply is, and in that simplicity is the very essence of being.

There are two primary techniques I use to visually convey a sense of movement and action within my photographs. The most common - and easiest - method is that of hand-held panning whereby I follow a moving subject with my camera and lens while using a relatively slow shutter speed. I enhance this technique by using “fill flash,” the on-camera Canon Speedlite that throws just enough light on the subject so that it contributes to the sharp focus of certain parts of the subject while still maintaining the background which is intentionally blurred. My best examples of this technique includes my equine portrait photograph of “Bear” the horse and the wheelchair racers at the 2005 Columbus Marathon. I’ve also included another sample which is a sledding shot of my daughter Chloe, just because it so unbelievably hot and humid today (admit it, the snow actually looks refreshing).

When I can’t pan my subject, or if it is a still life subject that simply is not capable of movement, there is another technique that I can employ, but not with the camera, lens and flash. This is a digital technique completed in the post-shooting process stage and involves the use of one of the effects filters available in Photoshop CS2, a duplicate layer and patience with Photoshop’s digital eraser tool. However, there are only certain photographs where this technique can be effective, specifically those images that have a very well defined point of interest as to where I want the viewer’s eye to go. The finished image must be able to withstand the sacrificing of just about all of the details of the background and foreground elements in the process. The following are some of the images from my stock library where I think this digital technique of adding movement adds to the interest and attractiveness of the subject.

Hold on, you might get dizzy.

Summer in Ohio is chock-full of opportunities for colorful event photography, from county fairs to small town festivals to art shows to music performances.

This past Saturday was the reenactment of Morgan’s Raid at the Gorman Heritage Farm in Evendale, near Cincinnati. For those who may not know their American Civil War history too well, Confederate General John Hunt Morgan was the cavalry raider who personally brought the Civil War into Ohio through a daring incursion that involved nearly 2,000 rebel troopers, skirting the northern neighborhoods of Cincinnati on July 14, 1863. The raiders traveled light and fast, taking what they needed in the way of food and fresh horses as they went. Unlike Lee’s much larger and more spectacular invasion of Pennsylvania just a few days prior, Morgan’s objective was not to actively engage in a fight but rather to divert Union forces away from their campaigns in central Tennessee. Morgan and his men were eventually caught. To this day his famous raid is still marked with several reenactment events in towns along his route.

Although I’m not quite yet to the point of dressing in a wool uniform, eating hard tack topped with weevils and collapsing from heat stroke under a July sun, I do enjoy attending Civil War reenactments. Not only are there some wonderful opportunities for candid and event photography, but these events are also a great way to learn about history and get a glimpse of just how difficult life was in mid-19th century America and the physical, mental and emotional price paid by those who served in what I consider the one conflict that truly defined the United States of America.

At the event at Gorman Farm I had also had the opportunity to meet Civil War author and researcher Richard Baumgartner who recently wrote a fascinating book titled “Buckeye Blood,” published by Blue Acorn Press. Richard did the research for this book, which is a complete account of all the Ohio regiments that served at Gettysburg, over a period of seven years. I literally devoured my copy when I got back home that afternoon. The first-hand accounts of the battle, as well as the profiles of individual soldiers and officers serving in these units, were fascinating to read, especially from the viewpoint of the citizen-soldiers who came from my home state.

The Gorman Heritage Farm was the perfect setting - restored barns, rolling fields and gardens full of summer flowers. Most of all I was impressed with the friendliness of the staff and volunteers - quite welcoming, cheerful and helpful. Perhaps because they knew I wasn’t there to steal their horses and raid their crops, unlike a previous visitor who came through during another July morning back in 1863.

The gardens and grounds of the Gorman Heritage Farm -

My latest image catalog, which includes updated nature, landscape, wildlife, cityscape photography, is now available for preview in PDF format.

Well, the first 15 pages anyway, but it will give you a good idea of how extensive and well-organized this image catalog is.

With the arrival of online, on-demand self-publishing services such as Blurb, I’ve now discovered a new and more professional method for presenting my fine art photography to art dealers and buyers. Within the 72-page, hardcover, large format book are over 380 of what I consider to be the best of my nature and landscape photographs, organized and grouped according to subject and file numbers for easy reference when ordering prints or requesting image licensing.

The image below is the cover of the new image catalog. This image also serves as a link to the online, 15-page PDF preview. The entire 72-page book can be ordered directly from Blurb.

Blurb | Fine Art Nature and Landscape Photography : A unique artistic vision. : Books : Jim Crotty : Arts & Photography : Civil War : Jim Crotty : black and white : Gettysburg : Ohio : art : cityscape : flowers : images : landscape : nature : photographs : photography : prints : seasons : waterfalls

I finally finished it. A comprehensive catalog of my favorite and best-selling images. This is a large format coffee table style book with 72 pages that include over 850 images, each cataloged with an item number and description and grouped according to subject, including autumn landscape, waterfalls, flowers, winter landscape, avian, aviation, wildlife, Civil War battlefields and more.

Although intended primarily for art dealers and buyers (of whom a few select will be receiving complimentary copies), this book is available for retail purchase at blurb.com, for the wonderfully cheap price of $84.95 and would be a great addition to a customer waiting area, corporate lobby or home library. Also, please note that you can preview the first 14 pages in PDF format via the web page link listed in this entry.