Calm Photos

Some of my favorite nature, landscape, cityscape, travel and event photographs captured during 2009, beginning with New Years Day in Hocking Hills, Ohio and going all through Christmas. It’s been a great year of wonderful, shared adventures with my daughters and many opportunities in capturing interesting subjects in the “good light.” There were some important professional achievements as well including a number of image publications, great editorial assignments, print awards from the Professional Photographers of Ohio, professional certification and the beginning of my photography workshops.

I look forward to all the new adventures and photographic possibilities in 2010.

The most recent self-publishing project featuring landscape photographs taken from late summer through autumn of 2009, “The Margins of the Day” is a 50-page, 8″x10″ coffee table-style book that comes in both soft and hardcover versions. All the images within the book are full-color. The introductory text describes my creative approach toward capturing landscapes in those times of day when the “good light” is apparent and the subtle tones and textures of foreground and sky compliment one another for resulting photographs that are serene, peaceful and calm. Many of scenes represented in the book are from the Hocking Hills of Southeastern Ohio, however, landscapes in the Colorado Plateau of Utah, the Great Smoky Mountains of Eastern Tennessee and the coastline of the Carolina Low Country are also included in this book which is a photographic celebration of the haunting beauty of natural light at dawn and dusk.

Margins of the Day Photography Book by Jim Crotty

The Margins of…

Fine Art Landscape…

By Jim Crotty

Book Preview

I’m happy to announce that one of my photographs has once again made the cover of Ohio State Parks Magazine. The most recent issue – fall/winter 2009 – features an image I captured while in Hocking Hills State Park during a weekend in early November. I was there with my two favorite fellow sojourners when venturing out to the woodlands and hollows of Hocking, my daughters Emma and Chloe. Over the last five years this is the fourth issue one of my photographs was selected for the cover of Ohio State Parks.

Ohio State Parks Magazine Fall 2009 with Photograph by Jim Crotty

With all the emphasis currently on our system of National Parks, thanks to another exceptional series airing on PBS by Ken Burns, it’s easy to overlook the beauty and the gifts offered through our local and state parks. I’ve visited and photographed many National Parks, including Great Smoky, Grand Teton, Glacier, Zion, Capital Reef, Bryce, Arches, Canyonlands and Rocky Mountain. All of these strikingly beautiful parks present natural scenery that is beyond breathtaking, there’s no doubt. However, it’s the local, visual treasures found here in my home state of Ohio where my creative spirit and nature-loving soul feels the most at home. Especially Hocking Hills. That’s where my love for nature and landscape photography first took flight during a winter hike with the nature photography club from the Dayton Museum of Natural History (now Boonshoft), so long ago when I was 13 years old.

The State Parks in Ohio are now under a considerable amount of pressure to reduce services and cut costs. It’s a shame. If our National Parks are truly “America’s best idea,” (did you know that Ohio has a National Park ? It’s Cuyahoga, between Cleveland and Akron) then state and local parks and natural areas are the second best idea. In some ways these smaller versions of their big cousins are even more important to protect and preserve due to the fact that they represent places where most people make “first contact” with the beauty and wonder of nature. I’ve always said that the City of Dayton’s best recreational asset is the Five Rivers MetroParks. Considering the shrinking population and economic base in the Dayton area, we are VERY fortunate to have a relatively large number of local parks which are easily accessible, well-managed and each in their own way, provide the essential connection to the healing powers of our natural environment.

My most recent release via the Blurb.com bookstore – “Renewal,” featuring spring photography of landscapes in both Hocking Hills State Park of Ohio and Great Smoky Mountain National Park in Tennessee. This volume is available in both softcover and hardcover formats as an 8″x10″ coffee-table style book, perfect for office lobbies or home. In addition to presenting stunning nature and landscape photographs from these scenic areas of Appalachia the book also includes an introspective essay titled “Life’s Lessons Learned on the Trail to Ramsay Cascade.” This was an article I drafted shortly after my May excursion to The Smokies and provides some insight on how life experiences are often paralleled in the most simple journeys through the natural landscape. The price for the soft-cover version is $29.95, not including shipping.

Cover image of Renewal nature photography book by Jim Crotty

I’m also pleased to announce the first issue of what I hope to become a regular series of self-published magazines, titled “The Poet’s Eye.” This 24-page, 8.5×11 publication includes a brief introduction about the work presented and select images representing a particular subject, location or photographic technique. This, the first issue, features my recent work with converting high dynamic range photographs to monochrome – black and white – fine art images. The cost per issue is $7.84.

The Poet's Eye Photography Magazine by Jim Crotty

If you’re a regular user of Facebook there is a group page for Jim Crotty Photography. I often post new images and information regarding published images, commercial photography assignments and my photography workshops to this interactive group page which also allows followers to post their information and comments. Check it out.