Is photography art? This was one question that we were asked early on in the creation of this series. Watch Ted Forbes exploration on this topic in the youtube video below, with a quote from Forbes, "On one of the days I was interviewing Harold, the news broke of Peter Lik's photograph that sold for $6.5 million. As I'm sure most of you know, an argument of largely click bait ensued at the always classy Guardian over whether or not photography could be considered art". See more here!

Harold Feinstein. Exhibit June 18. Lecture June 29.

Unwrapping the Gift of Life: Celebrating the Work and Wisdom of Photographer, Harold Feinstein. 

Firehouse Center for the Arts, Newburyport.

 June 29, 2016. 7:00 pm. Doors open at 6:30 pm

This lecture series is the third lecture in an ongoing exploration of the

 importance of a partnership between innovation and creativity. Funds raised from this event will go towards the creation of an innovation and creativity lab in Amesbury

- for innovators of all ages! 

 
Tickets: $10.00 each.

Presenters:

Sarah Kennel, Curator of Photography
Peabody Essex Museum

Tony Decaneas, Owner, Decaneas Archive

Elin Spring, Renowned writer of the photography blog,
What Will You Remember

Judith Thompson, Director, Harold Feinstein Photography Trust


PLUS! Raffle at event: One matted, framed limited edition archival pigment poster of Feinstein’s iconic Coney Island Teenagers

This presentation parallels an exhibit of Feinstein;s work to be held at Sweethaven Gallery in Newburyport. This exhibit is co-sponsored by Greg Nikas, of Sweethaven Gallery in Newburyport, Asia Scudder of Blue Wave Art Gallery of Amesbury.

With special thanks to Digital Silver Imaging for contributing commemorative pigment poster design, printing, matting and framing.


Biography of Harold Feinstein: 

Feinstein died at the age of 84 and had lived in Merrimac, MA since 2000. On the one year anniversary of his passing, the local arts community will commemorate Feinstein’s legacy through a number of cultural events. An exhibition of his work will open at Sweethaven Gallery on June 15 (reception on the 18th), followed by a public event at the Firehouse Performing Arts Center on June 29th. The public event will feature special guest, Sarah Kennel, photography curator at the Peabody Essex Museum. The events are being coordinated by gallery owners Greg Nikas (Sweethaven Gallery) and Asia Scudder (Blue Wave Gallery) with support from the Newburyport Clean Tech Center, a non profit associated with Chestnut Innovation Center.


When master photographer Harold Feinstein passed away in June 2015, the New York Times declared him “one of the most accomplished recorders of the American experience.” TheBoston Globesaid: “He saw more than most. Though critics began applying the phrase ‘master photographer’ to Mr. Feinstein when he was only in his 20s, he might have argued that his true mastery lay in his approach to life, as expressed through the camera in his hands.” In her renowned Photograpy Blog, Elin Spring, commented: “Feinstein had a genius for guiding us to the beauty in others in the same gifted way that Diane Arbus made us aware of their flaws or Garry Winogrand conveyed satire. To me, Feinstein’s great legacy will be his generous and touching reflection of our best selves.”


Feinstein was born in Coney Island in 1931 and began photographing in 1946 when he was 15. By the time he was 19, Edward Steichen had purchased his work for the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art making him the youngest person to be so honored. Before the age of 30 he had become the youngest member of the historic Photo League, a designer for Blue Note jazz records, an original inhabitants of New York’s legendary “Jazz Loft” and a collaborator with W. Eugene Smith. He was also a renowned teacher who influenced generations of photographers.

While he is best known for his Coney Island work, which spans six decades, his breadth and exposure is far greater, encompassing classic street photography, the Korean War, nudes and portraits as well as digital color still life work published in seven books. In 2000 he received the Smithsonian Computerworld Award for his breakthrough work with scanography. In 2011, he received the Living Legend award from the Griffin Museum of Photography. His most recent book Harold Feinstein: Retrospective, (Nazareli, 2012) wona PDN photo book of the year award in 2013.


Harold Feinstein, a native of Coney Island,

borrowed a Rolleiflex camera from a neighbor when he was 15

and set forth to record the sights and the people surrounding him.

Early on, he exhibited an uncanny ability to capture

spontaneous moments — sunbathers enjoying the beach,

teenagers laughing on a plunging roller coaster —

that pulled viewers into the city’s most famous seaside

playground and the life of ordinary New Yorkers. -- By WILLIAM GRIMES JUNE 29, 2015. New York Times. TICKETS:

Bruce Brown. Collector of Contemporary Photography. Lecture on April 3. 2 pm.

  Portland native and resident Bruce Brown served as curator at the Center of Maine Contemporary Art in Rockport for twenty years beginning in 1987.  He curated more than 200 exhibitions promoting Maine visual artists before retiring as curator emeritus in December, 2006 to become an independent curator. 

In February, 2013 he became a partner of Portland's PhoPa Gallery in Portland  specializing in Maine photographs and works on paper with photographer Jon Edwards and the Maine Media Workshops + College in Rockport where he has been on the Advisory Committee since 2006.  Brown's unorthodox and self-tutored art career began in 1975 when he unexpectedly bought a painting while visiting galleries to learn about Maine artists to share with his students early in his 28 year career at Freeport High School.  

Little Calf Island, 2000, by Gifford Ewing (Sorrento)

 Relying solely upon his income as a public school teacher and curator, he has built a notable collection particularly of contemporary American prints and more recently Maine photography.  Portions of his collection were exhibited at the Portland Museum of Art in 2000, the Colby College Museum in Waterville in 2003 and at the University of Maine at Presque Isle in 1993 and 2004. 

Please click on this wonderful article below by Sharon Kitchens to read more on Brown's history and what he brings to this series! 

http://www.themaineblog.com/master-shots-bruce-brown/

Jeremy Barnard

Jeremy Barnard has been primarily a practitioner of black and white photography for the past forty plus years. He is self-taught, his craft having been molded and influenced by the photography and writings of some of the great masters. “My love affair with photography began when I developed my first roll of film and created my first print. I fell in love with the process, the magic.” His passionate pursuit of technical excellence has kept Jeremy involved in every step of the photographic process. He retains control even into the presentation stage by doing his own post processing, mounting, matting, and framing.

    More than twenty-five years ago the computer made its appearance in Jeremy's work environment. In the beginning he viewed it as an overly complex typewriter. As it began to insert itself into the world of photography it was easy to be skeptical about its photographic future, since the early results of digital imaging were disappointing. Things, as we now know, have changed radically in the digital world of photography. Output quality has surpassed that of film. At this point it has been over twenty years since Jeremy has shot a roll of film, and he's not looking back.

     Mr Barnard's approach to his work can best be described as an ongoing  process of self discovery. His photographs walk a fine line between abstraction and realism. “My process of observation begins with a wide view of my subject, seeing it in its environmental context. With the knowledge that my image will lack impact if I don't get close enough, I ask myself what it is about the scene that captivates me, and I move in to isolate that element.” The resultant images possess the abstract qualities of shape and form. Jeremy prefers natural to artificial light, but has over the years learned to be comfortable in the studio. In his artistic work he prefers to make images that do not contain people. However, his images frequently contain evidence that people have been there, adding an element of mystery. “I like to make pictures that ask more questions than they answer.”

    Artist/writer David Raymond wrote in Art New England  that Barnard's photographs “not only convey a sense of place, but a sense of time transcending place,...his work is poetic in unexpected ways.”

Harold Feinstein Prints Available

We are looking forward to a lecture on Harold Feinstein's photographic work.  June 2016.
More soon!   In conjunction with this lecture we will have prints available for sale from the Feinstein archives.  Please contact Blue Wave Art Gallery at bluewaveartgallery@gmail.com or greg@sweethavengallery.com.

Bruce Brown, On Collecting Photographic Works of Art - April 3, 2016

There is a mastery to collecting

 Bruce Brown began collecting photography in earnest in 2000.  Since then, Brown’s passion for the discipline and its practitioners has resulted in an extensive collection of photographs taken by those residing in Maine and those inspired by its unique, creative sense of place.

  Please join us in welcoming Bruce Brown to the 
Chestnut Innovation Center. 

 April 3, 2016
2 pm.  
Reception to follow.   Free and open to the public.  

" It should be pretty obvious that paying a lot of money for a piece does not mean that you will make money if you sell it, but you are unlikely to sell it at all if there’s little or no secondary market for that artist. ... according to some art consultants, 90% of art sold in galleries today is worth less as soon as you’ve purchased it. "    

Link to Forbes article on purchasing art

Lou Jones

We shared an incredible evening and presentation with photographer, Lou Jones. He spoke to a crowd of over 60 people about contemporary photography. He expressed his views on the art of photography by using his work as a platform to discuss not only what makes a good photograph, but also he spoke to the use of film, and the transition to using a digital platform to create an image. It was a rich and diverse presentation that created quite a lot of excitement and conversation with q & a following.   Please see postings below for newspaper article on this series.

 Our next lecture will be on April 3rd with Bruce Brown, a notable collector of photography. More soon!

Please re-visit our blog in the next week to see our video on this lecture.
I was so glad that Mayor Ken Gray (pictured in front row) was there and a big shout out to him for sharing in this new cultural lecture series and collaboration at the Chestnut Innovation Center http://chestnutic.com/. And special thanks to No. 8 Restaurant for providing us efficient service and an over the top meal!

Jack Fowler

 

 

Jack Fowler is an award winning photographer living and working  in the Massachusetts North Shore region.   Originally trained as a painter he initially bought a camera to take images as reference for paintings but fell in love with what could be done  with photography. Jack works in different styles, minimalism, ocean-scapes, and some black & white, but mostly enjoys shooting images that look much like color abstracts. 

 

Jack is affiliated with the Newburyport Art Association. Saatchi Galleries N>Y>C. and Blue Wave Gallery

 

Jack's work is represented by Blue Wave Gallery

This lecture series explores the nature of contemporary digital photography.   We hope to lend 'light and focus' to contemporary vision in photographic works;  to processes - notably the incredible capabilities to manipulate and process a digital image afforded photographers these days; and to production, including a focus on comparisons between traditional and new printing processes.   To say we are on an adventure states our underlying commitment to connecting and conversing on evolving ideas surrounding contemporary photography. 

 I chose to hold this series at the Chestnut Innovation Center,  11 Chestnut St. Amesbury, MA. in an attempt to blend industry and art.  Amesbury is a small Northshore town that was once the base of a bustling carriage industry and the home of the original electric car.  It is in one of the old factory buildings, currently being utilized by business incubator, Chestnut Innovation Center,  that we will host three prominent speakers for these free public lectures.

Lou Jones on Thursday, January 21, 2016;
Bruce Brown on Sunday, April 3, 2016; and
Lance Hidy  (schedule tbd).

Participating exhibiting photographers are listed in (near) alphabetical order below throughout this blog site and include:  Mark Antinoro, Jeremy Barnard, Thomas Barrasso, Leslie Bartlett, Jack Fowler, David Grover, Lance Hidy, Greg Nikas, David Saums, Cameron Sesto, Carl Sesto. Each photographer will offer a brief presentation on one of their selected works after the lecture so that the audience may be introduced to our regional photographers' exemplary work.

My gallery, the Blue Wave Art Gallery, is located at 52 Main St. in Amesbury.  This series is held in conjunction with Greg Nikas of Sweethaven Studios in Newburyport.   The participating artists posted in this blog also have work that is available for sale.  Prices will be available at each of the lectures but also available by contacting me at:  bluewaveartgallery@gmail.com or by contacting Greg Nikas at: greg@sweethavengallery.com.

Thank you for your interest and we look forward to your questions or comments on this site.    Asia Scudder,  Owner,  Blue Wave Art Gallery   www.bluewaveartgallery.com

Lynne Hendricks, The Art of Photography

The Art of Photography: Newburyport Daily News. By Lynne Hendricks Correspondent  LINK


"Today, anyone with a smartphone can snap pictures and post them online as an “exhibition” for their closest friends.
But that doesn’t mean that the photos we post of our vacations, our pets or our dinners have any merit to anyone outside our circle of friends.
After roughly 50 years in the business, commissioned to photograph some of the world’s most important people, places and events, Lou Jones can say with a reliable degree of confidence that most people’s photos aren’t very good. But there are artistic elements that can be employed to bring your contemporary images closer to fine, and Jones will share some of what he’s learned over his long and storied career during a free lecture next Thursday at the Chestnut Innovation Center in Amesbury. It’s the first of three lectures being planned in conjunction with “Bringing Ideas Together,” a photography exhibit currently on display at the innovation center. Jones was invited by [Greg Nikas, Owner of Sweethaven Studios, Newburyport], to share slides and stories with the region’s bustling community of artists and art lovers to help them better understand contemporary photography. The inspiration behind the series, titled “Processes,” came from the number of visitors who have expressed their confusion over what makes the pictures they can snap on their iPhones and cameras different from the images on the gallery walls, Scudder said...read more in article link ...

Cameron Sesto

Cameron Sesto:  Where the spiritual nature of the mundane world is illuminated through drawings, paintings and photographs. I am a self-taught artist finding inspiration from ordinary encounters and through a process of meditation and visual expression. Since 1987 I have been teaching workshops called: Drawing into Creative Wholeness. I invite you to visit my creative endeavors as well:  http://www.cameronart.com/

David Grover

Project Grover

Project Grover was started in January of 2015 by David Grover. He started it to help Missionaries and other non-profit organizations so that they can have better photography and marketing materials. He believes that by doing this they will be better able to raise money so that they can keep on doing the good works that they have been called to do. Any money taken in goes to one of 3 thing, Future trips, The ministries directly or towards equipment needed to better serve the ministries.

If you have any further questions or you would like Dave to come to you ministry please feel free to contact him and to see more incredible images:  

http://projectgrover.com/about.html

Greg Nikas, Owner, Sweethaven Studio

Greg Nikas has been photographing the world around him since he was a young man growing up in Ipswich, MA.  From those early days, his work has brought him much recognition in the commercial photography world.    Nikas, “lives and breathes photography”.   He has over twenty years’ experience working as a professional portrait and landscape photographer. His big dream? To live the concept of "life as art" pure and simple. Sweethaven Studio

Lance Hidy

Biography

A native of Portland, Oregon, Lance Hidy began his formal art education in 1964 at Yale University's Jonathon Edwards College. There he demonstrated his interest in graphic arts with the design and printing of two books (one with Hidy's own illustrations) using the college's printing press. After graduation, Hidy received a grant to study with Leonard Baskin, an artist with similar interests in engraving and typographic design, who was teaching at Smith College.
In May of 1969, Hidy joined the Godine Press in Brookline, Massachusetts, where he worked in a variety of roles, including designer and pressman. From there he moved to New Hampshire to work at the Coos County Democrat, then owned by the respected printer Roderick Stinehour. In 1974, Hidy went into business as a free-lance designer. One of his most noted book designs was for Ansel Adams's Yosemite and the Range of Light.
Hidy designed his first poster in 1977. His work is distinguished by his use of flat, solid colors and expressiveness with minimal detail.
Therese Thau Heyman Posters American Style (New York and Washington, D.C.: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., in association with the National Museum of American Art, 1998)

David Saums

Mountains-of-the-Sky:  Fine Art Photographic Images by David Saums

Artistic Goals

Photography is a medium that can be used in a tremendous variety of ways portray what one sees.  My specific choice is to create by traditional craft a detailed image of the outdoor world as we see it.  The use of the term craft is meant in the traditional sense, with a very focused effort to provide an image with minimum grain to maximize detail and crispness.  All of my images are made with manual exposure, manual focus, traditional films, and hand-printed.  I prefer to use my own interpretation of exposure and focus for my images.  Black-and-white photography has been my life-long preference.  Many times a scene or image works exceptionally well in color; many images, however, are striking in black and white but not in color.  Railroads and lighthouses, special subjects for many of us, have been a life long preference since 1970.
My fine-art prints, fully framed or ready for framing, can be ordered by telephone.  My images have been purchased for corporate and personal collections around the United States and Canada.

Equipment

I originally used Minolta SRT-102, SRT-202, and the rare XK professional model with a wide variety of lenses.  In 1994, I added a Hasselblad 500C and several of the Hasselblad Carl Zeiss lenses.  The Hasselblad 2-1/4" x 2 1/4" format is especially appealing in landscapes and large images; however, so much of my 35mm work involves very slow speed films with minimum grain and high resolution that I find that use of the Hasselblad is the exception.  In 1996, I began using Nikon 35mm equipment, in addition to the Minolta and Hasselblad systems.  This includes 3 Nikon F3HPs and a variety of lenses.  A Nikkor 28mm PC (perspective control) wide angle is an excellent tool for many uses beyond architectural views, for which it was designed.  Other favorites are Nikkor 85mm f /1.4 and 105mm f /2.5 short telephoto lenses.
Films used include: Black-and-white:  Kodak Panatomic-X (until discontinued in 1990); Kodak Technical Pan (shot at ASA 25) - A very fine grain film with incredible sharpness and resolution; Kodak T400CN (since introduction in 1997).  Color transparencies: Kodak Kodachrome 25, 64 and 200, and Ektachrome E100S.  Color negative films (1985 to 1988): Kodak Ektar 25 and Ektar 100; Royal Gold 25 and 100. 

Leslie Bartlett

"Bartlett’s stonescapes are a sensitive tribute to the basic elements of earth, air, fire, and water. Demonstrating how careful documentation can become poetry, Bartlett records the world as he finds it, but with a frame of vision that intends to act upon the viewer and shift one’s perception. Landscapes that would otherwise be passed by quickly, are given due attention and take on a monumentality of scale and importance...

Perhaps, it is the beneficent light - the kindest aspect of the fire element that gives warmth and life – that accords with the observer. Bartlett’s arresting photographs offer a perpetual opportunity to experience the natural world with an immediacy and freshness that few are able to find, as well as a lesson on how to behold.

Rebecca A. G. Reynolds, Curator of the John and Margaret Manship Collection, 
 formerly of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

 60 Canyon Abandonment

Description:

This is a 6 panelled folding screen based on my panoramic image of ‘Wells-Lamsen Quarry,” 

Graniteville, Barre, VT.

Size:

Each panel is 18 inches wide by 36 inches high.

Each panel is printed on silk and gallery wrapped to archival stretcher frames.

The panels are in turn assemble mounted to a pair of 7’ x 5’ stretched raw linen panels.

Thomas Barrasso

Thomas Barrasso is a geologist and chemist with more than 28 years of experience with environmental issues in both the public and private sectors.  He earned his geology degree from Salem State College where he also studied photography. 

He grew up in Boston in the 1960s and always had some form of camera at his side.  In the early days that was an Argus twin lens medium format, or a Polaroid.  Fascinated by Ansel Adams by the 1980s he was making images in the Salem State darkroom attempting to bring those techniques to his landscapes of New England, mainly the Mount Washington Valley region of New Hampshire.

The camera became a tool for seeing the world and blending science and art.

Translating his interest in music to photography was made by photographing concerts and events of many of his music interests including: The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane members, Galaxie 500, Miles Davis, Ray Charles, and Dave Brubeck.  In the 90s most of his photography revolved around local Boston bands that used his images in CD covers and The Noise Magazine. 

At the turn of the century the move to digital photography unleashed unparalleled creativity.  Real time monitoring of the image, Photoshop, and non-destructive editing has meant a complete rethinking of the process.  Without the luxury of a fulltime darkroom for most of the time he was behind the camera the change to digital meant full control of the process from start to finish.  The process now involves Nikon and Fuji cameras and a variety of software for correcting image variances, simulating films, and bringing out what the mind sees.  This has really gone from capturing the moment to creating an image that attempts to show the viewer what the photographer has experienced while in the moment.

Mark Antinoro

It’s in the details…

That’s been my design philosophy
for over two decades.
Whether I’m creating a brochure, website, catalog or logo, I consider every angle, every possibility. I seek out the right color, image or typeface – and work with all the tools at my disposal to transform these elements into a powerful design statement.
My training as a fine artist, musician, and photographer informs my design approach, too, by bringing a sense of light/shadow, rhythm and balance, and a refined eye to everything I do.
Because my clients range from companies to individuals to artists, I understand the need to balance aesthetics with the goals of reaching a wide commercial audience.

In my toolbox…

Along with being a certified web developer, I am proficient in the following design applications and programming languages:

• Photoshop
• InDesign
• Illustrator
• Dreamweaver
• Flash
• Fireworks
• Acrobat
• CSS
• HTML
• Javascript

Who I’ve designed for…

Small to large companies:

• L-com Inc.
• RPP Corporation
• Boston Scientific
• Directech
• Fidelity Investments
• Reebok
• Staples

Jeremy Barnard

 
 Jeremy Barnard has been primarily a practitioner of black and white photography for the past forty plus years. He is self-taught, his craft having been molded and influenced by the photography and writings of some of the great masters. “My love affair with photography began when I developed my first roll of film and created my first print. I fell in love with the process, the magic.” His passionate pursuit of technical excellence has kept Jeremy involved in every step of the photographic process. He retains control even into the presentation stage by doing his own post processing, mounting, matting, and framing.

    More than twenty-five years ago the computer made its appearance in Jeremy's work environment. In the beginning he viewed it as an overly complex typewriter. As it began to insert itself into the world of photography it was easy to be skeptical about its photographic future, since the early results of digital imaging were disappointing. Things, as we now know, have changed radically in the digital world of photography. Output quality has surpassed that of film. At this point it has been over twenty years since Jeremy has shot a roll of film, and he's not looking back.

     Mr Barnard's approach to his work can best be described as an ongoing  process of self discovery. His photographs walk a fine line between abstraction and realism. “My process of observation begins with a wide view of my subject, seeing it in its environmental context. With the knowledge that my image will lack impact if I don't get close enough, I ask myself what it is about the scene that captivates me, and I move in to isolate that element.” The resultant images possess the abstract qualities of shape and form. Jeremy prefers natural to artificial light, but has over the years learned to be comfortable in the studio. In his artistic work he prefers to make images that do not contain people. However, his images frequently contain evidence that people have been there, adding an element of mystery. “I like to make pictures that ask more questions than they answer.”

    Artist/writer David Raymond wrote in Art New England  that Barnard's photographs “not only convey a sense of place, but a sense of time transcending place,...his work is poetic in unexpected ways.”