I enjoy doing volunteer work, especially if I can combine photography with it. In 2008 I participated in the Roseville Art's - Art in the Garden Tour. I exhibited my images and sold quite a few.
We are fortunate to have a city that cares about the arts, as well as numerous dedicated volunteers. For a city our size, I think our Blue Line Gallery is pretty awesome. See: http://www.rosevillearts.org/. The Art in the Garden tour is coming up on May 2. Here's the website for the Art Tour: http://www.rosevillearts.org./tours.html. It's a great day, a good benefit, and a chance to see fantastic luxury homes along with a lot of great art. The food and drink provided is worth the price of admission alone. If you are in the Sacramento area, I highly recommend going!
But anyway, back to this photo. Click on the continue link for the details of this shoot, that ended up on the cover of our local magazine.
The committee decided they wanted to feature this artist, Marsha, and her ceramic birdhouses. They chose the home where we would do the shoot, then it was up to me. I could choose anywhere. The problem was it was about 3:30 pm, and we had BRIGHT sunlight. I had to find an area where Marsha would be able to keep her eyes open. The most obvious spots around the home would not work.
And I wanted to include in the image the fact that we were at a luxury home, and I wanted it to be outside since it is called Art in the Garden. So I chose this spot, because it is a backyard shot, but also made it obvious the home is quite special. We then arranged the birdhouses, and the model, er, artist, to pleasing effect. She's a pretty lady, which made this easy work for me.
Learning to post people and place objects of interest for a nice photograph is not intuitive, at least not for me. I have to put some time and thought into it, and I feel that over the years I have developed some usable skills here. I'm quite proud of this shot.
Here is another shot that I set up, at another home. This is the "inside article" from the magazine. Again, I got to pick the location, and position the artist as I wished. I'm also happy with this shot, that I was able to include both a garden aspect, a lovely home, and an artist at work.
It all came together for this shoot! I hope the event is a big success, and if I'm back from the boating trip I'll be attending.
