End of the hiatus....Mojave...

I finally got some lens time in, on a trip out west to the Mojave National Preserve, located about an hour southwest of Las Vegas. Among the sights in the park are the world's densest concentration of Joshua Trees, some 100+ foot tall sand dunes, and a cinder cone field with lava flows. While this preserve isn't quite as expansive or scenic as Death Valley National Park just to the north, it's an interesting diversion from the gaming tables, and can be seen in a day. Here's the full gallery... ed

ArtSpace Herndon 2012 Fine Art Photography Competition

(Any photographers out there in the DC/MD/VA/WV area should consider entering this!)

ArtSpace Herndon invites photographers from DC, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia to participate in the 2012 ArtSpace Herndon Fine Art Photography Competition.
The competition is open to fine art photographers aged 18 or older working in any medium (digital or analog, color or monochrome), and using any printing technique - we care about well-done art more than the specific medium, technique or format. Fine Art Photography of any subject is welcome; there is no required theme for entries.

Entry Deadline: 24 March 2012, 5pm

Finalists for the Competition will make up the May 2012 Exhibition at ArtSpace Herndon in the main Nelson J. and Katherine Friant Post Gallery. Finalists will be notified on 31 March 2012 via email.

The show will run from 1 May to 30 May 2012, with an opening reception on Saturday, 12 May, from 7-9pm. Prizes will be awarded at the reception.

2012 Awards:
1st Place: $300
2nd Place: $200
3rd Place: $100

Juror: Mary Louise Ravese

Mary Louise Ravese is founder and owner of Bella Vista Photography in Waterford, VA. She specializes in fine art nature and travel photography from locations across the world. Mary Louise’s fine art photography is in private, university and corporate collections in over 30 states and is exhibited nationally through art shows, galleries and shops. Her images have been used in calendars, magazines, books and websites including various projects with National Geographic maps. Mary Louise studied photography through the University of California, Berkeley and Santa Cruz extension programs, the Washington School of Photography, and through study with such noted photographers as Barbara Brundege, Mark Citret, and Harold “Doc” Edgerton. She is a member of the North American Nature Photography Association, the American Society of Picture Professionals, the Equine Photographer’s Network and the Loudoun Arts Council.

A full prospectus and link to online registration can be found here.

ArtSpace Herndon
750 Center Street
Herndon, VA 20170
703.956.6590

Free Afternoon in NYC...

Hi all - had a free afternoon in NYC, and took a few snaps around the Grand Central Terminal area.

Also, a reminder that my show is entering its final week, at Applegate Gallery in Vienna, VA, until this Friday.

Happy Labor Day!
ed

Reminder - opening next Saturday 8/13...

Hi all,

I hope you can make it to my show, opening next Saturday 13 August, with a reception from 6-8pm.

The show will run through 7 September, but I'd love to see you there.

Applegate Gallery
101 Church Street NW, Suite C, Vienna, VA 22180
703-281-1364

Thanks!
ed

Hi all,

I'm pleased to announce that I will be showing again at the Applegate Gallery in downtown Vienna, from Saturday 13 August to Wednesday 7 September. The opening reception will be on Saturday evening, 13 August from 6-8pm.

The show consists of 20 images taken between late 2009 and this past May, with photographs taken in Utah, Belize, Cape Cod, Hawaii, Far Northern California, as well as locally. I'm particularly excited as it includes prints using several new-to-me methods - large scale prints on canvas, metallic silver halide, and deckled-edge watercolor prints.

I hope you'll be able to attend the reception and show.

Applegate Gallery
101 Church Street NW, Suite C, Vienna, VA 22180
703-281-1364

Thanks, and see you there!
Ed Hahn

Here's a show preview...

Sundial Bridge by Santiago Calatrava...

We spent the last part of our trip visiting friends in Redding and Chico; as a result, there are relatively few photos in this gallery. The highlight was the opportunity to study the Sundial Bridge by Santiago Calatrava in Redding.

We also rode Segways.

Rest of the gallery...

ed

Some more photos from Northern California, this time from around Eureka/The Lost Coast...

More here.

ed

New shots from Northern California...

...and I mean Northern California - along the Oregon Border, about 350+ miles north of San Francisco.

Debby and I got away at the beginning of the month, and I managed to get a fair amount of lens time in. This one is from Crescent City, California, and uses a Tilt-Shift lens.

Here's the rest of the gallery; I'll be adding more over the next week or so.

ed

Well, it's been a while...

Hi all,

Well, it's been a while since I sent an update; I have been quite busy, but am pleased to announce that my image "Vapor" will be showing at the Circle Gallery in Annapolis, MD, as part of the Maryland Federation of Art's Focal Point Fine Art and Creative Photography Exhibition. This show was juried by Laurie Snyder, Chair of Photography at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore.

http://www.pbase.com/edhahn/ex_mdfedart2011

The show will run from 19 May through 15 June in the main gallery. The reception will be held on Sunday, May 22 from 3-6pm, awards will be given at 5pm.

The address is: 18 State Circle, Annapolis, MD, right across from the Maryland State House.

I am also pleased to say that I will be traveling out to the Northern Coast of California, right on the Oregon border, to take some photographs of the Pacific Ocean, the Redwoods, and perhaps Mt. Shasta and Mt. Lassen.

Thanks all!

September 2010 update...

It's been a while since I've written; I've been busy with many things - see the end of this post for more details...

I'm pleased to announce that I've been accepted into another show at the Delaplaine Visual Arts and Education Center in Frederick, MD - the 2010 Juried Photography Show, in the "Professional" artist category.

The juror for this show is J.D. Talasek, Director of Exhibitions and Cultural Programs at the National Academy of Sciences.

The Professional Exhibition runs from 2-31 October 2010, with an opening reception this Saturday 2 October from 3-5pm. I'd love to see you if you can make it. More about the Delaplaine can be found at:
http://www.delaplaine.org

The Delaplaine Visual Arts and Education Center, 40 S. Carroll St, Frederick, MD

I also had an opportunity to take some photographs at the Dulles Day event this past Saturday, 25 September. Since I was helping set up, I got a chance to walk around before the event officially opened. Here's a few snapshots.

[update]
I see I've been quite remiss about updating this blog. I had another show that never got mentioned: The 2010 Regional Juried Exhibition, also at the Delaplaine. This was an all-media show, and I was fortunate to not only get two photographs in, but placed 3rd overall with my photograph "The Deck".

Speaking of "The Deck", it was also favorably received at the Chelsea Fine Art Competition in New York in August. The show was quite impressive, and I was honored and humbled to be part of that show. I even got a mention on a blog.

Finally...as I hinted at above, I've made some changes in my life...I've gone back to work as an engineer. The cold facts were that no business was coming in. It was a tough decision to go back to work, but I have no regrets in taking the time to try it out. I lay the failure at my own feet mostly - I really had no idea what I should have been doing to promote my business, but I clearly didn't do enough of it. That said, the business climate for photographers has been absolutely brutal the last two years - I don't know any freelance pros who aren't hurting for customers. There are whole segments of the profession where it's very difficult to make a living at anymore- segments which were comfortable not too long ago.

Anyway, I'm not giving up photography - I'll still do it on the side, and I'll keep updating the blog as well.

Update: 25th Chelsea International Fine Art Competition...

Finally got work back from the 25th Chelsea International Fine Art Competition, on the piece they wanted to exhibit. Turns out it's four of them.


Vapor


Coyote Repast


The Deck


The Bottom

I'm pretty blown away that they want four pieces.

The exhibition starts 17 August 2010 (Tuesday), with an opening on 19 August (Thursday) from 6-8pm. It closes 7 September.
Agora Gallery, 530 West 25th Street, New York, NY 10001

ed

Studies in tilt-shift photography...

I went for a walk in the woods on some Nature Conservancy lands nearby yesterday, and brought the tilt-shift lens along for some experimentation. Here's the rest of the studies.

Tilt-shift lenses, BTW, are specially constructed to allow one to tilt the lens elements to be non-parallel to the film (sensor) plane. This has the optical effect of tilting the plane of what is in focus, so that one can be extra creative in composition. These simulate a function of view cameras. Used more mundanely, they are useful for product photography, as they can allow for more of a (say) tabletop setup to be in focus. (They also have a shift function, which is useful for architectural photography - it allows one to capture a building's parallel walls without having to go to a super-wide angle lens.)

Interesting NYTimes story on Photography...

Interesting article on the changing ground of the photography profession. Fortunately, it wasn't hard to see this coming; in some sense I was fortunate to enter the profession after the "disruption" was in full swing, and have concentrated on the segment of the industry that isn't easily found in the microstock world.

Click here for NY Times article.

ed

25th Chelsea International Fine Art Competition...

I got word this morning in an email that I was selected as a finalist/exhibitor in the 25th Chelsea International Fine Art competition. I don't know yet which piece was selected, and I'll post an update when I know.

"Agora Gallery is pleased to announce the results of the 2010 Chelsea International Fine Art Competition. The competition is renowned for having some of the most prominent museum curators and art experts engaged in the jurying process...The competition was juried by Ms. Megan Fontanella, Assistant Curator at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum."

Click for full information.

The competition was open to all static media (except for jewelry and crafts), and the exhibition will run 17 August - 10 September 2010, at the Agora Gallery, 530 West 25th Street, Chelsea, New York.

Mention in the City Paper!

Well, I didn't win any of the awards in the Fraser Gallery competition...but I did get a very nice mention in the Washington City Paper:

www.washingtoncitypaper.com

New photos...

Hi all - took a trip to Nantucket and Cape Cod last month, and finally got the photos up. This image seems to be getting a lot of attention, but there's a lot more at the website.

Two openings in two weeks...

Just a quick note to say I'm having two openings in two weeks.

First, on Saturday 6 March, I'm part of the group show "Old Myths, New Realities" at ArtSpace Herndon. This show features artwork inspired by the ancient Greek and Roman world, and is sponsored in conjunction with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. ArtSpace Herndon, 750 Center St, Herndon, VA 20170.

The second opening is part of the 9th Annual International Photography Competition at Fraser Gallery, as noted below. The opening is next Friday, 12 March, from 6-9pm as part of the Bethesda Art Walk. The exhibition finals and finalists can be seen here. Fraser Gallery, 7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite E, Bethesda, MD 20814

ed

9th International Photography Competition @ Fraser Gallery

Hi all - I just found out that I'm a finalist in the 9th Annual International Photography Competition at Fraser Gallery. Apparently I was one of 29 finalists selected from a pool of 150 photographers. Obviously, I'm very honored to have made the cut. The photo above, "The Deck", was the selected image.

The show runs from 12 March to 3 April 2010, with an opening reception from 6pm-9pm. Fraser Gallery is located at 7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite E, Bethesda, MD 20814.

Back from Utah...

"Yearning"
Hi all - I'm back from Utah, it was an amazing trip. The photo to the left is from Kodachrome Basin State Park between Bryce Canyon and Escalante. The entire gallery can be found here. Nine days was certainly not enough time to see everything these places have to offer, but I did manage to take 2200 photos or so (50GB!).

Here are my suggestions for what to see, and some places to eat.

"Surviving"
Zion:
Make plans to hike the Narrows (which is real fun); you'll want to bring a pair of water shoes and one (preferably two) stout walking sticks with you. Also, bring a minimum of gear with you, and get a waterproof bag to put it in - there are parts of the Narrows that are at least waist high. We went about a quarter mile up the river (literally hiking in the river), and hit a spot that went too deep, so we had to turn back.

The Emerald Pools trail, on the other hand, is relatively easy, and gives good views of the trails around the Zion Lodge.

For eats: we stayed out in Hurricane (about 30 miles away), and only ate at two noteworthy places: The Burger Shack in Springdale (right outside the park, attached to the Quality Inn) - very good burgers (but they put mayo on by default, so be warned). We also had a good breakfast at Zion Lodge (better than average breakfast buffet; of note were the biscuits w/ gravy and grits).


"Jericho Ridge"
Cedar Breaks National Monument:
This is a must-see stop between Zion and Bryce (will take only an hour or so, so hit it between them). Leave Zion by the Tunnel, then turn right on UT14, then left to get to Cedar Breaks. Along the way: Aspens, lava flows that are still uncovered, a mountain lake or two, a cinder cone, and the monument itself.

You must stop to eat at the Cowboy's Smokehouse in Panguitch, UT.

"White Pinnacles"
Bryce:
Very highly recommend the hike from Sunset Point, down the right-hand (south/west branch) of the Navajo Loop Trail, crossing over to the Queen's Garden Trail, back up to Sunrise Point, then along the Rim Trail back to start. About 3 miles, 500' elevation change, and spectacular scenery. Also worth a visit are all of the overlooks in the park, especially the less visited ones south of Bryce Point.

Places to eat: Ruby's Inn is a bit overwhelming (most of the tour buses appear to stop there), so be warned. They do have a good general store for camping supplies or basic groceries.

The Bryce Pines Restaurant was above average quality, but basic American food (they have homemade soup and pie, which unfortunately we didn't sample).

"Sedimentary"
Escalante:
We only did the east side of the Monument - mostly from the town of Escalante and to the southeast. Must see: Grosvenor Arch (closer to Bryce), Devil's Garden, Egypt (off Hole-In-The-Rock Rd.). You need a 4WD vehicle to do these safely. Also, if you drive down Hole-In-The-Rock road to Chimney Rock, there's a lot of interesting desolation to look at (it's where we camped).

We also did a hike in the Dry Fork of Coyote Gulch, to Peekaboo Canyon and Spooky Gulch in particular. If you do this, you'll need to bring plenty of water and *limit* the amount of gear you bring with you (e.g., maybe a pocket camera and a pair of water shoes at most). We both brought too much gear with us (lenses, tripods) and this actually hindered us.

Some so-so places to go are to Kodachrome Basin (interesting, but not as interesting as either Bryce or the Devil's Garden), or up to Boulder to Anasazi State Park (which is kind disappointing if you're expecting another Mesa Verde - there are only a few pueblos there, and they are mostly buried.) The road itself, however, between Escalante and Boulder is quite exciting (and paved so any vehicle is fine).

We stayed at the Circle D motel and restaurant. The motel is old-style, but is actually quite comfortable. The restaurant, however, is out of this world good. The chef runs his smoker all afternoon, and did a great smoked brisket and a great smoked BBQ chicken. The breakfast was also quite good (e.g. Huevos con Chorizo, Breakfast burritos, etc.)

The other place to go in Escalante is Escalante Outfitters - they do a good coffee/espresso drinks/pastries/eggs breakfast, and also are the only pizza joint in town. In addition, they do a good dessert (pies), and also have a neat equipment and clothing section.

ed

Made it in!

I found out that two of my submitted works for 12 Angry Women were juried into the show! Apparently there were about 370 entered pieces, and 47 were juried in overall (about 12.7% acceptance). Getting two of five submissions (40%) makes me feel pretty good about this.

The two pieces that made it were Vapor, and The Bottom (both of which have appeared here before).

So, the show runs from 26 September to 24 October, at The Soundry, located at 316 Dominion Ave in Vienna, VA. The Soundry is open every day from 10am to 10pm (hallelujah for good hours!). In addition to being a gallery, it is also an artists studio, performance space (music, poetry), and a coffee shop. Please come by and invite all your friends!

Unfortunately, I won't be attending the opening, because I'll be on a trip through southern Utah - hitting Zion, Bryce Canyon, and Escalante with another photographer friends from Cedar Rapids. I'll be sure to update the blog when I get back.