Sunset 2013

This has been a year for trials and travails. It was not about joy but about obligation, commitment and dedication. Thank God that's over!

Now here we are at the very beginning of 2014 and there's a completely clean slate and nothing to stand in the way but lack of ambition and burning desire.

And you can count on me to supply the kick in the can to jump start all of that ambition.

What have you been avoiding?

Why haven't you learned something new.

How many artists have you met, contacted, invited or complimented? If you haven't this is the time. Any artist has something they can teach you and most have so many things there isn't enough year to work them all in. If you start right now before the first tick of the 2014 clock you might just get the drop on'em.

Have you done all that you can do to promote your art? Have you tried to help another artist find a venue for their work? Have you spoken to a gallery owner or a show developer and where is that dynamite new idea for a show that only you have? This is the time.

There is so much work to do and so little time to do it in that any artists not out there this very minute working on getting the ball rolling for 2014 is falling behind.

Me, I'm just glad to be here, nagging, nudging, whining and winging at you. There was a time not all that long ago when  it might not have worked out that way so you can See why I have a sense of urgency.

I want each of you to make a promise right now that in 2014 you will not let others do all of the work. You will get out there and find a way to make art the first, last and most frequent thing people think of when they think of the South Coast.

And while you are doing that you can send me a note about what sort of things the Ole Trawler ought to be writing about. What things I've missed and what things I should spend more time writing about. Introduce yourself and make it clear that any artist wanting a word with you is welcome and would be met more than halfway.

The South Coast Trawler starts  new year tomorrow and with it there will be new adventures for one and all. Come along and join in the fun. And most of all, have a wonderful, bet and brightest New Year and may you and all of yours find health, happiness and a good agent.,

So what have you been up to over the holiday?

You may have guessed by the choice of topics on the Blog here, I have been out putting the Pentax through its paces.

The word is, in a word fantastic!

I had to give up my much loved Miranda FV way back in 1989 and thought that I hadn’t missed it at all. (I lost the ability to focus on a microgrid after my second cataract surgery and thought that I was through with SLR photography forever.)

I’ve used a bunch of cameras since then, mostly Fuji Super Zooms and I’ve taken some pretty good pictures.

Boy was I wrong!

I’ve been running battery tests on the Pentax, the literature promises 210 frames with normal alkaline batteries, but so far I’ve been getting more than the promised amount.

So what to shoot?

That’s never a problem; there are things all around if you just look. Fortunately I have a wide supply of critters all wanting their share of attention and all willing to put up with the camera to get it.

There’s an Anna’s hummingbird which lives in the scrub by my house. This little bird is terribly curious and always comes to have a look whenever anyone goes out on the back deck. The little devil now comes when you talk to him, so a little conversation and there’s the bird, just right for some action shots.

I’ve had some success getting him on the fly and will keep trying. There’s nothing at all wrong with the bird or the camera, just the guy behind the machine is a little slow.

Then there is the squirrel…the little tree rat gets fed by the house and now he has a whole family living there. There’s a poppa bear, momma bear and little bitty baby bear or squirrel as it were and they all come out to get the sunflower seeds the Long Sufferin tosses for the birds.

Baby bear doesn’t linger long when any human comes around and momma can be a bit shy but nothing comes between poppa bear and his lunch. He’ll let me get within twenty feet so I have a whole bunch of shots of that rat.

Of course the flowers aren’t in bloom but the dead hydrangea has some wonderful blossoms left over from last year and with a little bit of tweaking they can become almost anything.

Then there’s the fish in the Koi pond at Kumyon’s. The fishes are most cooperative and they look wonderful, amazing what you can see if you just look around.

Yesterday I went to Bandon. Now the truth is I went to check out the Creamery, but I took a detour by Face Rock and found some amazing things to capture. The mounted patrol, a runner and some girls making a permanent mark in the sand. The waves washed it out but I have the evidence!

So while I have been away from the computer I have been learning all about the new beast and getting in some quality time with the new darlin’ and here are a few of the results.

Class Schedule

Art by the Sea Gallery and Studio, LLC

Class Schedule - 2014

In the Continuum Building , Old Town Bandon

541-347-5355

Thurs.  Jan. 9 – Pastel Pencils with Karen Stillwagon  12:30 – 3:30  $25

Thurs.  Jan. 16 – Pouring Permanent Pigments with Jean Stephenson  1 – 4:00  price TBA                                                            limited to 4 students 

Sat.  Jan 18 – Greeting Card Playday, watercolor, pen & ink with Kathleen Morey Bailey  1 – 4:00  $16

Thurs. 23 – Wet on Wet Acrylic with Paul Kingsbury  11-4:00 $40, sign-up required, materials list to follow

Weds.  Jan. 29 – Yupo Playday with Ava Richey  1 – 4:00  $16

Contact the Gallery at 541-347-5355 for more information.  Most classes have a materials list of what to bring with you.

*Sign up at the Gallery with a $5 deposit (part of the class fee) to hold your spot.  Balance is due at the time of the class.  (Deposit not required on Play Days.)  Classes fill up quickly, so this guarantees your place in the class!

*If interested in the “Drop-In” Play Day Classes, you may leave your name and email address at the gallery to be emailed with a reminder.

Holiday Wishes

The High Priced Spread

So I told you how I managed to get into the DSLR world without having to mortgage the farm or sell illegal substances but what I didn’t do was tell you it can be done even if you are addicted to the high priced spread.

A thousand years ago when the single lens reflex came into wide spread use, most people believe that Nikon brought out the very first model. They would be wrong of course, that title belongs to Pentax. (See I had a good reason for selecting the Pentax K-x as my baby. {There were earlier SLRs, most of them German pre-war and extremely expensive, but the first consumer affordable SLR came from Japan.}

And in truth the Nikon was the first system SLR camera. (That means there was a complete selection of lenses and accessories for the brand.) And as a system camera they were priced accordingly. For ‘real’ people this was a bit daunting but for working Pros who had to get the SHOT first-time, every time the Nikon became the gold standard. (My own favorite the Miranda camera, wonder why, was often referred to as the “poor man’s Nikon” and so it was. It had a duel mount, bayonet on the outside and screw on the inside making it adaptable to a wildly large variety of lenses. Don’t think this matters? Try being in the rain forests of Brazil and dropping a lens in the Amazon. You either swim with the piranha or find another lens. Most guys would rather find another lens. You could do that if you had a Miranda but with a Nikon it was Nikkor all the way.)

So while other guys came first Nikon became THE brand of the pros and since little fishes like to think they are big fishes they went out and bought Nikons too.

One month after the introduction of the Nikon system, Canon came along and became the Avis of SLRs, not first but we try harder.

These two brands have dominated the field for all of the years since that start in 1959 and they continue to do so today. I have always harbored a suspicion that they were over hyped but most people believe they are the Gold Standard.

There is nothing at all wrong with wanting the Gold Standard, so just because I centered my search for a different brand, you can, if you want a Canon or Nikon do the same sort of thing.

Now here comes a disclaimer, because they are the Gold Standard you don’t have to settle for someone’s hand-me-downs. Even at the Edge of the World you can buy a Canon or Nikon off the shelf, if you really, truly want to. Wally World will sell you a dynamite kit Canon T3 rebel with an 18-55 lens and a bonus 75-300 lens for $449. Want to step it up? You can do the Canon T3i Rebel with the same lens package for $599. Still want more? Okay how bout a Nikon D3100 with an 18-55 lens and a 55-200 lens for $499? Finally you can move all the way up and get a Nikon D3200 body only at Amazon for $409. The lens will cost you $84 for the 18-55 and $94 for the 55-200.

You can do that and never have to leave Coos Bay and you will get a fine camera with incredible versatility which you will never outgrow and never wear out. You can do that.

Or you can try the ole Trawler’s method and check out KEH

http://www.keh.com/

Adorama

http://www.adorama.com/catalog.tpl?op=category&cat1=Used

or B&H

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/browse/Used-Department/ci/2870/N/4294247188

Now not being the sort to leave you hanging on your own, the Ole Trawler has done all of the mind-numbing research and can mention the following.

First search for Template:Canon EOS digital camera or Template:Nikon DSLR cameras, you want the Wikipedia article. This will show you the introduction date and the end of service date for every model since the introduction of DSLRs.

Why do you want to know this? Because that super deal on the Canon T3i or the Canon T3 might not look so good if you know that the End of Service date was the second quarter of 2012. It might still look good and it is but knowing why you are getting a deal is all part of the buying process. (EoS date for the Nikon D3200 is some time in 2014 so that might be a better choice.)

Once you have done that then you can go to Adorama, B&H or KEH and search for what you want.

The Canon T3 Rebel at KEH was $254 body only and another $59 dollars for the 18-55 lens. That was the best deal but B&H, Amazon and Adorama offered the same combination at a higher rate.

Step up one notch to the Canon T3i and you are looking at slightly higher cotton. KEH had the body for $415 with the same $59 dollars for the lens. (That’s one hundred and twenty-five dollars less than the deal at Wally World and with that extra you can buy the other lens when one comes in. But the numbers are getting close.)

The Nikon moves up another notch, the D3100 with the two lens package is $499 at Wally World or $426 at Amazon with the 18-55 lens $84 dollars at KEH and the 55-200 for $85 dollars at KEH. This makes the Wally World deal a better choice. Not everything can be had for less by going a few models back.)

The D3200 is actually a better match with the body costing $399 at Adorama and $379 at KEH. The lenses are $84 for the 18-55 and $89 for the 55-200. So you wind up breaking even on the buy no matter which way you go.

Now do keep in mind that these quotes are before Christmas so they may come down after the Big Event.

Use all of the tools I have suggested, Snapsort for comparison, Camera Size if handling is an issue. Those with larger and smaller than average hands need to think before they buy. Dropping a camera is tragic but missing a once in a lifetime shot because you couldn’t reach the right control is just sad.

Use the templates to find out where in the life cycle the camera you want is hovering. Late in the life cycle means it will probably be coming up on the used market so you might want to wait a few months.

There is no way to eliminate the cost of a DSLR but with a bit of judicious shopping the cost can drop from heart-stopping to where can I sell those pesky kids and get some ready cash?

A camera is no better than the eye behind it. Buying a Nikon doesn’t make you a photographer it makes you a Nikon owner. (Yes I stole the quote, but it was by an anonymous source so it would be hard to give proper credit. {Quote* Annoy-mouse unknown date.)

Call for Entries - All Photography Online Art Competition

 Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery seeks entries for an online photography exhibition, February 1-28, 2014. Extensive worldwide publicity and promotion to the winning artists. Juror: John R Math. All international photographers, amateur or professional - no geographic restrictions.. $12.00 for 1 to 2 entries & $20.00 for 3 to 5 entries. Deadline: January 27, 2014. Online submissions only. Questions? Please contact John R Math at info@lightspacetime.com or call 888-490-3530.

Self

 Pop Revolution Gallery in Mason, OH seeks entries for a national juried art exhibition, February 8 - March 8, 2014. Best of Show: $500, 2nd: $150, People's Choice: $75, Juror's Choice: $25. A juried exhibition open to artists working in all mediums. The theme for this exhibit is the Self-Portrait. The exhibition is open to artists 18 years or older. All work must be original work. Students must not present work for consideration if assisted in any way in arrangement or execution. Artists accepted for the exhibition will be asked for an artist bio for display purposes. $25 for first entry, $12 for each additional. Deadline: January 25, 2014. Visit website for prospectus, or send a SASE to: Pop Revolution Gallery, 105 E. Main Street, Mason, OH 45040. Questions? Please contact Francis Michaels at poprevolutiongallery@gmail.com or call 513-492-7474.

Works on Paper

 37th Annual National Juried Exhibition, featuring Works on Paper, at Harper College. National juried show of Works on Paper, including Printmaking and Drawing. Prints that use traditional and digital processes are eligible. Entry fee: $35/3 images, digital images only. Juror: Shaurya Kumar, Assistant Professor, Department of Printmedia, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Postmark deadline: January 24, 2014. Exhibition: March/April, 2014. Color catalog published for exhibition. Purchase awards available. Visit website for prospectus. Questions? worksonpaper@harpercollege.edu

Last Past Minute

Still haven’t gotten the last of your gifts?

You are a procrastinator. And time is short and before you know it the clock will strike one and those ghosts will start arriving and after that there will be no time for anything but regret and suffering. So throw off that chain and get out and do something about it before you become an annual special on ABC!

Fortunately there are things which can save your bacon or tofu if you are avoiding fats.

The Coos Art Museum has some nifty neat and cool T-shirts with the CAM logo on them and while you are being the height of fashion you can promote the museum and help support it all at the same time.

For those who fear buying the wrong size the museum can still help you out. They also have wonderful etched wine glasses so you can encourage the bad habits of your bestest friends and support the museum too.

Get enough people with bad habits exercising before New Year’s Eve and half of the fund raising goal for fiscal ‘14 can be met and think of how self-righteous you’ll feel.

Don’t forget the Rental Sales Office where you can buy art from the people who really know good art and don’t have to say, “I don’t know art but I know what I like.”

Good art is a lasting investment and think of how silly you’d look with your CD framed and hanging on the living room wall? Think of how many CD’s you’d have to have to fit over that extra long sectional? (And if you have that many CDs why aren’t you a sustaining member of the museum anyway?)

But wait there’s more, catalogues, OCMA posters, fine art prints and a few Fishing T-shirts left over from the fishing show which no one bought because they were not really eye catchers and if you buy them then the museum will have more room to stock stuff that you would like to buy and so you’d be doing a public service.

But wait there’s still more, just not at the museum.

Batteries. I know, it does sound a lot like socks but it isn’t. Just think of how long you could survive without Double A batteries, no remote…that’s a serious crisis, you think government deadlock is a huge problem let the remote go out right before NCIS and see how fast the Long Sufferin takes to kick your tookis out the door for a battery run.

Now be a good boy scout and have a bunch of batteries on hand. I like the Kirkland 48 packs for everyday use. They ain’t Coppertops, but they cost a tenth as much and do pretty well. They’ll keep your remote remoting, the flash light burning, the garage door opener opening and the hand-held adult entertainment device you have hidden in the drawer by the bed  doing…you know exactly what it is doing and aren’t you ashamed but try to get through a week with dead batteries and see how your sense of shame fares against your other needs.

Oh yes, they will power your DSLR I told you you should go online and buy. I carry a set of four when I go out, just in case the power runs out before my trigger finger gets a cramp. Came in handy when I was at Shore Acres, sure enough forty frames in the light went out and I had to call on the Kirkland’s to step up and bring back the light. That or wait until next Christmas to get my shot of the whale.

Now for continued heavy use, nothing beats Duracell. I know what the consumer people say and they are wrong. I’ve been using Coppertops so long the were just a little tan and back then they were called Mallory Duracells and they were still the go to power source for any serious photographic application. Those old Honeywell strobes could suck a house dry just powering up and without Mallory’s you’d be two shots in and staring at the dark.

So Duracells are always the right answer and now they have the Duracell Ultra, let me tell you these guys are the bomb. I loaded my Pentax K-x with a set when I first got my grubby, little hands on it and the ran for 37 days and 288 shots about 25% flash and that is nearly a third longer than they are supposed to last.

Sure it is anecdotal and unsupported by empirical evidence but try it and see if the folks at Consumer Reports are talking out of their hats or if the Ole Trawler is right on the money.

Now if this person you ignored until the last minute has been really, really good get him a set of Sanyo Eneloop Double As and the charger. It will set you back a whole twenty bucks and at this late date you should be glad you can get out of the hole for a double sawbuck.

These are supposed to be according to all of the electronic magazines the very best rechargeable batteries on the market. I can’t confirm or deny but for folks who think Sony, Nikon and Canon are a cut above the rest this is the battery for them. (I’ll let you know how they work for me if I have been good enough for Santa to bring me a set.)

Now I know there is nothing in this list which is glamorous or ritzy, but you did wait until past, the very lat minute so why not give it a try. Then you can salvage something from this year to build on for next year when you will shop early and not be looking for stuff at the very last, past minute and you’ll be able to get that Texting Barbie or the newest Smart Phone or the Windows 14 tablet and be the one everyone talks about for the whole next year.

Or you could just go buy socks.

The Very Last Minute

You know that yesterday was the last minute?

Yeah, if you’ve waited this long you are in serious trouble. The post office will laugh, the folks at UPS will snigger and the chances of you getting anything in rich uncle Philbert’s will have gone to hell.

Can you manage to snatch victory out of the jaws of defeat?

Yes, but you are going to have to actually think.

Now making any of this have an art connection will take even more thinking so if you just want to curl up in a ball and pull the covers over your head, go ahead. No one will think less of you.

You will, but that’s a problem for lengthy sessions with the Shrink and you know how costly those can be so rather than give all of your money to the guy who will just waste it on another Mercedes or bail out his worthless kid who got drunk at the Holiday Frat party and jumped nekkid into the fountain at Sizzler. Yes, the chocolate fountain, now you get the picture.

Instead, throw off the blankets and get moving, there’s still a chance to avoid spending quality time with Marley.

If you are local, Bay area, then run out to Charleston where you will find two life savers, The Wild Women of Charleston Gift Shop and Crabby Cakes Bakery.

The Wild Women stock all sorts of things which might just save your bacon including a brilliant photo calendar by the Ole Trawler himself. They also have local wines, cards, trinkets, T-shirts and many other wonders. And if it is all too much for you you can stop next door at Cakes By Jazz and buy something to send or give or just woof down. There is nothing like an emergency cupcake when the going gets rough.

And while we are talking about woofing, Crabby Cakes Bakery has dynamite, huge and good cookie platters. Now these are not the dried out, stale, crumbly platters lurking at your local super market, but no, they are delicious, moist and juicy…maybe you’d better just check it out for yourself before my adjectives turn this from a seasonal PG-13 post to Triple-X. (I’d buy the platter for the holiday party next week and then hit the ala carte items for keeping your strength up. Last minute panic buying can be so taxing.)

Now for those not left in an exhausted heap, Fraizer’s Bakery in Coquille still has some fruitcakes. Yes, I do know about the fruit cake which has been passed around for “‘lo these seven long Christmases ago” but it wasn’t from Frazier’s. They make a cake so good and so wonderful that your fruit cake loving friends and relatives will write you into their wills. There are too people who LIKE fruitcake, they just don’t like the fruitcake that Freddy’s brings out once a year and then sends back into storage to be brought out again next year. I threw myself upon my sword and taste tested one from Frazier's and I can promise that if you get one of the few remaining ones, it will not come back. Move fast, when I was there they had a few but not if you linger. (I’m thinking I’ll try to bribe a pal to pick another one before they run out completely.)

And you can send this to your pals outside of the area cause it is wonderful and the nice folks in Corsicana, Texas have made a killing exporting the Collins Street Bakery fruitcakes cause there is nothing else about Corsicana that would make anyone want to notice Corsicana and the folks there desperately want to be noticed but living in the middle of Texas where there is nothing for miles and miles but the Exxon station owned by a gopher and if it ever shuts down Corsicana will have to fall off the face of the earth so you can see why they are so happy to have the Collins Street Baker there and if they can sell fruitcakes all over the world then the really good fruitcakes at Frazier’s in Coquille will be a huge hit and next year you will have to start taking orders around Father’s Day and that will bring much needed revenue into the area so it is vital that you go and buy a fruitcake at Frazier’s.

And if you are still stuck you can check out Art Connection for the paper that I told you to go and get last week, but just because you blew me off and said that buying pals a gift of art paper was a stupid idea and that you could do much better but you didn’t and now you are thinking it is gift cards for every one and you know that is a bad idea cause they lose them or forget about them and the stores go bankrupt and then the card is worthless so go and pick up that paper so that you won’t have to buy a fruitcakes at Freddy’s and be the laughing stock at the family party where the person you give it to will be making plans to re-gift it right back atchya next year.

And so you don’t wind up looking like a complete stiff when the family gathers around the tree and starts opening presents and you know that those uppity Portland guys will be loaded with the stuff from The Sharper Image and the big can of popcorn that you picked up at Wally World on the way there Christmas Day will look like you never even thought about it until the very, past last moment…

Stop in at Easy Lane Frames where the art is on sale for 15% off on selected items which Jane and Ken will welcome you and guide your choice so that you turn out looking like a brilliant planner with deep understanding of human nature and a burning desire to find just the perfect gift and you will complete bury The Sharper Image clan and then you will be the one who gets the mention in old Philbert’s will and things really will be happier in the New Year and even though Philbert is nowhere near as loaded as the Mega Millions jackpot you want a cut anyway for spending all of those holidays listening to his stories about how it was in the trenches on Iwo Jima when you know darned well there were no trenches on Iwo Jima but you listened anyway and now Karma will pay you back for being such a good relative and the holidays will in deed be happy and bright.

And besides you don’t want to listen to a whole year of Scrooge jokes…

Putting Your Best Foot Forward

There is a moment in film called a "Reveal". It is that moment when the central character first steps “On Stage". It may be the first moment when that character is seen or it may be later in the development of the storyline. The important part is that it must have impact.

There are a lot of great “Reveals”, the moment in that dungeon-like psychiatric hospital when Clarice Starling first meets Hannibal Lecter in the Silence of the Lambs, the moment when Christine rips the mask off Erik in the Phantom of the Opera, (Lon Chaney version is best but the Herbert Lom isn’t bad), or the one by which all “Reveals” are now and will forever be measured by, when Harry Lime steps out of the doorway shadow in The Third Man.

Yeppers that was a moment! It had instant impact and the rest of the film is really about whether you have so strongly identified with Harry Lime that you want him to get away or whether you want the forces of Good to bring the villain down. (Clearly the former won, when the Third Man was adapted for television in the Fifties Harry was the Hero. Credit Orson Wells for making even a black marketer seem appealing!)

So, what are you doing to make your “Reveal” have impact?

You think for one minute that just being an artist is enough? There are thousands of folks out there doing art and trying like hell to get the attention of the buying public. You think you can compete with the ZZ Top-like bearded buffoons of Duck Dynasty with a passport photo?

Sorry, but this is one aspect of art where you do have to put aside the tools of the trade, get out your shiny shark-skin suit, your snap-brim hat and fire up those creative juices and find a perfect plan for getting attention from a public which has the attention span of a gnat.

Now you could do it like a Kardashian and just make a sex tape. Accidentally of course and let it be leaked. (Those poor paparazzi running from a half-naked Kanye West waving a memory card and shouting about the secret sex-tape that no one knows about but he is going to leave it out for them to discover just as soon as they stop for breath.)

You could do that and it certainly gets attention. Just imagine what the Gabor girls could have accomplished if only there had been inexpensive video when they were trying to get started. Instead of taking beauty, charm and intelligence to serial marry their way to the top they just could have lost a sex tape!

So yes, you could do that and of course being an artist and knowing the double secret secret that the best model is the artist, who will work cheap, is always available and can be yanked out of bed when inspiration strikes you could use yourself in just such an impact filled way.

Remember this, once it s on the Internet it stays forever. Sure you have that nifty, neat and cool nude you did as a study in art school or for a mural or for the nice monks at the Trappist monastery, but is that the right sort of impact for your business of art?

Okay, maybe not, but don’t ditch the idea altogether. Self portraits are a good idea if they aren’t nekkid, aren’t like mug shots and aren’t like passport photos. (Sort of explains why so many people get rousted by the TSA. Using a passport photo for identification is like asking to be sent to Gitmo)

Why not just use a photo?

Well coming from a photographer this may sound strange, but there are many reasons the best of which are, photos take a slice out of time which may no longer be the best image of who and what you are. God knows I have pictures taken many eons ago which would scare the living daylights out of Freddy Kruger.

So when you pick an image make sure that it clearly projects what you want as a selling point for your art.

And second and probably most importantly, anything which goes up on the Internet is there forever. You may get tired of it, you may get plastic surgery, you may grow up and decide that those dark black lips just aren’t you any more, but the Internet won’t care it is there FOREVER.

Also since this is your first contact image, shouldn’t it present you in a way which promotes your work?

I have a coupla images I use, both of which have impact and both have a sort of relationship to my mug, and yet neither tells the whole story. And they won’t ever wind up on a driver’s license in another state.

No not exactly a mug shot, not even a head shot which is the tool actors use for promoting their calling but they both have an image which connects to my work and creates a different look for my “reveal” and says a bit about the core of my craft, photography and digitally manipulated images.

Remember when someone meets you on the Internet they don’t know squat about you except for the text and the images you use to promote yourself.

Just this once act like Miley Cyrus, no act like Pink, the master manipulator of the media, create an unforgettable image and then go off and be a middle-class, homemaker and laugh your ass off at how easily the media can be led by the nose.

Do the leading and manipulating and not the sex tape. It’s the best plan in the long run.

Tis the season.

This morning I opened my inbox and found seventeen emails in it. That’s not a lot as annoying mail goes but it was more than I usually get and it reminded me why I have my email account for The Trawler at Yahoo.com. It’s free, it’s not attached to anything permanent, it’s portable and it’s disposable

Yeah that’s a nasty, cynical attitude for this time of the year, but it is a fact of life, anyone who lives a public life needs a disposable email address.

You can’t escape it this is an information age. Everyone is connected or they should be if they want to do business with anyone else.

Artists are particularly vulnerable because we have to broaden our markets art can’t survive on just local sales.

And because we have to expand our markets we have to be available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. That means anyone, no matter how irrelevant, no matter how annoying; no matter how inconvenient can get to us as easily as the people we really want to hear from.

So sooner or latter the information or the junk will completely overload our inbox.

What to do?

Make sure that you are using a disposable email address.

Email addresses come from everywhere and as an artist you should carefully check them out every time you are offered one. Some are very good; Yahoo, Google and AOL certainly meet that requirement. But some come with loads of hidden crap, cookies, pups and other unwanted junk.

First when you decide to get a new disposable address make sure you read the EULA. That’s End-user License Agreement for those of us who speak English. It may give the email supplier unlimited access to your computer, control over your searches online or even send you unwanted adds or porn.

Yes, the ever-present specter of the internet, porn. You can run any known search and get nude pictures of Kim Kardashian. It is a sad fact, but true. So make sure you aren’t signing up for it.

Then when you actually click on the link to download the email program look again, there are almost always check boxes which will do all of the things you so carefully avoided when you signed the EULA. Uncheck those boxes so that you don’t wind up with Porn Surfer as your search engine of choice.

They also try to add-on unwanted programs so there may be more than one check box. Uncheck them all unless you specifically want what that check mark is offering.

Once you have downloaded the program take a few minutes to read through the Release Notes.

When you’ve downloaded the program take a minute or two to set it up correctly placing all of the SPAM filters in the On mode.Now you have the grunt work of letting all of your suppliers, clients and agents know where they can contact you and changing all of the web sites you use and making sure your own web page has the correct new email address.

Once you have done all of this make sure that you guard your private mail address jealously.

Give it only to personal friends and never give it out to anyone you do business with, that’s why you set up the disposable account. You want to be able to kill it if it becomes overloaded with junk mail or adverts.

And every time some web page offers you a free email account check it out, read the EULA and if it passes the smell test do it!

You can never have too many email accounts. Always have a spare in case you need to dump the one you are using and set up a new home. Sure it is a load of work to tell everyone you do business with that you have changed your address but it is better than shifting through two hundred unwanted emails every day.

If you are a working artist with a desire to actually sell your work this is one of the things which you have to do to protect you privacy. On the Net every one is an open book which is fine if that is what you want but not so good if you are a private person. which many artists are.

No you cannot hang out a sign offering free Hermit Coaching, that’s no way to get people to want to trade with your brand.

And for a person wanting to build a career as a working artist making your work a known brand is the single most important thing you can do. But do it with some privacy so that when the mood strikes you and you want to go off and sit on a moss covered rock and recharge your batteries, they can’t come and find you.

Checking it Twice

So there’s someone special on your Nice List and you’ve decided that they really were nice and should get more than a lump of coal under the tree, the question is what?

Get them a DSLR.

What? Much scratching of head, tilted chin, blank expression…

A digital single lens reflex camera.

Yeah sure and I’ll do that right after I win the Mega Millions lotto.

Well, you could or you could just go ahead and do it.

Now I am the first one to admit that I have railed against DSLR prices and complained to high heaven about an entry level $1159.00 camera and all of that is still true. But being as how I am the Ole Trawler and determined to make all of your wishes come true, I’ll tell you how to do it for under three hundred dollars including shipping.

There is nothing in the whole world like a digital single lens reflex camera. Yeah, I guess the new ILC cameras have come a long way and since I started out on rangefinders and still find the shape of a Leica or even the old Argus C3 Brick pretty darned hot, I’ll admit that the Fiju X-1 makes me fidget and drool a bit, but when it comes to the real work of taking pictures, the single lens reflex is still tops.

So how in the world do you get one without selling the kids to Romanian human traffickers?

You start by knowing what you are looking for. Now the Ole Trawler has a thing about running out of battery power. I guess when I bought the Sony the technology hadn’t worked out all of the kinks and the batteries while they did recharge they never seemed to be ready when I wanted to take a picture.

So finding a camera which uses triple A batteries was high on my list, I had no idea of where to start so I did a bit of online research and found a nifty, neat and cool site, Snapsort. Now Snapsort will allow you to compare cameras for all sorts of things. Oh, you probably want the link?

http://snapsort.com/compare

Plug in any camera you like and Snapsort will offer a bunch of useful details, including how it compares to other cameras in its class.

One of the other things which was on my list was the size of the camera. Now everyone wants one of the tiny little things that fit on your key chain and has humpty-hump megapixels and can shoot underwater, except me. I don’t have hands so much as I have paws and they just don’t work well with little bitty stuff. Fortunately there is another site, you knew there would be didn’t you, you clever thing and here is the link…

http://camerasize.com/compare/#229,179

These guys will let you find out what size the camera is without having to schlep around to every store or drive to Eugene and pick it up in your own hot, little hands.

So now you have a way to find out all of the stuff you need to know to settle on a camera.

I picked a Pentax KX cause it runs on triple A’s and it isn’t pixie sized.

Where to get my hands on one?

You see the problem is the Pentax KX while it is a very good camera came out in 2009 and went out of production in the first quarter of 2011. So Wally World won’t have any.

But there are plenty of them out there and you can find then at…KEH

http://www.keh.com/

or Adorama

http://www.adorama.com/

or B&H

http://www.adorama.com/

In fact all of these guys do a great job of working with seasoned equipment. I dealt with KEH and in spite of me not know my ass from my elbow they managed to get the right camera and lens and get it all sent out to me in a fashion that would make the packers at Amazon shudder with fear.

Two things, the nice part about older technology is that if it is digital it either works or it doesn’t. This means you shouldn’t have any reservations about buying a vintage camera from any reputable seller. Every camera company designs their cameras to take a lot more abuse than the average person can mete out, they say 100,000 shutter activations is the life span of a DSLR. Now if that means nothing to you, you can take a camera with half of that number on the clock and take 2800 pictures a day, seven days a week for the next twenty five years and not reach the 100,000 mark.

And if it really worries you, download PhotoMe

http://www.photome.de/

And it will tell you how many clicks have been run off so you can stop sweating the small stuff.

And the whole Megillah came to a grand total of…I won’t say. Wally World has a DSLR on for $399. The Pentax KX cost more than a quarter less with shipping to the edge of the earth. Now that should make you think about revising your Naughty List. You could be pretty bad and still deserve a camera at those prices.

The Drawers

The Drawers

 

Pacific Northwest Photography Viewing Drawers

Call for Entries now available for the 2014 Pacific Northwest Photography Viewing drawers at callforentry.org. Deadline for submissions is 11:00 PM (PST), Friday, December 20, 2013.
Blue Sky established the Pacific Northwest Photography Viewing Drawers program in 2007 to feature a juried, public archive of original prints by contemporary photographers based in the region. The Drawers program has quickly become a favorite aspect of Blue Sky’s ongoing programming, available to approximately 25,000 visitors annually. For 2012—to coincide with the newly inaugurated Portland Photo Month (every April)—Blue Sky expanded the geographic scope of the Drawers program to include photographers from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, British Columbia, and Alaska.

View the 2013 juried selection by following this link.

During regular hours, you are welcome to have a look by simply opening any one of the Drawers. Should you want to see more work by a particular artist, please ask at the Front Desk for assistance. Artists provide prices for all prints that are for sale.

The 2013 Pacific Northwest Photography Viewing Drawers program is generously supported by:

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OCCCA Call For Art:

The Orange County Center for Contemporary Art invites creatives of all kinds to submit art for exhibition in

Body Language, curated by legendary LA artist

George Herms. Body Language celebrates the body as the sign supreme. 

Exhibition Runs April 5th - May 17th, 2014

Deadline for entries: March 1st, 2014

Enter Here!

Our bodies are implicated in everything we do, think and say. The body is pivotal to our understanding of our place in the universe. In contemporary culture the body has become an extraordinarily complex signifier. Computer generated, traditionally sculpted, assembled, drawn, painted, photographed, filmed or performed in the gallery as dance or theater, in participatory events, street art and fashion --- the artists in Body Language ascertain the true dimensions of the inter-human sphere, connecting art to daily life, dreams, desires and the return of the real. 

Body Language is about the body angelic, or monstrous, clothed or naked; the disabled body overcoming the odds; the hybrid body permeated by technology; bodies merging with animals, plants and machines; the body of the athlete in motion; the sacred body of the Psalms and the Sutras; the body marginalized, politicized; the body exploited by advertisers and the media; the body studied by market researchers, demographers, economists; the body at the switching point between the familiar and the strange; the body of mythology and fairy tales; the body marked by the artist; the body uniting those who observe with those who perform; the body of flayed corpses, anatomical drawings, autopsies and dissections; the body as seen by medical science; the body tattooed, scarified and pierced; the androgynous, alluring and dangerous body.

"The body electric and in the exquisite realization of health." 

-Walt Whitman 

"The body in danger on this earth, but not of this earth." 

-Jean-Paul Sartre

"The body as temperamental and vehement flesh." 

-Meyer Schapiro 

Curator George Herms, renowned West Coast master of assemblage art, belongs to the avant-garde generation directly influenced by trail-blazing painters, photographers, sculptors, choreographers and performance artists who collectively pushed the body toward new forms of expression in relation to myth, technology, spirituality, politics and psychology.

SALE, SALE, SALE

Holiday Sale!

December 10^th – December 31^st, 2013

The Coos County Historical Society is excited to announce our annual holiday sale!

Look for this sticker on items throughout the book store. All stickered items will be 50% off!

  

1220 Sherman Avenue, North Bend

541-756-6320 • www.cooshistory.org

Playing With Fire

"PLAYING WITH FIRE”

“Glass Art in the Pacific Northwest " opens at the Coos Art Museum Friday December 13th from 5-7 pm

CAPPY THOMPSON'S  "The Courtship of the Sun and the Moon" ----one of pieces that will be on display at the COOS ART MUSEUM next FRIDAY DECEMBER 13TH..... This one has just come from the GLASS ART MUSEUM  in Tacoma , Washington  ............come see our local glass artists and works from some of the finest artists working in the Pacific Northwest today........please join us for the opening!

Martin Blank Kirk DayLinda Ethier Ann Gardner Chris Hawthorne Frederic Heidel Bessie Joyce Sabrina Knowles Paul Marioni Jeanne Brennan Catherine Newell Jenny PohlmanKarin Richardson Dana RieckJoseph Gregory Rossano  Richard Royal Dutch Schulze James Shaw  Preston Singletary Raven Skyriver Paul Stankard Charles Tatum Cappy Thompson Dick Weiss

playing with fire:

                glass art in the pacific northwest

COOS ART MUSEUM /Friday December 13^th –

                                                                        Saturday February 15, 2014

RECEPTION: FRIDAY DECEMBER 13^TH –5-7 PM

This show made possible by a grant from AVK ARTS

South Coast Folk Society

Sunday, Dec. 8: Second Sunday Sing-Along, 2-4 p.m., at Ocean Ridge Assisted Living, 1855 Ocean Blvd. SE, in Coos Bay. Sing songs out of our Rise Up Singing songbooks, or teach us a new one. Bring an instrument and play along! 

Saturday, Dec. 14: Contra dance starting at 7 p.m. Caller will be Karen Olsen of Myrtle Point; band is the Eugene Barnstormers. Beginners' lesson 7 p.m., dancing thereafter. $5 members, $6 seniors/students, $7 everybody else.

Monday, Dec. 16: Coos Bay Celtic session 7-9 p.m. first and third Mondays, at Liberty Pub, 2047 Sherman Ave., North Bend. Bring an acoustic instrument and sit in, or just listen.

Friday, Dec. 27: International folk dance, 7 p.m., Greenacres Grange. Teaching of a few dances, followed by requests. Admission is $4, or $3 for members of SCFS. Is there a specific dance you’d like to learn? Is there a specific dance you’d like to teach? To sign up to teach your favorite dance, call Scott Knowles at 541-217-9027.

SAVE THE DATE
The 2014 Celtic Cultural Festival will be Saturday, May 3 at SWOCC. To be a vendor, email Gail Elber at gailelber@gmail.com. Check out information from last year's festival at www.southcoastfolksociety.wordpress.com. The festival is a collaboration of SCFS, the Coastal Celtic Society, and Soroptimist International of the Coos Bay Area.

FOLKY THINGS BY OTHER PEOPLE
- All acoustic musicians and listeners are welcome to the monthly First Friday Jam at 7 p.m. at the Farwest Hall on Hwy 42S in Bandon. It typically features a mix of old-time, bluegrass, and Celtic tunes.
- Irish session at Lloyd's at 219 2nd St. SE in Bandon, 5 p.m. first and third Fridays. Find "The Local Session" on Facebook.
- Rhythm Village African Drum and Dance Ensemble welcomes all comers at 5:30 p.m. Mondays in the basement of the First United Methodist Church in Coos Bay, 123 Ocean Blvd SE. Find them on Facebook.
- Oregon Old-Time Fiddlers, District 5 — Third Saturday of month: 1-3 p.m. with jam afterward, Winchester Bay Community Center. As the monthly announcement of this event says, "The public is invited to come listen and dance if necessary." 541-759-3419.

Visit southcoastfolksociety.wordpress.com for more information about our organization and our events.

Gail Elber

Secretary