2010 Fundraiser Print Auction for InFocus at Bentley Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ, Nov. 9

2010 INFOCUS Fundraiser

Tuesday, November 9, 2010 • 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm

Bentley Gallery • 4161 North Marshall Way • Scottsdale, Arizona 85251

Join us Tuesday, November 9th between 5:30 and 8:00 pm at The Bentley Gallery in Scottsdale for our Annual INFOCUS Fundraising Auction.

The INFOCUS auction is a great opportunity to see the work of nearly twenty photographers, shop in advance of holiday gift-giving, and show your support for the Phoenix Art Museum’s INFOCUS support organization. This event is targeted at the new collector and bargain hunter, with silent auction bidding beginning at just $150. Historic and contemporary works will be sold and some of the photographers will be attending the event. A range of photographic media, subject matters, and styles will be included so there will be something for everyone. It is a wonderful occasion to get involved with the Phoenix photographic community, and is open to the public – all are welcome!

The auction will feature three framed showcase photographs: an Edward Curtis gravure of San Xavier, a Cole Weston cibachrome of kelp, and a Harold Jones gelatin silver print of an Arizona monsoon sky, with higher starting bids and buy it now prices.

Light refreshments will be served.

A PDF of the flier can be downloaded here:
http://www.infocus-phxart.org/pdf/In...aiser_2010.pdf

INFOCUS
Phoenix Art Museum
1625 N. Central Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85004-1685
For more information about INFOCUS please call (602) 307-2079 or visit us online at www.infocus-phxart.org.

I am also very honored to have been invited to donate a print.

I'm a Book Publisher!

I was recently asked to design and publish a book by friend Randy Efros. Randy was Brett Weston's last assistant. The book is a portfolio of 10 platinum prints made during Randy's last trip to Scotland in 2008.

We had talked about all the current self-publishing options out there. Blurb was considered, but I have yet to see a Blurb book that I considered a quality product. Quite a few of my photographer friends have gone this route and all have consistently had quality issues. Another thing that made me cringe was that, until very recently, you could not design your own book. You had to use their software which did not leave much room for being in total control of the design. We finally went with Edition One in Berkeley. They are a small boutique shop utilizing the latest technology (HP Indigo, same as Blurb), but with a personal touch and a traditional book publishing background. Overall, we were very pleased with the quality of the product AND we had total control over the design. The book features a linen cover, foil stamp and dust jacket.

I did all the scans of Randy's original platinum prints, spotted them and adjusted the contrast. I then did a test with Edition One, sending them both RGB and CMYK images for some test prints. The CYMK images ended up looking most like the original platinum prints.

The book is available as a limited edition of 15 (plus 1 artist copy, 1 presentation copy, and 3 artist proof copies), signed and numbered book with an original 4x5" platinum print made by Randy. It will be available as a non-editioned book, as well. The limited edition is priced at $300 for pre-publication orders, and $400 post-publication. Currently there are 10 copies already pre-sold. Non-edition books will be in soft-cover and sell for $50. Books are available by contacting Randy directly at randy@randyefros.com.

Next up is a portfolio of 8x10 silver prints from his Hawaii Portfolio, which will be available for pre-publication in December with a publication date of January 1, 2011.

If any of you out there are interested in this book design service, please contact me at rich@rcodaphotography.com.

Inspirations #26: The Hubble Space Telescope

Primordial 2827, 2006 by Richard M. Coda

Maybe I should credit the Cosmos, the Universe, or God for this one, but the Hubble Space Telescope is the vehicle to the stars.

I have always been fascinated by clouds, as I'm sure most people have been at one point in their life. As children we see bunny rabbits in them, maybe Abraham Lincoln's profile or an alligator. As I got older, though, I started to think more metaphysically about what I was looking at. Was I witnessing Creation itself? Or possibly the Apocalypse? Whatever it was that I was witnessing was drop-dead beautiful.

The Pillars of Creation, Hubble Space Telescope


Primordial 4245, 2010 by Richard M. Coda


M17 - Omega Nebula, Hubble Space Telescope


Primordial 2878, 2006 by Richard M. Coda


PS16 Orion Nebula, Hubble Space Telescope


Primordial 4148, 2010 by Richard M. Coda

In the past 5 years I have taken few cloud images because I was too busy. When I lived in New Jersey these types of skies were rare, but again, I was too busy. This year I am still too busy, but something clicked in me to take 15 minutes at the end of my day and hunt for clouds. Almost all of these were taken from either my back yard or my front yard, occasionally a hundred feet or so down the road… but never far. That is one of the things I love about this series. And the Arizona skies are a far cry from those in New Jersey. They are dramatic and sometimes you can see for 50 or more miles (try that in Jersey).

Anyway, every day now I am on the prowl. I am in the process of editing these down to a portfolio of 10-15 prints and am working on a book/print package. I may do one every year because the subject matter is endless and never the same.

Special Primordial Clouds Print Offer - $25 11x14"

I have always been fascinated by clouds. Originally in black & white, and recently in color. The annual monsoon season here in Arizona can provide some spectacular skies in both the mornings and the evenings.

I started a series this year and hope to add to it every year and whenever else the heavens oblige. In honor of this new series I am offering 11x14" Special Edition Prints (8x12" image size) for a special price of $25 plus $5 S/H through midnight, Saturday, August 28, 2010. This is a great deal and you know you've always wanted one... so visit http://www.rcodaphotography.com/primordial/ and pick out your favorites today.

Remember, the sale ends at midnight, Saturday, August 28, 2010.

Cell phone "photography"

I was at the Appaloosa Library in Scottsdale with my daughter yesterday. This is the newest library in the system and one of the coolest buildings. It is one of those "green" buildings. Anyway, while we were walking in I noticed some neat geometric lines... the kind that you see often in my work. I did not have any cameras with me... so I [brace yourself] took out my cell phone and made an image with it. [horror... shock... quiet came over the room...] I did have to have Lindsay show me how to do this ;^)

OK, calm down... I only did this so I would have a visual record, remember, I'm 50 now and my memory is going south. I plan on going back with the 4x5 and 8x10 cameras to get this puppy in both B&W and color. I have actually photographed this building before, earlier this year and on the other side, with the 8x10 but haven't done the film yet. I'm saving developing for when it's a little cooler.

I have several "library" images and plans for more, hopefully producing a portfolio next year. Anyway, back to cell phone "photography".

When I was photographing the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles a couple of years ago I remembered going into the gift shop the year before on a short vacation. They had "Cell Phone Photography" of the building on display and for sale. $125 for a 5x7" inkjet print. I remember all the BS in the artist's statement about how great this work was. It was crap.

Now, after making my cell phone image I feel even more strongly about this. The image from my Motorola Razr came in at 320x240 pixels (77kb) at 72 dpi. The color was awful, too. To put this amazing image quality into perspective, my 4x5" camera's "native" resolution is approximately 20,000 x 25,000 pixels (500MB). My 8x10" is 40,000 x 50,000 pixels (2 GB) and my 11x14" is 55,000 x 70,000 pixels (3.8 GB). My smallest camera (4x5") has 6500 times more resolution! I don't even want to get into the math for the big cameras!

A color corrected (best I could do) version and a B&W version are below.

My conclusion on this subject is that I'll have to go spend tons of money on a new iPhone so I can get some better photographs! ;^)

Photographs: Revisited

Every once in a while I like to, as George Tice would say, crack open a bottle of wine and look at [my] photographs. Revisiting photographs is a great way to see things you didn't see previously, to think about new or different ways to make the print, or just plain reminisce.

Many of the great master photographers revisited their hunting grounds on a regular basis. Edward Weston moved to be within walking distance of Pt. Lobos so he could have un-fettered access to it. Ansel Adams spent a great deal of his life in and around Yosemite NP. George Tice has produced two monographs of work on Paterson. The list goes on...

I started thinking about revisiting my photographs this past week due to two things. First, one of my sisters got a new job just a few blocks from some of my early photographs in Paterson, NJ. So, I decided to look up some of the locations I used to photograph on Google Maps. I was expecting for these places to be gone... bulldozed, burned, replaced by vanilla structures. Much to my surprise (and delight) they are still there!

Foundation, Paterson, NJ, 1983 by Richard M. Coda

138 Getty Avenue, Paterson, NJ, 2010, via Google Maps

Garage Doors, Paterson, NJ, 1983 by Richard M. Coda

62 Grove Street, Paterson, NJ, 2010, via Google Maps

Garage Doors, Paterson, NJ 1983 (uncropped) by Richard M. Coda

Second, I was driving up 32nd St. in Phoenix yesterday and noticed one of my photographs has once again "disappeared" (this is the second time for this particular image). It was previously overpainted an ugly black, brown and green striped pattern. Now it is solid red and yellow. I will be sure to go back and make another image soon.

2320, Phoenix, AZ 2008 by Richard M. Coda

I am sometimes torn between photographing new locations and going back to old locations. While "change" is inevitable, I am torn between letting things be and rejuvination. Letting them be can become urban blight, which can be great for a photographer, but not so nice for the people who live nearby. Updating things can make them "plain vanilla" and visually uninteresting. Sometimes I get lucky and get both!

Work of Art

I heard the most ridiculous thing yesterday morning...

Lindsay was watching "Work of Art" on Bravo (kind of like project runway only for artists). The challenge was for a "shocking" piece of art and one of the guest jurors was Andres Serrano ("Piss Christ")... a hack IMHO. He was critiquing a piece and said, and I quote, "The piece failed for me because I didn't get it. It had to be explained to me..."

Now, wait one damn minute... here's a guy who's made his career shocking people and leaving them scratching their heads, telling us that if "he" doesn't get it then the art has failed. In that case most art fails.

We went to the Cave Creek Art Festival's "Adult" showcase (no not that 
kind) last week and there was this guy there with a sculpture 
"explaining" it to people who obviously didn't get it. "Oh, there's 
three drops of real human blood here because..." The sculpture was very "interesting" (to paraphrase my friend Joe Trevino), but, give me a break.

BTW, Lindsay had all three of her pieces (one watercolor and two pencil drawings) accepted in the Youth Division of the Visual Arts Competition in the Cave Creek Film and Fine Art Festival this year. She also had one of those pencil drawings selected as a finalist. We find out this weekend which prize she has won. Side note... the quality of the work in the Youth Division was VERY high this year. For the most past, the work was as good, if not better, than some of the Adult division work. Please support your local youth arts organizations.

I hope to start posting more very soon. Work has finally picked up and I don't have much time for photography or anything else. I also turned 50 in June and was planning a big post on that but it will have to wait. Stay tuned.