ART SPEAKS: VOICES FROM THE COMMUNITY
This lecture series is designed to engage the community–especially young and emerging artists–by presenting a wide array of guest speakers and professional photographers to the public.
Through a blend of artist talks, demonstrations, slideshows and even workshops, this program offers audiences the opportunity to learn about–and discuss in detail–aspects of photography, image-making and potential career opportunities. Not only is this a supportive learning experience, but also a platform to recognize and celebrate the incredible talent in our local community.
Above: Palms, Hand-tinted infrared photograph by Harriet Blum.
- PAST ART SPEAKS LECTURES -
AN ARTISTIC TOUCH
ARTIST TALK BY HARRIET BLUM
thursday, october 17, 2019 – 5:00-6:30pm
About HARRIET BLUM:
Blum was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 27, 1949. She grew up in Miami, Florida, and moved to New Orleans in 1971 after college. Between freelance jobs, stints as a newspaper photographer, and commission work, she has driven the back roads and side streets, hiked through the woods, or paddled canoes up and down the rivers and through the surrounding swamps and forests, allowing the landscape and old structures to speak to her aesthetic. Since the early 1980s, she has photographed ancient live oaks, gracefully aging nineteenth-century houses, commercial buildings, and churches.
A COLORFUL CAREER IN FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY
Blum, who describes herself as a self-taught photographer, became fascinated with the darkroom process in 1992 while working in the Louisiana State University Medical Center darkroom in New Orleans. As to her signature approach to photography, Blum says she began using black-and-white infrared film in the late 1980s and added hand-tinting after a few workshops. “I developed a style that became uniquely my own,” she said. In the gradual development of that style, she credits surrealist photographer Jerry Uelsmann, “who opened my eyes to photography as an art form,” and Michael P. Smith, who “fine-tuned my darkroom skills and opened the door to my photography career.”
Seven Sisters © Harriet Blum
“As an artist, my eyes see visual opportunities everywhere, some just for their natural beauty, others because they are so unique or odd. I am fascinated by nature....trees, oceans, clouds, rocks and the expression of human nature. I enjoy capturing the essence of a scene and seek to immortalize that moment when I click the shutter. Only then do I have an idea of where that “moment in time” will take me.”
Sunrise ©Harriet Blum
Garden at Oakley House ©Harriet Blum
Blum’s photographs are in many commercial and private collections across the country and internationally, including numerous hospitals and other medical settings, where they have a "healing art" quality.
Her photographs can be found in the collections of the New Orleans Museum of Art; the Ogden Museum of Southern Art; the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, Illinois; the Mobile Museum of Art in Alabama; the Loews New Orleans Hotel; Ochsner Foundation Hospitals and Clinics in the New Orleans area; the St. Tammany Parish Hospital and Women’s Pavilion; Covington City Hall; Tulane University Archive Collections; Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal and the Louisiana Supreme Court in New Orleans; and the Breast Center of Acadiana in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Over the years, Blum has received a number of honors for her work, including an Honorable Mention at the Masur Museum of Art’s 34th Annual Juried Competition in 2007 in Monroe, Louisiana; the 2004 Best of Show at the Jack Swanson Annual Photographic Exhibit, in Covington, Louisiana; and the 1999 Best of Show, at the Third Annual Bethesda Row Arts Festival in Bethesda, Maryland. In 2000 the Ohr-Okeefe Museum of Art in Biloxi, Mississippi, featured her series, Swaying Softly: Trees of the South.
ALCHEMY AND ART
EXPLORING THE TINTYPE PROCESS
ARTIST TALK BY TIM TELKAMP
Tim Telkamp will provide an insightful lecture–and live demonstration–of some of the tools and techniques associated with the early Victorian wet plate (collodion) process.
Tim Telkamp is a photographer, alternate process artist, author and mentor currently living in Central Florida. Wherever life has taken him, from crossing the Arctic Circle to South America and Europe he has gone with camera in hand. His photographs have been published in books, newspapers, and magazines, and he wrote and illustrated “The Place That’s Always with You,” a children’s story set in Central North Carolina that celebrates home and history. In contrast to his historical craftsmanship, he has also been involved in many high-tech designs and engineering projects.
SEARCHING THE SKIES
THE HUBBLE TELESCOPE
Artist talk by SKIP WESTPHAL
Skip Westphal, a retired digital imaging and photo technician, spent nearly 18 years working in the photo lab at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. Along with the rest of the scientific staff, he helped process and produce imaging from the Hubble Space Telescope for the Space Telescope Science Institute and NASA.
Skip will recount his experiences and share his knowledge about the early years of the Hubble Space Telescope, as well as his duties in preparing images for recording on 35mm and 4x5 inch films, or for large format printing for scientific conferences and public outreach initiatives.
Hubble Space Telescope © NASA
The Hubble Space Telescope, named after Edwin Hubble, was first launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation today. With a 2.4-meter (7.9 ft.) mirror, Hubble's four main instruments observe in the near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared spectra. Hubble's orbit outside the distortion of earth's atmosphere allows it to take extremely high-resolution images, with substantially lower background light than ground-based telescopes. Hubble has recorded some of the most detailed visible light images ever, allowing us a deep view into space and time.
A CREATIVE JOURNEY
ARTIST TALK BY ERIKA MASTERSON
All images © Erika Masterson
"With my photographs, I hope to evoke an awareness of one’s own journey. And to unveil the ethereal beauty of our souls, at the deepest level. I hope to inspire the viewer to look deeper into ones-self and make that quiet connection."
about the photographer
Erika Masterson is an award-winning photographer who specializes in portraiture and fine art imagery.
After receiving her degree in photography from the Southeast Center for Photographic studies in Daytona Beach, Florida in 1990, she has been working as a commercial portrait photographer for the past 20 years in California and Florida. In recent years, Erika has ventured into the fine arts, participating in exhibits and winning multiple awards. Amongst her many accomplishments, her quiet and soulful images have been published in numerous magazines such as Black and White, 2014 & 2017, Silvershotz, Shots Magazine, 5×5 Magazine, Victoria Magazine 2000 & 2016, Bella Grace Magazine, Raine, Shadow & Light and In-Style Magazine. Erika recently has images being sold around the world on greeting cards with Palm Press.
Erika lives in Satellite Beach, Florida with her husband and their four children who are often seen in her creative work.
THE WILDLIFE DEFENDERS
saving species on the brink of extinction
ARTIST TALK BY HARRISON COONEY
Storm and Lunar © Harrison Cooney
The Wildlife Defenders is an ongoing project honoring individuals and organizations centered around a common goal: increasing the public's awareness of the practice of poaching. The eventual goal is to eliminate poaching outright–by educating the public through images, articles and social media outlets.
Photographer Harrison Cooney will present selections from several bodies of work–The Rhino War, The Next Generation and A Vanishing World–that convey the dire situation of endangered species in South Africa, and document the tireless efforts of those individuals who risk their lives daily to protect and save these vanishing species.
In 2008, Harrison Cooney embarked on a yearlong trip around the world, which spanned 22 countries and six continents. Traveling sparked a curiosity and commitment to make a deeper connection with the planet. Needing to find a creative outlet to tell his stories, it became clear that portrait, lifestyle and travel photography was the answer. Harrison strives to create rich and vibrant photographs that evoke a cinematic feeling. The images he creates can tell a story without words, which requires talent, skill and an intimate connection with his subject matter.
Harrison is passionate about wildlife, the environment and helping to save the planet for future generations to come. To learn more about The Wildlife Defenders project or to find ways you can get involved, click on The Wildlife Defenders link.
about the photographer
Harrison Cooney is a portrait, lifestyle and travel photographer based in Central Florida. Harrison has had the opportunity to work and learn from some of the most accomplished photographers in the industry. He has assisted on projects for companies including Adidas, New York Times Magazine, Reebok, People Magazine, Golf Digest, Sports Illustrated, Darden, and Proctor & Gamble among others. Harrison has personally shot for Disney Destinations, Yellow Shoes Creative Group, Orlando Signature Magazine and Cancer Treatment Centers of America.
THE ART OF NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY
ARTIST TALK BY JOE AND MARY JEAN CAMPANELLIE
Boneyard Beach © Joe Campanellie
Join Joe and Mary Jean Campanellie for an informative and practical discussion of photographic techniques that you can use to take your photography to the next level. They will present their award-winning images and discuss some of the technical and creative challenges inherent to nature photography. Whether a seasoned professional or just a beginner, there will be something for everyone in this presentation that you can apply to your day to day photography projects.
Joe and Mary Campanellie ran a high-end portrait studio in Maryland for over 30 years, specializing in families, children and high school seniors. Their move to this area gave Joe the opportunity to concentrate on his new passion–avian and nature photography. In addition to photographing the migratory birds of Florida, he has traveled to Alaska to capture spectacular views of bald eagles and to the Great Smoky Mountains to record other unique species of birds that nest in higher elevations. Joe's avian images have graced the pages of the Professional Photographers of America's Loan Collection for the past several years and have garnered some of the most sought after awards in the industry.
about the photographers
Photo of Joe Campanellie holding an award, standing in front of one of his photographs
joe campanellie
He is a Master Photographer, Photographic Craftsman, and Certified Professional Photographer with the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) He has the distinction of being 1 of only 87 living individuals worldwide to hold the prestigious Fellowship Degree from the American Society of Photographers (ASP). Many of his images are in private collections throughout the United States. Joe maintains an active speaking and judging schedule, addressing professional photography organizations, schools and seminars.
Portrait of Mary Jean Campanellie standing in front of one of her photographs.
mary jean campanellie
She is both an accomplished fashion designer and photographic artist and photographer. As a member of the Professional Photographer's of America (PPA) she is part of a very select group of Certified Photographic Artists who have earned the coveted Master Artist Degree, Master Photographer Degree as well as the Photographic Craftsman Degree. She is an active speaker, teacher and judge for local photography groups, PPA affiliate groups as well as the Flagler Beach & Saint Augustine Camera Clubs. Her programs include topics on basic as well as advanced Photoshop techniques for photographic enhancement and retouching of digital files.