Shots Submission - Water

I don't know why I do it... I guess it is like having an arch-nemisis. I have one of those, too. That person, in this case a gallery owner, who specifically represents photographers in the area where I used to live, who told me once that he "could see where you are going but your work is too beautiful". In this case, you would have to know the guy, who is gay (I only bring this up to point out that the guy is more into gritty male nudes than beautiful women), and into some pretty freaky stuff visually. Yet, I still wanted him to represent me. And I think that is good, to have someone who makes you work your ass off, to keep changing, learning, re examining and trying...


And that is what Shots is to me, in terms of a publication. I have submitted to Shots countless times, and have not been accepted. Now, there are many many amazing photographers out there, so I am not surprised, but it is a publication whose work I LOVE and it is published in Minneapolis, where I was born and raised, and where most of my family still lives. Their latest call for submission is on the theme of Water.


Right away, I knew what I would submit. I made these images in 2001, when my then boyfriend, now husband and I spent 6 weeks in Costa Rica. These images are from a series called Agua Termales, San Gerardo, Costa Rica.


Andre also photographed me, and I have a 12 of these images, about 2x3", mounted together in a large frame in our bedroom. I printed them myself, back when I had a darkroom. Oooohhhh, I do miss my darkroom... These images bring back good memories of frolicking in the bush with the man of my dreams.


Hard to believe we were not married then, but since then we have married, I immigrated to Canada, we built a house, had a baby, moved to Banff for Andre's dream job, bought a house, and are now expecting another baby... And through it all our love has grown, I have grown, and I continue to document my life with my beloved cameras. Not sure if Shots will care, but I am happy that I have them, to egg me on, to allow me to re examine my best work over the years, and to challenge me to grow and change and to be a better photographer....

Almost February...

Wow! Where did the month go? Crazy! Today it continued to be freezing and we finally left the house. Had to go to Canmore to see our chiropractor, Dr. Dorothy. She helps us to help ourselves to stay healthy!

We also stopped by the Second Chance shop, which is a shop set up to raise funds for the Bow Valley SPCA, which is a No-Kill, No-Cage Adoption Centre that shelters and cares for stray or abandoned dogs and cats in our area. The shop is run by our former landlord, who has been bringing abandoned animals up from New Orleans for adoption. Quin, my little one, is a bit afraid of dogs at the moment but maybe we will be in the market for a kitty at some point. At any rate, I found some awesome silverware and a clock that I plan to revamp into art.

On the way home I dropped off my paperwork for the International Women's Day local art exhibit at the Banff Library. They always have two carts of books for sale in the lobby. Some are withdrawn from the library, others are donations. Usually they are a dollar or two a piece but today they were $2 a bag! Everyone who knows me knows that I love the library, and I love books. I secretly wish I were a librarian... all the piece and quiet, surrounded by books, books, and more books! I ended up with a bag full, mostly for collage images. There were several wonderful old nature books. The older the better for me!



Last week I made my THIRD submission to Shots photography magazine. It is my FAVORITE photography magazine in that there is no advertising, one interview, and the rest is a gallery of images submitted by readers based on a theme. It is a quarterly magazine published in my home town of Minneapolis, Minnesota. I never knew about it when I lived there but then again I have not lived there since 1993. It has been in publication for 21 years. I am a huge fan. The theme for the upcoming issue is Portraits. One of the things that I love about Shots is that usually the theme is not taken too literally. There are many surprises in the chosen images. I can't wait to see the issue. And I hope the third time is a charm for my submission. Here are a few of the 12 images I submitted...