Light Leaks Issue 14

I have been so behind since returning from Holidays. I saw the newest issue of Light Leaks in my pile of mail, and I knew that one of my images was in it. But since I like to savor these moments, I waited until I could take the time to properly look through the issue. So, yesterday, the time arrived, and I tore off the envelope to find what I think is my favorite issue of Light Leaks. The theme is childhood. As some of you know, I use nostalgia and memory in a lot of my work, and childhood naturally comes into play. And since becoming a mom, I spend a lot of time photographing my children. I jumped for joy when one of my images was chosen to be in this issue. It is a beautiful issue, filled with emotional images, from some amazing photographers who I am excited to check out further. Great job again, Light Leaks!


My Image - The Invisible Thread of Time, a double exposure Holgaroid shot using a Holga CFN 120, with a Polaroid Back, using Polaroid Chocolate Type 80 F film from PolaPremium


My image in Light Leaks


One of my favorite images from another photographer in this issue. Image by Rebecca Tolk

Mary Catherine - Shots Submission

Pardon the pun, but I always seem to get "shot down" by Shots Magazine. Here is the lastest image or collage of images that were not selected for the latest issue. I will keep on trying. It is such an excellent magazine. Check it out if you have not. Better yet, subscribe. These amazing small mags are disappearing one by one, we can't let that happen!!

Feature Article in PhotoEd Magazine

I have long been a fan of PhotoEd Magazine. I was first alerted to this publication when my friend and fellow photographer, Angela Marklew, was featured in their book arts issue. I have submitted to them twice, and the first time I had one of my Polaroid transfers featured in their Reader's Gallery. I blogged about it here.

The second time I submitted, they were looking for portfolio submissions by photographers who were working in historic processes. I contacted Felix Russo, the magazine's publisher, and asked if Polaroid processes would be considered. He was looking for photographers working in all alternative processes and asked me to submit some of my tranfer work. I sent him two bodies of work, my Seeing Double Polaroid Spectra Series, and Personally Created Iconic Memories (which I need to upload to Picasa or Flickr...). Six images from Iconic Memories were selected to appear in the magazine and I was asked to write about the series. I received both a contributor's credit on the magazine's masthead, as a writer, and then had my article in the contents and in the magazine.

No matter how many times I have seen my work in print, as a professional photographer, it is always exciting. I am thrilled to be in full color, across two pages, of this wonderful Canadian publication. And especially to be in THIS issue. It is the 25 issue, called Photography Revisited. It features many talented photographers working in processes from albumen printing to cyanotype toning to pinhole and toy camera photography. I have read about half way through the issue, and I can't wait to get online to check out even more of these artists' work.





Here is Mr. Russo's editorial for this issue:
"With this issue we celebrate a milestone, our 25th issue — a good time to reflect on what photography is and why photographers are fascinated with their art of choice. PhotoEd has always considered that photography is not a singular activity with a uniform approach. In fact, one of the lures of photography is the almost infinite paths that it offers to anyone setting out on a journey of photographic exploration. The sum total of all photographic discoveries, inventions, and processes are available for you to discover. The relation of past processes and present practices is symbiotic—mutually beneficial. Encompass the entirety of photography and you will be rewarded with many rich experiences. Thank you for taking PhotoEd along on your journey and for your support over the years.

The fall 2009 issue of PhotoEd will be a survey of post-secondary colleges, universities, and professional schools offering an education in photography. Consider having your school featured in this issue. Students attending these schools are welcome to submit their portfolios. The photographic universe is expanding at an accelerating pace and education will be your ticket to this new world."

If you are a student, what are you waiting for? Get together your best work and submit to PhotoEd....

I am a photographer for exactly the reason Mr. Russo talks about in his editorial. Photography doesn't present just one option, it is compilation of all things within its history. The options are unlimited, the possibilities endless. It is never the same. I am obsessed with photography. It is my passion. I am so grateful to be able to turn my passion into something that speaks to others.

Light Leaks 13 Submission

I just emailed my lastest submission to Light Leaks Magazine. Someday, I hope to appear in it's pages.... The theme is Road Trip. Submitted images must have been made with a toy camera or Polaroid camera. This is an image I made on SX-70 film with a Polaroid Land Camera back in 2001 or 2002. It is of my friend Mat, when he, my friend, Gaetane from Belgium, and I took a road trip to NYC. It is a bit mundane but truly captures the essence of being in the car on a road trip...

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....

PhotoEd Magazine Gallery Feature

I have been wanting to blog about this for quite sometime... One day, I opened my mailbox and found two complimentary copies of PhotoEd Magazine inside. I had been previously contacted by Felix Russo, the magazine's publisher, with the good news that one of my Polaroid transfer images had been chosen for publication in their Gallery section.


You can see the image, entitled "Tracks" above. I took this image of the Ottawa O Train Tracks in 2005. I shot it on color slide film, so I could make a transfer, and I also shot it on true black and white film, so I could make a large print. The black and white print hangs in my close friend, artist Karina Bergman's home in Ottawa, and I have made several one of a kind transfers of the color slide, one of which hangs in another artist friend, Selena Wilson Stubson's home in Winnepeg. Both the black and white and color versions are dear to me, and remind me of my father's father, who I never met, since he died when my father was 13. He was a railroad engineer, whose handsome portrait hangs in my home, and whose spirit lives on thanks to the stories my dad tells of him. I can't quite explain the feeling I get when I view this image, but it is similar to the feeling I get when I view his image. I think I romanticize them both. Plus, I have always been strongly drawn to things that are becoming extinct, or antiquated. I have a love for these old things. I was proud to have this image published, especially in a Canadian magazine.

I first found out about PhotoEd in the winter of 2005, when my friend, and fellow Canadian photographer, Angela Marklew, had a photography book she made featured in their "Art of Presentation" issue.


Here is what the PhotoEd website has to say about PhotoEd:
"PhotoEd is about Photography Education; both traditional and New Media. It is a useful resource for students, teachers and anyone desiring an education in photography. It is about motivation, inspiration and passion in photography. The magazine will showcase the work of emerging and established Canadian artists and be a vehicle for showing and sharing the great talent in Canada." Wow, I truly do feel honored...

PhotoEd is published 3 times a year in Toronto. They are currently seeking portfolio submissions from Canadian photographers working in historic processes.

A one of a kind transfer of "Tracks" is available for purchase in my Etsy shop

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...