From my trip to Scotland this past summer.

One of my new photographs from Scotland this past summer. 8×10 platinum print on special offer this week for 95.00.  Check it out here in my gallery store.

Be well,

Ray

Today is my birthday, 52 this time, hence the quote by my daughter.  So again this year I am offering prints from my catalog for $ 52.00 each for one day only, today! This is my birthday gift to all my friends and collectors.

If you have collected my work in the past, please think of this as an opportunity to add to your collection at a very good price. If you have been thinking about collecting my photographs, now is a good time to begin.

You can have a look at my work and the rules for the $52.00 sale here.

Be well,

Ray Bidegain

Last month I entered a juried exhibition by the Portland Photographer’s Forum. I was honored that Juror Julia Dolan of the Portland Art Museum selected my photograph ” Sauvie Island Trees” for the museum purchase award. My photograph will now be in the permanent collection of the Portland Art Museum!

I know we are supposed to be doing this for ourselves and not care about the rest of humanity but that does not work for me.  The world is full of humans and I for one need interaction with them. Because I feel very connected to my work I feel like my prints are me personified in a strange way, so I need my prints to have relationships with other people and I need the feedback I get from showing them.  Gallery shows are nice but again they are not really within our control. The Internet can offer worldwide exposure, feedback and support that was previously un-heard of but somehow it does not feel as significant as face-to-face showings.

Edward Weston was an art school hero of mine. I read about him and his life, in the daybooks. He always had a stack of 50 finished prints around that he could, and would, show to visitors. Clearly he was trying to sell them, but I think he also benefited from showing them to as many people as possible. When you show your work to another person you not only get feedback, you have a chance to see your own work in a different way. I think a clearer and more critical way.

I wonder how many of you have these same feeling, and would be curious to here how you handle this need.

Be well,

Ray Bidegain

The prints included in the Collectors Editions will be fresh new work that I will showcase directly to my collectors first. I will be offering them at a very favorable price for a short time on my website before listing them at my current regular pricing.

Each time I introduce a few new images, hand made platinum prints made by me from camera negatives. The prints will be signed and numbered and presented in 4-ply white rag mats. As always they will come with a satisfaction guarantee.

Please stop by my website and have a look at my new work for May 2011 and if you have a minute let me know what you think.

Be well,

Ray Bidegain

I spent some time thinking about that. Artists often quote the mantra about making the work only for themselves and not caring what anyone else thinks of it. I don’t completely buy this. I do care what others think of my photographs, but others’ opinions do not necessarily shape my own. I think it is important to make work that you feel good about, and also to remain open to how the work is perceived by others. If no one else understands or responds to your work, I think you need to be curious about why that might be. Not that this will necessarily change the work that you do, but you should make sure you’re clear about why you are choosing to do that work. Feeling strongly about the work you are making is important. It is equally important to be able to communicate your feelings and ideas through your art in a way that resonates with others.

Portrait of Bea

distraction of a particular period and setting. This leaves the viewer more room to personalize and interpret the images and, I hope, makes them more accessible and pleasing.

The second reason I am drawn to the older processes is that I like to make things with my hands. It’s important to me to be involved in as much of the process of making my photographs as possible, not only because this makes them more personal, but also because I enjoy the craftsmanship involved. This is not driven by a hope to make them perfect. By virtue of being hand made, each print includes its own small imperfections that make the image unique. I feel this allows the viewer to feel my presence; it is somehow proof that the artist is an integral part of the work and not separate from it.

Thinking about this reminds me how important it is to reflect on our work and to focus on what it is about the work that makes it enjoyable and rewarding.