It was one of those odd twists-of-fate sort of things: Whitney posted a recent picture she took on one of her Etsy crafts sites...and sold it! It was just a spur of the moment thought, but it's from these kinds of inspiration that opportunity often comes. So it was off to the drawing board (so to speak) for us: Whitney, of course; her husband Dan Harlacher, and me.
Our site is called
Fifty Fifth Avenue Arts (
www.fiftyfifthavenuearts.com), a name that reflects the fact that we all live on (you guessed it...) 55th Avenue in beautiful southwest Portland!
Like so many professional photographers, we all have tons of images, outside our regular commercial output, that rarely ever get out of our computer files and see the light of day. So if nothing else, this is a really fun way to showcase that work, and eventually the work of others.
For me personally, it's also a way to explore new software and hardware. This summer I upgraded my 4 year old Macbook to the new Macbook Pro 15" notebook and Photoshop CS6; these, along with OnOne Photosuite 6.1 have given me the opportunity to see and re-examine some of my work in entirely new and delightful ways. We all need ways to refresh and recharge (as well as the photo challenges Whitney keeps dreaming up for us!)
The pieces we sell on our Fifty Fifth Avenue Arts site are all 11x14 for $59, with options for different sizes and finishes. We're also in the process of putting together some 3-piece collages made from our iPhone photos. If you look back at a couple of my earlier posts here, you can see how impressed I am with what those can accomplish!
So when you get a free moment, check out our site & let me know what you think. And I hope you keep sending me your photos, too. There's nothing I love more. In fact, let me ask you a question: if you step outside --
way outside -- your comfort zone, what kind of images do you create? Those are the ones I want to see. And I'll post them here next time.
Get busy.
Later, amigos!
dhuttphoto@comcast.net
