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A wildlife photographer in Florida discovered one of the Everglades’ most famous residents — “Croczilla,” a 14-foot American crocodile.
Kym Clark posted a video of the huge reptile on her Instagram account earlier this month. She wrote that Croczilla is believed to be the largest crocodile in Everglades National Park and possibly the largest in the state.
“This Croc has been on my herping (reptile searching) bucket list for awhile now,” Clark wrote. “So excited to have finally met him!!!”
The crocodile was spotted at Nine Mile Pond in the national park located in South Florida, according to Field & Stream. The reptile’s length is the maximum for its species, according to the National Park Service.
“There he was right there on the shoreline looking right at me. He almost didn’t look real. He was huge,” Clark told Field & Stream. “I couldn’t pull myself away. It was so interesting, and I knew it was probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Clark told the Miami Herald that she almost missed seeing the crocodile. She said she was preparing to leave the area and decided to look back one more time. She saw Croczilla sunning himself.
“I was shocked to see the infamous Croczilla, not at a distance but immediately in front of me on the shore, basking in the sun,” Clark told the newspaper. “It almost didn’t look real.”
South Florida is the only place where American crocodiles and American alligators are known to coexist, Field & Stream reported. According to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission, the American crocodile is “an endangered species success story.” Their numbers have risen from fewer than 300 in 1975 to more than 2,000 adult crocodiles according to the agency.
“As a Floridian, I see alligators all the time. They are very common, but crocodiles are not so common,” Clark told Field & Stream. “You can only see them in the southernmost part of Florida. And in fact, the only place I’ve ever spotted crocodiles was at Everglades National Park.”
Clark kept a safe distance, taking photographs from about 20 feet away, according to the Herald.
“He was very docile and loved the camera,” Clark wrote in one of her Instagram posts, according to the newspaper. “That being said, always keep a safe distance from crocodiles and other wildlife.”
The WeHa Artists Emporium Spring Art Trail will be held on Saturday, April 29, featuring the work of 17 local artists and crafters and much more.
Modern Twist Macrame. Courtesy photo
By Ronni Newton
The WeHa Artists Emporium’s upcoming Art Trail on April 29 will be an event celebrating the spring as a season of color and creation, and this year will also include live music at two of the locations and henna body art – as well as artisan baked goods from West Hartford’s Small State Provisions.
Stefanie Marco and Julie Phillipps – founders of WeHa Artists Emporium and co-organizers of more than a dozen art events, shared some behind the scenes information about how they put the shows together.
Julie Phillipps (left) and Stefanie Marco working. Courtesy photo
The date and venue(s) come first, and then they meet over coffee to discuss the artists, Marco said.
“We usually invite back any artist who had high quality art that suited the arts and crafts clientele,” she said. “We also consider how easy it was working with that artist. Did they communicate well? Did they help market the show? Did they set up on time? Things like that.”
Once any returnees are determined, they look for gaps to ensure a variety of mediums are represented. If there are already multiple potters, she said, they will probably look to add jewelry makers or photographers to the line-up.
“Once we have all of our artists secured, it’s time to prepare the art for marketing,” said Phillipps, who creates the promotional materials and social media posts. “Marketing is challenging. It’s hard to know how to reach people. So we rely on the artists to help spread the word.”
Julie Phillipps working o the promotional art. Courtesy photo
A calendar for the Facebook event page is created by Marco, and participating artists are encouraged to post teasers of what they will be offering at the Art Trail.
Performing artists are often part of the event, and this year musician Adam Eytan, and the band Long Island Sweet Tea, were invited by Marco and Phillipps and will be performing. Henna artist Wahida Paiman will also be participating, and there will be baked goods by Small State Provisions.
“Happy eyes, happy ears, happy skin, happy tummy,” said Marco.
The two also spend a lot of time communicating with each other, daily, about which tasks need doing and who’s going to do them. “Fortunately we work really well together,” said Marco, who noted that she and Phillipps spend plenty of time communicating with each other daily to keep track of the necessary tasks and who will be completing them. “We’re both good communicators and take initiative. We make a good team,” added Phillipps.
Art Trail patrons at a previous show. Courtesy photo
In addition to the hard work, communication, organization, graphic design, marketing skills, and people skills needed to put together an art show, art is also needed, and this spring’s show has plenty to offer. Participants will exhibit at four West Hartford sites and include:
35 North Quaker Lane
23 Farnham Road
111 Foxcroft Road
70 Ballard Drive
Grace Erin Ceramics. Courtesy photo
The WeHa Artists Emporium’s Spring Art Trail will be held on Saturday, April 29, 2023, from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. The rain date is Sunday, April 30. Follow the Facebook event page for updates.
“We hope people come out and enjoy all the wonderful art,” said Marco. “And all the hard work it takes to put it all together.”
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Due to the Easter holidays, the latest meeting of Motherwell Photographic Society took place on Zoom.
The guest for the evening was Chris Ceaser from Yorkshire. He is an award-winning landscape photographer who organises photography workshops in the UK and Europe, and has a gallery in York showcasing his work.
Chris gave a presentation called ‘Venice in Pictures and Words’. It told members of the history of Venice accompanied by his images of the city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Members were shown stunning images of Venice, many of them taken at sunrise using a slow shutter speed.
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Following a short question and answer session, club president Colin Cameron thanked Chris for sharing his wonderful images with the group and for telling everyone about the fascinating history of Venice.
The next meeting, on Thursday, April 20, will be the club’s annual general meeting. All club members are urged to attend.
Motherwell Photographic Society meet on a Thursday evening at 7.30pm in Holytown Community Centre, Stevenston Street, Holytown, ML1 4RG. As always, anyone with an interest in photography, no matter your level, is welcome to attend.
Members look forward to welcoming friends old and new.
For more information, please visit motherwellphotographicsociety.co.uk or the club’s Facebook page. The website also has a gallery where you can view examples of members’ work.
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Staff writer, with CNA
A photography exhibition featuring 99 abstract works by 25 Taiwanese photographers has opened at the National Center of Photography and Images in Taipei.
“The Eye of Abstraction” exhibition aims to establish a new framework for the genre, which has been dominated in Taiwan by photojournalism and documentary photography, exhibition curator Chang Kuan-ho (章光和) said at the its opening on Wednesday.
The exhibition is shown in four sections: “Figurative and Non-Figurative,” “Sense and Sensibility,” “Gestalt” and “Material Mediums.”
Photo: CNA
The first features works by photographers presenting “unexpected beauty” in everyday life captured at unique angles, Chang said.
The second juxtaposes works by renowned Taiwanese abstract painters and photographers, and asks viewers to compare the two art forms, Chang said.
The third presents photography that explores Gestalt psychology, proposed by psychologist Max Wertheimer in 1912.
The theory holds that when people see images they do not understand, they spontaneously appeal to the laws of symmetry, closure, continuity, proximity, similarity and figure-ground organization, he said.
Chang’s “Botany 0.5” on display at the exhibition is one such example.
The images were created by scanning sections of plants and compiling them in computer software to create horizontal and vertical images in a kaleidoscopic effect, Chang said.
The fourth section focuses on materials and mediums used in photography, and explores their intrinsic beauty, he said.
National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts Director Liao Jen-I (廖仁義) said the museum established the center in April 2021.
However, the vision of Taiwanese photographers more than a decade ago to establish a local museum of photography and images has not been realized, Liao said.
The boundless creativity demonstrated by Taiwanese photographers shows that they deserve a museum dedicated to photography, he said, calling on Deputy Minister of Culture Sue Wang (王時思) to lobby for funding from the Ministry of Culture to make such a museum a reality.
The large output of Taiwanese photographers necessitate the establishment of a venue larger than the center, Wang said.
The creation of a museum of photography and images is a high priority for Minister of Culture Shih Che (史哲) and herself, she said, adding that she hopes the goal can be achieved quickly.
The exhibition is free and runs until July 30.
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Nineteen recipients have been awarded nearly $60,000 as part of the City of Windsor’s first round of Arts, Culture, and Heritage Fund grant distribution for 2023.
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Local artists and creators submitted 56 applications, including 50 applications from individuals and six from organizations.
Of those submitted, fifteen grants were given to individuals and four to organizations to support arts, culture, and heritage projects in the community.
Funding requests totalled about $250,000, though only $59,000 was available this round.
Projects include visual arts, performing arts, film, music, literary arts, storytelling, and podcasts. There are also projects that support diversity, inclusivity, heritage, and the celebration of humanity in Windsor.
The fund awards grants to individuals and organizations to stimulate creative and economic growth in the city. Each project could be funded to a maximum of $5,000 in any given round. Each year, $118,000 in project funding is made available over two funding rounds.
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Round 1 ACHF funding recipients:
-Shô Art Studios — $5,000 for New Canadian Kid by Dennis Foon. Funding for artist fees for a theatrical production.
-Kristen Siapas — $5,000 for Jazz in the Park. Funding for artist and producing fees, venue costs, and promotion of an outdoor public concert series.
-Maryam Safarzadeh — $4,920 for Travelling to Persia. Funding for artist fees for a youth arts and culture summer camp experience.
-Black Women of Forward Action — $4,500 for Our Truth Our Story. Funding for artist fees for six original songs for an original documentary.
-Teajai Travis — $4,400 for A Blaze of Story Podcast. Funding for artist fees and podcast production costs.
-Gemma Eva Cunial — $4,000 for Give Me Action. Funding for artist fees, production costs, studio rental and associated costs for a feature film production.
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-Jamie Greer — $4,000 for The History of Pro Wrestling in Windsor, Ontario. Funding for photo licensing, interviews, exhibition memorabilia and more for the next phase of a literary arts and history project.
-The Artists of Colour — $4,000 for Never-Ending Quest for Inclusion. Funding for exhibition construction, venue, installation, and artist fees for a visual arts exhibit.
-Nicolas Lamoureux — $3,500 for Bicycle Powered Plastic Shredder. Funding for materials, safety features, and educational and promotional materials for a new artwork and exhibition.
-Kevin Blondin — $3,300 for Windsor Drag Archives. Funding for artist fees, design and development, web hosting and promotion of an online archive.
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-Arts Collective Theatre – ACT — $3,150 for ACT Youth Creative. Funding for set construction and costumes for a theatrical production and program.
-Paul Montainier — $3,000 for Brewing for Comedy Festival. Funding for artist fees, marketing and administration for a local comedy festival.
-Maria Belenkova-Buford — $3,000 for Song of the Nereid. Funding for artist fees, crew fees, editing, sound and music, and venues for a local short film.
-Kaitlyn Karns — $2,000 for The Broadway Bunch. Funding for artist fees, music fees, venue costs, and marketing and promotion for a cabaret-style production.
-Matt Bhanks — $1,200 for Altered Alliances Web Series. Funding for post-production costs and artist fees for a live-action adaptation of a novel series.
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-Batool Yahya — $1,080 for Art by Those Who Have Experienced Homelessness in Windsor. Funding for art supplies, gallery rental, artist fees and promotion of a social-justice themed art exhibit.
-Allesandro Rotondi — $1,000 for Gentle Giant. Funding for artist fees, studio rental, graphic design and musicians towards a full-length original album.
-Russell Alexander Macklem — $1,000 for South Detroit Connection Album and Documentary. Funding for album art, pressing vinyl and compact discs (CDs), and documentary production in support of a music project.
-Dale Burkholder — $950 for South West Ontario Handbell Festival. Funding for clinician, music and facility rental for a new festival celebrating handbells.
Photo Essay by Ernesto Gonzalez Diaz
HAVANA TIMES – Pinhole photography is a photographic technique created to obtain pictures with practically no equipment. It is a technique that arose in times of chemical and film photography, based on the construction of a simple pinhole camera or the application of a pinhole to a traditional camera. A pinhole is a sheet, which can be made of acetate, with a very fine hole (usually the diameter of a needle) that is placed in front of the lens.
It is rarely used for commercial purposes, but has had more use in the field of artistic creation. In times of digital electronic photography, this type of photography is attempted, closing the lens diaphragm as much as possible and with high exposure times allowing the entry of very little light over a long period of time, obtaining images in many cases out of focus, blurred, with shadowed edges, but at the same time unique. Precisely because the diaphragm is closed to the maximum, images with a great depth of field are achieved where any point can be observed without the need for a special frame. Whether some photos are more in focus than others depends on the distance the pinhole is placed from the lens and the exposure time.
Here we present images that I experimented with in recent days, in three different settings, always at sunset with little natural light. I have also been varying the white balance and the luminosity of the lens, which is why there are colder and bluish images in some cases and in others more pasty and dark.
An aura self-portrait by Soulglow owner Angelina Mortarotti.
PHOTO COURTESY SOULGLOW AURA STUDIO
Anyone seeking spiritual enlightenment has likely been introduced to their aura — a combination of colors associated with a person’s changing energy fields. From deep violet to sunny yellow, the color of your aura says a lot about your personality and state of mind, according to Angelina Mortarotti, the owner of Soulglow Aura Studio in Palm Springs. Opened in January, the studio serves as a space for reiki healing, aura photography, sound baths, and other services that promote self-discovery and physical and mental well-being.
How did you get involved with aura photography?
I was in corporate America for many years, working in fashion, and then it hit a point where there was a part of what I was doing that wasn’t fulfilling. So, I started exploring other things. That’s when I first started learning reiki. It was probably about 10 years ago now, and funnily enough, I wrote a report on auras when I was 13 years old. I was very much interested in these otherworldly things that we don’t necessarily understand. And then, I came full circle.
How does the camera work?
People are always curious, [asking] “What is this? Is it fake? Is it a filter?” Your energy is actually read from your hands, [using] an algorithm that shows your current energetic state. So, the technology is kind of similar to an activity tracker, but it’s not just a mood ring. It’s more of reading different lines of energy at different points in your hand and measuring heart rate and subtle vibrations.
That sounds intricate.
Yeah! I didn’t design the camera. There’s [only] a small number of [them] in the United States. Actually, I think there’s only about 30 [aura photographers] that use the same aura system. So, it is a very rare experience. The system that I use is the original aura design that was designed in 1970. So, it actually prints a little Polaroid. [At the studio], you get your printout of your aura right here on the spot.
Is every aura unique?
Every aura is unique, but I will see some similar patterns that emerge. I can look at certain auras and know, “Wow, with 95 percent certainty, you probably do healing work as a profession.” Other times, I see someone where it’s like, “You’ve been running yourself really thin right now.” I mean, I don’t view it as a negative thing, but I can just tell that it’s someone who needs a little rejuvenation. So, there are definitely certain patterns that show up, but at the same time, there is an infinite range of colors.
Are people nervous about sharing their aura with you?
People do get nervous. They’ll say “Oh, my gosh, what if my aura’s black?” But that’s not possible. That doesn’t happen. I always want to assure everyone [that] the aura doesn’t reveal any of your secrets or anything negative. It’s just energy, and it shows where we’re at. If dark green shows up in a photo, that can be an indication of someone going through a difficult time, usually involving loss, where they maybe have lost a parent or a loved one, or maybe they’re going through a divorce. Things like that will show up.
What’s the most common color that you see, and what does it symbolize?
It changes a lot, and it’s really funny. I did portraits for a wedding where the bride was Indian and there were many traditional Indian aunts and uncles that were present. Almost everyone at that wedding had a violet aura, which signifies a lot of spirituality and a higher consciousness. But it was such a disproportionate amount of purple and violet that showed up to what normally comes up. So, sometimes you’ll see these trends within spiritual groups or within a close group of friends. But I feel like I do see red a lot. Red’s a very action-oriented color, so it’s [typically seen around] people who tend to be on the go, very driven, or people that just have a lot of stuff going on.
Do you mind sharing your current aura?
I’m usually pretty consistent. I have a lot of yellow, which signifies joyfulness and optimism.
Why do people typically come in to get an aura reading? Is it mostly for fun or more for inner searching?
It’s really a broad spectrum. Some people come across me, and they’re like, “Oh, this is cool.” But then a lot of people come in because they’re actually seeking this out. A lot of people don’t necessarily understand that your aura can and does change with different life events. I actually have a lot of repeat clients who want to do an aura check-in. We also offer before and after pictures. So, you can see how a [reiki or sound bath] healing session has shifted your aura, too
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