GUNTERSVILLE – The Guntersville Museum’s exhibition Backstage Hollywood: The Photographs of Bob Willoughby, opened June 20 and runs through August 11.

Venture backstage into the golden age of Hollywood with this exhibition that explores the photography of Bob Willoughby.

Widely recognized as a pioneer of photography in the twentieth century, Willoughby was the first outside photographer invited by studios to take photos on film sets.

Willoughby’s career took off in 1954 when Life magazine published a feature with over a dozen of his candid photographs of Judy Garland working on set.

Since then, his photographs have become instantly recognizable, featuring naturalistic images of actors and directors in intimate moments of vulnerability.

The exhibition features photographs from the sets of 17 iconic Hollywood films, including Audrey Hepburn in “My Fair Lady,” Alfred Hitchcock on the set of ”Marnie,” Mia Farrow in “Rosemary’s Baby,” and Marilyn Monroe in” “Let’s Make Love.”

Willoughby developed friendships with some of his subjects, including Audrey Hepburn. When speaking of meeting Hepburn, he recalls “She took my hand like . . . well a princess, and dazzled me with that smile that God designed to melt mortal men’s hearts.”

Awarded the Lucie Award for Outstanding Achievement in Still Photography in New York in 2004, Willoughby’s photographs are in the permanent collections across the U.S. and Europe.

The magazine Popular Photography has called him “the man who virtually invented the photojournalistic motion picture still.”

Responding to the many logistical challenges of working on film sets, he was a technological innovator, creating the silent blimp for 35mm still cameras so that he could photograph silently on set, capturing intimate moments of the stars.

 In many ways, Willoughby’s spontaneous approach set the standard of celebrity portraits as we think of them today, casting the candid eye of his camera across the most famous faces to fill them with renewed vitality.

Backstage Hollywood will captivate audiences as they learn about the impact this photographer had in developing the genre of celebrity portraiture.

In conjunction to the exhibition, the museum will display Hollywood costumes from local collector, B.B. Hudspeth.  Hudspeth’s Western and Hollywood memorabilia collection is notable and the museum will display original costumes from the move “Tombstone”  starring Kurt Russell as Wyatt Earp. 

In addition, Kirk Douglas’ costume from “Gunfight at the O.K Corral”  where he portrayed Wyatt Earp will also be featured. 

Wardrobe and props used by John Wayne, Gregory Peck, and Kevin Costner are among additional novelties.

About ExhibitsUSA

This exhibition is toured by ExhibitsUSA, the national touring exhibition program of Mid-America Arts Alliance. ExhibitsUSA sends more than 25 exhibitions on tour to over 100 small- and mid-sized communities every year.

These exhibitions create access to an array of arts and humanities experiences, nurture the understanding of diverse cultures and art forms, and expand the depth and breadth of cultural life in local communities, rural and urban.

For more about ExhibitsUSA, email MoreArt@maaa.org or visit www.eusa.org.

About Mid-America Arts Alliance

Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA) strengthens and supports artists, culturalorganizations, and communities throughout Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, and beyond. To learn more about M-AAA grants, programs, exhibitions, and fellowships, visit www.maaa.org.

 The exhibition will be located in the Woodall Gallery.  Hours are Tuesday-Friday from 10-4 and Saturday-Sunday from 1-4. 

FREE ADMISSION 1215 Rayburn Avenue, Guntersville, Alabama

Call 256-571-7597 or visit the museum web site at www.guntersvillemuseum.org for more information.

Additional resource:  www.willoughbyphotos.com.

Mia Agostinelli loves snapping pictures of her friends. And because those friends just so happen to be runners, her subjects are often on the move. “In college, I bought a Sony Alpha with the intention of taking street photos around New York,” says the 23-year-old. “When I joined a run club in the city and started getting into races I noticed that there were lots of people taking content, especially videos, but my favorite form was always the still photography.”

Now, Agostinelli brings her camera with her to every race she watches. Her goal when taking race-day photos: capture the joy on the runners’ faces — an emotion she relates to deeply, as a devoted runner herself.

That said, this joy doesn’t always show up in traditional race-day photos. While race photographers do their best to capture the hundreds or thousands of participants, the images tend to range from funny to downright embarrassing. As one Reddit commenter remarked about their race photos, “I look like a rat that’s been waterboarded.”

For many runners, including Agostinelli, there’s an answer to this conundrum: ask the people who know you and love you to play photographer. Nora and Noah* — another pair of runners who live in NYC — go as far as making a game plan before their races. Since Noah usually finishes his race first, he often circles back around to snap a few shots of Nora along the race course and at the finish line. “The conversation always goes, ‘Hey, can you please meet me at the finish line?’ I want to make sure that I have good pictures so I have something to post!” says Nora.

Something about seeing a friendly face — in this case, her boyfriend’s — allows Nora to pose and interact with the camera in a natural way. “Whenever I’m running races, I’ve tried really hard to pose for the [photographers], but the photos just never turn out the way I want them to,” she says. “It’s nice having Noah there because I can interact and he can try to take good pictures of me. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t.”

The muse isn’t the only one who reaps the benefits of these photographs, however. Noah, who has photography experience, says that the act of capturing Nora in motion feels satisfying and serendipitous. “Pre-pandemic, I was a photographer, and I was mainly shooting live music and concerts. Once the pandemic hit, that all stopped,” says Noah.

Like many others, he took up running during the pandemic. Perhaps it was natural that his background in photography bled into his newfound passion for running. He started bringing his camera to races, and carries a film camera even on casual runs with Nora.

For Agostinelli, the fulfillment comes from offering her friends moral support as they run by. “When I’m taking photos I’m almost incessantly watching out for my friends and keeping track of where they are,” she tells PS. “When you pass people you know during a race, it’s a huge energy boost, so I just try to get them as excited and enthusiastic as I can while they’re running by.”

How to Take Great Pictures of Your Friends on Race Day

If you’ve tried to photograph your own friends during a 5K only to see a blurry image appear on screen, you’re not alone. According to photographer and videographer Rob Schanz, capturing movement can be a tall order. “For someone who’s just getting into photography it’s obviously challenging because you have a lot going on between the subject moving and trying to figure out how to work your camera properly,” he says. “However, when you capture it correctly, movement is such a beautiful thing.”

Here, his top tips for getting a race-day photo your running friend will want to frame.

Embrace Your Mistakes

Schanz advises learning from your mistakes — but also recognizing when those mistakes are actually a happy accident. “I find that a lot of these mistakes’ can be the best images,” he says. “Maybe the image is blurry, the subject is half out of the frame, or the horizon line isn’t straight because you were struggling to get into position. These are all things that might make the picture more interesting or help push the theme of ‘movement.'”

Post Up in a Smart Spot

Schanz recommends planning ahead of race day to guarantee the best photos of your friends. “You’ll need to pick some good spots along the course that you can pop in and out of easily,” he says. If you don’t have time to scout out some viewing sites before the race, on the big day look for scenic spots with thinner crowds. For example, if you’re spectating a race in a coastal town, maybe you want an ocean backdrop or spot in the middle of the race where the pack will have thinned out.

Have a Cam Plan

Even if you don’t scout out your photography spots ahead of time, Schanz strongly advises getting familiar with your camera before the big day. Facial recognition, continuous focus, and burst mode are all amazing settings for taking awesome photos of your friends. But you only have a few seconds of picture taking each time your loved one runs past, so you want to know what those settings are and how to use them before you spot them bounding toward you.

Wait For the Right Step

One smart photography hack: before you click the shutter (or that circular button on your smartphone), make sure your subject isn’t on the downstep. This angle tends to be unflattering, so wait for them to bound forward before you finally snap that pic.

Don’t Forget to Cheer

Finally, don’t forget why you showed up in the first place. “Always remember to cheer while you’re shooting,” says Schanz. “For the longest time, I would focus so much on the picture — no pun intended — and forget to cheer for my partner when she went by. Having a nice photo of your race is great but getting the motivation to achieve your goal is more important.”

*Names have been changed to protect sources’ identities.

Kells McPhillips is a health and wellness writer living in Los Angeles. In addition to PS, her journalism has appeared in The New York Times, Well+Good, Fortune, Runner’s World, Outside, Yoga Journal, and others. On the brand side, she regularly works with Peloton, Calm, and Equinox.

“Choosing beggar groom pushes me too far and I threaten to delete his wedding photos.”

I run a company where we hire out wedding and event service providers with our main focus being photography and videography. Other services include DJs, drone pilots, hair and makeup artists etc. (not relevant at all).

So a few months back, I get an instant chat from a bride via our website. She informs me that they are coming down to South Africa in December and they need a wedding photographer and videographer; I send our packages to her and she says her fiance wants to call me. I say that’s fine and I give her my number.

A few hours pass and I’d almost forgotten about them but my phone finally rings. The fiance, speaking in a very heavy German accent, starts sweet-talking me mentioning how people rave about our fantastic work and service. I’m calling BS on every word he says, but I’m also infamous for my inability to say “no”.

He ends up offering us about a 3rd of what the packages charge, offering to make the hours less, removing any physical copies etc. He also adds that he’ll give us an R500 tip on the night, I ask him why I can’t just add that as part of the quote to which he just replies “gentleman’s agreement”.

Anyway, somehow I accept his insane offer…if I was a drinker, I’d be saying that I really should stop drinking at work. NB: I had emphasized that they will get no overtime; if my people stay 1-minute longer than agreed upon, I’m gonna charge, he said this was fine.

So what they required us for was 2-hours for the Friday and 3-hours for the Saturday. Nothing too hectic, hence why I agreed, but it did require me redoing the entire shift list for that weekend as to free two, qualified, people up to go cover their events.

The Friday event I did the photos myself and took one of my videographers with me, and I will add, they were insanely nice, especially the groom. The time did drag a bit because there really wasn’t much to shoot, just a group of people sitting around a table, but whatever. After an hour and a half, the groom told us we could leave. Awesome.

I wasn’t able to do the second evening myself (I had made them aware of this from the start) but sent a different photographer (one much more talented than me, if I’m being honest) and the same videographer from the night before. They were bookedfrom 18:15 to 21:15, I had told them to stay until 21:45 to make up the 30-minutes we had skipped the night before.

So, how we work is that none of my people own their own gear and everything belongs to me, therefore after each shift the shooters have to return the gear to me. The wedding they were shooting was about a 25-minute drive from my place and the one I was shooting was an hour drive. I was also booking until 22:00.

I got home after 23:00 and saw that they hadn’t returned yet, all my others teams started arriving shortly after me and returned their gear, but no sign of those two. This had me worried as they were working the closest and were supposed to finish before anyone else. I tried calling but no answer from either of them.

Just before 12:00, I got in my car and went out to look for them, I had driven for about 10-minutes when I saw them passing me from the opposite direction.

I turned my car around and drove home.

I asked them what had happened, they explained that they had stayed until 21:45 as ordered, but as they were about to start packing up, the bride had sent her maid-of-honour to request another hour. They had explicitly said they will talk to me about it afterward and I can just add it to their invoice. They were also making my videographer do things that were only reserved for our biggest package.

More importantly though, apparently, the couple had gone full Entitled People at this second event, yelling at my photographer and just being completely rude. I have a very low tolerance for rude people.

The next afternoon (Sunday), I see I have a missed call from the groom and then a voice note, thanking me for my team and then adding that they are leaving the country in 7 days, so they will appreciate it if I can have their wedding photos and videos done before then, they also want all their raw materials on a harddrive. He made no mention of the overtime.

I stared at this message kinda dumbstruck as our contract clearly stipulates that the waiting period for photos is 4-weeks and 8-weeks for video. His quotation also clearly said “no physical copies”.

I texted him back, the next morning, saying that there was no way I was going to have everything done before January. I did offer to give them the raws before they leave, but a harddrive would have to be added to the invoice, along with the overtime bill.

To this he replied that he would like to call me to discuss our “situation”. I knew exactly what was coming and I was dreading that phone call. The phone call happened later that afternoon. This story has already gone on waaay too long, so I’m gonna skip most of it and just cut to the parts that made my blood boil.

Groom: “So you say you cannot have it done before we leave.”

Me: “Unfortunately not.”

Groom: “Oh, that disappoints me, because all our guests are asking how much longer the photos are gonna take, but we understand.”

Me: “Great, I’m glad you understand. I can give the raws to you if you wish. But you’ll have to pay for an external, I have some in stock.”

Groom: “I don’t want to pay for a harddrive, you can just WeTransfer me all the raws?”

Me: “No I can’t.”

Groom: “Oh, why?”

Me: “Because it’s over a 100 gigs of materials and this is South Africa; with our internet speed it’ll take about 2-years.”

Groom: “Oh. Do you think we need the raw materials?”

Me: “No, I don’t.”

Groom: “Okay.” Long, awkward, pause.

Groom: “I don’t understand why there’s an overtime bill”.

Me: “Because you asked my people to stay an extra hour”.

Groom: “No, they only stayed 10-minutes longer and you owed us 30-minutes from the night before.”

Me: “I took the 30-minutes into account and they still stayed an hour after that.”

Groom: “No, that’s not true.”

Me: “I have the timestamps on the photos when the first and last ones were taken, you want me to send that to you?”

Groom: “No, I don’t.”

Me: “Awesome.”

Groom: “But we hired you and got someone else.”

Me: “You hired the company, not me. And on Friday you even said that I must enjoy my wedding on Saturday. You always knew you weren’t getting me.”

Groom: “But we were not happy with who you sent.”

Me: “Really? Why’s that?”

Groom: “I just don’t think we should be charged extra for them.”

Me: “Unfortunately, that’s what we agreed upon.”

Groom: “But you offer me a better price on the overtime?”

Me: “I am offering you a better price on overtime.”

Groom: “Oh, but this is the best you can do?”

Me: “If you take into account the tip we never got, then this is actually almost nothing.”

Groom: “What tip?”

Me: “The gentleman’s agreement we made.”

Groom: “I don’t know what you mean.”

Me: “That’s the surprise of the century.”

Groom: “So, when do we get the photos?”

Me: “In January, but you need to pay the rest of your invoice first, including the overtime.”

Groom: “Yes, you send us everything and then we pay.”

Me: “No, the contract you signed stipulates that you will receive nothing until all invoices have been settled. That is our policy.”

Groom: “Yes, but then we don’t know you ever send photos.”

Me: “I thought you had heard so many people tell you about how great our service is?”

Groom: “Ja, but I’m not happy with this, you send us everything and we decide if we want to pay.”

Me: “Yeah, that’s not happening.”

Groom: “But you cannot ask me to trust you like this?”

Me: “You’re right, we cannot trust each other. I think the simplest solution is that I refund your deposit, delete your wedding and we can be done with each other because I’ve heard enough.”

Groom: “I feel I have offended you.”

Me: “You have not, but you are wasting my time. And I’m done doing favours for you. The only difference between you and our other clients is that they all paid full price.”

Groom: “Okay.”

Me: “Great, I’ll wait for the money to show up in my account and then I’ll start the editing process.”

Groom: “And you cannot offer me a better price on the overtime?”

Me: “Have a good Xmas.”

And I hung up the phone.

The next morning the bride sent me a text that they just paid the outstanding balance and now want their photos, because “January is a long time to wait” (January was 8-days away). It has now been 3-days and the money has yet to show in my account…

TL/DR: Cheap groom offers us a 3rd of our package price and then tries to get out of paying, I threaten to delete his wedding photos.

Commenters weighed in. Here are some of the top comments:

D2R0 said:

Even if they decide to not pay, I wouldn’t refund the deposit, you and your team have already done work for them, that should put them past the point of a deposit refund

ChemsAndCutthroats said:

So if they could afford to fly to SA from Germany for a wedding, they should have the money to pay for the work your company did for them. My buddy does contracting work. One of his specialities is working with stone.

He does all sorts of stuff with granite and marble, and has done some jobs for some wealthy clients. He says it’s more of a hassle to collect money from his wealthy clients than from the middle class ones.

cheesesticklover said:

Why do people like this insist on being difficult? For a discount? If you can’t afford the service, don’t get it.

Five weeks after his original post, the photographer shared this update:

First, something I forgot to mention in the original post: while I was busy at my wedding, about an hour before my photographer was meant to be at theirs. The bride texted me a list of the family photos they needed, I forwarded it to my photographer, just as she was getting into her car to leave. At the wedding, the bride had started yelling at her for not having a print-out of the list.

UPDATE: I finally have an update to this story. The a$$holes did actually end up paying, my surprise was as big as yours. However, turns out they did zero research before hiring us and had no idea what our editing style was. I completed their entire album, sent them a few previews and all I heard back was “lighter, we want lighter”. I obliged and made all the images lighter, this was no quick task.

I sent the lighter images and again got a response that they want it even lighter. If I was to do that, the pictures would be overexposed. They then sent me some grotesquely edited images from their previous wedding (oh right, did I ever mention that this was their second?) and said they wanted it to look just like that.

One difference though, the photos they sent were taken mid-day on a beach with harsh light and clear skies, the pics we took were taken late afternoon, on a cloudy day. I tried explaining to them that there was no way these pictures were ever gonna look the same.

They accused me of lying that the weather was different and then forwarded me a pic of their ceremony area…completely empty and obviously taken hours before my team even got there.

I eventually edited some pics in four different styles, two of which I will admit were really gross, but hey, they wanted the pics to look the same as their mid-day beach photos. They ghosted me for about 10-days after that before finally picking one of the choices. And if you think that was the end of it…then you obviously haven’t been paying attention.

They are now complaining that they don’t like their fucking facial expressions during the ceremony and somehow expect me to fix this, telling me that they won’t accept the pictures with them looking stupid and fixing that is my responsibility.

I have not yet replied to that absurd request, but am currently planning on re-editing everything next week in the style they decided on, to do absolutely nothing about their facial expressions, because seriously WTF, and then just blocking them on everything. I’ll take a bad Facebook review above having to suffer through another conversation with these people.

Today’s generation of photographers are spoiled for choice when it comes to photography gear. Whether you’re just starting out or a little further along, one of the biggest challenges you’ll encounter, most likely, is choosing the right (or best?) camera to shoot with. But if you’re not really picky and just want something to kickstart your photography journey with, here’s a Sony camera and lens combo that may fit the bill.

In the video above, Tom Calton talks about his beginner camera recommendation, the Sony NEX-5. It was one of the company’s first mirrorless cameras, but according to Calton, it’s still able to provide “all of the attributes required to get your photography career started.” To begin with, it’s simple, compact and minimalist, not intimidating at all. At $90, the price is budget-friendly too — adding a simple third-party lens like the Yongnuo 50mm f/1.8 (B&H | Amazon) bumps up the cost to only $250.

So, Calton makes his case further by talking about pertinent details like the beginner-friendly design, compact size, and the sensor. Of course, there are some downsides to an old camera like the Sony NEX-5. Likewise, it’s not going to be your forever camera. So he suggests making the most of this budget setup and seeing it as your first step to becoming a photographer.

So, what do you think of the Sony NEX-5? Do you agree with Tom Calton’s assessment of it as a budget-friendly beginner camera? Otherwise, what would your recommendation be? Let’s have a discussion in the comments below!

Popular music is getting worse, isn’t it? The reason why has an impact on your photography too.

The Fall of Popular Music

I remember when I was young, people in my parents’ generation complained that a lot of pop music was worse than it had been in their youth. It all sounded the same. Much of our musical tastes are indeed set in stone before we reach the age of 30. Consequently, their musical tastes were surely limited by that. I also accept that’s why I lack enthusiasm for much of what is produced today.

Although musical tastes are subjective, research has shown that newer music lacks both dynamic and melodic range, as well as having less varied timbre. Dynamic range is the difference between the loudness and softness of a track. Much modern music is mixed so everything is turned up loud. Those punchy orchestral hits once stood out above the quieter rhythms and the subtle harmonies that floated in the background behind the tune, Meanwhile an explosive drum burst to the fore.  Now, there are rarely significant differences in their loudness.

The melodic range has shrunk too. That is the distance between the highest and lowest notes in a melody. Melodies today are far simpler and often restricted to less than one octave.

The timbre of the music is harder to explain. It’s the quality of music that sets it apart from other sounds. For example, a C chord played on a piano will sound very different from one played by a guitar or sung by a choir. Popular music today is far more limited in timbre than it would have been when I was a child.

Consequently, songs today really do sound more alike than they did a few decades ago.

The Committee of Sound

Why is this? It is music made by a committee, and that committee is motivated by money. Record companies don’t want to make better popular music; they want to make as big a profit as possible. They see that an artist with a particular style sells well and will push out more of the same to make more money. Consequently, young people especially will have their musical tastes influenced by sausage machine pop that lacks range and individuality. Bland, forgettable songs dominate the pop scene as a result.

When you look back at any of the great names in popular music, whatever the genre, those musicians were influenced less by the record companies. They did not set out to earn the highest possible revenue. Instead, their popularity and subsequent financial success manifested from their hard-earned creativity and not copying what was already popular.

They were all trailblazers who spawned musical trends, rejecting pressure for them to be like everyone else. Of course, they were all copied many times by those who rode in their wake, and those clones never achieved the same level of greatness.

There is and always has been an enormous difference between sausage-machine music produced for money and popular success and those who embrace creativity, ignore opinion, and write superb, unique songs. Thankfully, there are still great, original artists creating original work who don’t seek mass appeal but make it big. However, they are the exception.

Photography by Committee

How does this relate to photography? If you look at any of the greatest names in our art, they didn’t pursue financial success as their primary aim. Instead, when financial success and good reputation happened, it was the result of their hard work and creativity. They intended to be great at what they did, and the money was a byproduct because they were different from the rest and dedicated to their work. I think that is true of all successful businesses when they first start.

Those photographers went out and did their own thing, challenging the norms of the day. Yes, they learned their art from others, but they broke free from the limitations placed on them by the expectations of others. They usually broke the constraints of style and the choices they made when composing their photos. Sometimes, the technological choices were different, perhaps choosing a film format or lens that wasn’t the same as everyone else’s.

Although we photographers are not controlled in the way that musicians are by the need to produce share dividends, there is the danger that we are entrapped by the desire for popularity. People chase instant gratification from pointless social media likes by posting generic pictures that are pretty but equally forgettable; photographic muzak!

It’s very easy in photography to listen to other’s opinions of your work and try to comply with what they think and not what you feel. However, the story you tell with your photograph, the exposure settings, the point of focus, the composition, and even the camera brand you use are all personal choices you make. If you do your own thing and push against peer pressure, you are far more likely to achieve your unique style than if you try to please the committee of Insta-followers.

Beware the Naysayers and Imposters

Moreover, you’ll find those who comment negatively on your creative work will lack the insight to understand what it is about. If you are one of those who routinely disparage other’s work, then it is most probable that you haven’t yet learned to see what they are expressing.

That behavior is down to the Dunning-Kruger effect. That is where someone’s self-perceived ability is inversely proportional to their actual ability. You will find that most of those with the highest opinion of themselves will also be most vociferous about their perceived abilities. There are innumerable supposed quotes by wise people throughout the ages that express the truth that the more we learn, the more we realize how little we know.

The flipside of that is imposter syndrome where experienced people have a relatively high level of ability but perceive their ability to be low. There are, of course, imposter syndrome imposters who pretend to have imposter syndrome to make themselves look good.

Judging Your Photographic Competence

Considering all that, is it impossible to judge your level of competence? The answer is not to try, but to accept that there will always be more you don’t know, and things that you are not yet even aware of. Surround yourself with good people of varying levels of skill and respect them for where they are on their photographic journey. The best way to improve your skills is by helping others.

To prove my point, take any of the popular music greats and listen to how they grew over time. There was an enormous difference between the early and late songs by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, Carole King, Nina Simone, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Neil Diamond, Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchel, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, Christine McVie, Kate Bush, Brian Wilson, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, Elton John, Peter Gabriel, and so many more who constantly progressed over their careers. They didn’t kowtow to the pressures of repeating what had come before but blazed their unique trails. Furthermore, all of them were respected for their generosity in helping others in the industry.

The same is true of so many of the great names in photography. Almost everyone from Ansel Adams to Patrick Zachmann made their own mark on photography and encouraged their fellow photographers along the way.

So, the most important thing you can do, in the words of another popular song, is go your own way. But be encouraging of others while you are at it.

Do you find yourself trying to take photos similar to those shot by others? Or are you a photographer who likes to do your own thing? Do you help others? Or, are your energies spent demeaning them in an attempt to make yourself look good? It would be great to hear your thoughts in the comments.

An evocative exhibit of work by Astoria photographer Donna Lee Rollins is on display through July 11 at Astoria Visual Arts.

Rollins shot the series using Diana and Holga vintage toy cameras, manufactured in China in the 1960s and 1970s.

Originally given away as carnival prizes, these cameras are single-aperture with a simple plastic lens. They produce characteristic image distortions that result in inconsistent areas of soft focus, vignette, fog, light streaks and lens flare.

“The shooting experience becomes an opportunity for playful trial and error or experimentation, as the results will always be unpredictable,” Rollins said.

Historic techniques

Using a classic darkroom procedure, Rollins prints her images from acetate film negatives to create archival silver halide black-and-white prints.

She then applies translucent colorants to each print, utilizing historic techniques for hand-colored photography that arose in Europe in the 1830s and were popular throughout the Victorian era.

“I’m drawn to the magic of black-and-white photography and so have remained an alchemic photographer,” Rollins said. “I create my silver halide photographs and alchemic images using many of the formulas and printmaking methods that were first devised in the mid-19th century.”

The resulting images have a timeless quality to them, hazy and soft-focused, ephemeral and playful. Some of the pieces feature docks and seascapes; others the elusive bend and reach of a brambled forest.

One gallery alcove offers a series of images depicting the Astoria Bridge’s geometric symmetry under a pastel-hued sky. The gables and turrets of the Flavel House Museum offer another strong subject, rendering the residence’s distinctive architectural features into intersecting bold strokes.

Embracing imperfections

Rollins has been interested in art since she was a young child, but initially thought she’d be a printmaker.

One semester in art school, however, she got knocked out of printmaking and was left with an opening in a photography course.

She began shooting with an Olympus pen half-frame camera, which remains a cult favorite and produces 48 tiny little pictures for each roll of film. Rollins fell in love with the medium.

As she put herself through college, she borrowed cameras to reduce costs and worked as the school’s darkroom attendant so she would have access to the equipment she needed.

Initially working with traditional cameras, Rollins fell into a trap of seeking perfection, but as she worked with toy cameras, she realized that the imperfections themselves created the images’ beauty.

She also appreciates the way small cameras “fit in the hand of a woman without being bulky or heavy,” allowing her to “shoot and shoot to see what I come up with.”

What she has come up with is a stylized, atmospheric perspective on the world.

‘Connected to the work’

Rollins, who has a master’s degree in photography and museum studies and has served as faculty at several universities, has been featured in solo shows at Caldbeck Gallery in Rockland, Maine, and Radiant Light Gallery in Portland.

Her work is included in the permanent collection of the Art Gallery of the University of New England. Rollins relocated her studio and custom darkroom from Portland, Maine, to the North Coast 10 years ago.

Locally, her work has been shown at Cannon Beach Gallery, LightBox Photographic Gallery and RiverSea Gallery.

“As I hand-process and individually hand-paint each image with colored pencils or photo oils directly on the print surface, I feel connected to the work in an organic way,” Rollins said. It is important to her that each of her images reflects the “hand of the artist,” remaining individually handcrafted and unique.

PRESQUE ISLE, Maine – A Presque Isle photographer will show some of her works at Aroostook Agency on Aging during the month of July.

Vonda Lavway’s month-long Artists for Aging exhibit opens Friday, July 12 in time for Presque  Isle’s First Friday Art Walk which brings together events from various venues including  Wintergreen Arts Center, Reed Gallery at the University of Maine, The Common Gallery, and  the Akeley Gallery at the Mark & Emily Turner Memorial Library. 

The artist will be in the 260 Main Street gallery to discuss her work with community members  from 4:30-8 p.m. during the Art Walk. Otherwise, the public may visit the Agency on Aging  gallery anytime during regular business hours Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 

A “County girl” at heart, Lavway grew up in Easton, and she and her husband Parrish live in  Presque Isle in a house they built and raised their two boys in. “We love this area! The winters  are a bit long for my liking, but I have learned to enjoy them because our season of snow is one  of our most beautiful,” she said. 

For Lavway, who has been taking pictures seriously for 10 years, photography is therapeutic  and rewarding. “When I go out to capture our area, I love to look for a unique perspective, one  that somehow portrays an intimate view of our quaint community,” she said, adding, “I also  love finding the fun side of nature as I search all the living things around me, big and small.” 

An elementary school teacher, Lavway has created a Facebook photography group called “Tell  Me a Story Photography.” She also invites people to follow her on Instagram at  story2tell4maine. Artists who exhibit in the Artists for Aging gallery, dedicate a percentage of all sales to support  Agency on Aging programs and services.

For more information, please call the Agency at 207-764-3396/1-800-439-1789 or email info@aroostookaging.org.

The rainbow is understimated is the name under which Piero Percoco is blowing up on Instagram, reaching almost 100k followers. His photo project is liked because it is authentic and super colourful. The bio reads southern Italy, offering a clear geographical indication. Specifically, we know that the region most explored is his own, Puglia. Here Percoco, born in 1987, carries out an analysis of everyday life through his shots taken strictly with his smartphone camera, offering his audience a glimpse into the routine of the province. A slow life where contact with nature emerges so much that it often becomes the protagonist. Similarly, it is the absurd that Percoco seeks out, attracted by every illogical and paradoxical aspect of life. Some photographs from this series are on display in the spaces of C41 Magazine in an exhibition in collaboration with BiM where Bicocca meets Milan, which can be visited until 15 October.

In addition to this summer series, the exhibition – titled The rainbow over Milan – presents some shots of the Putignano Carnival, offering a darker, nocturnal vision that differs from Piero Percoco’s typical photography.

The rainbow is understimated

Courtesy Piero Percoco

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QC Life) – “Your therapist would approve of your photoshoot with me!” said Oxana Erokhina.

Matt Olin from Charlotte is Creative and Oxana Erokhina, portrait photographer and graduate of the Creative Entrepreneurs initiative, joined our show this morning to kick off National Camera Day and to celebrate the beautiful, therapeutic side of photography.

Erokhina moved to the U.S. from Siberia with her husband two years ago and began her photography business in Charlotte. She sees her photography as a type of therapy for others and loves to show people how beautiful they are. She believes that people are most beautiful when they are relaxed and in the moment, and she strives to capture that beauty in each session.

She has several photography sessions available for events and personal use. To learn more, check out Erokhina’s website at oxana-photoart-usa.com or find her on Instagram.

Also read: 9 things to do in Charlotte this weekend

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