(Editor’s note: Now in its third iteration, the Laine Business Accelerator recently awarded $5,000 to 11 enterprises seeking to launch or expand their businesses. Included here is a profile of one of those businesses.)

OLEAN — For Sarah Blovsky, her photography business is extremely personal — and for good reason.

What started out as a fulfilling hobby has turned into her dream business, and the motivation for that sprang from the time she spent with her father as he was battling brain cancer.

“I had been working in admissions at University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, when, after my father’s second surgery, it became apparent that I needed to be home with him,” she said. “I made the decision to stay with him and care for him — and I will never regret that decision.”

Indeed, it was Blovsky’s desire to entertain her dad and put a smile on his face that fanned the flames of her interest in photography.

“Dad couldn’t move, so I began taking pictures to show him of what was going on outside — the snow, the landscape, etc. It made him so happy and was such a great sharing time with him. He would say, ‘I love your pictures.’ It was a special time.

“I’ve always loved landscaping photography, so taking those pictures was just a natural extension of what I enjoyed. And the fact that I was doing it for my Dad made it so meaningful and unforgettable.

“Dad was only 47 when he passed away,” she said. “I cherish those moments I had with him, and when I look at those photographs, I know exactly what happened in that moment and I can hear his laughter again.”

But it took a while — several months — after her father’s death before she could pick up her camera again. And when she did, the first picture she saw on her camera comforted her and inspired her.

“It was a picture I had taken for my dad,” she said. “I considered that a sign that I needed to get back into photography.”

And so she did, but with a twist. Unlike many professional photographers who rely on weddings and similar events as their livelihood, Blovsky wanted her focus to be different.

“I wanted to photograph and capture the moments that might not even be considered an event,” she said. “For example, shortly after we first received the news of Dad’s diagnosis, there was a benefit held for him and our family, and I thought to snap pictures during the event. I wanted to capture the beauty of community and everyone coming together. And that night, Dad was so full of adrenaline, he was wide awake and stayed up for hours looking at them.”

Now, Blovsky concentrates on portrait photography. “My goal is to provide my clients with images that they will cherish forever, one that will one day be worth so much more.”

While she says she was “honestly surprised” to be selected for this year’s Laine Business Accelerator cohort, she knows how important the experience can be to her business.

“I’m looking forward to meeting like-minded entrepreneurs, expanding my network and learning from my mentors.” She plans to invest the $5,000 LBA grant in new equipment and in marketing her business.

But for Blovsky, photography will always be much more than a business — it will always be personal and, in a way, an enduring tribute to her dad.

Tamron – Need lightweight, compact mirrorless lenses? Tamron has you covered, with superior optics perfect for any situation. With weather sealing and advanced image stabilization, you’ll open up your creative possibilities.

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Mylio Photos – Access your photos from anywhere, without the cloud! Easily showcase your photos on-the-go, resolve duplicates, find faces and look for those stunning locations.

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B&H – B&H is a world renowned supplier of all the gear photographers, videographers, and cinematographers need and want to create their very best work.

MPB – Grab used but perfectly working cameras and lenses for less, or turn your old gear into cash by trading and selling them on MPB!

Landscape photography can take a tremendous commitment of time and effort, and even then, you are not guaranteed to come home with the shot you had hoped for. And so, when that happens, it can be easy to become discouraged and eventually find yourself in a creative rut. What can you do when that happens? This excellent video tutorial features an experienced landscape photographer sharing his thoughts. 

Coming to you from Steve O’Nions, this great video tutorial discusses how to get out of a lull in your landscape photography journey. Of the many helpful tips, perhaps my favorite is simply trying something novel, like a new technique or different focal length. It can be easy to become overly habitual in our work, and that often leads to a loss of creative satisfaction. Doing something as simple as bring along a focal length you do not normally use can help shake you lose from that habit you have fallen into, and often, that is enough to get the creative juices flowing again. Check out the video above for the full rundown from O’Nions.

And if you really want to dive into landscape photography, check out our latest tutorial, “Photographing the World: Japan With Elia Locardi!” 

hoxton gallery presents photographic project ‘iosonopipo’

From 15 to 30 September 2023, Hoxton Gallery in London presents an exhibition dedicated to Giuseppe Palmisano’s photographic project titled Iosonopipo. Launched in 2012, the series serves as a visual exploration of the human body, highlighting the female figure as the highest expression of nature. The show encompasses numerous artworks, each characterized by Palmisano’s unique aesthetic. Semi-nude figures that grapple with concealing or transcending their reality are shown against ordinary, familiar backdrops, culminating in a collection of evocative works that infuse everyday life with mystery and humor.

semi-nude figures grapple with concealing or transcending their reality | all images courtesy of iosonopipo

Giuseppe Palmisano’s artistic vision

Giuseppe Palmisano’s work (find more here) has always revolved around redefining the role and portrayal of women, particularly by stripping the female figure from its inherent eroticism. In his Iosonopipo photography project (find more here), the Italian artist captures various everyday scenes, featuring nude figures in pastel-colored tights, concealing their faces within fluffy beddings or against sofas. These figures, sometimes clothed and at times entirely bare, interact with diverse furniture, submerging in sinks, hiding beneath beds, or immersing themselves in bouquets of flowers. It’s as if they are attempting to escape their reality.

‘By means of staged photography, the human body and everyday space, Giuseppe’s photographs are transformed into an atmosphere of humor and mystery, a theatrical effect of absurdity and joyous color, and even with an implication of eeriness and delusion,’ shares the team at Hoxton Gallery (find more here) that hosts the upcoming exhibition. ‘Palmisano’s work contains signs of transcendence and metaphor amongst everyday realistic plight. People appear to be able to escape, or hide from the pressure of the real world by entering the image of the artist’s imagination.’

nude figures in colored tights conceal their identity by diving into bouquets of flowers

re-introducing the iosonopipo project 

After seven years of active participation in the Iosonopipo project, Giuseppe Palmisano opted to sell his artistic identity on eBay in 2019. The acquisition was made by Francesco R., who collaborated with Palmisano in an endeavor to resell it during the pandemic, with the aim of supporting an anti-violence center or a women’s shelter. Despite three years of committed efforts, and no response received, Palmisano decided to reclaim the photographic project and resume his position as its creative director.

Continuing to utilize the photographic medium as a means to connect with new individuals, the Italian photographer crossed paths with Kevin Martin, the founder of Hoxton Gallery in London. Together, they decided to launch an exhibition in London, re-introducing Palmisano’s photography to a global audience.

Giuseppe Palmisano’s work has always revolved around redefining the role and portrayal of women

the figures, sometimes clothed and at times entirely bare, interact with diverse furniture,

the Iosonopipo project presents a distinctive aesthetic with female figures set against vibrant compositions

The 2023 Astronomy Photographer of the Year contest produced some of the most alluring and breathtaking images of deep space by amateur astronomers and photographers worldwide. The winning image even revealed a never-before-seen phenomena in an area of the night sky that is often observed.

When one ponders new discoveries in deep space, NASA’s Webb telescope or one of the many large ground-based telescopes probably comes to mind. Yet in 2022, amateur astronomers and photographers Marcel Dreschsler, Xavier Strottner, and Yann Sainty uncovered an oxygen arc next to the Andromeda Galaxy that had never been seen before. The winning image, called Andromeda, Unexpected, is simply one of many that have been taken of the well-known galaxy since it was first photographed in 1888 by Isaac Roberts.

The new object, a ‘huge plasma arc’ near the Andromeda Galaxy, is the slightly-curved blue cloud that appears at the top of the spiral galaxy. According to the Royal Museums of Greenwich, plasma makes up 99% of the visible universe. It is also associated with forming stars, nebulae, solar wind, comet tails, and the aurora.
The team deciding the winning image remarked, “As a result (of the discovery), it could be the largest and closest such structure to us in the Universe.”

The image selected as runner-up (seen above) in the contest was an image of The Eyes Galaxy (NGC4438). Weitang Liang remarked about the image, “In 2022, I used the largest amateur telescope, the one-meter RC telescope at Chilescope, and an exposure of 30 hours to get enough deep space data.”

Third place, referred to as Highly Recommended, went to Paul Montague. His image, Neighbours (seen below), was taken in Bendleby Ranges, in South Australia, in May of 2022. Montague used an 8-inch telescope and a monochrome camera to capture the image. He explained, “The juxtaposition of the dusty side on galaxy NGC 5078, interacting with its small neighbour IC 879 against the smooth face-on galaxy NGC 5101 is intriguing.”

All the images that made the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition’s shortlist can be found on the Royal Museums of Greenwich website.

Top Image Credit: Marcel Dreschsler, Xavier Strottner, and Yann Sainty