Fireworks Tips and How to Find Shows in Your Area

With July 4th just around the corner, I’ve been thinking about where I will go this year to watch the fireworks. About a year ago, I contributed a number of fireworks photography tips for Tamron’s eViewfinder newsletter and Tamron’s online Learning Center. You can find the article here (one of the photos featured in the article is shown below).

Photograph © Andrew Darlow

Finding Fireworks Shows Using Google Maps
I was on maps.google.com today and noticed a “fireworks” link, which shows a map of many fireworks displays planned for the 4th of July, 2008. If you are reading this in any year after 2008, I would recommend searching for “4th of July and your town (or a nearby town/city) ” in your favorite search engine to find a list, since this resource does not seem to be current after 2008.

There are many more shows planned around the country, so I recommend checking your town or county’s website to see where you can view the “rockets red glare”.

By the way, the most incredible fireworks displays I’ve ever seen were at Epcot Center (Walt Disney World) in Orlando Florida, between Christmas 2007 and New Year’s Day, 2008.

Enjoy the 4th!

Upcoming Full Day Workshop in New Jersey on 8/9/2008

On Saturday, August 9, 2008 from 10:00am-5:00pm, I’ll be giving a fine-art inkjet printing full day workshop entitled How to Prepare Files and Make Gallery-Quality Prints at Nancy Ori Studio in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey.

UPDATE 7/7/2008: This workshop has filled, but two more full-day workshops have been added (8/16/2008 and 8/18/2008): Please see this page for details.

Each participant in this class will have at least two prints made from their supplied photo or other image on a pigment-based inkjet printer. This has been one of the best ways I’ve found to help others choose the right paper and printer for their work. During the workshop, I’ll be showing many print samples, I will go step-by-step through a recommended printmaking workflow using Adobe Photoshop, Photoshop Lightroom, and other applications, and I will demonstrate how to make and use custom profiles.

A two-page PDF brochure with pricing and information on how to register can be found here.

If you are interested in future workshops, check my teaching and workshop schedule here, and for private consulting via phone or in-person, feel free to contact me using the form on this page, or via cell phone at 732-742-0123.

I hope to meet some Imaging Buffet readers/listeners/viewers there!

New Website for Finding Juried Shows and Calls for Entries

I just received a newsletter from The Guild of Creative Art, located in Monmouth County, NJ. I’ve been a member for about 6 months, and I recently taught a full day workshop there. They recommended a new website called www.artperk.com. The best way to learn more is, of course, to visit the site. It looks very impressive. There are not many listings as of today, but I assume it will grow quickly.

I always caution people to read the entry rules carefully before entering any competition, and I’d also recommend that you ask others their opinion of juried shows on forums like the Digital-FineArt Yahoo! Group (I’m a moderator of that group), or the Artshow-Photo Group. Pay special attention to any clauses that discuss the licensing rights and/or copyrights that you may be giving up to the company or organization that is sponsoring a contest (sometimes whether or not you are a winner).

To learn more, visit www.artperk.com.