Shutter Mike Photography

100 Years 100 Ranchers - Photograph by Scott Baxter

Art is everywhere and galleries seem to pop up in the most unexpected places.  Small galleries can be seen in the local coffee shop, the mall, bus and train stations, and even the airport.  I was heading to security in Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport (terminal 4) when I unexpectedly passed by the Phoenix Airport Museum.  Who knew there was a museum in the airport?  But even better, the museum is currently running a photography exhibit entitled 100 Years 100 Ranchers.  The exhibit showcases the work of Photographer Scott Baxter who, over a 10 year period, photographed 100 Arizona ranchers whose families have been ranching in Arizona for 100 years or more.  The exhibit coincides with the upcoming centennial celebrations for the state Arizona (which turns 100 on February 14, 2012) and runs through May 13, 2012.  So next time you are rushing through Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, stop and check out the art.  Or, if your travels don’t take you through Phoenix check out the museums and public works of art on display in these other airports.

San Fransisco International Airport Museum

Philadelphia International Airport

Indianapolis International Airport

Oakland International Airport

Arizona will be celebrating its centennial in 2012 and the events to help in the celebration have already begun.  One such event is the “Iconic Arizona: Celebrating the Centennial with Photographs from the Center for Creative Photography” exhibit at the Phoenix Art Museum.  The exhibit features 70 images borrowed from the archives of Tucson’s Center for Creative Photography that portray Arizona iconic places and landmarks.  The photographs in the exhibit range from international names such as Ansel Adams and Edward Weston to Arizona photographers such as Dick Arentz and John Schafer.  But this exhibit goes beyond the works of the masters.  There is an ever changing digital gallery as part of the show as well.  Everyone is invited to submit their own work of what represents iconic Arizona to them and those images will  be featured in a digital display and online.  If you are interested in submitting your photos you can submit them here.

Here are the details if you want to see the exhibit in person:

Where: Phoenix Art Museum, 1625 N. Central Ave., (602) 257-1222, info@phxart.com

When: Wednesday, 10am-9pm (Free admission/voluntary donation every Wednesday, 3-9pm)
Thursday-Saturday, 10am-5pm
Sunday, 12pm-5pm
First Friday of every month, 6-10pm (Free admission/voluntary donation)

How Much: $10 adults
$8 senior citizens & fulltime college/university students w/ID
$4 children ages 6-17

It has been a while since I highlighted one of the artists on Photography Served. But I was going through the site the other day (procrastinating) and I came across the photography of John Valls, a commercial food photographer in Portland, OR who photographs food “…from the ground up.”  John’s featured set on Photography Served is A Visit to a Tobacco Farm in Cuba.  Aside from the spectacular photographs I deemed this set of photographs share-worthy because I the subject.  Cuba has been on my list of must-go-to destinations for a while now.  Part of that is the “forbidden” aspect, part is my perception of it as being frozen in time and the photographic possibilities that presents.  But I will get there one day, hopefully before the rest of the world beats me to it and changes it forever.

John Valls’ work in Cuba focused on a tobacco farm and was shot over the course of six years to reveal “…the slow rhythms and quiet pleasures of daily life on Fidel’s family tobacco farm.”  (I’m not sure if that is the Fidel.)

Tucson, Arizona’s Etherton Gallery is celebrating its 30 year anniversary with a photography exhibit entitled “Masters of American Photography.”  The show opens on June 11th and runs through August 27th and will feature the works of well know American photographers such as Ansel Adams, Richard Misrach, Ruth Bernhard and Frank A. Rinehart.  The exhibit focuses on American masters while covering a range of styles.  From the famous landscapes of Adams to the nudes of Bernhard to the American Indian portraits of Rinehart the Etherton Gallery has pulled together an impressive line up for this exhibit.

The Etherton Gallery is located at 135 South 6th Avenue in downtown Tucson, AZ and has regular hours Tues-Sat, 11am-5pm and by appointment.

Marilyn Monroe, from the Last Photos, original photograph, signed,1962, Andrew Weiss Gallery, copyright George Barris/Edward Weston Collection. (PRNewsFoto/Andrew Weiss Gallery)

Marilyn Monroe would have been 85 on June  1st.  As America’s preeminent sex symbol Marilyn has been the subject of countless photographs taken throughout her career as a model and then a Hollywood actress.  From her early days when she was still known as Norma Jeane Baker photographer Bill Carroll captured Marilyn before her Hollywood career took off.  Then after she reached iconic status as a “blonde bombshell” and actress multiple other photographers documented her stardom.  One of the last to photograph her before her death in 1962 was George Barris.  His work, along with that of Carroll and others are the subject of an exhibit at the Andrew Weiss Gallery in Beverly Hills opening to the public on June 2nd.  The exhibit, in honor of Monroe’s 85th birthday, will combine classic photography of the star with birthday wishes sent in by fans to create a unique display and tribute to Marilyn Monroe.

If you happen to be in Los Angeles between June 2nd and August 13th you should definitely try to stop in and see the exhibit at the Andrew Weiss Gallery at 179 S. Beverly Dr, Beverly Hills 90212. The hours are  Tues.-Sat. 11:00am-5:00pm, or by appointment.

For those of you in the Phoenix area there is an exhibit of the photography of John Schaefer at the Desert Botanical Garden that is definitely worth seeing.  Although this spring’s wildflower crop does not appear to be as promising as last year, Schaefer’s photographs of desert cacti blooms in the A Desert Illuminated exhibit is a very close substitution.  His photographs have been compared to “…Renaissance- era illuminated manuscripts.”  The technique used for capturing the rich colors of these beautiful cacti flowers of the Arizona desert involves placing a piece of black construction paper behind them to isolate them from the background make them really pop.  The end result are some spectacular works of photographic art. The mesmerizing colors of the images and incredibly rich detail will keep you engaged with each photograph in the small exhibit of 30 images and is in and of itself worth a trip to the garden.

A bit about the photographer, John Schaefer is the President Emeritus of the University of Arizona; along with Ansel Adams, the co-founder of the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona; an author of several photographic technique books including The Ansel Adams Guide: Basic Techniques of Photography – Book 1 and The Ansel Adams Guide: Basic Techniques of Photography – Book 2 ; as well as the founder of the Nature Conservancy in Arizona.

A Desert Illuminated runs through May 27th in the Ottosen gallery at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix.  It is open from 10 am – 5 pm 7 days a week and is included in the price of admission to the garden.

After yesterday’s post on portrait photography this week’s highlight from Photography Served is appropriate.  When thinking of portraits we rarely think beyond humans.  But animal portraiture is becoming more and more popular.  Albeit that is more often than not of household pets.  The animal portraits by David Boni go far beyond the standard dog and cat with a hat and knitted sweater.  Boni has captured the essence of these animals beautifully and his work on both Photography Served and his own site should not be missed.

Here is another great photographer to check out on Photography Served.  I have been highlighting photographers from this site that I particularly like such as Jonathan Hillyer, Bartlomiej Lurka and Anthony Redpath.  But you shouldn’t take my exclusive word for it, it is well worth a visit to see for yourself.

In a fantasy world, I would be a travel photographer, jetting around the world photographing people, cultures, architecture and such.  So Diego Arroyo’s portrait photography of people in South East Asia really speaks to me.  He captures both the people and their land beautifully in this series of portraits.  Here are two of my favorites from the series, but check out all 23 portraits from Diego Arroyo’s South East series.

In case you missed my recent posts on photographers  Anthony Redpath and Bartlomeij Lurka from my newest favorite site for showcasing great photographers, Photography Served, I’ll bring it up from time to time as I come across additional photographers that strike a chord with me.  I can’t show any of the work of this next photographer because of copyrights, but Jonathan Hillyer‘s photography of the High Museum of Art in Atlanta is spectacular.  I have an affinity for architectural photography, particularly modern work such as the High Museum of Art so I am a bit biased.  But Hillyer captured the details and form of the museum in such a way that it brings the museum to life.  You can check out more of Hillyer’s architectural photography work here but be sure to take some time to go through the galleries of Photography Served.  It is well worth it.

I mentioned a few days ago my discovery of the photography gallery site Photography Served.  In the interest of passing on my great finds here is another photographer featured int eh virtual gallery of Photography Served.

This gallery features selected works of Anthony Redpath that were recently displayed in the Toronto’s Bau-Xi Photo Gallery.

Be sure to check out Anthony Redpath’s No Going Back gallery.

Anthony Redpath