Only a few weeks left to get ready for my sale at Artists in the Park in Wolfeboro, NH. This has been a major leap for me since it involves new ventures in marketing and all that goes along with it. I'd like to thank Russ Schundler, a terrific photographer and fellow exhibitor for all his assistance in learning new marketing skills.

Here is an approximately one hour video of a seminar done by Scott Kelby. If your are an aspiring professional photographer, you should take the time to check this out. He is spot on in his advice, especially about working a scene and selecting portfolio images. Go to: http://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/approaches-to-composition-photography-with-best-selling-author-scott-kelby/

Upcoming events

Mark the date ... August 15, 2012 ... as a time to visit my  exhibit at Wolfeboro's "ARTIST in the PARK" juried show.

• Don't forget, time is running out to view my work at the Franklin Gallery in Rochester, NH.

• Coming up will be images from our Down East tour with the "Four Guys Photo Group". 

Brookfield, NH Photographer Tom Lavoie to Exhibit at the Franklin Gallery in June

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Brookfield, NH Photographer Tom Lavoie to Exhibit at the Franklin Gallery in June

"Northeast Kingdom Reclaimed"
by Brookfield, NH photographer Tom Lavoie

The Franklin Gallery 

at Ben Franklin Crafts

Ross Bachelder, Manager

60 Wakefield Street, Rochester, NH 03867

603-332-2227 --artsmultiple@gmail.com

April 18, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Brookfield, NH Photographer Tom Lavoie

to Exhibit at the Franklin Gallery in June

The Franklin Gallery at Ben Franklin Crafts, 60 Wakefield Street in Rochester, will host an exhibit called Black, White and Camera -- monochromatic images by Brookfield, New Hampshire photographer Tom Lavoie -- for the month of June during regular business hours.

Lavoie, a member of The National Association of Photoshop Professionals, has studied photography and Photoshop techniques with New Hampshire photographer Jim Block and noted San Diego photographer Tony Sweet. He has also had one-on-one coaching with other world-renowned photographers including Rick Sammon, Tony Corbell and Laurie Schupp.

He has attended seminars with Joe McNally of National Geographic, Robert Beck of Sports Illustrated, Vincent Versase (a Smithsonian Award Associate) and George Dewolfe, a student of Ansel Adams and Minor White.

Tom Lavoie’s passion for photography began several years ago when he found himself attempting to capture images on an early digital camera -- a SonyMavica -- while touring in Europe as a professional trumpet player. It was there that the seeds of his blossoming career as a photographer were sewn.

"Curious," by Brookfield, NH Photographer Tom Lavoie

“Dealing with the frustrating limitations of that camera, while photographing in the dim light of cathedrals and opera houses, motivated me to upgrade my equipment” says Lavoie. “It also convinced me to begin what has  happily become a lifetime of learning and developing my skills as a photographer. I hope other professional photographers and lovers of photography will stop by the Franklin Gallery and see my work.”

The Franklin Gallery and Ben Franklin Crafts are open Monday through Friday 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Saturday 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM and Sunday 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. For information about Tom Lavoie’s Black, White and Camera andfuture Franklin Gallery exhibits, e-mail Ross, the gallery manager, atartsmultiple@gmail.com. 

Sentries of Madre Vooh*

This image illustrates the creative possibilities of an image even though it has some severe technical flaws. The original image was washed out due to shooting almost directly at the sun. This resulted in blown out highlights and poor contrast. Yet there was something compelling in a sort of mystical way about the subject and this setting. Using layers in Photoshop CS5 I copied the image on a separate layer, flipped it horizontally, then aligned it using the move tool. The tones were then intentionally adjusted in a manner that maintained the mysterious mood of this image. Normally, I would have tried to reveal much more detail in the shadows and highlight areas, but after much experimentation I decided that this interpretation worked so much better. It creates a sense of wonder in the viewer.

* Read the title backwards to reveal the location of this subject ;-)

Here is another image from The Four Guys Photo Club recent sunrise seacoast excursion. I chose to do this as a faux panorama* rather than a true panorama composed of multiple images stitched together. The lighting conditions at sunrise change so rapidly that it would have been difficult to capture this moment without being set up and ready to go. Someone, who shall remain nameless, overslept by fifteen minutes which created a very rushed situation at our arrival. (Nameless is off the hook because we all still managed to get some great shots and he was actually early for the next excursion.)
The lesson is: allow enough travel time to arrive about 1/2 hour or more before the actual sunrise.
* See my previous post for details of faux panorama.

This image was captured on a recent excursion of The Four Guys Photo Club in Wolfeboro NH. Our excursions are starting earlier and earlier in the morning after having some very successful sunrise sessions. The early bird catches the glorious morning light. If you haven't learned that by now, good! That means less competition for me ;-) Just kidding.
This faux panorama was created using a simple crop in Lightroom 4.  Normally I would have done a full blown panorama if I were going to print this at a much larger size. This will print just fine on a sheet of 13"x19" paper which is a standard size. This will also display just fine on the web. However, for those of you interested in creating a full blown panorama that can be printed to a massive size with incredible detail, stay tuned. I will give a detailed description of my procedure.