News from Billy Monday
Shadows of Autumn, 2009A Retrospective
Having been approached by a publisher to submit some works for a project, I found myself organizing and going through my more recent images with a new purpose: to present a cohesive overview of my recent photographs. Starting from late 2007, I have gathered 82 images which I consider to be my best and certainly most representative of what I’m trying to achieve.
I settled on displaying the art through an online slideshow, titled Billy Monday | Art of the Female Form.
Making the show was a good exercise, and one which I think I should repeat at least bi-annually. It’s an opportunity to step back and consider the big picture, rather than my usual habit (which is to dwell on whatever the latest image or concept is).
For 2010 and onward, I hope to refine and improve on images like these. Recent successes at shows and contests have buoyed my spirits, the contact list of models is long, and a warm spring is just around the corner. I’m looking forward to showing you my new work!
The View from Loudon Heights, 2009The 77th Annual Cumberland Valley Photographic Salon
I’m excited to announce the my image, “The View from Loudon Heights” has won the Juror’s Choice Award at the 77th annual Cumberland Valley Photographic Salon at the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts in Hagerstown, MD. The image, along with about 40 other selections, will be on display at the museum through March 22.
I’ve written here about that image before, but I can’t thank Tonya, the model, enough. So again, I must mention that it was FREEZING cold that morning on the mountaintop, and after a steep climb to the location she was very tough and posed for several frames before turning blue. We got out of there while the day was still very young! I saw Tonya the other day, to tell her about the image’s success, and we agreed that (months later) we had forgotten the cold and that we’re happy to have a successful image.
I’d also like to thank Lauren LaRocca from the Frederick News Post for a pleasing article in their “72 Hours” section on Friday, January 22. She was kind enough to meet with me and we had a nice time talking about photography and art in general. She gets to travel all ‘round the region interviewing artists to see what they’re all about. That’s a pretty cool job, if you ask me!
The opening for the show is Sunday, January 24 at 2:30. It would be an honor to see you there.
Autumn Update
It’s been a fantastic summer and fall season here in Maryland. Summer was quite temperate by our standards, and the autumn colors have been brilliant.
Apparently I’m not very good at keeping this news section updated. I should get a bumper sticker which says, “I’d rather be photographing nudes!” But it has been a good season and I feel that I’ve made progress as an artist. I’ve also has good success at finding new models, concentrating on finding subjects in more personal ways than the popular internet connections. I have a number of new subjects who will be appearing in my work over the coming months.
Among the exciting things I’ve been able to capture was the wonderful color this fall. Tonya, a new model from West Virginia, climbed to the summit at the Loudon Heights overlook. It was insanely cold on that mountaintop that morning, but the scene was worth the discomfort.
Another stimulating project has been my “Cave Paintings” series. I’ve found a cave which is more-or-less accessible, and a few intrepid souls who would pose for me in there. Some of the results of the light-paintings done in the cave are in my Cave Paintings Gallery. The image shown is from this series.
I’ll be working in the cave throughout the winter, but I also hope to work on figures with spheres in the studio. So I’m collecting crystal balls, paper globes, any kind of sphere I can find. Hopefully the results will be intriguing.
Spring!
Spring! So full of promise!
It’s been a cold winter here in Maryland, and I think most of us are more than ready to get outdoors and to start enjoying our beautiful Appalachian environment once more. Sunrise is coming earlier, and I’ve begun drinking coffee again to keep up with those early morning sessions.
Each morning opens with a thick fog, which then burns off by 10am or so. The light is soft and beautiful, and only the very middle of the day is too harsh at this time of year. It’s chilly though, and the models have a hard time being comfortable for very long. Fortunately, I have a new piece of equipment: a maroon Snuggie. Oh yeah, other photographers may have the latest digital SLR or some incredible lenses, but I’m keeping the models happy by keeping them warm in this useful blanket.
Making nudes outdoors is a great pleasure and it keeps me in touch with the natural environment. The birds are singing and the mountain streams are flowing softly at this time of year, but soon the bugs will be out and there will be leaves on the trees. The scene will change and the photography, with it.
For now, conditions are perfect, and I’m happily creating new work. The image shown features Katlyn Davis, a new model in the DC area who sports some incredibly beautiful tattoos. It was warm the day that we made this image, but once the sun started to go down it was Snuggie weather once again!
Inspiration
Inspiration is an interesting thing. It’s found everywhere and although my ideas are seldom clever, it makes a difference when you have clear vision before you pick up the camera.
A recent session with Katy T provided some insight. Katy has worked with some of the most exciting figure artists in the world today, and I’m not ashamed to say that I found that a little intimidating. For the record, Katy is as easy-going as they come, and the shoot with her was very relaxed. But nonetheless, I felt that the bar was set high, and that I had better look at least worthy of being Sylvie Blum’s assistant’s assistant.
And so I found myself looking at Katy’s previous work with other artists. She’s got a lot of very clean looking images in her portfolio. They trend toward studio shots with plain backgrounds, competent but not complicated lighting, and are beautifully toned. Clearly the photographers wished to draw attention to her brilliant ability to pose with a dancer’s grace. I found myself going in the same direction.
The images were very successful. Largely due to Katy’s strong posing ability, we captured a lot of compelling images. I had a coil of clear plastic tubing from a piece of farm equipment, and she was able to transform it into something magical. Some play with a stool and a strong “beauty dish” reflector yielded some other appealing pieces. But it all went back to that previous work that the model had shared with me before we even met.
Next shoot with Katy, I will have inspiration that’s genuinely my own. I’ve hired her for my May 31 workshop, and I know that I will want to work with her some at that time too. The Appalachians will be bursting with bright, verdant life in May, and I look forward to creating some lovely art with her.
For those artists thinking about using her, the trick is to feed her Taco Bell quesadillas. They make her happy.