Transitioning to Publication

Towards the end of 2022 it became clear that my Instagram follower count was neither the judge nor jury of my fine art. It is difficult in the age of influencers and social media to avoid the assumption that success equates to 'likes' and the never-ending battle of, "What does the algorithm want today?" Comparison culture was paralyzing my creativity. It was time to own my trajectory and do the work provide the legitimacy for my art.

This leap required research and investment. I launched an initiative for my fine art photography to search for publications and competitions that could provide me with inspiration and prompts to keep my work current. While we are only a few months into 2023, the effort is starting to have fun results. This week I received word that one of my images had been selected for publication through the National Association of Professional Child Photographers (NAPCP) in their April 2023 issue.

The submission prompt was 'Negative Space' and so I selected one of my favorite images from our long winter for consideration.

This photograph is an archival piece of my son enjoying the first major snowfall of winter. We didn't know it at the time, but this winter would become the 3rd snowiest season on record for our portion of the Twin Cities metro. We crawled out of the cold with nearly 90 inches. Even so, snow angels are always welcomed. I had to hang out of my daughter's bedroom window to get this birdseye composition. My settings had to be very specific because at the time it was still snowing. Fortunately my son's snow gear had a neutral color palate to provide the contrast of white and black. It boosted the joy that was spread across his face as he caught snowflakes on his tongue.

It is the right kind of motivation to have your work featured among other talented voices. It also challenges me as an artist to continue to build up the portfolio of worthy work. Take ahold of that camera, rise up and create! As many mentors have said, the truest way to improvement is continual practice. While that may seem like a daunting task, I personally break down the barrier to a tangible goal. For example, to have a minimum of twelve compositions that I am truly proud of. The best of the best of my annual effort.