I had the great opportunity to meet and photograph Kevin Michael Connolly this past Wednesday. He spoke at Colorado Mountain College (Summit Campus) as part of his Double Take book & photo exhibition tour.

Read Double Take.

Meeting Kevin has given me a chance to reconsider my day-to-day approach to life. He is an inspiration. And, he has guts and fortitude and a sense of humor that is unmatched. Thanks Kevin.

The Center for Fine Art Photography has selected “Biker Girl” to hang in its 2009 Portraits Exhibition, Nov. 6 – 28th.

I photographed this little girl in 1985 when I lived in Eagle Nest with a group of bikers, in what used to be summer tourist cabins. I was the regional editor for Taos News at the time.

The images were selected by juror, Mary Ellen Mark.  Mary Ellen Mark is a photographer known for her photojournalism, portraiture, and advertising photography. She has had 17 collections of her work published and has exhibited at galleries and museums worldwide. She has received numerous accolades, including three fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship. Additionally, Mark was awarded the Photographer of the Year Award from the Friends of Photography, three Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards, Matrix Award for outstanding woman in the field of film/photography, World Press Award for Outstanding Body of Work Throughout the Years, Victor Hasselblad Cover Award, and numerous other prestigious awards.  Mark has published photo-essays and portraits in such publications as LIFE, New York Times Magazine, Rolling Stone, and Vanity Fair. For over four decades, she has traveled extensively to make pictures that reflect a high degree of humanism. Today, she is recognized as one of our most respected and influential photographers.

The Portraits will be on display in the Center’s online gallery and physical gallery from November 6 – November 28, 2009. The public and artists’ reception will be held in Fort Collins on November 6, 2009 from 6-9pm.

Pallavacini Lift has ended its exhibition at Denver International Airport (DIA) and is now featured in the Lt. Govenor’s offices at the Colorado State Capitol. The image was selected as part of the Colorado Council on the Arts exhibit.

Cross Country Skier earned a nomination in the Sports Category of the 4th Annual International Black & White Spider Awards! In the 2nd Annual awards two Holga photos earned nominations in the People and Advertising categories.

Former photography student, Katie Uhlaender is going downhill really fast! Katie went on to become one of the fastest women in the sport of Skeleton. She has won numerous places in the sport and finished sixth in the Women’s Skeleton event in the 2006 Winter Games in Torino, Italy. 

If you have not seen this sport, think Luge…face first and face down!

You can watch Katie compete through the Universal Sports Channel. COVERAGE OF WORLD CUP OPENER FROM WINTERBERG:  World Cup coverage from Winterberg, Germany will be offered as same-day video on- demand starting on Friday, November 28-30 on UniversalSports.com.  Universal Sports TV will offer one-hour broadcasts on the following days (all times ET): Women’s Skeleton World Cup, Dec. 2, 7 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Here are additional links for Katie: 

Wikipedia     •      NBC Sports     •       USA Today     •       Facebook     •       Skeleton Sport

Here are a few images I shot of Katie in the studio a few years ago as she was making her presence known.

The last few weeks of involvement with the Dillon Business Association (dba) have been very exciting and busy, including incorporation as a non-profit and appointment of board members. I will be serving as vice-president to Ron Holland, co-owner of Marcello’s At Town Center until regular elections are held. I’ve also been busy taping new segments of the “Around Town” feature which highlights Dillon Businesses. The latest features Jackie Christiansen and her personal fitness business, Fitness by Jackie. Here are recent linked features:

Fitness by Jackie      (Fitness by Jackie website)

Heavenly Times Hot Tubs and Billiards      (Heavenly Times website)

Marcello’s At Town Center      (no website, but excellent food!!!)

Lake Dillon Water Taxi       (Lake Dillon Water Taxi website)

Mainstreet Wellness      (Mainstreet Wellness website)

Thanks to all of you for your comments and support of my Holga images. To answer those of you who have asked, this is my third nomination in the Black & White Spider Awards. I received nominations in the Advertising and People categories in last year’s competition.

Boys at the Circus…People category            Mountain Guide…Advertising category

These two Holga Toy Camera Images have been wonderfully successful for me. Boys at the Circus represents my very first successful Holga Toy Camera Image. It was the first plastic toy camera image I shot where I understood what the Holga meant for me creatively. In addition to the Black and White Spider Award nomination it was part of my portfolio in the Center for Fine Art Photography’s “Colorado Photographer Exhibition” in 2007. 

Mountain Guide exhibited in the Center for Fine Art Photography’s International “DIA Invitational Exhibition” in 2007.  The image exhibited was reproduced as a 50-inch wide framed print!

I have also had Holga Images exhibited in the Center’s “Interactions” exhibition, the book, “The Art of Seeing” and on a number of websites dedicated to Holga Toy Camera Photography.

Judges nominated “Cross-Country skier” in the 4th Annual Black and White Spider Awards. The Spider Awards is an international competition drawing thousands of entries each year. Read on below… bwspiderawards.pdf

>>>> Congratulations on being a Nominee at the 4th Annual Black and White Spider Awards.<<<<

Thousands of images were received from 62 countries and your work received a high percentage of votes overall. Certainly an achievement, well done! The Jury were passionate about judging the images, spending weeks online reviewing entries before making their final winner and nominee selections. The awards could not have asked for a better group of professionals to work with. All credit goes to the judges and the photographers who provided the best images in their class. Congratulations once again on being a Nominee and we wish you a most successful photography year.

Best regards,  Basil O’Brien   Creative Director

Black and White Spider Awardswww.thespiderawards.com

Welcome What the Duck to the LITfoto blahg. Comic strip artist Aaron Johnson has given me permission to add the strip! There’s also a link to What the Duck where you can see the archives and also see video What the Ducks. Enjoy!