Richard Mack – Page 18 – Quiet Light Publishing Blog

October 16, 2007December 18, 2007

Two Nominations in the International Photography Awards

Tree Farm Cathedral We have just learned the nominations are out for the 2007 International Color Photography Awards and I have received nominations in two categories! The nominations were for this image in both the Fine Art Category and the Nature Category. With over 15,000 images submitted this is a great honor to be chosen one of 20 images in each category. I am humbled by the quality of work in each of the categories and am honored to be among those chosen.Last year I was equally honored when my book, The Lewis & Clark Trail American Landscapes was given the Silver Medal in the Nature Book Category.Here is what this years release from the International Color Awards states:For Immediate Release:INTERNATIONAL COLOR AWARDS HONORS
LANDSCAPE AND COMMERCIAL FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHER FROM EVANSTON< ILLINOIS at 2ND ANNUAL PHOTOGRAPHY MASTERS CUP CONTEST

LONDON, UK 16 October 2007 – Landscape and Commercial Fine Art Photographer Richard Mack of Evanston, Illinois, USA received a Nominee in two categories or his image Tree Series – Tree Farm Cathedral. One in the category of Fine Art Photography and one in the category of Nature Photography at the 2nd Annual Photography Masters Cup exclusive online Awards Ceremony.

An audience of 11,050 photography fans logged on from 89 countries to join the proceedings and view stunning work from the world’s finest photographers. Over 15,000 images were received from 69 countries. The nominated images were selected by a who’s who Jury of the most celebrated professionals in art and photography from National Geographic, Musee de E’Lysee, Financial Times to The Art Newspaper and Fine Art Society in London. Jury members reviewed submitted works online over an eight week voting period before making their final selection. Awards were presented in 21 categories to photographers of twenty five nationalities.

“The Masters Cup celebrates photographers who operate at the highest levels of their craft,” said the awards Creative Director, Basil O’Brien. “Richard Mack’s Tree Series – Tree Farm Cathedral entry certainly represents color photography at its finest and we’re pleased to present Mr. Mack with two nominations; one each in the Fine Art and Nature categories.”

ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHY MASTERS CUP
The Photography Masters Cup promotes the finest contemporary photographers to the world’s leading art directors, agencies, editors, galleries, curators, publishers, and dealers of photographic art. A celebrated online event around the globe, the annual Winners & Nominee Presentation is webcast live in a dynamic show that honors the finest work with the highest achievements in color photography.

See the Winners and Nominees online at: www.thecolorawards.com

Contact: Richard Mack
Company: Richard Mack Photography, Ltd
Address: 2144 Ashland Avenue, Suite 2
Telephone: 847.869.7794
Email: richard@mackphoto.com
Website: www.mackphoto.com
www.quietlightpublishing.com

Photography Masters Cup Nominees:
www.worldphotographicarts.com/gallery/colorawards/2nd_annual/masterscup/index.php

Nature Nominees:
www.worldphotographicarts.com/gallery/colorawards/2nd_annual/masterscup/nominations.php?x=p&cid=6

Fine Art Nominees:
www.worldphotographicarts.com/gallery/colorawards/2nd_annual/masterscup/nominations.php?x=p&cid=5

September 22, 2007December 18, 2007

The Night Blooming Cereus Blooms!

Last night we had a happening at our house! The blooming of our Night Blooming Cereus! The Night Blooming Cereus is found in the wild in the Southwest Sonoran and Chichuahuan deserts. It blooms in June or July in the wild, but we have found it to be July or August up north here. Some years the plant won’t bloom, but when it does it is a spectacular sight! This year we had only this one bloom which opened up last night.

The blooms start opening after dark and reaches its peak about midnight. It became about 6-8” in diameter and had a wonderful fragrance which is light and delicate in nature – yet very strong and can be enjoyed from several feet away. By morning the show is over and the bloom is nothing more than a suspended, limp clump of spent flower. But while it is open it is a mesmerizing sight! Last night we had several neighbors stop by, ok, maybe drawn at first to what the heck I was doing with a flashlight and camera at the bottom of our stairs, but the flower became the centerpiece of the evening. I photographed it using a simple Canon PowerShot and a flashlight! I should have run back to the studio and grabbed my regular gear, but it had become such a fun time I just couldn’t pull myself away! These images were taken over about a 2 hour window, and even the light from the flashlight was enough to make it begin to close up, so I would work for a few minutes and then leave it alone.

Because you never know when they will bloom, to see one in bloom in the wild is said to be a once in a lifetime experience. In most places they are protected species in the wild. Also called Moon Cactus (genus Selenicereus), any member of a group of about 20 species of cacti in the family Cactaceae. The plants are native to tropical and subtropical America, including the West Indies. They are widely grown in suitable American climates and have escaped from cultivation. The genus is known for its large, usually fragrant, night-blooming white flowers. Our plant is of the Epiphyllum oxypetalum genus. It propagates by dividing rhizomes, tubers, corms or bulbs (including offsets), from leaf cuttings, from herbaceous stem cuttings.

But the bottom line is it provides a spectacular show for a few hours here on this planet. And for that I am very thankful.

Check our website at for more images! Click here for more Night Blooming Cereus images – and to see our Blog Only print offer! www.quietlightpublishing.com/blog/blog_nightbloom.html

Peace,
Richard Mack

Do you have shots you’d like to share, questions or comments…leave them below! I love to hear from you!

September 4, 2007December 18, 2007

Lighthouse Beach Sunset

In my answer to Gary’s question he posed after the last post about the water levels on the Great Lakes and whether they will affect my shots, I said I would post a shot from 2000, just after the lowest levels were recorded on Lake Michigan. In this shot the old pier was now visible for one of the first times I could remember. In this case it helped to have the low water levels, or you would only see the very tips of the posts. So in this evening shot at Lighthouse Beach of the old pier I would say it certainly helped to have low water levels. It is not always the case though, as I mentioned in my reply to Gary that there will be times when low water levels are not going to be helpful. But it is what it is and we as photographers must use what we have been given to make great images and tell the story we wish to tell. In this case it allowed me to showcase the pier and some of the old iron work at it’s base in the sand. Hope you enjoy this one!

By the way you can see peoples comments at the end of each post by clicking on the comments link at the bottom found after the posting. You can also click on any of the Labels for each post to find similar items or images I have discussed.

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Thanks!

August 28, 2007December 18, 2007

Moonrise over Lake Michigan

Last night we had the full moon rising over Lake Michigan, so I ventured down to the lake front – camera in hand to try and capture an image I had seen a few days before while Kathy & I were walking down there. It seemed perfect for a moonrise shot.

As I approached I realized there were clouds on the horizon which may interfere with my shooting. I setup anyway and much to my delight the moon peaked out through a layer of clouds at the perfect time. It then dipped back into a thicker layer and then back out, well into darkness about an hour past sunset. No worries – this was the shot I was really after and I think the clouds actually helped out! The final exposures were for 30 seconds – and the moon will actually move in an exposure of that length – so having the clouds to “mask” the movement was helpful, while still illuminated the clouds. The series of shots here go from the start of the evening with a more “traditional” look to the more ethereal look of the last shot with the lights from the docks coming across the landscape.

We have just started a new book project photographing all five of the Great Lakes, which hold a full 20% of the worlds fresh water. That includes every lake, stream, river and wetland – in the entire world! All found here in the five Great Lakes – it seems a huge task – but I guess no bigger than covering the Lewis & Clark Trail! Who knows whether any of these will make the cut in our new book project on the Great Lakes, but it was a rewarding evening and only time will tell if one of these shots makes the book.

April 12, 2007December 18, 2007

Keeping Up with a Blog

When you start a new project, you have every intention of making it the best it can be. Well, I certainly expected to be better at keeping these posts up better. But time slips away in these busy times. Lately we have been working on getting the first editions of the Limited Edition of The Lewis & Clark Trail American Landscapes books shipped to those who have purchased them recently. Since each one is put together by hand, and includes three prints from the book which are carefully printed to my exacting standards it takes awhile to put each one together. For more info on the Limited Edition please check the Quiet Light Publishing website!

We are also working again with Abbott Molecular on more corporate fine art for a newly renovated space of theirs. We’ll talk more about that in the future!

In the future I intend to post a “Photo of the Week”. That seems reasonable to me at this time, although when we are out shooting I am sometimes out of web contact, so then I will have trouble posting them. Although I hope to post a few shots from my shoot in Portugal and France in late April and early May – so watch for new postings!

That’s all for now.

Peace, Richard.