Our New Blog…

england-20070621-0508.jpgWelcome. We have updated the blog on this new site and hope it meets with favorable results and ease of use. As before we’ll be discussing publishing a photographic book, photography, fine art prints, travel – both on the Lewis & Clark trail and in our National Parks and other locations around the world. I hope you like the new look and will find it fun and informative! I look forward to our discussions online. Remember you can link us with a rss feed by using the links at the bottom of the page to be notified when a new post is online! Enjoy!

Happy Holidays,

Richard

Quiet Light Publishing eNewsletter December 2007

Well we posted and sent out the Quiet Light Publishing eNewsletter for December 2007 and it seems the coding in the header, or something like that, was done in such a way it stripped out most of the formatting for many folks. So here is a link to the eNewsletter on our website for those interested. www.quietlightpublishing.com/newsletters/20071205.html If you would like to be included in future issues of the newsletter just drop me a line with the words Newsletter in the subject and let us know you’d like to be included. There is also a way to sign-up for it on the Quiet Light website.

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In the newsletter I talked about how we now have many images online in the Gallery section, both from the Lewis & Clark Trail AMERICAN LANDSCAPES book and one I am currently working on based on 30 years of photography in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. You can view the images online at our Gallery – www.quietlightpublishing.com/shop/Gallery.htm.

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I also have several Triptych’s available. It is a format which is very interesting to produce, because it takes some time to find three images which are great together. But the results are a very stunning pieces. They’ve been placed in homes, offices and public spaces all over. It is always a thrill to see them displayed somewhere.I hope you’ll enjoy the eNewsletter and check out our Gallery Pages!

Peace,
Richard

Yesterday’s Sunrise

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Yesterday morning I headed down to Lighthouse Beach at 5:30am to catch the Moon, Venus and Mercury lined up in the early morning sky. I had wanted to go down on Monday morning when a bit earlier in the morning you had three planets, the moon and then the Space Shuttle and Space Station, just after they separated going overhead through all four in the night sky. But Monday was cloudy. So I waited for a break in the clouds. At my house, about 5280 feet from the beach, maybe a few more, there were no clouds overhead. Yet down at the lake, the clouds hung low over the sky. I ended up seeing Venus brightly overhead in between the clouds, but never saw the sliver of moon or Mercury. And as I wrote in the last entry, sometimes you head out to photograph one thing and end up with some very fun surprises. This was the case on this morning.

I am very familiar with this beach, as I have been coming here since I was a kid. Back then it was for swimming or playing, now for the photographs. It is a small beach – only a couple of hundred yards long, and with small dunes behind them in one area. As I shot I thought about how many people might not “see” the images you can find here. They would see a nice scene and walk the beach and then leave. Yet, I see in each wave a new dimension. A new form though the lens. And when I was done with the sky and cloud images, having figured at some point I had more than enough to edit, I began looking at some of the details which the big waves left behind.

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As the clouds made interesting patterns in the sky, they broke just at the horizon just enough to let shafts of light come down from above. The lake was rough with waves which provided a great foreground to the clouds overhead, or is it the other way around? The waves being the main image and the clouds being a fine background. My thought process went from shooting the planets and moon to the waves and sky. Wide open shots, to close in shots.
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When you start looking at the details there is an infinite number of images to be found. At some point you think – “When do I stop?” For me it was about 2 hours after I started. I need to get home for some of the contractors working on the house. Back to reality of working, although this was being at work for me as some of these images may make it into one of my next books, a set of images on the Great Lakes. It is always an enjoyable time when I am out shooting. Whether at the local beach or in a National Park or overseas. Making images comes easily for most photographers. It is what we do.

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To see more from the take you can follow this link http://www.mackphoto.com/blog/LighthouseBeach/index.html

And remember, you can subscribe to the blog by using the links below, and leave comments or questions as well. Hope to hear from you!

Thanks,
Richard

In nature photography you often get something you didn’t think you set out for…

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In nature photography you often start out to get one image and end up with something quit different. That happened to me last week. I had received a call from an agency in New York which supplies Fine Art prints to institutions and individuals and they wanted a selection of images of water and sky. Well I originally sent them a selection and they responded that while nice they wanted a more “minimal” image. So, having seen the sky was clear blue at the studio one late afternoon, I set off for Lighthouse Beach on Lake Michigan. When I arrived there were only a few small puffyclouds floating overhead. Perfect I thought. So I shot some variations on these and in the 45 minutes I was there the storms moved in from the southwest!
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All before my eyes the huge thunderhead moved across the sky and the afternoon light illuminated it beautifully! As I moved around the beach capturing different images with this thunderhead it kept moving on past until lightning was coming out the bottom. Unfortunately I did not capture any of this, but did get the storm brewing overhead in a dramatic way. All in all a rather fruitful 45 minutes one late afternoon. And not what I expected on my way out the door of the studio, but even better! These are the times you look to the sky and just say, “Thank you!”

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Remember, you can subscribe to this blog by using the rss button and receive notices when I update the pages. You can also send me comments using the links below.

Two Nominations in the International Photography Awards

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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