Yay, an Honorable Mention!

A couple of days ago I received my "December Bay" photo back from the Gillette Nature Association winter photo contest I had submitted it to.  I didn't think it had received anything, but when I opened the envelope, there was an honorable mention ribbon inside, and velcro on the back of the piece from where it had been displayed for a month in the visitor center!  That was pretty cool!  The contest had been advertised statewide, including on the Michigan.gov website, which was where I saw it.

They also sent a flyer for their next photo contest, which is deeply intriguing, (fungus and lichens... a perfect subject for microscope work!)  However, my husband is moving us to a new state soon, so I don't know if I'll be able to enter.

Here's the honorably mentioned photo:

On Barren Trees

I wish other artists would stop with the nothing-but-barren-tree-branches-in-winter photos. Every artist (myself included) has barren-branch pics; yet these artists think they're so innovative/deep with their shots that ANYBODY can get. OMG people. Keep your branch pics to yourself. Everybody has them. Anybody (including the most inexperienced photographer) can take one that looks good, and they're just plain too easy. If you're a professional photographer, don't offer a product that can be easily duplicated by somebody picking up a camera for the first time. Find a more creative way to express the mood you want to invoke. Isn't that what artists are paid for?

/rant

New Home on the Net

Zatista finally approved my work last week, (it took about two weeks to go through their review process,) so my work has a new home on the web! I've only put the 5x7's (matted and framed to 8x10) up, and two 8x10's matted & framed to 11x14, but the important thing is that the art is out there.

Check it out: http://store.zatista.com/Microscape

I like Zatista a lot better than I liked GoZabo. There are no fibercrafts, the site is professional without being pretentious, and the search functions are really good. Plus, it's all original, limited edition art, so you're not competing with prints from dead masters.

Here's hoping for a long and profitable future there.