One Spark Festival

April 17-21 saw the coming and going of Jacksonville's One Spark Festival, held in the core of downtown and featuring over 400 "Creators" competing for a share of a $250,000 crowdfund. We were thrilled to finish in 2nd Place overall, and 2nd Place in Art with our Beyond the Façade project. There are lots of details on the project website and I hope to add some additional posts on the creation process as it relates to my artwork. The most valuable part of the festival for me was the motivation of having the event, forcing me to deliver on an idea I've been considering for years. I needed a goal to commit to and this was it. I was also on a high for 5 days as the public validated our ideas. There's nothing like having positive feedback from people you don't know. The interaction and connections are very valuable.

So what's next? Our original project idea was to identify additional locations for installations and develop a plan for additional pieces. We are recovering from the costs of the project and now have an idea of the effort involved in a large mural-type installation. The funds received from One Spark (around $4,000) will be applied to recovering costs, and we plan to apply for other grants and private funding for the next pieces. I have several ideas in mind and hope that we can be in a position to execute after the summer.

Lobby for the Arts

I've been involved with the Cathedral Arts Project for a few years now who continues to do significant work with under-privileged children by providing after schools arts instruction in both the performing and visual arts. Their current promotional campaign called Lobby for the Arts involves taking an exhibition on the road to various corporate and museum lobbies across town to raise awareness for the organization. I was asked to provide the photographs used in the campaign, designed and produced by the Brunet Garcia agency. We needed high energy action shots of the children, so we set up a white background and 4 Alien Bee strobes to get the look we wanted. Back on Dec 9 we had a fun day of shooting and many not so fun days of editing to come up with the final images. Overall we had a blast with the kids and Jeff, Marla, and Forest from Cathedral Arts. The campaign is now in full swing.

The CAP kids

I really enjoyed my new studio space at CoRK which had plenty of rooms for all the kids, their parents, and a nice area for shooting.

PhotoJAX at CoRK

Last night the second annual PhotoJAX photography festival had a reception at CoRK. We had lots of people coming through the studio and I appreciate all the nice comments I received on my space and some new work. I made a decision to print some of my large panoramas from our trip to the Canyonlands, namely the image from Goblin Valley State Park and the sunrise from Hiway 24 looking towards Moab. The Goblin print was 30x150 on canvas, the sunrise was 30x96 also on canvas. I also printed a large image taken at Yellowstone back in 2010. This was a burned out area near the Thorofare Trail trailhead. Last minute I printed a 60x40 tree from Sam Taylor State Park in California (near Pt Reyes). Sometimes you just gotta print these things out to see what you have. Images living in your computer can only take you so far...having the print changes everything.

Some large prints

Impressions of Place

I installed a new exhibit at Southlight Gallery called Impressions of Place, featuring 17 selected photographs from our recent trip to Hong Kong and Japan. I also presented a 70 image slideshow and artist talk during Art Walk at the gallery. The work was compiled as a series of significant "first impressions" in these incredible places. With over 4000 images to work from, the editing was a challenge. I will be posting the exhibit images in a portfolio on the site along with the artist statement. Hopefully an accompanying book containing the images will be available soon.

More details on this exhibit to come.

Exhibit layout

Folio Weekly Invitational Artist Exhibition

I was fortunate to have two pieces accepted into this prestigious exhibit at the Cummer Museum of Art. I struggled during the submission process to decide on which pieces to propose. I always find it difficult to sort through work. Do you propose what you think others would like, or work that you truly like? I find it best to enlist the help of others. I'm more apt to choose something that is new rather than something that is richer or more meaningful. I tire of looking at my older pieces so fresh always seems best, which doesn't always equate to a good selection. Earlier this year I ventured out to several local parks and forests. On one very fruitful trip at the Ocala National Forest I captured several images that ended up in my collection of keepers. Sometimes you are blessed with good days. One photograph accepted is titled Forest Renewal and is a panoramic of a pine forest that was just recently burned to clear the underbrush. Earlier in the day I passed some work crews setting small fires at the base of the trees to eliminate the underbrush. The resulting scene left an eerie veil of smoke above the gray ashes and green pine needles.

Forest Renewal

The second photograph is titled Dancing Oaks. The National Forest is essentially a managed forest with pines which stretch out forever. Dirt roads crisscross the area forming a recreational oasis for ATVs and dirt bikes. While driving the dirt roads there is always an occasional oak or other hardwood tree, perhaps left over from earlier times or somehow transplanted there. I saw a grove of oak trees from the road and followed a small path to the area. There were roughly 30 oak trees growing in close proximity in the middle of the pines.

Dancing Oaks

Opening night at the Cummer was exciting and the museum was packed. It was great to actually have a museum opening and to be in the company of many distinguished local artists.

The Art of Doug Eng

The July/August issue of Arbus Magazine featured a story about my artwork. I was thrilled with the result. Sometimes I'm embarrassed when I read something about me. Generally I'm not one to tell the world that I exist, but it's always nice to see your name and work in print. There's a sense of validation and accomplishment, which we all need. I'm grateful for the article and hope that you take a moment to look it over. Many thanks to Cinda Sherman, publisher of Arbus, and Meridith Tousey, writer, for this article.

Arbus, page 60

First stop, San Francisco

Donald is getting married and our first stop is the Bay area to do the wedding and then it's onwards to Hong Kong and Japan. We've been planning this trip for months. While in San Francisco I always try to get a skyline shot from Treasure Island but alas, it was a foggy morning and nothing was visible. So much for getting up at 5 am! The night of the reception we experienced a great sunset. I tried to coax the newlyweds out of the restaurant for a shot but was unsuccessful. So I enjoyed it all by myself. This is from the Hong Kong East Ocean Seafood Restaurant near Marina Park in Emeryville.

Wedding sunset

The next morning I took mom to the airport for an early flight so I made sure I stopped at Twin Peaks on the way home. A great vista but the light was blinding.

View of San Francisco from Twin Peaks

Then a quick stop at Telegraph Hill.

View from Telegraph Hill, San Francisco

San Francisco never ceases to have images to offer. Some cities are just like that.

Cultural Council Arts Awards

For 36 years the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville presents awards to outstanding individuals and companies who have contributed in an exemplary way to the arts in Jacksonville. Categories exist for Small Business, Educator, Innovator, Individual, and for this year, an Individual Hall of Fame. The customary award is a piece of art produced by a local artist. Many distinguished artists have provided pieces for the award. I was honored to be asked by the Cultural Council to produce the award for the 2012 recipients. My first inclination was to provide a framed print or a print with face-mount acrylic. As I thought about this I also considered that a) if the recipient didn't really like the print enough to hang on the wall, it would end up in a closet somewhere, and b) personalizing the print with a brass plaque would be pretty cheesy, and c) there would be no opportunity to express a personal message to the recipients.

I have always been a big fan of folios...a box holding fine art prints. They always seemed so tactile and special and allowed unobstructed viewing of a print anywhere. Besides, if the recipient really didn't like the award, they could easily tuck it on the shelf.

Award design

Award production

I designed a folio box to contain a series of 15 images, 9x6 printed on Exhibition Fiber 11x8.5 paper. There was also a cover sheet, intro, and colophon. I had the box custom made by Portfoliobox, a company in Pawtucket, RI. They produced a case for one of Clyde Butcher's limited edition books that I had in my collection. I designed the box to look like the exterior of the AT&T tower, a stainless steel clad building where the award ceremony was to be held. The box contained an inset with a strip of the building's window, reflecting some clouds and containing the text of the award and recipient's name.

With a few last minute complications, I produced 6 copies of the award and was very happy with the result. I think all the recipients were happy with it too. Here are a few sample pages:

Message in a Bottle Opening

Most of you know that I've been totally preoccupied with our project Message in a Bottle: Wall of Light for months now. May Art Walk was our big opening, and since I'm writing this long after the wall has been up and taken down, I can say with certainty that I'm glad it's all over. Having a project take over your life is exhilarating but brutal. I'm thankful that I made it through, with the help of Dorian, my brother Robert, and the support of many friends. But essentially it was my baby and I spent the last 2 months constructing the installation. Please check the MIB website for more details and if you can, spread the word of our message to all who are serving (and have served). The project is for them.

Scan Design Fall in Furniture Love

I was happy to receive First Place in Scan Design's 5th annual Fall in Furniture Love art contest. All entries needed to have furniture as their main theme. I racked my brain thinking I had no really fun images with furniture until I remembered the Red Chair Project. I think this photograph, Landing on Runway 13, has become one of my classics. I love this one! Many thanks to Scan Design for their support of the arts, and for the generous gift certificate for the award.

Landing on Runway 13

Help Portrait 2011

For the third year in a row I've participated in the Help-Portrait project at the Family Promise Center in Jacksonville. This year my good photo buddy, Gray Quetti stepped up to do all the shooting, and I have to admit he really knows what he is doing. We did the shoot on December 10, which is the national day for all Help-Portrait sites to shoot. Gray set up 2 Alien Bees, one in a medium sized softbox as the main and the other as fill bouncing off an umbrella centered above the camera. I usually shoot with lights on the right and left, and this is the first time I experienced the fill on axis with the lens. Gray set the white balance and tested exposure with his light meter. Call it old school but Gray did NO color or exposure corrections to over 900 shots. Typically I'm using the fill slider and tweaking the white balance on almost every shot. We managed to shoot 10 families. I was posing the groups and entertaining the kids.

Gray, Mark, Mark’s wife, and me

One of the many family portraits

Each family received a small photo album and CD with their images. We edited down to around 24 for each one, which turned out to be a tough job. Many thanks to Dorian who tackled the editing. Then we uploaded to Costco for prints. I've been very happy with the results from our local Costco (Allen and his team keep those Noritsu printers in top shape). I ordered some small albums from Neil Enterprises. The cost per album ($2 ea) is inexpensive, but they kill you on the shipping and handling ($18).

Gray and I dropped off the albums and were met by Becky Cravey and Bruce Lipsky from the Times Union. They were hoping to run a story over the holidays, which eventually appeared on January 2. Check it out here. Being present when the families received their photos was a big thrill. There were a lot of happy moms and dads.

Bruce Lipsky of the Times Union and friend

A happy dad and son

Lots of pictures for everyone

If you haven't volunteered or given of yourself, especially over the holidays, I highly recommend it. I told the TU reporter that the photos taken on that Saturday will probably be cherished and appreciated more than all the photos I took during the year. It's a good feeling to know you made a difference in someone's day.

July 4th - Family, fun, and fireworks

July 4th is always a good holiday to divide up the year and reflect on what has happened and what is yet to come. I was fortunate to leave the heat and humidity of Jacksonville to spend a few days with Diana's in-laws and Dorian's brother in Ohio. We enjoyed fireworks on July 1 (an early tradition up here) and 3 days of continuous feasting. Being with family always has it's benefits.

Fireworks photography is always fun if you can find a decent spot and the weather cooperates. I regret all those summers I spent in Montreal and never photographed the International Fireworks Festival competitions...oh how I wished I was there for the summer. I experienced the fireworks at Buckeye Lake which is about 40 miles west of Columbus. They say the show is one of the best in the area and it did not disappoint. Almost 30 minutes of explosions. We were able to view them from a house on the lake, no long wait for a spot. After some dismal results with my 24-70 lens, I switched over to my 70-200 and went for some closer shots and details. Not having a clear view of the lake posed some challenges and I wasn't able to get many shots with the reflections in the water.

There are lots of articles on camera setup for fireworks (just Google "fireworks photography"). My settings were ISO 400, f/10, with an average 2 sec exposure. Cable release and tripod are essential. You want to be careful of not blowing out the highlights, so these settings depend somewhat on the distance you are from the show and the number of explosions happening at one time. Be prepared to adjust the ISO and aperture to account for this (check your histogram or flashing overexposure warning). Another convenient setting is to use your "B" mode and just count down the seconds. This gives you more control over when you want to stop the exposure, especially when you see another firework starting to enter the frame. I actually forgot about using "B" and many of my shots ended up with a new firework entering the frame, something to remember. I'm paranoid about focus, and since everything is pitch black you wonder what you should be focused on. You can pretty much go to infinity and just back off a tad. Shooting at f/8 or above will ensure that the lights will be in sharp focus.

While waiting for the show you can always play around with moving your camera on the surrounding lights. This will help you warm up and to get an idea of the exposure.

I post-processed all images in Lightroom and needed to increase the Blacks and Vibrance. Of course some cropping helps to isolate the patterns. I was thankful for the resolution on the 5D2, zooming in on some of the light trails revealed some very interesting patterns. Shooting tight with the telephoto gives a different perspective on the scene. I know that we get caught up in the grandeur of the big circular clouds, but try to isolate for a different look. The half hour show went by quickly. It's nice to have images to relive the moment.

Next Step Exhibition at Renaissance Gallery

Doug Eng at the Renaissance Gallery

I belong to a group of distinguished photographers called The Next Step who are selected alumni from John Paul Caponigro's workshops. Several of us are participating in a group showing of work at various venues throughout the country. Our first opening was in Rockport, Maine at the Maine Media Workshops and our second was here, in Indianapolis at the Renaissance Gallery. The gallery is actually located in Carmel, Indiana at the center of the Arts and Design District. There are 23 artists participating and our exhibition catalog is published on Blurb.

I am showing two pieces from my Straight and Twisted series - Illumination and Renewal. Each are framed 30x30 in heavy dark wood with a gloss finish. This framing was selected by Donald Dusinberre and I was very pleased with the way the presentation turned out. Framing for prints is like clothing to the person...need I say more? Usually I am looking for low-cost solutions to protect my prints. Since I'm not a "clothing" sort of guy I tend to go with jeans and t-shirts. Sometimes this just doesn't cut it, especially when your art needs to convey a sense of inner beauty, stability, and long term value. This is a tough lesson and an expensive one, considering the number of prints I would like to display. A client needs to be able to visualize your artwork in their office or home. A $15 frame doesn't help.

An evening with the Sierra Club

Tonight I spoke at our local Sierra Club about image design and the art of nature photography. It was great to meet some new friends and I always enjoy yakking about my work. I showed about 60 images from our national parks as examples to explaining image design principles taught to me by Freeman Patterson and Brenda Tharp. At some point in your development as an photographic artist you want to go beyond camera skills. Learning how to “see” is the basis for developing your own style of photography. I recommend highly the following 2 books if you are ready to progress: Creative Nature and Outdoor Photography by Brenda Tharp, Photography and the Art of Seeing by Freeman Paterson.  Most nature photographers have some connection to the Sierra Club. It may be significant or indirect. All who enjoy our National Parks and the results of conservation movements can give thanks to organizations like the Sierra Club, who had the early foresight to raise the red flag to so many situations that had the potential to destroy our natural treasures in the name of progress and industry. My introduction came in high school, where I by chance picked up a 1972 Sierra Club Engagement Calendar. It was one of those spiral bound datebooks with a beautiful image for each week. I remember being fascinated with the photography, not only the technical quality but the beauty and interest in each image. Where were these places, what were these rocks, plants, and details, how could I create images like these? I wanted to know and do.

Back in those dark ages, photography could only be enjoyed by books and magazines. I never had access to viewing a fine art print until much later. Fortunately, the Sierra Club and Ballantine Books had a series of larger format paperback books with inspiring photography. Everytime I went out to photograph, I can remember trying to reproduce those classic images of trees, flowers, and landscapes in these beautiful publications. It’s interesting to view an old book that influenced you. Most of the time I’m so impressed at what was accomplished with film, and how the “style” of nature photography promoted by Ansel Adams, Eliot Porter,  David Meunch, and the likes continues to influence nature photography today. That’s why I love used book stores, because it’s fun to see where your photography came from. And I’m still looking for that engagement calendar.

Cathedral Arts Project Gala

The Cathedral Arts Project provides after school arts education to underprivileged children throughout the local area. The results speak for themselves. I volunteered to photograph their Spring Gala at the Deerwood Country Club, their major fundraiser for the year. With the recent budget cuts in all areas (especially the arts), this event was critical to the operation of the project. Events are not my thing...I stressed out about this all week. But I am always inspired to see a well tuned organization work its magic for a good cause. The gala features a silent auction and live auction for various works of art, trips, dinners, and other luxury items, with plenty of wine and food. All good deals for the lucky winners, and revenue for a excellent cause. I was able to meet and photograph some of the rich and famous in Jacksonville! Everyone had a good time. Cathedral Arts raised over $400,000 for their efforts. It was a major production, and major recognition goes to the organizers and volunteers who pulled the event off. Every service organization needs your help. Find a cause that you believe in and volunteer. It's how we as a community can help each other out.

First shoot of the year

My new tradition is to do a photo shoot on New Year's Day. This year the Costco amaryllis decided to have a color explosion on New Years, so why not start the year with some flower photography? Finding some compelling views is a challenge. It is always tempting to just dive in with your macro lens where everything is amazing just because you've never seen your subject so big. I also enjoyputting an extension tube on my 70-200 and staying a bit further away from my subject. I set up my Wescott Spiderlites, a large softbox in the back for the white background and a smaller softbox at 45-90 degrees to the flowers. I ended up working with these for about 90 minutes, then I found myself taking the same shots. What a fun way to spend a few hours on New Years Day!

New Orleans road trip

The last time I was in New Orleans was in 1978 right after Dorian and I bought our first car. We received two free nights as a promotion. So when my friend Bill Yates told me that PhotoNOLAwas happening over the weekend, my first reaction was, "let's go!" A quick 8.5 hour drive down I-10 brought us to this lovely city. We were met by Bill's friend John Burns, a local who spent some time in Palatka, and is now establishing an organic food market. My first objective was to catch the keynote presentation by Michael Kenna, and then to check out some galleries and do some street photography...and of course to EAT! And we managed to accomplish all of the above.

Beignets

Red beans and rice

The highlight of the trip was definitely the food: red beans and rice, collards, more red beans and rice, beignets, and BBQ chicken (a la John Burns). John did a marvelous job directing us to the local spots, and we managed to see a fair amount of art, drove around much of the city, and even had a friendly chat with Exxon security as we were photographing near a refinery. The devastation by hurricane Katrina is still very evident in some parts of the city. We spent some time in the 9th Ward to see how an urban neighborhood literally got wiped from the face of the earth. New Orleans is a very dense city and it is hard to imagine how 20 ft of water would look like over many of the neighborhoods.

The Dome

Local color

Hangout

Levee at Ninth Ward

The best gallery for photography in New Orleans (probably the best in the Southeast) is A Gallery for Fine Photography at 241 Chartres Street.

On our way home we took the scenic Route 90 starting near Pass Christian (get off at the Mississippi Welcome Center on I-10), through Gulfport and on towards Pascagoula. There were still a few crews working the oil spill and some old dock pilings left over from Katrina. The beaches were pretty much deserted.

Near Gulf Shores

New Orleans is full of life and vitality and offers its own special kind of ambiance. This city is now on my list...I'll be back for sure.

Help Portrait 2010

On Saturday we did another session at Family Promise Jacksonville and met with 6 wonderful families for some holiday portraits. Help Portrait is a voluntary initiative started by Nashville photographer Jeremy Cowart. Last year over 40,000 portraits were taken by over 8,300 photographers worldwide, all for the joy of giving, not taking, pictures. It is always a great pleasure to meet with families and young kids at this time of the year and to share some holiday cheer through photographs. I know after all the packages are open and the season wears off, those photos will continue to bring joy and memories to their owners. What a privilege it is to give this kind of gift. My sincere thanks and best wishes go out to Razzle, Devon, Emery, Latoya, Yakema, Malaki, Tykia, Zyasia, Ronnie, William, Tameika, Shon, Jayniha, Elijah, Ruby, Aleta, Yehudit, Justice, Stacy, Makenna, Sasia, Triniti, saul, Frank, and Jesse. And to Mark of Family Promise. You were all wonderful today!

Family Promise families

Farewell to Imagination Squared

Yesterday we took down the Imagination Squared exhibit. Since early March this project captivated the arts community in Jacksonville and brought together thousands of people in one collaborative project. The idea was brilliant. On September 1, Imagination Squared!: A Creative Response Experimentopened at MOCA Jacksonville to a record crowd. I will never forget that night. The museum was packed and the energy was high. We had spent the previous 2 weeks in D-day mode, preparing for the event, hanging the exhibit, printing nametags and legends, and completing the artist catalog that appeared in Arbus magazine. Overall a highlight in my artistic career. Through this project I've met so many wonderful people - artists, arts supporters, organizations - all who have a common love of the arts and an interest in making Jacksonville a better place through the arts. I've also gained some insight about what interests me and how I can contribute my skills to helping others. It's not often when we can engage in something where we can learn more about ourselves. I'm thankful for those times.

I thought taking down the exhibit would be emotional for me. It was but in a way that I did not expect. I felt good to know that I was part of perhaps a rebirth in an arts movement in Jacksonville. What if this was a tipping point, a needed push of momentum that would inspire others to move forward with their projects? And a needed point of awareness for the public to know that the arts community is something to be watched. For me it has. So it is onwards to different things. I'm excited!

Art Squared at Southlight Gallery

Doug Eng and Dolf James, Art Squared at Southlight

Me

A new body of work is now installed at Southlight Gallery titled Art Squared: Imagination Squared! Photographs. It is a collection of my favorite images from the Imagination Squared project, those which coveyed the uniqueness and simplicity of the exhibit. Many of these were featured in the article Art Squared in the Nov/Dec issue of Arbus Magazine. There are a lot of fond memories in these photographs and that's why they are so important to me. Working on this project was the turning point in my "art" career and I am thankful to have been a part of it. Find a project where you can work with others to help all reach a common goal. That's how amazing things can get accomplished.

Each of these were printed as a square 20x20 on Epson Ultra Premium Luster and sandwiched between a sheet of foamcore and plexi. I used Uni-frames to put everything together, and ended up with 12 pieces. If you need a source for acrylic sheets in Jacksonville call Red at Farco Plastics off Phillips Hiway (near 9A). A 48x96 - 1/8 in sheet costs about $60 (they will also cut to your spec for free). Overall I was pleased with the installation, it looked decent without costing an arm and leg. It's always important that your work be presented in a professional way, or your viewer will not take it seriously.

Art Squared poster, 13x19 archival print

These photographs are available in many sizes, including 8x8 and 12x12 folios of all the prints. I also have a 13x19 mini-poster for this exhibit, and these are $15. Email me if you are interested in prints, the mini-poster or any of the other Imagination Squared exhibition posters and prints.