GarthWunsch.com

Archive for the ‘Fine Art Photography’ Category

Each month the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce organizes an After Business gathering. This month, it was hosted by Querney’s Office Plus office supply. You can read about John and Bill Querney in their About segment of their website. I would just like to say that I am happy they have reinvented their family business and given us a more local opportunity to obtain our office supplies. If you attended the event and would like some of the photos I made, go to my Community events pages, register (if you,re a newbie), click on Chamber Events and Querneys, then click on the thumbnail to enlarge and just drag and drop the hi res images to your desktop.
One of the great things about most of our After Business gatherings is the food. This was no exception, except maybe the food was exceptionally good… and where did such delights come from? From the hand of Susan Koutsoukis of Culpeppers. I can also tell you from first hand experience that the restaurant food is every bit as good as the catered goodies. Well done Susan. Really liked the smoked salmon and those little grilled wraps.

I am pretty diligent in my shopping to try buying as local as possible. Mind you, the business has to earn my loyalty. When I bought my first Mac, I went shopping. There was one established local dealer, plus the Big Box dealer. I visited the local dealer with my “tire kicking” questions, but the owner couldn’t even be bothered to get out of his chair to greet me. Instead, he let his summer student son, who new no more than I did, “service” me. I left, went home and ordered directly from Apple online. What did that cost them? I have since heard many negative stories ( and no positive ones after their best service tech retired a few years ago) I have also discovered that Laurentian University has a very competent and responsive little store on campus. Pat Dussiaume services the Apple community, and does it with class. Guess where I go for repairs and new stuff now ? ! I like shopping local, especially when it’s time to require service of some sort. And the good stores understand what good service can do.
So what are your experiences with shopping local vs the web? Leave a comment please.
BTW, Querney’s has also given me another outlet to display my Fine Art photographic images. If you are interested in seeing some of the originals, drop in to the store at 67 Elm Street, Sudbury, ON.

One year ago I began my quest to obtain my Master of Photographic Arts designation through the Professional Photographers of Canada. Today I received notice that my first step is now completed with the approval of my submission for accreditation in the category of Fine Art – Photo Decor. Obtaining this accreditation qualifies me for the designation of Licentiate – Professional Photographer of Ontario (LPPO). To qualify for any accreditation, one must submit ten images in their area of expertise and all ten must be accepted by the jury… you need 100% to pass this exam!

Wow, the start of another decade! Or is it just another year, just another number? For me it is the beginning of the rest of my life, a life I hope to make count and to be fully accountable for. I’ve been drawing a pension cheque since 1998, but that doesn’t mean I  have retired, nor do I intend to retire. That is a concept foreign to history.

As near as I can figure, 2010 marks FIFTY years since I picked up my first camera as a fifteen year old Boy Scout on a quest for more proficiency badges. Who Knew? Photography has been my constant companion for this half century, and I see no reason why it cannot be my companion for many more decades to come. My dad turns 92 in May and mom just celebrated her 85th birthday and last fall was anniversary number 67 for them… so, as I like to tell folks, ” I have really good genes, so long as a bus doesn’t run over them.” There is always something new to learn, something beautiful to see, something new to create that will bring joy to my world.

As we move into 2010, I am also posting my second “Print of the Month” titled Water Garden. It is an image I made on a canoe outing in Killarney Provincial Park with my friend David Kechnie in 2008. David is an avid and accomplished gardener. His comment about the landscape we were in summed it all up… “you just couldn’t design a water garden that lovely.” Simplicity personified! I love this country I am privileged to call home. So much water, so much rock, so much character and beauty. You can link to my Print of the Month here, and to my Fine Art Gallery here. I have made the Friends of Killarney Park a recipient of a portion of each sale of this image.

For me, this image is so pure, so clean. I wanted to title it Coquilles, the French word for “shells”, but I thought it a bit too obscure. It so reminded me of coquilles St. Jacques, not the food dish, but the shell markers placed on the ground and elsewhere for the the pilgrims making their way along the Camino de Santiago. It is a holy pilgrimage, a time of purification, and that is how this image strikes me, the blue so pure, so clean, the rocks so sculpted and so refined, seemingly floating on the water… Whole… and Holy.

Happy New Year everyone!