11 FROM 2011

I read about a challenge of picking your best shot from 2011. So I went forward after reading another way to do this and picked my best 11 from 2011. It was a bit difficult. Not because I had problems with the work, but because I didn't go shooting as often as I would have liked. But I found what I liked. And with each photo, I'll tell you why.

And here are my 11 from 2011.

#11 WATER LEVEL
While this isn't a particularly fascinating photo,
this was a recapture from 2008. I like the
simplicity of the image. And the age.

#10 TRAIN
While shooting along the Canal Walk in Richmond, this train came barreling
along the tracks above me. I always wanted to capture a train and the overcast
sky the heavy iron work made for a perfect black and white.

#9 ST GEORGE'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
I can't tell you how many times I've captured the steeple
of St. George's Episcopal Church. It just stands out in
the middle of Fredericksburg and speaks of history. This shot
was taken from Chatham Heights. I've taken winter shots
from Chatham, and I wanted to check out spring. The red
roofs and green steeple were a pleasant surprise.

#8 GOLF?
All these years, I thought he was on the
course actually playing the game. Instead, he
was perfecting another skill. This is such a fun
photo - a very relaxed Tom in his element.

#7 BREAKING PROHIBITION
I had the opportunity to shoot at the A. Smith
Bowman distillery. It was a fabulous tour and
the barrels made for some great shots. And a lot
of fun artistic work.

#6 SKYLINE
A shot on the way to Belle Isle in Richmond.
I was walking across the suspension bridge to the island
and looking up saw all these wonderful lines. 

#5 SILVER LEAF
It's just that, a leaf. It was a cool spring day and everything had the full
color of spring. I saw the glint of silver from the light on the backside
of this leaf and gave it a shot. I really didn't expect the photo above, but
sometimes what you think you'll trash ends up being the best shot.

#4 LOVE
While shooting at the train station in Richmond (you wouldn't believe the
opportunities at the train station), I was strolling around, and for whatever
reason looked down and this was on the bricks. It was Valentine's Day.

#3 WISDOM LISTENS
Another shot from Belle Isle. It was the abandoned hydraulic plant, I think.
For graffiti, I love the message. It's just so true. But the fun part was
taking this from a boring wall and making it art. Will definitely print this
on metallic paper so all that glitters...well, glitters.

#2 THE DOOR
Okay, gotta admit, I love this piece of art. This shot
was taken at the A. Smith Bowman Distillery. And
this shot was a loss. Wrong lens, quick take,
unfocused. What can I say. Such is the power
of Photoshop. I get a lot of feedback on this shot.

#1 CROSSING THE JAMES
I don't know what it is about me and railroad bridges. Taken in Richmond,
this bridge crossing the James River spoke of timelessness. And turning
it into art changed the scope even more. This is a metallic print and
everything glimmers and shines. My favorite shot of the year.

WISDOM LISTENS

No, we're not getting into a philosophical discussion here. It's something I found painted on a wall. Probably the most profound bit of graffiti I've seen. And they say our youth are troubled. I don't know. This tag has a great deal of intelligent logic to it.

But I have another one that's pretty much equal in the line of the mesage.

  

I particularly like LIVE. It's something to many people forget to do. In fact, I use this image on my photography/graphic design business card; just as a reminder to anyone I may hand it out to. Not that I'm some grand philosopher here. I just like the message. Unless, of course, it's actually an adoration for the now defunct group Live. I guess we'll never know.

And then there's this one - which sets a completely different tone.

I call this one DOOMED YOUTH because of the message it screams. It makes you wonder what's brewing in the tagger's mind.

All this comes about because every time I snap a shot of graffiti, the question pops into my brain - is graffiti art? I do know it makes great art. I see these three shots and could easily envision them in some retro record store, some funky used book store or a kick ass coffee shop. I like a little graffiti with my latte, thank you.

But back to art. Is it art? I know one thing about many taggers, they're usually damn good artists. Many years ago, I read an article about convicted taggers taking part in an outreach program with the sign industry. Now for those of you that don't know, I've been part of that industry for too many years, and over the course of that time, I've seen the artistry of signage turn into cookie cutter slap on the vinyl and put it up garbage. Yeah, it's gotten ugly. If you take a look in the Sign Gallery, you'll see most of the work I shoot is hand painted. At a certain point, they're also known as ghost signs. There's a definite talent with hand painting. I worked with a hand painter at one time and it was fascinating watching his skill. He tried to teach me a few things, but it was useless. I just didn't have the knack; or the patience. I also worked with a muralist. This stuff takes skill. And it's becoming a lost art. In regards to the article about the taggers, they joined up with some sign shops and found these young people to be quite talented on the hand painting side of things. There was hope in the industry that the lost art of hand painting could be found again.

So, is graffiti art? It's hard to say. Are taggers artists? Quite well could be.

But, if nothing else, taggers can be quite profound in their wisdom.

Quick Note: Take a look at the link Lost Art of Hand Painting. It's really quite interesting on how a hand painted sign is done. Not as easy as you'd think.