Sam Abell has chosen 2 of my photos to be part of the “Composed” exhibition

I’m very proud that these 2 photos have been selected to be part of the collective exhibition “Composed” co-organized by Photoplace Gallery and  Texas Photographic Society.

Gallery exhibition: February 1 – March 3, 2017

Sam Abell’s statement :

‘What gives life to a photograph?” is a question I have long considered. Take the selection of images before you. They have been chosen from more than 2,200 entries for the juried exhibit ‘Composed’. But what distinguishes the few selected images from the others? What gives them life? One, they are built on a sound foundation of craft. The photographers have met a credible standard for camera work and image presentation. Poor technique hasn’t condemned their work. Two, vision. Each selected image demonstrates an interesting, sometimes original, way of seeing. This, of course, is crucial. Three, qualities of composition. All photographers pursue subjects; the best simultaneously pursue settings in which to situate their subjects. In the selected images there is a meaningful marriage between subject and setting that isn’t accidental. Linking craft and vision to the critical skill of pictorial composition creates photographs with the potential to come alive in the mind of the viewer. But that potential goes unrealized without a spark to ignite the image. Photographers seek that ineffable spark in life’s fleeting moments. These are the moments familiar to all of us–a graceful gesture, the telling expression, a change of light, the momentary rearrangement of things in the busy world. Or all of these at once. Clarifying this visual chaos is the challenging work of photography. But when done well the results seem inevitable. Successful photographs, like these, are complete within themselves. That’s what made them selections for this exhibit. They are also suggestive and cannot be easily memorized. That’s what gives them life.