Caught Within Frame looking for guest photographers/artists!

My blog, Caught Within Frame is taking a short break this week but will be back with a new post this weekend.

Currently we are looking for guest photographers/artists from all over the world who want to be featured in Caught Within Frame’s Photographer/Artist Spotlight." Hobbyists, semi-professionals, and professionals can apply to be spotlighted. 

Have something new you are trying creatively and want to share it? Have photos that don't quite fit into your website but you love and want to share? This is the blog for you!

Your work can be watermarked/signed and you can provide links to your other work and places you sell your work at online. 

To inquire, send an email to:  caughtwithinframe @ gmail . com. I can then fill you in on the details of becoming a Spotlight poster.

I really hope you will take the chance to share your work with others.

Caught Within Frame blog: http://caughtwithinframe.wordpress.com/

Jundt Gallery and Sketch Group.

Saturday the 2nd of November, I headed to the Jundt Art Museum in Spokane, Washington to meet-up with the Spokane Sketchers. I am again attempting to try and get out once a month to meet up with them to get back into sketching/drawing. I fell out of meeting up with the group over the summer due to projects and visitors form out of country. Now, I am ready to get back into meeting up to sketch again.

Currently, there is a showing of art by Leslie W. LePere so the sketching group wandered around to look at it before settling into the couches in the gallery area. I took some horrifically bad cell phone photos of the artwork which I will share here. Lucky readers that you are!

LePere seems obsessed with hiding images of male penis' in his work and seems to enjoy drawing roosters, sheep, cows, dogs, and birds. I got to smirk at people noticing the "cock" imagery after staring at his work for a long time. I give LePere a thumbs up for how well he puts it in the artwork so it is usually totally obvious.

After looking at the LePere work I noticed the wonderful Rodin statue that is in the Jundt collection.

The last time I saw a Rodin statue was in the MET in NYC. It was a pleasant surprise to see a Rodin in Spokane. It makes me wonder what else the Jundt has in it's collection since it rotates art from vaults to showing and back. I also love the blown glass, huge, light fixture by Chihuly in the large gallery.

Simply gorgeous.

 I settled down to sketch while listening to my Ipod. It seems a bit anti-social since we are sketching in a group setting but it helped me focus to listen to music. I am happy with my sketch and you can see it here:

Overall, a Saturday well-spent and I look forward to having more sketch meet-ups to write about in the future.

Fall Foliage and Caught Within Frame

It was my turn to post at Caught Within Frame again. So, I let the autumn weather inspire my photo taking. I took photos like this:

You can see more and get a link to the rest here: http://caughtwithinframe.wordpress.com/

Besides taking photos of fall foliage, I went to another Sketch Group Meet-Up this past Saturday. I will share my sketch in the next few days after I get it on my computer. I am slowly making progress there and feeling artistic again. I need to grab hold of my inner artist and make her create more.

The weather is turning to winter now and snow flurries will fly this week. I will share winter photos with you here and try to post a tiny bit more often. I am just busy with Caught Within Frame and trying to be creative again.

Where have I been?

I have been quite quiet on this blog. Where have I been you ask?

I have been running this blog: Caught Within Frame

I am really enjoying it and even contribute to it myself as you can see if you take a peek this week. Yep, that is my post about the Superheros/Villains/Cosplay photos I have been doing for the past few years.

You know, like the ones I have posted in the past. Like this one:

Above: Rebecca as Catwoman  By Brie A. Edwards

Running the blog has kept me really busy and it is a good kind of busy. I hope it keeps going and growing because it is getting mildly good response. There are also people who want to contribute which is exciting.

I am also happy to have picked up two cool framed prints at a antique sale this past week. Here are two crappy cellphone photos of them.

I am quite happy with the purchase because they will look cool on my wall when I get around to redoing the artwork I have on them.

I am in a bit of a "keep to myself" stage these days which means I am working behind the scenes (like with the Caught Within Frame blog) and making plans for what to do next. I will try and post here about things I do though I cannot promise it will be often.

More PowWow Photos.

I thought I would share a few of the "normal" PowWow photos I took this past Friday. I prefer the impressionistic looking ones but these show what was going on there in realistic way.


Above: Waiting for Grand Entry in regalia.


Above: Young boys in drum circle.


Above: The "military look" regalia is a style natives made after stripping military officers that they fought against.


Above: I love the headdresses and the colours of the regalia.


Above: Lined up for Grand Entry. They enter with elders (usually military veterans) holding the US flag, The Canadian flag (for First Nation participants...we are only 2 hours from Canada after all.), The POW flag (for those who have fallen in battles/wars), and the eagle Staff (representing the assembled tribes of the US).


Above: At the end of the Grand Entry all the dancers slowly dance in circle around the flags held by the elders in the center of the dance area. All while native drumming and singing takes place to accompany the dancers.


Above: Dancers during Grand Entry.


Above: I love the guy's carved American Bald Eagle staff in the center of this photo.


Above: Prairie Chicken dancers!


Above: Prairie Chicken Dancer really getting into the dance.

It was very low light since this happened just as the sun was setting. We got there too late for the afternoon dance competitions, right at dinner break. The cool thing we got to see the Grand Entry and a few dance competitions as well as "All People Dance" songs. There was a huge turnout of dancers and people watching the PowWow up on the hill that surrounds the "bowl" (dance area).

You can see more photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shadownlitephoto/sets/72157635246157859/

Impressions of a PowWow.

I always try to attend the Spokane Falls Northwest Market, Encampment, and PowWow which happens at the end of August each year in downtown Spokane, Washington. It is held for 4 days in Riverfront Park which was traditional fishing grounds centuries ago for the Spokane Tribe. I have many traditional PowWow photos from years past. So many that I felt like trying to do something different this year, something that was aided by the low light conditions of the evening dancing competitions. So, after taking some more traditional photos and candid type shots.



I decided to let the low light, fast moving dancers, situation create a "painterly" effect and go impressionistic in style when it came to my photos. I was pleasantly surprised by the results and they really appeal to the artist
within.

 










You can see more here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shadownlitephoto/sets/72157635238106708/

I shall be posting more traditional photos at Flickr in the next few days.

Also posted: http://caughtwithinframe.wordpress.com/

Caught Within Frame and Creativity.

The Caught Within Frame blog project continues to grow and grow. I am happy with this and hope it continues to move into new areas of content. It will start to do this when I introduce the "Artist Spotlight" this coming weekend with the first guest post that will feature the art of a friend of mine who paints. I am hoping it will be the first "Artist Spotlight" of many.

http://caughtwithinframe.wordpress.com/

I am the next poster after the guest artist so am trying to think of what to take photos of for my post. I have a little time to think about it and hope that something will come to mind soon.

Personally, my photography and art have been at a stand-still due to too hot weather, visiting family friends, and just trying to get some life things done. I am hoping to dive back into being creative starting this coming Saturday. I am going to attempt to make a Spokane Sketchers meet-up in Manito Park. I need to have that kind of structured yet loose setting to start focusing on my art again.

I also have been thinking of painting again and am merely awaiting cooler weather to do so. It is just too hot in the house since it does not have air-conditioning to really dive into painting in a room. I would have to have the door almost closed to the room I paint in to keep the cats out. That would up the "too hot" factor right now. So, I will start mapping out a painting and then get painting in Sept. sometime most likely.

Yes, summer has been a mixture of being busy and not. I am not complaining at all and hope that the Fall will be full of activities as well.

Caught Within Frame

The blog I have started is really starting to take off. There are three posts now and I have three more pending plus the repeat of the first three photographers posting new photos.

http://caughtwithinframe.wordpress.com/

I have a new "Artist Spotlight" starting up in two weeks time where I will feature a more traditional artist. The first will be a painter and I have another pending. It is quite exciting!

I am so glad that the blog is really taking off and it is helping get involved in an online art community with people (artists/photographers) all over the world. I like that aspect to it and hope the blog continues to attract interested people from all over the world.

This is one of the photos I have contributed to it.

I am trying to decide what I will take photos of for my next time posting at Caught Within Frame. I have a while two weeks to decide.

New Photography Project!

I have started a new blog project which will feature photographers' work from all over the world.

I made the first blog post tonight:

http://caughtwithinframe.wordpress.com/

I have 3 other photographer friends that will be posting at this blog and will be trying to get quest blogger photographers involved as well. It should be quite fun and I am hoping it will grow, and evolve as it does so.

Yes, this is what I have been organizing the last week or two and it is finally moving forward! My friend Nek in Greece is to be the next blogger of photos and she is very excited!

I will keep everyone updated on new posts to the blog and everyone cross your fingers and toes for me that it continues to progress forward.

A sneak peek at one of the photos I posted there:

Japanese Gardens and Project Planning!

I attended another sketch group meet-up this past Saturday. It was held at Nishinomiya Tsutakawa Japanese Garden at Manito Park. It was a cloudy day but we did not get any rain which was a change after a very rainy week. My sketches turned out awful because it seems I was not in the sketching mood. I did take a few photos of the gardens while I was there and will share one or two in this blog post.

Nothing real fancy since I was using my Sony Cybershot camera to take quick photos. I just want to share a few photos of the location.

I will be joining the group off and on for sketching meet-ups in the future. I still feel super rusty when it comes to sketching. I am going to try and find a style and stop trying to make complete drawings. That is not what sketching is about. I just need to relax and focus on "simple is better".

I have other plans brewing. I am planning a joint photo blog project with other photographer friends. I just sent the proposal out and am waiting to hear back from the three friends I have approached for the beginning of the project. It should be a lot of fun and it has possibility for turning into a great way to promote people's photography and to share photography from lesser known (and hobby) photographers I know. I will definitely post on how the project goes and provide a link for it when it gets started.

So, this has been what I have been up to lately. Exciting stuff in the world of Brie for sure.

Life Update.

My life has been pretty slow this month. There has just not been a lot going on in it which is fine with me after having a very busy April. April was full of Sketch Group meet-ups, Analog Photo Group meet-ups, heading to see Flashdance on stage, checking out the Dale Chihuly exhibit at the Jundt Museum at Gonzaga University, attending Jess Walter's reading during Get Lit! Events, and, finally, going to a Suds & Cinema movie at the Bing Crosby Theater. To think that I had planned for none of this going into April, things just happened to pop up and keep me busy. I guess you can say it is nice to take a breather this month.

I know that having nothing going on this month has allowed me to get caught up in my postal correspondence and read quite a few books that have been sitting around waiting for me to make time for them. I haven't anything big planned creatively this month because I am entering that point before I start projects. When I gather lots of influences and experience a lot of different entertainment to get inspired. People who are not creative don't understand this mindset and assume the creative person is just being lazy. Actually far from it, my mind is running at 100 mph and soaking in so many different things through various outlets. It is shuffling them around and then shuffling them again to find what will inspire me. What will fuel the next direction I take in my creative life. So, I am far from just sitting idle and doing nothing. It's just all that I am doing in inside my head at the moment.

It will be fun to see how it all explodes out in creativity because I can feel the build-up. Will it be through painting or photography? I am curious to find out. When I do start working on whatever materializes, I will definitely post about it here.

Getting Back In Touch With My Art Roots.

I have been wanting to get the artistic side of me kick-started again since it has been dormant for far too long. I have a painting I need to work on and am afraid to touch beyond laying down the background because I fear I ma have lost my touch for painting. I have been trying to get going on sketching or dabbling in art in some way but had been unsuccessful. I decided I needed to make a change this year so joined a group on Meetup.com.

The Spokane Sketch Club is a very non-threatening meet-up group on Meetup.com. I decided to give it a try and see if I could not start to get back into artistic mode this way. It is much easier to be sketching when you are around others doing the same. It is similar to being in a informal class without an instructor and where you can show up -or not- depending on your schedule. The people that come to the meet-ups vary according to day and time...and are friendly.

So, I have attended 2 meet-ups and have two sketches  I admit they are not the best sketches in the world and I need to get back in sketch mode to really do something impressive. They are a start however and I am not one to be shy so am sharing them here.

Sketch #1:

The above sketch was done of part of the windows in Riverpark Square. I had limited time for that meet-up because it was during a day of museum visiting, lunch with friend, and then a Get Lit! author reading. It could be better but it was the first sketch I did in a long time so I am okay with it's issues. I do need to loosen up a bit in style.

Sketch #2:

This was at the duck pond at Manito Park this past Thursday. I am more toward my painting style but just using pencils in it and it seems a bit messy and dark to me. I feel like I should be working in colour for sketching but that never works out for me because then it becomes a colourful mess. I am thinking I will keep playing around with sketching style and materials until I find one that I am totally comfortable with...and lighten up on the pencil when I do use it. I didn't get a chance to address the water in the pond because my ride showed up early cutting my sketching time down to just over an hour. I hope to spend more time there next time I show up for a meet-up.

I am liking the meet-ups because they are so informal and you can chat off and on to the other people or just draw on your own. I am glad I found the group.

I have also signed up for The Spokane Analog Photo Group and attended one of those meet-ups. I just haven't been able to get the film developed yet and plan to do that next week for sure. I am not sure the film will turn out since it was expired but I shall see. There should be another meet-up of this group soon and, of course, if I have any interesting photos turn out from the last meet-up, I will post them in this blog.

Angela Photo Shoot: Feb. 2013

Angela was the firs model I took photos of after taking a bit of a break. I needed to get back in the photo taking mood and start working on moving forward a little in my photography.

I was a tiny bit rusty when it came to the shoot but now I have 3 shoots under my belt, I am starting to ease right back into taking photos. The shoot was also VERY cold since it was on Feb. 9th. I think the temperature was around 39 (F). Angela and I both did a lot of hopping around in place and putting cold hands in pockets/gloves to stay warm. At least the sun was out and no rain was falling so that was a huge plus.

I have two more photo shoots and then I get to decide what to do next creatively. Spring has sprung and it is time to dust off the winter cobwebs.

Nick Photo Shoot: Feb. 2013

I have started to get back into taking photos and had 3 photo shoots in February. I have finally gotten two of them complete in editing and will share them in blog posts. The first one being the photo shoot of Nick.

It was raining, really raining hard in fact, during the whole shoot so it was not a super easy shoot. It did make me feel a little better about things since I am a bit rusty when it comes to taking photos after a few months of "taking a break" from it. I have another photo shoot tomorrow and it will be interesting since it is suppose to be raining again. Hopefully, the rain will let up some by 2 p.m. *crosses fingers*

New Photo Shoot On Saturday.

If all goes as planned, I will have my first photo shoot of the new year this Saturday. It will be my first in a series of photo shoots and I am looking forward to it.

The weather is warming up a little (if you call 40 F warm) but there is still many months until the days are warm. So, this means winter clothing and models who don't mind cold weather are to be in the photos. I was actually surprised I got as many offers to pose as I did. I just wish the snow hadn't melted as much in the past few days...but we cannot be lucky all the time and it was too dang cold when we had the huge amounts of snow.

I am feeling good things in 2013 and am hoping this year will be one full of good opportunities with my creativity and on so many levels.

Oh, and my birthday brought me this stylish camera bag for when I want to bring my camera but not the huge camera bag with me around town.

Above: Candy Red Camera Bag at That's Foxy

I think it will be perfect for looking stylish and for when I am not needing tons of equipment but want my camera with me. So, very cool gift for me to get.

Now to plan for the photo shoot on Saturday.

Gearing Up For Feb. Photo Shoots.

I have one winter weather shoot scheduled and two pending. This is great! I am feeling the need to get out in the winter weather and take wonderful photos, as well as experiment with winter, natural, lighting.

I decided to practice on my cat to get back into the mood for photo taking. yes, I was in that mood a few nights back and the cat decided to cooperate with my model needing to pose.

Above: Misty Jan 2013 by Brie A. Edwards

I still have many days open for Feb. photo shoots so if you are interested in posing, feel free to contact me.

Winter Weather Photos.

I have grown tired of sitting around the house pining for warmer weather to do photo shoots in. This has prompted me to put up an advert for models who are not adverse to posing in cold weather and snow. You would be surprised how hard it is to find people who will pose in winter weather, many magically become "allergic to cold." I am hoping to attract people who don't mind a little cold and snow to be captured in beautiful images

So far, I have one response from a girl who is all excited for a cold weather shoot and that will be happening in Feb. I am looking forward to the shoot and hope that many more models/people will contact me to pose in the cold.

 Above Cathryn by Brie A. Edwards