Posts by bkillen
When the Work Finds Its Place
There are times in an artist’s development when something begins to shift. The work starts to find its way beyond the field, the post, and the critique, and into the broader conversation. Not through a single breakthrough, but through a series of recognitions that begin to align. That is where we find Robert DenUyl. His…
Read MoreProtecting the Work You Create
Many of our Mentor Students are publishing their work, finding success in online and brick-and-mortar gallery exhibitions, and selling work to collectors. This dramatic increase in public exposure of your work means it is wonderful and needs to be celebrated, but it also means you need to seriously consider copyrighting it. Here is why. Today,…
Read MoreFire Goats
Photographs by EF Smith III, selected for publication in LensWork In the quiet hills of Southern California, a herd of goats moves through dry grass and scattered oak trees. To most observers, the scene would pass unnoticed — part of the everyday rhythm of rural life. But in the hands of art photographer Edward F.…
Read MoreRicky Workman Selected for Solo Exhibition at Red Bluff Art Gallery
We are pleased to announce that Ricky Workman, NPPE Mentor Graduate, has been selected for an online solo exhibition at the Red Bluff Art Gallery in Corning, California. This exhibition was curated around the theme “Vibrance,” and Ricky’s landscape work — drawn from his Namibia, Lake Superior, and American Southwest collections — was chosen for…
Read MoreSmall Towns at Night
Photography as Narrative, After the Lights Go Out from W. Scott Olsen W. Scott Olsen’s exhibition Small Towns at Night ends this week, and I want to encourage everyone to see it. The emotional rewards of standing before each print cannot be fully described on a page. You need to experience it in person. If…
Read MoreThe Pledge of Allegiance
Genavieve Heywood, a Fine Art Photographer and Paster of The Veradale United Church of Christ in Spokane, Washington, embarked on her latest art theme as an assignment with the NPPE Mentor Program. Her unique approach to thematic projects led to a powerful collection of monochromatic images that delve into the pledge of allegiance and its…
Read MoreTeal Skies and Carrot-Colored Pinnacles. An Art Photographer’s Slow Blowing Dream.
When we hiked in, the air was dark and crisp with the promise of a new day. Then, like a slow-blowing dream, the sun slowly advanced over a flat-line horizon. Orange light streaked across a prairie of untamed Western Wheatgrass, and for a few minutes, a mix of teal and orange filled the sky. Blue…
Read MoreDo We Still Need Photographers?
It’s a big question and several threads on Reddit and a great piece on PetaPixel by Jeremy Gray (https://bit.ly/4bhUPUF) suggest that Adobe is about to throw photographers under the bus. This Adobe ad copy, which Clayton Cubitt ran on X, is one of the examples inflaming pro photographers. However, Adobe is not the only…
Read MoreCalifornia Redwoods: Challenges and Rewards
Embarking on a journey into landscape photography is like stepping into a world where nature is both the canvas and the storyteller. The Redwoods National Park and the California North Coast provide the perfect backdrop for this artistic exploration. In this blog, I explore the unique experience of last summer’s Redwoods North Coast Landscape Art…
Read MoreA Hopeful Horizon
It’s half past night in the west and quarter till nautical sunrise in the east. From my perch on a rugged outcrop along the Grandview Trail, I can see the split light of the deep dark in the west as it slants into the advancing, luminous blue from the east. Stars seem near to me…
Read More