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Last week the Stony Brook Camera Club (SBCC) meeting included the Image of the Year competition. I was interested to find out what this was about and figured I would be able to at least see some great photos. Since I am a newbie to SBCC, I had no idea how photos were entered for this or how the contest was run. To my surprise I found out that since I “ribboned” in one of the monthly contests I was automatically in the Image of the Year competition. The even bigger surprise was when my photo won Image of the Year in the Color – Open – Digital, Class B category. As a result, it got me thinking about competitions and I’ve compiled eight reasons to enter competitions as a way to grow and learn as a photographer and artist.

Entering competitions can seem daunting and intimidating but there are good reasons to enter competitions. Here’s the list I compiled.

Go to https://mikeschaffnerphotography.com/reasons-to-enter-competitions/ to see the full blog post

I enjoy watching the PBS show, Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. I recently saw an episode (“On Broadway”, Season 7, Episode 9) featuring renowned actor and singer, Mandy Patinkin. It was a very emotional show, both for Patinkin and viewers alike as the story of his family was revealed and Patinkin learned for the first time of family members lost in the Holocaust. I was struck by the emotion and power of his family’s story but also by his comments in response to what he learned. Patinkin’s comments gave us a glimpse into the significance, the importance and the power of imagination in his life as an artist. This is something that all artists of any type can draw on and learn from.

Patinkin’s comments weren’t centered on imagination, they were about his reactions and feelings concerning what he was learning about his family. However, the comments reveal that the ability to imagine is the framework, the lens, through which he embodies and processes his feelings. The same holds true for all of us in our artistic endeavors. Simple statements but profound messages.

Go to https://mikeschaffnerphotography.com/the-importance-and-power-of-imagination-to-an-artist/ for the full blog post.

There’s something special about trees that makes them such wonderful photographic subjects especially if it is a bent and twisted tree. They are so many shapes, forms and textures. Trees are majestic in life and in death. There is simply a beauty to them that draws us like a moth to a flame. For a variety of reasons, I haven’t been able to do a lot of shooting in a while so when friend and fellow photographer suggested we go to a place she knew of along the San Jacinto river I jumped at the chance. As we walked along the river, she was first to spot this tree. Bent and twisted, it still clung tightly to its place on the sandy river bank. It survived numerous floods and its shape indicated it wasn’t a life without difficulty. But it prevails and therein lies its beauty.

Go to https://mikeschaffnerphotography.com/bent-and-twisted-tree/ to read the full blog post.

Through a friend I learned of a beautiful old church in ruin. It wasn’t abandoned but was no longer an active church; and it was slowly deteriorating. Its character, however, wasn’t diminished by the relentless process of aging. The church stands tall and proud as if waiting for its members to return for worship services.

Go to https://mikeschaffnerphotography.com/church-in-ruin/ to read the full blog post.

Thanks to modern technology, we now find that the camera is the computer and because it is simple to use, we often relinquish creative control to the built-in technology in our camera. The question is whether we are using the technology as an efficiency tool to make our work easier or we are turning over the responsibility artistic and technical choices to the technology. In the case of the latter, if we are honest with ourselves, we have to ask ourselves a few questions: “Who is the artist? Me or some unknown engineer at Canon/Nikon/Sony/… ?

Go to https://mikeschaffnerphotography.com/technology-in-your-camera/ to read the full blog post.

One of the age-old discussions in photography is whether or not photography is art. Personally, I believe that some photography is most definitely art and some is most definitely not art. Some of that is by design. Photo-journalism is intended an accurate documentation of the scene. At the other end of the spectrum, we have creative photography that is intended to be an artistic representation of the photographer’s vision which is not necessarily realism. However, the area in between these two points is a bit murkier as to whether it is journalism or art. Often, we are unconsciously cowed by the tyranny of rules for photography that push our photography away from the realm of art and solidly into the more documentary realm. Whether or not this is an issue depends on our intention; were we intending to create art or photo-journalism? Are you making photos or taking photos?

Go to https://mikeschaffnerphotography.com/tyranny-of-rules/ to read the full blog post.

Street photography is one of the more exciting genres in photography. It forces us to get out of our comfort zone and go out in public to photograph random strangers. How will they react? How do I respond to that reaction? It’s about overcoming your anxiety and pushing those boundaries. It is also about the joy of the unexpected. Even though we may be very familiar with the location we never know what we’ll see or encounter.

Street photography is story telling; both the real story that we see and the story we all write in our imagination when viewing the image. Story telling is one of the strongest forms of engagement with the viewer, after all, who doesn’t like a good story?

It’s the story telling aspects, the human component that is without artifice or affect that appeals to me. Simply put, I describe it this way: "Street photography lifts the veil and exposes the beauty, the hidden wonder, the mystery, of the quotidian life. It allows us to become voyeurs of the human condition'

Click on the "Click here for more information" button or go to https://mikeschaffnerphotography.com/street-photography/ to read the full blog post.

Known for innovative and experimental architecture Chicago is a great town if you love architecture. Famous architects such as Louis Sullivan, Daniel Burnham, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Frank Lloyd Wright, just to name a few, have buildings there. It is home to stunning buildings; the Rookery, the Sullivan Center, Union Station, Willis Tower, the Robie House, Tribune Tower, Marina City, Chicago Theater, and on and on. Aqua is one of Chicago’s newer and more innovative designs. It’s also what’s made Aqua a Chicago landmark.

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Death Valley certainly isn’t the kind of place you’d normally think of where you would go to photograph a beautiful scene such as Darwin Falls. The name “Death Valley” instantly brings to mind a harsh, inhospitable environment. Very inhospitable indeed. Yet hidden away in a one of the valley’s many side canyons is a beautiful little waterfall, Darwin Falls. You could even consider it two waterfalls as there is are separate upper and lower falls.

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While exploring a small central Texas town I came across this beautiful wall that just grabbed my attention. It's a wall, just a simple wall with a bricked-up doorway. But it has weathered in such a way that it beautifully reveals its colorful and textured past. Standing in front of it, you can imagine the building's past lives and how it looked at various times.

The red bricked-up doorway, while a significant focal point in the photo, isn't the subject of the photo. As a result, this is one of those photos where the entire photo is the subject. It's about it being colorful and textured with interesting details.

We can see varying layers and color in the stucco.  Complimenting this, there is beautiful texture resulting from the stucco cracking into many pieces some of which we see on the ground. Clearly, this is an on-going process of transformation. Where the stucco has sloughed off, we can see a wonderful rainbow of painted brick work. I presume some of this could have been from painted advertisements. The faded red bricked-up doorway presents a wonderfully large splash of color.

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