Hanging out with creative photographers

This past weekend I volunteered to work at the gallery of a contemporary photography group of which I am a member. First off, it was very slow as far as visitors. One person needed to borrow a pen and piece of paper because he hit a parked car with his vehicle and another was another member who came to see the exhibit since he missed the opening of it, otherwise, I was alone with the exhibit which was billed as small works where no print was larger than an 11 x 14.

What I found very interesting were the selections the members made to display. This wasn’t a juried show but members could select up to three prints to be included in the show. Now I’ve only been a member for a short time but I did have some very interesting conversations with other members. All the work was very good albeit an eclectic collection. I was going to put items in the show but absentmindedness was to blame for my neglect (in other words I forgot).

I spent a total of 5 hours looking through the gallery. There were some photo books from a free film project and the last juried show. Spending that amount of time with various works of art in a relatively small area I had lots of time to really study the artwork. I found this to be an awakening of sorts. Hanging out with other creative photographic artists and viewing their work is somewhat inspiring. I’ve found very little criticism on whether about the processes of others. Some work only in film, others only in digital, and then there are those who do both. Some are more purist photographers while others are more post-development. Thus far, I haven’t found it to be like social media groups or photography clubs of which I have been a member where there is a very discernable division between photography styles.

One thing is for sure and that is I feel much more confident with my style and my work. Who knows maybe this is the motivation and inspiration I have needed for so long.