July 27, 2010:
I'm going to be one of the artists in this year's Blue Moon Arts Festival in Frederick, Maryland. Thanks very much to Roger Cutler for inviting me to be part of this annual event -- it's a lot of fun and features great art! The show will start in late November, and I'll post more details as I know them.
July 26, 2010:
I'm honored to be one of the artists featured in a pinhole photography article in
Smashing Magazine!
June 15, 2010:
I'm honored to be one of the artists featured in a photography show at
The Corner Store Arts Center in Washington, DC. Four of my large pinhole
photography prints are on display there until mid-July, 2010. Thanks to Kris
Swanson for having me at the show!
May 10, 2010:
I'm in the middle of an intensively creative phase with my pinhole photography,
including portrait work, surrealism, and new architecture pinhole photography.
Within the next year, I hope to show some of that work at an appropriate gallery
or other setting.
February 20, 2010:
I'm embarking with my step-daughter Kelly on a long series of pinhole photographs portraying
her in various costumed and intensely themed settings. At this point, all of my ideas and
design concepts revolve around indoor photography, in some cases in settings that will
probably have to be rented out for shoots.
February 15, 2010:
I performed a pinhole photography presentation for the Bowie-Crofton Camera Club (of which I'm
a member) last night, and it went great! My presentation lasted about an hour, and I got to
share a lot of design concepts, artistic techniques, and pinhole photos with everyone present.
January 13, 2010:
I performed a pinhole photography presentation for the Greenbelt Photo Club last night, and it
was great to share art and photography ideas with the meeting
attendees.
December 22, 2009:
I took down my art today from my longest running art exhibition ever, having just
ended at the Delaplaine Arts Center in Frederick. Thanks to Virginia Kane for
helping me carry my art out to the car, and for everyone at the arts center!
December 18, 2009:
I've been selected as the Featured Photographer in the current issue of the
electronic fine art photography journal, Eye4BW,
including images of seven of my best recent pinhole photographs. I'm very honored
to have been featured in their publication!
December 6, 2009:
The Festival of Lights Art/Craft Show at the Greenbelt Community Center in Greenbelt,
MD, was wonderful this past weekend. I sold dozens of pinhole photographic prints,
and I made some new artist connections. In addition, I'm creating at least one large
commissioned work for an attendee of the show.
November 23, 2009:
Three of my pinhole works are now hanging at the soon-to-be-opened Van Gough Cafe at 300
S. Ann St., in Baltimore! It's a wonderful cafe, and I'm the first artist to be featured
there as part of their grand opening! I'll update this link with the cafe' website the
moment the site goes online.
November 16, 2009:
Four of my pinhole photographs are now hanging in The Hole World Exhibition, at Purdue
University, and the show has been extended through December 4th, 2009. I got to see the other
works at the show, and I was really impressed, and I'm thrilled to be part of that exhibition!
All of the other artists in the show are art faculty and full-time artists, and I feel truly
privileged to be there!
November 07, 2009:
My art reception was wonderful at the Delaplaine Arts Center, and thanks to everyone who works at the
gallery, well as all of you who attended! My favorite part of exhibiting my work is to share time
with those who attend a reception, or who email me during the show, to talk about ideas, impressions,
and anything else we want to discuss. Special thanks go to Diane Sibbison and Virginia Kane at the
Delaplaine.
October 27, 2009:
As part of my current art exhibition now occurring at the Delaplaine Arts Center in Frederick, Maryland,
I was interevewed by Ron Cassie of the Frederick News Post, and
here is a link to
his article.
October 17, 2009:
I got all four of my pinhole photographs into the juried pinhole photography exhibition called
The Hole World Exhibition, occurring at the Patti and Rusty Rueff Gallery on the Purdue University
campus in West Lafayette, Indiana. They will be on display there from November 16-27, 2009.
October 10, 2009:
I'm very happy to have twelve of my pinhole photos now on display in the Hall Gallery at the
Delaplaine Arts Center in Frederick, Maryland, from now through December the 20th. My reception there
will be on the evening of November 7th, and everyone is invited!
September 27, 2009: At the grand opening of the 788 Gallery in
Baltimore, I was interviewed in front of my four pinhole photographs at
the gallery, and click here
to see the video (I'm the second artist who is interviewed). Now that the two month show there has completed, I'll
be removing my art from 788 on Sunday, 09/27. Next in line for me is
hanging a lot of my pinhole photographs at the Delaplaine Art Center in
Frederick, Maryland. That art hanging will occur tomorrow, on 09/28!
September 24, 2009: My reception at the Yellow Dog went great, and
thanks for all who attended! It was a lot of fun, and about two dozen people
attended. I've already sold three pieces from that show, and I removed my
art from the tavern on Wednesday night, at the show's conclusion.
September 13, 2009: My art reception at the Yellow Dog
Tavern will occur on Wednesday, September 16, from 6-8 PM, and
all of you are invited! I have my
largest-ever collection of framed pinhole photographs currently on display
there, and for sale! The
Yellow Dog Tavern is located at 700 S. Potomac, in Baltimore, Maryland.
I hope to see all of you at the reception on Wednesday!
September 8, 2009: Dev Meyers, of the Pittsburgh Examiner, wrote
an article featuring some of my surreal pinhole photographs. The article can be seen
here.
September 7, 2009: Dev Meyers, a Pittsburgh historical journalist,
wrote a feature article on my pinhole photographs in the historic Oakland
section of Pittsburgh. The article, photos included, can be seen
here.
August 25, 2009: My pinhole art has been hung at the Yellow Dog
Tavern in the Canton neighborhood of Baltimore! The Yellow Dog is a great
art space and a splendid restaurant/tavern! My art reception there will
occur from 6-8 PM on Wednesday, September 16th, and everyone is invited!
August 16, 2009: In 9 days, I'll be hanging the largest number of pinhole
photographs that I've ever shown at one time, at the Yellow Dog Tavern in the
Canton neighborhood of Baltimore. The reception for the show will occur in
the early evening (after work) on September 16th, and I'm really excited about
showing my art at the Yellow Dog! All of my works will be sale.
August 15, 2009: My final show (being part of the all-members show)
at Studio Gallery has completed. This is my final show at Studio Gallery,
and it was sad for to move my art out of the gallery. I'll miss the
people there, as well as their wonderful art.
July 31, 2009: On Saturday night, there will be a huge reception
at the Blue Elephant, in Frederick, MD, featuring the work of numerous
artists, including me, as part of the ongoing Blue Moon 3 Art Festival
(see the links in my July 25th news entry). I invite everyone to attend,
and Frederick is a wonderful town for the arts!
July 30, 2009: Tonight is the opening night reception at the brand
new 788 Gallery in Baltimore, located at 788 Washington, Bouelvard, and I'm one
of the member artists there, with four large pinhole prints on display
on my own section of wall-space. We had well over 100 people at the opening
night, which isn't even the official grand opening of the gallery! The
quality of art there is very high, and I'm proud to be part of this new
initiative. Plus, this gallery is relatively close to home for me (only
about a half hour drive).
July 25, 2009: Tonight is the opening night reception at the Blue
Elephant, in Frederick, and I also have two large pinhole prints on display
at the summer All-Members show at Studio Gallery in Dupont Circle,
Washington, DC. This All-Members show is my last show at Studio Gallery,
and I will miss being part of the gallery there.
July 24, 2009: From July 25th to August 9th, four of my 24x30 inch
pinhole photographic prints will be hanging at the
Blue Moon Festival at the
Blue Elephant Art Gallery in downtown Frederick, MD. Opening night is
Saturday, July 25th, with a reception extending from 7-11 PM, and I'll be
there. I hope to see some of you there!
July 12, 2009: Kathleen and I took down my Artomatic 2009 display
and brought everything home. It's sad that this great art show has
concluded, and I'm looking forward to next year's show! This year's
Artomatic sales were better than last year's, and, given the current
economic climate, I'm very happy that several people chose to purchase
some of my pinhole photographic prints! Thanks to those, too, who
visited my display, and a special thank you to Kathleen, who helped me
with a lot of my setup and takedown for the show.
July 11, 2008: The poet BRASH at Artomatic wrote a poem
dedicated to my pinhole photography display and fastened it to the concrete pillar next to my pinhole
photographs. BRASH, thank you, and I am honored by your gift! Here's the poem:
Spank
To Scott Speck's pinhole photograph
Don't look at me so blankly,
I'm not giving you another choice:
Spank me or thank me--
You shouldn't have to think twice.
BRASH
July 6, 2009: I had the unique opportunity and privelege of being given
a tour of NRAO's Green Bank Radio Observatory
by Mike Holstine, the Business Manager and Engineer at Green Bank. For nearly three
hours, he guided me beneath, around, and atop the world's largest fully
steerable radio telescope, affording me an unbelievable photography
opportunity with my 4x5 pinhole camera. Thank you again, Mike, and I look
forward to sharing the pinhole photographs with you, the rest of NRAO, and
everyone else, in the coming days!
July 2, 2009: Artomatic, 2009 winds down this weekend in Washington,
DC, and it's been a great show! I sold three pieces so far, and the quality
of art this year (at Artomatic's 10th anniversary) is better than ever.
I look forward to participating next year, in Artomatic 2010!
June 27, 2009: At the 2009 Studio Gallery New Members' Show, in
Washington, DC, we held the opening reception, and all went well. I sold
a piece, too (a locomotive pinhole photo), and I'm thrilled! Once this show
completes, I will be in the summer all members' show at my gallery, and then,
sadly, I will be leaving Studio Gallery as a member artist. It has taken me
many months to reach that decision, based on my long travel time to/from
the gallery, generally slow art sales due to the state of the economy, and
the need to redirect my art-related expenses. I will miss the artists there,
but I've made some great friends along the way!
May 25, 2009: I am hoping to generate interest in my commissioned pinhole
photography for individuals, couples, and groups who are seeking dramatic, unique,
and emotionally intense portrait photography. My current site that describes my commissioned
pinhole photography can be seen here,
but I'll be adding a lot of features and information to this site in the very near future.
May 24, 2009: The pinhole photography meeting at the Creative Alliance in
Baltimore went great! I got to share my work with other photographers, and Chris Peregoy,
founder and camera maker for Pinhole Blender gave me
two of his new photographic paper pinhole cameras as a gift for being a presenter!
May 18, 2009: On Sunday, May 24th, I'll be one of a panel of five pinhole photographers presenting
their work, as well as engaging an audience of several dozen photographers, with regards to the artistic
merits and potentialities of pinhole photography. In this world of digital convenience, using my pinhole
cameras, made solely of wood and brass, with no electronics, is a simple alternative that allows me to
create and express my own artistic vision with unparalleled capability. Despite exposure times ranging from
seconds to hours, the ultrawide fields of view (160 degrees) captured by the large format (4x5) pinhole
cameras continue to intrigue and enchant those who see my works both on the web and in person.
May 16, 2009: With Kathleen's help, I installed 21 pinhole photographic prints at my Artomatic, 2009
display at 55 M St., SE, in Washington, DC. For this year's Artomatic display, I was determined to only feature
photographs recorded on large and medium format film in the past year. In addition, this year's display
features my first portraiture work, including photographs of models for hire, as well as other artist friends.
A preview image of my 8x12 foot display can be seen here.
May 11, 2009: My hour-long presentation on pinhole photography, made to the Gaithersburg, Maryland
Camera Club, was wonderful! I met many excellent photographers there, and I got to present my own imagery,
techniques, and artistic process, and the group was very enthusiastic about my presentation. Many thanks
to Don Johnson who invited me to speak to the group!
April 14, 2009: I have been asked to be the chief organizer and one of the member artists in
the 2009 New Members Show at Studio Gallery in washington, DC. The show will open on June 24th,
and I'm looking forward to not only being in the show, but in working with the other new members
in having a great show!
April 4, 2009: I was invited by Justyna and Czarek Plonko to join a worldwide pinhole photography
site in Poland called Fotografiaotworkowa. Their site
features over ninety-six noted pinhole artists in twenty-nine countries, and I'm proud to be a member artist
on their site. My gallery can be seen here.
March 28, 2009: I will be making a pinhole photography presentation to the Greenbelt Photo Club
on January 12, 2010, and it's the first event in 2010 that I've already scheduled! I'm always excited
about discussing and presenting at photo clubs, since everyone there is always very curious and
enthusiastic about photography.
March 22, 2009: I won best in show at the annual art show at the Applied Physics Laboratory with my
pinhole photograph "The Massive National Archives." I'm very happy to have taken part in the show and to have won a
prize for the second year in a row. This marks my one year anniversary of showing my art, since the 2008
show at APL was my first-ever participation in an art show.
March 10, 2009: Cenk Ergun, a musical composer born in Turkey who then studied musical composition at the Eastman School of
Music, recently viewed my photos of old rusty valves at the now-abandoned Henryton Mental Asylum in Marriottsville, MD. These photos
reminded him of one of his own musical compositions, created using sounds recorded from an Istanbul steam valve. He emailed me a copy of the .mp3 file,
and thank you so much, Cenk!
Click here
to download it and listen to it! His website can be found at www.cenkergun.com.
March 08, 2009:I won second prize with my pinhole photograph "The Massive National Archives"
in the Laurel Art Guild's 40th Annual Open Juried Exhibition, held at the
Montpelier Arts Center in Laurel, Maryland.
It's a great show, and I'm honored to be in the exhibition, let alone winning a prize!
February 28, 2009:My pinhole photography exhibition Through a Pinhole has now completed at Studio Gallery,
and thanks, all of you, for visiting. Several visitors drove over three hours (one way!) to attend one
of the receptions, and I have sold one commissioned work thus far. We had a great turnout for
all the receptions, and thanks again to my wife Kathleen for all of her help!
January 25, 2009:Chris Keeney, a favorite among my pinhole photography friends, selected me as
his featured pinhole photographer of the month (for February, 2009), and I provided him with a bio and
a self-portrait pinhole photo. He included his favorites from my pinhole photo collection, and click
here to read
the article!
January 23, 2009:Here is a link
to a shortened version of my pinhole photography presentation that I gave to the Frederick Camera Clique.
All of the technical information from the original presentation is contained in this pdf file.
January 20, 2009:Almost all of my pinhole photographs are taken using Zero Image pinhole cameras. The company's founder and
owner, Zernike Au, has kindly placed a feature about my upcoming Studio Gallery show, described below, and beginning
on February 4th. Check out the Zero Image Website
to see the feature information, found by clicking "Enter" on the initial website page.
January 19, 2009:Starting on March 5, 2009, two of my pinhole photographs will be on display at VisArts
in Rockville, Maryland, at a photography show curated by Frank Goodyear, Assistant Curator of Photography at the
National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC. I'm very proud to have placed two large framed prints at this show!
January 16, 2009:From February 4th - February 28th, 2009, my
first show at Studio Gallery will occur in Washington, DC. The link I provided contains information about this show that
will feature at least 16 framed versions of my pinhole photography. This information includes gallery hours and the
dates/times for the three receptions being held during the show.
January 15, 2009:My Pinhole Photography presentation to the
Frederick Camera Clique in Frederick, Maryland went really well. I enjoyed meeting a lot of the photographers
there, and it was wonderful to present and share ideas on pinhole photography. At the conclusion of my
presentation, Don Johnson, from the Gaithersburg Camera Club, invited me to give this presentation at his camera club
on May 11th, and I'm very excited about it!
January 14, 2009:I have placed a large framed print of my National Archives pinhole photograph at
The Woman's National Democratic Club in Washington DC for the
Inaugural Ball that will be occurring there in a few days.
December 9, 2008:The Festival of Lights Art and Craft Fair went great, and I want to do more such shows in the
future! I sold a lot of prints and got to meet a lot of talented artists at the show! Thanks again to my friend
Sherill Gross who invited me to apply for participation in the show.
November 27, 2008:On December 6th and 7th, I'll be displaying and selling pinhole photographic prints at the
Festival of Lights Art and Craft Fair, at the Greenbelt Community Center
in Greenbelt, Maryland. Most of the prints will be in the 8x10 range, with prices of around $25 or $30. I'm very
excited about my first ever art/craft show!
November 20, 2008:I have been invited to speak at a meeting of the
Frederick Camera Clique in Frederick, Maryland, on the subject of pinhole photography. This will be my first
paid speaking engagement, and I'm very excited about sharing ideas with the attending photographers there!
November 12, 2008:Miranda Vreugdenhil, a Wisconsin high school student, recently did a critique of my sci-fi
poem, Iron Rain, for a class project. You
can access her final critique, entitled
A Very Hot Summer’s Day on Planet Azrala.
November 9, 2008:On a chilly, windy Sunday afternoon, I took b/w pinhole photos for the renowned DC-based
Ska-Jazz band, Eastern Standard Time. This set of photos represents
my first professional, commissioned pinhole photography work, and the whole band really liked my results!
November 2, 2008:I have the honor of participating in my first major art show at Studio Gallery,
with the show opening on the bottom floor of the gallery on February 4th! I can hardly wait, and I have a lot of work
to do in preparation!
November 1, 2008:The day after returning home from Spain, I made a short presentation about my pinhole photography at a meeting of fine art photographers and
models in Frederick, Maryland. I was blown away by the fine art photography presented there, and I was honored to
share my ideas and work with everyone present.
October 19, 2008:Kathleen and I were the professional wedding photographers at the wedding of our friends
Alex and Kelly Shangraw. The ceremony and reception took place at The Cloisters
Castle in Lutherville, Maryland. Congratulations to Kelly and Alex!
September 14, 2008:I am a finalist in the 12 12 Gallery's
International Photography Exhibition in Richmond Virginia! I'm the only finalist (from hundreds of entrants, and
33 finalists) who submitted a pinhole photograph for the jurying process. Currently, I am having a 48x55 inch framed, glassed version of
my work, "The Massive National Archives", created for display at the exhibition. The artist's reception
and awards ceremony occurs on October 5th, 2008, and the show runs from October 3rd through November 9th. Here's
the web page showing
the finalist photographs, and I'm quite proud to have my entry among them!
August 23, 2008: Today, an artist friend of mine who does phenomenal cut paper art and graphic design,
Sherill Gross, posed for nearly 6 hours in front of the pinhole camera. Pictures of her on the way! Here's a
link to her main website, and here
is a link to her blog entry about the photo shoot. Thank you so much, Sherill! We met at Artomatic 2008, and,
at that time, I was amazed to learn that she too had worked on the Hubble Space Telescope project, in graphic
design instead of operational software.
August 15, 2008: Kelly Kalac formally critiqued my U.S. National Archives pinhole photograph for a final
class assignment in college, and here is the pdf file containing the critique.
Thank you so much, Kelly!
July 27, 2008: I have been invited to participate in the New Blue Moon Festival of the Arts
in Frederick, Maryland, from August 1 to September 27. I'll have three 36 inch pinhole photo prints on display
at this festival which features a host of excellent artists, including many great photographers. I hope to offer
a pinhole photography presentation at some point during the show.
July 20, 2008: I am now part of my first-ever show at Studio Gallery,
where two thirty inch prints of my favorite pinhole photographs are on display as part of the All-Members show
entitled "Stimulus"!
July 07, 2008: I have been awarded a grant from the Washinton DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.
Through the grant, they are purchasing two silver gelatin pinhole photograph prints for use in placing art in
DC government buildings! The two photographs selected include
The Henryton Railroad Tunnel and
Bonnie Branch Dam.
July 02, 2008: The poet BRASH at Artomatic wrote a poem
dedicated to my pinhole photography display and fastened it to the concrete pillar next to my pinhole
photographs. BRASH, thank you, and I am honored by your gift! Here's the poem:
Working on Vertigo
To Scott Speck's pinhole photographs
Who needs to go to sacred spaces
When I can smash my own faces
In the discomfort of my own home--
There, that'll show'em--
Only one more beer to go
Until I've completed vertigo.
BRASH
June 20, 2008: I am incredibly happy to announce that I
successfully juried into Studio Gallery, an excellent art gallery in Washington, DC that is a member gallery of the Dupont Circle Art Galleries. I am now a member artist of Studio Gallery!
June 19, 2008: I have been nominated for the Bowling Pin of Excellence Award as part of the Artomatic Art Show, and there are currently seven nominees for the award for best art at the show! I'm very flattered to be considered for this honor! A voting process will soon commence to determine the final winner.
June 02, 2008: Ade Scholefield, an experimental music composer, has used my
poem Iron Rain for lyrics in
a new musical piece that will hopefully be released soon on CD! Click here
to listen to it!
May 29, 2008: I attended the 2008 f/295 Symposium in Pittsburgh, PA,
from May 29 through June 01. This unique symposium focused on lensless photography (including pinhole photography) as well as alternative/traditional techniques for processing and printing photographs. I made new and valuable connections in the art photography community through this conference, and the Oakland section of Pittsburgh provided for some exciting new pinhole photography opportunities! The level of art presented and discussed here was truly world-class, and I'm honored to have learned from and shared with others here!
May 04, 2008: With the help of my wife Kathleen, my black/white pinhole photography
art installation at Artomatic in Washington, DC has
been completed. Twenty-three of my best black/white film-based pinhole images are
included. This huge art show, featuring over 1,000 artists, began on May 09, 2008, and continues through mid-June! Art forms include 2D art (photography, painting, etc),
3D installations (sculptures), short films, poetry readings, musical band performances,
dance, and many others!