ligonier – 2Eight Photography

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Well it’s winter here in Southwestern Pa and with that comes the Annual Ligonier Ice Festival, to be exact the 25th annual ice festival. Yesterday’s weather cancelled many of the events as the winter storm Jonas, dropped around 20 inches of snow on the festivities. But today the sun was out, the skies were blue and the people were present. During my visit today they held a speed carving contest where the contestants were give 30 minutes to make their carvings come to life out of just a single block of ice. And I have to say that they done an amazing job. Below are several photos of the carving and many of the ice sculptures. Hope you enjoy the photos. #2eightphotography

The Star Fish was the winner of the speed carving contest.

Carving an Ice Dragon

Todays post is a few photos from the Ligonier ice festival. I was there on Sunday and got a few shots showing the concentration of the sculptors. I was amazed at the speed at which they were able to take a block of ice and form it into a sculpture using a chain saw, grinder, and Dremel tool. It was fun to watch and this year the weather wasn’t that bad. It was about 35 degrees or so which isn’t that bad considering the last time I was there it was about 10 degrees.

Hope you enjoy.

Ice Carving

Coming in 2013…

2012 has passed by quickly and 2013 is just a day away. As I look at this blog and think back to when I started it I realize that I haven’t really accomplished what I started out to do with this blog. The Idea was to show you my vision of the world. Sure, I have managed to share a few of the things that I like and places that I visited, but I question if I have truly shown my vision of the world and the answer is “NO”.

So my “New Years Resolution” is to post a minimum of one post per week for the entire year. I will challenge myself to photograph something every week and post it on this blog, hopefully you will find it to be as interesting as I did when I took the photo. I’ve compiled a list of well over 100 ideas for the year and hopefully this will help me to keep up with my goal.

As always, comments are welcome and I’m looking forward to hearing from you throughout the year.

I will also be having a solo photography show in July at Allegory Gallery in Ligonier, Pa and will post information about the show and opening when we get a little closer.

I hope that all of you have had a great year. Have a safe New Years and hopefully 2013 will prove to be a great year for all of you!!

“Desolation” the Photography Exhibit Arrives…

As some of you may have seen I have been working on a series of photographs which I have been referring to as “Desolation”. The series is based on abandoned buildings and houses throughout the region. I started this series last year with the intentions of just getting a few interesting shots from an old house that I had come across. I can certainly say that I instantly was fascinated with the idea of the these forgotten places. Since then I have been photographing and visiting as many places that time allows and the series has been growing. Starting tomorrow night I will have an exhibit of some of this series at the Allegory Gallery in Ligonier, Pa. The opening will be Friday, February 10, 2012 from 5pm to 8pm. The show will run through March 8, 2012. If you are in the area please stop by and take a look at the show and let me know what you think.

The photographs that will be on display consist of Black & White and Color HDR (High Dynamic Range) images. I decided to take this series in a “digital altered” direction to add some dramatic effect to the photographs. Also, to better show some of the amazing textures and detail that can be found in these capsules of time. It is always interesting to look inside these places and wonder why did the owners leave, where did they go, and why did they leave so many of their belongings behind? I have seen everything from pianos to a business check book that contained a un-deposited check. Some of the places look as though the people just gathered up some of their belongings and walked out the door. And then I come along all these years later and take the photos of the emptiness and desolation of these places. And even though the places are abandoned and without people, to me, they have somehow managed to take on a personality or life of their own. And this series captures some of the “life” that I have come to call “Desolation”.

I hope that you have a chance to stop by Allegory Gallery and take a look at the show.