Cuban Artist Annia Alonso

Cuban Artist Annia Alonso © JoAnne Kalish

Travel to Cuba October 19-26 2015 with dimaggio-kalishworkshops click here

In November of 2014  dimaggio-kalishworkshops brought a group to Cuba. We called the trip “Photographer’s Eye on The People of Cuba.”  In the small town of Cienfuegos I  met a lovely and passionate artist by the name of Annia Alonso.  We exchanged contact information.

One day I received an e mail asking if I would be interested in representing her in the States. After much deliberation,  I figured why not?  Artists helping Artists.  I get it!  Annia is part of the National Union of Writer and Artists (UNEAC) and this is how we first met.  She has a Gallery nearby. In a very short time with many texts exchanging information back and forth we became friends. She told me a delightful story about meeting Jimmy Buffett at her first art show where the owner of the Gallery was friends with him.  At the time she did not know who Jimmy was but was invited by the host of the Gallery to stay afterwards and play dominos with Jimmy as her partner.  He gave her a CD of his music.  She came back the next day and he was still there and he bought one of her engravings. The one he liked best was called Islands.  He encouraged her to organize a show in America.

I am including some of my favorite engravings & Paintings (first three are engravings) of Annia’s. She has many more. If anyone has an interest in her work for purchase or for a show please contact me directly.

All Artwork ©Annia Alonso

Just for the record dimaggio-kalishworkshops is planning another trip to Cuba October 19-26 2015   We still have some spaces available.  If you like to join us please contact us as soon as possible.  Click here for our Upcoming Cuba Trip

© Annia Alonso

© Annia Alonso

© Annia Alonso

 

© Annia Alonso

 

© Annia Alonso

Why?

Why can’t we all just get along?

Enjoying the view of the Eiffel Tower © JoAnne Kalish

Walking Streets of Paris Orthodox Jew on Sabbath © JoAnne Kalish

Eiffel Tower © JoAnne Kalish

Cuba At Last!

© JoAnne kalish

Please see paragraph from Merri Ansara Director at Common Ground Travel Agency.

Dear Joe and JoAnne,
First of all, Congratulations to us all for President Obama’s announcement today to begin normalizing relations with Cuba.  It has  been visits like yours that have helped change the view of ordinary U.S. Americans towards Cuba and our relations with Cuba.

Thanks to all our friends who went to Cuba with us under our People to People license for making this happen as well.

Our next trip to Cuba will be April 13 -20 2015. We hope you decide to join us.

© JoAnne Kalish

© JoAnne kalish

 

© JoAnne Kalish

Building a Better Portfolio and Website

Artist Will Barnet and Photographer JoAnne Kalish © Joe DiMaggio

Your website and/or portfolio is an assortment of visual material that needs to be organized to make a positive visual statement about you and your work. There should be a flow where elements work together and not fight each other. It should be a captivating and a thought provoking layout of spreads and pages, color, form, thematic relationships, scale changes, humor, elements of surprise, as well as details and whole pieces, and should entertain the eye. Your ultimate showpiece.

Have you ever heard the expression – “when in doubt leave it out”?  Well it very much applies to your website and portfolio. Begin strong and end strong but also think in terms of a beginning, middle,and an end while showing off your work in the best possible light. Remember your final image will most likely leave a more lasting impression than the first.  Only show a perspective client maybe 20 photos and group them so they flow well. Arrange and rearrange the order until it speaks to you and hopefully to them.

Now that you put your best work together the question is are there any weaknesses that you see?  What do you need to do to work on these weakness?  What are your strong points and how can you accentuate what you do best?  You’ve now gotten to the next step of becoming a better photographer.

By the way Will, even though you’re in heaven, my thoughts are with you as I am remembering that your 102 birthday would have been this Saturday May 25.  I miss you…

Small Things

© JoAnne Kalish

Sometimes small things you do, can make a great difference in your photography. For instance, while shooting on the beach one day,  I decided to intentionally silhouette parents and their children playing in the surf  to make the photographs more universal.  Normally when shooting into the sun you open up about a stop and a half for the back light. Here I did not. As a follow up afterwards, again looking for a different “feel,” or emotion in a couple of the photographs,  I chose to make one of the photographs monochromatic and all golden and the other in sepia which sets a mood as well to the photos. The gold toned photo possibly  representing the end of day and the other one in the sepia tone gave it a more nostalgic feel.  The possibilities are endless.

©JoAnne Kalish

©JoAnne Kalish

©JoAnne Kalish

 

Love the Nik Software

For those of you who’ve never tried Nik’s software plug-ins I would highly recommend them.  They are fabulous.  With the right photos they are truly amazing.  All I can say is don’t misuse them but for the occasional use on a particular photo they can really add that special something.  In addition their Snapseed app for the Iphone is also a one-of-a-kind app.  All the other copycat apps don’t compare in my opinion.

This is was done with their hdr software –

©MMXII JoAnne Kalish

This was done with their Silver Efex Pro Software

©JoAnne Kalish

Judge for yourself.  Just remember one thing though.  You have to have a great photo to begin with.

Montauk Point Long Island Late September

© JoAnne Kalish 

Recently spent a week in Montauk Long Island staying at  friend’s Tommy & Theresa beautiful home. Thank you so much Tommy, Theresa, & daughter Victoria –  it was great!  Haven’t been to Montauk in a long, long, time and have always loved the place.  Brought back wonderful memories of deep sea shark & giant tuna fishing, old friends, fun times, good memories & of course the unforgettable Captain Frank Mundus and our Discovery Channel Special.

Made some great photos, swam in the cold ocean, which by the way, was the best!  Had lots of wonderful fresh seafood and chilled out while there.  I photographed early morning sunrises & sunsets at Montauk Point Lighthouse, Fishermen, and waves crashing along the shoreline. Only wish we had more time to stay.

Tips for those wanting to go – bring a tripod ( a must), shoot long exposures to capture the flow & motion of water, remember exposures for back light, silhouettes, when to use lots of depth-of- field & when to open up for shallow depth-of-field. Also remember your  fill flash for added dimension, & keep your photos clean and as simple as possible.

*Photo is available for purchase