Are You Ready for a New Year of Adventures, Photographs and Exhibits In 2018?

Ah-Choo! and welcome to 2018. Many of us have kicked off this new year with a box of Kleenex, package of Ricola and Alka-Seltzer’s amazing Cold & Flu tablets while cozy’d up to the fireplace watching Netflix and thinking about all the photo-adventures we could be having if only our nose would just stop running; the post-processing we could catch up on if only we had the energy . Thus, my delayed Happy 2018! post which includes some exciting and ambitious plans for my TinyViews™ product, events and exhibits, updated website and online shop, adventures to 5 (maybe 6) National Parks and migration from Lightroom to CaptureOne.

TinyViews™: Large landscapes for small spaces

It’s the smallest, yet largest project I am working hard to get fully launched by the end of the March: TinyViews™ for Keepsake. The first release will be of smaller, square cropped and artistically post-processed editions of my more popular and favorite photographs like Keep Tahoe Cold, Never Ending Story and Timeless. Printed on 150lb fine-art paper with an included envelope and stamp they are the perfect way to say thank you, thinking of you, what’s up or wish you were here. The recipient then can keep their TinyViews™ photo keepsake on their office desk, cubicle wall, mantle or bookshelf with an optional hand-made, wooden stand available through the jMcCarthy Galleries online store or purchase a larger framed edition of the same artwork as luxury home or office wall decor.

Initially TinyViews™ for Keepsake will only be available at events, locations my artwork and photography are being exhibited and select boutiques that specialize in hand-made and locally crafted product. Location availability, as well as other TinyViews™ products will be announced through-out the year right here in this blog and at events I attend as a merchant or via social channels.

2018 Events, Exhibits and Projects

Last year was a great start for me for exhibiting my work, and in 2018 I hope to take a few more steps towards my future dream of opening up a gallery and learning center. A few public events I am considering for 2018 include: Boulder City Beerfest (featured exhibit: classic bar signs), McKee Ranch Foundation Flea Market, First Friday (Las Vegas Art District), Last Friday (Henderson, Water Street), Downtown Summerlin Farmer’s Market, The Candydance (Genoa, NV), The Street and Art Fair at College of the Desert (Palm Springs, CA) and maybe something in South Lake Tahoe. I will also be exploring the idea of “pop-up gallery walls” inside antique stores, and organizing my work into specific projects outside of the general category classifications. Keep in mind that this is a very aggressive and ambitious list of public events to attend and no applications have yet been submitted, let alone accepted. I still have to take a look at the calendar, inventory, budget and if I have enough vacation time from my day job. And, save a little of both for an actual vacation.

National Park’s here I come

After moving to the Las Vegas area over the summer of 2017 I heard from friends and co-workers that there are over 24 National and State Parks within a 4 hour radius of the Sin City.

Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon Nation Park are only about 2 hours past the California border, which itself is only 20 minutes south driving down Interstate-15. Heading North up Interstate-15 is Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, and Nevada State Park’s Valley of Fire. Not too mention Death Valley National Park, Joshua Tree, Arches National Park, Yosemite and the Petrified Forest National Park. Going East you drive by the Grand Canyon, Havasu Falls and with a little extra time I can loop back home counter-clockwise and visit the Antelope Valley Slot Canyons. I never really thought about how close I was to all of this until I looked at Google Maps. Who would have ever thought, right?

So an early birthday present to myself is going to be a 2018 National Parks pass and thousands of new photos, dozens of stories and new experiences to share well into 2019.

Updated website, blog content and online shop

Speaking of photos and new experiences to share, our jMcCarthy Galleries website will be getting a restoration of sorts. As I have been exploring my artistic style for the past few years certain aspects and philosophies have begun to establish themselves. You will soon see a change in the photos on the site from post-processing technique to genre. My evolving mantra is: Timeless, clean and natural. Color will become a nostalgic past-time and Black and White will become a contemporary tradition.

My online shop will be expanding its inventory to include the new TinyViews™ for Home, Select Posters, Classic Film Editions and Select Open Edition prints, as well as some hand-made frames.

What I am very excited about, however, is the continue growth and expansion of the recently launched blog. It probably should have a name of it’s own, like “Viewfinder”, but at this time it’s just the jMcCarthy Galleries blog; plain and simple.

I’m going to be writing more reviews for In The Bag , more quick-tips for Focus Points and hopefully become a little more relevant with some Perspective stories about other photographers like Peter Lik and William Carr, as well as film some YouTube’d adventures, perhaps at one of those many National Parks I’ll be visiting this year.

Defining Success

The intention of all these 2018 goals is to define what my emerging career in fine-art photography will look like and start cutting the path that eventually becomes the trail.

photo credit: Featured image courtesy of Dreamstime Stock Photography