REFLECTIONS ©1973

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This image has drawn many positive comments over the decades and a favorable number hang in the establishments of private and corporate collectors across the land.

When hiking through the forest, I have always been observant about my surroundings and my eyes are quick to pick up on new concepts. This image was an easy one to miss, but the slight ripples in the mountain pond gave it away and I took advantage of it.

I first noted the old cabin on the hill, but the reflection in the pond brought my equipment out in a hurry. Without the ripples, it was just a rather ordinary image. Also note that it is presented upside down. It is also sepia toned which adds to the subject matter and long life of the print.

I have mentioned more than once in some of my essays that I have never used photography galleries and for a number of good reasons which I will not dwell on here. But this is an exceptional case. Several years ago, my wife and I were visiting galleries in Santa Fe. This is the second largest fine art city in the country I am told and it is well worth the walk. It also has several highly rated photography galleries, and I decided that while my wife visited her galleries, I would check out several of the photography establishments just to see how they might have changed over the years.

The first galley I selected was in the basement of an old hotel. It had some fine work but most of the images that were hanging were printed by someone other than the photography who made the original negative. Not a good start! After a brief chat with the owner I asked if she would like to see several pieces of my art. I just wanted to see what her reaction would be. Reflections just happened to be one of the three or four that I had with me ,and it was double matted to about 27 x 29 inches. It was a beautiful vintage image.

She quickly looked at the first three and the focused on the cabin and pond. He ecomment went like this: "I can't hang that on my wall. My customers would think it is out of focus." Go figure...

I cannot let the second gallery go by without also relating that experience. Pat and I both walked through that one and it was one of the first photography galleries that was established back in the early seventies. We spent a good twenty minutes scanning the images. Not once did the man in charge notice our presence. He was reading a book or a magazine, and he never looked up or said a word. I asked myself, is this a gallery that I want to represent me? Absolutely not! I have never had these sorts of experiences with a Multi-media gallery.