Field Trip

Yesterday I took my Photographic Design (PHTG 202) Spring semester class on a field trip. We didn't have to go far, just to downtown Calgary. I thought it would break up the semester a bit and also give them a break from me doing all the talking. It was a great day to be trekking around the core. The energy of the office crowds at lunch was a nice change from the quiet halls of ACAD, as the school is nearly devoid of students after April 30th.

We visited ABL Imaging and the Four By Five gallery of photography. The purpose of the visits was to introduce the students (who are starting their last year of ACAD in the fall) to the world of design and photography outside of the classroom and to learn what happens after the photo is taken and the design is complete.

ABL President, Susan Otterson gave us the rundown of their services and a tour of the facilities. The students were impressed with all the professional design work that they saw in progress and in "finished" form. Their creative juices were really flowing with the possibility of designing a plexi mounted cover image on their grad portfolio book.

ABL Imaging produces a wide array of display solutions for all types of clients like photographers, ad agencies, real estate developers, architects, restaurants and more. Photographic prints from 8x10 inches to wall size, back lit displays, inkjet printing on canvas, custom wall paper from your design, signage, and all sorts of customized mounting options are just a few things on their product list. ABL still even processes E-6 film on the premises.

After lunch we went to Art Central where the Four by Five Gallery of Photographic Arts is located. Steve Speer was an enthusiastic presenter. As it turns out, Steve is a graphic designer as well as a photographer and it was a great fit for the students. It is clear that Steve "loves what he does" and he's not afraid to say so. He has a great blend of experience with both the art and the technology of photography, which really fits well with my own philosophy and way of teaching. Steve kept the group engaged with both his design and photography stories from the field, and finally settled the age-old question of inkjet vs. giclee. Inkjet = Giclee, and that only the pompous call their inkjet prints giclees, or as I like to put it, giclee is the French word for inkjet. (I recently exhibited an inkjet print on vinyl and cheekily labelled it "Giclee on Vinyl" to see if any eyebrows raised.)

Four By Five exhibits and sells only archival quality photographic prints. Silver based as well as digital prints are accepted. All shows are juried by the Four By Five collective.

As always, I appreciate the time busy professionals like Susan and Steve take out of their schedules to meet with students. It's a great way to introduce products and services to students as they enter their final year of college and move on to their professional practice. It teaches them to network, and it opens doors on both sides for future customer/supplier relationships.

Art Attack

Inspired by my Photographic Design (PHTG 202) students, I am participating in this year's Art Attack, which is a fund raiser for ACAD's Visual Communications student scholarships. See below for complete details.

About the work
This is my first time participating in Art Attack and also my first time shooting food, so I wanted to make something interesting and appealing for this year’s event.

Veggie Toss was created by throwing actual vegetables up in the air and capturing them at the moment of peak design. Some motion is still present, due to the slow shutter speed, which adds to the dynamic qualities of the shots.

The vegetables are lit from behind using the translucent panel of a Photoflex Litedisc, and in front using a shoot-through umbrella. This shows nicely in the backlit tomatoes and soft highlights.

Vegetables travel at different rates of speed depending on their weight. It took about 120 shots to get the three images shown here. No retouching was done to the photographs.

--
ART ATTACK
A feast for the eyes: 50 fabulous creations that pay homage to food and drink

The Alberta College of Art + Design is pleased to present the ninth annual Art Attack on Thursday, June 5, 2008.

Art Attack is a fundraising extravaganza that features the thrill of a live auction for one-of-a-kind pieces of art. Started in 1999 this event has grown and now provides two scholarships to deserving students in the Alberta College of Art + Design's Visual Communications Design program. Art Attack is successful because of the outstanding support of the community combined with the contributing designers, illustrators and fine artists who donate their time and work. Many are ACAD alumni; busy professionals who want to give back to the college to benefit the promising students with strength in both design and illustration.

This year’s event promises to provide a feast for both mind and body with stimulating pieces of art and design combined with great food and conversation. The silent auction will feature works created by local well-known artists who will utilize a common household element as their blank canvas – the chef's apron. Twenty identical aprons will be transformed into twenty unique and creative interpretations. This "variety within unity" approach is based on a design principle of the same name and will create a tremendous visual impact, certain to be appealing to food aficionados and artists alike. In contrast, a live auction will feature thirty "anything goes" pieces which were created by artists and designers whose only direction was to create a piece that reflects their expression of the theme. Ceramics, photographs, illustrations, paintings, jewelry and mixed medium creations have been donated for the heart-stopping live auction event.

Artists who have donated work include: Rick Sealock, Chris Cran, Katrina Chaytor, Karen Klassen, Laurel Johannesson, Guy Parsons, Dena Seiferling, Dee Fontans, Charles Lewton-Brain, Hugo Dubon, Margo Visser, Scott McLean, Marlene Hielema and many more!

Art Attack
Alberta College of Art + Design
Thursday, June 5, 2008
7 pm - doors open and silent auction
8:30 pm - live auction begins
Tickets $75.00 each
Please call (403) 338-5585 for tickets

Art Attack is presented by the Graphic Designers of Canada, Alberta South Chapter and net proceeds go to Visual Communications Design student scholarships at ACAD. Art Attack is also generously supported by Macleod Dixon, Coast Paper, Sasges Inc. and McAra Printing.