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| Three of our
photography web sites are featured in the
August 2000 issue of Shutterbug Magazine |
| The Art
And Business Of Photography
Web Site of the Month by Joe Farace |
| This month's Web Site of the
Month honors are shared by three photographers whose work celebrates the beauty of the
natural world. Whether that image consists of a dramatic landscape, photographs of flowers
that will change your concept of flower photography forever, or of the gentile interaction
of a young Amish boy with his horse, these three sites express their creator's view of the
art of photography. |
| Photographing the Unphotographable |
| Bill
Coleman's web site (www.AmishPhoto.com)
contains a collection of sensitive images of the Amish people that he has been making
for the past 24 years. Popular myth has it that the Amish and similar religious groups do
not permit themselves to be photographed, but Coleman's images are clearly made with the
cooperation of his subjects. While some photographers simply unlimber their longest focal
length lenses to spy on people who don't want to be photographed, |
|
Not since the film "Witness" have scenes
of the Amish life been portrayed so poignantly. Bill Coleman clearly enjoys the trust of
his subjects while capturing poetic images of their simpler lifestyle |
| Coleman's subjects clearly
permit the interaction. In the "About the Photographs" section of the site, it's
explained this way: "...none of this would be possible were it not for the
understanding and warmth of a few Old Order Amish families where Bill's odyssey is
understood and his camera is tolerated -- to a degree. And thanks to you, these few
families do not go unrewarded.
The Galleries include five sections that
are devoted specifically to Amish children, including one showing a group of kids with
straw hats placed in front of their faces. The other sections are divided among weddings,
beasts of burden, pets, tree (not trees -- it's the same tree photographed in different
seasons), and the cemetery. |
| Three
new galleries include black and white, Amish millennium, and fall, 1999. The two panoramic
galleries feature landscape images of a schoolhouse made over 24 years. All the images on
the site are for sale as prints that are handmade by the photographer or as posters,
including some of his panoramic images, such as a stark, yet humorous image of Amish
children at play called "The Kick". |
| Links at the
bottom of the Galleries page take you to the photographer's art show schedule, information
about frames (including an admonition not to use non-glare glass), and an "About the
Artist" section that includes a portrait of Coleman with his son. This site, like the
following two, strikes a perfect balance between art and commerce allowing you to not only
appreciate the photographer's work, but to purchase a print to hang in your home for
inspiration. |
| The Art of Nature Photography |
| Jim DeLutes'
web site (www.JDLphotos.com) opens
with a listing of six galleries that contain many different kinds of images, ranging from
flowers to sunsets. Dragging your mouse across the list causes an image to pop-up from
that gallery. Two of DeLutes' online galleries spotlight landscape images, with some
amazing photographs of lightning in another, and graphic images of doors, windows, and
missions of the Southwest in the last gallery. It's his stunning photographs of flowers in
Galleries One and Two, however, that will make you sit up and pay attention. |
| Navigating through this
beautifully designed site was a dream using a set of buttons at the top of each page that
let you view images from any of the six galleries -- including larger sized images of
DeLutes' photographs -- as well as information on what art shows he will be attending.
This web site is not a virtual museum, but as marketing tool for a fine art photographer.
Consequently, you'll find information on purchasing images, matting and framing, as well
as his money back guarantee on any images purchased. When double-clicking one of the large
thumbnails to see it displayed even larger, a pop-up menu list shows prices for matted or
framed prints. DeLutes' web site combines these practical elements of commerce, along with
photographs that have a haunting beauty. |
|
Forget everything that you thought you knew about flower photography. Jim
DeLutes' unmanipulated images will leave you gasping and rethinking your own
photography of the natural world
|
| The Art of Landscape
Photography |
| Richard A.
Nelridge's web site (www.Nelridge.com)
celebrates nature with quiet, powerful color images of the Western US. From his home page,
you first enter his galleries page featuring nine different areas that are grouped by
different topics. Some are by geography -- Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming, and Utah
National Parks -- while others highlight subject matter, such as Coastal, Spring and
Autumn, and Running Water. Regular readers of this column know I'm often critical of sites
that use small thumbnails linked to small images, but Nelridge provides larger thumbnails
linked to larger images, allowing visitors to appreciate his deft treatment of a subject
that many photographers aspire to but few conquer. |
|
Using color as a strong tool, Richard A. Nelridge's
landscape images evoke the greatness of a wonderful land |
| Like the other sites
featured this month, Nelridge's motives are not altruistic; this site is designed to sell
prints of the photographer's work, but he adds touches that visitors will enjoy. For his
image "Autumn Misty Morn, Heart Lake" and many others, he provides caption
information about what it was like when making the image, putting you behind the tripod
while providing a "you are there" experience. Some of Nelridge's images clearly
transcend the genre. Be sure to visit the Coastal gallery for an image he calls "A
Sea of Red and a Ribbon of Red and White." The caption information has technical
details about how he produced this graphic beach photograph totally in camera -- not
digitally. |
| This site is a
snap to navigate though and uses buttons that let you be where you want to be next,
without any muss or fuss and the unpretentious design clearly puts the focus on the images
-- where it should be. |
| Bookmark of the
Month |
| The one common
element that all three of this month's featured web sites share is they were created by
the same people. |
| Berman
Graphics is the work of Larry Berman and Chris Maher, who create web sites for artists,
crafts people, and photographers. Most of their clients come from the art fair world and
information about show dates is a common design element in all three sites. Berman told me
that his job is "to create great looking, fast loading pictures that accurately show
off our client's art. I either scan their slides or prints or work with digital files that
I shoot with a Nikon CoolPix 950 (soon to trade up to the 990). Then I build the basic web
site." |
| Maher
then creates a theme that represents the personality of their client and finishes by doing
a promotional push to major search engines. In the past months, Berman Graphics has had
two of their sites listed as "Pick of the Day" on Yahoo!, which has translated
into over 20,000 page accesses and increased sales for the photographers.
If you're a fine art photographer looking
for a Webmaster, these two guys seem to "know the territory."
All of
the recent web sites that these two gentlemen have created can be viewed at: www.BermanGraphics.com, this
month's Bookmark of the Month. |
|
Berman
Graphics
PO Box 265, Russellton,
PA 15076
412-767-8644 800-350-9289
|
