The fundraiser for the Sheldon Theatre this year was like last year; exhausting and fun at the same time. The small army of photography volunteers were a well-oiled machine of diligence and the clients were steady all evening. We raised about $500, which is a 30% gain over last year.

The theme was a bit different this year (early morning Christmas in the 1950's) and the better images were the ones in which the clients became engaged in the fun. Above, Matt (my carpenter in real life) re-creates his proposal to his fiancée.

See? Fun.

Introducing Frank the Framer. Frank is an interesting persona. To begin with, he is very friendly and is always smiling with a warm wink. He cares about his appearance, judging by the neatly tied bow tie and perfectly parted hair and he can be both abstract and exact at the same time and is very colorful.

Over time Frank's purpose will become clear, but today seemed like a good opportunity to introduce him.

Last year was the first year that we held a fund raiser for The Sheldon Theatre the Friday after Thanksgiving. The idea was to open the doors of The Sheldon to the public during the Downtown Red Wing Holiday Stroll and use their set and costume departments to re-create a family photo at a 1950's Macy's department store.

This year we are excited to work with The Sheldon again on another retro-Christmas family photo event. This year we will re-create the excitement of Christmas morning, circa 1955. To put it in proper perspective, think of the set of "The Honeymooners" (Brooklyn apartment, table, chairs and a table-top tree), throw on an old-fashioned robe (maybe with a night cap or hair curlers) and a few slippers. The photos will be printed using a very dated look (back and white complete with creases).

This will be way too cool for school. And all for $5.00!

The Newseum is an interactive museum of news and journalism in Washington D.C. The mission of The Newseum (from their web site) is to "educate the public about the value of a free press in a free society and tells the stories of the world's important events in unique and engaging ways". In other words, it is all about the First Amendment. It is located just off Pennsylvania Avenue near The U.S. Capital. This is a high profile location in a high profile city.

As part of our ongoing relationship with the AmericanPoverty.org photojournalism exhibit, we produced several very large (48”x72”) mounted prints for a reception at the Newseum later this week. The images needed to be large because the reception hall is large and visual impact is important. This is an exhibit designed to create momentum for the AmericanPoverty.org campaign going forward.

These images have this beautiful platinum print finish. Platinum prints (sometimes called platinotypes) is one of the oldest photographic processing techniques and provides the greatest tonal range of any printing method using wet chemistry development. But because this is the digital age, platinum prints are ‘replicated’ in the computer, yet they do a terrific job of re-creating the original look.

2010 will see an acceleration of activity with Catholic Charities and AmericanPoverty.org.

And we can hardly wait.

Details have been finalized for our next original art exhibit. "Hard Boiled Art" presents original pulp magazine cover art from the 1930's to the 1960's. The exhibit will run from November 5th to December 6th, 2009 with a reception that is still to be determined.

This is a unique art form. Pulp magazine covers were very sensational and were considered the most important aspect in the sales of any particular pulp series. The socially acceptable boundaries were often tested and the topics reflected the then current popular culture.

The covers were typically machismo in nature with elements of evil or danger and at least one hero. The 1930's had strong detective and science-fiction followings and the 1960's were all about the 'Red Scare' of the communists.

Regardless of the threat, the damsels in distress typically had a torn blouse. :)

Come and enjoy the exhibit. This is a rare opportunity to see the original art that was used to create the published covers. It is fun and an absolute snapshot of an industry that hardly exists any longer.

This morning the Minneapolis Star-Tribune business columnist Dick Youngblood wrote a very favorable column about our business here in Red Wing. It was a lot of fun getting to know Dick over several conversations and meetings and I really didn't know what to expect. Needless to say, I was very happy and a bit embarrassed by the attention.

But it was the sub-headline on the second page of the hard-copy article that really made me smile. For many years I thought I was a "washed-up sales rep" when in fact I was only a "burned-out sales rep". Imagine my relief.

You gotta love it. :)

The article can be found here.

Thanks for the article Dick and thanks for the support Dave and Dean.

This weekend is the much anticipated 2nd annual Flyway Film Festival. The event begins on Thursday night with a meet-and-greet reception and the opening night of movies begins on Friday night with "Storm", followed by "Ink". In many cases both actors and the directors of the films will be at the film festival to answer questions and over the course of Friday, Saturday and Sunday over 30 independent films will be shown.

Saturday will be a bit different with a one-day, genre-specific event of classic and cutting-edge independent zombie films. And everybody loves a good movie about the undead :)

We are proud to be a red carpet sponsor of this ambitious art endeavor and to have provided the large format graphics to promote this event.

Details are at www.FlywayFilmFestival.org. See you in Stockholm this weekend!

For the humor-deprived the title might seem borderline inappropriate, but it actually is very appropriate.

Photographers have a responsibility to document the world as it is. So many icons of our existence are disappearing and once they are gone, they are gone forever. A drive-in movie theater only lasts as long as the economics of local development allow it to. Once the land becomes more valuable as anything other than a drive-in, adios drive-in movie theater.

Pay attention to everything and take nothing for granted. Don't tell yourself that someday you will take a certain photo. Take it today.

Last week Catholic Charities USA kicked off their annual conference in Portland, Oregon with the large format photojournalism exhibit produced by the In Our Own Backyard photojournalism team. This exhibit was entitled AmericanPoverty.org and is meant to raise the awareness of people living in poverty in the United States. Catholic Charities has declared the goal to reduce poverty in the United States by 50 percent by the year 2020. This is a very aggressive goal, but Catholic Charities understands that the only way to meet an aggressive goal is to set the bar very high.

In Our Own Backyard is a team of skilled and seasoned photojournalists who have witnessed first-hand the struggles of extreme poverty in the United States. This team includes, in part, Steve Liss, Jon Lowenstein, Brenda Ann Kenneally and Eli Reed. These are talented photojournalists, with strong personalities and stronger communication skills. They have crisscrossed the United States in capturing exactly what it means to be poor.

It has been a delight to be involved in this project. The deadlines were tight and God bless overnight delivery. There are a minimum of six more cities that will be hosting this exhibit over the next year, so we look forward to future involvement. Learn more about this large format photojournalism project at AmericanPoverty.org.

It has been 18 months since Jon Hassler died. Jon was well known for his literary skills, but many people are not aware that Jon was an artist before he was a novelist. He would teach English during the school year (high school and college) and during the summer he was on the art fair circuit. He began writing relatively late in life (Staggerford was published when he was 44), but he always enjoyed painting whenever he had the chance.

Just like his books, his paintings have reoccurring themes; rural landscapes, long light, complex skies and almost always a strong vanishing point element. In fact, they are almost exactly what you would expect if you have read any of his novels or short stories.

We came to know Jon five years before he died from the complications of progressive supranuclear palsy. Jon and his wife Gretchen entrusted us with 22 of his original paintings (above left, 'Snowfall', 20"x16", oil on canvas; above right, 'Road to Johnson's Farm I', 16"x12", oil on canvas), all of which were painted in the late 1980's. These are all remarkable originals and a portion of each sale will be donated to CurePSP (www.psp.org).

Think of the picnic table under the canopy tent in the parking lot as Social Networking 1.0. It is the most fundamental device for creating community networks.

World problems have been solved and judgment passed on every local politician at this very table.

Just last month under this tent Leah Nesbitt was declared the 2009 Downtown Red Wing Macaroni and Cheese Smackdown Champion (she used all Wisconsin natural ingredients).

At night the little Japanese lanterns are lit up and the table becomes more of a 'night spot' where topics are dissected, examined and reassembled, many times over fermented nectar and usually in hushed voices. In the mornings, it is a destination for coffee and a newspaper.

Warren Buffet would appreciate how effective this $70 picnic table is as a marketing tool.

This time of year creates some beautiful opportunities for panorama photography. The light is becoming longer and the trees are just beginning to turn color. The Mississippi River in particular is a good panorama subject in this area because there are plenty of river bluffs to capture the wide expanse of the river.

The photo above was captured at Buena Vista Park above Alma, Wisconsin. It is a spectacular overlook. The weather was borderline inclement, which creates wonderful atmospheres for the camera lens.

This is a 4:1 print. Large format printing is ideal for a very narrow print like this. In order to really appreciate a print like this, it does require some height to the image, which means it will grow very wide, very fast. A 12" high print becomes a 48" wide print. Add some mat (typically 3" all around) and some moulding, the overall image is nearly 5 feet wide. This is a 'high drama' image that demands attention as soon as you walk into the room.

We are super excited.

This year Red Wing Framing & Fine Art Printing will be a 'Red Carpet Sponsor' of the 2nd annual Flyway Film Festival in Pepin, Wisconsin from October 22 to 25, 2009. The primary venue will be the Lake Pepin Art & Design Center. Besides providing support in part for the entire event, we will be the presenting sponsor for the opening night events on Friday night, October 23rd at 7 pm.

This is a significant investment for our modest operation, but it makes sense for several reasons;

1) We like what this group is trying to accomplish and their ambitious way of going about it.
2) We love films, which should be apparent by past entries regarding the Chief Theater in Red Wing.
3) We feel it is very important to contribute to the community and we like art venues that try to be all-inclusive.

More about this as the calendar gets closer to the the film festival.

Tomorrow (August 12) the 1st annual Downtown Red Wing Mac and Cheese Smackdown takes place. We are delighted to host and look for forward to a most delicious event. Every small business in Downtown Red Wing is invited to participate.

You might be asking yourself, "What does a mac and cheese smackdown have to do with small businesses?"

Nothing and everything is the answer.

Nothing, because it has nothing to do with business, per se. And everything, because every small business feels the economic challenge these days and providing a small amount of escapism has real value.

There is always room and time to have fun. And nothing says fun like a mac and cheese smackdown.

A Certified Picture Framer (CPF) is a designation administerd by the Professional Picture Framing Association (PPFA). The PPFA adminsters the five hour CPF exam twice a year and tests in the areas of: (1) art and framing preservation, (2) framing knowledge, (3) the mechanics of framing, (4) the mathematics of framing and (5) art and image mounting.

To insure that any framer who has a CPF stays current in the professional framing field, a CPF must retake the exam and re-certifiy as a CPF every five years.

This is a very arduous and rigorous process, which is why very few framers bother becoming CPF's. Red Wing Framing Gallery is one of only five CPF's actively working in Minnesota.

We are very proud of the professionalism in which we address our business and we take our industry very seriously.

This should be important to any client if their art is important to them.

Pulp cover art has a unique place in art history. It has terrific nostalgia appeal for anybody who enjoyed The Hardy Boys, comic books or even a peek at The Old Man's collection of True Detective or Stag magazines. It had the specific purposes to grab your attention on the newstand in a crowded field of competitor's and to evoke an emotion, usually with a provocative image of impending peril or suggestive sensuality. Common elements usually include a couple of 'toughs', a large breasted woman and a 'citizen' or a 'hero'. The above example (original on the left, Rudolph Zirn, 1939) has all three.

We are excited and delighted to announce a gallery exhibit of original pulp cover art. The show will open in October (date tbd) and will include both the original art and the subsequent ephemera the originals were used to produce. The colors are extremely vivid and the techniques used by the artists to project a response is fascinating.

This is the third year in a row that we have had the pleasure of working with Grapefruit Moon Gallery in presenting their collection of illustration art. In 2007 we presented original pin-up art (here and here) and in 2008 we presented original Cream of Wheat advertising art. Pulp magazine art is yet another sub-genre of illustration art that we are proud to present.

The 'pulps' were fiction magazines that were very popular from about 1930 to 1960. The term 'pulp' comes from the cheap paper typically used in production (cheap paper has a lot of wood pulp). The magazines became noteworthy for their provocative covers. The covers became so important that in many cases the covers were designed first and the text was designed around the covers. Pulp magazines were also a major employer of short story authors and the subsequent demise of the pulp industry created a vacuum for these authors that has never been filled.

Oil or gouche paintings are used to create the original cover art. The colors are intentionally vivid to compensate for the primitive printing technology at the time. Several pulp cover artists (i.e., Frank Paul and Margaret Brundage) became accomplished artists in this genre and attracted a following. Pulp art has recently experienced a renaissance in popularity and is widely sought by collectors.

More details as they evolve but I thought this teaser would have value.

Red Wing is a company town and the name of that company is the Red Wing Shoe Company.

Red Wing Shoe (or 'The Shoe' to the locals) has been manufacturing shoes and boots in Red Wing for over 100 years. The company manufactures and sells purpose-built footwear. Some of their target markets include oil and gas, construction, iron workers, agriculture, hunting and hiking. Their largest manufacturing plant is in Red Wing, Minnesota. Almost all other footwear today is manufactured and imported from low cost countries, so a work boot made in the USA is unique.

The Shoe is paternal about the City of Red Wing. When The Shoe announced last year that they were going to purchase a blighted downtown building and create a flagship shoe store and museum, it was a major announcement, especially locally.

This past week The Shoe moved their World's Largest Boot (20x a normal boot) from a warehouse to the new store. It was an exciting event that garnered a lot of attention. As exciting as that was, the energy level is even higher inside the store as employees scramble to meet an aggressive deadline in opening the new store.

Red Wing Shoe understands the value of visuals and is an image-oriented company. We are proud to have provided the graphics and framing for this exciting new venue. The store opens August 3rd and the museum later this month.

Recently this Norman Rockwell concept sketch was in the shop to be re-framed. Rockwell would rough sketch a proposed painting, present it to a potential client and solicit feedback. Hopefully he would be awarded the project, finish the piece, get paid and then move unto the next project.

Does the fact that an artist is directed what to paint diminish the art itself? Not at all. Artists who can support themselves strictly on their own creative output are rare. And it is a minor step from an artist taking on a commissioned project to a full-time commercial illustrator. The net result might not be an artist's first choice, but finding opportunity to be creative within the boundaries of a client's expectations requires both a unique skill set and maturity as an artist.

This is the segue into an upcoming exhibit that was just finalized this week. The working title (and it will change soon) is "Tough Guys and Tough Cookies" and will be a presentation of original art used for pulp magazine covers. This art typically presents scenes of over-the-top drama, usually with somebody in peril. It is a sub-genre illustration art that required efficiency and productivity on the part of the artists. The pay checks were smaller than most of their colleagues, but it paid the bills and allowed artists to create art for a living.

This is the third year in a row we have had the pleasure of working with Grapefruit Moon Gallery. The first two shows (original pin-up art and original Cream of Wheat art) were very successful. This will be a bit different, but consistent with the idea of presenting 20th century illustration art and various subsets. More details next week.

People who invent snappy metaphors to describe business principles might say something like; a small business today is like a great white shark, always on the move, never resting, never sleeping. That sounds way too contrived, so it would be best to simply say that a business must constantly ask itself what it does for a living, and is it where it wants to be in doing that thing it does.

The name change is more a matter of acknowledging how this business has evolved. We frame and we print and we do anything in between. Also it was time to freshen up the logo; shine our shoes, so to speak. This was harder than you might think because the fonts used are fabricated for our needs. It isn't an off-the-shelf font, but it does have a basis in the history of this business. But it is too difficult to explain without hand gestures.

The new web site is another matter. The changes appear to be mostly cosmetic, but under the hood it is an entirely different animal. It would take a rocket scientist to explain the differences and unfortunately, one isn't immediately availible.

With any new web site, it is very easy to be driven crazy trying to chase down every image resizing requirement or some dropped html code. This is called 'overhead' and produces no income. Overhead bad. Income good.

But, you do what you have to do, when you have to do it.

Several Fiddler on the Roof selections were sung (a teaser for an upcoming production) and Rosanne Cash and her husband came out and performed for about 90 minutes. It was a straightforward performance, very professional and simple (two guitars). Just a class act. Then Roomful of Blues picked up the tempo for the next 90 minutes. The skies cleared (it was spitting rain on occasion) and the Sheldon Brass Band took the stage and played mostly some traditional John Philip Sousa music.

It was the final score, which was Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, that something truly remarkable happened. Right at the crescendo, right at the peak of the music, cannons began firing off explosions and all the church bells in town started ringing. Red Wing has a lot of church bells and between the Brass Band, the cannons and the church bells, it was a very moving experience. Several people started spontaneously crying and it is hard not to get choked up thinking about it now. The Sheldon Theatre deserves a ton of credit for making this an amazing day in Red Wing history.

It has been fun charting the progress of the newest neighbor in our neighborhood. But now it is time to move on to other curious topics.

The Red Wing Central Park Bandshell appears to be ~99% complete. The railings need to be anchored and the grass needs to be mowed one more time. It seems right-sized for the park; not too big and not too small.

The side walls (six total) all pivot open when needed. The inside ceiling has a complete lighting system. It isn't clear what purpose the two round towers to each side serve. They each have doors as well, and when opened close the gap between the towers and the shell. It might be both dressing rooms and off-stage space. One of the very interesting aspects of this location is that in every direction a church steeple can be seen.

This is the view from the bandshell looking out. The balustrade wall was built in 1880 when Hamline University owned this land.

Even the view behind the Bandshell is impressive. The activities begin on July 4th at 3 pm, The Sheldon Phoenix Theatre, Rosanne Cash, Roomful of Blues, the Sheldon Brass Band at 9 pm (complete with cannon) followed by fireworks over the Mississippi River. Awesome.

It is a week before the Red Wing Central Park Band shell grand opening and it looks like the project will finish right on schedule. All of the landscaping is in, the roof is finished and the walls are just finishing up. Photos will be posted this week.

This photo is what the bandshell replaced. It essentially was a semi-circular stage with no walls, roof or sound (except those two primitive speakers on each side). One feature that did carry over from the old stage is the two small curved staircases in the front.

88 degrees and humid, but dry.

The landscaping and sod arrived this morning and by the end of the day all of the greenery should be installed. In speaking with some of the subcontractors, the project is slightly ahead of schedule.

For anybody who is curious about the mysterious little back door; it leads into a vary narrow and small utility room. The circuit breaker box and the water meter are in this room. Kind of disappointing.

The walls arrive tomorrow (rumor has it).

The first of 32 - 1/2" laminated and tempered glass windows were installed today in the back wall of the shell. This promises to be one of the more striking design elements of the Bandshell. It should really open up the entire shell from both sides. The limestone block is quarried in Winona, Minnesota and each block is hand-cut. The pattern is random. The keystone blocks are manufactured in a factory.

Rain is forecast for the rest of the week.

It is hard to tell if the Bandshell is ahead or behind schedule. The irrigation system was installed today and the handicap access ramp concrete was also poured. Fill was being spread by the hard working Sentence to Serve crew. Sentence to Serve are nonviolent offenders that work on community improvement projects. There are mixed feelings about Sentence to Serve labor; on the one hand working outside is better than killing time in a cell. On the other hand it is an easy source of cheap labor for communities that can become too easy to use.

The sod is scheduled to be laid on June 29, which seems awfully close to the July 4th dedication. The entire park (one city block) will be re-sodded.

Red Wing is unique because it has such an authentic core downtown. This doesn't mean it is frozen in time. Rather, it has more to do with having traceable roots. Buildings are typically not torn down, and when they can be salvaged and restored, they are.

One of the lasting elements that are easily overlooked are the ghost signs of Red Wing. Sometimes called fading ads or brick-ads, they are remarkable in their staying power. Red Wing has many brick buildings and there are several examples of ghost signs all over town. You need to look close to see the Coca-Cola ghost sign. The Hotel Haven sign is pretty much illegible.

The above corner is Plum and East 3rd Street (SE corner) in Downtown Red Wing.

The Red Wing Central Park Bandshell continues to make progress. The roof is on, but not yet shingled. The foundation work seems to be complete, judging by the dirt fill that was brought in. The back wall will be glass and the shell walls will be the next significant milestone.

The inauguration of the Bandshell will be on Saturday, July 4th, 2009. The schedule of events are as follows (all times are pm):

+ 3:45-4:30 The Phoenix Theatre will sing selections from their upcoming production of 'Fiddler on the Roof' (free!)
+ 5:00-6:00 Rosanne Cash (free!)
+ 6:45-8:00 Roomful of Blues (free!)
+ 8:45-9:30 Sheldon Brass Band finishing with 1812 Overture, complete with real cannon! (free!)
+ 10:00- ?? Fireworks over the Mississippi River (free!)

Recently a letter to the editor of the local newspaper made the argument for funding art at the elementary school level. Apparently there has been discussion about reducing the amount of art received in elementary schools because of budget pressures. The typical solution has been to increase the tax levy and ask the tax payers to pay more.

A more sustainable approach is to simply spend local. Every dollar spent locally in a community can have up to three times the multiplier tax return to the community versus buying from an out-of-state big box retailer, all without raising taxes a single cent. Let's use two simple examples:

Example 1) A citizen spends a dollar at a local big-box retailer. Taxes are exchanged for that dollar spent and the dollar is promptly deposited in an out-of-state bank account somewhere in Four Corners, Arkansas. That dollar is retired as far as the local economy is concerned.

Example 2) A citizen spends a dollar at their local custom frame shop. Again, taxes are exchanged but this time the local frame shop owner races to their local bank to cover the check they wrote to the local plumber to have their hot water heater repaired. The plumber in turn cashes that check to buy a silk suit from Josephsons Clothing Store. Tom from Josephsons then uses that money to buy himself a beer next door at The Staghead Restaurant to celebrate having finally sold that XXXL silk suit.

The same dollar has contributed to the local economy three separate times, each time participating in the overall tax exchange and actively contributes to the cash flow of four different local employers.

Red Wing Downtown Main Street is focused on exactly these types of issues. The Eat-Shop-Play-Local tag-line could include many other action verbs (Buy. Stay. Invest.), but the point is to think about where your money goes after you spend it.

Visit the DTMS web site or the DTMS Facebook page and consider joining this non-profit organization.

A little over a month ago, a prototype of the 2009-2010 traveling exhibit of the 'In Our Own Backyard; U.S. Poverty in the 21st Century' was unveiled at the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, Minnesota. This was an opportunity to weigh the reaction and measure the effectiveness of the message. Think of this as a preseason event before the annual Catholic Charities USA convention in Portland in September, 2009.

Things have not slowed down since then. Details have been fine-tuned and the new web site can be found here. The tentative schedule for the traveling exhibit is:

September 24-29: Portland, Oregon
October 29, 2009: Sacramento, CA
January 21, 2010: San Antonio, TX
February 24, 2010: Atlanta, GA
March 8, 2010: Albany, NY
March 25, 2010: Nashville, TN
April 22, 2010: Cleveland OH
April 29, 2010: Chicago, IL

Track the updates by following it on Facebook:

Red Wing Framing Gallery scientists have been quietly and diligently working very hard since the beginning of 2009 on a number of new products. With the advent of 'digital everywhere' technologies, customers have been insisting on using their own images to decorate their environments in a fashion that mirror both their lifestyle and taste. Our challenge is to meet this expectation with innovative and unique products.

Two products are nearing introduction. The first product is a 'Gallery Panel' and is targeted to the contemporary customer who wants a unique and fresh way to present. The Gallery Panel is elegant with old-school details, but also has a very bold and progressive presentation. Very ebony and ivory (?).

The second product is a bit further behind in introduction. It is code-named the 'Image Sandwich' or I-S for short. The I-S will be a transmissive image that will allow light from behind and lay flat on a wall. The early prototypes are promising, but there may be some practical size limitations that need to be determined. I-S Version 2.0 will also be a PDA. :)

The European marketplace tends to be more aggressive in pushing image technology. The irony is that some of the best ideas come from organizations in Europe that have been in the image business since the middle ages. We are not above learning from our European brethren, but it is very important to be both unique and creative.

Product announcements as they warrant and teasers are always free and unsolicited.

And please disregard any misinformation.

I go home and then get to work this same morning when my friend Tim e-mails me the following photos and asks me if I knew who was on the bridge (look close). The first photo was taken within a minute after mine, judging by how his sun seems ever so slightly higher (factoring in the difference in height) and the wake from the fishing boat. The second photo was a minute later (I keep a corner of my eye on those oncoming tractor-trailer mirrors).

Photos courtesy of Tim Alms.

====================================

Back to the barber; we don't know who cuts his hair. It is a self-contradiction.

Does the barber cut his own hair? No, because the barber cuts only the hair of those that don't cut their own hair.

Does the barber not cut his own hair? No, because then the barber would then cut his own hair, because he cuts the hair of those that don't cut their own hair.

Using an even more difficult explanation, the barber is trying to be a part of his own set, those that do not cut their own hair. But the set cannot include the barber because he is the set. This is the contradiction.

Introducing the Red Wing Framing Gallery Panel Print.

It's a Panel! It's a Print!

It's a Panel Print!

It begins with any digital photo and ends with a full-print bleed, UV-protected, 1/4" thick hardboard panel print that is pool-table flat and rugged!

The Panel Print has a linen laminate finish and a 1" reverse frame mount. The mount lays flat on the wall and the print is an elevated surface that creates a modern 'drop-shadow' effect on the wall.

It can be printed at any size or aspect ratio (great for panorama photographs) and it has been especially popular with photographers who appreciate this very contemporary look. It also works great for commercial projects that are restricted from using glass or need to cover large wall surfaces, yet still need to project elegance and creativity.

Call the shop today at 1-651-385-0500 and create your own art from your own images!

Now, back to the regularly scheduled programming.

1) T-2 weeks: Once the project is defined, the supply chain of raw materials begins to fill up. This exhibit required two cases of 4'x8'x1/2" black Gatorboard.
2) T-1 week: Each image was printed on a premium luster photo paper (a wide color gamut, scratch resistant, but susceptible to fingerprints), vacuum mounted to the Gatorboard and then trimmed to size and packaged. 50 images were printed and mounted for this exhibit.

3) T-24 hours: The finished materials were delivered the day before the exhibit opening. The exhibit panels were problematic for a few reasons, but the image layout was deemed the most critical.
4) T-12 hours: The image title blocks completed the story-lines. I was delighted to see that Carlos Gonzales from the Minneapolis Star Tribune was participating. I came to know Carlos from the Max Becherer exhibit.
5) T- 4 hours: No exhibit is complete without a politician. In this case it was the Honorable Mayor Chris Coleman of St. Paul.
6) T- 0 hours: This exhibit generated a lot of discussion. A 'first person, photojournalistic' style was used.

7) T+x: From St. Paul, the exhibit moves to Portland, Oregon and then begins a nine city nationwide tour, with the goal of ending at the White House in 2010.

Math, art and terrorists in a single blog entry. Now that is efficient blogging.

The Central Park Bandshell took a big leap forward yesterday when the crane arrived to install the ironwork. The entire back wall will be glass, so the bandshell will be inviting from both sides. The roof shape is supposed to create a better acoustical environment. The rendering on the bottom image is the architectural orthographic projection.

The actual audience will not be semi-transparent.

Another restaurant opened in Downtown Red Wing. Stewy's on Main will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner and provide a full bar offering.

Stew approached us a month ago and gave us free reign (with his final approval) to design attractive wall images . It was decided to focus on local iconic scenes, with a focus on both sides of the Mississippi River.

Panel Prints are used. This is a print on hardboard and mounted with a reverse frame to create a wall stand-off and laminated with a linen finish. The beauty of this product is that it is very contemporary, pool table flat, no glass is used and it creates a very nice drop-shadow effect. Each image is either 40"x40" or 27"x40".

The first grouping of three are all Downtown Red Wing photos, with the common denominator of the violin-playing model. These were printed with a brown sepia tone.

The second grouping is from the Maiden Rock Flood Run in 2004. Same image tone, different effect.

One wall is all about elegance and grace and the other wall is all about machines and chrome.

Yin and Yang. Joanie loves Chachi.

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune did a nice story today about Dan Murphy and his illustration art collection. We had the pleasure of working with Dan and Sarah on two different occasions; once in 2007 for The Dream Girl exhibit and again in 2008 for The Cream of Wheat exhibit.

Dan has a terrific collection and is a recognized expert of this genre. I look forward to working with Dan again this year, maybe with a pulp men's magazine (think True Detective) or a science-fiction exhibit.

The Strib article can be found here

On April 18th, 2009 at the Goodhue County History Center (1166 Oak Street, Red Wing, MN) the Red Wing Photography Club will present an Exhibition of Photographs.

Ardent readers will remember that this club was formed about this time last year. This is the first time this club has formally exhibited members’ photographs. Assuming there isn't a like-wise repeat of the Rolling Stones incident in Altamont, CA, it is likely this group will exhibit again.

The rules were pretty simple: no more than three pieces and nothing larger than 16"x20". And like most good photographers, the rules were almost immediately broken.

It is a non-juried, non-themed, non-competitive, not-for-sale exhibit.  The objective is for members to share their favorite images and for many members to exhibit for the first time.

A public reception is April 18th at 2 pm at the History Center.

I did the poster layout. It is absolutely derivative of a wpa poster from the 1930's (read: rip-off).

You're welcome and thank you.

Steve Liss is an accomplished photojournalist, as evidenced by having 43 Time Magazine cover photos to his credit.

But it isn't this professional success that Liss takes the most pride in. Steve Liss is a humanitarian who uses photo essays to communicate tough topics. His subjects have ranged from poverty in the Mississippi Delta, to runaway youth living on the streets of Hollywood, to a study of the Nuns of Mankato and Alzheimer's disease. He has been the recipient of the Soros Justice Media Fellowship for his work on juvenile justice and the Alicia Patterson Fellowship for his work on domestic poverty.

We are delighted and excited to be asked to participate in his latest project entitled; In Our Own Backyard: U.S. Poverty in the 21st Century (web site). This is a unique poverty awareness project being undertaken by 15+ preeminent American photojournalists. The project goal is to use the visual power of large-format documentary photography to elevate the discussion of making the fight against poverty a national priority.

This project is in partnership with Catholic Charities and their campaign to cut poverty in half by 2020. Nine major photographic and multi-media exhibits, each with 50 emotionally-moving large format photographs will tour throughout the United States begining in the fall of 2009.

This project will be kicked off at a leadership summit on April 20, 2009 at the College of St. Catherine, St. Paul, MN. Registration is here and an invitation postcard is here.

Poverty has many faces and it is impossible to ignore when seen up close and personal. It is projects like this that make work seem less like work and more like purpose.

Mostly the bandshell is shrouded under plastic right now, so there is very little to see. Loyal readers may want to see the architectural rendering of the bandshell layout. It is going to be awesome!

By going backwards through telephone directories (this is known as a 'Jim Rockford') and speaking with Barb Tittle, it was possible to stitch together a more complete history of this building.

This building has a very significant photography (and real estate) lineage.

312 West Avenue chronology:

1894 - 1902 Lidberg Studio (original location)
1902 - 1920 Lidberg Studio (new location)
1920 - 1936 E. H. Lidberg Real Estate
1937 - 1947 Davison Studio
1948 - 1949 Wood's Studio
1950 - 1952 Hodge Studio
1953 - 1979 Chalet Studio
1980 - 2004 InComm Realty and Maas Realty (later Coldwell-Banker)
2005 - 2007 Gary-Donald Arts, a private art dealer
2008 - Present Red Wing Portrait Studio (and Red Wing Framing Gallery)

For 73 years, out of a total 115 years, this building has been home to 6 different photography studios. For 40 years out of this same 115 years, this building has been home to at least 3 (if not 4) real estate companies.

Draw your own conclusions.

1894 - Andrew Lidberg, an immigrant from Jarpen, Sweden builds and opens The Lidberg Studio at 443 W. 3rd Street, Downtown Red Wing, Minnesota (the corner of W. 3rd Street and East Avenue), which is immediately next door to Charlie Wah's Chinese Laundry. The Daily Republican on April 9th, 1894 writes, "Mr. Lidberg opened his gallery today, and it is a fine one. He will employ only competent workers and work at the lowest living prices."

1899 - Upon graduating from Red Wing High School, Andrew 's son Edward joins the studio full time. The Lidberg's begin producing the first series of colored souvenir post cards of Red Wing and the surrounding area. The photos were exposed on glass plates and developed at the studio. Negatives were then produced and sent to Germany to be lithographed into color post cards. These postcards are now collector items with a passionate following.

1902 - Local businessman T.B. Sheldon donates money to the City of Red Wing to build the country's first city-owned theater. To make room for the Sheldon Theatre, The Lidberg Studio is moved across the park mall to 312 West Avenue where the building is located today. A glass wall is oriented to the east to provide natural light illumination for portraiture photography.

1910? - Andrew Lidberg retires. Frank Booth, a graduate of Effingham School of Photography in Illinois, joins the studio.

1915 - Because of the war in Europe, it becomes increasingly difficult do receive color lithographs from Germany. Senator Knute Nelson has to intervene to get a production run of postcards released. Production is moved to Chicago (Acmegraph Company) and Milwaukee (E.C. Kropp Company).

1915 - Edward Lidberg begins his real estate career and the photography business begins to wind down. By 1920 the building is a full-time real estate office.

1920 - 1953 Very few building details. The best guess at this point is that from approximately 1920 to 1936 it was a real estate office and from about 1937 until 1953 it was various photography studios.

1953 - The Chalet Studio opens. This portrait studio is owned and operated by Ms. Louella Champs.

1972 - Edward Lidberg dies.

1978 - The Chalet Studio closes. The building is in very rough shape with the roof in danger of collapsing.

1979 - The building is repaired and restored by Dick Tittle. It becomes home to InComm Realty and Maas Realty

2008 - The building becomes home to Red Wing Framing Gallery and Red Wing Portrait Studio.

What goes around, comes around. Even if it takes 114 years.

It's a poorly kept secret that Brad Pitt and I have had a professional feud for years. He won't return my phone calls and I probably wouldn't return his phone calls if he ever called. Kind of like Kid Rock and Tommy Lee.

Be that is it may, and in a completely objective observation, I need to call Brad out on his cover photo in the February issue of W Magazine. The photo was taken by Chuck Close (one of my favorite artists) and in typical Chuck Close fashion, every flaw is brought to attention in macroscopic detail.

The most interesting flaw is how the bank of three lights in the eye on the right is on the right side of the pupil, but in the other eye, these lights are on the left side of the pupil.

Remember, friends don't let other friends Photoshop drunk.

Barn Bluff vigilantly watches over Downtown Red Wing immediately from the east. This means the bluff casts a shadow every morning and says goodbye to the sun every day. The bluff is a long and narrow rock and the length of the bluff runs east and west for about a mile. It is an easy hike along the south side to the lookout over Downtown Red Wing. The top of the bluff is about 400 feet above the Mississippi River (immediately to the right in the above photo).

There was an unusual thaw this February and that opportunity was leveraged to get this photo. Once the tree buds start popping out, the details become hidden. If you look closely, our shop is the small triangle of lights in the upper left corner.

As with most mid-winter thaws, it toyed with our emotions, giving us a taste of nicer weather, only to slap us with a cold front and a dump of snow.

Back to muc-lucs and stocking caps.

Clare Baker called last November for an interview for The Big Picture magazine, which is a trade journal for the wide-format printing industry. The gist of the article is about printers who have carved out a niche business of providing wide-format, fine-art printing. Wide-format printing is anything larger than 44" and fine-art printing is usually defined as low-volume, high-mix printing with tight duplication standards.

Over a period of weeks, Clare and I would occasionally talk, but I lost track of the publication date. I was pleasantly surprised to receive the article in my mailbox this week. Clare did her homework and did a terrific job of detailing the priorities in wide-format fine-art printing:

1) Invest in capture, calibration and proofing technologies.
2) Push the envelope in new applications and learn from the failures.

An electronic version is right here.

The Red Wing Central Park Bandshell is beginning to grow from the ground. The footings are in place and concrete forms are beginning to define the shell itself. I am impressed how progress was not slowed down by the sub-Arctic weather. The Red Wing Construction crews are true professionals.

I anticipate that this will have a major impact for the positive for the entire community. This will be a beautiful new performance venue to compliment the Sheldon Theatre. There will be music, live theatre, public gatherings, stand-up comics, outdoor movies, special events, etc. It is going to exciting and electric.

The grand opening is targeted for July 4th, 2009.

The Hometime episode we were involved with last year is being re-broadcast over the next several weeks, beginning this past Saturday (01-24-09). Locally it will be shown on Saturday. February 14, 2009 at 5:30 pm (TPT, channel 2).

What a terrific opportunity this has been for us and I am thankful for being so fortunate. We have met many people and we had a blast being involved.

One of the more interesting aspects for me was the challenge from an operational standpoint. Extremely tight (and rigid) deadlines and having to essentially close the shop for two days to conduct filming. If I remember right, it was six, 18-hour days in a row. There was a flub or two (or three) along the way, but nothing that couldn't be fixed (or reprinted).

The web traffic has been significantly heavier this year. I think it is because Hometime has a much better schedule this year on PBS (they typically block it right before "This Old House") and the search engines have had a full year to digest and sort relevant inquiries, consequently the search listings are more favorable.

For those so inclined to see the episode, here is the segment:

I was delighted to get a note from Max Becherer this morning. I have planted the seed of thought with Max to begin to prepare a five year retrospective photojournalism exhibit for next year. Max has been in Iraq since the initial days of "Shock and Awe" and has made a career of globetrotting to the hot spots on the planet. But let Max speak for himself:

"Hi John!

So good to hear from you. I hope you are having a great New Year! I am in Cairo, Egypt at the moment but should be heading to Iraq for the Provincial Elections later this month. I also think it will be a good place to be when Obama takes office. I was up at the Egyptian Border with Gaza last week and watched as Israeli bombs blow up the tunnels and as the Palestinian wounded came over on their way to Egyptian hospitals. It was a difficult scene. I was waiting for a chance to enter Gaza but they are keeping a tight lid on things there.

So, your idea sounds great. I would love to do a five year retrospective. There are so many ways we could go with it for sure. I have a portfolio book of images I collected from the last five years.

Last year I started covering the elections in Pakistan. It was interesting and I was even able to head up to Peshawar where the North West Territory begins. What a wild place. In any case, I was in Iraq at the last part of this year for the New York Times and then did an assignment about Samarra for the Smithsonian Magazine which is on newsstands now. This week I head to Baghdad for a month and then in April I will be in Afghanistan where things are expected to be difficult this year. That is all for now.Thanks for checking in with me. I hope we get to see each other soon. Say hello to the crew for me!
Best, Max"

Last night (Saturday, 01-10-2009) the moon was full and it will be the largest and brightest full moon of 2009.

This month's full moon is known as the Wolf Moon, from Native American folklore. The January full moon is also known as the Old Moon and the Snow Moon.

A full moon rises right around sunset, no matter where you are. That's because of the celestial mechanics that produce a full moon: the moon and the sun are on opposite sides of the Earth, so that sunlight hits the full face of the moon and bounces back to our eyes.

At moonrise, the moon will appear even larger than it will later in the night when it's higher in the sky. This is an illusion that scientists can't fully explain. Some think it has to do with our perception of things on the horizon vs. stuff overhead.

This shot was taken at 5:06 pm. f3.2, 1/320 sec, iso 1250, -1.67 EV, 70 mm focal length, hand held. I used levels to pull some details back into the image, but not so much to destroy the polarized sky. A very modest amount of unsharp mask.

Won't you be my neighbor?

It has been an unusually cold and snowy and cold winter so far (cold is mentioned twice because it has been just that cold), but it hasn't slowed down neighborhood activities.

Just a half block from the shop, the new Red Wing Central Park Bandshell is slowly growing from the ground. This project is the result of a generous donation from a local family foundation and is going to have a major impact on the cultural community. The first use of the bandshell is scheduled for July 4, 2009 and it will have regularly scheduled community and cultural activities going forward. It is an exciting design and promises to have excellent acoustics.

On the wall outside the shop, I am field testing some new large format materials to see how cold tolerant they are. The image is a self-portrait photo taken by my son. The colors were de-saturated and the image highlights were blown out to create this very interesting "Chuck Close" effect. I slit the image every 4" to create movement in the wind and the final image size is 6 feet wide by 10 feet tall.

Chuck Close is a terrific artist. He is a photo-realist and paints portraits on a massive scale. And in this case, size does matter.

Meanwhile, The Giant Dan is always smiling in the neighborhood of make-believe.

A contrast in projects.

Beauty:

The first project is for the new Norton's Downtown and Lucky Cat Lounge. This restaurant-lounge-fine wine store has some very large and high walls and it needed a tasteful image that befits the atmosphere of this white linen restaurant.

The image used is The Flaming June and was selected for its gracefulness, color and image impact. It is one of the first things you see when you enter the restaurant from the parking lot and walk towards the hostess station.

The final image size is 8' x 8' and it is printed on a satin fabric with an unfinished and unweighed bottom edge. Because of the 'hand' and drape-ability of the fabric used, the entire image has a beautiful waft to it as it moves with the air circulation, almost as if it were breathing.

Beast:

Right next door to Norton's restaurant, the new Red Wing Shoe Company store is being built. This store will be a showcase for The Shoe, which has their world headquarters directly across the street. Red Wing Shoes are simply the best made boots and shoes in the world. I wear my Model 414 boots for nine months out the year and I personally vouch for the high quality and ruggedness of their products.

This project is labeled the beast because of the conditions that these images have to tolerate...beastly. The weather was -15 F with snow and high winds when they were installed. The construction wall is literally 6 inches from Highway 61 and the images have to tolerate heavy truck traffic, rocks, dirt, grime and salt. And, of course the weather extremes.

Each image (there are two) is 6' x 15'. It is a reprint of the architectural concept drawing, with an opening date and The Shoe logo. A heavy-duty scrim material was deployed and it was further re-enforced with the thickest laminate available. The edges were treated with a super glue-like adhesive and 1/2" weather resistant, re-inforced nickel grommets were used every 2.5 feet.

Too much fun.