Don't Quit Your Day Job - Photo Opening at

HASTED KRAEUTLER is pleased to announce DON'T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB, photographs by gallery owners. The exhibition is a lighthearted indulgence in the fantasy of "what might have been" for these lovers of photography had they not decided to pursue their day jobs. DON'T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB is equally a celebration of the gallery owners' careers and contributions to contemporary art and photography, highlighting the origins in creating photography and art that led them to own galleries in the first place. While no one story is true of all the participants in this exhibition, many of them have practiced photography before and during their current careers as gallerists, while others moved from creating to representing photography, commercially, many years ago (and hardly ever looked back). In all cases, however, HASTED KRAEUTLER is honored to host the work of its colleagues in the business.

The artists are DEBORAH BELL, KIM BOURUS, BRIAN CLAMP, DAVID FAHEY, ZACH FEUER, MICHAEL FOLEY, JEFFREY FRAENKEL, JESSICA FREDERICKS, SARAH HASTED, STEVEN KASHER, ALAN KLOTZ, JOSEPH KRAEUTLER, PETER MACGILL, LAURENCE MILLER, ROBERT MANN, JANET RUSSEK, JACK SHAINMAN, ROSE SHOSHANA, RICK WESTER and SASHA WOLF.

While some of the photographs are on loan for exhibition only, most are for sale. The proceeds will be donated to Lotus House Women's Shelter, a quiet enclave in the heart of one of Miami's poorest neighborhoods.

For more information, please contact HASTED KRAEUTLER at 212-627-0006 or info@hastedkraeutler.com.

The exhibition will be on view from July 7 to August 19, 2011. Please join us for a reception for the artists on Thursday, July 7, 5 - 8 p.m.

Foto Care: In the Spotlight with Helena V. de Vengoechea

Two weeks ago Elizabeth Stacy, a digital image specialist at Fotocare, contacted me and asked me if I'd like to be interviewed for their blog. I was happy that they asked me, said "yes" and spent a good portion of a day answering their questions.

If you'd like to read their blog post about my photo and design services in NYC you may at http://bit.ly/lxuW1K.

If you know of any companies that are looking to visually promote their products with professional digital design and photography services feel free to forward the studio's website to them for review.

Stay Cool!!

Start Thinking In Motion

Recently I have been thinking that I really need to learn more about video production. Now with our world becoming more of a digital landscape I do believe that this education would be wise to invest in.

I don't think print design and still photography will die 100% but in order to survive in today's workplace one must continue learning. If you are interested in educating yourself in motion you may learn a tidbit at http://bit.ly/mwB1lU.

MailChimp.com

Above is an e-zine that I designed to tell you what Helena V. Studio has been up to this month. I have been using another service provider for quite some time but recently decided to try out another.

If you are looking to share your vision with others via an email newsletter, at an affordable price, I'd like to suggest using http://mailchimp.com/ .

Their customer service is very good, they are fun and professional.

The only thing is, you'll need to have your very own list of contacts. For example,  AdBase is an email service provider that offers a database of creative professionals emails + phone numbers. Mailchimp.com doesn't offer this service.

If you are looking to share your vision with lots of business professionals I highly recommend AdBase. They are very helpful and professional but more on the pricey side because they have more services to offer.

Best of Luck! -Helena V. 

Luck

Last week I was asked to photograph six pieces of jewelry for a designer Tirza Fine Design based in Brooklyn, NYC. I set up my studio with black plexi on stands, to place the jewelry on, my lights, reflectors, camera and laptop and shot different variations. It was a two day job.

After the photo shoot I chose to design a poster for my portfolio. I added the green line element on the top and the bottom of the page, which leads the eye into the ring, then with Arial Narrow, my font of choice, I typed, kerned and placed the "lauren collection : ring by tirza fine design" on the left side of the page and lastly added "luck is believing you're lucky- by tennessee williams" on the right side of the page.

If you'd like to see it at a larger size visit http://www.helenavstudio.com/.

Thoughts?

Hello Sunshine

Happy Spring Folks!!!!

A few weeks ago I was walking downtown on 5th Avenue in NYC and saw all these vibrant colors in the Kate Spade window. I had to go into the store, so I did. When I entered I saw this great hat (above) that reads "Hello Sunshine". I am builiding my photo design portfolio so I thought why not create an advertisement?!?!

I bought the hat, returned to my studio, spent two days photographing it at different angles and a few more days working in post production and designing the ad above.

If you'd like to view it at a larger dimension you may at :

http://bit.ly/gwFGT7

Do you like it? I'd like to hear your opinion if you care to share.

Spark-Inspiration For Creatives

Spark is a group of independent graphic design professionals who meet each month to enlighten each other on the business and creative issues that are relevant to design studios.

They are having a panel on mobile app design that I thought to share with you.

New Date/New Location: Tuesday April 19th at Noble Desktop.

Spark Panel - Mobile Apps Design, Production and Strategy

Where: Noble Desktop  | 594 Broadway New York, NY 10012
Time: 6:30 pm time to chat; 7:00 pm discussion begins
Cost: Free for members, $15 for non-members
RSVP: rsvp@sparknyc.org

Mobile Apps are exploding in popularity and forever changing the way we communicate. Find out the latest in apps innovation, and how some smart designers are using it. Our panelists will discuss:

 Concept strategies that make them relevant for clients

 How to scope and price them. What the production process and timeframe entails

 What is the unique interface vocabulary that is being created

Panelists Include:

Alon Koppel
Alon founded FusionLab, Inc. in 1999 after working in NYC as a designer and art director. FusionLab focuses on information and interface design for web and mobile devices. They believe in clean design, hard work, and exceptional client service. Clients include Thomson Reuters, The New York Landmark Conservancy, Condé Nast, The Population Council, The Joan Mitchell Foundation, Architectural Digest, The Authors Guild, Montefiore Hospital, as well as local nonprofit organizations and businesses.

David Link
David is the co-founder and creative director of The Wonder Factory, a creative company that creates and manages humongous, complicated site launches. Clients include WebMD, Martha Stewart, Newsweek, National Geographic, Food Network and Flock.

David is a designer at heart and is happiest collaborating with his UI and design team.
Garrett Murray
Garrett Murray has been designing and developing web and mobile applications for more than 10 years. His clients include Delta Airlines, Pfizer and the United Nations. He designed and developed Ego, a popular and critically-acclaimed iPhone/iPad application for tracking all of your important web stats in a single glance.

Recently, Garrett founded Karbon, a design/development agency in New York City where he and his compatriots are building fun and useful new applications and products.

Moderated by:

Sheri L Koetting
Co-Founder and Chief Strategist of MSLK, a marketing and design agency based in NYC that just launched their own proprietary app, OTO.

Want To Learn How To Shoot Video on your DSLR Camera?

If you're a photographer looking to expand into video the new PDN (Photo District News) HDSLR Video Workshops will help you gain the valuable knowledge you'll need to compete in this new arena. Our goal is to remove any technical apprehensions you may have about creating videos. No previous experience is required!

• A comprehensive understanding of camera settings
• Technical training in HD video formatting including aspect ratios, frame rates,terminology, digital movie formats and more
• An understanding of composition for motion pictures
• Skills in basic sound recording, audio capture and the incorporation of background music
• Interview and storytelling tools
• Workflow training, including how to export your projects

Sign up here -  http://www.pdnvideo.nielsencontests.com/?email

Support Japan

Leica would like to help the people who are so terribly affected by the tsunami disaster in Japan. Their first step was to provide 72 pairs of binoculars to the rescue teams in the disaster area. They have also launched an appeal fund at their head office in Solms and in their representative offices around the world.

They would now like to invite you to make your own personal contribution to the Leica appeal fund. Please join them in helping the Japanese families who are suffering so much in these difficult times. All proceeds of the appeal fund will be donated to the Japanese Red Cross Society.

Buy What You Love-Benefit Auction Tonight 3/24/11 for Cancer Patients + Emerging Artists

If you are in NYC tonight, Thursday 3/24/11, and would like to  support The Rema Hort Mann Foundation, which raises money for cancer patients and emerging artists, come to Buy What You Love, an auction taking place at the Marianne Boesky Gallery in Chelsea.

Over 200 Artists, including me, have donated their work to help raise money for the foundation.

There is more information at:

http://www.remahortmannfoundation.org/bwyl/

Hope to see you there.

Shake It Up - New Photo Design By Helena V. Studio

This week I visited the http://www.pylones-usa.com/ store in Grand Central Station in NYC and was drawn to Mrs. Salt + Mr. Pepper. I photographed them in my studio a few days ago and created an ad, attached above, that I plan on submitting to Pylones for review.

I thought to share a little about my production process because some of you may be wondering "how did she create that?". If you are curioius, read on, if not, I hope you like the composition.

In brief, I printed out "You Can't Eat Money", one of my photos from The Museum of Messages, at 16"x20" and then created a set with my Hasselblad camera, Broncolor lights, reflectors, diffusers and lastly I tethered my camera to my Apple MacBook Pro. After shooting several compositions I chose the sharpest, best lit option and then, in post production, I created the ad above in Adobe Photoshop.

You may see it at a larger scale at http://www.helenavstudio.com/.

If you'd like to share your opinion, shoot me an email at helena@helenavstudio.com, as I would very much like to hear your thoughts.

Grant Information For Artists Led By The LMCC

Work Sample Dos and Don'ts
Led by LMCC's Grants & Services team

In order to access funding, residencies and other professional opportunities, artists are often required to submit work samples for consideration. Who reviews work samples? How are they reviewed? How important is formatting? Context? Our interactive workshop will cover these issues and provide a series of examples from a range of artistic disciplines that will allow participants to consider what makes a work sample compelling and why.

Date & Time:

Thursday, March 24, 2011, 6:30PM

Location:

Lower Manhattan Cultural Council
125 Maiden Lane, 2nd Floor
Between Pearl and Water Streets 

Workshop is free, but space is limited.

RSVP is required. For more info visit http://www.lmcc.net/arts_services/

Funny + Fantastic Foto

This afternoon I found a photo by Glenn Wexler on http://www.oneeyeland.com/ that I thought was funny and fantastic. Very Clever! So much so that I had to share it with you. If you click on the photo above you will see some more of his brilliant photographs.

Creative Opinions

This evening I will be attending a fine art photo portfolio review at Calumet on 22nd Street in NYC at 7 pm. In the past, I have presented my photo fine art concept, The Museum of Messages, to many other creative professionals at other reviews and gotten excellent feedback. This has allowed me to expand my ideas further. 

If you are new to this blog, I'd like to introduce the The Museum of Messages to you. In brief, since 2006, I have been diligently photographing messages that people write in the public domain about love, the environment, politics, humor, loyalty and more. After I shoot them, I return to my studio, download the messages, clean them up in Adobe Photoshop and post them to my online gallery. The reason I think this is important to do is because the messages don't have a very long life span because city cleaning crews paint over or wash away these words so I think it is important to document these visual voices for others to think about, learn and enjoy.

By profession I am a Marketing Designer that takes Professional Photographs. The way I have expanded my concept is by photographing fashion accessories with a message that I have found on the street, in my studio with my Hasselblad H3DII camera, and then in post production, I create a marketing piece to help one promote their products. If you'd like to see some examples, you may at http://www.helenavstudio.com/.

I am looking forward to getting feedback tonight. Your thoughts and opinions are welcome.

Presenting NYC Fashion Photographer Albert Watson

Mr. Albert Watson, a well known fashion photographer in NYC, is speaking at the National Arts Club in Gramercy Park Thursday February 17, 2011 at noon. If interested you can learn more at http://www.pai-newyork.org/

Mr. Watson has made his mark as one of the world’s most successful fashion and commercial photographers during the last four decades, while creating his own art along the way. Over the years, his striking images have appeared on more than 100 covers of Vogue around the world and been featured in countless other publications, from Rolling Stone to Time to Vibe —many of the photographs iconic portraits of rock stars, rappers, actors and other celebrities.

Albert also has created the photography for hundreds of successful ad campaigns for major companies, such as Prada, the Gap, IBM, Levi’s, Revlon and Chanel, and he has directed more than 200 TV commercials and shot dozens of posters for major Hollywood movies.

All the while, Albert has spent much of his time working on personal projects, creating stunning images from his travels and interests, from Marrakech to Las Vegas to the Orkneys. Much of this work, along with his well known portraits and fashion photographs, has been featured in museum and gallery shows worldwide. The photo industry bible, Photo District News, named Albert one of the 20 most influential photographers of all time, and he won the 2010 Centenary Medal from the Royal Photographic Society.

Creatives Meeting Other Creatives - Tonight in NYC

Creatives Meeting Other Creatives!!!

Arranged by Adhesive NY

TONIGHT, January 25, 2011
6:30 pm - ???

The Bowery Wine Company
13 East First Street
http://www.bowerywineco.com/

And to get you all warmed up, the bar is providing some drink specials for us!

$5 red or white wine, $5 sangria, $5 well drinks
$3 beer (on 3 types of beer, ask the barman) - 1/2 price apps

Do you need any other reason to come??

See you tonight.

Stuck on you,
Tim, Shabnam, Wini and Brian

Discuss Women During the Great Depression

Design Arts Daily (DART) Partners with the Arts at 
Museum of the City of New York
Thursday, January 27, 6:30 pm
Dorothea Lange: A Life Beyond Limits 

The popular image of women during the depression is dominated by rural themes: mothers protecting their families from fierce dust storms and greedy bank managers, Ma Joad from The Grapes of Wrath, and Dorothea Lange’s iconic “Migrant Mother” (below, left). But as Denys Wortman’s vivid slice-of-life cartoons of New York show -- currently on view at MCNY -- urban women were also hit hard by the economic disaster.

Join historian Linda Gordon, author of Dorothea Lange: A Life Beyond Limits (W.W. Norton, 2009), who will discuss the role gender played in Americans’ response to the economic crisis of the 1930s. This program is presented in conjunction with the exhibition Denys Wortman Rediscovered, currently on view at MCNY. 

This special program is being offered to DART subscribers at the half-off MCNY member's price of $6 when you contact 917.492.3395 or programs@mcny.org. Just mention DART and your tickets will be held for you. Please do not reply to this email. 

The Museum of the City of New York is located at Fifth Avenue and 103rd St.
By bus: M1, M3, M4 or M106 to 104th Street, M2 to 101st St.
By subway: #6 Lexington Avenue train to 103rd Street, walk three blocks west. #2 or #3 train to Central Park North (110th Street), walk one block east to 5th Ave, then south to 104th St.

Spending Time With... Poster Child in NYC

Today I decided to share a video about an artist named Poster Child. Since I am fascinated with graphics in NYC I found this video very amusing to watch. His concept is pretty creative, don't you think?

Discover Great Photography At Oneeyeland.com

If you haven't heard of http://oneeyeland.com/, I'd like to introduce you.

Following is a little info about this photo hub:

Geography:

One Eyeland is a place you won't find on Google Map. It is an island in the virtual world, inhabited by people who shoot for a living.

History:

Founded by award winning lensman Sharad Haksar in AD 2008, out of a whim to create a dark room large enough to fit photographers of every hue.

Climate:

Known to be very warm. Especially to those who revel in talking with pictures. 

People:

Citizens of One Eyeland have a penchant for saying cheese. They are known to splurge unusual amounts of time and money flirting with large format cameras, digital backs, tripods, lights and lenses.

One Eyeland is for the photographers, by the photographers and of the photographers. It is a place where every soul has one birthright: right to visual delight.

Happy Holidays From Helena V. Studio

Yesterday I designed a holiday card that I plan to send out to clients and colleagues. I photographed this message in Chelsea last month and I love how I captured the spirit of an individual walking by the words. Inside the card I plan on writing, "May your dreams come true in 2011." You like?