10 ads per Adweek

People in advertising really don't get it. They Really don't. 

No offense ad people... you work so hard and it seems awfully cold to bluntly say you don't get it but hang on...put down the defense mechanism for a minute. 

Step out of your box... start considering what is good and the measurements by which they are tabulated. 

These are the top commercials this week. 

The T.O.P. picks. 

The problem is that this collection is slim pickin's if you're female or if you just use your right brain a lot. 

These aren't good and no matter what the tabulating folks tell us, they're just not correct. By whose standards? By the average joe watching? The amount of money spent? There are always official ways of tabulating. But if these are good, then the methodology needs to be scrutinized. 

The top 10 from Adweek for the week of August 16th-23. 

This one.. oh she's so cute... is one I want to like. I want to like that child and her "take no crap" first day instructions. The young actor is amazing and she did a fabulous job but the commercial isn't good. The concept and message aren't good. 

Did you know that women buy 58% of the books sold? 

But in sports...Women comprise about one-third (34%) of the adult audience for ESPN sport event programs.

What if that means that what this brilliant child is telling us isn't true. What if the First Day issues for the little girls that care about getting new clothes are not going to happen on the playground? Those issue are going to be in the library. 

What if... stretch the creative brain... 

Mebbe.

Try "Winning the Library" as a theme. 

Make it fun. Make it work... and reach out to the highest and best in our children. 

Set a tone that's positive and still fierce. 

WIF, ACP, Mason, and Jane

I'm a member of Women in Focus, in Atlanta. It's a non-profit, artist-initiated organization of women photographers who have joined together to support and promote the photographic arts. It was founded in 1993 by a group of women who recognized the need for a formal network of women photographers who could assist in each others' personal, professional, and artistic growth. Women In Focus is dedicated to facilitating a forum for open dialogue regarding photography in all of its forms. 

Again this autumn, WIF is taking part in Atlanta Celebrates Photography. ACP is a non-profit arts organization dedicated to the cultivation of the photographic arts and the enrichment of the Atlanta art community. 2013 marks the 15th Anniversary of ACP.

ACP hosts an annual, citywide photography festival in October: The Atlanta Celebrates Photography Festival. This is a huge event and amazing photography will be displayed throughout the city from Fine Galleries to tiny corners of coffeeshops. Art and Culture are everywhere. 

The WIF artwork will be on display at Mason Murer Fine Art and 37 of our member Photographers were juried into the WIF Show by none other than Jane Jackson of Jackson Fine Art. 

I'm please to report that two of my images will be among the work being presented. 

It is quite an honor!

Dawn's Early Light

The Story behind an Award:

     This photograph was shot in the Classic Pictorialism style with its mood and atmosphere being produced by the dawning morning light illuminating Mr. Pruitt's Flag. It was first published in July of 2012 in Coastal Isles Magazine's inaugural edition with an article I authored called the Soul of the Lowcountry Summer. In April 2013, the image won an Award of Excellence from Communication Arts Magazine. This is the leading trade journal for visual communications. (These awards are like the Oscars for people in the commercial art industry.) It's the largest creative magazine in the world and showcases the top work in graphic design, advertising, illustration, photography, interactive design and typography. Interestingly, over 5000 images were submitted and 130 were chosen to win. Of those 130, only 10 of the photographers were women. 

     When James W. Pruitt graduated high school in 1957, he started working as a storekeeper. For many years, he had a small store of his own. In 1989, however, progress decided it needed a new parking lot and shut his store down. Since then, he's been at his family's store. He was raised in the small home attached to the rear of the store. The home and the store are made of white clapboard with green shutters, and Mr. Pruitt has always hung an American flag over the door. This photo is Mr. Pruitt's flag. The store is still located in what is now known as the Northwest Quadrant of the town of Beaufort in South Carolina.

     The town of Beaufort has a fine history -  from long time past to a more modern history -  that has Hollywood remembering it fondly. Forest Gump, The Big Chill, GI Jane, The Great Santini, and The Legend of Bagger Vance are just a few of the movies that have found filming locations here. 

      Further back, in 1861, Union troops arrived in Beaufort and the area slaves were freed. They formed their own community in what is now known as the Northwest Quadrant of the city. In those days and for many years afterward, as it was settled by black tradesmen, laborers, and small businesses owners. It was known as Freedman's Village. Mr. Pruitt's store is located on Greene Street.

       In 2011, I had located my studio a block from Mr. Pruitt's store. I spotted this beautiful shot a year before, but rain moved in and I missed the shot. The following year, I spent the spring mornings waking up early... waiting for the light to be right. The title is "Dawn's Early Light." 

Alta Lakes. Tesla

Last year I was able to visit a very cool Ghost Town in Colorado. Just outside Telluride. I'm rather taken with Ghosts stories and Tales of Yore.

I also like SteamPunk and the Victorian way of thinking about the industrial age. Nicoli Tesla was an inventor who is dear to the heart of SteamPunkers and Geeks.

Tesla also spent time here in the Mountains of Colorado. I'm developing an image series based on this Ghost town. Here's a few outtakes of the series.