Another Gallery Exhibit Coming Up

[Al Kaplan]

This past October I had about a dozen prints in a group show of both photographs and paintings at the Mario Flores Gallery here in North Miami, Florida. The show was then moved to the N.M. Public Library for the month of November. Well, Mario just called and he wants to hang about a dozen of my prints in another group show for the month of February.

I'm trying to decide WHAT to hang. Last time it was a mix of stuff from the 60's and 70's: rock stars, various personalities, some of my Miccosukkee Indian series, along with a few of my recent experimental efforts where I added hand prints directly to the image on the paper and selectively developed them by actually splattering developer on the exposed paper, then letting the drops slowly run across the surface as I tilted the paper one way and another.

What I'm thinking for this exhibit is just showing photographs from my ongoing environmental self portrait series shot with the 15mm lens, the older B&W images, not the more recent color ones.

A bit of googling will bring up plenty of examples, as will going back through my blog http://thepriceofsilver.blogspot.com Any and all suggestions welcome! Thanks.

 

[payasam]

Al, I much prefer your "traditional" work to your recent experimental stuff and the newer techniques (tricks?) you describe.

 

[simonSE15]

love this one:

 

[Al Kaplan]

Thanks Simon. It's amazing that I shot that at all, considering that I was in about the same condition as they were at the time...LOL. I guess that's the reason I was sitting down. Most all of the Miccosukee and Seminole Indians I knew back then are dead now instead of being in their late forties or fifties. I still stay in sporadic touch with a few of them, and the widow of one of them lives nearby and we meet for lunch from time to time.

 

[oftheherd]

Good luck on the show.

I liked the photogram you did. I always taught that as one of the first things to do in the darkroom. That way students could have a photo without using a camera and having to fiddle with a negative the first time in the darkroom.

I still have one I made years ago of my oldest daughter's hand and some other objects. By overexposing the paper, I was able to get a strange x-ray effect as the light bled underneath her hand and even some of the metal objects. I didn't expect it but thought it was a neat effect.

 

[Al Kaplan]

I just got back from chatting with Mario. The show will be all photography, no drawings or paintings, and he feels that I should just show my Indian pictures this time around. I'm going to have to do some printing in the next week or so!

 

[Nh3]

The best part is that you're still enthusiastic about photography after all these years and you still experiment.

This is in stark contrast to some of those "photo-experts" who like to preach from imaginary pedestals.

Photographers live very long lives so you still have many years ahead.

good luck with the exhibition.

 

[Al Kaplan]

Thanks Nh3! My doc says I'm good to go for another thirty years. I will admit, though, that I went through about a ten year period where I rarely picked up a camera unless somebody was paying me, and I even tried to avoid that. Burned out!. I'm not sure what got me re-enthused. Maybe it's all of the cute young chicks I get to meet? (Some of them like me enough to introduce me to their grandmothers!)

Actually, I think it was starting my blog, which was supposed to be a way of showing my old work and writing about what was going on at the time. One thing led to another and...

 

[Michael Markey]

I like those "old" pics. You know what they used to say ...you got to keep on keeping on !

 

[marke]

Al, I've enjoyed your recent work on your blog. I wish I could get to one of your shows. Maybe someday. Best of luck with the NM show. You're an encouragement to me and many others.