Share Photos Quickly and Easily Online with Clients

I wanted to have a better handle on flickr before I wrote about it, but I see now that I’m going to have to do it in pieces. Setting up an account is free and if you don’t need to upload lots of photos at a time, you can be an active member for free. Becoming a member is only about $25/year and it entitles you to unlimited uploads.

A basic and unbelievably handy way to use flickr is to share photos from a shoot with clients (or family and friends). This relieves you of the burden of having a backend to your website for posting images, saving money and programming headaches.
1. Download flickr’s flash uploader software.
2. Drag and drop jpg files in the uploader window area.
3. In the righthand area of the uploader window, hit the Create a Set button and give the group of photos a name—Club Med Bahamas.
4. Decide who you want to be able to see the images—only people you designate, only family, the world.
5. Good idea to give photos that you’re sharing with the world titles, descriptions and tags. This will help the photos turn up in a search.
6. Upload. This takes awhile.
7. View your photos. Sign in to flickr. Navigate to “Organize/Sets & Collections.”
8. You can invite people to see the images by navigating to “You/Your Sets” and then hitting the “Share This” button in the upper righthand corner of the screen. Type in a list of email addresses to issue a guest pass.
9. You can monitor the number of views of your guest passes by navigating to “Contacts/Guest Pass History.” When you issue a guest pass, that person will only see the photos in that set.
10. People can review the photos using the slideshow feature, or one by one. They can also order prints directly from flickr.

My Genesee Sunset Was Selected for DCAC’s first Juried Show

Genesee Sunset was selected to be part of the first ever Artist Member Juried DCAC (Dutchess County Arts Council) Show. Join me at the opening reception Wednesday, May 21 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm at the Cuneen Hackett Arts Center in Poughkeepsie! I caught a glimpse of a gorgeous painting by Jose Acosta—bright colors, swirls of thick paint, Latin flavor, gorgeous. I’m sure all of the art will be inspiring. Let me know if you’re thinking of attending because the DCAC is trying to plan for food and drink.

Stone River Archival in Woodstock printed my photograph on archival silver gelatin paper, a technology used for traditional photographs that has just come on the market for digital prints. The paper makes the colors really sing, the bridge almost pops off of the page. The signed print is a real opportunity for collectors, available framed (16" x 20") for $295 or unframed (11" x 17") for $150. A percentage of the proceeds from sales will go to DCAC and Cuneen, so please bring your checkbook! Or, let me know if you can’t make the opening and would like to prebuy the print.

Entries were judged by Patricia Phagan the Philip and Lynn Straus Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College. The exhibit will continue through the end of June.

Directions:
Cuneen Hackett Arts Center, 9 Vassar Street, Poughkeepsie, NY
From Rte 9, north or south, take Main Street/River District/Poughkeepsie
exit ramp. Take Main Street East bound (opposite way from the Hudson River).
Go through 3 traffic signals turn left on Vassar Street; the gallery parking
lot is the first drive on right.

Wanna Know How Many People Visit Your Site?

There’s no black magic involved, just a Google account and a little html headache. Here’s how:

1. Get a Google account.
2. Navigate to “My Account/Business Solutions/Analytics” and sign in to your account.
3. On the lower part of the screen, select “Add a website Profile.” Type in the address of your site and hit the “Continue” button.
4. A new window will appear with some code in it. Select all of the code and then copy it. Hit the Finish button at the bottom of the screen.
5. Here’s the tricky part.
a. Using Dreamweaver:
Open all html files in your website. Switch to code view. Search for (/body). Paste the code immediately before (/body). Upload modified files.
b. Using Blogger:
Log in to your blog. Navigate to “Customize Settings/Layout.” Just below the main tabs is a secondary nav bar. Select “Edit HTML.” Search for (/body). Paste the code immediately before (/body). Save your changes.
6. Return to the Google window. You’ll see your site listed. After you’ve uploaded the tracking code to your html pages or your blog, the status should read: “Receiving Data.”
7. From there, just double click “View Reports” for the site (you can follow several) you’d like to track.
8. The top graph shows how many visitors came to your site on a daily basis. The default graph is for the previous 60-day period, but you can change the dates to any time period you’d like (i.e. year-to-date).
9. The Content Overview shows which pages in your site received the most views. This information can be very revealing. Use top performers to help you figure out what you did right and apply that to other pages.
10. The Traffic Sources window summarizes how people found your site. Ultimately, you’d like to have a healthy percentage of people finding you by search engines and/or referring sites.

A Good Book is Easy to Find

Merritt Bookstore is behind an unusual spring festival May 16 and 17 in Millbrook, NY. Rather than food or music, books will take center stage. Authors from many different genres will participate in panel discussions and book signings. Kickoff events on Friday night at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies include live music from Bindlestick Bill and New York Times environmental reporter Andrew Revkin. Saturday, bring the kids for a pancake breakfast, followed by children’s story hour at Merritt and a parade.

I'm on the Local History Panel
I’ve been invited to be a member of the Local History panel which will meet at the Lyall Memorial Federated Church at 2:00 pm on Saturday, May 17. Other panel members include: Pulitzer Prize winner, Carleton Mabee, The American Leonardo: A Life of Samuel F. Morse (Alfred A. Knopf); Laurence Carr, The Whytheport Tales (Codhill Press); Edward Henry; Jim Heron, Dennings Point, A Hudson River History from 4000 BC to the 21st Century (Black Dome Press); and John Polhemus, History of Preston Mountain (Purple Mountain Press). Wray Rominger, co-publisher of Purple Mountain Press and Harbor Hill Books will moderate. Other panel topics include: spirituality, poetry, historical fiction, mystery, childrens’ books and young adult fiction and nonfiction.

Many of the authors will be available for book signings throughout the day on Saturday at Merritt Books at 57 Front Street in Millbrook. I will be there from 12:30 to 1:30. Come see us!

Directions to Lyall Memorial Church
Westbound off of Route 44 in Millbrook: take the second left past the light onto Maple Avenue.
Eastbound off of Route 44 in Millbrook: take a right onto Maple Avenue (before the traffic light).

Mud People

What happens when the weather warms up enough to keep mud from freezing in
Clinton Corners, New York? We celebrate. The boys (didn't see any women
drivers) break out their funny car-looking tractors and drag race pulling a
weighted trailer down a dirt track. The kids swim in mud trenches emerging
like aliens from a dirty planet. ATVs squirt mud spray in all directions as
drivers of all ages compete. And this photographer couldn't resist shooting
this bit of Americana in her backyard.

Your Local Arts Council is a Powerful Resource

Five years ago, my son started kindergarten and I suddenly had one day a week completely to myself. I'd just finished going through my photographs from that year's Dutchess County fair and decided it was time to take a chance and try to put together a show. I'd been shooting the fair for more than ten years and had built up a nice collection. Having no experience in the fine art world, I made an appointment to show my book to the fine people at the Dutchess County Arts Council (DCAC) to see if they could give me some direction. Boy did they ever.

Charged with promoting and encouraging cultural development in the Mid-Hudson Valley, the DCAC helps all kinds of artists and art organizations in many ways. They host an active and frequently updated website with current events listings and arts opportunities. If you sign up for their newsletter, they'll email you a weekly list of grants, scholarships, residencies, and open calls for artists happening nationwide. Among lots of other things, they offer workshops on arts management, run an impressive series of Folk & Traditional Arts Programs, publish a few brochures on arts events in the area, and host an annual juried fine art & craft market. I highly recommend becoming a member just to support the arts. A side benefit as an artist or artist organization is that you gain a pr firm, an advocate, a friend, and a powerful ally.

After that initial meeting, Loretta Spence, Director of Programs and Arts Services, graciously advised me of every suitable opportunity that crossed her desk. The DCAC handles grants for the New York State Council on the Arts and when it came to that time of year she suggested that Susan Linn, then Director of the Rhinebeck Chamber of Commerce, might want to sponsor me. Rhinebeck is the host town of the fair, so the pairing made perfect sense. Susan did sponsor me and we did win a grant to show my images at the town library.

For me, the best way to sell my fine art photography is to show as much as possible. DCAC is helping me do that. I was selected in a juried review of member artists to show my work at the Millbrook Winery in the fall where they select artists for a program called Art in the Loft. I'm also entering my Genesee Sunset photo in DCAC's 1st Artist Member Juried Exhibition in May/June.

If you're just starting out, see what your local arts council is up to. If you've been around, my readers and I would love to hear how your arts council has helped you.