Printing printing all day long...got everything done for my portfolio review! Can't believe there's only five days left of classes. It's gone by so quickly and I've learned so much. Last weekend I went to a family's home and took pictures and I was suprised at how comforatable I felt with my camera, getting the settings right on, moving to find the perfect composition. I was especially suprised considering that... how do I put it...the kids had A LOT of energy and never were still for a second. But that's what made it so fun, the challenge of capturing the moment and not setting up some type of posed portrait. I guess that's what 20 weeks of photography will do for you.  The trick when I get back home will keeping that going, and not losing my newly gained skills. I think I'll have to give myself assignments - maybe even some difficult energetic kid assignments

This week is our last week of classes for the first session of photo school.  It has been an amazing two and a half months of learning, making new friends, and being inspired.  For some of my fellow classmates, this is the end, and we say goodbye.  For others, we continue for another two and a half months together, learning more technical, advanced topics, and making more memories together.  Pausing midway through my time here, I take a moment to feel grateful.  The opportunity to experience this is an amazing blessing and gift.  It's changed me in ways I never expected, and I'll never be the same.  I want to thank Joe, my family, my coworkers, and my friends for making this possible, through their encouragement, support, and love for me!

I wanted to share one of my final assignments with you.  As I mentioned in my last blog, I was working on a photo story.  The intent of the assignment is to craft a set of photos and initial story, and then produce a query letter that would be sent to various magazines requesting publication of the story.  I met Bill and Rae at the Saturday Market here in Missoula.  The art that they produce is beautiful and amazing.  I spent some time with them asking them about their process of inspiration and creation, and suprisingly enough, found quite a few similarities between the art of glass making and the art of photography.  Following is a collection of photographs from my time with them and the magazine query letter outlining the story.

Big Sky Journal, LLC

P.O. Box 1069

Bozeman, MT 59711

Dear Photo Editor and Art Director,

As I walk through the crowded market on a beautiful summer morning, a flash of light and color catch my eye.  Intrigued, I wind my way through the throng of Missoula locals shopping for their weekly produce.  When I arrive at the booth that has caught my eye, I have an overwhelming flashback to childhood.  What is spread out in front of me is like a gigantic coloring crayon box, a smooth gradation of every color imaginable in tiny black trays.  But, instead of wax, I suddenly realize I am looking at a coloring box of glass.

I have arrived at Bill and Rae Grout’s Aspen Hot Glass Studio booth.  Bill and Rae are local artists that have been in love with glass and each other since 2002.  The booth is filled with hundreds of beads, pendants, and marbles that have all been designed and forged in their studio in the Bitterroot Valley.

As visitors flock to the booth, holding up glass beads and pendants to the light, exclaiming over their beauty, Bill and Rae take a few moments to share their thoughts on glass art with me.  Bill says with a contagious grin, “My goal is to make a signature bead that is complex enough that it will not be made en masse overseas.  I first start with two or more colors of glass rods and meld them together to create a ribbon cane.  Then I then twist the colorful cane and embed it in Italian soft glass to create the bead”. 

I ask Rae if she envisions her art ahead of time.  “Usually I’ll wake up with an idea in my mind.  On those days, I have to get right into the studio.  My inspiration comes from where I live.  We have several acres of land, a beautiful garden, and an amazing view of the Bitterroot Valley.  The colors, patterns, and nature are what help me create my art.”  Rae shows me her signature pendant, oblong, swirling with blues, browns, greens and reds.  She explains that she makes these to represent the four elements; wind, earth, fire, and water, which when brought into alignment will bring you harmony and happiness.

As I browse through Bill and Rae’s collection, I realize I could spend hours here.  Each item is so unique and intricately made, each creation a masterpiece of art.  I am currently working on an essay that examines Bill and Rae’s art from inspiration through creation.  I would like to tailor the article to your specifications to be considered for publication in Big Sky Journal.  I have enclosed a CD with images of the artists and their work.  This query is being submitted to multiple publications. 

I am a freelance photographer and writer.  I am training at the Rocky Mountain School of Photography.  I have published photos with Flat Out and Sprint and Midget magazines.  More of my work is viewable at http://melissaramaker.deluxe.livebooksedu.com.  Thank you for your consideration.

Regards,

Melissa Ramaker

We're working on color images this week.  It's been amazing for me to see how much color and detail are in my pictures once I learn to develop them correctly.  I'm finally seeing on the screen what I saw in my viewfinder the day I took the picture!  It's so rewarding to finally be able to capture and develop the beauty that I'm seeing around me.  Take a look on my portfolio site under the "nature" portfolio.  Let me know what you think!

I am having so much fun in Missoula!  The last few weeks have been full of so much learning, seeing the world through whole new eyes, and coming to the point where I feel like I am definately where I should be right now.  For a while I had my doubts...maybe I'm not good enough, maybe no matter how much I learn, I'll never know enough to really capture a good image.  But now I'm feeling as though none of that matters.  No matter what happens in the next few months, I've had this time to learn, be creative, and see new and beautiful things.

Just a couple of days ago I put together a black and white slideshow.  I've put it up on a photo website.  http://melissaramaker.deluxe.livebooksedu.com  Just go to the "portfolios" link and then to "black and white".  Part of learning to capture good images is learning how your viewer reacts to what you capture.  If you have time, could you please let me know what are the three images that impact you the most?  If you mouse over the "title info" link at the bottom of the page, it will show you the image title.  You can use that to let me know which images are most impacting to you.  If you want, you can even tell me why.  Thank you!