Potted Plant - Victoria, British Columbia

This image was taken at Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. A lovely, lovely place...

Image by Tiffany Teske

Bird Bath - Minneapolis

Image copyright Tiffany Teske

Rocks on the Shore - Iceland

My husband and I took our honeymoon in Iceland, in 2003. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.
Image by Tiffany Teske

You Win Some...

...you lose some. I got my rejection letter from Alberta Arts last week. I had submitted images from my Seeing Double: Reflections on Human/Nature in Banff. It is always good to submit, even though it is a bummer to be rejected. I learn something each and every time.

Lone Pine Run - Mt. Norquay, Banff

This is the Lone Pine run at Mount Norquay Ski Area in Banff, Alberta, Canada
Image copyright Tiffany Teske

Secondhand - Ottawa

This was taken outside a thrift shop in the Hintonburg area of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada...
Image copyright Tiffany Teske

Ivy & Stone - Belgium

Image copyright Tiffany Teske

Time - Norway

Image copyright Tiffany Teske

Another Satisfied Etsy Customer... ME! (Mature Content)

This post could also be called "Ode to the Post Office" since once again, they have awed and astounded me in their sheer lack of disrespect for my packages. This box was handed to me by the postal clerk and I actually burst out laughing... honestly, it is pretty ironic. You can't miss the big red handwritten "FRAGILE" on the front of the box, nor can you miss the large HOLE that has been taped over. It is as if someone read "FRAGILE" and then decided to do that wresting move where you basically fall straight down with all of your weight on your elbow. To my laughter, the clerk replied, "We do our best", which is better than what I thought he would say. I figured he would blame it on the US side of the border. Anyway, just had to share...


While I may not be a satisfied postal customer, I am a very very satisfied Etsy customer, yet again. My home is filled with so many Etsy-bought items at this point that rather than featuring Etsy artists whose work I don't own, I should stick to that which I have and will be able to post once a week for 6 months. I met Lauren Beacham of jerseymaids in an Etsy convo. She was inquiring about one of my Polaroid transfers, NYC Tulips. In the end, we ended up owning some of each others' work. AND I AM THRILLED! "Onion Bloom" is a print of a Polaroid that was the first image in Lauren's shop to catch my eye. It is even lovelier in person...


I received a true gem in the original cyanotype above titled "Annmarie". It is an original, and I LOVE it! I figured out one day that although blue is not my favorite color, I own enough blue art to fill one whole wall. I just seem to be drawn to blue art. There is a small space left on that wall, and this will soon be on it. In addition to being lovely, I must thank Lauren for the inspiration. I have wanted to dabble with cyanotypes for quite some time. I even signed up for a couple alternative process photography courses that included this technique but it was not meant to be, since they were canceled for lack of enrollment. I asked Lauren how to get started and she was very generous to not only tell me where to get the supplies (at Photographer's Formulary, one of my favorite suppliers) but she emailed me very detailed steps, which I appreciate so much!


I HAD to select this lovely black and white nude, as I work with the nude form in a lot of my work, both in photography, and mixed media. I think this is truly breath taking, and while it may offend some people who read this post, I don't apologize. The human form is beautiful, both clothed and not. I see nothing wrong with the nude form, something you will see if you enter my bedroom, where most of the nude artwork I own lives.

Lauren threw a couple of surprises into my package. One is a small print of another image I really like and the other was a 10 pack of Polaroid 669 film!! This is like gold to me! In Canada, 669 has always been twice as expensive as it is in the states, not even taking into account the exchange rate. Plus, now that it is no longer being made, it is super hard to find here. I was shocked and thrilled to find this gift. Thank you so much, Lauren!! She truly knows the way to a Polaroid photographer's heart...

It is difficult for me to select a favorite of these three images. Lauren is truly a talented photographer, and I think I am drawn to her images because she works in many of the same processes I do, yet she can teach me something new. And she is not afraid to try several processes, something I love to do. I am so pleased I met Lauren on Etsy.

PhotoEd Magazine Gallery Feature

I have been wanting to blog about this for quite sometime... One day, I opened my mailbox and found two complimentary copies of PhotoEd Magazine inside. I had been previously contacted by Felix Russo, the magazine's publisher, with the good news that one of my Polaroid transfer images had been chosen for publication in their Gallery section.


You can see the image, entitled "Tracks" above. I took this image of the Ottawa O Train Tracks in 2005. I shot it on color slide film, so I could make a transfer, and I also shot it on true black and white film, so I could make a large print. The black and white print hangs in my close friend, artist Karina Bergman's home in Ottawa, and I have made several one of a kind transfers of the color slide, one of which hangs in another artist friend, Selena Wilson Stubson's home in Winnepeg. Both the black and white and color versions are dear to me, and remind me of my father's father, who I never met, since he died when my father was 13. He was a railroad engineer, whose handsome portrait hangs in my home, and whose spirit lives on thanks to the stories my dad tells of him. I can't quite explain the feeling I get when I view this image, but it is similar to the feeling I get when I view his image. I think I romanticize them both. Plus, I have always been strongly drawn to things that are becoming extinct, or antiquated. I have a love for these old things. I was proud to have this image published, especially in a Canadian magazine.

I first found out about PhotoEd in the winter of 2005, when my friend, and fellow Canadian photographer, Angela Marklew, had a photography book she made featured in their "Art of Presentation" issue.


Here is what the PhotoEd website has to say about PhotoEd:
"PhotoEd is about Photography Education; both traditional and New Media. It is a useful resource for students, teachers and anyone desiring an education in photography. It is about motivation, inspiration and passion in photography. The magazine will showcase the work of emerging and established Canadian artists and be a vehicle for showing and sharing the great talent in Canada." Wow, I truly do feel honored...

PhotoEd is published 3 times a year in Toronto. They are currently seeking portfolio submissions from Canadian photographers working in historic processes.

A one of a kind transfer of "Tracks" is available for purchase in my Etsy shop

Bloom

Today, I sold this in my Etsy shop. It has always been a very special image to me, since I took it of one of my very good friends, during her first pregnancy. She now lives in Spain, where she is from, so this image reminds me of her and makes me smile when I am missing her....

The woman who bought it lives in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, where my husband is from, and near where we were living, in Wakefield, Quebec. It is so cool how small the world is, and how it takes the internet for this person to find me, even though I used to exhibit my work all over Ottawa! This very image has hung in public in Ottawa. She wrote me a sweet little note that says, "I love your work. I live in Ottawa Ontario and am feeling the pregnancy blues and this made me feel spring and beauty in the midst of winter! Thank you!" Isn't that lovely? It really made my day! From what I can tell from feedback ratings, this is only her third purchase on Etsy, and it is really cool that she chose my work. And that is spoke to her. That is what an artist needs to hear. And I think it is nice that I am pregnant, too. I am going to send her a little note back...

This image has really received a lot of good feedback. I had a student doula contact me, to ask if she could use it on her business card. While I would normally charge a fee for this, a small one for business card use, I believe so much in the importance of doulas for pregnant women, and I have been a student, that I said yes, please use the image!

I love being pregnant, and I love to capture this fleeting time in a woman's life.

SOOOOO Exciting... Polaroid is BACK, but it is DIGITAL!!

Digital Polaroid AP PHOTO

Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, on my gosh, on my gosh!! I am so excited I am doing a happy dance. Thanks to my Google Alerts, which searches for and alerts me to new things on the web about Polaroid, I just read an amazing article that was written yesterday by PETER SVENSSON of The Associated Press. It is about Digital Polaroid... YES, DIGITAL Polaroid. In late March or early April, all Polaroid enthusiasts will be able to buy a $200, 5 megapixel digital camera that prints your images in 2x3", RIGHT ON THE SPOT! And just like analog Polaroids, you have to wait for your image to appear, as it takes one minute for it to develop. I may be a geek, but those of you who understand, will know why I am so happy that that magical moment of wondering what your image will look like IS BACK!! Since moving and leaving my black and white darkroom behind, my only chance to experience that thrill you get as an image starts to appear in a developing tray, was by making a Polaroid. And then, they quit making the film. But this, well, this almost makes up for it! Unlike analog Polaroid you can check out your image on the LED screen before you decide to print. Yet, you still don't know what the print will look like until it comes out because the typical color shifting and graininess you get with a Polaroid are still there. Ah, Polaroid. I can't help it, I just love Polaroid.

One of the complaints about the camera, which is something I actually embrace, is the lack of control that one has over their image (is this not the beauty of Polaroid, Holga, Diana, and other toy cameras?). The Digital Polaroid is a very basic camera, which in my mind is all an artist needs. There is no auto focus, just a switch for close up or infinity. Other complains include the lag time between pushing the shutter release and the image actually being captured. And the prints are narrower than the sensor, so some of your image will not be in the final print. You can do in-camera cropping of the image before printing (cool!), but you can't zoom out wide enough to get the whole image on the print. All of this stuff is just fodder for creativity!

Now, about the printer paper... it has nothing to do with the old Polaroid technology. A printer head in the camera heats up selected parts of the POGO paper to produce the prints. The film comes in packs of 10 for $5 or 30 for $15!! No ink or toner is needed. The back of the print can be peeled off, and the print can be stuck anywhere. You can make multiple copies of a print. You can even take you SD memory card from another camera and print the images using the Digital Polaroid. Although if that is all you want to do, you can save $100 and get the printer Polaroid already makes that connects to camera phones and digital cameras. The life of the rechargeable battery is short, only good for about 20 prints, since it uses a lot of energy heating up the printer head. But, I have always bought two batteries for each of my cameras to remedy this.

Keep in mind that Polaroid has declared bankruptcy, but they are still operating. So, really, there is no way to know how long they will be making the PoGo printer paper but since it is a new technology, you might as well get one and use it as long as you can. I know I plan to be the first in line... Yippee!!

Bound - Emulsion Lift

Bound By Tiffany Teske