Thankfulness Set to Pictures | My Best of 2013

The best way for me to express the incredible experiences of 2013 is by sharing my personal favorite images from throughout the year. January 1 2013 began on Hilton Head Island. By the end of the month I was on my way to Texas and by the beginning of July I was back home in Ohio. I’ve taken some kindhearted ribbing from a few family members and friends regarding the craziness of my moving twice in one year, but, I still believe that it all happened for a reason and to set the stage for greater blessings down the road. Besides, at least I can say “done that, been there, I tried it out.”

One of the important lessons I learned is that the grass is not always greener on the other side and Ohio can be a pretty awesome place to live. It gets a bum rap by many who grow up here. It deserves much better. Another lesson is to carefully think through the advice of others when they give you their opinion about where and how you should live your life. Just saying. I have a tendency to be too much of a people-pleaser, much to the determent of my own health. I’m working my way out of that, one day at a time. Follow your heart and those who love and care will fall in around you.

Another lesson reinforced is the fact that the best images arise from where and when the heart is engaged. It’s not so much of chasing images in many locations but rather letting go of expectations and following the heart and the blessings that are presented, even if just outside the back door or down the road.

All in all I am very thankful to have finally landed back in the Dayton Ohio area, enjoying life and photography on my little eight acres of rural heartland. The journey has been incredible, tiring, wonderful. So many images captured that could have made my top ten list. It was hard to select the ones to post here but honestly these are the ones that carry the most personal meaning for me, whether they were popular on social media or not, it’s the personal connection and story that counts.

These images are no particular order. For more insight on the story behind each image, please see http://calmphotos.com

Here goes -

Altus, Oklahoma. March 2013

Raptor Ridge, Beavercreek Township, Ohio. September 2013

Broken Rock Trail Falls, Hocking Hills, Ohio. April 2013

Broken Rock Trail Falls, Hocking Hills Ohio. April 2013. I had returned to Ohio for a short visit after moving to Texas, to Hocking Hills to teach a one-day spring workshop at The Inn at Cedar Falls and to be a judge/guest speaker at the 2013 Shoot the Hills event. It was a spectacular spring in Southeastern Ohio and the streams and waterfalls were flush with flowing water. When I am in Hocking Hills, most often to teach workshops, I try to always set aside at least one day to get out and shoot on my own. When I am teaching I am completely devoted to the task of instructing and guiding my students. This image was one of many that I captured during that day out on the trail by myself, on the Monday following the Shoot the Hills weekend. I was blessed with pristine spring conditions. The light was ethereal coming through the Hemlocks and into the gorges. It was an intimate connection to the place I know best as home when it comes to my love of nature and landscape photography. Broken Rock Trail Falls is off the beaten path and a little bit of a challenge to get to but that’s why I love this scene so much. It’s a closeness, a connection, in quiet and peace. - See more at: http://calmphotos.com/#sthash.gszilkgz.dpuf

November Sunrise at Raptor Ridge

Summer Morning. Raptor Ridge, Beavercreek Township, Ohio. August 2013

Summer Nightfall on the Farm. Raptor Ridge, Beavercreek Township, Ohio. July 2013

The Rural Route. Frisco, Texas. April 2013

Harvest. Raptor Ridge, Beavercreek Township, Ohio. August 2013

The Classic. Trebein Road in Xenia, Ohio. November 2013

Moon and Thunderhead. Kettering, Ohio. July 2013

Holy Spirit You Are Welcome Here. Old Man's Cave, Hocking Hills, Ohio

Best Christmas Present Ever. Raptor Ridge. December 2013

Best of 2013 by Ohio Photographer Jim Crotty from Jim Crotty on Vimeo.

Print Arrangement Previews and Consultation

A client recently purchased a number of my nature and landscape photographs, as gallery wrap canvas prints, for her home. Part of the process in assisting this customer in making the decision as to which images to purchase was providing her with a digital and print "preview" of how select photographs would look arranged together on a neutral background, thus providing a good look at how a particular composition within one landscape photograph will work with another.

In capturing and creating my nature and landscape photographs I love to work with flowing and directional lines within the frame that will enhance the primary subject by directing the viewer's eye to that particular point of interest that speaks of the sense of place being visually represented. But with two or more prints arranged together it's important to select and arrange the photographs so that the impact of one composition is not distracting to the other. Sometimes arranging artwork - such as on a large, open wall space - requires the same artistic eye and touch used in the creation of the individual pieces.

The customer asked if I could make a "print-out" previewing a grouping of four prints she was considering for a particular wall within the great room of her home. Her selections were based on wanting to visually show the four distinct seasons of the Ohio landscape. It was no problem at all for me to put this preview together and send it to her via JPEG attachment (below). For this composite I used the Moodboard app on my iPad, which was very simple to do. Truth be told just about any other word processing and/or slide presentation program could have been used as well. And of course there's always Photoshop.

In the past I've also suggested particular arrangements of my photographs to various commercial art buyers and consultants. I love my art, but I love customers even more. This customer was very pleased with her purchase. She commented afterwards that it was the time and attention I took in helping her decide on prints - and print arrangement - that made the most impact.

For more information on purchasing fine art prints of my nature and landscape photography, please see http://ohiophoto.org/public_html/fineart.html.

Help Support Stivers School of the Arts

Click and win for Stivers School of the Arts

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I am always happy to support Dayton's Stivers School of the Arts. It's one of the few bright spots of hope and creativity in a city struggling on all levels. Over the last five or six years I've donated a print to the silent auction held each spring to raise funds for new equipment within their photography department. What's nice is that the students always send a thank you note, something that says a lot and not often seen from adults who solicit me for donations for other local, non-profit organizations.

The October That Was