Difficulty of production doesn't count.

Totem Pole Carver -- Marymoor Park Heritage Festival

Back in my dim and distant days of camera club membership that was a line often heard during club print critiques -- usually in defense of a not-very-well done print. By and large I agree. If the print "doesn't work" then how hard it was to print doesn't count.

How hard it was to print only matters after the print "works" -- but even then it only matters to the printer. It doesn't show in the finished print -- nor should it!

This print is a case in point. The finished print does not show the considerable amount of leaping and jumping that it took to make it -- nor should it. It only matters to me -- and I confess that I feel pretty smug about it when I look at the print (but I hope nobody else notices.)

Craftsman (gunsmith?) -- Marymoor Park Heritage Festival.

Here's another print from the same day. Even though the shape of the glasses and the down-the-nose placement suggests -- it isn't me. (Just for the record it was not hard to print).

Marita, Gallery Owner, Photographer, Arts Advocate

Marita founded Benham Gallery -- for 21 years it was one of the go-to locations for photography in Seattle. She was the owner, curator, publicity writer, installer, (wall painter, janitor,...) For the first decade or so she did portraits as well. Her retirement and move to one of the smaller San Juan Islands marked the end of an era.

(In the spirit of full disclosure, she gave me my first show in a professional gallery.)

She had agreed to to a program for out photography group, f/5.6. I needed a photograph of her for publicity so I dropped in to the gallery.

"I need a photograph of you for publicity for your f/5.6 program."

Blank stare. (The old saw about the shoemaker's kids going barefoot comes to mind.)

"I happen to have a camera with me." This isn't the one we used for publicity but it is my favorite.