2009 Concord Arts Telefest

The Arts Telefest is a celebration of over 100 local artists and arts organizations in the Concord area. The are 3 ways for you to watch the Telefest;

• Tune In - Watch it live on Channels 22 & 6 in Concord
• Drop In - Watch it live in-person at the Christa McAuliffe Auditorium at Concord High School
• Click On - Watch it live right here on Your Concord TV
  

It will be an exciting day featuring interviews and performances by more than 75 local artists, representing more than 20 arts organizations. This year will also include live performances by 11 local dance, theatre and musical groups in the Christa McAuliffe Auditorium at Concord High School. Outside of the auditorium there will be door prizes, refreshments and televisions set up so that attendees can view the rest of the Arts Telefest live on Channels 22 and 6. It’s free to attend this event, so mark your calendar for March 29th and come to Concord High School’s auditorium.

A full list of all the invited artists can be found HERE.

I'll be on live from 11:13 to 11:20, and then from 11:20 to 11:24 they will be showing a clip of an interview that was done in the darkroom at the Kimball-Jenkins School of Art.

If you're in Concord, come on down and watch the show. If you aren't in Concord, find out what you can do to support the arts in your community. In these tough economic times, art programs are nearly always the first thing to face the budget ax. Art is a vital ingredient in an enriched life. Everyone's mission should be to facilitate and secure the sustainable benefits of visual arts education and appreciation for all members of their community. Don't just stand by and watch the arts perish in your schools and community.

Photographers Motto: "Be Prepared"

"Oh man, if I only had my camera!" (slaps own forehead).

How many times have you said this? How many times have you heard someone else say this? Are you serious about your photography? Then you need to be prepared. You need to be ready to take the shot. You need to have a camera with you always.

I always carry my camera with me. I play poker. I have a regular Friday night game that I have been going to for years. Most of the time, on the thirty minute drive home, it's pitch black and I can't see anything that isn't illuminated by the headlights of my truck. Occasionally, the horizon will be just beginning to glow as I wind my way through the tree lined roads on my way home. For five years, that's 250 drives home after this card game, I've had my camera in the bag on the seat next to me in my truck. I never once stopped to use it, until two weeks ago.

Was it luck that enabled me to get this shot? No. It was being prepared.

Louis Pasteur wasn't known for his photography, instead, in 1862 he developed a process for treating liquids to reduce the numbers of harmful bacteria in them, making them safe to drink, Pasteurization as it is known. How is this relevant to photography? It's not, but a little extra knowledge never hurt anybody. What makes Louis Pasteur relevant to this conversation is his semi-famous quote "Chance favors the prepared mind." This is right up there with the unattributable sports quote, "Good teams make their own luck."

I don't believe in luck. I don't believe in fate. Both of these concepts require you to surrender control of your own destiny to some diaphanous idea. You are in control of what happens to you. Know your trade. Know as much as you can about what you are doing. Read, practice, read more, practice more. Learn not only how, but learn why. If you want to work in a particular specialty, learn how that business works. Find out who the important people and companies in the trade are. Learn about the hierarchy and how things are done.

Don't sit around waiting for your big break. Go find it. Put your knowledge to use. Practice. Get feedback, apply new knowledge, and be prepared to take any opportunity that comes your way. Don't assume that another chance is coming, because maybe there isn't.

Make the odds work for you instead of against you. Do you want to get a photograph published in a magazine? You are probably going to have to submit more than once. All other things being equal, the photographers that get the most images published, are the ones that submit the most images. The photographers that win the most awards are the ones that enter the most contests. The photographers whose work is seen by the most people are the photographers that send out the most work to be seen!