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Dawn Photography Process

In our last blog post, Laural shared her painting process and how it changed a bit for this exhibit. We decided the next step is to share Dawn's photography process. Sounds simple enough, until she went to write about it. However, in the end, Dawn says, "It was a great experience for me to think and ponder on exactly what is my photograph process and to see how this exhibit has caused growth in my photography process."


In my barnscape photography, I have a vision and purpose which drives me. It is one that resonates to my core:


"To preserve agricultural history for future generations"


A photographer friend asked me once, "Is your purpose to document the old barns or create art?" My answer, "Both. I want to document the old barns before they are gone, but also want to create art with them." However, how does one translate this view of documenting and creating art for our exhibit, "Impressions of Virginia" is it even possible?


Laural is a patient and caring friend, who allowed me to work through this process as we traveled to our destinations. On the other hand, I am one who wants to grow and saw this exhibit as an opportunity for growth.


"Finding a Barn on FXBG National Cemetery Day"
© 2021 Dew Photography VA

I seized the opportunity to apply a few lessons learned from Rick Sammon. Rick Sammon is a photographer with nearly 40 years of experience. One lesson, I employed for this exhibit is, "Look at other's photographs before visiting a site, especially if you have never been there." This viewing of other's work is not to copy them but to see the place and begin to envision what you plan to photograph. Rick further shares, "Having a plan of what you want to capture helps you focus when arriving on site."


What I learned from this process, is it did help me focus during our time together. Flexibility is another lesson learned during this process for even the 'best laid plans' did not always come to fruition. This is where having Laural on our adventures became my saving grace. Her calmness and confidence in the face of disruption, along with the fact she is a fun and wonderful person to be on an adventure with, kept our main target of the exhibit in sight:


"To share our artwork and personal impressions of the area's explored"


An additional way, my photography process grew during this exhibit is to not be afraid to create digital art. Even though my main goal is to attain the best in camera capture, I began to attain knowledge and utilize my post processing software in new ways. This area of commitment for growth became a wise decision. Especially since our adventures had to be planned out in advance for one day trips, which caused us at times to have to work with what we had for the day to include weather, people and other obstacles. As I became better acquainted with the post processing of my captures, the obstacles did not frazzle me as they had in the past, because now there was a solution.


This is but a snippet of how my photography process has grown while creating artwork for "Impressions of Virginia" to open on December 10th in Colonial Beach at Dockside Realty Gallery. Laural and I look forward to seeing you.


P.S. Not all of the images shared will be framed for the show. We have limited space for the exhibit because we will be framing and sharing our "Impressions of Virginia" with you, which will be included in your purchase of the artwork.

Plus, we want to surprise you with our completed artwork on Opening Night of the exhibit.


P.S.S. If you see something you like and must have, we are always welcome to fulfill a special order for you. We just need to know the size you want and if you want matted or framed artwork. Just reach out t us. To contact Laural: laural@lauralkoons.com and Dawn: dewphotographyva@gmail.com



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