Catchup? Kat's Up?

So, I’m a little behind in the blogging, which is above average for me. But last week saw two major occurrences for me. The first, I participated for the first time as a juror for an exhibition. The exhibition in question was a student show hung for three months at the Art Institute of Colorado. I was one of about twenty jurors and it was quite an experience. It started off calmly enough, but as our selections got whittled down, the debate heated up. Questions of audience perception versus artist’s intent were the most debated. In the end, I walked out content in my choices in backing the pieces I felt were both technically and artistically strong (and I didn’t pull out any of my hair). The second major occurrence was my first public portfolio review. That was another experience altogether. When I described it as a “science fair for art kids,” I wasn’t that far from the truth. People zipped by with no more than a glance or a quick flip through my book. Those that did stop were more interested in discussing my choice of cover and paper in the construction of my book than any of the images themselves. Though not the main goal of the review, I did enjoy talking about book construction, printing methods, and the like. Hey, If I can share my knowledge (which by the way is more often common) I’m happy to do so.

Quick update done, we’ll get some more pictures up soon. But I suppose there is something else I can blog about. I have been considering purchasing a scanner. More to the point, I have begun to consider putting money in a jar under my bed for a scanner. I have been eyeing somewhat greedily the EPSON V700 flatbed scanner. Why that particular model you ask? Well, the main reason is that it has received very high marks as being an inexpensive (relatively) film scanner that is capable of scanning everything from 35mm to 8x10. I mostly shoot medium format film with my holga and taking film over to my local lab is becoming a little bit cost prohibitive. For one thing, getting the resolution I like from the scan costs much more than getting simple proofs. The question now becomes can I justify the one time expense of the scanner or simply continue to throw money at getting the resolution I need? Of course there is always just the “that is sweet!” factor and I’ll probably just buy the scanner.

The funniest thing about the whole scanner issue is that I shoot holga because I like the fact I am not in control, but I want the scanner so that I can be in control of the final capture. It’s like I’m chasing my tail.

(For those of you that caught the Simpson's reference, yes I am steeped in pop culture.)