Tag: second saturday

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I wish you could have been there

So I had originally hoped that I could take some video of the show, peoples reactions and just capture the general awesomeness that was the second saturday show…but it didn’t quite work out as planned mostly because I was too busy greeting all the awesome people who showed up to support us VOX photographers. I was able to get a couple seconds of video and my mom of course took some pictures (I really need to teach her how to use her camera better- love you mom) mostly of my double chin but whatevs. Anyway here are some of those goodies for you all to see for those who couldn’t make it out for my first show. Enjoy.


I failed to have someone get a clear shot of the mini bio I posted near my work last minute (everyone else had really serious bios), so I’ll just tell you what it said, it was totally cheeky and I wanted it to feel like a personals ad…

Hi, I’m Valerie Figueroa.
I like long walks through old cemeteries,
road trips with the windows down,
36-exposure rolls of 35mm black & white film,
and the smell of darkroom chemicals.

I’m seeking like-minded individuals,
who can apreciate a little grainy contrast in their life,
and maybe even on their walls.

If you think we’d be a good match,
please feel free to take a card
& contact me.

 

ALSO. For those who expressed interest in purchasing the prints from the show, I am getting them back on Monday April 4th so if you’d like to purchase one you will be able to place your order starting then on my online shop (I printed multiples of the popular prints by the way), we can work out shipping details for anyone outside of northern Cali via email. :) Thanks!!

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I’m back!

So the show was amazing, I am still in awe at how many friends and family showed up to support a big first for me, and I’ve even had 2 people inquire about buying a print! It was an amazing show filled with some really talented photographers and I’m looking forward to participating in many more.

This whole thing was a giant experiment for me. Usually before I dive into something I like knowing everything, what to do, what to expect, I do my research but nothing I did or read really prepared me for the show and getting ready for the show which is a new experience for me in general. Needless to say I learned a lot about the process and myself and how willing I am to walk blindly into something, fully invested. But hey, guess what? I survived…even though I was scared sh-less for the entire time. At least now I know what to do and what not to do…which I’m sure I’ll be posting about some more so I can help out other newbies like me out there.

And I don’t want to brag or anything, but everyone loved my business cards and my mini bio I had posted next to my work.  :)

I was hoping to have the videos and pictures from the show posted by now but I took some time this week to de-stress by living it up and being totally irresponsible, so I’ll try to get them up before I turn 80. I will also be returning to my regularly scheduled program with some awesome Tips & Tricks, and Friday Postcards, and more progress on working on my book project and teaching my niece E some more photography stuff now that I”ll be spending 2 days a week with my niece and nephew. By the way, during the show prep I showed her the darkroom and she totally thought it was cool, so I think next we’re going to work with black and white film and see if she likes it.

See you guys soon. <3

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additional info for saturday!

So I looked up 2 other galleries showing art for Second Saturday that are within walking distance to Vox @ the Think House Collective:

The Art Foundry on 11th & R streets, showing the work of Fred Martin

and the Center for Contemporary Art, Sacramento on 12th & S streets, featuring Enid Baxter Blader

 

I figured some people would want to see other forms of art too and these are both close to where I will be showing tomorrow. I’m getting more excited about the show and the fact that everyone I know is coming out to support me on my first venture into the art world! Now I seriously need to find something to wear! :)

Hope to see you all there! Also, I think I’m going to do a little videoing while I’m there and put it up on the blog next week! <3

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only the beginning

my little stairwell of black and white

Its finally here, the pictures are printed, mounted, matted, framed & hung, business cards are at FedEx waiting for me to pick them up, tags are being put on tomorrow, the goodsie shop is all set to go for this months launch… all I have to do is figure out what I’m going to wear saturday night. :)

I had a chance to preview the photos of the other photographers and wow, its going to be a great show. I feel like such an amateur compared to these guys because they’ve got some really beautiful work hanging, but I do take comfort in the fact that there were only a few of us shooting in film, and only two of us doing true black & white.

I think for the May show I’ll shoot in color and try printing on canvas or something and see how I like it…we shall see. Now I can start working on my next project! I hope to see all 5 of my readers at the show saturday, haha!

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the final countdown

So the official count for my prints are at 5 for the show. I decided for this first show I’ll stick to printing black and white by hand, plus it was cheaper for me for now. I’ll be showing 4 framed 11x14s and 1 framed 8×10.

The funny thing about these prints is that 2 of them have never been printed in b&w before but because I got into the habit of shooting with 2 cameras (one black and white, one color) I’ve already shown off 2 of these in color on my flickr, so they will look familiar, one I’ve never printed bigger than an 8×10, and one I printed long ago but just love so much I want to show it to everyone.

I was excited though because when it comes to my photography and techniques I’m pretty traditional and straightforward, but I’ve always wanted to try printing with a rough border, but because I always end up cropping my photos I’ve never had the chance to do it really, until this time, one of my prints was so perfect as is (at least in my mind), that I went ahead and experimented with the rough border and it came out wonderfully! I’m so excited to be showing it, and it just adds to the overall tone of the photo.

Anyway all I have left to do is mount the photos onto mattboards & match them with the frames I want to use (I got a variety) and print out little ID stickers for the walls of the Think House Collective. My business cards should be arriving tomorrow, and I can’t wait to see how they turned out, if you’ve peeped at my official website (www.valeriefigueroa.com) then you’ve already seen side 1 of the card! :)

Also I just have to say I miss being in the lab, and I need to do it more often and more regularly instead of when its crunch time. I ended up using up the last of my 100 pack of photo paper and buying more and then realized I really wanted to use cold-tone paper which they were out of, just another reason for me to print regularly, when I’m in the lab consistently I usually have a variety of papers and tones. I’ll have to write more about this later because it can totally affect the mood of your photos.