Peter J. Crowley

Fine Art Photographer

Three Couples in the 70’s and Eighties

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Constant companions of early married life in Seventies, my divorce first, life for the three couples minus one continued a for a while, now all divorced no one to be found. Just in Silver Gelatin images of love, youth growing kids playing. 

Madison Jim and the Girls 

Why does Peter always have a camera?

Tom and Linda in Branford, Jim and Carla in Madison, Me and Ann in East Haven. Met Tom in College, Linda Tom’s girlfriend, Carla’s cousin Jim’s girlfriend our group complete on the Ct. Shoreline. Madison was the most often place for frivolity till Tom and Linda moved to Vt. Long rides for weekends of food fun, badminton. Parenthood, goober arrives first and travels to Vt. continue in Jim’s Van or my VW. distance at first not so difficult. After my divorce I still travel to Vt. but less frequent, a broken neck and the last trips to Vt. with Kirsten in my Celica, but the distance kept getting larger and it seems like all of a sudden a second divorce our circle weak, shatters with Tom and Linda’s breakup.  It’s been years since I have seen or talked to any of them Jim on the phone early 2000’s we will get together…….

June 1976 wool, flannel, jackets June in Fletcher Vt.

The Circle dissolves as a pebble throne in a pond I often wonder where the other waves from the circle came ashore? 

Photographic Art, my life my circles 

peace pjc

My Eighties Haunts and the Haunted.

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Just a look at fun in the 80’s where I was and what I found.

On the Deck at Eileen’s and Michael’s  Amston Lake.

At Teds Storrs Ct.

At Teds Storrs Ct.

Studying at Cup of Sun Storrs Ct. Not me her. I was drinking coffee and proving to be a distraction.

A Grad Party in Willimantic at Sophia’s. Want another beer?

Willington Pizza House in the kitchen shooting a feature story for the Tolland County Times.

The Art World, Today and Yesterday Forty Years of Observation

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In the seventies models paid photographers for sessions now everyone is a photographer and everyone is a “model” and “models” are paid by GWCs. Boobies for bucks.  A chuckle to start but truth is funnier than fiction.

Everybody is an artist. I noticed a shift in NPO grants in the late nineties community involvement. Turn of the century and the digital camera is now cheap enough for everyone. A few hundred dollars some software and how to make a © and you are a pro. Many understand when Walmart moves in small businesses are deleted. The informed local merchants, neighbors, friends replaced by cheap and goodnuff.  But the sudden modes and preset pros do not see the connection to Smugmug and other sites selling their technically goodnuff images for Walmart prices. Or giving them away for the glorious ego of publication.  The market crowded with emotional free cheap copies of the world. This trend of A.I. and creative choices moves over to graphic design my Asst Molly wanting to take a few GD classes at a local college was told by admission counselor  just get Photo Shop and you are all set. No need for concept or emotion just an app. There is no A.E. Artificial Emotion except in congress.

Contests, Juries and Vanity Galleries.

A contest I entered for Norwich Tourism/Revitalization “Picturing Norwich.”  Awarded Best in Show and little chance of being sold for tourism.

The concept of the contest. In Norwich a bank decided to put out a calendar so they had a contest. For a mere $25 you could enter as long as you released your rights of the image to the bank and all of their agents. So a thousand entries and the bank has a calendar, a tidy sum of cash and  photos to use for future advertisements. If the bank is really lucky their agent may find another buyer and sell their [formally you image] for profit. The Vanity Gallery rent the walls and the gallery is paid so they don’t need to do much promotion and everyone can have an exhibit. The juried show and fundraisers for the community where you have the privilege of giving your work away. I have done some of these I have also convinced organizations that a 50/50 sale is more fair. Artists are mostly poor here the artist and the organization split the sale. This way the quality of art will be better.

Painting with a broad stroke here and for forty plus years. There is more to the Art World and life than instant gratification or you last text message. Last a professional artist pays taxes on sales it’s good for the community.

peace pjc

 

Choice thoughts on creating from 2009