DANCE - FINE ARTS - MUSIC - THEATER - WRITING

ARTBITS by Richard B. Harper


VOLUME 17 * * All Arts News On the Web * * April 18, 2013

STUFF YOU SHOULDN'T MISS

      ArtBits always features a calendar of the goings on of Franklin County artists. Check out these events around Franklin County. Each issue includes the entire text of our weekly newspaper column.


      Stop in for live music and more at the Fairfax Music Sessions at the Foothills Bakery in Fairfax most Saturday afternoons at 1 p.m., at various restaurants around Franklin County throughout the week, at the Bayside in St Albans Town most Sunday afternoons, and the Cambridge CoffeeHouses at 7 p.m. on the first and third Wednesday of every month.
     These gatherings bring new opportunities, gossip, "show-and-tell" and occasional workshops. The booked performances and acoustic Open Mike Nights feature music, readings, and more from the best new artists in Vermont.

      Find links to these events and more in our Spotlight!

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PRINT ON DEMAND

      This series for area artists and photographers discusses using Print on Demand sites to host artists' galleries and to fulfill orders. We have visited some artists' websites, looked at POD itself, as well as considering how and why an artist or photographer might use it.
      Almost all of the sites this series will review are organized to sell originals or prints of originals, one at a time. Many artists and photographers can also license their works for advertising, greeting card manufacturers, and a host of other uses.
      Wikipedia defines Stock photography as "the supply of photographs licensed for specific uses. It is used to fulfill the needs of creative assignments instead of hiring a photographer, often for a lower cost. Today, stock images can be presented in searchable online databases. They can be purchased and delivered online. Often, these photographs involve people, and are produced in studios using a wide variety of models posing as professionals, stereotypes, expressing common emotions and gesticulations, or involving pets. Other common stock photography niches include images related to travel and tourism, as well as conceptual photography."
      A good overview of stock photography can be found online at wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock_photography .
      Corbis Images, Getty Images, iStock Photo, Photolia, ShutterStock, Sipa Press, and at least 100 other agencies offer stock photos. Getty, Corbis, and Sipa buy mostly from professional photographers who are generating images specifically for this market; Getty and Corbis own the copyright to many of the images. Other agencies negotiate with buyers to license the works directly from you.

A STORY OF TWO PICTURES
      Like most photographers, I take a lot of photos but don't (or can't) put them all in a gallery. These photos of the Old Seven Mile Bridge in the Florida Keys are an example of that. The curved arch portion of the bridge on the left is a gallery shot. The other, on the right showing both the old and new spans came from the same shoot but won't get a frame. I can still license that to a postcard printer or a blogger writing about the Keys, or a Realtor™ marketing the area, or...
 ArtBits News PhotoArtBits News Photo     ShutterStock is popular, particularly among professional bloggers, as a source for article illustrations. The service has about 20 million "royalty-free" stock photos, illustrations, and vectors for over 550,000 customers in more than 150 countries. In this usage, royalty free means the buyer gets unlimited uses of an image for a single license fee. The public company is traded on the NYSE.
      The service accepts photos in JPG format that are at least 4.0 megapixels in size plus Vector drawings and Illustrations in EPS format. They also sell video footage that is between 5 and 60 seconds long.
      They do not charge to join or upload images, but they do review and approve or disapprove every image that you submit. If your images show any people or certain kinds of property, they can not be licensed for commercial use without a model or property release. Likewise commercial logos are
      Shutterstock is the highest earning agency for about 75% of the microstock photographers working today. Their online contributor guide defines stock images, gives hints on finding trends and inspiration (and what buyers are begging for), has copyright and trademarks info, shows production strategies, explains royalties, and much more. click here for more info.
      Stock photography generally and micro stock in particular are not big revenue generators but a buck or two is more than that photo sitting on a hard drive or in a file cabinet earned last year.
      In the coming weeks, I'll review other POD sites and talk with other artists about their choices. Email the All Arts Council if you use any of these services to produce the prints you sell.


ON STAGE LIVE

HARDWICK--Claire's Bistro presents Carol Ann Jones with Will Patton and Don Schabner this evening at 6:30 p.m.


ST. ALBANS--Will Patton joins Carol Ann Jones at the Bayside Pavilion tomorrow evening at 7 p.m. in the bar. "Come on down and get your spring on," she said.
      Call 802.524.0909 for more info.


ENOSBURG--The Opera House at Enosburg Falls presents Neon Spoon on Saturday at 8 p.m. The popular cover band will shake the walls with will country music, rock, and more.
      "We always play a lot of favorites," Neon Spoon's Jeff Blouin says. Look for music from Golden Earring, Kiss, Marshall Tucker, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and other greats from Mr. Blouin ("Spoony"), bass; Adam Blouin, lead guitar; Michael Stebbins; Tony Farrar; and Dave Atchison, drums.
      Admission is $10 with tickets available at the door. There will be a cash bar.


ST. ALBANS–Plan Ahead! The Vermont Maple Festival takes over St. Albans next weekend.
      Andre Maquera of West Street Digital and 8-0-8-4 has assumed the management of the free Main Street Stage and has a stellar lineup of continuous music throughout the Festival. The supercharged Main Stage lineup includes A House on Fire, Contois School Band, Dark Horse, Electric Youth Dance Company, Aaron Flinn, Carol Ann Jones & The Superchargers, Joe Levesque Band, the Maple Fest's own Talent Show winners, and Quadra.
      There will also be new Childrens' Programs new for 2013 and a free shuttle bus on Saturday only. Click here for more info.


APRIL-MAY ART DEADLINES

LACDA 2013 INTERNATIONAL (April 22)--This juried competition for digital art and photography, curated by Holly Harrison of the L.A. County Museum of Art, is open to all styles of artwork and photography where digital processes of any kind were integral to the creation of the images. The competition is international, open to all geographical locations. Entry Fee. Registration and submission are done online only and JPEG file uploads must be under 5MB each. Click here for more info and here for a direct link to register.


HVAA 81ST ANNUAL JURIED EXHIBITION (April 28)--The Hudson Valley Art Association's 81st Annual National Juried Exhibition will be held at the Lyme Art Association Gallery. $14,000 in Merit Awards (new awards in every category). Entry fee. Call 917.280.2207, email or click here for more info.


MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE CHALLENGE (May 15)--This call to artists/storytellers will use digital images and words to tell stories, interacting with an audience using Scatter Tag stickers in the real world linked to Message Pages online. The best art/story/use of tags will win $500 and all worthy entries will be featured in a collaborative art project to be displayed in San Francisco. Tags and app to create messages provided free. No entry fee. Click here for more info.


CLICK HERE: ART SITE OF THE WEEK

     April is National Poetry Month. Schools, publishers, libraries, booksellers, and poets throughout the United States are celebrating poetry in American culture every day.


FRANKLIN COUNTY BOOKSHELF

      ArtBits features a quick weekly peek at the bookshelf or night stand of the folks you know in and around Franklin County. That popular feature has a page of its own at the Franklin County Bookshelf here on the AAC site.


SUPPORT LIVE ARTS IN YOUR TOWN!


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All Arts Council of Franklin County

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      This article was originally published in the St Albans Messenger and other traditional print media. It is Copyright © 2012 by Richard B. Harper. All rights reserved. Archival material is provided as-is. Links are not necessarily maintained (if a link in this article fails, try Google.com or your favorite search engine).
      Thanks to recent misuse of copyright material on the Internet by individuals and archival firms alike, we emphasize that your rights to this article are limited to viewing it and printing it for personal use only. You must receive explicit permission from the All Arts Council and the author before reprinting or redistributing this article in any medium.