For the past two years I have had the honor of serving on a committee within Arts in Orange that oversees the allocation of state grants to artists within Orange County. Artists of all types submit their applications in the hopes of receiving a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts so that they may promote their work. It is an extremely rewarding experience and has opened my eyes to the incredible diversity of artists and programs that are right here in Orange County. From the Greater Newburgh Symphony Orchestra to individual workshops where you can learn how to paint or to sculpt there is an enormous amount of artistic talent right here to enjoy.

Arts in Orange recently held a small get together for the recipients of the grants and I was glad to be able to attend. It was so nice to meet some of the people behind the applications. As part of the grant process we have the opportunity to attend events where the grants have been used and to see the artists in action. It has been wonderful and I have really enjoyed the performances of the artists whom I have been lucky enough to see. I hope to catch even more performances this year! One of the best parts about my participation is that I am helping to support the local artists. As a local artist myself this is extremely important to me because not only do I live here, but I work here as well.

So congratulations to all of those who were selected this year to receive a grant! It is always a difficult task of making the selections and unfortunately there is just not enough funding to cover everyone and many submissions just don’t quite make the cut. It’s not fun to have to make those choices because there are so many worthy artists and events and many times it can be quite a fight amongst the board members. Hopefully those folks who did not get selected attend some of the submission workshops and try again next year.

And if you are looking for something to do in the Orange County area, check out the Arts in Orange blog for the latest updates about events, I think you will be surprised at whats available right here in your own backyard!

Wow, I have recently returned from a trip out to Las Vegas for the annual Wedding and Portrait Photographers International convention. There were 13,000+ photographers all gathered together to share knowledge and learn how to better serve our clients. It was an incredible event led by some of the top names in the wedding and portrait industry and I left there inspired!

One of the things photographers are always trying to do is to evolve and adapt to the changes in the industry. We have seen a lot of change since the digital revolution, some good, some not so good. And sorting through all of those changes and making the ones that will give our clients the best value was part of the reason we chose to attend. From new album offerings, to better equipment choices, to marketing, it was jam packed from morning until night. And then of course, the obligatory networking after all of the sessions were finished.

But beyond the fun and games and the shiny new gear were sessions where the speaker highlighted how important photography is, and how powerful it can be. And these were the sessions that I loved the most. One of my favorite speakers this year was David Williams. David’s program was so incredibly moving that there wasn’t a dry eye left in the room. He spoke from his own personal experience about how important photographs can be as he related the story of his mother’s passing. It was beyond words and for me by far the most inspiring session of the convention. Thanks David.

We want to hear from you, our clients, both past and (hopefully) future, we’d like to ask you to take a few minutes, drop us a line and tell us your thoughts about photography and how we can better serve you.

-Peter

Just a quick note this morning. Because so many of our visitors are viewing the site on mobile devices these days we have installed a mobile theme to help speed things along. For those of you accessing Quinnco Photography through your computers you should see no difference, but for those of you on iPhones and other smartphones you will notice a difference. It becomes a little more stripped down, like an RSS thread so it loads much faster but you can still see all the content. It is also able to be turned off if you prefer the regular site view for your mobile experience.

Whether you are viewing weddings or other events on your smartphone this should make it much faster and still give you about the same content that you would get at home. There may be a few small exceptions because of the limitations of mobile devices, but we’re doing our best to allow you to learn about Quinnco Photography wherever you are!

That’s it for today! Much more to come later this week!